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Tax charges in Hunter Biden case are rarely filed, but could have deep political reverberations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:44 GMT

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden has been hit with new criminal charges in California accusing him of scheming to avoid paying his taxes while spending lavishly on everything from luxury hotels to escorts to exotic cars. The president’s son is also facing separate firearm charges in Delaware, raising the possibility he could be headed toward trial in two different cases as his father, President Joe Biden, campaigns for re-election. Some of the allegations in the 56-page indictment largely track what’s been previously aired about Hunter Biden’s life when he was in the throes of drug addiction, but the sordid new details of his personal spending and alleged scheming to avoid tax payments could add to the political complications for his father. Joe Biden looks likely to face a close presidential race where Donald Trump is the leading contender for the GOP nomination. Defense attorney Abbe Lowell, for his part, said the taxes...

Patriots release hybrid RB/WR to make room for ex-Eagles linebacker

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:44 GMT

The Patriots released running back/wide receiver Ty Montgomery on Friday to make room for ex-Eagles linebacker Christian Elliss, whom the team claimed off waivers Thursday.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Bill Belichick opens up about what Army-Navy Game at Gillette Stadium means to him New England Patriots | Bailey Zappe’s impressive win still not enough for Bill Belichick to name him Patriots future starting QB New England Patriots | Patriots teammate defends JuJu Smith-Schuster after breakout game New England Patriots | Ezekiel Elliott draws unique praise out of Bill Belichick after Patriots win New England Patriots | Patriots’ Bailey Zappe explains where his confidence comes from after Week 14 win Elliss is expected to replace Montgomery’s role on special teams. This season, Montgomery played just 42 offensive snaps and 198 on special teams over 14 games. He took three carries for n...

Report: Deputies were justified when they fired at SUV that blasted through Mar-a-Lago checkpoint

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:44 GMT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Two Florida sheriff’s deputies were justified when they fired numerous shots at a Connecticut opera singer whose speeding SUV blasted through a checkpoint outside then-President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club almost four years ago, an internal affairs investigation concluded. Palm Beach County Detective Christopher Farron and Lt. John Paul Harvey followed agency firearms policy when they and a Secret Service agent shot at Hannah Roemhild, sheriff’s office investigators said in a one-page report. Roemhild was having a mental health crisis when she sped her rented Jeep through the checkpoint on Jan. 31, 2020, outside Trump’s home and private club. Their bullets shattered the Jeep’s windows, but Roemhild was not hurt during the most violent of several incursions that happened at Mar-a-Lago during Trump’s presidency. The report, dated Nov. 29, simply says the pair are “exonerated” and no disciplinary action was taken. The Associ...

Europe reaches a deal on the world’s first comprehensive AI rules

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:44 GMT

LONDON (AP) — European Union negotiators clinched a deal Friday on the world’s first comprehensive artificial intelligence rules, paving the way for legal oversight of technology used in popular generative AI services like ChatGPT that has promised to transform everyday life and spurred warnings of existential dangers to humanity.Negotiators from the European Parliament and the bloc’s 27 member countries overcame big differences on controversial points including generative AI and police use of facial recognition surveillance to sign a tentative political agreement for the Artificial Intelligence Act.“Deal!” tweeted European Commissioner Thierry Breton, just before midnight. The bloc’s Parliament and member states “have finally reached a political agreement on the Artificial Intelligence Act!” the parliamentary committee co-leading the body’s negotiating efforts tweeted. It came after marathon closed-door talks this week, with one session lasting 2...

Trump’s campaign is distancing him from allies who have sketched out plans for a second term

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:44 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is distancing him from efforts by allies and former aides to sketch out his plans for a possible second term, including who might fill his administration and what policies he might pursue.In a memo Friday from senior advisers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, the campaign said messages about a potential Trump government that come from anyone but the Republican or his team should not be considered official and are “an unwelcomed distraction.” It is the second such memo the campaign has released in the last four weeks dismissing news reports about how those in Trump’s orbit are preparing for a much more hard-right government stocked with loyalists. And it comes as Trump’s campaign has been increasingly pushing back against broader efforts to paint him and his second-term agenda as extreme. “Despite our being crystal clear, some ‘allies’ haven’t gotten the hint, and the media, in their anti-Trump zeal, has been all-too-will...

Top White House cyber aide says recent Iran hack on water system is call to tighten cybersecurity

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:44 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top White House national security official said recent cyber attacks by Iranian hackers on U.S. water authorities — as well as a separate spate of ransomware attacks on the health care industry — should be seen as a call to action by utilities and industry to tighten cybersecurity.Deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger said in an interview on Friday that recent attacks on multiple American organizations by the Iranian hacker group “Cyber Av3ngers” were “unsophisticated” and had “minimal impact” on operations. But the attacks, Neuberger said, offered a fresh warning that American companies and operators of critical infrastructure “are facing persistent and capable cyber attacks from hostile countries and criminals” that are not going away.“Some pretty basic practices would have made a big difference there,” said Neuberger, who serves as a top adviser to President Joe Biden on cyber and emerging technology issues. “We need to be locking our digital d...

Man dies a day after exchange of gunfire with St. Paul police officer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:44 GMT

A man who was shot in the head during an exchange of gunfire with a St. Paul police officer died early Friday, the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension announced.The Ramsey County Medical Examiner determined that Brandon Daleshaun Keys, 24, from the eastern suburb of Maplewood, died of the gunshot wound he sustained in Thursday afternoon’s shootout.The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension identified the officer who shot him as Michael Tschida, who was struck in the leg but was treated and released Thursday night. Tschida has 14 years of law enforcement experience and is on standard administrative leave, the BCA said in a statement.Police said Thursday night that the shooting happened after a woman called 911 and said a man was following her, violating a restraining order she had obtained against him.The BCA said its preliminary investigation found that the woman was driving with a man in her passenger seat when Keys pulled up behind her and started ramming her vehicle with his. Sh...

Judge voids result of Louisiana sheriff’s election decided by a single vote and orders a new runoff

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:44 GMT

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A judge has voided the result of a Louisiana sheriff’s election that was decided by a single vote and ordered a new runoff be held, saying there is evidence a handful of ballots were cast illegally. Ruling this week, specially appointed Judge E. Joseph Bleich ordered a new election for sheriff in Caddo Parish, one of Louisiana’s most populous parishes, in the northwest corner of the state. Democrat Henry Whitehorn had been declared the winner last month after topping Republican John Nickelson by the slimmest of margins, from more than 43,000 ballots cast. A recount produced the same result — a one-vote edge for Whitehorn. Bleich said in his ruling that it was “proven beyond any doubt” that there were at least 11 “illegal votes cast” — making it “legally impossible to know what the true vote should have been.”“Just one illegal vote could have affected the outcome, and here, multiple illegal votes were cast and counted,” Bleich wrote.Bleich sa...

Illegally parked vehicle led police to Toronto carjacking, home invasion suspect

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:44 GMT

Toronto police say they were able to track down and arrest a carjacking and home invasion suspect after he illegally parked the vehicle he allegedly stole.Officers were first called to a residence in the Royal York and Hartfield roads area on Monday, December 4, at around 2 a.m. for reports of a home invasion.Investigators say the suspect broke into the home and pointed a firearm at the victim while demanding their car keys.The accused then fled in the stolen vehicle, police said.A few days later on Thursday, December 7 at around 12:50 p.m., police were called to the Burnhamthorpe Road East and Mill Road area for reports of an illegally parked vehicle.Upon arrival police determined that the vehicle in question was the one stolen during the home invasion.The suspect was arrested a short distance away.Michael Ackley, 19, of Toronto is facing charges including robbery with a firearm, assault peace officer and possession of property obtained by crime, among others.

‘Love Story,’ ‘Paper Moon’ actor Ryan O’Neal dead at 82

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:44 GMT

Ryan O’Neal, the heartthrob actor who went from a TV soap opera to an Oscar-nominated role in “Love Story” and delivered a wry performance opposite his charismatic 9-year-old daughter Tatum in “Paper Moon,” died Friday, his son said.“My dad passed away peacefully today, with his loving team by his side supporting him and loving him as he would us,” Patrick O’Neal, a Los Angeles sportscaster, posted on Instagram.Attempts to reach O’Neal representatives were not immediately successful.He did not give a cause. Ryan O’Neal was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2012, a decade after he was first diagnosed with chronic leukemia. He was 82.“My father, Ryan O’Neal, has always been my hero,” Patrick O’Neal wrote, adding, “He is a Hollywood legend. Full stop.”O’Neal was among the biggest movie stars in the world in the 1970s, who worked with many of the era’s most celebrated directors including Peter Bogdanovich on “Paper Moon” and St...