Swedish inquiry finds abuse and fraud in international adoptions dating back decades
STOCKHOLM (AP) — A Swedish commission recommended Monday that international adoptions be stopped after an investigation found a series of abuses and fraud dating back decades.
Sweden is the latest country to examine its international adoption policies after allegations of unethical practices, particularly in South Korea.
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Winnipeg Free Press
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Nebraska is the latest state to ban transgender students from girls' sports
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen signed into law Wednesday a measure banning transgender students from girls' sports, making the state the latest to keep transgender athletes from competing on women's and girls' teams. Pillen signed the law flanked by dozens of lawmakers, women athletes and other advocates — including former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines, who has made a name for herself as a vocal advocate of banning transgender athletes from women's sports. The measure passed by the Nebraska Legislature last week broke a filibuster by a single vote cast along party lines. It was pared down from its initial form, which also sought to bar transgender students from using bathrooms and locker rooms corresponding with their gender identity. Sponsors agreed to drop the bathroom and locker room ban when one Republican — Omaha Sen. Merv Riepe — declared he would vote against it otherwise. The measure was first introduced in 2023 by then-freshman Sen. Kathleen Kauth, but failed to advance as lawmakers angrily argued over Kauth's other bill that sought to bar gender-affirming care for transgender minors under the age of 19. An amended version that banned gender-affirming surgery — but not all gender-affirming care — for minors later passed and was enacted that year. On Wednesday, Kauth promised to revive her bathroom and locker room ban next year, reiterating her rejection that people can determine their own gender. 'Men are men and women are women,' she said, and urged voters in Riepe's district to pressure him to support it. Republicans behind the sports ban say it protects women and girls and their ability to fairly compete in sports. Opponents say with so few transgender students seeking to participate in sports, the measure is a solution in search of a problem. Fewer than 10 transgender students have participated in middle school and high school sports in the state over the past decade, according to the Nebraska School Activities Association. At least 24 other states have adopted similar bans. President Donald Trump also signed an executive order this year intended to dictate which sports competitions transgender athletes can enter and has battled in court with Maine over that state's allowing transgender athletes in girls' and women's sports. The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska denounced the measure. ACLU Nebraska Executive Director Mindy Rush Chipman said the ban 'slams the door shut' for some transgender students to fully participate in their school communities. 'This ban will only create problems, not solve any,' Rush Chipman said, adding that 'the constant targeting of LGBTQ+ Nebraskans must stop.'
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Trump's tariffs would cut US deficits by $2.8T over 10 years and shrink the economy, CBO says
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff plan would cut deficits by $2.8 trillion over a 10-year period while shrinking the economy, raising the inflation rate and reducing the purchasing power of households overall, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the Congressional Budget Office. The numbers were revealed in a letter sent to Democratic congressional leadership outlining how the Trump administration's plan to impose wide-ranging tariffs on countries around the world will affect American households. Baked into the CBO analysis is a prediction that households would ultimately buy less from the countries hit with added tariffs. The budget office estimates that the tariffs would increase the average annual rate of inflation by 0.4 percentage points in 2025 and 2026. The budget office's model also assumes that the tariffs, announced through executive action between January and May, will be in place permanently. Since the analysis was conducted, a federal court struck down sweeping tariffs that Trump invoked under an emergency-powers law. An appeals court allowed the Trump administration to continue collecting the tariffs while the case goes through appeals. Largely confirming what other economic models have predicted, the CBO's estimations show that the tradeoff for a $2.8 trillion deficit reduction over 10 years would be an overall reduction in household wealth. In addition, the tariffs would shrink the economy, or reduce the rate of the gross domestic product by 0.06 percentage points per year. The Penn-Wharton Budget Model's April report predicted that the Republican president's tariffs would reduce long-run GDP by about 6% and wages by 5%. A major caveat of the CBO's estimates is written into the report — its estimates are 'subject to significant uncertainty, in part because the Administration could change how the tariff policies are administered.' Trump has often announced changes and pauses to his tariff plans on his social media platform. In April, he posted that he was backing off his tariffs on most nations for 90 days and jacking up the tax rate on Chinese imports to 125%. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Last week, he announced plans to hike the tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to a punishing 50%, a move that's set to hammer businesses and likely push up prices for consumers even further. The 50% tariffs went into effect Wednesday. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development forecast Tuesday that the U.S. economy, the world's largest, will slow growth to just 1.5% in 2026. A representative from the White House did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment ___ Associated Press writer Paul Wiseman in Washington contributed to this report.
Winnipeg Free Press
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Ivory Coast opposition leader Thiam excluded from October's presidential ballot list
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Tidjane Thiam, a former CEO of Credit Suisse and the main opposition leader in Ivory Coast, has been excluded from the country's final list of presidential candidates along with three other prominent opposition candidates, the electoral commission said on Wednesday. Ivory Coast is set to hold a highly contested vote in October. Earlier this year, a court in Ivory Coast ruled that Thiam was not eligible to run for president because of his dual Ivorian-French nationality, a decision that Thiam vowed to fight. Ibrahime Coulibaly-Kuibiert, president of the country's electoral commission, told reporters on Monday: 'If the courts have ordered removal, we will comply.' Thiam, who is the president of the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast, won the party's primary in an uncontested vote. He was widely seen as the main challenger to President Alassane Ouattara, who won in 2020 after a disputed election left dozens dead and opposition candidates boycotted the election. Born in Ivory Coast, Thiam received French nationality in 1987 but gave it up in March. Other prominent opposition candidates excluded from the vote include former president Laurent Gbagbo, his close ally Charles Ble Goude, who was charged with crimes against humanity related to the civil war, and the former prime minister and rebel leader Guillaume Soro, who was sentenced in absentia to life in prison for organizing a coup. There was no immediate comment from Thiam's legal representative or his party.
