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Eastern EU countries strike deal with Commission to clear Ukrainian grain glut

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:24:10 GMT

BRUSSELS — Five EU countries have struck a deal with the European Commission on shifting millions of tonnes of Ukrainian grain out of the region after almost two weeks of intensive negotiations, EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis said Friday.“I’m glad to announce that we have reached a political agreement concerning Ukrainian agrifood imports in the EU. We’ve agreed with the five neighboring EU member states and Ukraine on how we’ll tackle the situation,” Dombrovskis said. Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria restricted imports of Ukrainian produce earlier this month following protests by farmers unable to sell their crops due to a supply glut.As previously announced, the European Commission will put forward emergency safeguard measures for wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seeds, Dombrovskis said, adding that investigations into other products could follow.He did not provide more details on what the emergency measures entail, but EU diplomats say that the imports of those...

France’s financial intelligence chief slams weak anti-corruption efforts in Germany, EU

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:24:10 GMT

PARIS — The head of France’s financial watchdog slammed anti-corruption efforts in Germany and among European partners at hearings held by a parliamentary committee in France.Recently released documents reveal that France’s financial intelligence chief Guillaume Valette-Valla deemed the risk of corruption among French MPs, ministers and elected officials to be “incomparably much lower” than elsewhere, “including in neighboring countries.”Valette-Valla was answering questions from MPs at a hearing of a parliamentary committee investigating foreign interference in France in February.The head of Tracfin, an anti-money laundering unit of the French finance ministry, expressed frustration at the lack of cooperation with Germany’s Central Office for Financial Transaction Investigation, whose appointed director has yet to take office amid reports of unprocessed suspicious activity notifications.“We are again trying to collaborate with the German financial intelligence unit that is in a com...

Boston man wins a million via Mega Millions, plans to put cash toward buying home

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:24:10 GMT

A man from Boston was the winner of a million dollar prize after buying a Mega Millions ticket earlier this month, according to lottery officials.The Massachusetts State Lottery said Melvin McKenzie had the right first five numbers on his Quic Pic ticket during the Mega Millions drawing on Friday, April 14.Claiming his prize days later at the lottery’s headquarters in Dorchester, McKenzie received a one-time payment of $1,000,000 (before taxes), which he told officials he planned on putting towards buying a home.The winning ticket itself was bought at the Quick Pick Convenience store at 973 Tremont Street, which received a $10,000 bonus for selling it.

Jayson Tatum apologizes to Janet Jackson for concert delay as Boston Celtics win Game 6 to eliminate Atlanta Hawks

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:24:10 GMT

(CNN) — Any Time, Any Place — just not in Atlanta on Thursday.Boston star Jayson Tatum apologized to Janet Jackson after the Celtics’ 128-120 Game 6 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.Jackson had been scheduled to perform a concert at the Hawks’ State Farm Arena on Thursday, but — in a turn of events that would make Janet fans Scream — a shock victory over the Celtics in Boston on Tuesday meant the series returned to Atlanta and the concert had to be postponed until Friday.“I wanna send an apology to the legend Janet Jackson,” Tatum told TNT after the game. “We were supposed to close it out in Boston. She had to postpone her show.“I hope she sees this, you know, I apologize for that, but we got it done today.”Tatum certainly got it done, registering 30 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and a steal to help close out a 4-2 series win and set up a Eastern Conference semifi...

Accused Pentagon leaker’s violent rhetoric raises fresh questions about top secret vetting process

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:24:10 GMT

(CNN) — New details about the 21-year-old Air National Guardsman accused of leaking a trove of classified documents online reveal how multiple red flags went unheeded and weren’t enough to prevent the Pentagon from granting him a top-secret security clearance.Officials across the government are now scrambling to figure out why.The US government has spent years and vast sums of money overhauling the way it vets and monitors people with access to government secrets. But that didn’t stop the Pentagon from granting a top-secret security clearance to Jack Teixeira, who prosecutors say had an arsenal of weapons at home and a history of violent online rhetoric.Teixeira had to fill out an extensive questionnaire known as E-QIP (Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing) and be vetted by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency before being granted his clearance in 2021, officials told CNN.But according to court documents fi...

Jerry Springer’s cause of death revealed

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:24:10 GMT

(CNN) — Longtime television host and former mayor of Cincinnati Jerry Springer died from pancreatic cancer, his longtime representative Linda Shafran confirmed to CNN Friday.He was 79.Springer’s death had been announced Thursday.“Jerry’s ability to connect with people was at the heart of his success in everything he tried whether that was politics, broadcasting or just joking with people on the street who wanted a photo or a word,” Jene Galvin, a lifelong friend and spokesman for the family, said in a statement.His tabloid talk series, “The Jerry Springer Show,” premiered in 1991 and was wildly successful in syndication. It ended in 2018 after more than 4,000 episodes.Both Springer and his show were often criticized for helping to popularize “trash TV” due to the often outrageous guests he hosted.Springer once told CNN that he did not mind being referred to as the “grandfather of trash TV,” saying in 2010, as ...

Dan Rodricks: The comeback Orioles, Lamar and the Ravens, roasting potatoes and a few more things nobody asked about | COMMENTARY

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:24:10 GMT

Nobody asked me, but the way the Orioles are playing so far — giving up runs early in games, coming back in the middle to late innings — means, for night games at least, you can watch both “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune” before flipping to MASN in time for the good stuff.A reader asked me to “pressure the Orioles to televise their games on broadcast television [because they] don’t have cable and can’t watch them. MLB has made baseball a pay to play game.” Well, yeah and duh. Why would the Orioles, who try to maximize revenue every way possible — have you seen the beer prices this season? — allow games on free TV again when they own MASN? Sorry, but I have more important pleas to make to the Orioles, like signing Adley Rutschman to a long-term deal.One more baseball item: As much as the next fan, I like fun dugout celebrations of home runs and clutch hits. But the Orioles’ “sprinkler” is not ...

Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla learns lessons, pushes right buttons in first playoff series

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:24:10 GMT

ATLANTA — Joe Mazzulla took the blame.The Celtics’ epic Game 5 collapse had come down to poor offensive execution. They committed four turnovers in the final four minutes. Their pace slowed. They lacked a sense of urgency. Mazzulla, the first-year head coach, recognized his faults in those moments. Then, two nights later, he put those lessons into action as the Celtics thrived in crunch time to eliminate the Hawks.“I thought last game, because of me and my play calling, we played slow,” Mazzulla said. “I thought this game, I kind of learned from that, and they were proactive.”Mazzulla had a successful first regular season, especially given the circumstances that faced the Celtics and his situation as they entered training camp. But the playoffs presented a totally new challenge for him. He was excited for it, but also untested in that environment, engaging in a tug-of-war of adjustments over a series.There were growing pains, as Game 5 showed. But Mazzulla pressed all the right butt...

Authorities arrest man in connection with 2 explosions in Weare, New Hampshire

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:24:10 GMT

Authorities have arrested a man in connection with two explosions in the past two days in a wooded area of Weare, N.H.Dale Stewart, 54, was arraigned on multiple charges in Hillsboro County Superior Court in New Hampshire following his arrest today.The Boston field office of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced it was investigating the explosions yesterday.According to that announcement, the first of the two explosions took place a little after 6 p.m. Wednesday near the 300-block of Dustin Tavern Road. No one was injured in that explosion, according to the ATF statement.A second explosion happened just before 7 a.m. Thursday near the first block of Sugar Hill Road where authorities said a passerby suffered minor injuries.This is a developing story.

The busiest days to fly around Memorial Day 2023

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:24:10 GMT

Memorial Day may mark the unofficial beginning of summer in the U.S., but it’s the days ahead of it that kick off big airport crowds.The holiday symbolizes the beginning of the summer vacation season for many Americans. But it’s hardly a vacation for airport employees, who typically get pummeled with the largest crowds of the year to date.Some days around the long weekend are significantly busier than others, and if you can afford to be flexible when flying Memorial Day weekend, you’ll save money and avoid chaos.The best and worst days to fly Memorial Day weekendNerdWallet analyzed the past two years of Transportation Security Administration checkpoint data for the six days before and six days after Memorial Day, which shows how many passengers were screened at TSA checkpoints.In 2021 and 2022, the Friday before Memorial Day was the most-crowded day to travel before the holiday, which is observed on the last Monday of May. As far as post-holiday, the Sunday after has attracted the l...