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Biden will deliver a rare Oval Office address as he seeks billions of dollars for Israel and Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:55:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will deliver a rare Oval Office address Thursday night as he prepares to ask for additional billions of dollars in military assistance for Israel and Ukraine, deepening American involvement in two very different, unpredictable and bloody foreign conflicts.The speech will be an opportunity for Biden to argue that the United States has an obligation — and a national security interest — in both places. And it’s a chance for him to publicly lobby lawmakers for the money.The funding request, expected to be formally unveiled on Friday, is likely to be around $100 billion over the next year, according to people directly familiar with the proposal who insisted on anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. The total figure includes some money for Taiwan’s defense and for managing the flow of migrants at the southern border with Mexico.Biden hopes that combining all of these issues into one piece of legislation will create the necessary political ...

Darmanin vs. Benzema! French minister slams footballer for stance on Israel-Hamas war

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:55:54 GMT

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin thinks star footballer Karim Benzema is way offside when it comes to the Israel-Hamas war. Darmanin doubled down Thursday night on evidence-free remarks linking Benzema to the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist party considered to be a terrorist group in several Middle Eastern countries, after the footballer backed Palestinians under fire in Gaza. Benzema “still hasn’t made a tweet for the murder of this teacher in Arras … for the beheaded babies …. for the raped women, for the 1,300 massacred by Islamist terrorism in Israel,” Darmanin lashed out, referring to a deadly attack in France and Hamas’ violent assault in Israel earlier this month. “If Mr. Benzema is able to show — in front of 20 million people who follow him, including because he now lives in Saudi Arabia and because he is eminently French — that he also mourns the death of this teacher, I will withdraw my comments,” Darmanin said Thursday even...

Police in Newburyport investigating after box of possible pipe bombs found at construction site

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:55:54 GMT

A bomb squad was called to an address in Newburyport on Thursday after authorities say a box of what “may be pipe bombs” was found.The Newburyport Police Department told 7NEWS that there was no threat to the public as authorities continued to investigate the discovery on Purchase Street.According to Newburyport PD, a box containing four of what were possibly pipe bombs were found at a home that was under construction earlier in the day.Both police and firefighters could be seen operating in the area around 3 p.m. as an investigation continued.Details on how the box was discovered have not yet been released.This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

Red meat tied to higher risk for type 2 diabetes, plant-based protein may lower risk: Harvard study

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:55:54 GMT

Have you been trying to cut back on red meat? It could help you avoid a serious disease that affects tens of millions of people across the U.S.People who eat two servings of red meat a week may have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to people who eat fewer servings, and the risk increases with greater consumption, according to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.The Harvard researchers also found that replacing red meat with healthy plant-based protein sources — such as nuts and legumes — or modest amounts of dairy was tied with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.“Our findings strongly support dietary guidelines that recommend limiting the consumption of red meat, and this applies to both processed and unprocessed red meat,” said first author Xiao Gu, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Nutrition.Type 2 diabetes is a major risk factor for cardiovascular and kidney disease, cancer, and dementia.While previ...

Could supervised drug injection sites be coming to Massachusetts? 70% of voters support allowing them in a new poll

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:55:54 GMT

Are Bay Staters ready for supervised drug injection sites to open in local communities?As opioid overdose deaths spike to record-high levels in Massachusetts, it appears that residents overwhelmingly support allowing cities and towns to establish overdose prevention centers.A new poll released on Thursday shows that 70% of Massachusetts voters support a State House bill that would give the green light for communities to open supervised drug injection facilities.People at overdose prevention centers would be able to bring drugs and consume them under the supervision of trained healthcare workers.These facilities have helped prevent overdose deaths in countries across the world — including in Europe, Canada and Australia — and also increase access to treatment and recovery services, according to advocates.“As a medical provider, I know overdose prevention centers will save the lives of many people struggling with addiction,” said Miriam Komaromy, medical direct...

Howie Carr: Judge bailing on $207,855-a-year ‘dream job’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:55:54 GMT

As always, it’s about the Benjamins.Meet Hal Naughton, a 63-year-old career Democrat back-bench state rep. Earlier this year Naughton scored the ultimate dream job of all hacks – a $207,855-a-year basically no-show job as a state judge.But now, in what is surely the most shocking event of the year in the hackerama, Naughton has done the unthinkable. After six months, he has resigned from his welfare sinecure.To repeat, it’s all about the Benjamins.I always say, it’s not that all Massachusetts judges are bad. It’s only that 98 percent of them who make the other 2 percent look bad.What makes Naughton’s departure such a man-bites-dog story is that no hack state judge ever quits, for one simple reason. In Massachusetts, a lawyer becomes a judge only if he or she is starving to death while actually trying to practice law.That’s why bust-out barristers scrape together enough cash to basically buy themselves that sinecure, an annuity. It’s all legal of course – campaign contributions, they...

At Donald Trump’s civil trial, scrutiny shifts to son Eric’s ‘lofty ideas’ for valuing a property

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:55:54 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The spotlight at Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial turned Thursday to the former president’s son Eric, with documents and testimony suggesting the scion envisioned a “lofty” value on a suburban New York golf course where the family business proposed building luxury townhouses.The trial stems from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ claims that Trump, his company and executives, including Eric Trump, fraudulently inflated the value of the Westchester County golf club and other properties on financial statements given to lenders, insurers and others. Trump, the Republican front-runner in the 2024 presidential campaign, denies the allegations and says the documents actually underestimated the value of his prime properties.Eric Trump, an executive vice president at the Trump Organization, sought an appraisal of the Trump National Golf Club in Briarcliff Manor, New York, in 2013, according to documents and testimony Thursday. At the time, the Trumps ...

Stranded on the Eiffel Tower, a couple decide to wed, with an AP reporter there to tell the story

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:55:54 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Police arrested a man climbing Thursday on the Eiffel Tower, leading to visitors being temporarily stranded at the summit — including a reporter for The Associated Press and a Washington, D.C., couple who decided during the wait to get married.Amir Khan had been planning to propose to Kat Warren later Thursday in a Paris garden away from the crowds, with a romantic dinner on the River Seine also on the menu.But when the lifts were temporarily shut down because of the climber, stranding the couple and others at the top, Khan decided to spring his surprise. Pat Eaton-Robb, an AP newsman from Connecticut who was also stuck up there, got their story.“I figured we might be here longer than I imagined,” Khan told the AP reporter. “So I didn’t want to miss dinner and she always wanted to be proposed to on or under the Eiffel Tower. So I figured, ‘This is it, this is the moment.’” And the answer? “Yes,” of course. “He had a pretty good chance of me saying ‘Yes...

Ministers to address reports India has reportedly ordered Canadian diplomats to leave

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:55:54 GMT

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Immigration Minister Marc Miller are expected to speak with reporters today amid reports Ottawa has followed India’s request to remove some of Canada’s diplomats from that country.Relations with New Delhi have hit a deep freeze since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a month ago that Canadian intelligence services are investigating “a potential link” between India’s government and the killing of a Sikh leader near Vancouver.New Delhi has publicly called for “parity” in the number of diplomats each country is hosting.Global Affairs Canada’s public registry of foreign missions shows that India has about 60 diplomats across Canada.Media reports suggest that a large number of Canadian diplomats have recently left India.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would not confirm whether the reports are true when asked about it today, but said it’s an issue he said his government is “t...

Ukraine’s parliament advances bill seen as targeting Orthodox church with historic ties to Moscow

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:55:54 GMT

Ukraine’s parliament voted overwhelmingly Thursday to advance legislation seen as effectively banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church over its ties to Moscow, despite the church’s insistence that it is fully independent and supportive of Ukraine’s fight against Russian invaders.The Verkhovna Rada, or parliament, voted 267-15 on the measure, which requires further voting before it gets finalized and reaches the desk of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The legislation would prohibit the activities of religious organizations “that are affiliated with the centers of influence of a religious organization, the management center of which is located outside of Ukraine in a state that carries out armed aggression against Ukraine.”That is seen as directly targeting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, one of two rival Orthodox bodies in the country, where a majority of citizens identify as Orthodox. The UOC has historically been affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate. It declar...