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Slovakia’s plan to scrap prosecutor’s office prompts rule-of-law concerns in Brussels

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:19:15 GMT

The new Slovakian government led by Prime Minister Robert Fico wants to shut down a special prosecutor’s office that oversees sensitive corruption cases, raising fears in Brussels about erosion of the rule of law in the country.“The institution significantly contributed to the violation of human rights,” Fico claimed Wednesday after approving the use of a fast-track legislative process to shutter the prosecutor’s office, adding that officials working there have abused their authority. The special institution, which has existed since 2004, handles cases connected to corruption and serious crimes, including those related to misusing EU funds. Investigations by the office have led to numerous convictions in high-profile corruption cases, many of which were linked to Fico’s ruling Smer party during his previous tenure as prime minister.After Wednesday’s decision to use the fast-track process to amend the criminal code, the Slovak parliament will vote on the plan in the coming week...

UK accuses Russia of ‘sustained’ cyberattack on politicians and journalists

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:19:15 GMT

LONDON — The Russian security service has compromised private conversations of high-profile U.K. politicians and media figures, the British government claimed Thursday.The Foreign Office announced it had summoned Russia’s ambassador after warning that hacking groups controlled by Russia’s FSB security service have been behind “sustained unsuccessful attempts to interfere in U.K. political processes.”Foreign Office Minister Leo Docherty told the House of Commons Thursday that MPs, peers, civil servants, journalists and NGOs had been among those targeted over years in an attempt to “meddle in British politics.”He said some private conversations of high-profile politicians and civil servants had been compromised — but insisted the broader campaign had “not been successful.” And he claimed the group had “selectively leaked and amplified information” in an attempt to interfere in U.K. politics.Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden...

Post-Roe, nearly 1 in 5 people seeking an abortion traveled out of state, analysis finds

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:19:15 GMT

(CNN) — With abortion banned in more than a dozen states and restricted in many others, it’s become about twice as common for people in the United States to travel across state lines for their abortion care, a new analysis found.Nearly 1 in 5 people who had an abortion in the first half of 2023 – more than 92,000 people – traveled across state lines for their care, according to a report from the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization focused on sexual and reproductive health that supports abortion rights. In a similar timeframe in 2020, before the US Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision revoked the federal right to abortion, less than 1 in 10 people left their home state for an abortion – about 50,000 fewer people.The data probably understates the impact that the Dobbs decision has had, says Isaac Maddow-Zimet, a data scientist with the Guttmacher Institute and lead researcher for the new report. More people are traveling for abortion care, and they’re tra...

From the Boy Scouts to the Catholic Church, an upcoming Supreme Court ruling may mean some victims won’t see their day in court

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:19:15 GMT

Los Angeles (CNN) — On Monday, the US Supreme Court grappled with one of the highest-profile bankruptcy cases the court has taken on in decades.The case hinges on the legality of OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma’s multibillion-dollar bankruptcy plan ­— which would have the Sackler family, who once owned the pharmaceutical giant, personally pay up to $6 billion to victims of the opioid crisis, including state governments, local governments, Native American tribes and individuals, in exchange for the family’s legal immunity from future civil lawsuits. The deal would also mean the family would not have to admit any guilt or wrongdoing related to allegations that the Sacklers were complicit in aggressively marketing OxyContin and downplaying its highly addictive properties.But the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision in this case may affect much more than the Sackler family’s fortune. Third-party releases, the provision that would allow the Sacklers to be shielded fro...

US military in talks to escort commercial ships in Red Sea amid attacks from Iranian-backed militants

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:19:15 GMT

Washington (CNN) — The US is considering beefing up protections for commercial ships around a vital Red Sea shipping route amid a series of recent missile attacks by Iran-backed Houthi militants operating out of Yemen, according to military officials.The US has discussed ways to increase security in the area with members of the Combined Maritime Forces, a multi-national naval task force charged with protecting commercial shipping in the Red Sea. US officials have said publicly that discussions have centered on the possibility of escorting ships operating in the Red Sea and through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait into the Gulf of Aden — the narrow channel that separates Yemen and the Horn of Africa.Seven members of the task force — made up of 39 nations that rotate command — have already offered to help, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told an audience at the Atlantic Council in Washington on Monday. US officials have dec...

A painting valued at $15,000 turned out to be by Rembrandt. Now it has sold for almost $14 million

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:19:15 GMT

London (CNN) — A painting valued at $15,000 just two years ago fetched almost £11 million ($13.8 million) at a Sotheby’s auction on Wednesday after being identified as the work of the Dutch master Rembrandt.“Adoration of the Kings” had been virtually unseen since the 1950s, when it first came to light. It was acquired by collector J.C.H. Heldring in Amsterdam in 1955. His widow sold it to a German family in 1985, where it remained until it was sold by Christie’s in Amsterdam two years ago.At the time of that sale, Christie’s attributed the biblical scene to the “Circle of Rembrandt,” suggesting it had been carried out by a student or an artist close to the famous painter, and estimated its value at between €10,000 and €15,000 (then around $10,600 to $15,900).The monochromatic painting, which measures 9.6 x 7.3 inches, was purchased by an anonymous buyer for €860,000 (then around $910,000) at the Christie’s sale — more than 50 times the painting’s estimated v...

Patriots-Steelers preview: What to watch for on Thursday Night Football

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:19:15 GMT

Barring a small football miracle, Thursday night will be an ugly, low-scoring affair in Pittsburgh.Backup quarterbacks, rugged defenses and teams coming off a short week after disappointing losses.But it won’t take a miracle for the Patriots to pull an upset.How so? Here’s what to watch for against the Steelers:When the Patriots runWithout Rhamondre Stevenson, Ezekiel Elliott will take over lead duties in the backfield Thursday.Elliott rushed for 52 yards on 17 carries in Stevenson’s absence last week. Elliott, even in the twilight of his career, offers plus power and an all-around skill set, which could force him to play most third downs and perhaps upwards of 70% of the team’s offensive snaps. On the season, he’s averaging 3.8 yards per carry.“He runs very tough and physical,” Pats center David Andrews said of Elliott this week. “He’s got great vision, good quickness. I think he’s just a tough, physical back, and I’ve always thought ...

Officer and utility worker killed in hit-and-run crash; suspect also accused of stealing cruiser

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:19:15 GMT

WALTHAM, Mass. (AP) — A pickup truck driver in a suburb of Boston is accused of crashing into a police officer and a utility employee at a work site, killing them, then pulling a knife on another officer before stealing his cruiser and crashing, law enforcement officials said.Two other utility workers were injured in the initial crash Wednesday afternoon in Waltham, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) west of Boston, and “multiple other vehicles” were struck by the truck before it was abandoned, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said in a news release. “Clearly what happened … is an unimaginable tragedy,” Ryan said at a news conference. “These two men were doing their job at 4 o’clock in the afternoon when they were killed and crashes like this happen far too often.” After the cruiser crashed, police said they arrested the driver after a brief foot pursuit. A 54-year-old man from Woodsville, New Hampshire, was charged with two counts of manslaughter and armed robbery and was ...

UK says Russia’s intelligence service behind sustained attempts to meddle in British democracy

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:19:15 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Russia’s intelligence services targeted high-profile British politicians, civil servants and journalists with cyberespionage and “malicious cyberactivity” as part of sustained attempts to interfere in U.K. political processes, Britain’s government said Thursday. The Foreign Office said Russia’s FSB agency was responsible for a range of cyberespionage operations in the U.K., including targeting British parliamentarians from multiple parties and “high-profile individuals and entities” from at least 2015, and selectively leaking and amplifying sensitive information to serve Russian interests.Foreign Office minister Leo Docherty told lawmakers that a cybergroup known as “Star Blizzard,” which British cybersecurity officials believe to be “almost certainly subordinate” to an FSB unit, created false identities to impersonate legitimate contacts and compromise email accounts in the public sector.“The targeting of this group is not limited to poli...

Pedestrian seriously hurt after getting trapped under bus in Mississauga

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:19:15 GMT

A woman is expected to survive after being struck and then becoming trapped under a bus in Mississauga on Wednesday night.Emergency crews were called to Elm Drive and Mississauga Valley Boulevard, near Central Parkway East and Hurontario Street, around 8:15 p.m. for reports of a bus hitting a pedestrian.A woman was found trapped underneath a MiWay transit bus at the intersection.The victim was initially rushed to hospital with critical injuries, but police tell CityNews she is expected to survive.No charges have been laid as of yet. The investigation is ongoing.