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Howie Carr: Judge bailing on $207,855-a-year ‘dream job’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:45 GMT

As always, it’s about the Benjamins.Meet Hal Naughton, a 63-year-old career Democrat back-bench state rep. Earlier this year Naughton scored the ultimate dream job of all hacks – a $207,855-a-year basically no-show job as a state judge.But now, in what is surely the most shocking event of the year in the hackerama, Naughton has done the unthinkable. After six months, he has resigned from his welfare sinecure.To repeat, it’s all about the Benjamins.I always say, it’s not that all Massachusetts judges are bad. It’s only that 98 percent of them who make the other 2 percent look bad.What makes Naughton’s departure such a man-bites-dog story is that no hack state judge ever quits, for one simple reason. In Massachusetts, a lawyer becomes a judge only if he or she is starving to death while actually trying to practice law.That’s why bust-out barristers scrape together enough cash to basically buy themselves that sinecure, an annuity. It’s all legal of course – campaign contributions, they...

At Donald Trump’s civil trial, scrutiny shifts to son Eric’s ‘lofty ideas’ for valuing a property

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:45 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The spotlight at Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial turned Thursday to the former president’s son Eric, with documents and testimony suggesting the scion envisioned a “lofty” value on a suburban New York golf course where the family business proposed building luxury townhouses.The trial stems from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ claims that Trump, his company and executives, including Eric Trump, fraudulently inflated the value of the Westchester County golf club and other properties on financial statements given to lenders, insurers and others. Trump, the Republican front-runner in the 2024 presidential campaign, denies the allegations and says the documents actually underestimated the value of his prime properties.Eric Trump, an executive vice president at the Trump Organization, sought an appraisal of the Trump National Golf Club in Briarcliff Manor, New York, in 2013, according to documents and testimony Thursday. At the time, the Trumps ...

Stranded on the Eiffel Tower, a couple decide to wed, with an AP reporter there to tell the story

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:45 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Police arrested a man climbing Thursday on the Eiffel Tower, leading to visitors being temporarily stranded at the summit — including a reporter for The Associated Press and a Washington, D.C., couple who decided during the wait to get married.Amir Khan had been planning to propose to Kat Warren later Thursday in a Paris garden away from the crowds, with a romantic dinner on the River Seine also on the menu.But when the lifts were temporarily shut down because of the climber, stranding the couple and others at the top, Khan decided to spring his surprise. Pat Eaton-Robb, an AP newsman from Connecticut who was also stuck up there, got their story.“I figured we might be here longer than I imagined,” Khan told the AP reporter. “So I didn’t want to miss dinner and she always wanted to be proposed to on or under the Eiffel Tower. So I figured, ‘This is it, this is the moment.’” And the answer? “Yes,” of course. “He had a pretty good chance of me saying ‘Yes...

Ministers to address reports India has reportedly ordered Canadian diplomats to leave

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:45 GMT

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Immigration Minister Marc Miller are expected to speak with reporters today amid reports Ottawa has followed India’s request to remove some of Canada’s diplomats from that country.Relations with New Delhi have hit a deep freeze since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a month ago that Canadian intelligence services are investigating “a potential link” between India’s government and the killing of a Sikh leader near Vancouver.New Delhi has publicly called for “parity” in the number of diplomats each country is hosting.Global Affairs Canada’s public registry of foreign missions shows that India has about 60 diplomats across Canada.Media reports suggest that a large number of Canadian diplomats have recently left India.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would not confirm whether the reports are true when asked about it today, but said it’s an issue he said his government is “t...

Ukraine’s parliament advances bill seen as targeting Orthodox church with historic ties to Moscow

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:45 GMT

Ukraine’s parliament voted overwhelmingly Thursday to advance legislation seen as effectively banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church over its ties to Moscow, despite the church’s insistence that it is fully independent and supportive of Ukraine’s fight against Russian invaders.The Verkhovna Rada, or parliament, voted 267-15 on the measure, which requires further voting before it gets finalized and reaches the desk of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The legislation would prohibit the activities of religious organizations “that are affiliated with the centers of influence of a religious organization, the management center of which is located outside of Ukraine in a state that carries out armed aggression against Ukraine.”That is seen as directly targeting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, one of two rival Orthodox bodies in the country, where a majority of citizens identify as Orthodox. The UOC has historically been affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate. It declar...

The Supreme Court refuses to speed the drawing of a new congressional map in Louisiana

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:45 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an emergency appeal from Black voters in Louisiana to speed the process of drawing new congressional districts in the state.The justices declined to overrule a federal appeals court, which last month blocked a district judge’s plan to hold hearings for a new map with a second majority-Black congressional district for use in the 2024 elections.The appeals court said U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick was moving too fast and must give the state more time to consider a new map.Civil rights groups had hoped a new map for Louisiana would follow quickly after the Supreme Court rebuffed attempts by Alabama officials to avoid creating a second district where Black voters make up a substantial portion of the electorate.Dick and judges in Alabama had ruled that congressional maps drawn by Republican-led legislatures after the 2020 census and used in last year’s elections likely violated the Voting Rights Act by diminishing Black voti...

US Navy warship in Red Sea intercepts three missiles heading north out of Yemen

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:45 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. Navy warship took out three missiles that had been fired from Yemen and were heading north, U.S. officials said Thursday.The officials said the USS Carney, a Navy destroyer, was in the Red Sea and intercepted the three missiles. It wasn’t immediately certain if they were aimed at Israel. One of the officials said the U.S. does not believe the missiles were aimed at the ship.The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations not yet announced.Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have expressed support for the Palestinians and threatened Israel. Last week, in Yemen’s Sanaa, which is held by the Houthi rebels still at war with a Saudi-led coalition, demonstrators crowded the streets waving Yemeni and Palestinian flags. The rebels’ slogan long has been, “God is the greatest; death to America; death to Israel; curse of the Jews; victory to Islam.”Last week, Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, the rebel group’s leader, warned the United States against i...

A 19-year-old was charged in the death of a fellow Mississippi college student

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:45 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A 19-year-old has been arrested and charged with killing a fellow college student in Mississippi on Sunday.Joshua Brown of Columbia, Mississippi, was arrested Wednesday in the death of 21-year-old Jaylen Burns. Brown was charged with murder and illegal possession of a firearm on school property, arrest affidavits show.The shooting was reported late Sunday at an apartment complex on the campus in Mississippi’s capital city. Jackson State University said Burns was an industrial technology major from Chicago.Brown is a student at Jones College in Ellisville, about 85 miles (136 kilometers) away from Jackson. He was initially arrested by Jones College Campus police and was then turned over to authorities in Jackson, according to a news release. Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones told WLBT-TV that Brown is being held at the Raymond Detention Center in Hinds County. Reached by phone Thursday, the Hinds County Public Defender’s Office said an attorney had no...

Judge probes eight-month wait in federal minister’s owl protection recommendation

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:45 GMT

VANCOUVER — A Federal Court judge says he’s “wrestling” with why the minister responsible for protecting the northern spotted owl waited eight months to recommend an emergency protection order to cabinet with only one wild-born bird remaining.Judge Yvan Roy questioned Crown counsel Aileen Jones during a hearing in Vancouver today, asking why federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault made his recommendation to cabinet in late September despite saying he would take that action in January. Jones replied that the delay was necessary because the Canadian Species at Risk Act should be interpreted “in a way that the minister can make an informed recommendation to cabinet.”She said Guilbeault has the obligation to engage with the province on any order that would restrict logging on spotted owl habitat in the Fraser Canyon, noting that the government needed to determine the proper “scope” of a potential emergency order to ensure the species̵...

Ontario woman wanted for attempted murder stabbed victim multiple times: police

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:45 GMT

Peel Regional Police say a woman is wanted for attempted murder after allegedly stabbing a female victim multiple times in Mississauga.Authorities responded to a stabbing call in the area of McLaughlin Road and Eglinton Avenue West on Wednesday.Peel paramedics located one woman with significant injuries due to multiple stab wounds. The victim was taken to a local hospital, and her injuries were later considered non-life-threatening.A female suspect was identified as 38-year-old Marjja Gjunaj, who police said fled the area after the violent incident.Gjunaj is wanted for attempted murder. She is described as five-foot-five, 160 pounds, with a light complexion and medium-length brown hair. Police said she was last seen wearing a black winter coat.Officers are urging members of the public not to approach the suspect if seen and to contact 9-1-1 immediately.