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Russian mercenary leader Prigozhin pledges loyalty at the Kremlin after short-lived mutiny

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:07:41 GMT

By The Associated PressMercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin pledged loyalty to the Russian government in a Kremlin meeting with President Vladimir Putin five days after the commander led a short-lived rebellion, a senior government spokesman said Monday, the latest twist in a baffling episode that has raised questions about the power and influence both men wield.The three-hour meeting took place June 29 and also involved commanders from Prigozhin’s Wagner Group military contractor, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Putin gave an assessment of Wagner’s actions on the battlefield in Ukraine — where the mercenaries have fought alongside Russian troops — and of the revolt itself.“The commanders themselves presented their version of what happened. They underscored that they are staunch supporters and soldiers of the head of state and the commander-in-chief, and also said that they are ready to continue to fight for their homeland,” Peskov said.The con...

Biden and King Charles III zero in on generational challenge of climate change

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:07:41 GMT

By SEUNG MIN KIM, JILL LAWLESS and CHRIS MEGERIAN (Associated Press)WINDSOR, England (AP) — President Joe Biden and King Charles III, two leaders who waited decades to reach the pinnacle of their careers, used their first meeting in those roles Monday to zero in on the generational challenge of climate change, prodding private companies to do more to bolster clean energy in developing countries. The meticulously choreographed gathering at Windsor Castle injected substance into the type of encounter between president and monarch that historically has been more about ceremony. After the arrival formalities, Biden and Charles participated in a climate-focused roundtable with officials from the financial and philanthropic sectors. John Kerry, the U.S. envoy on climate, also attended.The 74-year-old Charles, who was crowned in May, has long fought to protect wildlife and battle climate change. Biden, for his part, identified climate change as one of the four crises he was determine...

Judge declares mistrial in Emanuel Lopes double-murder case; audible gasps in court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:07:41 GMT

Following weeks of jury deliberations, a Norfolk Superior Court judge declared a mistrial Monday morning in the case of a Weymouth man accused of killing a police officer and bystander nearly 5 years ago.“Jurors, I’m in receipt of your note. Your services are complete. I’m declaring a mistrial,” Judge Beverly Cannone in courtroom video Monday morning, to audible gasps and the apparent sound of crying from the courtroom.Emanuel Lopes, 25, is accused of shooting Weymouth Police Sgt. Michael Chesna, 42, and bystander Vera Adams, 77, in the early hours of July 15, 2018. The defendant has pleaded not guilty to 11 charges in Norfolk Superior Court, including two counts of murder.Jury deliberations began on June 28 after closing arguments and restarted again when one juror was replaced on July 5.During the trial lawyers and witnesses laid out the day of the crimes in vivid detail. During July 14 and 15, witnesses testified, Lopes mood and actions took an abrupt turn...

As China struggles with heat, flooding and drought, employers are ordered to limit outdoor work

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:07:41 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Employers across much of China were ordered Monday to limit outdoor work due to scorching temperatures, while the east and southwest were warned to prepare for torrential rain as the country struggled with heat, flooding and drought.Temperatures as high as 40 C (104 F) were reported in cities including Shijiazhuang, southwest of Beijing, the capital. Highs of 35 C (95 F) to 38 C (100 F) were reported in Beijing, Guangzhou in the south, Chongqing in the southwest and Shenyang in the northeast.The weather agency issued an orange alert, its second-highest warning, for heat across southern China and much of the north and northeast. That requires employers to limit outdoor work, though delivery workers for restaurants and online retailers were still working.The agriculture ministry warned Sunday that persistent hot weather could damage rice harvests and told local authorities to ensure adequate water supplies to prevent the crop from ripening prematurely. Meanwhile, the Mi...

Giant Tiger founder dies at 89

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:07:41 GMT

The founder of Giant Tiger has died.Gordon Reid passed away in his home after a brief illness, a release from the company stated. He was 89.He opened the first Giant Tiger store in 1961 in Ottawa’s ByWard Market which remains in operation today.Giant Tiger now has 265 locations across Canada and employs more than 10,000 people.“Gordon was a giant within Canada’s retail sector, an innovator who reshaped the industry,” said Gino DiGioacchino, interim president and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Giant Tiger. “To us, he was also a friend and mentor. He will be greatly missed.”Reid received the prestigious Retail Council of Canada’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010 and Ottawa’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.He previously held board positions with the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, the International Mass Retail Association, the Retail Industry Leaders Association, and the Ottawa Heart Institute.A commemoration of his legacy w...

Detroit-area officer charged with federal civil rights crime after punching Black man

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:07:41 GMT

WARREN, Mich. (AP) — A suburban Detroit police officer who punched a young Black man in the face and slammed his head to the ground was charged Monday with a federal civil rights crime.A criminal complaint against Matthew Rodriguez was unsealed in federal court ahead of an afternoon news conference by U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison.Jaquwan Smith, 19, was being processed at the Warren police station on June 13 after he was arrested on a warrant for multiple felonies.Video shows Rodriguez exchanging words with Smith before the officer punched him, knocked him to the floor and slammed his head on the ground.Other Warren officers immediately intervened and reported the incident to managers. Smith had previously been searched for weapons, indicating there was no threat to the officer’s security, a court filing said.“The victim was not in an aggressive stance and his hands were by his side with his thumbs in his pants,” FBI agent Brent Nida said in a court filing.Rodriguez was fired on Jun...

Kansas must stop changing trans people’s sex listing on driver’s licenses, judge says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:07:41 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas must stop allowing transgender people to change the sex listed on their driver’s licenses, a state-court judge ordered Monday as part of a lawsuit filed by the state’s Republican attorney general.District Judge Teresa Watson’s order will remain in effect for up to two weeks, although she can extend it. But it’s significant because transgender people have been able to change their driver’s licenses in Kansas for at least four years, and almost 400 people have done it. For now, Kansas will be among only a few states that don’t allow any such changes. The judge issued the order three days after Attorney General Kris Kobach sued two officials in Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration. Kelly announced last month that the state’s motor vehicles division would continue changing driver’s licenses for transgender people so that their sex listing matches their gender identities. Kobach contends that a law, which took e...

Europe signs off on a new privacy pact that allows people’s data to keep flowing to US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:07:41 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The European Union signed off Monday on a new agreement over the privacy of people’s personal information that gets pinged across the Atlantic, aiming to ease European concerns about electronic spying by American intelligence agencies. The EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework has an adequate level of protection for personal data, the EU’s executive commission said. That means it’s comparable to the 27-nation’s own stringent data protection standards, so companies can use it to move information from Europe to the United States without adding extra security. U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order in October to implement the deal after reaching a preliminary agreement with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Washington and Brussels made an effort to resolve their yearslong battle over the safety of EU citizens’ data that tech companies store in the U.S. after two earlier data transfer agreements were thrown out. “Personal data can n...

Book Review: John McPhee delivers a lovely ‘reminiscence montage’ in ’Tabula Rasa’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:07:41 GMT

“Tabula Rasa, Volume 1” by John McPhee (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)What do you do when your writing career lasts seven decades but you haven’t said everything you once thought about saying? If you’re John McPhee, you crack open your notebooks and give fans a taste of the stories you never wrote.That’s the premise behind “Tabula Rasa,” which the 92-year-old McPhee wryly indicates is “Volume 1” because “the purpose of (the project) is to keep the old writer alive by never coming to an end.”There are plenty of snippets here that will make readers wish McPhee had indeed delved deeper into particular topics. A longer profile of fellow writer Edward Abbey would have been nice after hearing him recount the stoning of a rabbit at a Princeton colloquium. Or more color from a 1979 Independence Day fireworks party aboard Malcolm Forbes’ yacht in New York’s East River. Some of the best writing in this collection could be considered memoir — from McPhee’s high school job as a billy club- and flas...

Monitor urges contempt proceedings begin against New York City over Rikers jail conditions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:07:41 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Contempt proceedings should be initiated against New York City over its failure to meet court-ordered reforms meant to stabilize the troubled Rikers Island jail complex, a federal monitor recommended on Monday.The court-appointed monitor made the recommendation in a filing in Manhattan federal court, where a judge is currently considering a federal takeover of the city-run jail system.The report was issued just days after another monitor found the jail complex forced detainees to live in damp, fetid quarters infested with mold, vermin and other “generally unsanitary” conditions.According to the latest report, the city has failed to address key problems at the complex, including the risk of violence to those in custody, despite eight years of monitoring since a consent judgment went into effect and following the first year of an “Action Plan” that was supposed to speed improvements.“Many of the initiatives required by the Action Plan remain incomplete or have not been...