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UN Security Council to discuss Nagorno-Karabakh crisis amid genocide warnings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:08 GMT

YEREVAN — The U.N. Security Council has scheduled an emergency meeting to discuss the worsening humanitarian situation in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, after Armenia urged the international community to help end Azerbaijan’s months-long blockade of the isolated territory.A schedule for the work of the Security Council, published late Monday night, confirmed that the appeal will be discussed on Wednesday. Armenia’s ambassador to the U.N., Mher Margaryan, last week wrote to the international conflict resolution body to warn Nagorno-Karabakh is “on the verge of a full-fledged humanitarian catastrophe.” The country’s Foreign Minister, Ararat Mirzoyan, will fly to New York to take part in the session.Inside Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized borders, the mountainous region is home to tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians, governed autonomously as an unrecognized, self-declared state since the fall of the Soviet Union. In 2020, the Azerbaijani gove...

Tractor-trailer truck crash closes all of Mass Pike eastbound in Framingham

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:08 GMT

Authorities say a crash involving a jackknifed tractor-trailer truck in Framingham is causing backups on the Mass Pike.MassDOT officials said on Twitter that as of 11 a.m., the crash was blocking all lanes of travel on the eastbound side of I-90 at mile marker 112.Authorities have not yet said whether there were any injuries or if other vehicles were involved in the crash.This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.https://twitter.com/MassDOT/status/1691464114923859968

Mother of 6-year-old who shot first-grade teacher pleads guilty to state charge of felony child neglect

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:08 GMT

(CNN) — Deja Taylor, the mother of the 6-year-old who shot his first-grade teacher in January, pleaded guilty to a charge of felony child neglect Tuesday.The charge has a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison. However, per a plea agreement, prosecutors have said they will not seek a punishment beyond the sentencing guidelines of six months.Judge Chris Papile said he reserves the right to sentence outside that recommendation.Taylor’s 6-year-old son shot his teacher, Abigail Zwerner, on January 6 at Richneck Elementary School leaving her with gunshots wounds to her hand and chest.As part of a plea deal, Taylor has also pleaded guilty to federal gun charges. Sentencing on those charges will take place in October.Taylor’s sentencing on the state charge is scheduled for October 27.Taylor purchased the gun and stored in the top shelf of her bedroom closet, secured by a trigger lock, her attorney James Ellenson told CNN in January. Police said her son brought th...

MBTA’s Chief Safety Officer to resign

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:08 GMT

One of the top safety officials at the MBTA will depart the transportation authority at the end of the month.In a message to MBTA employee, General Manager Phillip Eng announced that Chief Safety Officer Ron Ester would resign from his role effective Aug. 30.Ester previously worked at the Chicago Transit Authority before joining the MBTA three years ago, and played a role in “implementing recommendations, policies and practices following the 2019 Safety Panel Report, including the Safety Management System, our COVID response efforts and recovery, and the subsequent FTA Safety Management Inspection,” Eng stated.“I am grateful for Ron’s service to the MBTA. He has made a real difference in the safety of our system, and he will be missed,” Eng stated.Ester’s departure comes after the MBTA faced a slew of calls for action by the Federal Transit Administration, including orders to review numerous close-calls between trains and workers, cases of runaway train...

Who’s next in line if Yankees’ depleted rotation needs another starter?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:08 GMT

ATLANTA — When the Yankees announced that Luis Severino would start against the Braves’ juggernaut lineup on Tuesday, many had a reasonable reaction.Why?Severino has been a disaster this season, which he’s called “the worst year of my life in baseball.” He’s also described himself as “the worst pitcher in the game.” With an 8.06 ERA entering Tuesday’s contest, he’s not far off.But the Yankees continue to send Severino to the mound each turn through the rotation. While he followed an opener his last time out on Aug. 9 — which predictably made no difference — the Yankees have, in some shape or form, stuck with the embattled starter.The truth is, they no longer have much of a choice.The Yankees’ rotation hasn’t been healthy all season, making Severino a cat with nine lives. The team is currently without Nestor Cortes, who may not return from a rotator cuff strain, and Carlos Rodón, who is expected ...

Mother of 6-year-old who shot first-grade teacher pleads guilty to child neglect

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:08 GMT

NEWPORT NEWS — The mother of a 6-year-old boy who garnered national headlines earlier this year when her son shot his first-grade teacher during class pleaded guilty Tuesday to a single count of felony child neglect.It was the second time in the past two months that Deja Nicole Taylor entered a guilty plea to charges relating to the Jan. 6 shooting of Richneck Elementary School teacher Abby Zwerner. The shot struck the 25-year-old educator in her hand and chest and left her seriously injured.In June, Taylor pleaded guilty in federal court to having a firearm while also possessing marijuana and lying on a federal gun background check about her drug use. She’s due to be sentenced in that case Oct. 18. Though the federal charges carry up to 25 years combined, prosecutors have agreed to ask for a term within the federal sentencing guidelines — between 18 months and two years.The child neglect count Taylor pleaded guilty to on Tuesday carries a maximum penalty of five years in pris...

US universities launch partnership to elevate free speech to counter threats to democracy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:08 GMT

The presidents of a wide-ranging group of 13 universities are elevating free speech on their campuses this academic year, as part of a new nonprofit initiative announced Tuesday to combat what organizers call dire threats to U.S. democracy.The Campus Call for Free Expression will take different forms on different campuses. The campaign, created by The Institute for Citizens & Scholars with funding from the Knight Foundation is designed to cultivate the freedom of expression on campuses and help students work together to find solutions to complicated, divisive problems.“The national context of the deep political polarization, the inability of people to speak across difference in constructive and civil ways, it seems to me that colleges and universities need to be the institutions at the forefront of showing a better way to do that,” said Jonathan Alger, president of James Madison University, which is participating in the initiative. The Institute for Citizens & Scholars first...

Cash incentives offered to Nova Scotia businesses that promote the ‘Gaelic brand’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:08 GMT

HALIFAX — The Nova Scotia government is offering up to $1,000 to businesses that promote the Gaelic language and culture.Among other things, the Gaelic Business Initiative encourages businesses to hire Gaelic-speaking employees and incorporate Gaelic into their marketing and advertising.For example, restaurants could promote the use of Gaelic by providing English and Gaelic menus or offering discounts to those who order in Gaelic.The provincial government says that among the one million people who call Nova Scotia home, about 230,000 are descendants of Gaelic settlers who started arriving in the 1700s.Despite the Gaels long and colourful history in Nova Scotia, there are only about 2,000 Gaelic speakers left.The new pilot project will cover up to 50 per cent of the cost of events and activities that promote the “Gaelic brand,” which could include hosting cultural events, music sessions and storytelling.Applicants are being asked to come up with projects that will increas...

Canada Post driver charged in crash that critically injured York police officer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:08 GMT

A Canada Post driver has been charged in a collision that critically injured a York Regional Police officer two months ago near the Toronto and Markham border.Emergency crews responded to a collision on Steeles Avenue near Highway 404 around 2:40 a.m. on Wednesday, June 14.Police told CityNews a Canada Post truck struck a parked York Regional Police cruiser after an officer had completed a traffic stop involving another vehicle. The on-duty officer was back in his car when it was rear-ended by the mail truck.A male officer, the lone occupant in the cruiser, was taken to hospital with serious injuries. The injuries were later upgraded to life-threatening.The driver of the Canada Post truck remained at the scene and cooperated with the investigation.On Tuesday, police charged the driver, a 45-year-old Brampton man, with careless driving causing bodily harm under the Highway Traffic Act.Authorities did not provide additional information on the officer’s current condition. ...

Ontario Liberals to hold five leadership debates, starting Sept. 14 in Thunder Bay

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:08 GMT

The Ontario Liberals are set to hold five debates in the race to choose their next leader, starting with an event next month in Thunder Bay.Candidates must register by Sept. 5, and there are so far five contenders: Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie, Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith, Liberal MP and former provincial cabinet minister Yasir Naqvi, and current provincial Liberal caucus members Ted Hsu and Adil Shamji.RELATED: Ontario Liberal Party to announce new leader on Dec. 2The party announced Tuesday that debates for the leadership candidates will be held Sept. 14 in Thunder Bay, Oct. 1 in Stratford, Oct. 24 in Toronto, Nov. 8 in Ottawa and either Nov. 18 or 19 in Brampton.Party members are set to cast their ranked ballots on the weekend of Nov. 25 and the winner is to be unveiled Dec. 2.The next leader will have the task of rebuilding the party after it failed in two consecutive elections to win enough seats to get official party status in the legislature.RELATED: Ontario Liberals ap...