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Farah Stockman: Corruption is an existential threat to Ukraine, and Ukrainians know it

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:26 GMT

President Joe Biden talks of the world being divided into autocracies and democracies. But a more important division exists: between kleptocracies, where leaders treat their nations like personal piggy banks, and places where corruption is the exception rather than the rule.Since 2014, Ukrainians have been fighting to drag their country into that second category. The Maidan revolution, which sent a pro-Russian president packing, wasn’t just about freeing Ukraine from Russian influence. It was also about breaking the stranglehold of oligarchs who — as in so many former Soviet republics — controlled everything from television stations to the politicians on ballots. The fight against corruption amounts to a second front in Ukraine’s war against Russia.Ukraine is making progress, no small feat in the middle of a hot war. But it is still ranked the second most corrupt country in Europe, after Russia, according to Transparency International. Since the February 2022 Russian invasion, a hos...

Saratoga Springs holds ribbon cutting for new senior center

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:26 GMT

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The city of Saratoga Springs opened a new senior center on Tuesday. A ribbon cutting was held at the senior center's new location on West Avenue next to the YMCA.It offers hands-on activities, trips, food, and other amenities, as well as a way to make connections with others. Get the latest news, weather, and sports delivered right to your inbox! "It's not about the senior center; it's about a hub for older adults in this community to come to," Saratoga Springs Senior Center Exec. Dir. Lois Celeste said. "It's like a college campus. Where do you go when you relocate here? Where do you go when you move here to be with your children or your grandchildren? When you lose a life partner, where do you go? This is it."It costs $35 per year to join. The project was funded through a $3 million donation from Stewart's Shops.

Longtime firefighter promoted to assistant chief

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:26 GMT

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Schenectady Fire Department promoted a longtime member on Tuesday. Deputy Chief George Burns was officially named to the assistant chief position during a ceremony at city hall.Burns has served in the department for 26 years and returned after being laid off for 2.5 years, which the chief said demonstrates his dedication. Burns said he's grateful for the opportunity. Get the latest news, weather, and sports delivered right to your inbox! "I pledge to work tirelessly to uphold the high standards and values of our department, and I will strive to lead by example," he said. "Always putting the safety and well-being of our community and our membership at the forefront of our actions."Burns also thanked his family for their support.

Chief Judge Rowan Wilson takes oath of office

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:26 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- New York's top judge took the oath of office on Tuesday. A ceremony was held for Rowan Wilson, the chief judge of the New York State Court of Appeals.Judge Wilson began his career as a judge in 2017 after working as a lawyer for more than 30 years. He believes his experience on both sides of the bench will serve him well in his new role. Get the latest news, weather, and sports delivered right to your inbox! "From the vantage point of a couple of people whose judgment I respect, they thought I was taking a little time to transition from being an advocate to being a judge," he said. "I hope that I've reconciled that by imagining myself as having the role of an advocate for the law and an advocate for the people of New York."Wilson was nominated after the Senate rejected Judge Hector LaSalle's nomination with some democrats arguing LaSalle was too conservative. The previous chief judge, Janet DiFiore, stepped down last summer.

Man dies in custody just before release from Adams County Detention Facility

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:26 GMT

A 64-year-old man died in custody at the Adams County Detention Facility last week after swallowing an object containing what officials believe were fentanyl pills.The man died just after midnight on Sept. 8 while waiting in a holding cell to post bail, according to the Adams County Sheriff’s Office.The man’s vital signs were taken and he completed a medical questionnaire as part of the standard intake process when he arrived at the jail at 10:39 p.m. Sept. 7 on an arrest warrant.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Arrests of MS-13 street gang members in metro Denver raise hopes violent gang disrupted The man received a wheelchair due to a medical condition and was waiting in a holding cell when deputies noticed he was unresponsive just before midnight.Deputies and paramedics performed CPR and administered Narcan as a precaution, and the man was pronounced dead at 12:05 a.m. Sept. 8.A square object was found in the man’s throat during an autopsy. It contained m...

65 arrests made in illegal street racing crackdown

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:26 GMT

Dozens of people were arrested last weekend after the California Highway Patrol conducted two separate enforcement operations in response to illegal street racing events that had been promoted on social media, authorities announced earlier this week.  The crackdown on illegal racing and sideshows happened on Sept. 8 and 9 in the Compton area, according to a CHP news release.  CHP’s Southern Division Street Racing Enforcement Unit said the results of the operation included: 65 arrests 72 citations issued 40 impounded/stored vehicles The vast majority of the arrests were for participating in the illegal races and street takeovers, though there were two arrests made for illegal possession of a firearm and another for assault with a deadly weapon with a vehicle on an officer.  Illegal street racing, sideshows and street takeovers continue to be a problem in Southern California. Earlier this week, a white pickup truck sporting a Domino’s delivery sign o...

SF Giants could have ‘full’ roster soon with two players nearing return

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:26 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO – Catcher Patrick Bailey is expected to play Wednesday when the Giants wrap up a three-game series with the Cleveland Guardians and outfielder Michael Conforto might return soon after, giving manager Gabe Kapler hope that he can have a full roster at his disposal with his team entering the crucial final two-plus weeks of the regular season.Bailey was placed on the seven-day concussion list last week after he was hurt in a home plate collision with Jeimer Candelario in the seventh inning of an 11-8 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 5 at Wrigley Field.Bailey, who ran the basis Tuesday, said this was the third concussion he’s had, adding that to be cleared to play, he needed to get his heart rate up to make sure he didn’t experience any more symptoms.“It (stinks),” missing time, Bailey said, “but I’ve felt normal.”Bailey was hitting .227 with a .663 OPS in 102 plate appearances over 29 games since Aug. 1. The Giants were 4-2 in his absence before Tuesday’s game with the G...

Oregon, NYC pension funds sue Fox over election lies

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:26 GMT

By Oliver Darcy and Liam Reilly | CNNNew York City’s pension funds and the state of Oregon took legal action on Tuesday against Fox Corporation, alleging in a lawsuit that the Fox News parent company failed shareholders by allowing the right-wing channel to recklessly spread lies about the 2020 election that opened it up to a pair of historic defamation cases.The lawsuit, which was filed under seal in the Delaware Court of Chancery and named Fox Corporation board members and its executives as defendants, accused the media company of having chosen to “invite robust defamation claims, with potentially huge financial liability and potentially larger business repercussions, rather than disappoint viewers of Fox News,” according to an excerpt of the complaint provided by the state of Oregon.The lawsuit represents the most serious shareholder legal action taken against Fox since it settled a historic defamation lawsuit brought by election technology company Dominion Voting Systems earlier...

No deal reached to keep insurance companies in California; leaving crisis unresolved

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:26 GMT

A rumored legislative deal aimed at keeping home insurance companies from bailing on California is dead now that the deadline for a bill has passed. But a consumer group that has been attacking what it called a  back-room insurance bailout plan warned Tuesday that those secret talks with the state’s Insurance Commissioner haven’t ended.“These negotiations were marked by secrecy and public interest advocates were barred from the room,” Carmen Balber, executive director of Consumer Watchdog, said in a statement Tuesday. “Working in the dark from the insurance industry’s playbook to impose Florida-style deregulation in California isn’t how we’re going to solve this crisis and keep homeowners insured.”A top insurance industry representative Tuesday denied companies were behind any secret dealings and blamed the California’s collapsing insurance market on regulations more burdensome and bureaucratic than in other states.“I...

War on Google: What to know about feds’ landmark antitrust lawsuit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:26 GMT

The way the feds tell it in their landmark antitrust lawsuit against Google, the Mountain View-based tech giant transformed in two decades from a beloved pipsqueak into a burly behemoth gobbling market share and squashing rivals with the ruthlessness of a mobster.Google told its workers not to refer to its competition with the words “crush,” “kill” and “hurt,” according to the lawsuit, which went to trial Tuesday in Washington, D.C. federal court, with the U.S. Department of Justice acting on behalf of California and 13 other states.The lawsuit starts off by saying the company 20 years ago was the “darling of Silicon Valley as a scrappy startup with an innovative way to search the emerging internet.” But in the two decades since, it argues, the company frequently flexed its competition-killing muscle.“We should be careful about what we say in both public and private,” a Google chief economist wrote, according to the government’s lawsuit. ...