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‘Keep your head down’ — Americans in Russia tread carefully after arrest of US journalist

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:00:39 GMT

MOSCOW — If Americans in Russia were worried before, they now have an extra reason to be concerned. The arrest of the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has sent ripples of alarm through the community of American journalists in Russia, leaving many in the country wondering who, if anyone, might be next. Gershkovich was seized by FSB security service officers in late March while on assignment in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg. He now faces a 20-year prison sentence for espionage. The U.S. government says he has been “wrongfully detained.” Though the Kremlin insists that he was “caught red-handed” violating Russian law, the arrest has widely been interpreted as a warning signal to either foreign journalists, or Americans — or both.  Most of Gershkovich’s American colleagues, who had continued to report from Russia despite military censorship laws, have now been sent scrambling.   “Many Western news agencies that posted...

Shutting down, but not shutting up: Germany’s nuclear debate rages on 

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:00:39 GMT

The shutdown of Germany’s last nuclear power stations may be imminent, but its critics aren’t about to shut up. On Saturday, the final three plants will be taken offline, marking the end of atomic energy in the country and a major victory for anti-nuclear activists, who have spent decades fighting for this moment. But with the clock running down, criticism of the phaseout has only grown louder. For opponents, the switch-off is nothing short of lunacy — running counter to Europe’s efforts to swap fossil fuels for cleaner alternatives and diversify its energy supply.The nuclear exit “is a black day for climate protection in Germany,” Jens Spahn, deputy parliamentary leader of the Christian Democrat (CDU) opposition, said this week. The issue also splits the governing coalition in Berlin, with the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) calling for the nuclear plants to be kept on standby at the very least. “Shutting down the world’s most modern and safest nucl...

Woman killed in house explosion in Berlin

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:00:39 GMT

A woman was killed in a house explosion in Berlin early Friday morning, according to police. The incident took place at a home on Pleasant Street around 3:30 a.m.Officials blocked off the area around the home and firefighters were called in from 10 communities.Fire officials were seen spraying water down on the house from a truck ladder. Chief Michael McQuillen says a second woman was rescued by neighbors, who came running out when they heard the explosion and pulled her from the debris. The cause of the explosion remains under investigation and no additional information has been released. This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

FBI arrests 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman in connection with investigation into leaked classified documents

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:00:39 GMT

A Massachusetts Air National Guard member was arrested Thursday in connection with the disclosure of highly classified military documents about the Ukraine war and other top national security issues, an alarming breach that has raised fresh questions about America’s ability to safeguard its most sensitive secrets.The guardsman, an IT specialist identified as 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, was taken into custody without incident after FBI officers converged on his Massachusetts home. Attorney General Merrick Garland said he is to be charged with removing or transmitting classified national defense information, a crime under the Espionage Act.Garland did not reveal a possible motive, but accounts of those in the online private chat group where the documents were disclosed have depicted Teixeira as motivated more by bravado than ideology.While Thursday’s arrest was a pivotal moment in an investigation into the highest-profile intelligence leak in years, the ...

Record Heat, August to April

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:00:39 GMT

It was a dry heat, but heat none the less yesterday as temps soared into the mid 80s to lower 90s! The 88 in Boston and 86 in Worcester were good enough to push the numbers to record levels for the date. Today, we’ll crush the record of 79 in Worcester, although in Boston, it’ll be a different story. Along the coast, temps today max out in the 70s to near 80 late morning, and then start to fade back. The story of the day will be both the heat, and the chill, as temps dramatically drop off from east to west through the afternoon. Temps max out 85-90 inland early this afternoon, before fading back fast mid to late afternoon. Below is a snapshot of the temp pattern at different times today. Along the coast, we’ll go from shorts and t-shirts weather to jacket weather in a matter of hours. This evening will be cooler for all, especially vs. last evening. Tomorrow, we’ll increase the clouds, and while it’ll stay dry, it’ll be noticeably colder with high...

ASK IRA: Will game against Bulls show if 2022-23 Heat are even average?

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:00:39 GMT

Q: I had to laugh when you posted all the readers who said the Miami Heat should tank their play-in game against the Chicago Bulls. The fact is they were supposedly in playoff mode and still were unable to beat a mediocre Atlanta Hawks team. The Heat are a deeply flawed team with no power forward; an undersized center, who wilts under pressure; a player in Jimmy Butler who seemingly plays hard only when he feels like it; a G League starting point guard; and Max Strus who can’t hit the right side of a barn. Jim Mora’s iconic rant applies to the Miami Heat: “Playoffs? Don’t talk about playoffs! You kidding me? Playoffs? I hope we can win a game!” – Jeff, Plantation.A: In the NBA, where 16 of the 30 teams make the playoffs, you need only be an average team to advance to that level. We’re about to see if this has even been an average season. Yes, the Bulls came on late in the season. But you are talking about a 40-42 team. If you can’t bea...

Three takeaways from Ravens WR Odell Beckham Jr.’s introductory news conference

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:00:39 GMT

The newest Raven, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., took questions for more than 35 minutes at his introductory news conference Thursday, discussing why he chose Baltimore, the state of his rehabilitated knee and quarterback Lamar Jackson’s future with the franchise.Flanked by coach John Harbaugh and general manager Eric DeCosta, Beckham commanded this new stage like the star he is. But what did we actually learn from his words? Here are three takeaways:The Ravens wooed Odell Beckham Jr. not just with money, but by making him feel wanted.Owner Steve Bisciotti closed this deal.DeCosta had pitched Beckham and his agent, Zeke Sandhu, since last October, when it seemed as if the three-time Pro Bowl selection might play the last few weeks of the 2022 season. “We went into it knowing we were underdogs,” DeCosta said Thursday.With the New York Jets and Los Angeles Rams still pursuing Beckham over the past month, that might have remained the case had Bisciotti not reached o...

10 years after the Boston Marathon bombing, how has public safety changed: ‘People are very vigilant’

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:00:39 GMT

Ten years after the Boston Marathon bombing, law enforcement leaders who were front-and-center in the investigation to track down the Tsarnaev brothers spoke to the Herald about how public safety has changed since the scarring tragedy.Police officers screening spectators’ bags and backpacks is now seen all along Boylston Street at checkpoints on Marathon Monday.“That changed at the marathon and at nearly every venue you go into now,” said Ed Davis, who was the Boston Police Department’s commissioner at the time of the terrorist attack.“We had a pretty robust security plan prior to 2013, which was integral in allowing us to respond the way we did, though there were some gaps in it,” Davis said.None of the city’s cameras on Boylston Street were recording at the time of the attack, he said. Police were fortunately able to use private businesses’ surveillance cameras to identify Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, and put the case together....

Howie Carr: Panic ends with a whimper

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:00:39 GMT

On March 16, 2020, a national COVID-19 emergency was declared for 15 days – to flatten the curve.And now, a mere 1,135 days later, the 15-day national emergency is finally over, with a statement signed behind closed doors at the White House and this terse official statement from the White House:“On Monday April 10, 2023 the President signed into law: H.J. Res. 7, which terminates the national emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic.”And, er, that was about it.No ticker tape parades. No massive celebrations in Times Square with sailors grabbing young women and kissing them. No honking horns. No two-hour specials on state-run TV networks with Dr. Anthony Fauci reminiscing about the Good Old COVID Days.So this is how the Panic ends, to paraphrase the poet, not with a bang but a whimper.You couldn’t call it V-C day, because the Red Chinese flu is still around. But then, the scam was never about COVID. It was about Trump, and getting rid of him. But that was years ago now – it just se...

Trudeau’s chief of staff set to testify in foreign interference probe

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:00:39 GMT

A committee tasked with studying alleged foreign interference in Canada’s last two elections is set to hear from the prime minister’s chief of staff today.Katie Telford is scheduled to be a witness at the procedure and House affairs committee this afternoon, to talk about what she knows about Chinese meddling in the 2019 and 2021 elections.Previous witnesses in recent months — including the head of Canada’s spy agency and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly — have revealed little, citing national security laws that limit what they can say.The Conservatives have been working to get Telford to answer questions for weeks, with MP Michael Cooper saying calling her the second most powerful person in the Liberal government.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he’s had many conversations with Telford about foreign interference over many years, because it’s an issue that needs to be taken seriously.Trudeau has appointed David Johnston as a special rapporteur to advise government on what it ...