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When wealthy adventurers take huge risks, who should pay for rescue attempts?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:05:39 GMT

When millionaire Steve Fossett’s plane went missing over the Nevada range in 2007, the swashbuckling adventurer had already been the subject of two prior emergency rescue operations thousands of miles apart.And that prompted a prickly question: After a sweeping search for the wealthy risktaker ended, who should foot the bill?In recent days, the massive hunt for a submersible vehicle lost during a north Atlantic descent to explore the wreckage of the Titanic has refocused attention on that conundrum. And with rescuers and the public fixated first on saving and then on mourning those aboard, it has again made for uneasy conversation.“Five people have just lost their lives and to start talking about insurance, all the rescue efforts and the cost can seem pretty heartless — but the thing is, at the end of the day, there are costs,” said Arun Upneja, dean of Boston University’s School of Hospitality Administration and a researcher on tourism.“There are many people who are going to say, ‘...

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts in early trading after rally hit a roadblock

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:05:39 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are drifting in their first trading since a big rally for Wall Street hit its first roadblock in six weeks. The S&P 500 was little changed in early trading Monday. It remains close to its highest level in a year, which it reached a couple weeks ago. The Dow was just barely higher and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%. Lucid Group jumped 9.3% after the electric vehicle maker announced a deal to provide powertrain and battery systems to Aston Martin. Teslas slipped 0.7% as its torrid rally cools a bit amid concerns it went overboard. It’s already more than doubled this year.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Markets on Wall Street were slow to gain traction Monday, while global shares mostly fell after a short-lived armed rebellion in Russia added to uncertainties over the war in Ukraine. Futures for the Dow Jones industrials and the S&P 500 were flat before the bell Monday.The rebellion by mercenary soldiers who briefly took o...

Supreme Court lets lawsuits over team doctor’s sexual abuse proceed against Ohio State

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:05:39 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday left in place a decision that allows more than 230 men to sue Ohio State University over decades-old sexual abuse by a university doctor, the late Richard Strauss.Two cases involving the abuse were on a list of many cases the court said it would not hear. And, as is typical, the court did not comment in saying it would not hear the cases.Ohio State University had urged the court to review a ruling by the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that revived lawsuits that had been dismissed. The men who sued are among hundreds of former student-athletes and other alumni who say they were abused by Strauss, who worked at the school from 1978 to 1998. They say university officials failed to stop him despite complaints raised as early as the late 1970s. Many of them allege Strauss abused them during required physicals and other medical exams at campus athletic facilities, a student health center, his home and an off-campus clinic.Strauss killed h...

Supreme Court unfreezes Louisiana redistricting case that could boost power of Black voters

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:05:39 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday lifted its hold on a Louisiana case that could force the state to redraw congressional districts to boost Black voting power.The order follows the court’s rejection earlier in June of a congressional redistricting map in Alabama and unfreezes the Louisiana case, which had been on hold pending the decision in Alabama.In both states, Black voters are a majority in just one congressional district. Lower courts had ruled that the maps raised concerns that Black voting power had been diluted, in violation of the landmark federal Voting Rights Act.The justices put the Louisiana case on hold and allowed the state’s challenged map to be used in last year’s elections after they agreed to hear the Alabama case.The case had separately been appealed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. The justices said that appeal now could go forward in advance of next year’s congressional elections.The Associated Press

Bailão sees surge, Chow’s lead shrinks heading into election day: Poll

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:05:39 GMT

Olivia Chow is still the clear frontrunner heading into Toronto’s mayoral byelection, but the latest poll suggests her lead may not be as safe as it once was.Perhaps seeing a surge due to the endorsement of former mayor John Tory, Ana Bailão is now only nine points behind Chow, according to the latest survey from Forum Research.Bailão is up seven points to 20 per cent support among decided voters — trailing Chow’s 29 per cent. Mark Saunders is in third holding at 15 per cent support.Tory formally endorsed Bailão ahead of Monday’s byelection, saying the leader must be laser-focused on what’s best for the city. Tory resigned as the city’s mayor on February 10 after admitting to a months-long affair with a former staffer that ended earlier in 2023.Bailão had not seen more than 13 per cent support in any of the previous Forum polls. She is the only top candidate who saw their support increase compared to last week’s poll.“This is Chow’s third drop of 3 per cent i...

Germany offers to station 4,000 troops in Lithuania to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:05:39 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Germany is willing to send around 4,000 troops to Lithuania on a permanent basis to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said during a visit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius on Monday.“Germany is prepared to permanently station a robust brigade in Lithuania,” Pistorius said. He said infrastructure and facilities will need to be created to accommodate the soldiers and their families.In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine early last year, the German government pledged last June to have a combat brigade ready to defend Lithuania in the event of an attack, German news agency dpa reported. Until now, however, there have been differences over whether the soldiers should be permanently stationed in Lithuania or only sent there temporarily for exercises. The Lithuanian government has demanded a permanent presence, while the German government for a long time was very reluctant to do that. Pistorius explained the German governme...

Germany to roll out measures against heat wave deaths, drawing lessons from France

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:05:39 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — The German government said Monday it is launching a campaign against deaths from heat waves that are becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change.Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said Germany is learning lessons from France, which put in place numerous measures following a devastating heat wave in 2003 that caused about 15,000 deaths in the country.Lauterbach said the French example was a “good model” for what can be done to lessen the health risks particularly among elderly people, those with chronic illnesses, pregnant women and the homeless. “(It is) relatively easy to save them, if you have a plan,” he told reporters in Berlin.Aside from launching a dedicated website for towns and local authorities to determine the measures they can take, Lauterbach said authorities are also examining how best to issue warnings about impending heat waves.Environment Minister Steffi Lemke said global warming is causing new health risks in Europe that can be addressed, inc...

Tenants say a 3-year ban on evictions kept them housed. Landlords say they’re drowning in debt

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:05:39 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Retiree Pamela Haile has paid property taxes, insurance and other bills on a house she lets out in Oakland, but for more than three years her tenants have paid no rent thanks to one of the longest-lasting eviction bans in the country. The eviction moratorium in the San Francisco Bay Area city expires next month and Haile can’t wait. The 69-year-old estimates she is owed more than $60,000 in back rent, money she doubts she will ever see. Moreover, the tenants have trashed her house and it will cost tens of thousands of dollars to make it habitable, she says. “It’s unbelievable and it’s like, how can they have the nerve to just let something like this happen? If this happened to them, how would they feel?” Haile said of her tenants. “Dealing with this whole thing gets me so upset.” Eviction moratoriums were put in place across the U.S. at the start of the pandemic in 2020 to prevent displacement and curb the spread of the coronavirus. Most expire...

Israel OK’s plans for thousands of new settlement homes. Move defies White House calls for restraint

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:05:39 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s far-right government on Monday approved plans to build thousands of new homes in the occupied West Bank — a move that threatened to worsen increasingly strained relations with the United States.The decision defied growing U.S. criticism of Israel’s settlement policies in occupied lands. It also raised tensions with the Palestinians at a time of rising violence in the occupied territory.Multiple Israeli media outlets said the Defense Ministry planning committee that oversees settlement construction approved over 5,000 new settlement homes. The units are at various stages of planning, and it was not immediately clear when construction would begin. The ministry did not immediately comment.The international community, along with the Palestinians, considers settlement construction illegal or illegitimate and obstacles to peace. Over 700,000 Israelis now live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem – territories captured by Israel in 1967 and sought by the P...

German government calls for tolerance after far-right party wins first county executive

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:05:39 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s government said Monday that the country is shaped by values such as tolerance and respect, calling for them to be upheld a day after a far-right party won control of a county administration for the first time.Alternative for Germany, which has come under scrutiny from security services over its ties to extremists, won a runoff election Sunday in Sonneberg county, about 180 kilometers (112 miles) east of Frankfurt. A spokesman for Chancellor Olaf Scholz declined to comment directly on the outcome of the local election, but said that it was important to take people’s concerns seriously and engage in “civilized discussions.”“Our country is shaped by values such as fairness, tolerance, decency and respect,” Steffen Hebestreit told reporters in Berlin. “This must be cultivated and practiced again and again.”The victory of Alternative for Germany’s candidate, Robert Sesselmann, against a center-right rival was sharply criticized by anti-racism cam...