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ACLU and Spotsylvania Co. schools face off over removed library books

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:28:54 GMT

The political dust storm over 14 books removed from high school libraries in Spotsylvania County continues as the American Civil Liberties Union labels the action unlawful and unconstitutional. The group is now petitioning the Virginia state board to intercede.In March, 14 books were removed from high school libraries after a parent complained they were sexually explicit. Among those books were “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky, “Sold” by Patricia McCormick, and “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison.More books have been reportedly added to the list since the initial order.Though a book committee of over 70 parents and educators within Spotsylvania County Public Schools system reviewed the books and deemed them appropriate for high school age students, Superintendent Mark Taylor made the decision to remove them anyway.In recent years, a large wave of conservative activists around the U.S. have made efforts to remove books from public school systems that include materia...

Police investigating after 2 crash into Miami Gardens yard and bail out, startling neighbors

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:28:54 GMT

Police are investigating a chaotic ride in a Miami Gardens neighborhood that, witnesses said, ended in a crash involving two men, triggering questions from startled residents.Area residents said the subjects drove into a yard along the 4400 block of Northwest 202nd Street, then bailed out, Sunday afternoon.Witnesses said the crash was preceded by even more mayhem.“[They were] chasing someone into my yard,” said resident Jan Daniel.Daniel said she received a call from her 82-year-old mother alerting her about the incident at around 6 p.m.“Small SUV that went through the yard and exited through the back,” said Daniel.Daniel said her mother told her police were chasing the Kia SUV that barreled through their yard.“He didn’t realize it was a cul de sac, and there was no way out but to get through here,” said Daniel.As of Sunday night, it remains unclear what led up to the crash and whether or not arrests were made.“We figured it would be a...

Video shows water from burst pipe gushing into unit at North Bay Village condo deemed unsafe, as evacuation deadline nears

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:28:54 GMT

Cellphone video captured water from a burst pipe gushing into a condominium unit at a building in North Bay Village that engineers have deemed unsafe, as the deadline for residents to evacuate fast approaches.The footage shows part of what residents of the Majestic Isles Condominiums along the 7900 block of East Drive have had to deal with before they were asked to vacate their homes.Partial collapsed ceilings and termite issues are some of the reasons why at least 50 residents have until Tuesday morning to move out.“We literally just moved in to now move back out,” said Majestic Isles resident Amanda Reyes.Reyes and her husband are among the many now forced to evacuate after moving in back in December.“It’s a lot of hassle to pick up and do in a few days,” she said.The building, built back in the 1960s, was deemed an unsafe structure following a recertification engineering report.Reyes said her unit is on the list of concerns. She provided the video th...

Europe’s disunity over China deepens

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:28:54 GMT

BRUSSELS — Just when you thought Europe’s China policy could not be more disunited, the two most powerful countries of the European Union are now also at odds over whether to revive a moribund investment agreement with the authoritarian superpower.For France, resuscitating the so-called EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) is “less urgent” and “just not practicable,” according to French President Emmanuel Macron.Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is in favor of “reactivating” the agreement, which stalled soon after it was announced in late 2020 after Beijing imposed sanctions on several members of the European Parliament for criticizing human rights violations. Speaking to POLITICO aboard his presidential plane during a visit to China earlier this month, Macron said he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping discussed the CAI, “but just a little bit.”“I was very blunt with President Xi, I was very honest, as far as this is a Europe...

EU schemes up sweeteners to woo countries from Russia and China

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:28:54 GMT

The EU is plotting how to win friends and influence people — in other countries. Earlier this week, EU officials circulated a confidential briefing, obtained by POLITICO, that details several individualized plans to win back — or not lose — four key “priority countries” that sit on the edge of the Western-led alliance trying to isolate Russia, arm Ukraine and constrain China.The countries: Brazil, Chile, Nigeria and Kazakhstan.The document indicates where — and how — the EU thinks it can make progress in each one. There is the expected invocation of possible trade agreements, but the document goes well beyond that, suggesting tailored offers the EU can make on energy, migration, economic development or security coordination. The focus is distinctly on carrots, not sticks. The unstated goal: To get more friends and build a next-generation economy without cozying up to autocrats. Indeed, Russia and China loom over the entire document, with several anxious mentions of th...

Germany’s sharp-tongued Annalena Baerbock rips up the diplomatic playbook

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:28:54 GMT

BERLIN — Annalena Baerbock is ready to fight — against autocracies and her own chancellor.Standing beside her Chinese counterpart Qin Gang in Beijing, the German foreign minister voiced a few appreciative remarks about China’s rise to the top world powers before turning up the heat on her host.“Many in the world are asking how China will use this growing influence,” Baerbock said at the press conference in the palatial Diaoyutai state guesthouse earlier this month. “I have to say frankly, I wonder why the Chinese position has so far not included a call upon the aggressor Russia to stop the war.”Along with Baerbock’s broadside against Beijing over its (not-so-indirect) support for Russia’s war in Ukraine came warnings to China that an escalation against Taiwan would amount to “a horror scenario,” as well as criticism over Chinese human rights violations. What had started friendly quickly descended into a tense meeting, with Qin sn...

In defense of the dollar

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:28:54 GMT

Jay Newman was a senior portfolio manager at Elliott Management and is the author of the bestselling thriller “Undermoney.” Meyrick Chapman’s career spans 40 years in international finance and currently lectures University of Buckingham. He founded Hedge Analytics Ltd in 2020.There’s no question about it — the United States dollar is under attack.Finance is prone to fads, and its latest mania is de-dollarization: the notion that the dollar will soon meet its demise as the world’s preeminent reserve currency.Everyone seems to hate the greenback. China recently crowed about its “triumphant” purchase of an LNG cargo, which was paid for in yuan and traded through China’s Shanghai Petroleum & Natural Gas Exchange. And Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has called for development of a new currency for BRIC countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — to dethrone the dollar.Such events attract media attention, of course, but they may just turn out to be sidesh...

Targeted killings spark debate within Russian opposition

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:28:54 GMT

Jamie Dettmer is opinion editor at POLITICO Europe. KYIV — “She’ll say whatever the FSB [Federal Security Service] wants her to say,” said Ilya Ponomarev, a former Russian lawmaker-turned-dissident who now lives in Kyiv.Discussing who was behind the bombing of a St. Petersburg café earlier this month — which left 40 injured and warmongering military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky dead — the “she” in question was 26-year-old Darya Trepova who, until recently, was an assistant at a vintage clothing store and a feminist activist, and has been accused of being the bomber.And the St. Petersburg bombing — as well as another carried out against commentator Darya Dugina — has now sharpened a debate within the deeply fractured, often argumentative and diverse Russian opposition, regarding the most effective tactics to oppose President Vladimir Putin and collapse his regime — raising the question of whether violence should play a role, and if so, when and how?Russian authorities arrested Trepo...

State police investigating after pedestrian struck in Dorchester

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:28:54 GMT

State police are investigating after a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle on Gallivan Boulevard in Dorchester on Sunday night, officials said.Troopers responding to a reported pedestrian crash around 9:35 p.m. found a pedestrian suffering from life-threatening injuries, according to state police.No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Mets drop series finale to Giants, 5-4

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:28:54 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — The Mets needed a big hit and Francisco Alvarez needed one for himself.He belted his first home run of the 2023 season and the second of his career Sunday night in the Mets’ 5-4 loss to the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. It tied the game for the Mets and gave them a chance, but Drew Smith (1-1) struggled in the eighth and allowed an RBI double to Joc Pederson. The Mets went down quietly in the ninth as Camilo Doval converted the save.The Mets (14-9) went 7-3 over a 10-game trip, dropping the last two to split the series with the Giants (11-13).Alvarez’s home run was the highlight of the game for the visitors. The Mets’ top prospect has been billed as a power-hitting catcher since he was signed out of Venezuela five years ago. The power has been obvious at every level of baseball except for the Major League level, though he showed a preview of it last fall during a late-season call-up.The Mets were hoping a year in Triple-A would help him...