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Jerry Springer, politician turned TV ringmaster, dies at 79

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:51 GMT

By DAN SEWELL (Associated Press)CINCINNATI (AP) — Jerry Springer, the onetime mayor and news anchor whose namesake TV show featured a three-ring circus of dysfunctional guests willing to bare all — sometimes literally — as they brawled and hurled obscenities before a raucous audience, died Thursday at 79.At its peak, “The Jerry Springer Show” was a ratings powerhouse and a U.S. cultural pariah, synonymous with lurid drama. Known for chair-throwing and bleep-filled arguments, the daytime talk show was a favorite American guilty pleasure over its 27-year run, at one point topping Oprah Winfrey’s show.Springer called it “escapist entertainment,” while others saw the show as contributing to a dumbing-down decline in American social values.“Jerry’s ability to connect with people was at the heart of his success in everything he tried whether that was politics, broadcasting or just joking with people on the street who wanted a pho...

Tucker Carlson speaks out for 1st time after Fox News firing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:51 GMT

NEW YORK — Tucker Carlson emerged Wednesday, two days after Fox News fired him, with a two-minute, campaign-style monologue that didn’t address why he suddenly became unemployed.He posted a video on Twitter shortly after 8 p.m. Eastern, the time his Fox show used to begin, that talked about a lack of honest political debate in the media.Carlson said one of the things he noticed, “when you step away from the noise for a few days,” is how nice some people are, and how hilarious some are.“The other thing you notice when you take a little time off is how unbelievably stupid most of the debates you see on television are,” he said. “They’re completely irrelevant. They mean nothing. In five years we won’t even remember we heard them. Trust me, as somebody who participated.”Fox fired its most popular personality on Monday without explanation, less than a week after settling a lawsuit concerning the spread of lies about the 2020 presidential election.The mystery about why Fox Corp. leadershi...

Maple Leafs locked in as Lightning pushed into ‘fight or flight’ mode

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:51 GMT

During the prolonged two-day break between the magic in Tampa and the anticipation in Toronto, John Tavares, Auston Matthews, William Nylander and the rest have all been quick to remind the hopeful that the fourth win is always the hardest.Despite leaping ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1 in the series and earning themselves three cracks to break their 19-year-old spell, nothing is being taken for granted in Leafland.It’s all game faces and deadbolt routine at Scotiabank Arena on the morning of Game 5.“We’ve got to prepare to win one very challenging hockey game. Anything else outside of our preparation and our execution, when game time comes, is a distraction,” Toronto Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe says. “And it’s on me as a coach and our players individually to eliminate as many distractions as possible.”Ryan O’Reilly: “They’re going to throw everything they have at us… By no means is this series over.”— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebo...

‘Gold obviously’: Toronto milliner heads to U.K. with his hats for coronation parties

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:51 GMT

TORONTO — Canadians heading to London for coronation festivities will have a key expert on hand to ensure they look their royal best: an expert milliner.Headwear designer David Dunkley says he expects to provide an array of fascinators and couture hats to fashionistas attending gatherings in honour of King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort.He says the colour gold features prominently in several of his handmade headpieces, and that the design of one hat was inspired by an RCMP horse named Noble that was announced last month as a gift for King Charles III.“Gold obviously is my favourite colour for the coronation and is a coronation colour, so there’s lots of gold flying around at the moment,” Dunkley said of his inspiration as he plowed through “non-stop” preparations.“I am looking forward to the historic nature of the event, I am looking forward to seeing London in its full glory…. It’ll be fun. It really does feel like a once in a lifet...

Brittney Griner gets emotional discussing Russian detainment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:51 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Brittney Griner got emotional quickly.Speaking to reporters for the first time since a nearly 10-month detainment in Russia on drug-related charges, the WNBA star had to take a moment to compose herself after being asked about her resiliency through the ordeal.“I’m no stranger to hard times,” Griner said Thursday from the lobby of the Footprint Center, home of the Phoenix Mercury and the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. “Just digging deep. You’re going to be faced with adversities in life. This was a pretty big one. I just relied on my hard work to get through it.”Griner’s first news conference drew more than 100 people, including Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, members of the Mercury organization and her wife, Cherelle.Griner was arrested in February 2022 at a Moscow airport after Russian authorities said a search of her luggage revealed vape cartridges containing cannabis oil. She later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nine years in prison.After nearly 10 months o...

Clarification: EU-France-Sudan-Evacuation story

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:51 GMT

PARIS (AP) — In a story published April 26, 2023, The Associated Press reported that Moroccan PhD student Leila Oulkebous thought that her research in Sudan was to be more straightforward than working on Ethiopia. The story should have made clear that Oulkebous’ decision to focus her research on Sudan was not related to the civil war in Ethiopia.Sylvie Corbet, The Associated Press

US sanctions Russia, Iran entities for detaining Americans

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:51 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Thursday sanctioned Russia’s Federal Security Service and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence organization for wrongfully detaining Americans.It’s the first rollout of new sanctions authorities established last year by President Joe Biden for use against those holding Americans unjustly captive. Still, the sanctions are largely symbolic, since both organizations already are under sweeping existing sanctions for an array of malevolent behavior — from election interference and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to support for terrorist activity.Senior administration officials declined to specify which detentions specifically underpinned the sanctions, saying they were a response to a pattern of actions by the two countries in unjustly holding Americans both currently and in the past. A U.S. Treasury news release stated that Iranian authorities frequently hold and interrogate detainees in Evin Prison in T...

Nate Diaz surrenders after brawl; lawyer says self-defense

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:51 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Mixed martial arts fighter Nate Diaz turned himself in to police in New Orleans on Thursday to face a battery charge arising from a weekend street brawl. Police said the fight happened early Saturday outside a pizza restaurant and left a man unconscious. Diaz went to police with his attorney Thursday and turned himself in, a police news release said. His attorney has told New Orleans news outlets Diaz acted in self-defense. Diaz posted bond and was cleared to return home to Stockton, California, Zach Rosenfield, Diaz’s public relations representative, said.“We appreciate how we were treated by the New Orleans Police Department, the court and their staff,” Rosenfield said in an email.Diaz, 38, has been one of the most popular fighters in MMA since 2016, when he split two entertaining bouts with Conor McGregor. Diaz and his older brother, former Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz, are well-known for their brash fighting style, their strict training standards, thei...

‘Broken system:’ Policing shortages facing N.B. communities highlight national issue

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:51 GMT

FREDERICTON — Some New Brunswick communities are being forced to find creative solutions to law enforcement because of RCMP policing shortages, a phenomenon experts say is symbolic of what much of small-town Canada is experiencing. Residents of McAdam, N.B., a historic village of about 1,100 people northwest of Saint John, have organized overnight patrols to compensate for a lack of police presence. While 200 kilometres north, the small town of Tobique Valley hired private security guards over one weekend last year after a wave of thefts.The officer shortage in Tobique Valley is causing a rise in theft and vandalism, district Mayor Tom Eagles said in a recent interview.“They work shifts and there’s times you don’t see them here for days,” Eagles said about RCMP officers. “I still think we have the best police force in the world. But they’re working under a broken system.”The RCMP — aside from combating major crime such as terrorism and human...

West Virginians fear log plant’s potential health risks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:51 GMT

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Residents of a small West Virginia town less than two hours from the nation’s capital are worried that their health and quality of life in the Allegheny Mountains will be upended by a logging company’s plans to relocate a toxic-spewing fumigation factory to their backyard. Regulators will hold a public hearing next week in response to outrage over Allegheny Wood Products’ proposal to move the factory 16 miles (26 kilometers) within the same county from Moorefield to Baker. An existing air permit allows the Moorefield facility, which treats logs before overseas shipment, to annually emit nearly 10 tons of the ozone-depleting pesticide methyl bromide into the atmosphere.Hardy County, which is along the Virginia border, has about 14,000 residents, considerable poultry and other agricultural operations, and offers tourists a network of river float trips and hiking and cycling trails.Allegheny Wood Products applied for an air quality permit for ...