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EPP demands Ukraine join NATO — eventually

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:41 GMT

The European People’s Party on Tuesday waded into NATO’s thorniest ongoing debate: What to do about Ukraine’s bid to join the alliance.  The center-right group in the European Parliament adopted a declaration calling for the military alliance to lay the groundwork for Kyiv to join NATO — in the long run. “The EPP Group expects that the upcoming Vilnius and Washington summits pave the way to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join NATO and that the accession process will start after the war is over and be finalised as soon as possible,” the grouping said in the declaration, published late Tuesday. This move, the group said, “will strengthen our Alliance and be a further step towards sustainable peace in Europe.”The alliance’s political relationship with Ukraine is currently one of the most sensitive — and divisive — questions facing NATO.During a 2008 summit in Bucharest, NATO made a vague promise that Ukraine would ultimately join the alliance. And while all...

Jayson Tatum gifted signed Tom Brady jersey as Celtics continue playoff run

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:41 GMT

Celtics player Jayson Tatum recently got some superstar support as the Celtics continue their playoff run in the form of a gifted signed jersey from Patriots legend Tom Brady. “I love watching you play,” reads a message written on the jersey. Brady had years of experience in the playoffs, racking up Super Bowl titles and other postseason victories over the years in New England. Now, he’s also wishing Tatum good luck.The Celtics are currently tied 2-2 in their second round series with the Philadelphia 76ers. Tip-off for Game Five is set for Tuesday night at the TD Garden.

Feds hit ‘El Chapo’ kin with sanctions over fentanyl

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:41 GMT

WASHINGTON – The United States on Tuesday sanctioned a son of Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, three members of the powerful Sinaloa cartel and two Mexican-based firms dealing in chemicals and real estate, alleging they trafficked fentanyl and other drugs into the U.S.The sanctions came the day Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador was to talk with President Biden by phone about immigration and the fentanyl crisis.The Treasury Department designated El Chapo’s son Joaquin Guzman Lopez and others for financial sanctions, including a freeze on American-owned assets and bank accounts and a ban on Americans doing business with them.A Culiacan, Mexico, chemical and lab equipment company and a real estate business were also slapped with sanctions.The latest penalties by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control follow a set of April fentanyl trafficking charges brought against three other Guzman sons, Ovidio Guzmán López, Jesús Alfredo Guzm...

McCarthy: No movement on debt ceiling in Biden meeting

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:41 GMT

By ZEKE MILLER, SEUNG MIN KIM, JOSH BOAK and LISA MASCARO (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday after meeting with President Joe Biden and congressional leaders that he “didn’t see any new movement” toward ending a months-long impasse over raising the nation’s borrowing limit and averting a potential first-ever U.S. default.The president welcomed House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in the Oval Office. Their initial challenge was simply to agree on what exactly they were talking about as they met for just over one hour.With the government at risk of being unable to meet its obligations as soon as June 1, raising the specter of economic chaos, Republicans came to the White House hoping to negotiate sweeping cuts to federal spending in exchange for allowing new borrowing to avoid default.“I asked the pres...

Officer who killed mall attack shooter hailed as a hero

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:41 GMT

By JAKE BLEIBERG and JONATHAN MATTISE (Associated Press)ALLEN, Texas (AP) — The shooter with neo-Nazi leanings who killed eight people at a suburban Dallas shopping mall brought eight legally purchased guns to the scene, apparently chose his victims randomly and was shot dead by police within four minutes, authorities said Tuesday.The Allen police officer who shot and killed 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia, ending Saturday’s attack, acted heroically and saved “countless lives” through his quick action, Hank Sibley, the regional director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said at a news conference. Authorities said the officer is still processing what happened and isn’t ready to have his name made public.“If he hadn’t have been there, I think we’d have had a much more severe situation,” Sibley said.The investigation into Garcia’s motive is ongoing, but he expressed neo-Nazi beliefs, Sibley said, adding that Garcia had no ...

Taylor Swift at Gillette Stadium: MBTA releasing more Commuter Rail tickets to meet Swifties’ high demand

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:41 GMT

Trying to figure out how to get to Gillette Stadium for Taylor Swift’s highly anticipated Eras Tour? The MBTA this week will be adding tickets for the special event train service to the Foxboro concerts.On Friday, the MBTA Commuter Rail and Keolis are releasing additional tickets for the May 20 and 21 round-trip train service to the Swift concerts at Gillette Stadium.The MBTA is releasing more tickets “to meet the high demand for this service” as excited Swifties descend upon Gillette for the sold-out shows. Swift is returning to Gillette for the first time since her 2018 Reputation Stadium Tour.The Boston special event trains will depart from South Station with stops at Back Bay and Dedham Corporate Center before arriving at the final destination of Foxboro Station.The Providence special event trains will depart from Providence Station with stops at Pawtucket/Central Falls, Attleboro and Mansfield before arriving at Foxboro Station.Trains will depart Foxboro Stati...

Small businesses want refunds from GTA event company, claim shady partnership

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:41 GMT

Many small business owners have come forward to CityNews to share their experiences with Elevated Society Market, a company that plans pop-up marketplaces at venues across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).The business owners claim they pay a vendor fee to secure a spot in the market, only for the organizers to change or cancel events without refunding their money. This is the same company responsible for planning the “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes” market at the Mississauga Convention Centre in January that attendees described as a disaster.Their most recent market pop-up was supposed to be held at Sherway Gardens in Etobicoke last weekend, but Maja Krnjaic, the co-owner of Sister Witches and Co., says it was cancelled at the last minute.“We got the notice maybe two days prior, where she ended up cancelling the event. She also said she was cancelling all her May markets,” Krnjaic said.But no refund was offered, only a credit to participate in a future mark...

Conservative MP’s bill on violence against pregnant women revives abortion debate

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:41 GMT

OTTAWA — A private member’s bill from a Conservative backbench MP is stirring up debate over abortion in Canada, though the proposed legislation does not mention it even once.Conservative MP Cathay Wagantall’s bill would encourage judges to consider physical or emotional harm to a pregnant victim as an aggravating factor during sentencing.“It is focused on pregnant women being attacked by a third party who wants to cause injury or death to that individual,” said Wagantall, a Saskatchewan MP.Wagantall opposes abortion but she said the legislation, known as Bill C-311, has nothing to do with that and is entirely focused on violence against women.But the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada is urging MPs to vote against the bill on the grounds that it promotes fetal rights, even though there is no mention of fetal rights in the text of the bill itself.Executive director Joyce Arthur said some groups who oppose abortion view the bill as a positive step because the...

Biden, congressional leaders meet to avert default

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:41 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and congressional leaders confronted each other Tuesday in their first face-to-face meeting aimed at averting an unprecedented U.S. government default.The president welcomed House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in the Oval Office. Their initial challenge was simply to agree on what exactly they were talking about as they met for just over one hour.With the government at risk of being unable to meet its obligations as soon as June 1, raising the specter of economic chaos, Republicans came to the White House hoping to negotiate sweeping cuts to federal spending in exchange for allowing new borrowing to avoid default.Biden, on the other hand, was set to reinforce his opposition to allowing the country’s full faith and credit to be held “hostage” to negotiations — and to affirm his willingness to hold talks on the budget only after default is n...

CP NewsAlert: Amber Alert issued for Montreal infant in suspected abduction

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:41 GMT

MONTREAL — Police in Montreal have issued an Amber Alert for a five-month-old child who they say was abducted.The missing child is identified as Chombo-Baraka Babayabo-Barry.Police say the suspect is Armand Babayabo.They are asking people to call 911 if they see a 2011 white Ford Focus with the licence plate Z78ZEB.More coming.The Canadian Press