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Disney sues DeSantis and oversight board after vote to nullify agreement with special taxing district

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

(CNN) — Walt Disney Parks and Resorts on Wednesday sued Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his hand-picked oversight board, accusing the Republican 2024 presidential prospect of weaponizing his political power to punish the company for exercising its free speech rights.The lawsuit was filed in federal court minutes after the board appointed by DeSantis to oversee Disney’s special taxing district sought to claw back its power from the entertainment giant, voting to invalidate an agreement struck between Disney and the previous board in February, just before that board’s dissolution.“What they created is an absolute legal mess, OK? It will not work,” said Martin Garcia, chairman of the DeSantis-picked Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board of supervisors.Wednesday’s moves are the latest escalation in the fight between DeSantis and Disney as DeSantis moves toward a 2024 presidential bid.Disney responded by suing DeSantis...

One out-of-state MBTA manager fired, four others warned: Maura Healey says to expect more changes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

Gov. Maura Healey said more leadership changes will happen at the MBTA after a manager found to be working out of state was fired and four others who live hundreds of miles away were told to be in Boston more often.“We actually removed one individual,” Healey said. “And there will be other changes.”That employee, according to a Healey spokesperson, is James “Jay” Neider, chief of capital programs for the MBTA, who was fired last month.Neider owns homes in Millsboro, Del. and Gilbert, Ariz., property records show. According to a Boston Globe report, Neider also spent a lot of time in Hawaii and Wisconsin, where phone records indicate some of his family members live.Hired in 2019, his job consisted of overseeing large capital projects. Neider was paid more than $300,000 last year, with bonuses tacked onto his roughly $275,000 salary. Despite working less than four months this year, he raked in nearly $125,000, when factoring in his base pay, “other pay” and a roughly $20,000 buyout, a...

Man accused of sexually assaulting MIT student ordered held without bail

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

The Level 3 sex offender charged with assaulting an MIT student in the laundry room of her sorority house has been ordered held without bail.Nahom Getaneh, 33, was formally charged in municipal court in Roxbury this morning with assault to rape and indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or over. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf in the 2 minute hearing and the judge ordered him held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Monday.While Getaneh waived a formal reading of the charges against him, police reports filed in the case offer some detail about what allegedly occurred Saturday night in the 500-block of Beacon Street.Two Boston Police patrol officers responded to a sorority house there at around 11:47 p.m., but the residents who answered the door had no idea about an assault in progress. After first searching the basement, officers eventually found the victim hiding in a closet on the second floor.The victim told police that she was bringing her...

Tyrique Stevenson, Will Mallory among a dozen ‘Canes prospects hoping to be picked in NFL draft

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

Will Mallory arrived on Miami’s campus five years ago as a promising tight-end recruit. He leaves Coral Gables positioned for an NFL career.“It seems like it was forever ago, but also felt like it was yesterday,” Mallory said at Miami’s Pro Day in March. “It went by fast, but I cherish the memories and all the relationships I made here. Miami is very special to me and always will be.”Mallory and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson appear to be the most likely Hurricanes to be selected in this year’s NFL draft, which begins Thursday night and runs through Saturday.Stevenson is expected to be picked in the second or third round, while Mallory is often listed in the fifth or sixth round in media projections. The rest of Miami’s prospective draftees will likely sign as undrafted free agents after the draft ends on Saturday.“You obviously dream of this moment,” Mallory said. “Now you’ve got to keep putting the work in, get ...

UK court: Jehovah’s Witnesses not liable for rape by elder

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The U.K. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization isn’t liable for an elder who raped a member of his congregation more than three decades ago.The decision overturned rulings by lower courts that awarded 62,000 pounds ($77,500) for the emotional harm suffered by a Welsh woman who was raped in 1990.Elder Mark Sewell was sentenced to 14 years in prison for raping the woman in his home after the two had been out proselytizing.The Supreme Court ruled that the concept of vicarious liability — often used to hold an employer responsible for the reckless actions of an employee — didn’t extend to the Witnesses in the case, because it didn’t pass a two-stage test.While the court said the elder could be considered an employee of the religious organization, the rape at his home wasn’t within the scope of his duties for the congregation.“The primary reason that the rape took place was not because Mark Sewell was abusing his position ...

North Dakota limits bathroom use for transgender people

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

Transgender kids and adults in North Dakota won’t be able to access bathrooms, locker rooms or shower rooms that match the gender they identify with, under a new law covering some state-run facilities signed by Republican Gov. Doug Burgum.This includes dorms and living facilities controlled by the state board of higher education, as well as penitentiaries and correctional facilities for youths and adults. Restrooms and shower rooms at these facilities would be designated for use exclusively for males or exclusively for females. Transgender or gender-nonconforming people would need to get approval from a staff member at the facility to use the restroom or shower room of their choice.Burgum’s office announced Wednesday that he signed the bill the previous day. It had passed the state House and Senate with veto-proof majorities.The American Civil Liberties Union has said that so far this year, more than 450 bills attacking the rights of transgender people have been introduced in ...

In cookbook, Miranda Lambert reveals recipes that fed her

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) — When she was a teenager, Miranda Lambert listened at the dinner table while her grandmother, her mother and their friends swapped gossip, life lessons and stories from East Texas.Those overheard conversations over plates of enchiladas and banana pudding became inspiration for Lambert’s Grammy-winning musical career, teaching her the art of storytelling and entertaining at the same time. “Some of my first songs were written about some of the stories that they were going through,” Lambert said. “I hadn’t lived it myself yet, but I really absorbed that.”After nearly two decades in country music and at the height of her career as one of the most award-winning country artists, Lambert is dishing on those recipes — and the stories behind them — from her family and friends in a book called “Y’All Eat Yet? Welcome to the Pretty B(asterisk)tchin’ Kitchen.”“It’s really important to surround yourself with people who celebrate the good t...

Eight arrests, nine seizures in police operation tied to murder of teen in Montreal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

Montreal police say eight people have been arrested in a major operation linked to the alleged drive-by shooting death of a teenager last month. Police say 175 officers with several police forces are participating in search and seizures connected with the death of an 18-year-old in the east-end Montreal borough of Anjou on March 19.The seizures are taking place in four boroughs and include officers with the Montreal, Longueuil, Que., and provincial police forces.Montreal’s sixth homicide of 2023 occurred around 10 p.m. on March 19 when the victim was gunned down on the sidewalk.The suspect or suspects reportedly fired from a vehicle and quickly fled.Montreal police say they will provide an update on the operation later today.This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 26, 2023.The Canadian Press

Former fashion mogul Peter Nygard arguing against extradition order at Appeal Court

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

WINNIPEG — An appeal hearing is underway in Winnipeg for former fashion mogul Peter Nygard. Nygard’s lawyers are appealing a United States extradition order that would require the 81-year-old be sent south of the border once his Canadian court cases are settled. He has waived his appearance at the Manitoba Court of Appeal hearing.Nygard was first arrested in Winnipeg in 2020 under the Extradition Act after he was charged with nine sex-related counts in New York. He faces similar charges in Canada and is scheduled to face trial in September in Toronto and next year in Montreal.Nygard is also the subject of a class-action lawsuit in the U.S. involving dozens of women who allege he abused his position in the fashion industry and sexually assaulted them. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 26, 2023. The Canadian Press

Stellantis to offer buyouts amid electric vehicle transition

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Another automaker is trying to cut its workforce to trim expenses and stay competitive as the industry makes the long and costly transition to electric vehicles.Stellantis on Wednesday said it’s offering buyouts to groups of white-collar and unionized employees in the U.S., as well as hourly workers in Canada.The cuts are “in response to today’s increasingly competitive global market conditions and the necessary shift to electrification,” the company said in a prepared statement.Stellantis said it’s looking to reduce its hourly workforce by about 3,500, but wouldn’t say how many salaried employees it’s targeting.The company has about 56,000 workers in the U.S., and about 33,000 of them could get the offers. Of those, 31,000 are blue-collar workers and 2,500 salaried employees. Another 8,000 union workers in Canada also will get offers, the company said. Stellantis, formed in the merger of Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA Groupe, says in a s...