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SCOTUS to look at law barring accused domestic abusers from buying guns

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:27:17 GMT

(CNN) — As the Supreme Court justices race to finish up the current term, they will meet behind closed doors on Thursday to consider whether they should add a blockbuster Second Amendment case to the docket for next term.The focus is a federal law that bars an individual subject to a domestic violence restraining order from possessing a firearm.It has only been a year since the Supreme Court issued a landmark opinion that marked the broadest expansion of gun rights in a decade. Since then, lower courts have been reconsidering thousands of firearm restrictions.In the case at hand, the conservative-leaning 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals cited the Supreme Court’s New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen decision in holding the domestic violence-related gun law unconstitutional, a move that critics say will make it easier for alleged abusers to obtain firearms.Under ordinary circumstances, once the Supreme Court releases a major opinion, they reje...

Yes, inflation is coming down. That doesn’t mean goods and services will be cheaper

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:27:17 GMT

New York (CNN) — If inflation falls to 2% by the end of this year, that means the cost of everything will no longer be going up, right? Wrong. But that’s what the majority of UK residents think, according to a new survey from polling group Survation.What’s more, almost a third of those surveyed said they think they’ll pay less than they do now.It’s a common misconception that falling inflation equates to falling prices. But the two don’t always go hand in hand.Inflation vs. deflationInflation is the rate at which prices for goods and services across an entire economy are rising over a given period of time. When inflation rises, it means you’ll have to spend more money to buy the same goods and services as you used to.Deflation, in contrast, is when goods and services get cheaper. It means that any money you earn today will stretch even further in the future.China is one of the few countries that’s on the verge of experiencing deflation. Most other countries — wit...

Andrew Tate appears in Romanian court to face rape and human trafficking charges

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:27:17 GMT

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Andrew Tate, a social media personality known for expressing misogynistic views online, appeared Wednesday at a court in Romania, where prosecutors have charged him with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to exploit women.Tate and his brother, Tristan, who is also charged with the offenses, arrived Wednesday at a court in the capital Bucharest, flanked by six bodyguards.Prosecutors have also filed charges against two Romanian women in the case. Romania’s anti-organized crime agency alleged that the four defendants formed a criminal group in 2021 “in order to commit the crime of human trafficking” in Romania as well as the United States and Britain.The agency alleged that seven female victims were misled and transported to Romania, where they were sexually exploited and subjected to physical violence by the gang. One defendant is accused of raping a woman twice in March 2022, according to the statement.Tate, 36, has resided i...

Howie Carr: It’s just a (Biden) family affair

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:27:17 GMT

The good news for Dementia Joe Biden is that the crooked G-men yesterday broomed all the federal charges against his alcoholic crackhead hooker-grabbing bagman son Hunter.The bad news is, Dementia Joe has to keep going out there every day and showing everyone just how non compos mentis he has become.Non compos mentis – not of sound mind.Let’s consider some of Joe’s remarks from earlier this month. All dialogue guaranteed verbatim.Biden ended his comments in Connecticut Friday afternoon by suddenly shouting, “God save the Queen, man!”On Monday in Palo Alto he said, “I’ve committed that by 2020 we will have conserved 30 percent of all the lands and waters the United States has jurisdiction over.”By 2020 he will have accomplished this feat! May we quote you on that, Mr. President.He announced the largest public-works project in world history:“We have plans to build a railroad from the Pacific all the way across the Indian Ocean.”Could we please finish the Sumner Tunnel repairs first? A...

‘Swagger’ review: In Season 2, will these high school seniors see their hoop dreams deferred?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:27:17 GMT

As a genre, sports dramas are wonderfully malleable and serve as a backdrop for all kinds of storytelling that isn’t about athletics. They’re metaphors for what it means to navigate through life. The pressures can be especially stark for young phenoms who are shouldering all kinds of expectations, and “Swagger,” on Apple TV+, looks at what it means to be a kid with the potential to go all the way to the pros. Initially following a group of 14-year-old elite basketball players, the show’s second season catches up with the boys in their senior year of high school, when their hopes for college recruitment are on the line.Loosely inspired by the childhood of NBA player Kevin Durant, the Durant stand-in is Jace Carson (Isaiah Hill, quietly charismatic), a star player in his final year at a ritzy, predominantly white prep school. Everyone is banking that Jace and his teammates will end the season as national champs under the watchful eye of Coach Ike (O’...

Who could Celtics select with No. 35 pick of 2023 NBA Draft?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:27:17 GMT

On the surface, it may not seem likely that the Celtics will land an impact player in Thursday night’s NBA draft.The Celtics don’t own a first-round pick after trading that selection to the Pacers last July when they acquired Malcolm Brogdon. They have just one pick in this draft at No. 35 overall in the second round. Victor Wembanyama and the rest of this year’s top-end talent will obviously be long gone by then, but that doesn’t mean the Celtics can’t find a hidden gem.A glance at the history of players selected at No. 35 reveals that to be true. Draymond Green was drafted there by the Warriors in 2012 and became a fixture of their dynasty. DeAndre Jordan was picked at No. 35 in 2008 and has carved out a good career.Glen “Big Baby” Davis was the 35th choice by the Sonics in 2007 on the night he was traded to the Celtics in the Ray Allen deal. The year before, in 2006, P.J. Tucker was taken by the Raptors. As the Celtics fully know, he’s still been a factor over the last handful of...

Swedish appeals court ups surgeon’s sentence for ‘harm’ during experimental windpipe transplants

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:27:17 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — A Swedish appeals court on Wednesday increased a prison sentence for an Italian surgeon over experimental stem cell windpipe transplants on three patients who died. Dr. Paolo Macchiarini made headlines in 2011 for carrying out the world’s first stem cell windpipe transplants at Sweden’s leading hospital and had been sentenced to no prison time by a lower court. But the Svea Court of Appeal concluded that there were no emergency situations among two of the three patients who later died, while the procedure on the third could not be justified. The appeals court sentenced the Italian scientist to two-and-a-half years in jail for causing the death of three people between 2011 and 2014. “The patients have been caused bodily harm and suffering,” the appeals court said of the two men and one woman. The patients, it concluded, “could have lived for a not insignificant amount of time without the interventions.”Macchiarini denied any criminal wrongdoing. Once considered a lea...

Antlers and fancy dress: Stonehenge welcomes 8,000 visitors for summer solstice

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:27:17 GMT

STONEHENGE, England (AP) — All hail the rising sun.Around 8,000 revellers gathered around a prehistoric stone circle on a plain in southern England to express their devotion to the sun, or to have some communal fun.Druids, pagans, hippies, local residents and tourists, many clad in an array of colorful costumes and even antlers, stayed and celebrated at Stonehenge for the night and greeted sunrise on Wednesday, which is the longest day in the Northern Hemisphere. At dawn, the sun rose behind what is known as the Heel Stone in the northeast part of the horizon and the first rays shone into the heart of Stonehenge, one of the world’s most famous prehistoric monuments and a World Heritage Site. A sun-filled dawn followed a slightly misty sunrise, which was greeted with drumming, chanting and cheering.“Stonehenge continues to captivate and to bring people together to celebrate the seasons, just as it has done for thousands of years,” said Nichola Tasker, director of Stonehenge at Englis...

Search continues for two missing after RCAF helicopter crash near Petawawa

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:27:17 GMT

The Royal Canadian Air Force is continuing its search for two people missing since a C-H-147 Chinook helicopter crashed during a training mission northwest of Ottawa.Officials say their search and recovery efforts are focused on an area near Garrison Petawawa.Two other crew members were taken to hospital after the early Tuesday morning crash.Later in the morning, the prime minister caused significant confusion when he suggested the missing crew members were dead.Justin Trudeau told reporters he had spoken with General Wayne Eyre, chief of the defence staff, to express condolences for the members “who’ve been killed” and promised a “thorough investigation” into the crash.The Prime Minister’s Office offered no immediate explanation for his comments, and the Department of National Defence said in an emailed response to questions that the search was continuing and “official confirmation” would be provided once more information was availabl...

Germany frees driver sought by Italy in death of cyclist Rebellin pending extradition ruling

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:27:17 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — German prosecutors say a truck driver wanted by Italy in connection with a crash last year that killed professional cyclist Davide Rebellin has been released from jail pending a decision on his extradition.Wolfgang Rieke is accused of road homicide and leaving the scene of a crash. German authorities said he surrendered last Thursday in the western town of Rheine.A spokesperson for the regional prosecutors’ office in Hamm, Daniel Dependahl, said the driver’s release was normal in cases in which there is no flight risk. It didn’t prejudge the extradition decision, which could take several months, he said.Rebellin, one of cycling’s longest-competing professionals, was killed Nov. 30 during a training run near the northern Italian town of Montebello Vicentino. At the time, Italian media reported the truck that struck him hadn’t stopped. But prosecutors, citing roadside video and witness photos, said the driver stopped, got out of the cab and approa...