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Pentagon working to restore benefits to LGBTQ+ veterans forced out under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:34 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon began a new effort Wednesday to contact former service members who may have been forced out of the military and deprived of years of benefits due to policies targeting their sexual orientation, starting with those targeted under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.Under DADT, which was enacted in 1994 by President Bill Clinton and in effect until 2011, service members who had other than heterosexual orientation could serve — as long as they kept it quiet. That led to years of discrimination, undue pressure, discharges and lost benefits.Under DADT and previous military policies forbidding gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer personnel from serving, at least 32,837 service members since 1980 were forced out of the military for their sexual orientation, according to Department of Defense data. More than 2,000 of those service members received general, other than honorable, or unknown discharge characterizations “that may hav...

Iran’s parliament passes a stricter headscarf law days after protest anniversary

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:34 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s parliament on Wednesday approved a bill to impose heavier penalties on women who refuse to wear the mandatory Islamic headscarf in public and those who support them.The move came just days after the anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who had been detained by the morality police for violating the country’s dress code. Her death in custody ignited months of protests in which many called for the overthrow of Iran’s theocracy.The 70-item bill extends punishments to business owners who serve women not wearing the mandatory headscarf, known as hijab, and activists who organize against it. Violators could face up to 10 years in prison if the offense occurs in an organized way.The bill, which was approved by 152 lawmakers in Iran’s 290-seat parliament, requires ratification by the Guardian Council, a clerical body that serves as constitutional watchdog. It would take effect for a preliminary period o...

Netanyahu and Biden meet in New York, a setting seen as a sign of US displeasure over his government

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:34 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu got his long-coveted meeting with President Joe Biden on Wednesday, their first since Netanyahu took office at the helm of his country’s far-right government late last year.He has been a frequent White House visitor over the years, and Israeli leaders are typically invited within weeks of starting their tenure. The lengthy delay in setting up the Biden meeting and the White House decision to hold it on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly rather than in Washington have been widely interpreted as signs of U.S. displeasure with Netanyahu’s new government.Biden opened the meeting by saying the U.S. relationship with Israel was “ironclad.” But he also said they would discuss “upholding democratic values that lie at the heart of our partnership, including checks and balances.”“We’re going to talk about some tough issues,” Biden said.Netanyahu stressed common goals in his opening remarks. “Under your leadership as presi...

At 91, Georgia’s longest serving sheriff says he won’t seek another term in 2024

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:34 GMT

PERRY, Ga. (AP) — A 91-year-old Georgia sheriff has said he will hand in his badge after more than 50 years as the county’s chief lawman.Houston County Sheriff Cullen Talton tells WMAZ-TV that he won’t seek reelection in 2024 and will step down at the end of his term.“It’s time for me to hang it up, so I won’t run again,” Talton said.Houston County commissioners called Talton the longest-serving sheriff not only in Georgia, but in the United States, when they honored him Tuesday.Talton — a former dairy farmer who had served as county commissioner in the middle Georgia county — was elected sheriff in 1972. At the time, the county’s population was about 63,000 people. It now has nearly 170,000.The sheriff said he still likes his job. “I enjoy what I’m doing. I enjoy people,” he said.Among those who attended the ceremony honoring Talton were two of his great-grandchildren, including 12-year-old Ellie Talton, who described the sheriff as “the peacekeeper of the f...

Connecticut agrees to a $25 million settlement in the Henry Lee evidence fabrication case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:34 GMT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut’s attorney general has agreed to a $25.2 million settlement with two men who spent decades in prison for murder, based partly on evidence presented by famed forensic scientist Henry Lee that a judge later found was fabricated.Ralph “Ricky” Birch and Shawn Henning were convicted in the Dec. 1, 1985, slaying of Everett Carr, after Lee testified there were stains consistent with blood on a towel found in the 65-year-old victim’s home in New Milford, 55 miles (88 kilometers) southwest of Hartford.A judge vacated the felony murder convictions in 2020, after testing found the towel was free of blood. The two men filed a federal wrongful conviction lawsuit against Lee, eight police investigators and the town of New Milford.U.S. District Court Judge Victor Bolden ruled in July that there was no evidence Lee ever conducted any blood tests on the towel, and a summary judgement was issued against him. Under the settlement, which must still be approved b...

S&P/TSX composite up more than 100 points, U.S. stock markets mixed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:34 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading as gains in the base metal stocks helped lead the way, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 106.71 points at 20,325.60.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 186.25 points at 34,703.98. The S&P 500 index was up 7.35 points at 4,451.30, while the Nasdaq composite was down 35.13 points at 13,643.06.The Canadian dollar traded for 74.64 cents US compared with 74.48 cents US on Tuesday.The November crude contract was up 18 cents at US$90.66 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down 10 cents at US$2.75 per mmBTU.The December gold contract was up US$11.90 at US$1,965.60 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$3.79 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

UK inflation fell unexpectedly in August. That makes it unclear what the Bank of England will do

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:34 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Inflation across the U.K. fell unexpectedly in August to its lowest level since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, a development that has reined in expectations of a 15th straight interest rate increase from the Bank of England on Thursday.The Office for National Statistics said Wednesday that price rises, as measured by the consumer prices index, moderated to 6.7% in the year to August, down from 6.8% in July. The decline took inflation to its lowest level since February 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to soaring energy and food prices.The ONS credited the fall to lower hotel and airfare costs and a moderation in food price rises. These helped offset an increase in energy costs on the back of higher crude oil prices.The decline was unexpected. Most analysts had expected inflation to increase to around 7% in light of the bump in prices at the pump.Though inflation is way above the Bank of England’s target of 2% and higher than any other Gr...

Alabama school band director says he was 'just doing my job' before police arrested him

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:34 GMT

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama high school band director said Wednesday that he was just “doing my job” when police officers arrested him and shocked him with a stun gun after he refused to immediately stop the band as it played in the bleachers following a football game.Johnny Mims, the band director at Minor High School, told The Associated Press he was confused when officers pulled him from the director's podium to arrest him following last Thursday's game between Minor and Jackson-Olin high schools. "I was in shock. Just totally confused because I was pretty much doing my job, and I hadn't done anything wrong. I definitely did not deserve to be Tased," said Mims, who noted that he was shocked with the stun gun three times.Police body camera footage released Monday shows Mims being arrested and repeatedly shocked in a chaotic scene that included students screaming. Police charged him with disorderly conduct, harassment and resisting arrest.In the body camera footage, officers...

SNAP benefits are increasing Oct. 1: Here's how much

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:34 GMT

(WHNT) — The millions of people who use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to help cover the cost of groceries and other necessities are about to get a bump in their benefits starting on Oct. 1. SNAP, which stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, used to be called the Food Stamp Program. Next month, the benefits will automatically rise to reflect the recent changes in the cost of living due to high inflation. Benefit changes will be based on the Consumer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for June 2022. 5 states’ residents got richer, but 17 states’ got poorer, new Census data shows According to a report from Forbes Advisor, SNAP benefits will increase by 12.5% for 12 months starting in October, compared to the year prior.Below you can see the breakdowns of new maximum benefit amounts in the 48 contiguous U.S. states and D.C., according to the USDA:Household size 1 - $291Household size 2 - $535Household size 3 - $766Household size 4 - ...

Watch: Video of Missouri politicians using flamethrowers goes viral

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:34 GMT

ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. (KTVI) – A video showing two Republican state senators in Missouri using flamethrowers at a fundraiser is drawing fire around the world.Social media posts claim they are burning books, though those posts are false.Still, Democrats are using the claims and the video to boost fundraising.The senators, Nick Schroer and Bill Eigel, were using the flamethrowers at the Freedom Fest fundraiser on Friday at the Sugar Creek Winery in Defiance, Missouri. They were asked to do so, they said, because a flamethrower was being offered as a prize at the event's raffle. Florida principal resigns after parents complain about ‘pornographic’ Michelangelo statue Schroer and Eigel — the latter of whom is a candidate for Missouri governor — told Nexstar's KTVI they were demonstrating the flamethrowers on a stack of cardboard boxes to boost interest in the raffle.But a post on X (formerly Twitter) had claimed the senators were setting fire to a stack of books. The post had drawn ...