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Pennsylvania governor appeals decision blocking plan to make power plants pay for greenhouse gases

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:54 GMT

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration said Tuesday that it is appealing a court ruling that blocked a state regulation to make Pennsylvania’s power plant owners pay for their planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, even as the Democrat warned lawmakers to get to work on a better alternative.In a statement, Shapiro didn’t pledge to enforce the regulation, should his administration win the appeal at the Democratic-majority state Supreme Court. His appeal revolves around the need to preserve executive authority, his administration said. But he also urged lawmakers to come up with an alternative plan.“Now is the time for action,” Shapiro’s office said. “Inaction is not an acceptable alternative.”The case revolves around the centerpiece of former Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to fight global warming and make Pennsylvania the first major fossil fuel-producing state to adopt a carbon-pricing program.In a Nov. 1 decision, a 4-1 Commonwealth Court ma...

‘Bank of mom and dad’ study: B.C. high earners get housing boost if parents also own

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:54 GMT

OTTAWA — A Statistics Canada study into what it calls the “bank of mom and dad” shows home ownership among young high earners in British Columbia increases more than anywhere else in Canada if their parents are homeowners, too.The study also finds that nationally, people born in the 1990s are twice as likely to own a home if their parents are homeowners, compared to those whose parents are not.That almost triples for people whose parents own more than one property.The study released Monday concludes that inequality of home ownership appears to be “reproduced across generations,” with parental home ownership bringing their children big financial advantages.It says people in B.C. earning more than $80,000 enjoyed a 21.3 percentage gain in their ownership rate if their parents owned one or more properties, compared to the lowest gain of 12.7 per cent in Alberta.The gain increased to 52.9 per cent in B.C. for people in the same income bracket whose parents owned ...

Native American storytellers enjoying a rare spotlight, a moment they hope can be more than that

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:54 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The financial crisis of 2008 hit Mary Kathryn Nagle differently. As a playwright and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, she saw parallels to events that negatively impacted Indigenous people centuries ago.Her play “Manahatta” juxtaposes the recent mortgage meltdown when thousands lost their homes to predatory lenders with the shady 17th-century Dutch who swindled and violently pushed Native Americans off their ancestral lands.“A lot of times history does repeat itself,” Nagle says. “I’m really interested in the ways in which we can connect to our past, carry it with us, learn from it, and maybe change outcomes so that we’re not just doomed to repeat the past in the present.”Nagle’s 2018 play has landed in New York City at the prestigious Public Theater this winter and it’s just the latest in a flowering of Native storytelling. From “Reservation Dogs,” “Dark Winds” and “Rutherford Falls” on TV to “Prey” on the big screen and Larissa FastHorse becoming...

Atlantic City casino profits fall 7.5% in 3rd quarter of 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:54 GMT

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Atlantic City’s casinos and two internet-only entities earned $281.2 million in the third quarter of this year, a decline of 7.5% from the same period a year ago, New Jersey gambling regulators said Tuesday.Figures released by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement show that while the nine casinos collectively surpassed the level of profitability they enjoyed in the third quarter of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, that was largely due to the strong performance of the two newest casinos, and an accounting change by another one.Hard Rock posted a gross operating profit of $44.3 million in the third quarter, up less than 1% from a year earlier. And the Ocean Casino Resort had a profit of $43 million, up more than 10% from a year earlier.Gross operating profit reflects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and other expenses, and is a widely accepted measure of profitability in the Atlantic City casino industry.“In keeping with the experie...

President Joe Biden orders US flags lowered in memory of former first lady Rosalynn Carter

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:54 GMT

PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — President Joe Biden has ordered that U.S. flags on federal government buildings and property will be lowered to half staff for five days in recognition of former first lady Rosalynn Carter, who died Sunday at the age of 96. Biden’s order calls for flags to fly half-staff from Saturday through sunset on Wednesday, Nov. 25, the day Carter will be buried in Plains, Georgia, the hometown she shared with former President Jimmy Carter. The order applies to flags at the White House, all other federal buildings and grounds, and all military and naval posts, including navy vessels, in the U.S. and its territories, along with all U.S. diplomatic, military and naval outposts abroad. Such orders are common when major federal government figures die, including first ladies. Presidential spouses, though, do not receive state funerals.Rosalynn Carter will be honored with public events beginning Monday in Sumter County, Georgia, where she and the former president were born, ...

Trump has long praised autocrats and populists. He’s now embracing Argentina’s new president

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:54 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump has long praised a particular type of foreign leader — men he describes as “tough” and “strong,” even if they have chipped away at their countries’ democratic norms.The former president and GOP front-runner is now celebrating the newly elected leader of Argentina, Javier Milei, a wild-haired, chainsaw-wielding self-described “anarcho-capitalist” dubbed “the madman” by his admirers. “A very special congratulations to Javier Milei on a great race for president of Argentina,” Trump exulted in a video posted Tuesday on his social media site that echoed an earlier statement. “I am very proud of you. You will turn your country around and truly Make Argentina Great Again!”Milei’s resounding win gives Trump a new potential ally if he wins reelection — and underscores his enduring influence on global politics in the near-decade since he launched his first White House bid. It’s also the latest example of the potency of right-wing populism that fl...

Suspects intentionally rear-ended victim’s car then kidnapped, beat him: Peel police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:54 GMT

Two men were charged in the alleged 2022 kidnapping of another man in Mississauga after investigators say the victim was intentionally rear-ended, abducted at gunpoint and taken to a warehouse, where he was assaulted.Peel Regional Police said on Aug. 23, 2022, the victim was driving in the Dixie Road and Dundas Street area in Mississauga when he was intentionally rear-ended by the suspects’ vehicle. Investigators say the male victim attempted to exchange information with the suspects when one of the men brandished a shotgun and forced him into their vehicle. He was then transported to a warehouse in the Eglington Avenue and Ridgeway Drive area in Mississauga, where he was allegedly assaulted. Related: 2 charged in violent downtown Toronto kidnapping, other man wanted Authorities said the victim made his way to a local police division to report the kidnapping. He was treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.Police said this incident is believed t...

Democratic Rep. Anna Eshoo announces retirement after three decades in Congress

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Anna Eshoo, a Democrat representing parts of California’s Silicon Valley, announced Tuesday that she will not run for reelection next year, marking the end of her more than three decades in Congress. “I’m choosing this beautiful season of Thanksgiving to announce that I will not be seeking reelection,” Eshoo said in a video posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “And I do so with a heart filled with unending gratitude to you, my magnificent constituents.” Eshoo’s retirement will likely kick off a fierce race for her seat in California’s 16th Congressional District, which encompasses Silicon Valley as well as parts of Santa Jose and San Mateo County. It is a safe Democratic seat that the 80-year-old has occupied since being elected in 1992 as the first woman and Democrat to ever represent the area. She previously served for a decade on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. Eshoo joins more than a dozen House Democrats ...

Federal judge grants injunction banning ‘Kansas Two-Step’ Highway Patrol tactic

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:54 GMT

The Kansas Highway Patrol must stop using a tactic known as the “Kansas Two-Step” to detain out-of-state drivers long enough to find a reason to search their vehicles for illegal drugs, a federal judge has ruled.U.S. District Judge Kathryn H. Vratil on Monday granted a permanent injunction. The injunction was not unexpected. It follows Vratil’s ruling in July that determined that the tactic violated drivers’ constitutional rights against unreasonable searches.KHP spokeswoman Candice Breshears said the order is being reviewed by the state attorney general’s office and declined further comment. A message left Tuesday with the office of Attorney General Kris Kobach was not immediately returned.The injunction has several requirements, including cameras and audio for all marked and unmarked patrol cars. It also says troopers must inform drivers that they can refuse or revoke consent for a search at any time. The injunction also requires better training and documentation...

Latest peace talks between Ethiopia’s government and Oromo militants break up without an agreement

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:54 GMT

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — The latest round of peace talks between Ethiopia’s federal government and a militant group waging a long-running conflict in the country’s Oromia region have broken up in Tanzania without an agreement, both sides said Tuesday.The Oromo Liberation Army says it is fighting for greater determination for the Oromo, Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, who have long claimed being marginalized. The insurgency stretches back to the 1970s but has escalated in recent years, killing thousands and rendering lawless vast swathes of Oromia, Ethiopia’s largest region.The OLA has been listed as a terrorist group in Ethiopia, and the government has accused it of carrying out mass killings against ethnic minorities.A previous round of talks between the OLA and Ethiopian officials in Tanzania earlier this year also failed.Redwan Hussein, the prime minister’s national security advisor, blamed the “intransigence” of the OLA for the latest failure.“The obstructive approach...