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Not just Qatargate: Eva Kaili also faces probe into EU kickbacks scheme

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:18:19 GMT

Qatargate aside, Eva Kaili is facing a world of pain for a different reason altogether. Documents seen by POLITICO reveal fresh details about a separate criminal investigation that the Greek EU lawmaker is facing regarding allegedly fraudulent payments involving four former assistants in the European Parliament from 2014 to 2020. The probe is looking at Kaili for three potential fraudulent activities: whether she misled Parliament about her assistants’ location and work activities; took a cut of their reimbursements for “fake” work trips she orchestrated; and also took kickbacks from part of their salaries, according to a letter from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) to Parliament President Roberta Metsola, seen by POLITICO. Another Greek EU lawmaker, Maria Spyraki, has also been part of the same probe. Investigators accuse her of misleading the institution about her assistants’ activities and of telling them to file expenses for fake work trips. However,...

Police locate wheelchair-accessible van stolen in Brockton 

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:18:19 GMT

Police have found a wheelchair-accessible van stolen from a mother in Brockton over the weekend. 7NEWS spoke with Sandra Tavares, who said her van was taken from a spot in front of her home on Saturday. Two days later, she reacted to news that she will get the van back.“I feel like I take a big piece of rock from my shoulder,” Tavares said. “I have legs and arms now.”The van is specially-equipped for Tavares’ severely disabled son and his wheelchair. Tavares said she left it running in front of her house for a couple of minutes as she ran inside to get her wallet before running errands this weekend. Surveillance video then showed three people approaching and getting into the van before taking off. Tavares said police called her Monday night to let her know they found the van ditched just a couple of minutes from her house. The van does have some exterior damage, though the damage does not impact the wheelchair accessibility. Speaking Monday night, Tavar...

Jimmy Butler’s record-setting 56 points power Heat past Bucks 119-114, to stunning 3-1 series lead

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:18:19 GMT

In a building where Dwyane Wade dazzled, Shaquille O’Neal dominated and LeBron James devastated, Jimmy Butler outdid them all Monday night.Scoring 56 points, the most in Miami Heat playoff history, Butler led a heart-stopping fourth-quarter rally from 12 down with 5:57 to play to position the Heat within one victory of eliminating the No. 1-seeded Milwaukee Bucks from the postseason.Even with Giannis Antetokounmpo returning from a back injury to close with a triple-double, there was no stopping Butler and the Heat from moving to a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series.Simply put, Monday night’s 119-114 Heat victory at Kaseya Center was pure Butler, a single-minded player putting his imprint on a playoff night in a way the Wade, O’Neal or even James had not before.He simply refused to lose.So he didn’t.“My teammates kept feeding me the ball,” he said, “telling me to attack.”Butler’s 56 were seven off Mich...

Chicago White Sox drop 9 games under .500 with their 5th straight loss, falling 5-2 to the Toronto Blue Jays

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:18:19 GMT

Luis Robert Jr. ran back to the center-field wall, jumped and made a remarkable catch to rob Matt Chapman of a home run in the fourth inning Monday at Rogers Centre.Cavan Biggio made sure no Chicago White Sox outfielder would duplicate the feat in his at-bat later in the inning, lining a three-run homer to right.The Sox went from leading to losing on Biggio’s homer and never recovered, falling 5-2 to the Toronto Blue Jays in front of 26,293.The slide continues for the Sox, who lost their fifth straight. They have dropped seven of eight and 10 of 12.“Everybody’s doing everything they can day in, day out to try to get better,” Sox starter Lance Lynn said. “Doing everything we can to prepare. Hopefully we keep doing that and things will turn our way.”The offensive struggles continue as the Sox were held to three hits for the second straight game.“Pitchers are good,” first baseman Andrew Vaughn said. “They can move the ball real effe...

Black history class to undergo changes, College Board says

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:18:19 GMT

The College Board has announced changes will be made to the new AP African American course framework amid criticism earlier this year that the agency bowed to political pressure and removed several topics from the framework, including Black Lives Matter, slavery reparations and queer life. In a statement on Monday, the College Board said the development committee and experts charged with creating the course framework “have decided they will make changes to the latest course framework during this pilot phase. They will determine the details of those changes over the next few months.”It remains unclear what the changes are or when they will be made public.The course gained national attention in February when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2024, said he would ban the course in his state because it pushed a political agenda.“In the state of Florida, our education standards not only don’t prevent, but they require teaching Black history, all th...

Over 1,000 migrants reach Italian isle; 23 reported missing

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:18:19 GMT

ROME (AP) — With the return of calm seas, migrant smugglers launched dozens of boats from Tunisia during the weekend and some 1,200 people ended up on a tiny Italian island while several were reported missing at sea, the Italian Coast Guard said Monday.Coast guard officials said in a statement that they responded to 35 boats that had left Tunisia, three of which came to grief.In one shipwreck some 20 nautical miles off Lampedusa island coast guard and border police vessels said three migrants were missing. In a second, in Malta’s search-and-rescue area, survivors said some 20 people were missing, while in the third, also in Malta’s rescue area, Italian rescuers recovered a man’s body, the Coast Guard said.Some 20 more boats crowded with migrants were in the sea Monday night, it said.The coast guard said air and naval assets of the Coast Guard, the Border Police, the European border protection agency Frontex as well as a humanitarian organization were involved in th...

India will be most populous country by month’s end, UN says

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:18:19 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — India will be the world’s most populous country by the end of this month, eclipsing an aging China, the United Nations said Monday. The milestone raises questions about whether India can repeat the economic success that has made China central to the world’s economy and a leading global power.The news comes at a moment when India is promoting itself as a rising international player as the host of this year’s Group of 20 summit. It’s also becoming a more attractive destination for multinational companies seeking to reduce their reliance on China. By the end of April, India’s population is expected to reach 1.425 billion, which means it will match and then surpass mainland China’s, the U.N.’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs said in a statement. The forecast is based on their latest estimates of global population. It’s not clear exactly when India’s population will pass China’s. It may have already have done so. Demographers say the limits of...

Leafs erase three-goal third-period deficit, stun Bolts 5-4 in OT for 3-1 series lead

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:18:19 GMT

Alexander Kerfoot scored on a power play at 4:14 of overtime as the Toronto Maple Leafs roared back from a 4-1 deficit in the third period to defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-4 on Monday and take a commanding 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.With Mikaeil Sergachev in the penalty box for tripping, Kerfoot tipped a Mark Giordano point shot for his first goal of the series and move the Leafs to within one victory of their first series victory since 2004.Auston Matthews, with two goals, Morgan Rielly and Noel Acciari also scored for Toronto. Ilya Samsonov made 27 stops for the Leafs, who improved to 2-17 over their last 19 post-season contests when leading a series.William Nylander had three assists, while Mitch Marner and Ryan O’Reilly each had two for Toronto, which famously botched a 4-1 lead in the third period of Game 7 against the Boston Bruins in 2013 before losing in OT.Alex Killorn scored twice for Tampa, while Sergachev, with a goal and an assist, and Steven ...

Asylum seekers shuffled between CPD police stations as area shelters reach capacity

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:18:19 GMT

CHICAGO — The 14th District police station is one of several in the city where asylum seekers could be seen camping out Monday evening as Chicago-area shelters reach capacity.The Fraternal Order of Police told WGN that there are other city resources and departments that should be taking care of this, but instead, it's been left solely with CPD to handle."Apparently the police department is now a homeless shelter and taxi service," said Chicago FOP President John Catanzara. "We’ve been receiving calls for the better part of a week plus now about this issue, that’s only getting worse." Vigil held on 4th anniversary of the murder of Marlen Ochoa Lopez, baby cut from womb A Venezuelan mother who spoke to WGN, who only wanted to be identified by her first name, Anngimar, said she has been taken back and forth between the 8th and 14th District police stations with her two daughters."They’re just shuffling them around from station to station," Catanzara said. "they’re not doing anything ...

Powerful geomagnetic storm triggers Northern Lights Sunday night; Tuesday's "NE" winds deliver March-level chill Tuesday/Wednesday; modest Thursday/ Friday warming but another cool, cloudy, showery weekend ahead

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:18:19 GMT

2023 — severe weather season off to quite a startQuieter weather ahead this week given the cool pattern underway—expected to last into next weekAn interesting post and analysis on the Chicago 2023 SEVERE WEATHER SCENE from my NWS-Chicago colleagues who report in a post today (Monday):“Our local severe weather season is off to a very active start. We’ve already seen 10 more tornadoes than the annual average, and saw several rounds of damaging wind and hail storms in March and April. Our typical peak of the severe weather season is May through June.”A MAJOR "G4" INTENSITY GEOMAGNETIC STORMSunday night set off a spectacular Northern Lights display visible in places far south of regions most often able to see Auroral displays in the Northern Hemisphere—Auroras were reported in Europe and in Australia in the Southern HemisphereMost often, auroral displays are seen across Alaska, Canada and Scandanavia. But last night's displays were visible much farther south.Robert Steenburgh, space wea...