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Russia cracks down on more rights groups, raids activists

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:47 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russian authorities have cracked down on more human rights groups, ordering one to shut down and raiding the homes of advocates from another — the latest steps in a clampdown that has intensified to unprecedented levels since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine.Police on Friday on searched the homes of three lawyers with a rights group that advocates against torture and offers legal aid, Team Against Torture.The group said in an online statement that the raids in Nizhny Novgorod, a large city in western Russia, came as part of a criminal probe launched earlier. No other details were given out of concerns for safety of the people the group is helping, the statement said.On Thursday, a court in Moscow ordered the shutdown of the Sova Center, a prominent non-governmental organization that monitors racism and xenophobia in Russia, as well as implementation of anti-extremism laws.The authorities accused the organization of violating its legal registration in Mosc...

House votes to restore solar panel tariffs paused by Biden

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:47 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House voted Friday to reinstate tariffs on solar panel imports from several Southeast Asian countries after President Joe Biden paused them in a bid to boost solar panel installations in the U.S., a key part of his climate agenda.The 221-202 vote sends the measure to the Senate, where lawmakers from both parties have expressed similar concerns about what many call unfair competition from China. Biden has vowed to veto the measure if it reaches his desk.The House vote would overturn Biden’s action last year pausing threatened tariffs that had led to delays or cancellations of hundreds of solar projects across the United States.Some U.S. manufacturers contend that China has essentially moved operations to four Southeast Asian countries — Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia — to skirt strict anti-dumping rules that limit imports from China. A Commerce Department inquiry last year found likely trade violations involving Chinese products. Biden halted the...

¡Que susto! propietario de Maryland fue a acariciar al perro de su vecino cuando se dio cuenta que era un oso

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:47 GMT

Un propietario de Chevy Chase, Maryland, dijo que casi acarició a un oso que confundió con un perro en su patio trasero el miércoles por la noche.El propietario, que no quiso ser identificado, dijo que oyó un ruido en su patio trasero en la zona de Woodlawn Road y Spring Valley Road y pensó que era el perro de su vecino. Cuando salió a investigar, se acercó al animal y estuvo a punto de acariciarlo antes de darse cuenta de que era un oso.Volvió a entrar y llamó a la policía.La casa no está lejos de donde un oso negro fue visto en un vecindario de Kensington el lunes y el martes.Un video de vigilancia muestra al oso hurgando en los cubos de basura y dándose un festín el lunes por la noche en Dewmar Lane. El martes, los vecinos volvieron a ver al oso en Culver Street.La zona está a sólo unas manzanas de la circunvalación.“Anoche ni siquiera caminé a mi perro. No iba a ir a hacerlo y puede que tampoco lo haga esta noche hasta que haya alguna resolución”, dijo el residente I...

DeSantis’ overseas trip overshadowed by fight with Disney

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:47 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis hoped his first international trade mission would generate lucrative business deals and boost his foreign policy resume ahead of an expected presidential run. Instead, he faced questions about losing ground to former President Donald Trump and being taken to court by Walt Disney World.The trip reflected the intensifying pressure confronting DeSantis as some of his allies grow increasingly anxious about his White House prospects. Within a few short years, he rose from relatively a relatively obscure congressman to Trump’s leading Republican rival by embracing the former president’s cultural grievances without the constant tumult.But it turns out DeSantis isn’t immune from drama. Facing questions this week about his standing within the GOP and his fight with Disney, he’s sometimes appeared agitated, reinforcing concerns within corners of his own party about his readiness for the rigor of presidential politics. ...

Leeds winger Sinisterra done for season after ankle injury

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:47 GMT

LEEDS, England (AP) — Leeds lost a goal-scoring threat in its fight for English Premier League survival when Luis Sinisterra was ruled out for the remainder of the season Friday because of an ankle injury.The Colombia winger scored three goals in his last five appearances for relegation-threatened Leeds, which plays at Bournemouth on Sunday.Sinisterra was forced out of Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Leicester just past the half-hour mark, shortly after he headed in Jack Harrison’s cross to give his team an early lead at Elland Road.“It’s something in his ankle, a ligament,” manager Javi Gracia said Friday.Leeds has lacked bite defensively in the absence of midfielder Tyler Adams (hamstring) and key defender Max Wober, who remains doubtful for the Bournemouth game.“It’s tough for us to lose key players. I prefer to not complain. I have enough players to compete better and try to work with them,” Gracia said.Crysencio Summerville came on for Sinisterra on Tuesday, but...

Inflation pressures remain persistent as consumers pull back

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:47 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Key measures of prices and wages remained high in March, keeping the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates next week for the 10th time since March of last year in its drive to defeat high inflation. An index that is closely followed by the Fed, which excludes volatile food and energy costs to capture “core” inflation, rose 0.3% from February to March and 4.6% from a year earlier, according to a report Friday from the Commerce Department. That is still far above the Fed’s 2% target rate. Some Fed officials are concerned that core inflation hasn’t declined much since reaching 4.7% in July. And a separate measure issued Friday by the Labor Department showed that workers’ pay and benefits rose 1.2% in the first three months of this year, faster than the 1.1% rise in last year’s final quarter. While that trend is good for employees, Fed officials worry that companies will seek to offset their higher labor costs by further raising prices and perpet...

Polis signs gun control bills after massacre

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:47 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Colorado’s governor signed four gun control bills Friday, edging the once-purple state closer to liberal-leaning governments in California and New York just months after a shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, the latest in the state’s long history of notorious massacres.The new laws, which Democrats pushed through despite late-night filibusters from Republicans, are aimed at quelling rising suicides and youth violence, preventing mass shootings and opening avenues for gun violence victims to sue the long-protected firearm industry.Republicans decried the bills as onerous encroachments on Second Amendment rights that would impede Colorado residents’ ability to defend themselves amid a rising statewide crime rate. Proposed new gun laws advance in Colorado Senate committee Two of the new laws will raise the age to buy any firearm from 18 to 21 and install a three-day waiting period between the purchase and receipt of a gun. A third will strengthen the sta...

DIA is Food and Wine's Editor's Choice for best cuisine

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:47 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — If you are an avid traveler, you have probably spent plenty of time in airports whether that's because of delays, or because you like to arrive early. Before you jet set off to a new destination, it is always a good idea to grab a bite.Food and Wine asked travelers around the world about airport food and which airport was ranked the best for its cuisine. Denver International Airport made the list as one of the top airports with the best provisions. Not only was it honored with making the list, but it was also picked as the Editor's Choice by Food and Wine. Flying out of DIA? The airport is worst for delays Here is what the editors had to say about their pick:"Given that the Food and Wine Classic in Aspen has been around for 40 years, F&W editors are intimately acquainted with the Denver International Airport. Even when there are delays [and there are delays], the airport’s dining outlets offer everything you could want from a travel day meal, whether you need t...

Most of Yosemite National Park to close Friday over flooding concerns

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:47 GMT

(CNN) — The ramifications of California’s extreme winter and early spring weather continue.Most of Yosemite National Park will be closed to the public starting Friday night as flood concerns awash the region, the park announced Tuesday.Yosemite is expected to remain closed until Wednesday, May 3, “but could last longer,” the National Park Service said in the closure notice.As one storm after another dumped huge amounts of snow in the area, Yosemite was forced to close last month, and remained shut down for over three weeks. More than 15 feet of snow fell on the famous Tuolumne Meadows in less than a month.While the record snows were a relief in a state plagued by years of severe drought, that much in one season has also raised concerns for weeks now for flooding once the snows start to melt, creating something of a dripping time bomb.Meanwhile, snow is expected to persist at Yosemite and could remain well into July, the park said, warning hikers that trails a...

DeSantis and Florida GOP look to upend public record laws as they attempt to shield his travel and other records ahead of likely White House bid

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:47 GMT

(CNN) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his GOP allies have moved to shield the Republican leader from the state’s notoriously robust public records laws as he prepares to launch a campaign for the White House.One bill advancing through the Republican-controlled state legislature would conceal information about DeSantis’ travel and who he has met with at the governor’s mansion. Another would allow state political committees — like the one where DeSantis has stashed $85 million for his future political ambitions — to report their fundraising activity less frequently.Separately, DeSantis in court cases has lately claimed “executive privilege” to block the release of records and to keep staff from testifying — a power typically reserved for presidents and which none of his predecessors had previously asserted is entrusted to the state’s governor. If realized, it would give DeSantis tremendous new discretion to keep information a...