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US: Russia seeks arms-for-food deal with North Korea

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 08:43:23 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Thursday said it has new evidence that Russia is looking again to North Korea for weapons to fuel the war in Ukraine, this time in a deal that would provide Pyongyang with needed food and other commodities in return.It’s the latest accusation that Russia, desperate for weaponry and restricted by sanctions and export controls, is turning to “rogue” nations to help it continue to prosecute the 13-month-old war.“As part of this proposed deal, Russia would receive over two dozen kinds of weapons and munitions from Pyongyang,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. “We also understand that Russia is seeking to send a delegation to North Korea and that Russia is offering North Korea food in exchange for munitions.”The administration has previously declassified intelligence to present evidence that Iran sold hundreds of attack drones to Russia over the summer and that the Wagner Group, a private Russian military company, ...

Policía Federal de Brasil cita al expresidente Jair Bolsonaro por el caso de las joyas

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 08:43:23 GMT

(CNN) — La Policía Federal de Brasil citó al expresidente Jair Bolsonaro para que compareciera ante las autoridades este miércoles, en el marco de una investigación sobre joyas no declaradas que Arabia Saudita le regaló a la Presidencia durante su mandato presidencial, según informó CNN Brasil, afiliada de CNN.Las joyas consisten en tres cajas de artículos de lujo valorados en millones de dólares regalados por la familia real saudita durante la visita de Estado de Bolsonaro a Riad en 2019. Dos de las cajas fueron transportadas de regreso a Brasil por ayudas del gobierno y fueron aprehendidas por la aduana en su momento. Una de las cajas aún permanece en posesión de Bolsonaro, según CNN Brasil.Este jueves, Bolsonaro dijo a la emisora local Jovem Pan que las joyas están registradas, documentadas y “listas para ser entregadas sin ningún problema”.“No sé por qué tanto alboroto, si creen que es algo que hice mal, estoy muy feliz porque no hay nada de qué acusarme&...

Police looking for people connected to deadly hit-and-run on Sheridan

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 08:43:23 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — The Denver Police Department is looking to identify three people who may be connected to a deadly hit-and-run on Monday.According to the Denver Police Department, on Monday at 10:43 p.m., a pedestrian was struck and killed by an unknown driver at the intersection of North Sheridan Boulevard and West 10th Avenue.DPD said the driver was traveling northbound when they allegedly hit the pedestrian who was crossing on Sheridan. The driver fled the scene without checking on the victim. Man sentenced to 96 years for ‘random act of road rage’ Officers did locate the suspected vehicle a short distance away, but could not locate the driver. The car has visible damage to the right side of the hood, and the windshield is shattered on the driver's side. This vehicle was located a short distance away from a deadly hit-and-run on Sheridan. (Metro Denver Crime Stoppers)DPD released photos of three people who may be connected to the deadly hit-and-run.Police are looking to contact ...

Air Force shows off fighter jets ahead of Homestead Air Show

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 08:43:23 GMT

Prior to this weekend’s Wings Over Homestead Air Show, members of the U.S. Air Force showed off a pair of fighter jets at Miami International Airport. County officials, along with the media, got a sneak peek of the Air Show when pilots landed two F-16 Falcon fighter jets, Thursday morning. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Miami-Dade Aviation Department officials were on hand. In addition to the USAF Thunderbirds flying six F-16 Fighting Falcons, the Wings Over Homestead Air Show will feature modern military demonstrations, vintage aircraft, the top civilian aviators, military vehicles, and aviation-related items on the ground for up-close viewing by the public. The event takes place this weekend at the Homestead Air Reserve Base and is expected to draw more than 100,000 attendees.

Fraud inquiry launched into EU transport chief’s free Qatar flights

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 08:43:23 GMT

The EU’s anti-fraud office has opened an investigation into Henrik Hololei, the EU’s departing transport chief, following POLITICO’s revelations that he accepted free flights on Qatar Airways.The fresh probe comes shortly after Hololei resigned from his position as director general of the European Commission’s transport department on Wednesday amid mounting scrutiny over the free trips, which came while his team negotiated a major aviation deal with the Gulf state. Hololei approved the flights himself — a procedure that was allowed at the time. The rules were later changed following the revelations.“We can confirm that OLAF has opened an investigation into the matter,” said the agency, formally known as OLAF, in a statement to POLITICO. The probe, the agency’s press office stressed “does not mean that the persons/entities involved have committed an irregularity/fraud.”OLAF is tasked with investigating EU budget fraud and misconduct...

Federal judge says insurers no longer have to provide some preventive care services, including cancer and heart screenings, at no cost

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 08:43:23 GMT

(CNN) — A federal judge in Texas said Thursday that some Affordable Care Act mandates cannot be enforced nationwide, including those that require insurers to cover a wide array of preventive care services at no cost to the patient, including some cancer, heart and STD screenings, and tobacco programs.In the new ruling, US District Judge Reed O’Connor struck down the recommendations that have been issued by the US Preventive Services Task Force, which is tasked with determining some of the preventive care treatments that Obamacare requires to be covered.O’Connor’s ruling comes after the judge had already said that the task force’s recommendations violated the Constitution’s Appointments Clause. The judge also deemed unlawful the ACA requirement that insurers and employers offer plans that cover HIV-prevention measures such as PrEP for free.Other preventive care mandates under the ACA remain in effect. The decision applies to Task For...

The new Lamborghini is totally different than any car it’s ever made

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 08:43:23 GMT

(CNN) — Soon, you’ll be able to plug in your Lamborghini.Closing out a half century of purely gasoline-powered V12 cars going back to the brand’s earliest models, Luxury Italian sports car designer Lamborghini has unveiled its first supercar with a charging port.The Lamborghini Revuelto is a plug-in hybrid and, while it still has a V12 gasoline engine, it also has three electric motors. Together — the car’s Spanish name translates as “scrambled” — the two systems can produce a total 1,001 horsepower, according to the automaker.The car, whose price is as yet undisclosed, will offer driving sensations ranging from loud and viciously punchy to smooth and silent. There’s a menu of 13 different drive modes altogether. Front-wheel-drive low-speed cruising will be fully electric, while high-powered aggressive track driving will employ all available power from the V12 engine and the electric motors.The automaker, founded in Sant’Ag...

DeSantis’ board says Disney stripped its power

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 08:43:23 GMT

By Skyler SwisherLAKE BUENA VISTA — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ handpicked board overseeing Disney World’s government services is gearing up for a potential legal battle over a 30-year development agreement they say effectively renders them powerless to manage the entertainment giant’s future growth in Central Florida.Ahead of an expected state takeover, the Walt Disney Co. quietly pushed through the pact and restrictive covenants that would tie the hands of future board members for decades, according to a legal presentation by the district’s lawyers on Wednesday.The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District’s new Board of Supervisors voted to bring in outside legal firepower to examine the agreement, including a conservative Washington, D.C., law firm that has defended several of DeSantis’ culture war priorities.“We’re going to have to deal with it and correct it,” board member Brian Aungst Jr. said. “It’s a subversion of the will of the voters and the Legislature and the governor. It comp...

John Grisham’s sequel to ‘The Firm’ coming out this fall

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 08:43:23 GMT

The king of the legal thriller is coming back — and he’s bringing a fan favorite with him.John Grisham has written a sequel to his smash-hit novel “The Firm,” which will also see character Mitch McDeere return as the protagonist.“The Exchange: After The Firm” is scheduled to be released by Doubleday on Oct. 17.Published in 1991, “The Firm” was Grisham’s second novel and quickly became a bestseller. It kicked off a series of legal thrillers, mostly set in the American South, including “A Time to Kill,” “Runaway Jury” and others, many of which were later turned into movies.The first novel was adapted by Sydney Pollack in 1993 and starred Tom Cruise as Mitch, among other A-listers including Gene Hackman and Ed Harris. A TV series sequel aired in 2012.“When last seen in ‘The Firm,’ Mitch McDeere and his wife Abby were fleeing Memphis with the bad guys in hot pursuit,” Grisham said in a statement. “Now they’re back, 15 years later, and living in New York, where Mitch is an international ...

Evacuations end after fiery Minnesota ethanol derailment

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 08:43:23 GMT

By JOSH FUNK and TRISHA AHMED (Associated Press)PRINSBURG, Minn. (AP) — Hundreds of people had to evacuate their Minnesota hometown after a train hauling ethanol and corn syrup derailed and caught fire early Thursday, but authorities are hopeful that the quick response and cold weather will help limit the impact of this latest crash.Still, those pushing to improve rail safety said Thursday’s derailment only adds urgency to the debate over reforms Congress and regulators are considering even as officials seemed to apply some of the lessons learned after last month’s fiery derailment near East Palestine, Ohio.Minnesota officials said the BNSF train derailed around 1 a.m. Thursday in the town of Raymond, roughly 100 miles (161 kilometers) west of Minneapolis. That prompted the evacuation of essentially all of the town’s 250 homes because they were within 1/2 mile (0.8 kilometers) of the derailment. The evacuation order was lifted around noon.The nation has been ...