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Puigdemont asks Brussels to look into Spanish judiciary’s impartiality

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:11:54 GMT

Catalan separatist MEPs Carles Puigdemont and Toni Comín accused Spain’s General Council of the Judiciary of violating “basic standards of the rule of law” in a letter sent to European Commission Vice President and Values and Transparency Commissioner Věra Jourová on Monday.In the letter, exclusively obtained by POLITICO, Puigdemont and Comín argue that the body, which oversees Spain’s judiciary, is not impartial and has repeatedly overstepped its legal attributions.As evidence, Puigdemont and Comín cite an institutional declaration issued by the General Council in which its members express concern over the possibility that an amnesty may be granted to people prosecuted for their involvement in the failed 2017 Catalan independence referendum.The lawmakers argue the declaration runs afoul of Spanish law barring judges from publicly supporting or rejecting acts of political authorities. They also consider the General Council overstepped its authority by assessi...

Estonian PM Kaja Kallas open to being next NATO chief

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:11:54 GMT

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday she’s interested in taking over the top job at NATO, as the Cold War-era alliance continues to navigate Russia’s war in Ukraine and homes in on common strategies against China and other emerging threats.Speaking at the POLITICO Defense Summit, Kallas was pressed on whether she’d like to be considered for the role once NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg steps down. She responded “yes.”Kallas’ response and her visit to Washington comes as worries grow in Europe, especially among the leaders of Baltic and Eastern European countries such as Estonia, that U.S. support for Ukraine’s war effort is increasingly wavering.It also comes as NATO’s role is evolving as a key force in support of Ukraine as it continues to repel Russia’s February 2022 invasion, and as the alliance seeks to project strength and unity in the face of emerging threats such as China, artificial intelligence and other challenges.Kallas was bullish that Ukraine will...

Finland considers closing border with Russia amid spike in asylum seekers

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:11:54 GMT

Finland’s government said on Tuesday that Russia has recently been allowing asylum seekers to enter its territory without the necessary travel documents, calling it an “international crime.”According to the Finnish border service, 91 undocumented migrants, many lacking visas, have arrived in Finland and applied for asylum since August; they are nationals of third countries who were transiting Russia, the authorities added. While the country’s interior ministry acknowledged in a Tuesday statement that the numbers are relatively low, it underlined that they have spiked within a short period.Finland’s prime minister on Tuesday said while the government had no information if migrants were being encouraged to move toward the border, “it is clear that they are being helped. They have been escorted and transported,” Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, leader of the conservative National Coalition Party, claimed during a press conference earlier on Tuesday...

Authorities investigating after multiple flight crews report laser flashes near Logan Airport

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:11:54 GMT

Authorities with the Federal Aviation Administration say they are investigating a series of incidents involving a laser flashing passenger jets as they traveled through Boston this week.The FAA told 7NEWS that at least four instances involving a green laser had been reported since Monday morning, with the latest coming in on Tuesday.“The flight crew of Alaska Airlines Flight 836 reported being illuminated by a green laser near Boston around 5:10 a.m. local time on Tuesday, Nov. 14,” the FAA stated in an email. “Local authorities were notified. The FAA will investigate.”In addition to the Alaska Airlines flight, three other air crews reported a similar incident happening to them on Monday, with reports coming in around 5:40 a.m.The incidents come less than two months after a green laser flashed two JetBlue flights around 5:40 a.m. on Sept. 14.According to the FAA, laser strikes reported to the administration have been on the rise in recent years, with close to...

Venmo’s newest feature helps users track, manage and settle group expenses

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:11:54 GMT

(CNN) — Venmo wants to eliminate the financial mental math of splitting roommate bills, lunch checks and road trip costs.The new Venmo Groups feature gives users the ability to track and split ongoing group expenses, making it easier to figure out who owes who what. Members can add an expense and specify who in the group is involved, and the app will then automatically calculate the split cost into individual on-going totals. Anyone in the group can choose to settle-up with other members at any time. The tool is designed to help with continuous group spending like the kind that might go on among a family or school club.A group can have up to 30 members, letting both couples keep track of groceries and large soccer teams organize group fees. Users can be in as many as 20 groups at one time.Venmo began roll out to select users Tuesday, promising Groups would become widely available “in the coming weeks,” according to a company press release.Erika Sanchez, Vice President and Gener...

Crocs unveils McDonald’s-inspired footwear line collaboration

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:11:54 GMT

New York (CNN) — If you love wearing crocs while eating a Big Mac, today is your lucky day.McDonald’s confirmed Monday that it is collaborating with Crocs for one of its rare ventures into the footwear industry.The collaboration features shoes, socks and “Jibbitz” (the little charms that go inside the holes of Crocs) of McDonald’s advertising characters, as well as its red and yellow branding.Fans now have four options to choose from: a purple Grimace-inspired sock and sandal combo, a yellow and pink Birdie clog and sock combo, a black and white Hamburglar clog with white socks featuring animated burgers and a red and yellow croc clog featuring Jibbitz of popular menu items.The sets of shoes and Jibbitz will cost potential customers between $70 and $75 a pair, with socks going for $20 a pair. They can be purchased through Crocs’ official website or in person at participating retail locations.It’s not the first time Crocs entered a collaboration for branded footwe...

Investigation underway after swastikas found painted on pavement in Wayland

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:11:54 GMT

Police in Wayland are searching for a culprit(s) after a number of swastikas were found painted on a roadway Tuesday morning.The Wayland Police Department said several, large swastikas were found painted in two places along Rice Road around 9 a.m.Wayland PD said the town’s Department of Public Works was later called in to cover the vandalism, and that police detectives were actively investigating the incident.“There is no place for this kind of hatred and bigotry in our community,” Acting Police Chief Ed Burman said in a statement. “Every resident deserves to live their life free of harassment and hatred, and we will do everything in our power to support our community.”Authorities ask that anyone who may have information on the incident or may have noticed suspicious activity on Rice Road call the police department at 508-358-4721 or their anonymous tip line at 508-358-1726.A news release from the department also noted that Burman had been in contact with the Anti-Defamation L...

Calls grow to evacuate Gaza’s largest hospital as Israel and Hamas battle just outside

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:11:54 GMT

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian authorities on Tuesday called for a cease-fire to evacuate three dozen newborns and other patients trapped inside Gaza’s biggest hospital as Israeli forces battled Hamas in the streets just outside and seized more ground across northern Gaza.For days, the Israeli army has encircled Shifa Hospital, the facility it says Hamas hides in, and beneath, to use civilians as shields for its main command base.Hospital staff and Hamas deny the claim. Meanwhile, hundreds of patients, staff and displaced people were trapped inside, with supplies dwindling and no electricity to run incubators and other life-saving equipment. With refrigeration out for days, morgue staff on Tuesday dug a mass grave in the yard for more than 120 bodies, officials said.The standoff at Shifa and other hospitals comes as Israeli forces control larger swaths of Gaza City and the surrounding northern part of the Gaza Strip, saying they are driving out and killing Hamas fig...

The man accused of attacking Nancy Pelosi’s husband says he wanted to end corruption

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:11:54 GMT

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ (Associated Press)SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The man accused of attacking former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer last year told jurors at his federal trial Tuesday how he went to the Pelosis’ San Francisco home as part of a bigger plan to end corruption in the United States.David DePape spoke for more than an hour, often getting emotional and crying about how his political leanings went from leftist to right-wing after reading a comment on a YouTube video about former President Donald Trump. He said he went to the Pelosis’ home to talk to Pelosi about Russian involvement in the 2016 election, and that he planned to wear an inflatable unicorn costume and upload his interrogation of her online.Prosecutors say DePape bludgeoned Paul Pelosi in the early hours of Oct. 28, 2022, just days before the midterm elections, and that he had rope and zip ties with him. DePape has pleaded not guilty to attempted kidnapping of a federal...

After Nevada crash, federal accident investigators want cars to warn drivers if they’re speeding

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:11:54 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Federal accident investigators want automakers to install systems on all new vehicles that warn drivers when they go over the speed limit, and it is asking safety regulators to figure out how states can electronically limit speeds on vehicles driven by repeat traffic offenders.The National Transportation Safety Board’s recommendations to combat excessive speeding came after a hearing Tuesday on a January 2022 crash in North Las Vegas, Nevada. In that crash, the driver of a Dodge Challenger with a long record of speeding ran a red light at 103 miles per hour (166 kilometers per hour) and slammed into a minivan, killing himself and eight others.The board, which can only make recommendations and has no regulatory authority, determined that the Challenger driver’s excessive speed and failure to obey a stop sign and red light caused the crash. His impairment from cocaine and PCP contributed. But it also found that the state of Nevada failed to seriously punish ...