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Lithuanian MEP funded disinformation portal: report

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:06 GMT

Viktor Uspaskichas, a non-attached Lithuanian lawmaker in the European Parliament, has financially supported the new social media platform 77.lt — home to many fake news and conspiracy theories about, for example, the coronavirus pandemic or Ukraine — according to an investigation from national broadcaster LRT. The alternative news portal was launched in April to foster a “decentralized social platform that respects the privacy of its members, does not censor the diversity of opinions, and protects the importance of free speech” in a bid to “create a counterweight to the one-sided mass media.”But the platform is mostly powered by fake profiles, LTR found. “Analysis shows they are not genuine profiles — their photos are usually generated by artificial intelligence and they share multiple posts simultaneously on their feeds,” it said. The report also found that Uspaskichas, who is also the former leader of Lithuania’s Labour Party, and his for...

‘Everyone jumped in to help’: Owner of Laconia, NH bar recalls crash that left dozens hurt, 14 hospitalized

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:06 GMT

Police are investigating after a vehicle crashed into a bar in Laconia, New Hampshire, on Sunday, leaving dozens of people injured and 14 hospitalized, officials said.Officers responding to a report of a vehicle into a building at 554 Endicott St. around 12:45 p.m. found a four-door sedan inside the Looney Bin Bar & Grill with numerous people injured, according to the Laconia Fire Department.Fourteen of the injured were taken to Laconia Hospital in Concord, Concord Hospital, and Franklin Hospital. Two of the patients who were transported had significant lower leg injuries, the others had lacerations. Twenty people were evaluated at the scene and didn’t require medical transport.The owner, Michelle Watson, told 7NEWS it was a miracle that no one was killed and credited patrons with springing into action to help the wounded.“I’m just so grateful that everyone’s OK,” she said, adding that the most seriously injured person became pinned in the bathroom....

Police: Passenger arrested on weapons charge after crash involving cruiser in Jamaica Plain

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:06 GMT

A man is facing criminal charges after police say he threw a gun into a cemetery in Jamaica Plain after the vehicle he was riding in struck a police cruiser on Sunday.Police say the man tossed the illegal firearm following the crash near Canterbury Street.No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Lucas: Ron DeSantis visiting Massachusetts would help his New Hampshire campaign

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:06 GMT

Memo to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.If you want to beat fellow Republican Donald Trump in New Hampshire, come to Massachusetts.Once here you can campaign on promising, if elected president, to build two new Cape Cod Bridges to replace the functionally obsolete Bourne and Sagamore, which is something Massachusetts politicians have failed to do.If you do so, the progressive Democrats on Martha’s Vineyard might even thank you for it and throw you an all is forgiven fundraiser.Even the 50 illegal immigrants, mostly Venezuelans, that you flew into toney Martha’s Vineyard from Texas last year might, out of gratitude, attend. After all, they are doing so well in Massachusetts that none of them have plans to return home.Perhaps even Barack Obama and John Kerry, who both have homes on MV, will silently be grateful, even though neither use the bridges, but fly in and out, unlike their help.A Martha’s Vineyard fundraiser would show you are no stranger to the Cape or the Islands since you held a ...

Orioles reset: Baltimore’s ‘winning mentality’ was born a year ago with the first of 10 wins in a row

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:06 GMT

If history is set to repeat itself, the Orioles might be on the verge of a long winning streak.Last week, Baltimore lost its final two games against the Cincinnati Reds and then its first two versus the Minnesota Twins, only to avoid a sweep with a close win. The last time they broke a four-game losing streak with a win over the Twins, the turning point in the organization’s rebuild followed.Monday is the one-year anniversary of the Orioles’ first win in their 10-game winning streak last July. The improbable streak, which contained eight wins of three or fewer runs and three in walk-off fashion, catapulted the Orioles from a rebuilding team expected to finish in the basement of the American League into a playoff contender.The players who slogged through the rebuild and reached the light at the end of the tunnel say the winning streak started something that has carried over into this season — a throughline from the walk-off wins and bedlam at Camden Yards last July ...

Marcus Smart blindsided by trade from Celtics: ‘It was definitely shocking’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:06 GMT

Marcus Smart went to sleep on June 21 still a member of the Celtics and fully expected it to stay that way when he woke up.But when he did wake up, the longtime Celtic was blindsided by the news.On Sunday, Smart spoke publicly for the first time since the Celtics traded him to the Grizzlies, as he talked to reporters at the Dana Barros Basketball Club in Stoughton, where he was given a Boston sendoff at his 14 League Pro-Am Tournament. The point guard said he learned about the trade after his agent called his fiancé, who woke him up to tell him the stunning news.Smart didn’t expect it, mostly because he was just told it wouldn’t happen.“It was definitely shocking to find out that way, especially because the week before I was already told that we were good and there was no trade talks of me and I was good, so we were expecting that,” Smart told reporters. “But for me, I understand the business side of it. I’ve always been like that and anybody who knows me knows that I’m the first on...

Israel targets a West Bank militant stronghold with drones and troops, killing 7 Palestinians

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:06 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel used drones to strike targets in a militant stronghold in the occupied West Bank early Monday and deployed hundreds of troops in the area, in an incursion that resembled the wide-scale military operations carried out during the second Palestinian uprising two decades ago. Palestinian health officials said at least seven Palestinians were killed.Troops remained inside the Jenin refugee camp at midday Monday, pushing ahead with the largest operation in the area during more than a year of fighting. It came at a time of growing domestic pressure for a tough response to a series of attacks on Israeli settlers, including a shooting attack last week that killed four Israelis.Black smoke rose from the crowded streets of the camp and the buzzing of drones could be heard overhead as the military pressed on. Residents said electricity was cut off in some parts and military bulldozers were plowing through narrow streets, damaging buildings as they cleared the way for Isr...

International center opens to help hold Russian leadership accountable for aggression in Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:06 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — An international center opened Monday at the Hague to support those building cases against senior Russian leaders for the crime of aggression resulting from the country’s invasion of Ukraine.The International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine is the latest step in concerted worldwide efforts to hold the Russian leadership criminally responsible for its war against Ukraine last year, triggering Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.The center is based at the headquarters of the European Union’s judicial cooperation agency, Eurojust.Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said in a statement that the launch was “a clear signal that the world is united and unwavering on the path to holding the Russian regime accountable for all its crimes.”He added that there is “unfortunately, a gaping hole in accountability for the crime of aggression in the international criminal justice architecture.”The European Un...

UN chief urges maritime nations to chart course for net zero shipping emissions by 2050

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:06 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The head of the United Nations called Monday for maritime nations to agree on a course for the shipping industry to reduce its climate-harming emissions to net zero by the middle of the century at the latest.The appeal by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres came at the start of a meeting of the International Maritime Organization in London that’s seen as key for helping achieve the international goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit).“Shipping, which accounts for almost 3% of global emissions, will be vital,” Guterres said.He urged delegates to agree a new greenhouse gas strategy for shipping that includes “ambitious science-based targets starting in 2030 – both on absolute emissions reductions and the use of clean fuels.”The IMO’s current target is for the shipping industry to cut its emissions by at least half from 2008 to 2050. Guterres said the new targets should include all greenhouse gas emissions caused by the ind...

Stock market today: World shares are higher on optimism that price pressures may be easing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:06 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — World shares rose Monday as investors took heart from reports that show inflation is abating, which might enable the Federal Reserve to back away from interest rate hikes. U.S. futures were mixed and oil prices edged higher. Germany’s DAX added 0.3% to 16,187.06. In Paris, the CAC 40 edged up 0.1% to 7,406.82 and Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.3% to 7,553.25. The future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1% while that for the S&P 500 was up 0.1%. On Friday, S&P 500 climbed 1.2% to 4,450.38, its highest level since April 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8% and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.4%. U.S. trading is closed for half a day Monday and all of Tuesday for the Independence Day holiday. Investors are hoping price increases will ease enough for the Federal Reserve to soon halt its hikes to interest rates. That would mean less pressure for the U.S. economy and for global financial markets.A report on Friday showed a measure of in...