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Rights expert blasts Italy’s handling of gender-based violence and discrimination against women

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:52 GMT

ROME (AP) — Violence and discrimination against women in Italy is a “prevailing and urgent concern,” a European expert on human rights said Thursday in a scathing report that comes amid a national outcry over a gruesome murder of a young woman allegedly by her ex-boyfriend.Dunja Mijatovic, commissioner for human rights at the Council of Europe, faulted Italy across multiple areas, lamenting that Italian courts and police sometimes revictimize the victims of gender-based violence and that women have increasingly less access to abortion services. She also noted Italy’s last-place in the EU ranking for gender equality in the workplace.The report followed a visit by Mijatovic to Italy in June and focused also on the country’s handling of migrants and press freedom. But the section of her report on women comes amid a national reckoning on gender-based violence following the latest case that has grabbed headlines for a month.Giulia Cecchetin, a 22-year-old who was about to graduate with a...

WTOP space reporter says the Geminids meteor shower did not disappoint

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:52 GMT

The 2023 Geminid meteor shower was quite the sky show from Central Virginia for anyone who was looking up.I observed the sky for five hours — 10:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. EST — using two cameras and taking 1,249 pictures. My initial review of these pictures has found 12 of them caught the Geminids. From my location, the shower produced meteors that were easily visible and seen over my entire viewing area — about 50% of the sky. I was looking toward the east and could see the entire sky to the south, north and overhead.The frequency of the Geminids increased after midnight and at times I could see multiple Geminids at the same time. I saw three fairly bright meteors at once in the same section of the sky. The frequency of meteors was steady, with no long lulls between sightings.The overwhelming majority of the Geminids had short flight paths as they were quick and went from dim to easy to see. The “star” of the show was an absolute beauty that had a long and bright flight path...

Finland to close again entire border with Russia as reopening of 2 crossing points lures migrants

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:52 GMT

HELSINKI (AP) — Finland’s government has decided to seal again, effective Friday, the Nordic country’s entire eastern frontier due to a continuing influx of migrants at the two crossing points on the border with Russia that were reopened on a temporary basis early Thursday.Interior Minister Mari Rantanen told reporters that a decision by Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Cabinet earlier this week to temporarily reopen the southeastern Vaalimaa and Niirala crossing points today was meant as a trial to see whether the migrant “phenomenon” still exists at the border.The Finnish Border Guard reported that dozens of migrants without proper documentation or visas had arrived at the two checkpoints by late Thursday. The number of migrants was predicted to increase rapidly at Vaalimaa and Niirala checkpoints, prompting the Finnish government’s to react quickly and close them as of 8 p.m. Friday until Jan. 14, Rantanen said.At the end of November, Orpo’s government opted to close the entire 1,34...

Myles Garrett and banged-up Browns host Justin Fields, improved Bears with focus on AFC playoff spot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:52 GMT

CHICAGO (5-8) at CLEVELAND (8-5)Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, Fox BETTING LINE: Browns by 3 1/2 according to FanDuel Sportsbook.AGAINST THE SPREAD: Bears 6-5-2; Browns 7-5-1.SERIES RECORD: Browns lead 10-7.LAST MEETING: Browns beat Bears 26-6 on Sept. 26, 2021, in Cleveland. LAST WEEK: Bears beat Lions 28-13; Browns beat Jaguars 31-27.BEARS OFFENSE: OVERALL (21), RUSH (4), PASS (26), SCORING (20).BEARS DEFENSE: OVERALL (12), RUSH (2), PASS (23), SCORING (T-23).BROWNS OFFENSE: OVERALL (19), RUSH (7), PASS (23), SCORING (12).BROWNS DEFENSE: OVERALL (1), RUSH (11), PASS (1), SCORING (14).TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Bears minus-1; Browns minus-7.BEARS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Justin Fields. With an uncertain future in Chicago, Fields has been showing progress as a passer after a slow start. He has a 104.5 rating in his past six games while throwing for 1,284 yards, 10 touchdowns and two interceptions. Against Detroit, his third game back from a dislocated right thumb, he threw for a TD and ran for another....

European Union agrees to open membership negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:52 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union decided Thursday to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova.European Council President Charles Michel called it “a clear signal of hope for their people and our continent.”The decision was announced at a summit gathering leaders of the 27 EU countries.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the decision as “a victory for Ukraine. A victory for all of Europe.”THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders struggled at the start of a two-day summit Thursday to keep intact their two most basic promises to Ukraine at war — to give it the money and wherewithal to stave off the Russian invasion and maintain its hope that one day it will be able to join the wealthy bloc.And stunningly, the threat to that commitment does not come from outside, but from within, from the EU’s increasingly recalcitrant member Hungary. The vision of its prime minister, Viktor Orban, heartily s...

Stock market today: Wall Street rises on hopes for rate cuts as Dow ticks toward another record

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:52 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is ticking higher Thursday following its big rally the day before on excitement that several cuts to interest rates may indeed be coming next year.The S&P 500 was 0.6% higher in afternoon trading and within 1.3% of its all-time high set early last year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 171 points, or 0.5%, and on track to set a record for a second straight day, as of 12:36 p.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite was 0.5% higher.Moderna jumped 11.6% after it reported encouraging data from a study of its treatment for high-risk melanoma that’s used with Merck’s Keytruda. That helped offset a 5.5% slump for Adobe, which gave a forecast for 2024 revenue that fell short of analysts’ expectations.Stocks broadly have been shooting higher since October on hopes that inflation has cooled enough for the Federal Reserve to not only stop its market-rattling hikes to interest rates but to even begin considering cutting them. Those hopes strengthened Wednesd...

76ers’ Daryl Morey mixes basketball with shot at Broadway in absurdist musical ‘Small Ball’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:52 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Off Broadway and right off Broad Street, Daryl Morey composed an offbeat kind of basketball roster. Bird, Magic, even Phil Jackson made the cut, only in Morey’s world they are 6-inch Lilliputians, rather than giants in NBA history.Yes, the team is even led by Michael Jordan.Just not THAT Michael Jordan, a running gag in an absurdist musical comedy orchestrated in large part by Morey. The team president of the Philadelphia 76ers, Morey grew up considering a career in musical theater. Maybe write some Broadway smash hits. He even sketched out a draft for a basketball-themed musical — an idea hatched years ago when he connected with a theater company in Houston.“That theater I was working with approached me and said, ‘hey, wouldn’t it be cool to do a musical?’” Morey said. “Yeah, sure, I have an outline of something that might be fun. Then we very smartly threw out my outline.”From the ashes of Morey’s proposed book came “Small Ball,” about a small team with big bas...

New Mexico man found guilty of murdering woman found at Boulder trailhead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:52 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — A guilty verdict was handed down by a Boulder County jury on Thursday in a case regarding a woman's death at a popular Colorado hiking area.Jamie Moore, 32, was accused of killing a New Mexico woman and dumping her body near Realization Point Trailhead off Flagstaff Road in Boulder. 5 units destroyed in large overnight fire at Aurora construction site Alexis Baca, 25, of Las Cruces, New Mexico, was discovered by hikers on July 24, 2022. Police said she had multiple cigarette burns on her body, a bag suspected of being methamphetamine in her pocket, and a bullet hole above her left ear.She was wearing a necklace with a gold Grim Reaper pendant attached and a 9mm shell casing was discovered near her body. Baca's mother told FOX31 last year that her daughter left behind a 1-year-old daughter who will never know her mother.Jamie Moore, 32, was facing six charges and was found guilty of five by the jury. Those charges are:First-degree murder - guiltySecond-degree murde...

Luke Combs helping a Florida fan who almost owed him $250,000 for selling unauthorized merchandise

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:52 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Country singer Luke Combs is making amends to a disabled Florida woman who sells tumblers online after she was ordered to pay him $250,000 when she got snared in a crackdown his lawyers launched against companies that sell unauthorized merchandise with his image or name on it.Combs in an Instagram video posted Wednesday said he told his attorneys to remove Nicol Harness from a lawsuit they filed in an Illinois federal court and that he was sending her $11,000. She had sold on Amazon 18 tumblers she had made with his name and likeness for $20 each, grossing $360.The singer, who recently topped the country charts with his remake of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” also said he would start selling his own tumbler with the proceeds going to pay Harness’ medical bills — she has heart disease and was recently hospitalized. He also said he would fly Harness and her family to an upcoming concert so he could meet her.He said his lawyers were only supposed ...

Macron’s spin doctor to join Swiss events firm

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:52 GMT

Frédéric Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron’s top communications adviser, will join the MCH Group, a Swiss firm that organizes the Art Basel fair, one of the most important art fairs in the world, on January 1, 2024.He will be the firm’s chief communications and corporate affairs officer, MCH Group said in a statement.Michel, who became Macron’s spin doctor in September 2022, is known for his work as a top lobbyist for Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp in the United Kingdom. One of MCH’s main shareholders is Lupa Systems, an investment fund controlled by James Murdoch, Rupert’s son.Having joined Macron’s team shortly after the start of his second mandate, Michel never managed to live up to his predecessor, Clément Leonarduzzi, who had successfully steered the French president’s re-election campaign.At times mocked in the French press for using highly recognizable anglicisms, Michel was criticized for being unable to help the French president ...