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First Tokyo Olympic bribery verdict ends with no jail time

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:04 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — The first verdicts in the sprawling Tokyo Olympic bribery scandal were handed down Friday in Tokyo District Court, where defendants were found guilt but avoided jail time.The scandal has sullied the Olympic brand and has forced the northern Japanese city of Sapporo to reconsider its bid to host the 2030 Winter Olympics. It was the favorite before the scandal broke.The founder of Aoki Holdings, a manufacturer of affordable suits for businessmen, was found guilty of handing over 28 million yen ($209,000) in bribes to an official of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee in return for being chosen as a sponsor that outfitted the Japanese team.Hironori Aoki, former chairman at Aoki, and two other Aoki officials — including his brother — were found guilty but avoided jail time. Their penalties were suspended for four years for the founder, and for three years for the others. Prosecutors had asked for a prison term of two years and six months for Aoki, and shorter terms for t...

The struggle to read: One third grader’s winding journey

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:04 GMT

Thomas snuggles under the covers with me at bedtime, warm and wiggly.It is our third tour through the “Harry Potter” series, and tonight is like so many others. I pause and ask him to read a few pages of the Dr. Seuss classic “Hop on Pop” before I continue recounting the adventures of Harry, Ron and Hermione.And like so many times, he refuses. Finally he fumbles through a couple pages, over passages like “Pup Cup. Pup in Cup,” with copious praise. Then he is done.It all seemed very normal that night last fall. But this was the beginning of third grade, and the Seuss book is sold as “The Simplest Seuss for Youngest Use.”Thomas has a learning disability, ADHD and epilepsy. And this is hard — harder than I thought possible.___ Third grade is considered a crucial reading year. Children who can’t read well by the end of this year are more likely to become dropouts. All sorts of bad things are possible, the research shows. Yet here we are.I know our situation is extreme. But I also know t...

Autistic soccer fans can watch in comfort in Brazil stadiums

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:04 GMT

SAO PAULO (AP) — Hamilton Moreira is a huge fan of Brazil’s Corinthians, one of the country’s top soccer clubs.But the 16-year-old, who uses a wheelchair and has autism, never saw them in person until last Sunday after his mother learned of their stadium’s special room for people with autism. It’s built into the ninth floor high above one of the goals.“He just loved this,” Ana Moreira, 53, told The Associated Press as she pushed her joyous and shrieking son out of the room and into the crowd after the Corinthians beat Cruzeiro 2-1 in a Brazilian championship match.“Hamilton is a hardcore soccer fan, like the entire family. He watches until the very end, he celebrates with the players. It feels great to include him here,” she said.The facility in NeoQuimica Arena is called a “sensory room,” designed to have a calming effect. It has noise-proof glass walls, special lighting, crayons spread on multiple tables, toys and food — all of which can keep occupants busy durin...

'She really left a mark': Friend mourns woman killed in rock attack

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:04 GMT

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — Friends of 20-year-old Alexa Bartell, the woman killed by a thrown rock in Jefferson County, remember her as someone who left a mark.According to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Bartell, of Arvada, was driving northbound near the 10600 block of Indiana Street. The Sheriff's Office believes the suspects threw a large rock either from a vehicle or the side of the road at Bartell’s car. RELATED: ‘Truck of interest’ in rock attack that killed woman 'not involved' Those who knew Alexa, like former high school classmate Emily Audette, are still in shock."It just doesn't feel real," Audette said. "She was always just someone you could go to about anything, someone you could always talk to. She was just friends with everybody and made everybody laugh.”"She really left a mark on a lot of people, and I hope that inspires people moving forward to be more like she was," Audette said.'She just uplifted people all the time'Audette said she and Bartell lo...

'Truck of interest' not involved in rock attack that killed 20-year-old

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:04 GMT

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — Investigators say they are still looking for whomever was involved in a string of crimes Wednesday night that resulted in the death of a 20-year-old after she was struck and killed by a large rock while driving.While the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office originally said they had located a Dodge pickup truck that may have been involved, they said just before 10 p.m. Thursday that they "positively confirmed" that the truck and its owner "are not involved in the crime series related to the death of Alexa Bartell."The crimes occurred on Wednesday night starting at 10 p.m., according to the Sheriff's Office. Bartell, 20, of Arvada, was driving northbound near the 10600 block of Indiana Street. JCSO believes the suspects threw a large rock either from a vehicle or the side of the road at Bartell's car. Warning: Picking up folded money could be dangerous Investigators say the rock hit Bartell, and she was killed. Moments before she was killed, Bartell wa...

Shooting victim's family says he texted girlfriend moments before his death

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:04 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — A family mourns the loss of Richard "Richie" Lovato, who was killed in a shooting Monday night.Lovato's relatives talked about who he was and what they say led up to his death."Richie was a very happy, loving young man who cared deeply about his family. and we just really miss him," Kimberly Lovato said.Kimberly Lovato is Richie's aunt. She spoke with FOX31 from her home in Pueblo."Richie is more like a son to me than my nephew," she said. "I've been so close to him." RELATED: Who shot and killed this 18-year-old in THE West Colfax neighborhood? Like the rest of his family, Lovato's death has been hard to reconcile, especially how he died.The Denver Police Department said Lovato was shot and killed by the corner of 14th Avenue and Meade Street, just south of Colfax Avenue."We're devastated," his aunt said. "We're completely saddened by it, and even all of his aunts and uncles have had a hard time returning to normal life."Richie Lovato (Credit: Lovato family)The fa...

One person rescued from water at Sunset Cliffs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:04 GMT

Editor's note: San Diego police initially reported three people were rescued and others remained in the water after a boat capsized, but San Diego Lifeguard Service confirmed only one person was rescued and no boat was found at the scene.SAN DIEGO -- One person wearing a life jacket was rescued from the ocean at Sunset Cliffs Thursday, according to authorities.The incident occurred around 9:30 p.m. in the water near Sunset Cliffs Boulevard, between Ladera Street and Carmelo Street, when the person was calling for help, a spokesperson with the San Diego Lifeguard Service said during a news conference. Barricaded carjacking suspect prompts freeway closure in Carlsbad San Diego police initially reported three people were rescued and others still remained in the water following a boat that capsized in the water, but lifeguards confirmed only one person was brought ashore by a surfer.It is unknown why the victim was in the water and how they got there as no boat was found at the scene,...

North Korea calls its nukes ‘stark reality,’ criticizes G-7

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:04 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea’s foreign minister on Friday called the Group of Seven wealthy democracies a “tool for ensuring the U.S. hegemony” as she lambasted the group’s recent call for the North’s denuclearization.The top diplomats from G-7 nations, who met recently in Japan, had jointly condemned the North’s recent ballistic missile tests and reiterated their commitment to the goal of North Korea’s complete abandonment of its nuclear weapons. Their communique was prepared as a template for leaders at the G-7 summit next month in Hiroshima, where North Korea’s nuclear program will likely be discussed again.North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said her country will take unspecified “strong counteraction” if G-7 countries — the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, Italy and the European Union — show “any behavioral attempt” to infringe upon the fundamental interests of North Korea.“G7, a closed group of a handful of egoistic countries, ...

Manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin will be dismissed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:04 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Prosecutors will dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin in the fatal 2021 shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the Western film “ Rust,” alluding to new revelations in the investigation while cautioning that Baldwin has not been absolved.A follow-up investigation will remain active and an involuntary manslaughter charge against Hannah Gutierrez Reed, weapons supervisor on the film, remains unchanged, special prosecutors Kari Morrisey and Jason Lewis said. An online status hearing was scheduled Friday in state District Court for both defendants.“New facts were revealed that demand further investigation and forensic analysis,” the prosecutors said Thursday in a news release, without elaborating on those facts. “This decision does not absolve Mr. Baldwin of criminal culpability and charges may be refiled. Our follow-up investigation will remain active and on-going.”Lawyers for Baldwin were first to announce that prosecutors we...

Rupert Murdoch’s son Lachlan ends Australian defamation suit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:04 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Fox Corp. chief executive Lachlan Murdoch on Friday dropped his defamation lawsuit against Australian news website Crikey, citing the Fox News settlement of a U.S. court case where the network agreed to pay almost $800 million over its lies involving the 2020 U.S. presidential election.Media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s son filed the Crikey suit last August a day after executives at Crikey’s publisher put their names to an ad in The New York Times inviting Lachlan Murdoch to sue to test the press freedom issue in court.Murdoch’s lawsuit targeted the publisher, Private Media, its then-managing editor Peter Fray, who was also the website’s editor-in-chief, and Crikey’s political editor, Bernard Keane.Murdoch claimed he was defamed by Keane’s column about the U.S. congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol building which Crikey published in June last year under the headlines: “Trump is a confirmed unhinged traitor. An...