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First GOP debate kicks off in Milwaukee with attacks on Biden, Trump absent from the stage

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:55 GMT

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Republican presidential candidates vying to be the leading alternative to front-runner Donald Trump opened the first Republican primary debate Wednesday night with broadsides criticizing President Joe Biden’s handling of the economy and what they consider to be excessive government spending.“Our country is in decline,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said to applause.The former president wasn’t on stage in Milwaukee, choosing to skip the primetime event. But he was a central figure nonetheless, with Fox News moderators Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum expected to press his rivals to articulate how they would differ in style and substance from Trump, who holds a commanding early lead in the race.With less than five months until the Iowa caucuses jumpstart the GOP presidential nomination process, the debate is a critical opportunity for lower-polling candidates to introduce themselves to millions of voters, many of whom are just beginning to pay attention to the ...

ACC progressing toward westward expansion with Stanford, Cal, SMU potential targets, AP source says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:55 GMT

The Atlantic Coast Conference is making progress toward an expansion that could grab Stanford and California from the sinking Pac-12, a person with direct knowledge of the ACC’s potential move told The Associated Press on Wednesday.The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the conference was not making its internal discussions public.“It’s gaining momentum,” the person said about the possibility of expansion being approved.Two weeks ago, the ACC got so far as to gather its entire board of university leaders twice in three days to consider adding Stanford, Cal and possibly SMU, the Dallas-based American Athletic Conference school. They never took an official vote, knowing they would not have had the necessary 12 of 15 votes for expansion to be approved.How new revenue generated by adding members to the conference would be distributed has been a sticking point for several schools, among them Florida State, Clemson and North Carolina.But expansion was never a dead ...

From Europe to Canada to Hawaii, photos capture destructive power of wildfires

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:55 GMT

The destructive power of wildfire has been a defining feature of a summer of climate extremes. Dozens of people on multiple continents have died. Blazes have reduced homes and businesses to rubble. Thick smoke has darkened skies and carried fine-particle pollution thousands of miles from its source.It’s a ghastly pattern that climate scientists around the world say has been worsened and fueled by human-caused global warming. Greenhouse gas emissions have greatly increased the chances of hot, dry weather that makes severe fires more likely. And while proper management can help — for instance, controlled burns and clearing out overgrown forests — it’s not always enough to beat the odds as climate change drives fire seasons to start earlier and last longer.The toll on humans will be great. Beyond the immediate aftermath, experts say that exposure to wildfire smoke can cause long-term issues for human health, with respiratory effects like asthma and COPD as well as impacts o...

Caught on camera: Man suspected in 11 dumpster fires

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:55 GMT

BRIGHTON, Colo. (KDVR) — Arvada Police are hoping to catch the person they believe responsible for setting at least 11 dumpster fires near businesses and apartment complexes, all within the last month.In the communities beneath the Olde Town water tower, just feet from where families lay their heads at night, residents like Caitlyn Mix recently noticed some damage on their dumpsters.“My apartment is like, right outside the trash can,” Mix said, adding, “I noticed that on the inside it was all black and the lid was melted. And I was like, well, obviously there was a fire here, but like, I didn't hear anything happen.”The Arvada Police Department shared footage of the suspect. It shows a man moving around and waving at first, then going through bins with a flashlight before flames ignite in the dumpsters. Caught on camera: Hyundai theft takes nearly an hour “There's something not right with somebody who's just setting a dumpster on fire,” Arvada Police Det. David Snelling said. “And...

Dollar Tree and Family Dollar agree to changes after OSHA violations

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:55 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. regulators on Wednesday announced a settlement with the company that runs Dollar Tree and Family Dollar aimed at improving worker safety at thousands of the bargain stores across the country.Labor Department officials cited hazards at the stores including blocked exits, unsafe storage of materials, and improper access to fire extinguishers and electrical panels. Colorado’s paid sick leave law expanded in August Under the agreement, the chains operated by Dollar Tree Inc. are required to find the “root causes” of violations that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has repeatedly cited at multiple stores and fix them within two years, the department said.Assistant Labor Secretary Doug Parker noted that OSHA has issued 403 violations at Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores since 2017, resulting in more than $13.1 million in fines to date. The company “made some significant improvement” in worker safety following a 2015 settlement that expired in 201...

SUV plows into Plantation home, sending driver to hospital; officials believe medical issue led to crash

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:55 GMT

An SUV came to an smashing stop inside a Plantation home, causing extensive damage.7News cameras captured the gaping hole caused by the vehicle at the house located along Pine Terrace, near Holly Lane, Thursday evening.“Almost right through it. It’s unbelievable,” said neighbor Angelina Miller.A neighbor sent 7News a picture of the damage caused by the crash, all the way to the back wall of the house, as well as debris scattered all over the interior of the residence.The silver Nissan Rogue involved not only destroyed the bedroom; the entire home has been labeled as an unsafe structure.“I’m an architect — that’s what I do for a living — and it looks fairly bad,” said next-door neighbor Ruben Bolanos.Investigators said the crash was likely the result of an elderly driver having a medical episode.Paramedics transported the motorist to Broward Health Medical Center as a trauma alert. The extent of his injuries is unknown.Bolanos sai...

Big Tech firms first in line for fines under the EU’s content law

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:55 GMT

After years of light-touch regulation, tech leviathans including Meta, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and Google could soon face investigations — and hefty fines — in the European Union if they don’t sufficiently crack down on toxic content.The European Commission will as soon as Friday have the power to investigate and fine some of the most popular social media and e-commerce platforms up to 6 percent of their global annual revenue if they don’t comply with the Digital Services Act (DSA). The Commission could also temporarily ban a tech company under exceptional cases. A total of 19 companies had until late August to comply with the wide-ranging obligations in the EU’s content moderation law. But some digital firms have over time already attracted the Commission’s scrutiny and prompted backlash from NGOs, politicians and the wider public for how they managed their widely used platforms.Here are some of the tech companies that could be in the European Commissio...

Filmmakers speak out against femicide at Sarajevo Film Festival

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:55 GMT

Emily Schrader is a student at Stanford University, interning with the Post-Conflict Research Center in Bosnia.Filmmaker Kumjana Novakova arrived at southeastern Europe’s largest film festival last week to debut her documentary on mass rape during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War. After her arrival in Sarajevo, however, a brutal act of femicide made painfully clear that gender-based violence is not relegated to the Balkan nation’s past. After a gunman in the country’s northeast live streamed his ex-wife’s murder on Instagram on August 11, sparking protests across Bosnia, Novakova and other female directors participating in the 29th Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF) were asked to speak out on femicide.“Patriarchy is not only sexual and gender-based violence,” the director told me. “Patriarchy is a never-ending workday for women.”  Premiering at the festival, Novakova’s film, “Silence of Reason” highlights the survivors behind the first international trial to prosecute rape ...

Anti-Semitism accusations over rapper split France’s left

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:55 GMT

PARIS — The left’s anti-Semitism problem has taken center-stage in France.The summer jamboree of the French Green party and the hard left was supposed to be an opportunity to discuss climate change, wealth inequalities and next year’s European elections in a festive, holiday vibe.Instead the meeting has been overshadowed by a spat over a rapper’s alleged pun about the Holocaust that now threatens drive a wedge between the parties in the Nupes coalition of the hard left and Greens, which is leading polls in France.The French left’s troubles with anti-Semitism are more subtle than those on the far-right — former National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen both played down the Holocaust and defended France’s collaborationist Vichy regime in World War II — but they are still palpable, and stand to further deepen political rifts that have been brewing for months.Several high-profile Green mayors have decided to boycott the annual “Summer University” get-t...

Preparing for a post-Soros Europe

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:55 GMT

Alberto Alemanno is the Jean Monnet Professor of European Union Law at HEC Paris and founder of The Good Lobby, a nonprofit committed to equalize access to power.The Open Society Foundation’s (OSF) decision to end a large part of its European operations caught many by surprise — including many of its founder George Soros’ foes.Historically, no other foundation has done more to build and support European civil society. After initially encouraging dissent behind the Iron Curtain — including Soros’ native country of Hungary — today, it’s difficult to find a well-established nonprofit (or public interest initiative) operating across the European Union that hasn’t benefited from the foundation’s support at some point.And it is this entrenched, ubiquitous nature of OSF support for EU civil society, combined with its massive funding capacity and professional support, which makes its sudden decision to leave deeply consequential.Because of the OSF’s massive structural presence within EU civ...