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Ireland to vote on valuing women outside ‘the home’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:50:00 GMT

DUBLIN — In Ireland’s constitution, a woman’s place is in the home — but not for much longer.The Irish government on Tuesday announced long-awaited plans to drop the sexism from Ireland’s constitution, which declares that women shouldn’t be expected “to engage in labour to the neglect of their duties in the home.” It also describes “the common good” as dependent on defending women’s “life within the home.”When Irish leader Eamon de Valera drafted that 1937 constitution in close consultation with the Roman Catholic hierarchy, he sought to shape a nation fit for what he called, in his most famous St. Patrick’s Day address, “the laughter of happy maidens” and “the life that God desires that men should live.”Ireland has been gradually digging itself out of Dev’s conservative Catholic vision of the country by amending that constitution repeatedly — first in 1973 by removing its declaration of “the special position of the Holy Catholic Apostolic and Roman Church;” then in 2015 by becoming...

Tuberville is ending blockade of most military nominees, clearing way for hundreds to be approved

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:50:00 GMT

By KEVIN FREKING (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Tommy Tuberville said Tuesday he is ending his blockade of hundreds of military promotions, clearing the way for hundreds to be approved.Tuberville’s blockade of military promotions was over a dispute about a Pentagon abortion policy. The Alabama Republican said Tuesday he’s “not going to hold the promotions of these people any longer.”Almost 400 military nominations have been in limbo due to Tuberville’s blanket hold on confirmations and promotions for senior military officers. It’s a stance that has left key national security positions unfilled and military families with an uncertain path forward.

Column: Chicago White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf only talks about the past despite so many questions about the future

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:50:00 GMT

Chicago White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf was discussing Jim Leyland’s National Baseball Hall of Fame selection at the MLB winter meetings Monday when he was asked about his pursuit of Leyland to replace Terry Bevington as manager after the 1996 season.“It was after 2003,” Reinsdorf replied. “In 1996 or ’97 didn’t I try to bring (Tony) La Russa back?”Bruce Levine and I confirmed it was Leyland in ’96.“No after Bevington that was La Russa, when we tried to bring him back,” Reinsdorf said.“And I don’t want to get into that, but we did try to bring Jim back (in ’03).”Never get in the way of a good story is my motto.The Sox wound up hiring Ozzie Guillen in ’03, the only club manager to win a World Series in the last 106 years. Leyland finished his career in Detroit and wound up in Cooperstown where he belongs.After Reinsdorf finished talking up his old friend he asked: “Is that it?”I t...

2024 housing trends: Lower rates, lower rents, more affordability

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:50:00 GMT

By Holden Lewis | NerdWalletAttention, home buyers, homeowners and renters: 2024 might treat you more kindly than 2023 did.The housing market was downright hostile in 2023. The 30-year mortgage rate rose from about 6% in February to 8% in October. The median home price peaked above $400,000. Home affordability plunged.2024 will bring lower mortgage rates, forecasters predict. If they’re right, home buyers will gain purchasing power. “It’ll be nice to move past the point where we’re not setting new records for unaffordability,” says Danielle Hale, chief economist for Realtor.com.If optimistic forecasts are accurate, more homeowners might list their homes for sale in 2024, even if it means giving up their low mortgage rates. And renters might get some relief too.Here are mortgage and housing trends to watch for in 2024.Mortgage rates should trend a little lowerFannie Mae, the Mortgage Bankers Association and the National Association of Realtors all predic...

More Republicans considering Cape Cod Senate run as Dylan Fernandes jumps into race

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:50:00 GMT

More Republicans said Tuesday they were mulling a run for a South Shore and Cape Cod Senate seat that will open up at the end of 2023-2024 legislative session as a local House Democrat tossed his hat into the race.Bourne School Committee member Kari MacRae, a Republican, said she plans to run for the post a week after Sen. Susan Moran, a third-term lawmaker from Falmouth, announced she would not seek reelection to the Plymouth and Barnstable Senate seat, and instead run for Barnstable Superior Court Clerk, an elected county position.MacRae, who unsuccessfully challenged Moran in 2020, said she was planning to run for the seat before Moran said she would not seek another term on Beacon Hill.“I definitely think immigration is the biggest problem, the way they’re handling it. Not necessarily the people themselves, but the way we’re handling it, and how much money it’s costing us. And I just think it’s misappropriation of funds,” MacRae said in a phone call with ...

Memorials to victims of Maine’s deadliest mass shooting to be displayed at museum

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:50:00 GMT

By DAVID SHARP (Associated Press)LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Volunteers and city workers on Tuesday removed mementos, signs and other items that accumulated at the sites of the deadliest mass shooting in Maine history, reflecting a change in season and a new chapter in the area’s recovery.The handwritten signs, cards, bouquets and other items — more than a 1,000 of them — will be archived, catalogued and prepared for exhibition at a museum in Lewiston.Part of the process is practical: Snowfall makes it imperative to remove the memorials before they’re destroyed by either the elements or plows. But organizers also say it feels like the right time as communities continue to heal and grieve after 18 people were killed and 13 injured on Oct. 25.“We want to make sure the community doesn’t forget what happened and how the community came together. So bringing the items together feels like next stage,” said Rachel Ferrante, executive director of th...

Supreme Court signals it will uphold a tax on foreign income and leave a wealth tax for another day

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:50:00 GMT

By MARK SHERMAN (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday seemed inclined to uphold a tax on foreign income while leaving questions about a broader, never-enacted tax on wealth for another day.On the first issue, conservative and liberal justices voiced concerns that ruling for a Washington state couple challenging a provision of the 2017 tax bill would threaten other provisions of the tax code.After two hours of arguments, there seemed to be a consensus on the court to craft a narrow ruling that would avoid what Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said would be “several trillion dollars in lost revenues.”The case argued Tuesday was brought by Charles and Kathleen Moore of Redmond, Washington. They challenged a $15,000 tax bill based on Charles Moore’s investment in an Indian company. Backed by anti-regulatory and business interests, they contend that the tax violates the 16th Amendment, which allows the federal government to impose an...

Grand Theft Auto VI leak followed by an official trailer with a twist: A release date of 2025

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:50:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The highly-anticipated trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI arrived a little early after a copy was leaked online.Rockstar Games released its first look for the sixth game of the cult-classic video game series Monday evening — roughly 15 hours before the planned Tuesday morning unveiling — while citing the leak.“Our trailer has leaked so please watch the real thing on YouTube,” Rockstar Games wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, just after 6 p.m. ET Monday.Rockstar Games and its New York parent company, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., did not provide further details on the leak. The company did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’ requests for comment early Tuesday.Still, avid Grand Theft Auto fans were able to learn a few things from the 90-second teaser — including that the next installment would be set in the Miami-inspired Vice City and star a female protagonist, a first for the franchise, named Lucia. The end of the video also confirmed...

El Niño winter has started. Here's what conditions are predicted for San Diego

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:50:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO — Winter has arrived in San Diego, and with it has come an El Niño climate pattern during the season for the first time in years.Forecasters with the Climate Prediction Center (CPC), a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, are predicting with 100% certainty that El Niño will last through early winter and 90% chance that it will continue to spring.For other parts of the country, the climate pattern is expected to be a stark change from the last three winters that have been dominated by La Niña, which typically brings a dry winter in the southern half of the U.S. and colder, wetter conditions in the north.But, San Diego may not seen much of that shift anytime soon.Since the beginning of the water year on Oct. 1, five of the region's six climate reporting sites have recorded a below-normal level of precipitation — most seeing under an inch accumulated between the two months.That trend is likely to continue through the end of the month, accordi...

Brookfield significantly under-reporting emissions: advocacy group report

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:50:00 GMT

TORONTO — Advocacy groups say Brookfield Corp. is substantially under-reporting its carbon emissions, even as the firm’s head of transition investing Mark Carney emphasizes the importance of increased disclosuresThe report by the group Investors for Paris Compliance, citing data from Private Equity Climate Risks, says the investments of Canada’s largest private equity investor emit over 13 times more than what Brookfield discloses in its most recent sustainability report.The discrepancies come in part because Brookfield doesn’t count the emissions linked to Oaktree Capital Management, in which it acquired a majority stake in 2019.The report says Oaktree’s holdings, especially in oil and gas, make up about half of the unreported emissions, while Brookfield also doesn’t report some emissions related to companies that it doesn’t have a controlling stake in, or that is emitted by end users.Brookfield says the report cites emissions data that are based...