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SNP race: Kate Forbes’ conversion therapy stance ‘misses the point,’ Mhairi Black warns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:21 GMT

LONDON — The Scottish National Party’s deputy leader at Westminster has taken a swipe at Kate Forbes’ position on LGBTQ+ conversion therapy, as Forbes’ views face close scrutiny in her bid for the country’s top political office.Forbes has said that coercive conversion therapy — where groups forcibly attempt to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity — is “abhorrent” and that she would back efforts to ban such practices. However, she has not committed to banning conversion therapy where the individual involved voluntarily consents — something pro-ban campaign groups say is never possible.Pressed on the issue multiple times by Sky News in a televised SNP leadership debate on Monday, Forbes said that if a gay person wanted to have conversion therapy, “that is their choice,” and would not say she would introduce a complete conversion therapy ban.In an interview with POLITICO, SNP Westminster deputy leader Mhairi ...

Orioles observations on Cole Irvin overcoming rough first inning, DL Hall taking next step in return from injury and more

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:21 GMT

Despite giving up two runs in the first inning Thursday, Cole Irvin was still satisfied with the way his opening frame went.No, not the four hits he gave up to the first four batters he faced, but instead the way he got out of that inning and settled down after against the Toronto Blue Jays.“It’s just part of the process,” Irvin said. “Those innings are good to get through and work through, and I still came out of that 20 pitches or less. I was able to get out of damage spots and just made good pitches.”Irvin, the left-hander the Orioles acquired from the Oakland Athletics this offseason, gave up just two more hits and zero runs after the opening barrage. He ended his night allowing two runs in 4 1/3 innings while walking none and striking out three against a lineup filled mostly with minor leaguers. The 29-year-old threw 66 pitches — 47 for strikes — and was pleased to start the fifth inning while being on a 70-pitch limit.“He threw t...

Parents allege abuse of students with special needs at East County school

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:21 GMT

LAKESIDE, Calif. -- Parents are outraged after learning of alleged abuse of their children with special needs at Lemon Crest Elementary School.Parents say a teacher’s aide abused multiple children with special needs, multiple times. The parents are calling for the teacher’s aide to be fired. “I couldn’t believe that somebody would do that to an innocent child,” mother Cynthia Raymond said. “My son is non-verbal, so he couldn’t tell me anything was happening.”Raymond says a teacher’s aide at Lemon Crest Elementary abused her nine-year-old son with special needs.“He was being changed by a male staff who was on his knees with his hands over my son’s hands and forcing him to punch himself in the head multiple times,” she said.Brittany McLaughlin claims her nine-year-old daughter in a wheelchair has needs also suffered abuse by the same teacher’s aide. National City teacher pleads not guilty to over a dozen felony charges, including sex abuse charges “He repeatedly put her hand in her ...

In Israel, TV’s dystopian ‘Handmaids’ is protest fixture

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:21 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — It’s become an ominous fixture of the mass anti-government protests roiling Israel: a coil of women in crimson robes and white caps, walking heads bowed and hands clasped. They are dressed as characters from Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” and the eponymous TV series. The women, growing in numbers as the demonstrations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies intensify, say they are protesting to ward off what they believe will be a dark future if the government follows through on its plan to overhaul the judiciary.“This display is a representation of the things that we fear,” said Moran Zer Katzenstein, founder of the women’s rights advocacy group Bonot Alternativa, or “building an alternative,” which is behind the Handmaid’s protest. “Women are going to be the first to be harmed” under the overhaul, she added.In a move that has sparked widespread opposition, Netanyahu’s go...

Former Israeli premier urges world leaders to shun Netanyahu

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:21 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s former prime minister on Thursday urged world leaders to shun Israel’s current prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, as he presses ahead with a plan to overhaul the country’s justice system. The United States and Germany, two of Israel’s closest allies, called on Netanyahu to slow down.The rare calls for restraint and international intervention came as thousands of Israelis once again took to the streets to protest Netanyahu’s plan. Ehud Olmert, who served as prime minister from 2006-2009, told The Associated Press that global leaders should refuse to meet with Netanyahu. He appealed specifically to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is expected to host Netanyahu in the coming weeks.“I urge the leaders of the friendly countries to the state of Israel to refrain from meeting with the Israeli prime minister,” Olmert said. He added that he was aware his call, as a former Israeli prime minister, “is quite extraordinary” but that the situat...

Unseasonably Cold Open To Coming Weekend, Which Is Likely To Be City's Coldest Since Late January.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:21 GMT

Early January-level temps predicted including Saturday morning single-digit to near zero wind chills amid 35 mph wind gustsThe coming weekend to be be the 2nd-coldest to date of 2023 and the coldest weekend here since late JanuaryUPPER MIDWEST IN LINE FOR MORE SNOW OUT OF THIS STORMThe Saturday flurries offer just a taste of the wintry snows expected to sweep the upper Midwest with this storm. Sections of Upper Michigan and far northern Wisconsin, where snowfall will be lake enhanced and fall well into Saturday, are to see snowfalls of a foot to as much as 2 feet in favored areas downwind of Lake Superior. This comes on top a generous snow pack which sits 40" deep in Bayfield, WI and 34" in the Marquette and Munising areas of the Upper Peninsula.

Circular Economy: Commission consults on the evaluation of the Ship Recycling Regulation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:21 GMT

The Commission is launching a public consultation in order to gather views from a wide range of actors – shipowners, recyclers, industry, national authorities, NGOs and citizens on the EU Ship Recycling Regulation. The feedback received will help the ongoing evaluation of the regulatory framework for the recycling of EU-flagged ships that is in place since 2013.The evaluation aims to assess how well the Regulation has been applied and its impact to date; assess how well it contributes to the general policy objectives of the European Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan; and identify shortcomings in its implementation and enforcement.Most ships are built with materials that are suitable for recycling. When ships are dismantled, steel, other scrap metals and various types of equipment become available and can be further reused. Many ships, however, are dismantled outside the EU, under conditions that are often harmful to workers' health and the environment. The EU's Ship Re...

La Habra condo residents battle city over 2 sinkholes in their front yards

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:21 GMT

Residents of a La Habra condo complex, who have been living with a massive sinkhole in their front yards since 2019, feel like they can’t catch a break as recent heavy rains have opened yet another sinkhole just feet away from the first one, while city officials expect them to foot the bill for repairs. The new sinkhole started forming in the courtyard of the Coyote Village condo complex in La Habra at around 9 p.m. Wednesday night.  “It felt like the beginning of an earthquake, followed by a very large crash. I run outside and see this giant hole,” condo resident Justin Marinello told KTLA. The original sinkhole from four years ago, which measures around 100 feet long and 20 feet wide, is also in the courtyard and has yet to be fixed.  “No one can give any solid sort of answer,” Marinello said. “We’ve been talking with anybody and everybody that has walked by and nothing. It’s like living in a construction site.” The Coyote Village complex was built along a...

Pacifica appoints its first-ever female chief of police

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:21 GMT

PACIFICA — The city of Pacifica on Thursday announced the selection of Maria Sarasua as its next top cop.Sarasua, an East Bay law enforcement veteran, is the city’s 11th chief of police and the first woman to hold the position. She replaces Daniel Steidle, who retired last year.“Chief Sarasua is a proven leader and brings a breadth and depth of experience and values to Pacifica that will be an exceptional fit for the organization and the community,” City Manager Kevin Woodhouse said in a statement. She will begin work April 24.Sarasua served as a police explorer and community service officer before becoming a deputy sheriff in Contra Costa County in 1995. In 2003, she joined the Pleasanton Police Department, where she spent 20 years and rose to the rank of lieutenant.In a news release announcing her appointment, the city said Sarasua “is known as an innovator with a track record of building significant partnerships and working closely with the communities she serves” and “has a pass...

Sharks sunk again in overtime as Dunn wins it for Seattle Kraken

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:21 GMT

SAN JOSE — Vince Dunn scored 1:58 into overtime and the Seattle Kraken beat the San Jose Sharks 2-1 on Thursday night.Oliver Bjorkstrand had a goal and assist for the Kraken, tying the score with his 15th of the season on a breakaway at 7:03 of the third period.Philipp Grubauer stopped 31 shots, and Dunn extended his point streak to 11 games — especially impressive for a defenseman.“There was a will to him tonight,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said about Dunn. “You can see his confidence offensively with the puck. At times he controlled some of the play, and maybe fitting that he was the guy to make the play on the winning goal.”Sharks forward William Eklund scored on a penalty shot for his second career goal, both in the last two games. James Reimer was terrific in net, finishing with 30 saves.Seattle Kraken’s Vince Dunn (29) celebrates his 2-1 game-winning goal against the San Jose Sharks in overtime at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, March 16, 2023. (Nhat V. ...