UK royals arrive in Boston to showcase youthful monarchy
BOSTON (AP) – The Prince and Princess of Wales embarked Wednesday on their first overseas trip since the death of Queen Elizabeth II, aiming to showcase the younger face of a monarchy that is tackling important issues like climate change as it attempts to remain relevant in a modern, multicultural Britain.
The three-day trip to Boston is focused on Prince William´s splashy initiative to award millions of dollars to a new generation of environmental entrepreneurs who are developing everything from cleaner burning stoves to alternatives to leather.
It will include visits to a program for at-risk youth, a sustainability lab and a tour of Boston´s shoreline to see the city´s effort to combat climate change.
It will culminate Friday in the awarding of the prince’s signature Earthshot Prize, a global competition aimed at finding new ways to protect the planet and tackle climate change.
After their arrival, the beaming royal couple strolled onto a stage at City Hall Plaza – William wearing a single-vent navy suit and Kate radiant in a Burberry dress and Alexander McQueen coat, fun88vnd and earrings by designer Shyla London – amid tight security and a cheering crowd, many snapping photos and video.
Prince William told the crowd that one of President John F.
Kennedy’s speeches was the inspiration to hold the second Earthshot Prize in Boston.
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Jeffries wins historic bid to lead House Dems after Pelosi
WASHINGTON (AP) – House Democrats ushered in a new generation of leaders on Wednesday with Rep.
Hakeem Jeffries elected to be the first Black American to head a major political party in Congress at a pivotal time as long-serving Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her team step aside next year.
Showing rare party unity after their midterm election losses, the House Democrats moved seamlessly from one history-making leader to another, choosing the 52-year-old New Yorker, who vowed to “get things done” in the new Congress, even after Republicans won control of the chamber.
The closed-door vote was unanimous, by acclamation.
“We stand on their collective broad shoulders,” Jeffries said afterward of Pelosi and her team.
“The best thing that we can do as a result of the seriousness and solemnity of the moment,” he had said earlier, “is lean in hard and do the best damn job that we can for the people.”
It´s rare that a party that lost the midterm elections would so easily regroup and stands in stark contrast with the upheaval among Republicans, who are struggling to unite around GOP leader Kevin McCarthy as the new House speaker as they prepare to take control when the new Congress convenes in January.
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Hong Kong publisher’s national security trial postponed
HONG KONG (AP) – The trial of a Hong Kong newspaper publisher who was arrested in a crackdown on a pro-democracy movement was postponed Thursday after the territory’s leader asked China to effectively block him from hiring a British defense lawyer.
Jimmy Lai, 74, faces a possible life sentence if convicted under a national security law imposed by the ruling Communist Party on the former British colony.
The government objected after judges on Monday approved Lai’s plan to hire Timothy Owen, a veteran human rights lawyer.
Chief Executive John Lee asked China´s Communist Party-controlled ceremonial legislature to decide whether foreign lawyers who didn´t normally practice in Hong Kong could be rejected for national security cases.
Beijing imposed the security law after pro-democracy protests that started in 2019.
If Beijing intervenes, that would mark the sixth time the Communist-ruled government has stepped into the city´s legal affairs.
Lai, the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily, is accused of conspiring together with others to call for an imposition of sanctions or blockade, or engage in hostile activities against Hong Kong or China.
He also faces a charge of collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security, and a separate sedition charge under a colonial-era law that is increasingly used to snuff out dissent.
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World Cup Viewer’s Guide: Germany must win for last-16 shot
DOHA, Qatar (AP) – It’s a simple task for Germany in its final game of group stage: beat Costa Rica on Thursday or the four-time World Cup champions will go home early for a second consecutive tournament.
Germany was knocked out as reigning World Cup champions in group play four years ago in Russia.
But even a victory might not be enough.
Germany is in last place in Group E and, depending on the outcome of Japan versus Spain, goal difference deficit might come into play. Germany has scored two goals through its two games, a 2-1 loss to Japan in its opening match and 1-1 draw against Spain.
“We have a lot of humility,” Germany midfielder Thomas Müller said.
“There isn´t much reason to be really euphoric.”
Germany had the same struggles in Russia in 2018 after opening with a 1-0 loss to Mexico before beating Sweden 2-1. Germany would have advanced with a win over South Korea in the final group game, but the defending champions lost 2-0 and went home.
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Mistrial after jury deadlock in Danny Masterson rape case
LOS ANGELES (AP) – A judge declared a mistrial Wednesday at the rape trial of “That ´70s Show” actor Danny Masterson after jurors, who were leaning strongly toward acquitting him, deadlocked following the monthlong trial in which the Church of Scientology played a supporting role.
Prosecutors said Masterson raped three women, including a former girlfriend, in his Hollywood Hills home between 2001 and 2003 and the church dissuaded them from going public for years.
Masterson, 46, pleaded not guilty and his lawyer said the acts were all consensual.
“I find the jurors hopelessly deadlocked,” Judge Charlaine Olmedo declared after the jury foreman said there was nothing the court could do to move them closer to reaching a unanimous decision. She set a March date for a retrial in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Olmedo had ordered jurors to take Thanksgiving week off and keep deliberating after they said on Nov.
18 that they could not reach a consensus. A jury of six women and six men began deliberations anew Monday after alternates replaced two jurors who were diagnosed with COVID-19 over the break.
Jurors voted seven times Tuesday and Wednesday without being able to reach consensus on any of the three counts, the foreman said.
Two jurors voted for conviction on the first count, four voted for conviction on the second count and five voted to convict on the third count.
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Treasury making Trump taxes available to House committee
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Treasury Department said Wednesday it has complied with a court order to make former President Donald Trump’s tax returns available to a congressional committee.
The Supreme Court last week rejected Trump´s request for an order that would have prevented the Treasury Department from giving six years of tax returns for Trump and some of his businesses to the Democratic-controlled House Ways and Means Committee.
The court, without dissent, cleared the legal obstacle to disclosure of Trump’s tax returns.
A department spokesperson said “Treasury has complied with last week´s court decision” but declined to say whether the committee had accessed the documents.
The spokesperson declined to be identified by name because of privacy constraints.
Trump refused to release his tax returns during his 2016 presidential campaign or his four years in the White House.
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Viewers flock to watch glowing lava ooze from Hawaii volcano
KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii (AP) – The world’s largest volcano oozed rivers of glowing lava Wednesday, drawing thousands of awestruck viewers who jammed a Hawaii highway that could soon be covered by the flow.
Mauna Loa awoke from its 38-year slumber Sunday, causing volcanic ash and debris to drift down from the sky.
A main highway linking towns on the east and west coasts of the Big Island became an impromptu viewing point, with thousands of cars jamming the highway near Volcanoes National Park.
Anne Andersen left her overnight shift as a nurse to see the spectacle Wednesday, afraid that the road would soon be closed.
“It’s Mother Nature showing us her face,” she said, as the volcano belched gas on the horizon. “It’s pretty exciting.”
Gordon Brown, a visitor from Loomis, California, could see the bright orange lava from the bedroom of his rental house.
So he headed out for a close-up view with his wife.
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AP source: Rose Bowl clears way for 12-team CFP in 2024
Rose Bowl game organizers cleared the way for the College Football Playoff to expand to 12 teams starting in the 2024 season, informing CFP officials Wednesday they are willing to alter agreements to accommodate a new format to decide the national champion.
A person with knowledge of the discussions between game organizers and CFP officials told The Associated Press the Rose Bowl is prepared to be flexible and wants to continue to be part of the playoff beyond 2025.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the presidents and chancellors who oversee the playoff still needed to give final approval on expansion. ESPN first reported the agreement between the Rose Bowl and the CFP.
An announcement from the CFP was expected by Thursday.
Eighteen months after a plan to expand the College Football Playoff from four teams to 12 was publicly unveiled, a process that was delayed and seemingly derailed numerous times is ready to cross the finish line.
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Christine McVie, Fleetwood Mac singer-songwriter, dies at 79
NEW YORK (AP) – Christine McVie, the British-born Fleetwood Mac vocalist, songwriter and keyboard player whose cool, soulful contralto helped define such classics as “You Make Loving Fun,” “Everywhere” and “Don´t Stop,” died Wednesday at age 79.
Her death was announced on the band´s social media accounts.
No cause of death or other details were immediately provided, but a family statement said she “passed away peacefully at hospital this morning” with family around her after a “short illness.”
“A few hours ago I was told that my best friend in the whole world since the first day of 1975, had passed away,” bandmate Stevie Nicks said in a handwritten note posted to Instagram.
She added that one song has been “swirling around” in her head since she found out McVie was sick, quoting the lyrics to HAIM’s “Hallelujah”: “I had a best friend/But she has come to pass.”
McVie was a steady presence and personality in a band known for its frequent lineup changes and volatile personalities – notably fellow singer-songwriters Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.
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Victims’ families urge love, kindness as Idaho campus mourns
BOISE, Idaho (AP) – As hundreds of students mourned together inside the University of Idaho’s stadium Wednesday night, family members of four slain classmates urged them to raise their eyes from grief and focus on love and the future.
“The only cure to pain is love – it’s the only thing that’s going to to heal us; it’s the only thing that’s going to heal you,” Steve Goncalves, the father of Kaylee Goncalves, told the crowd gathered at the vigil.
“That will make a difference, and that’s something they can see where they’re at right now: That you changed your life a little bit, that you’re a little bit nicer, a little bit kinder.”
Some in the crowd held each other and wiped their eyes as they remembered Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho; Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d´Alene, Idaho; Xana Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls, Idaho; and Kernodle´s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20, of Mount Vernon, Washington. The four were stabbed to death Nov.
13 at a rental home near campus in the quiet university town of Moscow, Idaho, and law enforcement has yet to name a person of interest in the case. Fears that the killer could strike again has prompted many students to finish the semester by taking online classes from the perceived safety of their hometowns.
As a result, similar scenes played out across the state as simultaneous candlelight vigils were held in multiple cities.
In downtown Boise, several hundred people cupped their hands around candle flames outside a University of Idaho’s building. High schools in some cities lit up their athletic fields in a sign of solidarity. Homeowners were urged to leave their porch lights on as a gesture of support.
Ben Mogan, Madison’s father, told the crowd in Moscow that she was his only child, so “everything she ever did was such a big deal.” Talking about “Maddie,” was his pride, Mogan said, and the two loved attending music concerts together.
