Haiti’s health minister loses his job after a deadly gang attack on a hospital in the capital
DULUTH — Friends and colleagues took to social media to remember Mary Murphy upon the news of her death on Wednesday, Dec. 25. Murphy was the longest-serving female legislator and second-longest-serving member of the Minnesota House. Murphy died at the age of 85 on Christmas Day, just days after suffering a stroke . ADVERTISEMENT House Speaker Melissa Hortman (DFL-Fridley) announced Murphy’s death in a post on Facebook, which read: “She was a wonderful state representative and human being. So many people will miss her, and remember her and her accomplishments fondly.” “Mary was in so many ways ahead of her time and was often the only woman at the table in northern Minnesota,” U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar said in a statement. “That’s changed now thanks to her trailblazing legacy.” Murphy was first elected to serve House District 14B from 1977-1982 and went on to serve District 8A from 1983-2002, District 6B from 2003-2012 and District 3B from 2013-2022. In 2022, Murphy lost the District 3B race against Republican Natalie Zeleznikar by a mere 33 votes. Zeleznikar, who retained the seat in the 2024 election, expressed condolences in a Facebook post, writing: “Mary worked hard for northern Minnesota, a place she called home her entire lifetime. Her dedication, service and hard work can be witnessed in multiple projects across the communities she served. I was honored to know her, and work with her on senior care issues during my nursing home administrator years.” A Hermantown High School graduate, Murphy earned a bachelor's degree in history and economics from the College of St. Scholastica and attended graduate school at multiple universities. Before retiring from the classroom in 1997, Murphy also served as a history and social studies teacher at Central High School in Duluth for more than three decades, a career Klobuchar cited in her tribute. ADVERTISEMENT “As a former teacher, she was a strong advocate for improving education for our children and she also fought to protect victims of domestic violence and stalking,” Klobuchar’s statement said. Murphy had championed programs like Head Start and DARE, as well as initiated legislation to fund statewide juvenile correction facilities. Last January, St. Louis County commissioners honored Murphy by renaming the Environmental Trust Fund in her honor. Having worked alongside Murphy during the redistricting process in 2010, Deputy Mayor of St. Paul Jaime Tincher commented: “Mary didn’t raise her voice, she didn’t engage in political sparring. Instead, she led with the quiet power of earned trust and deep credibility. Her effectiveness was rooted in the respect she had built over decades of service, and her ability to bring people together in ways that made them feel heard and valued, no matter their political affiliation.” During Murphy’s time in the House, she chaired multiple committees, including the judiciary finance, ethics, energy, and state government and veterans affairs committees. “As chair of bonding and later the Ways and Means Committee, she demonstrated an unwavering dedication to institutional support, always willing to offer her wisdom and advice on how best to approach the financial needs of our zoos,” State Rep. John Huot (DFL-Rosemount) posted on Facebook. “Mary was a remarkable legislator and a compassionate friend and mentor to many,” State Rep. Jay Xiong (DFL-St. Paul) said in a Facebook post. “Her unwavering commitment to her community and tireless advocacy for those in need have left an indelible mark on our state. Mary's legacy will continue to inspire us all as we strive to uphold the values she championed.” ADVERTISEMENT Murphy left a legacy of advocacy for women’s rights, health care, criminal justice, and labor and advocacy issues. Gov. Tim Walz spoke of Murphy as a “true champion for the Northland” in his post on Facebook and said “Gwen (his wife) and I are sending our love to her family.”THERE is a theory about the Trump victory which, if applied to Ireland would augur major change in the coming election. That theory is that incumbent governments throughout the democratic world are falling in response to anger and unease accumulated through a series of recent crises. Those include, obviously, the pandemic and the fuel price rises occasioned by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But we have been in an unsettled age since the financial collapse of 2008 when banks discovered that credit they held on paper was often worth about as much as the paper itself. I was one of those who had benefited by a sub prime mortgage, a 100% loan without a deposit, issued in the early 1990s with no security but an endowment policy taken out alongside it. This policy was meant to mature in time to meet the cost of the house. Some chance! But I’d sold the house before that critical moment was reached. Millions of others around the world hadn’t and, what was effectively a scam which I had turned to my advantage failed many others. The supposed value of my house had increased so fast that I was able to sell it for fifty percent more than the notional price I had bought it for three years earlier. I had entered into that scheme at a time of high optimism. I’d never have got a legitimate mortgage by any other means. Chimerical mortgages had empowered people with no money - like myself - to bid high and buy. So house prices rose until the paper stack of dodgy loans tipped over and the value - if you can use that word - of our houses collapsed. Ireland’s banks were about to fail and the government bailed them out. Then the EU bailed out the Ireland - for a price - and it looked for a time as if we were headed for decades of penury. Young people fled to Australia and the USA and England to look for work, while the country was seeming to sink. Actually it came round pretty well. It did so on the basis of a low corporation tax rate that invited Apple and other big companies to come in. Now where Britain next door is struggling with a deficit, Ireland is feeling flush. We have a government which looks too familiar though. The radical things it was going to do, like legalising abortion and same sex marriage are now done, and even with the economy in good order, it still suffers from what other incumbent governments suffer from: an air of having been around too long through the bad times. The US Democrats and the British Conservatives have suffered from a similar gamble by the electorate to elect a party they don’t like very much, or even know very much about, for the sake of getting rid of parties that they are tired of looking at. This sentiment should be favouring Sinn Féin, the government-in-waiting party, the radical opposition. Stay in power long enough and no matter how good you are you accumulate lots of things that people can criticise you for. For the Democrats that included foreign policy entanglements that were expensive and unimpressive; handing Afghanistan back to the Taliban, funding a war in Ukraine but apparently just keeping it going rather than providing the heft for victory, and then backing Netanyahu’s disproportionate murderous assaults on Gaza and Lebanon. Ireland didn’t need to worry about getting the blame for colossal moves like those. And, indeed, they may not even have factored much in the decisions of the US electorate. What did feature was anger at the influx of migrants and that kind of anger plays significantly in Ireland too. But the opposition, Sinn Féin is not seen as a credible counter to it. It has indeed been eroded by it, with many in the party’s support base joining the anti-migrant protests while the party struggled to retain its credibility as the party of the vulnerable and the poor, new arrivals included. In England too, the rise of the Reform Party surfed the same mood and did well in votes if not so well in seats. The irony is that the revolt against incumbent parties who have failed to assuage the new populist aversion to migrants may be saved by its obvious opposition’s failure to get its head round the problem too. Had party leader Mary Lou MacDonald done what Trump and Nigel Farage of Reform did, and blamed most of our problems on refugees she might have gained political credit. But she couldn’t. For one thing, she leads a party that just wouldn’t do that. It would be too much out of character with the party’s long identification with the oppressed of the world. And being a united Ireland party it just can’t demand the closure of the border with the UK which divides the island. Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, the chief parties of the governing coalition have been fortunate in the opposition they face. An anti-migrant movement is available in Ireland to a leader who will emerge and direct it. No such leader is to be found. Whew! See More: Donald Trump, General Election, Ireland
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Underdog Fantasy Promo Code BETFPB for Arizona vs. Duke: $1,000 bonus for Nov. 22 college basketballSEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Most ruling party lawmakers were boycotting a parliamentary vote Saturday to deny a two-thirds majority sought by the opposition to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived imposition of martial law , as protests grew nationwide calling for his removal. The likely defeat of the motion is expected to intensify public protests calling for Yoon’s ouster and deepen political chaos in South Korea, with a survey suggesting a majority of South Koreans support the president’s impeachment. Yoon’s martial law declaration drew criticism from his own ruling conservative party, but it is also determined to oppose Yoon's impeachment apparently because it fears losing presidency to liberals. Impeaching Yoon would require support from two-thirds of the National Assembly, or 200 of its 300 members. The opposition parties who brought the impeachment motion have 192 seats, meaning they need at least eight additional votes from Yoon’s People Power Party. The opposition-controlled parliament began a vote earlier Saturday, but only three lawmakers from PPP took part with opposition members. If the number of lawmakers who cast ballots doesn't reach 200, the motion will be scrapped at midnight without the ballot counting, according to National Assembly. Opposition parties could submit a new impeachment motion after a new parliamentary session opens next Wednesday. There are worries that Yoon won't be able to serve out his remaining 2 1⁄2 years in office because his leadership took a huge hit. Many experts say some ruling party lawmakers could eventually join opposition parties’ efforts to impeach Yoon if public demands for it grow further. If Yoon is impeached, his powers will be suspended until the Constitutional Court decides whether to remove him from office. If he is removed, an election to replace him must take place within 60 days. National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik urged ruling party members to return to the chamber to participate in the vote, stressing that it was closely watched by the nation and also the world. “Don’t make a shameful judgment and please vote based on your convictions,” Woo said. Earlier Saturday, Yoon issued a public apology over the martial law decree, saying he won’t shirk legal or political responsibility for the declaration and promising not to make another attempt to impose martial law. He said would leave it to his party to chart a course through the country's political turmoil, “including matters related to my term in office." “The declaration of this martial law was made out of my desperation. But in the course of its implementation, it caused anxiety and inconveniences to the public. I feel very sorry over that and truly apologize to the people who must have been shocked a lot,” Yoon said. Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has struggled to push his agenda through an opposition-controlled parliament and grappled with low approval ratings amid scandals involving himself and his wife. In his martial law announcement on Tuesday night, Yoon called parliament a “den of criminals” bogging down state affairs and vowed to eliminate “shameless North Korea followers and anti-state forces.” The turmoil resulting from Yoon’s bizarre and poorly-thought-out stunt has paralyzed South Korean politics and sparked alarm among key diplomatic partners like the U.S. and Japan. Tuesday night saw special forces troops encircling the parliament building and army helicopters hovering over it, but the military withdrew after the National Assembly unanimously voted to overturn the decree, forcing Yoon to lift it before daybreak Wednesday. The declaration of martial law was the first of its kind in more than 40 years in South Korea. Eighteen lawmakers from the ruling party voted to reject Yoon's martial law decree along with opposition lawmakers. Yoon’s speech fueled speculation that he and his party may push for a constitutional amendment to shorten his term, instead of accepting impeachment, as a way to ease public anger over the marital law and facilitate Yoon’s early exit from office. Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, told reporters that Yoon’s speech was “greatly disappointing” and that the only way forward is his immediate resignation or impeachment. His party called Yoon’s martial law “unconstitutional, illegal rebellion or coup.” The passage of Yoon’s impeachment motion appeared more likely Friday when the chair of Yoon’s party called for his removal on Friday, but the party remained formally opposed to impeachment. On Saturday, tens of thousands of people packed streets near the National Assembly, waving banners, shouting slogans and dancing and singing along to K-pop songs with lyrics changed to call for Yoon’s ouster. A smaller crowd of Yoon’s supporters, which still seemed to be in the thousands, rallied in separate streets in Seoul, decrying the impeachment attempt they saw as unconstitutional. Lawmakers on Saturday first voted on a bill appointing a special prosecutor to investigate stock price manipulation allegations surrounding Yoon’s wife. Some lawmakers from Yoon’s party were seen leaving the hall after that vote, triggering angry shouts from opposition lawmakers. On Friday, PPP chair Han Dong-hun, who criticized Yoon's martial law declaration, said he had received intelligence that during the brief period of martial law Yoon ordered the country’s defense counterintelligence commander to arrest and detain unspecified key politicians based on accusations of “anti-state activities." Hong Jang-won, first deputy director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing Friday that Yoon had ordered him to help the defense counterintelligence unit to detain key politicians. The targeted politicians included Han, Lee and Woo, according to Kim Byung-kee, one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting. The Defense Ministry said Friday it suspended three military commanders including the head of the defense counterintelligence unit over their involvement in enforcing martial law. Vice Defense Minister Kim Seon Ho has told parliament that Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun ordered the deployment of troops to the National Assembly after Yoon imposed martial law. Opposition parties accused Kim of recommending to Yoon to enforce martial law. Kim resigned Thursday, and prosecutors imposed an overseas travel ban on him.