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Fairfax Co. search and rescue team ready to help in Florida as Hurricane Idalia touches down

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:26 GMT

Fairfax County’s Urban Search and Rescue Team, known as Virginia Task Force 1, is in Florida ready to help with recovery from Hurricane Idalia, if needed.Called out by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Task Force 1 is closely monitoring the course of the storm and awaiting orders.“We have deployed with 80 personnel and four canine responders — so 80 people and four responders with four legs,” said Battalion Chief Jeffrey Lewis with the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department and the program manager of Virginia Task Force 1. “We travel with roughly 60,000 pounds of equipment that is distributed through two tractor trailers, two box trucks and then a complement of smaller vehicles.”Most of the team members are uniformed and volunteer members of Fairfax County Fire and Rescue, along with civilian structural engineers and emergency room physicians.The team left Virginia on Monday night and is posted at a secured location in Florida, prepared to go ...

Hurricane Idalia’s approaching storm surge brings dire warnings to Florida’s Gulf Coast

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:26 GMT

FLORIDA’S GULF COAST (WSVN) — As Hurricane Idalia barrels towards the Gulf Coast, a fierce storm surge has inundated the region, causing widespread flooding and dangerous conditions that have prompted road closures and mandatory evacuations. The National Weather Service’s latest advisory has painted a dire picture for Florida’s Big Bend area, predicting a surge ranging from 12 to 16 feet in height. This forecast comes as residents and officials are sounding the alarm about the potentially catastrophic flooding that could ravage coastal communities. In Pinellas County, the intensity of the storm surge is evident, particularly along the Gulf Coast. St. Pete Beach is experiencing hazardous conditions with water levels surging as high as 4 feet, forcing road closures and creating treacherous situations for residents and travelers. South of Madeira Beach, officials are issuing warnings to locals, urging them not to venture onto flooded roadways in Treasure Island....

EU weighs sanctions on Niger as Gabon hit by latest coup

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:26 GMT

TOLEDO, Spain — The European Union is considering sanctions on Niger, a document seen by POLITICO shows.Defense and foreign ministers are discussing the possibility of sanctions at an informal summit in Toledo, Spain, after military forces in Niger last month deposed President Mohamed Bazoum, who was democratically elected in 2021. News also broke Wednesday that military officers in Gabon seized power in a fresh African putsch.Gabon and Niger follow Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Chad as the latest African countries where the army has in recent years seized control; all of these countries are former French colonies. Speaking to journalists ahead of the meeting, top EU diplomat Josep Borrell said that the Niger coup could “increase instability in the whole region.” He stressed that during the two-day meeting, ministers will need to “have a deep thought on what is going on there” with the spate of coups in the region. Ahead of the gathering, the European Externa...

Russia kills two people in massive air attack on Kyiv

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:26 GMT

Debris from a large-scale Russian missile attack on Kyiv has killed two people and injured several more, in the largest air strike on the Ukrainian capital since spring.In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Russia launched 28 missiles and 16 drones, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. Ukrainian air defense forces destroyed all missiles and 15 out of the 16 drones within the regions of Kyiv, Cherkasy, Odesa, Mykolaiv and Zhytomyr.“Tonight, almost all enemy air targets destroyed,” Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said on Telegram. “Thanks to all the defenders who joined in repelling the air attack!”Debris from the downed missiles and drones fell in the Darnytskyi and Shevchenkivskyi districts of Kyiv, killing two people and injuring three more. The two victims were security guards, aged 26 and 36 years old. Several fires broke out in the two districts, damaging nonresidential buildings. This was the largest strike on Kyiv in months, said Kyiv’s City Military Administrat...

Cleverly says UK ‘clear-eyed’ over China disagreements

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:26 GMT

LONDON — Britain is “clear-eyed” about its disagreements with China, James Cleverly said during the first official visit by a foreign secretary to the country in five years.The U.K. foreign secretary insisted “diplomacy makes a difference” amid criticism at home that U.K. ministers are appeasing China, despite a list of concerns about its behavior.“We are clear-eyed about the areas where we have fundamental disagreements with China and I raise those issues when we meet, but I think it is important we also recognize that we have to have a pragmatic sensible working relationship with China because of the issues that affect us all around the globe,” Cleverly told reporters on Wednesday, after meeting Chinese Vice President Han Zheng.Ahead of the visit, Cleverly said he would press his opposite number Wang Yi on issues ranging from Ukraine to Hong Kong — while also encouraging China to work more closely with the West on tackling climate chan...

2030? Pffft! Balkan leaders slam EU chief’s enlargement timeline 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:26 GMT

Balkan leaders blasted European Council President Charles Michel’s 2030 target for EU enlargement.EU candidate countries accused the Brussels institutions of shifting the goalposts and expressed a number of concerns with Michel’s timeline.Speaking at a forum in Bled, Slovenia, on Monday, the Council chief indicated that the EU should be ready to accept new members in 2030 in a bid to re-energize the EU’s enlargement debate. But his words were met with annoyance from Western Balkan leaders and the European Commission, which refused to endorse the target.Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama expressed doubts that his country will be ready to join by 2030 — but he pinned the blame on Brussels for that.“There should not be only reforms and criticism that are necessary, but also the most consistent support, and I’m not talking only from the financial point of view, but also the market access of our enterprises,” the Albanian leader said, noting that the EU is lagging behind the U.S. and China...

Indict 2, Get None Free: 2 Taunton women indicted for counterfeit coupon ring, stealing $27K worth of goods

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:26 GMT

A grand jury has handed down indictments for two women who authorities say ran a counterfeit coupon ring that netted $27,000 worth of stolen goods.The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office announced on Tuesday that Jacqueline White, 41, and Crystal Travis, 40, were indicted on multiple larceny-related charges following a months-long investigation by police in Hingham, Abington and the Coupon Information Center (CIC), a non-profit that focuses on fighting coupon fraud.“The indictments allege that from March 10, 2023 through June 2, 2023, White and Travis entered numerous Stop and Shop grocery stores in Massachusetts, and used counterfeit coupons to steal approximately $26,547 of products,” the DA’s office stated in a news release. “The indictments further allege that White and Travis operated a complex scheme using social media sites and apps like Facebook and Dropbox to purchase counterfeit coupons.”Authorities said the two women would allege...

Millions more workers would be entitled to overtime pay under a proposed Biden administration rule

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:26 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The Biden administration will propose a new rule Tuesday that would make 3.6 million more U.S. workers eligible for overtime pay, reviving an Obama-era policy effort that was ultimately scuttled in court.The new rule, shared with The Associated Press ahead of the announcement, would require employers to pay overtime to so-called white collar workers who make less than $55,000 a year. That’s up from the current threshold of $35,568, which has been in place since 2019 when Trump administration raised it from $23,660. In another significant change, the rule proposes automatic increases to the salary level each year.Labor advocates and liberal lawmakers have long pushed a strong expansion of overtime protections, which have sharply eroded over the past decades due to wage stagnation and inflation. The new rule, which is subject to a publicly commentary period and wouldn’t take effect for months, would have the biggest impact on retail, food, hospita...

Howie Carr: Police reform report arresting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:26 GMT

It’s great to be a cop – at least a politically connected cop.Of course, if you’re a cop who’s not wired, you might as well be wearing a red MAGA cap, because they’re going to throw the book at you, or at least try to make your life miserable for a while.That’s my first takeaway from reading the 318-page report from the new MA Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission.It details more than 3000 disciplinary proceedings against cops, and once again, the old saying seems to apply:“In the halls of justice, the only justice is in the halls.”First thing that’s obvious: the Mass. State Police motto should be “Omerta” – silence.I heard this spring from a guy who’s been all tangled up in a family domestic dispute with a state cop. He complained to what is called the Office of Professional Integrity and Accountability (don’t laugh; not a joke!) claiming that this trooper had been running his family’s license plates, compulsively.The guy showed me the official letter he got years ...

Callahan: The Patriots failed to help Mac Jones this offseason and paid for it on cutdown day

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:26 GMT

After Tuesday’s flurry of 53-man roster cuts, only one player will report to the Patriots’ quarterbacks room Wednesday morning.Just two players will walk into the running backs meeting.And close to a dozen, in fact 11, hulking, giant, sweaty offensive linemen will rumble into their own sitdown with new coach Adrian Klemm.How did we get here? How did the Patriots get here?Go back to March. Armed with more cap space than virtually the entire league, the Pats went bargain shopping at offensive tackle.Riley Reiff signed a one-year, $5 million deal. Calvin Anderson inked a two-year contract with a maximum value of $7 million. Conor McDermott re-signed with the Pats before he could even hit the open market.Now? Reiff is hurt because he was forced to play in the preseason finale at a new position. McDermott is out for the year, also hurt. And Anderson recently recovered from a serious illness that wiped out his entire training camp and once had him worried about his future in f...