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Crime wave engulfs Brussels’ biggest train station

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:12:42 GMT

New police data shows that Brussels’ Midi station has become a hotspot for crime, with about 10 offenses taking place there every day — a situation one Flemish nationalist MP says is “unacceptable.” The figures, encompassing all official reports that the police have made in the train station between 2018 and 2022, was released by Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden, at the request of N-VA MP Tomas Roggeman, reported Belgian outlet De Standaard on Monday.“That is an unacceptable situation,” Roggeman told the newspaper. “Brussels South is the international gateway to our country with the Eurostar and Thalys. This is the first thing many foreigners see of our country, and it is not a pretty picture.”Brussels Midi is the capital’s main railway hub, with trains leaving for all directions within Belgium — and to international locations including Paris, London, Amsterdam and Cologne. According to the figures, about 3,500 crimes take place at the station each ...

Trump says he’s skipping the Republican debate

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:12:42 GMT

Former President Donald Trump said he will not attend the first Republican primary debate scheduled for Aug. 23 in Milwaukee, first reported by The New York Times and confirmed by a Truth Social post Sunday.Trump’s decision to skip the first debate on Wednesday will leave the first showdown of Republican presidential hopefuls without the far-and-away frontrunner.“New CBS POLL, just out, has me leading the field by “legendary” numbers.” Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday. “The public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had, with Energy Independence, Strong Borders & Military, Biggest EVER Tax & Regulation Cuts, No Inflation, Strongest Economy in History, & much more.”“I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES!” he wrote.Nine other candidates have qualified to be on stage in Milwaukee, according to POLITICO’s analysis: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, businessperson Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, former U.N. Ambassador ...

Kamala Harris tries to reshape her public image ahead of 2024

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:12:42 GMT

CHICAGO — Backstage, as she prepares for a not-so-intimate “fireside chat” about gun safety in front of hundreds of people, Kamala Harris is unscripted and seemingly at ease, no notes or teleprompter in sight.She’s comfortable offering condolences and counsel to those who’ve lost loved ones to gun violence — who stream in wearing red shirts emblazoned with “Moms Demand Action” or “Students Demand Action.” She holds their hands and looks into their eyes. “We speak their names,” she whispers to one woman. She gently reassures a man clearly anxious about where to stand in the photo line.All eyes are on her. But that’s been true of Harris for a while now. And the view has not often been kind.Her tenure as Joe Biden’s No. 2 has not been known for relaxed and warm moments like those in Chicago. Instead, Harris’ term has largely been marked by stilted performances at public events, at odds with the uninhibited interrogator she was known as in the Senate. They’ve fueled whispers about wheth...

1 hospitalized after shooting in Dorchester

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:12:42 GMT

Boston police are investigating a shooting overnight on Levant Street that left one person hospitalizedOfficers responding to a report of shots fired in the area of 7 Levant St. around 12 a.m. Monday found ballistic evidence at the scene and learned that a person who was shot had transported themselves to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to police.Officers could be seen placing evidence markers in a taped-off section of the street.No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Chicago baseball report: Cubs trying to stay on an even keel while White Sox mark special family and career moments

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:12:42 GMT

The Chicago Cubs did not let a series-opening loss to the lowly Kansas City Royals derail their weekend, delivering a series win led by Justin Steele and Kyle Hendricks.After a week of interleague games against the Cubs and Colorado Rockies, the Sox will see plenty of the American League West with the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics coming to Guaranteed Rate Field.Every Monday throughout the season, Tribune baseball writers will provide an update on what happened — and what’s ahead for the Cubs and Sox.Cubs not taking their schedule for grantedThe Cubs took care of business as they needed to against the second-worst team in baseball over the weekend.Coming off their series win versus the Kansas City Royals, the Cubs must continue to secure series victories the rest of the way, and the current stretch in their schedule provides ample opportunities. They begin a seven-game road trip Monday in Detroit before a four-game set in Pittsburgh that leads into back-to-back ...

Ecuadorians reject oil drilling in the Amazon in historic decision

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:12:42 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — In a historic decision, Ecuadorians voted on Sunday against the oil drilling of a protected area in the Amazon that’s home to two uncontacted tribes and serves as a biodiversity hotspot.With over 90% of the ballots counted by early Monday, around six in ten Ecuadorians rejected the oil exploration in Block 44, situated within Yasuni National Park, one of the world’s most biodiverse regions. The area is inhabited by the Tagaeri and Taromenani, who live in self-isolation.In 1989, Yasuni was designated a world biosphere reserve by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, also known as UNESCO. Encompassing a surface area of over 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres), it boasts 610 species of birds, 139 species of amphibians, and 121 species of reptiles. At least three species are endemic.The outcome represents a significant blow to Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso, who advocated for oil drilling, asserting that its revenues a...

Liz Weston: Create a care plan for older parents (or yourself)

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:12:42 GMT

At some point, most older people will need help getting through the day. Someone turning 65 today has a 70% chance of eventually requiring assistance with basic living activities, such as bathing, dressing and using the toilet, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.That’s the grim reality. Even grimmer is that Medicare typically doesn’t pay for such help. Plus, families often don’t try to figure out how to provide this care until there is a health crisis, which can lead to unnecessary stress, conflicts and escalating costs, says certified financial planner and physician Carolyn McClanahan of Life Planning Partners in Jacksonville, Florida.Making a care plan well in advance allows families to get organized, locate appropriate resources and figure out ways to pay for care before a crisis hits.“A care plan is thinking through the logistics of what you’re going to need as you age, so that when the poop hits the fan with aging, then you are prepared,” McClanahan s...

Protests rock government-held areas in southern Syria as economy crumbles

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:12:42 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Protests spread Monday in two government-held provinces in southern Syria amid widespread anger over increasing prices, the crash of the Syrian pound and the dwindling purchasing power of many people in the war-torn country, opposition activists said.The rare protests are still limited to southern Syria and are far from government strongholds along the Mediterranean coast, the capital Damascus and the largest cities, including Aleppo and Homs. The protests came a week after Syrian President Bashar Assad issued two decrees doubling public sector wages and pensions, sparking inflation and compounding economic woes for others.The U.S. dollar has strengthened from 7,000 Syrian pounds at the beginning of 2023 to 15,000 now. At the onset of Syria’s uprising turned-civil war in 2011, the dollar was trading at 47 pounds.The protests were concentrated in the southern city of Sweida, home to the country’s Druze minority, and the nearby province of Daraa, often considered the bir...

A list of the 5 new vehicles with the lowest average purchase prices in the US

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:12:42 GMT

A new car that costs under $20,000, once an unofficial threshold of affordability, is all but history in the United States. Blame it on automakers abandoning the low-profit small-car business as American consumers increasingly gravitate toward pricier SUVs and trucks.The compact Mitsubishi Mirage has become the last new vehicle with an average selling price under $20,000. And even the Mirage appears on the way out. The trade publication Automotive News has reported that Mitsubishi will stop selling the Mirage by the middle of this decade. (Though there are other new cars with sticker prices under $20,000, Cox Automotive says those vehicles exceed that price threshold once shipping and options are figured in.)Here are the five new vehicles with the lowest average selling prices in the United States, according to Cox.1. Mitsubishi Mirage, $19,2052. Kia Rio, $20,1573. Nissan Versa, $20,7634. Hyundai Venue, $23,9715. Nissan Sentra, $23,994The Associated Press

UK judge set to sentence nurse Lucy Letby for murders of 7 babies and attempted murders of 6

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:12:42 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A British judge on Monday was set to sentence Lucy Letby for murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six others while working as a neonatal nurse at a hospital in northern England.Justice James Goss could level the most severe sentence possible under British law by imposing a whole-life order to ensure that Letby spends the rest of her life behind bars. The U.K. doesn’t have the death penalty.Following 22 days of deliberation, a jury at Manchester Crown Court convicted Letby, 33, of killing the babies over a yearlong period that saw her prey on the vulnerabilities of sick newborns and their anxious parents.The victims died in the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northwest England between June 2015 and June 2016.Letby did not attend the hearing to listen to the anger and anguish from parents of the children whose lives she took or those she injured.“I don’t think we will ever get over the fact that our daughter was tortured till she had n...