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US and allies warn Houthis of ‘consequences’ as Red Sea crisis intensifies

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:11:42 GMT

Houthi militants will face as-yet-unspecified “consequences” if they continue to “threaten lives” and disrupt trade flows in the Red Sea, the United States and a host of international allies said in a new statement Wednesday.The joint missive — issued simultaneously by the governments of the U.S. Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom — stops short of spelling out how the allies plan to quell mounting turmoil in the Red Sea region.But it warns that recent events pose “a direct threat” to global trade and constitute “a significant international problem that demands collective action.”Sailors navigating the narrow Bab-el-Mandeb Strait — on a vital shipping route linking Europe to Asia — have in recent weeks faced drone strikes, missile attacks and hijackings by Iran-backed Houthi militants operating off the coast of Yemen.The Shia militant group insists it is only targeting shipping with links to Israel...

70-year-old cyclist seriously injured, flown to hospital for treatment after crash involving vehicle in Littleton

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:11:42 GMT

Authorities say a 70-year-old riding a recumbent bike suffered serious injuries following a crash involving a vehicle in Littleton.The Littleton Police Department said it was around 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday when both officers and members of the fire department were called to the area of 119 King St. for the crash.Upon arriving, the department said officers found a 70-year-old recumbent bicyclist suffering serious injuries.“That bicyclist was taken to Nashoba Valley Medical Center by ambulance, and then transferred by MedFlight to Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington,” a news release from Littleton PD stated.Details on the vehicle involved and what led up to the crash have not yet been released, with authorities noting that the 21-year-old driver involved in the incident remained at the scene.An investigation into the crash remains ongoing.

Chicago Bears Q&A: Does GM Ryan Poles have enough autonomy to make big changes? Will Sunday’s result affect the offseason?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:11:42 GMT

Justin Fields has one more start to convince the Chicago Bears brass he can be the quarterback of the future. The Bears finish their season Sunday against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field (3:25 p.m., CBS-2).Brad Biggs answers questions about general manager Ryan Poles, Fields’ future, hypotheticals and much more in the latest Bears mailbag.Ryan Poles was in Kansas City when the Chiefs had Alex Smith, a serviceable and even popular quarterback, and traded up to the No. 10 spot to choose Patrick Mahomes. Fast-forward to 2024 and Ryan Poles finds himself on the precipice of a similar situation, only this time he’s in charge. Poles has made shrewd decisions with an eye to the future, and Ted Phillips would likely have greenlighted anything to copy the KC formula. But does Poles have enough autonomy with Kevin Warren if he wants to execute a change this seismic? — Kamal T., North Smithfield, R.I.Interesting question and quite a bit to unpack here. The Chiefs had l...

More Americans think foreign policy should be a top US priority for 2024, poll finds

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:11:42 GMT

By Will Weissert and Linley Sanders, Associated PressWASHINGTON (AP) — In this time of war overseas, more Americans think foreign policy should be a top focus for the U.S. government in 2024, with a new poll showing international concerns and immigration rising in importance with the public.About 4 in 10 U.S. adults named foreign policy topics in an open-ended question that asked people to share up to five issues for the government to work on in the next year, according to a December poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.That’s about twice as many who mentioned the topic in the AP-NORC poll conducted last year.Long-standing economic worries still overshadow other issues. But the new poll’s findings point to increased concern about U.S. involvement overseas — 20% voiced that sentiment in the poll, versus 5% a year ago.It also shows that the Israeli-Hamas war is feeding public anxiety. The conflict was mentioned by 5%, while almost no one cited i...

Boston Police find gun at Back Bay high school, suspect arrested

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:11:42 GMT

A Back Bay high school was placed into lockdown this morning due to the presence of a gun there.Boston Police found a firearm at Snowden International School, located at 150 Newbury St., at 11:43 a.m. and arrested a suspect, according to a department spokesman.The school has since been taken out of safe mode.This is a developing story.

Bomb threats lead to brief lockdowns and the evacuation of multiple state capitols

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:11:42 GMT

By REBECCA REYNOLDS (Associated Press)Multiple state capitols received bomb threats Wednesday morning that led to brief evacuations or lockdowns as police investigated, but no evidence of explosives was found. The warnings came after a spate of false reports of shootings at the homes of public officials in recent days.Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi and Montana were among the states that evacuated statehouse offices or buildings. Lawmakers in Kentucky and Mississippi have begun meeting in legislative sessions. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said on X, formerly Twitter, that the Capitol was evacuated while state police investigated a threat received by the Secretary of State’s Office. He said everyone was safe and officials were aware of similar threats made to other offices across the country. The threat was received as Kentucky lawmakers were meeting in the Capitol annex for ethics training.Public safety officials locked down the Mississippi Capit...

As a missile hits a Kyiv apartment building, survivors lose a lifetime’s possessions in seconds

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:11:42 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — With trembling hands and labored breath, Serhii Slobodiannyk meticulously searched his fire-damaged apartment, seeking to salvage any of his family’s treasured belongings following a Russian missile attack on Kyiv.“Everything I had worked for over 30 years was destroyed in less than a second,” says Slobodiannyk, still dressed in the clothes he managed to throw on in his burning apartment Tuesday.He and his wife, Olena, had moved into the building in Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district in 1984. Now the structure is uninhabitable — ravaged by fire, part of its facade torn off, and a huge crater gouged next to it by the missile that struck at 7:40 a.m.Two of the building’s residents were killed and 54 were injured in Tuesday’s bombardment that also killed two others elsewhere in the capital. The barrage was part of Russia’s recent winter campaign against urban areas in the nearly 2-year-old war.It was the first attack in months in which an ap...

Toronto man arrested in suspected hate-motivated assault of security guard

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:11:42 GMT

A Toronto man has been arrested in a suspected hate-motivated assault involving a security guard last weekend.Police were called to the Sherbourne Street and Dundas Street area at around 3 p.m. on Dec. 30 for reports of an assault.It’s alleged that the suspect was loitering in a building when the victim, who was working as a security guard, asked him to exit the premises. Police said the suspect refused to leave, uttered racial slurs and assaulted the victim with a weapon. On Wednesday, authorities said 60-year-old Timothy Eaton of Toronto has been charged with two counts of uttering threats/death or bodily harm, assault with a weapon and weapons dangerous.Eaton was scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.

12 years after she vanished, divers believe they have found body of woman in submerged vehicle

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:11:42 GMT

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — The body of a woman who went missing 12 years ago appears to have been found in a minivan submerged in a central Florida retention pond near Walt Disney World, according to family members and volunteer divers who discovered the remains last week.The family of Sandra Lemire told local media on Tuesday that they believe that the remains found in the vehicle are the central Florida woman who vanished along with her car in 2012 after leaving a restaurant in Kissimmee, Florida.Divers with Sunshine State Sonar found the vehicle last Saturday while searching in a small retention pond at the Disney World exit on Interstate 4 in Kissimmee. The group of volunteer divers assists law enforcement in finding missing persons, vehicles or vessels believed to be in Florida waterways. They had been searching for Lemire in 63 bodies of water over the last year and a half.Last week, a tip from an Orlando Police Department detective about the location of a cellphone tower that las...

Mexican cartel forces locals to pay for makeshift Wi-Fi under threat of death

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:11:42 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A cartel in the embattled central Mexico state of Michoacan set up its own makeshift internet antennas and told locals they had to pay to use its Wi-Fi service or they would be killed, state prosecutors said Wednesday. Dubbed “narco-antennas” by local media, the cartel’s system involved internet antennas set up in various towns built with stolen equipment. The group charged approximately 5,000 people elevated prices between between 400 and 500 pesos ($25 to $30) a month, the Michoacán state prosecutor’s office told The Associated Press. That meant the group could rake in around $150,000 a month.People were terrorized “to contract the internet services at excessive costs, under the claim that they would be killed if they did not,” prosecutors said, though they didn’t report any such deaths.Local media identified the criminal group as the Los Viagras cartel. Prosecutors declined to say which cartel was involved because the case was still under inve...