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Thailand’s opposition parties, after stunning election win, set plans to enlist allies to take power

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:16:21 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Fresh off a stunning election victory in which they together captured a majority of seats in the House of Representatives, Thailand’s top two opposition parties began planning Monday for the next stage in their bid to replace the military-dominated government.Monday’s headliner was 42-year-old businessman Pita Limjaroenrat, who led his Move Forward Party to a first-place finish, surpassing most expectations. It squeaked past the Pheu Thai Party, its opposition partner, which had been favored to top the polls.Pheu Thai stumbled despite the star power of Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra, the former populist prime minister who was toppled by a 2006 military coup and is the driving force behind the party.“The overwhelming electoral victory by Move Forward and Pheu Thai is a decisive sign that voters want a polity where the people, not the military, decide their future,” said Tyrell Haberkorn, a Thai studies scholar at the University of Wisconsin. “Vo...

Linda Yaccarino may be “exactly what Twitter needs.” But is the new CEO being set up to fail?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:16:21 GMT

Less than two months into his $44 billion purchase of Twitter, Elon Musk declared that whoever took over as the company’s CEO “ must like pain a lot.” Then he promised he’d step down as soon as he found a replacement “foolish enough” to want the job.That person, Musk announced Friday, is Linda Yaccarino, a highly-regarded advertising executive from NBCUniversal. She’ll start in six weeks. How long she’ll last might depend on her pain tolerance. When Musk tweeted on Thursday that he’s found a new CEO but didn’t say who, one word stuck out: “she.” Some of his more extreme Twitter followers took immediate issue with the new CEO’s gender, but the fact that Musk hired a woman is actually notable simply because it is so rare — in business overall and especially in the tech industry — to see female chief executives. Her appointment renewed questions about the “glass cliff,” a theory that women — as well as underrepresented minorities — are more lik...

Croatian army steps in as heavy rains flood homes, roads and schools

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:16:21 GMT

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Rescue teams and hundreds of soldiers were deployed Monday to help people in parts of Croatia hit by floods.Heavy rain in recent days caused some rivers to overflow their banks, flooding homes, roads and public buildings in some towns. Classes in the town of Obrovac were canceled after water got into in the schools there..Parts of the town were left without electricity, and water covered the center of Obrovac. In nearby Gracac, about a dozen people had to move to upper floors or evacuate their homes to avoid surging water.Some 300 army troops stepped in to help people in need and to bolster flood defenses, authorities said. Emergency crews said they were bringing food to people stuck in their homes. Photos from the scene showed people using small boats to move around and water going over sand bags put in place to prevent flooding. A rescuer could be seen carrying a small dog he saved from the floods.Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said his government ...

4 killed in Detroit when SUV crashes into highway bridge pier

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:16:21 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — An SUV slammed into a bridge pier along an interstate highway in Detroit, throwing four young men from the vehicle and killing them, state police said.The GMC Yukon was going fast when it hit the pier around 8 p.m. Sunday night on westbound Interstate 96 near Grand River Avenue in Detroit, witnesses told state troopers. The four men in the SUV died in the crash, state police said.Killed were the 21-year-old driver and passengers ages 20, 22 and 25, police said Monday morning. An investigation continues, and autopsy results and a vehicle inspection are pending, police said.“Once again, a driver’s decision to drive recklessly cost lives on our roadways,” Lt. Mike Shaw of the Michigan State Police said in a statement on Twitter. “This decision will not only affect those families involved but also witnesses and first responders on scene. Please drive responsibly. Lives are at stake.”The Associated Press

Cartier’s use of images of Amazon tribe prompts Indigenous advocates to allege hypocrisy

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:16:21 GMT

BOA VISTA, Brazil (AP) — Until two months ago, Cartier’s website showed Yanomami children playing in a green field.The French luxury jewelry brand said it was working to promote the culture of the Indigenous people and protect the rainforest where they live, in a vast territory straddling Brazil and Venezuela. But the project that the site described protecting the Amazon never took place. And Cartier published the photo without the approval of Yanomami leadership, violating the beliefs of a people who had been living in almost total isolation until they were contacted by outsiders in the 1970s.Some of the Yanomami and their defenders praise Cartier’s promotion of Yanomami causes. However, advertising by one of the world’s biggest jewelers with images of an Indigenous people devastated by illegal gold mining has some complaining of greenwashing, a corporation promoting its own image by supporting a cause.“How can a gold jewelry company, which we, the Yanomami people, are against, use...

Chicago off-duty officer, 33, found dead inside her home on West Side

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:16:21 GMT

CHICAGO — A 33-year-old off-duty Chicago police officer was found dead inside her home on the city's West Side.Police said the female officer was discovered unresponsive inside her residence in the 1800 block of South Carpenter in the Lower West Side neighborhood around 5:15 p.m. Sunday. She was pronounced dead on the scene.The medical examiner has identified her as Aleshia Carter. Details surrounding her death are unknown at this time. 1 killed, 2 injured in Dolton shooting Area detectives are investigating the officer's death.

1 killed, 2 injured in Dolton shooting

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:16:21 GMT

DOLTON, Ill. — One person was killed and two people were injured in a shooting in south suburban Dolton, according to community activist Andrew Holmes.Police responded to a shooting in the 14700 block of Blackstone Avenue around 4 p.m. — just across the street from a park where children were playing.Neighbors said they heard as many as 20 gunshots. One person was killed. Their identity has not yet been released. CHICAGO: 3 people injured in River North shooting It is unclear at this time what led up to the shooting.No one is in custody.

Monday Forecast: Temps in upper 60s with partly sunny conditions

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:16:21 GMT

CHICAGO — Partly sunny Monday with cooler conditions lakeside. Winds: NE 5-10. High: 67/58. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Mostly cloudy tonight with a chance for showers south. Low: 51.Tuesday Forecast: Mostly cloudy, temp drop late day. (pneumonia front possible). Winds: W 5-15 G20. High: 80.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog

Man, 53, stabbed to death at home in Austin

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:16:21 GMT

CHICAGO — A man was found fatally stabbed to death in a home in Austin Sunday night. According to police, the 53-year-old man was found in the hallway of a home near the 100 block of West Concord Place around 7:35 p.m. with stab wounds to the body. 1 killed, 2 injured in Dolton shooting He was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital where he was pronounced dead. There is no one in custody and police are investigating the incident.

17-year-old girl shot in drive-by on South Side

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:16:21 GMT

CHICAGO — A 17-year-old girl is in serious condition after she was shot in a drive-by Sunday night.According to police, the girl was a passenger in a vehicle near the 1300 block of West 49th Street around 7:50 p.m. when shots were fired. Man, 53, stabbed to death at home in Austin Police said she was brought to a hospital by a family member and was later transferred to Stroger Hospital in serious condition with gunshot wounds to the back and armpit. There is no one in custody and police are investigating the incident.