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Ukraine slams Obama for making ‘excuses’ over his Russia policy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:24 GMT

Former U.S. President Barack Obama should start admitting critical mistakes in his administration’s Russia policy, including Moscow’s illegal 2014 annexation of Crimea, a senior Ukrainian official said Friday.“The current Russian […] regime is a blatant reflection of a specific pre-war ‘Western policy,'” said Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office. “Maybe it’s time to start admitting critical mistakes instead of coming up with new excuses?”Podolyak’s comments are in reaction to former U.S. President Barack Obama’s defense of his administration’s reaction to the annexation of Crimea in an interview on CNN. Obama argued the full-scale invasion launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin last February came in a different context.“Both myself but also [then-German Chancellor Angela] Merkel, who I give enormous credit for, had to pull in a lot of other Euro...

Russian army is retreating, Wagner boss claims in anti-war tirade

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:24 GMT

Ukraine’s counteroffensive is beating back Russia’s armed forces, the head of Russia’s notorious mercenary outfit, Wagner Group, declared in an explosive attack on his own allies.Speaking to the camera in a video uploaded to Telegram on Friday, Yevgeny Prigozhin said “the Russian army is in retreat on the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson fronts,” adding that Kyiv’s troops are “pushing back the Russian army.”At the same time, the outspoken billionaire questioned the Kremlin’s rationale for starting the war, admitting “the Armed Forces of Ukraine were not going to attack Russia with NATO.” President Vladimir Putin and his inner circle have repeatedly claimed they began their offensive to prevent the country from being used as a launchpad for a Western-backed war on Russia itself, without presenting evidence to support the assertions.In reality, Prigozhin went on, “the war was needed for a bunch of scumbags to triumph and show how str...

Driver arrested after travelling down MBTA bus tunnel at Harvard Square, smashing SUV

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:24 GMT

A 33-year-old man is facing charges after taking an SUV down a bus-only tunnel at Harvard Square and crashing it, according to authorities.The MBTA Transit Police Department alleged the driver was intoxicated when he drove a GMC SUV into the lower bus tunnel around 12:30 a.m. and crashed into a pole.According to the department, the suspect, who was later taken into custody, sustained a minor knee injury as a result.No additional details were given.

Experts question decision to vent and burn toxic vinyl chloride from derailed tankers in East Palestine, Ohio

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:24 GMT

(CNN) — Experts called by the US National Transportation Safety Board, or NTSB, to testify about the February train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, said at a hearing Thursday that tank cars containing vinyl chloride were not undergoing a chemical reaction that would have caused them to explode – calling into question the decision of first responders to vent and burn the hazardous chemical inside.In the aftermath of the derailment, residents of East Palestine have demanded an explanation for the decision to vent and burn toxic vinyl chloride from five derailed tanker cars, which sent a black cloud of smoke drifting ominously over the town and southeast into nearby Pennsylvania on Monday February 6, three days after the train initially derailed.At Thursday’s investigative field hearing convened by the NTSB, representatives from train operator Norfolk Southern and emergency response contractors from two companies it hired to help after the crash testified that they were worrie...

Titan implosion has searchers hunting for clues, officials grappling with complex investigation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:24 GMT

By PATRICK WHITTLE and JENNIFER McDERMOTT (Associated Press)A day after revelations that the Titan submersible imploded, officials grappled Friday with vexing questions about who is responsible for investigating the international disaster.The U.S. Coast Guard said an official inquiry had not yet been launched because the agencies involved are still looking for clues about what caused the vessel to fall apart.“I know there are also a lot of questions about how, why and when did this happen. Those are questions we will collect as much information as we can about now,” Rear Adm. John Mauger of the First Coast Guard District said Thursday. On Friday, the Coast Guard said all of the agencies involved are trying to determine who has the authority to lead an inquiry, which is sure to be complex because of the international nature of the mission. After the Titan imploded in international waters, the U.S. Coast Guard led the search and rescue mission. OceanGate Expeditions, the c...

2024 GOP candidates call for federal abortion limits ahead of anniversary of Roe reversal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:24 GMT

By WILL WEISSERT and MICHELLE L. PRICE (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Top Republican presidential candidates called Friday for imposing federal limits on abortion, declaring at a gathering of some of their party’s most influential evangelical Christian leaders that the year-old Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade didn’t go far enough. Hundreds of attendees of the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s annual conference believe abortion policy can continue to be a strength for Republicans, even as Democrats insist the issue will buoy them in 2024. “The battle for life is far from over. We’ve not come to the end of our cause,” former Vice President Mike Pence said. “We’ve simply come to the end of the beginning.”Former President Donald Trump, whose three Supreme Court nominees allowed for the reversal of nationwide abortion rights, will give the keynote address Saturday night, the one-year anniversary of the Dobbs v...

Live updates | Titan’s fatal implosion highlights murky regulations for deep-sea voyages

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:24 GMT

By The Associated PressFollow along for live updates on the submersible that imploded deep in the Atlantic Ocean, killing all five people aboard during a voyage down to the Titanic shipwreck.___TITAN’S IMPLOSION HIGHLIGHTS MURKY REGULATIONS FOR DEEP-SEA VOYAGESThe Titan’s voyage down into the North Atlantic highlights the murkily regulated waters of deep-sea exploration.It’s a space on the high seas where laws and conventions can be sidestepped by risk-taking entrepreneurs and the wealthy tourists who help fund their dreams. At least for now.Thursday’s announcement by the U.S. Coast Guard that the Titan had imploded near the Titanic shipwreck, killing all five people on board, has drawn attention to how these expeditions are regulated.The Titan operated in international waters, far from the reach of many laws of the United States or other nations. It wasn’t registered as a U.S. vessel or with international agencies that regulate safety, nor was it class...

SDPD plan to activate smart street lights, license plate readers moves forward with board recommendation to reject

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:24 GMT

SAN DIEGO—The debate over smart surveillance street lights and license plate readers in the city of San Diego is heating up again. The San Diego Privacy Advisory Board voted unanimously to push the Option 2 plan to reject SDPD’s proposal forward to the city council. The proposal would make San Diego the largest city to use street lights with license plate readers.According to Seth Hall with Trust SD Coalition, the Board voted to approve sending Option 2 to the city council, which is a document to the city council recommending the council reject the policy. But some are worried about privacy.“Put the cameras away. Who watches who?” said community members at the meeting.Community members expressed their opposition to more surveillance technology potentially hitting the streets of San Diego.“Our biggest concern is this money should be going to our communities not towards cameras and surveillance,” said Stacey Uy with Asian Solidarity Collective. “We all know it’s not cameras that ...

Guatemalans are fed up with corruption ahead of an election that may draw many protest votes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:24 GMT

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — As Guatemala prepares to elect a new president Sunday, its citizens are fed up with government corruption, on edge about crime and struggling with poverty and malnutrition — all of which drives tens of thousands out of the country each year.And for many disillusioned voters — especially those who supported three candidates who were blocked from running this year — the leading contenders at the close of campaigning Friday seem like the least likely to drive the needed changes.Guatemala’s problems are not new or unusual for the region, but their persistence is generating voter frustration. As many as 13% of eligible voters plan to cast null votes Sunday, according to a poll published by the Prensa Libre newspaper.Rolando Quiroa, 62, a lawyer in downtown Guatemala City, said he had no hope for positive change in Guatemala because he sees the leading candidates as just a continuation of failed politics.Quiroa, who declined to say who he would vote for, said Guatema...

Quebec wildfires: Cree community orders evacuation due to heavy smoke

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:24 GMT

MONTREAL — A Cree community in northern Quebec was being evacuated Friday because of heavy smoke from a nearby forest fire.The wildfire in Mistissini, Que., the second largest Cree community in the province, is located about 10 kilometres from the road to southern Quebec — and about 30 kilometres from the town itself.“We have time to evacuate,” said Chief Michael Petawabno in a video posted on the Cree Nation of Mistissini’s Facebook page, adding that he wanted to ensure the evacuation wasn’t rushed.He said the community’s almost 4,000 residents should check in at a local sports complex and that transport would be provided for those who don’t have vehicles.Evacuees were being sent to Chicoutimi, Que., around 446 kilometres to the southeast.Mistissini was the second Quebec community to order an evacuation within the past 24 hours. The northern Quebec city of Lebel-sur-Quévillon ordered residents to leave by Thursday evening, after a fire cut off on...