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Scandal-ridden Finnish government presents anti-racism agenda

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:25 GMT

Finland’s government has presented a new anti-racism policy — detailing measures to promote equality and fight discrimination in various aspects of Finnish life — after a series of racism scandals rocked the administration in recent months.The statement, presented to the public Thursday, includes a series of measures for the government to strengthen the legal and institutional framework for combating discrimination; improving education on human rights, equality and gender sensitivity; combating hate speech; promoting equality at work; and protecting women from violence in certain patriarchal cultures. It also criminalizes Holocaust denial.“The Government is committed to promoting equality on a broad front throughout the parliamentary term,” Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said in a press release. “There is no room for racism in Finland. Political decision-makers must set an example in building a safe and equal society, and we need all of society to take part.”The statement ...

French data watchdog probes Worldcoin’s Paris hub

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:25 GMT

PARIS — France’s data regulator CNIL swooped by Worldcoin offices in Paris unannounced on Wednesday to quiz a top executive, amid growing scrutiny over the cryptocurrency project’s privacy practices.The watchdog delegation arrived unexpectedly at Worldcoin’s Orb center, where the company scans people’s eyeballs in order for them to access its crypto services, two employees told POLITICO at the scene.Representatives of the regulator met with the company’s manager overseeing its French operations. Paris’ Orb center is just one of many such hubs that Worldcoin has set up across Europe, including Germany, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom.CNIL has expressed deep concerns over the crypto startup, telling Reuters in July that the “legality of this collection [of data] seems questionable, as do the storage conditions of biometric data.” The regulator has yet to comment on Wednesday’s visit, located in a coworking place in ParisR...

Tropical Storm Idalia swoops through Carolinas, leaves a trail of destruction in Florida and Georgia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:25 GMT

By TERRY SPENCER (Associated Press)PERRY, Fla. (AP) — Tropical Storm Idalia descended on the Carolinas on its way out to the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday, leaving a trail of flooding and destruction in the Southeast stretching back to Florida, where it first roared ashore as a major hurricane.Rescue and repair efforts continued in Florida’s remote Big Bend area where Idalia made landfall Wednesday. Thus far, authorities have only confirmed only one death, that of a man hit by a falling tree in Georgia. The storm’s ferocious winds left as many as a half-million customers without power in Florida and other states as it ripped down power poles and lines. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he planned to tour the area with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Thursday. He noted that Idalia was far less destructive than feared, providing only glancing blows to Tampa Bay and other more populated areas as it came ashore with 125 mph (201 kph) winds in rural ...

White Sox promote former player Chris Getz to general manager

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:25 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox promoted Chris Getz to general manager on Thursday, staying inside the organization for the position almost two decades after the franchise last won a playoff series.Getz is replacing Rick Hahn, who was fired by chairman Jerry Reinsdorf along with president of baseball operations Ken Williams on Aug. 22. Williams was in his 11th season as executive vice president after serving as the club’s general manager for 12 years. Hahn had been with Chicago since 2002.The White Sox have a total of three victories in three playoff appearances since winning the 2005 World Series. They began this year with postseason aspirations, but they are fourth in the AL Central with a 53-81 record after Wednesday’s 10-5 victory at Baltimore.Getz, who turned 40 on Wednesday, was hired by Chicago in October 2016 as the team’s director of player development. He was promoted to assistant general manager in January 2021. He was also promoted to senior vice preside...

U.S. envoy visits Fukushima to eat fish, criticize China’s seafood ban over wastewater release

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:25 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to Japan visited a city in Fukushima on Thursday and had a seafood lunch with the mayor, talked to fishermen and stocked up on local produce to show they are safe after the release of treated radioactive wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea, backing Japan while criticizing China’s ban on Japanese seafood as political.Ambassador Rahm Emanuel ate flounder and sea bass sashimi with Soma Mayor Hidekiyo Tachiya, talked with local fishermen, and visited a grocery store where he sampled fruits and bought peaches, figs, grapes, flounder, sea bass and other produce from Fukushima prefecture. All of his purchases will be served when his children visit him this weekend, Emanuel said in a telephone interview from his train back to Tokyo. “We are going to all eat it. As a father, if I thought if there is a problem, I won’t serve it.”The release of the treated wastewater began last week and is expected to continue for decade...

Kia recall to fix trunk latch that won’t open from the inside, which could leave people trapped

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:25 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Kia is recalling about 320,000 cars in the U.S. to fix a problem that could prevent the trunk from being opened from the inside.The recall covers the Optima midsize car from 2016 through 2018, Optima hybrids and plug-ins from 2017 and 2018, and the Rio small car from 2016 and 2017.Kia says in documents posted Thursday by U.S. safety regulators that the trunk latch base can crack, and may not open from the inside. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says a person inside the trunk could become trapped.Dealers will replace part of the trunk latch base. Owners will be notified by letter starting Oct. 19.The Associated Press

Stock market today: Wall Street gains ground, but still headed for a loss in August

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:25 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose modestly in morning trading on Wall Street Thursday and are on track to end a mostly miserable August on an up note. The S&P 500 rose 0.3%. The benchmark index still on track for its first monthly loss since February, but has chipped away at the severity of the decline after four straight gains.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 119 points, or 0.3%, to 35,009 as of 10:13 a.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq rose 0.3%.Technology and communications stocks led the gains. Software company Salesforce jumped 5.4% after raising its profit forecast for the year. Cloud-based security company CrowdStrike rose 7.9% after reporting strong financial results.Dollar General was among several retailers slipping after reporting weak earnings and forecasts. It slumped 16% after cutting its profit forecast for the year.The government reported that a measure of inflation closely tracked by the Federal Reserve remained low in July. The latest update for personal consumption and ex...

White House asks Congress to pass short-term funding to keep government operating, official tells AP

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:25 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House said Thursday that Congress should pass a short-term funding measure to ensure the government keeps operating after the current budget year ends Sept. 30.An official with the Office of Management and Budget said lawmakers would very likely need to pass a temporary spending measure in September to prevent a potential partial shutdown. The official was not authorized to discuss the administration’s plans and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Without such congressional approval, parts of the federal government could shut down when the new budget year begins Oct. 1. That would jeopardize federal programs on which millions of U.S. households rely. The shutdown is a risk because of disagreements on the annual spending bills to be passed by the Republican-led House and and Democratic-majority Senate. Neither side wants a shutdown despite their differences.House Republicans are insisting on sharp cuts to many programs, reopening...

An Iranian man detained in nationwide protests convulses and dies while awaiting a new sentence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:25 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Iranian man arrested last year during nationwide protests over the death of a 22-year-old woman detained over her headscarf has died after suffering a convulsion in prison, state media reported Thursday. Javad Rouhi, 35, suddenly fell ill while awaiting resentencing after Iran’s Supreme Court overturned his death sentence, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. He was taken to a local hospital in the city of Noshahr on the Caspian Sea, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of the Iranian capital, Tehran, and pronounced dead there.Authorities were investigating his death, IRNA said. Iranian authorities had accused Rouhi of burning a Quran, an act that carries a death penalty, during protests in Noshahr over the death of Mahsa Amini, However, Amnesty International said authorities detained Rouhi over an online video that showed him dancing at a demonstration.Amnesty said members of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard severely ...

Justice Clarence Thomas reports he took 3 trips on Republican donor’s plane last year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:25 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is acknowledging that he took three trips last year aboard a private plane owned by Republican megadonor Harlan Crow. It’s the first time in years that Thomas has reported receiving hospitality from Crow. In a report made public Thursday, the 75-year-old justice said he was complying with new guidelines from the federal judiciary for reporting travel. The filing comes amid a heightened focus on ethics at the high court that stems from a series of reports revealing that Thomas has for years received undisclosed expensive gifts, including international travel, from Crow, a wealthy businessman and benefactor of conservative causes. Crow also purchased the house in Georgia where Thomas’s mother continues to live and paid for two years of private school tuition for a child raised by Thomas and his wife, Ginni.The Associated Press reported in July that Justice Sonia Sotomayor, aided by her staff, has advanced sales of her books...