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Biden inches toward decision on long-range missiles as Ukraine ups pressure

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:17:50 GMT

The Biden administration is in active conversations about whether to send long-range missiles to Ukraine amid an intense campaign for the U.S. to transfer the weapon, according to two U.S. officials and a person close to the Ukrainian government.It’s unclear if a decision memo has reached President Joe Biden’s desk. The officials said a final call would be made with Ukraine’s input, but Washington and Kyiv aren’t engaged in discussions about an announcement or a rollout of Army Tactical Missile Systems.Ukraine is pushing the U.S. to greenlight the delivery of ATACMS by next week’s U.N. General Assembly attended by Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Officials in Kyiv said they’re expecting some good news on that front after the Ukrainian leader touches down in New York City.But U.S. officials say that timeline is too tight. A decision by Biden on sending ATACMS for Ukraine’s use against Russian forces would almost certainly come after the annual Turtle Bay confab.Aske...

Carjacking suspect arrested after crashing outside Manchester, NH Police Department

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:17:50 GMT

A man accused in connection with a carjacking in Nashua, New Hampshire was arrested Monday after police said he crashed an allegedly stolen van outside the Manchester Police Department. Nashua police said they first responded to a reported carjacking on Temple Street after a suspect “reportedly pointed a gun at the occupant in the vehicle, then took the vehicle and left the area.”Around 1:40 p.m., the Manchester Police Department said its officers spotted the van and activated their lights and sirens to stop it. The driver instead fled, according to police, before running through a red light and hitting another vehicle at the intersection of Maple Street and Valley Street.Police said the van lost control after the crash, hitting a series of granite barriers outside the Manchester Police Department and coming to a stop in the department’s visitor parking lot. Manchester police said officers soon intercepted the driver — identified as Barton Tibando, 53, of Nashua R...

Whistleblower claims he repeatedly warned Brockton officials about school district’s financial situation

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:17:50 GMT

Christopher Correia has worked for 22 years as the Brockton Public Schools’ assistant financial officer. As word got out that the district overspent its 2023 budget by $14 million, though, Correia was put on paid leave. Now, attorney Timothy Burke has said he plans to file a whistleblower lawsuit against the city of Brockton and its school committee on Correia’s behalf, claiming Correia sounded alarms about the district’s overspending for months.“He’s been cast in the light that, somehow, he didn’t do his job when it’s just the exact opposite,” Burke said. “The only one doing their job and who the public should be commending is Chris Correia.” Burke recently provided nearly 20 of Correia’s emails dating back as far as July of 2022 about issues with the public school budget. One email on July 21, 2022 explains in part, “We cannot continue to enter into contracts that we haven’t accounted for in the current budget.”“If we don’t get a handle on this transportation budget...

Reinventing Rockwell: State House features inclusive reimaginings of famous Norman Rockwell works

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:17:50 GMT

The Massachusetts State House is hosting a series of works that transform some of American painter Norman Rockwell’s most iconic pieces, all with an eye on inclusivity. “Reinventing Rockwell and Beyond” will be open to the public at the Senate Gallery and Gallery 428 through Oct. 16th, featuring multiple pieces by western Mass.-based artist Pops Peterson.The collection, previously featured at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, brings with it “fresh and inclusive interpretations of the iconic Rockwell masterpieces,” according to Peterson’s website.The artist told 7NEWS how the exhibit gives a modern twist to some of Rockwell’s most recognizable paintings.“I wanted to reflect the diversity in our modern community so, I have people of color, I have women in blue, I have trans people, I have gay people, I have Hindus and Jews – you just name them, I have them all in my collection because I wanted to be inclusive,” Peter...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is headed for Russia, setting the stage for a meeting with Putin

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:17:50 GMT

By KIM TONG-HYUNG (Associated Press)SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has departed for Russia where he is expected to hold a highly anticipated meeting with President Vladimir Putin that has sparked Western concerns about a potential arms deal for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Tuesday that Kim boarded his personal train from the capital, Pyongyang, Sunday afternoon, and that he will be accompanied by unspecified members of the country’s ruling party, government and military.State media photos showed Kim walking pass honor guards and crowds of civilians holding the national flag and flowers and waving his hand from his green-and-yellow armored train before it left the station in Pyongyang. A group of senior officials, including Cabinet Premier Kim Tok Hun, Kim Jong Un’s top economic official, were at the station to give the leader a “hearty send-off,” KCNA said. KCNA di...

Police defend strategy in hunt for escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante after he evaded searchers

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:17:50 GMT

By MARC LEVY and CLAUDIA LAUER (Associated Press)Authorities in Pennsylvania who have been trying to capture an escaped murderer for nearly two weeks pushed back Monday against questions about whether they blew a chance to collar him, instead blaming the complex terrain in the initial search area for the fugitive’s success in getting clear of it.Top state and federal officials insisted that the blown perimeter around the area where hundreds had been searching for Danelo Souza Cavalcante includes heavy woods, underground tunnels and drainage ditches. They also said it took at least four hours for news to reach them that he had been spotted outside of the perimeter for the first time.At a news conference, they rejected the suggestion that they haven’t been using enough searchers and insisted that the effort — in its 12th day Monday — favors them, despite the fact that there is no longer a well-defined perimeter or any fresh sightings to report. Robert Clark, th...

Ticker: Cybersecurity ‘issue’ hits MGM; JetBlue trying to save Spirit deal

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:17:50 GMT

A “cybersecurity issue” led to the shutdown of some casino and hotel computer systems at MGM Resorts International properties across the U.S., a company official reported Monday.The incident began Sunday and the extent of its effect on reservation systems and casino floors in Las Vegas and states including Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York and Ohio was not immediately known, company spokesman Brian Ahern said.“MGM Resorts recently identified a cybersecurity issue affecting some of the company’s systems,” the company said in a statement that pointed to an investigation involving external cybersecurity experts and notifications to law enforcement agencies.The nature of the issue was not described, but the statement said efforts to protect data included “shutting down certain systems.”JetBlue trying to save Spirit dealJetBlue Airways said Monday it has reached agreement to turn over Spirit Airlines’ oper...

US moves to advance prisoner swap deal with Iran and release $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:17:50 GMT

By MATTHEW LEE (AP Diplomatic Writer)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has cleared the way for the release of five American citizens detained in Iran by issuing a blanket waiver for international banks to transfer $6 billion in frozen Iranian money from South Korea to Qatar without fear of U.S. sanctions. In addition, as part of the deal, the administration has agreed to release five Iranian citizens held in the United States.Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed off on the sanctions waivers late last week, a month after U.S. and Iranian officials said an agreement in principle was in place. Congress was not informed of the waiver decision until Monday, according to the notification, which was obtained by The Associated Press. The outlines of the deal had been previously announced and the waiver was expected. But the notification marked the first time the administration said it was releasing five Iranian prisoners as part of the deal. The prisoners have not been na...

Portugal routs Luxembourg in record 9-0 win without suspended Ronaldo. Drone delays Armenia-Croatia

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:17:50 GMT

Portugal didn’t need Cristiano Ronaldo to rack up its biggest-ever win in a competitive game.A 9-0 rout of Luxembourg in European Championship qualifying on Monday was achieved without Ronaldo, who was suspended because of an accumulation of yellow cards in earlier Group J games.In the absence of the five-time world player of the year and record scorer in men’s internationals, Goncalo Ramos, Goncalo Inacio and Diogo Jota all scored twice along with goals for Ricardo Horta, Bruno Fernandes and Joao Felix in the Algarve.“It was a satisfactory aspect that, being 4-0 or 5-0 up, the team kept playing the same way as if it was 0-0,” Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said. “When you get that, it shows you the values of the players and that the respect toward the team is essential — that was really good to see.”The 38-year-old Ronaldo missed a great chance to add to his haul of 123 international goals but there’ll be four more opportunities in a group that Portugal is ...

UN says Colombia’s coca crop at all-time high as officials promote new drug policies

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:17:50 GMT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Coca cultivation reached an all-time high in Colombia last year, the U.N. said, as the administration of President Gustavo Petro struggles to reduce poverty in remote areas and contain armed groups that are profiting from the cocaine trade.The new findings on coca growing were published over the weekend by the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime, which said 230,000 hectares (nearly 570,000 acres) of farmland in Colombia were planted with coca in 2022, a 13% increase from the previous year.The South American nation is the world’s largest exporter of cocaine, which is made from coca leaves. Colombia provides 90% of the cocaine sold in the United States each year.Colombia’s government said Monday that the amount of land planted with coca is increasing at a slower pace than in previous years. It hopes new programs that provide greater economic incentives for farmers to adopt legal crops will help reduce cocaine production in coming years. “We are flattening t...