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One year after protests shook China, participants ponder the meaning of the brief flare of defiance

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:19 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — A year ago, Li Houchen was on the streets of Shanghai, hollering “Freedom!” to protest China’s harsh “zero COVID” policy and growing authoritarianism.He was one of thousands of people demonstrating across China in what came to be called the White Paper movement, after the blank sheets of paper protesters used to represent the country’s strict censorship controls.Yet one year later, China has all but forgotten the protests. The state reacted quickly, breaking up the marches with arrests and threats and abruptly lifting COVID-19 controls.The protests were a brief flare of defiance, the most direct challenge to the Communist Party’s authority in decades. For the young people who took part, it was their first protest. Now, many of them are pondering what’s next.Today, Li lives in Tokyo, fulfilling a vow to himself to leave his homeland and go into exile to document the tumultuous events in China last year. He’s written a 448-page book, “Records of the Plague Year: From Th...

Minnesota Wild replace coach Dean Evason with John Hynes after losing 14 of first 19 games

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:19 GMT

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild fired coach Dean Evason and replaced him with John Hynes on Monday after losing seven straight games and 14 of their first 19 to start to the NHL season.General manager Bill Guerin announced the moves, including the firing of assistant Bob Woods. Hynes, the former New Jersey and Nashville coach, will take over. The Wild planned a news conference with Guerin and Hynes for Tuesday, prior to their game against St. Louis.Evason, 59, had three full seasons in charge of the Wild, who gave him his first head coaching job in the NHL on Feb. 14, 2020, when Bruce Boudreau was fired and he was promoted from his assistant role. He went 147-77-27 in 251 regular season games and 8-15 in the postseason without winning any series.Hynes, 48, is 284-255-63 in eight NHL seasons. The Predators fired him on May 30, six weeks after missing the playoffs. They lost in the opening round in each of three previous years, starting in 2020 when he was hired midseason to repl...

Charges filed against man accused of armed robbery in Loop

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:19 GMT

CHICAGO — Charges have been filed against a Chicago man accused of robbing a person at gunpoint in the Loop on Sunday morning.Chicago police say 21-year-old Michael Odulaja, a South Shore resident, is facing three felony charges, including robbery with a firearm, attempted robbery with a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. CPD: 14 people robbed at gunpoint in 3 hours According to police, Odulaja allegedly entered a business in the 200 block of North LaSalle Stree just before 9 a.m. and robbed a man at gunpoint. Officers say only minutes later he allegedly attempted to rob a man in the 200 block of North Dearborn Street.Police say they eventually caught Odulaja in the 100 block of West Wacker Drive just after 9:15 a.m. and recovered a weapon during his arrest.Odulaja appeared in court on Monday for a detention hearing.

What happened to Austin's $515M homelessness fundraising initiative?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:19 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A major fundraising initiative aimed at helping end homelessness, which was championed by former City of Austin leaders, has flown under the radar for the last year as the City now has new leadership. Finding Home ATX was a project created out of the Spring 2021 Summit to Address Unsheltered Homelessness, according to its website. The goals that came out of that summit were as follows: house 3,000 additional unsheltered people, add 1,300 new affordable housing units for people experiencing homelessness and "build a better, more effective Homelessness Response System." To get there, the City -- under former Mayor Steve Adler -- and its partners in combatting homelessness, created an overall fundraising goal of $515 million. That included money from private donors, the City, Travis County, the state and service providers. City officials have previously given updates on the fundraising effort, but this time directed us to the chair of Finding Home ATX. Travis County po...

Central Texas man's family among hostages released by Hamas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:19 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) --- Israel and Hamas agreed to extend their cease-fire agreement for two more days, according to the Qatari government. Israel and Hamas agree to extend truce for two more days, and to free more hostages and prisoners So far, 58 hostages have been released during the current deal, including 39 Israelis. Among those freed are relatives of a Central Texas man. 'Roller coaster of emotions'Dori Roberts said it was the news he was desperately hoping for. "Text messages saying like, they're free, they're out," Roberts said. "They're back home." PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Central Texas man says family members seized by Hamas militants in Israel His cousin and her two daughters were among the Israeli hostages held captive by Hamas for nearly two months. Dori Roberts said his three relatives were among the Israeli hostages freed from Hamas. (Photo: Ashe Family)Dori Roberts said his three relatives were among the Israeli hostages freed from Hamas. (Photo: Ashe Family)Dori Roberts s...

New allegations about former St. Louis-area police officer charged with assaulting arrestees

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:19 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Authorities allege that a former suburban St. Louis police officer who is charged with sexually assaulting several arrestees also covertly took photos of people in public bathrooms.The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that 34-year-old Marcellis Blackwell, of St. Louis, is not charged with the latest allegation. But federal prosecutors discussed the covert photographing allegation Monday in seeking to have him remain jailed until his trial.Blackwell had worked for the North County Police Cooperative, which polices eight small municipalities, for just over a year when he was charged with taking some people he arrested to isolated areas before he turned off his body camera and abused them.He faces 16 counts of deprivation of rights and five counts of altering records in a federal investigation. He was also charged in St. Louis County with arresting and sexually assaulting a handcuffed man near Normandy High School. Bi-State may run Loop Trolley one year longer than pl...

Driver blasts Google Maps for desert road detour on trip to L.A.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:19 GMT

Google Maps is being blamed for leading a number of drivers on their way back to Los Angeles from Las Vegas down a dirt road to nowhere during a dust storm in the Mojave Desert earlier this month.  The unsettling detour happened on Nov. 19 as Shelby Easler, her brother and their significant others were returning to L.A. after enjoying the Formula 1 race in Sin City, SFGATE reported.  In order to avoid a dust storm causing major traffic delays that day, Google Maps suggested an alternate route to I-15, the primary highway connecting Las Vegas to Southern California.  According to the Bay Area outlet, it was the couple's first time driving back and forth between the two cities and they were unaware that they should just stick to Interstate 15.  “We ironically thought it would be a safer option, and it did say it would be 50 minutes faster,” she told SFGate. A short time later, Easler and company, along with what appears to be at least a dozen other cars, found them...

Transient marred Burbank synagogue with antisemitic graffiti, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:19 GMT

The Burbank Police Department is looking for a transient they say vandalized several locations with antisemitic graffiti on Friday.Klinton Dion is seen in undated mugshots provided by the Burbank Police Department. Klinton Allister Dion, 32, is wanted for a hate crime after he allegedly vandalized the Temple Emanu El at 1302 N. Glenoaks Blvd., the underground garage of an apartment complex in the 400 block of East Cypress Avenue and a city-owned utility box nearby.Klinton Dion is seen in undated surveillance photos provided by the Burbank Police Department. He is "known to frequent Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Temple City, El Segundo and Los Angeles," police said in a news release, adding that he "has a faint tattoo above his left eyebrow."Anyone with information is asked to call Detective J. Voorhis at 818-238-3210 or email [email protected].

Rep. David Valadao's California office vandalized

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:19 GMT

HANFORD, Calif. - Representative David Valadao claimed that his office in Hanford was vandalized by anti-Israel protestors on Monday. KTLA's sister station KSEE/KGPE reports. In a statement he posted on 'X,' formerly Twitter, he states that he supports the right to a peaceful protest and mentions that violence and vandalism are never acceptable. This morning, my Hanford office was vandalized by anti-Israel protestors. I strongly support the right to peaceful protest, but violence and vandalism are never acceptable. In a democracy, harassment and intimidation is not how you make your voice heard. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/f2OHRuqeLu— Rep. David Valadao (@RepDavidValadao) November 27, 2023"In a democracy, harassment and intimidation is not how you make your voice heard," said Valadao. Valadao posted a series of tweets that talked about the vandalism and the protestors. Valadao also said his offices remain open and accessible to constituents in the 22nd Congressional District by appo...

Sports Illustrated deletes articles published under fake names

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:19 GMT

By Liam Reilly | CNNSports Illustrated on Monday said it had deleted several articles from its website after a report found the once-celebrated legacy magazine had published the pieces under fake author names and profile images generated by artificial intelligence.The report, which was published by Futurism, found that the magazine had repeatedly published articles whose authors could not be found online outside the Sports Illustrated website. The articles were all accompanied by AI-generated profile photos that Futurism also found for sale on digital marketplaces that sell AI-produced headshots.During the course of Futurism’s reporting, some of the alleged Sports Illustrated writers mysteriously vanished from the publication’s website — and their articles began appearing under the names of different authors who similarly didn’t appear to exist online and whose likenesses were also being sold on AI headshot marketplaces.Following the publication of the report, a spokesperson for The...