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Biden cancels planned visit to Australia, Papua New Guinea to focus on debt limit talks

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:19:44 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is curtailing his upcoming trip to the Indo-Pacific, scrapping what was to be a historic stop in Papua New Guinea as well as a visit to a Australia for gathering with fellow leaders of the so-called Quad partnership so he can focus on debt limit talks in Washington, according to three people familiar with the matter.The cancellation is a foreign policy setback for an administration that has made putting a greater focus on the Pacific region central to its global outreach.Biden still plans to depart on Wednesday for Hiroshima, Japan, for a Group of Seven summit with leaders from some of the world’s leading economies. He will return to the U.S. on Sunday, according to the people familiar matter who requested anonymity to discuss the yet to be formally announced decision.Biden had been scheduled to travel on to Papua New Guinea to meet with Pacific Island leaders and then to Australia for a meeting of the leaders of the Quad partnership, made...

DeSantis to send thousand of enforcement officials to Texas to help secure southern border after Title 42 expires

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:19:44 GMT

Governor Ron DeSantis released a statement a short time ago, which said that he’s sending more than a thousand state law enforcement officials to Texas to help secure the southern border.This includes more than 800 national guard soldiers, 100 state troopers, boats and even unmanned drones.This comes nearly a week after the expiration of the pandemic era policy, Title 42, which allowed officials to turn away migrants at the U.S. Mexico border.This isn’t the first time DeSantis sent support.In June 2021, he sent over 100 law enforcement officers to help with efforts of keeping migrants from crossing the border.Back in Florida, DeSantis signed an executive order activating the Florida National Guard to help local authorities with the influx of Cuban migrants coming to shore.

Scooter rider in critical condition following crash in Miami

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:19:44 GMT

A person riding a scooter was transported to an area hospital in critical condition after, police said, the scooter and a car collided.Police responded to the scene, located at NW 7th Street and NW 12th Avenue, just before 2 p.m., Tuesday.Officials said the person in the vehicle appears to be uninjured. Traffic homicide is investigating. Please check back on WSVN.com and 7News for more details on this developing story.

Row over Russian energy sanctions gatecrashes EU-India summit

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:19:44 GMT

BRUSSELS — Talk at an EU-India summit on Tuesday was meant to be about tech and trade. But the first high-level meeting of its kind ended up being overshadowed by an apparent loophole in Western sanctions against Russia that allows countries like India to buy up cheap oil, refine it, and then ship it back to Europe for a hefty profit.Speaking at a press conference in Brussels, Indian Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar denied criticism that his country was helping Moscow circumvent sanctions. Saying he did not “see the basis” for such allegations, New Delhi’s top diplomat said EU rules mandate that “if Russian crude is substantially transformed, it’s not treated as Russian anymore.”In earlier comments to the Financial Times the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell broke ranks to say that Brussels should move to crack down on third countries refining Russian oil and selling the products on to the bloc. “If diesel or gasoline is ...

Red flag warning in effect for most of Massachusetts as brush fire risk remains high 

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:19:44 GMT

Another warm and dry day Tuesday prompted a red flag warning from the National Weather Service and kept local fire crews busy with multiple brush fires reported around Massachusetts. The red flag warning, indicating high risk of brush fires, comes as experts note wind gusts up to 30 miles-per-hour, low humidity, warm weather and dry conditions. The warning is set to remain in effect through 8 p.m. Tuesday. A separate fire watch is set to be in place across the entire state, except for Cape Cod, from 8 a.m. through 8 p.m. Wednesday.Officials have discouraged burning during the current period of elevated fire risk. Among recent area brush fires, crews responded to the Lynn Woods Reservation on Friday of last week, where they at one point battled flames burning close to several homes. City officials on Monday announced trail closures within the Lynn Woods, citing “ongoing forest fires.” Smoke was seen billowing over the area, and a Massachusetts State Police helicopter m...

Temperatures Tumble Tomorrow

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:19:44 GMT

It was another summer like day out there today with temperatures climbing to the 80° mark in several towns. Of course the downside to days like today is the high fire risk across southern New England. A red flag warning was issued today and will be back in effect tomorrow. The combination of sunshine, low relative humidity, gusty wind, and lack of rainfall will lead to fires starting and spreading very easy. Burning is discouraged for most of this week.Rainfall is running below average for both the month of May and the spring season (March, April, and May) and the rest of the week will stay dry. There is a cold front to our north that will drop through overnight but sadly no rain will be squeezed out of it. Clouds will increase this evening and night but nothing more than a sprinkle is on tap. If you see anything (most will not), it will be a sprinkle or two and not even enough to wet the pavement, let alone provide any meaningful rain for grass or plants.While we may not *SEE the i...

Investigators return to scene of massive blaze in Hull that destroyed home

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:19:44 GMT

Investigators were back at the scene of a massive fire in Hull on Tuesday, attempting to determine what caused the blaze that engulfed the home on Q Street the day before.Cell phone video shared with 7NEWS showed intense flames burning throughout the seaside residence as locals watched crews attempt to contain the fire.By Tuesday afternoon, piles of charred debris made up most of what was left as officials with the State Fire Marshal’s Office sorted through the remnants, trying to determine what sparked the inferno.Whipping winds likely fueled the fast-moving fire at the 4,000-square-foot home, according to Hull’s fire chief, who indicated the fire did not appear to be suspicious.“I think that we had a real windy day and a heavy fire load in this house, and it had a little headway on us so, when it got loose, it just kind of came right through the whole house,” Chief Christopher Russo told 7NEWS.Resident Jen Millen was not home when the flames broke out and c...

Truck knocks down utility pole, wires in Lexington

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:19:44 GMT

A truck took down wires and a utility pole in Lexington Tuesday afternoon, drawing a response near the intersection of Clarke Street and Park Drive. Police said a driver was pulling away from a construction site when they clipped wires. Crews closed off the area while they assessed the damage. Ultimately, police said there was minimal damage and no one was injured.

Authorities say New Mexico gunman who killed 3 was local high school student; still seek motive

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:19:44 GMT

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN, KEN RITTER and MORGAN LEE (Associated Press)FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) — The gunman who killed three people and wounded six others while roaming through his northwestern New Mexico neighborhood and apparently firing at random targets was a local 18-year-old high school student, authorities said Tuesday, noting they were still trying to determine a motive for the attack.Beau Wilson lived in the Farmington neighborhood where he opened fire on Monday, killing three women, authorities said at a news conference. One of the three was a woman in her 90s, another was that woman’s daughter, who was in her 70s, and the third was also a woman in her 70s, said Deputy Police Chief Baric Crum.Witnesses and police say the gunman walked through the neighborhood a short drive from downtown Farmington spraying bullets until police arrived at the scene within minutes and shot and killed him.Crum said the shooter was indiscriminately shooting at vehicles, but rounds also ...

Goodbye, fish and chips? New England haddock imperiled by overfishing

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:19:44 GMT

By PATRICK WHITTLE (Associated Press)PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A staple seafood species caught by East Coast fishers for centuries is experiencing overfishing, and regulators have cut catch quotas by more than 80% to prevent the fish’s population from collapse.Haddock are one of the most popular Atlantic fish, and a favorite for fish and chips and other New England seafood dishes.But fewer haddock will be caught in New England this year after regulators cut fishing quotas. A recent scientific assessment found that the Gulf of Maine haddock stock declined unexpectedly, and that meant the catch quotas for the fish were unsustainably high, federal fishing managers said.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration added the Gulf of Maine haddock stock to its overfishing list last month. The New England Fishery Management Council, a regulatory board, has lowered catch limits of the fish in an attempt to halt the overfishing, said agency spokesperson Allison Ferreira.However, numerous...