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Academic arrested in Norway as a Moscow spy confirms his real, Russian name, officials say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:43 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — An academic who entered Norway as a Brazilian citizen and was arrested last year on suspicion of spying for Russia has confessed his real, Russian name, Norwegian authorities said Thursday. The man was detained in the Arctic city of Tromsoe, where he worked as a lecturer at the Arctic University of Norway. Norwegian media have said he called himself Jose Assis Giammaria.A prosecutor for Norway’s domestic security agency told The Associated Press that the suspect had confirmed his real name at a custody hearing last week. The suspect arrived in Norway in 2021, and has researched the northern regions and hybrid threats. Norway’s Arctic border with Russia is 198 kilometers (123 miles) long.However, Norwegian investigators believe he was in NATO-member Norway under a false name and identity while working for one of Russia’s intelligence services. Norwegian investigators have said his real name is Mikhail Mikushin. Mikushin, who has been transferred to detentio...

Guyana and Venezuela leaders meet face-to-face as region pushes to defuse territorial dispute

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:43 GMT

FILE - Guyana's President Mohamed Irfaan Ali arrives for the South American Summit at Itamaraty palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, May 30, 2023. Irfaan Ali has on Thursday, Aug 24, 2023, lashed out at the descendants of European slave traders and said those who profited from the cruel, trans-Atlantic slave trade should offer to pay reparations to today’s generations. (AP Photo/Gustavo Moreno, File)(AP/Gustavo Moreno) FILE - Guyana's President Mohamed Irfaan Ali arrives for the South American Summit at Itamaraty palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, May 30, 2023. Irfaan Ali has on Thursday, Aug 24, 2023, lashed out at the descendants of European slave traders and said those who profited from the cruel, trans-Atlantic slave trade should offer to pay reparations to ...

Stock market today: Wall Street up on hopes for relief from high rates; Dow heads for another record

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:43 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is rising again Thursday following its big rally the day before on excitement that several cuts to interest rates may indeed be coming next year, as hoped.The S&P 500 was 0.6% higher in early trading and within 1.3% of its all-time high set early last year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 93 points, or 0.3%, and on track to set a record for a second straight day, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite was 0.6% higher.Moderna jumped 13.3% after it reported encouraging data from a study of its treatment for high-risk melanoma that’s used with Merck’s Keytruda. That helped to offset a 6.4% slump for Adobe, which gave a forecast for 2024 revenue that fell short of analysts’ expectations.Stocks broadly have been shooting higher since October on hopes that inflation has cooled enough for the Federal Reserve to not only stop its market-rattling hikes to interest rates but to even begin considering cutting them. Those hopes strengthened We...

Police arrest driver involved in deadly hit-and-run of tree-trimmer on the Capital Beltway

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:43 GMT

Police have arrested the driver of a car that struck a contractor trimming trees in a work zone during a hit-and-run Wednesday on the Capital Beltway’s Inner Loop in Silver Spring, Maryland.On Thursday, Maryland State Police identified Jadien Ranard Jones, of Virginia, as the operator of a white 2021 Freightliner straight truck involved in the crash. Officials located the truck and the 39-year-old driver at The Home Depot Distribution Center in Sparrows Point, Maryland Wednesday afternoon.Police say the truck was driving eastbound just before 10:15 a.m. when it drove through a work zone in the area of Interstate 495 and Georgia Avenue. The truck then veered into the right shoulder, striking multiple traffic cones and the tree-trimmer before leaving the scene.Eric Lewis, 57, of D.C. was identified as the struck foreman, and he died at the scene of the crash.Lewis was a crew member of a mobile tree trimming operation contracted through the Maryland Department of Transportation S...

Use of ‘morning after’ pills doubles, teen sex declines in CDC survey

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:43 GMT

Watch Video: Opill will be first over-the-counter birth control pill sold in storesThe share of American women who say they have ever used emergency contraception after having sex has more than doubled since the so-called “morning after” or Plan B brand pills were approved to be sold without a prescription, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.The increase is among dozens of trends tracked in two reports now released from the CDC’s National Survey of Family Growth, examining survey results through 2019 on sex and birth control among teens as well as all women ages 15 to 44 years old.Among teens and adult women who have had sex, 26.6% told CDC’s survey through 2019 that they have ever turned to the emergency contraception pills, up from 10.8% in a previous round of the survey from 2006 through 2010.Among female teens who have had sex, 22.3% said they had ever used emergency contraception, up from 13.7% through 2010.While emergency ...

Putin says there will be no peace in Ukraine until Russia’s goals, still unchanged, are achieved

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:43 GMT

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting with judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation marking the national holiday celebrated on December 12 - Constitution Day, at the Novo-Ogaryovo State residence outside Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. (Mikhail Tereshchenko, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)(AP/Mikhail Tereshchenko) Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting with judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation marking the national holiday celebrated on December 12 - Constitution Day, at the Novo-Ogaryovo State residence outside Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. (Mikhail Tereshchenko, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)(AP/Mikhail Tereshchenko) ...

It's illegal to throw snowballs in these Colorado towns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:43 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — In many Colorado towns, it's illegal to throw snowballs. Balled-up snow that is playfully tossed in the winter is even considered a "missile" in a few towns. Why bridges, overpasses are more dangerous in the winter Some cities allow for playful snowball fights, while others downright ban it.AspenAccording to Sec. 15.04.210. in the town of Aspen, it's illegal to throw stones and snowballs as well as discharge guns and other missiles. The law explicitly states:"It shall be unlawful for any person to throw any stone, snowball or other missile or discharge any bow, blowgun, slingshot, gun, catapult or other device upon or at any vehicle, building or other public or private property or upon or at any person or in any public way or place which is public in nature."Surprisingly, Aspen isn't the only place where throwing snowballs is illegal. LovelandIn Loveland's municipal code, it's under 9.44.030 - throwing objects. It states, "It is unlawful for any person to throw any...

Miami International Airport launches free library book exchange for travelers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:43 GMT

Next time you check in at Miami International Airport, you will be able to check out new books for free to take with you on your flight. The airport has opened a new book exchange program located at their South Terminal between gates H5 and H7. Travelers can trade in their old books for new ones or grab a new book for free. ‘As an avid reader myself, I can’t wait to take advantage of this wonderful initiative that offers travelers the opportunity to read more, save a little and connect with others,” said Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “This is another example of how our MIA team is ready to go above and beyond to ensure our residents and visitors the best experience when traveling.’The book exchange idea emerged from Miami-Dade County Commissioner Raquel A. Regalado, Vice Chairwoman of the County’s Airport and Economic Development Committee as a way to strengthen the traveler’s experience at MIA. “I am delighted to see the impl...

Messi, Mbappé or Haaland to be FIFA best player in 2023. Women’s best is Bonmatí, Hermoso or Caicedo

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:43 GMT

ZURICH (AP) — The FIFA best men’s player award for 2023 will be another contest between Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland.FIFA announced the shortlist on Thursday with the same top three in the voting as for the Ballon d’Or prize that Messi won in October.Though the Ballon d’Or voting period included the 2022 World Cup won by a Messi-inspired Argentina, he had already won a seventh career FIFA award in February that rewarded his title-winning performances in Qatar.The women’s best player shortlist features two 2023 World Cup winners, Aitana Bonmatí and Jenni Hermoso of Spain, plus Linda Caicedo of Colombia.The FIFA men’s award for 2023 includes Haaland’s standout season helping Manchester City win a title treble of the Champions League, English Premier League and FA Cup.Messi and Mbappé won the French league with Paris Saint-Germain which was eliminated from the Champions League in the round of 16. Messi then joined Inter Miami and quickly helped the team win the League...

Finland, NATO’s newest member, will sign a defense pact with the United States

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:43 GMT

HELSINKI (AP) — NATO’s newest member, Finland, which shares a border with Russia, is to sign a bilateral defense cooperation agreement next week with the United States in a deal that allows Washington to send troops into the Nordic country to bolster its defense and store weapons and military equipment there, among other things.Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen told a news conference in Helsinki on Thursday that Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen will sign the so-called Defense Cooperation Agreement, or DCA, in Washington on Monday, Dec. 18.The pact, which must still be approved by Finnish lawmakers, “is very significant for Finland’s defense and security,” Häkkänen said, stressing that the deal is judicially binding on both sides.“It bears a very strong message in this time. The United States is committed to our defense also in a tough spot,” Häkkänen told reporters.Finland joined NATO in April after decades of military non-alignment as a direct result of Russia’s assault on Ukr...