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New York prosecutor begins crackdown on illegal cannabis shops with $400K deal with shop owner

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:47:11 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City entrepreneur who illegally sold marijuana at a dozen shops across Manhattan must pay more than $400,000 in taxes and proceeds from illicit sales of cannabis, as part of a crackdown on the thousands of unlicensed operations across the city.The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday that business owner Rami Alzandani would not face litigation as part of a non-prosecution agreement. He can keep his stores open but can no longer sell cannabis products.The state of New York’s Office of Cannabis Management has now issued more than 250 licenses for entrepreneurs to open storefronts to sell cannabis in all of its forms, including edibles, flowers and vapes.Azandani must pay $103,000 in restitution to the state Department of Tax and Finance and must also forfeit an additional $300,000 in illegal proceeds, the district attorney’s office said.Last month, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the seizure of $11 million worth of illicit pro...

Amateur soccer player found dead in Argentina after attack on referee goes viral

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:47:11 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A player from an amateur soccer league in Buenos Aires was found dead with a gunshot wound to his head shortly after being charged with attempted homicide for a violent assault against a referee during a match last weekend.Buenos Aires police said Tuesday that the body of 24-year-old Williams Alexander Tapón was found near a train station, a few blocks away from his residence in a suburb south of the Argentine capital. Tapón gained an unexpected level of notoriety on Monday when a video of the brutal assault of referee Cristian Ariel Paniagua went viral on social media. The incident occurred Saturday during a soccer match between La Cortada, Tapón’s team, and El Rejunte in an amateur tournament.The player knocked the referee down with a punch and, while he was on the ground, kicked him in the head, rendering him unconscious. The referee was taken to the hospital in the suburb of Avellaneda.After the victim filed a complaint, Avellaneda prosecutors char...

Trump’s classified documents case set for first pretrial conference before Judge Cannon

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:47:11 GMT

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida judge who issued a court ruling last year that critics said was unduly favorable to Donald Trump is set to preside Tuesday over the first pretrial conference in his landmark criminal case concerning the mishandling of classified documents.Prosecutors and defense lawyers are scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to discuss the rules and procedures that will govern how classified evidence is used in the case. It’s a routine subject for any prosecution that concerns classified information, but it’s notable because it will be Cannon’s first time hearing arguments in the case since the Republican former president’s indictment last month. She also directed the parties to be prepared to discuss a dispute over a trial date.The court date is unfolding as Trump disclosed that he had received a target letter from the Justice Department in a separate investigation into efforts by him and his allies to overturn the results of the 20...

Israeli protesters block highways, train stations as Netanyahu moves ahead with judicial overhaul

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:47:11 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Tens of thousands of protesters on Tuesday blocked highways and train stations and massed in central Tel Aviv during a day of countrywide demonstrations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s contentious judicial overhaul plan.The protests, now in their seventh month, have taken on a sense of urgency in recent days as Netanyahu and his allies in parliament march ahead with the program. The first bill in the package – a measure that seeks to limit the Supreme Court’s oversight powers – could become law as soon as next week.The unrest also cast a shadow over a visit to the White House by Israel’s figurehead president, Isaac Herzog, who was invited to Washington to celebrate Israel’s 75th anniversary.Herzog, a political centrist, has been involved in behind-the-scenes efforts to broker a compromise on the judicial overhaul, which has strained relations between Netanyahu and President Joe Biden. In a meeting with Biden in the Oval Office, Herzog acknowledged that I...

Man firing into the air causes panic on a South Carolina street and is wounded in a police shootout

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:47:11 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A man who fired shots into the air on a busy street near South Carolina’s capital was wounded in a shootout with police just before noon Tuesday, authorities said.The gunman, who is a gang member on probation and can’t legally have the handgun he was firing, is expected to survive, Columbia Police Department Deputy Chief Merlon Kelly said.An officer also was hurt and authorities aren’t sure if he was grazed by a bullet or injured some other way, Kelly said at a news conference.The shooting happened near a busy intersection about 2 miles (3 kilometers) from the South Carolina Statehouse in downtown Columbia. Police reported wrecks as drivers tried to flee. Dozens of guests were evacuated from a nearby hotel and cancer patients at a clinic had to remain inside behind locked doors until police said it was safe.“He absolutely had no regard for the lives of the members of the public he was shooting at nor the officers that encountered him,...

Alaska volcano’s week-long eruption spews another massive ash cloud

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:47:11 GMT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An ongoing eruption of a remote volcano in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands produced an ash cloud so large Tuesday warnings were sent to pilots about potentially dangerous conditions.The ash cloud with an initial height of around 5.5 miles (8.9 kilometers) was drifting south-southeast from Shishaldin Volcano, the Alaska Volcano Observatory said in a statement. The eruption was described as moderate with ashfall drifting toward the Pacific Ocean, creating a potential concern for air traffic or boats, said Matt Loewen, a research geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey at the observatory. The volcano is about 700 miles (1,127 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage and sits near the middle of Unimak Island. The island’s 65 or so residents live about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northeast of the volcano, in the community of False Pass.Shishaldin Volcano began erupting July 11. A U.S. Coast Guard overflight confirmed lava erupted the same day within the summit crater.A signif...

Canadian arrested by U.K. police on suspicion of membership in terrorism group

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:47:11 GMT

British police have arrested a Canadian man on suspicion of being a member of a terrorist group.The Metropolitan Police in London, England, say counterterrorism detectives arrested a 28-year-old Canadian national at Heathrow Airport shortly after noon.They say the man had just arrived on a flight from Canada and that the investigation related to an earlier arrest of a man in east London.Both men stand accused of membership in a proscribed terrorism organization, which could carry a sentence of up to 14 years in prison if charges are laid.The men are currently being held without a warrant, which can be done for a maximum of 48 hours under the U.K. Terrorism Act.In an email, Metropolitan Police say they are not naming the terrorism group as the investigation is ongoing and would only confirm the identity of the people they arrested if they are charged with an offence.

Canada might loosen Turkey arms embargo, Ottawa’s former military envoy says

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:47:11 GMT

OTTAWA — A former high-ranking security expert says Canada may loosen its arms-export restrictions against Turkey as that country moves to strengthen ties with its Western peers.At last week’s NATO summit in Lithuania, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan struck a deal to support Sweden’s attempt to join the military alliance after blocking the move for months.During the summit, media reports quoting unnamed Turkish officials claimed Canada reopened talks on the arms embargo in response, which the Prime Minister’s Office will neither confirm nor deny.Canada halted new export permits to Turkey in October 2019 after a military incursion into Syria, and then downgraded those restrictions in April 2020 for six months.But in October that year, Canada again suspended export permits due to credible evidence that Canadian military goods and technology had been used in conflicts.Chris Kilford, a former senior Canadian military attaché in Turkey, says he expects Ottawa wil...

Toddler critical after falling from high rise balcony on South Side

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:47:11 GMT

CHICAGO — A toddler is in critical condition after falling from a high rise balcony on the South Side Tuesday morning.Authorities were dispatched to the 500 block of East 33rd Place on the report of a person who fell.The Chicago Fire Department found a small toddler, believed to be a girl, who fell from a balcony. Authorities did not say what floor she fell from.The toddler was transported to Comer Children's Hospital in critical condition.WGN News will update this story once more information becomes available.

Postal worker attacked in attempted armed robbery in River Grove

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:47:11 GMT

RIVER GROVE, Ill. — An investigation is underway after a postal worker was allegedly attacked in an attempted armed robbery in River Grove.Police said the incident happened around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in the 8700 block of West Richard.A witness tells WGN that four offenders jumped out of a vehicle and viciously beat the postal worker while trying to steal the keys. There were multiple gunshots fired during the attempted robbery.According to the witness, a good Samaritan attempted to intervene and returned fire at the offenders, who then fled the scene. River Grove police have not yet confirmed those details. Toddler critical after falling from high rise balcony on South Side Police said the postal worker was not injured in the incident, and a postal vehicle was not stolen. An investigation is ongoing.