Open Newswire

The City of Milbank was granted a future use permit from the South Dakota Water Management Board on Wednesday, despite opposition from a neighboring rural water system and concerns about drying the aquifer. The state’s water management board, whose members are appointed by the governor, makes decisions on the appropriation of the state’s water resources, […]

Despite Gov. Dan McKee’s repeated emphasis on “J-O-B-S,” Rhode Island’s business climate is one of the worst in the country, according to CNBC’s 2026 Top States for Business list published Thursday. The annual ranking puts the Ocean State 48th in terms of business-friendliness, based on a 10-factor, 2,500-point scorecard that includes infrastructure, GDP and job […]

New Mexico AG Raúl Torrez on Thursday said the U.S. Department of Justice is withholding records the state needs for its investigation of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's activities at Zorro Ranch in Santa Fe.

Nearly 400 pages of federal guidance left a lot unanswered questions for Michigan as it tries to prepare for sweeping changes in Medicaid. But some pieces did become clearer.

La Ciudad de San Diego está a punto de aprobar un acuerdo por 3.1 millones de dólares para resolver las demandas presentadas por un sargento del Departamento de Policía de San Diego (SDPD) que afirma haber sido víctima de discriminación racial durante más de una década.El próximo 14 de julio, se espera que los miembros […]

El magistrado instructor del caso Villarejo requiere a RAC1 unas grabaciones publicadas en marzo de 2025 en las que Cospedal reconoce que la Policía "limpió" de material comprometedor a Luis Bárcenas, según le había confesado "el presidente"La Abogacía del Estado afirma que Kitchen buscaba proteger a Rajoy y quitarle a Bárcenas “papeles que le comprometían” En un giro imprevisto, los policías que investigaron el caso Kitchen volverán al trabajo en los próximos días. Con el fin del juicio previsto para el 30 de julio, el actual juez instructor de la causa, Antonio Piña, ha aceptado que la Unidad de Asuntos Internos elabore un informe sobre las comunicaciones entre el comisario José Manuel Villarejo, María Dolores de Cospedal e Ignacio López del Hierro acerca de las presuntas entregas de dinero de la antigua secretaria general del PP y su entonces marido al policía. En el auto, al que ha tenido acceso elDiario.es, Piña también ordena que la emisora RAC1 entregue unas grabaciones cuya publicación en marzo de 2025 no consiguió que fueran valoradas por la justicia, permitiendo que María Dolores de Cospedal y Mariano Rajoy se hayan paseado por la vista de Kitchen como testigos, en algunos momentos olvidadizos y en otros, incluso displicentes. Uno de esos audios muestra cómo el 15 de septiembre de 2014, aproximadamente un año después del grueso de la operación Kitchen, el comisario Villarejo visita a Cospedal en su despacho de la planta séptima de la sede nacional del Partido Popular. Villarejo: Se ha encontrado hace un mes una documentación complicada… Yo no sé, espero que el ministro se la haya dado al presidente Cospedal: ¿Pero la habéis encontrado vosotros o el CNI? Villarejo: No. La hemos encontrado nosotros. Cospedal: Vosotros. No, porque yo sé que han encontrado. Lo del último mes no lo sé; yo sé que antes habían encontrado y más o menos habían limpiado a este [Bárcenas] todo lo que tenía Villarejo: Bueno, pues eso… Cospedal: A mí me lo ha dicho el presidente. No me lo ha dicho nadie más. Uno de los secretos que quedaba por aclarar de la macrocausa Villarejo era –sigue siendo– el de la pieza 34. El segundo instructor del caso, Manuel García Castellón, decidió abrirla como una suerte de almacén de todos los audios de Villarejo publicados por medios de comunicación, los que fueron volcados en Telegram por el ultra Alvise y los entregados en el juzgado por el empresario Javier Pérez Dolset. Aún es un misterio si todas estas horas de grabación pertenece al aproximadamente 50% de los audios de Villarejo que siguen encriptados en la Audiencia Nacional. La pieza permaneció inaccesible para las partes durante dos años. En su interior escondía un informe de Asuntos Internos que a punto estuvo de pasar desapercibido. En él, la Policía advertía de que adjuntaba un anexo con unos audios denominados MDCospedal “para su adecuada valoración sobre su posible vinculación con los hechos objeto de investigación (pieza 7 [Kitchen]) por parte de su autoridad”. Esa valoración nunca se produjo. La acusación popular del PSOE analizó los audios y solicitó, antes del juicio, la imputación de María Dolores de Cospedal, de su exmarido Ignacio López del Hierro y del Partido Popular como persona jurídica. El actual instructor, Antonio Piña, rechazó de plano las aspiraciones de los socialistas con el apoyo de la Fiscalía Anticorrupción. La acusación popular del PSOE ha conseguido que algunos extractos se reproduzcan en el juicio de Kitchen, pero sin apenas alcance: ni Cospedal ni Rajoy llegaron a la vista como acusados. Tras insistir, la representación del PSOE ha logrado que el juez Piña dicte un auto de aclaración a aquel que denegó la imputación de Cospedal admitiendo las dos diligencias citadas: que se requiera a RAC1 los audios y que Asuntos Internos elabore un nuevo informe. Si este apreciara indicios de delito y el juez asumiera su tesis se abriría una causa independiente del caso Kitchen sobre los nuevos investigados, explican fuentes jurídicas. Entre los audios que tendrá que analizar Asuntos Internos existen algunos sobre los que la unidad ya se ha pronunciado. En la pieza 34 está el contenido de la grabación publicada por El País en la que Cospedal ordena a Villarejo que detenga la publicación de los papeles de Bárcenas, la contabilidad B del Partido Popular. Anticorrupción, con el informe de Asuntos Internos, solicitó que Cospedal volviera a ser imputada, pero García Castellón se negó. En otro de los audios, Cospedal confiesa a Villarejo que el ministro del Interior Jorge Fernández Díaz le hace entrega de los informes de la UDEF sobre la caja B y Gürtel con solo un día de antelación a que lo tenga el juez. Como el anterior, se trata de grabaciones de 2017. Un tercer audio es posterior, de 12 de septiembre de 2017. Cospedal suma a su puesto de secretaria general del PP el de ministra de Defensa. Villarejo se ve rodeado por todos los escándalos sobre su patrimonio oculto y sus maniobras extraoficiales. El marido de Cospedal lo recoge en un punto del centro de Madrid y lo conduce al despacho de su esposa. Villarejo le pide ayuda. Cospedal contesta: “Yo hablo con quien tenga que hablar”. La verdad sobre los pagos encubiertos de Cospedal a Villarejo De otro lado está el informe que ya ha encargado a Asuntos Internos. La Policía se centrará en uno de los asuntos más graves y en que menos se detuvo el juez García Castellón: las alusiones en la agenda de Villarejo y en las grabaciones a los pagos de Cospedal bajo cuerda al comisario. El 6 de diciembre de 2012, por ejemplo, Villarejo anotó en su agenda “Cospe: Apoyo a tope en todo. Me envía a José L. Orti con 100 y promete 50 más el lunes. Quedo en informarla”. “José L. Orti” es José Luis Ortiz, jefe de gabinete de Cospedal entonces y quien también fue investigado en Kitchen antes de que la causa contra él se archivara. Menos de dos años después, Villarejo volvería a escribir el resumen de su cita con Cospedal en el hotel Orfila el 14 de septiembre de 2014: “18:15 en Orfila [hotel próximo a Génova]. Cambio al final a la sede 7ª [planta de la sede del PP]. Pide que haga un análisis de Esquerra. Comprende que quiera jubilarme. Promete pagar la deuda de 100”. En el juicio del caso Kitchen, el inspector jefe de Asuntos Internos que ha dirigido toda la investigación contra Villarejo explicó que su método de trabajo sobre las agendas del comisario consistió en cotejar las anotaciones con hechos constatables. La conclusión fue la siguiente: “El señor Villarejo no se engaña a sí mismo. Eran para consumo interno”, Ahora, el juez Piña ordena a Asuntos Internos que “identifique si entre el material incautado al señor Villarejo se identifican conversaciones con contenido que pueda aportar indicios de criminalidad de este con la señora Cospedal o el señor López [del Hierro], correos electrónicos o transferencias bancarias”.

This weekend, downtown Stockton hosts one of its biggest annual pop culture events. Things to do in Stockton | July 9-12: StocktonCon returns, Christmas in July and more is a story from Stocktonia News, a rigorous and factual newsroom covering Greater Stockton, California. Please consider making a charitable contribution to support our journalism.

Since Egypt’s dramatic World Cup exit on Tuesday, French referee Francois Letexier has become the target of intense scrutiny around the globe. Argentina came back from a 2-0 deficit to win after Letexier controversially disallowed an Egyptian second-half goal. One of Egypt’s players said afterward the outcome had been “rigged.” At his weekly press conference,... The post Someone changed this World Cup referee’s Wikipedia page to say he was Jewish. Enraged soccer fans believed it. appeared first on The Forward.

فن‌زون لس‌آنجلس در تب بازی فرانسه و مراکش؛ گزارش اختصاصی صدای آمریکا

(The Center Square) — New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed a bill on Thursday creating a new tax credit aimed at spurring private businesses to provide childcare options for employees. The new program, which begins next January, will give companies up to a 50% credit against either the Business Profits Tax or Business Enterprise Tax for creating at least 12 new childcare slots or investing in an existing facility to create 12 slots. “Expanding access to childcare is a critical part of our efforts to ensure New Hampshire remains the best place to live, work, and raise a family," Ayotte said in remarks Thursday at the Manchester YMCA, flanked by lawmakers, childcare providers and parents. "With this new childcare tax credit program, we’re encouraging our business community to be part of the solution to this pressing economic challenge in our state." she added. Like most states, New Hampshire is struggling with the rising cost of childcare forcing parents to take second jobs and stay home from work to care for their kids. Child care services for two children under age five costs about $30,000 per year or roughly 30% of median household income, according to a 2025 report by the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute. Over a typical childhood, a family could spend nearly $300,000 on care for two children, the report's authors said. Many child care centers are financially strained in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and advocates say low compensation and rising child care costs are putting some providers out of business. Mike Skelton, president and CEO of the Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire, called the new program "an important step toward addressing one of New Hampshire’s most pressing workforce challenges." "For too many families, finding affordable, accessible child care has become a barrier to participating fully in our economy, while employers across the state struggle to attract and retain talent," hje said. "While there is more work to be done, these reforms demonstrate what is possible when policymakers and the business community work together to strengthen New Hampshire’s workforce and economic competitiveness."

Mexico and U.S. soccer fans revel in the historic run for both teams, even through the crushing losses.

The plan will guide the implementation of voluntary conservation projects and programs in the northeastern Minnesota watershed over the next decade.

The budget was due June 30, making this the fifth consecutive late budget. Last year’s $50.1 billion budget negotiations were finalized 135 days late.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Parks and Recreation Board voted to send a $150,000 study on the feasibility of Amarillo’s public pools and splash pads to the Amarillo City Council for a final vote. The study would examine whether and where public pools are needed, and if repairs can be made to the currently closed Southwest […] The post Amarillo Parks and Rec board recommends moving forward with public pools study appeared first on Amarillo Tribune.

The Maly Theater will stage a play about the Decembrist uprising written by Vladimir Medinsky in its 2026/2027 season, the theater’s actor Vladimir Dubrovsky said in an interview with the newspaper Tula.aif.ru.

This story originally appeared in New York Focus, a nonprofit news publication investigating power in New York. Sign up for their newsletter here.If Hunter College manages to reduce the roughly one ton of trash it produces each day — as required by a state order directing all public entities to cut their waste — it will likely be thanks to a new, highly democratic decision-making body known as a citizens assembly.Over two months, some three dozen Hunter undergraduates met weekly to research the topic, grill the college’s waste managers and outside experts, tour the campus trash trail, and ultimately come to consensus on seven actions aimed at sending less garbage to recycling and landfills.The CUNY Climate Assembly Project at Hunter, or CCAP, is one of the first citizens assemblies in New York state. The approach involves selecting participants at random, ensuring their demographics accurately reflect the community, and giving their recommendations real weight in decision-making. Also known as civic assembly, popular assembly, lottocracy, or citizen jury, it has been used in Europe for decades and is gaining traction in the United States and around the world.Some of the Hunter College climate assembly participants were drawn by the $750 stipend. Others had nothing planned for spring break, when the assembly began. And some seized the opportunity to collaborate with others and achieve a tangible good.“I’ve been in a phase of climate nihilism,” said Luisa Pellettieri, a senior in sociology. “I’m trying to say yes to more things. I’m hoping to get hope back.”Over the summer, the group will present its recommendations to Hunter College leadership, which promised to review and respond to them. While college leaders did not commit to more binding language, they have been involved and supportive of the effort.Assembly organizer Forrest Sparks said the project connects people in new ways. “The group that comes together looks like the larger public of Hunter,” he said, addressing the crowd gathered in the West Building’s eighth-floor conference room on a rainy Friday in February, waiting for participants to be drawn from a lottery spinner. Over 23,000 students received an email invitation to opt in to the lottery; 570 accepted the invitation, and 42 were selected by lottery.“It really expands who decides and who designs within our democracy,” Sparks said to the group. “In our current political system, unfortunately, we don’t have too many pathways to do that. But y’all are leading the way.”A custodial supervisor leads delegates on a tour of waste management on the Hunter campus as a custodian walks through carrying bags of trash.A democratic innovationCentral to any citizens assembly is the selection of participants by lottery. In a given city, an invitation might be mailed to as many as 10,000 to 20,000 people. Of those who respond, several dozen participants are usually chosen with tools that select for both randomness and demographic representativeness.Running a successful assembly is labor-intensive. Organizers must secure funding, get buy-in from decision-makers who have the power to act on the assembly’s consensus, and recruit a qualified team to plan and lead the process over weeks or months. CCAP was funded by a Mellon Foundation grant to the CUNY Center for the Humanities and led by professional facilitators and trained graduate students.But the payoffs can be significant. Proponents say citizens assemblies surface genuine public opinion and generate creative solutions that politicians — constrained by loyalties and conflicts — might never reach. They build trust in public policymaking, and participants often report feeling more engaged in democracy, sometimes for the first time.Former New York City comptroller and council member Brad Lander called for a citizens assembly on housing while campaigning for mayor last year. “At a time of catastrophically low trust in our democracy, I believe citizens assemblies can help to renew it,” Lander, who is now a candidate for Congress, told New York Focus.The model also forges unusual bonds: Because a citizen assembly’s “mini-public” mirrors the demographics of its community, participants collaborate with people unlike them politically and socioeconomically, and elected officials get policy options with democratic legitimacy already built in.Local leadersThe Hunter College climate project isn’t the city’s only citizens assembly.Last month, New York City residents over the age of 11 voted on local projects in a city-sponsored deliberative process called The People’s Money. The five boroughs have $4 million total to spend on priorities selected through borough-level citizens assemblies.Now in its fourth cycle, The People’s Money unfolds in four phases: open idea submission, a citizens assembly in each borough to choose finalist ideas, a public vote, and then implementation. Projects have included swim lessons for children in NYCHA housing, food-growing and cooking programs, and housing education for older adults.The program is run by the Civic Engagement Commission, which was created by a 2018 referendum to initiate a citywide participatory budgeting process (in addition to the participatory budgeting programs run by many City Council members in their own districts). “People themselves do know what is best, and they can arrive at conclusions that work for the community and that are legislatively feasible,” said Benjamin Solotaire, senior adviser at the Civic Engagement Commission, who helped to integrate the assembly component into The People’s Money process. “It is really the lived experience that makes it feasible.”New York and beyondThe climax of the Hunter College assembly’s campus “garbage tour” was a visit to the trash compactor on East 67th Street, where delegates watched as custodians on a high platform emptied trash from the entire campus into a massive metal container before it was carted away by the Sanitation Department. The goal was to see the problem up close.Rozen Kapadia, a junior studying psychology, said her role on the assembly was already changing her mindset. “I do feel responsible,” she said. “I feel expected to bring about change.”A staff custodial supervisor answers assembly members' questions outside the compactor on East 67th Street.Over the two months that followed, the delegates worked to achieve it. They sought information from outside experts. They met every Friday to learn, deliberate and ideate. A public forum on May 15 included the broader campus community. In early June, the assembly developed and voted on nine recommendations, passing seven with a strong consensus. Those include expanding the compost program, barring on-campus vendors from distributing styrofoam and single-use plastics, and redesigning and relocating trash receptacles to encourage recycling.The results will be discussed with the administration over the summer. Then nine students will serve as post-assembly fellows, working with campus leadership to implement the proposals.“This was a great experience,” said Hunter junior Tariq Bradshaw after the vote. “I think I’ll always look back on this time, because I never thought I would do anything like this before. It was great being part of something bigger.”It’s unclear whether supporting citizens assemblies is a priority for Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration; neither the mayor nor his new Office of Mass Engagement answered questions about it. (OME’s first initiative is quite different: a campaign to recruit tenants to testify at upcoming rent stabilization hearings.)Across the country, meanwhile, citizens assemblies are proliferating. This spring, Los Angeles used one as part of a city charter review, as did Lexington, Kentucky. Akron, Ohio, just conducted a citizens assembly on housing; Raleigh, North Carolina, held one focused on urban planning. Beginning in July, Connecticut will hold a statewide citizens assembly on property taxes.Abroad, notable examples include the standing assemblies of Paris and East Belgium — whose recommendations have been adopted into law — and the 2016 Irish assembly that led the country to legalize abortion two years later.Citizens assemblies are not infallible. French President Emmanuel Macron, for example, overpromised and underdelivered on implementing the French Citizens Convention on Climate six years ago.Still, the model may prove well suited to society’s emerging problems. Two western communities have already launched assemblies on artificial intelligence: the Central Oregon Community Solutions Assembly on AI and the Snohomish County, Washington Civic Assembly.If elected, Lander said, he’d love to do the same in New York. A citizens assembly could “transform an extractive, profit-driven model of artificial intelligence by using a democratic model for amplifying our collective intelligence,” he said.

Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia believes that the War Powers resolutions passed by Congress are legally binding.

The poll comes at the outset of a new, feverish debate over who can beat Sen. Susan Collins.

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education announced a new initiative that will cover tuition for eligible in-state students.

В Авиньоне с 6 по 21 июля на площадке культурного проекта La Manufacture в Авиньоне — идёт «Décréation», постановка режиссёра Александра Плотникова. В основу спектакля легли идеи и трагическая история жизни французского философа Симона Вейль — участницы Сопротивления и одной из самых радикальных мыслительниц XX века. Женщина умерла от истощения в Англии в 1934 году, отказываясь есть больше, чем получали соотечественники и заключенные в оккупированной нацистами Франции. В программе фестиваля Off этого года — 1780 спектаклей из трёх десятков стран. На сайте Авиньона Off «Décréation» стоит с пометкой «coup de cœur»— так профессионалы во Франции выделяют работы, представляющие особенный интерес.