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Knock it off! G7 issues ultimatum to Russia’s war enablers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:48 GMT

HIROSHIMA, Japan — Countries supporting the Russian military will bear “severe costs” if they do not cease that activity “immediately,” the G7 countries said in a joint statement Friday, pledging to “further prevent” circumvention of sanctions against Moscow over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.The warning from the bloc of rich democracies comes as the EU is considering sanctioning Chinese companies for their role in providing Russia with dual-use goods that have ended up on the battlefields in Ukraine.“We will starve Russia of G7 technology, industrial equipment and services that support its war machine,” the G7 countries said in the statement after high-level talks on Friday.“We reiterate our call on third parties to immediately cease providing material support to Russia’s aggression, or face severe costs. We will reinforce our coordination to prevent and respond to third parties supplying weapons to Russia and continue to t...

French lawmakers drag in Uber chief for grilling on lobbying

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:48 GMT

PARIS — France’s lawmakers will next week grill Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi about his company’s aggressive lobbying tactics. The hearing, organized by the French National Assembly’s inquiry committee into the Uber Files, will take place on May 25 via videoconference, according to a parliamentary agenda. In July last year, the Uber Files revelations showed how French President Emmanuel Macron, then the economy minister, helped bolster Uber’s growth in France back in 2015. In January, lawmakers from left-wing party France Unbowed decided to set up an inquiry committee to focus on Uber’s lobbying in France, as well as “the social, economic and environmental consequences” of the “Uber model” in the country. In January, Khosrowshahi told POLITICO he would testify in front of the French parliament, if called upon. “I absolutely guarantee you that this company is different and what was happening during that time will not happen while I’m CEO of this com...

TikTok faces EU scrutiny on kids’ privacy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:48 GMT

European regulators are set to decide in the coming months whether video platform TikTok mishandled children’s data, violating the European Union’s landmark privacy rules, the General Data Protection Regulation. The Irish Data Protection Commission told POLITICO it had failed to resolve objections raised by other European data protection authorities on the case. Dublin triggered a dispute resolution mechanism set out in the GDPR and sent the case to the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), according to a spokesperson for the authority. The EDPB will have up to two months to issue a binding decision on the case, starting from when it deems to have all the documents.The probe, which started in 2021, examines whether TikTok infringed the GDPR by failing to keep children under 13 off the platform because its age-verification measures may have been insufficient. The investigation also checks if TikTok was transparent enough in how it processed minors’ data and ensured...

Milder, Wet Weather Ahead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:48 GMT

While there’s still a bit of chill in the air this morning, the cold isn’t as prevalent as it was yesterday morning as temps run in the upper 30s to low 40s to kick off the day. Those numbers run about 6-12 degrees higher than the freezing start we had yesterday, and foreshadow a milder day ahead. Temps this afternoon run close to 70 on average, albeit warmer north/cooler south. The reason for the temp difference from south to north? The southerly breeze. That wind will gust 25-30mph and since it comes in off the ocean near the South Coast, it’ll be coolest there. The timing’s not the best, but beneficial rain starts to move in tomorrow as moistures rides up the east coast. Initially, showers in the morning are light and spotty, but by the afternoon, the rain becomes more widespread with localized downpours a possibility late in the day into the evening. Rain totals run 0.50-1.50″ with localized higher totals possible. Beneficial, yes, but could be Trou...

Newborns at Emerson Hospital ready for their #DebutEra ahead of Taylor Swift concerts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:48 GMT

Even the newborns at Emerson Hospital are ready for Taylor Swift! In a post on Facebook, the hospital wrote,”These Emerson newborns may be in their #DebutEra but they are already getting excited to celebrate Taylor Swift’s arrival at Gillette Stadium tomorrow! Thank you to maternity nurse Jen for creating the adorable onesies and bringing some extra fun and joy to the families on our maternity floor today.

Pentagon leak suspect due back in court for detention hearing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:48 GMT

The Massachusetts Air National Guard member charged with leaking highly classified military documents is due back in court Friday, where a judge will issue a ruling on prosecutors’ detention requests.Prosecutors are urging a magistrate judge to keep Jack Teixeira behind bars while he awaits trial in the case stemming from the most consequential intelligence leak in years. Teixeira is accused of sharing highly classified documents about top national security issues in a chatroom on Discord, a social media platform that started as a hangout for gamers. He has not yet entered a plea.Prosecutors told the judge in a filing Wednesday that Teixeira continued leaking documents even after he was admonished by superiors on two separate occasions last year over “concerning actions” he took related to classified information.A September memo from the Air National Guard 102nd Intelligence Wing that prosecutors filed in court says Teixeira had been observed taking notes on classified in...

Howie Carr: Who’s the ‘zealot’ now, Rachael?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:48 GMT

The most amazing thing about the downfall of US attorney Rachael Rollins is that it actually happened at all.Given her status as a member of multiple protected classes, I believed she was totally immune, invulnerable.And you know what – so did Rachael, obviously, or she wouldn’t have behaved in such a brazen fashion.How many times must I repeat the obvious, ancient wisdom?“Never write when you can speak, never speak when you can nod, and never nod when you can wink.”And to update to today: “And never, ever text. Period.”Rachael Rollins is a textbook example of why some prominent figures never text, period. Even a single ill-considered thought can sink you forever, at least if you’re not in a Democrat-protected class. But the lesson of Rachael Rollins is, at some point, you can go so far off the rails that even the protected-class shields fail.Look at the texts between her and Ricky Ricardo Arroyo, the Boston city councilor who was running last year for district attorney of Suffolk C...

After ‘trying to be perfect’ for Orioles, Gunnar Henderson gets his rookie season off the ground

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:48 GMT

Perhaps the most noticeable change for Gunnar Henderson this past Orioles homestand was a swap of walk-up songs, with the rookie infielder going from the rock-and-roll intro of Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome To The Jungle” to the upbeat opening of Gwen Stefani’s “Sweet Escape.”But subtler tweaks have allowed Henderson’s bat to begin to take off after a slow start. Over 10 games at Camden Yards against the Tampa Bay Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Angels, the 21-year-old hit .258/.342/.548, briefly getting his season average above .200 after returning to Baltimore hitting .176/.342/.308.Henderson’s adjustments were both mental and mechanical. Baseball’s top prospect coming into this season, he entered the homestand with one of baseball’s best walk rates, a sign of both premier plate discipline and passiveness that at times handicapped him. He credited his recent improvements to “just not trying to be perfect.&#...

‘It Ain’t Over’ review: The wit, heart and soul of Yogi Berra, baseball giant

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:48 GMT

With a load of family love and cooperation, the documentary “It Ain’t Over” celebrates the accomplishments of St. Louis-born, New York Yankees-bred Lawrence “Yogi” Berra (1925-2015), whose talent for phrasemaking and so-called Yogi-isms had a nagging tendency to outshine his slugging and catching and managing prowess.Problem was, he said a lot of memorably funny things, though he was no comedian and the furthest possible distance from anyone’s idea of an insult comic. Berra exemplified heart, just like the song from “Damn Yankees” put it. He was an authentic delight with a big, generous ticker, given to aphorisms and words of wisdom such as:“It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”“Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t come to yours.”“You can observe a lot just by watching.”With material like that (though a lot of the Yogi-isms came from ad copywriters and spo...

Arab leaders, joined by Syria’s Assad and Ukraine’s Zelenskyy, convene summit in Saudi Arabia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:48 GMT

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Arab leaders, joined by Syrian President Bashar Assad for the first time in more than a decade, were holding an annual summit Friday in Saudi Arabia, with a focus on Sudan and other conflicts — and a surprise visit by Ukraine’s president.The meeting comes as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pursues regional diplomacy with the same vigor he previously brought to the oil-rich kingdom’s confrontation with its archrival Iran and regional proxies. In recent months, Saudi Arabia has restored diplomatic ties with Iran, is ending the kingdom’s yearslong war against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen and has led the push for Syria’s return to the Arab League, 12 years after its membership was suspended over Assad’s bloody crackdown against Arab Spring protests.The Saudis have even offered to mediate between Ukraine and Russia, following a prisoner exchange deal they brokered last year.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Friday he has...