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Coalition jockeying revs up in Slovakia after Fico win in Saturday’s vote

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:02:34 GMT

Slovakia woke up Sunday to the likelihood of its new government being led by leftist-populist Robert Fico and his pro-Russia Smer party following their convincing victory in Saturday’s election.Smer drew 23 percent support, five points ahead of the liberal, pro-Western Progressive Slovakia (PS), which took 18 percent. The two parties exemplify the political polarization in Slovakia. Fico has rejected sanctions against Moscow over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and proposes to end military support for Kyiv. PS leader Michal Šimečka, meanwhile, acclaims Slovakia’s allegiance to the EU and NATO, and defends the rights of LGBT+ people — a rarity in the deeply conservative country. “I regard a government led by Robert Fico as a civilizational evil,” Šimečka said following the release of the final results of the ballot.Fico, who did not address Smer’s victory until early afternoon on Sunday, said he would wait for a formal invitation from Pres...

Marine Corps deactivates historic F/A-18 training squadron

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:02:34 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The U.S. Marines at Miramar said goodbye to a little piece of history this week, as the historic F/A-18 training squadron was deactivated during a ceremony Friday afternoon.For more than 50 years, instructor pilots of the VMFAT-101 “Sharp Shooters” have qualified combat aviators and sent them to operational squadrons worldwide. On Friday, a sundown flight ceremony -- where pilots took the aircraft up for a "last hurrah" -- commemorated the squadron’s history and contributions to Marine Corps readiness since its commissioning in 1969.“There’s nothing sad about the squadron going away,” said Major Brian Radler, F/A-18 instructor pilot. He has been with the Marine Corps for 16 years and with the squadron for three years. “It’s a celebration of the history that it's had … the contribution that it's had to the Marine Corps.” Dozens of firearms found in East County home; 2 suspects arrested FOX 5 was able to fly along during the ceremony. Video from that experience can be...

Gaetz says he will seek to oust McCarthy as speaker this week. ‘Bring it on,’ McCarthy says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:02:34 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Matt Gaetz said Sunday he will try to remove House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a fellow Republican, from his leadership position this week after McCarthy relied on Democratic support to pass legislation that avoided a government shutdown. “Bring it on,” McCarthy responded.Gaetz, a longtime McCarthy nemesis, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that McCarthy was in “brazen, material breach” of agreements he made with House Republicans in January when he ran for speaker. As a result, Gaetz said he would be filing a “ motion to vacate the chair,” as House rules permit.McCarthy’s response: “So be it. Bring it on. Let’s get over with it and let’s start governing,” he said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.No speaker has ever been removed from office through such a move. Procedural votes could be offered to halt the motion or it could trigger a House floor vote on whether McCarthy, R-Calif., should remain speaker.“I think we need to rip off the Band-Aid,” said Gaetz, ...

A fire at a nightclub in Spain’s southeastern city of Murcia kills 13

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:02:34 GMT

MADRID, Spain (AP) — A fire broke out in a nightclub in the southeastern Spanish city of Murcia on Sunday, killing 13 people and injuring several others, authorities said.The fire started around 6 a.m. in the popular Teatre nightclub and quickly tore through the venue, according to Spain’s state news agency EFE.It was not immediately clear what caused the fire.A video shared by Murcia’s fire service showed firefighters trying to control flames inside the nightclub. Police and emergency services worked to secure the interior of the club to avoid a possible collapse and were trying to locate and identify the bodies.Officials said the death toll could increase.The city council declared three days of mourning with flags flown at half-staff on public buildings throughout the region of Murcia.The Associated Press

Federal student loan payments are starting again. Here’s what you need to know

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:02:34 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal student loan borrowers will need to start making payments again this month after a three-year-plus pause due to the pandemic. You should expect a bill that lays out how much you have to pay each month at least 21 days before your due date. It’s likely that most borrowers have received their bill already but if you have not, visit your loan servicer account. Interest started accruing again in September. If you have student loans and haven’t made a payment in the last three years, don’t panic. Here’s what experts recommend:WHERE DO I START?The first step is to log in to your StudentAid.gov account and check who your loan servicer is. Many loan servicers changed during the pandemic, so you might have a different one than you did back in March 2020, said Amy Czulada, outreach and advocacy manager at the Student Borrower Protection Center. Once you know your loan servicer, you’ll log into your account with them to access your student loan b...

Ontario expands pharmacist prescription powers, can now treat 19 common ailments

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:02:34 GMT

Ontario has announced that they will be expanding the number of conditions for which pharmacists can write prescriptions.Health Minister Sylvia Jones held a press conference at the pharmacy of Shoppers Drug Mart in The East Mall in Etobicoke on Sunday morning, detailing how the province has added six more common ailments to the list of 13 that pharmacists have already been able to treat.The Ontario government announced plans to expand pharmacists’ prescribing powers in its budget, released in March, with acne, canker sores and diaper rash listed in the conditions pharmacists can now treat.“Expanding the list of common ailments pharmacists can treat, people will now get faster, more convenient access to the care they need closer to home, while helping to further reduce wait times at our community clinics and hospitals,” Jones said in a statement Sunday.Pharmacists can also prescribe treatment for yeast infections, parasitic worms, and nausea and vomiting in pregnancy.The provin...

European soccer body UEFA’s handling of Russia and Rubiales invites scrutiny on values and process

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:02:34 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — A reputation built over decades that European soccer body UEFA is the good guy compared to FIFA as a cartoon caricature villain is being tested in this tough season for off-field politics.The perception dates back at least 25 years when UEFA president Lennart Johansson lost to Sepp Blatter in a FIFA leadership election where stories swirled of alleged $50,000 payments to some voters.In recent years, UEFA and its president since 2016, Aleksander Čeferin, were praised for blocking projects — a secretive $25 billion deal for new global competitions, biennial World Cup, European Super League — either pushed by FIFA or discreetly supported by its president Gianni Infantino.Now UEFA values are being questioned on issues where FIFA has publicly stood firm — Russia and Luis Rubiales, the now-ousted Spanish soccer federation president.“I am sad,” veteran former UEFA official Lars-Christer Olsson told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “I think UEFA stood for somethi...

Polish opposition leader Donald Tusk says change ‘is inevitable’ as election supporters rally

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:02:34 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Opposition leader Donald Tusk told supporters that political “change for the better is inevitable” in Poland as he opened a massive march Sunday to try to boost his political coalition’s chances of unseating the country’s conservative government in an upcoming parliamentary election. “No one can stop this force; this giant has awoken,” Tusk told huge crowds gathered in the center of Warsaw two weeks before the Oct. 15 election. “Let no one among the ruling team have any illusions: This change for the better is inevitable.”His Civic Coalition is vowing to mend ties with the European Union, which has had strained relations with Poland during the eight years the Law and Justice party has governed the country. Tusk spent five years as president of the European Council after serving seven years as Poland’s prime minister.The four-party coalition also has pledged to pursue more tolerant policies than the nationalist government led by Law and ...

Investigation continues into deadly central Illinois truck crash that caused toxic chemical leak

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:02:34 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Authorities resumed their investigation Sunday of a central Illinois truck crash that killed five people, injured five others and prompted an evacuation for hundreds of residents after a toxic chemical leak. The tanker truck, which was carrying caustic anhydrous ammonia, was drained and moved to a “secure location” for a National Transportation Safety Board investigation, authorities said late Saturday as residents were allowed to return to their homes in the Teutopolis area. NTSB authorities planned a news conference Sunday. “Testing has indicated that the danger from the anhydrous ammonia has dissipated,” Teutopolis Assistant Fire Chief Joe Holomy said late Saturday. A semitruck carrying caustic anhydrous ammonia toppled about 9:25 p.m. Friday in Teutopolis, spilling more than half its 7,500-gallon (28,390-liter) load, according to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Teutopolis is about 110 miles (177 kilometers) northeast of St. Louis. Eff...

European Parliament president backs UN naming an envoy to help restart Cyprus peace talks

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:02:34 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The president of the European Parliament said Sunday she has conveyed the legislative body’s support for the appointment of a United Nations envoy to evaluate the chances of resuming stalemated talks to reunify ethnically divided Cyprus.Roberta Metsola said she personally communicated the position of the European Union’s legislature to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York last month. Metsola said she told Guterres that Europe “would never be complete as long as Cyprus remains divided.”“This is not just a Cyprus question, but it is a European question,” she said after talks with the island nation’s President Nikos Christodoulides.Metsola also attended a military parade Sunday to mark the 63rd anniversary of Cyprus’ independence from British colonial rule.Christodoulides told reporters Sunday that consultations continue on the appointment of a U.N. envoy. He has made resuming reunification talks with breakaway Turkish Cypriots a focal ...