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Rishi Sunak performs delicate balancing act in Big Tech lobbying battle

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:10:35 GMT

LONDON — After months of lobbying, Big Tech companies have won some concessions from the U.K. government on its new competition bill — but not everything has gone their way.On Wednesday morning the government laid almost 200 amendments to its landmark Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (DMCC), which gives the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) sweeping new powers to rein in a small number of Big Tech companies. It also introduces heavy fines for firms that fail to comply with new rules.The changes include partially rewriting an aspect of the legislation which Big Tech companies and their challengers had fought the hardest over — the mechanism for appealing the competition regulator’s decisions.The amendments come after the technology Michelle Donelan secretary told POLITICO this week that the government had been listening to “all sides of the debate” over the bill, saying it would “evolve” when it returned to parliament.Since the bill was first published in April, ...

Route 3 closed in Billerica due to multi-vehicle crash involving rolled over tanker truck carrying fuel

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:10:35 GMT

Authorities have shut down Route 3 in both directions in Billerica after a crash involving multiple vehicles Wednesday morning, including a fuel tanker truck.Massachusetts State Police said both troopers and Billerica firefighters were called to Route 3 northbound for the crash around 10 a.m. According to authorities, the crash involved a tanker truck that was said to be carrying “several thousand gallons of fuel.”All lanes of traffic in both directions were closed as a result, with police redirecting northbound traffic at Exit 76 and southbound traffic at Exit 79.Flying over the scene, SKY7-HD spotted the tanker on its side around 10:30 a.m., with the truck taking up three lanes and the breakdown area as fluid continued to leak out of it and into the roadway’s median.Authorities have not yet said whether there were any injuries as a result of the crash.This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.https://twitter.com/...

Union workers at General Motors appear to have voted down tentative contract deal

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:10:35 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — A tentative contract agreement between General Motors and the United Auto Workers union appears to be headed for defeat.The union hasn’t posted final vote totals yet, but workers at five large factories who finished voting in the past few days have turned down the four year and eight month deal by fairly large margins.The vote tracker on the UAW’s website shows the deal winning by 686 votes. But those totals do not include votes from GM assembly plants in Fort Wayne, Indiana; Wentzville, Missouri; Lansing Delta Township and Lansing Grand River in Michigan, and a powertrain plant in Toledo, Ohio, which all voted against the deal, according to local union officials.In most cases the vote tallies ranged from 55% to around 60% against the contract.Workers were awaiting totals from a large assembly plant in Arlington, Texas, but many said they expect the contract to be voted down.A message was left seeking comment from the union’s spokesman.It w...

Big College Aid Expansion Will Lift 25,000 Students

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:10:35 GMT

A third of all UMass students will qualify for free tuition paid for by the new income surtax on the state’s highest earners, under a plan the Healey administration rolled out Wednesday to spend an expansion of state financial aid.The governor announced that $62 million in new program funding included in the fiscal year 2024 budget she signed this summer will go toward expanding the MASSGrant Plus program, which her administration says will benefit approximately 25,000 students attending the state’s community colleges, state universities and the University of Massachusetts.The MASSGrant Plus expansion will cover the full cost of tuition and fees for Pell Grant-eligible students, including the federal government-determined expected family contribution, and an additional allowance of up to $1,200 for books and supplies. It does not cover housing costs.Most Pell Grant recipients typically come from families with an annual income of $40,000 or less, or have otherwise difficu...

Ravens vs. Bengals scouting report for Week 11: Who has the edge?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:10:35 GMT

The Ravens blew another fourth-quarter lead, losing 33-31 to the Cleveland Browns on a last-second field goal. The Bengals could not complete a comeback and fell 30-27 to the Houston Texans. Who will have the edge when these AFC North rivals meet after a short week of preparation?Ravens passing game vs. Bengals pass defenseLamar Jackson connected on three plays of 30 yards or more against the Browns but also missed several major opportunities, one of which turned into his first of two interceptions on the afternoon. Rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers showed off his gift for getting open, catching five passes on six targets to push his team-high season totals to 50 catches for 545 yards. Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. turned a nifty timing connection into a 40-yard touchdown that put the Ravens up 15, but Beckham played just 18 snaps compared with Flowers’ 47 and Rashod Bateman’s 40. Tight end Mark Andrews, who leads the team’s receivers in first downs and touchdowns...

Gov. Healey adding $62M to tuition grant program at UMass, state schools

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:10:35 GMT

A third of all UMass students will qualify for free tuition paid for by the new income surtax on the state’s highest earners, under a plan the Healey administration rolled out Wednesday to spend an expansion of state financial aid.The governor announced that $62 million in new program funding included in the fiscal year 2024 budget she signed this summer will go toward expanding the MASSGrant Plus program, which her administration says will benefit approximately 25,000 students attending the state’s community colleges, state universities and the University of Massachusetts.The MASSGrant Plus expansion will cover the full cost of tuition and fees for Pell Grant-eligible students, including the federal government-determined expected family contribution, and an additional allowance of up to $1,200 for books and supplies. It does not cover housing costs.Most Pell Grant recipients typically come from families with an annual income of $40,000 or less, or have otherwise difficu...

As Ravens RB Keaton Mitchell eyes a bigger role, the rookie holds on to a simple thought: ‘I can’t get caught’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:10:35 GMT

Just two weeks ago, Keaton Mitchell’s NFL career was more possibility than reality.Yes, the Ravens rookie running back had tantalized fans with Ferrari-grade acceleration during training camp and had made the team as an undrafted free agent. But he started the season on injured reserve and had touched the ball exactly once going into the Ravens’ Nov. 5 game against the Seattle Seahawks.Nine carries and 138 yards later, his name was on the lips of every fantasy football owner in the country. If anything, Mitchell seemed more untouchable a week later against the Cleveland Browns, running away from the best defense in football to put the Ravens up 14-0 in the first quarter. He looked like a video game character whose speed had accidentally been set 25% higher than everyone else’s.“I can’t call it; you’ve got to see it,” quarterback Lamar Jackson said, grasping for words to capture Mitchell’s burst. “Every time he touches the ball, i...

Fuel tanker rolls over in crash, Route 3 shut down in Billerica

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:10:35 GMT

A gasoline tanker carrying thousands of gallons of fuel has rolled over in a multi-vehicle crash on U.S. Route 3 northbound in Billerica near the exit for Treble Cove Road, closing traffic in both directions.“Expect delays and seek alt route,” the Massachusetts Department of Transportation tweeted.The Massachusetts State Police said the truck is leaking fuel onto the roadway from the top of the tank and that a hazmat and environmental response is ongoing.The crash was reported at 9:56 a.m. Wednesday, according to a tweet from the Billerica Police DepartmentThe crash occurred near Exit 76, according to MassDOT, which added that northbound traffic would be detoured at that exit and that southbound traffic would be detoured at Exit 79.State Police tweeted at 10:15 a.m. that troopers and firefighters were at the scene of the crash involving the tanker “carrying several thousand gallons of fuel.”This is a developing story.

Lebanon releases man suspected of killing Irish UN peacekeeper on bail

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:10:35 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s military tribunal released a man accused of killing an Irish United Nations peacekeeper almost a year ago on bail, security and judicial officials said Wednesday. The development comes as UNIFIL, the U.N.’s peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, monitors ongoing clashes along the border between Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops. Lebanon’s military tribunal in June charged Mohamad Ayyad and four others with the killing of Pvt. Seán Rooney, 24, of Newtown Cunningham, Ireland, following a half-year probe. Rooney was killed on Dec. 14, 2022. Ayyad was detained in December 2022.The four others facing charges — Ali Khalifeh, Ali Salman, Hussein Salman, and Mustafa Salman — remain at large. All five are allegedly linked with Hezbollah. Hezbollah has repeatedly denied any role in the killing. Hezbollah representatives did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said he was aware of reports about Ayyad’s release due ...

Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas signals her interest in NATO’s top job

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:10:35 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has signaled her interest in becoming the next secretary general of NATO when the top job at the Western military alliance falls vacant next year. Kallas, who has led the small Baltic nation as its first female head of government since January 2021, was attending the Politico Defence Summit in Washington late Tuesday. When asked whether she would like to be considered for the top post at NATO, she replied simply, “Yes.”Her ruling Reform Party made no immediate comment Wednesday, but a spokesperson noted that Kallas would be seeking another term as the chair of the center-right political party at its congress in the capital, Tallinn, on Saturday. NATO’s current chief Jens Stoltenberg is due to step down in October 2024 after 10 years in the post.Kallas, a 46-year-old lawyer, has been one of the most vocal European backers of Ukraine and a fierce critic of Russia within the European Union and NATO.Among other things, s...