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Republican and Democratic senators clash over proposed ethics rules for the Supreme Court

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:16:32 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Judiciary Committee is considering a congressionally imposed ethics code for the Supreme Court, an attempt to respond to recent revelations about justices’ interactions with wealthy donors and others. Republicans are strongly opposed, arguing the ethics bill could “destroy” the high court. The legislation, which the panel is debating on Thursday ahead of an expected vote, would set ethics rules for the court and a process to enforce them, including new standards for transparency around recusals, gifts and potential conflicts of interest. Democrats first pushed the legislation after reports earlier this year that Justice Clarence Thomas participated in luxury vacations and a real estate deal with a top GOP donor — and after Chief Justice John Roberts declined to testify before the committee about the ethics of the court. Since then, news reports also revealed that Justice Samuel Alito had taken a luxury vacation with a GOP donor. And The Associated Press ...

Denver DA Beth McCann will not run for reelection

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:16:32 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Denver District Attorney Beth McCann will not seek reelection in 2024, she announced on Thursday. Casa Bonita employees demand answers, start petition “It has been the honor and privilege of my life to head up the Denver District Attorney’s Office and the amazing team of committed dedicated employees for the past several years," McCann said in a statement. "This was the most difficult decision I have made about my career and future, and it came with a great deal of thought, weighing of options, and consideration for the future of the Denver District Attorney’s Office."McCann was elected in November 2016 and sworn in the following January. She was elected for a second term in 2020, which is set to end in January 2025.McCann addressed the media about the development in a Thursday morning news conference.Denver District Attorney Beth McCann (Credit: Denver District Attorney's Office)McCann was a four-term state House representative before she became DA. She said she h...

Hot August forecasted for most of US: Will Colorado be impacted?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:16:32 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – This summer of heat waves, "wet bulb" danger, and record temperatures isn't cooling down anytime soon – at least not for most states. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its weather predictions for August on Thursday, showing the vast majority of the U.S. painted in shades of orange and red. The darker the color, the more likely a place is to see above-average temperatures next month. Things look worst in the Pacific Northwest, where western Oregon and Washington have a 60-70% chance of an extra-hot August. El Niño officially arrives early: What it means for 2023 weather But almost no one is spared. The entire west, south and east parts of the country are favoring above-average heat next month, according to the forecast.August forecast: Where will it be hot?Only a handful of states have slight chances to see below-average temperatures this August: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, and parts of other nearby states. Sta...

China's ambassador talks US relations at Aspen conference

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:16:32 GMT

China does not want a trade war with the United States but will retaliate against any further U.S. restrictions on technology and trade, the Chinese ambassador to the U.S. said.Ambassador Xie Feng criticized U.S. curbs on the sale of microchips and chipmaking equipment to China that were imposed last year by the Biden administration. Beijing has described the measure as part of an effort to “contain” China. Denver DA Beth McCann will not run for reelection “China does not shy away from competition, but the definition of competition by the U.S. side I think is not fair,” Xie said Wednesday at the Aspen Security Forum, a security and foreign policy conference in Aspen, Colorado. “The United States is trying to win by keeping China out,” he said, referring to measures to curb U.S. technology sales to Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei over security concerns.“This is like restricting the other side to wear outdated swimwear in a swimming contest while you yourself (are) wearing a...

United Airlines says it made $1B in 2nd quarter, despite cancellations

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:16:32 GMT

United Airlines said Wednesday it earned more than $1 billion in the second quarter despite canceling 3,800 flights in the last two weeks of June, when it struggled to recover from storms that crippled its key operation in the New York City area.United indicated that it sees no let-up in strong demand for tickets: It raised its forecast of third-quarter and full-year profit. 'We don't want a trade war': China’s ambassador visits Colorado conference The report underscores how airline revenue and profits are soaring as travel bounces back after the pandemic. Big carriers like United are benefitting especially from the strong recovery in international travel after the lifting of COVID-19-related restrictions. Last week, Delta reported record quarterly revenue and profit. From April through June, more than 2.4 million travelers per day on average went through U.S. airport security checkpoints, virtually identical with numbers from the same period of 2019 and a 10% jump from last year....

Florida Board of Education approves new Black history standards that critics call ‘a big step backward’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:16:32 GMT

(CNN) — The Florida Board of Education approved a new set of standards for how Black history should be taught in the state’s public schools, sparking criticism from education and civil rights advocates who said students should be allowed to learn the “full truth” of American history.The curriculum was approved at the board’s meeting Wednesday in Orlando.It is the latest development in the state’s ongoing debate over African American history, including the education department’s rejection of a preliminary pilot version of an Advanced Placement African American Studies course for high school students, which it claimed lacked educational value.The new standards come after the state passed new legislation under Gov. Ron DeSantis that bars instruction in schools that suggests anyone is privileged or oppressed based on their race or skin color. DeSantis has used his fight against “wokeness” to boost his national profile amid a national discussion of how racism and history should be taught...

UK handed Boris Johnson and Liz Truss aides nearly £3M in exit pay

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:16:32 GMT

LONDON — Political chaos is expensive.Top advisers to Boris Johnson and Liz Truss — whose governments both imploded in spectacular fashion in 2023 — cost taxpayers almost £3M in severance payments as they left office, transparency figures released Thursday evening by the British government show.An annual report on special advisers — temporary civil servants who add political and policy heft to a minister’s team — shows that £1 million-worth of exit payments were made to departing SpAds in the wake of Truss’ disastrous 49-day premiership.Meanwhile some £1.9 million in severance payments went to ex-SpAds when Johnson left the stage as prime minister.That compares to just £100,000 in severance payments to former special advisers handed out in the comparatively calm year of 2021-22.Separate disclosures from the U.K.’s finance ministry Thursday also put a hefty price-tag on Liz Truss ill-fated battle against the country’s economic “orthodoxy.”Tom Scholar — t...

Ukraine threatens Russian Black Sea ships in tit-for-tat move against Moscow

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:16:32 GMT

Ukraine on Thursday warned that all ships sailing to Russian-controlled Black Sea ports could be targeted by attacks — a response by Kyiv to Moscow’s threat against civilian vessels traveling to Ukrainian seaports.Kyiv’s defense ministry said in a statement that such vessels “may be considered by Ukraine as carrying military cargo with all the corresponding risks” from midnight Friday. The move comes as a response to Moscow withdrawing Monday from a U.N.-brokered deal allowing passage to cargo ships carrying grain from Ukrainian ports. Russia followed up by launching a barrage of airstrikes at Kyiv’s ports this week. On Wednesday, the Russian defense ministry said that “all ships going across the Black Sea to Ukrainian ports will be considered potential carriers of military-purpose cargoes” — meaning they could be subject to attack.“The Russian Federation has once again brutally violated the universal right to free navigation for the w...

Victory for Nigel? Coutts bank boss apologizes to Farage over account closure

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:16:32 GMT

LONDON — Sorry we cancelled your account, Nigel.That was the message from NatWest Group boss Alison Rose Thursday as she apologized for the un-banking of ex-Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage by high-end lender Coutts.Rose, chief executive of the banking giant of which Coutts is a subsidiary, expressed regret after a row over whether the leading Brexiteer’s political views cost him his ability to bank with the institution.“I am writing to apologise for the deeply inappropriate comments about yourself made in the now published papers prepared for the Wealth Committee,” Rose said in her apology letter to Farage.“I believe very strongly that freedom of expression and access to banking are fundamental to our society and it is absolutely not our policy to exit a customer on the basis of legally held political and personal views,” she added.Farage has been embroiled in a row with the institution after Coutts cancelled his account earlier this month.Documents ob...

Blockaded on all fronts: Poland and Hungary threaten to cut Ukraine’s export route to the West

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:16:32 GMT

As Russia once again bombards and blockades Ukraine’s Black Sea ports — through which the country exports its vast agricultural produce — Poland and Hungary threaten to cut off the country’s western exit routes.Poland will unilaterally block trade with Ukraine if the European Commission fails to extend temporary restrictions on grain imports at least until the end of the year, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told a meeting of agriculture ministers from five Eastern EU countries in Warsaw on Wednesday.“I want to make it clear,” Morawiecki told reporters, “we will not open our border. Either the European Commission will agree to jointly work out regulations that will extend this ban, or we will do it ourselves.”Hungarian Agriculture Minister István Nagy echoed Morawiecki, saying his country would “protect Hungarian farmers with all its means.”Days after killing a deal to allow Ukraine to export grain across the Black Sea, Moscow unleashed a wave of attacks on the Uk...