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Editorial: Israel has its own crisis of democracy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:21 GMT

Authoritarianism can be defined in many ways. A judiciary subservient to the ruling regime is one of them.No one would expect a court in Russia, China, Turkey, Iran or North Korea to mete out true, unbiased justice. In those countries, rule of law is an empty promise. Israel isn’t in the same category, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s push to weaken his nation’s Supreme Court represents the most ominous threat to Israel’s democracy in its 75-year history.Can Israel save itself from its anti-democratic backslide? Yes it can, provided that a majority of Israelis join forces with civil society and the high court itself to turn back Netanyahu’s reckless, politically expedient gambit.It won’t be easy, but legions of Israelis have already shown they can send a strong message warning Netanyahu how far he has dangerously strayed from Israel’s founding ideals. For months, throngs of demonstrators have taken to the streets in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to protest their prime minister’s act...

Musk may need surgery before proposed ‘cage match’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:21 GMT

NEW YORK — Elon Musk says he may need to get surgery before a proposed “cage match” with Mark Zuckerberg.The two tech billionaires seemingly agreed to an in-person face-off in late June. It’s unclear if a physical fight will actually end up happening, but Musk and Zuckerberg have continued to fuel interest in the potential match through online jabs at one another — most recently on Sunday, when Musk said the fight would be live-streamed on his social media site X, formerly known as Twitter.Musk added that the fight’s proceeds would go to a charity for veterans. On his Threads social media account, Zuckerberg responded: “Shouldn’t we use a more reliable platform that can actually raise money for charity?” In a follow-up post, the the CEO of Facebook’s parent company Meta said he wasn’t “holding his breath” for a fight.“I’m ready today. I suggested Aug 26 when he first challenged, but he hasn’t confirm...

Patriots rookie Malik Cunningham impresses QBs in return to old position

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:21 GMT

FOXBORO — Patriots rookie Malik Cunningham went back to his roots Monday in practice, seeing his first extended action since the spring at quarterback.Cunningham, a quarterback in college at Louisville, is still listed on the Patriots’ roster as a quarterback despite telling reporters this spring that he had made the full-time switch to wide receiver. Cunningham began practice at wide receiver, beating cornerback Quandre Mosely in a 1-on-1 rep.Deep into 11-on-11s, Cunningham took 15 snaps at quarterback in full-team competitive drills. He went 4-of-7 as a passer with five handoffs, two designed runs and a scramble.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Mac Jones backs offensive line amid growing depth, injury concerns New England Patriots | Patriots extra points: N’Keal Harry gets a new team, Devin McCourty co-hosting preseason broadcast New England Patriots | Patriots training camp Day 12: Matt Judon returns with 3 sacks,...

Saudi giant’s oil profits plummet 40%

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:21 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi state-run oil giant Aramco on Monday reported $30 billion in second quarter profit, a nearly 40% decline from the same period the previous year that it attributed to lower oil prices.Total sales stood at just over $106 billion, down from $150 billion in the second quarter of 2022. In an earnings report filed with the Saudi stock exchange, Aramco said the decrease “mainly reflected the impact of lower crude oil prices and weakening refining and chemicals margins.”The company reported net income of $30 billion, compared to $48 billion in the second quarter of 2022, a decline of 37.8%.Aramco nevertheless raised its dividend paid out to investors to $29.38 billion, compared to $18.8 billion in the second quarter of 2022. The performance-based dividend is partly based on the company’s record earnings last year, it said.“Our strong results reflect our resilience and ability to adapt through market cycles,” Aramco CEO Amin N...

Father charged with helping suspect in July 4 shooting obtain gun license asks judge to toss case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:21 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — An Illinois judge heard arguments Monday on a father’s request to dismiss charges accusing him of committing a crime by helping his son obtain a gun license three years before the son fatally shot seven people at a 2022 Fourth of July parade in suburban Chicago.The judge said at the hearing in Waukegan, north of Highland Park where the shooting occurred, that he would issue a ruling at the next hearing, on Aug. 28. Robert Crimo Jr.’s lawyer, George Gomez, told the court that his client was charged under an unconstitutionally vague law. He said prosecutors charged Crimo Jr. for “innocent conduct” — signing “a wholly truthful” affidavit helping his son, Robert Crimo III, apply for and obtain a gun license. Charges against parents following mass shootings are rare partially because the cases are difficult to prove, legal experts have said. Crimo Jr. has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of reckless conduct, one for each person killed. Each count carries a maximum ...

Leader of Texas’ largest county takes leave from job for treatment of clinical depression

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:21 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, a Democrat who has built a rising national profile as the leader of Texas’ largest county, announced Monday that she was taking a temporary leave of absence for treatment of clinical depression. In a statement addressed to the county’s nearly 5 million residents and posted on social media, Hidalgo said she checked herself into a facility outside Texas in late July for inpatient treatment. She said she had been coping with depression “for some time” and that it had been undiagnosed until last month. “My experience has been difficult, but I am taking it as an opportunity to be open about my own struggle, my own challenges, and to encourage others, who need help, to seek treatment,” Hidalgo wrote. Hidalgo, 32, said she is hopeful she will be able to resume her normal schedule by early September. In February, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania checked himself into a hospital to receive inpatient treatment for clinical depress...

2 Russian missiles have hit a city in eastern Ukraine, killing at least 5 people, officials say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:21 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Two Russian missile strikes hit the city center of the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region Monday evening, killing at least five people and wounding two dozen more, Ukrainian officials said.The strikes, which targeted the Ukrainian portion of a region partially occupied by Russia, occurred within 40 minutes of each other, according to Donetsk Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko. The attack damaged nine- and five-story buildings, residential houses, a hotel where foreign journalists used to stay, dining establishments, shops and administrative buildings, he said. Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said five people, including a local official of Ukraine’s State Emergency Service, were killed and 31 more were wounded by the strikes. Nineteen policemen, five rescuers and one child were among the wounded, Klymenko said. The Suspilne news site, however, cited head of the Pokrovsk City Military Administration Serhiy Dobriak as saying that seven peopl...

Wildfire prompts B.C. regional district to place 85 properties on evacuation alert

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:21 GMT

KAMLOOPS, B.C. — Dozens more properties in the B.C. Interior have been placed on evacuation alert as the Bush Creek East wildfire near Adams Lake fills the air with thick smoke. The Thompson-Nicola Regional District says it expanded the evacuation alert to 85 addressed properties Monday, also closing a boat launch to keep recreational boaters off the water to allow aircraft to work unimpeded as blazes burn on both sides of the lake. The regional district says conservation officers and the RCMP are patrolling the lake to make sure boaters aren’t straying into the path of aircraft involved in fighting the fires. Both the Thompson-Nicola and the Columbia Shuswap Regional Districts have evacuation orders in place for two wildfires burning on opposite sides of Adams Lake — the Lower East Adams Lake wildfire and the Bush Creek East wildfire. The Thompson-Nicola Regional District says it issued the alert Monday to prepare people in case they need to flee, warning that changing ...

Jeff Gunter, a dermatologist who was Trump’s ambassador to Iceland, is running for Nevada Senate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:21 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jeff Gunter, a dermatologist who was ambassador to Iceland during Donald Trump’s administration, announced Monday he’s running for U.S. Senate in Nevada, joining an increasingly crowded field of Republicans looking to unseat first-term Democratic incumbent Jacky Rosen.In a three-minute introductory video, Gunter presented himself as a loyal Trump supporter committed to furthering the former president’s movement.“I’ll fight to support Donald Trump and his amazing and great America First agenda,” Gunter says in the video. Rosen is one of the top Republican targets in next year’s election as the GOP looks to wrest the Senate majority from Democrats, who now hold a 51-49 edge in the chamber.Swing-state Nevada has had many high-profile races decided by thin margins, including Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto ‘s narrow victory in her 2022 reelection bid. Gunter started his dermatology practice in California in 1992 before expandin...

A survivor of the fatal Pennsylvania bus crash describes chaos and heroism after it turned over

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:21 GMT

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A bus carrying up to 50 people traveling from New York to Ohio crashed and hit another vehicle on a Pennsylvania interstate, killing three passengers, state police said.The wreck happened during heavy rain around 11:50 p.m. Sunday on Interstate 81 just north of Harrisburg, state police said. The bus drove off the road, struck an embankment, rolled onto its right side and hit the back of a car that was stopped in the right lane, according to a crash report.Three passengers were declared dead at the scene, the police report said, and others suffered injuries that ranged from minor to severe. Matthew Oshiafi, a passenger on the bus operated by the Super Lucky Tour Company of Boston, told Pennlive.com that he remembered a terrible screeching and shuddering before the bus crashed and flipped. He said he was sitting in the last row.Oshiafi, 39, a New York City resident who was headed to Cincinnati to visit family, said the crash threw people from their seats and lef...