Home

UK migration policy has ‘failed’, says Tory deputy chair

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:36:51 GMT

LONDON — Britain’s ruling Conservatives have “failed” to get undocumented migration to the U.K. under control, the party’s own deputy chair Lee Anderson has told Nigel Farage. Discussing U.K. migration policy with the former Brexit Party leader on his GB News show on Tuesday, Anderson said: “This is out of control, we are in power at the moment, I am the deputy chair of the Conservative party, we are in government and we have failed on this. There is no doubt about it.”“We have said we are going to fix it, it is a failure,” he added.Anderson, who was given an official party post by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in February, and has his own show on the self-styled anti-woke GB News, is known for his outspoken views. Earlier this week he came under fire for saying that if asylum seekers don’t wish to be housed on a barge — referring to the Bibby Stockholm boat — then they should “fuck off back to France.”Asked by Farage if he wanted to apologize for...

Dianne Feinstein briefly hospitalized after fall, spokesperson says

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:36:51 GMT

(CNN) — Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California was hospitalized for a short time Tuesday after a fall, according to a spokesperson, the latest in a string of health issues for the US Senate’s oldest member.“Senator Feinstein briefly went to the hospital yesterday afternoon as a precaution after a minor fall in her home,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “All of her scans were clear and she returned home.”TMZ first reported Feinstein’s fall.Concerns for the 90-year-old Californian’s health have grown in the past year, after her hospitalization for shingles in February led to an extended absence from the Senate. When Feinstein returned to Capitol Hill in May, her office confirmed that she had suffered multiple complications during her recovery from shingles, including Ramsay Hunt syndrome and encephalitis.“While the encephalitis resolved itself shortly after she was released from the hospital in March, she continues to have complica...

Jonathan Loáisiga’s return, Michael King’s scoreless streak bolster dominant Yankees bullpen

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:36:51 GMT

It didn’t take long for Jonathan Loáisiga to show the Yankees what they had been missing.Making his first appearance since April 5, the hard-throwing reliever dominated Tuesday night in his return from an elbow injury, needing only 12 pitches to post a perfect ninth inning against the Chicago White Sox.Loáisiga consistently hit the upper-90s with his fastball before freezing Chicago’s Gavin Sheets with a nasty third-strike changeup to complete the Yankees’ 7-1 win. The strong outing offered a reminder of how valuable a late-inning weapon Loáisiga can be.“It makes the game a lot shorter,” said Clarke Schmidt, Tuesday’s starting pitcher. “It almost cuts off an inning in a sense towards the back end of the game. He’s one of the best relievers in the game when he’s healthy like he is right now.”Loáisiga, 28, further bolsters a Yankees bullpen that entered Wednesday with an MLB-best 3.04 ERA. He pitched three...

Seiya Suzuki looks to adopt a more relaxed approach as he prepares to return to Chicago Cubs lineup after a mental reset

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:36:51 GMT

Seiya Suzuki’s first at-bat since Friday ended with a recurring sight over the last few weeks.In a favorable matchup against left-handed reliever Brooks Raley in the eighth inning of Monday’s loss to the New York Mets, Suzuki fell behind 1-2 in the count before a caught-in-the-middle half-swing on a changeup down and out of the zone ended his pinch-hitting appearance with a strikeout.Chicago Cubs manager David Ross gave Suzuki a mental reset after a hitless, two-strikeout performance Friday against the Atlanta Braves, who started lefty Max Fried. In the second season of a five-year, $85 million contract, Suzuki has started only two of the Cubs’ eight games in August. He’s hitting .215 in 20 games since the All-Star break while struggling to draw walks, contributing to a .276 on-base percentage.“When things don’t really work out, obviously for a long stretch, it becomes a mental thing,” Suzuki said Tuesday through interpreter Toy Matsushita. ...

Hours-long SWAT standoff ends in Chula Vista

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:36:51 GMT

CHULA VISTA, Calif. -- A hours-long SWAT standoff was initiated in a Chula Vista neighborhood Tuesday night, authorities confirmed.According to Chula Vista police, the standoff began around 5 p.m. after officers were dispatched to a condo complex on Regency Court to contact a wanted suspect. Sound grenades were deployed by law enforcement to try to coax the suspect out of the complex, before SWAT personnel attempted to enter the complex.The identity of the person has not been disclosed by law enforcement. However, CVPD said they had a felony warrant out of their arrest. According to CVPD, the suspect was taken into custody peacefully around 11:35 p.m.All roads in the area have since reopened.

Hundreds flee, building destroyed as grass fire spreads to trees near Texas apartments

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:36:51 GMT

CEDAR PARK, Texas (AP) — A grass fire near Austin, Texas, spread into trees near an apartment complex and condominiums, destroying one of the buildings and forcing hundreds of residents from their homes.Two people suffered minor injuries in the 50-acre (20-hectare) fire that resulted in the evacuation of about 300 apartments, 95 townhomes and several businesses in Cedar Park, on the northern edge of Austin, Fire Chief James Mallinger said Wednesday.One apartment building was destroyed and three others damaged, according to Cedar Park Mayor Jim Penniman-Morin.“It could have been much, much worse,” Penniman-Morin said.The cause of the fire, reported early Tuesday evening, was not yet known, Mallinger said.It started as a grass fire and encroached on buildings by going from grass to trees, the chief said. Flames shot up to 60 feet (18 meters) high.“The trees were very close to the building … even touching the roof in a couple of cases,” Mallinger said. The wind moved the fire qui...

Dam in Norway partially bursts after days of heavy rain, flooding and evacuations

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:36:51 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A dam in southern Norway partially burst Wednesday following days of heavy rain that triggered landslides and flooding in the mountainous region and forced downstream communities to evacuate, officials said.Authorities initially considered blowing up part of the dam at the Braskereidfoss hydroelectric power plant to prevent communities from being inundated. But the idea was scrapped after water later broke through the structure, police spokesman Fredrik Thomson told reporters.“We hope that we will get a gradual leveling of the water and that we will get an even leveling.”The power plant on the Glåma, Norway’s longest and most voluminous river, was under water and out of operation.Huge volumes of water were pouring over the western parts of the concrete dam, Thomson said.For hours, the water gathered behind the dam. Then a parking lot next to the power station was flooded, and soon water started pouring through a gap in the concrete. The water ripped ...

Jay Monahan says PGA Tour, Saudi deal is on the right path in 1st remarks since taking medical leave

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:36:51 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Back to full health, Commissioner Jay Monahan said Wednesday the PGA Tour is on the right path to finalize a deal with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf and that whether he’s the best person to lead the tour will depend on the results.Monahan spoke publicly for the first time since he returned to work July 17, having stepped away for three weeks with what he described as anxiety that had been building up over time.He said his only regret in a proposed business partnership with Saudi Arabia’s national wealth fund and the European tour was keeping players in the dark.“I put players on their back foot,” he said.Monahan was short on details of the proposed agreement with the media and players in his first meeting with them on Tuesday afternoon — mainly because negotiations are ongoing. Tour officials met with the Public Investment Fund last weekend.He was bullish that a deal would get done by the end of the year, and that the PGA Tour is not considering any...

Brazil’s former highway police director has been arrested in a probe into election interference

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:36:51 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Police arrested the former director of Brazil’s Federal Highway Police and conducted several raids Wednesday as part of an investigation into possible political interference in last year’s presidential elections, police said. Brazil’s Federal Police said in a statement that officers had carried out ten search and seizure warrants and arrested one person, without giving the name. A federal police official in Brasilia, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, confirmed that the former highway police director, Silvinei Vasques, was arrested Wednesday morning in Santa Catarina stateAllegations surfaced after the Oct. 30 election that highway police had interfered in support of former right wing President Jair Bolsonaro in the tense final round of voting that pitted the incumbent against his leftist rival, now-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.Some highway police were accused of blocking buses that were transportin...

Coyotes say they’ve executed a letter of intent to buy land for a potential arena in Mesa, Arizona

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:36:51 GMT

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Coyotes said Wednesday that owner Alex Meruelo has executed a letter of intent to buy a piece of land for a potential arena in Mesa, Arizona.The move comes months after voters in Tempe rejected a referendum to construct an arena there for the NHL club. The Coyotes say they remain committed to building a privately funded rink and entertainment district and continue to explore other potential sites in the Phoenix area.“We appreciate the tremendous support that we have received from many communities, elected officials and community leaders who have expressed their desire to see the Coyotes remain in the Valley permanently,” the team said in a statement. “We would also like to thank NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly for their steadfast support of the club’s efforts to find a permanent arena solution and for their recognition that Arizona is a tremendous hockey market.”The Coyotes are going into their second season at 5,000-seat ...