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Netanyahu delays judicial overhaul after mass protests

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:05 GMT

By ILAN BEN ZION and TIA GOLDENBERG (Associated Press)JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a delay in his judicial overhaul plan Monday, saying he wanted to give time to seek a compromise over the contentious package with his political opponents.Netanyahu made the announcement after two days of large protests against the plan.“When there’s an opportunity to avoid civil war through dialogue, I, as prime minister, am taking a timeout for dialogue,” Netanyahu said in a nationally televised address.Striking a more conciliatory tone than in previous speeches, he said he was determined to pass a judicial reform but called for “an attempt to achieve broad consensus.”Immediately after Netanyahu’s statement, the head of the country’s largest trade union said it would call off a general strike that threatened to grind Israel’s economy to a halt.Netanyahu spoke after tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrated...

Josh McDaniels ‘excited’ to land ex-Patriot Jakobi Meyers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:05 GMT

The Patriots loss turned into the Raiders gain.That’s how Las Vegas head coach Josh McDaniels sees his acquisition of wide receiver Jakobi Meyers in free agency.Having worked with him in New England, McDaniels has always been a fan of Meyers, who was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Patriots.“I’m excited about it,” McDaniels said in between television and radio interviews following the AFC coaches breakfast. “Obviously, I got to be with Jakobi for a few years at the beginning of his career.“I was always so impressed with him just from the time we got him. He worked hard, and learned how to do the two things we’ve always stressed: to get open and catch the ball.”The Raiders were able to sign Meyers on a three-year deal worth $33 million. The Patriots added JuJu Smith-Schuster on a similar deal.Meyers was added to a Raiders offense that now has another former Patriot, Jimmy Garoppolo, at the helm under center.  Along with Meyers,...

Chipotle agrees to pay after closing store that sought union

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:05 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Chipotle Mexican Grill has agreed to pay $240,000 to former employees as part of a settlement stemming from a complaint that the company violated federal law by closing a restaurant where workers wanted to unionize.Chipotle announced it was permanently closing its Augusta, Maine, location last year after workers filed a National Labor Relations Board petition for a union election. The NLRB later said the closure was illegal.The Maine location was the first in the chain to file a union petition. The settlement, released by union officials on Monday, states that two dozen employees will receive payments from Chipotle and they will be placed on a preferential hiring list for other Maine locations.The company must also post a notice in dozens of stores in New England that it won’t close stores or discriminate against employees due to union support, the settlement states.“It sends a message to corporations that shutting down a store and blackballing wor...

Kansas high court signals continued abortion rights support

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:05 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ highest court signaled Monday that it still considers access to abortion a “fundamental” right under the state constitution, as an attorney for the state argued that a decisive statewide vote last year affirming abortion rights “doesn’t matter.”The state Supreme Court is considering exactly how far the Republican-controlled Legislature can go in restricting abortion under a 2019 decision protecting abortion rights. The justices heard arguments from attorneys for Kansas and abortion providers in two lawsuits but isn’t likely to rule for months. One lawsuit challenges a 2015 law banning a common second-trimester abortion procedure, and the other challenges a 2011 law that regulates abortion providers more strictly than other health care providers. Legal challenges have blocked both laws from being enforced.The U.S. Supreme Court declared in June 2022 that the U.S. Constitution doesn’t protect abortion rights and that states can ban a...

Most stocks tick up, including a jump for beaten down banks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:05 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are mostly rising on Wall Street Monday as battered banks show more strength, at least for now.The S&P 500 was 0.3% higher as of 1:22 p.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 260 points, or 0.8%, to 32,497 and the Nasdaq composite was 0.4% lower.Markets have been in turmoil following the second-and third-largest U.S. bank failures in history earlier this month. Investors have been hunting for what banks could be next to fall as the system creaks under the pressure of much higher interest rates.First Citizens ‘ stock soared 51.3% after it said it would buy most of Silicon Valley Bank, whose failure sparked the industry’s furor earlier this month. As part of the deal, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. agreed to share some of the losses that may arise from some of the loans First Citizens is buying.Other banks that investors have highlighted as the next potential victims of a debilitating exodus of customers also strengthened.First Rep...

Foes of Kentucky transgender bill push back with radio ads

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:05 GMT

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A well-known Kentucky Republican on Monday blasted the GOP’s push for transgender legislation, calling it “a bad look for the party of Abraham Lincoln” in a radio ad coming days before lawmakers could vote to override the Democratic governor’s veto of the bill.Former longtime GOP state lawmaker Bob Heleringer evoked Lincoln’s memory and words in lashing out against the Republican measure. A companion radio ad features Trey Grayson, a former Republican secretary of state in Kentucky. The Fairness Campaign, an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization in Kentucky, paid for the commercials, which are airing statewide.It’s part of an uphill effort by the bill’s opponents to try to fend off an override of Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of the measure aimed at regulating the lives of transgender youths. The bill would ban access to gender-affirming health care and restrict the bathrooms they can use. It also would allow teachers to refuse to...

Wisconsin school bans Miley, Dolly duet from class concert

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:05 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Administrators at a Wisconsin elementary school stopped a first-grade class from performing a Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton duet promoting LGBTQ acceptance because the song “could be perceived as controversial.”Students at Heyer Elementary School in Waukesha had prepared a rendition of “Rainbowland” for their spring concert, but school officials struck the song from the lineup last week. Parents in the district say the decision was made because the song encourages LGBTQ acceptance and references rainbows.Superintendent James Sebert, who did not immediately return a call on Monday, confirmed to Fox6 that administrators had removed “Rainbowland” from the first-grade concert because it might not be “appropriate for the age and maturity level of the students.” He also cited a school board policy against raising controversial issues in classrooms.Sebert has previously prohibited rainbows and pride flags from being displayed in Waukesha classroo...

CP NewsAlert: 10 injured after explosion in Calgary destroys home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:05 GMT

CALGARY — Fire officials say 10 people have been injured after an explosion destroyed a home in Calgary.More coming.The Canadian Press

Two more bodies pulled from rubble after Old Montreal fire, five bodies identified

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:05 GMT

MONTREAL — Police say two more bodies have been pulled from the rubble of a building that caught fire March 16 in Old Montreal, bringing the death toll to seven.Police Insp. David Shane said today four more victims of the fire have been identified, for a total of five.Shane says police recently identified the bodies of An Wu, Dania Zafar, Saniya Khan, and Nathan Sears.Fire operations chief Martin Guilbault says the fire department secured the structure and deployed search dogs, who helped locate the final two bodies today.He says searchers don’t believe there are more victims but will continue to look through the rubble for bodies.Some of those missing in the fire had rented their accommodations on Airbnb, which is illegal to use in that part of the city.This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2023.The Canadian Press

Prince Harry in court for phone hacking suit vs UK tabloid

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:05 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry and Elton John were in a London court Monday as the lawyer for a group of British tabloids asked a judge to toss the lawsuit they brought with several other high-profile people who allege phone hacking and other invasions of privacy.Harry’s presence at the High Court in London signals the importance of the case, one of several lawsuits the Duke of Sussex has brought in his battle against the press. The hearing is expected to conclude Thursday.The case alleges Associated Newspapers Ltd., which publishes The Daily Mail and The Mail On Sunday, commissioned the “breaking and entry into private property,” and engaging in unlawful acts that included hiring private investigators to bug homes, cars and record private phone conversations.“They were the victim of numerous unlawful acts carried out by the defendant, or by those acting on the instructions of its newspapers,” attorney David Sherborne said in a court document.Sherborne who also represents John’s husband...