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California Democrats propose tax changes for businesses

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:52 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Democrats in the California Senate on Wednesday said they want to raise taxes on some of the largest corporations so they can cut taxes for nearly every other business.All California businesses pay a state tax rate of 8.84% on income, a figure that has not changed since 1997. This new proposal would create two tax rates for businesses in California. Companies would pay 6.63% on the first $1.5 million they make. Any money made above that would be taxed at 10.99%.The higher tax rate would only apply to about 2,500 companies and would bring in an extra $7.2 billion in revenue for the state. Meanwhile, about 1.6 million businesses would benefit from the smaller tax rate, reducing state revenue by about $2.2 billion.The money that is left over — about $5 billion — would go to poor people who claim tax credits and would boost state programs for public education, child care and combatting homelessness.The proposal is still a long way from becoming law. Tax increas...

North Dakota governor vetoes 1 library bill, signs another

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:52 GMT

North Dakota’s governor vetoed a bill Wednesday that would have required librarians under threat of criminal penalty to screen sexually explicit materials from children, but signed another barring explicit materials from the children’s sections of local and school libraries. The Senate voted 33-14 to override Republican Gov. Doug Burgum’s veto hours later, though a similar House vote would be needed to make a veto override successful. The House had passed the bill on a 54-38 vote last week, several votes shy of a veto-proof majority.“Protecting children from explicit sexual material is common sense,” Burgum said in a statement explaining why he signed one of the bills into law.But he said the bill he vetoed would have created “an enormous burden” on hundreds of public libraries by imposing — under the threat of criminal prosecution — an expensive requirement that libraries review materials that have already been screened for age appropriateness. His statement said ...

Toronto man charged with murder in shooting death of Tola Paul

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:52 GMT

Police have charged a 22-year-old in connection with the shooting death of a Kitchener man earlier this month. Tola Paul was found suffering from a gunshot wound at an apartment building on Clearview Heights, near Eglinton Avenue West and Black Creek Drive, on April 15. He was taken to a trauma centre in critical condition, where he was pronounced dead.On Wednesday, homicide investigators arrested Earlan Clovis of Toronto and charged him with second degree murder.

Mississippi jail escapee believed dead after armed standoff

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:52 GMT

CONWAY, Miss. (AP) — A man who escaped from a Mississippi jail and is a suspect in a Monday night killing is believed to have died after barricading himself in a home and setting it on fire during an armed standoff with deputies, a police official said Wednesday. Plumes of smoke emanated from the charred remains of the home in Conway, Mississippi, on Wednesday. Investigators believe 22-year-old Dylan Arrington perished inside the home, setting it ablaze after shooting a deputy in the leg, Leake County Sheriff Randy Atkinson told The Associated Press. “He inflicted that kind of terror after escaping from jail, killing people and shooting law enforcement. But that guy won’t be killing anyone else,” Atkinson said.Authorities have been pursuing Arrington and three other inmates who broke out over the weekend from a Mississippi jail that was under federal scrutiny. Arrington is suspected of killing a man and stealing his pickup truck after the escape. Atkinson said a medical examiner had...

Quebec man sentenced to prison for creating AI-generated, synthetic child pornography

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:52 GMT

MONTREAL — A Quebec man has been sentenced to more than three years in prison for using artificial intelligence to produce synthetic videos of child pornography.Steven Larouche, 61, of Sherbrooke, Que., pleaded guilty to creating at least seven videos with so-called deepfake technology, which is used to superimpose the face of an individual onto the body of another person. He also pleaded guilty to possessing hundreds of thousands of computer files of child pornography, for which he was sentenced an additional four and a half years.Provincial court judge Benoit Gagnon wrote in his ruling, issued earlier this month, that he believes this was the first case in the country involving deepfakes of child porn. He said he worries what will happen as criminals use the technology to put the faces of children whose images they find on social media onto videos of other children being sexually assaulted. “The use of deepfake technology in criminal hands is chilling. The type of software a...

Brazil judge orders temporary suspension of Telegram

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:52 GMT

SAO PAULO (AP) — A federal judge in Brazil on Wednesday ordered a temporary suspension of messaging app Telegram, citing the social media platform’s alleged failure to provide all information Federal Police requested on neo-Nazi chat groups. The move is regarded as part of the country’s push against a rise in school violence.The judge also increased the daily fine for non-compliance to 1 million reais (about $200,000), from 100,000 reais previously, according to the ruling, which was provided by the Justice Ministry’s press office.The ruling from a federal court in Espírito Santo state said “the facts shown by police authorities show a clear purpose of Telegram of not cooperating with the investigation.” Brazil’s federal police confirmed in a statement that the push to block Telegram is already on course.Telegram’s press office didn’t immediately respond to an Associated Press email requesting comment regarding whether it was aware of the ruling, and it...

Driver crashes into business at Huntley strip mall

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:52 GMT

HUNTLEY, Ill. — A driver crashed into a business Wednesday afternoon at a strip mall in Huntley.Footage from Skycam 9 shows a car and building damaged after a crash in the 13300 block of Village Green Drive. Homewood man killed in petroleum plant blast was also wrestling coach It's unclear at this time if anyone was injured.Around 5 p.m., video from Skycam 9 showed the car being towed away from the scene.This is a developing story and will be updated.

Some Metra train lines delayed due to issues at Chicago Union Station

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:52 GMT

CHICAGO — Several Metra train lines aren't able to enter or leave Chicago's Union Station due to Amtrak switching issues and are creating major delays, according to Metra. Riders on the BNSF, SouthWest Service and Heritage Corridor may have delays getting into and departing Union Station. Driver crashes into business at Huntley strip mall According to Metra's website, this is because of ongoing Amtrak switch problems.Metra said the service disruption plan at Union Station is being implemented.Riders can check the latest rider alerts from Metra online.The BNSF line runs to Aurora, the SouthWest Service line runs to Manhattan and the Heritage Corridor line runs to Joliet. This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

Some Streamwood residents concerned after reports of car break-ins

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:52 GMT

STREAMWOOD, Ill. — Some residents in the Village of Streamwood said they’re on alert after several overnight car break-ins were reported Monday morning.“It’s a quiet neighborhood. Seeing it was a little shocking, but I think we have to be aware now,” said Neil, who lives in the Concord Station subdivision, where one of the incidents occurred.Streamwood police said they took three reports of incidents that happened overnight Sunday into Monday morning, two of which happened on Hummingbird Lane, with a third on Providence Lane, all reportedly happened between 3-4 a.m.Elizabeth Barahona was one of several victims who woke up to find someone had rifled through their vehicles. She said her truck was hit by thieves, which was all caught on her doorbell camera. Woman carjacked at gunpoint by 5 men in Lincoln Park: police Barahona said she went out to her vehicle around 6 a.m. when she found her pursue emptied on the passenger seat. Once she realized what happened, Barahona got on social ...

David Ross pays tribute to late Murphy's Bleachers owner Beth Murphy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:52 GMT

CHICAGO — As the Lakeview community mourns the loss of a popular business owner and prominent member of the neighborhood, so does the manager of the Chicago Cubs. Before his team's start to their three-game series with the Padres this week, David Ross gave a tribute to Beth Murphy, the late owner of Murphy's Bleachers, during a news conference Tuesday. The head of the popular bar located just outside of Wrigley Field and president of the Wrigleyville Rooftop Owners Association died at 68 on Monday after a five-year battle with cancer. "Beth is a obviously a staple of this neighborhood and Murphy's and the establishment on the corner there a lot with (Murphy's general manager) Freddy (Fagenholz), who runs it," said Ross on Tuesday. "Beth was just a phenomenal human and has opened up that space for a lot of events for a lot of my family."Murphy was the owner of the popular bar located at the corner of Sheffield and Waveland Avenues since 2003 after the death of her husband Jim. A form...