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Britain’s Labour Party doesn’t want to talk about a hung parliament. It might have to

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:02:08 GMT

LONDON — Forget “snap election” or “boundary changes.” Few phrases pre-emptively exhaust British MPs like “hung parliament.”But even if the key opposition parties who could topple the Conservatives in a likely 2024 election don’t want to say those two words out loud, they’re going to hear them a whole lot in the coming months. Britain is already getting used to electoral pacts. After decades of mostly stable majorities in the House of Commons, the Conservatives have had to strike two deals over the past 13 years just to get the numbers needed to keep power. Both have been bruising. A coalition with the center-left Liberal Democrats in 2010 obliterated the smaller partner, while a looser “confidence-and-supply” deal with the Democratic Unionist Party — at the height of 2017’s Brexit wars — left Prime Minister Theresa May fatally vulnerable.Now, with English local election results sparking (hotly-disputed) chatter of a hung parliament next year, some whisper about a t...

Belgium’s Turks lose enthusiasm for Erdoğan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:02:08 GMT

SAINT-JOSSE-TEN-NOODE, Belgium — Lampposts in northeastern Brussels are adorned with pictures of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. On some, his face is scratched out with black marker.It shows the challenge the long-serving president faces ahead of Sunday’s knife-edge election against Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu of the center-left Republican People’s Party (CHP) — even in an EU country whose 220,000-strong Turkish minority historically supported him. In 2018, Erdoğan’s AKP party bagged 75 percent of the Belgian vote. That level of support appears shakier this year.Ünver Serpil, 45, a local supermarket owner, voted for the long-serving president in 2018. This year she abstained. “I know that Erdoğan is the best candidate but I also know some things are wrong,” she said. “He’s too imposing,” she added, pointing to Turkey’s “catastrophic” economic situation. Every lost vote matters for Erdoğan.There are some 3.4 million eligible Turkish overseas voters — 1.5 million of ...

Officials: 5 people taken to hospital after incident at Readville station

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:02:08 GMT

Authorities say at least five people were taken to a hospital after an apparent incident at an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Boston.Boston EMS confirmed five people were transported after an incident occurred at Readville station in the city’s Hyde Park neighborhood.The emergency service could not confirm the condition of the five or the nature of the incident.This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

Commission: Too Many Still Feel “Unwelcome” At Public Beaches

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:02:08 GMT

After taking feedback for 18 months, a state commission concluded in a new report that many people of color, individuals with disabilities, and non-native English speaking people feel “unwelcome and uncomfortable” on the string of public beaches that line the coast in and around Boston.The Metropolitan Beaches Commission on Friday released a report on their work, which features calls for stronger leadership from the state Department of Conservation and Recreation and significant investments to address an “enormous backlog” of maintenance projects that also compromises equitable access to beaches.“We found that our beaches have increasingly drawn residents who represent the rich diversity of our region,” commission leaders, including Sen. Brendan Crighton of Lynn and Rep. Adrian Madaro of East Boston, wrote. “However, more progress is needed before we can say they are truly inclusive. For many people of color, th...

McDonald’s found liable for hot Chicken McNugget that burned girl

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:02:08 GMT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — McDonald’s and a franchise holder are at fault after a hot Chicken McNugget from a Happy Meal fell on a little girl’s leg and caused second-degree burns, a jury in South Florida found in a case reminiscent of the famous hot coffee lawsuit the 1990s.A second jury will determine how much McDonald’s USA and its franchise owner, Upchurch Foods, will pay the child and her mother, the South Florida SunSentinel reported.Thursday’s decision was split, with jurors finding the franchise holder liable for negligence and failure to warn customers about the risk of hot food, and McDonald’s USA liable for failing to provide instructions for safe handling of the food. McDonald’s USA was not found to be negligent, and the jury dismissed the argument that the product was defective.“Our sympathies go out to this family for what occurred in this unfortunate incident, as we hold customer safety as one of our highest priorities,” ...

The real reasons stores such as Walmart and Starbucks are closing in big cities

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:02:08 GMT

(CNN) — Nordstrom. Walmart. Whole Foods. Starbucks. CVS.These big chains and others have closed stores in major US cities recently, raising alarm about the future of retail in some of the country’s most prominent downtowns and business districts.Several forces are pushing chains out of some city centers: a glut of stores, people working from home, online shopping, exorbitant rents, crime and public safety concerns, and difficulty hiring workers.To reinvent downtown retail, drastic changes may be required.That means denser neighborhoods with a broader mix of affordable housing, experiential retail, restaurants, entertainment, parks and other amenities, which won’t happen overnight.“Once [these cities] become true urban neighborhoods, then you will find retailing start to come back in different ways and forms,” said Terry Shook, a founding partner at consulting firm Shook Kelly.How policymakers remake their downtowns — with retail as a crucial a...

Migrants face new border reality as Title 42 pandemic restrictions expire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:02:08 GMT

By VALERIE GONZALEZ, ELLIOT SPAGAT and GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO (Associated Press)EL PASO, Texas (AP) — The U.S. entered a new immigration enforcement era Friday, ending a three-year-old asylum restriction and enacting a set of strict new rules that the Biden administration hopes will stabilize the U.S.-Mexico border and push migrants to apply for protections where they are, skipping the dangerous journey north. The transition has been far from simple. Even as the old policy known as Title 42 expired, migrants along the border were still wading into the Rio Grande to take their chances getting into the country, defying officials shouting for them to turn back. Others hunched over cellphones trying to access an appointment app, a centerpiece of the new measures, while others with appointments walked across a bridge hoping for a new life. And lawsuits sought to stop some of the measures. The Biden administration has said the new policies are meant both to crack down on illegal c...

Padres cancel BeerFest On-Field Party at Petco Park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:02:08 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- While it's always a Padres celebration at Petco Park, the team's BeerFest On-Field Party has been officially cancelled.BeerFest On-Field Party was set to take place later this month on May 26 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., as a special season event while the Friars travel to New York City to take on the Yankees. ‘Padres & Pups’ calendar fan giveaway features Juan Soto with … fish? The event had plans for live music, food and an array of craft beers available for Friar Faithful over the age of 21 to cheer on the team at their home stadium. It is unclear why the event has been called off.Those who purchased ticket packages to the event will be receiving a refund for the full value of their ticket in the coming days, according to a Padres spokesperson. The refund will be sent to their original method of payment and is expected to be fully processed within 30 days.

Boy charged in stabbing of woman in Whitby as she walked with child

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:02:08 GMT

Durham Regional Police have charged a 17-year-old boy after a woman was stabbed in the neck as she walked with her child in Whitby.Police say the woman and child were walking in the Closson Drive and Des Newman Boulevard area on Tuesday, May 9, at around 2:20 p.m. when a person approached them from behind and pierced the woman’s neck with an unknown object.The woman was treated at a local hospital and released. The child was not injured.Police have now charged a Whitby teen with assault with a weapon.Investigators have not revealed a possible motive, or indicated if the victim and suspect knew each other.

Stock market today: Wall Street mixed as households get more nervous

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:02:08 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are mixed Friday as a listless week on Wall Street appears to be heading toward a quiet close, even as big worries continue to roil under the surface.The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in morning trading and on pace for a sixth straight week where it moved less than 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 20 points, or 0.1%, at 33,330, as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% lower.Despite the seemingly placid moves for the overall market, big swings have swirled underneath amid worries about a possible recession, high inflation and the U.S. government inching toward what could be a catastrophic default on its debt.It’s not just Wall Street that’s concerned. Sentiment among U.S. consumers is tumbling, according to a preliminary survey by the University of Michigan. That’s a worry because strong spending by consumers has been one of main pillars keeping an already slowing economy from sliding into a recession...