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Pro-Palestinian activists ‘occupy’ EU office in Dublin

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:44 GMT

A group of pro-Palestinian activists gathered Thursday at the European Commission’s offices in Dublin to protest the EU executive’s support for Israel in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. The group, Dublin for Gaza, said Thursday morning they had occupied the offices of the Commission building, holding Palestinian flags and signs calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The group said they were expressing “their opposition to the open support given to Israel’s campaign of indiscriminate killing in Gaza by the EU Commission.”A spokesperson for the office confirmed that activists gathered in front of the office and inside the reception area, but Head of the European Commission Representation in Ireland Barbara Nolan said the group did not disrupt working arrangements.“We fully respect the right of people to protest peacefully,” Nolan said in a statement. “These young people have not disrupted working arrangements and are making their voices heard. We are here to listen and understand t...

Woman says she was raped after getting into a car she thought she had booked

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:44 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — A man has been charged with raping a woman who thought he was the driver she requested after leaving a Boston nightclub.The woman told police she left the nightclub early Saturday and got into the car, believing it to be an Uber she had requested for the ride home. But after she got in, the driver drove behind some buildings, put a T-shirt over the rear window and then raped her, police said in a report.“This is a terrifying incident involving a woman who entered a vehicle with the full understanding that she was going to be delivered home in safety and a driver who took advantage of the victim and the situation,” Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a news release Wednesday.Afterward, the driver drove the woman around before dropping her off near her house, police said.Investigators said they used video surveillance and descriptions provided by the woman to identify the car.The driver, identified as a 29-year-old man from Worcester, was arrested...

House in limbo as Jordan faces stiff GOP resistance in speaker bid

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:44 GMT

(CNN) — The House remains paralyzed with no end in sight to the Republican leadership crisis as Rep. Jim Jordan continues his bid for speaker despite facing stiff resistance.Jordan won’t hold a third speaker vote on Thursday, sources told CNN, as he has struggled to flip holdouts and was at risk of bleeding more support.He is also now leaning toward backing a resolution to expand the powers of interim Speaker Rep. Patrick McHenry, sources said, but wants to see how a currently ongoing conference meeting goes.Heading into the meeting, Jordan would not tell CNN’s Lauren Fox what he plans to do and said he wanted to talk to colleagues first.The Ohio Republican, who has made a name for himself as a hardline conservative agitator, has so far vowed to stay in the race despite two failed votes for the gavel.Multiple GOP sources told CNN that Jordan is bleeding votes and is poised to lose even more Republicans if he goes through with a third ballot. One GOP opponent says...

Eating red meat linked to higher risk of type 2 diabetes, study finds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:44 GMT

(CNN) — A large new study by Harvard researchers suggests having just two servings of red meat per week increases risk for developing type 2 diabetes later in life, and the risk further increases with greater consumption, according to the study published Thursday in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.“The association between red meat and type 2 diabetes has been observed in different populations worldwide,” said the study’s first author Xiao Gu, a postdoctoral research fellow of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, via email. “We keep strengthening existing evidence with improved data and techniques. I hope our study could settle the debate regarding whether we should limit red meat intake for health concerns or not.”About 462 million people worldwide are affected by type 2 diabetes, a rate that has been rapidly increasing, the authors said.“Prevention of diabetes is important because this disease ...

Healey looks to leverage rainy day fund interest in race for federal grants

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:44 GMT

Massachusetts could turn to an additional $800 million in state dollars to help bolster its position when applying for federal grants under legislation Gov. Maura Healey filed Thursday.A trio of laws — the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act — signed by President Joe Biden made more than $1 trillion in federal funds available to states. Local officials estimate Massachusetts can compete for a remaining $17.5 billion that could support everything from transportation to technology services and security.Most federal grant programs require states to put up cash to cover a portion of proposed project costs and Healey said having money in hand to match federal dollars will make applications from Massachusetts more competitive when they are sent down to Washington. Healey’s bill creates a fund to build up matching dollars.“This Capital Investment and Debt Reduction Fund will give Massachusetts a competitive edge in pursuing this h...

Torrey Craig embraces role as a motivator for Patrick Williams, who faces a turning point with the Chicago Bulls

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:44 GMT

Patrick Williams is still overthinking it.That was clear in the first quarter of Tuesday’s preseason game against the Toronto Raptors. After three minutes, coach Billy Donovan had seen enough, yanking the forward off the court for a lengthy discussion about the same improvements Williams has been trying to make for more than a year.After practice Wednesday, Donovan’s frustration was palpable. Williams didn’t crash the boards enough. He danced away from physical defenders. He passed up multiple 3-point opportunities when defenders ducked under a screen, leaving him wide open with nearly 5 feet of space.This all might sound familiar.Williams, 22, hasn’t figured it out. But for Donovan, the disconnect has been mischaracterized.“The perception of him not being aggressive — really, the thing he’s got to get better at is the moment of the decision of what to be aggressive with,” Donovan said. “When people say, ‘be aggressive̵...

Trump lawyer Sidney Powell pleads guilty in Georgia election interference case, gets probation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:44 GMT

By KATE BRUMBACK (Associated Press)ATLANTA (AP) — Lawyer Sidney Powell pleaded guilty to reduced charges Thursday over efforts to overturn Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 election in Georgia, becoming the second defendant in the sprawling case to reach a deal with prosecutors.Powell, who was charged alongside Trump and 17 others with violating the state’s anti-racketeering law, entered the plea just a day before jury selection was set to start in her trial. She pleaded guilty to six misdemeanors accusing her of conspiring to intentionally interfere with the performance of election duties.As part of the deal, she will serve six years of probation, will be fined $6,000 and will have to write an apology letter to Georgia and its residents. She also agreed to testify truthfully against her co-defendants at future trials.Powell, 68, was initially charged with racketeering and six other counts as part of a wide-ranging scheme to keep the Republican president in power aft...

Hurricane Norma rapidly strengthens on a path toward Los Cabos in Mexico

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:44 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hurricane Norma strengthened to a major storm Thursday as it spun off Mexico’s Pacific coast on a path expected to bring it near Los Cabos at the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula.The U.S. National Hurricane Center said that Norma had 130 mph (215 kph) maximum sustained winds and was located about 410 miles (655 kilometers) south-southeast of Cabo San Lucas. The Category 4 storm was moving north at 7 mph (11 kph).Norma was expected to begin weakening Friday and into the weekend as it neared land. It remained unclear if it would make landfall at Los Cabos, made up of the twin resorts of San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, or veer off beforehand and hit Mexico’s Sinaloa state to the east.The southern Baja California Peninsula was under a hurricane watch.Hurricane specialist John Cangialosi with the U.S. National Hurricane Center said that Norma’s forecast was challenging. The storm was expected to continue moving north into Saturday, but then slow to a...

Civic group launches $4M campaign to boost embattled San Francisco ahead of global trade summit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:44 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A $4 million marketing campaign touting San Francisco’s resilience, innovation and moxie launches Thursday as the embattled city prepares to host a high-profile global economic summit next month that could boost its image or pile on to its woes.Business leaders behind the privately funded “It All Starts Here” campaign say they plan to blanket the city with billboards and ads featuring what makes San Francisco great — think the iPhone and Pixar Animation Studios — as tens of thousands converge on the city for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ summit.President Joe Biden and other heads of state, hundreds of foreign journalists and more than 1,000 business executives from around the globe are expected to attend the summit Nov. 11 to 17.“Birthplace of the waterbed. And the summer of love,” reads one ad. “The martini. The mai tai. And the Uber ride back home,” reads another. The campaign logo echoes the famous crisscross Haight and Ashbury street s...

Asylum seekers return to a barge off England’s south coast following legionella evacuation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:44 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Asylum seekers started returning Thursday to the barge moored off the south coast of England, more than two months after it had to be evacuated following the discovery of legionella bacteria, which can cause serious illness, in the water supply.As a coach arrived carrying the first group of asylum seekers to return to the Bibby Stockholm, protesters gathered at the gates of Portland Port, which is around 140 miles (225 kilometers) southwest of London, to decry what they view as the “inhumane” conditions aboard.All but 10 of the 39 men evacuated are believed to have returned, though they arrived later than planned after the coach was deliberately blocked by Just Stop Oil protesters, who argue that the climate crisis will inevitably lead to more migration around the world.Critics say the barge, which has a capacity of 504 people, is potentially a fire hazard and treats residents as though they are in prison.“They hate it: they say it feels like a prison, some hate being ...