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Biden calls Netanyahu with judicial plan ‘concern’

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:52:16 GMT

WILMINGTON, Del. — President Joe Biden spoke Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express “concern” over his government’s planned overhaul of the country’s judicial system that has sparked widespread protests across Israel and to encourage compromise.The White House said Biden reiterated U.S. concerns about the measure to roll back the judiciary’s insulation from the country’s political system, in a call a senior administration official described as “candid and constructive.” There was no immediate indication that Netanyahu was shying away from the action, after rejecting a compromise last week offered by the country’s figurehead president.The official, who requested anonymity to discuss the leaders’ private call, said that Biden spoke to Netanyahu “as a friend of Israel in the hopes that there can be a compromise formula found.”The White House in statement added that Biden “underscored...

Healey named as one of USA Today’s ‘Women of the Year’

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:52:16 GMT

It’s maybe a bit of a layup for the newspaper, but USA Today has announced that the former point guard turned attorney general and now Gov. Maura Healey made the cut as one of their Women of the Year.“Healey, the first woman and openly LGBTQ person to be elected as Governor in Massachusetts history, is being recognized for being a trailblazing leader for LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive rights as well as for championing for justice and equality,” a spokesperson for the Gannett owned newspaper said with the announcement.After nomination by readers, USA Today staff and a panel of experts, the honor is presented to women “who have broken barriers, including the stratosphere, to make significant change in their communities and around the world,” according to the company.Healey’s selection for the honor comes alongside that of former First Lady Michelle Obama, former Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, actress and philanthropist Goldie Hawn and her foundation, the women...

Governor Newsom visits San Diego to talk mental health, fentanyl

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:52:16 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- California Governor Gavin Newsom is stopping in San Diego on Sunday as part of his four-city tour to address state issues.Newsom gave remarks shorty after 1:30 p.m. Sunday in San Diego. He discussed policy, including modernizing our behavioral health system. He also spoke about building more mental health housing facilities.The governor also stopped by a National Guard facility in National City at 4:30 p.m. to deliver remarks on the fentanyl and opioid crises in the state. Newsom to start California tour with homelessness proposal Ahead of his stop in America's Finest City, Newsom announced plans to address California's homelessness crisis in Sacramento on Thursday. The governor said the state will spend around $30 million to build 1,200 small homes across the state in 2023.County officials confirmed 150 of those tiny homes will be built in the San Diego region.Newsom also made a visit to the Bay Area Friday, where he announced plans to transform San Quentin State Pr...

2 skiers killed in large late-winter avalanches in Colorado

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:52:16 GMT

MARBLE, Colo. (AP) — A skier was killed in an avalanche on Sunday outside a Colorado ski resort boundary, just a day after authorities recovered the body of another avalanche victim, authorities said.Three skiers were caught in Sunday’s large avalanche in the Maroon bowl area outside of the Aspen Highlands resort near Aspen, the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office said.Two of the skiers managed to escape. Further details about the victim were not immediately available.On Saturday, Colorado authorities recovered the body of skier Joel Shute, 36, of Glenwood Springs, after he and two others were caught in a large backcountry avalanche southwest of Marble in western Colorado.Shute had been missing since Friday evening, when the avalanche swept 2,400 feet (730 meters) down a mountainside as the were backcountry touring.The avalanche was two to three feet (up to nearly 1 meter) deep where it began and up to 500 feet (150 meters) wide, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center said...

Cuban baseball team draws ire, support in Little Havana

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:52:16 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Jose Vilela fled Cuba for the United States when he was 14 years old after spending six months in a concentration camp. Like many of his compatriots, he settled in Miami’s Cuban neighborhood, Little Havana.Vilela, now 68, paced Sunday afternoon outside loanDepot Park, the Miami Marlins’ home stadium, where the Cuban national baseball team was set to face the United States for a spot in the World Baseball Classic hours later. For prideful expats eager to separate sports from politics, the country’s first ever baseball game in Miami was cause for celebration.But for Vilela and hundreds of others, it was reason to protest the political oppression they escaped. Vilela stalked the stadium Sunday, yelling outside for anyone associated with the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who embraced Soviet-style communism, to leave the community. That included many Cuban players who are technically government employees.“We don’t want them here,” Vilela said. ̶...

5 Connecticut children, ages 8-17, dead after New York crash

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:52:16 GMT

SCARSDALE, N.Y. (AP) — Five children from Connecticut, ranging in age from 8 to 17, were killed in a fiery early morning crash Sunday on a New York highway, police said. Police believe the vehicle was being driven by a 16-year-old boy when it veered off the Hutchinson River Parkway in Scarsdale, hit a tree and caught fire. A 9-year-old boy, the sixth person in the Nissan Rogue, was the only survivor, according to a statement provided by Kieran O’Leary, spokesperson for the Westchester County Police Department.The 9-year-old was “apparently riding in the rear hatchback/cargo area and escaped out the rear,” according to the statement. The boy was taken to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.The five who were killed include four males and a female. Their identities have not yet been released. Police said they are all from Connecticut.Matt Conway, the superintendent of schools in Derby, Connecticut, said he learned the children were part of a family that recently m...

Hundreds rally for undocumented and migrant worker rights

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:52:16 GMT

Hundreds of people rallied Sunday to demand the Canadian government do more to help undocumented people, migrant workers, students, families and refugees.The rally at Christie Pits was held to mark the International Day for Elimination of Racism and was organized by the Migrant Workers Alliance and the FCJ Refugee Centre. Similar rallies were also held in Vancouver, Montreal and Sudbury. Jen, who moved to Canada from Uganda in 2017, says it’s been difficult to find an employer who will hire her because of her undocumented status. She says she’s only been able to work the odd job in her chosen field of healthcare. “I’ve gone through a lot that I can’t even put food on my table,” she tells CityNews. “I can’t work and in the few jobs that I got I was exploited because I don’t have rights to defend myself as a person.”“I don’t have rights to defend myself as a person. So at work, even my colleagues exploit me becaus...

Why the Texas Longhorns players love playing for Rodney Terry

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:52:16 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — This season has been a wild one for the Texas Longhorns men's basketball team to say the least, and one thing that's helping the players navigate it is the faith they have in interim head coach Rodney Terry.Following the Longhorns' 71-66 win Saturday over Penn State and the program's first berth in the Sweet 16 since 2008, some of the players described what Terry means to them and how his steady energy and calmness helped them through the adversity caused by Chris Beard's dismissal.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newsletters"He embodies what we are and what we try to be every day," said senior forward Timmy Allen about Terry. "Tough, somebody who has been there before and someone who never shakes at adversity. He's someone who wakes up and tries to attack the day to be great. When I have someone like that in my corner, I'll do anything for them. I'm blessed that h...

Wild get some reinforcements ahead of sprint to finish line

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:52:16 GMT

As the Wild paraded out of the tunnel on Sunday afternoon at Xcel Energy Center, the presence of a few players provided a major boost.Jonas Brodin stepped onto the ice, with Brandon Duhaime and Jake Middleton not far behind.Just what the doctor ordered for the Wild with 12 games left in the regular season.“We were good in that stretch, and I think we’re just going to get better throughout the next 10 or 15 games or whatever it is,” Duhaime said. “I think we’re trending in the right direction, and we’ll heat up at the right time.”Though the Wild were thrilled to have each player back in the lineup, Brodin’s return was particularly welcomed as he has missed the past month with a lower-body injury. He last played in a Feb. 21 win over the Los Angeles Kings before the Wild decided to shut him down.“I’m 100 percent,” Brodin said while noting that he reinjured himself a few times earlier this season trying to push through the pai...

Wealthy executives make millions trading competitors’ stock with remarkable timing

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:52:16 GMT

This story was originally published by ProPublica.Series: The Secret IRS FilesInside the Tax Records of the .001%On Feb. 21, 2018, August Troendle, an Ohio billionaire, made a remarkably well-timed stock trade. He sold $1.1 million worth of shares of Syneos Health the day before a management shake-up caused the company’s stock to plunge 16%. It was the largest one-day drop that year for Syneos’ share price.The company was one Troendle knew well. He is the CEO of Medpace, one of Syneos’ chief competitors in a niche industry. Both Syneos and Medpace handle clinical trials for biopharma companies, and that year they had jointly launched a trade association for companies in the field.The day after selling the Syneos shares in February 2018, Troendle bought again — at least $3.9 million worth. The value of his Syneos stake then rose 75% in the year that followed.In February 2019, Troendle sold much of that position, netting $2.3 million in profit. Two days later, Syneos disclosed that th...