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Justin Guarini, Briga Heelan honor music of Britney Spears in ‘Once Upon a One More Time’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:28:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Performing in a fairy tale musical with songs by the Princess of Pop can be both magical and daunting. That’s the way Justin Guarini and Briga Heelan, who star in “Once Upon a One More Time,” see their roles in the jukebox musical that features songs by Britney Spears.The musical debuted at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., in 2021 and now it’s on Broadway with Heelan and Guarini reprising their roles as Cinderella and Prince Charming.On a recent two-show day, fans of all ages were wearing Britney-themed attire waiting to be seated and both actors are well aware that Spears’ dedicated fan base has high expectations.Guarini, the runner-up to Kelly Clarkson on the first season of “American Idol,” said Spears’ music reminds him of the “iconic moments of growing up.” So honoring the Princess of Pop was “a huge honor” for him, the chance to share “in the joy and so much of the fun that she has created for millions of people across the world....

Court upholds convictions against Babcock’s killers, Dellen Millard loses all three appeals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:28:24 GMT

Ontario’s top court has upheld convictions against Dellen Millard and Mark Smich for killing a 23-year-old woman, marking back-to-back appeals dismissed this week against the multiple murderers.The decision in the murder case of Laura Babcock comes a day after the Court of Appeal for Ontario upheld convictions against the two men for the 2013 murder of 32-year-old Tim Bosma.For Millard, the heir to an aviation fortune turned infamous murderer, the decision caps a trio of unsuccessful appeals after the court also dismissed his attempt to overturn his conviction for murdering his father.In a 125-paragraph decision on the Babcock appeal, the court dismissed Millard’s argument he was denied a fair trial because he needed more time to retain a lawyer and dismissed Smich’s argument the jury was not properly instructed on how to separate the evidence between the two men.The 2017 trial for Babock’s murder saw prosecutors argue the once close friends turned co-accused...

Indigenous kept from economic opportunities from pot legalization: Senate committee

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:28:24 GMT

OTTAWA — A Senate committee says the current cannabis market and legislation has kept Indigenous Peoples from sharing in the economic opportunities that the legalization of recreational pot created.The standing Senate committee on Indigenous Peoples wants the country to shift its approach to cannabis to help Indigenous communities and entrepreneurs better benefit from the pot market.The committee found some First Nations are completely blocked from participating in the cannabis market because some provinces and territories have not responded to their requests for agreements to produce and sell cannabis.While agreements have been reached in British Columbia, Ontario and Saskatchewan, Indigenous communities told the committee Quebec and the Northwest Territories have not similar moves.The committee also wants an excise tax-sharing framework that is specific to Indigenous communities to be developed, so First Nations communities can share revenues more broadly. First Nations communitie...

Vehicle theft reaching critical point, costing Canada $1 billion per year: Report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:28:24 GMT

A new report is shining a light on an alarming number of auto thefts happening across Canada and is calling on the federal government to take aim at organized crime.The report from the Canadian Financing and Leasing Association (CFLA) says a vehicle is stolen every six minutes in Canada, costing the country a billion dollars every year. The organization says the auto theft crisis has been escalating since before the COVID-19 pandemic, with thefts having surged by 300 per cent in Toronto alone since 2015.The CFLA says the thefts pose a significant safety and financial risk and help fuel illicit activities. Organized crime rings typically exploit the export market in three ways:Identity theft on financed vehicles – criminals create fake identities of people or businesses to finance vehicleReVINing – exploiting loopholes in provincial vehicle registries to replace the vehicle identification number (VIN) on vehiclesContainer export – shipping stolen vehicles overseas t...

How much prison time could Trump face? Past cases brought steep punishment for document hoarders

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:28:24 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI investigators who searched Harold Martin’s Maryland property in the fall of 2016 found classified documents — including material at the top secret level — strewn about his home, car and storage shed.Unlike former President Donald Trump, the former National Security Agency contractor didn’t contest the allegations, ultimately pleading guilty in 2019 and admitting his actions were “wrong, illegal and highly questionable.” But his expressions of contrition and guilty plea to a single count of willful retention of national defense information didn’t spare him the harsh punishment of nine years in prison. The resolution of that case looms as an ominous guidepost for the legal jeopardy Trump could face as he confronts 37 felony counts — 31 under the same century-old Espionage Act statute used to prosecute Martin and other defendants alleged to have illegally retained classified documents. Even many like Martin who have pleaded guilty and accepte...

Biden hosts Live Nation, SeatGeek and Airbnb execs to showcase push to end hidden ‘junk fees’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:28:24 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is hosting executives from Live Nation, Airbnb and other companies at the White House on Thursday to highlight his administration’s push to end so-called junk fees that surprise consumers.Biden prioritized the effort to combat surprise or undisclosed fees in his State of the Union address and has called for legislation, regulation and private sector action to end them. Biden, at Thursday’s event, was set to announce actions by companies that have eliminated or plan to eliminate those surprise fees. The consumer advocacy push is part of the Democratic president’s pitch to voters ahead of his 2024 reelection bid that government can help improve their lives in big and small ways. At the White House, Live Nation, which is based in Beverly Hills, California, is announcing that it will provide customers with upfront all-in pricing — meaning the actual purchase price including service charges and any other fees — for its owned venues ...

Donor nations commit $10.3 billion for millions of Syrians at home and as refugees abroad

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:28:24 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — International donors Thursday committed $10.3 billion in aid for millions of Syrians battered by war, poverty, and hunger, both at home and as refugees abroad. The funding pledges by 57 nations and 30 international organizations at an annual European Union-hosted conference in Brussels for Syria fell about $800 million short of a United Nations humanitarian appeal.Funding from the conference will help provide aid to Syrians in the war-torn country and to some 5.7 million Syrian refugees living in neighboring countries, particularly Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.Syria’s uprising-turned conflict, now in its thirteenth year, has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half of its prewar population of 23 million.Amid pressing needs across the globe from Ukraine to Sudan, the annual donor conference hosted by the European Union in Brussels has had even more political overtones as Syrian President Bashar Assad is slowly carving his way back from being an internation...

Landmark home built before Great Chicago Fire severely damaged in Austin blaze

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:28:24 GMT

CHICAGO — One of Chicago's oldest homes was severely damaged in a fire early Thursday morning. The fire started around 1 a.m. on the top floor of the Seth P. Warner House in the 600 block of North Central in the Austin neighborhood.Jim Bowers and his wife, the homeowners, were able to make it out safely and no other injuries were reported. The 150-year-old home's attic and roof were destroyed in the fire. "My wife smelled smoke I went up to the attic and I saw flames. I tried to put it out and it was just too much for me," Bowers said.The house was designated landmark status by the city last year. It was built in 1869 and is one of only 13 homes still standing that predate the Great Chicago Fire. It is said to be the oldest home in the Austin neighborhood.The home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places back in 1992. ‘I had 6 surgeries’: Chicago teen, family speak out after hit-and-run incident near Midway Seth Warner was one of Chicago's earliest settlers. He was a...

Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen made 'incriminating' statements, attorneys say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:28:24 GMT

DELPHI, Ind. – Defense attorneys and prosecutors made arguments in court Thursday about statements previously made by Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen.Allen faces two counts of murder in the February 2017 deaths of Abby Williams and Libby German.Allen, looking gaunt, appeared in court Thursday in a yellow jumpsuit. During the hearing, defense attorneys indicated that Allen had made self-incriminating statements linking him to the girls' deaths. Prosecutor Nick McLeland agreed Allen had “made admissions.” Attorneys challenge method linking Richard Allen to unspent round at crime scene However, Allen's attorneys argued the statements couldn’t be trusted because of their client’s mental state. They want him moved out of Westville Correctional Facility to a county jail for his mental health and wellbeing. Allen's statements, which he made previously and revealed for the first time in public, are expected to dominate the rest of Thursday's hearing.The ...

Man faces several felony charges after hitting, critically injuring boy riding his bike in Batavia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:28:24 GMT

BATAVIA, Ill. — An Aurora man is facing several charges after Batavia police said he struck and critically injured a teenage boy riding his bike last month.On Wednesday, Batavia police said Cesar Gandarilla, 38, is charged with three counts of Aggravated DUI/great bodily harm, three counts of aggravated DUI/ no valid driver's license, DUI combination drugs, aggravated use of communications device great bodily harm, unlawful use of cannabis/ driver and numerous traffic violations. Man arrested after hitting boy riding bike in Batavia On May 31, police said Gandarilla struck the boy while he was riding his bike near Union Avenue and South Batavia Avenue. The boy was taken to a hospital in critical condition.The Kane County Accident Reconstruction Team assisted the Batavia Police Department with the investigation.