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France’s Macron risks his government to raise retirement age

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:17 GMT

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron ordered his prime minister to wield a special constitutional power on Thursday that skirts parliament to force through a highly unpopular bill raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 without a vote.His calculated risk set off a clamor among lawmakers, who began singing the national anthem even before Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne arrived in the lower chamber. She spoke forcefully over their shouts, acknowledging that Macron’s unilateral move will trigger quick motions of no-confidence in his government. The fury of opposition lawmakers echoed the anger of citizens and workers’ unions. Thousands gathered at the Place de la Concorde facing the National Assembly, lighting a bonfire. As night fell, police charged against the demonstrators in waves to clear the elegant Place, but hundreds remained nearly an hour later.The unions that have organized strikes and marches since January, leaving Paris reeking in piles of garbage, ann...

Florida aims to revoke hotel’s liquor license for drag show

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:17 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is moving to revoke the liquor license of a Miami hotel that hosted a Christmas drag show, a crackdown that comes as the Republican governor looks to shore up his conservative credentials ahead of an expected 2024 presidential bid.The state’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation filed an administrative complaint earlier this week against the Hyatt Regency Miami for hosting the Christmas-themed show. It alleged that the performance was “sexually explicit” and that children were present for the “lewd, vulgar and indecent” display.The Hyatt Regency Miami said the programming and ticketing at the venue were managed by a third party and the hotel’s role was to serve food and beverages. Amir Blattner, the hotel’s general manager, said the liquor license remains active as the complaint is being reviewed.The producers of the drag show didn’t immediately respond to a message from The Associated Press seeking com...

Bill would reduce money agencies get from seized assets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:17 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- A new bill would touch tens of millions in civil asset forfeiture revenue for police, attorneys and cities.Under Colorado law, law enforcement, district attorneys, cities and other agencies are allowed to seize property suspected of being linked to a crime. This is a civil action separate from the criminal prosecution - the agencies can take the assets whether or not the owner is found guilty of the crime. Photos: 2 arrested after front-door ‘booby trap’ injures visitor Recently, legal movements in some U.S. cities and states have attempted to put more oversight on civil asset forfeiture or abolish it entirely. Colorado is one of those states. HB23-1086, titled the Due Process Asset Forfeiture Act, would allow agencies to seize assets only if defendants are found guilty of a crime. Sponsored by Colorado Rep. Ken DeGraaf, an El Paso County Republican, it would also link the seizure to the criminal case rather than creating a separate civil case. Colorado is requir...

BSO motorman celebrates retirement with friendly contest against comrade

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:17 GMT

A Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy is getting ready to retire, but not before he settles s longtime bet with a fellow officer on the force.Thursday was a special day for BSO motorman Kevin Anderson.“Getting ready to retire,” he said, “got a couple more weeks left after 34 and a half years. Been on the motorcycle unit for 24 years.”But before he retires he’s got a score to settle with fellow deputy.“Deputy Kirby, a guy who I’ve spent almost half my career with, we started school together,” said Anderson.“We started having competitions and challenging the other squad, and of course our squad would always win,” said Kirby.As teachers, they both compete in an annual obstacle course competition, zigzaging through cones and performing other maneuvers.Thursday was a chance for the two to go head to head.In the end, Anderson settles the score as the winner.“He’s got nothing else he can say,” said Anderson. &#...

Aircraft in Florida came within 14 seconds of colliding, NTSB report shows

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:17 GMT

(CNN) — Two airliners were about 14 seconds and just over a half mile away from colliding at a Sarasota, Florida, runway last month, a preliminary report from safety investigators shows.Air traffic control cleared Air Canada Rouge A321 to take off when incoming American Airlines 737 was just a little more than 3 miles away from the airport. Controllers advised each aircraft of the other, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s first report on the February 16 incident.Most of that spacing had been eliminated by the time the American plane saw the Air Canada Rouge aircraft taking off and aborted its own landing. The two aircraft ultimately came within .6 miles of each other, the NTSB said.The incident is one of seven such incidents, known as runway incursions, this year. The NTSB is investigating six of them.The Federal Aviation Administration convened a summit Wednesday that kicks off a sweeping safety review that the organization is conducting because of ...

EXCLUSIVE: Dozens of Mar-a-Lago staff, from servers to aides, are subpoenaed in classified documents probe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:17 GMT

(CNN) — At least two dozen people — from Mar-a-Lago resort staff to members of Donald Trump’s inner circle at the Florida estate — have been subpoenaed to testify to a federal grand jury that’s investigating the former president’s handling of classified documents, multiple sources familiar with the investigation told CNN.On Thursday, Trump’s communications aide Margo Martin, who worked in the White House and then moved with Trump to Florida, appeared before the grand jury in Washington, DC. One of special counsel Jack Smith’s senior-most prosecutors was involved in the interview.Martin, who is among a small group of former White House advisers who have remained employed by Trump after he left office, declined to answer any questions when approached by a CNN reporter.Smith has sought testimony from a range of people close to Trump — from his own attorneys who represent him in the matter to staffers who work on the grounds of Mar-a...

Researchers monitor ‘big blob’ of brown seaweed headed to South Florida coast

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:17 GMT

A large buildup of seaweed known as sargassum has begun to wash up along the South Florida coast, but experts warn a gargantuan amount is coming in a couple of months.Dr. Brian LaPointe, a researcher at Florida Atlantic University, said he is monitoring the brown seaweed.“If we can figure out what the drivers are of this big blob, then maybe we can take some action to mitigate it,” he said.7News cameras captured the brown seaweed up and down our coast, from Broward to Miami-Dade counties.“It wasn’t until 2011 that we began to see this unusual bloom develop in the central tropical Atlantic Ocean,” said LaPointe.Health officials warn to expect more. In fact, the seaweed already extends about 5,000 miles wide.“It doubled in size in January from December,” said LaPointe.Health officials want beachgoers to be aware of the sargassum that is expected to build up along the shoreline.Health officials said the seaweed brings problems like a foul odor that irritat...

‘Hunting rifles’ — really? China ships assault weapons and body armor to Russia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:17 GMT

Chinese companies, including one connected to the government in Beijing, have sent Russian entities 1,000 assault rifles and other equipment that could be used for military purposes, including drone parts and body armor, according to trade and customs data obtained by POLITICO.The shipments took place between June and December 2022, according to the data provided by ImportGenius, a customs data aggregator.China North Industries Group Corporation Limited, one of the country’s largest state-owned defense contractors, sent the rifles in June 2022 to a Russian company called Tekhkrim that also does business with the Russian state and military. The CQ-A rifles, modeled off of the M16 but tagged as “civilian hunting rifles” in the data, have been reported to be in use by paramilitary police in China and by armed forces from the Philippines to South Sudan and Paraguay.Russian entities also received 12 shipments of drone parts by Chines...

Owner of Boston-area pizza chain accused of abusing employees, faces federal charge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:17 GMT

The owner of a pizza chain with multiple Boston-area locations appeared in court Thursday facing federal forced labor charges amid accusations that he abused an employee and threatened to report the employee’s immigration status. Stavros Papantoniadis, 47, of Westwood was charged with one count of forced labor, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced.Papantoniadis owns Stash’s Pizza with locations in Dorchester and Roslindale. Homeland Security investigators said Papantoniadis targeted employees who lacked immigration status. Officials said one unnamed victim, who worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week in Dorchester was afraid of Papantoniadis and once cried when he was kicked in the groin. Investigators said Papantoniadis also knocked that man’s teeth out.“Victim 1 missed a day of work. The next day, Papantoniadis pushed him and caused him to call to the floor. Papantoniadis then called Victim 1 an ‘[Expletive] Muslim,'&#...

Shrewsbury police search for man who posed as Uber driver, approached students at bus stop

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:17 GMT

Shrewsbury police announced an investigation Thursday following a report of a suspicious man who they said posed as an Uber driver to try to pick up children at a bus stop. Police said the incident happened Wednesday morning at a bus stop at the Shrewsbury Commons when a man described as a Hispanic male in his late 30s to 40s driving a black sedan approached a group of students and told them their parents called them an Uber to go to school. Police said the man drove away after none of the students got into the vehicle. The incident remained under investigation as of Thursday afternoon, according to police. Police said they will be increasing their police presence in the area. Police also urged parents to remind children to never get into a vehicle with a stranger. Police asked anyone with information on this incident to call Officer Shawn Valliere at 508-841-8435.