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Italy’s new EU prosecutor faces criticism over judiciary independence

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:15 GMT

Italy’s government has helped install a new prosecutor at the EU’s financial crime-fighting agency over the recommendation of outside experts, prompting criticism that Rome is threatening the body’s credibility.The appointment of Andrea Venegoni to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) came as part of a package of five new prosecutors that EU countries approved on Tuesday.While most of the appointments didn’t raise eyebrows, Italy’s choice is drawing opprobrium after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government pushed for Venegoni despite an independent panel of judiciary experts ranking him last among Italy’s three candidates. The panel was charged with evaluating not only whether the applicants had relevant experience and also if their judicial independence is beyond doubt.Still, Italy requested the Council of the EU, the body representing EU countries that made the final decision, back Venegoni — and it did. The Council, which is not bound to the panel’s ranking and has th...

Conservatives one step closer to killing EU nature law — but risk internal split 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:15 GMT

A right-wing campaign to put key elements of the EU’s Green Deal on ice is gaining steam, leaving Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in an awkward position. On Tuesday, the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) and its allies succeeded in blocking the EU’s landmark nature law from passing a key committee vote — part of a larger effort to press the pause button on environmental legislation. “We are on the edge of doing too much,” German EPP lawmaker Peter Liese told reporters after the vote. “The Green Deal is a good thing, but we are about to overstretch it.”  The EPP has warned Brussels risks overburdening industry and farmers with the dozens of proposals that make up the European Green Deal. The group has fought particularly hard against legislation aimed at greening agriculture, like new rules on pesticides and land use. The failure of the Nature Restoration Law to pass in the European Parliament’s environment committee on Tuesday —...

Ryan Seacrest named new host of ‘Wheel of Fortune’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:15 GMT

(CNN) — Ryan Seacrest will take his place as the new host of “Wheel of Fortune” in 2024, Sony Pictures Television, the company that produces the game show, announced on Tuesday in a news release sent to CNN.Seacrest has signed a multi-year agreement with the show and will also serve as a consulting producer, the release states.“I’m truly humbled to be stepping into the footsteps of the legendary Pat Sajak. I can say, along with the rest of America, that it’s been a privilege and pure joy to watch Pat and Vanna on our television screens for an unprecedented 40 years, making us smile every night and feel right at home with them,” Seacrest said in a statement Tuesday.“Pat, I love the way you’ve always celebrated the contestants and made viewers at home feel at ease,” he continued. “I look forward to learning everything I can from you during this transition. Many people probably don’t know this but one of my first jobs was hosting a little game show called Click for Merv ...

Judge denies Sam Bankman-Fried’s motion to dismiss charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:15 GMT

New York (CNN) — A federal judge on Tuesday denied efforts by Sam Bankman-Fried, the crypto entrepreneur accused of orchestrating a multibillion-dollar fraud, to have some of his criminal charges thrown out.Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York said in an opinion that the defense’s arguments “are either moot or without merit,” setting the stage for Bankman-Fried to stand trial on 13 federal counts in October.Bankman-Fried’s lawyers declined to comment.Bankman-Fried, who is 31, has pleaded not guilty to all 13 charges, including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted on all counts, he could face life in prison.Federal prosecutors allege that Bankman-Fried orchestrated one of the biggest financial frauds in US history. They say he cheated investors and stole money from customers of his cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, to make lavish real estate purchases and large political campaign donations.FTX collapsed i...

Healey, And Her Mom, Receive Irish ‘Welcome Home’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:15 GMT

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey on Tuesday was welcomed as a “hero and a trailblazer” to Ireland, on her first foreign trip in her new role. An emotional Healey addressed the Irish Senate, almost exactly 60 years to the day since President John. F Kennedy did the same. The Chair of the Irish Senate, Jerry Buttimer, welcomed the governor and hailed Healey as “a person of firsts,” noting her position in history as the first woman elected governor of Massachusetts, the first member of the LGBTQI+ community elected as governor, and the first governor of Massachusetts to address the Irish Senate. Buttimer, himself a member of the LGBTQI+ community, noted that legislation decriminalizing homosexuality was passed in Ireland 30 years ago this week. “I’m personally delighted that Governor Healey is here today to mark that historic occasion in our civil rights journey,” Buttimer said. “Your presence reminds us all and should remind every boy and...

Jeffrey Epstein suicide result of misconduct, but not foul play, Justice Department watchdog says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:15 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jeffrey Epstein was left alone in his jail cell with a surplus of bed linens the night he killed himself. Nearly all the surveillance cameras on his unit didn’t record. One worker was on duty for 24 hours straight. And, despite his high profile and a suicide attempt two weeks earlier, he wasn’t checked on regularly as required.The Justice Department’s watchdog said Tuesday that a “combination of negligence, misconduct and outright job performance failures” by the federal Bureau of Prisons and workers at the New York City jail enabled the wealthy financier to take his own life in August 2019, finding no evidence of foul play.Inspector General Michael Horowitz blamed numerous factors for Epstein’s death, including the jail’s failure to assign him a cellmate and overworked guards who lied on logs after failing to make regular checks. Had the guards done so, Horowitz said, they would’ve found Epstein had excess linens, which he used in his suicide.The failures are deep...

Ryan Seacrest will host ‘Wheel of Fortune’ after Pat Sajak retires next year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:15 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The category? “Proper Name.” The answer? Ryan Seacrest, who will become the new “Wheel of Fortune” host after Pat Sajak’s retirement next year.Seacrest and Sony Pictures Television announced Tuesday that Seacrest has signed a multiyear deal to host the long-running game show starting with Season 42. Sajak recently announced the upcoming 41st season would be his last on the show.It’s the latest hosting gig for Seacrest, the popular “American Idol” host who also now rings in the new year for many on “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.”“I’m truly humbled to be stepping into the footsteps of the legendary Pat Sajak,” Seacrest said in a statement. “I can say, along with the rest of America, that it’s been a privilege and pure joy to watch Pat and Vanna on our television screens for an unprecedented 40 years, making us smile every night and feel right at h...

Should you financially support adult kids?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:15 GMT

Some parents will tell you firsthand there’s no expiration date on this raising kids gig. For some, that means they extend financial help to their kids into adulthood. When I was 21 and got into a master’s program at a college of my dreams, my mom swooped in to help me pay for my degree. Many parents have been kind enough to do this and more.When I say “many,” I’m backed up by a 2023 survey from Savings.com that found 45% of parents with a child 18 or older spend an average of over $1,400 per month supporting their kids financially, excluding adult kids with disabilities.But is this financial support always a good idea? A certified financial planner and a therapist who both have experience in this department share their thoughts.Why parents support adult kidsThere are many reasons a parent may choose to support their adult kids. Disabilities and wanting to help them achieve major life milestones are a couple. Shelmeshia Hill-Brown, the CEO of Wholistic Resolutions LLC in Chesapeake,...

Massachusetts, Ireland share ‘powerful and necessary’ relationship, Healey says in Dublin

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:15 GMT

Massachusetts’ relationship with Ireland is a “powerful and necessary” resource for advancing the wellbeing of and opportunity for residents in the state, Gov. Maura Healey told the Irish Senate in Dublin on Tuesday.Healey, on her first international trade trip since taking office as the first openly lesbian governor in the United States, spoke heavily of her Irish roots during a speech before local lawmakers. Her great-grandmother left Ballinasloe, Ireland in 1912 for New York before eventually traveling north to Boston, she said.Beyond her personal connection to the country, Healey said the economic partnership between Massachusetts and Ireland are reflected in the hundreds of companies employing thousands of people on both sides of the Atlantic ocean and the billion of dollars and euros in trade and investments that are exchanged.Healey also pitched Massachusetts — and Ireland — as having a “competitive advantage” because of its work on reproductive and LG...

3 Camp Pendleton Marines among 4 dead in fiery crash on 5 Freeway

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:15 GMT

Three of the four victims killed in a fiery single-car crash early Saturday morning on the 5 Freeway in Downey have been identified as United States Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton. According to a release from the California Highway Patrol, the single-vehicle crash involving a 2018 Dodge Charger happened around 2:30 a.m. on the southbound span of the 5 Freeway south of Lakewood Boulevard.  CHP confirmed that the vehicle was on fire when they arrived and that all four occupants of the vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene.  “Preliminary information indicates that the driver lost control of the vehicle at a high rate of speed causing the vehicle to collide with a guardrail and the bridge abutment of the Lemoran Avenue pedestrian overcrossing,” CHP said in a statement. “The force of the impact caused the vehicle to split in two, subsequently ejecting the two rear passengers onto the right shoulder.” The rear end of the car was found approximately 100 fe...