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Kelly Ayotte launches campaign for governor of New Hampshire

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:40:54 GMT

(CNN) — Former New Hampshire Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte announced a campaign for governor on Monday, entering the race to succeed popular Republican Gov. Chris Sununu in 2024. Sununu’s surprise announcement last week that he would not seek a fifth two-year term set off what is likely to be a competitive election in the Granite State that could draw several contenders. “I’m running for governor because New Hampshire is one election away from becoming Massachusetts – from becoming something we are not,” Ayotte said in a statement.Ayotte is a veteran of New Hampshire Republican politics, first serving as state attorney general in 2004 and then elected as US senator in 2010. She was defeated in 2016 by then-Gov. Maggie Hassan in an extremely close race, losing by just over 1,000 votes.  As a senator, Ayotte had a reputation as a bipartisan dealmaker, but in her 2016 reelection bid she struggled to navigate a political environment dominated...

Chicago baseball report: Trade rumors are swirling for the Cubs and White Sox

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:40:54 GMT

After dropping their series opener, the Cubs posted three consecutive wins against the St. Louis Cardinals to keep them in position to potentially add at the trade deadline.Their 7-2 victory Sunday at Wrigley Field capped their series win versus their division rival to keep the Cubs (48-51) climbing toward .500.The Sox completed their longest trip of the season Sunday with a brutal 5-4 loss to the Minnesota Twins in 12 innings. They squandered a three-run lead in the ninth on the way to getting swept.A trip that began with a high of taking two of three from the Atlanta Braves came crashing to the ground with the team losing two of three to the New York Mets and all three to the Twins.With trade rumors swirling, the Sox return home Tuesday for the City Series.Drew Smyly’s rotation role unclear going forwardManager David Ross had played coy earlier in the week when asked about two “to be determined” entries as the Cubs’ probable pitchers for Saturday’s an...

Suspect charged in shooting of undercover New Bedford detective

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:40:54 GMT

A suspect has been arrested and charged in the alleged shooting last week of an undercover New Bedford detective in the face.Cheybane Vasconcelos-Furtado, 20, was arrested on Worcester Street Sunday in New Bedford by a team that included New Bedford Police, State Police, members of the state police violent fugitive squad and federal agents with ATF.“I’m pleased with this arrest and the progress that was made today.  This arrives following a very long week for all the New Bedford, State, and ATF investigators who have put a great deal of time and effort into this case.  Although today is a well-earned win, there is more work to be done as this investigation continues and we continue to follow up on leads,” New Bedford Police Chief Paul Oliveira said Sunday night.Vasconcelos-Furtado is charged with shooting Det. Lavar Gilbert last Monday. Gilbert was conducting an undercover investigation and is assigned to the department’s Organized Crime Intelligence Bureau.Vasconcelos-F...

Searchers continue to pump water from Nova Scotia field in search for flood missing

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:40:54 GMT

HALIFAX — Workers are continuing to pump water from a flooded field in Nova Scotia that is the focus of a search for four people, including two children, who went missing in a torrent of water Saturday.Abraham Zebian, mayor of West Hants Regional Municipality, was at the site earlier today and says search teams are pumping more than 94,000 litres of water a minute from the field.Zebian says the work is lowering water levels so ground search and rescue teams can have easier access to the area.On Saturday evening, an RCMP dive team recovered an unoccupied pickup truck in over two metres of water and said it was believed to be the vehicle the children were travelling in. Police said earlier the children were with three other people who managed to escape.Searchers are looking in the same area for a second vehicle in which a youth and a man who are unaccounted for were travelling.Heavy rain, which began Friday, dumped between 200 and 250 millimetres along Nova Scotia’s South Shore, acros...

French national police chief says officers under investigation ‘have no place in prison’

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:40:54 GMT

PARIS (AP) — France’s national police chief has said that law enforcement officers under investigation shouldn’t be jailed like ordinary citizens, amid a walkout by numerous Marseille police over the detention of a colleague for his actions during nationwide riots.The apparently unprecedented remarks by Frederic Veaux in a weekend interview — which got the support of the Paris police prefect — quickly triggered a debate, and raised fundamental questions about whether French law enforcement is above the law. “Knowing that (the officer) is in prison stops me from sleeping,” Veaux said in an interview with Le Parisien, after a trip Saturday to Marseille to bring a message of support to police from himself and Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin. But he went further, saying he thinks that “ahead of an eventual trial, a police officer has no place in prison, even if he may have committed faults or grave error in his work.”While police officers must account for their actions, “includi...

Eight people burn to death in southern Nigeria after gasoline tanker explosion, authorities say

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:40:54 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Eight people were burned to death after a tanker exploded in Nigeria’s southern Ondo state, the road safety agency said on Monday.The tanker was carrying gasoline and exploded while the victims were trying to extract the much sought-after fuel, according to Ezekiel Sonallah, head of the Federal Road Safety Corps in Ondo.Sonallah said the driver lost control of the tanker on Sunday and veered off the road and crashed in Ondo’s Odigbo district. Both the driver and his assistant escaped unscathed. He said that the “problem was the scooping,” hinting it was the reason for the explosion.Authorities said all the victims were burned beyond recognition and couldn’t be identified.Scooping fuel from tanker accident scenes has often resulted in deaths in parts of Nigeria. It has continued this year with the price of gasoline more than doubling since June 1 after the West African nation’s new President Bola Tinubu ended the decades-long gasoline. Fatal truck accident...

Radical British preacher Anjem Choudary is charged with directing a terrorist organization

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:40:54 GMT

LONDON (AP) — High-profile British radical preacher Anjem Choudary appeared in a London court on Monday, charged with leading a terrorist organization.Choudary, 56, was charged Sunday with three counts under the Terrorism Act: directing a terrorist organization, membership in a banned organization and addressing meetings to encourage support for the organization between June 2022 and this month.Prosecutors say the charges relate to the group al-Muhajiroun, which was outlawed by the British government in 2010. It has since operated “under many names and guises,” including the Islamic Thinkers Society, prosecutors say.Choudary is alleged to have provided lectures to the Islamic Thinkers Society.He was arrested at his home in London in July 17. He was charged alongside with Canadian national Khaled Hussein, 28, who was arrested at Heathrow Airport the same day after arriving on a flight. Hussein, from Edmonton, Alberta, is charged with membership in a proscribed organization. Prosecuto...

Hollywood uncertainties may raise demand for Canadian talent, observers suggest

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:40:54 GMT

TORONTO — Twin Hollywood strikes that stalled U.S. film and TV production could raise demand for Canadian talent if the job action stretches beyond the summer.Industry observers say that would largely depend on how long the work stoppages last and would pale in comparison to current job losses and broader disruption that’s almost certain to deepen with a long labour fight.However, production delays appear to be behind NBC’s announcement last week to schedule the third season of CTV’s hospital drama “Transplant” on Thursdays this fall instead of “Law & Order: SVU,” as previously announced.And the CEO of the Canadian network OutTV says more U.S. broadcasters could turn northward for content if the simultaneous writers and actors strikes continue into September.Brad Danks says he hasn’t yet seen a big push by U.S. networks and streamers to stock up on foreign content, but he’s sure exploratory talks are underway.Meanwhile, one prominent Toronto casting director says non-SAG Canadia...

Israeli parliament approves key part of judicial overhaul that has exposed deep fissures in society

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:40:54 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli lawmakers on Monday approved a key portion of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s divisive plan to reshape the country’s justice system despite massive protests that have exposed unprecedented fissures in Israeli society.The vote came after a stormy session in which opposition lawmakers chanted “shame” and then stormed out of the chamber.It reflected the determination of Netanyahu and his far-right allies to move ahead with the plan, which has tested the delicate social ties that bind the country, rattled the cohesion of its powerful military and repeatedly drawn concern from its closest ally, the United States.The overhaul calls for sweeping changes aimed at curbing the powers of the judiciary, from limiting the Supreme Court’s ability to challenge parliamentary decisions to changing the way judges are selected. Netanyahu and his allies say the changes are needed to curb the powers of unelected judges. Protesters, who come from a wide swath of Israeli socie...

Arizona woman’s heat death after her power was cut off spurred changes, but advocates want more

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:40:54 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Stephanie Pullman died on a sweltering Arizona day after her electricity was cut off because of a $51 debt.Five years later, the 72-year-old’s story remains at the heart of efforts to prevent others in Arizona from having their power cut off, leaving them without life-saving air conditioning in temperatures that have topped 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) on every day this month.“Stephanie Pullman was the face of the fight that helped put the disconnect rules in place for the big, regulated utilities in Arizona,” said Stacey Champion, an advocate who pushed for new regulations. “But we need more.”Arizona Public Service, known as APS, disconnected Pullman’s power in September 2018 at a time when outside temperatures in her retirement community west of Phoenix reached 107 degrees Fahrenheit (41.6 Celsius). Just days before, a $125 payment was made toward Pullman’s past-due bill of $176.Her body was found inside her home during a subsequent ...