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NATO chief says no timetable set for Ukraine’s membership; Zelenskyy calls that ‘absurd’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:07 GMT

By CHRIS MEGERIAN, SEUNG MIN KIM and KARL RITTER (Associated Press)VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — NATO leaders agreed Tuesday to allow Ukraine to join “when allies agree and conditions are met,” hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blasted the organization’s failure to set a timetable for his country as “absurd.”“We reaffirmed Ukraine will become a member of NATO and agreed to remove the requirement for a membership action plan,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters, referring to a key step in joining the alliance.“This will change Ukraine’s membership path from a two-step path to a one-step path,” he said.Although many NATO members have funneled arms and ammunition to Zelenskyy’s forces, there is no consensus among the 31 allies for admitting Ukraine into NATO’s ranks. Instead, the alliance leaders decided to remove obstacles on Ukraine’s membership path so that it can join more quickly once the war with Russia is over.Zelenskyy pushed back sharply against the dec...

Cape Cod shark alerts: Great white sightings close to shore pop up on Sharktivity app

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:07 GMT

Cape Cod shark sightings were popping up on the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s Sharktivity app on Tuesday, as great white shark season hit full swing with multiple shark alerts.It felt like the busiest day of the Cape shark season so far, as more of the apex predators come north to the region to hunt for seals in the summer and fall.The busy day included a “Shark Alert” posted at 12:33 p.m. for an Orleans beach.“Shark spotted south of Callanan’s Pass, 500 ft offshore heading SE,” the alert on the Sharktivity app reads.Earlier in the day, a shark trying to feast on prey had been reported nearby.“Attempted predation — right in wash,” the shark sighting post reads.Then another shark alert was issued by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy for Jeremy Point off of Wellfleet just before 1 p.m.“Badly bitten seal on Jeremy Point tip,” the alert reads. “No sighting of a white shark.”Related ArticlesLocal News |...

You’re not too young to make a will

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:07 GMT

Making a will isn’t a task just for the old and wealthy. It’s also for the well-prepared.Recent years serve as a heavy reminder that you might not know when your last days are. Life expectancy in the U.S. dropped in both 2020 and 2021, driven by COVID-19 deaths and an increase in accidental deaths, according to the most recent data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Over 1 million people in the U.S. have died of COVID-19, according to the CDC. And in 2021, accidents or unintentional injuries were the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S., the organization found.It’s unlikely that you’ll die young. But if the unexpected happens, having a will in place — even if it feels like you don’t need one — can be a simple way to avoid leaving important decisions about your assets and guardianship wishes to your state’s laws and courts. It doesn’t have to cost thousands of dollars, either.What can happen if you don’t have a willIf you don’t have a will — call...

Live Updates | NATO allies pledge to spend 2% of GDP on their militaries, but set no timetable

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:07 GMT

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Follow along for updates on the summit of the NATO military alliance in Lithuania’s capital:What to know: — Turkey’s decision to end opposition to Sweden’s NATO membership boosts summit— Sweden’s rocky road from neutrality toward NATO membership— What is NATO doing to help Ukraine in the war with Russia?— Ukraine, defense plans and Sweden’s membership top summit agenda——NATO allies pledged Tuesday to spend at least 2% of their gross domestic product on their national military budgets but set no timeframe for achieving the goal.After Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, the organization agreed to halt spending cuts they had made after the Cold War and move toward spending 2% of GDP on defense within a decade.At their summit in Lithuania, the leaders set that percentage as a floor, rather than a ceiling for spending. But only 11 of the 31 NATO member countries are likely to reach that goal this year, according to the alliance’s latest est...

Embattled former national chief says AFN ‘has gone off the rails,’ as leaders meet

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:07 GMT

HALIFAX — The dramatic vote to remove RoseAnne Archibald as the first female leader of the largest First Nations advocacy organization in Canada “was not taken lightly,” its interim chief told a gathering on Tuesday, while some continued pushing for the ousted leader to be reinstated.Joanna Bernard, a regional chief from New Brunswick who was tapped to serve in the role temporarily, addressed the Assembly of First Nations for the first time since Archibald’s dramatic removal.“We know the decision was not taken lightly and was a result of careful consideration by the leadership and representatives of our nations,” Bernard said in Halifax at the AFN’s annual general assembly.She said that as interim chief, she is committed to maintaining stability. Bernard told chiefs that Archibald’s removal puts the organization in a period of transition, but said it has overcome many challenges before.Archibald, who was elected in 2021, was voted out during...

Stock market today: Wall Street ticks higher ahead of this week’s inflation report

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:07 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are ticking higher Tuesday as Wall Street waits for updates later in the week on inflation and corporate profits.The S&P 500 was 0.2% higher in afternoon trading and looks to be on track for another quiet day after a listless Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 202 points, or 0.6%, at 34,145, as of 1:32 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher.Salesforce helped to prop up indexes after climbing 3.5%. The company said it’s raising list prices for products by an average of 9%. Amazon was also pushing upward on the market, rising 1.1% on the first day of the annual Prime Day sales event it created. Activision Blizzard jumped 11.2% after a judge declined to stop Microsoft’s $69 billion takeover of the video game maker. The week’s main event will arrive on Wednesday, when the U.S. government will offer the latest update on inflation at the consumer level. Economists expect to see another slowdown, with prices 3.1% high...

Jurors hear opening statements in $165k casino heists trial of Las Vegas police officer

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:07 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jurors have begun hearing opening statements Tuesday morning in the trial of a Las Vegas police officer accused of a series of casino heists. Prosecutors for the federal government are expected to paint the officer as a gambling addict who carried out the robberies as his debts snowballed. Caleb Rogers, 35, allegedly stole nearly $165,000 from three casinos off the Las Vegas Strip over four months while his police colleagues were trying to catch the thief. Authorities have said Rogers was armed during at least one of the heists with a weapon issued by the police department he joined in 2015.Assistant U.S. attorney Daniel Cowhig told the jury in his opening statement that he planned to lay out a “roadmap of facts of the case,” in order “to prove to you he committed all three of these robberies.”Rogers, dressed in a gray suit with his hair pulled back into a low bun, showed no emotion as Cowhig revealed details of the case to the jury for the first time.Rogers’ ...

Smuggler sentenced to 12 years in deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants who suffocated in truck

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:07 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A Romanian man who was part of an international human smuggling ring was sentenced Tuesday to more than 12 years in prison for the deaths of 39 migrants from Vietnam who suffocated in a truck trailer on their way to England in 2019.Marius Mihai Draghici was the ringleader’s right-hand man and an “essential cog” in an operation that made huge profits exploiting people desperate to get to the U.K., Justice Neil Garnham said in Central Criminal Court known as the Old Bailey. Victims, who paid about 13,000 pounds ($16,770) for so-called VIP service, died after trying in vain to punch a hole in the container with a metal pole as the temperature inside exceeded 100 degrees F (38.5 C). Their desperation as they struggled to breathe was captured in messages they tried to send loved ones and and recordings that showed “a growing recognition they were going to die there,” Garnham said.There was no escape and no one could hear their cries, prosecutors said. Their fina...

Uncertain demand clouds future of Canada’s planned LNG exports, experts say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:07 GMT

VANCOUVER — Canadian liquefied natural gas projects looking to fill gaps in the global market left by the absence of Russian gas may run into more challenging conditions than expected, industry experts say.Officials from the LNG industry at an industry conference in Vancouver say the consensus among economists is that the gas shortage in Europe caused by the Ukraine war is unlikely to last beyond 10 years, while the rise of renewables will cut into demand from 2030 onward.Peter Abdo, chief commercial officer for LNG for German energy giant Uniper, told the conference his company is committed to entering into 10-year contracts with potential suppliers but will want “flexibility” with longer terms because of uncertainty over demand beyond a decade.Meanwhile, U.S.-based natural gas firm Tellurian’s president and CEO, Octavio Simoes, says the biggest opportunity opened by the European gas shortage is in Asia, with countries such as Germany paying more for LNG on the gl...

No winner in Monday Powerball drawing; jackpot now $725 million

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:07 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — No winning ticket drawn Monday means the Powerball jackpot is an estimated $725 million ahead of Wednesday’s drawing. No ticket matched the Monday drawing of white balls 7, 23, 24, 32, 43 and red Powerball 18. The new jackpot for Wednesday’s drawing is the seventh-highest in the history of the game. Ticket buyers have a chance at either $725 million paid out in yearly increments or a $366 million one-time lump sum before taxes. The game’s abysmal odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to build big prizes that draw more players. The all-time largest Powerball jackpot was $2.04 billion Powerball last November.The last time someone won the Powerball jackpot was April 19 for a $253 million prize. Since then, no one has won the grand prize in the past 35 consecutive drawings. Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Associated Press