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Migrants race to US border as Title 42 pandemic restrictions expire, straining US immigration system

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:18:24 GMT

By VALERIE GONZALEZ, ELLIOT SPAGAT and GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO (Associated Press)EL PASO, Texas (AP) — The U.S. entered a new immigration enforcement era Friday, ending a three-year-old asylum restriction and enacting a set of strict new rules that the Biden administration hopes will stabilize the U.S.-Mexico border and push migrants to apply for protections where they are, skipping the dangerous journey north. The transition has been far from simple. Even as the old policy known as Title 42 expired, migrants along the border were still wading into the Rio Grande to take their chances getting into the country, defying officials shouting for them to turn back. Others hunched over cellphones trying to access an appointment app, a centerpiece of the new measures. And lawsuits sought to stop some of the measures. The Biden administration has said the new policies are meant both to crack down on illegal crossings and to offer a new legal pathway for migrants who spend thousands on...

These Yankees know what it’s like to play for truly bad teams

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:18:24 GMT

The saying “it’s a long season” is universal in baseball, a staple of the lingo often meant to boost morale when times are tough. Whether a team or player buys into the idea is a different story, though.Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo didn’t during his early years with the Cubs, who finished in last place from 2012-2014. Chicago turned things around in 2015 and won its first championship in 108 years in 2016, but the Cubs averaged just over 66 wins during Rizzo’s first three seasons in The Windy City.“No, I didn’t believe it,” Rizzo told the Daily News of the timeless expression at the start of his career, “because I was realistic about where we were as a team.”Yankees closer Clay Holmes echoed similar sentiments when discussing the bulk of his stay in Pittsburgh. The Pirates won 69 games in 2019, 19 during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and 61 in 2021, which is when they traded Holmes to New York.“If it̵...

This blues and crawfish festival is bringing the best of the bayou to San Diego

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:18:24 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A Louisiana-themed music and food festival is bringing the best of the bayou to San Diego this weekend -- think of it as Mardi Gras in May.Starting Thursday, Gator By the Bay will be spicing up Spanish Landing Park at the San Diego Bay, which is located right across from the airport. California Wine Festival returns to North County this summer With over 100 acts scheduled, attendees can enjoy four consecutive days of live entertainment and special performances on seven different stages, according to the event's website.Some musical artists on the lineup include zydeco performer Terrance Simien, blues singer Johnny Sansone, jazz group the Gypsy Swing Cats and many more. A full list of Gator By The Bay artist can be found here.Plus, there will be "Taste of Louisiana" cooking demos, a full marketplace and a food court packed with southern cuisine, as explained on the events webpage. Some Louisiana specialties that can be expected include po' boy sandwiches, smoked h...

Marine veteran who fatally choked NYC subway rider Jordan Neely surrenders on manslaughter charge

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:18:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A man who kept a chokehold around the neck of an agitated fellow passenger in the New York City subway, leading to the other rider’s death, turned himself in to authorities Friday on a manslaughter charge that could send him to prison for 15 years.Manhattan prosecutors announced Thursday they would bring the criminal charge against Daniel Penny, 24, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, in the May 1 death of Jordan Neely, 30.Penny turned himself in at a Manhattan police station Friday morning.Neely’s death, captured on video by a freelance journalist, has raised an uproar over many issues, including how those with mental illness are treated by the transit system and the city, as well as crime and vigilantism. Thomas Kenniff, one of Penny’s attorneys, said Penny turned himself in “voluntarily and with the sort of dignity and integrity that is characteristic of his history of service to this grateful nation.”In a brief statement to reporters outside the police...

UN envoy: Humanitarian deal between warring sides is a first step toward a cease-fire in Sudan

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:18:24 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — The U.N. envoy for Sudan on Friday welcomed a deal between the country’s warring generals promising safe passage to civilians fleeing the conflict in the East African nation and protection for humanitarian operations.The envoy, Volker Perthes, said the agreement was an important first step toward a cease-fire to the fighting which is about to enter its fourth week.The Sudanese military and the country’s paramilitary, the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, signed a pact late Thursday vowing to alleviate humanitarian suffering across the country, although a truce remains elusive. Both sides also agreed to refrain from attacks likely to harm civilians.“The most important element is that both sides commit to continue talks,” Perthes said during an online U.N. news conference from his office in Port Sudan. International efforts to turn the deal into a cease-fire have already started, he added. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the agreement, which outlines a ser...

Cineplex Q1 loss narrows compared with a year ago, revenue up nearly 50%

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:18:24 GMT

TORONTO — Cineplex Inc. saw its first-quarter loss narrow compared with a year ago as its revenue increased nearly 50 per cent.The movie theatre company says it lost $30.2 million or 48 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31.The result compared with a loss of $42.2 million or 67 cents per diluted share a year ago.Revenue totalled $341.0 million, up from $228.7 million in the first three months of 2022.The increase in revenue came as theatre attendance totalled nearly 9.8 million, up from nearly 6.7 million in the same quarter last year.Cineplex says box office revenue per patron was $12.63, up from $12.00 a year earlier, while concession revenue per patron also rose to $8.85, up from $8.82 a year ago.This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 12, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:CGX)The Canadian Press

South Africa summons US ambassador over weapons for Russia allegations

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:18:24 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa’s foreign ministry summoned the U.S. Ambassador to a meeting Friday over allegations he made a day earlier that the country had provided arms and ammunition to Russia for its war in Ukraine.Amid the diplomatic fallout over the allegations by the United States, South Africa’s Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor will also speak with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (effectively the foreign ministry), said in a statement posted by spokesman Clayson Monyela on Twitter.U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Reuben Brigety said at a press conference Thursday that South Africa had loaded weapons and ammunition onto a sanctioned Russian vessel at the Simon’s Town Naval Base near the city of Cape Town in December last year. The arms were then transported to Russia, Brigety said.“We (the U.S.) are confident that weapons were loaded into that vessel and I would bet my life on the a...

Crescent Point Energy reports first-quarter profit down from year ago

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:18:24 GMT

CALGARY — Crescent Point Energy Corp. reported its first-quarter profit was down from a year ago as energy prices were also lower.The company says it earned $216.7 million or 39 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, down from $1.18 billion or $2.03 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.Oil and gas sales in the quarter totalled $913.6 million, down from $1.09 billion in the first three months of 2022.On an adjusted basis, Crescent Point says its earnings from operations totalled 40 cents per share, down from 41 cents per share a year ago.Average daily production in the quarter was 139,280 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up from 132,788 in the same quarter last year.Crescent Point says its average selling price in the quarter was $72.88 per barrel of oil equivalent, down from $91.43 a year earlier. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 12, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:CPG)The Canadian Press

Germany braces for 50-hour train strike after employers refuse union demands

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:18:24 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A labor union representing more than 200,000 railway workers said Friday that it was going ahead with a planned strike next week after its demands for better pay were rejected by employers.The EVG union said its members will walk out for 50 hours from late Sunday until late Tuesday. Rail company Deutsche Bahn has canceled all long-distance travel during that period and warned that most regional trains also won’t run.The strike will likely be one of the biggest in recent years, following a previous large-scale walkout in April.But union co-leader Cosima Ingenschay said that a strike could still be averted at the last minute if employers put forward another offer.EVG went into the current round of pay negotiations seeking a raise of 12% for its members, or at least 650 euros more each month. It also wants the minimum wage of 12 euros an hour to be ensured through basic pay rather than with bonuses, as is currently the case for some 2,700 workers.The strike will aff...

France says 2 citizens held in Iran have been freed from prison, are on way to Paris

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:18:24 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Two French citizens imprisoned in Iran have been freed, France’s foreign minister said Friday.Benjamin Briere and Bernard Phelan, who both had been held in a prison in Mashad, in northwest Iran, were heading to Paris, a statement from Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said.Colonna “thanked all those who worked for their freedom” and spoke earlier Friday with Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian, the statement said without elaborating. Briere, 38, was arrested in May 2020 for taking photographs with a drone in an area where cameras were forbidden. He was convicted of spying, then reportedly acquitted this year.Phelan, 64, was arrested seven months ago while visiting Iran for consulting activities for a tour company, according to French daily newspaper Le Parisien.Nearly a half-dozen other French citizens are thought to be held in Iranian prisons.The Associated Press