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Scholz promises new budget plans ‘very quickly’ amid German spending crisis

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:32:53 GMT

BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday his ruling coalition would seek to present new budget plans “very quickly” to Parliament, after a constitutional court ruling last week plunged his government and its finances into disarray.The chancellor is facing mounting criticism that he still hasn’t managed to offer a proposal on how to make up Germany’s yawning budgetary shortfall one week after the bombshell court ruling blew a €60 billion hole in the books. It’s an accounting mess that now throws into doubt future payments for energy, the green transition of industry and microchip manufacturing.Crucially, last week’s ruling means not only a delay to next year’s budget — which became evident on Wednesday when a parliament committee postponed a preliminary adoption of spending plans for 2024 — but may also require a supplementary “emergency” budget for this year to deal with the fallout of the court decision.Speaking at...

Far-right leader Geert Wilders wins Dutch election: Exit poll

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:32:53 GMT

The anti-Islam, euroskeptic radical Geert Wilders is projected to be the shock winner of the Dutch election. In a dramatic result that will stun European politics, his Freedom Party (PVV) is set to win around 35 of the 150 seats in parliament — more than double the number it won in the 2021 election, according to exit polls. Frans Timmermans’ Labor-Green alliance came second, winning 25 seats — a big jump from its current 17. Dilan Yeşilgöz, outgoing premier Mark Rutte’s successor as head of the center-right VVD, is on course to win 24 seats, a loss of 10, according to an updated exit poll by Ipsos for national broadcaster NOS.A win for Wilders will put the Netherlands on track — potentially — for a dramatic shift in direction, after Rutte’s four consecutive centrist governments. The question now, though, is will any other parties join Wilders to form a coalition government, given that despite emerging as the largest party, he will lack an overall majority in parliament. To th...

Dems Break For Thanksgiving Without Shelter Accord

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:32:53 GMT

As private disagreements between top House and Senate Democrats continue to hold up funding for the strained emergency shelter system and collectively-bargained pay raises for state workers, the Legislature gaveled into a four-day Thanksgiving weekend with no signs of an immediate deal.“We’ll be working on it all weekend,” Senate Ways and Means Chairman Michael Rodrigues told the News Service after Wednesday’s sessions had adjourned. “There are no holidays with us,” he added.Rodrigues and other top Democrats have been unable to agree on an annual bill that’s supposed to just wrap up fiscal loose ends for the previous fiscal year.  Items not tethered to fiscal 2023, like requirements for the Healey administration’s handling of the migrant shelter crisis, and a proposed port zoning carveout for a soccer stadium on the Mystic River, are among the areas that are tripping up negotiators.Rodrigues, the Senate’s lead negotiator on ...

US has ‘working list’ of hostages they believe are likely to be released by Hamas Thursday, source familiar says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:32:53 GMT

(CNN) — US officials have a working list of 10 hostages that they believe are likely to be released from Gaza on day one, a source familiar told CNN. It was not clear whether any of the three American hostages —including three-year-old Abigail Edan — would be released on the first day.The deal is structured in such a way that each day, a group of hostages to be released would be handed off to the Red Cross; the Red Cross would then take the group to a designated border point, which will largely depend on the location of those hostages, the source familiar said. Many of the first 50 hostages are expected to come out through Egypt, they said.A source familiar with how hostages are expected to leave Gaza told CNN that the first swap is expected to take place on Thursday at 10 a.m. Israeli time (3 a.m. ET). 50 Israel hostages — including some with dual nationalities — are expected to be released over the four-day pause. 10 is the minimum number of hostages to be released each day, ...

These restaurants serve Thanksgiving meals influenced by global cuisine, from Italy to the Philippines

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:32:53 GMT

Amanda Yeager | Baltimore SunThe Thanksgiving table of Luke Ilardo’s childhood overflowed with all the hallmarks of a Sicilian holiday feast.There were “40-pound” lasagnas and casseroles of pasta al forno “the size of three small children.” There were mountains of fried shrimp, fried veal cutlets and “trays of rice pudding that you could go swimming in,” Ilardo remembers.And then there was “so much bread.”Like the traditional American Thanksgiving, his family’s Sicilian-style meal was a “big, celebratory feast,” said Ilardo, the co-owner of Doppio Pasticceria, an Italian bakery stationed in R. House food hall in North Baltimore’s Remington neighborhood.He’s among the many Americans who incorporate food from cultures around the world on their Thanksgiving plates. A recent survey from food company Campbell’s found that 63% of respondents enjoy serving Thanksgiving dishes that are reflective of their culture. Some of the countries most represented at the Thanksgiving table include Chin...

Judges rule against Tennessee Senate redistricting map over treatment of Nashville seats

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:32:53 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Republican-drawn map for Tennessee’s Senate seats violates the state Constitution because lawmakers incorrectly numbered the legislative districts in left-leaning Nashville, which affects which years those seats are on the ballot, a panel of judges ruled Wednesday.The ruling centers on maps passed by the Republican-supermajority Legislature in 2022 during the once-a-decade redistricting process.Tennessee’s constitution dictates that districts must be numbered consecutively in counties that have more than one district. The newly drawn redistricting plan does not do that in Davidson County, which encompasses Nashville. Instead, it’s numbered 17, 19, 20 and 21. The numbering matters because the four-year Senate terms are staggered, putting some districts on the ballot in presidential election years, others in gubernatorial election cycles.Currently, those four districts are represented by three Democrats and one Republican. There are 27 Republicans...

Suspended Alabama priest married the 18-year-old he fled to Italy with, records show

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:32:53 GMT

MOBLE, Ala. (AP) — State records show that a suspended Alabama priest recently married the 18-year-old woman he fled to Italy with this summer, and an archbishop said Wednesday that he expects the Vatican to pursue the man’s official dismissal from the priesthood.A marriage certificate filed Monday in Mobile County shows that Alex Crow, a 30-year-old Catholic priest in south Alabama, married the 18-year-old. Crow left the country in late July with the teen who is a recent graduate of McGill-Toolen High School. Crow was not an employee at the school but sometimes visited theology classes there, news outlets reported. The marriage certificate indicates the woman turned 18 in June.Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi announced in July that he had suspended Crow and forbidden him from acting, dressing, or presenting himself as a priest. Rodi later said he saw no way for Crow to return to the priesthood.“The recent news of Crow’s civil marriage only confirms the Archbishop’s judgment. Archbis...

Police up patrols in Toronto, at Pearson Airport after explosion at U.S.-Canada border

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:32:53 GMT

Toronto police are increasing their presence in the city and at Pearson Airport following a vehicle explosion on the American side of a Canada-U.S. Rainbow bridge in Niagara Falls.The explosion prompted the closure of all four international bridges between Canada and Western New York. Eyewitnesses reported seeing a speeding car and then a ball of flames when a vehicle suddenly crashed and exploded near a U.S. border checkpoint in Niagara Falls, triggering a lockdown along the Canada-U.S. border.According to The Associated Press, two occupants of the vehicle are dead. Videos posted to social media showed smoke and flames and the wreckage of at least one car at the secondary checkpoint complex.As a result of the explosion, Toronto police said it would increase directed patrols of uniformed officers throughout the city out of an abundance of caution. There is no known threat to city residents.A spokesperson for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) also noted that they’re...

Forensic psychiatrist testifies at coroner’s inquest into death of Soleiman Faqiri

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:32:53 GMT

Soleiman Faqiri denied having a history or symptoms of mental illness when he was admitted to an Ontario jail, but even non-medical staff could quickly see signs that he was unwell, a forensic psychiatrist told a coroner’s inquest Wednesday.In health assessments conducted when he arrived at the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, Ont., in early December 2016, Faqiri reported no history of psychiatric issues or medication, and marked “no” on a checklist of symptoms for mental illness, the inquest into his death heard.It’s not uncommon for people in his situation to misrepresent themselves, and it’s not clear whether he did so intentionally or by mistake, said Dr. Gary Chaimowitz, a forensic psychiatrist who reviewed several health records related to the case.“What’s apparent is that Mr. Faqiri denied all the symptoms but there’s obviously an opportunity to observe the individual directly as well,” said Chaimowitz, who hea...

Regulators and law enforcement crack down on crypto’s bad actors. Congress has yet to take action

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:32:53 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — While the scandals in the cryptocurrency industry seem to never end, Washington policymakers appear to have little interest in pushing through legislation to codify the structure of the industry.The latest shoe to drop is Binance’s multibillion dollar settlement with U.S. authorities and the resignation of its CEO this week. Before that came the conviction of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried for stealing billions from customers and the implosion of smaller crypto companies that cost investors large sums of money. When cryptocurrencies collapsed and a number of companies failed last year, Congress considered multiple approaches for how to regulate the industry in the future. However, most of those efforts have gone nowhere, especially in this chaotic year that has been dominated by geopolitical tensions, inflation and the upcoming 2024 election.In fact, the appetite for new rules seems more diminished than ever. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said plainly Tuesday...