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Local election workers have been under siege since 2020. Now they face fentanyl-laced letters

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:31:43 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — While workers were counting ballots for primary elections in August, the elections office in King County, Washington, received a suspicious envelope that turned out to contain trace amounts of fentanyl.It happened again this week, and not just in Washington state, where the office was processing ballots from the general election and had to be evacuated. Election offices in at least five states were sent threatening mail, some containing the potentially deadly drug, authorities say.The letters were just the latest worrisome disruption for election workers in Seattle and across the country who have been besieged by threats, harassment and intimidation since the 2020 presidential election.“There’s certainly a toll that occurs emotionally and mentally with our elections administrators, and it’s devastating,” said Julie Wise, the King County elections director. “But we’re not going to be paused or impacted by these individuals who clearly want to break us.”Election offices...

Israeli national team arrives in Kosovo for soccer game under tight security measures

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:31:43 GMT

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Israel’s national soccer team arrived in Kosovo on Friday amid tight security measures at the airport ahead of a postponed European Championship qualifier.The team’s two buses were accompanied by several police vehicles and armed officers as it left the airport.There was also tight security at the hotel where the team was staying ahead of Sunday’s game. Police officers created a security perimeter at the hotel that the public and journalists were not allowed to cross.The Israeli soccer federation posted video on X, formerly known as Twitter, showing players getting off the team bus on its way to the airport in Israel to take cover by the roadside, apparently amid nearby rocket fire. “Nothing will stop us on our way to Euro 2024,” the federation wrote. It is the first match Israel plays since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas and the ongoing war in Gaza. It had originally been scheduled for Oct. 15.Israel is third in Group I of Euro 2024 qualifying, behin...

2024 Grammy nomination snubs and surprises: No K-pop, little country and regional Mexican music

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:31:43 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — With new categories, SZA, and “Barbie” — there’s a lot to discuss regarding the 2024 Grammy Award nominations. Who didn’t make the cut? What were the best surprises of all? Let’s take a look.NEW BLOOD?There’s a lot to love about the nominations for the 66th Grammy Awards — and quite a bit to be a little confused by. Reneé Rapp, Peso Pluma and PinkPantheress are absent from the best new artist category despite having remarkable years. Rapp’s “Snow Angel” was the biggest debut solo album from a female artist this year.Rapp and PinkPantheress were both shut out and Peso Pluma only picked up one nomination: best música Mexicana album (including Tejano) for his third studio album, “Génesis.”LATIN LOOKED OVERIn fact, in a year dominated by música Mexicana, it is surprising to see no nods for Eslabon Armado or Grupo Frontera, particularly for their songs “Ella Baila Sola” with Peso Pluma and “Un x100to” with Bad Bunny, respectively. Na...

Washington Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz drops out of governor’s race to run for Congress

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:31:43 GMT

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington state Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz is dropping her bid for the governor’s office to run for Congress.Franz, a Democrat who lives in Grays Harbor County, is running to replace retiring Rep. Derek Kilmer, who has served the 6th Congressional District since 2013. In an announcement Friday, Franz said she decided to run for Congress after speaking with voters across Washington and learning of their concerns: rising prices, reproductive freedom and women’s rights, the future of democracy, the support of veterans and military families and the climate crisis. “The challenges we face extend beyond the borders of Washington, and so must our solutions,” Franz said in a statement Friday. “I am running for Congress to bring my vision for bold, transformative action to our nation’s capital and keep fighting for families across our region.”Franz has spent the last seven years leading the department responsible for millions of acres of public lands ...

Officer tickets TTC streetcar operator for blocking Toronto intersection during rush hour

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:31:43 GMT

Toronto police say while they stand behind an officer’s decision to ticket a TTC streetcar operator for blocking an intersection during rush hour, traffic congestion should have been considered.A Toronto Redditor garnered attention for a post shared on the platform Wednesday describing a chaotic scene in the King Street and York Street area of the city’s Financial District. The post alleges that a Toronto police officer ticketed the TTC streetcar operator for blocking the busy intersection, causing over a dozen other streetcars to be held up as a result.“If you’re familiar with this stretch during rush hour, it’s almost impossible for the streetcar to move because single-occupancy cars keep turning into the very short intersections,” the Redditor and original poster wrote. It’s alleged that the officer was aggressive toward another TTC streetcar operator who asked him why the intersection was blocked. CityNews could not independently confirm...

Posting about the Israel-Hamas war? What to know about your employment rights

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:31:43 GMT

As the Israel-Hamas war enters its second month, people in Canada and around the world are taking to the streets and social media to express their views on the conflict. For some people speaking up has resulted in job loss as the division deepens, with corporations and organizations making statements of their own that may contradict their employees’ opinions.Here’s what you should know about your legal rights as an employee if you’re disciplined or dismissed from your job after you voiced your opinions about the Israel-Hamas war. Layoffs vs. terminations“The default is that what you do on your own time is your own business. But it has always been the case that some off-duty conduct can result in discipline or dismissal. That’s nothing new,” said employment lawyer Stuart Rudner. “In the world of social media, of course, we’re seeing that applied more and more.”Other than certain relatively small groups of workers — like unionized workers, who make up less than a third of ...

Jill Stein launches a long-shot Green Party presidential campaign, bringing back memories of 2016

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:31:43 GMT

Environmental activist Jill Stein is launching another long-shot bid for the presidency as a Green Party candidate, bringing back memories of 2016, when her bid may have contributed to Republican Donald Trump’s razor-thin victory.The 73-year-old Stein said in a video announcing her 2024 candidacy on Thursday that the current political system is “broken.”“I’m running for president to offer that choice for the people outside of the failed two-party system,” said Stein, a physician from Lexington, Massachusetts.The rise of third-party and independent candidates has sparked concerns among both Democratic and Republican party officials ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Both of the major parties’ most likely nominees — President Joe Biden and former President Trump — are extraordinarily unpopular. But Stein’s candidacy, considering her hard-left platform, could present a particular challenge for Biden.Stein ran against Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 as a Green Par...

Michigan man cleared of sexual assault after 35 years in prison

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:31:43 GMT

ALBION, Mich. (AP) — A man accused of breaking into a home and sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl in southwestern Michigan is out of prison after 35 years after authorities agreed that he was wrongly convicted.Louis Wright’s convictions from 1988 were set aside by a judge Thursday at the request of the Calhoun County prosecutor and the attorney general’s office.“New DNA testing excluded Mr. Wright as the perpetrator,” the attorney general’s office said.The Cooley Law School Innocence Project, which represents Wright, said a false confession and a no-contest plea caused his decades of incarceration.In 1988, police investigating the assault of a girl in Albion, 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Detroit, settled on Wright as the suspect after an off-duty officer said he had been seen in the neighborhood.Police said Wright confessed, though the interview was not recorded and he did not sign a confession, according to the Innocence Project.“The victim was never as...

Mayor Chow calls for ceasefire, return of hostages in Israel-Hamas war

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:31:43 GMT

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has joined a growing call for a ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war that continues to see growing civilian causalities.In a statement released Friday, Chow also called for the return of all hostages.“I believe that peace can only come through the immediate and unconditional return of all hostages and a ceasefire, as has been called for by humanitarian organizations, including the United Nations,” Chow wrote.She also addressed a disturbing rise in hate crimes in the city, calling on residents to uphold Toronto’s reputation as a glowing model of diversity.“In hard times our common bond is often tested,” she wrote. “The fact remains that antisemitism and Islamophobia exist here. People are scared of being targeted for who they are or what they believe in.”“As your Mayor, let me be clear: any assault on the freedom of people practicing their faith or religion, is not welcome here. Threatening the safety of b...

Mitch McConnell, standing apart in a changing GOP, digs in on his decades-long push against Russia

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:31:43 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mitch McConnell often tells the story of a letter that his father, a foot soldier in World War II, wrote to his mother while he was stationed in Eastern Europe in 1945, as the United States was liberating the region from Nazi rule.“I think the Russians are going to be a big problem,” A.M. McConnell wrote, foreshadowing the communist takeover to come.Almost 80 years later, his son is still warning of Russia. From his perch as the long-time Republican leader in the U.S. Senate, McConnell has emerged as perhaps the strongest advocate in Congress for sending billions of dollars in American assistance to Ukraine as the country fights Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion, aligning himself with President Joe Biden and majority Democrats in the process. It’s hardly a change in outlook for the Kentucky senator, who was first elected to the Senate in 1984 and was shaped by the era when President Ronald Reagan was fighting the Cold War and U.S. foreign poli...