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EU gains new sanctions weapon but will probably be too nice to use it

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:48:05 GMT

The European Union agreed to strengthen its sanctions arsenal this week, making it possible to punish countries that are helping Russia evade sanctions. But it’s likely to shy away from doing so, say experts.To starve Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war machine of funding, the EU has banned trade in a host of goods that are either seen as generating significant revenue for the Kremlin or are used on the battlefield following the invasion of Ukraine. But some countries, like Central Asian Kazakhstan and Armenia, have been accused of helping Russia dodge sanctions by accepting flows of sanctioned goods through their territory. As the sanctioned goods aren’t sent directly to Russia from an EU country, these trade movements are much harder to track. That’s what the EU now wants to tackle.After adopting 10 sanction packages following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February of last year, EU ambassadors this week agreed to a new mechanism: If third coun...

Man walks into The Cheesecake Factory at Fashion Valley Mall with gunshot wound

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:48:05 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Authorities on Friday night are investigating after a man walked into The Cheesecake Factory at Fashion Valley Mall with a gunshot wound to his leg, police said.Police received a call around 10 p.m. about the incident at 7067 Friars Road, San Diego police confirmed with FOX 5. Woman dies after back-to-back hit-and-runs A witness told FOX 5 they were sheltering in place at the restaurant after saying a shooting happened in the parking lot.There are no reports of any other injuries at this time.A large police presence is currently at the scene.Check back for updates on this developing story.

Kansas’ attorney general is moving to block trans people from changing their birth certificates

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:48:05 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Transgender people born in Kansas could be prevented from changing their birth certificates to reflect their gender identities if the state’s conservative Republican attorney is successful with a legal move he launched late Friday.Attorney General Kris Kobach filed a request in federal court asking a judge to end a requirement for Kansas to allow transgender people to change their birth certificates. U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree imposed the requirement in 2019 to settle a lawsuit filed by four transgender Kansas residents against three state health department officials over a policy that critics said prevented transgender people from making changes even after transitioning, legally changing their names and obtaining new driver’s licenses and Social Security cards.It wasn’t clear whether Kobach’s effort would succeed, given a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2020 declaring a federal law barring sex discrimination in employment also prevents discri...

Russian mercenary chief who called for rebellion confirms he and his troops reached city in Russia

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:48:05 GMT

The owner of the Wagner private military contractor who called for an armed rebellion aimed at ousting Russia’s defense minister, confirmed Saturday morning that he and his troops have reached a key Russian city after crossing the border from Ukraine.Yeveny Prigozhin posted a video of himself in Rostov-on-Don at the Russian military headquarters that oversees the fighting in Ukraine. He claimed that his forces had military facilities in the city under their control, including the air field. Other videos posted on social media showed military vehicles, including tanks, on the streets outside. Russia’s security services had responded to Prigozhin’s declaration of an armed rebellion by calling for his arrest. In a sign of how seriously the Kremlin took the threat, security was heightened in Moscow and in Rostov-on-Don. It was not immediately clear how he was able to enter the southern Russian city or how many troops he had with him.While the outcome of the confrontation was...

Judge agrees to narrow but not lift gag order in University of Idaho student slayings case

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:48:05 GMT

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho judge has denied a request from roughly two dozen news organizations to lift a gag order in the criminal case of a man accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death. The judge did, however, significantly narrow the gag order in response to the news organizations’ concerns. The ruling was handed down late Friday afternoon. In it, 2nd District Judge John Judge said it was legally prudent to restrict attorneys from making some statements about the case in order to preserve Bryan Kohberger’s right to a fair trial. Still, Judge also said the original gag order — which also barred law enforcement officers and other people tangentially related to the case from speaking to the press — was “arguably overbroad and vague in some areas.” Kohberger, 28, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and burglary in connection with the stabbing deaths in Moscow, Idaho. Prosecutors have yet to reveal if they intend to seek the death penalty.T...

No winning ticket sold for Friday’s $25 million Lotto Max jackpot

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:48:05 GMT

There was no winning ticket sold in Friday’s Lotto Max $25 million draw.The jackpot for the next draw on June 27 will be an estimated $30 million.The Canadian Press

Nearly 1/3 of the US homeless population lives in California. This veterinarian cares for the pets

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:48:05 GMT

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — An elevated train clangs along tracks above Dr. Kwane Stewart as the veterinarian makes his way through a chain link gate to ask a man standing near a parked RV whether he might know of any street pets in need.Michael Evans immediately goes for his 11-month-old pit bull, Bear, his beloved companion living beneath the rumbling San Francisco Bay Area commuter trains.“Focus. Sit. That’s my boy,” Evans instructs the high-energy puppy as he eagerly accepts Stewart’s offer.A quick check of the dog reveals a moderate ear infection that could have made Bear so sick in a matter of weeks he might have required sedation. Instead, right there, Dr. Stewart applies a triple treatment drop of antibiotic, anti-fungal and steroids that should start the healing process.“This is my son right here, my son. He’s my right-hand man,” an emotional Evans says of Bear, who shares the small RV in Oakland. “It’s a blessing, really.”“The Street Vet,” as Stewart is known, has been su...

Native Hawaiian drag queens in Las Vegas showcase islands’ gender-fluid heritage

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:48:05 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Drag queens donning the white, red and blue of the Hawaiian flag shimmied across the stage to a throbbing techno remix of “Aloha Oe,” a song composed by Hawaii’s last reigning monarch. Spectators roared as a performer shook her hips in a Tahitian-style dance.All the dancers were “mahu” — a Hawaiian term for people with dual male and female spirit and a mixture of gender traits.They starred in a drag show this week called “Mahu Magic” on the sidelines of a Native Hawaiian convention in Las Vegas to remind the world of the respected place gender-fluidity has held in Hawaiian culture for hundreds of years, while also making a foray into the national conversation about transgender rights. “It’s a little different from other drag shows because this one has a very specific purpose,” Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, who is mahu, a community leader and a master teacher of hula and chanting, told the audience midway through the event.“It is meant to reinstate the ri...

Man stops elderly couple from being robbed in San Gabriel

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:48:05 GMT

Dashcam video captured the moment a man stopped the attempted robbery of an elderly couple in San Gabriel.The good Samaritan, Tony Truong, was driving down Valley Boulevard near Walnut Street around 4 p.m. when he noticed the couple stopped on the sidewalk. He said the woman reminded him of his mother who had passed away four months ago. That’s when he noticed the woman’s husband was being harassed and robbed by a man.His vehicle’s dash camera captured the confrontation as the thief appeared to be snatching a gold chain off the elderly man’s neck.“I was heading to the shop and I witnessed a robbery,” recalled Truong. “The guy was robbing an elderly man in a wheelchair so I stepped in and helped.” Truong said it took a second to process what was unfolding in front of his eyes. As he looked at the woman who reminded him of his late mother, “it just so happened that the more I was looking at her, I saw her husband in the back getting robbed,” said Truong.The video, which has ...

Longoria homers in return to Oracle Park, but SF Giants get last laugh against NL West leaders

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:48:05 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — Evan Longoria, who called Oracle Park home for five seasons, hammered a 436-foot home run onto the netting in center field on the second pitch he saw Friday night in his return with the Arizona Diamondbacks. His former teammates took the slugging from there, though.A line drive shot from rookie catcher Patrick Bailey, who hadn’t played above High-A during Longoria’s tenure in a Giants uniform, put the finishing touches on a five-run sixth inning that proved to be the difference in the San Francisco’s 8-5 win to start a three-game weekend series against the leaders of the National League West.With their 11th win in their past 12 games, the Giants (43-33) pulled within 2½ games of the D-backs (46-31) for the division lead. Brandon Crawford made a sensational diving play behind the bag at second base to record the final out, clinching Camilo Doval’s National League-leading 21st save.“We’ve got a fun group in here,” said starter ...