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China’s Qin warns EU not to sanction its companies over trade with Russia

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:41 GMT

BERLIN — Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang cautioned his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock on Tuesday that Beijing would react strongly if the EU were to sanction Chinese companies over their potential role in assisting Russia’s war in Ukraine.Yet Baerbock rebuffed the warning, telling Qin it was China’s obligation to make sure its companies don’t deliver weapons or so-called dual-use goods, which can be used for Russia’s war efforts, to Moscow.“On exports of dual-use goods, we proceed according to regulations and laws … China and Russian enterprises have normal exchanges and cooperation, which should not be affected,” Qin told reporters during a press conference at the German foreign ministry in Berlin. “We are resolutely opposed to certain countries, certain blocs of countries, using their so-called laws to exercise long-arm jurisdiction and unilateral sanctions against other countries, including China. If that happens, China will react...

Reports: EU’s Mariya Gabriel to be nominated as Bulgarian PM

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:41 GMT

European Commissioner for Innovation Mariya Gabriel is expected to be nominated as prime ministerial candidate in Bulgaria for the center-right GERB party on Wednesday, according to numerous Bulgarian media reports citing party sources.GERB came first past the post in Bulgaria’s election last month but only claimed about 25 percent of the vote, meaning that party Chairman Boyko Borissov now has to cobble together a coalition. Many observers expect him to try to do so by bypassing reform-minded anti-corruption parties. A European Commission spokesman had “no comment” on the reports. Christian Oliver, Pieter Haeck, Suzanne Lynch and Lili Bayer contributed reporting.

Operation Delta Dog: Local group pairs service members with service dogs

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:41 GMT

Nearly 17 U.S. Veterans take their own lives each day. A staggering and heart-breaking number.But a local group is pairing service members with service dogs. And both are getting the lifeline they need. Jonathan Hall has the story.  When missiles were fired over Iraq in the Gulf War Joe Keegan was there, serving as an army infantry soldier.“You know live in a foxhole. You go from place to place. Sometimes you’re walking; sometimes you’re carried by a truck,” Joe said.The violence Joe saw is difficult to discuss.“When you get word you’re actually going in, they give you the briefing and tell you the casualty report…” Joe said.He was just 19 years old.“At that age, to see what people are capable of doing to each other. That was, I don’t even have words for it. It’s just like, head-blowing, mind-blowing to see the carnage and destruction,” Joe said.Back in Massachusetts, Joe later struggled with PTSD and ...

Ex-cop decertified for alleged role in Charlottesville rally

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:41 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — A former Massachusetts police officer who reportedly participated in the 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, has been decertified by the state’s police standards board, meaning he can no longer work in law enforcement, according to state records.Documents made public Monday by the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission indicate that former Woburn Officer John Donnelly entered into a voluntary decertification agreement on April 13, which was signed by the commission’s chair on April 21.His name will also be included in a national database of decertified officers, according to the records.The Woburn Police Department opened an internal investigation into Donnelly in October after HuffPost.com reported his participation in the deadly Unite the Right rally. Heather Heyer died after a car driven by white supremacist James Alex Fields Jr. plowed through a crowd of counterprotesters. Fields is serving a life sentence ...

Lasers on Artemis II will share high-definition video of the moon

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:41 GMT

(CNN) — When the crewed Artemis II mission makes its lunar flyby in late 2024, we’ll be able to see video of the moon like never before — and it’s all thanks to lasers.The Orion spacecraft will launch atop the Space Launch System rocket in November 2024 to carry NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency on a roughly 10-day journey beyond the moon and back.Along for the historic journey to the moon will be the Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System, or O2O — making Artemis II the first crewed lunar flight to demonstrate laser communications technology.The O2O system will be capable of returning high-resolution images and video of the lunar surface back to Earth with a downlink rate of up to 260 megabits per second. The high bandwidth, a far cry from the grainy footage captured during the Apollo missions 50 years ago, could enable high-definition views of the moon in real...

Migrants living on the streets of El Paso are urged to turn themselves in to immigration authorities as expiration of Title 42 looms

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:41 GMT

(CNN) — Federal agents moved through the quiet streets outside Sacred Heart Church in El Paso, Texas, early Tuesday morning, handing out flyers to more than 1,000 migrants who have been sleeping on the sidewalks, encouraging them to turn themselves in to immigration authorities ahead of the looming expiration of a Trump-era border restriction policy.Worry spread throughout the makeshift encampment as migrants read the document, which urged those who skirted authorities on the way into the US to visit the nearest processing station a few minutes walk from the church. There, the flyer said, they would be “processed by CBP officers and placed on the correct immigration path.”The enforcement action by federal officials here comes as the United States braces for the lifting of Title 42, a 2020 policy to curb the spread of Covid-19 that allowed US authorities to swiftly expel migrants encountered at the southern border, with some exceptions. It’...

Celtics’ Derrick White named to NBA’s All-Defensive second team

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:41 GMT

As the Celtics were wrapping up the regular season in late March, Grant Williams took to Twitter.He wanted some recognition for a few of his teammates.“Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum both deserve ALL-NBA. Derrick White is all defense! I’m ready to argue,” Williams tweeted.The first two names needed little explanation. Some, however, may have been surprised by the inclusion of White, who can be overlooked despite being one of the Celtics’ most important players.“Some people don’t always give credit to the people who are under the radar,” Williams said. “D-White’s been a guy who’s been consistent throughout the entire season.”On Tuesday, Williams’ hope came true and White received his deserved recognition. The sixth-year guard was named to the NBA’s All-Defensive second team, his first career individual award and a nod to a side of his play that he takes great pride in.“Not a lot of people make an All-Defensive team in their career, so I would definitely be thankful and grateful,” Whit...

Orioles place Ramón Urías on injured list, promote pitching prospect Drew Rom in roster shuffle

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:41 GMT

The Orioles shuffled their bullpen and bench ahead of Tuesday’s game with the Tampa Bay Rays.After suffering a left hamstring strain on a ninth-inning single during Monday’s loss, Ramón Urías was placed on the 10-day injured list. The club also optioned left-hander Keegan Akin and designated catcher Luis Torrens for assignment. To take their places, Baltimore brought back left-handed hitters Ryan O’Hearn and Terrin Vavra and promoted pitching prospect Drew Rom for the first time.A 23-year-old left-hander who Baseball America ranked as Baltimore’s No. 24 prospect entering this season, Rom was the Orioles’ fourth-round pick in the 2018 draft. He had a 2.87 ERA in six starts for Triple-A Norfolk this year and is coming off striking out 11 over six shutout innings in his most recent outing for the Tides.It figures Rom will take Akin’s role as a left-handed long reliever; Akin had a 5.91 ERA in 13 relief appearances for Baltimore. Urías ...

These are the 30 hottest rental markets in the country

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:41 GMT

Amidst a market still unaffordable for many renters, RentCafe ranked the 150 largest cities in the U.S. in terms of rental activity.To calculate the most active rental markets, RentCafe looked at a few metrics: availability of apartments to measure overall demand, listing views, apartments saved as favorites and saved personalized searches.Rental markets taking the top spots in terms of activity: Atlanta, Georgia, took the top spot, followed by Kansas City, Missouri, and Albuquerque, New Mexico.The state of the South Florida rental marketFort Lauderdale took the 25th spot out of the 150 largest cities in the United States in terms of rental activity, jumping five spots in less than a month, according to RentCafe.“Fort Lauderdale is among April’s top 30 cities in the U.S. in terms of rental activity, mainly due to a decrease in available apartments, as well as the considerable increase in the number of apartments that renters added to their favorites list — more than double the numbe...

2023 high school grads could take on $37K in college debt

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:40:41 GMT

As millions of Americans with federal student loan debt hang in the balance, waiting to learn whether some of what they owe will be forgiven, the machine that has churned out this debt for decades is ready to welcome a new class of college students.This year’s high school graduates could take on $37,300 in student loan debt in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree, according to NerdWallet analysis of data from the Department of Education. These graduates-turned-freshmen may not see alarming tuition increases, but any improvements won’t compensate for the doubling of higher education costs over the past 30 years.Costs are down, but potential student loan debt is still excessiveThe average tuition, fees, room and board at public four-year colleges was $23,250 in the 2022-2023 school year, down 5.4% from the year prior after adjusting for inflation, according to the latest data from the College Board. College costs have been growing more slowly for a decade now, and decreasing for the past fe...