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☆ Child abuse scandal rattles Orban’s image as defender of ‘family values’
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Orban has long posed as a globetrotting defender of Christian values and an enemy of liberalism. But Orban’s critics say his carefully constructed image is a thin guise for a plutocratic mode of governance designed to enrich a small group of oligarchs. The scandal could also weaken Hungary’s bid to gain more influence in Brussels in the upcoming European elections. Since the scandal was revealed last weekend by Hungarian news site 444.hu, “Orban has not made an appearance or said anything. Critics argue that Orban’s proposed constitutional solution to the scandal is a symptom of his autocratic mode of governance.

Persons: CNN —, Viktor Orban, Katalin Novak, Orban’s, ”, Judit Varga, Fidesz party’s, Varga, Orban, Hungary’s, “ Orban, Kim Lane Scheppele, Attila Kisbendek, Peter Magyar, “, ” Magyar, Magyar, Hungary ”, ” Orban, Critics, ” Scheppele, Hungary –, Bernadett Szabo, Scheppele, ‘, illiberal, ’ ”, Pope Francis, Eva Fodor, Fodor, Attila Kisbenedek, Zoltan Balog, Balog, hasn’t, Mark Rutte, Europe’s, he’s Organizations: CNN, CNN — Hungary’s, Fidesz, European Union, Princeton University, Partizan, State of, Reuters, Survey, Christian, Central European University, Getty Locations: Washington, Moscow, Brussels, Budapest, AFP, Varga’s, Hungary, State, Christian Europe, China, Venezuela, ”, Netherlands

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The government of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has taken steps to to address human rights abuses in the country, including the killings of journalists and rights activists, a U.N. expert said Friday. Khan said she underscored the need for the Marcos administration to seek justice for rights victims under his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte. She cited U.N. figures saying that at least 81 past killings of journalists in the Philippines have not been investigated and remain unresolved. He insisted that the task force Khan wants disbanded had helped weaken the communist insurgency in recent years, with just 1,500 guerrillas remaining. Once remaining guerrilla fronts have been dismantled, the task force would turn to promoting peace and national unity, Malaya said.

Persons: Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Irene Khan, Khan, Marcos, Rodrigo Duterte, ” Khan, ” Jonathan Malaya, Joeal Calupitan, Aaron Favila Organizations: United Nations, —, Communist Party of, New People’s Army, National Security Council, Associated Press Locations: MANILA, Philippines, Philippine, Manila, Malaya

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly 10 years after it was first imagined as an opera, “Grounded” is ready to take flight. With music by Jeanine Tesori and a libretto adapted by George Brant from his own play, “Grounded” tells the story of an F-16 fighter pilot who becomes pregnant and leaves the service. The opera has its world premiere at the Washington National Opera on Saturday, with performances continuing through Nov. 13. And next fall it will open the season at the Metropolitan Opera, which commissioned the work. “It’s not a story about, Oh it’s really hard to be a woman in a man’s world,” Cremo said.

Persons: Jeanine Tesori, George Brant, Paul Cremo, It’s, “, Millie ”, Jeanine, we’ve, ” Cremo, it’s, That’s, ” Brant, Cremo, he’d, ”, Tesori, Brant, —, Jess, Eric, Michael Mayer, Mimi Lien, ” Lien, Emily D’Angelo, ” D’Angelo, can’t, Daniela Candillari, ” Candillari, ” Critics, WNO Organizations: WASHINGTON, Washington National Opera, Metropolitan Opera, Dynamics Locations: Nevada, Manhattan, Canadian, Eric’s, Wyoming, “, New York

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s immigration minister argued Tuesday that international refugee rules must be rewritten to reduce the number of people entitled to protection, as the Conservative government seeks international support for its tough stance on unauthorized migration. Britain’s government has adopted an increasingly punitive approach to people who arrive by unauthorized means such as small boats across the English Channel. Sonya Sceats, chief executive of campaign group Freedom from Torture, said: “LGBTQI+ people are tortured in many countries for who they are and who they love. The U.K. has sought international allies in its attempts to stop Channel crossings and toughen refugee laws, with limited success. British authorities also leased a barge to house migrants in a floating dormitory moored off England’s south coast.

Persons: Suella Braverman, ” Braverman, “, Braverman, ”, Braverman’s, Sonya Sceats, Alejandro Mayorkas, General Merrick Garland Organizations: —, Conservative, Nations Refugee Convention, American Enterprise Institute, Conservatives, U.S, Homeland Locations: Washington, Cambridge, Britain, France, Rwanda

☆ Shohei Ohtani: MLB two-way superstar entering ‘uncharted waters’ on brink of record-breaking contract
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Sahil Kurup | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“The figures you hear mentioned, whether that be $50 million, $60 million, he will set a new standard. This season, he’s currently in the top three in both categories — Ohtani is doing things previously thought to be inconceivable in the sport. Steph Chambers/Getty Images“[Ohtani] increases interest in Japanese baseball — who’s going to be the next Ohtani?” Fellenzer said. It increases interest in Japanese baseball here. Ohtani receives his 2021 American League MVP trophy alongside his teammate and three-time MVP outfielder Mike Trout.

Persons: Shohei Ohtani, –, he’s, Jeffrey Fellenzer, Ohtani, Tim Heitman, “ Sho, ”, He’s, Dusty Baker, Yu Darvish, Hideo Nomo, Scott Miller, “ Nobody, Babe Ruth, Ruth, Steph Chambers, ” Fellenzer, Tommy John, — Ohtani, “, ” Ohtani, Mike Trout, Phil Nevin, we’ve, ” Nevin Organizations: CNN, ” University of Southern, CNN Sport, ”, Pacific League, Major League Baseball, LA Times, Los Angeles Angels, New York, Texas Rangers, ” Houston Astros, peerless, Los Angeles Dodgers, The Dodgers, Hokkaido, Ham Fighters, Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Angels, MLB, American League, Kyodo, White Sox Locations: ” University of Southern California, America, Hokkaido Nippon, Japan

☆ Donald Trump … on CNN? A Live Town Hall Reignites a Debate.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Michael M. Grynbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Should a leading presidential contender be given the opportunity to speak to voters on live television? What if that contender is former President Donald J. Trump? Mr. Trump is set to appear on CNN on Wednesday night for a town hall in New Hampshire — his first live appearance on a major TV news network (besides those controlled by Rupert Murdoch) since 2020 — and a torrid media debate is swirling. Those objections intensified on Tuesday after Mr. Trump was found liable for the sexual abuse and defamation of the writer E. Jean Carroll. “Is @CNN still going to do a town hall with the sexual predator twice impeached insurrectionist?” Alexander S. Vindman, the Army colonel who was a witness in Mr. Trump’s first impeachment trial, wrote on Twitter.

Follow for live updates on the Trump CNN town hall meeting. Those objections intensified on Tuesday after Mr. Trump was found liable for the sexual abuse and defamation of the writer E. Jean Carroll. And foes of Mr. Trump will cringe at seeing him on air at all. He is backed by David Zaslav, the Warner chief executive, who has batted away objections to Wednesday’s Trump town hall. There is the awkward fact that Mr. Trump still has a pending $475 million defamation lawsuit against the network.

☆ A Cautionary Example for Those Cheering the Trump Indictment
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Daniel Raisbeck | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

As Donald Trump faces indictment, many of his opponents are losing sight of a warning they issued in 2016. Then, Mr. Trump spoke of prosecuting Hillary Clinton and his supporters chanted “Lock her up!” Critics accused him of subverting a crucially important norm against political prosecution. They said that would be a dangerous turn, and they were right. In much of Latin America, the use of the judicial apparatus as a means to sideline electoral opponents is part of the political culture. In a particularly egregious example, the autocratic Nicaraguan regime of Daniel Ortega arrested more than a dozen of his rivals just months before the November 2021 presidential election, many under treason charges created by a law Mr. Ortega’s government had enacted in December 2020.

Infowars founder Alex Jones speaks to the media after appearing at his Sandy Hook defamation trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Waterbury, Connecticut, U.S., October 4, 2022. The plaintiffs were relatives of 20 children and six staff members who were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012. The families, meanwhile, suffered a decade-long campaign of harassment and death threats by Jones’ followers, attorney Chris Mattei said. The trial was marked by weeks of anguished testimony from the families, who filled the gallery each day and took turns recounting how Jones’ lies about Sandy Hook compounded their grief. In August, another jury found that Jones and his company must pay $49.3 million to Sandy Hook parents in a similar case in Austin, Texas, where the headquarters of Jones' Infowars conspiracy theory website is located.

☆ Pennsylvania school district created culture of anti-LGBTQ discrimination, complaint alleges
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( Zachary Schermele | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania filed a federal complaint Thursday alleging one of the largest school districts in the state has created a widespread culture of discrimination toward LGBTQ students, particularly those who are transgender and nonbinary. The lawyers interviewed dozens of LGBTQ students and their parents, as well as current and former teachers and staff. The bullying forced some of them to miss school, and in 2019, a former transgender student attempted suicide, according to the complaint. Serving more than 18,000 students, Central Bucks drew national attention in 2021 as debates over pandemic policies gave way to larger culture-war clashes in the community. Amid a surge in anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and policy in school boards across the country, Walczak said, the alleged circumstances at Central Bucks are not an isolated situation.

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