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Unlicensed Hong Kong radio station that hosted pro-democracy guests goes off the air after 18 years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:10 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — An unlicensed pro-democracy radio station in Hong Kong shut down Friday after 18 years on the air. The closure of Citizens’ Radio came on the eve of the 26th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to China’s rule. Since its launch in 2005, the station had hosted prominent democracy advocates, including former lawmakers Szeto Wah, Emily Lau, Albert Ho and Lee Cheuk-yan. But its founder, Bull Tsang. said it was becoming increasingly difficult to invite guests following the enactment of a Beijing-imposed law that jailed or silenced many activists. Coupled with banking problems and limited resources, Tsang said he had no choice but to say goodbye. “It’s hard to let go. It’s like my third son,” Tsang, 67, told reporters before he hosted his last show on Friday night. The closure reflects the collapse of the city’s pro-democracy movement under the national security law that followed massive protests in Hong Kong in 2019. After the law’s enactmen...

Longtime Toronto broadcaster Bob McCown hospitalized with serious health issue

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:10 GMT

Longtime Toronto sports broadcaster Bob McCowan is off the air dealing with a serious health issue. The former Sportsnet 590 The FAN personality said Friday he is recovering in hospital after having “two strokes over the last couple of weeks.”“Can’t walk or talk but am getting better very slowly!” the 71-year-old said in a tweet. “Hope to get home and back on the podcast as quick as possible!”I guess I should let you know that I have had two strokes over the last couple of weeks and have been in hospital since. Can’t walk or talk but am getting better very slowly!Hope to get home and back on the podcast as quick as possible!— Bob McCown (@FadooBobcat) June 30, 2023McCown is best known as the former host of Prime Time Sports, which he fronted from 1989 until 2019. He is currently host of his own podcast, which airs on his YouTube channel and is broadcast weekdays on Sirius XM.A native of Columbus, Ohio, McCown began his radio career in 1975. ...

Father speaking out about Islamophobic incident at Brampton high school

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:10 GMT

A Brampton father is speaking out after he says his son in high school was the target of an Islamophobic conversation in a Peel District School Board (PDSB) classroom.Rahim Kassam tells Omni News his 16-year-old son’s teacher showed controversial cartoons from the French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, during his Grade 11 French Class at Harold M Brathwaite Secondary School.The incident happened in January. “There is an Islamophobia in it, anti Semitism, Anti-Black Racism,” Kassam said.The cartoons featured controversial imagery of the Prophet Muhamad that many around the world have chosen not to publish due to its Islamophobic tone. The teacher not only shared it with the class, but allegedly sparked a very uncomfortable conversation.“He approached him and asked him if he found these photos, these cartoons, offensive. He replied he did. He was offended. And then she followed up with that: ‘Do you condone the criminal acts that took place regarding t...

Rare lizard found in major US oil patch proposed as endangered species

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:10 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — U.S. wildlife managers on Friday proposed federal protections for a rare lizard found only in parts of one of the world’s most lucrative oil and natural gas basins.The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the dunes sagebrush lizard should be listed as an endangered species due to the ongoing threats of energy development, mining and climate change in southeastern New Mexico and West Texas. The agency will be collecting public comments on the proposed listing through Sept. 1.Environmentalists have been pushing for protections for the reptile for decades, resulting in petitions and lawsuits. There have also been conservation agreements, but some groups have criticized them for not doing enough to protect the lizard’s habitat.The Center for Biological Diversity sued in 2022, accusing the agency of stalling on issuing a decision. The Fish and Wildlife Service, as part of a court-approved agreement, faced a June 29 deadline for making a determination o...

First smoke, now aphids. New Yorkers deal with their latest natural invasion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:10 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — By the time Martin DuPain got back home from a short walk Thursday afternoon, he was covered with a smattering of tiny flying critters. They were in his hair, on his shirt and in his nose.When he sneezed, the bugs came flying out.As if the smoke and haze sweeping in from wildfires in Canada weren’t enough, New York City has been invaded in recent days with plumes of flying insects that have become both a nuisance and a source of fascination — what were they, where’d they come from and will they ever go away? Another unwanted Canadian export?At first, DuPain, who lives in Queens, thought it might have been wind-driven ash, but he soon found out otherwise. Some were alive and flying. He quickly jumped in the shower.The startling scene was nothing short of a “gnatural disaster,” quipped a post on Twitter, which has been abuzz with reports of swarms in some neighborhoods, while others remain bug-free.As they entered clouds of bugs, some people tried to ...

Biden pushing ahead with new student debt relief plan after Supreme Court ruling

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:10 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is moving forward on a new student debt relief plan after the Supreme Court struck down his original initiative to provide relief to 43 million borrowers.President Joe Biden insisted Friday that “this fight is not over” and blamed Republican opposition for the demise of his original plan.The plan would have helped the president keep a campaign promise and is seen as key to helping win over young voters in next year’s presidential race — a vital demographic to his reelection bid.The White House said Biden’s chief of staff, Jeff Zients, has been holding meetings about once a week to prepare for the Supreme Court ruling, and administration officials also have met and spoken with dozens of advocates and allies in the congressional community,, so they would have a fully formed response once the court had ruled.Biden was briefed after Friday’s ruling and met with senior staff to push ahead with an alternative plan given its implications, the Whit...

Geraldo Rivera salutes affirmative action in final Fox News appearance

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:10 GMT

(The Hill) – Geraldo Rivera used his final appearance on Fox News to praise affirmative action, which was struck down by the Supreme Court as it relates to college admissions this week. Noting the court's decision was "a very controversial decision that will impact many people of color," Rivera said, "I was a product of affirmative action over a half a century ago." "When the Ford Foundation and Columbia Journalism School got together to integrate the local news teams in New York, there were no black reporters, no Hispanic reporters, no women. And it was shocking. And that was as late as 1968, '69," Rivera, 79, said Friday during an appearance on "Fox and Friends," the network's flagship morning talk program. "So I was selected, I was making news representing a group of Puerto Rican activists, the Young Lords, who had taken over some buildings up in the Spanish Harlem, and I was their lawyer and their negotiator," he continued. "And I made a lot of news as their spokesperson. And so...

Inmate dies Friday morning at TDCJ prison in Gatesville

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:10 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- A 37-year-old woman died Friday morning while incarcerated at the Lane Murray Unit in Gatesville, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice confirmed.The department identified the deceased woman as Elizabeth Hagerty. Staff found her unresponsive and initiated life-saving measures before she was pronounced dead at 12:48 a.m., according to a department spokesperson.The cause of death is still pending and an investigation is underway.Hagerty is one of at least three people in their 30s to die suddenly in the last week at a prison without full air conditioning.On June 26, 33-year-old Antonio Ishmon died at the Memorial Unit near Houston. Last Friday, 35-year-old Tommy McCullough died of cardiac arrest while mowing a field at a Huntsville unit.At least 32 inmates died in TDCJ prisons in total during the month of June. The department has not reported a heat-related death since 2012, but the last deadly week has reignited concerns of heat illness and dangerous conditions...

Real estate group says use of eminent domain at state park site sets 'dangerous precedent'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:10 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The state's largest group of real estate professionals has called upon Parks and Wildlife leaders to reverse its decision to use eminent domain to take over a state park, saying the decision sets a "dangerous precedent."The Real Estate Council, which calls itself the largest commercial real estate organization in Texas, sent a letter to the state's Parks and Wildlife Commission Tuesday, urging it to reconsider the planned use of eminent domain at Fairfield Lake State Park.The Parks and Wildlife Commission voted June 10 to condemn the 5,000-acre property, which includes the 1,460-acre state park. The park, about 70 miles east of Waco, was leased to TPWD by Vistra Energy, which formerly owned a power plant on the lake, for about 50 years. The company sold the land to Todd Interests as of June 1, after years of failed negotiations with the state to purchase the property. From state park to private development: The twisting timeline of Fairfield Lake "Pursuing emi...

The NFL is addressing gambling suspensions with training and conversations with the players’ union

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:10 GMT

By KYLE HIGHTOWER (AP Sports Writer)NFL chief compliance officer Sabrina Perel has been busy this spring.As the leader of the NFL’s efforts to educate the approximately 17,000 players, coaches, team personnel and others about the league’s gambling policies, she’s in the middle of an annual pilgrimage of sorts.With training camps opening in less than a month, she’s already visited with more than a dozen NFL teams, and leaves them with the same parting message: “You need to follow the policy at all times. … because this truly does impact the entire team.”The reason the NFL has been motivated to get its personnel on the same page was again in the spotlight Thursday when the league suspended four more players for violations of its gambling policy. Three received at least yearlong bans for betting on NFL games and one a six-game suspension for wagering on non-NFL games.It brings the total to 10 players disciplined over the past two years as the l...