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Texas governor names second interim attorney general ahead of Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:03 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has picked a longtime aide to serve as the state’s second acting attorney general following Republican Ken Paxton’s historic impeachment on allegations of misconduct and crimes, the governor’s office announced Monday.Angela Colmenero will step in as the state’s top lawyer on an interim basis starting Friday while Paxton awaits a trial in the state Senate that could result in his permanent removal, the office said. The trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 5.Colmenero, a lawyer and Abbott’s deputy chief of staff, will take over the role from John Scott, a former Texas secretary of state who the governor named as a “short-term interim” following Paxton’s impeachment in May by the Republican-led House of Representatives. In a statement, Abbott touted Colmenero’s “experience in state government and expertise in litigation.” She previously worked in the state attorney general’s office for nearly a decade.Paxton is temporarily suspended f...

Longtime AP Pentagon reporter Fred Hoffman, who was lauded for his Vietnam coverage, dies at 100

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:03 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fred S. Hoffman, a longtime Associated Press reporter who covered the Defense Department for more than two decades and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for an investigation into the black market in Vietnam has died. Hoffman was 100.Well known within the Pentagon, Hoffman was recalled as a tough, enterprising, ethical and tireless reporter who spent nearly 40 years in the news business, including 36 with the AP. After retiring from the AP, he served as the chief spokesman and policy adviser to Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger.According to his daughter Lisa Hoffman, he died of melanoma at at his home in Alexandria, Virginia, on June 24. She said he “always marveled at his lifelong good luck and left at peace, with no regrets.”Hoffman began his career as a radio reporter in Boston covering boxing matches from the front row, dodging flying droplets of blood. After moving on to the AP, he covered seven administrations, including extensive time in Vietnam covering the wa...

Bill Shipp, longtime chronicler of Georgia politics, dead at 89

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:03 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — William “Bill” Shipp, a journalist whose passion for scoops and sometimes-scorching criticism of politicians fueled his coverage of Georgia for more than 50 years, died Saturday at age 89.No cause of death was released.Shipp, born in Marietta in 1933, first gained public notice in 1953 as an editor of the University of Georgia’s student newspaper, The Red and Black, writing articles criticizing then-Gov. Herman Talmadge and the university system regents, including Augusta political kingpin Roy Harris, for blocking the admission of Black applicant Horace Ward to the university’s law school.Politicians and administrators sought to cut the paper’s funding, censor its stories and fire Shipp and fellow editor Walker Lundy. Both resigned, with Shipp entering the U.S. Army.“They suggested I probably needed to quit The Red and Black,” Shipp said in a videotaped interview with the Atlanta Press Club, which he helped found.Ward later became a state legislator and the first Blac...

6.6 magnitude quake strikes in the Atlantic Ocean near the northern Caribbean; no damage is reported

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:03 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck Monday in the Atlantic Ocean near the northern Caribbean, causing some buildings to lightly sway in the region..The quake struck at a shallow depth of six miles (10 kilometers), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The epicenter was located about 170 miles (270 kilometers) north-northeast of Antigua and Barbuda.The earthquake was felt on several islands, including Puerto Rico. No damage was immediately reported.Source

New York City should be held in contempt over conditions in Rikers Island jail, federal monitor says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:03 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A court-appointed monitor is urging a judge to begin contempt proceedings against New York City over conditions at the troubled Rikers Island jail complex, setting the stage for a potential federal takeover of the jail system in the nation’s most populous city.In a report filed Monday in Manhattan federal court, the monitor said the city had failed to comply with a series of court orders that aimed to curb violence and mismanagement inside Rikers Island.The report comes less than a month after a federal judge indicated that she would consider placing the jail in receivership, an extraordinary intervention that would end New York City’s control over one of the nation’s largest and most famous jails. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has vigorously opposed a federal takeover. The judge’s decision could come as soon as next month.In a nearly 300-page report, the court-appointed monitor described a “disturbing level of regression” since the city agreed to follow an ac...

After Bayern Munich links, Kane will hold talks with new Spurs boss Postecoglou

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:03 GMT

After links to Bayern Munich, Harry Kane returns to work at Tottenham this week for preseason training. The uncertainty around the England captain’s future at Spurs, however, is not going away.New Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou held his first news conference on Monday since joining from Celtic and was immediately asked about Kane, who enters the final year of his contract at the London club.“I haven’t had any assurances (about his future) and I wouldn’t expect any assurances,” the Australian manager said. “He’s one of the premier strikers in the world and I want him involved.”Postecoglou, known for being a blunt speaker, plans to hold a meeting with Kane this week.“My conversation with him will be about how we can make this club successful and I’ve got no doubts that’s what he wants as well,” Postecoglou said. “What I want is to introduce myself to Harry and give him my vision of the football club and get a sense from him on what he thinks the club needs to do to be succ...

Rally held for encampment residents as city seeks evictions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:03 GMT

Mutual Aid Katarokwi-Kingston held a rally in solidarity with unhoused residents in the Belle Park encampment on Monday morning just as the City of Kingston prepared to submit an application to the Superior Court of Justice to permanently remove them. The crowd and speakers at the rally outside of Kingston’s Courthouse expressed their frustration that the city is choosing to pursue a court injunction, a process that could be lengthy, cost the city upwards of $100,000, and wind up ultimately unsuccessful if similar proceedings in the Region of Waterloo set any kind of precedent.The City of Kingston previously did not confirm how much it expected to spend on it’s application, now represented by lawyers at Toronto firm Lenczner Slaght LLP, but said there are a number of circumstances that make the situation in Kingston different than that of Waterloo.“Among other distinguishing factors, there have been serious incidents occurring at the Belle Park encampment, which po...

Colorado pilot charged for illegal helicopter landing at Grand Teton National Park

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:03 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — A Colorado man is facing federal charges for landing a helicopter in Grand Teton National Park.Helicopter pilot Peter Smith, of Gunnison, faces two misdemeanors in the incident, according to the National Park Service."The unauthorized landing of helicopters is prohibited on the lands and waters within the boundaries of Grand Teton National Park in order to protect wildlife and other natural resources and to preserve the visitor experience," the NPS said in a release.Smith is accused of illegally landing his helicopter at Moran Bay, on the west shore of Jackson Lake, on the afternoon of Saturday, June 24. The National Park Service said a Colorado man illegally landed his helicopter in Grand Teton National Park. (Credit: National Park Service)The helicopter landed in an area inaccessible except by boat or by hiking at least 10 miles round trip. Park rangers who heard about the landing reached the site at the foot of the craggy Teton Range by boat.When park rangers arri...

Turkey has agreed to back Sweden’s NATO bid, alliance chief says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:03 GMT

(CNN) — NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday that Turkey has agreed to back Sweden’s bid to join the military alliance – a major development on the eve of the NATO summit.The announcement epresents a stunning about-face from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who had earlier on Monday suggested Sweden could only join the alliance after his country is accepted into the European Union. Erdoğan has stood in the path of Sweden joining NATO for more than a year over a multitude of concerns.Speaking at a news conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, following a meeting with Erdoğan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Stoltenberg said that the Turkish president “has agreed to forward the accession protocol for Sweden to the Grand National Assembly as soon as possible, and work closely with the Assembly to ensure ratification.”Erdoğan dropping his opposition marks a major step forward, but does not mean that Sweden will immediately become the next member of the al...

Emergency crews respond to crash at entrance to City Square Tunnel off Tobin Bridge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:03 GMT

Emergency crews responded in Boston on Monday after a crash at the entrance to the City Square Tunnel coming off the Tobin Bridge. A 7NEWS camera captured the aftermath of the crash, in which a truck hit the jersey barrier in the center of the road. A separate photo shared with 7NEWS showed the truck cab stuck in the air, on top of the barrier.In addition to state police, fire crews were also spotted on scene shortly before 5:30 p.m. At least one lane in the area was closed after the crash, causing a traffic backup. A tow truck was brought to the scene and crews were spotted working to haul the crashed truck away before 6:30 p.m. No further information was immediately available.This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.