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US imposes new sanctions related to gold dealing to fund Wagner Group

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:28 GMT

(CNN) — The US Treasury Department on Tuesday imposed sanctions on four companies involved in “gold dealing” and one person they say made “weapons deals” tied to the Wagner Group.The announcement of the sanctions comes days after the short-lived mutiny led by the head of the mercenary group’s leader, Yevegny Prigozhin.They target companies in Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and the Central African Republic that “have engaged in illicit gold dealings to fund the Wagner Group to sustain and expand its armed forces, including in Ukraine and Africa.”The targeted individual, Andrey Nikolayevich Ivanov (Ivanov), is a Russian executive in the Wagner Group who “worked closely with Prigozhin’s entity Africa Politology and senior Malian government officials on weapons deals, mining concerns, and other Wagner Group activities in Mali,” according to a Treasury Department release.“The Wagner Group funds its brutal operations in part by exploiting natural resources in countries l...

Recipe: Take advantage of apricot season by making this dessert

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:28 GMT

If I was granted the ability to change life spans, I’d start with dogs and apricots. In my book, dogs have far too few years. Most dog lovers would agree that 10 to 13 years is not enough. And as for apricots, perhaps my favorite stone fruit, the season is way too short. OK, maybe not a life span, but they disappear too soon. Each year,  I make the most of them in the short time they are available.Apricot’s juicy flesh looks like deep-pile velvet. The taste, enhanced by flowery perfume, is a perfect balance of sweet and tart flavors. They are delicious paired with blueberries in a delectable galette.Galettes are much easier and faster to prepare than pies. The dough, quickly prepared in a food processor, is rolled out and roughly folded over the sides of the sugar-coated fruit. Easy peasy.Easy Apricot and Blueberry GaletteYield: 6 servingsINGREDIENTS1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more flour for rolling dough1/2 teaspoon salt10 tablespoons unsalted cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch ...

Europe dealing with flight disruptions as strikes impact air travel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:28 GMT

Donald Wood | TravelPulse (TNS)Europe remains one of the most popular summer travel destinations for 2023, but potential strikes among security officers, air traffic controllers and pilots could impact travel through July and August.According to Reuters.com, the United Kingdom avoided potential issues early in the summer season as the Unite union postponed a strike at Heathrow Airport in London after a more lucrative contract was offered.In addition, around 100 security officers and terminal technicians at Birmingham Airport were considering strike action, a move that could “severely impact the airport’s operations.”In France, strikes by air traffic controllers led to delays and limited flights, including airlines canceling a third of their scheduled services on a day early in June due to a planned strike. As a result of the uncertainty, the number of flights to top French destinations like Lyon, Marseille and Nice have been reduced by as much as 20%.The Italian aviation sector is d...

Trump aide unable to make Miami court appearance on documents due to flight delays

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:28 GMT

By David Lyons, South Florida Sun SentinelWaltine Nauta, the only co-defendant of Donald Trump in the federal government’s classified documents case against the former president, missed his scheduled arraignment in Miami on Tuesday because bad weather caused cancellation of his flight to Miami, his lawyer said before a magistrate.Washington, D.C.-based attorney Stanley Woodward also informed the judge that his client has yet to hire a local lawyer, which will allow him to proceed in the Florida case, and the judge set a new arraignment date of July 6.Woodward told the court that he himself had a difficult time booking a flight back to Washington, where he is based. The short hearing unfolded before an audience mostly of news media.Nauta, 40, had appeared in a Miami federal court June 13 with Trump, who pleaded not guilty to charges of improper handling of classified papers and obstruction of justice in a 37-count indictment. But Nauta did not enter a plea because he lacked a local l...

Trump and DeSantis trade barbs while staging dueling New Hampshire campaign events

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:28 GMT

By MICHELLE L. PRICE, HOLLY RAMER and WILL WEISSERT (Associated Press)HOLLIS, N.H. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump traded barbs on Tuesday as the two leading Republican White House candidates staged dueling events in the critical early voting state of New Hampshire. Addressing a town hall in Hollis, DeSantis vowed to “actually” build the U.S.-Mexico border wall that Trump tried but failed to complete in his first term while pledging to tear down Washington’s traditional power centers in ways that Trump fell short.Speaking later at a Republican women’s luncheon in the state capital of Concord, Trump countered that DeSantis was being forced to settle for second place in the primary and accused the governor of supporting cuts to Social Security, Medicare and other entitlement programs as a way to tame federal spending.Beyond the rhetoric, the conflicting events demonstrated each candidate’s evolving strategy. DeSant...

9 books that combine reading and the outdoors

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:28 GMT

Today we’ve got suggestions for books that combine reading and outdoor activities and a roundup of nature guides that help your family explore our natural environment and its inhabitants.“Busco: We are all just mutts after all”: by Robert J. Kowalski, illustrated by Larisa Ivankovic (Independently Published, $14)Busco is a mutt who escapes from an animal shelter and wanders far away to a place where he sees big and small dogs happily playing in a park. Sleeping in the forest every night, Busco wishes he could join the fun but he’s afraid he won’t be accepted because of his mixed-color coat. Then the dog angels help him meet a little girl who’s also lonely. Together they enter the park, and Busco frolics in the water with the other dogs, who don’t care what Busco or any other of their friends looks like. Kowalski, a St. Paul native, made his writing debut with “Jaycee: A Heroine’s Journey,” a novel about what the world would be like if Jesus had been born a woman. After Kowalski comp...

‘Blindsided’: State slams BPS over O’Bryant plans

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:28 GMT

Education Commissioner Jeff Riley blasted the proposal by Boston Public Schools to move the highly rated O’Bryant School to West Roxbury, saying state officials were “blindsided” by the announcement.Riley ticked off a host of issues the district is grappling with under a mandatory improvement plan signed with the state and said the best grade he could offer on those agreed upon goals would be an “incomplete.”“Well, we were candidly blindsided by a major plan for high schools that seemed half-baked at best,” Riley told the state Education Board. “Worse, it seems that neither DESE nor relevant stakeholders and that includes parents, teachers and some School Committee members were given any heads up about it before it was announced.”Riley delivered the animated comments during his commissioner’s update at Tuesday’s meeting of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.The remarks come three weeks after Mayor Michelle Wu and School Superintendent Mary Skipper announced they’r...

Chicago’s air quality is worst in the world after Canadian wildfire smoke blankets the region, global pollution index shows

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:28 GMT

By Vivian La, Jenna Smith and Deanese Williams-Harris, Chicago TribuneThick smoke from Canadian wildfires coated Chicago and the surrounding areas with haze as weather officials issued an air quality alert for parts of the Great Lakes, Lower Mississippi and Ohio valleys Tuesday morning.According to the monitoring site IQAir, Chicago had the worst air quality out of 95 cities worldwide Tuesday.As of 11 a.m., the air quality index had risen to a level considered “very unhealthy,” according to AirNow, a website that combines data from county, state and federal air quality agencies nationwide. This means everyone is at risk of experiencing health effects.Joggers run along the shoreline of Lake Michigan with heavy smoke from the Canadian wildfires in the background, on June 27, 2023, in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)Lake breezes would bring more smoke Tuesday afternoon, creating hazy conditions, said Zachary Yack, meteorologist with the National Weat...

1 person killed in City Heights shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:28 GMT

SAN DIEGO — One person was killed Tuesday in a shooting in the City Heights neighborhood, police say.The shooting happened around 11 a.m. in the area near 40th and Thorn streets, according to San Diego police.The victim was taken to Scripps Mercy Hospital. Around 12 p.m., SDPD confirmed to FOX 5 that the victim had died from their injuries. 3 Camp Pendleton Marines among 4 dead in fiery crash on I-5 Officials have blocked off 40th Street from Thorn Street to Redwood Street as they investigate the incident.Police did not immediately release any information regarding a suspect in the shooting.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Future infrastructure funding to require climate change be taken into account

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:28 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada’s new national climate adaptation strategy will tie future federal infrastructure transfers to the provinces to projects that incorporate adaptation efforts starting next year.By 2025, provinces and territories will also have to build climate resilience into recovery efforts to get federal help after a disaster.The strategy was finalized Tuesday, at a time when most Canadians have already directly experienced the changing weather patterns of global warming.“We all recognize Canada is not ready to face the impacts of climate change,” Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said as he presented the final strategy at a news conference in Vancouver.He said while Canada must do more to slow climate change by cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions, it also must accept that we need to adapt our lives to the changes that have already happened. The costs to people and the economy are already steep.In 2021, severe weather caused $2.1 billion in insured damag...