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Brothels in Boston, Virginia made ‘outstanding’ amount of money, investigators say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:42 GMT

The person accused of running a sprawling brothel network in Boston and Virginia made an “outstanding” amount of money running the business over the last several years, concealing over $1 million in-part through “structured money orders,” a federal agent wrote in court documents filed Wednesday.Prosecutors accused Han Lee, a 41-year-old Cambridge resident, of heading up a brothel network that catered to politicians, doctors, lawyers, and military officers in both states and had the infrastructure to “persuade, induce, and entice” women to travel across state lines for prostitution work.Han Lee’s financial records detailing the illegal business were “impeccable,” a U.S. Department of Homeland Security agent wrote in court documents. Law enforcement said they found at least 16 cell phones, utility bills, a computer, and other documents inside Han Lee’s Cambridge apartment.“From a shelf, investigators seized a Louis Vuitton shoe box which contained hundreds of money order receipt...

Guardrails needed for police use of facial recognition software in Massachusetts, advocates say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:42 GMT

Police would need a warrant to use facial recognition software while investigating serious crimes and state police would be tasked with centralizing all law enforcement searches under legislation supporters argue reduces bias and puts guardrails on the use of the technology.A bill filed by Reps. Orlando Ramos and Dave Rogers and Sen. Cynthia Creem allows police to use facial recognition in “emergency” situations without a warrant and calls for individuals charged with a crime who were identified using the technology to be provided notice that they were subject to a search.Creem, a Democrat from Newton who serves as Senate majority leader, said facial recognition technology “is dangerous, both in its ability to facilitate government surveillance and its track record of misidentifying people in criminal investigations.”“Unfortunately, this technology is currently being used by our law enforcement agencies without the necessary safeguards to make sure our privacy and due processes (are...

More states strive to make parks, trails accessible to people with disabilities

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:42 GMT

Tom Peterson | (TNS) Stateline.orgTWO HARBORS, Minn. — Perched high on rugged cliffs overlooking Lake Superior, Split Rock Lighthouse dominates the shoreline. Visitors from across the country make the 113-year-old beacon one of the most-photographed lighthouses in the country.The most spectacular view, many say, is from Pebble Beach, reachable only by a steep, winding forest trail that snakes its way to the rocky shore. The view is the reward for the effort it takes to reach the beach, but for visitors with mobility challenges, it could be inaccessible.“I’ve lived here for 43 of my years and I did not know where all these photographers were getting those things,” said Jenna Udenberg, a disability advocate and accessibility educator who lives in Two Harbors.No longer. Since August, the park has provided an all-terrain chair with tanklike treads to people with disabilities, opening this vista to everyone. It’s part of a multifaceted statewide push to expand access to the outdoors.Minn...

Lawmakers to return after Thanksgiving and hear over 50 gun related bills

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:42 GMT

Following a summer of impassioned rallying both for and against a single gun control bill, members of the Legislature will return after Thanksgiving to hear over 50 more.Before they went home for the holiday, the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security updated the legislative calendar to show they would meet Tuesday at 11 a.m. to hear testimony on 56 firearms bills offered this session.An Act modernizing firearms laws, filed by Stoneham Rep. Michael Day, will not be heard by the joint committee. That controversial bill, which has been renumbered several times, was eventually passed through the House Ways and Means Committee without Senate input and attached to a budget bill. The Senate has not moved on the bill, but leadership in the upper chamber has expressed support for moving a similar omnibus gun bill this session.Under consideration Tuesday, among many others, are bills which would institute a live fire requirement for getting and keeping a firearms license, req...

What to stream: Films, TV shows by Native creators to watch this Thanksgiving weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:42 GMT

Katie Walsh | (TNS) Tribune News ServiceThanksgiving has become a holiday all about the turkey and all the fixings, but let’s not forget the roots of the holiday as well. November is Native American Heritage Month, and thankfully, there are more opportunities than ever to experience Native stories told from a Native point of view. Here’s a list of some of the best films and TV shows by Native American creators to stream this Thanksgiving weekend.First up, the new dramedy “Frybread Face and Me,” a coming-of-age story by writer/director Billy Luther, streams on Netflix Friday, Nov. 24. The story follows a young boy from San Diego who is sent to spend the summer with his grandmother on a Navajo reservation in Arizona, where he connects with his cousin. Luther also directed the documentary “Miss Navajo,” about a young woman competing in the Miss Navajo pageant. Stream it on WOW Presents Plus or rent it elsewhere.Don’t miss “Reservation Dogs,” streaming on Hulu. This three-season comedy ...

Ford government signals support for NDP motion for free birth control

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:42 GMT

The Ford government has signaled it will support a motion put forth by the opposition NDP party that would see all birth control covered by OHIP.The motion, which was first introduced by the NDP on International Women’s Day in March, would see the provincial health plan expanded to cover prescription contraception such as oral hormone pills, contraceptive injections, IUDs, and Plan B, also known as the morning-after pill.Currently, OHIP covers contraception for individuals under the age of 25, as long as they aren’t also covered by a private plan.“There is a projected significant savings, but you what it’s also just the right thing to do,” said NDP leader Marit Stiles. “It’s 2023 and it’s time that we treated contraception as a health care need and as a human right that it is.”The motion is set to be debated at Queen’s Park next week and the government has previously indicated it was looking closely at a similar plan introd...

Edmonton paramedic believed killed in Ukraine was caring, humble: family

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:42 GMT

An Edmonton man was killed earlier this month while serving as a medic with the Ukrainian military, say family members who describe him as a caring and humble son, brother and husband. Joshua Mayers, 34, went to Ukraine in September to offer his help during Russia’s nearly two-year long invasion. He had previously worked as a paramedic in Alberta, including nearly 10 years with Alberta Health Services. “He was his own person. He never bragged about anything he ever did,” his mother, Janet Penner Epp, said in a phone interview. “A lot of his heroic stories I heard from other people that were in his life.”The family was told Mayers had been sent out with a group of soldiers to protect a tree line two weeks ago near the eastern city of Bakhmut. Six military members, including Mayers, headed out into a drizzly and dark night when it is believed a drone discovered the crew, said Penner Epp. The Ukrainian Embassy in Ottawa said Mayers was reported missing....

ODSP advocates fear province might claw back payments with introduction of federal benefit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:42 GMT

Advocates for Ontario Disability Support Payments (ODSP) are speaking out over fears that a new federal benefit for those on disability will lead to a claw back of funds by the Ontario government.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government introduced the Canada Disability Benefit back in June of 2022 and it received Royal Assent this past June.Currently, the federal government is asking for feedback to inform the development of the regulations for the benefit. CityNews has obtained a copy of the Ministry of Social Services transition binder from when MPP Michael Parsa took over from Merilee Fullerton in early 2023. It states that the Canada Disability Benefit “could help mitigate costs.”“Some announced federal programs and initiatives could help to mitigate costs, depending on how they are implemented… Introducing a Canadian Disability Benefit, intended to help reduce poverty for persons with disabilities aged 18-64,” re...

Brazilian police bust international drug mule ring in Sao Paulo

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:42 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Police in Sao Paulo on Thursday detained more than 30 individuals belonging to what appeared to be a drug mule ring in the city’s western area, authorities said.Officers arrested a 24 year-old man and detained 33 other individuals who were transporting ingested drugs to Europe, the state’s public security secretary said in a statement.Police acted on a tip received through a hotline about a property in the Vila Sonia neighborhood, in western Sao Paulo, where dozens of people lived and — allegedly — worked as drug mules.During the operation, police seized about 20 passports, work documents and dozens of tightly packed, oval shaped cocaine capsules.Many of the suspects confessed to having already taken one or more trips abroad.Local media, citing the federal police, reported the mules received training to ingest the drug capsules. ____Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-americaThe Associated Press

Fake police ad for sex with minors viewed nearly 7,000 times in 4 days: Durham police

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:42 GMT

An online advertisement purporting to offer sex with minors was viewed a disturbing 6,678 times in just four days, with over 600 responses from potential clients, Durham Regional Police said in a release on Thursday.Police said Project Firebird is “an on-going initiative that focuses on individuals interested in purchasing sexual services from persons under 18 years of age, as well as providing education and support to victims or potential victims.”The Human Trafficking Unit published the ad “to create the illusion that individuals can purchase sexual services from minors.”Investigators arrested five people and laid 15 charges in connection to the probe.