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French MEPs score a win as Parliament agrees to rent €2M-a-year Strasbourg offices

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:57 GMT

BRUSSELS — French MEPs were out in force at a committee meeting Wednesday to support a vote in favor of beefing up the European Parliament’s premises in Strasbourg by renting 15,000 square meters of office space from the French government.After failing to convince the EU to buy the Osmose building outright, the French government is arranging to buy the building and then lease it to the Parliament for €700,000 per year on a 99-year contract. Acquiring the Osmose building will set the French state back €53.5 million.Though broadly seen as a cheap deal for the EU institution, the French rental offer was loudly rejected by the Socialists and Greens groups, whose lawmakers argued the extra space is unnecessary, badly adapted to the Parliament’s needs, and an attempt to get the EU to purchase the building through the back door because under the terms of the deal, the Parliament can buy it at any time.Latvian S&D MEP Nils Ušakovs tried unsuccessfully to kibosh the vote...

Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara appears in court, faces additional charges for Jamaica Plain crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:57 GMT

Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara arrived for a court appearance Wednesday morning to face charges and questions about her driving record after authorities say she drove her vehicle through a fence and into a home in Jamaica Plain, injuring her son in the process.Lara appeared at West Roxbury District Court just before 9 a.m. to face a court magistrate over the crash that happened on June 30. A police report released last week stated that Lara was driving at least 53 mph in an area on Centre Street where the posted speed limit was 25 mph when she crashed through a fence and into a home.Police said Lara was driving with a revoked license and driving in an unregistered car. According to the police report, the councilor has not had a valid Massachusetts driver’s license since 2013, when her license was suspended after she didn’t pay a fine penalizing her for not wearing a seatbelt.Speaking to reporters ahead of her probable cause hearing and her arraignment, Lara stated she intended to...

Officials identify victim, release new details on deadly industrial accident at Swampscott Quarry

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:57 GMT

Authorities released new information on an industrial accident at Swampscott Quarry that left one worker dead earlier this week.The Essex District Attorney’s Office said Christopher Perry, 37, of Lynn, was killed in an apparent construction accident on Monday, July 17, at the Aggregate Industries facility on Danvers Road.According to the DA’s office, Perry and another worker were in a rock crusher and cleaning the device when “an apparent mechanical malfunction occurred.” The crusher had been suspended above a quarry at the time with a nearby crane assisting in the operation.Officials said that following the accident, Perry was pronounced dead at the scene while the other worker was uninjured.Crews spent hours at the scene afterwards, investigating what had happened while also trying to recover the body of the victim.Additional details on the nature of the accident were not released.The DA’s office added that the case remains under investigation.

Court finds probable cause for Kendra Lara charges, arraignment later today

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:57 GMT

An assistant clerk magistrate found enough evidence to schedule an arraignment later today for Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara on multiple charges stemming from a June 30 car crash that left her child injured.Lara appeared in court Wednesday morning for a hearing at West Roxbury Municipal Court after being summoned on charges of driving an unregistered, uninsured vehicle with a revoked license before crashing into a Jamaica Plain home last month.Lara’s defense attorney objected to the arraignment and unsuccessfully attempted to get the charges she was summoned on dismissed.First Assistant Clerk Magistrate Paul Troi tacked on two additional charges, including negligent operation of a vehicle as to endanger and wanton endangerment of a child. A time for the arraignment was not immediately available.Lara was driving at a “minimum” speed of 53 miles per hour in a 25 miles per hour zone when she said she swerved to avoid a car pulling out a parking spot on the side of the road, accordi...

Mountain biker who died trying to save hikers in Jacumba identified

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:57 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The mountain biker who died over the weekend while trying to save hikers suffering from dehydration in Jacumba has been identified by authorities.Kai Torres Bronson, a 24-year-old resident of Otay Mesa, was named as the deceased, according to the County Department of the Medical Examiner.Authorities were alerted to the incident around 2:45 p.m. on Saturday when a call came in reporting at least seven people in heat distress at Carrizo Gorge trail near Jacumba, officials said. Cal Fire ground crews and a sheriff's helicopter were dispatched to assist.Torres Bronson was on a mountain bike ride with three of his friends, when authorities with Cal Fire say they came upon four hikers who were suffering from heat distress at least five miles away from the trailhead. Two of the mountain bikers were at the bottom of the hill when emergency crews arrived, while the other two remained with the hikers. The temperature around the time crews arrived was reportedly about 106 degrees....

24 chickens rescued from Vista home ready to be adopted

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:57 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Cher, Britney and Shakira are among 24 chickens waiting to be adopted after being rescued from a home in Vista due inhumane living conditions. The birds were rescued by San Diego Humane Society’s Humane Law Enforcement on July 12, 2023 after they received a call for assistance from first responders saying the owner needed to be hospitalized. Popular night market returns to San Diego According to officials with the SD Humane Society, officers decided to immediately impound the chickens due to heat and poor sanitation. The birds were taken to the organization’s Oceanside Campus for triage and care.The birds were cleaned, fed and hydrated before being moved to the SD Humane Society’s Escondido Campus, where chickens and other livestock animals are available for adoption. Some of the chickens have been named after famous singers, such as Cher, Britney and Shakira, as well as movie characters like Thelma and Louise.Over 20 chickens rescued from a Vista home are now availab...

Hollywood strikes could boost labour movement, observers say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:57 GMT

TORONTO — The high visibility of sister strikes in screenland could lend a further boost to a labour movement that observers say was already on the rise.The sight of Hollywood celebrities on the picket line is capturing people’s attention, and the message from the striking actors and writers seems to be getting through, said Bea Bruske, president of the Canadian Labour Congress.  “These are our superheroes,” she said. “These are the folks that we see on our TV screens and on our Netflix and various different devices all the time. And so there’s a heightened interest by the general public — much more than you would see with the general public.”Members of SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ union, walked off film and TV sets on Friday after failing to come to an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and TelevisionProducers on issues that include residual payments in the streaming era and the use of artificial intelligence. The actors joined members...

In-N-Out burger chain bans employees in five states from wearing masks without a doctor’s note

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:57 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The In-N-Out burger chain will bar employees in five states from wearing masks unless they have a doctor’s note, according to internal company emails leaked on social media.In the memo announcing new guidelines for Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Texas and Utah workers, the fast food chain pointed to “the importance of customer service and the ability to show our Associates’ smiles and other facial features while considering the health and well-being of all individuals.”The policy, which goes into effect August 14, applies to all In-N-Out employees in those states, except for those who need to wear masks or other protective gear for job duties that require it, like painting. Employees could face disciplinary action, including being fired, if they do not comply, the the memo says.California and Oregon both have laws in place preventing employers from banning masks.It is not the first time that the chain, based in California, has clashed with health experts over...

Police in Kenya open fire on activists protesting new taxes. At least 12 people are wounded

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:57 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Police in Kenya opened fire on protesters in clashes that left at least 12 people wounded Wednesday as the opposition organized demonstrations calling for the government of President William Ruto to lower the cost of living. The opposition called for three days of countrywide protests aimed at forcing the president to repeal a finance law imposing new taxes. Ruto had vowed that no protests would take place, saying he would take opposition leader Raila Odinga “head-on.”Four protesters were injured in the Mathare area of the capital, Nairobi, according to a police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media. The Associated Press witnessed one man shot in the shoulder and two others shot in the leg in Mathare.In Nairobi’s Kangemi area, health records worker Alvin Sikuku told the AP that two young men had been brought into the Eagle Nursing Home clinic. “Police are using live bullets,” he said. One man was shot i...

Russia strikes critical port facilities in Odesa after Kremlin halts grain deal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:57 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia unleashed intense drone and missile attacks overnight Wednesday, damaging critical port infrastructure in southern Ukraine, including grain and oil terminals, and wounding at least 12 people, officials said.The bombardment crippled significant parts of export facilities in Odesa and nearby Chornomorsk and destroyed 60,000 tons of grain, according to Ukraine’s Agriculture Ministry.It came days after President Vladimir Putin pulled Russia out of its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a wartime deal that enabled Ukraine’s exports to reach many countries facing the threat of hunger. It also followed a vow by Putin to retaliate against Kyiv for an attack Monday on the crucial Kerch Bridge linking Russia with the Crimean Peninsula, which the Kremlin illegally annexed in 2014.The Agriculture Ministry, citing experts, estimated it would take a year to restore the damaged facilities. The destroyed grain was supposed to have been loaded onto a vessel ...