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The Netherlands set to name Wopke Hoekstra as EU commissioner

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:31 GMT

The Netherlands is expected to name Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra as its next European commissioner after the departure of climate czar Frans Timmermans, two people familiar with the government’s thinking told POLITICO.Hoekstra, whose government is headed for elections in November, would fill the role recently vacated by Timmermans who announced in July he was returning to national politics.The Commission said earlier this week Maroš Šefčovič would be taking over Timmermans’ duties as executive vice president, including oversight of the European Green Deal’s rollout.But that may leave open the climate action file, which could now pass into the hands of Hoekstra for the final year of this Commission’s term, one of the people aware of the decision said. The choice of who gets the climate action file is ultimately up to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who could select another commissioner.Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s government is expected to f...

Man accused of murdering, dismembering roommate arrested in Cambridge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:31 GMT

A man accused of murdering and dismembering his roommate in Indiana in 2017 was arrested in Cambridge Thursday, the Massachusetts State Police announced.State police said state, local and federal authorities took John Hallett, 54, into custody at his apartment on Chester Street Thursday morning, years after state police said he allegedly choked his roommate and struck the roommate with a blunt object. After killing his roommate, state police said, Hallett allegedly disemboweled the roommate’s body and disposed of the remains in various public trash cans. While investigating, Massachusetts State Police said, local investigators in Michigan City, Indiana deployed a cadaver dog which tipped them off to the scent of human remains in the basement of the residence where Hallet and his roommate had lived. Police said authorities later obtained an arrest warrant for a murder charge against Hallett after evidence “confirmed the presence of decomposing matter in the basement.”S...

Student Hails “Life-Changing” New Free Community College Program

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:31 GMT

Fighting back tears, incoming MassBay Community College interior design student Danita Mends recounted on campus Thursday how she had to drop out of college and enter the workforce in the early 2000s due to financial setbacks.In corporate America, Mends found she was “hitting ceilings” and “being overlooked constantly” for opportunities. Mends made the decision to return to school, but she ran into more financial obstacles as she became pregnant and had a son.The latest disruption to her higher education journey is coming to a close due to the launch of a state-funded free community college program, called MassReconnect.“I got called and was told that I was eligible for this program, which is going to be life-changing for me,” said Mends, who attended Needham Public Schools, at a press conference in Wellesley. “It’s been a long road and to have this financial burden lifted is amazing. And I’m excited for the opportunities that ar...

US will start training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s in October

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:31 GMT

(CNN) — The US has announced that it will start training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 jets in October.“Following English language training for pilots in September, F-16 flying training is expected to begin in October at Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson, Arizona, facilitated by the Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing,” Pentagon Spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said Thursday at a press briefing.“Although we do not have specific numbers to share at this time in regards to how many Ukrainians will participate in this training, we do anticipate it will include several pilots and dozens of maintainers.”Earlier on Thursday, two US officials told CNN an announcement of the training program was coming. The officials said the pilots still need to go through English language training before they can begin learning to operate the fourth-generation American jets. The language classes will also take place in the US.Ukraine put forward a list of approximately 32 pilots who are rea...

Kevin Hart ends up in wheelchair after being ‘dumbest man alive’ for trying to race former Pats RB Stevan Ridley

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:31 GMT

(CNN) — Trying to do “young stuff” has temporarily landed Kevin Hart in a wheelchair.That’s according to the movie star, who posted a video on his verified Instagram account in which the caption reads in part, “I got to be the dumbest man alive!!!!!”Using some expletives in both the caption and the video, Hart recounted how he tried to race his friend, former NFL player Stevan Ridley, in a 40-yard dash and ended up injuring himself.“Ladies and gentleman, the age 40 is real,” Hart said. “All my men, women out there 40 years old and above, it’s not a game. Respect that age.”He then announced that he was in a wheelchair for trying to do some “young man stuff.”Hart said he bet Ridley he could beat him in the sprint, but was humbled.“I tore my lower abdomen, my abductors are torn,” he revealed. “I don’t know what that is but I tore them. I tore those too. I can’t walk.”Hart, 44, also referred to himself as the “stupidest man alive” in answer to a question as to why he was ...

US intelligence says an intentional explosion brought down Wagner chief Prigozhin’s plane

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:31 GMT

By EMMA BURROWS and AAMER MADHANI (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — A preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment concluded that the plane crash presumed to have killed Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was intentionally caused by an explosion as Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday eulogized the man who staged the biggest challenge to his 23-year rule.One of the U.S. and Western officials who described the initial assessment said it determined that Prigozhin was “very likely” targeted and that the explosion falls in line with Putin’s “long history of trying to silence his critics.”The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment, did not offer any details on what caused the explosion, which was widely believed to have also killed several of Prigozhin’s lieutenants to avenge a mutiny that challenged the Russian leader’s authority.Pentagon spokesman Gen. Pat Ryder said pr...

Mike Lupica: The numbers don’t lie. Brian Cashman is the one who created this Yankees ‘disaster’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:31 GMT

Brian Cashman talked on Wednesday about the “disaster” and “mess” the 2023 Yankees have become. He was talking about a team that he and he alone built, one that he has actually been building for years, a team whose poor performance he now says has shocked him. We’re all shocked that the Yankees are in last place in the last week of August. But Cashman can’t possibly think they were ever going to be good enough to win it all this season, after how little he did between last season and this to close the gap on the Astros, the team the Yankees can never get past in October.Cashman also talked about his own track record as being a reason why he is the man to get the Yankees going back in the right direction again. And he sure does have a track record of winning seasons, over a quarter-century since he became the caretaker of the last great Yankee dynasty, something cited in his defense about as often as they play “God Bless America” d...

A family resort in Wisconsin Dells is getting the highest waterslide in the US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:31 GMT

Simon Peter Groebner | (TNS) Star TribuneMt. Olympus Water & Theme Park in Wisconsin Dells is no stranger to spectacle, with such attractions as a replica of the Roman Colosseum, a go-kart track modeled after a giant Trojan Horse, and Medusa’s Slidewheel, aka “America’s first rotating waterslide.” Now the family resort is planning to open the highest waterslide in the United States.The 145-foot-high outdoor attraction — forebodingly named the Rise of Icarus, after the mythical Greek who flew too close to the sun — is part of an $8 million expansion at Mt. Olympus including an outdoor kids’ water play area with 10 new slides and water features. Construction begins after Labor Day, according to Mt. Olympus, and the slide will open next summer.New renderings of the Rise of Icarus — and video on the Mt. Olympus website — depict a slender, multicolored tower that rises over the theme park. Designers are using Icarus’ height to create a long, fast, ...

Scores of Trump fans gather outside Georgia jail to show support ahead of his expected surrender

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:31 GMT

By SUDHIN THANAWALA and KATE BRUMBACK (Associated Press)ATLANTA (AP) — Hours before former President Donald Trump was expected to turn himself in at the Fulton County Jail on charges related to his efforts to remain in power after his 2020 election loss, dozens of his supporters had already gathered Thursday morning outside the facility. And the crowd grew steadily as the day progressed. It will be the fourth time this year that Trump, the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, is booked on criminal charges. But unlike his previous arrests, which happened in courthouses just before initial appearances before a judge, this time he will be turning himself in at a notoriously troubled jail. Also different from his previous surrenders: authorities are expected to take a booking photo of the former president.Trump and 18 others were indicted last week, accused by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of participating in a sprawling scheme to undermine...

Ticker: Mortgage rates at highest level since 2001; Labor market keeps humming along

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:31 GMT

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate climbed further above 7% this week to its highest level since 2001, another blow to prospective homebuyers grappling with rising home prices and a stubbornly low supply of properties on the market.Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan jumped to 7.23% from 7.09% last week. A year ago, the rate averaged 5.55%.It’s the fifth consecutive weekly increase for the average rate, which is now at its highest level since early June 2001, when it averaged 7.24%. Back then, the median sales price of a previously occupied U.S. home was $157,500. As of last month, it was $406,700.“This week, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage reached its highest level since 2001 and indications of ongoing economic strength will likely continue to keep upward pressure on rates in the short-term,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.Labor market keeps humming alongApplications for unem...