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A cardinal and 9 others will learn their fate in a Vatican financial trial after 2 years of hearings

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:37:16 GMT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — A once-powerful cardinal and nine other people are to learn their fate Saturday when a Vatican tribunal hands down verdicts in a complicated financial trial that has aired the tiny city state’s dirty laundry and tested its justice system.Judge Giuseppe Pignatone will read out the verdicts of the three-judge panel in the converted courtroom in the Vatican Museums, where prosecutors and defense attorneys have sparred for 2 1/2 years over the details of a money-losing investment in a luxury London property.Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the first-ever cardinal to be prosecuted in the Vatican’s criminal court, is accused of embezzlement-related charges in two tangents of the London deal and faces up to seven years in prison if convicted. He has denied any wrongdoing.Unlike most defendants, Becciu attended nearly all of the 86 hearings, saying Pope Francis clearly wanted him to face court judgment after Francis himself forced his resignation and removed his privi...

Latino Democrats in the Senate decry Biden’s concessions in border and Ukraine talks

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:37:16 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Prominent Latinos in Congress looked on quietly, at first, privately raising concerns with the Biden administration over the direction of border security talks.Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California was on the phone constantly with administration officials questioning why the Senate negotiations did not include any meaningful consideration of providing pathways to citizenship for longtime undocumented immigrants.New Mexico Democrat Sen. Ben Ray Luján made similar arguments as he tried to get meetings with top-level White House officials.But when the talks didn’t seem to make enough difference, the influential lawmakers started leading the open opposition.“A return to Trump-era policies is not the fix,” Padilla said. “In fact, it will make the problem worse.”Padilla even pulled President Joe Biden aside at a fundraiser last weekend in California to warn him “to be careful” of being dragged into “harmful policy.”The Latino senators have found themselves on ...

Women and children first? Experts say that in most crises, it’s more like everyone for themselves

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:37:16 GMT

LONDON (AP) — So much for women and children first.The phrase and its grave implications about who to save first in a catastrophe are rooted in the shipwrecks of centuries past and popularized by Hollywood’s treatment of the Titanic disaster. It is getting another airing at a time when, in many societies, women are expected to do most everything men do. Experts say the unwritten law of the sea is a Hollywood-fed myth and a relic of Victorian-era chivalry.At the center of this round of questions is the prisoners-for-hostages deal between Israel and Hamas in November that prioritized releasing women and children after negotiators agreed that mothers and their children should not be separated. Israelis are overwhelmingly supportive of this approach. But it leaves behind elderly and injured men, a result that has angered some families. “To say ‘women and children’ in the 21st century — as if families can be whole without the fathers, as if children that have come back with their f...

Federal Reserve on cusp of what some thought impossible: Defeating inflation without steep recession

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:37:16 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — It was the most painful inflation Americans had experienced since 1981, when “The Dukes of Hazzard” and “The Jeffersons” were topping the TV charts. Yet the Federal Reserve now seems on the verge of defeating it — and without the surge in unemployment and the deep recession that many economists had predicted would accompany it.Inflation has been falling more or less steadily since peaking in June of last year at 9.1%. And when the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge for November is reported next week, it’s likely to show that in the past six months, annual inflation actually dipped just below the Fed’s target of 2%, economists at UBS estimate.The cost of goods — such as used cars, furniture and appliances — has fallen for six straight months. Compared with a year ago, goods prices are unchanged, held down by improved global supply chains.Housing and rental costs, a major driver of inflation, are growing more slowly. Wage growth has cooled, too, though...

Riverside man dressed as clown arrested for armed robberies

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:37:16 GMT

A suspect dressed as a clown was arrested in connection with a string of robberies targeting convenience stores in Riverside.The suspect was identified as Jesse James Swanson, 23, by the Riverside Police Department. On Aug. 26 at around 4 a.m., Swanson robbed a Circle K store on the 1600 block of Main Street.He was wearing a clown mask and armed with a handgun during the incident, police said.A week later on Sept. 2, Swanson entered the same Circle K store and robbed the employees at gunpoint, authorities said.Jesse James Swanson, 23, in photos from the Riverside Police Department. Suspected getaway driver, Daniel William Clark, 56, in a photo from the Riverside Police Department. Jesse James Swanson, 23, in photos from the Riverside Police Department. Five days later, he targeted a 7-Eleven store on the 1100 block of West La Cadena Drive, according to police. It's unclear how much money the suspect escaped with or the type of merchandise he may have taken.  SoCal street vend...

Lackluster Sharks shut out again, but a new player is on the way

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:37:16 GMT

The San Jose Sharks are going to have to rediscover their offensive touch if they want to finish their two-game road trip on a positive note Sunday.The Sharks could not get anything past Arizona goalie Connor Ingram — or the NHL’s video review judges — in a 1-0 loss to the Coyotes on Friday at Mullett Arena in Tempe.The Sharks (9-18-3) scored a combined 26 goals on their six-game road trip that ended on Dec. 10. But they had all 21 of their shots on net Friday stopped by Ingram, plus saw two other would-be goals called back by the NHL’s Situation Room, in their fifth shutout loss of the year.San Jose, which plays the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday in Denver, is now 3-12-1 away from home this season.“It’s one of those nights where you don’t have all your energy,” Sharks coach David Quinn said. “You can just feel there wasn’t a lot of energy in the locker room before the game.”At the 7:40 mark of the third period, it appe...

Martinez residents upset after another flaring incident at refinery

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:37:16 GMT

(KRON) – The Martinez Refinery Company announced Friday that flaring is occurring at the refinery. According to the company, the flaring “may be visible and audible offsite due to an operational incident.” A strong odor has also been reported on top of the flaring. The company wrote, "We are aware of odor complaints and are conducting community monitoring to investigate the source." 3 Bay Area cities named among CA towns with most holiday spirit We apologize for any inconvenience to our neighbors. Flares are an essential part of a refinery’s integrated, engineered safety systems designed to safely manage excess combustible gases by burning them off efficiently and effectivelyMartinez Refinery CompanyThe company says all appropriate agencies have been notified of the flaring and working to address these issues. The Martinez Refinery and Chevron Refinery are suing the Bay Air Quality Management District after it called for a wet gas scrubber to be installed and to reduce gas em...

Former news anchor turned senatorial candidate tours border in California

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:37:16 GMT

SAN DIEGO (Border Report) -- About a month ago, Christina Pascucci quit her job as a news anchor and reporter in Los Angeles and launched her U.S. Senate campaign.Pascucci, a Democrat who has never been in politics, is vying for Sen. Dianne Feinstein's former post and is running against Katie Porter and Adam Schiff, both representatives from California who are already serving in Congress.Other candidates include Congresswoman Barbara Lee and former baseball player Steve Garvey."I am a long shot for sure, my opponents have the whole Democratic establishment behind them with national name recognition, but polls show they still don’t have high poll numbers which means people are not excited about the options they see,” said Pascucci. "I had a great job, I was able to see a lot of the problems in our state and our country and I felt that I can do better.”Pascucci spent Friday morning touring the border between San Diego and Tijuana, including an area where migrants have been congregatin...

Cameron Brink’s 23 points, 15 rebounds lead No. 9 Stanford past Portland 81-51

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:37:16 GMT

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Tara VanDerveer challenged Cameron Brink to stay on the court and out of foul trouble — and Stanford needed every bit of what the star senior delivered on both ends.Brink had 23 points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots, and the ninth-ranked Cardinal pulled away in the third quarter to bounce back from their lone defeat this season with an 81-51 win against Portland on Friday night.Brink shot 6 for 9, converted 11 of 13 free throws and also dished out four assists, while Brooke Demetre added 10 points and a pair of assists off the bench as Stanford (9-1) returned to the court for its first game after a two-week break for final exams. The Cardinal lost 96-78 at Gonzaga on Dec. 3 then were challenged for a half by another West Coast Conference opponent.“I finished well but Brooke had some really stellar passes to me, threading the needle. No one else can find me like she does,” Brink said. “It was good to play against a defense like that, it’s unorthodox, it’s...

Brunson scores career-high 50, hits all nine of his 3-point shots as Knicks top Suns 139-122

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:37:16 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored a career-high 50 points while hitting all nine of his 3-point attempts, Julius Randle added 23 and the New York Knicks beat the Phoenix Suns 139-122 on Friday night.It was a brilliant shooting display from Brunson, who made 17 of 23 shots and was perfect from long range. His final 3 got him to 50 points for the night. He also had five steals.Brunson is the first Knicks player in franchise history to score 50 points while making nine threes.Phoenix — which lost star guard Bradley Beal to an ankle injury in the first quarter — has lost six of its last eight. New York has won two of its past three.The Suns led by 10 midway through the third quarter but settled for a 99-97 lead heading to the fourth. Brunson kept the Knicks close with 19 points in the quarter on 7-for-7 shooting, including five 3-pointers.The Knicks used a 13-4 run early in the fourth to push ahead and never lost the lead, pulling away in the final minutes.Kevin Durant scored 29 point...