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US official voices hope North Macedonia will be able to proceed with EU membership bid

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:23:13 GMT

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — A senior State Department official on Friday voiced hope that North Macedonia will be able to approve politically difficult constitutional changes that would help its bid to join the European Union.Gabriel Escobar, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Balkan policy, said during talks in the capital Skopje that the U.S. strongly backs the country’s EU accession bid.North Macedonia has agreed, following pressure from neighboring EU member Bulgaria, to amend its constitution and include Bulgarians in a long list of ethnic groups formally listed as living in the country.But while Parliament started the amendment process last week, it looks unlikely that it will be completed due to strong reactions from the conservative main opposition party, VMRO-DPMNE.Following talks with North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski, Escobar said he was “very excited” that the process had started. “I hope it will continue,” he added.The amendment — which wou...

US Forest Service rejects expansion plans of premier Midwest ski area Lutsen Mountains

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:23:13 GMT

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service said Friday it has rejected the expansion plans of Lutsen Mountains, one of the premier skiing destinations in the Midwest.Lutsen Mountains was hoping to expand onto 495 acres (193 hectares) of public land in the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota so it could add more runs, lifts and other facilities and essentially double its skiable terrain in the Sawtooth Mountains along the north shore of Lake Superior. It’s one of the largest ski areas in the Midwest, with a vertical rise of 1,088 feet (326 meters) and 95 runs.In rejecting the permit application, the Forest Service cited impacts on tribal resources such as sugar maple stands, negative effects for users of the Superior Hiking Trail and backcountry skiers, and other impacts to the environment.The company has until Oct. 10 to file objections. It asked the Forest Service last month to defer a decision indefinitely while it consulted with three Ojibwe tribes that hol...

Tornado confirmed as Michigan storms with 75 mph winds down trees, power lines; five people killed

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:23:13 GMT

CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — At least one tornado touched down in Michigan as part of severe storms powered by winds of up to 75 mph (121 kph) that downed trees, tore roofs off buildings and killed five people while leaving hundreds of thousands of customers without power, officials said.The National Weather Service on Friday confirmed that an EF-1 tornado with winds of 90 mph (145 kph) crossed from Ingham County into the western edge of adjacent Livingston County on Thursday night.Preliminary information shows that after entering Livingston County, the tornado remained on the ground for a mile or less before “weakening and lifting,” said Dave Gurney, a meteorologist with the weather service’s office in Oakland County’s White Lake Township.In western Michigan, the Kent County Sheriff’s Office said a 21-year-old woman and two girls, ages 1 and 3, died Thursday night after two vehicles collided head-on as it was raining.“There was two vehicles traveling toward each ...

Trudeau in Okanagan to meet firefighters as final travel ban lifted for Kelowna area

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:23:13 GMT

WESTBANK FIRST NATION, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in the Okanagan region in the B.C. Interior to meet with firefighters, volunteers and officials involved in the area’s wildfire fight.He started the day at the Westbank First Nation, discussing the firefighting operation with Loyal Wooldridge, who is board chair of the Central Okanagan Regional District.Trudeau met with Chief Robert Louie as well as West Kelowna Mayor Gord Milsom and Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas.Almost 200 homes were lost or damaged around Lake Okanagan in the past week.   Two major blazes are being held by firefighters, but the McDougall Creek fire threatening West Kelowna remains out of control.Trudeau asked officials about the morale of residents.His visit comes after the last travel restriction for the Okanagan was lifted, alongside evacuation orders within the City of Kelowna, following recent rainfall.B.C. Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma said in a statement late Thursday...

Federal officials are warning airlines to keep workers away from jet engines that are still running

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:23:13 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal safety regulators are citing recent incidents, at least one of them fatal, in warning airlines to make sure that workers keep their distance from jet engines until they are powered off.The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday it issued a safety alert to prevent workers from being injured while towing planes or guiding them to and from terminal gates.The FAA said airlines should review their safety programs to make sure they follow practices including keeping workers clear of planes until they are stopped and chocks are placed under the wheels.The warning was prompted by “multiple events” in which workers were injured or killed during ground operations at airports.The FAA bulletin cited two incidents, including the death of a ramp worker who was pulled into an engine of an American Eagle plane parked at a gate at the airport in Montgomery, Alabama. The Labor Department has proposed $15,625 in penalties against the worker’s employer, Piedmont Airlines,...

Court won’t revive lawsuit that says Mississippi officials fueled lawyer’s death during Senate race

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:23:13 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A federal appeals court says it will not revive a lawsuit by the family of a Mississippi lawyer who took his own life after he was arrested and accused of providing information to people who snuck into a nursing home and photographed the ailing wife of a U.S. senator during a contentious election.Images of Rose Cochran appeared briefly online during the 2014 Republican primary for U.S. Senate, in a video that accused now-deceased Sen. Thad Cochran of having an affair while his wife was bedridden with dementia — an accusation that Thad Cochran denied.The primary exacerbated rifts between establishment Republicans who supported Cochran and tea party activists, including lawyer Mark Mayfield, who backed Cochran’s GOP primary challenger, state lawmaker Chris McDaniel.In 2017, Mayfield’s survivors sued Madison Mayor Hawkins-Butler and others, saying the defendants were part of a network of Cochran supporters who pushed Mayfield to suicide in June 2014. Mayfiel...

DeSantis reports raising more than $1 million as Republicans hope for post-debate boosts

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:23:13 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he got a $1 million cash bump after Wednesday night’s presidential debate.That amount came in over the first 24 hours after DeSantis and seven other contenders met onstage in Milwaukee, according to his campaign. In a statement to The Associated Press, campaign manager James Uthmeier said that DeSantis “showed Wednesday night that he is a proven leader who will deliver results as president, and we are thrilled with the flood of support we have received since his debate victory.”DeSantis, who has been running second to the GOP front-runner, former President Donald Trump, raised more than $20 million for the first six weeks of his campaign but also burned through nearly $8 million over the same period. With $12.2 million on hand at the end of June, his campaign let some staffers go in July to help reduce operating expenses.After being briefed in Milwaukee by top DeSantis campaign staffers, several donors told AP they were plea...

2 Chicago area defendants in Trump Georgia election case surrender

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:23:13 GMT

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Former President Donald Trump and the 18 people indicted along with him in Georgia on charges alleging they participated in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election have all turned themselves in to a jail in Atlanta before the deadline at noon Friday.Among them were two people from the Chicago area — Trevian Kutti, a publicist and lobbyist, and Pastor Stephen Lee. Lee surrendered but his booking photo has not been released at this time. Related: Chicago publicist named in indictment against former President Trump KuttiBond was set at $75,000 for each, according to court records.The Fulton County District Attorney alleges that Kutti is connected to an incident where two poll workers were targeted in claims that they processed fraudulent votes to favor Donald Trump winning the election. Kutti faces three counts; violation of the Georgia RICO Act, conspiracy to commit solicitation of false statements and writing and influencing w...

First yellow-legged hornet nest in US eradicated in Georgia

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:23:13 GMT

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – Agriculture officials have safely removed the first yellow-legged hornet nest found in the U.S.The nest was discovered in the Savannah, Georgia, area, where the first yellow-legged hornet in the country was spotted by a local beekeeper just weeks ago.Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper called the discovery "a huge win" for the state's agriculture industry, as the non-native species is a threat to honey production and native pollinators.courtesy of the Georgia Department of Agriculturecourtesy of the Georgia Department of Agriculturecourtesy of the Georgia Department of Agriculturecourtesy of the Georgia Department of Agriculture"Thanks to our vigilant citizens, partners at UGA Extension, and USDA, we've now eradicated the first, and what we hope will be the last, yellow-legged hornet nest within days of its discovery," Harper stated. "We ask that the public continue to stay vigilant and report any additional suspected sightings of this species to the...

Who qualifies for $0 student loan payments?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:23:13 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — While student loan payments are set to begin soon, some borrowers could find themselves with $0 monthly payments. It’s due to the Biden administration’s Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, Plan, which officially launched Tuesday. In a statement, Vice President Kamala Harris said the plan could save the average borrower around $1,000 a year. Tens of millions of borrowers are expected to qualify for SAVE, which is now a main income-driven repayment option for borrowers.  How does the plan work?According to the Education Department, SAVE calculates a monthly payment based on your income and family size. “The SAVE Plan provides the lowest monthly payments of any IDR plan available to nearly all student borrowers,” the department’s Federal Student Aid Office explains. ‘Bed rotting’: Some call it self care, but experts urge caution Monthly payments are so much lower on SAVE than other IDR plans because it increases the income exemption to 225% o...