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NATO readies military plans to defend against Russia

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:39:50 GMT

BRUSSELS — Russia’s armed forces are bruised but by no means beaten in the war in Ukraine, a top NATO military officer said Monday, as he laid out the biggest revamp to the organization’s military plans since the Cold War should Moscow dare to widen the conflict.“They might not be 11 feet tall, but they are certainly not 2 feet tall,” the Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, told reporters. “So, we should never underestimate the Russians and their ability to bounce back.”U.S. President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts are set to endorse a major shakeup of the alliance’s planning system at a summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius next week.NATO, as an organization, does not provide weapons or ammunition to Ukraine. It’s sought to avoid being dragged into a wider war with nuclear-armed Russia. At the same time, it is massively reinforcing the security of member countries near Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.Around 40...

Activists file civil rights complaint challenging Harvard’s legacy admissions following affirmative action ruling

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:39:50 GMT

If affirmative action is a civil rights violation than surely admissions preferences for the majority white donor-related and legacy applicants must be too, advocates proposed in a federal civil rights complaint challenging Harvard’s legacy admissions filed Monday.“There’s no birthright to Harvard,” said Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) Executive Director Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal. “As the Supreme Court recently noted, ‘eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.’ … Your family’s last name and the size of your bank account are not a measure of merit, and should have no bearing on the college admissions process.”The complaint, filed with the U.S. Department of Education, alleges the legacy and donor admissions practices at Harvard have created “widespread violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964” by disadvantaging Black, Latinx and Asian American applicants. The filing urged the department t...

Newton triple homicide: Medical Examiner rules the victims died from ‘sharp and blunt force injuries’

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:39:50 GMT

The Newton residents who were randomly attacked and killed inside their home died from “sharp and blunt force injuries,” according to the Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.Gilda “Jill” D’Amore, 73, her husband Bruno D’Amore, 74, and Gilda’s mother, Lucia Arpino, 97, were the victims of last week’s triple homicide in Newton’s quiet Nonantum neighborhood.When 41-year-old Christopher Ferguson was arrested in connection with the triple homicide last Monday, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner had only ruled on the cause of death for Gilda — which was multiple stab wounds and blunt force trauma.Now, the Medical Examiner’s Office has released the cause of death for Bruno and Arpino. The office ruled that Bruno died from multiple sharp and blunt force injuries, and Arpino died from sharp and blunt force injuries. Both were homicides, the office determined.Ferguson has been charged with murder, two count...

What's the July 4th forecast?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:39:50 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- After a hot weekend inland, things are starting to cool down a bit in Southern California this week.High pressure that powered the San Diego region's first heatwave of the year is started to break down and give way to cooler conditions from the coast to the mountains.Heat-related weather alerts will expire Monday evening as onshore flow gradually strengths over the west coast. The marine layer has been pesky and will continue to keep beaches cool, with periods of morning and evening low clouds and patchy fog. Big Bay Boom: How to watch the fireworks show The marine layer shouldn't interfere with firework shows throughout San Diego County as the cloud deck isn't too low to block visibility. On July 4th, beaches will be partly cloudy with temperatures in the low 70s but there will be plenty of sunshine for inland valleys, where daytime highs are expected to top out in the mid-80s.There will be gusty southwesterly and westerly winds especially in the afternoon on the Fou...

Off-duty officer was with deputies accused of abusing Black men, police chief says

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:39:50 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — An off-duty police officer participated in a raid where two Black men say deputies beat and sexually assaulted them before shooting one of them in the mouth, a Mississippi police chief said Monday. The announcement comes less than a week after Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey said all five deputy sheriffs tied to the Jan. 24 episode had been fired or resigned. Michael Corey Jenkins and his friend Eddie Terrell Parker said deputies burst inside a home without a warrant and subjected them to 90 minutes of abuse. The men said deputies beat them, assaulted them with a sex toy, shocked them repeatedly with Tasers and shouted racial epithets at them. In February, the allegations sparked a still-ongoing Justice Department civil rights probe. Jason Dare, an attorney representing the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office, said the department knew of five deputies who conducted the Jenkins raid. But since Jenkins and Parker came forward with their allegations in February, the...

Growing wildfire destroys structures in southwestern Washington near Columbia River Gorge

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:39:50 GMT

UNDERWOOD, Wash. (AP) — A weekend wildfire along the Columbia River in southwestern Washington continued growing on Monday to 546 acres (221 hectares), prompting evacuations and burning structures, according to authorities.Skamania County firefighters responded to reports of the wildfire on Sunday at 11:19 a.m. near Highway 14 in Underwood, an unincorporated community across the river from Hood River, Oregon, and about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) west of White Salmon, Washington.Hot, windy conditions caused the Tunnel 5 fire to spread rapidly in what authorities called extreme terrain through Sunday afternoon. Authorities have issued an evacuation notice for everyone in a 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) radius around Cook Underhill Road, where crews are engaged in active firefighting. A shelter has been set up at Skamania County Fairgrounds in Stevenson, Washington. About 1,000 residents have been affected by the fire and evacuation orders, Heather Appelhof, a Southeast Washington Interagency I...

US judge blocks portions of new Florida elections law

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:39:50 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A federal judge on Monday blocked Florida from enforcing part of a new elections law that bans non-citizens from handling or or collecting voter registration forms, saying the state can’t restrict individual rights and gave no proof it was necessary to do so.The ruling also blocks a ban on third-party voter registration groups retaining personal information collected when registering new voters. The NAACP and other groups that register voters sued the state over provisions in a larger elections bill Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed on the same day he announced he is running for president. Opponents say it makes registering voters in marginalized communities more difficult, while Republicans said they were making elections more secure.“The State of Florida is correct to seek integrity in our electoral system,” Judge Mark Walker wrote. “Here, however, Florida’s solutions for preserving election integrity are too far removed from the problems it has pu...

Hawaii State Capitol to get metal detectors after lawmakers and aides say they don’t feel safe

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:39:50 GMT

HONOLULU (AP) — The Hawaii State Capitol will have metal detectors installed at three entrances starting July 10, state agencies said Monday.The detectors will be in place at two street-level elevator entrances to the building and at one basement entrance. The building will remain open to the public. The metal detectors are an “added layer of security” that will make the Capitol a safer place, the director of the state Department of Public Safety said in a statement.House Speaker Scott Saiki said he supports the enhanced security because people “feel unsafe” in the building. “For many years, we have received concerns not just from legislative members, but also from legislative staff and visitors to the building, about the need for more security,” the Democrat said in a brief phone interview. Saiki credited Keith Regan, the head of the Department of Accounting and General Services, the agency that manages state buildings, for the new equipment. He said lawmakers have appropriated mon...

Tips to keep your pet safe this July 4th

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:39:50 GMT

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Experts are advising pet owners to leave their four-legged loved ones at home this Fourth of July."I think that most people want to have their pets with them all the time and they assume if they're celebrating, they want their pets to celebrate as well," Dr. Anna Portnoy with Riverside Animal Hospital said."Unfortunately, being in large crowds, places, where it could be really hot, where there are very loud noises, can be very frightening to animals," she added. List: What stores, restaurants will be open for July 4, 2023? Fireworks and the Fourth go hand in hand, but it's easy for pets to get spooked by loud bangs, which may cause them to bolt."There have been pets that have got out of the house or ran out of the yard or got out of their collar, which is why it's so important not to take them to places where there are many people around, where, if they get away, they could get hit by a car," Portnoy explained.If your pet is at home but still might g...

Twins expect to lose Royce Lewis for at least six weeks

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:39:50 GMT

The major leagues have agreed with Royce Lewis, the infielder the Twins selected No. 1 overall in the 2017 amateur draft. So, it’s no surprise that an oblique injury interrupted a hot streak.Lewis, 24, is expected to miss about six weeks after leaving Saturday’s 1-0 victory in Baltimore early. That’s better, he noted, than an entire year — which was the result of his past two injuries, ligament tears in his right knee.“Every other time I was on the (injured list), basically, it was a whole year and I had no control over how I could come back or not,” Lewis said before Monday night’s 7:10 p.m. first pitch against Kansas City at Target Field. “So, it makes it a lot easier. I actually don’t even know what the deal is yet. I’m waiting to talk to the doctor.”Lewis and the Twins were waiting for team doctor Christopher Camp to see the results of an MRI exam but no one was expecting the third baseman back anytime soon.“As a rough reference point, probably six weeks is something that we wou...