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Sen. Bob Menendez and wife indicted on bribery charges; DOJ seizes gold bars and $500,000

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:13:27 GMT

(CNN) — New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez was charged on Friday with corruption-related offenses for the second time in 10 years.Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, are accused of accepting “hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes” in exchange for the senator’s influence, according to the newly unsealed federal indictment.Prosecutors allege the bribes included gold, cash, home mortgage payments, compensation for a “low-or-no-show job” and a luxury vehicle.This is the second set of corruption charges levied against Menendez by the Justice Department in a decade. He previously fought off conspiracy, bribery and honest services fraud related to alleged personal favors.Menendez is up for re-election next year. He has been in the Senate since 2006.Senate Democratic Caucus rules will force Menendez to step aside as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, but he can still serve on the panel. CNN has reached out to Menendez’s Senate office for comment.M...

UAW announces significant expansion of strike at GM, Stellantis but reports progress in talks at Ford

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:13:27 GMT

New York (CNN) — The United Auto Workers union is expanding its strike against GM and Stellantis but said that progress in negotiations with Ford means it won’t expand the number of Ford workers on the picket lines.UAW President Shawn Fain made the announcement on Friday morning. “At noon Eastern today, all parts distributions centers at General Motors and Stellantis will be on strike,” he said. “We will shut down parts distribution until those two companies come to their senses and come to the table with a serious offer.”But Fain said that there has been significant improvement in offers from Ford and that is the reason the strike will not be expanded there.“We do want to recognize that Ford is serious about reaching a deal,” he said.The strike will now expand to GM’s and Stellantis’s 38 parts and distribution centers spread across 20 states. The distribution centers generally send parts to dealerships to be used for repairs, so the move could quickly cripple dealerships abili...

Patiots new QB Will Grier will have role Week 3 vs. Jets, Bill Belichick announces

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:13:27 GMT

FOXBORO — The Patriots will make immediate use of quarterback Will Grier on Sunday against the Jets.Head coach Bill Belichick officially announced the Patriots had signed Grier off of the Bengals’ practice squad on Friday morning. Belichick said Grier will serve as the Patriots’ emergency third quarterback Sunday against the Jets.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Why Patriots signed Will Grier for third QB spot on 53-man roster New England Patriots | Patriots mailbag: Will Demario Douglas escape Bill Belichick’s doghouse? New England Patriots | Patriots already have NFL’s next great special teamer in Brenden Schooler New England Patriots | Source: Patriots add third QB Will Grier, place CB Marcus Jones on IR New England Patriots | Patriots-Jets injury report: Pats defensive starter returns Thursday, O-lineman downgraded The NFL passed a new rule this season, allowing te...

Netanyahu tells UN that Israel is ‘at the cusp’ of a historic agreement with Saudi Arabia

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:13:27 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the U.N. General Assembly on Friday that Israel is “at the cusp” of a historic breakthrough leading to a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia, without outlining a clear path over the significant obstacles facing such an accord.He struck an optimistic tone throughout his roughly 25-minute address — and, once again, used a visual aid. He displayed contrasting maps showing Israel’s isolation at the time of its creation in 1948 and the six countries that have normalized relations with it, including four that did so in 2020 in the so-called Abraham Accords.“There’s no question the Abraham Accords heralded the dawn of a new age of peace. But I believe that we are at the cusp of an even more dramatic breakthrough, an historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia,” Netanyahu said. “Peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia will truly create a new Middle East.”There are ...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives on Parliament Hill ahead of address

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:13:27 GMT

OTTAWA — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived on Parliament Hill to a warm welcome Friday, where he kicked off a series of meetings with senior Canadian officials and is expected to give an afternoon speech to the House of Commons.A late-morning welcoming ceremony included the leaders of House parties and Senate groups, along with the Speakers of both chambers. Zelenskyy shook hands with the line-up of officials and signed a guest book before proceeding to Trudeau’s office for a meeting.In opening remarks, Zelenskyy thanked Canadians for their support and asked that it continue. “You helped us on the battlefield financially and (with) humanitarian aid, which is crucial,” Zelenskyy said in English, sitting across from the prime minister.He added that he wants to discover “your beautiful country” after the “common victory,” adding that he might bring his children to Canada on such a visit.Zelenskyy’s appearance in the capital ...

Judge blocks government plan to scale back Gulf oil lease sale to protect whale species

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:13:27 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge has ordered the Interior Department to expand next week’s scheduled sale of of Gulf of Mexico oil and gas leases by millions of acres, rejecting a scaled-back plan announced last month by the Biden administration as part of an effort to protect an endangered whale species.As originally proposed in March, the Sept. 27 sale was would have made 73 acres (30 hectares) of offshore tracts available for drilling leases. That area was reduced to 67 acres (27 hectares) in August when Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced final plans for the sale. But U.S. District Judge James David Cain Jr. in Lake Charles restored the original coverage area in a Thursday night order.BOEM’s revision also included new speed limits and requirements for personnel on industry vessels in some of the areas to be leased — also blocked by Cain’s order.BOEM had adopted the reduced area and new rules for next week’s sale as part of an ag...

Chicago man gets life in prison for role in 2016 home invasion that killed 5 people

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:13:27 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago man convicted of fatally shooting five people during a 2016 home invasion has been sentenced to life in prison.A Cook County judge on Thursday sentenced Lionel Parks, 35, who was convicted in July in the December 2016 killings at a drug dealer’s home on the city’s South Side, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.Four of the victims, Elijah Jackson, 36; his pregnant sister, Shacora Jackson, 40; Shacora Jackson’s daughter, Nateyah Hines, 19; and Scott Thompson, 46, were found fatally shot at the scene. A fifth person, 19-year-old Shakeyah Jackson, died more than 10 months later of injuries suffered in the attack at the home. A family member who was 22 years old at the time of the attack was also shot but survived by playing dead, authorities said.Prosecutors said Parks went to Elijah Jackson’s home in Chicago’s Fernwood neighborhood to socialize with him twice on Dec. 17, 2016, before returning a third time that day and forcing his way inside with an arm...

Capitol rioter who attacked AP photographer and police officers is sentenced to 5 years in prison

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:13:27 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A man who attacked an Associated Press photographer and threw a flagpole and smoke grenade at police officers guarding the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced on Friday to five years in prison.Rodney Milstreed, 56, of Finksburg, Maryland, “prepared himself for battle” on Jan. 6 by injecting steroids and arming himself with a four-foot wooden club disguised as a flagpole, prosecutors said.“He began taking steroids in the weeks leading up to January 6, so that he would be ‘jacked’ and ready because, he said, someone needed to ‘hang for treason’ and the battle might come down to hand-to-hand combat,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing. A prosecutor showed U.S. District Judge James Boasberg videos of Milstreed’s attacks outside the Capitol. Milstreed told the judge that it was painful to watch his violent acts and hear his combative language that day.“I know what I did that day was very wrong,” he said.The judge said he believes Milstreed is remorseful.“...

Director of migration drama denounced by right-wing leaders as film opens in Poland

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:13:27 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Right-wing Polish leaders amplified their denunciations of a new feature film by director Agnieszka Holland before its scheduled premiere in the country Friday, accusing the work of defaming Poland with its exploration of a migration crisis along the border with Belarus.“Green Border” won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month. Government officials in Poland have harshly criticized the film for weeks, although most of them acknowledge not having seen it. Holland was born in Poland and worked on films there but lives in France. “Green Border” is a harrowing exploration of human suffering in the border zone of forests and swamps between Belarus and Poland, and its fictional characters include depictions of Polish security officials mistreating migrants from the Middle East.In an unusual move, Poland’s most powerful politician, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, called a press conference Friday devoted to denouncing the film. He said he believed th...

Energy Department announces $325M for batteries that can store clean electricity longer

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:13:27 GMT

The Energy Department has announced a $325 million investment in new battery types that can help turn solar and wind energy into 24-hour power. The funds will be distributed among 15 projects in 17 states and the Red Lake Nation, a Native American tribe based in Minnesota. Batteries are increasingly being used to store surplus renewable energy so that it can be used later, during times when there is no sunlight or wind. The department says the projects will protect more communities from blackouts and make energy more reliable and affordable.“Everywhere in the U.S. has issues with intermittent renewable energy … every day the sun sets and you have to be able to take the energy that you produced during the day and use that at nighttime,” said Christopher Rahn, professor of mechanical engineering at Pennsylvania State University.The new funding is for “long-term” storage, meaning options that can last for longer than the four hours typical of lithium ion batteries. Storage that c...