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UK minister mulling law change to define sex as ‘biological’

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:27:16 GMT

LONDON — Britain’s equalities minister is mulling a change to the law that would only allow women access to some same-sex spaces and sporting arenas on the basis of so-called “biological” grounds.Kemi Badenoch has been told that defining someone’s sex as “biological” could provide “greater legal clarity” on issues such as who accesses women-only hospital wards, and who can participate in certain sporting events.But it would also be “more ambiguous or potentially disadvantageous” in areas such as equal pay and sex discrimination. The advice came in a letter from Kishwer Falkner, chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). Badenoch wrote to the commission in February requesting guidance on the “benefits or otherwise” of amending the definition of sex in the existing Equality Act. Falkner notes that under the Gender Recognition Act of 2004, “a person with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) b...

EU Parliament beer club boots out MEP Tarabella over Qatargate

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:27:16 GMT

MEP Marc Tarabella swapped one set of bars for another. An unofficial group based at the European Parliament called the EP Beer Club booted out Tarabella, who was arrested, charged and detained in a corruption scandal dubbed Qatargate that’s rocked Brussels since December. According to an email from the group’s secretariat to POLITICO, the Beer Club’s president, Slovak center-right MEP Ivan Štefanec, sent Tarabella an email in January informing him that his membership was suspended. The MEP has been suspended from the Belgian socialist party and the grouping of Socialist and Democrat MEPs in the European Parliament over allegations — which he strongly denies — that he accepted up to €140,000 in bribes in return for doing the bidding of a non-EU country. He was arrested on February 10 and has been in prison ever since.The EP Beer Club has existed since 1995 and is not an official EU body, but is closely tied to the beer industry’s umbrella lobbying g...

Boston firefighters battle fire in multistory building in Dorchester

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:27:16 GMT

Firefighters remained on scene at a multistory building in Dorchester Tuesday afternoon, working to control a fire that sent heavy plumes of smoke blowing into the neighborhood.In a tweet posted at 1:15 p.m., the Boston Fire Department stated that a second alarm had been ordered at the building on Cushion Avenue, where smoke could be seen flooding out of what appeared to be a basement area.By 2:07 p.m., the department said the blaze had reached 4-alarm status. Flames had also burned through the building’s roof, according to officials.https://twitter.com/BostonFire/status/1643313349965348865Images shared by officials showed crews battling the fire, pouring water into the basement and using ladders to get water into upper floors. The Boston Fire Department said around 1:45 p.m. that crews on scene had gone through multiple bottles of air as part of their response. Just before 2:30 p.m., fire officials said all firefighters had been ordered out of the b...

Trump enters New York City courtroom for arraignment

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:27:16 GMT

By MICHAEL R. SISAK, ERIC TUCKER, JENNIFER PELTZ and WILL WEISSERT (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump surrendered to authorities Tuesday at a Manhattan courthouse ahead of his arraignment on criminal charges stemming from a hush money payment to a porn actor during his 2016 campaign.Trump himself described the experience as “SURREAL” as he traveled from Trump Tower to a lower Manhattan courtroom, where he was to face a judge as the first former president in American history to be criminally prosecuted.A stone-faced Trump entered the courtroom shortly before 2:30 p.m. without saying anything.The arraignment, though expected to be brief and procedural in nature, amounts to a remarkable reckoning for Trump after years of investigations into his personal, business and political dealings. The case is unfolding against the backdrop not only of his third campaign for the White House but also against other investigations in Washington and Atlanta that might yet ...

Boston firefighters battle heavy blaze in Dorchester: Fire ‘burned through the roof’

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:27:16 GMT

Boston firefighters are battling a heavy blaze in Dorchester Tuesday afternoon, as the raging fire “burned through the roof” of the large residence.A fourth alarm was struck at around 2 p.m. for the fire on Cushing Avenue in Dorchester.All firefighters were ordered out of the building, as the companies were attacking the blaze from above.“All companies are working to contain the fire,” the Boston Fire Department tweeted after 1 p.m, noting the heavy fire in the basement and heavy smoke throughout the building.“The fire continues to travel up throughout the building,” the fire department added about 30 minutes later.“The fire continues to travel through the building and has now burned through the roof,” BFD wrote in another update as the fire kept growing.Boston firefighters were battling a heavy fire in Dorchester on Tuesday. (Boston Fire photo)An overhead picture from the Boston Fire Department drone showing the heavy smoke from the b...

Donald Trump’s arraignment underway in Stormy Daniels hush money probe

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:27:16 GMT

By Josephine Stratman and Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily NewsDonald Trump arrived at Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office to surrender at about 1:20 p.m. EST Tuesday as he becomes the first former president in the history of the United States to face criminal charges.About an hour later he entered the courtroom at Manhattan Suprme Court where he is now facing arraignment.“Heading to Lower Manhattan, the Courthouse,” Trump posted on Truth Social as he prepared to turn himself in. “Seems so SURREAL — WOW, they are going to ARREST ME. Can’t believe this is happening in America. MAGA!”Former US president Donald Trump arrives ahead of his arraignment at the Manhattan Federal Court in New York City on April 4, 2023. (Photo by BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images)The exact charges against Trump will be unsealed at Trump’s expected arraignment at 2:15 p.m. EST, though they are expected to deal with how Trump handled, and accounted for, hush money payments to porn star Stormy ...

15 people arrested, 16 hospitalized as celebrations, destruction follow UConn men’s basketball victory

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:27:16 GMT

STORRS — Thousands of UConn fans, most of them students, spilled onto campus after watching a broadcast of the Huskies’ 76-59 NCAA Tournament win over San Diego State, with some pulling down signs and light poles, smashing windows and causing other damage.Gampel Pavilion was open Monday night for students to watch the game, which was played in Houston. UConn officials said they were still assessing the extent of the damage Tuesday morning and planned to give an update on arrests and any injuries.Most of the partying, which lasted into early Tuesday morning, was peaceful, but social media and television video showed students taking down signs and light posts, with several using one pole to smash through the glass door of one campus building as a crowd cheered.“We were on the streets and people were going crazy,” Nancy Toskova, a 20-year-old junior from Montreal, Quebec, told The Associated Press. “Everyone was celebrating. Everyone was happy. You felt good. Everyone came together. I ...

Arrest made, victim identified in deadly shooting near Kaiser office buildings

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:27:16 GMT

SAN DIEGO — An arrest has been made in connection to a deadly shooting outside some Kaiser Permanente office buildings in the Grantville neighborhood.According to the San Diego Police Department, the shooting took place shortly before 6 a.m. on March 27 in a parking lot in the 10900 block of San Diego Mission Road.Upon arrival officers found a man with a gunshot wound to his chest. He was transported to a nearby hospital where he was later pronounced dead. Video captures chaos outside Viejas Arena as fans rush gates The victim has been identified as Pedro King, a 38-year-old Chula Vista resident, SDPD Lt. Steve Shebloski said in a news release.After their initial investigation, detectives learned a white, silver or light-colored vehicle may have been involved in the shooting and was scene speeding away from the area.After canvassing the area for witnesses, reviewing surveillance footage and collecting evidence, SDPD homicide detectives were able to identify a possible suspect in t...

Denver mayor’s race centers on crime, housing, homelessness

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:27:16 GMT

DENVER (AP) — As Denver faces a rising crime rate, growing homeless encampments and dizzying housing costs, voters on Tuesday are expected to whittle down an unusually large and divergent field of 16 candidates for mayor — including a former boxer, an investment banker, a state lawmaker and a former Crenshaw Mafia Gang member.The fear that undergirds the wide open race is clear. Denver — the fast-growing, relatively young, business and tech hub of the U.S. Mountain West — is tumbling toward a fate similar to that of other major cities.“The San Franciscos or the Portlands or Seattles … have not been able to turn the tide on things like homelessness and affordable housing and public safety,” said candidate Mike Johnston during a recent debate.Johnston, a former state senator, is among candidates seeking the political post as Denver’s CEO, a position that has become a steppingstone for ambitious politicians.Former Mayor John Hickenlooper launched a successful gubernatorial campai...

Federal privacy watchdog probing OpenAI, ChatGPT after complaint about popular bot

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:27:16 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal privacy commissioner has launched an investigation into the company behind ChatGPT, an explosively popular artificial intelligence-powered chatbot.The watchdog’s office announced Tuesday that it is initiating the investigation into U.S.-based company OpenAI because it received a complaint alleging “the collection, use and disclosure of personal information without consent.”Privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne said in a statement that artificial intelligence and its effects on privacy are a top priority, and his office must stay ahead of “fast-moving technological advances.”Dufresne’s office said it won’t release further details at this time, but its mandate is to publicly report on the results of investigations after they conclude.ChatGPT, launched last November, uses written information already available on the internet to provide detailed, conversational responses to queries posed by users — and has been exploited to...