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Last minute brinkmanship and overseas assist end Fox case

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:41:19 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Before pulling back from the brink of a trial, Fox News and Dominion Voting systems faced a stern deadline — not from an impatient judge or jury, but from a man on a Danube River cruise with his wife half a world away.A mediator hired late Sunday pushed the two sides toward a $787 million settlement that brought a stunning end to the most-watched media libel case in decades, one that sought to put a price on lies told about the 2020 presidential election on conservative America’s most popular news outlet.“It’s a deadline that I always impose because I know that once a jury is empaneled and opening statements are made, then one or other of the parties will dig into their positions,” Jerry Roscoe, of the Washington-based JAMS mediation service, said Wednesday. “It makes negotiations much more difficult.”As the haggling went on, over the phone and in back rooms of a Delaware courthouse, lawyers, journalists and spectators waited as a scheduled 1:30 p.m. star...

9 men trying to enter US from Canada treated for exposure

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:41:19 GMT

WARROAD, Minn. (AP) — Nine men who entered the United States illegally from Canada were rescued from a sub-freezing bog and given medical treatment for exposure to the cold, authorities said Wednesday.The nine, ranging in age from 19 to 46, were found Tuesday near Warroad, a small lakeside Minnesota community about 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) south of the Canadian border. The area is southwest of an official port of entry.U.S. Border Patrol agents and rescuers from other agencies were sent to the area at around 5 a.m. after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said someone in the group of men had made an emergency phone call, a Border Patrol statement said.The men were found in a flooded bog.“When agents arrived on scene, they determined the temperatures in the bog were below freezing and they would require special equipment to reach the group,” the statement said. “The agents were able to rescue the men from the frigid water by wearing protective suits.” The men were taken to medical fa...

Sudan rivals attempt another truce as civilians flee unrest

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:41:19 GMT

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — Sudan’s rival generals on Wednesday made a new attempt at a 24-hour humanitarian cease-fire after a failed truce the night before. But sporadic fighting continued, and aid groups said they needed guarantees and a wider window to help civilians trapped by five days of intense urban combat.Terrified Sudanese fled Khartoum earlier in the day, hauling whatever belongings they could carry and trying to get out of the capital, where forces loyal to the country’s top two generals have been battling each other with tanks, artillery and airstrikes since Saturday.The fighting became less intense in the first hours after the cease-fire took effect at 6 p.m., with sporadic clashes continuing in the city center, said Atiya Abdalla Atiya, secretary of the Doctors’ Syndicate, who is still in the capital. But he said neither side has provided guarantees to his group to facilitate movement of health care workers and ambulances.Desperate residents of the capital hav...

California city audits police who sent racist, abusive texts

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:41:19 GMT

ANTIOCH, Calif. (AP) — A San Francisco Bay Area city council is undertaking an audit of its troubled police department, the latest development in a year-long federal investigation of the Antioch Police Department that blew up this month with the disclosure of racist and hostile text messages sent by officers. Angry residents crowded City Hall on Tuesday evening as the Antioch City Council unanimously approved audits of the department’s internal affairs unit, its hiring and promotional practices and of department culture. Officials have named 17 officers who sent text messages, including the president of the Antioch police union, although Contra Costa County’s public defender said that nearly half of the 100-officer department was included in the text chains.Defense attorney Ellen McDonnell has asked District Attorney Diana Becton to dismiss all cases involving the public defender’s office and Antioch police. Becton said she is reviewing cases for potential dismissal or resente...

Coroner: Body of man recovered from Lake Michigan in Waukegan

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:41:19 GMT

WAUKEGAN, Ill. — The body of a white man was recovered Wednesday evening from Lake Michigan in Waukegan, according to the Lake County Coroner's Office.Deputy Chief Coroner Steve Newton told WGN-TV News the body was found in Waukegan Harbor. Illinois middle school wrestler sucker-punched by opponent after loss in viral video The person's identity hasn't been confirmed yet. This is a breaking news story and new information will be added as the story develops.

T. rex skeleton sells for more than $5M at Zurich auction, less than expected

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:41:19 GMT

BERN, Switzerland (AP) — Nearly 300 Tyrannosaurus rex bones that were dug up from three sites in the United States and assembled into a single skeleton sold Tuesday at an auction in Switzerland for 4.8 million francs ($5.3 million), below the expected price.Crafted into an open-mouth pose, the T. rex skeleton measuring 11.6 meters long (38 feet long) and 3.9 meters high (12.8 feet) high came in under the anticipated range of 5 million to 8 million francs when it went under the hammer at the Koller auction house in Zurich.Koller had said Tuesday’s sale would be the first time such a T. rex skeleton would go up for auction in Europe. The composite skeleton, featuring 293 bones, was a showpiece of an auction that featured some 70 lots, and the skull was set up next to the auctioneer's podium throughout.“It could be that it was a composite — that could be why the purists didn't go for it,” Karl Green, the auction house’s marketing director, said by phone. “It's a fair price for the dino...

Capitol vs. capital: Texas to strip some local powers to standardize regulations

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:41:19 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- A bill to assert the state's preeminence over many local regulations passed the Texas House on Wednesday and is likely to be signed into law this legislative session.The Texas Regulatory Consistency Act is intended to standardize regulations between cities. It would nullify many local ordinances and prohibit municipalities from adopting ordinances that relate to broad areas of law the state already addresses. These include the state codes relating to labor, business and commerce, agriculture, finance, insurance, natural resources, occupations, and property.The bill's author, Lubbock Republican Dustin Burrows, said the bill will save small businesses from navigating often confusing and costly regulations."We want those small business owners creating new jobs and providing for their families, not trying to navigate a Byzantine array of local regulations that twist and turn every time they cross city limit sign," he said.The National Federation of Independent Busine...

Texas colleges part of new WAC, ASUN football conference to compete in FCS

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:41:19 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — The ASUN Conference and the Western Athletic Conference announced Monday their football partnership is now a new league known as the United Athletic Conference.The nine schools in the two conferences have teamed up for football-only competition the last two seasons. The ASUN and WAC sponsor other sports but did not have enough schools competing in football to sponsor it on their own.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersStarting in 2023, the UAC will have a recognized champion and automatic qualification to the NCAA Division I Championship Subdivision playoffs.FCS is the second-tier of Division I below the Bowl Subdivision.United Athletic Conference members span from Alabama to Utah. Current members include Abilene Christian University, Austin Peay State University, University of Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky University, University of North Alabama, South...

Wild turn to Marc-Andre Fleury over Filip Gustavsson in Game 2 against Stars

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:41:19 GMT

DALLAS — The State of Hockey took a collective gasp when Marc-Andre Fleury led the Wild onto the ice Wednesday night at American Airlines Center.Never mind that Filip Gustavsson set a new franchise playoff record with 51 saves in Game 1 on Monday night to lead the Wild to a 3-2 win in double overtime over the Dallas Stars. It was Fleury who got the nod for Game 2 with the Wild having a chance to take complete control of the playoff series.Though it might seem like a confounding decision on the surface, it’s something coach Dean Evason hinted at down the stretch of the regular season. No matter the result of the previous game, the Wild spent the final month of the regular season alternating their goaltenders more often than not.The fact that Gustavsson played so well in Game 1 made many assume he would be the guy in Game 2.  Not the case.This might be a case of the Wild trying to keep Gustavsson fresh after he played 92 minutes, 20 seconds less than 48 hours earlier. Perhaps th...

Microsoft agrees to buy $50M parcel intended for Foxconn after plans flopped in Wisconsin

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:41:19 GMT

MADISON, Wis. — Microsoft has agreed to buy a $50 million parcel of land in southeastern Wisconsin meant for Foxconn after the world’s largest electronics manufacturer failed to fulfill grandiose promises to build a massive facility that would employ thousands of workers.Microsoft plans to build a $1 billion data center on the 315-acre parcel in Mount Pleasant, a village of about 27,000 people in Racine County, about 30 miles south of Milwaukee. It’s unclear how many people the center might employ. Paul Englis, Microsoft’s director of global community research and engagement, told the Racine County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that such centers typically employ 300 to 400 people.The village already is home to a Foxconn Technology Group manufacturing facility. The Taiwan-based company is best known for making Apple iPhones. The company announced plans in 2017 to build a $10 billion facility in Mount Pleasant that would employ 13,000 people.Wisconsin’s gover...