French DJ and LGBTQ+ icon carries Paralympic torch to defy hate she endured over Olympics ceremony

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PARIS (AP) — French performer Barbara Butch carried the Paralympic torch Sunday evening in an act of defiance after being targeted by hate speech over her appearance in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

“I chose not to be afraid to exist in the public space,” Barbara Butch, a popular DJ and LGBTQ+ icon said in an interview with broadcaster France Info before walking onstage with the torch at a musical event in Saint-Cloud, a western suburb of Paris. “I know I represent France in the same way as anyone else,” she added.

The performer filed a formal legal complaint alleging online abuse after suffering online harassment, death threats and insults following her performance in the July 26 Olympics opening show. Five other artists and performers, including the ceremony’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly, made similar complaints after suffering a torrent of abuse.

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Butch said she has received “tens of thousands of hate messages.” A specialized team has managed to identify “hundreds of people who had sent … the most violet messages,” she said.

“Justice will do its job and then we will tackle the international level,” Butch said.

Butch was among nearly 1,000 torch bearers – who will carry the Paralympic flame, split between 12 torches, to 50 cities across France in the next few days to highlight communities that are committed to promoting inclusion in sport and building awareness of living with disabilities.

Other torch bearers include former Paralympians, young para athletes, volunteers from Paralympic federations, innovators of advanced technological support, people who dedicate their lives to others with impairments and people who work in the nonprofit sector to support careers.

The 12 flames will become one again when the relay ends in central Paris on Wednesday after visiting historical sites along the city’s famed boulevards and plazas before lightening the cauldron during the three-hour opening ceremony.

Follow AP’s Paralympics coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/paralympic-games

Fireworks in August? Why not? Stillwater reschedules Fourth of July celebration for Saturday

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It’s never too late to celebrate the Fourth of July.

Flooding on the St. Croix River forced Stillwater officials to postpone the city’s Fourth of July fireworks show, so city officials instead decided to hold the show at dusk on Saturday. Estimated start time is 9 p.m.

Spectators are asked to bring lawn chairs – and maybe a picnic basket – to either Lowell Park or Pioneer Park to watch the free fireworks display. RES Specialty Pyrotechnics, based in Belle Plaine, Minn., is producing the show.

In addition to the fireworks, spectators can watch a Civil War cannon salute in Lowell Park and listen to live music in Pioneer Park.

Civil War reenactors representing Battery I, 1st Regiment of the U.S. Artillery, a field artillery battery of the U.S. Army between 1821 and 1901, will be doing cannon-firing demonstrations at 3, 4, 5 and 7 p.m. at Mulberry Point in Lowell Park, 201 Water St.

The St. Croix Jazz Orchestra will be playing from 6-8 p.m. at Pioneer Park, 515 Second Street N.

For more information, go to stillwatermn.gov.

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Apparent cyberattack leaves Seattle airport facing major internet outages

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SEATTLE (AP) — An apparent cyberattack disrupted internet, phones, email and other systems at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for a third day on Monday as Port of Seattle officials worked to investigate the outages and restore full service.

“We’re working around the clock to get necessary systems back online and to mitigate impacts to our passengers,” the airport’s aviation managing director Lance Lyttle said in a press conference Sunday.

Lyttle said the airport is investigating with the help of outside experts and is working closely with federal partners, including the Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection. Officials have not released details about the full scope of the outage, but Lyttle said it was not affecting TSA’s ability to screen passengers.

Some airlines, including Delta and Alaska Airlines, reported no service interruptions from the outage. Both of the airlines use Sea-Tac as a hub. Still, the outage did affect the Port of Seattle’s baggage sorting system, prompting airlines to warn passengers to avoid checking bags if possible to avoid potential delays.

The airport also warned travelers to allow extra time at the airport and to use airline mobile applications to get boarding passes and bag tags when possible.

Still, many travelers faced security lines that were longer than normal and long waits at baggage claims and checking. Terminal screens were also out throughout the airport, making it difficult for some to determine their assigned gate.

“Port teams continue to make progress on returning systems to normal operations, but there is not an estimated time for return,” the airport wrote on Facebook on Sunday.

Judge to hear arguments over whether to dismiss Arizona’s fake elector case

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By JACQUES BILLEAUD Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — A judge will hear arguments Monday in a Phoenix courtroom over whether to throw out charges against Republicans who signed a document falsely claiming Donald Trump won Arizona in the 2020 election and others who are accused of scheming to overturn the presidential race’s outcome.

At least a dozen defendants are seeking a dismissal under an Arizona law that bars using baseless legal actions in a bid to silence critics. The law had long offered protections in civil cases but was amended in 2022 by the Republican-led Legislature to cover people facing most criminal charges.

The defendants argue Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes tried to use the charges to silence them for their constitutionally protected speech about the 2020 election and actions taken in response to the race’s outcome. They say Mayes campaigned on investigating the fake elector case and had shown a bias against Trump and his supporters.

Prosecutors say the defendants don’t have evidence to back up their retaliation claim and they crossed the line from protected speech to fraud. Mayes’ office also has said the grand jury that brought the indictment wanted to consider charging the former president, but prosecutors urged them not to.

In all, 18 Republicans were charged with forgery, fraud and conspiracy. The defendants consist of 11 Republicans who submitted a document falsely claiming Trump won Arizona, two former Trump aides and five lawyers connected to the former president, including Rudy Giuliani.

So far, two defendants have resolved their cases.

Former Trump campaign attorney Jenna Ellis, who worked closely with Giuliani, signed a cooperation agreement with prosecutors that led to the dismissal of her charges. Republican activist Loraine Pellegrino also became the first person to be convicted in the Arizona case when she pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and was sentenced to probation.

The remaining defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

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Former Trump presidential chief of staff Mark Meadows is trying to move his charges to federal court, where his lawyers say they will seek a dismissal of the charges.

Trump wasn’t charged in Arizona, but the indictment refers to him as an unindicted coconspirator.

In a filing, Mayes’ office said as grand jurors were considering possible charges, a prosecutor asked them not to indict Trump, citing a U.S. Justice Department policy that limits the prosecution of someone for the same crime twice. The prosecutor also didn’t know whether authorities had all the evidence they would need to charge Trump at that time.

Eleven people who had been nominated to be Arizona’s Republican electors met in Phoenix on Dec. 14, 2020, to sign a certificate saying they were “duly elected and qualified” electors and claimed Trump had carried the state in the 2020 election.

President Joe Biden won Arizona by 10,457 votes. A one-minute video of the signing ceremony was posted on social media by the Arizona Republican Party at the time. The document later was sent to Congress and the National Archives, where it was ignored.

Prosecutors in Michigan, Nevada, Georgia and Wisconsin have also filed criminal charges related to the fake electors scheme. Arizona authorities unveiled the felony charges in late April.