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Ed Sheeran testifies in ‘Let’s Get It On’ copyright suit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:11 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Ed Sheeran took the witness stand in a New York courtroom Tuesday to deny allegations that his hit song “Thinking Out Loud” ripped off Marvin Gaye’s soul classic “Let’s Get It On.”Sheeran, 32, was called to testify in the civil trial by the heirs of Ed Townsend, Gaye’s co-writer on the 1973 soul classic. The family has accused the English star of violating their copyright, claiming his 2014 hit bore “striking similarities” and “overt common elements” to the famed Gaye track.Sheeran, in a dark suit and tie, was adamant that he had come up with the song himself. His testimony was at times contentious, as he sparred during cross-examination with the plaintiff’s attorney, Keisha Rice.In response to video footage played in the courtroom that showed the musician segueing on stage between the two songs, Sheeran said it was “quite simple to weave in and out of songs” that are in the same key.“I’d be an idiot to stand on a stage in front of 20,000 peop...

Venezuela’s Juan Guaid’0 not seeking political asylum in US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:11 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó on Tuesday said he is not seeking political asylum in the United States and has not ruled out the possibility of running in a presidential primary in his homeland planned for October.Guaidó spoke to The Associated Press by phone from Miami, where he arrived on a commercial flight that departed Colombia’s capital Monday night, hours after he crossed the border between that country and Venezuela with the intent of meeting with diplomats and other participants in an international conference focused on Venezuela’s political crisis.“I will have work meetings and obviously also time to assess the security situation among other things,” he said. “I am not requesting political asylum at this time.”His remarks came after Colombian authorities said he was subject to an administrative process for having crossed the border without getting his passport stamped upon entry, like millions of Venezuelans who have left their country in...

Yoon opens state visit with spotlight on space, mega deals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:11 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol opened his state visit to Washington on Tuesday by touring a NASA facility with Vice President Kamala Harris as the Biden administration looks to deepen ties with a close ally that it sees as only growing in importance in an increasingly complicated Indo-Pacific.Before Harris and Yoon’s visit to the Goddard Space Flight Center in suburban Greenbelt, Md., the two countries signed a joint statement on cooperation in space communications and navigation, and received briefings from NASA scientists on cooperative efforts on space exploration and addressing the climate crisis,“Our alliance is leading on some of the most important and pressing issues of our time,” Harris said in remarks with Yoon by her side at the NASA facility.Yoon, for his part, recalled his exhilaration as a third-grader watching on television as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped off Apollo 11 to become the first humans to set foot on the moon in 1969. N...

Mom, boyfriend get life sentences in 10-year-old boy’s death

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:11 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The mother of a 10-year-old boy and her boyfriend were each sentenced Tuesday to life in prison for torturing and murdering the child, who was beaten, brutalized and starved in Southern California.Heather Barron, 33, and Kareem Leiva, 37, were convicted of first-degree murder involving torture last month in a nonjury trial. They also were found guilty of abusing two other children in their Lancaster home.Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Sam Ohta sentenced them both to life without the possibility of parole, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release. The sentencing followed emotional statements from the boy’s relatives and friends, ABC7 reported. The judge called Anthony Avalos a “helpless child” dependent on his mother for his basic needs. “Instead Anthony was tortured and killed,” Ohta said.Neither Barron nor Leiva spoke during Tuesday’s hearing, according to the TV station. Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies w...

Moon mission could boost Canadian health-care, climate efforts: Artemis II astronauts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:11 GMT

OTTAWA — Four astronauts selected to orbit the moon say the Artemis II mission can help inform how Canada responds to food insecurity, health-care needs and climate adaptation in the Arctic.“How do we actually get eight billion people to row in the same direction and work on these problems? Because these are global problems,” said Jeremy Hansen, a Canadian colonel who will join three Americans in space.“We can do great things together. We can do better as a human race. And here’s one small example,” he said alongside his crewmates in a Tuesday interview with The Canadian Press.The mission planned for November 2024 is part of an ambitious plan to establish a long-term presence on the moon, and has NASA hoping Ottawa further boosts its spending on outer space.The 10-day mission involves slingshotting into deep space for a figure-8 manoeuvre around the dark side of the moon.If it is successful, Artemis II will mark the first time any human has ventured so ...

Boy, 16, charged in TTC bus stabbing at Old Mill Station

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:11 GMT

Toronto police have arrested and charged a 16-year-old boy in connection to a stabbing on board a TTC bus that was parked at Old Mill Subway Station in Etobicoke last January.Officers were called to the station just before 4 p.m. on Wednesday, January 25, for reports of a stabbing.The victim, a 16-year-old boy, was found suffering from multiple stab wounds and was taken to a trauma centre with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.Police say the victim was on a bus parked at the station when he became involved in a brief conversation with another male. Investigators say the suspect stabbed the victim several times.Investigators originally said they were seeking an adult man in the case, but in an update Tuesday night police said the alleged culprit is a 16-year-old boy. He was arrested on Tuesday and is now facing charges of aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, carry concealed weapon and possess a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

Judge tosses felony charge against former parole chairperson

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:11 GMT

RACINE, Wis. (AP) — A judge on Tuesday dropped a felony charge against the former chairperson of the Wisconsin Parole Commission. Racine County Circuit Judge Eugene Gasiorkiewicz dismissed the case against John Tate II on Tuesday, the Racine Journal Times reported. Prosecutors charged Tate on April 18 with using his public position as a Racine alderman for his private benefit, online court records indicate.According to a criminal complaint, Tate unlawfully negotiated the terms of his employment for Racine’s new violence interruption coordinator position after approving the creation of the job as Common Council president. He then applied for the position, and city officials offered it to him. Tate initially announced that he would resign as an alderman to begin his role as the coordinator in mid-November. However, he didn’t resign until his term finished April 17 after he said he had been advised that state law prohibits sitting local elected officials from taking positions that were...

Venezuelan asylum seekers arrive at O'Hare from Texas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:11 GMT

CHICAGO — Asylum seekers who say they have been vetted by immigration at the Mexican border arrived at O'Hare International Airport late Tuesday morning, the latest development in a string of issues hampering their placement in local shelters.On Monday, WGN reported on a number of migrants who were stuck being shuffled back and forth between police stations in the City. Tuesday, more arrived with questions over where they would be heading next. GoFundMe created for teacher hospitalized in Jefferson Park hit-and-run Jose Lopez, an asylum seeker at O'Hare from Venezuela, told WGN their journey is not over yet, adding he hopes to find shelter so that he can then find a job.Lopez is one of several Venezuelans asylum seekers who arrived at the airport Tuesday with not much more than a one-way ticket to Chicago from Texas. After a phone call to the City's 311 service line, solo travelers and families patiently waited for a shuttle they were told will take them to a place to rest."When a...

'Disruptive' passenger forces Israel-bound United flight back to Newark after 3 hours

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:11 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – A "disruptive" passenger caused a United flight crew to turn a Tel Aviv-bound plane around Sunday, delaying the rest of the passengers for hours, United said.Flight 90, which departed early that morning from Newark, turned back after about three hours into the 10-hour flight, website Flight Radar 24 shows.The U-turn happened after an unidentified man got into a confrontation with the flight crew and a shouting match ensued, a passenger told Israeli media outlet YNet.The eyewitness said the man was waiting for the bathroom and decided to sit down in one of the seats designated for flight attendants. "Crew members told him that if he did not return to his seat, the plane would be turned back to New York," the witness said, adding that the man appeared not to believe them, ridiculing the crew members. Passenger claims Airline was ‘lying’ about lost luggage after AirTag showed it at ‘mystery’ building She told YNet that she was surprised when the flight did turn around bec...

Man facing charges after umpire attack caught on video at Ohio adult softball game

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:11 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A softball player who was caught on camera punching an umpire at an adult league game is now facing charges. According to a release from the office of Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein, the player, identified as Gregory Roudabush, has been charged with a first-degree misdemeanor assault and a fourth-degree charge for disorderly conduct. The investigation by the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department began on Apr. 19 when the assault was captured on video. This led to Roudabush also getting banned for life from future leagues. The umpire, Wiley Butler, and his attorney John Graceffo spoke to Nexstar's WCMH and said they intended to take legal action. See a previous report in the player above. “What this other person did amounts to nothing less than criminal conduct, and he needs to pay for that," Graceffo said.Butler told WCMH that he asked Roudabush to move over a bit and explained why. The player then became verbally abusi...