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Special counsel Jack Smith asks Supreme Court to rule quickly on whether Trump can be prosecuted

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:01:22 GMT

By MARK SHERMAN and ERIC TUCKER (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith on Monday asked the Supreme Court to take up and rule quickly on whether former President Donald Trump can be prosecuted on charges he plotted to overturn the 2020 election results.A federal judge ruled the case could go forward, but the Republican former president signaled he would ask the federal appeals court in Washington to reverse that outcome.Smith is attempting to bypass the appeals court. The request filed Monday for the Supreme Court to take up the matter directly reflects Smith’s desire to keep the trial, currently for March 4, on track and to prevent any delays that could push back the case until after next year’s presidential election.The earliest court would consider the appeal would be Jan. 5, the date of the justices’ next scheduled private conference. Underscoring the urgency for prosecutors in securing a quick resolution that can push the case forw...

Israel battles in Gaza’s main cities, with civilians trapped in the fighting

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:01:22 GMT

By NAJIB JOBAIN and SAMY MAGDY (Associated Press)DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinians dug under crushed buildings Monday to recover the bodies of families killed in strikes around Gaza as Israeli forces battled Hamas in the territory’s two largest cities, where many thousands of civilians are still trapped by the fighting.Residents said battles went on in and around the southern city of Khan Younis, where Israeli ground forces opened a new line of attack last week. Battles were also still underway in parts of Gaza City and the urban Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, where large areas have been reduced to rubble.Israel has pledged to keep fighting until it removes Hamas from power, dismantles its military capabilities and gets back all of the hostages taken by terrorists during Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise attack into Israel that ignited the war. The Israeli campaign has killed thousands of Palestinian civilians and driven nearly 85% of the territory’s 2.3 million people fro...

Endangered species list grows by 2,000. Climate change is part of the problem

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:01:22 GMT

Climate change is worsening the planet’s biodiversity crises, making environments more deadly for thousands of species and accelerating the precipitous decline in the number of plants and animals on Earth, according to an international organization that tracks species health.Species of salmon and turtles are among those facing a decline as the planet warms.Atlantic salmon isn’t yet threatened with extinction, but its population dropped by nearly a quarter from 2006 to 2020, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which tracks biodiversity around the globe, said on Monday. It’s now considered near threatened. They live in fewer places and face human-created hazards like dams and water pollution. Climate change is making it harder for the fish to find food and easier for alien species to compete, according to the group. Although there are some signs of hope: their numbers ticked up in Maine this past year.The news was announced at the United Nations climate conferenc...

Rapper Quando Rondo charged with federal drug crimes. He was already fighting Georgia charges

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:01:22 GMT

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — The rapper Quando Rondo has been indicted on federal drug charges in Georgia, where he also faces state gang and drug charges filed six months ago.Chatham County jail records show the 24-year-old rapper, whose real name is Tyquian Terrel Bowman, was booked in the federal case Saturday after being arrested in his hometown of Savannah. He was scheduled to appear Tuesday before a magistrate judge in U.S. District Court.A federal indictment unsealed Monday charges Bowman with conspiring with others to possess and distribute drugs including methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine and marijuana. The charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison. The indictment doesn’t accuse Bowman of directly possessing or selling illegal drugs.Bowman was already facing state charges in Chatham County Superior Court, where a grand jury indicted him in June. He’s charged in the state case with being a manager of an illegal street gang and conspiring to sell mari...

Brain sample from Maine gunman to be examined for injury related to Army Reserves

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:01:22 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A tissue sample from the brain of a gunman who killed 18 people and injured 13 others in Maine has been sent to a lab in Massachusetts to be examined for signs of injury or trauma related to his service in the Army Reserves, officials said Monday. The state’s chief medical examiner wants to know if a brain injury stemming from 40-year-old Robert Card’s military service could have contributed to unusual behavior he exhibited leading up to the Oct. 25 shootings at a bowling alley and at a bar in Lewiston .A spokesperson for the medical examiner’s office characterized the extra step as a matter of thoroughness “due to the combined history of military experience and actions.”“In an event such as this, people are left with more questions than answers. It is our belief that if we can conduct testing (in-house or outsourced) that may shed light on some of those answers, we have a responsibility to do that,” Lindsey Chasteen, office administrator, wr...

Florida’s university system under assault during DeSantis tenure, report by professors’ group says

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:01:22 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Academic freedom and independent governance have been under political and ideological assault in Florida’s university system during the tenure of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, according to a report by the American Association of University Professors released this month.The threat to Florida’s higher education system accelerated this year with the takeover of New College of Florida in Sarasota by partisan DeSantis supporters, according to the report from an AAUP committee. New College has become a focal point of a campaign by DeSantis, a candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, to rid higher education in the state of what he calls left-leaning “woke” indoctrination on campuses.Additionally, the appointments of GOP politicians to the boards that govern Florida’s higher education system have made them compliant to the wishes of the Republican governor, the report said.A veteran University of Florida faculty member told the AAUP...

Romanian court rejects influencer Andrew Tate’s request to return assets seized in trafficking case

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:01:22 GMT

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A court in Romania on Monday rejected a request by influencer Andrew Tate to return assets that were seized during investigations into the case in which he is charged with human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.The Bucharest Tribunal’s decision can be appealed within 48 hours. Tate’s lawyer, Eugen Vidineac, told The Associated Press he has applied to appeal.The decision comes nearly a year after Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian women were arrested near Bucharest. Romanian prosecutors formally indicted all four in June. They have denied the allegations.After their arrest, Romanian authorities seized 15 luxury cars, 14 designer watches and cash in several currencies. The vehicles included a Rolls-Royce, a Ferrari, a Porsche, a BMW, an Aston Martin and a Mercedes-Benz. Authorities said the assets were worth an estimated 3.6 million euros ($3.9 million).Romania’s anti-organized crime agency said at the time that ...

Former New Jersey Senate president launches 2025 gubernatorial bid

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:01:22 GMT

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A former top Democratic lawmaker on Monday announced a bid for governor of New Jersey, touting his credentials as a union ironworker and longtime legislator who worked to pass a minimum wage indexed to inflation, paid family leave, and a number of other measures. Steve Sweeney, 64, posted a video online to announce his political comeback bid to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy in the 2025 election. Sweeney served as the state Senate president from 2010 to 2022, unexpectedly losing a reelection bid to Republican Ed Durr in 2021.In his campaign launch, Sweeney leaned heavily into his career history, first as an ironworker, then as a labor leader and legislator. He opened the announcement by saying that his daughter Lauren, who was born with Down syndrome, provided the “spark” for him to seek public office. “I will always put New Jersey’s kids, working families, and seniors first,” he said. “You know that’s who I’ll fight for because that’s wh...

Dutch official says Geert Wilders and 3 other party leaders should discuss forming a new coalition

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:01:22 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The far-right party led by Dutch election winner Geert Wilders should open negotiations with three other parties on forming a new government, the official appointed to investigate possible coalitions said Monday.Ronald Plasterk, who acted as the “scout” in two weeks of preliminary talks, said it was “too early” to say how long it might take to form a new government amid significant policy differences between some of the parties.Wilders’ Party for Freedom won 37 seats in the 150-seat lower house of the Dutch parliament in the Nov. 22 election, making it the biggest party and putting the veteran anti-Islam lawmaker in pole position to form the next ruling coalition.Plasterk said that Wilders should hold coalition talks with New Social Contract, a reformist party formed over the summer that won 20 seats, the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, or VVD, which was led by outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte, and the Farmer Citizen Movement, or...

No. 2 oil-producing US state braces for possible end to income bonanza in New Mexico

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:01:22 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A windfall in government income from petroleum production is slowing down but far from over in New Mexico as the nation’s No. 2 oil production state grapples with how much it can effectively spend — and how to set aside billions of dollars for the future in case the world’s thirst for oil falters.The state is headed for a $3.5 billion general fund surplus for the year running through June 2025, according to a new forecast Monday. New Mexico’s annual state government income has swelled by nearly 50% over the past three years, driven largely by oil an natural gas production in the Permian Basin, the most prolific shale-oil producing region in the country that extends across southeastern New Mexico and portions of western Texas.The state will draw in a record-setting $13 billion — exceeding annual spending obligations by one-third, economists from four state agencies said in a presentation to a legislative panel. Monday’s forecast anticipates 2.2...