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Germany’s Scholz hints at checks on Polish border amid visa-for-bribes scandal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called on Poland to clarify allegations of a visas-for-bribes scandal, airing concerns that it could be adding to his own country’s migration struggles.Just one month before a key general election in Poland, the government is grappling with allegations that operatives in consulates may have handed out thousands of Polish temporary work visas, and EU access, in return for bribes.“I don’t want people from Poland to simply be waved through, and then have a discussion about our asylum policy afterwards,” Scholz said Saturday at a rally of his Social Democratic Party.He called for discussions with Warsaw. “Further measures may then have to be taken at the borders, for example at this one,” Tagesspiegel quoted the chancellor as saying.Brussels has also urged clarity on the matter. In a letter that EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson sent to Poland’s Foreign Affairs Minister Zbigniew Rau, the bloc warned ...

WATCH: Video shows Malden man kicking down turnstile gate at Park Street Station

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

A man kicked down a fare gate at MBTA Park Street station early Sunday morning, new video showed.MBTA Transit Police said a 40-year-old Mladen man broke the gate off the turnstile just after midnight. The man was then found around 6 a.m. at the entrance to the station, where he was arrested and taken to Transit Police headquarters, officials said. He also had a warrant for assault and battery on a police officer.https://twitter.com/MBTATransitPD/status/1705605226764423506?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

Wet weather through tomorrow, then drying out

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

Good morning! Don’t toss the rain jacket aside just yet. You’ll need it through tomorrow as we dry out north to south. The rest of the work week looks nice with temperatures getting back to seasonable highs near 70°This morning, we’ll see overcast conditions and any precipitation is light – drizzle and sprinkles. We won’t get much in the way of measurable precipitation until later today- mainly past sunset. The rain continues for the morning commute. The trend tomorrow will be clearing north to south. Wet weather lingers for southeast Mass.After that rain band exits, we’ll dry out. Looks like we could hold on to the dry weather through next weekend!Weather shout-out to the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade at Atherton Hough in Quincy! I was at their school this week. We talked about why fall and why the leaves change colors. The sunny afternoons and cool overnights we get this week will help bring out more vivid colors!-Meteorologist Melanie Black-Meteorolog...

How a government shutdown could impact Americans

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

(CNN) — With the government on the brink of a shutdown this week as Congress remains at an impasse on a funding deal, federal departments and agencies have begun the mandatory process of planning to bring nonessential functions to a halt.The Office of Management and Budget reminded senior agency officials Friday to update and review shutdown plans.Every department and agency has its own set of plans and procedures. That guidance includes information on how many employees would get furloughed, which employees are essential and would work without pay, how long it would take to wind down operations in the hours before a shutdown, and which activities would come to a halt. Those plans can vary from shutdown to shutdown.Should Congress fail to pass a short-term spending bill to keep the proverbial lights on, a shutdown could have enormous impacts on all Americans, in areas from air travel to clean drinking water.The nearly 4 million Americans who are federal...

On and off field, Kyle Gibson teaching young Orioles how to be major leaguers: ‘He shows you how it’s done’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

Making his way from the Orioles’ dining room to his locker during last weekend’s clubhouse celebration, Kyle Gibson paused every couple of steps, bending over to gather soaked champagne corks off the plastic sheets layered on the ground.The veteran right-hander has been fortunate in his major league career to be involved in several such revelries, having gone to the World Series with the Philadelphia Phillies. Taking the small keepsakes home to his four children helps them feel as if they were part of the party, but he also makes sure to keep some for himself.“You just never know when you’re gonna get to do it again,” Gibson said. “You enjoy each moment, find little things to take with you so you can think back on these times because not every day’s fun, but you don’t get to do this a lot, so you’ve got to enjoy it.”Gibson has savored this season with Baltimore, providing the veteran presence that was expected when the Orio...

Toddler and 2 adults fatally shot in Florida during argument over dog sale, authorities say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A 3-year-old child and two adults were fatally shot late Saturday at a Florida apartment complex during an apparent dispute over the sale of a dog, authorities said. Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Assistant Chief J.D. Stronko told reporters that five people, including the child, had gone to a luxury apartment complex at about 10 p.m. Saturday to meet with some people about the sale of a dog. Gunfire broke out during an argument, Stronko said. The three victims were fatally struck and a third adult from the group was wounded. Witnesses told officers that two men fled in a car. Stronko said the two adults killed and the one wounded were all in their 20s. Their names were not released. He did not release the condition of the wounded victim. Further details were not immediately available.The Associated Press

Ideological rifts among U.S. bishops are in the spotlight ahead of momentous Vatican meeting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Early next month, the Vatican will open an unprecedented gathering of Catholic clergy and laypeople from around the world. The synod is intended to be a collegial, collaborative event, though the agenda includes divisive issues such as the role of women in the church and the inclusion of LGBTQ Catholics.If there’s Exhibit A for how elusive consensus might be, it’s the United States’ participation. In effect, there are two high-level U.S. delegations widely viewed as ideological rivals — six clerics appointed by Pope Francis who support his aspirations for a more inclusive, welcoming church; five clerics chosen by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops who reflect a more conservative outlook and more skepticism of Francis’ priorities.Natalia Imperatori-Lee, a professor of religious studies at Manhattan College in New York, worries that the synod, which starts Oct. 4, might widen rifts among U.S. Catholics rather than narrow them.“The polarization of the country has i...

Some UK police put down guns after an officer is charged with murder in the shooting of a Black man

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

LONDON (AP) — London’s police force said Sunday that some officers are refusing to conduct armed patrols after a colleague was charged with murder in the fatal shooting of an unarmed Black man.A Metropolitan Police marksman was charged Wednesday over the September 2022 death of Chris Kaba, 24. Kaba was killed after officers in an unmarked vehicle pursued and stopped the car he was driving. He was struck by a single bullet fired through the windshield as he sat in the Audi car.The case renewed allegations of institutional racism within the London police department. Kaba’s family welcomed the murder charge against the officer, who has not been publicly named. He was granted conditional bail and is expected to stand trial next year.Only about one in 10 of London’s police officers carry firearms, and the ones that do undergo special training.The Metropolitan Police force said Sunday that “a number of officers have taken the decision to step back from armed duties while they consider the...

Both parties want to win South Florida. Here’s one Cuban activist’s view of the political fight

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — When Félix Llerena arrived in Miami in 2017, he quickly got involved in the city’s politically active community of Cuban exiles. He was soon drawn to President Donald Trump for his aggressive approach toward Cuba’s communist government and his stated affinity for Cuban American culture. Today, Llerena is ready to apply for citizenship and vote for the first time. He’s more skeptical of the former Republican president. And his mother was able to come to the United States earlier this year under an immigration program created by Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration that’s admitted tens of thousands of Cubans and other people from countries with expatriate communities in South Florida.Both parties’ efforts affect Llerena’s life and fulfill different priorities he has. While he’s leaning toward a Republican candidate next year, he says he tries to avoid sticking to one side. “I do not worship politicians,” he said. ...

Government should pay compensation for secretive Cold War-era testing, St. Louis victims say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Ben Phillips’ childhood memories include basketball games with friends, and neighbors gathering in the summer shade at their St. Louis housing complex. He also remembers watching men in hazmat suits scurry on the roofs of high-rise buildings as a dense material poured into the air.“I remember the mist,” Phillips, now 73, said. “I remember what we thought was smoke rising out of the chimneys. Then there were machines on top of the buildings that were spewing this mist.”As Congress considers payments to victims of Cold War-era nuclear contamination in the St. Louis region, people who were targeted for secret government testing from that same time period believe they’re due compensation, too.In the 1950s and 1960s, the Army used blowers on top of buildings and in the backs of station wagons to spray a potential carcinogen into the air surrounding a St. Louis housing project where most residents were Black. The government contends the zinc cadmium sulfide sprayed to sim...