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Spain’s Pedro Sánchez beat the odds to stay prime minister. Now he must keep his government in power

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:14:04 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spanish Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez pulled off his latest feat of political survival to get reelected as prime minister with an absolute majority in a highly fragmented parliament. Now, he will have to use all his dexterity to keep a mixed bag of supporters happy and his government in power for the next four years.Sánchez, who has led Spain since 2018, has defied the odds before, but the ones he faces this time look especially daunting. To win the endorsement of a majority of lawmakers Thursday, he clinched deals with six small parties, including two Catalan separatist groups that demanded he take an unpopular action in return. He agreed to push through a controversial amnesty for hundreds of people in legal trouble over the Catalonia region’s failed secession attempt in 2017. Among them is the region’s fugitive former president, Carles Puigdemont, who for many in Spain is public enemy No. 1 since he led the independence bid before fleeing to Belgium.While...

Are we missing the city for the trees?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:14:04 GMT

In today’s Big Story Podcast, if there’s been one progressive assumption about cities over the past couple of decades, it’s that they need to greener — more trees, more parks, more green projects on top of buildings, all of that. And while the goals are laudable, and the plant life will surely help in the climate era, a new books asks if we’re so concerned with making cities green, why are we forgetting to make them functional for the people who live in them? Des Fitzgerald is a Professor of Medical Humanities and Social Sciences at University College Cork in Ireland. He’s the author of The Living City: Why Cities Don’t Need To Be Green To Be Great.“I have absolutely no quibble or objection to the fact that there is clearly important work that green space is doing in cities in terms of climate collapse,” said Fitzgerald. “I guess I want to retain … some kind of love for urban space in its own right, to not think of the city as a thing that just need...

Empty vehicle on tracks derails Chicago-bound Amtrak train in Michigan

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:14:04 GMT

NEW BUFFALO, Mich. (AP) — An Amtrak train heading to Chicago with 200 passengers derailed after striking an unoccupied vehicle on the tracks in southwestern Michigan, authorities said Friday.“The engineer and approximately 10 passengers received non-life threatening injuries and were treated by local ambulance services,” the Berrien County sheriff’s office said.The train derailed but remained upright.The crash happened Thursday evening near New Buffalo in Michigan’s southwestern corner, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) east of Chicago.The vehicle was stuck on the tracks and was in the process of being removed when the train hit it, the sheriff’s office said.Passengers were taken to New Buffalo High School. Some were picked up by family and friends while others continued their trip to Chicago on buses arranged by Amtrak, the sheriff’s office said. The Associated Press

Ron DeSantis picks up 10 South Carolina endorsements from former backers of Tim Scott’s campaign

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:14:04 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Ron DeSantis has picked up 10 endorsements in South Carolina from former backers of Sen. Tim Scott’s presidential campaign, support the Florida governor is hoping can shore up his strength in the first-in-the-South primary state as the 2024 GOP field continues to consolidate.In a list shared Friday with The Associated Press before its public release, South Carolina state Reps. Bill Taylor and Tom Hartnett Jr. — as well as more than a half-dozen municipal-level elected officials who had backed Scott before he shuttered his bid — are now announcing their support for DeSantis.“Ron DeSantis is the leader we need for this exact moment,” Hartnett said. “He not only is the only candidate who I know can win, but he will be a president who will follow through on his promises to reverse the decline of our country.”Both DeSantis and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley are trying to pick up supporters and donors from Scott’s campaign following his surp...

Ottawa commits to honouring all-Black battalion that served during First World War

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:14:04 GMT

CHERRY BROOK, N.S. — The federal government announced today $2.25 million in funding to honour the legacy of No. 2 Construction Battalion, Canada’s only all-Black unit to serve during the First World War.Defence Minister Bill Blair issued a statement saying the money will be spent over five years on commemorative activities, educational materials and community war memorials.Blair’s announcement follows Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s formal apology to the descendants of battalion members in July 2022.Trudeau said the 600 members of the battalion faced systemic anti-Black racism before, during and long after the war.Today’s announcement was held at the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia in Cherry Brook, N.S.The Department of National Defence has said it is taking steps to change the culture in the military, including the eradication of systemic racism and discrimination.“The contributions of No. 2 Construction Battalion members to the First World War effort...

Madagascar’s Rajoelina takes an early lead in polls marked by boycott and low turnout

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:14:04 GMT

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (AP) — Madagascar’s incumbent president, Andry Rajoelina, held a commanding lead Friday as votes were counted in the island nation. The election was boycotted by the majority of candidates and marked by low turnout. Preliminary results released by the country’s elections management body, Céni, showed the 49-year-old former DJ with 71.26% of the votes cast on Thursday, compared with his nearest rival Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko’s 10.67%. Former president Marc Ravalomanana sits third with just under 10.08% of the vote. Ravalomanana is one of the 10 candidates who boycotted the election, alleging that conditions for a legitimate and fair vote hadn’t been met, but their names remained on the ballot. Although less than 9% of polling stations had been counted by Friday midday, some pro-government media outlets in the country have already headlined an overwhelming victory for Rajoelina. “It’s done,” screamed a headline in the Madagascar Express.“Very likely victory ...

Union workers at Stellantis move closer to approving contract that would end lengthy labor dispute

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:14:04 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Members of the United Auto Workers union moved closer to approving a contract agreement with Stellantis on Friday as two large factories in Detroit voted overwhelmingly in favor of the deal.A vote-tracking spreadsheet posted on the union’s website showed that 68.4% were in favor of ratification, and the contract was leading by more than 9,600 votes with only three small facilities yet to cast ballots.Voting at Jeep and Ram vehicle maker Stellantis doesn’t officially end until Tuesday. Workers at crosstown rival Ford, where 66.8% were in favor of the deal with only one large factory uncounted, are to finish early Saturday. If the deals are approved, workers at Ford and Stellatis would join counterparts at General Motors in ratifying the record contracts, ending a contentious labor dispute that brought a punishing series of strikes over six weeks. GM workers narrowly approved their four year and eight month contract on Thursday.At Stellantis, workers at the ...

Russian authorities ask the Supreme Court to declare the LGBTQ ‘movement’ extremist

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:14:04 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian Justice Ministry on Friday said it has filed a lawsuit with the nation’s Supreme Court to outlaw the LGBTQ+ “international public movement” as extremist, the latest crippling blow against the already beleaguered LGBTQ+ community in the increasingly conservative country. The ministry said in an online statement announcing the lawsuit that authorities have identified “signs and manifestations of extremist nature” in “the activities of the LGBT movement active” in Russia, including “incitement of social and religious discord.” Russia’s Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing to consider the lawsuit for Nov. 30, the ministry said. It wasn’t immediately clear what exactly the label would entail for LGBTQ+ people in Russia if the Supreme Court sides with the Justice Ministry. But the move in itself represents the latest, and by far the most drastic, step in the decade-long crackdown on gay rights in Russia unleashed under President Vladimir Putin,...

Israeli troops exchange fire with militants in Jenin as aid grinds to a halt in Gaza

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:14:04 GMT

Israeli troops and Palestinian militants exchanged fire in the town of Jenin in the occupied West Bank during an overnight army raid, which ended at a hospital where the Palestinian Red Crescent said Israeli forces detained and searched paramedic crews Friday.In the Gaza Strip, aid agencies said they had to call off deliveries of basic necessities, warning of the looming possibility of widespread starvation a day after internet and telephone services collapsed in the besieged enclave because of a lack of fuel. They said most people in Gaza were without adequate food and clean water.At least 11,470 Palestinians — two-thirds of them women and minors — have been killed since the war began, according to Palestinian health authorities, who do not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths. About 2,700 people are reported missing.Israel vowed to wipe out Hamas after the militant group launched its Oct. 7 incursion. Some 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, mostly during the in...

Dean's Reviews: 'The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,' Trolls and more

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:14:04 GMT

Check out Dean's reviews for the latest films in theaters from the Hunger Games prequel film to the 'Thanksgiving' horror film.Get Dean's reviews and A-List interviews delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for Dean's Downloads weekly newsletter. You'll also get his Dean Cooks recipes too!