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Robbins: Justice Thomas raises bar on embarrassing behavior

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:10 GMT

When President George H.W. Bush chose Clarence Thomas to replace Thurgood Marshall on the U.S. Supreme Court in 1991, he called Thomas “the best man for the job on the merits.” This claim was preposterous, and over the course of the 32 years since Thomas was nominated his appointment has been a national embarrassment.His confirmation was marred by a sweeping under the rug of compelling evidence that while he was head of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Thomas had engaged in repeated acts of crude sexual harassment. On the nation’s highest court for almost one-third of a century, his lack of anything resembling intellectual engagement has been the only notable thing about him. Even to call Thomas an ideologue would seem to elevate him, because the term presupposes that his votes are the thoughtful product of ideology rather than the rapid determination of which political “team” the parties to any case before the Court seem to be on.However, it’s one thing for a Supreme Co...

Black lawmaker who was expelled reinstated to Tennessee seat

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:10 GMT

By JONATHAN MATTISE, TRAVIS LOLLER and KIMBERLEE KRUESI (Associated Press)NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — One of the two Black Democrats who were expelled last week from the GOP-led Tennessee House was reinstated Monday after Nashville’s governing council voted to send him straight back to the Legislature.The unanimous vote by the Nashville Metropolitan Council took only a few minutes to restore Rep. Justin Jones to office just four days after Republicans stripped him of his seat.Moments later, Jones marched to the Capitol several blocks away. He took the oath of office on the steps and entered the building while supporters sang “This Little Light of Mine.”A loud round of applause erupted as Jones walked into the chamber with Democratic Rep. Gloria Johnson, who was also targeted for expulsion, but spared by one vote.“To the people of Tennessee, I stand with you,” Jones said in his first statement on the House floor. “We will continue to be your voic...

Tim Anderson exits the Chicago White Sox’s 4-3 win over the Minnesota Twins with a sore left knee

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:10 GMT

Chicago White Sox starter Dylan Cease was in trouble in the fourth inning Monday at Target Field.The Minnesota Twins had Matt Wallner on second and Christian Vázquez on first with one out and Michael A. Taylor batting. Taylor hit a grounder to third baseman Hanser Alberto, who ran Wallner back toward second before flipping the ball to Elvis Andrus to force Vázquez.Wallner scrambled to third and collided with shortstop Tim Anderson, who was attempting to place a tag on him near the bag.Anderson remained in the game until the sixth, when he exited with left knee soreness.Despite losing Anderson and making three errors, the Sox found a way to beat the Twins 4-3 in front of 12,078.“Not how we drew it up, but there were gutty performances,” Sox manager Pedro Grifol said.Grifol said Anderson felt “a little bit” of pain when the injury occurred and thought he could play through it before it “stiffened up on him a little bit.”“He’s g...

House tax cut plan coming Tuesday, according to Speaker

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:10 GMT

The governor, House Speaker and Senate President held a leadership meeting at the State House Monday — where tax cuts and budget proposals undoubtedly came up.“Lots of things that are coming up,” Senate President Karen Spilka said when asked specifically what the three lawmakers had discussed, without much in the way of further details.The three exited the Senate President’s office about an hour after they had convened behind closed doors at around 3 p.m. Monday and were remarkably tight-lipped about their discussion topics when speaking with reporters during a press conference afterward.House Speaker Ron Mariano eventually volunteered that the House’s plan to cut taxes would be unveiled Tuesday, a day before leaders from the lower chamber are expected to release their version of Gov. Maura Healey’s about $55 billion fiscal 2024 spending plan.“It will be a separate stand alone bill,” he said. “We’ll be rolling it out tomorrow.”According to the Speaker, the plan will look...

Was the Broward death of Pittsburgh Steeler QB intentional? Family lawsuit says NFL player was drugged

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:10 GMT

The death of former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins, Jr. may not have been quite the accident officials thought it was last year, according to a lawsuit filed in Broward circuit court .Haskins, 24, died on April 9, 2022, on Interstate 595, struck and killed by a dump truck near Fort Lauderdale’s airport as he appeared to be seeking assistance after running out of gas. The Broward Medical Examiner’s Office determined that his death was an accident. No one has been charged with any crime in connection with Haskins’ death.But the lawsuit filed on March 23, 2023, on behalf of Haskins’ wife, Kalabrya Haskins, raises questions about why the dump truck driver didn’t see him and why Haskins was as drunk as he was at the time of his death. “It is believed that Dwayne was targeted and drugged as part of a blackmail and robbery conspiracy,” said his attorney, Rick Ellsley. “In fact, his highly expensive watch was stolen from him sh...

RV erupts in flames on I-8

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:10 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- An RV caught on fire Monday on Interstate 8 in the La Mesa area.Around 4:20 p.m., SkyFOX was over the scene at the Lake Murray Boulevard offramp on I-8 westbound, located near Parkway Drive and Guessman Avenue, capturing video of the flames bursting out of the vehicle's windows. At least 1 killed after semi-truck crash in Encinitas A fire crew has blocked off several lanes, including the offramp, as they work to put out the fully engulfed motorhome.There are no reports of any injuries at this time.Check back for updates on this developing story.

Leaked documents may have origin in chatroom for gamers

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:10 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A major leak of classified U.S. documents that’s shaken Washington and exposed new details of its intelligence gathering may have started in a chatroom on a social media platform popular with gamers.Held on the Discord platform, which hosts real-time voice, video and text chats, a discussion originally created to talk about a range of topics turned to the war in Ukraine. As part of debates about Ukraine, according to one member of the chat, an unidentified poster shared documents that were allegedly classified, first typing them out with the poster’s own thoughts, then, as of a few months ago, beginning to post images of papers with folds in them.The posts appear to have gone unnoticed outside of the chat until a few weeks ago, when they began to circulate more widely on social media and get picked up by major news outlets. The leaks have alarmed U.S. officials and sparked a Justice Department investigation. The records have provided startling and surprisingl...

Trump due back in NY for questioning in AG’s fraud lawsuit

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:10 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump is scheduled to return to New York for a deposition Thursday in a business fraud lawsuit filed against him and his company by the state’s attorney general, according to a person familiar with the matter.It will be the former president’s first trip to New York City since his arraignment last week on felony charges in a separate criminal case involving hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign to bury claims of extramarital sexual encounters that Trump says never happened.Trump is expected to face questioning at New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office in lower Manhattan, according to the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter and did so on condition of anonymity.Trump previously sat for a deposition at James’ office last August, just weeks before she filed the lawsuit. That time, Trump declined to answer questions, invoking his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination more than 400 t...

Boston heads to Fever as No. 1 pick in WNBA draft

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:10 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Aliyah Boston was the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft on Monday night, going to the Indiana Fever.It’s the first time that the Fever have had the top choice in the draft, and they chose the South Carolina star. Boston, a three-time AP All-American who also was the Player of the Year as a junior, will solidify the post for Indiana. The Fever had the worst record in the league last season, going 5-31.“It’s really special, I’m thankful to God for putting me in this position,” said the 21-year-old Boston, from the U.S. Virgin Islands. “Everyone in Indiana, they saw something in me, I’m ready to get there and get to work.”Boston, like many other players, have had to choose whether to return to college for a fifth season because of the extra year granted for the COVID-19 virus or turn pro. She decided to enter the draft, joining 111 other players to declare.She was joined by three other South Carolina players, who were expected to be taken in the first two rounds ...

Kansas man sentenced in Capitol riot ‘ridiculously ashamed’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:10 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Kansas City, Kansas, contractor said he was was “ridiculously ashamed” before he was sentenced Monday to four months of incarceration for joining a mob’s attack on the U.S. Capitol.U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan also ordered 48-year-old Kasey Hopkins to pay $500 restitution in a video conference hearing. His incarceration will be followed by 24 months of probation, The Kansas City Star reports.Hopkins acknowledged during the hearing that he was sent to prison in 2002 for a rape conviction. He said that after getting out, he tried to make amends and started a business.But on Jan. 6, 2021, Hopkins breached the Capitol twice and entered a senator’s private office, where he took pictures of rioters ransacking the room. “I’m ridiculously ashamed to be here right now,” he said, adding that “the mob mentality is a very, very real thing.”Chutkan praised Hopkins for undergoing “personal transformation,” but she said his involvement in the riot “boggled my mind...