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EU sues Poland after blowback over Kremlin influence law

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:25 GMT

BRUSSELS — The European Commission announced Wednesday it is suing Poland over a law creating a special body to probe Russian influence in Polish politics, which critics say violates the Polish constitution and could be used to intimidate political opponents.The EU executive has “agreed to start an infringement procedure by sending a letter of formal notice in relation to the new law on the state committee for examination of Russian influence” to Warsaw, Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis told a press briefing. Commission spokesperson Dana Spinant said more details would be announced during a regular press briefing Thursday.Poland’s Europe Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk said Warsaw was confident. “We will calmly pass on the legal and factual arguments in this case after reviewing the [Commission’s] concerns.”It’s the latest in a series of disputes between Brussels and Warsaw over the Polish authorities’ repeated viol...

Noel Gallagher says England is ‘shit’ and it’s because of Brexit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:25 GMT

Former Oasis songwriter and guitarist Noel Gallagher reckons his homeland is “shit” and “fuck all works” — and it’s because of Brexit.Speaking to the NME, Gallagher said: “What has happened to this country? I have no idea, well I have an idea, Brexit happened … A lot of people fell under some kind of mass hypnosis. But yeah, it’s shit England now. And it was going downhill for a bit but actually, fuck all works.”Gallagher has changed his tune (pun intended) on Brexit. In 2017, he said the U.K. should “move on” and those complaining about the EU referendum result should “fucking get over it.”Speaking back then during a Facebook live chat with the Noisey music channel, Gallagher said he sided with Remain, although he didn’t vote in the referendum. “In England, the Brexit thing, it’s like, I can’t believe there’s so much noise about it,” he said at the time, according to the NME. “You know what I mean? It was put...

Person found dead at scene of possible explosion in Merrimack, New Hampshire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:25 GMT

Authorities say a person was found dead at the scene of a possible explosion in Merrimack, New Hampshire, that remains under investigation.In an update provided Wednesday morning, the Merrimack Police Department said that “a person was found deceased” after officers and firefighters initially responded to the area of Grapevine and Pearson roads Tuesday afternoon after receiving multiple reports of an explosion in the area.Both the police and fire departments, as well as state and federal investigators went on to secure the scene after finding evidence of a possible explosion.“Subsequent to the area being rendered safe, a person was found deceased,” Merrimack police said in a news release. “There is no sign of foul play and there are no threats to the public.”No additional details were released as the investigation continues. The latest update came after officials returned to the scene of the apparent blast Wednesday morning, where a crater and sco...

CNN head Chris Licht is out at the global news network after a brief, tumultuous tenure

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:25 GMT

By DAVID BAUDER (AP Media Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Chris Licht is out after a year as chief executive at CNN, following a series of missteps and plunging ratings.David Zaslav, the CEO of CNN parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, announced the leadership change on CNN’s morning editorial call on Wednesday.Zaslav appointed a four-person leadership team to lead the network in the interim.Licht replaced Jeff Zucker as CNN’s chief executive last year, with a mandate to make the network move the network more toward the political center. But a town hall meeting with Donald Trump received wide criticism, and a revamp of the network’s morning show imploded with the firing of Don Lemon.A lengthy profile of Licht in Atlantic magazine that came out on Friday proved embarrassing and likely sealed his fate. Only two days ago, Licht promised on the same morning editorial call to fight to regain the trust of CNN employees.But internally, Licht couldn’t gain the support ...

Jacob deGrom’s former teammates feel for ex-Mets ace as his career is put on pause

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:25 GMT

ATLANTA — The last time the Mets were in Atlanta, they had their three best pitchers lined up to try and hold off the surging Braves for a chance to win the NL East. One by one, they all fell to the team that eventually won the division. It was Jacob deGrom’s final regular season appearance for the Mets, and though he kept the team’s title hopes alive with a Wild Card win over the San Diego Padres, ultimately, that was the end for the dominant, homegrown right-hander in New York.Now, the Mets are back in Atlanta, and they arrived just in time to find out that deGrom, now a member of the AL West-leading Texas Rangers, will have to undergo his second Tommy John surgery.“You feel awful for him,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said Tuesday at Truist Park. “I know how much it means for him to pitch and he enjoys pitching. It’s certainly sad news for all of us.”His former Mets teammates reached out right away.“I sent him a text and said t...

Mets lose to rival Braves, 6-4, despite home runs from Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:25 GMT

ATLANTA — The last time the Mets were in Atlanta, their stars went dim. This time, the Mets’ biggest stars hit like stars early in the game, but by the end the pitching and hitting failed to come through.After an hour and 40 minutes of a rainless rain delay to start a three-game NL East series, Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso homered, with the latter extending his league lead to 22 on the season. But right-handers Carlos Carrasco and Drew Smith imploded in the sixth and the Mets lost 6-4.The Mets managed only four hits in the game and all four came off Atlanta starter Bryce Elder, with three relievers rendering the Mets’ bats ineffective.“We’ve got some guys who are capable of doing better, but we haven’t been able to string a lot together,” said manager Buck Showalter. “We got [Elder’s] pitch count up, but they have other good people they can bring in. Four hits is tough. Going to be tough to make that always stand up.”Ca...

Ukrainian dam breach: What’s happening and what’s at stake

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:25 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The fallout from the breach of a river dam along a front line of Russia’s war in Ukraine continued to wreak havoc on lives, livelihoods and the environment on Wednesday. When the Kakhovka dam ruptured on Tuesday, it sent a torrent of water from Ukraine’s largest reservoir into streets and homes downstream on the Dnieper River where tens of thousands of people live — in the thick of a combat zone where shelling regularly takes place. It’s not clear what caused the breach: the structure had already been damaged in the war.Ukraine’s government, which controls the river’s western bank and the city of Kherson, has accused Russian forces of blowing up the facility. Officials in Russia, which controls the eastern bank for about the last 300 kilometers (about 185 miles) before the river reaches the Black Sea, has blamed Ukrainian military strikes.WHAT ARE THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS?Authorities and rescue workers on both sides stepped up effort...

‘Home is like jail’: Afghan soldier who helped the US weathers injuries, uncertainty in asylum bid

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:25 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — The April visit to a Houston clinic was just one of a never-ending assembly line of medical appointments Abdul Wasi Safi has had since his January release from an immigration detention center.The former Afghan soldier, called Wasi by family and friends, sat in a dental chair and conversed in Pashto with his older brother Sami as Carrie Underwood’s “Cowboy Casanova” played in the background. It was a scene thousands of miles from the places he’d been the past two years.After the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, fear of retribution from the Taliban for sharing information with American soldiers while he was an intelligence officer drove Wasi Safi to flee to Brazil. The goal? Reaching the U.S. and applying for asylum.He eventually made it after crossing 10 countries, but the journey came at a high cost. A brutal beating by police officers in Panama severely damaged his teeth and jaw and left him with permanent hearing loss.Wasi Safi didn’t appear ne...

Stock market today: Wall Street edges higher to edge of a new bull market

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:25 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is drifting higher as the market continues to hover near the edge of a new bull market. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% early Wednesday. The U.S. stock market’s main benchmark is 20% above where it was in mid-October. If it holds those gains, it will mark the end to its painful bear market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 49 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.5%. Wayfair rose 3.5% after the home goods retailer said its revenue trends have been improving. Campbell Soup fell 8% after reporting weaker revenue than expected.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Markets were slow to gain traction again on Wednesday with scant market-moving news scheduled until next week’s inflation reports.Futures for the S&P 500 were up just 0.1%, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrials were essentially flat. Next week, the U.S. government will publish its latest monthly updates on inflation and the Federal Reserve wi...

Ukraine rushes drinking water to flooded areas as officials wrestle with impact of major dam breach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:25 GMT

KHERSON, Ukraine (AP) — Authorities on Wednesday rushed supplies of drinking water to flooded areas from a collapsed dam in southern Ukraine as officials weighed where they might resettle residents who relied on the breached reservoir on the Dnieper River that forms part of the front line in the 15-month war.More than 2,700 people have fled flooded areas on both the Russian and Ukrainian-controlled sides of the river, according to official tallies, but it was not clear whether the true scale of the disaster had yet emerged in an area that was home to more than 60,000 people.The Kakhovka hydroelectric dam and reservoir, essential for supplying drinking water and irrigation to a huge area of southern Ukraine, lies in a part of the Kherson region occupied by Moscow’s forces for the past year. It is also critical for water supplies to the Crimean Peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.Ukraine holds the western bank of the Dnieper, while Russia controls the eastern side...