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Russia’s Defense Ministry says Wagner mercenaries are surrendering their weapons to the military

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:10 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Mercenaries of the Wagner Group are completing the handover of their weapons to the Russian military, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday, a move that follows the private army’s brief rebellion last month that challenged the Kremlin’s authority.The disarming of Wagner reflects efforts by authorities to defuse the threat it posed and also appears to herald an end to the mercenary group’s operations on the battlefield in Ukraine.The actions come amid continued uncertainty about the fate of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and the terms of a deal that ended the armed rebellion by offering amnesty for him and his mercenaries along with permission to move to Belarus.Among the weapons turned over were more than 2,000 pieces of equipment, such as tanks, rocket launchers, heavy artillery and air defense systems, along with over 2,500 metric tons of munitions and more than 20,000 firearms, the Defense Ministry said.The statement follows the Kremlin’s ackno...

The Pittsburgh synagogue gunman should be eligible for the death penalty, prosecutor argues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:10 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The gunman who committed the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history should be deemed eligible for the death penalty because he intentionally planned the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue massacre and preyed on vulnerable victims as they were beginning Sabbath worship, a prosecutor urged jurors on Wednesday.“On Oct. 27, 2018, this defendant violated the safe, holy sanctuary that was the Tree of Life synagogue. He turned it into a killing ground,” prosecutor Soo Song told jurors in the sentencing phase for Robert Bowers, who was convicted last month in the attack that claimed 11 lives. But Bowers’ defense lawyer, Michael Burt, cited expert witnesses to bolster the claim that a “delusional belief system took over his thinking,” which left him unable to do anything but “following the dictates” of those delusional thoughts.At issue is whether Bowers is eligible for the death penalty — a preliminary stage in the weekslong sentencing process. If it determines he is el...

Canada’s premiers urge Ottawa to advance infrastructure to boost economic growth

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:10 GMT

WINNIPEG — Canada’s premiers have ended their annual three-day conference in Winnipeg on Wednesday with a request that Ottawa do more to boost economic growth and trade.Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson, who hosted the meeting, said the premiers have asked for a dedicated meeting with the prime minister to discuss infrastructure priorities. Stefanson said partnerships are needed to keep Canada competitive, but Ottawa must respect the unique jurisdictions of each province. She said the provinces are united in their goal of advancing infrastructure in communities and between jurisdictions, including national economic trade corridors.“That’s going to be absolutely critical moving forward, making sure that we can get our goods to markets,” she said.The Atlantic provinces in particular raised concerns about incoming clean-fuel regulations, asking Ottawa to offset some of the costs to consumers. Other premiers urged dialogue with Ottawa over how costs of environme...

Union and employers receive terms from mediator to end B.C. port strike, source says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:10 GMT

VANCOUVER — A source close to negotiations over the British Columbia port strike says both sides have received the terms of a settlement recommended by a federal mediator that could end the 12-day-old industrial action.The delivery of the terms comes after Federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan late Tuesday instructed the mediator to send him the terms within 24 hours so he could forward them to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada and the B.C. Maritime Employers Association.The two sides have 24 hours upon receiving the recommendations to decide whether or not to ratify the agreement.Neither side have confirmed they have received the terms.British Columbia business groups say there’s no guarantee the strike will end quickly despite O’Regan’s move.The groups, including the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, the B.C. Council of Forest Industries and the Mining Association of B.C. say they are continuing to call for federal back-to-work legisla...

Sarah Silverman and novelists sue ChatGPT-maker OpenAI for ingesting their books

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:10 GMT

Ask ChatGPT about comedian Sarah Silverman’s memoir “The Bedwetter” and the artificial intelligence chatbot can come up with a detailed synopsis of every part of the book.Does that mean it effectively “read” and memorized a pirated copy? Or it scraped so many customer reviews and online chatter about the bestseller or the musical it inspired that it passes for an expert? The U.S. courts may now help sort that out after Silverman sued ChatGPT-maker OpenAI for copyright infringement this week, joining a growing number of writers who say they unwittingly built the foundation for Silicon Valley’s red-hot AI boom.Silverman’s lawsuit says she never gave permission for OpenAI to ingest the digital version of her 2010 book to train its AI models, and it was likely stolen from a “shadow library” of pirated works. It says the memoir was copied “without consent, without credit, and without compensation.” It’s one of a mounting number of cases that could crack open...

WATCH LIVE | NASA celebrates anniversary of Webb Space Telescope: reveals moment of stellar birth, dramatic close-up of 50 baby stars

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:10 GMT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The Webb Space Telescope is marking one year of cosmic photographs with one of its best yet: the dramatic close-up of dozens of stars at the moment of birth.NASA unveiled the latest snapshot Wednesday, revealing 50 baby stars in a cloud complex 390 light-years away. A light-year is nearly 6 trillion miles (9.7 trillion kilometers).The region is relatively small and quiet yet full of illuminated gases, jets of hydrogen and even dense cocoons of dust with the delicate beginnings of even more stars.All of the young stars appear to be no bigger than our sun. Scientists said the breathtaking shot provides the best clarity yet of this brief phase of a star’s life.“It’s like a glimpse of what our own system would have looked like billions of years ago when it was forming,” NASA program scientist Eric Smith told The Associated Press.Smith pointed out that the starlight visible in the image actually left there 390 years ago. On Earth in 1633, Italian astronomer Ga...

A third of student borrowers spent money they thought would be forgiven: poll

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:10 GMT

More than a third of student loan borrowers spent money they otherwise would not have when they believed a portion of their debt would be forgiven by the Biden administration, according to a new poll. Most borrowers surveyed by Intellingent.com were confident they would receive some student debt relief as part of the Biden administration’s plan to forgive at least $10,000 for federal borrowers and up to $20,000 for those who received a federal Pell Grant while in school. The Supreme Court struck down the president’s forgiveness plan at the end of June. Student debt: White House faces backlash for restarting interest on loansThe survey conducted from July 6 to July 10 measured the responses of 977 respondents who qualified for Biden’s student loan forgiveness program   Among borrowers who spent additional money expecting some debt relief, 9 percent spent between $5,000 and $7,501 extra, while another 17 percent spent $5,000 more than they would have had they not e...

Police searching field for leads related to Raul Meza, potential 'serial killer'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:10 GMT

Editor’s Note: The video above shows KXAN News Today’s top headlines for July 12, 2023. AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Austin Police and Pflugerville Police are searching a field off FM 1825 in Pflugerville, following leads related to possible serial killer Raul Meza Jr., according to Pflugerville police.Meza, 62, was arrested by the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force on May 25. He faces four charges and has combined bonds amounting to more than $3 million. MORE: What to know about Raul Meza Jr.’s arrest, criminal history Meza confessed to murdering his roommate, Jesse Fraga, 80, and implicated himself in the murder of Gloria Lofton, 66, in 2019, three years after he was released from the Travis County Jail, per Austin police.APD said it is looking into eight to 10 more cold cases Meza may be connected with but said this number could rise higher as it continues investigating. Meza is currently in the Travis County Jail. Meza told police once he was arrested that h...

Integral Care to open northeast Austin facility, setting out to serve black and brown community

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:10 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Neighbors who live in northeast Austin are at higher risk for hospitalization and early death. That's according to Integral Care and its partners. It's why in it worked for nearly a decade to open a new healthcare facility in a location right off I-35. It's about equity and access for the group and its partners. Patients will have access to primary and mental health care, counseling and wellness programs, a pharmacy and other referral resources. This is all available to community members without insurance or who may be considered low-income. The money that pays for this comes from state grants, and millions of dollars invested by the City of Austin and Travis County, according to Integral Care. There was a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new facility Wednesday. Integral Care ribbon cutting, Northeast Austin facility. (KXAN photos/Jala Washington).This story will be updated by Multicultural Reporter Jala Washington.

Property tax cuts hit the fast track as Texas Senate advances long-awaited agreement

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:10 GMT

AUSTIN (Texas Tribune) — A key portion of an $18 billion legislative package to cut land-owning Texans’ property taxes received unanimous approval in the Texas Senate on Wednesday, moving the long-awaited compromise deal along a fast track to the governor’s desk after months of agonizing negotiations among the state’s top Republicans.The House is expected to vote on the legislation Thursday.The agreement, which was announced Monday, would lower taxes for the state’s 5.7 million homeowners and add a temporary cap on appraisal increases for some non-homesteaded properties.It would also cut franchise taxes for small businesses and send billions of dollars to school districts so they can cut their taxes for all property owners and shift a portion of their operations costs to the state. However, the package would give no new funding to schools.On Wednesday, the Senate approved Senate Bill 2, the property tax cuts bill, and Senate Bill 3, a franchise tax relief bill.Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick a...