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Shia LeBeouf converts to Catholicism after being confirmed at New Year’s Eve Mass

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:47 GMT

Actor Shia LeBeouf has converted to Catholicism after being confirmed on New Year’s Eve at a Mass presided over by Capuchin Franciscan friars.The Capuchin Franciscans-Western American Province announced the news on its Facebook site where it posted images of a smiling LeBeouf receiving Communion, kneeling with his eyes shut in prayer at Mass and hugging friars who attended the ceremony.The sacramental ceremony was held at Old Mission Santa Inés Parish in Solvang, California, the same friary where LaBeouf trained for months for his role as one of Italy’s best-known and most revered saints in the 2022 film, “ Padre Pio.” “The Capuchin Franciscan friars are overjoyed to welcome him into the fold and witness his deep commitment to his faith journey,” the Catholic religious order said.“Shia LaBeouf, known for his incredible talent and passion in the entertainment industry, has embarked on a profound spiritual journey that has led him to embrace the teachings of the Catholic Church. His d...

US biotech company halts sales of DNA kits in Tibet, as lawmakers mull more export controls on China

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:47 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. biotech company has halted sales of its DNA testing products in the Chinese ethnic region of Tibet, as lawmakers mull export controls to keep Beijing from using American products to conduct massive surveillance of its own citizens.Thermo Fisher, based in Waltham, Mass., said in a statement that it made the decision in mid-2023 to cease sales of human identification products in Tibet “based on a number of factors.” It did not specify the “factors.” The news site Axios first revealed Thermo Fisher’s decision this week.The move by the biotech company, which in 2019 took similar measures in the ethnic region of Xinjiang, came at a time of concerns on the Capitol Hill over Beijing’s human rights record. About a year ago, a bipartisan group of lawmakers demanded to know if the company was certain its equipment was not used to aid or abet rights abuses in China, following reports that the Chinese government had been collecting DNA data from hundreds of ...

Hezbollah leader says his group must retaliate for suspected Israeli strike in Beirut

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:47 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — The leader of the Lebanese militia Hezbollah said Friday that his group must retaliate after a presumed Israeli strike hit a Beirut neighborhood this week, killing a senior Hamas official, or else all of Lebanon would be vulnerable to Israeli attack.Hassan Nasrallah appeared to be making the case for a response to the Lebanese public, even at the risk of escalating the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel. But he gave no indication of how or when the militants would act.The strike that killed Hamas’ deputy political leader, Saleh Arouri, threatened months of efforts by the United States to prevent the war in Gaza from spiraling into a regional conflict.Nasrallah said it was the first strike by Israel in the Lebanese capital since 2006.“We cannot keep silent about a violation of this seriousness,” he said, “because this means that all of our people will be exposed (to targeting). All of our cities, villages and public figures will be exposed.”The repercussions of silen...

New Brunswick judge apologizes to men for ‘miscarriage of justice’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:47 GMT

FREDERICTON — The chief justice of New Brunswick’s Court of King’s Bench today offered her “sincere apology” to two men who were acquitted after serving lengthy prison sentences for a 1983 murder.Chief Justice Tracey DeWare says the justice system failed Robert Mailman and Walter Gillespie, who were convicted in 1984 of second-degree murder and received life sentences in the killing of George Gilman Leeman in Saint John, N.B. In a four-page decision, DeWare says miscarriages of justice sometimes “regrettably” happen, and when they do, the reasonable response is to double down on efforts to improve the system.The judge says the justice system owes a debt of gratitude to the two men and their legal team for steadfastly pursuing the case over nearly four decades.DeWare declared Mailman and Gillespie not guilty on Thursday after Crown prosecutor Karen Lee informed the court she didn’t intend to enter any evidence against the two men.The hearing ...

Fight at Philadelphia train station ends with man being fatally struck by train

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:47 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A man involved in a fight at a Philadelphia train station was killed when he fell onto the tracks and was struck by a train, authorities said.The fight at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority station occurred around 4:30 p.m. Thursday when Chaz Wearing, 40, and another man began arguing. The dispute soon turned physical and Wearing punched the other man twice, city police said.The man — whose name has not been released — ended up on the tracks below the platform and was struck seconds later by an incoming SEPTA train. Authorities said it was not clear why the men were arguing.Wearing, who has no known address, left the scene but was captured at the next station stop, police said. He has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office announced Friday, and it was possible he could face further charges.It was not known Friday if Wearing has retained an attorney, prosecutors said.No other injuries were report...

61-year-old with schizophrenia still missing three weeks after St. Louis nursing home shut down

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:47 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A 61-year-old man with schizophrenia is still missing three weeks after the St. Louis nursing home where he lived abruptly closed.The Missouri State Highway Patrol on Wednesday issued an endangered silver advisory seeking the public’s help in finding Frederick Caruthers, who was among about 175 residents of Northview Village Nursing Home before it closed on Dec. 15.“Mr. Caruthers walked away from the Northview Nursing Home and has not been heard from since,” the advisory stated. “He is without needed medication.”Residents were shuttled to about a dozen other care facilities in the hours after the nursing home closed. Many patients left with nothing but the clothes they were wearing, creating confusion and spurring outrage among residents and their families.The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is investigating the circumstances surrounding the nursing home closure, spokeswoman Lisa Cox said. She declined further comment, citing the ongoing regu...

Azerbaijan names a former oil exec to lead climate talks. Activists have concerns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:47 GMT

Azerbaijan’s ecology minister has been named to lead the United Nations’ annual climate talks later this year, prompting concern from some climate activists over his former ties to the state oil company in a major oil-producing nation.Mukhtar Babayev’s appointment was announced on X by the United Arab Emirates, which hosted the climate talks that just ended in December, and confirmed Friday by the United Nations. Officials in Azerbaijan did not immediately respond to messages seeking to confirm the appointment.Babayev, 56, has been his country’s minister for ecology and natural resources since 2018. Before that, he worked at Azerbaijan’s state oil company for more than two decades.Similar concerns dogged Sultan al-Jaber, the head of the UAE’s national oil company, as he presided over the talks in Dubai known as COP28. The COP president is responsible for running talks and getting nearly 200 countries to agree on a deal to help limit global warming...

San Quentin project’s $360 million price tag should be slashed, governor’s advisory group says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:47 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — An advisory council hand-picked by California Gov. Gavin Newsom recommended Friday that the governor slash by at least a third the cost of a $360 million project to remake the San Quentin State Prison, and use the saved money to improve living conditions at the facility.The Democratic governor last year announced plans to transform San Quentin, where the state performed executions, into a model for preparing people for life on the outside — a shift from the state’s decadeslong focus on punishment. The ambitious vision includes a plan to tear down an old furniture factory on the prison grounds and replace it with a building more reminiscent of a college campus, with a student union and classrooms. Lawmakers greenlit the project without knowing its details during budget negotiations last year, and also relinquished any formal oversight of the planning process.The 21-member advisory council, headed by Newsom political ally and Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinber...

US fugitive accused of faking his death to avoid rape charge in Utah is extradited from Scotland

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:47 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A U.S. fugitive known as Nicholas Rossi, who is accused of faking his own death to avoid a rape charge in Utah, has been extradited to the United States, British media reported Friday. Rossi, 36, whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian, is charged with sexually assaulting a former girlfriend in Orem, Utah, in 2008, according to the Utah County prosecutor’s office. He also faces multiple complaints against him in Rhode Island for alleged domestic violence.In response to an inquiry from The Associated Press about reports that Rossi had been returned to the U.S., Police Scotland would only confirm it assisted other law enforcement agencies to extradite a 36-year-old man. It was not immediately clear when Rossi left Scotland or where he was destined. Rossi’s run from the law took a bizarre turn when he was arrested in December 2021 after being recognized by someone at a Glasgow hospital while he was being treated for COVID-19. He insisted he was an Irish orphan name...

Accused Highland Park shooter no longer representing himself in trial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:47 GMT

WAUKGEN, Ill. — The man accused of the mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July Parade switched legal tactics on Friday.23-year-old Robert Crimo III reversed his course and filed a motion, saying he no longer wants to represent himself. He asked the judge to reappoint the public defenders he'd dismissed just last month.Crimo III, the accused gunman in the 2022 Highland Park massacre, is charged with murdering seven people and wounding dozens more. Trial for accused Highland Park shooter to begin in February; Crimo III to represent himself Judge Victoria Rossetti questioned the 23-year-old Friday morning, asking, "Do you still want to represent yourself in your upcoming trial?"Crimo III responded that he'd like the judge to reappoint his public defenders.Crimo III stunned the courtroom last month when he stated his decision to represent himself. He also invoked his right to a speedy trial. The judge set his court date to February 26, just six weeks away.