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EU calls on Greece to launch probe into migrant pushbacks

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:35:06 GMT

The EU called Monday on Greece to investigate allegations that it is abandoning migrants at sea amid concerns that the center-right government in Athens is violating EU law.The EU’s executive urged Greece to launch a probe into alleged illegal migrant deportations on the day Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called a new election after scoring a major victory Sunday, albeit one in which he failed to win an overall parliamentary majority.  EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson urged Greek authorities to take action after footage obtained by the New York Times showed vessels from the Greek coast guard abandoning migrants in a raft in the middle of the Aegean Sea.“It is necessary that proper follow up is taken by Greek authorities, also based on the new independent monitoring mechanism,” Johansson wrote on Twitter.“The EU Commission stands ready to take formal steps, as appropriate,” she added.But the Commission said that it won’t take immediate action, as the investi...

State Regulators Vote For New Path On Cannabis Cafes

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:35:06 GMT

Cannabis regulators voted Monday to overhaul their approach toward rolling out social consumption locations, sometimes referred to as marijuana cafes, that voters embraced in the 2016 ballot question legalizing recreational marijuana use. The Cannabis Control Commission will scrap a 12-municipality pilot program for businesses where patrons can consume marijuana products on-site and focus on crafting broader regulations governing the practice and how to license social consumption facilities. Commissioner Bruce Stebbins, who served on a working group that explored the issue, said the process of standing up and running a pilot program would be “both burdensome and expensive.” “Right now, to help direct our work, we don’t feel that the pilot program is needed as it’s written. So help us take that work off our plate,” Stebbins said on behalf of the working group. “Our feeling is that eliminating the pilot program will help us dive in to building...

Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, enters the 2024 GOP primary

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:35:06 GMT

(CNN) — South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott on Monday will formally enter the Republican presidential primary as he seeks to upend a contest that has so far been dominated by coverage of former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to enter the fray in the coming days.The most prominent Black figure in the Republican Party, Scott will address supporters at his alma mater, Charleston Southern University, in his hometown of North Charleston.Following the “major announcement,” Scott heads to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina – states he frequented on his “Faith in America” tour in the run-up to his announcement – before returning to the Hawkeye State next week for GOP Sen. Joni Ernst’s annual “Roast and Ride” gathering.Scott, 57, is no stranger to pathbreaking campaigns. In 2010, he became the first Black Republican elected to the US House of Representatives from South Carolina in more than a century. Years later, after being appointed to h...

Former 'Teacher of the Year' accused of having sex with a student

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:35:06 GMT

A Yucaipa High School teacher has been arrested for allegedly having sex with a 16-year-old male student, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department announced.Tracy Vanderhulst, 38, was arrested on Thursday and booked into the county detention center on a charge of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. She was being held in lieu of $30,000 bail.Vanderhulst was named "Teacher of the Year" at Yucaipa H.S. in 2017. National City ‘Teacher of the Year’ re-arrested A tweet announcing the award has since been deleted, however a school YouTube video featuring Vanderhulst titled, "In The Classroom," was still online as of Friday evening.Tracy Vanderhulst (San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department)Authorities say the Yucaipa Calimesa Joint Unified School District “worked cooperatively” with its investigation. Detectives believe there may be more alleged victims. Teacher arrested after student takes marijuana gummies from prize box in classroom, SC sheriff says Anyone with tips ...

California, Arizona, Nevada offer landmark drought deal to use less Colorado River water — for now

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:35:06 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Arizona, California and Nevada on Monday proposed a plan to significantly reduce their water use from the drought-stricken Colorado River over the next three years, a potential breakthrough in a year-long stalemate over how to deal with a rising problem that pitted Western states against one another.The plan would conserve an additional 3 million acre-feet of water from the 1,450-mile river that provides water to 40 million people in seven U.S. states, parts of Mexico and more than two dozen Native American tribes.At least half that amount — or 1.5 million acre-feet of water — would have to be conserved by 2024, the plan said. In exchange for temporarily using less water, cities, irrigation districts and Native American tribes in the three states will receive federal funding, though officials did not say how much funding individual users in the states would get. Current guidelines for how the river is shared expire in 2026.Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona De...

‘SmartLess’ podcast goes on tour with Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes, ends up on TV

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:35:06 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — When Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes get together, they can instantly tell if something’s wrong: If insults don’t immediately fly, there’s a problem.“I think it is our love language,” says Arnett, the “Arrested Development star and voice of Batman in the “Lego Movie” franchise. “I’m kind of joking, but there’s a little truth to that. If we’re not making fun of you, we don’t love you.”Fans of the trio’s banter will get much more this week after a documentary film team captured them on tour taking their popular podcast “SmartLess” to stages in Boston, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and more.The six-part docuseries “SmartLess: On the Road” offers a very intimate look at the three friends as they travel, hang out and prepare for the live shows. It premieres Tuesday on Max.“It was really just about living with one another,” says Bateman, star of “Arrested Development” and “Ozarks.” “And it’s a fairly cringey ...

Nebraska governor to sign 12-week abortion ban, limits on gender-affirming care for minors

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:35:06 GMT

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Republican Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen is scheduled to sign a bill Monday that bans abortion at 12 weeks of pregnancy and restricts gender-affirming medical care for people younger than 19. The abortion ban would take effect immediately after the governor’s signature, while the ban on gender-affirming care would take on Oct. 1.Nebraska’s conservative-led, unicameral Legislature passed the bill with the two contentious issues on Friday after hours of heated debate. Conservative lawmakers wrangled just enough votes to end a filibuster and approve it. Bill opponents have promised to sue to try and block the law.The proposal restricting gender-affirming care was the flashpoint of an epic filibuster led by Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh. She and a handful of progressive allies slowed the business of passing laws to a crawl by introducing amendment after amendment to every bill that made it to the Senate floor. That sent leadership scrambling to prioritize which bil...

Colombia suspends cease-fire with holdout rebel group accused of killing 4

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:35:06 GMT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia’s government said Monday it is suspending a cease-fire with rebels accused of recently killing four Indigenous people — at least three of them minors — who tried to avoid forced recruitment in the south of the country.President Gustavo Petro’s administration said in a statement that the military will resume attacks on factions of the FARC-EMC group operating in the provinces of Caqueta, Putumayo, Guaviare and Meta, due to the group’s lack of commitment to the cease-fire.“If a bilateral ceasefire is not effective in protecting the life and integrity of the entire population in certain territories, then there is no point in persisting,” the statement said.The government said, however, that it will continue to maintain a cease-fire with FARC-EMC in other parts of the country where attacks on civilians have decreased, and said that it will soon appoint delegates who will lead peace talks with the rebel group.Indigenous organizations accused FARC-EM...

Book Review: Brandon Taylor is back with a new campus novel, ‘The Late Americans’

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:35:06 GMT

“The Late Americans,” by Brandon Taylor (Riverhead Books)Brandon Taylor burst onto the literary scene three years ago, publishing two widely acclaimed books in quick succession. Critics marveled at the way he seemed to have pivoted so effortlessly from a budding career as a scientist to someone almost incapable of bad writing, as one admirer put it.Taylor himself spoke about approaching the messy business of creative writing in the systematic way of a scientist, setting a goal for himself of writing 10,000 words a day — an extraordinary amount. Many writers, including famous ones, are thrilled if they eke out 500. Clearly, his method paid off because this week Riverhead brings out “The Late Americans,” his third book in as many years.The novel follows the lives and loves of a group of graduate students and townies in Iowa City, home of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where Taylor earned an MFA after getting a master’s degree in biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.In the ...

Montreal police investigate second arson in 16 days at business in St-Laurent borough

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:35:06 GMT

Montreal police say they’re investigating the second arson attack in just over two weeks at a business in the city’s St-Laurent borough.Police spokeswoman Const. Caroline Chèvrefils says multiple windows were broken at the business and it appears that more than one incendiary device was thrown inside.Chèvrefils says police have recovered one of the incendiary devices.She alleges the business was also targeted by an arson attack on May 7.No one was injured in the fire, but the business suffered serious damage, mostly from the sprinkler system. It’s the second arson in the St-Laurent borough in three days and comes amid a wave of arson attacks in Montreal that police believe are often linked to extortion attempts. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 22, 2023. The Canadian Press