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Thousands of Ukraine civilians are being held in Russian prisons. Russia plans to build many more

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:36 GMT

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AP) — The Ukrainian civilians woke long before dawn in the bitter cold, lined up for the single toilet and were loaded at gunpoint into the livestock trailer. They spent the next 12 hours or more digging trenches on the front lines for Russian soldiers.Many were forced to wear overlarge Russian military uniforms that could make them a target, and a former city administrator trudged around in boots five sizes too big. By the end of the day, their hands curled into icy claws.Nearby, in the occupied region of Zaporizhzhia, other Ukrainian civilians dug mass graves into the frozen ground for fellow prisoners who had not survived. One man who refused to dig was shot on the spot — yet another body for the grave.Thousands of Ukrainian civilians are being detained across Russia and the Ukrainian territories it occupies, in centers ranging from brand-new wings in Russian prisons to clammy basements. Most have no status under Russian law.And Russia is planning to hold p...

Former teen performers accuse an agent of sexual assault. They’re hoping it’s Japan’s Me Too moment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:36 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Kazuya Nakamura says he was 15 when one of the most powerful men in Japanese entertainment history forced him to have sex while he was part of a troupe of backup dancers managed by the legendary talent agent.At least a dozen other men have come forward this year to say they were sexually assaulted as teenagers by boy band impresario Johnny Kitagawa, who died in 2019, beginning with three who spoke anonymously to the BBC for a documentary broadcast in March. The story has all the elements of a major Me Too reckoning, but in Japan, response has been muted.While opposition politicians set up a committee in parliament to investigate, and the talent agency Kitagawa founded promised to do the same and offered a brief apology, the news still rarely makes the front pages or lead television news broadcasts.Kitagawa shrugged off similar allegations for decades. National media almost completely ignored the story, and Kitagawa’s business continued to thrive, even when a Tokyo appea...

Takeaways from the AP investigation into thousands of Ukrainian civilians held by Russia in prisons

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:36 GMT

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AP) — Thousands of Ukrainian civilians are detained in a network of formal and informal prisons across Russia and the territories it occupies, where they endure torture, psychological abuse and even slave labor. And Russia plans to build dozens more prisons, according to a government document obtained by The Associated Press.The AP spoke with dozens of people, including 20 former detainees, along with ex-prisoners of war, the families of more than a dozen civilians in detention, two Ukrainian intelligence officials and a government negotiator. Their accounts, as well as satellite imagery, social media, government documents and copies of letters delivered by the Red Cross, confirm a widescale Russian system of detention and abuse of civilians that goes directly against the Geneva Conventions.Here are findings from the AP investigation:1. The number of Ukrainian civilians held in Russian prisons is now in the thousands, many without charges. At least 4,000 civil...

Black Lives Matter movement to mark 10 years of activism, renews call to defund the police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:36 GMT

The Black Lives Matter movement hits a milestone on Thursday, marking 10 years since its 2013 founding in response to the acquittal of the man who fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.Gunned down in a Florida gated community where his father lived in 2012, Martin was one of the earliest symbols of a movement that now wields influence in politics, law enforcement and broader conversations about racial progress in and outside the U.S.BLM activists and organizations plan to mark a decade of the movement with in-person and virtual events. Calls to action include a renewed push to defund police departments and reinvest in Black communities that have suffered disproportionately from police brutality, unequal treatment in criminal justice systems and mass incarceration.In the wake of Supreme Court decisions that stymied relief from student loan debt held disproportionately by Black borrowers and banned affirmative action in higher education, the need for BLM’s existence couldnR...

Dangerous heat wave baking US Southwest brings triple digit temperatures, fire risk to California

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:36 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — After a historically wet winter and a cloudy spring, California’s summer was in full swing Thursday as a heat wave that’s been scorching much of the U.S. Southwest brings triple digit temperatures and an increased risk of wildfires.Blistering conditions will build Friday and throughout the weekend in the central and southern parts of California, where many residents should prepare for the hottest weather of the year, the National Weather Service warned. Midday highs were mostly expected to be above 100 degrees (37.7 C), and desert areas could reach 120 (48.8 C), forecasters said. Little relief was expected overnight, when temperatures could remain in the 80s (above 26.6 C). An excessive heat watch was in effect through Sunday for interior Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. “Please plan accordingly, this is not the time to be hiking or be outside for long durations,” the weather service’s LA office said on Twi...

House Republicans set to interrogate FTC’s Khan over ethics, antitrust issues

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:36 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans who say the Federal Trade Commission has been overzealous and politicized under President Joe Biden are set to interrogate agency head Lina Khan on Thursday, bringing her before the House Judiciary Committee for the first time amid her court battles with big technology companies.Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, has criticized Khan in recent months on a multitude of issues, including what he says are politically motivated actions directed at Elon Musk after he acquired Twitter last year, questions about whether she should have recused herself from certain cases and her legal actions against tech giants on antitrust issues. In April, the committee subpoenaed Khan after an investigation by the panel that concluded the FTC “harassed” Twitter in the wake of Musk’s acquisition.The hearing will examine “mismanagement of the FTC and its disregard for ethics and congressional oversight under Chair Lina Khan,” the Judiciary panel’s website says.The he...

AP explains court ruling siding with Amish families who balked at Minnesota septic tank rules

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:36 GMT

A long-running religious freedom case has come full circle, with court ruling this week that a deeply conservative Amish community in Minnesota cannot be threatened with the loss of homes if its members don’t install septic systems to dispose of their bath, laundry and dish water.The state Court of Appeals on Monday found that the Swartzentruber Amish community in southeastern Minnesota doesn’t need to install septic systems to dispose of “gray water,” which is dirty water left from dishwashing, laundry, bathing, and other tasks not involving toilet waste. Two years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed court rulings that had required the group to install septic tanks.Here’s a look at the legal dispute and the traditionalist religious community at the root of it.Who are the Swartzentruber Amish? The Amish are a Christian religious group that, based on its religious beliefs, shuns many modern technologies like electric and gas-powered machinery. Members are likely most recogniza...

The US House majority is in play next year after a weak GOP midterm showing and recent court ruling

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:36 GMT

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Republican Rep. David Schweikert used to win his wealthy, suburban Phoenix congressional district by nearly 30 points. Then Donald Trump was elected president, and his victories started shrinking.Schweikert, who won his last election by just 3,200 votes, is now among the top 2024 targets for Democrats, who sense better-than-expected odds of retaking the House majority they lost last year.After an anemic showing in the midterms, Republicans have virtually no cushion in their quest to retain control of the House, which was made all the more complicated by a surprise U.S. Supreme Court decision last month that will likely bring two new safely Democratic districts. Democrats need to pick up just five seats to control the House. Republicans are counting on a strong showing from incumbents like Schweikert, one of 18 GOP lawmakers representing districts that supported Democrat Joe Biden for president in 2020. Many are in upscale suburbs like Scottsdale that lean co...

Biden is closing out his Europe trip by showcasing new NATO member Finland

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:36 GMT

HELSINKI (AP) — President Joe Biden will close out his five-day trip to Europe on Thursday standing alongside Nordic leaders in an effort to show NATO’s expanding power and influence against a burgeoning Russia.The brief stop in the shoreline Finnish capital is the coda to a Biden tour that was carefully sketched to highlight the growth of the military alliance that the president says has fortified itself since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Finland joined as NATO’s newest member earlier this year, an entry that effectively doubled the alliance’s border with Russia.Biden arrived in Helsinki after what he deemed a successful annual NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, where allies agreed to language that would further pave the way for Ukraine to join the military alliance. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the summit’s outcome “a significant security victory” for his country but nonetheless expressed disappointment Kyiv did not get an outright invitation to j...

Vigil held for 19-year-old Rutland police officer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:36 GMT

RUTLAND, V.T. (NEWS10) -Flowers, candles and messages of support fill the street right in front of the Rutland City Police Department where Officer Jessica Ebbighausen worked. At only 19, she is the youngest law enforcement officer in Vermont's history to die in the line of duty. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! It was Officer Ebbighausen's desire to serve and protect her community that led her to become a police officer. Her career and life cut short Friday during a police chase. A burglary suspect's truck crashed head-on with Ebbighausen's cruiser."We are all hurting, and sometimes we don't share that and it's wrong. When our men and women in uniform are hurting, it's our job to stand up for them like they stand up for us," said a member of the Rutland community. SPAC concert evacuated due to bomb threat Everyone at Wednesday night's vigil honoring her memory and her life. Through loss and hurt, the community is finding ...