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Bulgarian judicial authority votes to fire controversial prosecutor Ivan Geshev

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:15:43 GMT

Sofia’s Supreme Judicial Council on Monday voted to dismiss highly controversial Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev, seen by many Bulgarians as a leading defender of the country’s mafia kingpins and a key impediment to the establishment of rule of law.   The council, which is Bulgaria’s top judicial authority, said it voted by a margin of 16-4 to remove him.The decision now has to be approved by President Rumen Radev.Bulgaria’s new government, which took power earlier this month, has vowed to set the NATO member of 7 million people on a trajectory toward democratic EU norms. For many years, Bulgaria has been a “captured state,” where oligarchs and their political protectors have effectively operated with impunity in league with organized crime groups.  The role of Geshev — nicknamed “The Cap” because of his trademark headwear — is particularly sensitive as he was identified in massive anti-mafia street protests over 2020 as the all-important central figure in the judiciary,...

You’re up, Joe: Europe awaits Biden’s nod on next NATO chief

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:15:43 GMT

Europe is waiting for white smoke from Washington. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will visit the White House on Tuesday, part of a trip that could determine whether he stays on at the helm of the Western military alliance or if the U.S. will back a new candidate. For months now, Europe has been locked in an endless parlor game over who might replace Stoltenberg, who is slated to leave his already-extended term in September after nearly 10 years at the helm.Candidates have risen, fallen and risen again, while some desired successors have repeatedly proclaimed themselves not interested. Diplomats at NATO headquarters in Brussels will put forth one theory, only to offer a different one in the next sentence.Throughout it all, the U.S. has stayed noticeably mum on the subject, merely indicating President Joe Biden hasn’t settled on a candidate and effusively praising Stoltenberg’s work. Yet Biden can’t sit on the fence forever. While the NATO chief is technically chose...

Obesity changes the brain, with ‘no sign of reversibility,’ expert says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:15:43 GMT

(CNN) — Obesity may damage the brain’s ability to recognize the sensation of fullness and be satisfied after eating fats and sugars, a new study found.Further, those brain changes may last even after people considered medically obese lose a significant amount of weight — possibly explaining why many people often regain the pounds they lose.“There was no sign of reversibility — the brains of people with obesity continued to lack the chemical responses that tell the body, ‘OK, you ate enough,’” said Dr. Caroline Apovian, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and codirector of the Center for Weight Management and Wellness at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.As defined medically, people with obesity have a body mass index, or BMI, of over 30, while normal weight is a BMI of between 18 and 25.“This study captures why obesity is a disease — there are actual changes to the brain,” said Apovian, who was not involved in...

Financial tips for new college grads

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:15:43 GMT

For new college graduates, receiving that first post-degree paycheck can be almost as exciting as getting the diploma itself. But it also presents a challenge: Given the many demands on a young person’s budget, how should those funds be managed?We asked five money experts to share their best personal finance strategies to help this year’s college grads successfully launch their financial lives. Here’s what they said.Find your budgeting styleTo figure out how to allocate your money toward needs, wants and everything else, Erin Lowry, author of the “Broke Millennial Workbook,” says that instead of following the latest budgeting trend on TikTok, it’s helpful to just sit down with a pen and paper. “Write down what your big expenses are,” she says.After accounting for large items like rent, car payments and food, you can then see what nonessentials also fit. “You might want to go out to dinner with friends, build up new work attire or adopt a dog,” Lowry says. Writing out the budget help...

NFL player Lonnie Johnson inspires kids at camp in hometown of Gary: ‘It’s important for Lonnie that he gives back’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:15:43 GMT

New Orleans Saints cornerback Lonnie Johnson Jr. has reminders tattooed on his body that signify the violence and despair he escaped in Gary.He’s not quitting on his home town, though.On Saturday, Johnson returned to a freshly renovated stadium at the West Side Leadership Academy to host his third “Protect the Youth” football camp, sponsored by his foundation.About 350 kids, ages 8 to 18, raced around tires and tossed perfect spirals under a sunny blue sky on West Side’s new bright green artificial turf football field.Johnson and 2014 Merrillville graduate Ryan Neal, who plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and 2014 Thea Bowman Academy graduate Antonio Pipkin, a free agent quarterback in the Canadian Football League, led the drills with West Side coach Alger Boswell.“It looks a lot different,” Johnson said gazing at the football field that received a $936,000 upgrade last year. “I just want to give back to the community.”As Johnson spok...

Ukraine claims recapture of another village in early stages of counteroffensive

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:15:43 GMT

By JAMEY KEATEN (Associated Press)KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian troops have retaken a fourth village from Russian forces in the country’s southeast, military officials said Monday as the early stages of the nation’s counteroffensive notched another small success.Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar wrote on the Telegram app that the Ukrainian flag was again flying over the village of Storozhov, in the eastern Donetsk region. A day earlier, Ukrainian officials said their troops took three other small villages nearby — Blahodatne, Makarivka and Neskuchne — south of the town of Velyka Novosilka.The reported gains, which were impossible to verify and could be reversed in the to-and-fro of war, amounted to only small bits of territory. They also underscored the difficulty of the battle ahead for Ukrainian forces, who will have to fight meter by meter to regain the roughly one-fifth of their country now under Russian occupation.Recent fighting on the western edge of the 1,000-kilometer (...

Billionaire Stan Kroenke joins sports arena development group as majority investor

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:15:43 GMT

SAN DIEGO — A plan to redevelop the sports arena site in San Diego's Midway District has received a major boost.Stan Kroenke, the billionaire owner of the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Rams, Arsenal W.F.C and several other professional teams, has joined the Midway Rising group as the majority investor.A press conference to announce the news was held Monday morning with Mayor Todd Gloria, Councilmember Jen Campbell, Zephyr CEO Brad Termini, Legends Project Director Shelby Jordan II and Jason Gannon with the Kroenke Group.The real estate mogul will pay for the majority of the project and have a direct say into decisions regarding the project moving forward.According to Gloria, the move to bring Kroenke in was approved Friday after several months of vetting. New MLS team coming to San Diego needs your help The Midway Rising plan was selected by the San Diego City Council in 2022 as the development plan for the Midway District and sports arena.The 48.5-acre redevelopment project aims to...

Tour boat carrying 36 people capsizes in cave in Lockport, New York

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:15:43 GMT

LOCKPORT, N.Y. (AP) — A boat carrying 36 people capsized Monday during a tour of an underground cavern system built to carry water from the Erie Canal beneath the western New York city of Lockport, police said.Police and fire crews were called to the Lockport Cave Tours, about 20 miles northeast of Niagara Falls, at about 11:30 a.m. The tours take visitors on an underground boat ride illuminated only by small lights.“Crews are working to assist all parties safely out of the area,” police said in a press release. Additional information was not immediately available.The half-mile long tunnel was blasted out in the 19th century to transport extra water from the Erie Canal to power nearby businesses.The Associated Press

Apollo Theater CEO Jonelle Procope to leave the historic landmark on safe financial ground

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:15:43 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Jonelle Procope’s 20-year tenure as president and CEO of The Apollo Theater evolved into an era of prosperity and expansion, markedly different from the tumultuous, cash-strapped decades that preceded it.Sure, the early years were a struggle, as the New York City landmark, where music legends from Billie Holiday and Stevie Wonder to D’Angelo and countless rappers graced the stage, dealt with financial difficulties and a shifting business model. And she had to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic when the hub of its Harlem neighborhood was closed for two years.However, when Procope steps down at the end of June, she will leave her successor Michelle Ebanks – the Essence Communications executive who was named her replacement last week – with the proceeds of a nearly $80 million campaign raised to complete a renovation and expansion of the historic theater by 2025. Though the bulk of that money came from donations, it also includes $15.7 million in support from the city of Ne...

Richer countries like Canada must deliver proactive aid: head of UN rural food agency

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:15:43 GMT

OTTAWA — The head of a UN agency working to shore up rural food systems says richer countries need to focus on delivering proactive aid to developing countries instead of shifting to humanitarian work after crises have happened.Alvaro Lario leads the International Fund of Agricultural Development and says supply-chain woes and climate change mean the world needs to focus on helping rural farmers feed their countries instead.He noted that countries facing food-security issues tend to import food, so the rising cost of commodities and instability in supply chains has put people at risk.Lario said during a recent visit to Ottawa from Rome that too many countries respond to instability through aid that amounts to “maintenance of the situation, rather than really tackling the underlying causes.”His comments come as Canada and other western countries cut back their aid for the developing world and divert funding away from African countries to help Europe cope with Russia’...