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Want to boost voter turnout in the EU election? Set yourself on fire and speak English

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 19:10:44 GMT

Welcome to Declassified, a weekly humor column.It’s a given that we’re all excited about the European Parliament election. Days off work have been booked, “I Manfred Weber” T-shirts ordered, and parties (as in beer and food and chat rather than groups of politicians pretending they agree with each other) planned.But not everyone has June 6-9, 2024 circled in red ink on the calendar. Asked by pollsters when they thought the next EU election is taking place, only 45 percent of Europeans were able to answer correctly that it will take place next year. And remember that this was a survey conducted by Eurobarometer on behalf of the EU institutions, so respondents would have had to answer “yes” when asked, “Would you like to take part in a survey,” rather than, “No, get lost.”And that 45 percent figure was up 9 percentage points from 2018, a year ahead of the 2019 election.It’s clear that greater engagement with European c...

Polish government bets big on anti-Russia law

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 19:10:44 GMT

Nathan Alan-Lee is a doctoral researcher at the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies and a freelance journalist covering Poland and Central and Eastern Europe.Jarosław Kaczyński, the long-time leader of Poland’s Law and Justice party (PiS), is doubling down on his all-or-nothing position that a win for the opposition in the upcoming election would be finis poloniae — the end of Poland.And in a nod to this stark position, the Sejm parliament passed a new law on May 26, establishing a commission to investigate “those serving Moscow’s interests.”Under this new law, if the commission finds individuals guilty, it can dole out penalties, including a ban from public office for a decade. Thus, President Andrzej Duda’s quick ratification just days later has sparked fears that the ruling PiS may use the law to move against key opposition leaders in the run up to October’s election.Mobilizing mass “pro-democracy” opposition, as well as drawing international backlash, this new...

Fisherman dead after being hit by train in Wareham

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 19:10:44 GMT

A Boston man died Thursday after he was hit by a passing train on a bridge in Wareham, officials said. Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz, Wareham Police Chief Walter Correia and Wareham Fire Chief John Kelley said the incident happened around 2:15 p.m. on the Narrows Crossing bridge near Route 6 and Route 28. Officials said Christopher Carter, 56, of Dorchester, was pushed into water below the bridge. First responders later pulled him from the water and took him to a nearby hospital, where he died. Authorities also said one of the train’s conductors jumped into the water in an attempt to save the man. Officials said the train was moving roughly 25 miles-per-hour when it hit Carter, adding “the horn was also sounded repeatedly as it traveled by the victim.”Fisherman Steve Longo told 7NEWS the bridge is a popular fishing spot despite multiple “no trespassing” signs surrounding it.“It’s horrible,” Longo said after Thursday’s incident. “I don’t know how he didn’t hear the t...

Blue Line will be free during upcoming Sumner Tunnel closure

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 19:10:44 GMT

The entire Blue Line will be free to ride during the upcoming planned closure of the Sumner Tunnel in Boston, state officials announced on Thursday. Already the site of closures on most weekends dating back to last year, the tunnel will be closed for a longer period of time from July 5 and Aug. 31 as crews continue work on a number of repairs, including work to restore the tunnel’s ceiling and install new lights. Free Blue Line service comes as part of a larger “comprehensive mitigation plan” from the state Department of Transportation that officials said aims to address travel impacts and provide alternative transit options during the tunnel closure. In Thursday’s announcement, officials detailed planned reduced cost water ferry options, reduced Commuter Rail fares, cheaper parking at MBTA and Commuter Rail parking lots and garages and discounted tolls, among other measures.  “We know the closure of the Sumner Tunnel will be a daily impact to those living, working, and travel...

Chicago White Sox split a doubleheader with the New York Yankees, and Eloy Jiménez exits Game 2 with an injury

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 19:10:44 GMT

The sky cleared up enough for the Chicago White Sox to resume their series with the New York Yankees.Instead of the haze the smoke from Canadian wildfires created, there were plenty of longballs during Game 1 of the doubleheader Thursday at Yankee Stadium.The Sox hit four home runs on their way to their fifth straight win, beating the Yankees 6-5.The season-high winning streak came to an end with the Yankees taking the nightcap 3-0.Gleyber Torres hit a two-run homer in the fourth and Billy McKinney had a solo homer the next inning against Sox starter Mike Clevinger, who allowed three runs on six hits with two strikeouts and a walk in 5⅔ innings.The Sox had two hits, singles from Eloy Jiménez and Gavin Sheets. With the split, the Sox (28-36) are 3½ games out of first place in the American League Central.Trainers checked on Jiménez after he ran slowly while grounding into a fielder’s choice in the ninth. He exited the game with a lower left leg injury. He is...

Yankees split doubleheader against White Sox after starter Randy Vasquez gets first career win

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 19:10:44 GMT

The Yankees split a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox Thursday after Randy Vasquez gave the Bronx Bombers a two-hit performance.Vasquez led his team to 3-0 victory after pitching 5.2 scoreless innings. He allowed two hits, no runs, one walk and struck out three batters.Ron Marinaccio and Clay Holmes pitched 3.1 hitless innings in relief to secure the shutout. Vasquez’s win is the first of his career and Holmes recorded his seventh save of the season.Gleyber Torres and Billy McKinney provided the offense in the second game. Torres hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning and McKinney hit a solo shot in the fifth.The shutout victory gets Aaron Boone’s club back on track after losing the first game, 6-5, under hazy conditions caused by the Canadian wildfires.Chicago’s designated hitter Jake Burger got his team on the board first with a two-run home run in the top of the second inning off of Luis Severino.The White Sox followed up in the third with Luis Robert...

Day one of alleged 2018 killer of Weymouth cop and bystander trial weighs defendant’s sanity

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 19:10:44 GMT

The case of Emanuel Lopes, the young man accused of the shocking killing of police officer Michael Chesna and 77-year-old Weymouth resident Vera Adams in the early hours of July 15, 2018, may well hinge on his mental health and history, lawyers indicated on the opening day of the alleged killer’s trial in Norfolk Superior Court.“There were heroes,” said defense attorney Larry Tipton, addressing the jury and listing the people who rushed into danger to save the victims. “Don’t ignore their heroic efforts, but ask yourselves as jurors in this case, the heroes that they are tell you nothing about Mr. Lopes. They tell you nothing about his mental illness. They tell you nothing about the voices in his head and the erratic, unexplainable conduct that occurred that night.”Lopes, 25, faces 11 charges, including two counts of murder along with attempted murder, weapons, assault and other charges. He has pleaded not guilty.The prosecution and defense painte...

Arrest made in South Bay vandalism crimes

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 19:10:44 GMT

CHULA VISTA, Calif. -- A teenager suspected in a string of vandalism crimes in the Chula Vista area last month was arrested Wednesday, authorities said.Chula Vista police did not release any other information about the person arrested since they were a minor.The vandalism occurred in the area of Second Avenue and F Street on May 27 and May 28, according to law enforcement. The damage included smashed windows and graffiti. SDPD officer shot in Chollas Creek Surveillance video showed the suspect standing on a vehicle's hood and damaging the windshield. Another report informed police about vandalism in the form of drawings and words spray-painted in a light blue color on areas such as walls, sidewalks and vehicles, authorities said.Police determined the vandalism was not determined as a hate crime. There are no other outstanding suspects.

Brother of gay American who was fatally attacked in Sydney in 1988 says police demonized family

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 19:10:44 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The brother of a gay American who was attacked and fell from a Sydney cliff top in 1988 said elements within local police had demonized their family over their pursuit of justice.An Australian man was sentenced to nine years in prison Thursday for killing Scott Johnson at the known gay haunt. His older brother Steve Johnson led the family’s efforts to overturn a coroner’s finding in 1989 that the openly gay mathematician had taken his own life.Steve Johnson told Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Friday that evidence in a New South Wales state government inquiry into gay hate crimes had confirmed “our worst fears that the police were really not only opposed to the investigation but demonizing our family.”“It’s still a question mark why? Maybe they thought of Scott’s case as a tinderbox that would force them to work on the other 100 cases of gay men who died during the same period,” Steve Johnson said.“There are still some in the police force that are opposed...

Jury returns $63M verdict after finding Chevron covered up toxic pit on California land

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 19:10:44 GMT

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — A California jury has returned a $63 million verdict against Chevron after finding the oil giant covered up a toxic chemical pit on land purchased by a man who built a house on it and was later diagnosed with a blood cancer. Kevin Wright, who has multiple myeloma, unknowingly built his home directly over the chemical pit near Santa Barbara in 1985, according to his lawsuit. Starting in 1974, Chevron subsidiary Union Oil Company of California had operated a sump pit for oil and gas production, a process that left the carcinogenic chemical benzene on the property, court papers said. Wright bought the land and built the house in 1985. Nearly three decades later, he was diagnosed with the cancer that attacks plasma cells in the blood and can be caused by benzene exposure, court documents said. The jurors in Santa Barbara on Wednesday returned the $63 million verdict, said Jakob Norman, an attorney for Wright. Norman called the case a “blatant example of envi...