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Blinken warns Ukraine cease-fire now would result in ‘Potemkin peace,’ legitimizing Russian invasion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:15:45 GMT

By SUSIE BLANN and MATTHEW LEE (Associated Press)KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that the United States and its allies should not support a cease-fire or peace talks to end the war in Ukraine until Kyiv gains strength and can negotiate on its own terms.As an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive appeared to be taking shape, Blinken said heeding calls from Russia and others, including China, for negotiations now would result in a false “Potemkin peace” that wouldn’t secure Ukraine’s sovereignty or enhance European security. “We believe the prerequisite for meaningful diplomacy and real peace is a stronger Ukraine, capable of deterring and defending against any future aggression,” Blinken said in a speech in Finland, which recently became NATO’s newest member and shares a long border with Russia. His use of the term “Potemkin” referred to the brightly painted village fronts that 18th c...

Accused Charlestown serial rapist waives extradition hearing in New Jersey

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:15:45 GMT

Matthew Nilo, the New Jersey attorney charged with a series of rapes near the Charlestown waterfront roughly 15 years ago while living in the North End, will be extradited to Massachusetts to face the charges.Authorities from the FBI, the Suffolk District Attorney’s office and the Boston Police Department announced Tuesday evening that Nilo, 35, had been arrested at his home in Weehawken, N.J., earlier that day.On Thursday, he appeared for an hearing in Hudson County, N.J., where he waived his right to an extradition hearing and will return to Massachusetts for the case to resolve.Nilo appeared in court wearing a navy prison shirt over a T-shirt, according to the New York Post. His fiancee Laura Griffin, who that newspaper says Nilo had proposed to only a few weeks before the charges were announced, was in court to support him.It is not yet certain when Nilo will return to the Bay State. The Suffolk DA’s office stated Friday that his arraignment date has not yet been set.Nilo is cha...

Cops accused of child rape, road rage suspended by state law enforcement regulators

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:15:45 GMT

Law enforcement regulators suspended the policing licenses of a former deputy chief in Hopkinton accused of raping a teenage girl and a Hingham officer accused of pulling a gun and yelling racial slurs at a person in an apparent road rage incident, according to records released Friday.The state’s Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission is required under a 2020 police reform law to suspend the policing licenses of officers who are arrested, charged, or indicted for a felony and revoke the licenses of those convicted of a felony. Suspensions remain in place until a final decision or revocation is made by regulators.The two new suspensions of former Hopkinton Police Deputy Chief John Porter and Hingham Officer Joel Salituri bring the total number of suspended cops in Massachusetts to 33 as of May 20. A full list is available on the POST Commission’s website.Porter pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of raping a 15-year-old student while he was a school resource officer. ...

Field Museum debuts Spinosaurus exhibit featuring largest predatory dinosaur

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:15:45 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — The newest addition to the Field Museum on Chicago’s lakefront will give visitors a glimpse of the largest predatory dinosaur yet discovered via a 46-foot (14.02 meter) cast of a Spinosaurus skeleton suspended high above the museum’s main hall.Field Museum officials unveiled the cast with its distinctive fin and crocodile-like jaws on Friday. It will be available for visitors starting Saturday.Scientists have long struggled to interpret Spinosaurus fossils to determine the animal’s behavior in life, uncertain whether it swam while hunting or simply waded into water in search of prey. Field Museum researcher Matteo Fabbri said the cast is about 60% of a skeleton, the most complete specimen of the species.“Spinosaurus is a very weird animal,” Fabbri said. “The proportions of the entire body are incredibly weird in comparison to any other dinosaur. The tail is extremely long, the legs are incredibly short, and the skull reminds (us) of the ones we find ...

S&P/TSX composite jumps more than 350 points, U.S. stock markets also climb

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:15:45 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index jumped more than 350 points Friday, driven by gains in energy, industrials, financials and metals. Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets also rose after the latest round of jobs data showed better-than-expected hiring for the month of May even as unemployment rose and wage pressure eased.The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 352.38 points, or 1.79 per cent, to 20,024.63.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 701.19 points, or over two per cent, to 33,762.76. The S&P 500 index increased by 61.35 points to 4,282.37,while the Nasdaq composite grew 139.78 points to 13,240.77.“I think it’s just in some ways an oversold bounce,” said John Zechner, chairman and lead equity manager at J Zechner Associates.“I mean, you stretch a rubber band too far in one direction, and you’re going to snap it back a little bit the other way at some point.”The markets have been quite narrow in recent months, said Zechner, noting that on the S&P 500,...

Bolivian Catholics unfazed by sex scandals as they gear up for massive festival

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:15:45 GMT

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Catholic devotees in Bolivia prepared for one of the country’s biggest religious celebrations this weekend at a time when the church in this Andean country has been rocked by an increasing number of sex abuse scandals.The faithful who were gearing up for the Jesus of the Great Power festival Saturday insisted that cases of abuse that have come to light in recent weeks would not affect the folk-religious festival in La Paz, which fuses together Catholic and local Indigenous traditions.Tens of thousands of people will descend on the capital Saturday wearing colorful garb to dance to the beat of thousands of musicians playing traditional Indigenous music in a demonstration of their faith. What started out as a small celebration in the Great Power neighborhood a century ago now takes over much of the capital.Leaders of the Catholic Church acknowledged this week that the church had been “deaf” to the suffering of victims of sexual abuse amid fallout from the case i...

Utah district bans Bible in elementary and middle schools ‘due to vulgarity or violence’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:15:45 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Good Book is being treated like a bad book in Utah after a parent frustrated by efforts to ban materials from schools convinced a suburban district that some Bible verses were too vulgar or violent for younger children.The 72,000-student Davis School District north of Salt Lake City removed the Bible from its elementary and middle schools while keeping it in high schools after a committee reviewed the scripture in response to a parental complaint. The district has removed other titles, including Sherman Alexie’s “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” and John Green’s “Looking for Alaska,” following a 2022 state law requiring districts to include parents in decisions over what constitutes “sensitive material.”A district spokesperson, Chris Williams, said it doesn’t differentiate between requests to review books. The reviews are handled by a committee of made up of teachers, parents and administrators in the predominantly conservative community whe...

Connecticut lawmakers vote to restrict marriage licenses for anyone under age 18

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:15:45 GMT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut lawmakers voted Friday to tighten the state’s marriage laws, prohibiting anyone under age 18 from being issued a marriage license under any circumstance.The legislation cleared the Senate unanimously, following a 98-45 bipartisan vote last month in the House of Representatives. It updates a 2017 anti-child marriage law that advocates contend created a dangerous loophole, leaving young people at risk of coercion and sexual abuse.Currently in Connecticut, a 16- or 17-year-old may get a marriage license if their local probate court judge approves a petition filed on the minor’s behalf by their parent or guardian. Current state law also allows emancipated minors to marry at 16 or 17, something that will end under this new legislation as well.The bill moves to Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont’s desk. A spokesperson said Friday the governor plans to sign the legislation into law.Despite Friday’s unanimous Senate vote, there was criticis...

Protests erupted outside Los Angeles elementary school’s Pride month assembly

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:15:45 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police officers separated groups of protesters and counterprotesters Friday outside a Los Angeles elementary school that has become a flashpoint for Pride month events across California.People protesting a planned Pride assembly outside the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Saticoy Elementary School wore T-shirts emblazoned with “Leave our kids alone” — and carried signs with slogans such as “Parental Choice Matters” and “No Pride in Grooming.” Tensions at the school have been rising since last month, when a social media page was created to urge parents to keep their children home Friday, the day of the planned assembly.Los Angeles police headquarters tweeted: “LAPD is at Saticoy Elementary School this morning. We are here to support our LAUSD partners and facilitate a peaceful and lawful exercise of constitutional rights.”Los Angeles Unified School District Board Member Kelly Gonez said the assembly went on without issue. It included a reading of “The G...

Halifax-area residents board buses to view dozens of homes destroyed by wildfires

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:15:45 GMT

HALIFAX — Scores of Halifax-area residents whose homes were destroyed by wildfires boarded buses Friday to get a look at what little remains of where they used to live.Katherine Tarateski, a local real estate agent who lost her home during the fire, said she had already seen images of her house in ruins. But she said she wanted to help a neighbour who would be seeing the remains of her home for the first time.“I’m going to support my friend because she was living alone, and she doesn’t want to be alone when she sees what’s left there,” Tarateski said. “It’s very emotional.”Before three transit buses left a parking lot in Upper Tantallon, N.S., Red Cross workers hovered nearby, providing bottles of water and hugs to some of the passengers. Local resident Jody Stuart, who also lost his home to the fire, said he didn’t want to be a part of the grim tour.“I need to physically go and do my thing with family and friends beside me,” said Stuart, whose nine-yea...