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Israeli doctors walk off the job, and more strikes may loom after a law weakening courts passed

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:08 GMT

By ISABEL DEBRE and JULIA FRANKEL (Associated Press)JERUSALEM (AP) — Thousands of Israeli doctors walked off their jobs, labor leaders threatened a general strike and senior justices rushed home from a trip abroad on Tuesday, a day after the government’s approval of a law that weakens the country’s Supreme Court. Critics say the legislation will erode the system of checks and balances.Four leading Israeli newspapers covered their front pages in black ink — an ominous image paid for by an alliance of high-tech companies. The only words on the pages were in a line at the bottom: “A black day for Israeli democracy.”Monday’s vote — on the first of a series of measures that make up Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s divisive judicial overhaul — reverberated across the country. It came despite seven months of fierce popular resistance, Netanyahu’s promises of an eventual compromise and a rare warning against the overhaul f...

San Diego homeless encampment ban begins Sunday, in certain areas

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:08 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego's homeless encampment ordinance will go into effect on Sunday. The city said it will first focus its enforcement efforts on the unhoused living in the street and in tents within two a block radius of schools and parks. “It'll be a gradual implementation," Councilmember Stephen Whitburn said in an interview with FOX 5 Tuesday. “Those will be the areas we will be starting with and gradually will be expanding the enforcement and implementation of the ordinance to all public property in the city of San Diego.” Beginning Sunday, law enforcement can enforce the ban. Authorities will first offer a shelter bed to someone living on the street, if they decline, they will get a warning. On the second contact, law enforcement can give a misdemeanor citation. If they decline shelter for a third time, a custodial arrest can be made.“We have been reaching out to individuals who are currently living on the streets and in the parks, and letting them know that the ordinance is ...

Maine lawmakers endorse proposal that would jumpstart offshore wind projects

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:08 GMT

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine is poised to launch an offshore wind program that would meet clean energy goals and produce enough power for about 900,000 homes from floating wind turbines in the Gulf of Maine.The legislation, which was endorsed by lawmakers Tuesday, calls for requests for proposals to be issued for 3,000 megawatts of electricity from offshore wind turbines by 2040. That’s enough electricity to power about half of Maine’s electricity load. “This bill means jobs. It means lower, more stable energy prices, while at the same time addressing climate change. We need to pass this bill now,” said Democratic Sen. Mark Lawrence, the bill’s sponsor.Legislation was revised, combined with another bill and reintroduced to address Democratic Gov. Janet Mills’ concerns about labor agreements, causing her to veto an earlier bill. The offshore wind bill passed both chambers of the Legislature in initial votes Tuesday.Approval puts Maine on a path to catch up with other states that...

Hunter Biden’s guilty plea is on the horizon, and so are a fresh set of challenges

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:08 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, faced new challenges on the eve of a scheduled court appearance Wednesday in which he’s set to plead guilty in a deal with prosecutors on tax and gun charges.On Capitol Hill, where Republicans are ramping up their investigations of the president and his son, the GOP chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee took the unusual step of filing court documents urging the judge in Hunter Biden’s case to consider testimony from IRS whistleblowers. The whistleblowers alleged the Justice Department interfered with investigations into Biden, a charge that has been denied by the lead prosecutor in the case, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump. U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, who was also appointed by Trump, will consider whether to accept the plea agreement. Judges rarely throw out plea bargains, but the effort to intervene by Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith of Missouri amounted to a high...

Toronto police dog killed, suspect injured in ‘officer-involved’ shooting

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:08 GMT

A Toronto police K9 was shot and killed, and a suspect is injured after an officer-involved shooting in Etobicoke on Tuesday evening.Authorities were called to the Dixon Road and Kipling Avenue area just after 8:30 p.m. for reports of a suspect armed with a gun.A Toronto police officer and a K9 were searching for the suspect on foot. Investigators said the police dog was killed following an interaction with the suspect, who was also injured as a result.Toronto paramedics tell CityNews one person was transported to a hospital. It’s unclear if it was the suspect.The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is expected to invoke its mandate.The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of officials that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person.

Typhoon blows off roofs, floods villages and displaces thousands in northern Philippines

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:08 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Typhoon Doksuri ripped tin roofs off of homes, flooded low-lying villages, knocked out power and displaced more than 12,000 people Wednesday as it smashed into a small island and lashed northern Philippine provinces with ferocious winds and rain, officials said.There were no immediate reports of casualties after the typhoon slammed into Fuga island off Aparri town in Cagayan province, where more than 12,100 people were evacuated from high-risk coastal villages and schools, and workplaces were shut down as a precaution as Doksuri approached. Thousands of people in other northern provinces were also displaced by the typhoon, which has a 700-kilometer-wide (435-mile-wide) band of wind and rain.Doksuri weakened slightly but remained dangerous and lethal with sustained winds of 175 kph (109 mph) and gusts of up to 240 kph (149 mph). It was blowing over the coastal waters of Fuga and Aparri town Wednesday morning, forecasters said.“Our northern coastal towns are...

Israel’s government has passed the first part of its legal overhaul. The law’s ripples are dramatic

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:08 GMT

The Israeli government has passed the first major piece of legislation in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the country’s legal system — part of a broader plan that has triggered nationwide protests, divided the country and rattled the powerful military and influential business community. The plan seeks to weaken the country’s Supreme Court and transfer more powers to the parliament. Supporters say Israel’s unelected judges wield too much power. But opponents say the judges play an important oversight role, and that the plan will push Israel toward autocratic rule.Despite the fraught atmosphere, Netanyahu’s allies say they are moving forward on the overhaul.Here’s a look at how the overhaul could affect Israel in the coming months:WHY IS THE COUNTRY SO DIVIDED?Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges, has long been a polarizing leader. His government took office in December, after narrowly winning the country’s fifth election in un...

Blinken visits tiny Tonga as US continues diplomatic push to counter China in the Pacific

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:08 GMT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the tiny kingdom of Tonga on Wednesday, as the United States continues to increase its diplomatic efforts in the Pacific while China’s influence in the region grows.Home to just over 100,000 people, Tonga last year was the site of a massive volcanic eruption that sent millions of tons of water vapor into the atmosphere and killed four people in Tonga. Blinken’s visit helped highlight the opening of a new U.S. Embassy in Tonga and the return of Peace Corps volunteers following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.Blinken met with Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni and other officials to discuss the bilateral relationship as well as regional and global issues, said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller. “Secretary Blinken outlined how the United States is following through on commitments made by President Biden at last year’s historic summit with Pacific Islands leaders to elevate our diplomatic...

ESPN considers adding sports leagues as partners as it transitions from cable to digital

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:08 GMT

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) — ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said the network could take on a sports league as a minority partner as the network continues its transition from a cable channel to a digital company.“I will emphasize that we believe there are parties out there that can help us on the content side. So you can draw whatever conclusions you want from that,” Pitaro said Tuesday during a seminar sponsored by CNBC and Boardroom, a sports media company founded by Kevin Durant.Pitaro declined to say which leagues have been in talks with him and Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger, but he said there has “been a healthy level of interest” from leagues as well as technology, marketing and distribution companies.Pitaro also said it is not a question of if but when ESPN will roll out a direct-to-consumer product to view its offerings.A league having an equity stake in a network like ESPN would be groundbreaking and would pose some questions about fairness and objectivity in coverage. It would ma...

Men’s players send cease-and-desist orders to Canada Soccer sponsors

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:08 GMT

The Canadian men’s soccer team has fired another salvo in its ongoing labour battle with Canada Soccer, accusing the governing body of “attempting to capitalize on the Women’s World Cup to force us into an inadequate deal.”The statement, by the Canada Men’s National Soccer Team Players Association, was released on social media on the eve of Wednesday’s showdown in Perth, Australia, between Canada and Ireland at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.Canada captain Christine Sinclair said going into the soccer showcase in Australia and New Zealand that the Olympic champion women wanted an interim agreement covering compensation at this World Cup done in advance of the opening kickoff so they could focus on football.And while that deal has yet to be confirmed, Sinclair has said it is all but done and the women are concentrating on their on-field mission.The men are not satisfied, however.#CMNSTPA Statement re Ongoing Labour Negotiations (July 25, 2023) pi...