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Ticker: Biden, Xi to meet Wednesday; Judge allows Daily Mail lawsuit to go to trial 

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:49:57 GMT

President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping’s have no shortage of difficult issues to discuss when they meet Wednesday in the San Francisco area.It will be the first conversation in a year between the leaders of the world’s biggest economies. Expectations are low for major breakthroughs. Still, both leaders are looking to bring a greater measure of stability to the relationship that’s being defined by differences over export controls, tensions over Taiwan, the wars in the Middle East and Europe, and more.“The United States has no desire to decouple from China. A full separation of our economies would be economically disastrous for both our countries, and for the world,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng when they met this past week. “We seek a healthy economic relationship with China that benefits both countries over time.”Judge allows Daily Mail lawsuit to go to trialA lawsuit by Prince Harry, Elton John and five other public figures acc...

Bill Belichick addresses job security after Patriots’ 10-6 loss to Colts

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:49:57 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany — The Patriots boarded their plane home to New England without owner Robert Kraft making any rash decisions about the team’s future.Head coach Bill Belichick was asked by a foreign reporter after Sunday’s loss if the talk about his job security bothers him. There have been recent reports that Belichick and Kraft could mutually part ways after the season. There’s also been speculation that the Patriots could fire or trade Belichick this offseason.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Bailey Zappe blows another opportunity with Patriots starting QB job on the line New England Patriots | Bill Belichick not committing to Patriots QB Mac Jones after third benching New England Patriots | Mac Jones benched again for Bailey Zappe in 10-6 loss to Colts in Germany New England Patriots | Patriots owner Robert Kraft broke his silence on the Patriots’ ‘disappointing’ season ...

Greece’s opposition Syriza party splits as several prominent members defect

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:49:57 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s main opposition party suffered a split Sunday when a left-wing faction announced it was breaking away, accusing the party’s recently elected leader of abandoning its core ideology for a sort of “right-wing populism.”Umbrella, a faction led by Euclid Tsakalotos, a former Finance Minister during Syriza’s government of 2015-19, announced its departure with a blistering statement that accused party leader Stefanos Kasselakis of “Trumpian practices (and) right-leaning populism.”The once-dominant party has been in disarray ever since its resounding defeat by conservative New Democracy in double elections in May and June.Already in opposition since 2019, Syriza had hoped to regain power. Instead, it was roundly disavowed, falling in the most recent election to 17.8%, compared to New Democracy’s 40.6%, a result that led longtime leader Alexis Tsipras to announce his resignation.The split, which came after weeks of withering criticism of the leader from w...

1 missing after house explosion on Kitchener Road in Scarborough

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:49:57 GMT

One person is unaccounted for following a fire and explosion at a home in Scarbrough on Sunday morning.Fire crews were called to a home on Kitchener Road near Kingston and Galloway Roads just after 11:30 a.m. for reports of an explosion in the area.“There is evidence of a significant explosion,” said Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg.Officials say one person, believed to be the lone occupant in the home at the time of the blast, is missing.“We have the situation under control,” said Pegg. “We’re now working with Toronto Hydro, Enbridge Gas, and police on determining the next steps and once it is safe to do so, begin the process of searching the debris to confirm whether or not there was this reported occupant in the structure.”Pegg added that no other injuries had been reported and that adjacent homes were largely unaffected by the fire and explosion.One firefighter sustained minor injuries and was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure....

Peter Nygard found guilty on four counts of sexual assault, acquitted on two others

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:49:57 GMT

Peter Nygard, who once led a women’s fashion empire, was found guilty of four counts of sexual assault on Sunday but was acquitted of a fifth count plus a charge of forcible confinement.The jury at his trial in Toronto handed down the verdict on their fifth day of deliberations following a six-week trial. Eighty-two-year-old Nygard had pleaded not guilty to all charges, which stemmed from allegations dating back from the 1980s to the mid-2000s.Five women – whose identities are protected by a publication ban – had testified that they were invited to Nygard’s headquarters at 1 Niagara Street in Toronto under pretexts ranging from tours to job interviews, with all encounters ending in a top-floor bedroom suite where four of them were sexually assaulted.Multiple complainants told the jury similar stories of meeting Nygard on a plane, at an airport tarmac or at a nightclub and then receiving invitations to come to headquarters. All five women said their meetings or interaction...

Peter Nygard found guilty of 4 sexual assault charges, acquitted on 2 other counts

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:49:57 GMT

TORONTO — Peter Nygard, who once led a women’s fashion empire, was found guilty of four counts of sexual assault on Sunday but was acquitted of a fifth count, plus a charge of forcible confinement.The jury at his trial in Toronto handed down the verdict on their fifth day of deliberations following a six-week trial. The 82-year-old Nygard — who appeared in court in a wheelchair with his hair tied back and sporting a long Canada Goose jacket over a hoodie  and tinted glasses — stood stoically beside his lawyers as the jury read out each ruling.Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, Crown attorney Neville Golwalla thanked the jury, Toronto police and the complainants for what he called a “just result.”“This is a crime that typically happens in private and profoundly impacts human dignity. To stand up and recount those indignities in a public forum such as a courtroom is never easy and takes great courage,” he said of those who came forward.Nygard h...

Man charged after police pursuit ends in Gurnee following armed robbery on SW side

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:49:57 GMT

CHICAGO — A Burbank man is charged after an hours-long chase ends in Gurnee following an armed robbery at a CVS on the southwest side. Norbert Thigpen, 36, from Burbank is charged with two felony counts of armed robbery and discharge of firearm. He also faces another felony of aggravated fleeing police. The robbery happened at a CVS Pharmacy in the 8600 block of South Cicero Avenue on the Southwest Side on Saturday afternoon. Police say the man walked into the store and held an employee up at gunpoint before demanding money from the register. The employee complied with the demands and after receiving the money, police say the man then fired a shot into the ceiling of the business. Teen killed in shooting on Far South Side An hour-long police chase ended on Interstate 94 near Gurnee where Thigpen was taken into custody Police attempted to stop the car with spikes and attempted to close multiple off-ramps.Wisconsin State Patrol troopers were waiting with spike strips in Kenosh...

Mom sues American Airlines, claims kids were kept in 'jail-like room' at airport

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:49:57 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WJZY) -- A Florida mother is suing American Airlines after she claims her two children, both under the age of 16, were left in a cold 'lost children's room' overnight with no food or water, at Charlotte Douglas International Airport after several flight delays, court documents state. According to court records, the two children live with their mother in Jacksonville, Florida. They were flying as unaccompanied minors with American Airlines on July 30, 2022, from Missouri, where they visited their father, to Syracuse, New York, to see family.The flight to Syracuse had a connecting flight with a layover in Charlotte, documents state. The flight from Missouri to Charlotte was delayed, and then the flight from Charlotte to Syracuse was delayed several times before it was finally canceled. What is the flight hack ‘skip lagging,’ and why you should avoid it Court documents state that someone with American Airlines had notified a specific family member because they were...

Turning wetter tonight through Monday

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:49:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Rain coverage will continue to increase this evening and tonight as a trough of low pressure forces rain our way from the southwest.Tonight through early Monday morning should bring the most widespread rain with near 80-90% of Central Texas getting wet.As we head through Monday we'll see widespread rain tapering off to scattered showers. Lingering showers should continue through Monday night before drier weather return on Tuesday.Rain tapers to showers on MondayRainfall looks beneficial, but amounts don't look all that high. Most areas should pick up 0.25"-1.0" by the time we wake up Tuesday morning. Still, we'll continue to take what we can get.Expected rainfall by Tuesday morningTuesday begins a warm-up that should feature at least some sunshine. Wednesday has the sunniest weather of the week with more clouds, but warmer temperatures coming in late in the week and into next weekend.We're seeing signs of our NEXT storm arriving either Sunday or the following Monday...

Gophers’ loss to Purdue joins growing list of stinging defeats

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:49:57 GMT

Gophers football general manager Gerrit Chernoff stood at the southwest gate of Ross-Ade Stadium on Saturday with a sense of urgency.After Minnesota players had grabbed their red-boxed dinners postgame and headed to the coach busses, staffers were quickly packing the tail ends of the gear for the trip home to Minneapolis.With Chernoff saying and gesturing “let’s go,” everyone with the Gophers was trying to get out of Dodge, err, West Lafayette, Ind., as soon as possible after a shocking 49-30 loss to Purdue.The problem: Despite how quickly the Gophers left Purdue on Saturday night, the loss to the Boilermakers will linger much longer.Minnesota has effectively squandered yet another chance to win the Big Ten West division this season, and unlike falling short in previous years, Minnesota will likely do so by multiple games this fall.The Gophers (5-5, 3-4 Big Ten) also added another category of loss to their expanding catalog: getting blown out by an opponent which spent most of the s...