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Keep calm and carry on: 5 MPs who shrugged off Westminster’s revolving door watchdog

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:36:25 GMT

LONDON — Who’s afraid of ACOBA? The U.K.’s revolving door watchdog — snappily called the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments — is back in the headlines as Westminster awaits its verdict on Sue Gray, the former senior civil servant who quit to take up a job with the opposition Labour Party.ACOBA’s job is to weigh the restrictions top officials and ministers should have imposed on them when they take on post-government roles, in a bid to stop people from cashing in on their insider knowledge.Yet MPs themselves don’t seem too spooked by the watchdog, whose rulings are only advisory and which cannot impose any sanctions for rule-breaking.Should Gray need some inspiration to plow on regardless, here’s POLITICO’s handy round-up of five recent senior MPs who didn’t let an angry ACOBA letter get them down.Matt HancockThe former health secretary turned, er, camel-penis-eating reality star knows ACOBA well. The watchdog criticized Hancock for ...

Millions of Americans could suffer if debt showdown isn’t solved in next 30 days

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:36:25 GMT

 (CNN) — The jobs, benefits and financial security of millions of Americans could start disappearing in less than a month as the Republican House leverages a debt showdown to try to force big spending cuts on President Joe Biden.Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday issued a stark warning that the US government could run out of money to pay its obligations as soon as June 1 unless Congress raises its borrowing authority. Failure to do so could trigger a domestic and international financial catastrophe.Yellen wrote to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that unless Congress acted, it would cause “severe hardship to American families, harm our global leadership position, and raise questions about our ability to defend our national security interests.” Experts have warned of a potential crisis on the scale of the 2008 financial meltdown, with the threat of benefits not being paid to veterans and senior citizens, and halts to milita...

Hollywood writers to go on strike, bringing production on many television shows to a halt

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:36:25 GMT

(CNN) — More than 11,000 members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) are set to go on strike Tuesday morning for the first time since 2007, a move that could bring an immediate halt to the production of many television shows and possibly delay the start of new seasons of others later this year.“Though we negotiated intent on making a fair deal … the studios’ responses to our proposals have been wholly insufficient, given the existential crisis writers are facing,” said a statement from the union leadership.“They have closed the door on their labor force and opened the door to writing as an entirely freelance profession. No such deal could ever be contemplated by this membership.”While union members would be on strike as of 3 am EDT Tuesday, the WGA tweeted that it would not set up picket lines until Tuesday afternoon.The studios, which disclosed that the talks ended late Monday just hours before the strike deadline without an agr...

Ryan Poles is confident he has upgraded the Chicago Bears roster. The next step is translating that into wins.

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:36:25 GMT

The NFL draft had ended less than a hour earlier, and general manager Ryan Poles still was trying to fully assess and contextualize the Chicago Bears’ weekend gains.Over 47 hours, Poles had assembled a 10-man draft class — seven on defense, three on offense — and was convinced the Bears had taken important strides. He also was certain he had just completed the most eventful three-month stretch of his professional life.“Oh, yeah,” Poles said. “It’s been awesome. I’m excited about where we’re headed. We’ve been able to do things the right way, and that’s opened up opportunity.”With all the intense pre-draft work in the rearview mirror — the combine, the pro days, the prospect visits and staff meetings at Halas Hall — with the most critical stages of free agency complete and with the draft frenzy over as quickly as it had begun, Poles was asked how he might decompress Saturday night.He chuckled at first...

3 things to watch in May for the Chicago White Sox, including José Abreu’s return to Guaranteed Rate Field

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:36:25 GMT

The Chicago White Sox were on the verge of their 11th consecutive loss, trailing the Tampa Bay Rays by four runs in the ninth inning Sunday at Guaranteed Rate Field.But the team put together an epic ninth-inning comeback featuring five two-strike hits. Andrew Vaughn capped the seven-run inning with a game-winning three-run homer, sending the Sox to a 12-9 victory.An awful lot went wrong for the Sox (8-21) in the first month-plus of the season. They were one of four teams with at least 20 losses entering May.Sunday provided some positives as April concluded.“We’ve got some fight in that clubhouse,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “It takes the ball bouncing your way one time to just lift everybody up and put us in that mindset of ‘this can happen.’ Just like I say flush it on the bad ones — I’m not going to say that yet on this one because I still want to enjoy it a little bit — but we’ve got to flush this one, too, at some point...

Long-unfinished blue Strip tower sets date for grand opening

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:36:25 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A soaring blue-glass tower that has sat empty for more than a decade on the Las Vegas Strip — through the Great Recession and an unprecedented pandemic that shut down the famed tourist corridor for months — is set to open its doors to the public in December as the gambling center’s latest resort and casino.Company executives for Fontainebleau Las Vegas made the announcement Tuesday morning, more than a year after the company publicly set a goal to open before the end of 2023. In a statement, chief operating officer Colleen Birch said the long-awaited resort on the north end of the Strip represents “a rich heritage of luxury hospitality, chic elegance and unforgettable experiences.” The announcement marked the beginning of hiring efforts for a 3,700-room resort and casino that is expected to create thousands of jobs.Named after Miami Beach’s 1950s-era Fontainebleau hotel, the luxury resort is one of the tallest buildings in Las Vegas.Construction on...

On board a Philippine patrol in contested South China Sea

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:36:25 GMT

ABOARD BRP MALABRIGO (AP) — When two Philippine coast guard vessels set out to patrol the volatile South China Sea recently, they had to face more than China’s growing territorial ambitions. The patrols are a constant battle against sun, sea, stress and gnawing isolation. The Associated Press joined a recent voyage, which provided a glimpse of what it’s like for Filipino coast guard personnel to work on the front lines of multiple geopolitical conflicts in one of the world’s most fiercely contested seas.The BRP Malabrigo and BRP Malapascua, Japanese-built 44-meter (144-foot) patrol ships, planned to make a circuit of disputed islands, islets and reefs claimed by the Philippines in the Spratly Islands, some occupied by Philippine garrisons and some by Chinese military installations.China has rapidly built up its military presence in the area in recent years, pushing back other claimants like the Philippines and building artificial islands with airstrips and military garrisons. The ri...

Sweden’s king, queen visit Baltic neighbor Estonia

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:36:25 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia began a three-day state visit to Estonia Tuesday — their first official visit to the former Soviet repubic in more than 30 years. Estonian President Alar Karis and his wife welcomed the Swedish king and queen at Tallinn’s central Freedom Square with full military honors, and an enthusiastic crowd of adults and children alike waved the Estonian and Swedish flags.The president’s office said the visit, to both Tallinn and the second city of Tartu, “underscores the close friendship between Estonia and Sweden, all the more so given that it is taking place during the 50th anniversary of King Carl XVI Gustaf’s accession to the throne.” The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — all former Soviet republics that are members of the European Union and NATO — are Sweden’s neighbors across the Baltic Sea and have close business and political ties with Stockholm. Estonia also has historical links to Sweden, as the sm...

Tim Hortons parent Restaurant Brands reports Q1 profit and revenue up from year ago

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:36:25 GMT

TORONTO — Restaurant Brands International Inc. reported a first-quarter profit of US$277 million, up from US$270 million a year earlier, as its revenue also climbed higher.The parent company of Tim Hortons, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says the profit amounted to 61 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, up from 59 cents per diluted share in the same quarter last year.Revenue totalled US$1.59 billion, up from US$1.45 billion in the first three months of 2022.On an adjusted basis, Restaurant Brands says it earned 75 cents per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 64 cents per diluted share in the same quarter last year.Analysts on average had expected an adjusted profit of 64 cents per share, according to estimates compiled by financial markets data firm Refinitiv.In addition to Tim Hortons, Restaurant Brands includes Burger King, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and Firehouse Subs.This report by The Canadian Press was first published ...

Canelo Álvarez returning home to Guadalajara to fight Ryder

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:36:25 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Fighting in his native Guadalajara for the first time in 12 years has presented some different challenges for Saúl Álvarez, like finding out just how many tickets he needs to accommodate family and friends.“Canelo” Álvarez is one of the best boxers in the world and he will return home on Saturday to face British rival John Ryder at the Akron Stadium in the western Mexican city. He hasn’t fought in Guadalajara since June 2011, when he defeated British fighter Ryan Rhodes.Back then, Álvarez’s career was on the rise. In March of that year, he won his first world title, the World Boxing Council welterweight belt.Now he comes home as a more mature boxer who has already won world titles in four different weights classes and was the unified champion at three of those.That’s why it shouldn’t be surprising that the bout at the Akron Stadium sold out in a matter of hours, leaving “Canelo” with the prospect of both preparing himself for the fight and attend...