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US had no warning of a drone attack on the Kremlin, officials say

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:26:22 GMT

The Biden administration had no foreknowledge of an impending drone attack on the Kremlin, four U.S. officials said, and a top official recommends caution when it comes to Moscow’s claims.Russia said Wednesday that two drones flew overnight into the heart of Moscow to assassinate President Vladimir Putin, even though he wasn’t in the complex. Kyiv denies the allegation and officials said Ukraine had nothing to do with the attack. Instead, they insist it’s all a pretext created by the Kremlin to escalate its 14-month war.Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he’d take anything coming from the Kremlin with a “large shaker of salt” during a conversation with the Washington Post’s David Ignatius on Wednesday.Senior Biden administration officials are still working to confirm whether the suspected attack was ordered by Kyiv, conducted by a rogue pro-Ukraine group, or a false flag operation by Russia, two U.S. officials said.If it was Ukraine, “we had no advance knowledge,” said one of th...

ECB may take smaller step, but won’t signal end of journey

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:26:22 GMT

FRANKFURT — The European Central Bank is expected to take its foot off the rate-tightening pedal by opting for a smaller rate hike of 0.25 percent on Thursday, while indicating that further rates are still to come.The ECB’s decision will follow on the heels of the U.S. Fed, which is also expected to hike by a modest 25 basis points later today but with the market predicting Chair Jerome Powell will signal a possible pause in tightening thereafter. “We believe the ECB may raise rates by 25 basis points and indicate an intention to hike further,” said Allianz Global Investors’ fixed income chief investment officer Franck Dixmier, referring to the outcome of the central bank’s rate-setting meeting. “While the U.S. Federal Reserve is almost at the end of its monetary policy tightening cycle, the European Central Bank is still far from any pivot.”A rate hike on Thursday would mark the seventh consecutive hike for the ECB, which has already lifted the key deposit rate from -0.5 per...

Crash causes serious injuries on Route 30 in Weston

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:26:22 GMT

A crash caused serious injuries on Route 30 northbound in Weston Wednesday morning, according to MassDOT. The incident took place just before 11:30 a.m. near I-95 northbound. The right lane remained closed as of 12 p.m. https://twitter.com/MassDOT/status/1653782110979731456No additional information has been released. This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

Bryce Harper makes return to Phillies after unprecedented Tommy John recovery

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:26:22 GMT

Bryce Harper defied the laws of Tommy John surgery.The 30-year-old slugger made his return to the Phillies in their 13-1 loss against the Dodgers on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium just 160 days after his Nov. 23 procedure to repair his right elbow. His recovery is believed to be the quickest for a position player — Tony Womack, who returned 182 days after the surgery in 2003, was the previous record holder.The original timeline had Harper slated for a return around July, however, against all odds, Harper expected to be back this early.“I kind of looked at this series in the offseason, to put my head where I needed to be,” Harper told reporters Monday. “Understanding that I need to take it one day at a time, understanding that we can have setbacks even if you feel great. But, I wanted to work toward something…“We’re healed to where I need to be and we’re just going to play the game smart, play it the right way. Understanding that I hel...

New Hampshire man accused of making Harvard bomb threat due in court Friday

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:26:22 GMT

A New Hampshire man accused of making a bomb threat to Harvard University in April is scheduled to appear in Boston federal court Friday where a judge will decide if he is to remain jailed while his case plays out.Court records show William Giordani made an initial appearance in federal court Tuesday after FBI agents arrested him in Nashua, New Hampshire. He is scheduled to appear before Magistrate Judge Paul Levenson at 12 p.m. Friday for a detention hearing.Harvard University cops said they received a call on April 13 from a person who appeared to be using software to disguise his voice. The caller said he had planted three bombs around Harvard’s campus.“You have roughly 97 minutes to satisfy our demands less the events of today become a blood and stain on your nation’s history and the history of Harvard University,” the caller said, according to court documents.The department received another six calls regarding the bomb threats and demand for payment, investigators said. During ...

Orioles closer Félix Bautista named American League Reliever of the Month for April

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:26:22 GMT

A year ago, Félix Bautista was just one month into his major league career, and the sustainability of his early success was in question.Now, one month into his first full season as the Orioles’ closer, the 6-foot-8 right-hander is being recognized as one of the best relief pitchers in the major leagues.Bautista on Wednesday was named the American League Reliever of the Month for April by MLB after compiling seven saves with a 1.42 ERA in 13 2/3 innings through the first month of the season.He scattered nine hits and seven walks across his 14 appearances while striking out a whopping 25 batters — good for a rate of 16.46 strikeouts per nine innings. With a high-90s fastball that sometimes gets up to 102 mph and a devastating splitter, Bautista has struck out 43.1% of the batters he’s faced this season. He ranks in the top five among big league pitchers in average fastball velocity, strikeout rate and swing-and-miss percentage.The 27-year-old is the first Oriole...

Mayoral candidate Chow promises to fund Scarborough RT busway if province won’t

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:26:22 GMT

Mayoral candidate Olivia Chow says she would create a dedicated busway along the Scarborough RT corridor despite the fact the city says it does not have the funds for a dedicated, off-street bus rapid transit line.The Scarborough RT, a key transit corridor for 35,000 daily commuters, is set to shut down in the fall of 2023. Commuters will be forced onto replacement buses for at least seven years during construction of a new three-stop Scarborough subway extension. The fastest and most reliable replacement option was to convert the existing SRT route into a dedicated, off-street busway. However, the city now says it doesn’t have the $2.9 million needed to go ahead with the design work.“It’s a slap in the face,” said Zain Khurram with the Toronto Youth Cabinet. “They could reallocate funds from somewhere else, they chose not to today.”“When the city wants to find money, they find money. But somehow when it comes to Scarborough transit riders, ...

Severe flooding in Italy kills 2; drought persists

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:26:22 GMT

MILAN (AP) — A day and a half of nonstop rain has caused caused flooding in Italy’s populous Emilia-Romagna region, leaving at least two people dead as riverbeds left dry by drought overflowed their banks.One person was swept away by floodwaters while riding a bicycle in the Ravenna province, and another died near Imola when a residence was hit by a flood-triggered landslide. Another person was missing. The intense rainfall comes as Italy faces a second year of drought, which has depleted its largest river, the Po. The river supports agriculture in the vast Po River Valley before emptying into the Adriatic Sea east of Bologna in Emilia-Romagna. The severe rainfall raised the level of the Po, by 1.5 meters (nearly 60 inches) in 24 hours and smaller rivers in Emilia-Romagna overflowed their banks, causing damage to property and agriculture. About 450 people were evacuated from their homes. The Coldiretti agricultural lobby said the violent storms, far from bringing relief from the dro...

Loblaw calls out ongoing ‘outsized’ price hikes from big brand-name food companies

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:26:22 GMT

Canada’s largest grocer says its product costs have risen by nearly $1 billion so far this year — double the historic norm — as it continues to  to see “outsized” price increases from big multinational food brands.Loblaw Companies Ltd. said Wednesday the cost hikes appear out of sync with the commodity cost environment, and are contributing to elevated food inflation in Canada. While small- and medium-sized Canadian food suppliers appear to be “catching up on costs,” the price increases passed on by large food companies are “more concerning,” said Loblaw chief financial officer Richard Dufresne.“We are still seeing outsized cost increases rolling in from large, global consumer goods companies, exceeding what we expected at this point,” he said during a call with analysts. His comments came as Loblaw reported a profit of $418 million in its first quarter, down from $437 million last year when the company saw a one-time gain from a...

Russia says Ukraine sent drones to hit Putin; Kyiv denies it

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:26:22 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia claimed it foiled an attack by Ukrainian drones on the Kremlin early Wednesday, calling it an unsuccessful assassination attempt against President Vladimir Putin and promising retaliation for what it termed a “terrorist” act. The Ukrainian president denied it, saying “We don’t attack Putin or Moscow.”Putin wasn’t in the Kremlin at the time and was at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti.There was no independent verification of the reported attack on the Kremlin, which Russia authorities said occurred overnight but presented no evidence to support it. Questions also arose as to why it took the Kremlin hours to report the incident and why videos of it also surfaced that late in the day.A video posted overnight on a local Moscow news Telegram channel, shot from across the river from the Kremlin, appeared to show smoke rising over the buildings. It wasn’t possible to ascertai...