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Japanese pop star Shijiro Atae says he’s gay in an announcement that’s been warmly received by fans

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:37 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese pop star Shijiro Atae said he is gay in an emotional announcement at a fan event that was warmly welcomed in a country where the government does not recognize LGBTQ equality.“What I’m going to tell you now may not be something you expect or hope to hear. Perhaps some of you may need time to understand,” Atae told fans at the event in Tokyo on Wednesday.“For years, I struggled to accept a part of myself .. But now after all I have been through, I finally have the courage to open up to you about something,” he said. “I am a gay man.”As he choked up, fans cheered, saying “hang in there!” and applauding.Atae performed for 15 years in the hugely popular group AAA before it went on a hiatus in 2020. He’s been based in Los Angeles lately and is pursuing a solo career in the United States.Atae’s revelation comes at a time of increased awareness and support for the rights of LGBTQ+ people in Japan.The political party that has governed Japan for most of its postwar...

3 Butler University soccer players file federal lawsuit alleging abuse by former trainer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:37 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Three Butler University women’s soccer players filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday alleging the team’s former athletic trainer sexually assaulted and groomed multiple players on the team.Michael Howell allegedly committed the assaults and other sexual misconduct over several years, the lawsuit said.The alleged acts occurred in Butler’s training room, offices, buses and in Howell’s private hotel rooms during away games, the complaint said. They occurred while Howell was under the supervision of Ralph Reiff, Butler’s senior associate athletic director for student-athlete health, performance and well-being.Instead of athletic massages that should have lasted only 10 minutes and directed at a specific area, Howell would give full-body massages in a private room that could last hours, the complaint said.Further, Howell told the women he had “files against all the players and would use them if they ever said anything bad about him,” the lawsuits allege. “If I go down, yo...

Further federal probes into false Connecticut traffic stop data likely, public safety chief says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:37 GMT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut’s public safety commissioner on Wednesday told state lawmakers to expect a federal investigation into a recent audit’s findings that showed hundreds of state troopers submitted false information from 2014 to 2021 on at least 26,000 traffic stops — information ultimately reported to a racial profiling board. State legislators from two committees called the legislative informational meeting after data analysts with the University of Connecticut said the traffic stop reports resulted in too many drivers being identified as white.The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, which oversees the Connecticut State Police, is already complying with a subpoena related to the traffic stop matter issued by the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Transportation, department head James Rovella confirmed. The DOT intends to determine whether the false data was used to secure federal money, he said.“I don’t think that’s...

Man pleads not guilty in fatal road rage shooting in Washington state

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:37 GMT

GORST, Wash. (AP) — A 26-year-old man pleaded not guilty to a murder charge on Wednesday in connection with a road-rage shooting Monday in Washington state. Mark Keith Smith of Burien was initially charged with assault in Kitsap County Superior Court after the confrontation west of Seattle in Gorst. Prosecutors filed a second-degree murder charge against Smith on Wednesday after 68-year-old Patrick Weems died at a hospital. Smith pleaded not guilty Wednesday, and his bail remains set at $1 million, The Kitsap Sun reported.Efforts to reach a lawyer for Smith weren’t immediately successful. Smith is claiming self-defense, KING-TV reported.Washington State Patrol officials say the shooting stemmed from interactions between the men while driving on Interstate 5 before both exited onto state Route 16.Witnesses told investigators that they saw both men pull over their vehicles in Gorst and that Weems got out of his vehicle with a bat in hand and Smith got out with a gun, according t...

Woman claims CPD officer sexually assaulted her at police station, COPA investigating

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:37 GMT

CHICAGO -- A woman was arrested for retail theft at a downtown department store, and she claims she was sexually assaulted by a Chicago police officer inside of a station.In a lawsuit filed late Tuesday, "Jane Doe" says she was allegedly sexually assaulted by a Chicago police officer inside of the CPD's 18th district building in River North.“This is a very crazy situation," the Jane Doe said. “My god this is happening. I can’t believe this is really happening.”On May 22, she was arrested for retail theft at the Nordstrom department store downtown.“I got arrested for retail and there was a female officer and a two male officers. They came in and they was just doing the paperwork, and I was crying because I didn’t want to go to jail.”The officer is personally named as a defendant in the lawsuit, as is the city of Chicago.Surveillance video shows Jane Doe being walked into the 18th district’s holding area by a female officer. The video shows a male officer later entered the room and – ...

At nation's oldest magic shop, new magicians learn old tricks in 'magic camp'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:37 GMT

CHICAGO — In an unassuming red brick building situated on the corner of North Wolcott and West Lawrence Avenues in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood is Magic, Inc., the oldest magic shop in North America. “It’s one of the oldest – if not the oldest magic shop on the planet,” manager Pedro Nieves Bosque said.For one week each summer, in the back of the shop behind a burgundy curtain, the shop hosts a popular magic camp for children from ages 7 to 15.The campers spend an intense week, learning a series of tricks and illusions under the expert tutelage of Los Angeles-based master magician and comedian Dave Cox.But, Cox said the real lessons don’t involve concealing cards or waving wands. More from Mike Lowe: Retirees create cable access powerhouse in Palos Heights “Here at magic camp, we’re developing not just magic skills and the ability to do magic,” he said. “But it’s about confidence and being able to stand up and speak and be understood.”The skills include learning public ...

A new millipede species with 486 legs has been found in the US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:37 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The City of Angels, a metropolis of freeways and traffic, has a newly discovered species named in its honor: The Los Angeles Thread Millipede.The tiny arthropod was found just underground by naturalists at a Southern California hiking area — near a freeway, a Starbucks and an Oakley sunglasses store.About the length of a paperclip but skinny as pencil lead, it's translucent and sinuous like a jellyfish tentacle. The creature burrows four inches below ground, secretes unusual chemicals and is blind, relying on hornlike antennas protruding from its head to find its way.Under a microscope, the millipede with its 486 legs and helmet-like head resembles a creature in a Hollywood monster film.“It’s amazing to think these millipedes are crawling in the inner cracks and crevices between little pieces of rock below our feet in Los Angeles,” said entomologist Paul Marek of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute. He was part of the research team that included scientists from Wes...

Attorneys for APD officer request change of venue for upcoming October trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:37 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Attorneys for the Austin police officer accused of murder are asking a judge for a change of venue for the upcoming trial in October.Attorneys claim Christopher Taylor will not get a fair trial in Austin because of "biased" media coverage of the investigation. The motion claims the case too widely known locally for an impartial jury to be selected. Court proceedings earlier this month indicated the trial would take place Oct. 16. New trial for APD officer charged with murder set for October Taylor, 31, is accused of shooting and killing Michael Ramos, 42, during a confrontation with police in a south Austin apartment complex parking lot in April 2020.Austin Police said on that day, officers responded after a 911 call reported someone dealing drugs in a car and that the man had a gun.APD said when officers arrived at the scene, Ramos was directed to get out of the car.After getting out of the car, police say the incident escalated and an officer hit Ramos in the ...

Save Burdett Birth Center Coalition hosts "love picnic"

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:37 GMT

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -The Save Burdett Birth Center Coalition joining together outside the Burdett Birth Center with the community for a “love picnic”. Advocates coming together to show some support to the center run by Saint Peter’s Health Partners set to close in the future.One mother coming to the event to share her story with the center. “I had my son, Ben, here five months ago. It was a really great experience. We are working really hard to ensure that the Burdett Birth Center stays open. We know that folks will be sent to Albany Med. Which will be across the river. That’s if they have beds at all for these folks," described Ashley Saupp. Resolution approved to call on Hochul to keep Burdett Birth Center open Doulas like Esther Patterson help make the birthing experience as smooth as possible outside of a hospital setting. “Midwives and doulas are loving and saving lives here. They’re doing it right. They have low surgical birth numbers, really low surgical birth numbers," sta...

Park Officials spread awareness of flash flood dangers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:37 GMT

HUNTER, N.Y. (NEWS10) — After Forest Rangers rescued a dozen people at Kaaterskill Falls during a flash flooding on Tuesday, park officials want everyone to take flash flood warnings more seriously. Forest Rangers responded to reports of people stranded by flash flooding, and Ranger Seamus Peterson knew he had to spring into action quickly. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! “I was able to wade across and eventually made contact with the subject and basically had him hold onto my back while I waded across and rejoined him with the rest of his friends,” Ranger Peterson said.Forest Ranger Rob Dawson said that Ranger Peterson carried one person across the water to safety, then headed to Fawn’s Leap off Route 23A to help seven others stranded on the side of the creek.“What we had was along Kaaterskill Creek, several groups that were caught across the stream from the road, so they weren’t able to get out just because the water went up ...