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Political uproar in Poland after Duda pledges to sign Kremlin commission law

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:58 GMT

WARSAW — Poland’s President Andrzej Duda said Monday he will sign into law a controversial bill creating a commission to investigate Russian influence on Polish politics that could ban people from public office for a decade.Duda and the Law and Justice (PiS) party government say it’s an effort to root out the Kremlin’s agents in Poland, but the opposition warns the commission is aimed at harassing political rivals — especially Donald Tusk, a former prime minister and European Council president who heads the opposition Civic Platform party — ahead of this fall’s pivotal parliamentary election.The decision is likely to worsen already fraught relations between Warsaw and Brussels, with the European Commission freezing billions in EU pandemic recovery cash over worries the Polish government is backsliding on the bloc’s democratic principles.The commission law was narrowly approved by the Polish parliament late Friday after a heated debate; Dud...

Investigation continues after separate shootings at Revere Beach on Sunday left 3 people wounded

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:58 GMT

State police were forced to shut down Revere Beach on Sunday night after separate shootings left several people wounded, officials said.Troopers responding to a reported shooting at 123 Centennial Ave. around 7 p.m. found a 17-year-old girl who had suffered a gunshot wound to her lower body, according to state police. She was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital with a non-life-threatening injury.A preliminary investigation suggests the girl was wounded while shots were being fired into a group of people during a fight and she was not the intended target. Then, around 8 p.m., two victims were wounded in another shooting in the area of the bathhouse across from 63 Revere Beach Boulevard. A 51-year-old woman suffered gunshot wounds to her legs and was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital and a 17-year-old boy who was grazed by a gunshot declined to go to the hospital.Several juveniles were detained and were being interviewed as of Sunday night, but no one has been charged in con...

Massachusetts State Police search for missing jet skier after boat collision

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:58 GMT

Massachusetts State Police and other agencies were searching on Monday for a missing jet skier who collided with a boat on the Connecticut River in Northampton.The collision happened at about 7 p.m. on Sunday. The two boat occupants were rescued by Massachusetts Environmental Police officers, and were transported to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.Police searched on the Connecticut River until around midnight, but did not find the missing jet skier.“Search teams are back on station today,” a Massachusetts State Police spokesperson said on Monday. “Troopers and Officers are deploying side-scan sonar equipment, which feeds a sonar image of the water column and river bottom back to a monitor on the boats.“If any anomalies or objects are detected by the sonar, divers will enter the water to investigate further,” the spokesperson added.Related ArticlesCrime & Public Safety | Two shootings reported at Revere Beach, Massachusetts State Po...

After Revere Beach shootings and fights, Massachusetts State Police union ‘disgusted with the violence and unlawful behavior’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:58 GMT

Following the chaos at Revere Beach Sunday evening when multiple shootings and several fights were reported, the Massachusetts State Police union said it’s “disgusted with the violence and unlawful behavior.”Police responded to two shootings at the popular beach on Memorial Day Weekend, and three people were reportedly shot in the incidents.In one of the shootings, a 51-year-old woman suffered gunshot wounds to her legs and was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. She was not the intended victim in the shooting, according to police.“Visiting the beach with family, friends, and loved ones is a time-honored New England tradition,” the State Police Association of Massachusetts wrote on Monday following the shootings. “The Association is disgusted with the violence and unlawful behavior displayed yesterday at Revere Beach.“Every family within the Commonwealth deserves to be able to enjoy themselves at...

LIVE: Biden to give Memorial Day address after wreath-laying

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:58 GMT

(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden is set to deliver a Memorial Day address after participating in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Monday morning. This marks the nation's 155th National Memorial Day Wreath Laying and Observance Program, meant to honor America's fallen soldiers, according to a press release from Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. The events start at 11 a.m. ET. The president and first lady Jill Biden will be joined by Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff. Maj. Gen. Allan M. Pepin, commanding general of Joint Task Force-National Capital Region and the U.S. Army Military District of Washington, will host the wreath-laying ceremony. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is set to host the department's observance program in Memorial Amphitheater. A shattered soldier’s last act was protecting those he loved According to the amphitheater's website, many consider the services held there to be the nation's...

Gunman robs Mission Hills restaurant

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:58 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A man robbed a Mission Hills restaurant at gunpoint Sunday night, getting away with cash.Just before 10 p.m., the thief walked into a restaurant in the 1800 block of West Washington Street, walked up to the counter and lifted his sweater to show an employee his handgun, San Diego police said in a news release. "The employee, knowing he was going to be robbed, opened the register, removed the drawer and placed it on the counter," SDPD said. 1 shot downtown; police searching for gunman The thief took money out from the drawer and ran westbound, police said. He was wearing a surgical mask, black hat, green hoodie, cream sweater, black pants, white shoes and gloves, police said.Anyone with information about the robbery was asked to call SDPD or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

No deaths reported after rescuers rush to save residents from Iowa building collapse, officials say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:58 GMT

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Firefighters and other first responders are being credited with saving lives – at great risk to their own safety – after a six-story apartment building in Iowa partially collapsed, authorities said Monday.There were no confirmed fatalities and no known people still trapped the morning after a section of brick building in the eastern Iowa city of Davenport crashed to the ground. Mayor Mike Matson said members of the Davenport Fire Department and others went “literally into an unsafe building” to try to rescue residents.“When something like this happens here, and tragedy strikes, our responders immediately do their work and their job and I can’t thank them enough,” Matson said at a news conference Monday.Fire Chief Michael Carlsten said workers searched for survivors throughout the night and rescued one person from the six-story building — bringing the total number of people rescued by fire officials to eight. An additional 12 people were escorted ou...

With new mandate secured, Turkey’s Erdogan likely to continue engaging with both West and Russia

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:58 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — After securing a strong new mandate in a runoff presidential election, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan could temper some positions that have irritated his NATO allies. But observers predicted that the country’s longtime strongman leader is unlikely to depart from his policy of engaging with both Russia and the West.Erdogan won reelection Sunday with more than 52% of the vote, extending his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade. He must now confront skyrocketing inflation that has fueled a cost-of-living crisis and rebuild in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people and leveled entire cities.After failing to secure victory outright in the first round of voting on May 14, Erdogan defeated opposition challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who had promised to put Turkey on a more democratic path and improve relations with the West.A divisive populist and masterful orator who transformed Turkey’s presidency from a larg...

Libyan court sentences 23 suspected Islamic State militants to death

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:58 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — A Libyan court Monday sentenced 23 suspected Islamic State group militants to death for launching deadly attacks that killed dozens of people, including Egyptian Coptic Christians.The appeals court in the western city of Misrata also sentenced 14 other militants to life in prison who were convicted on the same charges, which include destruction of police facilities and public property.The court sentenced nine defendants to between three and 12 years in prison. It acquitted five suspects.The court did not elaborate further details.The Islamic State and other extremist groups exploited the chaos that engulfed Libya after the 2011 uprising that toppled and later killed longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi. They seized the coastal city of Sirte, Gadhafi’s birthplace, and other cities including Derna in eastern Libya. The militants were eventually expelled from Sirte in December 2016 by forces fighting for the former U.N.-backed Government of National Accord. Forces of east-...

Biden marks Memorial Day nearly 2 years after ending America’s longest war, lauds troops’ sacrifice

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:58 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden lauded the sacrifice of generations of U.S. troops who died fighting for their country as he marked Memorial Day with the traditional wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.Biden was joined by first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Harris’ husband, Douglas Emhoff, for the 155th National Memorial Day Observance. He had a moment of contemplation in front of the wreath and later bowed his head in prayer.Monday’s federal holiday honoring America’s fallen service members came a day after Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached final agreement on a deal that would raise America’s debt limit and that now awaits approval by Congress.As it stands, the agreement would keep nondefense spending roughly flat in the 2024 fiscal year and increase it by 1% the following year. The measure would allow for 3% defense growth in fiscal 2024, to $886 billion, and then another 1% in fiscal 2025, to $8...