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Syria’s rapprochement advances with Tunisia, Saudi Arabia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:13 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria will reopen its embassy in Tunisia, state media reported Wednesday, as Syria’s top diplomat visited Saudi Arabia seeking to restore ties that have been severed for more than a decade.Tunisia has become the latest Arab state to reestablish diplomatic ties with Syria, after cutting off relations in 2012. Tunisian President Kais Saied announced earlier this month that he had directed the country’s foreign ministry to appoint a new ambassador to Syria.His move to appoint a new ambassador to Syria was reciprocated by the Syrian government, a joint statement from the two countries’ foreign ministries said Wednesday, according to Syrian state news agency SANA.The announcement was the latest in a regional trend of rapprochement with the war-torn country, which has picked up pace since the massive Feb. 6 earthquake in Turkey and Syria, and the Chinese-brokered reestablishment of ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran.Syria was widely shunned by Arab governments over Syr...

Whitby restaurant owner faces more than a dozen new historical sex charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:13 GMT

A Whitby restaurant owner is facing new workplace sexual assault charges in connection to an ongoing investigation by Durham Regional Police.Police originally charged James Chatterpaul in January 2023 after a person came forward claiming they were sexually assaulted by him at his restaurant.Chatterpaul is the owner of Chatterpaul’s restaurant at 3500 Brock St. in Whitby.He was hit with more charges in March, 2023 after investigators say four more alleged victims came forward, claiming they were sexually assaulted by Chatterpaul between 2005 and 2019.On Wednesday, police announced 13 new charges, saying six more alleged victims came forward with historical allegations against Chatterpaul.The newest charges stem from alleged incidents dating back between 2002 and 2018, police said.Police say Chatterpaul often goes by the names “Chef Chad” or “Chad” and note that he was previously employed at an Oshawa restaurant.Investigators said some of the alleged victims in the latest charges R...

Judge: No separate defamation trials for Fox News, Fox Corp.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:13 GMT

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — The judge presiding over a voting machine company’s defamation lawsuit against Fox denied the company’s request Wednesday to hold separate trials — one for Fox News and another for the network’s parent company.The request by Dominion Voting Systems came a day after its attorneys told the judge that Fox attorneys had withheld critical information about the role company founder Rupert Murdoch, who is chairman of Fox. Corp., played at Fox News.Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis, who consolidated the cases against both entities in December, refused Dominion’s request to hold a separate trial during which Murdoch would testify as a Fox News witness.The request came after Dominion attorneys told the judge that they learned just this week that Murdoch also was an officer of Fox News, holding the title of executive chair. That was contrary to repeated assertions by Fox attorneys.Murdoch’s role and that of other top Fox executives i...

Space race! Meteorites hit Maine, museum offers $25K reward

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:13 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Somewhere in a remote stretch of forest near Maine’s border with Canada, rocks from space crashed to Earth and may be scattered across the ground — just waiting to be picked up.If you’re the first to find a really big one, a museum says it’ll pay out a $25,000 reward. The unusually bright fireball could be seen in broad daylight around noon Saturday, said Darryl Pitt, chair of the meteorite division at the Maine Mineral and Gem Museum in Bethel. NASA said the falling meteors was observed on radar — a first for Maine — and witnesses heard sonic booms.The museum wants to add to its collection of moon and Mars rocks, Pitt said, so the first meteorite hunters to deliver a 1-kilogram (2.2-pound) specimen will claim the $25,000 prize. According to Pitt, the fact that radar detected the fiery descent assures the meteorites can be found on the ground.“With more people having an awareness, the more people will look — and the greater the likeliho...

Juul Labs agrees to pay $462 million settlement to 6 states

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:13 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Embattled electronic cigarette-maker Juul Labs Inc. will pay $462 million to six states and the District of Columbia, marking the largest settlement the company has reached so far for its role in the youth vaping surge, New York Attorney General Letitia James said Wednesday. The agreement with New York, California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Washington, D.C. marks the latest in a string of recent legal settlements Juul has reached across the country with cities and states. The vaping company, which has laid off hundreds of employees, will pay $7.9 million to settle a lawsuit alleging the company violated the state’s Consumer Credit and Protection Act by marketing its products to underage users, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced Monday. Last month, the company paid Chicago $23.8 million to settle a lawsuit. Minnesota’s case against Juul went to trial last month with the state’s Attorney General Keith Ellison a...

Ian Happ, Cubs agree to contract extension, reports say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:13 GMT

CHICAGO — A year after nearly trading him at the deadline, the Cubs are keeping one of their All-Star outfielders around for a few more years.Per multiple reports, the first from Michael Cerami of Bleacher Nation, outfielder Ian Happ has agreed to a three-year, $61 million contract extension with the Cubs. The club has yet to confirm the move.A first round pick of the Cubs in 2015, Happ has been at the major league level for seven seasons with the club. He's played on three playoff teams and was named a National League All-Star for the first time in 2022.Happ is one of the few homegrown contributors that the Cubs have been able to reach a contract extension with over the last decade. A number of those key players from the teams in the mid-to-late 2010s, including Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, and Willson Contreras, were traded or let go after not coming to terms on deals.Check back with WGNTV.com for more on this story.

Meteorites crash into Maine; museum offers $25K reward for recovered rock

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:13 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Somewhere in a remote stretch of forest near Maine's border with Canada, rocks from space crashed to Earth and may be scattered across the ground — just waiting to be picked up.If you're the first to find a really big one, a museum says it'll pay out a $25,000 reward.The unusually bright fireball could be seen in broad daylight around noon Saturday, said Darryl Pitt, chair of the meteorite division at the Maine Mineral and Gem Museum in Bethel.NASA said the falling meteors were observed on radar — a first for Maine — and witnesses heard sonic booms.The museum wants to add to its collection of moon and Mars rocks, Pitt said, so the first meteorite hunters to deliver a 1-kilogram (2.2-pound) specimen will claim the $25,000 prize.According to Pitt, the fact that radar detected the fiery descent assures the meteorites can be found on the ground."With more people having an awareness, the more people will look — and the greater the likelihood of a recovery,” Pitt sa...

Juul Labs to pay $462 million settlement to 6 states

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:13 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Embattled electronic cigarette-maker Juul Labs Inc. will pay $462 million to six states and the District of Columbia, marking the largest settlement the company has reached so far for its role in the youth vaping surge, New York Attorney General Letitia James said Wednesday.The agreement with New York, California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Washington, D.C. marks the latest in a string of recent legal settlements Juul has reached across the country with cities and states.The vaping company, which has laid off hundreds of employees, will pay $7.9 million to settle a lawsuit alleging the company violated the state’s Consumer Credit and Protection Act by marketing its products to underage users, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced Monday. Last month, the company paid Chicago $23.8 million to settle a lawsuit.Minnesota's case against Juul went to trial last month with the state's Attorney General Keith Ellison asserting that t...

Moontower Just For Laughs kicks off this week. What makes Austin laughable?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:13 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Moontower Just For Laughs kicks off Wednesday, with headliners like Seth Meyers, Jenny Slate, and Leslie Jones to take stages in Austin. The annual festival takes place April 12-23 and will feature over 100 comics across more than 10 venues in Austin. Trevor Noah was previously on the lineup, but has since dropped from the list of performers. Leslie Jones, Jenny Slate among several comics added to Moontower Just For Laughs lineup Avery Moore, an Austin comedian who will be performing a few times over the two week period, said the festival is like "comedy Christmas," saying that it's a huge goal for local comedians to make the setlist. Moore said Austin inspires a ton of what she says in her performances. "I do a lot of observational stuff, and lots of pretty wacky... lots of impressions and parody songs and things like that," Moore said. "But I was a bartender forever, and now I'm a Texas history tour guide. So, I can draw a lot from the city when it comes to my...

Which Austin roads will be closed for the Statesman Capitol 10K race Sunday?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:13 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Thousands will lace up their sneakers and take to the streets this Sunday for the 46th Statesman Capitol 10,000 (Cap10K), a 10-kilometer road race that takes first place as the largest 10K in Texas and sixth largest in the country. The 6.2-mile race takes runners on a scenic tour through the heart of downtown and parts of central and west Austin. As a result, a slew of area roadways will be fully or partially closed Sunday.Here's a comprehensive look at those road closures. The race will be held Sunday, April 16. Wheelchair racers will begin at 7:30 a.m., with the first corral of runners taking off at 8 a.m.More information about the race — including how to register and past year's attendance numbers — is available online.