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UN ends political mission in Sudan, where world hasn’t been able to stop bloodshed

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:52:52 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations Security Council voted Friday to end its political mission of a few hundred people dedicated to ending the civil war in Sudan.Russia abstained from the unanimous vote to end UNITAMS, the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan. The United States’ and United Kingdom’s ambassadors expressed dismay over the decision to pull out from Sudan but said the move was inevitable, given the Sudanese government’s desire to end the mission’s presence.While the United States voted in favor of this resolution in order to enable a safe and orderly drawdown, U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood said, “we are gravely concerned that a reduced international presence in the Sudan will only serve to embolden the perpetrators of atrocities.” A paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces, which was born out of the notorious Janjaweed militias, has been at war against the Sudanese military since mid-April, when m...

Man with ties to Vancouver, Edmonton and Halifax killed in Calgary drive-by shooting

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:52:52 GMT

CALGARY — Police say a man with ties to Vancouver, Edmonton and Halifax has been killed in a drive-by shooting in Calgary.Officers responded to reports of gunshots in the Beltline neighbourhood, south of downtown, just after 9 p.m. Thursday.Police say they found the 40-year-old man with apparent gunshot wounds.Video collected from the area shows the man had been walking along 10th Avenue S.W. when a dark-coloured SUV pulled up and an occupant fired multiple shots before fleeing.Police say the man, whose name won’t be released until next of kin is notified, is not believed to be from Calgary but does have ties to the other cities.They say investigators don’t have information to suggest whether it was a targeted shooting.“This volatile incident showed a blatant disregard for human life and jeopardized the safety of bystanders,” said Det. Lee Treit of the Calgary Police Service homicide unit. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 1, 2023.The...

US border officials are closing a remote Arizona crossing because of overwhelming migrant arrivals

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:52:52 GMT

LUKEVILLE, Ariz. (AP) — So many migrants are crossing from Mexico into the United States around remote Lukeville, Arizona that U.S. officials say they will close the port of entry there so that the operations officials who watch over vehicle and pedestrian traffic going both ways can help Border Patrol agents arrest and process the new arrivals. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Friday that the temporary closure of the crossing will start Monday as officials grapple with changing migration routes that have overwhelmed Border Patrol agents stationed there. The agency said it is “surging all available resources to expeditiously and safely process migrants” and will “continue to prioritize our border security mission as necessary in response to this evolving situation.”The area around the desert crossing has become a major migration route in recent months, with smugglers dropping off people from countries as diverse as Senegal, India and China. Most of them are wal...

Appeals court takes DeSantis’ side in challenge to a map that helped unseat a Black congressman

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:52:52 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Legislature didn’t violate the state constitution when it approved congressional maps pushed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that helped the GOP replace a Black Democratic representative with a white conservative, an appeals court ruled Friday.The 1st District Court of Appeal reversed a lower court’s ruling that the map that rewrote U.S. Rep. Alan Lawson’s district was unconstitutional because it diminished Black voters’ ability to elect a candidate of their choice.DeSantis pushed to have the district dismantled. He argued that the federal Constitution doesn’t allow race to be considered in drawing congressional maps and that the district didn’t adhere to requirements that it be compact. Lawson’s district stretched about 200 miles (320 kilometers) from downtown Jacksonville west to rural Gadsden County along the Georgia border.Voting rights groups had argued the new map was unconstitutional because it dis...

Canadian mining company starts arbitration in case of closed copper mine in Panama

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:52:52 GMT

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Canada’s First Quantum Minerals Ltd. announced Friday it has requested arbitration proceedings to fight a Panamanian decision to halt a major open-pit copper mine concession in Panama or obtain damages.First Quantum said one arbitration was requested under the Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement. It has also started proceedings before the International Court of Arbitration, which would meet in Miami, Florida, the company said in a statement. In a historic ruling on Tuesday, Panama’s Supreme Court declared that legislation granting the mine a 20-year concession was unconstitutional. That decision was celebrated by thousands of Panamanians activists who had argued the project would damage a forested coastal area and threaten water supplies.First Quantum said it requested arbitration from the international panel on Wednesday and that it had initiated proceedings under the free trade agreement even before the court ruling. It did not say what remedy or damages it was s...

Venezuela’s government and opposition agree on appeal process for candidates banned from running

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:52:52 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Venezuela’s government and a faction of the opposition have agreed on a process through which aspiring presidential candidates who were banned from running for office can attempt to get that decision reversed. The timeline to file an appeal opened Friday.The agreement, released late Thursday by negotiators from each side and the Norwegian diplomats guiding the dialogue, gives the candidates until Dec. 15 to challenge their ban — a tool the Venezuelan government has repeatedly used to sideline adversaries, including most recently against opposition leader and presidential candidate María Corina Machado.The deal is part of a broader agreement signed in October between a U.S.-backed opposition group and the government of Nicolás Maduro focused on electoral conditions ahead of the 2024 presidential election. It is also expected to keep the U.S. government from re-imposing some economic sanctions on Maduro’s administration.The October agreement triggered some sanctions...

Skilling: Rainy weekend ahead for Chicagoland

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:52:52 GMT

It's been a WET OPENING DAY TO DECEMBER here in Chicago with rainfall tallies approaching or topping 0.70" in many locations—but tapering to several tenths of an inch northPRECIP HAS REMAINED AS RAIN AS EXPECTED IN THE CHICAGO AREA—but wet snow or a wintry mix is being reported from sections of western Boone country westward to Winnebago county and across northwest Illinois then north into south-central and sections of southwest Wisconsin.  Sticking snow may occur from near or just north of Rockford into Janesville and Monroe, WI and in sections of northwest Illinois including Freeport, Elizabeth, Apple River and areas near Galena.  However only an inch or two of snow—in spots a bit more—is expected as precip continues into tonight.The current precip system is the first of three to sweep Chicago in the coming week.  Rains (with mixed wet snow or wet snow in far northwest areas toward Rockford, Belvidere, Beloit and Janesville WI) will taper off late tonight—but it's hardly over yet....

Congress works to expand access to federal land and parks

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:52:52 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Congress has found common ground on a sweeping legislative package that would expand access to federal lands and parks.The bipartisan measure aims to boost the now $1 trillion outdoor recreation industry with measures from updating infrastructure and trails for visitors with disabilities to improving broadband connectivity."Our public lands are treasures that are owned by the American people," said U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-AR.Lawmakers and the outdoor recreation industry largely support Westerman’s legislation, the EXPLORE Act, that would also provide more ways for children to get to parks."Transportation is actually one of our larger, the data shows, blockages with getting especially kids in urban or underserved areas out to public lands," said Michael Reynolds with the National Park Service. How to watch the fourth Republican presidential debate "Parks and access to nature are not just 'nice to haves,'" said Luis Benitez with Trust for Public Land. “Th...

Grinch spotted in Kyle, police warn to protect valuables

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:52:52 GMT

Editor’s Note: The video at the top of this story shows KXAN’s morning headlines for Friday, Dec. 1, 2023.KYLE, Texas (KXAN) — The Grinch was spotted in Kyle, Texas, and even though he took it upon himself to deface the city’s water tower with a “self-portrait,” it did not stop or delay the arrival of Santa, who made his way into the city at 4 p.m. Friday.The City of Kyle has been on a “Grinch Watch” ever since the menacing character made an appearance on Thanksgiving. A hotline was also set up to report Grinch sightings (737) 292-6278.Police warned citizens should secure doors, keep presents locked up and be vigilant. Santa promptly arrived at Mary Kyle Hartson City Square Park in Kyle for the city’s annual tree-lighting ceremony.“Santa’s Arrival is just the beginning of the City of Kyle’s holiday celebrations including the 25 Days of Christmas and Christmas at Lake Kyle,” the city said.

Lawmakers scramble to save property tax cuts after baseless election challenge

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:52:52 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Texas lawmakers on Friday hurriedly passed legislation to prevent delays to their top promises to voters, confronting a challenge to the November constitutional amendment election that temporarily blocks property tax relief, teacher pension increases, and more from taking effect.The Texas Senate passed legislation in a whirlwind legislative feat Friday that would shorten the timelines for lawsuits filed against constitutional amendment elections. The move comes as Republicans confront a lawsuit filed in Travis County by right-wing activists acting on false beliefs that the voting machines used in November were connected to the internet and unreliable.Those voting machines were certified by the Secretary of State and were not connected to the internet. But any challenge to the election, valid or not, delays the policies approved by voters from becoming law."The election contest is pending. That complicates certifying the election, and without certifying the electio...