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EU on Chinese spy balloons: Nothing to see (up) here

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:00 GMT

Ninety-nine spy balloons, but none over Europe.EU countries did not flag the presence of any Chinese spy balloons to the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch has told the European Parliament. “Air surveillance and in particular military air surveillance, does not fall under EU competence and is a matter of national competence of each individual member state,” Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean said in a written reply to Renew Europe MEP Engin Eroglu dated Tuesday. “The EU has not been informed by any member state of the detection of a Chinese surveillance balloon over its territory,” she added. In February, the U.S. shot down what it identified as a Chinese surveillance balloon, heightening tensions between Washington and Beijing. After the incident, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a visit to China. At the time, EU institutions acknowledged the U.S.’s right to defend its airspace, and Estonia was one of the few European...

Ukraine Supreme Court chief held in corruption probe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:00 GMT

The head of Ukraine’s Supreme Court has been detained as part of a $2.7 million bribery inquiry, anti-corruption authorities said Tuesday.Supreme Court President Vsevolod Kniaziev and an unnamed lawyer were detained as part of the investigation, Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) said in a statement.The lawyer is suspected of acting as an intermediary on behalf of a billionaire Ukrainian iron oligarch, Kostyantyn Zhevago. Zhevago is accused of bribing officials, including Supreme Court justices, with “about $2.7 million” to influence a ruling in favor of one of his companies, the Finance and Credit group, the statement said.“This is the biggest-ever case” involving the Ukrainian judiciary, the head of NABU, Semen Kryvonos, said at a press conference in Kyiv, AFP reported.Several high-level Ukrainian officials have been linked to corruption cases over the last few months as Kyiv attempts to crack down on graft to comply with the EU&#...

Combating Hate: Local leaders, Patriots owner Robert Kraft join advocates in promoting campaign against antisemitism

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:00 GMT

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft were among a number of local leaders who gathered for the launch of a campaign against antisemitism this week.The figures were at TD Garden on Monday for the launch of the “Face Jewish Hate” campaign being led by the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston.The campaign aims to educate the Boston community on how to combat antisemitism while sharing stories of Jewish hate, according to the organization, including the story of Rabbi Shlomo Noginski, who survived being stabbed multiple times outside of a Jewish day school in Brighton in 2021.At the event, leaders discussed a recent rise in antisemitic events on a national level, including in Massachusetts where antisemitic incidents rose 41 percent from 2021 to 2022, according to the Anti-Defamation League of New England, from 108 to 152 incidents.“Here in Massachusetts, in my family’s hometown of four generations, we’...

Orioles recall left-hander Cole Irvin, one of offseason’s biggest additions, as bullpen shuffling continues

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:00 GMT

The Orioles have had a roulette in the final spot of their bullpen of late. Tuesday, it landed on Cole Irvin.One of Baltimore’s major acquisitions in a modest offseason, the 29-year-old left-hander opened the year as the Orioles’ No. 3 starter. But after Irvin allowed 15 runs in 12 2/3 innings across three starts — uncharacteristically issuing eight walks in that time — he was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. There, he found his footing, especially of late, with four earned runs allowed in 20 innings over his three most recent starts.With the Orioles’ five-man rotation set and largely pitching well of late, Irvin figures to provide length out of Baltimore’s bullpen. He replaces right-hander Logan Gillaspie, whose latest major league stint lasted one day. He joins left-handers Keegan Akin, Drew Rom and Nick Vespi in being optioned out of the Orioles’ bullpen in the past week. Barring an injured-list stint for another player, those pitchers must ...

76ers fire head coach Doc Rivers after being eliminated by Celtics in second round: report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:00 GMT

Doc Rivers is the one to fall on the sword.The Philadelphia 76ers have fired Rivers after three seasons as head coach, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.The 61-year-old has led the Sixers into the second round in all of his seasons but has never advanced into the Eastern Conference Finals.Rivers owns a 154-82 (.659) record as head coach in Philadelphia. The longtime head coach joined the Sixers after seven seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers.The Chicago native was named one of the 15 greatest coaches in NBA history in 2021-22 and has won one NBA championship (2007-2008 Boston Celtics) in 24 seasons as a coach.The search for a head coach in Philadelphia already includes a big list of names. Mike Budenholzer, Sam Cassell, Mike D’Antoni, Nick Nurse, Frank Vogel and Monty Williams are all in the running to take over, according to ESPN.This is a developing story. Check back for details. ()

ChatGPT’s chief testifies before Congress as concerns grow about artificial intelligence risks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:00 GMT

By MATT O’BRIEN (AP Technology Writer)The head of the artificial intelligence company that makes ChatGPT told Congress on Tuesday that government intervention “will be critical to mitigate the risks of increasingly powerful” AI systems.“As this technology advances, we understand that people are anxious about how it could change the way we live. We are too,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testified at a Senate hearing Tuesday. His San Francisco-based startup rocketed to public attention after it released ChatGPT late last year. ChatGPT is a free chatbot tool that answers questions with convincingly human-like responses.What started out as a panic among educators about ChatGPT’s use to cheat on homework assignments has expanded to broader concerns about the ability of the latest crop of “generative AI” tools to mislead people, spread falsehoods, violate copyright protections and upend some jobs. And while there’s no immediate sign that Cong...

San Diego-area cities among worst places to start a career: study

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Two San Diego-area cities were considered among the worst places to start a career in a new study of nearly 200 cities across the country.Oceanside and Chula Vista were ranked among the worst cities for recent college graduates to enter the job market for the first time, according to the study conducted by personal finance company WalletHub.Oceanside came in at the 154th spot, while Chula Vista came in at 167th. According to the study, both were given low scores in the two key dimensions analyzed: "Professional Opportunities and "Quality of Life."The City of San Diego fared slightly better, ending up in the 72nd spot on the best cities to start a career list.The highest-ranked California city on the list was Sacramento, which came in at 38th. Santa Clarita was the lowest positioned city from the Golden State in the 178th spot, in part due to less entry level jobs among those of working-age, according to WalletHub.Other California cities' positions can be found below:No....

Post Malone to make Chula Vista stop on 2023 tour

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:00 GMT

CHULA VISTA, Calif. — Grammy-nominated rapper, singer and songwriter Post Malone will be coming to the San Diego area as part of his newly-announced North American tour.The show will take place on Aug. 13 at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre in Chula Vista as part of Post Malone's If Y'all Weren't Here, I'd Be Crying tour.Tickets for the Chula Vista show go on sale Friday, May 19 at 10 a.m., with presale tickets available for Citi cardmembers starting Wednesday, May 17 at 10 a.m.You can purchase tickets through Live Nation here. Various VIP packages will be available as well. Lil Yachty bringing tour to San Diego Known for some of his chart-topping hits like "Congratulations," "I Fall Apart," "Sunflower" and "Better Now," Post Malone's tour announcement precedes the release of his fifth full-length studio album "Austin," which is set to release on July 28, according to a Live Nation news release.His next single, "Mourning," will release Friday, May 19 through Mercury Records/...

Prince Harry seeks to challenge denial of request to pay for own UK police protection

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:00 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A lawyer for Prince Harry argued in a London court Tuesday that he should be allowed to challenge a government decision that denied him the right to pay for police protection when he visits the U.K.The case is one of six the Duke of Sussex has pending in court that center around two issues: his security and claims that British tabloids hacked his phone and unlawfully obtained other information about him.His high-profile phone hacking trial against the publisher of the Daily Mirror is underway before a different High Court judge.The hearing in the security case centered around Harry’s claim that he doesn’t feel safe bringing his young children, Archie, 4, and Lilibet, nearly 2, from the U.S. to visit his home country without a police security detail. A spokesperson for the prince has said his U.S. security team doesn’t have jurisdiction abroad or access to intelligence in the U.K..The British government stopped providing security for Harry after he and his w...

Justice Minister David Lametti tables legislation to reform bail system

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:00 GMT

OTTAWA — Justice Minister David Lametti introduced new legislation Tuesday morning to reform Canada’s bail system, after months of calls for tougher laws from premiers, police and opposition. Lametti’s update to the law aims to deal with repeat violent offenders and offences involving firearms and other dangerous weapons.The bill’s text says the proposed changes will create new reverse-onus bail conditions for people charged with serious violent offences involving a weapon who were convicted in the last five years of a similar offence.It will also add certain firearms offences to existing reverse-onus provisions, and expand them for offences involving intimate partner violence.While the burden of proof usually rests on prosecutors to convince judges why offenders should stay behind bars, this means that in some cases, the offender will be the one who has to prove in court why they should be released on bail. Lametti was scheduled to hold a news conference later in ...