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Judge enters default judgment against Giuliani in defamation lawsuit from Georgia election workers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:18 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge entered a default judgment Wednesday against Rudy Giuliani in a defamation lawsuit brought by two Georgia election workers who say they were falsely accused of participating in fraud during the 2020 presidential election.U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell also ordered Giuliani to pay more than $130,000 in lawyers’ fees and other costs for shirking his duty to turn over information requested by election workers Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea’ ArShaye Moss, as part of their lawsuit.Their lawsuit from December 2021 accused Giuliani, one of Donald Trump’s lawyers and a confidant of the former Republican president, of defaming them by falsely stating that they had engaged in fraud while counting ballots at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.“Donning a cloak of victimization may play well on a public stage to certain audiences, but in a court of law this performance has served only to subvert the normal process of discovery in a straight-forward defa...

Pennsylvania is considering an earlier 2024 presidential primary, partly to avoid voting on Passover

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:18 GMT

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania is considering changing the state’s 2024 presidential primary to an earlier day, although the proposed move may do little to give the state’s voters more say in deciding presidential nominees.State lawmakers plan to vote on legislation Wednesday that would change Pennsylvania’s primary from late April to late March.The state is a premier battleground in presidential elections, but it hasn’t hosted a competitive presidential primary since 2008, when Hillary Clinton pulled off a win to stay alive against Barack Obama, the leader in delegates and eventual winner of that year’s Democratic nomination.For now, President Joe Biden faces a couple of Democratic challengers, but is expected to secure his party’s nomination, while former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have dominated the early Republican race in a field that is about a dozen deep.Under current law, Pennsylvania’s primary date is the fourth Tuesday in April, which t...

The only defendant in the Georgia election indictment to spend time in jail is released on bond

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:18 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — The only person who spent time behind bars as a result of the sweeping indictment related to efforts to overturn then-President Donald Trump ‘s 2020 election loss in Georgia was released from jail Wednesday after he was granted bond a day earlier.A lawyer for Harrison William Prescott Floyd on Tuesday negotiated a $100,000 bond with the office of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.Floyd was charged along with Trump and 17 others in an indictment that accuses them all of illegally conspiring to subvert the will of Georgia voters who had chosen Democrat Joe Biden over the Republican incumbent in the presidential election.Lawyers for Trump and the other defendants had all negotiated bonds before their clients surrendered at the Fulton County Jail by the deadline last Friday. Floyd had turned himself in Thursday without first having a bond and, therefore, had to remain in jail. A judge denied him bond during a hearing Friday, saying the issue would be addre...

Stock market today: Wall Street moves higher, adding to recent gains

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:18 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose in late morning trading on Wednesday following several updates showing that the job market continued cooling, but economic growth remained resilient.The S&P 500 rose 0.3% and continued to chip away at the market’s losses in August. The benchmark index is coming off of three straight gains.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 20 points, or 0.1%, to 34,872 as of 11:24 a.m. and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.4%.Technology stocks led the market’s gains. Apple jumped 1.4% and Palo Alto Networks rose 1.3%.HP was on the losing end with a 8.2% slump after cutting its profit forecast for the year.Wall Street’s focus this week remains a broad mix of economic updates that investors hope will paint a clearer picture of where the economy is headed and whether the Federal Reserve has enough reason to hold off on any additional interest rate hikes.A survey of private-sector employers in the U.S. showed that hiring cooled more than expected by economi...

Bring some happy vibes home with fall’s ‘dopamine decor’ trend

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:18 GMT

World got you down? A hit of “dopamine decor” might lift the spirits.The biggest trend in home decorating this fall is an emphasis on happiness, self-expression, color and creativity. Does orange make you smile? Dress your kitchen in the happy hue. Love a variety of styles? Do a mashup.The look goes by many names. Fashion writer Dawnn Karen referenced the feel-good brain chemical in her book “Dress Your Best Life,” holding that “dopamine dressing” — wearing clothes in your own, individual style — gives you positive feelings.Decorators and influencers say the same thing happens when we throw out old decor rules and step into a space adorned with personal touches. We’re more relaxed. More creative.People are asking themselves what colors and patterns they really love, “and then bringing those features into their spaces — even if it goes against conventional decorating advice or what they might have seen online 10 years ago,” says Lauren Phillips, associate director of special projects...

N.W.T. extends state of emergency, premier to tour Edmonton evacuation centre

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:18 GMT

YELLOWKNIFE — A state of emergency in the Northwest Territories has been extended until Sept. 11. The territorial government declared it on Aug. 15 as wildfires threatened several communities, including the capital, Yellowknife. The move was meant to allow the government to marshal the resources it needed to protect the health and safety of residents during an unprecedented wildfire season. Nearly 70 per cent of the territory’s population — including some 20,000 Yellowknifers — are seeking refuge in Alberta and beyond until the danger has subsided. Officials said earlier this week that the fire burning outside Yellowknife was being held, but it was still not safe to return. N.W.T. Premier Caroline Cochrane is scheduled to tour an evacuation centre in Edmonton today alongside federal ministers Randy Boissonnault and Dan Vandal, as well as Mayor Amarjeet Sohi. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 30, 2023. The Canadian Press

S&P/TSX composite up in late-morning trading as energy and tech stocks rise

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:18 GMT

TORONTO — Strength in energy and technology stocks helped Canada’s main stock index climb in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets also rose. The S&P/TSX composite index was up 71.19 points at 20,361.60.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 13.71 points at 34,866.38. The S&P 500 index was up 10.80 points at 4,508.43, while the Nasdaq composite was up 53.63 points at 13,997.39.The Canadian dollar traded for 73.93 cents US compared with 73.57 cents US on Tuesday.The October crude contract was up 27 cents at US$81.43 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up eight cents at US$2.75 per mmBTU.The December gold contract was up US$9.10 at US$1,974.20 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$3.84 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 30, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

The waiver wire brings a few surprises for the White Sox

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:18 GMT

BALTIMORE — It was an interesting day on the waiver wire for all of Major League Baseball, especially for the White Sox.It concerned a pitcher currently on the roster and two others that were traded away before the deadline. The first concerns the team's best starter at the moment and arguably their most consistent this year - Mike Clevinger. Per multiple reports, first from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the pitcher was placed on waivers ahead of the White Sox 9-3 loss to the Orioles on Tuesday evening. This means that he's on the waiver wire for 47 hours, with any team having the ability to claim him, with the order of selection being the reverse order of the MLB standings. If no one claims Clevinger, the White Sox could choose to keep him or release him, allowing the starter to join a contender. In his first year with the White Sox, Clevinger is 6-6 with a 3.32 ERA with 85 strikeouts compared to 38 walks. In the month of August, he's got a 2.70 ERA in five starts across 30 inning...

North Carolina woman accused of faking her own murder is arrested

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:18 GMT

(NewsNation) — A North Carolina woman who was reported missing now faces multiple charges after being accused of orchestrating a false report about her own murder.Margaret Frances "Maggie" Elizabeth Sweeney, of Franklin, was arrested on Aug. 21, 2023. The 37-year-old was charged with causing a false report to a police station, false report of death or serious injury by telephonic communication and obstructing law enforcement officers.Sweeney was reported missing on Aug. 18, WLOS reports, but was found safe the following day after a search. Police said the information they got initially led them to believe she was endangered or dead. ‘Someone knows him’: Sheriff pleads for tips in Rachel Morin case “Sweeney's actions caused our department, as well as other departments, many hours of work which could have been spent on other matters. Family, friends, and the community as a whole were also very concerned and worried about Sweeney's welfare," the Franklin Police Department wrote in ...

FBI disrupts malicious program infecting hundreds of thousands of computers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:18 GMT

(The Hill) -- The Justice Department says the FBI was able to "disrupt" malware that had infected more than 700,000 computers across the world.“The FBI led a worldwide joint, sequenced operation that crippled one of the longest-running cybercriminal botnets,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a Tuesday press release. “With our federal and international partners, we will continue to systematically target every part of cybercriminal organizations, their facilitators, and their money — including by disrupting and dismantling their ability to use illicit infrastructure to attack us,” Wray continued. “Today’s success is yet another demonstration of how FBI’s capabilities and strategy are hitting cyber criminals hard, and making the American people safer.” Biden rule would give overtime protections to millions more workers The malware, named Qakbot, turned victim computers into part of a “botnet” or “a network of compromised computers, meaning the perpetrators can remotely co...