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Gov. Healey activates National Guard to help emergency shelter hotels without providers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:19 GMT

Gov. Maura Healey issued an executive order Thursday activating up to 250 members of the National Guard to provide basic services at emergency shelter hotels that do not currently have a contracted service provider.The Healey administration said there are about 40 emergency shelter hotels where displaced families — including migrants — are staying that Guard members could be deployed at. But state officials said they will evaluate which sites require members and deploy them next week.“Massachusetts is in a state of emergency, and we need all hands-on deck to meet this moment and ensure families have access to safe shelter and basic services,” Healey said in a statement. “… While we work to implement a more permanent staffing solution, the National Guard will provide an efficient and effective means of delivering these services and keeping everybody safe.”The mobilization comes weeks after Healey declared a state of emergency in Massachusetts because an ...

Trial underway for Iowa teenager accused of murdering 2 students at school for at-risk youth

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:19 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Des Moines teenager accused of murdering two fellow students inside an alternative school has admitted he pulled the trigger, but claims he did so because he feared for his life, his lawyer said in the trial’s opening statements Thursday.Preston Walls, 19, shot and killed the students because he was convinced they planned to kill him, attorney Glen Downey said. “Preston Walls decided he didn’t want to die,” Downey said during the brief opening statements. “Preston decided he didn’t want to go home to his family in a pine box.”The shooting killed students Gionni Dameron, 18, and Rashad Carr, 16. Prosecutors hace alleged the shooting was prompted by a dispute between rival gangs but the families of Dameron and Carr denied they were involved in gangs.Walls is the first of two teens to go on trial for the shooting, which took place on Jan. 23 at the Starts Right Here school. The gunfire also seriously wounded program founder Will Keeps, who re...

Spain’s Bonmatí wins UEFA best women’s player award and stands up for teammate amid Rubiales crisis

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:19 GMT

MONACO (AP) — Spanish soccer star Aitana Bonmatí used her acceptance speech at a UEFA awards ceremony on Thursday to voice support for her teammate who was forcibly kissed by the country’s soccer federation president after the Women’s World Cup final.Bonmatí was named women’s player of the year at the annual gala held amid a crisis for European soccer’s governing body caused by the behavior of its vice president Luis Rubiales at the Women’s World Cup final.Rubiales has refused to resign as Spanish soccer federation president despite a furor over his behavior toward Jenni Hermoso at the trophy presentation after Spain’s victory over England in Sydney, Australia.“As a society, we cannot allow the abuse of power in a working environment or disrespect,” Bonmatí said on stage as UEFA leaders watched in the convention hall in high-end Monte Carlo. “To all women who are suffering the same thing as Jenni, we’re with you.”Rubiales could not attend the even...

Oil and gas sector says new data shows it can both hike output and lower emissions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:19 GMT

CALGARY — Canada’s oil and gas sector is pointing to new government numbers that it says proves the industry can increase production and lower emissions at the same time.The analysis by industry group Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) of the most recently available federal production and emissions data shows emissions from the country’s conventional oil and natural gas sector fell 24 percent in the last decade.For natural gas, methane emissions fell by 38 per cent between 2012 and 2021 although production rose by 35 per cent.Conventional production refers to all oil and natural gas production outside of Canada’s oilsands.The CAPP analysis did not examine oilsands emissions, but a report by S&P Global earlier this month showed absolute greenhouse gas emissions from Canadian oilsands production were flat in 2022 even as total production grew.S&P Global said that marks the first year total emissions from the oilsands sector did not rise, excluding a...

A suicide bomber has attacked a security convoy in NW Pakistan, killing 9 soldiers, says military

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:19 GMT

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bomber riding on a motorcycle targeted a security convoy in northwest Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least nine soldiers and wounding 20 others, the military and three security officials said, a sign of increasing militant violence.The attack happened in Bannu, a district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, the military said in a statement. It said five soldiers were wounded in the attack.However, security officials put the number of wounded persons at 20. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media on the record.There was no immediate claim from any group, but the suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, who have stepped up attacks on security forces since 2022. Authorities say the insurgents have found sanctuaries and have even been living openly in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover, which also emboldened them,Bannu is located near the former militant stronghol...

Man in mass stabbing at B.C. library gets life sentence with no parole for 15 years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:19 GMT

NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. — A man who killed a woman and wounded six other people in a mass stabbing at a library in North Vancouver, B.C., has received a life sentence with no chance of parole for 15 years.Yannick Bandaogo, 30, pleaded guilty on May 29 to one count of second-degree murder and six counts of attempted murder over the March 2021 attack in and around the public library in Lynn Valley.Bandaogo, who did not know the victims, has not explained his motives to the court in New Westminster, although defense lawyer Georges Rivard has said his client “accepted his responsibility.”Prosecutor Dan Loucks said outside court on Thursday that he hopes the sentencing brings some closure for victims, families and the community, but it may never be known what motivated Bandaogo.Bandaogo apologized to each of his victims in a July hearing, as he described his “story of self-destruction,” involving a troubled childhood and heavy drug use before the attack Second-degre...

CP NewsAlert: B.C. extending state of emergency amid wildfire battle

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:19 GMT

VANCOUVER — Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma says British Columbia is extending a state of emergency over the ongoing wildfires that have devastated parts of the province. More comingThe Canadian Press

Libya’s prime minister rejects normalization with Israel following secret meeting of ministers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:19 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — One of Libya’s rival prime ministers rejected Thursday the prospect of normalizing relations with Israel days after news broke of a secret meeting between the countries’ two foreign ministers.Last Sunday, the Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen publicly announced that he and Libya’s foreign minister had held a private meeting in Rome the previous week, the first ever between top diplomats from both countries. The next day, Libya’s Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah suspended Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush and launched investigation into the meeting. It is illegal to normalize ties with Israel under a 1957 law in Libya, which has long been hostile toward Israel and supportive of the Palestinians. “We affirm our rejection of any form of normalization,” Dbeibah said during a televised ministerial meeting on Thursday evening. “Long live Libya, long live Palestine, and long live the Palestinian cause in all of our hearts,” he remarked.Israel’s Foreign Minis...

Poland and South Korea plan to hold joint military exercises in Poland soon

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:19 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland and South Korea plan to hold joint military exercises in Poland soon to show the effectiveness of Korean equipment in the Polish armed forces, defense ministers for the two countries said Thursday.Poland’s Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak and South Korea’s Defense Minister Lee Jong-Sup held talks in Warsaw on security and support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s aggression, as well as on further cooperation in the armaments sector.Blaszczak said that a joint exercise called Autumn Fire would soon be held by Poland’s armed forces, using recently purchased South Korean armaments. He also said that steps are being taken to allow for some of the equipment made in Korea to be produced in Poland.Poland is purchasing tens of billions of dollars worth of weapons and military equipment from South Korea as it upgrades its defense potential with concern rising because of the war in neighboring Ukraine. The new equipment is also replacing that...

X, formerly known as Twitter, will collect user biometric data, job and education history

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:19 GMT

(The Hill) -- X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, will begin collecting biometric data and information on users’ employment and education history starting next month, according to the site’s updated privacy policy.“Based on your consent, we may collect and use your biometric information for safety, security, and identification purposes,” X said in the new privacy policy, set to go into effect on Sept. 29.The social media platform told Bloomberg Law that the biometric data collection is for X Premium users, or those who pay for the platform’s subscription service, to allow for an additional layer of verification.X did not specify what biometric data it plans to collect. However, such data can include facial images, fingerprints and iris patterns. The new addition to X’s privacy policy comes as the company faces a proposed class action lawsuit in Illinois over allegations that it collected biometric information on users without providing advance notice or obtaining their c...