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Michigan urologist to stand trial on sexual assault charges connected to youth hockey physicals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:34 GMT

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (AP) — A doctor who authorities say spent two decades providing medical assistance to youth hockey teams in Michigan and Minnesota will stand trial on charges that he sexually assaulted patients.Zvi Levran faces 22 counts of third- and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct involving 10 former hockey players. He denies any wrongdoing.Some witnesses testified during his preliminary hearing that ended Tuesday in Farmington Hills District Court near Detroit that the sexual assaults occurred when they were teens and adults.Each situation had one purpose, which was to “satisfy the sexual desire of the defendant,” said Judge James Brady, who noted that the victims had placed a lot of trust in the doctor.Defense attorney Jonathan Jones argued in court that solely touching a person’s genitals in a medical setting is not a crime, The Detroit News reported.Levran, 66, also faces charges in nearby Bloomfield Hills District Court.He was arrested in October and arrai...

Toronto champ Ray Lalonde disappointed in ‘Jeopardy’ plans to continue amid strike

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:34 GMT

TORONTO — Canadian “Jeopardy” champ Ray Lalonde says the show is asking would-be contestants to cross the picket line by going ahead with a new season using old questions. Lalonde, a set builder and painter from Toronto who won 13 consecutive games last season, had previously said he wouldn’t participate in the show’s “tournament of champions” while the Writers’ Guild of America is on strike.“Jeopardy,” which uses WGA workers to write its questions, has since said in a statement that it never planned to film the tournament of champions while the strike continues.However, it says it is going ahead with filming a new season, as some questions were written ahead of the strike.It says it will share “exciting plans” about the rest of the season next month, but doesn’t plan to use game material written by non-WGA writers.Even so, Lalonde says “Jeopardy” is a struck production, so he’s disappointed th...

Rogers cutting costs, eliminating duplication amid integration of Shaw

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:34 GMT

TORONTO — Rogers Communications Inc. says it found $48 million in cost savings in its most recent quarter after closing its deal to buy Shaw Communications Inc., representing nearly 25 per cent of the $200 million in costs it plans to cut this year as it works to eliminate duplication.To further its savings, the Toronto-based telecommunications company plans to sell up to $1 billion of non-core assets over the next six to 12 months, primarily consisting of surplus real estate, it said Wednesday as it reported its second quarter earning results.“We have some additional business operations, which I’m not prepared to announce, that we’re looking at whether or not there’s an opportunity there,” said Rogers chief financial officer Glenn Brandt on an analyst call.He said the company’s media branch and sports franchises wouldn’t be affected by the asset selloff that will focus on more peripheral holdings.“These really are assets that we simpl...

British billionaire, owner of Tottenham soccer team, arrested on insider trading charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:34 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Joe Lewis, the British billionaire who owns the Tottenham soccer team, was taken into U.S. federal custody in New York City on Wednesday, where he awaited an initial court appearance on insider trading charges alleging that he fed corporate secrets to romantic partners, personal assistants, friends and his pilots, earning them millions of dollars illegally.Two pilots — Patrick O’Connor and Bryan ‘Marty’ Waugh — were also arrested, authorities said. All three men were expected to appear in Manhattan federal court.U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, who announced the charges Tuesday night in a video, said in a release that Lewis was accused of “orchestrating a brazen insider trading scheme” that utilized his access to corporate boardrooms to feed inside tips to friends and lovers.“Those folks then traded on that inside information — and made millions of dollars in the stock market — because, thanks to Lewis, those bets were a sure thing,” Williams said. “That’s classi...

Prosecutors oppose a defense request to exhume the body of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter’s father

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:34 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Federal prosecutors on Wednesday opposed a request by lawyers for the Pittsburgh synagogue gunman to exhume the body of his father for the purpose of proving paternity.Robert Bowers’ lawyers want the body exhumed for a DNA test after prosecutors raised questions about paternity during Bowers’ trial for the 2018 massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue. Bowers, a 50-year-old truck driver from suburban Baldwin, faces a possible death sentence after being convicted in June of killing 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue.Trying to persuade jurors to spare his life, the defense said Bowers has a family history of mental illness and has introduced evidence that his father was diagnosed with schizophrenia. The defense asserts Robert Bowers also has schizophrenia and opened fire at the synagogue out of a delusional belief that Jews were helping to commit a genocide against white people.The government urged the trial judge to reject the defense request, saying he does...

Potential for severe weather threatens area; heat advisory in effect

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:34 GMT

CHICAGO — Hot and humid Wednesday with highs in the lower 90s and heat index values that could top out over 100 degrees.  Scattered showers and thunderstorms this afternoon are possible with potentially severe storms. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here A list of warnings, watches and advisories below:A Heat Advisory is in effect starting at 12 p.m. Wednesday through 9 p.m. in the orange counties. (map below) Peak heat indices of 100-105 degrees are expected. Drink plenty of fluids, stay in air conditioning when possible and limit time in sun. Check on relatives and neighbors. Take precautions working and spending time outdoors.Our skies will become mostly clear tonight. It will stay warm and humid as temperatures fall into the lower 70s.  Thursday will be mostly sunny, hot and humid with highs in the mid-90s inland and mid-80s lakeside.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog

A south suburban village is making their pitch to be site of Bears' new stadium

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:34 GMT

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — There is another municipality in the Chicagoland area that's hoping to catch the Bears' attention in their search for a place to build a new stadium.This time, it's a village in the south suburbs. Late last week, Richton Park president Rick Reinbold sent a letter to Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren to make his pitch to the city to be the home of a new stadium for the NFL franchise. The village becomes the latest to show their interest after the Bears announced in June that Arlington Park, which the team officially purchased in February, was not their "singular focus" when it came to a new stadium. In the letter, Reinbold pitched a few advantages that Richton Park could offer, including being 30 minutes southwest of The Loop along with easy access to I-57, I-80, I-94, I-294, and I-355. The village is also connected to downtown and other parts of the area through the Metra Electric railroad.Reinbold also pointed out that the village has more than 1,000 acres of...

Gov. Pritzker's anti-homelessness effort receives legislative support

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:34 GMT

CHICAGO — An effort by Governor JB Pritzker to eliminate homelessness in Illinois has received some legislative assistance.According to a June press release from Pritzker's office, "the Home Illinois plan expands affordable housing options, targeting individuals in high-risk situations (including homeless college students and those leaving medical care), and providing comprehensive support for individuals experiencing homelessness." UFO hearing live: Lawmakers hear testimony on alleged secret program Wednesday morning the governor signed a bill into law codifying Home Illinois. The signing took place at Featherfist, which is a Chicago-based organization working to eliminate the cycle of homelessness.Watch the entire bill signing event in the video above.

320 evacuated after teen allegedly sets fire to Hilton hotel sofa after fight with mom, Florida officials say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:34 GMT

OCALA, Fla. (WFLA) — A 16-year-old girl was arrested Tuesday and accused of setting fire to a sofa at a Hilton hotel in Florida "after fighting with her mother," police say.Fire crews were called to a structure fire at the Hilton Ocala in Ocala, Florida, around 3:25 a.m. Upon arrival at the hotel, crews found staff evacuating all 320 guests from the building. Family’s TikTok video of ‘unsanitary’ conditions at SC hotel goes viral With the help of a thermal imaging camera, firefighters were able to identify the source of the blaze, which had "consumed a couch and scorched an adjacent wall," by the time crews could put it out."The fire was extinguished entirely within seven minutes of arrival," Ocala Fire Rescue said.(Courtesy of Ocala Fire Rescue)An investigator also responded to the hotel given the "deliberate nature" of the incident, fire officials said.Shortly after, police arrested a 16-year-old girl visiting from Peoria, Illinois, who allegedly started the fire after fighting ...

Trump records video encouraging Republicans to vote early

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:34 GMT

(The Hill) -- Former President Donald Trump recorded a video released on Wednesday encouraging Republicans to vote early, coming one week after he offered muddled messaging over the strategy.The Republican National Committee (RNC) launched a "Bank Your Vote" campaign last month in an effort to encourage Republicans to vote early. The initiative aims to educate GOP voters on absentee voting, ballot collection and in-person early voting.Trump offered his strongest support yet of early voting in a roughly 40-second video shared by the RNC."The RNC is leading the fight to help secure your vote in 2024 as well. They're fighting bad Democrat laws, putting folks on the ground to serve as poll workers and poll watchers and engaging attorneys to monitor every step of the voting process," Trump said."We must defeat the far left at their own game or our country will never recover from this disastrous crooked Biden administration. Sign up at bankyourvote.com now and join the Republican effort t...