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Only dead people donate to the Scottish National Party

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:08:32 GMT

LONDON — When your most enthusiastic donors are dead people, you might have a problem.The Scottish National Party — the pro-independence outfit which has dominated Scottish politics for more than a decade — has suffered an exodus of big-money donors.Its finances are the subject of an ongoing police probe that’s seen the arrest of top party figures.Separately, subscription-paying members have deserted the party in their thousands, and a cut in taxpayer-funded support may be looming on the horizon. Most troublingly for SNP chiefs, the party is now struggling to raise money from any significant new donors at all, beyond those who are already deceased. Analysis of SNP donation figures shows that, in the last five years, the party has received just one donation worth £50,000 or more from a living person. Instead, it’s been increasingly dependent on bequests left by dead supporters in their wills.It’s not quite the image the nationalist party — which self-identifies as a...

Ursula von der Leyen is losing her team

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:08:32 GMT

She’s the most powerful woman in Europe, who has steered the bloc through a pandemic, repaired fraying ties with America, and is now navigating a war. But Ursula von der Leyen can’t keep her own team united. With almost a year still to run before its term is due to end, the European Commission, which von der Leyen leads, has seen a growing number of senior figures jump ship for other opportunities. Last week, her executive vice president became the latest top EU commissioner to announce his intention to return home to reenter domestic politics. Others, who are still in their roles, have taken to speaking out against some of her highest profile policies. Meanwhile, speculation is rife about von der Leyen’s own future, and whether the 64-year-old former German defense minister will seek a second five-year term running the EU’s most influential institution. Amid the uncertainty and disruption of personnel changes, the Brussels machine still has work to do. European ...

2 more former student-athletes sue Northwestern over alleged hazing

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:08:32 GMT

(CNN) — A former volleyball player has filed a lawsuit alleging hazing within Northwestern University’s women’s volleyball team – the latest accusation against the school’s athletic programs.According to the lawsuit, filed Monday, a person who was listed as “Jane Doe” experienced “hazing, harassment, bullying and retaliation” as a member of the team, and sustained an injury while running suicides – an exercise where an athlete runs to every line on the court and back in quick succession – as punishment for allegedly breaking the team’s Covid-19 protocols.Following the injury, in March 2021, the university conducted an investigation into the hazing allegation, according to both the filing and a statement from the school.The investigation found hazing had taken place, canceled two games and instituted anti-hazing training, Northwestern said.In the lawsuit, Doe alleges that following the investigation and through December 2022, she “never once played in a volleyball game...

Community members voice concerns about proposal to close Leominster Hospital birthing center

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:08:32 GMT

It was a packed house at a public hearing Monday on a proposal by the UMass Memorial Health system to close the existing birthing center at Leominster Hospital. UMass announced in May its decision to close the birthing center in September. At that point, UMass Health mothers will be sent to Worcester. Mothers could also choose a different regional hospital within a half hour of Leominster. Many expectant mothers and others have expressed concerns about the closure, though, saying they’re worried the changes could put their families in danger.“How many children are we going to see die?” said Ronnie Hule this week. “How many women are we going to see dying?”Head of Obstetrics at UMass memorial health system Dr. Tiffany Moore Semis said “like many of our health system peers, we’re experiencing unprecedented workforce shortages after the pandemic.”“This, along with the declining number of births at the hospital severely impacts the sustainability of this inpatient servic...

Director Ryan Coogler reveals why Steph Curry peeled back the veil for ‘Underrated’ doc (EXCLUSIVE)

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:08:32 GMT

NBA star Steph Curry is motivating others to shoot their best shot in Apple TV’s Stephen Curry: Underrated.The documentary film chronicles intimate details of Curry’s rise from in his own words “the undersized, scrawny kid that was just trying to figure out how to make it” to a four time NBA champion.The documentary’s producers, “Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler and Unanimous Media’s Erick Peyton, revealed the Golden State Warriors star wanted to pull the curtain on his personal life “to reframe the quote-unquote celebrity athlete documentary.”“On the surface, someone could write this film off, but this is a film about the power of being seen,” Coogler told the Daily News.He added: “That was the biggest thing I think that Steph did was allow himself to be open at a time when he was trying to accomplish so much that requires so much focus. Trying to take a team on a playoff run, trying to complete your ...

Bishop Fenwick hit with sanctions

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:08:32 GMT

PEABODY — Just an hour after the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association publicly released the letter it sent to Bishop Fenwick detailing its Board of Directors’ unprecedented decision to ban postseason play for all sports in 2023-24, the penalized school packed its auditorium Monday night in an open forum for the Crusaders’ community to raise concerns and get answers from administration on what exactly happened.Upset attendants voiced frustration toward hosts Thomas Nunan (Bishop Fenwick President) and Neil Harrington (Chairman of the Board of Trustees), preaching accountability after the two discussed what they felt were honest mistakes in violation of MIAA Rule 87.6 regarding waivers — specifically middle school and fifth-year eligibility.Whatever contrast parents and the two feel in what should happen to the administration involved, though, the message was loud and clear from both sides: The MIAA’s penalty is far too excessive, and pointed at the wrong people.“This de...

Luxury group LVMH joins top-tier French sponsors of the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:08:32 GMT

PARIS (AP) — The world’s biggest luxury group, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, announced a sponsorship deal Monday with the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics, joining the ranks of top-tier French sponsors such as banking group BPCE, pharmaceutical maker Sanofi and supermarket operator Carrefour.Antoine Arnault, one of the heirs to the LVMH empire, confirmed the deal during a news conference also attended by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, Paris 2024 chief organizer Tony Estanguet, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and France’s sports minister, Amelie Oudea-Castera.LVMH is led by Arnault’s father, Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault. Its collaboration with the Games will include various company brands like Louis Vuitton, Dior, Moet Hennessy and Chaumet. Prestigious jeweler Chaumet will design the medals for the Games, and the French athletic delegation will wear clothes from one of LVMH’s fashion houses. Sephora, LVMH’s beauty retailer, is sponsoring the Olympic ...

CPD officer in hospital after being shot in Englewood

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:08:32 GMT

CHICAGO — A Chicago Police Department officer is in the hospital after a shooting in the Englewood neighborhood Monday evening, department officials say.According to police, an officer-involved shooting took place around 7:40 p.m. in the 5600 block of South Shields Avenue, after officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop.While attempting to conduct the traffic stop, one of the officers involved was shot in the left hand, and the suspect police were trying to stop, fled. According to CPD interim superintendent Fred Waller, that suspect is still at-large. The injured officer was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center by his partners, where he is in good condition. 19-year-old charged with 1st degree murder in connection to Chatham fatal shooting No other information is available at this time.

Elon Musk says tweets are to be called 'X's' now

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:08:32 GMT

(The Hill) - Twitter owner Elon Musk said on Monday that tweets are expected to be called “X’s,” becoming one of the latest changes to happen to the social media platform. Musk responded to a tweet from a user who asked, “So now that Twitter has been rebranded to X, what are tweets called now?”“x’s,” Musk replied.Musk’s response came after he announced the rebranding of the social platform on Sunday, changing his profile avatar to an X logo and posting promotional content of the new logo from its well-known bird outline.“[S]oon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds,” Musk tweeted on Sunday. What Twitter knows about you – and what you can do about it The X logo also began to appear on the desktop version of the platform, though the soon-to-be outgoing bird logo remains on the platform’s mobile version. Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino said in a series of tweets that the new logo represents “the future state of unlimited interactivity — centered ...

Man falls from hot air balloon in Connecticut

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:08:32 GMT

GUILFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — A 69-year-old man was taken to a hospital after falling from a hot air balloon during a Connecticut festival over the weekend. The Guilford Fire Department says the incident happened around 9:45 p.m. Sunday night at the Guilford Fairgrounds where the Balloon Glow and Laser Show was being held. According to authorities, the man, a volunteer, was helping passengers on and off the aircraft when the balloon began to rise.The man was reportedly hanging onto the outside of the balloon's basket before he fell about 10 to 15 feet to the ground. Woman says she was fired after trying to stop shoplifters Hot Air Ballon Management, the company behind the show, issued the following statement to WTNH regarding the incident:“For some reason, [the volunteer] grabbed onto the bottom (of) the balloon as it ascended and was pulled off his feet. He dropped off at some point quickly and was injured in the fall. Our thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family.”The man was...