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Poland’s ruling party throws the opposition a referendum curveball

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:55 GMT

WARSAW — Anyone in favor of accepting illegal migrants, lowering border defenses, selling off state companies and making people work longer before they retire?If that’s the case, they should vote for Poland’s opposition parties and not the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, which is putting those four questions to a referendum that will be held on the same day as the October 15 parliamentary election.The referendum questions are set to be approved Thursday by the lower house of parliament, where PiS holds a narrow majority.The questions and the way they’re phrased are not serious legislative ideas. Rather they’re designed to cause problems for PiS’s main rival in the election, the center-right Civic Platform (PO) and its leader Donald Tusk, in an election in which the ruling nationalists are trying to win an unprecedented third term.The idea is for the questions to whip up public support. The referendum is also treated separately from the election unde...

Spain’s Sánchez faces moment of truth as fresh elections loom

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:55 GMT

Spanish lawmakers are set to decide if the country will be governed by a fragile left-wing coalition led by current Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez — or if voters will be sent back to the ballot box for another election. After last month’s general election resulted in no overall winner, Sánchez will face a vital first test on Thursday as he seeks to find a way to remain in power. Although he has apparently succeeded in winning the support of a vast array of leftist and separatist parties, the socialist politician still doesn’t have the numbers needed to form a government: He requires at least a few MPs belonging to the Catalan independence Junts party to back his candidacy in parliament if he is to remain in office.That’s bad news for Sánchez, because Junts’ de facto leader, the self-exiled former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, is demanding the socialists make seemingly impossible concessions in exchange for his party’s support.If JuntsR...

As Ukraine counteroffensive gets bogged down, it’s back to the drawing board

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:55 GMT

Jamie Dettmer is opinion editor at POLITICO Europe.Expectations for Ukraine’s counteroffensive were too high from the start.And as it now closes in on its third month, with no sign of a truly significant dynamic-changing breakthrough, it feels as though we’re back in a slog, a war of attrition that risks stretching the patience of impatient allies — something the Kremlin is no doubt hoping for.Or, as American military strategist Edward Luttwak noted this week, “The Ukraine war has entered its ‘grin & bear it’ period as it fights a Great Power that tried & failed to conquer it in a week last February, and which is now organized for protracted war.”Ukrainian officials blame their counterparts in allied governments for much of the overoptimism surrounding the counteroffensive — as well as an overenthusiastic Western media that mistakes wishful thinking for clear-eyed analysis all too often, conjuring up the idea of demoralized, badly led Russian soldiers quickly turning tail. T...

What’s life like for a spy once unmasked?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:55 GMT

What fate awaits a spy whose cover has been blown?Some spies are just too important to be left by their handlers to rot in a foreign jail after they’ve been captured, and they are traded in a spy swap. Other times spy catchers are reluctant to consider a trade because the betrayal has been so great a long jail sentence seems deserving.And then there are the expendables — so low-ranking their handlers don’t care what happens to them once they’re blown and too insignificant to consider for a spy swap.With spying back in the headlines after three Bulgarian nationals were charged in the U.K. amid an investigation into a suspected Russian espionage ring, POLITICO looks at how past culprits have fared once unmasked. Life of glamorFor Maria Butina (aka Anna Chapman), the former Russian sleeper agent, whose flame-colored hair captivated the American and British tabloid press, life after spying has been lucrative and a whirl of fashion shows, television and business opportunities. Chapm...

Garrett Whitlock implodes in eighth as Red Sox fall to Nationals 6-2

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:55 GMT

It was shaping up to be another dramatic, come-from-behind kind of night for the Red Sox.Shut down through the first seven innings by Washington Nationals starter MacKenzie Gore, the Red Sox rallied to tie the game in the top of the eighth on a two-run home run by Pablo Reyes. With Garrett Whitlock coming on in the eighth and the bullpen pitching as well as any in baseball, it felt like only a matter of time before the Red Sox could complete the comeback.Then, as quickly as the Red Sox got back into the game, the Nationals flipped the script.Whitlock imploded in the bottom of the eighth, allowing four runs on back-to-back homers before he’d even recorded an out. Keibert Ruiz delivered the haymaker with the go-ahead three-run home run, and Stone Garrett tacked on the exclamation mark with a solo shot to cap off Washington’s 6-2 win.More worrisome than the results, Whitlock’s velocity was also notably down, a troubling sign given that the righty only just came off th...

Stock market today: Asia follows Wall Street lower after Fed’s notes dent hopes of rate hikes ending

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:55 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stocks followed Wall Street lower Thursday after notes from a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting dented hopes interest rate hikes are finished.Hong Kong and Tokyo lost more than 1%. Shanghai, Seoul and Sydney also retreated. Oil prices declined.Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 lost 0.8% on Wednesday after minutes from the Fed’s latest meeting suggested board members are unsure what to do after raising their key lending rate to a two-decade high. Traders had hoped they would decide inflation was under control and last month’s rate hike was the last.Fed officials face a “tough balancing act” between “the risk of an inadvertent over-tightening of policy against the cost of an insufficient one,” said Tan Boon Heng of Mizuho Bank in a report.The Shanghai Composite Index sank 0.4% to 3,136.17 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo retreated 1.2% to 31,379.24. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 1.6% to 18,018.20 after being down more than 2% in early trading.The Kospi...

Judge declines to approve Hyundai/Kia class action settlement, noting weak proposed remedies

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:55 GMT

A federal judge on Wednesday declined to approve a proposed settlement in a class-action lawsuit prompted by a surge in Hyundai and Kia vehicle thefts, saying it fails to provide “fair and adequate” relief to vehicle owners. The proposed settlement, announced in May, could be valued at $200 million and covers about 9 million 2011-2022 model year Hyundai and Kia vehicles in the U.S., the companies said at the time. These cars are not equipped with push-button ignitions and immobilizing anti-theft devices. That has allowed thieves to easily steal them using just a screwdriver and a USB cord, creating a recent rash of auto thefts across the country.The proposed settlement would offer vehicle owners cash payments for theft-related damage and a voluntary recall to update theft-protection software. But U.S. District Judge James Selna raised concerns about the process for calculating payments and the adequacy of the software update in preventing future thefts.The two automakers announced t...

Naperville non-profit told they need to move emotional support chickens elsewhere

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:55 GMT

NAPERVILLE, Ill. — A husband and wife who house and train emotional support chickens in their backyard have one year to find a new location for the program.Rick and Wendy Montalbano, co-founders of the non-profit Touch My Heart, say the animals are used to provide comfort and relaxation for adults with special needs.The idea to create the organization was born during COVID, when the Montalbanos decided they needed to find a way to get out of the house and socialize. Combine that need with the fact that the Montalbanos have a special place in their hearts for adults with disabilities, and the non-profit came into fruition, with notable fanfare from the community."Agnes is their favorite, Lavernge is their favorite," Rick Montalbano said of their emotional support chickens. "We get emails. We [even] get birthday cards."Touch My Hearts' feathered friends currently number at 16 in total, and according to Wendy Montalbano, each one has been trained to provide a unique, special experience...

WGN's Mike Lowe skydives with Golden Knights

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:55 GMT

The Chicago Air and Water show is scheduled for this weekend along the lakefront. The free show is the largest of its kind in the United States.There will be a rehearsal show on Friday, the formal show goes from 10:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday. Organizers say the best viewing location is North Avenue Beach. More than a million people are expected to watch the show from locations up and down the lakefront. This year’s headliners include the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and the U.S. Army Golden Knights.The Golden Knights were founded in 1959.  The unit travels across the nation performing demonstrations at events like the Chicago Air and Water Show and competing in international contests. The maneuvers they’ve mastered can be used in real-life combat situations, but through their dazzling demonstrations, the expert jumpers mainly serve as ambassadors of the U.S. Army.Each Golden Knight must complete a rigorous eight weeks of assessment before  selection. The...

Maui fire death toll reaches 110, few victims identified

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:55 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (KHON/NEXSTAR) - Federal officials sent a mobile morgue with coroners, pathologists and technicians to Hawaii to help identify the dead, as Maui County released the first names of people killed in the wildfire that all but incinerated the historic town of Lahaina a week ago and killed at least 110 people.A week after the fires started, some residents still had intermittent power, unreliable cellphone service and uncertainty over where to get assistance.Some people walked periodically to a seawall, where phone connections were strongest, to make calls. Flying low off the coast, a single-prop airplane used a loudspeaker to blare information about where to get water and supplies. Remembering those lost in the Maui fires Just two victims have been named so far, while the county said it has identified three more and will release the names after notifying the next of kin. Robert Dyckman (74) of Lahaina and Buddy Jantoc (79) of Lahaina were identified by Mayor R...