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A judge will consider if Texas can keep its floating barrier to block migrants crossing from Mexico

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:37 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday will consider whether Texas can keep a floating barrier on the U.S.-Mexico border as both the Biden administration and Mexico push to remove Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s latest hardline measure to deter migrants from crossing. The scheduled hearing in Austin comes days after Texas, which installed the water barrier on the Rio Grande in July near the border city of Eagle Pass, repositioned the wrecking ball-sized buoys closer to U.S. soil. Texas is being sued by the Justice Department, which argues the barrier could impact relations with Mexico and pose humanitarian and environmental risks. During a trip Monday to Eagle Pass, Abbott said the barrier was moved “out of an abundance of caution” following what he described as allegations that they had drifted to Mexico’s side of the river. “I don’t know whether they were true or not,” Abbott said. It is not clear when U.S. District Judge David Ezra might rule on the barri...

DC leaders break ground on Anacostia’s first new rec center in 20 years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:37 GMT

(new Image()).src = "https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=9be9c680-c459-4acb-af21-654a2ccca384&cid=c2ffed0c-3624-46c0-b10f-97c976d290a3";cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "9be9c680-c459-4acb-af21-654a2ccca384",mediaId: "33eb4435-5e5c-47a5-b078-b08b898d098f"}).render("dde5ac911c0645caaca75ed221373968"); });In a lot behind Ketcham Elementary School in D.C.’s Anacostia neighborhood, ground was broken Monday morning for the city’s newest recreation center. The $15 million Anacostia Recreation Center will be the first new recreation center built in Ward 8 in 20 years, according to Mayor Muriel Bowser.“It will especially play a critical role in keeping our young people active and safe,” Bowser said.According to the D.C. Department of Recreation, the center will provide a full-size gymnasium and one of the biggest fitness centers in the city. There will also be a demonstration kitchen, classrooms and multipurpose rooms inside. ...

Poland cleared for $12B attack helicopter deal with US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:37 GMT

The U.S. government has agreed to the sale of Apache helicopters and related equipment worth $12 billion to Poland’s military, the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said Monday.Following the launch of Russia’s all-out war on Ukraine last year, Poland’s Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said Warsaw intended to procure Apache helicopters to beef up its deterrence. But any foreign sale of military equipment from U.S. contractors needs to be notified in advance to Congress by the DSCA, a process that is now complete for the potential Apache sale. Until the Boeing-made helicopters are ready, Błaszczak said on social media late Monday that the U.S. army had agreed to supply existing aircraft from its own resources in the meantime. According to the DSCA’s notification, in addition to the sale of 96 Apache attack helicopters the deal also includes missiles, ammunition, guidance systems, night vision sensors and access to U.S. training staff among...

Large police response amid active investigation in Randolph

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:37 GMT

Randolph police have blocked off a neighborhood amid an investigation that began overnight and has carried over into Tuesday morning.Multiple police cruisers and fire trucks and officers using a drone could be seen in the area of Moulton Street.No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Fresh Air

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:37 GMT

Whoosh! Just like that, the slightly higher humidity is gone as refreshing northerly breezes take over this morning. That breeze is behind a cold front that came through late yesterday/last night with the scattered downpours that rolled through. The rain, now well off our coast this morning, won’t return to the forecast until Thursday evening. That’ll leave us nice and dry the next few days with mostly sunny skies today and tomorrow. The forecast is almost a cut and paste from this afternoon, to tomorrow afternoon as temps run low to mid 70s coast to upper 70s to 80 inland. All and all, superb weather the next couple of days with low humidity and comfortable cool overnights. Clouds start to increase Thursday afternoon and as a warm front approaches us, we’ll likely track scattered showers and storms with localized downpours Thursday night, into early Friday morning. A few scattered showers and storms will be with us Friday afternoon, into the weekend, but likely be...

Thousands of Massachusetts police disciplinary records released by regulators

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:37 GMT

The state’s police licensing board released thousands of disciplinary records Tuesday for law enforcement officers across Massachusetts as part of a long-awaited database that they were required to create under state law.The database, available in PDF and spreadsheet formats, fulfills a requirement in a 2020 police reform law and offers the public an easily accessible look at the backgrounds of their hometown cops. The publication of the database also clears from the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission’s plate a challenging project that took years to make.Regulators published 3,413 disciplinary records from 273 of the 440 law enforcement agencies under the POST Commission’s purview. The Boston Police Department has the third-most disciplinary records in the database behind the Springfield Police Department in second and the Massachusetts State Police in first.The remaining agencies not represented in the database are those that confirmed to regulators they have no histor...

Real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin wins vote to become Thailand’s 30th prime minister

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:37 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — A populist Thai party linked to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra won a vote in parliament to lead the country, hours after the divisive former leader returned from years of self-imposed exile and began an eight-year prison sentence.Real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin’s victory, with 482 votes out of 727 lawmakers present, ends months of suspense, legal wrangling and horse trading that followed the May elections. The progressive Move Forward Party, which won the most votes in the national election, was blocked from taking power by conservative senators.Thaksin’s return was an emotional moment for supporters of the 74-year-old billionaire, who won the loyalty of millions with populist policies that directed attention, and funding, to the country’s largely rural, often impoverished, north.Hundreds of people gathered outside of the airport early in the morning, donning red clothes and holding sign with welcoming messages. They sang and chanted in antic...

Iran unveils armed drone resembling America’s MQ-9 Reaper and says it could potentially reach Israel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:37 GMT

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s Defense Ministry unveiled a drone on Tuesday resembling America’s armed MQ-9 Reaper, claiming that the aircraft is capable of staying airborne for 24 hours and has the range to reach the country’s archenemy Israel. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency published a photograph of the drone, called the Mohajer-10, on display at a conference marking Defense Industry Day with what appeared to be smoke-machine fog underneath it. “Mohajer” means “immigrant” in Farsi and has been a drone line manufactured by the Islamic Republic since 1985.IRNA said the drone is able to fly up to 24,000 feet with a speed of 210 kph (130 mph), carrying a bomb payload of up to 300 kilograms (660 pounds). It also said the drone could carry electronic surveillance equipment and a camera. Iran’s hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, a protégé of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also viewed the drone on Tuesday.“Today, we can firmly introduce Iran as an adva...

Haiti and Dominican Republic brace for Tropical Storm Franklin as Harold approaches Texas coast

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:37 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Tropical Storm Franklin churned through the Caribbean Sea Tuesday as authorities in Haiti and the Dominican Republic warned residents to prepare for landslides and heavy floods.The storm was centered early Tuesday about 255 miles (415 kilometers) south of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, and had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph). It was moving northwest at 3 mph (5 kph) and was expected to turn northward. Franklin was expected to strengthen before making landfall early Wednesday in Hispaniola, the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The storm is forecast to drop up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain in both countries, with up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) in isolated areas. Heavy rainfall is of great concern to Haiti, where severe erosion in many places often leads to dangerous flooding. More than 40 people died in June following a day of heavy rain from a thunderstorm.“The mudslide risk there is just awful...

Spain’s acting prime minister calls Women’s World Cup champions an inspiration for youth

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:37 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spain’s acting prime minister greeted the country’s Women’s World Cup champions at the presidential palace on Tuesday.“You have achieved something very important. The girls who watch you see soccer as a place where they can develop athletically and personally,” Pedro Sánchez said while posing for a group photo with the soccer team.“The 21st century will be the century of women on all fronts, and the century of effective equality between men and women,” he added.Sánchez said the team members will be awarded Spain’s golden medal of sports achievement in honor of their victory.Players and staff landed late Monday in Madrid after a flight from Sydney, Australia, where Spain beat England 1-0 in Sunday’s final. They were greeted by thousands in the Spanish capital in a celebration that lasted until past midnight.Gender equality and women’s rights have been cornerstones of Sánchez’s leftist government. But Spain’s Wome...