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Nigerian senator, wife jailed in UK for organ-harvest plot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:24 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A senior Nigerian politician and his wife were handed prison sentences Friday for conspiring to transport a street trader to the U.K. as part of an organ-harvesting plot. Ike Ekweremadu, former deputy president of the Nigerian Senate, and his wife Beatrice were convicted in March of conspiring to arrange the travel of a 21-year-old man to be a kidney donor for their sick daughter.Ike Ekweremadu, 60, was sentenced to nine years and eight months by a judge at London’s Central Criminal Court. Beatrice Ekweremadu, 56, was jailed for four and a half years and 51-year-old Dr. Obinna Obeta, described by prosecutors as a medical “middleman” in the plot, received a 10-year sentence.The case was the first to convict suspects of an organ-harvesting conspiracy under the U.K.’s modern slavery laws.Passing sentence, judge Jeremy Johnson said that “people-trafficking across international borders for the harvesting of human organs is a form of slavery.” “It treats human beings a...

Unprecedented number of primaries prompt some Democrat angst

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:24 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Since their wipeout in the 2021 election cycle, Virginia Democrats’ one remaining hold on state government has been in the General Assembly’s upper chamber. The narrow Senate Democratic majority prides itself on being a “brick wall” against Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s agenda. Operatives from both parties see a roadmap for Democrats to keep that majority in November, when all 140 legislative seats are on the ballot. But first come the primaries. Newly drawn legislative maps have led to a wave of retirements and more nomination contests in both assembly chambers than any other comparable election cycle in recent decades. But there’s a sharp discrepancy in the 40-member Senate: There are nearly twice as many Democratic nomination contests as Republican ones. As the races start to heat up, the imbalance in numbers has sparked some concerns among Democrats that spending in the primaries could diminish their current financial advantage, limiting their abili...

Concert Week: You can attend these shows for $25 this summer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:24 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Concert tickets can cost a pretty penny after taxes and fees. That is why Live Nation has announced its ticket sale with the return of Concert Week where you can attend a local show for $25.Concert Week is an annual program that runs from May 10-16 and allows fans to fill their calendars with live shows for a good price.So, how does it work?From May 10-16 concert fanatics can head to Live Nation's website to see the full list of shows. Once you select the show you want to attend, there should be a ticket type labeled "Concert Week Promotion," add those tickets to your cart and enjoy the show. How to purchase tickets during Concert Week from Live Nation. Full list of concerts at Ball Arena for 2023 What Colorado shows are participating?During Concert Week, you can buy tickets to shows at most of Colorado's iconic venues from Ball Arena to the Fillmore. Here are all the shows that will be included:Ball ArenaSnoop Dogg Rod StewartLL Cool JAvenged Sevenfold Alicia Key...

Mass. Gets C- Grade For Lead In School Drinking Water

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:24 GMT

Massachusetts made slight improvement over the past four years in its efforts to remove lead from school drinking water, and environmental advocates believe proposed legislation would send the Bay State soaring to the top of the class.The U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Environment America Research & Policy Center published a new report Thursday grading all 50 states and Washington, D.C. on their work to protect students from lead-tainted water at school, the first time those groups have rolled out state-by-state assessments since 2019.Massachusetts landed a D grade in the 2019 iteration and improved slightly to a C- in the latest version, which MASSPIRG Legislative Director Deirdre Cummings attributed to “incremental policy steps toward safer drinking water for kids at school.”That still put the Bay State on better footing than most other states. Twenty-seven states earned F grades for their lead prevention efforts in school water and eight received a D.Washi...

American mountaineer dies during climb to Mount Everest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:24 GMT

(CNN) — A US climber has died on his way to scale Mount Everest on Monday, according to an expedition organizer.“Jonathan Sugarman died at Camp 2 after he began to feel unwell,” Pasang Sherpa told CNN on Tuesday.Seattle-based Sugarman was part of an expedition arranged by Washington state-based International Mountain Guides (IMG) with Beyul Adventure handling the local logistics.Sherpa added that “his body remains at Camp 2 with the rest of the climbing team.”This comes after Nepal has issued permits for a record 463 climbers by April 26, for this spring season’s expeditions to Mount Everest.Following Sugarman’s death, the Embassy of the United States issued a statement. “We can confirm Dr. Jonathan Sugarman passed away while climbing Mt. Everest Monday May 1,” it said. “Our deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends.“The Embassy is in contact with Dr. Sugarman’s family and with loca...

TurboTax customers to receive checks for $141M settlement

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:24 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of Americans who qualified for free tax services — but were instead deceived into paying TurboTax for their returns — will soon get settlement checks in the mail.In a settlement last year, TurboTax’s owner Intuit Inc. was ordered to pay $141 million to some 4.4 million people across the country. Those impacted were low-income consumers eligible for free, federally-supported tax services — but paid TurboTax to file their federal returns across the 2016, 2017 and 2018 tax years due to “predatory and deceptive marketing,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said.All 50 states and the District of Columbia signed the May 2022 settlement, which was led by James.Consumers eligible for restitution payments do not need to file a claim, the New York Attorney’s General Office said Thursday. They will be notified by an email from Rust Consulting, the settlement fund administrator, and receive a check automatically.Checks will be mailed starti...

Ex-Mets star Matt Harvey announces retirement from baseball: ‘Thank you, and goodbye’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:24 GMT

The Dark Knight is dropping the curtain on his baseball career.Matt Harvey, who rose to superhero heights with the Mets early in his career before the bright lights faded, announced Friday in an Instagram post that he is retiring from the game.Harvey’s emotional farewell post featured a photo of the right-hander in a Mets uniform from his magical 2013 season.“A game I will always remember,” Harvey wrote about April 19, 2013 when he hurled seven innings in a 7-1 win over the Washington Nationals at Citi Field opposite Stephen Strasburg.“I haven’t gone back to really feel or relive some of the highest moments pitching in the big league, especially for the New York Mets. But this particular game hits me extremely hard, making this a difficult thing to write.“I pitched to win,” Harvey, who has not pitched in the big leagues since the 2021 season with the Baltimore Orioles, wrote in his social media post. “To fire up my team and more import...

Column: When it comes to hype, Matt Mervis is following in Anthony Rizzo’s Chicago Cubs footsteps

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:24 GMT

Matt Mervis arrived at Wrigley Field Friday morning to make his Chicago Cubs debut in the opener of a three-game series against the Miami Marlins.It was the most anticipated debut by a Cubs prospect since Kris Bryant in 2015, though Mervis’ call-up more closely resembles that of first baseman Anthony Rizzo 11 years ago.Rizzo’s Cubs debut on June 26, 2012, was one of the most hyped events in years and served as the unofficial start of president Theo Epstein’s rebuild.“I’m here to stay,” Rizzo said before the game. “I’m just going to work hard every day, learn, get better, go through the ups and down of a baseball player, the nicks and bruises, and that’s about it.”WGN-Ch. 9 hyped the arrival with a commercial promoting the broadcast. The newspapers added into the hysteria, including a Chicago Tribune graphic comparing Rizzo’s arrival on the North Side with Babe Ruth going from the Red Sox to the Yankees. The headline w...

April hiring gains reflect a still-resilient US job market

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:24 GMT

By PAUL WISEMAN (AP Economics Writer)WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers added a healthy 253,000 jobs in April, evidence of a labor market that still shows surprising resilience despite rising interest rates, chronically high inflation and a banking crisis that could weaken the economy.The unemployment rate dipped to 3.4%, matching a 54-year low, the Labor Department said Friday. The jobless rate fell in part, though, because 43,000 people left the labor force, the first drop since November, and were no longer counted as unemployed. In its report Friday, the government noted that while hiring was solid in April, it was much weaker in February and March than it had previously estimated. Job gains for those months was downgraded by a combined 149,000. And hourly wages rose last month at the fastest pace since July, which may alarm the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve.April’s hiring gain compares with 165,000 in March and 248,000 in February and is still at...

‘Yellowstone’ to end in November, sequel starts in December

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The popular television western “Yellowstone” with Kevin Costner will end this fall and be replaced almost immediately by a sequel. But like any good drama, there’s some mystery involved.The sequel, still untitled, will premiere December on the Paramount cable network, which also televises “Yellowstone,” Paramount said on Friday.Behind Costner, who plays Montana rancher John Dutton, series creator Taylor Sheridan launched a phenomenon. The opening of its fifth season last November was seen by 12.1 million viewers on the night of its debut, more people than any other scripted series last fall — a remarkable feat for a show not on a broadcast network.“We’ve been able to create a show that didn’t start out being popular but did it on its own terms,” Costner told The Associated Press last fall.“Yellowstone” will wrap up with new episodes airing in November; how many was not announced on Friday. Those episodes haven’t been filmed yet, and it’s...