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Lawyers say Hunter Biden’s plea deal on gun charge still valid 

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 18:10:53 GMT

WASHINGTON — Attorneys for Hunter Biden are pushing to keep part of a plea deal they reached with the prosecutor whose new status as special counsel has intensified the tax investigation into the president’s son ahead of the 2024 election.As House Republicans continued their own investigations, Biden’s attorney argued in court documents that an agreement sparing him prosecution on a felony gun charge still is in place even though the plea deal on misdemeanor tax offenses largely unraveled during a court appearance last month.His lawyer argues the Justice Department decided to “renege” on its end of the deal on tax charges. The agreement on the gun charge also contains an immunity clause against federal prosecutions for some other potential crimes.Biden plans to abide by the terms of that agreement, including not using drugs or alcohol, attorney Christopher Clark said in court papers. Prosecutors who “largely dictated” the agreement after inviting ...

Robbins: GOP doubles down on Hunter Biden baloney

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 18:10:53 GMT

Just to compound the other serious mistakes he has made in his life, Hunter Biden made the mistake last week of overplaying his hand. Afforded the opportunity to plead guilty to tax crimes committed while addicted to crack and other drugs, the president’s son held out for a commitment by the Justice Department that it would never prosecute him for anything else. This was a commitment the Department could not and would not make – and it was a commitment that any practical person mindful of his past misconduct would have known wouldn’t be made.The younger Biden’s demand that the Justice Department declare that it was absolving him of any further criminal jeopardy left Department lawyers with no choice but to tell him to pound sand. And it left Attorney General Merrick Garland, whose fealty to the rule of law exceeds that of all of his Congressional critics combined, with no choice but to appoint a Special Counsel to investigate anything and everything Hunter Biden-related. And speakin...

Trial set in lawsuit from woman struck by Waste Management truck

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 18:10:53 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A woman who was seriously injured after she was hit by a Waste Management San Diego vehicle is set to go to trial this fall with a lawsuit against the company seeking thousands in damages.Deanna Beck, a former SeaWorld dolphin trainer and bartender, was hit by one of the company's vehicles on Feb. 5, 2021 in the parking garage of her Mission Valley apartment complex in the 1600 block of Hotel Circle South. At the time of the incident, a trash collection driver employed by Waste Management was working to clear one of the company's dumpsters in the garage. Fletcher seeking $10K in fees from accuser over alleged failure to disclose messages According to video surveillance, Beck attempted to cross the garage in a marked crosswalk behind the collection truck while it drove forward. As she walked, however, the driver set the truck into reverse, striking her with one of the metal arms on the vehicle's rear.Court documents allege that the driver was on the phone at the time h...

US, Japan, South Korea to announce deeper defense cooperation at Camp David summit

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 18:10:53 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States, Japan and South Korea are expected to announce plans for expanded military cooperation on ballistic missile defenses and technology development in the face of growing concern about North Korea’s nuclear program when the countries’ leaders gather at Camp David for a summit Friday, according to two senior Biden administration officials.The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss planning for the summit, said the announcements will be part of a broad set of initiatives that will be unveiled as President Joe Biden hosts Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for the one-day gathering at the presidential retreat in Maryland’s Catoctin Mountains.The summit is the first Biden has held during his presidency at Camp David and comes amid a thaw in the historically complicated relationship between Japan and South Korea. Japan colonized the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945.The White House is loo...

A fiery explosion in Dominican Republic kills 3 and injures dozens of others

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 18:10:53 GMT

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — A powerful explosion rocked a bustling market area in a town near the capital of the Dominican Republic on Monday, killing at least three people and injuring more than 30 others, authorities said.The explosion occurred at a bakery in the town of San Cristobal, which lies just west of Santo Domingo. Officials said in a statement that the fire then spread to a hardware store located next door and a nearby furniture store. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the explosion.Charred cars and debris from several collapsed buildings lined the streets as thick black smoke rose from the town’s center and prompted several businesses to evacuate while crowds gathered to film the incident.The explosion occurred in an area known as “Old Marketplace,” where throngs of people shop daily for goods ranging from fruits to clothes. The victims were a four-month-old baby who died from a head injury and two adults whose bodies were 90% burned, according ...

Records tumble as heat wave spreads from B.C.’s south coast to Interior, hitting 40 C

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 18:10:53 GMT

VANCOUVER — During British Columbia’s heat dome in 2021, Nasrin Moshiri had to resort to putting the children in her daycare in the bathtub to stay cool. This week, she’s taking them to the beach. “I take the children to Stanley Park or go to the water, that’s how we stay cool,” said Moshiri, whose eyes were glued to four children nearby at Vancouver’s English Bay beach. Moshiri said she spent her weekend with her friends picnicking under the shade at Vancouver’s Spanish Banks Beach. Temperature records have been tumbling across B.C. since the arrival of a heat wave that began on the south coast on Sunday, with temperatures in some parts pushing beyond 40 C, but officials are not expecting a repeat of the deadly heat dome.Nevertheless, health authorities and local and provincial governments are urging caution before temperatures are expected to ease Friday.The sweltering heat has now prompted warnings or special weather statements across sou...

How – and when – is best to donate to those affected by the Maui wildfires?

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 18:10:53 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The destruction and suffering caused by the Maui wildfires in Hawaii prompted many to immediately look for ways to help.However, experts say immediate donations may not be the most useful following a natural disaster like the Maui wildfires. They suggest standing by a week or two until needs are assessed and support lines have been established. But they know that some people will not be able to wait.Here’s what you need to know about getting your donations to the people you are trying to help.There are so many solicitations to help the people of Hawaii. What groups should get priority right now?Experts recommend donating to nonprofits based on Hawaii that have provided rapid response services in the past.Hawai’i Community Foundation has raised more than $17 million as of Friday for its Maui Strong Fund, which is “providing financial resources that can be deployed quickly.” Though the foundation says its support will evolve, initially, it will focus on providing food,...

AP African American Studies course won’t count toward graduation credit in Arkansas

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 18:10:53 GMT

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas education officials on Monday said an Advanced Placement course on African American studies won’t count toward a student’s graduation credit, prompting criticism from Black lawmakers who said the move sends the wrong message. The Arkansas Department of Education didn’t bar schools from offering the course, as Florida did earlier this year when it told the College Board it violated state law. The department said the class, which is offered at a handful of schools in Arkansas, could still count toward students’ grade point averages. But the Education Department said the class couldn’t be part of the state’s advanced placement course offerings since it’s still a pilot program and hasn’t been vetted by the state yet. The department cited a state law enacted this year that places restrictions on how race is taught in school but did not say the course violates those prohibitions.“The department encourages th...

Suncor earns $1.88 billion in Q2; takes restructuring charge related to layoffs

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 18:10:53 GMT

CALGARY — Suncor Energy Inc. says it earned $1.88 billion in the second quarter of 2023, down from approximately $4 billion in the same period last year when oil prices were higher.The Calgary-based energy giant says it took a $275-million restructuring charge in the quarter related to its previously announced plans to cut 1,500 jobs by the end of the year.As a result of this restructuring charge, Suncor says its adjusted funds from operations for the three months ended June 30, 2023, amounted to $2.7 billion or $2.03 per share, compared to $5.3 billion or $3.80 per share in the prior year’s quarter.Suncor’s total upstream production increased year-over-year due to fewer planned maintenance activities, to 741,900 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the second quarter of 2023 from 720,200 in the second quarter of 2022.Refinery crude throughput was 394,400 barrels per day and refinery utilization was 85 per cent in the second quarter of 2023, compared to 389,300 barrels p...

The EPA is investigating how California manages its water following complaints from tribes

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 18:10:53 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration has agreed to investigate how California manages its water after some Native American tribes and environmental groups complained the state’s policies are “rooted in white supremacy.”The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced last week it would investigate the California State Water Resources Control Board. The board, whose members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate, sets rules for how to use much of the state’s water, including 211,000 miles (339,572 kilometers) of rivers and streams.Federal law requires the board to review those rules every three years. But the board hasn’t kept up with that timeline for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento San Joaquin Delta Estuary. The estuary is one of the largest in the country and is home to threatened species of fish. It also irrigates California’s powerful agriculture industry while providing drinking water to 25 mill...