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Gary Zerola, one-time ‘most eligible bachelor,’ in court for alleged rape trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:55 GMT

Charged with allegedly raping a woman in 2016, former prosecutor and one time ‘most eligible bachelor’ Gary Zerola faced his accuser in court Tuesday as she took the stand still shaking from what she said happened to her seven years ago.Testifying just before lunch, the victim was describing how the apartment of Zerola’s friend, “Johnathan,” who she testified she had never met, looked on the night of Nov. 9, 2016.That night, she and her close friend went out for drinks following work as estheticians at a spot on Newbury Street. They were going to meet up with Zerola, who was in, as the victim described it, a “sexual relationship” with her friend.After having several drinks out, she testified, they all took and Uber rideshare over to Johnathan’s apartment.What allegedly happened after she fell asleep on the short section of the L-shaped couch was detailed in prosecutor Tom Brant’s opening arguments earlier.“On the morning of Nov. 10, 2016, at a little before 7 a.m. [the v...

9/11 group slams PGA-LIV Golf merger as a betrayal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:55 GMT

The 9/11 families group suing the Saudis over alleged links to the terror attacks is blasting the PGA’s merger with LIV Golf calling it an epic betrayal.They are specifically calling out PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan for flip-flopping.“PGA Tour leaders should be ashamed of their hypocrisy and greed,” said 9/11 Families United Chair Terry Strada, whose husband Tom died in the World Trade Center’s North Tower.“Our entire 9/11 community has been betrayed by Commissioner Monahan and the PGA as it appears their concern for our loved ones was merely window-dressing in their quest for money – it was never to honor the great game of golf,” she added.Her stinging pushback comes just hours after the PGA and LIV Golf announced a blockbuster marriage and the end of lawsuits. The Associated Press reports linking the two will create a powerful commercial entity.The governor of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund joins the PGA Tour board of directors and leads the new...

Beyond the binary: Reclaiming gender-fluid Indigenous history

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:55 GMT

Five centuries ago, people who might today describe themselves as “gender-fluid” held leadership and mediation roles in their Indigenous communities.That was before European colonizers limited Indigenous cultures to binary male and female genders.Now they are sometimes called “two-spirits,” but these people were targets for colonizers, since eliminating these “knowledge keepers” splintered communities and made it easier to conquer their resources and land.That pattern is forming again today as tribes attempt to reclaim and decolonize their histories, according to ethnohistorian Gregory Smithers.This is just one of the narratives explored in his newest book, “Reclaiming Two-Spirits,” winner of the 2023 Prose Award in Cultural Anthropology and Sociology. It was also a finalist for the 2023 Publishing Triangle Randy Shilts Award for Gay Nonfiction. The Virginia Commonwealth University professor gave a talk at the Hampton History Museum on Monday.“This evokes a very dark and violent his...

Federal court halts Florida’s transgender care ban for families who sued

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:55 GMT

A federal court on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction allowing three transgender youths to receive puberty blockers despite Florida Boards of Medicine’s rules and new law, SB 254, banning gender-affirming care for transgender people under 18.“Gender identity is real,” writes U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle in his ruling. “… I find that the plaintiffs’ motivation is love for their children and the desire to achieve the best possible treatment for them. This is not the State’s motivation.”This ruling was made as part of an ongoing lawsuit brought by seven Florida parents of transgender children against Florida, arguing that the state’s ban on treatment with puberty blockers, testosterone and estrogen violates the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. Three of the seven parents successfully requested and received this preliminary injunction.In his ruling, Hinkle indicated that these parents will likely succeed in their claims that SB 254 and the Boards...

Prince Harry testifies tabloids destroyed his childhood but fails to recall specific stories

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:55 GMT

By BRIAN MELLEY and JILL LAWLESS (Associated Press)LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry’s historic showdown Tuesday with the publisher of a British tabloid exposed his deep suspicions of the press but offered little concrete evidence to support accusations of phone hacking that he said caused so much anguish in his life.The Duke of Sussex became the first senior member of the royal family to testify in more than a century as he held a Bible in his right hand and, in a soft voice, swore to tell the “whole truth and nothing but the truth” in the High Court in London.Harry accuses the publisher of the Daily Mirror of using unlawful techniques on an “industrial scale” to score front-page scoops on his life. Dressed in a dark suit and tie as he sat in the witness box, Harry told Mirror Group Newspapers attorney Andrew Green that he had “experienced hostility from the press since I was born.” The prince accused the tabloids of playing “a destruc...

‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ has little animal magnetism

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:55 GMT

We live during a time in which the biggest movies in the world involve heroes with supernatural abilities wearing colorful costumes as they fight to save the world from the forces of evil.Often, these men, women, phrase-repeating trees, etc., are trying to save the whole galaxy — or, increasingly, a multiverse populated with near-infinite versions of themselves and their enemies.And yet none of this nonsense seems nearly as silly as what goes on in a live-action “Transformers” movie.Take, for instance, the action-packed-but-poorly written seventh entry in the nearly 16-year-old franchise, “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,” hitting theaters this week.In its opening moments, we are introduced to a proud race of giant intelligent robots who resemble animals from Earth but who are living centuries ago in a distant galaxy. These aren’t the Autobots, Decepticons or other Transformers clans we’ve already met in the movies, which date back to director Michael Bay’s 2007 hit, “Transformers....

Police: Fentanyl found in Waikiki hotel room, 2 men dead after suspected mass overdose

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:55 GMT

HONOLULU (AP) — Two people died in what officials believe was a mass fentanyl overdose over the weekend involving five people in a hotel room in the Hawaii tourist mecca of Waikiki. Emergency responders were called to the Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort on Sunday morning and found five people. A 44-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene, while two men, ages 40 and 53, were taken to a hospital in critical condition. Two women, 53 and 47, were transported in serious condition. Honolulu police said the 53-year-old man later died at the hospital. Police said fentanyl was found at the scene.Outrigger spokesperson Monica Salter told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser the resort is working with authorities and was unable to share guest information for privacy reasons. Fentanyl is an opioid painkiller many times more powerful than heroin, and typically is prescribed to treat severe pain. It frequently appears as an illegal street drug mixed with other substances, such as heroin. Expert...

Browns defensive players robbed of jewelry, vehicle by masked men in downtown stickup

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:55 GMT

BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski expressed relief that two of his defensive players were not physically harmed while being robbed at gun point by six masked men outside a downtown night club.According to Cleveland Police, the players had jewelry and a truck taken during the early morning stickup.Police redacted the names of the players in a field case report. However, a person familiar with the situation identified the players as cornerback Greg Newsome II and tackle Perrion Winfrey. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.The Browns opened mandatory minicamp on Tuesday. After the workout, Stefanski said he has spoken to Chief Wayne Drummond.“I’m glad our guys are OK,” he said. “I want all of our community to be safe. The Cleveland Police have been outstanding. We want everybody to be safe and we want to get violent people off of our streets.”Stefanski did not reveal the players’ nam...

Detroit clerk who locked door before customers were shot will face trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:55 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — A judge on Tuesday ordered a Detroit gas station clerk to stand trial for involuntary manslaughter, saying his decision to lock the door and then taunt an angry customer contributed to the fatal shooting of a bystander.Al-Hassan Aiyash “continued to pour gasoline on the fire,” said Judge Kenneth King, who found enough evidence to move the case to trial.Aiyash, 22, was working behind protective glass at 3 a.m. on May 6 when a customer’s failed attempt to make a $3.80 electronic purchase turned into violence.Video shows Samuel McCray repeatedly cursing and insisting he was going to leave the gas station with the items. Three more people entered before Aiyash pushed a button to lock the door, keeping the four inside.The scene was volatile. Video shows McCray throwing a beverage against the security glass and demanding the door be opened. Two men who were subsequently shot testified that McCray threatened to shoot everyone.“If not for the fact that he lo...

Stock market today: Wall Street inches higher toward edge of bull market

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:55 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting Tuesday amid a vacuum of market-moving data, while U.S. regulators shook the cryptocurrency world again by filing charges against another mega player in the industry.The S&P 500 was mostly unchanged in afternoon trading, and it’s near the edge of what traders call a bull market. It’s almost 20% above where it was in mid-October, as a long-predicted recession has yet to hit and excitement around artificial intelligence has helped a select group of stocks to soar.The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 86 points, or 0.3%, at 33,478, as of 2:24 p.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% higher. This upcoming week has few top-tier economic reports and corporate earnings updates to help Wall Street answer its main question. It wants to know which will happen first: a recession or inflation falling enough to get the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates, which have climbed so high they’ve hurt various parts of the ...