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Western democracies face crisis of confidence ahead of big votes, poll shows

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

A majority of voters across seven Western countries, including the United States, France and the United Kingdom, believe their democracy is in worse shape than it was five years ago, according to a poll whose results were seen by POLITICO.Nearly seven in 10 American respondents said the state of democracy had declined in recent years, while 73 percent of poll takers shared the same opinion in France. In the United Kingdom, more than six out of 10 respondents said that democracy was working less well than five years ago, according to the poll which was carried out by Ipsos in September.The results reveal widespread angst about the state of democracy ahead of major votes in the United States, the U.K, and the European Union in the year ahead — as well as mixed views of the 27-member union.In all but one of the countries — which also included Croatia, Italy, Poland and Sweden — about half of voters reported being “dissatisfied” with the way democracy was working, while majo...

At COP28, Indigenous women have a message for leaders: Look at what we’re doing. And listen

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — With a sprig of leaves and rainwater carried from her island in the Philippines, Grace Talawag delivered a prayer and a blessing for her delegation and onlookers in a negotiation hall at the United Nations climate summit. The leaves included bamboo, to represent the resiliency needed to contend with climate change, and jade vine, a creeping plant that Talawag said “will climb any tree up in the jungle to see the light.”The latter symbolizes her hope that negotiators at the COP28 talks “will listen to the voices of the Indigenous people” — especially Indigenous women who have traveled to the conference to share valuable insights into addressing some of the challenges of climate change. Frontline communities will exchange their best practices at the climate talks. But they’d still like to see a more inclusive summit that makes them an integral part of the global dialogue, Talawag said.“Even in the loss and damage fund we are not on ...

Dry, quiet, calm, and clear, as high pressure moves in; December looking to be warmer than normal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

Residents in central Tennessee witnessed tragic and terrifying scenes over the weekend as deadly tornadoes wreaked havoc, describing incidents where mobile homes were stacked on top of each other, roofs were torn off houses, and an entire church collapsed during a series of powerful storms, resulting in six fatalities. CONTINUE READING

Human Rights Day: Do not forget the thousands of Ukrainian children kidnapped and deported by Russia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

On UN Human Rights Day, 10 December, thousands of Ukrainian children kidnapped and deported by Russia, whose parents are desperately searching for a way to get them home should not be forgotten by the international community, said the Brussels-based NGO, Human Rights Without Frontiers.On 6 December, President Zelensky announced in his daily address that six children deported to Russia from Ukraine’s Occupied Territories had been released with the mediation of Qatar.All in all, fewer than 400 Ukrainian minors have been rescued in various separate and individually designed special operations, according to the platform "Children of War" created on behalf of the Office of the President of Ukraine by various official Ukrainian institutions.The same platform has posted the pictures, names and dates of birth with the place of disappearance of 19,546 deported children and their number continues to grow.Statistics: 20,000? 300,000? 700,000?It is impossible to establish the exact number of de...

Jewish man beaten during apparent hate crime in Beverly Hills speaks out

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

After being attacked and beaten with a belt in Beverly Hills Saturday by a man spouting antisemitic comments, Raphy Nissel, who was on his way to synagogue with his wife when the assault happened, is speaking out.  According to a media release from the Beverly Hills Police Department, officers responded to the area of North Rexford Drive and North Santa Monica Boulevard just after 9 a.m. on calls of an assault with a deadly weapon. "We’re Orthodox Jews and so we do not use the car on Shabbat, on Saturday, we walk,” Raphy told KTLA's Rachel Menitoff.  As the couple made their way to synagogue, they were confronted by a man wielding a belt, who police later identified as 44-year-old L.A. resident Jarris Jay Silagi.  “He held it in his hand," Rebecca Nissel, Raphy’s wife, said. “He hit my husband over the head, and he yelled, ‘Give me your earrings, Jew.’”  For his part, Raphy said at the start of the attack he didn’t know what the man was hitting him with...

Danville police search for suspects in robbery at consignment center

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

(KRON) -- Police in Danville are investigating a robbery that happened Sunday at a consignment store. The owner of Home Consignment Center shared surveillance video with KRON4, hoping someone will recognize the people involved.Three men robbed the consignment center on Camino Ramon in Danville last Wednesday. Surveillance video shows a white sedan pull up just before four in the afternoon on Dec. 6. 3 suspects involved in overnight Novato car theft: police One man stayed in the parking lot. Two other men entered the store and immediately shattered the glass of jewelry cases, stealing the jewelry inside. Then, they could be seen running to the getaway car.Police arrived within minutes. However, as of Sunday evening, no arrests have been made. This story will be updated.

Marchessault scores 2 in regulation and shootout winner as Golden Knights beat Sharks 5-4

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jonathan Marchessault scored twice in regulation and had a goal in the shootout to give the Vegas Golden Knights a 5-4 win over the San Jose Sharks on Sunday night.Chandler Stephenson and Brayden McNabb also scored for the Golden Knights, who have won three straight and five of their last six to lead the league with 43 points. Jiri Patera stopped 35 shots in his season debut.Mike Hoffman had two goals, and Mario Ferraro and Calen Addison also scored for San Jose, which had won five of its previous seven games. Kaapo Kahkonen finished with 23 saves.After blowing leads of 3-1 and 4-2 in the third period, the Golden Knights survived overtime and got goals from Marchessault and Jack Eichel in the shootout for the win.McNabb extended Vegas’ lead to 3-1 at 1:43 of the third with a wicked snipe from the left circle, beating Kahkonen far side with his second goal of the season.Hoffman answered a little more than two minutes later on the power play, when he bounced the puck ...

While far from dominant, Philadelphia Eagles still control NFC East after Cowboys match them on top

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles still control the NFC East, even after rare consecutive losses and allowing the Dallas Cowboys to match them atop the division. The Eagles are also far from being a dominant team despite their 10-3 record after their 33-13 loss at Dallas on Sunday night. “I think the biggest thing for this team now is really find out who the dudes are,” veteran defensive tackle Fletcher Cox said. “I’ve been part of teams where the dudes in the locker room do something about it, and I’ve been on teams where it kind of crumbles. But now it’s time to see the real leadership … leaders on this team, myself included, step up and do something about it.”There have been red-zone struggles for their defense, the close scores even in the games they have won and the turnovers. Three of their top offensive players had fumbles — Hurts on their opening drive of the game, receiver A.J. Brown to start the second half and DeVonta Smith in the fourt...

Holiday crowds at airports and on highways are expected to be even bigger than last year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

More Americans are expected to fly or drive far from home over Christmas than did last year, putting a cap on a busy year for travel.Auto club AAA forecast Monday that 115.2 million people will go 50 miles or more from home during the 10 days between Dec. 23 and New Year’s Day. That’s 2.2% more than AAA predicted during the comparable stretch last year.“That desire to get away is stronger than we have seen in a very long time,” said AAA spokeswoman Aixa Diaz. “People are willing to adjust their budgets in other areas of their life, but they want to keep traveling.”The AAA predicts that the holiday season will still fall 3% short of record travel in 2019, the last Christmas before COVID-19 hit the United States.Air travel in the U.S. has already rebounded, surpassing 2019 levels.The number of travelers going through U.S. airport checkpoints is up 12.4% over last year and 1.4% higher than in 2019, according to the Transportation Security Administration. Travel around...

DC area working toward dry weather after Sunday storms

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

Sunday’s rainstorms are expected to stretch well into Monday, bringing the potential for rain, cooler temperatures and wet snow to the D.C. area ahead of a brief break from wet weather.Through the early morning hours, WTOP meteorologist Lauryn Ricketts is predicting continued rain that’s unlikely to be stronger than Sunday’s storms.“Get ready for a wet night as we will continue to see rain push across our area. Cold air will also push in from the west, eventually changing some rain to wet snow/sleet before it pushes out for good by Monday morning. ” Ricketts tells WTOP.Ricketts said that while a lot of rain has been falling across the area, any of the wet snow or sleet the area could see is unlikely to stick. A coat of snow on grassy surfaces or tree branches, she said is likely to be the most you see.Aside from wet roadways, Ricketts said, drivers should only expect a few impacts through the morning drive.“Low visibility because of fog and heavy ...