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NATO treads fine line on Ukraine membership

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:32 GMT

BRUSSELS — An awkward dynamic was on full display as NATO foreign ministers met with their Ukrainian counterpart on Tuesday.Arriving at NATO headquarters in Brussels on the day Finland formally became a member of the alliance, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba offered congratulations and declared that “Ukraine is aiming at reaching the same goal, becoming a full member of NATO.” “It will be one of the topics of our conversations here in Brussels, of how can we move forward,” he said. Despite vast amounts of Western military assistance to Ukraine amid the war with Russia, NATO’s direct support has been limited to nonlethal aid. And while Kyiv formally requested “accelerated accession” to join NATO in September last year, the alliance is divided on how to tackle that demand. As Finland’s flag was raised in front of its HQ, across the street a group of pro-Ukrainian protesters chanted: “Ukraine in NATO!”And while Kuleba was more diplomatic, he conveyed a similar m...

Trump pleads not guilty to 34 felony charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:32 GMT

NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump turned himself in Tuesday to authorities in the Manhattan district attorney’s office, where he will be booked on criminal charges connected to his alleged role in a hush money payment made to a porn star.Trump, the first current or former president ever to be indicted, waved to the crowd and then entered the district attorney’s office around 1:30 p.m., accompanied by U.S. Secret Service agents and his lawyers.He is expected to be fingerprinted, but is unlikely to have his mug shot taken. He will remain in the custody of the district attorney’s office until he is escorted to a courtroom in the same building Tuesday afternoon to be arraigned. After his arraignment, he is expected to be released without having to post bail.For Trump, the accommodations of the district attorney’s office, a drab government facility, are much less comfortable than his typical surroundings. He seemed to acknowledge the extraordinary circumstances even as t...

21 people displaced after fire in Dorchester

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:32 GMT

A large fire in a residential building in Dorchester displaced 21 people Tuesday, at one point sending flames shooting out second floor windows and burning through the building’s roof. In a tweet posted at 1:15 p.m., the Boston Fire Department stated that a second alarm had been ordered at the building on Cushing Avenue, where smoke could be seen flooding out of what appeared to be a basement area.By 2:07 p.m., the department said the blaze had reached 4-alarm status.https://twitter.com/BostonFire/status/1643313349965348865Images shared by officials showed crews battling the fire, pouring water into the basement and using ladders to get water into upper floors. The Boston Fire Department said around 1:45 p.m. that crews on scene had gone through multiple bottles of air as part of their response. Just before 2:30 p.m., fire officials said all firefighters had been ordered out of the building as crews continued to fight flames from the exterior.The Salvation Army ...

Weather Whiplash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:32 GMT

We had a beautiful day across southern New England today! We had sunshine, light wind, and mild temperatures regionwide. Inland, temperatures climbed to the 60s, with the immediate coast seeing temperatures in the 50s with that darn sea breeze. Even with the cooler temperatures, we were still above average today in our cooler spots. But as we in New England know all to well with the weather, is all good things come to an end. We’ll start to see changes tonight as clouds begin to take over. Those clouds will hold tight all day long on Wednesday and give us a pretty raw day. Not only is it cloudy tomorrow, we’ll have temperatures in the low 40s with drizzle and an onshore wind. Not pleasant by any means.Wednesday is one of those what you see is what you get days. What you see in the morning is what you get all day long. Don’t expect much change in temperatures through the day, holding in the lower 40s sunrise to sunset.As fast as we snap into that raw day, we’l...

VW recalls 140,000 SUVs due to faulty passenger-side airbags, owners told not to let anyone ride shotgun

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:32 GMT

 (CNN) — Volkswagen is recalling 143,000 of its big Atlas SUVs in the US because a faulty sensor on the front passenger side can switch the airbag system off under certain conditions. Until the issue can be corrected, VW is advising owners to avoid letting people ride in that seat.The problem is “sporadic,” according to documents VW filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which oversees vehicle recalls.Most modern passenger vehicles have weight sensors in the front seat to detect if someone small — like a child — is riding in that seat. Airbags, which inflate forcefully in the event of a crash, can injure small children. If these sensors detect a small person is seated there, the airbag is switched off.But faulty sensors in some Atlas SUVs can cause the so-called “passenger occupant detection system” to indicate a system issue and deactivate the airbag. This could leave front seat passengers without the prote...

‘Operation Cookie Monster’: FBI seizes popular cybercrime forum used for large-scale identity theft

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:32 GMT

(CNN) — The FBI has seized a popular cybercrime forum accused of facilitating large-scale identity theft, according to an FBI notice posted to the forum’s website on Tuesday.The bureau seized the web domains of Genesis Market, an invitation-only crime forum that sells login information stolen from hundreds of thousands of computers, pursuant to a court order from the US District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, according to the seizure notice viewed by CNN.The FBI dubbed the takedown as “Operation Cookie Monster,” a play on the forum’s sale of web browser information known as “cookies,” per the seizure notice.Active for about five years, Genesis Market has played a key role in giving cybercriminals access to hacked computers for carrying out other forms of fraud such as identity theft and ransomware attacks.CNN has reached out to the FBI for comment.The seizure appears to be part of a broader law enforcement operation aimed at Ge...

Tom Thibodeau already the Knicks’ winningest coach since Jeff Van Gundy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:32 GMT

Tom Thibodeau has already eclipsed the last 12 Knicks coaches in victories, an accomplishment that probably reflects more on the volatility of the position than his greatness through a short stint.But it’s a significant milestone nonetheless to make it through three seasons while turning away the franchise’s insatiable desire for turnover. And Thibodeau will have to last a few more to catch the next coach on the list — Jeff Van Gundy.“I had the good fortune of being with Jeff during that stretch,” said Thibodeau, who was an assistant on Van Gundy’s Knicks bench. “He did an incredible job. And we had great players. And I’m really benefiting from having really good and great players. You don’t do anything by yourself. I think you do it with your players, with your staff, with your organization, so we all share in that. So I’m proud of what we’ve done but we’re just beginning.”Thibodeau was on the hot seat ea...

Ticker: February job openings slip; Brits fine TikTok $15.9M on data privacy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:32 GMT

U.S. job openings slipped to 9.9 million in February, fewest since May 2021 and a sign that the job market may be starting to cool, which would be welcome news for the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve.Vacancies fell from 10.6 million in January, the Labor Department said Tuesday, notably in healthcare and in professional services, which includes managerial and technical jobs. Openings rose for construction workers.Despite the drop, the number of layoffs ticked lower in February, and more Americans quit their jobs — a sign of confidence they can find better pay or working conditions elsewhere.“The strongest labor market since the 1960s is starting to show a few cracks,’’ Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at the research firm FWDBONDS LLC, wrote in a research note.Brits fine TikTok $15.9M on data privacyBritain’s privacy watchdog has hit TikTok with a multimillion-dollar penalty for misusing children’s data and violating other protections for users’ personal information.The...

Jets Mock Draft: Look for Gang Green to focus on upgrading at defensive tackle

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:32 GMT

While Gang Green fans anxiously wait for a trade for superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers to be made, the 2023 NFL Draft is fast approaching.The Jets have six picks this year, including the 13th overall selection, when Kansas City plays host to this year’s draft on April 27-29.The 2022 draft could’ve gone any better for GM Joe Douglas and the Jets as they chose the NFL Offensive (Garrett Wilson, 10th overall pick) and Defensive (Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, 4th overall pick) Rookies of the Year. Gang Green also selected running back Breece Hall (second round), who was a top contender for the offensive rookie of the year award himself before an ACL injury prematurely ended his season.The Jets have fewer holes to fill than last year, but still have plenty of places where they can improve after coming off a 7-10 season.With 23 days until the draft, here’s our look at how the Jets’ first three picks could play out.FIRST ROUND (13th overall): BRYAN BRESEE, DT...

Mets pitchers adjusting to pitch clock: ‘You better figure it out because it’s not going away’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:32 GMT

MILWAUKEE — The noise around the pitch clock died down after a few weeks into spring training, but with the regular season now underway it’s become a topic of conversation once again.It’s clear there is a learning curve for all involved. The Mets had four pitch clock violations Monday in the series opener against the Milwaukee Brewers, two by pitcher Carlos Carrasco and one each by hitters Mark Canha and Omar Narvaez. Four isn’t exactly a small number and the Mets are looking closely at what happened in order to learn from the timing moving forward.“I think everybody is going through some adjustment periods,” manager Buck Showalter said. “It’s umpires, it’s clock operators, it’s us, it’s other teams we’re playing but you better figure it out because it’s not going away.”Carrasco was charged with a ball before even throwing his first pitch of the day in his Monday start in Milwaukee. It affected the r...