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Broad support for Omar Harfouch in Brussels - sanctions against corrupt Lebanese are imminent

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:51 GMT

Under the title 'What future for Lebanon? And the role of the European Union in promoting human rights in Lebanon', a conference was held on Tuesday evening (27 June) at the headquarters of the European Union in Brussels. The event was attended by MEPs, judges, and officials who gathered to show their support for Omar Harfouch, the leader of the Lebanese Third Republic initiative. Harfouch has been facing political and judicial repression due to his relentless fight against corruption in Lebanon.The conference was held at the invitation of Lucas Mandel, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and was attended by several notable figures. These included Judge Ghada Aoun, the prosecutor of Mount Lebanon; Andre Petrojev, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee; Natalie Gaulier, a member of the French Senate; William Bourdon, the founder of the organization "Sherpa" and a lawyer; Giovanni Kessler, former Director-General of OLAF and former Italian Member and Magistrate; Pedro R...

EXCLUSIVE: Neil Everett's first TV interview since leaving ESPN

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:51 GMT

After 23 years, sportscasting legend Neil Everett has made his final sign-off from "SportsCenter." He donned a lei for his final episode as a tribute to his roots in Hawaii, where he was both a sports director for Hawaii Pacific University and a local sports anchor before joining ESPN in 2000.In an exclusive interview, Everett joined "Frank Buckley Interviews" for his first TV appearance since leaving ESPN. When asked how he's feeling about his departure from ESPN, Everett said, "I feel great about it, you know the grass under my feet was growing, it's time to move on." He says he had such a blessed time at ESPN, "I couldn't be more excited about my past. I couldn't be more thrilled about my future." When Everett's departure was first announced, tributes poured in. Many fans said they have listened to Neil Everett and Stan Verrett every night since the pair brought "SportsCenter" to Los Angeles and began co-anchoring in 2009.A worthy send...

Sick sea lions attacking surfers in SoCal

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:51 GMT

Sea lions have been attacking people at the beach in Orange County who get too close and marine wildlife experts believe the mammals may be acting aggressively after being sickened by poisonous algal blooms. At the entrance to Dana Strands Beach in Dana Point is a warning to visitors about an aggressive sea lion in the area, one of at least three beaches where people have been bitten in the last several days.  “We’ve actually seen a number of surfers in the water that have been bit by sea lions and those sea lions are more likely to be sea lions that have had a seizure and are completely unaware of their surroundings, just erratically swimming and then they bump into somebody and bit somebody,” Dr. Alissa Deming of the Pacific Marine Mammal Center told KTLA.   Marine care centers in SoCal overwhelmed with sick sea lions, dolphins Deming also said the aggression in the sea lions is likely related to the dramatic increase in sick marine mammals needing rescue because of a...

Thousands of prisoners to get free college paid for by the government

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:51 GMT

The graduates lined up, brushing off their gowns and adjusting classmates’ tassels and stoles. As the graduation march played, the 85 men appeared to hoots and cheers from their families. They marched to the stage – one surrounded by barbed wire fence and constructed by fellow prisoners.For these were no ordinary graduates. Their black commencement garb almost hid their aqua and navy-blue prison uniforms as they received college degrees, high school diplomas and vocational certificates earned while they served time.Thousands of prisoners throughout the United States get their college degrees behind bars, most of them paid for by the federal Pell Grant program, which offers the neediest undergraduates tuition aid that they don’t have to repay.That program is about to expand exponentially next month, giving about 30,000 more students behind bars some $130 million in financial aid per year.The new rules, which overturn a 1994 ban on Pell Grants for prisoners, begin to address...

'Ballet of drones' highlight final night of Bordeaux Wine Festival

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:51 GMT

Hundreds of drones lit up the sky for guests at the Bordeaux Wine Festival in France over the weekend.The show was choreographed to music and illuminated the skies for two nights on Friday and Saturday, according to the Bordeaux Wine Festival's website.It was the first year the wine festival used a "ballet of drones" to entertain residents and guests. Drones highlight the final night of the Bordeaux Wine Festival in France (Fellus Nicolas via Storyful)Video footage of the 400 drones making an image of a bottle pouring wine into a glass was posted on Twitter by Fellus Nicolas.The Bordeaux Wine Festival also mentioned that the show was "respectful to the environment" and left no residue behind.

Screen To Table: Inside The New Netflix Bites Pop-Up

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:51 GMT

An all-star chef lineup including Curtis Stone, Ming Tsai, Andrew Zimmern, Rodney Scott, and pizzanista Ann Kim opened the doors to the colorful new Netflix Bites pop-up on Fairfax Avenue on Tuesday. The 106-seat eatery and bar dedicated to the network’s celebrity chefs will debut to the public on Friday, June 30, at the new Short Stories Hotel.Both Stone and Tsai worked the patio passing out signature appetizers like woodfired lamb ribs with leek and ash yogurt as well as hamachi sashimi. Drinkmasters mixologist Kate Gerwin was pouring Everything But The Alley Cat from episode #2 (Mount Gay dark rum, homemade coconut guava elixir, toasted orgeat, milk, and fresh lime juice) alongside a cornbread old fashioned.The whole hog at Netflix Bites (Michele Stueven)Kim worked the pizza oven while pitmaster Rodney Scott supervised the slow smoke of a whole hog, which was served southern style with white bread and collards. Zimmern, who is perhaps more famous for his exotic taste in bizarre f...

Former NFL quarterback Ryan Mallett drowns at Florida beach

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:51 GMT

DESTIN, Fla. (AP) — Quarterback Ryan Mallett, who played five seasons in the NFL, died in an apparent drowning Tuesday at a Florida Panhandle beach. He was 35.FILE – Baltimore Ravens quarterback Ryan Mallett in Jacksonville, Fla., Sept. 25, 2016. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File) Mallett was a football coach at White Hall High School in his native Arkansas, and the school district confirmed his death in a post on its website on Tuesday.The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Department said first responders were called to the beach at a tourist condo complex in Destin around 2:12 p.m.; a group of about 10 people who had been on a sandbar were having trouble swimming back to the beach. Mallett, who was among them, went under the water and was not breathing when he was pulled out.The sheriff’s office said a rip current was thought to have been a factor.Mallett played for the University of Michigan for one season before finishing his college career at Arkansas. He passed...

California city donates police cars to Mississippi town

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:51 GMT

Several former Manhattan Beach police cars are about to go back into use — in Mississippi.The Manhattan Beach Police Department recently donated five decommissioned vehicles to the town of Pickens, Mississippi.Pickens is a small town in central Mississipp. It’s population was 920 people, according to 2020 census data. Manhattan Beach, by contrast, has about 35,500 residents, census data shows.The Manhattan Beach City Council approved the donation at a meeting last month. Officials held a ceremony last week to commemorate the gift, which was part of the city’s fleet replacement program.This was Manhattan Beach’s first time donating police vehicles to a town in another state, city spokesperson Alexandria Latragna said.When Manhattan Beach Mayor Richard Montgomery met his Pickens counterpart, Paulette Moore, earlier this year at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington D.C., the two city leaders discussed the former city’s plan to decommission old MBPD vehicles and buy new ones, acc...

At 90, Broadway legend Chita Rivera recalls a life working with Fosse, Sondheim, Bernstein

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:51 GMT

Chita Rivera originated three of the most iconic roles in Broadway history: Anita in “West Side Story,” Velma in “Chicago,” and the title role in “Kiss of the Spider Woman.”She’s been nominated for 10 Tony Awards, winning for “Spider Woman” and “The Rink,” while picking up a lifetime achievement Tony in 2018, too. She was the first Latina to receive a Kennedy Center Honor and she’s got a Presidential Medal of Freedom to wear, too.Broadway legend Chita Rivera’s new memoir “Chita” tells the story of her life and career which includes creating the original Broadway roles of Anita of “West Side Story,” Velma in “Chicago,” and the title role of “Kiss of the Spider Woman.” (Image courtesy of HarperOne)Chita Rivera, an original cast member as Anita in the Broadway musical production of “West Side Story” is seen here in a photo from 1957. Her 2023 memoir “Chita” tells the story of her life and career. (Photo by As...

Large housing development on track on former grazing land

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:51 GMT

New homes – some 440 of them – will soon sprout on a large swath of open space at Antioch’s southernmost edge.That’s only one part of the long-planned 1,177-home development – the largest single residential project in the city in nearly a decade. But on Tuesday, the council gave the green light for the design concepts and use permit of only the first of the three-phase project.Dubbed The Ranch, the Richland Communities’ phase 1 development was approved on a 4-to-1 vote, with Mayor Pro Tem Tamisha Torres-Walker – who questioned the project’s lack of affordability – casting the sole “no” vote.Torres-Walker said the project was never meant for working-class people and “that’s unfortunate.”“I wish it would have been a more thoughtful development process,” she said.The Ranch has faced many challenges before being allowed to develop in what is known as the Sand Creek focus Area — 2,712 acres of rolling hills and flatland mainly occupied by grazing cattle and wildlife. Early on, envi...