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US signs new security pact with Papua New Guinea amid competition with China

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:33 GMT

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (AP) — The United States signed a new security pact with Papua New Guinea on Monday as it competes with China for influence in the Pacific.Papua New Guinea’s location just north of Australia makes it strategically significant. It was the site of fierce battles during World War II, and with a population of nearly 10 million people, it’s the most populous Pacific Island nation. The State Department said the new agreement provides a framework to help improve security cooperation, enhance the capacity of Papua New Guinea’s defense force and increase regional stability. The full agreement will be made public once politicians in both countries have an opportunity for input, likely in a couple of months. At a breakfast meeting, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape said his country faces significant security challenges, from skirmishes within the country to illegal fishing boats that light up the night like skyscrapers. “We have our i...

Elevan alerta por explosiones del volcán Popocatépetl

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:33 GMT

CIUDAD DE MÉXICO — Las autoridades mexicanas elevaron el domingo el nivel de alerta por el volcán Popocatépetl, situado unas 50 millas al sureste de Ciudad de México, debido a una intensificación de sus explosiones.Todavía no se requieren evacuaciones, pero el gobierno ultima los preparativos por si fueran necesarias, pidió respetar un radio de seguridad de 7.5 millas.La Secretaría de la Defensa anunció por la noche que ya está lista una fuerza de tarea de la Guardia Nacional, el Ejército y la Fuerza Aérea, en coordinación con Protección Civil, que podría activar 6,500 efectivos en cuanto fuera necesario “para atender cualquier emergencia que se presente”. El volcán más activo de Europa entra en erupción; suspenden vuelos Por cenizas volcánicas en las pistas, el aeropuerto de Ciudad de México cerró por 6 horas Laura Velázquez, coordinadora nacional de Protección Civil, anunció en conferencia de prensa que el semáforo volcánico, qu...

Several road closures after police-involved crash leave 2 critical in NW Miami-Dade

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:33 GMT

Police are investigating a police-involved crash that has left at least two people hospitalized, including a police officer. As a result of the collision, road closures and traffic delays are expected in Northwest Miami-Dade.According to officials, just before 2 a.m. Monday, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and Miami-Dade Police responded to the area of Northwest 167th Street and 67th Avenue after a vehicle collided with a police cruiser in front of a fire station.Due to the ongoing police investigation in the area, authorities have shut down the northbound lanes of 67th Avenue at Windmill Gate Road, just before State Road 826. The southbound lanes of 67th Avenue are closed right under the Palmetto Expressway. Drivers will not be able to enter SR-826 from 67th Avenue, but commuters that are exiting the westbound Palmetto lanes onto 67th Avenue will only be able to head north on the road. Eastbound travelers on the expressway will not be able to exit onto the road.Live video footage showed the...

Pro-Russian protesters vandalize EU offices in Bulgaria

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:33 GMT

Supporters of the pro-Russian Revival party trashed the EU offices in Bulgaria’s capital during a protest Sunday.The protesters threw splashes of red paint as they passed in front of the European Commission office in Sofia, which also houses the liaison office of the European Parliament, during a demonstration about the war in Ukraine where one person could be seen waving a Russian flag.The damage sparked criticism from Parliament President Roberta Metsola, who said the offices had been targeted by “vandals unhappy with our stance in support of Ukraine.”“We will clean it up. Our backing of Ukraine will get stronger. Our voice condemning Russia’s invasion will only get louder,” Metsola said.The Bulgarian foreign ministry “categorically condemn[ed]” the vandalism, saying it was “incompatible” with “modern Bulgaria, as well as to the democratic values ​​that our country embodies.”The nationalist Revival p...

Cooler… For Now

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:33 GMT

After a beautiful finish to the weekend with temps in the mid to upper 70s, we’ll take a couple steps back today as some cooler ocean air moves in, especially at the coastline. As we stay dry, winds do turn to the northeast, providing the chilly breeze along the coast. Temps this afternoon hold in the upper 50s at the coast and warm into the mid 60s inland. Tonight, it’ll be cooler as lows head back into the 40s. Tomorrow, while we’ll keep it coolest at the coast, it’ll be a bit milder overall for everyone as coastal temps warm to near 60 and inland temps run up to near 70 as mostly sunny skies win out. Wednesday is the warmest of the workweek days as highs top off in the upper 70s. We’ll increase the clouds in the afternoon and as a cold front slices through Wednesday evening, showers are possible. On the other side of that front, cooler air pours back in Thursday with highs in the 60s. Longer range… the long weekend forecast becomes a bit more c...

Police investigation underway in Waltham

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:33 GMT

A large police presence could be seen gathered in Waltham early Monday morning amid an active police investigation.The investigation is unfolding on Lyman Street, which is partially blocked off with crime scene tape.No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Lucas: Unfair advantage in changes to girls’ and women’s sports

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:33 GMT

Gov. Maura Healey was a basketball star at Harvard.Before that she was an outstanding player at Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, New Hampshire.She also played professional basketball for a team in Austria for two years after she graduated from Harvard.It was an experience she used successfully in television ads and interviews during her campaigns for attorney general and then for governor.There is hardly a story written about Healey, the state’s first openly gay governor, that does not mention her basketball background.Back then, though, at high school and at Harvard in 1990-1992, Healey, played with and competed against girls and women, and not biological men.One wonders how Healey would have made out if playing point guard back then had she had to go against a 6-foot-4-inch tall biological man identifying as a woman who outweighed her by a hundred pounds. Healey on her tallest day was listed at 5-feet-6-inches.“I never realized how short I was,” she said in a later interview. “...

Orioles reset: The AL East is a beast — again. Baltimore, now battle-tested, is proving it belongs. | ANALYSIS

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:33 GMT

“It’s early.”That’s what Orioles manager Brandon Hyde has repeatedly said when asked about his team’s success this season. The caveat from the skipper is understandable, as a hot start far from guarantees the same the rest of the way.However, it’s no longer “early.” The season is nearly 30% finished, and the Orioles (31-16) still own the second-best record in the major leagues — a status they’ve held for most of May. Through 47 games, Baltimore is battle-tested, and they’ve largely passed those tests with flying colors.In April, the Orioles took care of business against several inferior opponents to have one of the best first months in franchise history. In May, they’ve held their own against National League-best Atlanta, won a series against MLB-best Tampa Bay and, most recently, completed a rare three-game sweep of American League East foe Toronto.Baltimore lost its first two series against division opponents,...

Schoen: The time has come for Biden to negotiate on debt ceiling

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:33 GMT

With less than two weeks until the United States government essentially runs out of money to pay its bills, a new ABC/WaPo poll finds President Joe Biden with a dismal 36% approval rating, and trailing former President Donald Trump by 6 points in the 2024 race for the White House.For months, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his GOP allies have demanded spending cuts in exchange for voting to raise the federal debt ceiling. Biden and congressional Democrats have refused to acquiesce, citing the bipartisan tradition of lifting the country’s borrowing limit without preconditions.To be sure, Biden’s argument prevails in a vacuum: both parties accrue debt, and thus are equally responsible for ensuring the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. It is regrettable — and dangerous — that House Republicans are using the debt ceiling as a political football, and there is merit to Biden’s claim that McCarthy is “holding the economy hostage.”That being said, with just days until default, ...

Meta fined record $1.3 billion and ordered to stop sending European user data to US

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:33 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The European Union slapped Meta with a record $1.3 billion privacy fine Monday and ordered it to stop transferring user data across the Atlantic by October, the latest salvo in a decadelong case sparked by U.S. cybersnooping fears.The penalty of 1.2 billion euros is the biggest since the EU’s strict data privacy regime took effect five years ago, surpassing Amazon’s 746 million euro fine in 2021 for data protection violations.Meta, which had previously warned that services for its users in Europe could be cut off, vowed to appeal and ask courts to immediately put the decision on hold. “There is no immediate disruption to Facebook in Europe,” the company said. “This decision is flawed, unjustified and sets a dangerous precedent for the countless other companies transferring data between the EU and U.S.,” Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global and affairs, and Chief Legal Officer Jennifer Newstead said in a statement. It’s yet another twist in a l...