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Released Guantánamo Detainees Are Still Being Denied Human Rights, U.N. Report Warns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:21 GMT

The United Nation’s special rapporteur on counterterrorism and human rights, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, published an exhaustive investigation this week into human rights abuses at Guantánamo Bay. Following a historic visit to the detention center and interviews with current and former detainees, victims of the 9/11 attacks, and human rights lawyers, the report details delayed justice for the victims of terrorist attacks and ongoing injustice for the victims of torture.At the core of the report is the problem of inexplicable indefinite detention. “Arbitrariness pervades the entirety of the Guantánamo detention infrastructure — rendering detainees vulnerable to human rights abuse and contributing to conditions, practices, or circumstances that lead to arbitrary detention,” the report says. Life beyond Guantánamo, for some men, is just another Guantánamo. Those who cannot be repatriated are instead sent to a “third” country like Kazakhstan, where former detainees have been met with more arbi...

Will a DC ambulance arrive quickly, or is it tied up dropping the last patient at the hospital?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:21 GMT

While they are improving, the wait times for ambulances to leave hospitals in D.C. and get back on the streets for more calls still need work, according to new data.According to numbers released by the D.C. Fire and EMS Foundation, on average, ambulances in the District have a 52-minute drop time, which is the time from when an ambulance arrives at a hospital to drop off a patient to when it goes back into service to respond to 911 calls.In September, it was around 70 minutes.“It is progress, but not ideal,” Amy Mauro, the foundation’s executive director, told WTOP. “We’d love to see the city working with the fire department and the hospitals to see those numbers continue to go down.”While it is improving, it is still far from the 2016 drop times, which the foundation said hovered around 45 minutes.Mauro revived the foundation earlier this year to help with progress in the department and raise resources for its employees. Mauro said there is great importance in making th...

Rescuers found body in rubble of Paris building that collapsed in explosion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:21 GMT

PARIS (AP) — French emergency workers found a body Tuesday in the rubble of a Paris building whose facade collapsed in an explosion last week and are working to remove the remains and identify the person, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.The discovery marks the first fatality in the blast, which left six people critically injured and more than 50 people with lighter injuries or psychological shock, according to the Paris prosecutor.Authorities had been digging through debris for days to try to locate a person reported missing since the explosion June 21. The search was complicated by the risk that a neighboring building could also collapse.The identity of the person whose body was found Tuesday was not yet clear, according to the prosecutor’s office.After the discovery, the preliminary investigation opened into the case was expanded to include potential manslaughter charges, the prosecutor’s office said. Prosecutors are looking into whether the explosion was caused by intent...

Struggling Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah allows 11 runs in first minor league game

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:21 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Toronto Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah was hit hard in his first game after returning to the minors, allowing 11 runs over 2 2/3 innings in a rookie-level Florida Complex League game on Tuesday.The Blue Jays sent the struggling right-hander down on June 6 after the 2022 All-Star and AL Cy Young finalist couldn’t get out of the first inning against the Houston Astros.Pitching for the FCL Blue Jays against the Yankees at New York’s minor league complex, the 25-year old gave up 10 hits, including two homers, two walks against a lineup comprised mostly of teenagers 17 to 19 years old.After Manoah allowed an RBI single to Hans Montero in the first, Roderick Arias hit a second-inning three-run homer that cleared the approximately 30-foot center-field batter’s eye. The 18-year old Arias received a $4 million signing bonus in 2022 from the Yankees.The 6-foot-6 right-handed needed 26 pitches, inlcuding 15 strikes, in the second.Manoah was chased after giving up ...

Pope’s peace envoy arrives in Moscow after the short-lived Wagner rebellion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:21 GMT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis’ peace envoy arrived in Moscow on Tuesday in hopes of helping find “a solution to the tragic current situation” of the war in Ukraine, weeks after making a preliminary visit to Kyiv, the Vatican said.The mission by Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, a veteran of the Catholic Church’s peace initiatives, comes as the Kremlin is reeling from the weekend armed rebellion led by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. Russia has since dropped charges against Prigozhin and others who took part in the brief mutiny.Details of Zuppi’s itinerary weren’t immediately clear. When he visited Kyiv earlier this month, he met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In Moscow, one likely visit would be paid to the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, whose leader Patriarch Kirill has strongly supported the war.The Vatican has said Zuppi is hoping to find “paths of peace” in his shuttle missions.On the Moscow leg, Zuppi was accompanied by an official from the Vatican secr...

North Carolina GOP bars promotion of certain beliefs in state government, 1 of 5 veto overrides

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:21 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s Republican-dominated legislature swept five bills into law Tuesday with veto overrides, placing new limits on wetlands protection rules and barring the promotion of certain beliefs in state government workplaces that some lawmakers likened to critical race theory.The measures, which also address consumer loans and local government finances, became law after a succession of House votes with margins large enough to overcome Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s formal vetoed objections earlier this month. The Senate already voted over the past week to override vetoes on each of these bills. The state constitution deems an override successful if at least three-fifths of the members in each chamber present and voting agree to enact the bill anyway despite the governor’s objections.The overrides exemplify the expanded political muscle of Republicans after electoral seat gains last fall and a House Democrat’s party switch in April gave ...

Parks Canada highlights “On The Road Again” project

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:21 GMT

Parks Canada is drawing attention to its On The Road Again conservation project, aiming to improve reptile and amphibian habitats in eastern and central Ontario. The conservation effort is focused on the areas in and around Georgian Bay Islands National Park, Bruce Peninsula National Park and Thousand Islands National Park (about 50 minutes east of Kingston) and is particularly focused on turtles and their nesting season throughout May, June and early July.Project Coordinator Katherine Welch says On The Road Again started officially in 2020 in response to the population decline of reptiles and amphibians due to dramatically altered landscapes.Through the project’s $1.8 million in funding, actions to be taken include installing new under-road animal passageways, that will help species safely cross roadways, supporting habitat restoration, and implementing large scale public engagement initiatives. Through this program Parks Canada has partnered with municipalities, local s...

Denver weather: First 90 degree day of the year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:21 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — The warm and sunny conditions along with gusty southwest winds will give Denver weather another chance to reach it's first 90 degree day this season. June 27 several days of sunshine could make Tuesday the first day in the 90s.Winds and fire danger are the main concern Tuesday before the forecast calls for rain chances to increase later in the week which will cool the metro back down. Spring Creek Fire multiplies overnight burning 3,000 acres Weather Tuesday: first 90-degree dayMostly sunny skies across Denver and the Front Range Tuesday. It will be breezy to windy at times with a dry southwest wind up to 25 mph.Winds could reach 25 mph in Denver on June 27.The wind combined with abundant sunshine brought Denver its first 90-degree day of the year, reaching that temperature at 2:01 p.m. at Denver International Airport where official recordings are made.Denver’s last 90-degree day was Sept. 20, 2022, and we’re now more than two weeks past the average firs...

Music and a drone show at CU stadium

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:21 GMT

DENVER( KDVR) -- Coloradans can see the rocket's red glare and enjoy the sparkling lights in the sky on the 4th of July without worrying about fire hazards.It's illegal to use fireworks that leave the ground in Colorado, so you won't be able to send bombs bursting in the air without proper certification. Spring Creek Fire multiplies overnight burning 3,000 acres That's why there will be a free drone show at the University of Colorado in Boulder this Independence Day.It will be Boulder's first-ever night sky drone show in place of fireworks. It will feature live music from local musicians as well as concessions and food trucks. Gates to Folsom Field open at 7 p.m. and at around 9:35 p.m. the drone show will begin. in the meantime, you will be entertained with performances from School of Rock and local bands The Custom Shop Band and Funkiphino.Stadium guidelines will apply for this event, meaning only clear bags will be allowed, no outside food or drinks and no pets other than servi...

Civil rights attorney pleads Biden to appoint Black woman to Southern District Court in Florida following Marcia Cooke’s death

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:21 GMT

Following the death of Florida’s first Black female federal judge, a civil rights attorney is urging President Biden to nominate another Black woman to serve on the bench. The call for action is taking center stage in South Florida.According to reports, of the four open and soon-to-be vacant judge seats in South Florida, people are hoping the vacant seat will be filled by another Black woman. “Diversity in America is a fact,” attorney Ben Crump said.Members of the Black Bar Association in South Florida are pushing to continue the legacy of diversity on the Southern District Court in Florida.Only one Black woman has served as a federal judge in its 176-year history.The Honorable Marcia Cooke was confirmed by a 96-0 senate vote in 2004, nominated by former President George W. Bush.Earlier this year, Cooke passed away at 68-years old from cancer after an 18-year career on the bench.But her untimely death left a void and now, more than a half a dozen legal associations...