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London’s Met Police racist, misogynistic and homophobic, damning report finds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:16 GMT

LONDON — The Metropolitan Police is riddled with “institutional” racism, misogyny and homophobia, a blistering report on the U.K.’s largest police force concluded.The official review — conducted over twelve months by former top civil servant Louise Casey in the wake of a host of high-profile crimes involving Met officers — warns that the London force has lost the faith of the British public. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said faith in the Met has been “hugely damaged,” while London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the report marked “one of the darkest days in the history” of the force.The findings come in the wake of serving Met officer Wayne Couzens’ kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard. Just last month, former Met officer David Carrick — similarly trusted to guard parliament and diplomatic sites as part of an elite team — was sentenced to life in jail for abusing multiple women while in the force.The review identifies a number of cases where f...

Russian cruise missiles destroyed in drone attack on Crimea, Ukraine says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:16 GMT

KYIV — A series of blasts targeting Russian weapons took place in Russian-occupied Crimea on Monday night, according to videos posted on social media.The footage showed explosions in Dzhankoy, a town in the northern part of Crimea and a strategically important railway connection used by the Russian army. In some clips, a red cloud was visible in the night sky after the blasts. Others featured the sound of machine guns firing.Ukrainian Military Intelligence reported that an explosion had destroyed a cargo of Russian Kalibr cruise missiles — which Moscow has used to hammer Ukrainian critical infrastructure. Ukraine has not officially taken responsibility for the attack.“The mysterious series of blasts continues the process of Russia’s demilitarization and prepares the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea for de-occupation,” Ukrainian Military Intelligence said in a statement.However, Russian media reported that Russian-backed authorities in Crimea blamed a...

Google reaches $1.8M settlement with NH over ‘deceptive’ location tracking practices

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:16 GMT

Google has reached a $1.8M settlement with New Hampshire over misleading consumers about its location tracking practices. New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella says the state is expected to receive $1.8 million from that settlement. The settlement is the result of allegations that Google violated state consumer protection laws by misleading consumers about its location tracking practices since at least 2014. Specifically, Formella says Google caused users to be confused about two account settings that control data collection of the users’ location – “Location History” and “Web & App Activity” – and the extent to which consumers could limit Google’s location tracking by adjusting their account and device settings. “Transparency regarding the way that large technology companies like Google track, share, and use the personal data of its users is critically important,” Formella said in a statement. “Consumers need to be able to understand how their location dat...

Spring Is In The Air

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:16 GMT

How about that recovery yesterday? After a chilly start, it turned out to be a very nice afternoon with temps running in the low to mid 50s and sunshine winning out. Today, we’re off to a seasonably cold start, but the recovery will once again be great. As sunny to partly cloudy skies win out, a west wind will be strong enough to hold back any sea breeze. That means, even in Boston, along the North Shore and South Shore, temps will push up to near 60 degrees. Fitting for the first full day of Spring as it’s certainly a late April/early May feel to the air outside. It’ll be a bit cooler along the south coast and in the Worcester Hills. That west wind will gust to 20-25mph. Tomorrow, it’ll be close to 60 again inland, but much cooler at the coast with an ocean breeze coming on it. Clouds fade the sunshine at times tomorrow as partly to mostly cloudy skies win out. Showers arrive Thursday with a gusty wind, especially in the afternoon. Then, we’ll dry ou...

Boston City Councilors to hear proposal on banning ‘nips’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:16 GMT

Boston City Councilors are proposing a ban on single-serve liquor bottles known as ‘nips.’Councilor Ricardo Arroyo says nip bottles are too small to be recycled and they add to a large amount of litter in the city. Several communities across the state, including Chelsea and Newton, have banned nips and seen a drop in public intoxication.The Boston City Council could hear the proposal on Wednesday.

Jason Sudeikis and ‘Ted Lasso’ cast meet with Biden for mental health discussion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:16 GMT

(CNN) — Ted Lasso and President Joe Biden are teaming up to — as the television football coach would say — “believe” in the importance of mental health.Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden hosted actor Jason Sudeikis and other members of the cast of “Ted Lasso” at the White House on Monday for a conversation on mental health, Apple TV+ announced Sunday.Cast members joining the discussion include Hannah Waddingham, Jeremy Swift, Phil Dunster, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, Toheeb Jimoh, Cristo Fernandez, Kola Bokinni, Billy Harris and James Lance.The cast visited the White House briefing room on Monday ahead of the meeting with the Bidens.“No matter who you are, no matter where you live, no matter who you voted for, we all probably — I assume, we all know someone who has or had been that someone ourselves actually, that’s struggled, that’s felt isolated, that’s felt anxious, that has felt alone,” S...

Battenfeld: Trumped up charges could become rallying cry for Republicans

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:16 GMT

The likely indictment of former President Donald Trump is a bold – some would say foolhardy – political gambit and could simply become a rallying cry for Trump’s presidential campaign.Liberal Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is risking galvanizing Republicans by charging the former president in a seven-year-old hush money deal to silence a porn star right before the 2016 election.Trump is already making hay of his potential arrest by urging supporters to protest – while other Republicans, even those like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – are rallying to Trump’s side.DeSantis criticized Bragg as a “Soros-funded prosecutor” who is “pursuing a political agenda” – comments that drew Trump’s attention on Monday.“Ron DeSanctimonious will probably find out about FALSE ACCUSATIONS & FAKE STORIES sometime in the future as he gets older, wiser and better known,” Trump posted on his Truth Social site. “I’m sure he will want to fight these misfits just like I do.”Of course DeSantis isn’t f...

Report: more private equity invested in Mass. in 2022 than the state budget

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:16 GMT

Despite any doom and gloom about the state economy, rising inflation and increases in the cost of living and doing business, Massachusetts came in sixth among states ranked by private investment in 2022, according to a new report.“Private equity invested more than $55 billion in 312 businesses in Massachusetts last year and directly employed more than 307,000 workers across the commonwealth,” Drew Maloney, president and CEO of the American Investment Council told the Herald Monday.The council’s annual Top States & Districts report shows that the Bay State received more in private investment last year than the state’s final enacted budget for fiscal 2022, about $48 billion, or the next fiscal year’s about $53 billion.Two congressional districts in Massachusetts, represented by U.S. Reps. Katherine Clark and Stephen Lynch, saw more investment than any others in the state and more than most in the country, the report shows.According to the report, Lynch’s MA-8 district was th...

Japan, China leaders begin visits to rivals in Ukraine war

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:16 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in Kyiv for a surprise visit shortly after noon Tuesday, hours after Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in neighboring Russia for a three-day trip. Moscow’s invasion will be in the spotlight at both meetings. Footage shown on Japanese national broadcaster NHK showed Kishida walking on the platform of a train station, escorted by a few people who appeared to be Ukrainian officials.It was uncertain whether either meeting would change the course of the almost 13-month war in Ukraine, but the talks about 800 kilometers (500 miles) apart highlighted the war’s repercussions for international diplomacy as countries line up behind rival parties. They came after a week in which China and Japan both enjoyed diplomatic successes that have emboldened their foreign policy.Kishida will meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Ukrainian capital, coinciding with Xi’s talks with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.Kishi...

With crowded jails, North Macedonia adopts pandemic amnesty

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:16 GMT

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — North Macedonia’s parliament has adopted a legislative amendment to pardon people facing imprisonment for violating COVID-19 safety rules.Lawmakers late Monday voted 76-1 in favor of the amnesty which will affect more than 200 people currently facing trial as well as more than 90 people reportedly serving prison sentences.North Macedonia had one of the highest fatality rates in the world from the coronavirus, in part due to late access to vaccines. It imposed strict penalties for safety violations, on charges of facilitating the transmission of an infectious disease and failure to comply with health regulations during a pandemic.According to the court data, 1,223 people were fined up to 2,000 euros ($2,140) for violating pandemic protocols, and 205 of them were facing jail time for failing to pay the fine.The amnesty, which applies to citizens and not legal entities, will allow those already serving prison sentences to apply for immediate release.The a...