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US senator hopes Serbia adopts Russia sanctions as Serb spy chief travels to Moscow

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:50:40 GMT

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — A U.S. senator on Thursday said he hopes Serbia would adopt Western sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, telling the Balkan country that “there is no future” in an alliance with Moscow. “Russia’s invasion has been an absolute disaster and my belief is that Russia is ultimately going to lose this conflict,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn) told reporters in the Serbian capital Belgrade. Serbia is the only country in Europe that has not imposed any sanctions on Russia.“The future for Serbia is with the European Union and with the United States not with Russia,” Murphy said. “There is no future with Russia. They (Russia) are going to be devastated, a permanent pariah internationally after this invasion.”Though Serbia is formally seeking EU membership and has condemned the invasion at the United Nations, Belgrade has maintained its historically friendly relations with Moscow. Murphy’s visit to Belgrade came as Serbia’s staunchly pro-Russian inte...

Tennessee’s transgender care exclusions are discriminatory, a federal lawsuit alleges

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:50:40 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s decision to exclude gender-affirming care for its employees is unconstitutional and discriminatory, according to a federal lawsuit brought by two people who were denied such services while working for the state.Attorneys representing Gerda Zinner, 30, and Story VanNess, 38, say the two were denied even though their medical teams deemed the services medically necessary. Zinner still works for the state as an academic adviser but VanNess has since left her position as a special education teacher after unsuccessfully appealing her case.“Tennessee’s public employee health benefits program has unlawfully deprived plaintiffs of coverage for essential medical services because of the plaintiffs’ sex and because they are transgender,” stated the 50-page complaint filed Tuesday. Zinner “feels that her life is on hold” because she now must live with “unmet healthcare needs,” her lawyers wrote. Meanwhile, VanNess’ attorneys said she spent all her ...

Tina Turner created a career on her terms, not defined by her trauma

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:50:40 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — In 1976, a young Tina Turner, bloodied and beaten by her husband and musical partner Ike Turner, fled in the dark across a Dallas freeway dodging trucks and cars with only pennies in her pocket.That moment when she decided she’d had enough of the physical, sexual and emotional abuse was a turning point for the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” who would go on to have a musical renaissance in the 1980s. After the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and worldwide star died Wednesday at 83, tributes often remarked on her courage in the face of horrifying violence. But her story of surviving and thriving was so much more than a comeback, cultural and domestic abuse experts say. Turner’s reclaiming of her career and her humanity on her own terms made her a pioneering Black woman who refused to be defined by abuse. Turner detailed that night in her 2021 documentary, “Tina,” describing the euphoria she felt: “I was very proud. I felt strong. I had never done this.” Sh...

Cannes turns up the glamour as Queen Latifah hosts the amfAR gala. Watch the red carpet

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:50:40 GMT

ANTIBES, France (AP) — The attention at the Cannes Film Festival turns Thursday to the glitzy amfAR gala to raise money for AIDS research.Queen Latifah is hosting the lavish bash that will collect millions through its auction of one-of-a-kind items and experiences. The evening’s co-chairs include Angela Bassett, Robert De Niro and Scarlett Johansson. Halsey, Gladys Knight, Adam Lambert and Bebe Rexha are expected to perform at the 29th edition.The nearly two weeks of Cannes red carpets provide numerous standout fashion moments. This year’s edition hasn’t disappointed, with Helen Mirren sporting blue hair on opening night, Johansson and other stars of Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City” looking glamorous and Adriana Lima, Karlie Kloss and other celebrities getting decked out for the “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” premiere.The Associated Press is livestreaming the arrivals at amfAR on YouTube beginning at 1 p.m. EDT.Stars attending the nearby Cannes festiva...

Ontario program to pay smart thermostat owners for summer temperature control

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:50:40 GMT

Ontario is rolling out an energy conservation program that will pay residents with smart thermostats to lower their air conditioning during certain periods in the summer.Residential customers who sign up for the Peak Perks program will receive a $75 prepaid credit card in exchange for giving their smart thermostat manufacturer secure access to the device.There would be up to 10 times during peak periods of electricity consumption between June and September during which their thermostat would be adjusted two to four degrees.The government says the adjustment would typically last for no more than three hours, wouldn’t be on weekends or holidays, and participants can opt out of any temperature change.Related: Ontario introduces ‘ultra low’ overnight hydro rate. What you need to knowThe Progressive Conservatives cancelled a number of energy conservation programs early in their first term in government, and critics have said their new $342-million suite of programs does...

Threat of US credit downgrade looms over debt ceiling talks

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:50:40 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — With one of three major rating agencies warning that America’s AAA credit is at risk, the stakes are growing in the standoff in Washington over raising the nation’s debt limit.On Wednesday night, the rating agency Fitch put the nation’s credit on “Rating Watch Negative,” which amounts to a warning that it might downgrade the U.S. credit as a result of the impasse. The government reached the $31.4 trillion debt limit in January, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has resorted to “extraordinary measures’’ since then to keep paying the bills. But Yellen has warned that Treasury will likely run out of money to meet all its obligations as soon as June 1, which is being described as the “X-date.”In a statement, Fitch said, “We believe risks have risen that the debt limit will not be raised or suspended before the X-date and consequently that the government could begin to miss payments on some of its obligations.”At the same time, Fitch characterized the likelihood...

Calls for unity dominate Africa Day celebrations

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:50:40 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Calls for unity dominated Thursday’s 60th anniversary celebrations for the continent-wide organization preceding the African Union (AU) that represented 55 member states. But critics say the AU has become a paper tiger where there’s plenty of talk, but not much much real clout to enforce its mandate. Africa Day events across the continent honored the founding of the AU’s predecessor – The Organization of African Unity (OAU) — whose original purpose was to fight colonialism before evolving in 2002 to incorporate the aims of defending it’s members sovereignty and independence as well as encouraging their socio-economic integration. In Addis Ababa where the AU is seated, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed underscored that unity is “no more a catchphrase but a means of survival” in an increasingly complex world. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa echoed Abiy, appealing for unity and to “uphold the bonds that frame our desti...

Former Mozambique finance minister loses last appeal, set for extradition to US over $2B scandal

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:50:40 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Nearly five years after he was arrested at a South African airport, Mozambique’s former finance minister has lost a last-ditch court appeal and faces extradition to the United States over a $2 billion corruption scandal related to loans to Mozambican state-owned companies.U.S. prosecutors allege that Manuel Chang, Mozambique’s finance minister from 2005 to 2015, was involved in a scheme that ultimately defrauded American and international investors. The huge sums of money leant by international banks to Mozambique — and guaranteed by the Mozambique government — were meant for a series of maritime projects but disappeared in bribes, kickbacks and other illegal payments, it’s alleged.Chang is accused of receiving about $17 million in bribes in the “hidden debts” scandal. He was indicted in the Eastern District Court of New York in 2018.The more than $2 billion was meant to be for the purchase of naval vessels, the building and maintenance of shipy...

St. John’s was a ‘safe’ spot for Tina Turner, and Newfoundlanders remember her fondly

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:50:40 GMT

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Tina Turner is being remembered in Newfoundland and Labrador for her kindness, her connection with the province, and for the series of unforgettable shows she played in St. John’s to kick off the North American tour for her biggest album.Geoff Meeker says the province had never seen anything like the four shows Turner and her band played at Memorial Stadium in 1985 to launch the North American tour for “Private Dancer.”Meeker was a 28-year-old writer and editor with The Herald magazine at the time, and he says Turner was kind and gracious when he interviewed her or took photos of her at the events she attended in the city. He said in an interview that Turner and her band arrived about a week before the shows and that she told local media she felt at ease walking around the city.Newfoundlander Marit Stiles, then 15, says she was crushed when she couldn’t get tickets — but she says she was babysitting near the stadium during one show an...

'Burn after reading' letter: Brian Laundrie's mother offered shovel, garbage bags to dispose of body if needed

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:50:40 GMT

VENICE, Fla. (WFLA) — Brian Laundrie's mother, Roberta, offered her son a shovel and garbage bags if he needed to dispose of a body, according to the letter obtained by Gabby Petito's family after a judge's ruling Wednesday in Florida.The infamous "burn after reading" letter, which had become a focal point of the civil lawsuit filed by Petito's family against the Laundries and their attorney Steven Bertolino, was released to WFLA by the Petito family Wednesday evening. The release comes after Judge Danielle Brewer denied a motion of protection against the letter's inclusion in the discovery process as the two families head to a civil trial next year. What happened to Gabby Petito? Here is a transcript of the letter:"I just want you to remember I will always love you, and I know you will always love me. You are my boy. Nothing can make me stop loving you, nothing will or could ever divide us no matter what we do, or where we go or what we say - we will always love each other. If yo...