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Senate Democrats authorize subpoenas in the Supreme Court ethics probe as Republicans stage walkout

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:59 GMT

By STEPHEN GROVES and MARK SHERMAN (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to authorize subpoenas for two prominent conservatives who arranged luxury travel and other benefits for Supreme Court justices, but Republicans planned to object to the legitimacy of the action.The committee chairman, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., pushed through the vote in the meeting’s final moments after Republicans had walked out. The vote from the 11 Democrats would authorize subpoenas for Republican megadonor Harlan Crow and conservative activist Leonard Leo. Yet Durbin acknowledged that ultimately enforcement of the subpoenas may hinge on a 60-vote threshold in the closely divided Senate.South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, the committee’s top Republican, invoked a rule to limit the session to two hours, but Durbin proceeded with a vote on the subpoena authorization.“They think we’re gonna roll over and come back sometime ...

More Israeli hostages freed by Hamas as truce in Gaza lasts another day

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:59 GMT

By MELANIE LIDMAN, NAJIB JOBAIN and KAREEM CHEHAYEB (Associated Press)DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas began freeing Israeli hostages Thursday in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners to be released as part of a last-minute deal to extend their cease-fire in Gaza by another day. But any further renewal of the truce, now in its seventh day, could prove more daunting since Hamas is expected to set a higher price for many of the remaining hostages.Hamas freed two Israeli women Thursday afternoon and more hostage releases were expected to follow, the Israeli military said. At least 10 Israelis a day, along with other nationals, have been released during the truce, in return for Israel’s release of at least 30 Palestinian prisoners.International pressure has mounted for the truce to continue as long as possible after weeks of Israeli bombardment and a ground campaign following Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war. Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza ha...

Brit Marling has created ‘A Murder at the End of the World,’ a whodunit only Emma Corrin can solve

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:59 GMT

From the “Knives Out” films to TV’s “Only Murders in the Building,” and even season four of Netflix’s “You,” closed-circle murder mysteries are alive and thriving.And now, there’s FX’s “ A Murder at the End of the World” to solve, a new Agatha Christie-inspired series streaming on Hulu. The Hercule Poirot of this story though is a young woman named Darby played by Emma Corrin. Darby is a Gen Z loner with short pink hair and baggy clothing. She made a name for herself after cracking a serial killer case as a teen — with the help of her boyfriend — and wrote a book about it.Darby gets an invite by a tech billionaire (played by Clive Owen) and his wife (Brit Marling), a retired computer hacker, to attend a select meeting of the minds on topics like the climate crisis and AI, held in a remote luxury hotel in Iceland, of course. When one of the guests ends up dead on night one, Darby’s retreat is now a working vacation.Corrin, who previously has ...

UK government intervenes in potential takeover of Telegraph newspaper by Abu Dhabi-backed fund

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:59 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s government said Thursday it has asked media and market competition officials to look into a potential Abu Dhabi-backed takeover of The Telegraph newspaper. Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said she issued a “public interest intervention notice” after considering the possible impact of the offer by the investment fund RedBird IMI to the previous owners of The Telegraph and The Spectator magazine to repay debts owed by them. RedBird IMI — a joint venture between RedBird Capital and Abu Dhabi’s International Media Investments, and led by former CNN chief Jeff Zucker — said earlier this month it agreed to provide loans to Britain’s Barclay family and ensure the family’s debts, worth some 1 billion pounds ($1.25 billion), are paid.The Barclay family owned the right-leaning newspaper and magazine before they were put into receivership. The family also previously owned London’s luxurious Ritz Hotel before selling it in 2020.RedBird IMI has said it would provide a...

Hockey Canada says almost 1,900 maltreatment complaints received in 2022-23

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:59 GMT

Hockey Canada says a new independent third-party complaint mechanism received information on almost 1,900 potential cases of maltreatment during its first season.The data is contained in the national sport organization’s latest report on the issue — which covers abuse, discrimination and harassment — released Thursday as part of its numbers-based push to address the problem across the game.Hockey Canada says of the 1,872 complaints made during the 2022-23 season, 187 were accepted and fully processed, while more than 1,400 didn’t meet the threshold of severity to move forward and were redirected to provincial or territorial members for assessment.Put differently, that’s an average of nearly one complaint per 200 players across the country.Of the accepted complaints, the report entitled “Tracking Maltreatment in Sanctioned Hockey” showed that 50.3 per cent involved bullying and harassment, followed by sexual maltreatment (19.8 per cent), physical abuse (...

The RNC’s rules for the 2024 convention don’t address what would happen if Donald Trump is convicted

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:59 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The Republican National Committee’s rules for next year’s nominating contest and convention were released this week without addressing a question the GOP could well face next summer: Can the party’s delegates vote for a different candidate if the presumptive nominee is convicted of a felony?Former President Donald Trump is under four criminal indictments that will proceed through the GOP primary season, an overlap of legal and political calendars with no precedent in American politics. Fifteen states and American Samoa hold their GOP primaries on March 5, known as Super Tuesday, which is also the day after his first trial is scheduled to begin in Washington on charges that he unlawfully sought to overturn the 2020 election.Trump is dominating the Republican field and may secure much of the support he needs by Super Tuesday, by which time almost half of delegates who select the nominee at the GOP convention will have been awarded. Even if he were to ...

Bubba Wallace hit by depression following best friend Ryan Blaney’s NASCAR championship

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:59 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — It was 3:42 a.m. in North Carolina as Bubba Wallace’s best friend celebrated winning his first NASCAR championship across the country in Arizona. Wallace could have stuck around and partied with Ryan Blaney, but he instead flew directly home to sit alone in the dark. Wallace was wallowing in disappointment despite having just finished his own career-best season. He took to social media with a note titled “Life” and tried to explain his emotions and why he’d flown home for five hours in silence. “Sitting here on the couch questioning everything,” he posted. “You would think your bud winning the championship would bring that joy and excitement back. Sadly it did not.“It’s the helpless feeling that really kicks ya,” Wallace continued. “My wife can see that I’m off but I don’t have the what or the why that I’m feeling this way to allow her to help me. To my peeps out there staring at a blank wall, I’m with you. Tomo...

Time to table online harms bill, experts, advocates, researchers say in open letter

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:59 GMT

OTTAWA — An open letter from experts the government convened last year to provide advice on legislating against online harms is urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to table legislation. The letter published today calls on the federal government to urgently bring forward a bill to address “harms posed by digital platforms,” especially behaviour and content that can affect children. Emily Laidlaw, a law professor at the University of Calgary who was a co-chair of the government’s advisory group, helped organize the letter, and says it is “time to push” for the bill.The letter, signed by more than 50 experts and advocates as of this morning, says two years of federal consultations produced “wide-ranging consensus” that platforms should be held responsible for their services and any harms that result. Calls for action have increased as the Israel-Hamas war leads to more antisemitism and Islamophobia online, and as police highlight online safety...

North Carolina trial judges block election board changes made by Republican legislature

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:59 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina trial judges on Thursday blocked portions of a new law that would transfer Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s authority to pick election board members to the Republican-dominated General Assembly.Following a 90-minute hearing, the three state judges agreed unanimously to issue a preliminary injunction sought by Cooper. His lawyers argued that the alterations to the State Board of Elections and county boards in all 100 counties need to be stopped now or his directive in the state constitution to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed” will be harmed irreparably. The Republican legislative leaders whom Cooper has sued can appeal the decision to the state Court of Appeals. The outcome of the injunction request and Cooper’s broader litigation on the law, which was enacted just last month, could affect how the 2024 elections are administered in the ninth-largest U.S. state, where races for president and governor are likely to be closely contes...

Planetarium, rainforest on Ontario Science Centre’s wish list for new site

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:59 GMT

A large planetarium and an outdoor adventure park are among a variety of features the Ontario Science Centre would like to see in a new location at Ontario Place – though there is not currently enough space with the new building’s much smaller footprint.Infrastructure Ontario released a “business case” Wednesday that the government is using to justify moving the science centre from its current east Toronto location to the downtown Ontario Place.The analysis says moving the attraction rather than renovating the existing site would save the province about $250 million over 50 years, largely because the new building would be about half the size of the current space.The business case says the approximately 275,000-square-foot size of the planned new building at Ontario Place is the “smallest possible” size to contain all core programming identified by the Ontario Science Centre.Within the appendices of the business case is a wish list of sorts from the Onta...