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Swiss parliamentary panel urges expulsions of Russian, other spies who threaten national security

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:03 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — A Swiss parliamentary commission voted Tuesday to urge the government to systematically expel Russian and other spies who threaten Switzerland’s security through illegal intelligence activities. The foreign affairs commission of the lower house of parliament passed the motion by 11 votes to 9, with one abstention. It amounts to a procedural step that would require broader authorization by the Swiss executive branch to take effect.It comes as the Swiss legislature grappled with a flurry of Russia-related matters as its latest session gets under way. Switzerland has faced criticism from both Moscow and the West about its self-professed neutrality in international affairs against the backdrop of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s more than 18-month war against Ukraine.The United States and some other Western countries are frustrated over Switzerland’s refusal to allow European partners to ship Swiss-made weaponry to Ukraine, among other complaints. Switz...

New York police agree to reform protest tactics in settlement over 2020 response

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:03 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City’s police department has agreed to establish new policies intended to safeguard the rights of protesters as part of a legal settlement stemming from its response to the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in 2020.The 44-page agreement, filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court, requires the nation’s largest police department to deploy fewer officers to most public protests. It would end the NYPD’s practice of trapping and arresting large groups of demonstrators, a controversial tactic known as kettling.The proposed changes must still be approved by a federal judge. But the agreement signals a likely resolution in the lawsuit filed by New York State Attorney General Letitia James in 2021, which detailed a pattern of civil rights violations committed by police as protests swept through the city following George Floyd’s death in May 2020.“Too often peaceful protesters have been met with force that has harmed innocent New Yorkers simply trying to exercise their...

‘A very long wait’: Yellowknife prepares for people to return home

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:03 GMT

The shelves have been filled with food at the Yellowknife Co-op and the grocery store is preparing for tens of thousands of people to return as an evacuation order is scheduled to be lifted Wednesday.“I’m glad that tomorrow it will finally be over and people will be able to return to beautiful Yellowknife,” said Justin Nelson, the grocery store’s general manager.Lifting the order remains contingent on fire and highway conditions, but N.W.T. wildfire information officer Mike Westwick said Monday that no challenges are expected for Highway 1 for the next few days.Tuesday’s cool fall air was welcomed in the territorial capital as familiar faces of essential workers started to stream back into Yellowknife to ensure that the city would be prepared for the return of residents.Yellowknife city manager Sheila Bassi-Kellett said workers in grocery stores, pharmacies, home-heating providers, and even some taxi drivers and day-care providers, had already started t...

S&P/TSX composite posts loss Tuesday ahead of rate decision, U.S. markets also lower

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:03 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index moved lower as investors await an interest rate decision from the Bank of Canada Wednesday, while U.S. stock markets also posted losses. The S&P/TSX composite index was down 131.60 points at 20,413.76. Energy stocks and battery metals moved higher, while telecom, utilities and base metals led market weakness. The Bank of Canada is set to announce its latest rate decision on Wednesday. The central bank is widely expected to hold its key rate steady, but the question is whether it’s done its hiking cycle entirely. “I think that they are done hiking,” said Brianne Gardner, senior wealth manager of Velocity Investment Partners at Raymond James Ltd.But the central bank will likely leave the door open to further hikes with a “wait and see” message, said Gardner. If it indicates it’s done hiking, it risks sparking confidence for consumers and re-lighting the inflation fire. “If people start knowing interest rates are coming down, then they will...

Search underway for missing man last seen in Grand Crossing

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:03 GMT

CHICAGO — A search is underway for a missing 69-year-old man who was last seen in mid-August, police say. Chicago Police say Bernard Williams was last seen in the 6300 block of Martin Luther King Drive in Grand Crossing at around 2 p.m. on Tuesday, August 14. According to police, Williams was last seen wearing a red jacket and tan shorts. Williams also requires the assistance of a mobility walker.Police say Williams stands 5'9" tall and weighs around 160 Lbs. He has brown eyes and black hair.Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Bernar Willaims is asked to call the Chicago Police Department at 312-747-8380. Tips for police can also be filed at CPDtip.com. Tips can be left anonymously.

Dolton's Miles Scott gets Big Ten honor after a big play for Illinois

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:03 GMT

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — One of the biggest plays of Illinois' opening week win was made by a Chicago area native who has had quite a start to his collegiate football career. Not even Miles Scott would have foreseen his biggest play with the Illini so far coming on the defensive side of the ball - but his team is happy it did. The Dolton native and Illinois safety, who came to the school as a wide receiver, had a "Pick Six" in the third quarter against Toledo on Saturday, helping the Illini claw back from a 12-point second half deficit. They'd go on to win the game 30-28 on Caleb Griffin's last-second field goal as Bret Bielema's team won their third-straight season opener. For that effort, Scott was named the Big Ten Conference's Co-Defensive Player of the Week along with Minnesota safety Tyler Nubin.While he had six tackles against the Rockets, including five solo tackles, it was his 48-yard interception return of a pass from Dequan Finn with Illinois trailing 19-7 that earned the accola...

Biden administration invests $100 million to train more nurses and grow the workforce

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:03 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) -- The Biden administration is committing $100 million to recruit more nurses."It really is an opportunity for us to bring more people into the workforce," Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) administrator Carole Johnson said.Johnson said nearly $65 million will go towards schools and training programs."In many of these programs, we pay things like tuition and stipends, in some we pay child care and the other things that make it hard for people to get this training," Johnson said.The other $35 million will help licensed practical nurses become registered nurses and help nursing programs expand their faculty."We want to grow a high-quality, robust, nursing workforce for the future by creating career pathways to become nurses," Johnson said.However, nursing organizations say while the funding will bring in new nurses, those already in the profession continue to face challenges."This of course is just one piece of the overall puzzle in solving our n...

Most stolen car? It’s not a Kia

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:03 GMT

(The Car Connection) -- American muscle cars continue to draw eyes, and not just on the collector car circuit. Thieves also prize the V-8 rumble, specifically of the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, which is the most stolen car in the U.S. relative to how many are on the road, according to a study released Thursday by the Highway Loss Data Institute.The Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat and Dodge Charger Hemi once again topped the list, and thefts of the SRT Hellcat in were 60 times more frequent than the average for 2020-2022 model year vehicles. The second most stolen vehicle, the Charger Hemi, was stolen at a rate of 20 times the industry average. Expect those rates to go down in future years as Dodge ceases production of the Charger at the end of the year.For every 1,000 insured 2020-2022 Charger SRT Hellcats, 25 were stolen to a total of 6,128 newer Charger SRT Hellcats stolen. That’s up from 18 per 1,000 from the 2019-2021 model years, and way higher than the most stolen...

Cat lost 10 years ago in Kansas turns up in North Carolina

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:03 GMT

FUQUAY-VARINA, N.C. (WNCN) — Microchips help reunite lost pets with their owners all the time, but when a Fuquay-Varina veterinarian recently scanned a cat brought into the office, he couldn't believe what he saw or the story behind it.Bob, the cat, is getting the star treatment at 5-Points Animal Hospital in Fuquay-Varina. His journey to 5-Points didn't seem remarkable at first."One of our clients, who has his pets coming here, had Bob living on his porch for a while and thought 'I should probably bring him in and see if he's owned by anybody,'" recalled veterinarian, Dr. Kevin Wilson. "We scanned his microchip."Dr. Wilson and Scott Wilson, who own the animal hospital, could hardly believe it when the microchip revealed the cat's owner lives in Wichita, Kansas.In Wichita, Carol Holmes felt a similar sense of disbelief when she learned the cat she'd lost 10 years ago turned up 1,200 miles away. She says the cat was named after her father and she got the news that Bob had been found ...

Delta flight returns to Atlanta after alleged diarrhea incident

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:03 GMT

ATLANTA (NewsNation/NEXSTAR) — An international Delta Air Lines flight, flying from Atlanta, Georgia, to Barcelona, Spain, was forced to turn around two hours into its journey following a reported "biohazard issue" on board Friday. In an alleged audio clip from the flight deck, posted to X by an aviation enthusiast, the pilot said the flight was affected by a "biohazard issue" concerning a passenger who had "diarrhea all the way through the airplane." The audio clip was taken from LiveATC.com, the enthusiast said.The plane was two hours into the eight-hour flight when it had to make a U-turn, according to data from Flightradar24. 11 injured during turbulent Delta flight When asked to confirm the veracity of the audio shared to X, a spokesperson for Delta told Nexstar that the plane returned to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia because a passenger had a "medical issue" on board.“Delta flight 194 on Sept. 1 from Atlanta to Barcelona returned to At...