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EU leaders approve using profits from frozen Russian assets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:43 GMT

BRUSSELS — EU leaders endorsed unprecedented plans to use profits generated by frozen Russian state assets for Ukraine reconstruction, and called on the European Commission to make legal proposals to that effect, according to European Council summit conclusions.“Decisive progress is needed, in coordination with partners, on how any extraordinary revenues held by private entities stemming directly from Russia’s immobilized assets could be directed to support Ukraine and its recovery and reconstruction, consistent with applicable contractual obligations, and in accordance with EU and international law. The European Council calls on the High Representative and the Commission to accelerate work with a view to submitting proposals,” they wrote.Of around $300 billion of Russian foreign reserves frozen by countries participating in sanctions at the onset of Moscow’s war on Ukraine, the majority — more than €200 billion — sit in the EU. As Russian securities reach mat...

Macron to Israel: Fight terrorism, don’t endanger civilians

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:43 GMT

French President Emmanuel Macron urged Israel to better target its response to Hamas terror attacks to ensure the protection of civilians in the Gaza Strip.“We fully recognize [Israel’s] right and the legitimate will to fight terrorism, we are ready to help. But we consider that a complete blockade, indiscriminate bombing and the prospect of a massive ground operation don’t protect the civilian population,” he said at a press conference after the EU leaders’ summit he just attended.“It is crucial that Israel acts in a targeted manner in Gaza, which means by fighting terrorism without endangering the lives of civilians.” In the weeks since the Hamas attack on October 7, Israel has retaliated with daily airstrikes on the blockaded Palestinian enclave, killing more than an estimated 7,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, which included 53 U.N. workers, whom Macron referenced, saying: “We can’t act as if nothing was happening. These ...

‘Obsolete’ European Parliament committee structure set for shake-up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:43 GMT

BRUSSELS — The European Parliament is planning to modernize the structure of its committees to keep pace with legislation emanating from the EU executive. Under the tentative plans, outlined in a September 13 “reflection paper,” the number of full committees would be slashed from 20 to 15, and include new dedicated panels on enlarging the EU, digital policies, health and defense.The paper was prepared by civil servants working for the Parliament and seen by POLITICO.“The world has changed, everything has changed, so has the way the Commission [presents] legislation with very huge and cross-cutting proposals and our structure cannot cope any more,” European Parliament Secretary-General Alessandro Chiocchetti told MEPs last month. “Our structures are obsolete.”One of the motivations behind the proposal is to neutralize time-consuming infighting between the MEPs chairing the committees over who takes charge of different legislative files that cr...

Authorities receive hundreds of tips, search new locations as manhunt for suspected Maine gunman continues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:43 GMT

(CNN) — Investigators searching for mass shooting suspect Robert Card have received more than 530 tips from the public, Maine’s public safety commissioner said Friday. But the “armed and dangerous” suspect accused of killing 18 people Wednesday remains at large, and crews are scrambling to find him by land, sea and air.While the manhunt intensifies, communities engulfed with grief are now riddled with anxiety. Two days after a gunman shot up a bowling alley and a bar, ravaging the tranquil city of Lewiston, residents across a 700-square-mile area were urged to keep sheltering in place Friday as authorities raced to find the suspect.A CNN team saw officers surrounding a greenhouse late Friday morning at Springworks Farm in Lisbon, which is less than a mile from a boat launch where Card’s vehicle was found. By around noon, officers had cleared the scene.Divers will be searching the water near the boat launch, Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck said F...

Rep. George Santos pleads not guilty to new charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:43 GMT

Washington (CNN) — Rep. George Santos pleaded not guilty in federal court Friday to 10 charges alleging he stole donors’ identities and ran up thousands of dollars in fraudulent charges on their credit cards, among other offenses.The New York Republican’s attorney Joseph Murray entered the not guilty plea on behalf of his client.US District Judge Joanna Seybert set a trial date for September 9, 2024.The 10 charges were unveiled in a superseding indictment filed earlier this month. It also includes allegations that the New York Republican embezzled cash from his company and conspired with his former campaign treasurer to falsify donation totals in order to hit fundraising targets set by national Republicans, among other offenses.This fresh round of charges brings the total number of counts against Santos to 23. The superseding indictment provided new and damaging details about Santos’ alleged efforts to personally profit through ...

Candy prices are up. Here’s why, and how to save on Halloween

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:43 GMT

By Cara Smith | NerdWalletForget the ghouls and ghosts — inflation is spooky enough. And it’s coming for your Halloween candies.Candy and gum prices rose 7.5% between September 2022 and September 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For context, the broader category of grocery prices increased 3.7% over that time frame.Why is candy so expensive?Beyond overall inflation, which rose 3.7% year over year since September 2023, there are a few more reasons why candy is so expensive right now. The cost of raw sugar reached an 11-year high in April, per CNBC, due to the effects of extreme weather on the crop, as well as rising demand.And a U.S. agricultural policy that requires 85% of sugar purchases to come from domestic processors is further tightening an already strained supply, according to The Wall Street Journal.Consumers are taking notice. In a survey of 1,000 U.S. households that celebrate Halloween, 41% of respondents said that inflation has impacted how much they pla...

Medical exceptions to abortion bans often exclude mental health conditions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:43 GMT

Nada Hassanein | (TNS) Stateline.orgIf you are in need of support, call or text the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262) for free, confidential and 24/7 support, or dial 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.____More than a dozen states now have near-total abortion bans following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, with limited medical exceptions meant to protect the patient’s health or life.But among those states, only Alabama explicitly includes “serious mental illness” as an allowable exception. Meanwhile, 10 states with near-total abortion bans (Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wyoming) explicitly exclude mental health conditions as legal exceptions, according to an analysis from KFF, a health policy research organization.Abortion rights advocates and mental health experts say those laws could put women’s lives at risk. A report released last year by the federal Centers for Disease Contro...

Tiny, rural hospitals feel the pinch as Medicare Advantage plans grow

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:43 GMT

Sarah Jane Tribble | (TNS) KFF Health NewsWhen several representatives from private health insurance companies called on him a few years ago to offer Medicare Advantage plan contracts so their enrollees could use his hospital, Bleak sent them away.“Come back to the table with a better offer,” the chief executive recalled telling them. The representatives haven’t returned.Battle Mountain is in north-central Nevada about a three-hour drive from Reno, and four hours from Salt Lake City. Bleak suspects insurance companies simply haven’t enrolled enough of the area’s seniors to need his hospital in their network.Medicare Advantage insurers are private companies that contract with the federal government to provide Medicare benefits to seniors in place of traditional Medicare. The plans have become dubious payers for many large and small hospitals, which report the insurers are often slow to pay or don’t pay.Private plans now cover more than half of all those eligible for Medicare. And whi...

The Chicago Bulls want to take more 3-pointers this season — but did they overcorrect in the opener?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:43 GMT

After their first game of the season, the Chicago Bulls faced a foreign question: Did they take too many 3-pointers?The Bulls took 42 3s in Wednesday’s 124-104 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. That’s higher than last season’s average attempts of all but two teams — the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors.For a team that finished last in 3-point shooting volume for two consecutive seasons, that might feel like a welcome change. But the Bulls also couldn’t make those attempts, finishing 12-for-42 (29.3%) in the loss.The stale shooting night forced the Bulls to consider whether they overcorrected.“It’s an interesting question, because I’ve been dealing with for the last two years. ‘We don’t take enough 3s. We need to take 40 3s.’ Now it’s about makes,” coach Billy Donovan said with a laugh after the loss. “For us, we’ve got to play through the paint and generally those 3s will come through ...

Israeli army says ground forces are ‘expanding’ activities in Gaza, where internet has collapsed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:43 GMT

By WAFAA SHURAFA, JOSEF FEDERMAN and BASSEM MROUE (Associated Press)DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Internet and phone services collapsed in the Gaza Strip under intensified bombardment Friday night, largely cutting off its 2.3 million people from the outside world and each other, as Israel’s military said it was “expanding” its ground operations in the besieged territory.The military’s announcement signaled it was moving closer to an all-out invasion of Gaza, where it has vowed to crush the ruling Hamas group after its bloody incursion in southern Israel three weeks ago. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.Frequent explosions from airstrikes lit up the sky over Gaza City after nightfall Friday, when the black-out in internet, cellular and landline services hit. The Red Crescent said it lost all contact with its operations room and medical teams. It said it feared people would no longer be able to contact ambulan...