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Biden will release COVID-19 origin intelligence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:10:57 GMT

U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law Monday a bill to declassify intelligence on the origins of Covid-19, offering the public a chance to review information that government agencies say is inconclusive.The legislation, called the Covid-19 Origin Act of 2023, which passed the Senate and House with unanimous support earlier this month, orders the Director of National Intelligence to declassify within 90 days of enactment all information relating to potential links between China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology and Covid-19. The director is then to submit the information in a report to Congress. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sponsored the bill.In a statement, Biden said he shared “Congress’s goal of releasing as much information as possible about the origin” and that he planned now to “declassify and share as much of that information as possible, consistent with my constitutional authority to protect against the disclosure of information that would harm national security.”Why it matters:&n...

Crews battle massive fire at Medford home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:10:57 GMT

Crews are battling a massive fire at a home on Governor’s Avenue in Medford Tuesday morning. Firefighters responded to the scene around 2 a.m. and remain on scene as of 5:30 a.m. Flames and heavy smoke were seen shooting through at least five windows of the home.Both sides of Governor’s Avenue are blocked off to traffic. The cause of the fire remains under investigation and no further information has been released.

New York, DC prepare for possible Trump indictment in hush money probe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:10:57 GMT

(CNN) — Officials in New York and Washington, DC, are preparing for potential protests as a grand jury empaneled as part of the investigation into Donald Trump’s alleged role in a scheme to pay hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels continues to weigh possible charges.In New York City — where the grand jury has been meeting — all NYPD officers are expected to be in uniform and ready for deployment Tuesday, according to an internal memo that a source shared with CNN. Law enforcement officials told CNN that although Tuesday is a “high alert day,” there is currently no credible threat.The memo came in response to Trump’s social media posts over the weekend that called on his supporters to protest in response to a potential arrest, echoing the calls he made for protests in Washington, DC, in response to his 2020 election loss — protests that later turned violent when scores of his supporters stormed the Capitol. W...

Guregian: Forget it — Lamar Jackson to the Patriots is a pipe dream

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:10:57 GMT

On Sunday, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler floated the idea that the Patriots were a “wild card” as a landing spot for Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.He’s not alone. Other NFL insiders have done the same, putting the Patriots in the mix as a dark horse to acquire the NFL’s 2019 MVP.Whether the chatter is to be believed or not, it’s become a bit of an elephant in the room for the Patriots.Don’t they already have a starting quarterback? Isn’t Mac Jones, their 2021 first-round pick, the guy moving forward for at least this season and next?The answer is yes.Jones is the quarterback they’re building around. He’s the quarterback who’s tailor-made for Bill O’Brien and the Patriots offense. That hasn’t changed. Now for the so-called “but” in this equation, and the reason the Jackson possibility has any legs at all.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Reports: Bills sign former Patriots back Damien Harris New England Patriots | NFL Notes: Breaking down the Pat...

Swedish investigator says S. Korea key to her adoption probe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:10:57 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A Swedish legal expert investigating the country’s international adoption practices said Tuesday she’s trying to determine whether Swedish authorities were aware of falsified child origins as they approved the adoptions of thousands of South Korean children.Anna Singer spoke to The Associated Press during a weeklong trip to South Korea, where she plans to meet with officials from the government and a Seoul-based agency that handled adoptions to Sweden to gather details on how South Korea procured and documented children for foreign adoptions.Many South Korean adoptees accuse their agencies of fabricating documents to expedite adoptions by foreigners, such as falsely registering them as abandoned orphans when they had relatives who could be easily identified, which also makes their origins difficult to trace.Most South Korean adoptees were sent overseas during the 1970s and ’80s, when Seoul was ruled by a succession of military governments that saw adoptions...

Councillor Josh Matlow confirms he is running for Toronto mayor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:10:57 GMT

A veteran progressive city councillor and critic of former mayor John Tory has officially entered Toronto’s mayoral race.Coun. Josh Matlow (Ward 12) says he will run in the June byelection after much speculation. Matlow himself previously saying he was “strongly considering” a run after Tory announced his resignation in the wake of a sex scandal earlier this year.“Toronto is a diverse, vibrant, and beautiful city, filled with inspirational people I have been honoured to work with,” says Matlow in a statement. “I know and believe in the promise Toronto holds for so many. But for far too long, our political leadership at City Hall has held this city back from reaching its full potential.”The 47-year-old cites a decline in public services and a lack of affordable housing options as the biggest issues plaguing the city. He says past leadership has helped deteriorate services by keeping taxes “artificially low.”“Our subways and ...

Biden to designate national monuments in Nevada, Texas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:10:57 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is establishing national monuments in Nevada and Texas and creating a marine sanctuary in U.S. waters near the Pacific Remote Islands southwest of Hawaii.The Democratic president is set to announce the measures Tuesday at a White House summit on conservation action at the Interior Department.Biden said in November that he intends to designate Avi Kwa Ame, a desert mountain in southern Nevada that’s considered sacred to Native Americans, as a national monument. The site spans more than 500,000 acres (202,000 hectares) and includes Spirit Mountain, a peak northwest of Laughlin called Avi Kwa Ame (ah-VEE’ kwa-meh) by the Fort Mojave Tribe and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The rugged landscape near the Arizona and California state lines is home to bighorn sheep, desert tortoises and a large concentration of Joshua trees, some of which are more than 900 years old.In Texas, Biden plans to create the Castner Range National Monumen...

Israel repeals 2005 act on West Bank settlement pullout

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:10:57 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli lawmakers on Tuesday repealed a 2005 act that saw four Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank dismantled at the same time as Israeli forces withdraw from the Gaza Strip. The development could pave the way for an official return to the abandoned West Bank areas and further deepen the crisis.It was the latest move by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government, which is dominated by settler leaders and allies, to promote settlement activity in the territory. The international community, including Israel’s closest ally, the United States, considers settlements illegal and opposes construction on occupied territories claimed by the Palestinians for a future independent state.Israel evacuated the four settlements and unilaterally pulled out of Gaza under the 2005 legislation. The prime minister at the time, Ariel Sharon, argued that Israel would not be able to keep the settlements under a future agreement with the Palestinians. Since then, Isra...

African nations consider swapping debt for climate funding

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:10:57 GMT

MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) — African countries saddled with debt and ravaged by losses and damages from extreme weather events like cyclones, drought and extreme temperatures have agreed to consider swapping debt to invest in climate action in a meeting of finance ministers in the Ethiopian capital.The “debt-for-climate swap” option is an economic tool that allows a country’s debt to be reduced in exchange for commitments on green investments. It was among several green financing alternative models discussed at the ongoing United Nations conference that supporters say would boost funds to adapt to climate harms, protect nature and finance local communities.It comes as many African nations are battling with the effects of extremely costly climate change-fueled weather events like the ongoing drought in eastern Africa that has killed thousands and decimated livelihoods reliant on rain-fed agriculture and the aftermath of the devastating Cyclone Freddy that’s left hundreds dead and thou...

Dwayne Killings resolves assault charge in Kentucky

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:10:57 GMT

RICHMOND, K.Y. (NEWS10) -- UAlbany head basketball coach Dwayne Killings appeared in Madison County district court in Kentucky Monday afternoon, reaching a resolution to his assault case. The charge will be dismissed in one year upon his completion of a corrective thinking program. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Killings was accused of pushing former player Luke Fizulich against a locker and striking him in the face before a game in November of 2021. Killings had previously pleaded not guilty to the charge in January. Killings now has one year to complete the program.Killings released the following statement through Greenberg Public Relations: “Upon recommendation of the county attorney, the Court today approved a resolution of the case in Kentucky, which will be dismissed in one year, upon my completion of an online class in ‘corrective thinking.' The interests of our team, players, families, program, and community alwa...