Latest news with #Rom
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Melissa Hortman was a climate and clean energy champion for Minnesota
Former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman is being remembered by advocates and lawmakers as one of the most important climate and clean energy leaders in the state's history. From the state's trailblazing community solar program to the flurry of energy and environmental laws adopted during Democrats' 2023 trifecta, Hortman had a hand in passing some of the country's most ambitious, consequential state-level clean energy policy during her two-decade legislative career. Hortman, who was a Democrat, and her husband Mark were shot and killed in their suburban Minneapolis home Saturday in what authorities say was a politically motivated assassination. The alleged gunman, Vance Boelter, is also charged with attempted murder for shooting Democratic Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette. Hortman, who was 55 years old, twice tried for a state House seat before finally winning in 2004. Moving through the ranks of House leadership, the attorney served as speaker pro tempore, deputy minority leader, and minority leader before becoming speaker in 2019 and serving in that role for three legislative sessions. 'Clean energy was her first love,' said Michael Noble, who worked with Hortman for more than 20 years during his time as executive director of the Minnesota-based clean-energy policy advocacy organization Fresh Energy. 'She really mastered the details and dug deep into climate and clean energy.' Hortman chaired the House Energy Policy Committee in 2013, a standout year for solar policy in which she helped pass legislation establishing one of the country's first community solar programs, and also a law requiring utilities to obtain 1.5% of their electricity from solar by 2020, with a goal of 10% by 2030. 'That was the year we put solar on the map,' Noble said. Community solar advocate John Farrell recalled answering Hortman's questions in detail concerning the benefits and drawbacks of community solar during meetings. She was preparing to defend the bill and convince others, even Republicans, that it could be something they could support. 'She wasn't going to tell them something untrue,' said Farrell, who directs the Energy Democracy Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, an advocacy group. 'She was going to seek reasons why this policy might be something that they would care about or that it might align with their values.' Nicole Rom, former executive director of the Minnesota-based youth climate advocacy group Climate Generation, said Hortman was committed to educating herself on climate issues. Hortman attended the United Nations' Conference of the Parties (COP) climate conferences and was part of the University of Minnesota's delegation at the 2015 Paris climate talks, where her vision for more ambitious state climate goals and policy may have begun to percolate, Rom said. The result was the strong climate legislation Minnesota accomplished in 2023, Rom said. 'If she never served a day before or a day after the 2023 session, she would still go down in history as an incredible leader,' said Peter Wagenius, legislative and political director of the Sierra Club's Minnesota chapter. After Democrats won control of the state House, Senate, and governor's office in the 2022 election, Hortman understood the trifecta was a rare opportunity that may not arise for another decade, he said. The following year, Hortman combined her skills and experience as a legislator, committee chair, and political leader to push forward an agenda that would fundamentally transform clean energy and transportation in Minnesota while solidifying her reputation as one of the legislative body's greatest leaders. The session's accomplishments included a state requirement of 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040, along with more than 70 other energy and environmental policy provisions that created a state green bank, funded renewable energy programs, supported sustainable building, and increased funding for transit. Other laws passed that year required the state to consider the climate impacts of transportation projects, provided electric vehicle rebates, revised the community solar program to focus on lower-income customers, and improved grid-interconnection bottlenecks. When the trifecta arrived, she ensured her colleagues were 'ready to move on a whole list of items in an unapologetic way,' Wagenius said. Hortman also practiced 'intergenerational respect' by elevating and helping pass laws proposed by first- and second-term legislators, he said. Democratic Rep. Patty Acomb said Hortman empowered others within the party, made legislators feel they were 'like a team,' and had a habit of never taking credit for legislative success. 'She shied away from that,' Acomb said. Acomb, who began serving in 2019, became chair of the House Climate and Energy Finance and Policy Committee four years later. She credits Hortman with that opportunity and with making Minnesota a national leader in clean energy. 'In so many ways, she was a trailblazer,' she said. Gregg Mast, executive director of the industry group Clean Energy Economy Minnesota, said Hortman followed up on the historic 2023 session with a 2024 legislative agenda that built upon the previous year's success. The Legislature made the permitting process for energy projects less onerous while passing a handful of other measures promoting clean buildings and transportation. 'She knew that ultimately, to reach 100% clean energy by 2040, we actually needed to be putting steel in the ground and building these projects,' Mast said. Ben Olson, legislative director for the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, first met Hortman 20 years ago while lobbying for an environmental bill. He found her to be kind, witty, and pleasantly sarcastic, the kind of legislator who asked questions, closely listened to responses, and offered sage advice. 'Everyone liked her, and she was close to everybody who had spent time with her,' he said. Ellen Anderson, a former Democratic state senator and clean energy champion, remembered when Hortman asked if she could co-teach a course with her on climate change at the University of Minnesota in 2015. Hortman came prepared for classes with notebooks of data and information. 'She was super organized,' Anderson said. Rom thinks Hortman's love for nature drove her climate and clean energy advocacy. The legislator loved hiking, biking, gardening, and other outdoor activities. In a blog post for Climate Generation before attending the UN's 2017 climate conference, Hortman wrote about the impact of climate change on trees and how she had planted nearly two dozen in her backyard to offset her family's carbon emissions. It was a message not lost on her two children, Colin and Sophie, who suggested in a statement that people commemorate their parents by planting a tree, visiting a park or trail, petting a dog, and trying a new hobby. 'Hold your loved ones a little closer,' they wrote. 'Love your neighbors. Treat each other with kindness and respect. The best way to honor our parents' memory is to do something, whether big or small, to make our community just a little better for someone else.'
The Advertiser
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Second man charged over fires at homes linked to UK PM
A Romanian national has been charged with arson, British police say - the second man to be charged in an investigation into a series of fires at properties linked to Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Police were called to a blaze at a property belonging to Starmer in north London earlier in May. No one was injured, but the entrance to the home was damaged. Two further fires on separate days, targeting a nearby flat and a car, both linked to the prime minister, are also part of the investigation. A 21-year-old Ukrainian, Roman Lavrynovych, was charged over the fires last week. Police said the Romanian national, 26-year-old Stanislav Carpiuc, will appear in a London court later on Tuesday charged with conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life. He had been arrested at London's Luton Airport on Saturday. Police also arrested a third man in connection with the fires on Monday. He remains in police custody. Counterterrorism police have led the investigation given the prime minister's involvement. Starmer, who has lived at his official 10 Downing Street residence in central London since becoming prime minister last July, has called the incidents "an attack on all of us, on our democracy and the values we stand for". A Romanian national has been charged with arson, British police say - the second man to be charged in an investigation into a series of fires at properties linked to Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Police were called to a blaze at a property belonging to Starmer in north London earlier in May. No one was injured, but the entrance to the home was damaged. Two further fires on separate days, targeting a nearby flat and a car, both linked to the prime minister, are also part of the investigation. A 21-year-old Ukrainian, Roman Lavrynovych, was charged over the fires last week. Police said the Romanian national, 26-year-old Stanislav Carpiuc, will appear in a London court later on Tuesday charged with conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life. He had been arrested at London's Luton Airport on Saturday. Police also arrested a third man in connection with the fires on Monday. He remains in police custody. Counterterrorism police have led the investigation given the prime minister's involvement. Starmer, who has lived at his official 10 Downing Street residence in central London since becoming prime minister last July, has called the incidents "an attack on all of us, on our democracy and the values we stand for". A Romanian national has been charged with arson, British police say - the second man to be charged in an investigation into a series of fires at properties linked to Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Police were called to a blaze at a property belonging to Starmer in north London earlier in May. No one was injured, but the entrance to the home was damaged. Two further fires on separate days, targeting a nearby flat and a car, both linked to the prime minister, are also part of the investigation. A 21-year-old Ukrainian, Roman Lavrynovych, was charged over the fires last week. Police said the Romanian national, 26-year-old Stanislav Carpiuc, will appear in a London court later on Tuesday charged with conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life. He had been arrested at London's Luton Airport on Saturday. Police also arrested a third man in connection with the fires on Monday. He remains in police custody. Counterterrorism police have led the investigation given the prime minister's involvement. Starmer, who has lived at his official 10 Downing Street residence in central London since becoming prime minister last July, has called the incidents "an attack on all of us, on our democracy and the values we stand for". A Romanian national has been charged with arson, British police say - the second man to be charged in an investigation into a series of fires at properties linked to Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Police were called to a blaze at a property belonging to Starmer in north London earlier in May. No one was injured, but the entrance to the home was damaged. Two further fires on separate days, targeting a nearby flat and a car, both linked to the prime minister, are also part of the investigation. A 21-year-old Ukrainian, Roman Lavrynovych, was charged over the fires last week. Police said the Romanian national, 26-year-old Stanislav Carpiuc, will appear in a London court later on Tuesday charged with conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life. He had been arrested at London's Luton Airport on Saturday. Police also arrested a third man in connection with the fires on Monday. He remains in police custody. Counterterrorism police have led the investigation given the prime minister's involvement. Starmer, who has lived at his official 10 Downing Street residence in central London since becoming prime minister last July, has called the incidents "an attack on all of us, on our democracy and the values we stand for".
Bloomberg
17-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Merz Sees No Risk of UniCredit Taking Over Commerzbank Currently
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz currently sees no risk that Italy's UniCredit SpA will be able to take over Commerzbank AG. 'The bank's stake in Commerzbank is now below the threshold at which it would have to make a takeover offer,' Merz told reporters in Rome Saturday. 'It's currently unclear whether this threshold will be reached or exceeded.'
Egypt Independent
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Egypt Independent
Palestinian Islamic Jihad releases first-ever video of Israeli hostage Rom Braslavski
CNN — A Palestinian militant group in Gaza released a video on Wednesday of Rom Braslavski, a 21-year-old Israeli soldier who was taken hostage from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023. The 7-minute propaganda video, released by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, is the first time Braslavski has been shown on camera during his captivity. The video indicates that Islamic Jihad, which coordinates with, but is independent from Hamas, is holding at least one of the 59 hostages still held in Gaza. It is not clear exactly when the video was filmed. Almost certainly speaking under duress, Braslavski, who was off-duty and working as a security guard when he was kidnapped, describes 'a year and a half of suffering and hell,' citing illnesses and a lack of food and water and describes Israel's incessant bombardment of Gaza. He pleads with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump to end the war and strike a deal for his release. Braslavski also calls out far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has opposed ceasefire and hostage release proposals, saying he voted for him in the last elections. Braslavski's family said he was unrecognizable in the video, looking sick and years older than he is. 'We knew before that you were sick and not feeling well and that you needed your medication. I really hope that this video will shock those who need it and that you will return to us from this nightmare,' his brother Amit wrote on Instagram. Braslavski's mother Tami, who had previously received signs of her son's life from released hostages who were held with Braslavski, said she is in agony after seeing the video of her son. 'I feel very bad. My son is underground, screaming for his soul, shouting 'Save me.' Even our Rom, as strong as he is – they managed to break him. They broke my son,' she told Israeli news site Walla. 'No one from this country is picking up the phone for me. I need to watch this video together with the entire people of Israel. No one is answering me. Shame on the country.' The video of Braslavski comes just days after Hamas released a propaganda clip of Edan Alexander, an Israeli soldier who is the lone surviving American citizen held in Gaza. The three-minute video, also almost certainly filmed under duress, is the second proof-of-life video of Alexander since the war began 18 months ago. In the video, he appeals directly to Trump, asking why he is not home yet and in the United States. Alexander has become the focus of attention in negotiations because of his American citizenship. The latest Israeli ceasefire proposal, to which Hamas has not officially responded, calls for releasing Alexander at the beginning of a pause in the fighting as a gesture to the US. However, Hamas' military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, claimed on Tuesday that they have lost contact with the militants holding Alexander, after they said the Israeli military bombed the location where Alexander was being held. CNN cannot independently verify the claim.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Palestinian Islamic Jihad releases first-ever video of Israeli hostage Rom Braslavski
A Palestinian militant group in Gaza released a video on Wednesday of Rom Braslavski, a 21-year-old Israeli soldier who was taken hostage from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023. The 7-minute propaganda video, released by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, is the first time Braslavski has been shown on camera during his captivity. The video indicates that Islamic Jihad, which coordinates with, but is independent from Hamas, is holding at least one of the 59 hostages still held in Gaza. It is not clear exactly when the video was filmed. Almost certainly speaking under duress, Braslavski, who was off-duty and working as a security guard when he was kidnapped, describes 'a year and a half of suffering and hell,' citing illnesses and a lack of food and water and describes Israel's incessant bombardment of Gaza. He pleads with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump to end the war and strike a deal for his release. Braslavski also calls out far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has opposed ceasefire and hostage release proposals, saying he voted for him in the last elections. Braslavski's family said he was unrecognizable in the video, looking sick and years older than he is. 'We knew before that you were sick and not feeling well and that you needed your medication. I really hope that this video will shock those who need it and that you will return to us from this nightmare,' his brother Amit wrote on Instagram. Braslavski's mother Tami, who had previously received signs of her son's life from released hostages who were held with Braslavski, said she is in agony after seeing the video of her son. 'I feel very bad. My son is underground, screaming for his soul, shouting 'Save me.' Even our Rom, as strong as he is – they managed to break him. They broke my son,' she told Israeli news site Walla. 'No one from this country is picking up the phone for me. I need to watch this video together with the entire people of Israel. No one is answering me. Shame on the country.' The video of Braslavski comes just days after Hamas released a propaganda clip of Edan Alexander, an Israeli soldier who is the lone surviving American citizen held in Gaza. The three-minute video, also almost certainly filmed under duress, is the second proof-of-life video of Alexander since the war began 18 months ago. In the video, he appeals directly to Trump, asking why he is not home yet and in the United States. Alexander has become the focus of attention in negotiations because of his American citizenship. The latest Israeli ceasefire proposal, to which Hamas has not officially responded, calls for releasing Alexander at the beginning of a pause in the fighting as a gesture to the US. However, Hamas' military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, claimed on Tuesday that they have lost contact with the militants holding Alexander, after they said the Israeli military bombed the location where Alexander was being held. CNN cannot independently verify the claim.
