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Documents: Prosecutor claims evidence shows Matt Araiza was not at the party at the time of alleged gang rape

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:45 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Documents detail when a San Diego District Attorney told the teen who accused Matt Araiza in a gang rape, prosecutors would not file charges.According to a more than 200-page transcript of a Dec. 7, 2022 recorded meeting between the accuser, a district attorney investigator, a deputy district attorney and people advocating for Jane Doe, a prosecutor told to the accuser, “I cannot file criminal charges against any of the suspects in the case.”The documents, provided by Araiza's attorney, claim prosecutors found that Araiza was not at the party when the accuser claimed she was raped.Prosecutors and Araiza's attorney said Araiza admitted to having sex with the teen during the party. But, according to prosecutors who have pieced together a timeline of the night, Araiza had left the party about an hour before video shows several men having sex with the accuser.Prosecutors said they've been able to piece together a timeline based on interviews, statements and cell phone evide...

ASEAN leaders condemn armed attack on aid convoy in Myanmar

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:45 GMT

LABUAN BAJO, Indonesia (AP) — Southeast Asian leaders condemned an armed attack on an aid convoy that the regional group had arranged for displaced people in Myanmar, calling Wednesday for an immediate stop to violence and for the military government to comply with a peace plan.Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations convened in the picturesque harbor town of Labuan Bajo in southern Indonesia at the start of a two-day summit. Their host, President Joko Widodo, called for unity amid global economic headwinds and major-power rivalry that’s lashing the region.The 10-nation bloc is also being pressed to address the crisis underway in member state Myanmar.Over the weekend, a convoy delivering aid to displaced villagers and carrying Indonesian and Singaporean diplomats came under fire by unidentified men armed with pistols in Myanmar’s eastern Shan state. A security team with the convoy returned fire and a vehicle was damaged, but no one in the convoy was injured, stat...

Federal bank records emerge as focus of GOP’s Biden probes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:45 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing growing pressure to show progress in their investigations, House Republicans on Wednesday plan to detail what they say are concerning new findings about President Joe Biden ‘s family and their finances.The smoking gun, according to the GOP, is “thousands of pages” of recently obtained financial records that include more than 150 suspicious activity reports connected to the president’s son Hunter Biden and brother James Biden, as well as a growing number of associates.The confidential reports, called SARs for short, are often routine, with larger financial transactions automatically flagged to the government. The filing of a SARs report is not evidence on its own of misconduct.But Republicans in Congress, notably Rep. James Comer, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee leading the probe, believe the records could potentially show an effort by the president and his family to trade off his name.The White House has continuously dismissed the i...

Trump appearing at CNN town hall after sex assault verdict

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:45 GMT

Former President Donald Trump will return to CNN’s airwaves on Wednesday, joining the network for a two-hour town hall event in early-voting New Hampshire a day after a civil jury found him liable for sexually assaulting an advice columnist nearly three decades ago.The forum, which was publicly announced last week, was expected to be notable because it would be bringing together a network and a candidate who have long sparred with each other. But the stakes raised considerably Tuesday after jurors in New York found Trump had sexually abused and defamed E. Jean Carroll, though it rejected her claim that he raped her. The jury awarded her $5 million in damages.While the civil trial verdict carries no criminal penalties, it nonetheless revives attention on the myriad investigations facing Trump, who was indicted in New York in March for hush money payments made to women who had accused him of sexual encounters. Trump is also facing investigations in Georgia and Washington over hi...

Kansas City considers becoming LGBTQ sanctuary city

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:45 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City Council committee will consider a resolution on Wednesday that would designate the city as a sanctuary for people seeking or providing gender-affirming care, even as the state’s attorney general is proposing a new restrictions on the procedures for adults and children.The resolution, which was proposed by LGTBQ advocates in Kansas City, says the city will not prosecute or fine any person or organization that seeks, provides, receives or helps someone receive gender-affirming care such as as puberty blockers, hormones and surgery.It also says if the state passes a law or resolution that imposes criminal or civil punishments, fines, or professional sanctions in such cases, Kansas City personnel will make enforcing those requirements “their lowest priority.”The resolution comes as a judge is considering a proposed emergency rule from Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey that would require adults and children to undergo more than a year of ...

Americans likely saw little relief from inflation in April

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:45 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — After steadily declining for nearly a year, consumer price data to be released Wednesday will likely show that U.S. inflation remained stubbornly high in April, a sign that it might be entering a newer, stickier phase.Consumer prices are forecast to have risen 0.4% from March to April, much faster than the 0.1% increase the previous month, according to a survey of economists by the data provider FactSet.Compared with a year earlier, prices are projected to have jumped 5% in April, the same year-over-year increase as in March. If that forecast proves accurate, it would be the first time that annual inflation didn’t fall after nine months of declines. Pricier gasoline, apartment rents and possibly used cars are among the items that might have accelerated inflation last month. The cost of airline fares and hotel rooms, by contrast, are expected to have eased after months of increases. For more than two years, high inflation has been a significant burden for Amer...

House delays vote on broad border powers expansion in challenge to federal law

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:45 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- The Texas House Tuesday night delayed a vote on legislation to significantly expand the state's authority over the U.S. border. House Bill 20 by Tyler Republican Matt Schaefer would create the "Border Protection Unit" as a new agency under the Texas Department of Public Safety. Officers in that unit would have authority to arrest unlawful border crossers, build border barriers, search vehicles, use force against cartels and more. Their jurisdiction would extend not just to border areas, but to every part of the state.Dallas Democrat Rafael Anchia made a parliamentary move to block the bill during a late night session Tuesday in the Texas House. His point of order was sustained. The bill now goes back to the State Affairs committee for consideration. There is a Thursday deadline for bills to receive preliminary approval on the House floor. It is uncertain if the bill can clear committee in time to meet that deadline. "Our limited law enforcement personnel ca...

Nuggets 3-pointers: Aaron Gordon, Denver defense prove Suns sharpshooter Devin Booker human after all

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:45 GMT

Initial thoughts from the Nuggets’ 118-102 win over the Phoenix Suns in the second round of their Western Conference playoff series:1. Aaron Gordon, Nuggs defense kept Devin Booker in check. Is Booker the next Kobe Bryant? The next Michael Jordan? Not yet. Aaron Gordon and the Denver wings proved that the Suns sharpshooter has a mode in him other than “On Fire,” holding the Phoenix star to 11 misses on 19 shots, two turnovers and a negative-19 plus-minus rating in 41 minutes. In what felt like a re-run of Games 1 and 2, Kevin Durant and Booker combined for more turnovers (seven) in Game 5 than 3-point makes (four).2. Welcome back to the party, Bruce Brown. After a vanishing act in Game 4 in Phoenix (five points in 22 minutes), the Nuggets’ biggest pest was back in rare form again Tuesday. The do-everything swing man had put up 23 points with 3:41 left in a blowout victory, just three shy of his all-time high in a postseason game (26). He was feeling it on the irritant front as well,...

Third-quarter clinic from Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray power Nuggets’ 118-102 Game 5 win over Suns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:45 GMT

Jamal Murray watched the shot drop, heard the whistle and let Landry Shamet know about it.The ensuing technical foul for taunting barely registered — especially after Kevin Durant missed the free throw that came with it.Murray’s message, on the other hand, came through loud and clear.A lackluster first half? Ancient history. A Game 5 knockout punch? Coming right up.Murray’s engine throttled into full gear and the Nuggets roared to life right along with him. Footprint Center, this is not.Back at home on the Front Range, Murray and two-time MVP Nikola Jokic authored a basketball clinic of a third quarter and propelled Denver to a crucial 118-102 Game 5 victory over Phoenix to claim a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.The Nuggets will have a chance to claim a spot in the conference final on Thursday night in the desert.They have their two best players to thank for it, though almost everybody took a turn in the Ball Arena limelight as they wrestled control of the serie...

Video captures fatal South L.A. hit-and-run; suspect remains at large

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:45 GMT

Detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department’s South Traffic Division on Tuesday released footage of a fatal hit-and-run in Vermont Square in hopes that the public may be able to identify the driver.  The incident occurred on Oct. 16, 2022, at around 3 p.m. near the intersection of 54th and Cimarron streets, officials said.  Surveillance footage shows the victim, described as a man in his 20s, riding a motorcycle eastbound on 54th Street behind a dark-colored sedan that was traveling in the same direction. In the footage, the driver of the sedan can be seen making an unsafe turn causing the victim to slam into the driver’s side rear of the vehicle and strike the pavement.  The sedan can be seen in the video slowing down after the impact, but the driver failed to stop and render aid to the victim before fleeing the scene westbound on 54th Street with damage to the rear of the vehicle where the collision occurred. Man convicted for inappropriately touching sleeping w...