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Prosecuting ousted president of Niger would be ‘unjustified,’ U.S. says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:51:52 GMT

The State Department said on Monday that it would be “unwarranted and unjustified” if Niger’s military junta moved forward with its plan to prosecute ousted President Mohamed Bazoum on treason charges over his dealings with foreign leaders and organizations.Military authorities who have taken over the nation, in the Sahel region of Africa, “gathered the necessary evidence” to prosecute Bazoum “for high treason and undermining the internal and external security of Niger,” junta spokesperson Col. Amadou Abdramane said in a statement read on state television on Sunday night, according to Reuters.“This action is completely unwarranted and unjustified, and, candidly, it will not contribute to a peaceful resolution of this crisis,” State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters on Monday. “It is a further affront, in our opinion, to democracy and justice and to the respect of the rule of law, and a threat like this underscores the urgency of respecting the constitutional order ...

Russia expected to hike interest rates to curb ruble’s slide

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:51:52 GMT

Russia’s central bankers are expected to hike interest rates at an emergency meeting on Tuesday to respond to an accelerated weakening of the ruble and a deteriorating economy, as the war against Ukraine and sanctions bite hard. The big paradox for policy experts in Moscow is that the currency is plummeting just as oil prices — Russia’s export lifeblood and budgetary mainstay — have risen. Prices for Russian Urals grade crude are rallying beyond an internationally agreed price cap of $60 per barrel, but the ruble spiked to more than 102 to the dollar on Tuesday. That’s almost half the value it fetched in June 2022, when it traded at 54 to the dollar. The central bank last raised its key interest rate to 8.5 percent from 7.5 percent on July 21, its first hike since September 2022. At the time, Governor Elvira Nabiullina warned that more hikes may be necessary if the economic fallout of the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine worsened, but no policy meeting was scheduled unti...

Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden calls team’s president a ‘liar’ amid trade rumors

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:51:52 GMT

(CNN) — Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden called his own team’s president Daryl Morey “a liar” in a surprising attack amid ongoing trade speculation surrounding the 2018 NBA Most Valuable Player.“Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of,” Harden said during an event in China. “Let me say that again, Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of.”Footage of Harden’s comments has been widely circulated on social media. The comments were in response to a question from the crowd about ending trade talks, according to NBA.com.CNN has reached out to the Sixers to offer the organization and Morey the opportunity to comment.Harden has reportedly made it clear to the 76ers that he wants to be traded this offseason following another disappointing playoff exit last season.According to multiple media reports, including from ESPN’s Adrian Wo...

Manchester police investigating pair of bank robberies that occurred within 24 hours of each other

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:51:52 GMT

Police in Manchester, New Hampshire, are investigating a pair of bank robberies that were reported within a few blocks of one another and less than 24 hours apart.Authorities said the first robbery occurred on Friday, Aug. 11, around 2:30 p.m. at the Bangor Bank location at 170 Baker St.According to the Manchester Police Department, the incident involved a man who walked into the bank with a phone to his ear and gave a note to a teller demanding money. The suspect reportedly remained on the phone before leaving on foot once he received cash, officials said on the department’s Facebook page.Less than a day later, another robbery occurred on Saturday, Aug. 12, at the TD Bank at 300 Franklin St., where officers learned a man covering his face with a construction vest entered the building and told a teller he had a gun.According to Manchester PD, the suspect demanded money and passed the teller bags to fill before leaving the bank. Authorities did not say whether or not the suspec...

Dozens of Boston dirt bikers block lanes on Leverett Connector ramp, as riders do donuts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:51:52 GMT

Dozens of dirt bikers reportedly blocked traffic on the Leverett Connector ramp over the weekend, as riders did donuts on the busy highway bridge.Massachusetts State Police starting receiving calls just before 3:30 p.m. on Saturday from motorists, who reported that about 40 riders on motorcycles and street bikes were stopped on the Leverett Connector Bridge — which connects Leverett Circle to Interstate 93 and the Zakim Bridge, and to Route 1 North in Boston.“The stopped bikes were blocking both lanes while some riders did donuts,” a spokesperson for Mass State Police said in a statement.The spokesperson added, “A patrol responded but the street bikes were gone by the time the Trooper arrived on scene.”Related ArticlesCrime & Public Safety | Howie Carr: Rehire the ‘Baker’s Dozen’ troopers! Today! Crime & Public Safety | State Police union celebrates ruling undoing punishment of unvaccinated troopers ...

Russia’s ruble hits low point amid war in Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:51:52 GMT

LONDON — The Russian ruble on Monday reached its lowest value since the early weeks of the war in Ukraine as Moscow increases military spending and Western sanctions weigh on its energy exports.It led Russia’s central bank to announce an emergency meeting for Tuesday to review its key interest rate, raising the likelihood of an increase in borrowing costs that would support the flagging ruble.The Russian currency had passed 101 rubles to the dollar, continuing a more than one-third decline in its value since the beginning of the year and hitting the lowest level in almost 17 months. The ruble recovered slightly after the central bank’s announcement.The meeting was set after President Vladimir Putin’s economic adviser, Maksim Oreshkin, blamed the weak ruble on “loose monetary policy” in an op-ed Monday for state news agency Tass. He said a strong ruble is in the interest of the Russian economy and that a weak currency “complicates economic restruct...

On Nutrition: Form of food we eat may have more impact than we think

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:51:52 GMT

Barbara Intermill | Tribune News Service (TNS)Bill W. asks, “Is drinking many of our fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds in a smoothie as healthy and nutritious as eating them?”Surprisingly, even though the whole food we pop into the blender may have the same nutrients as the liquid smoothie, how those nutrients are absorbed can be affected by their form and structure.A 2019 paper published in the journal Food & Function describes how researchers tested the digestibility of three different forms of foods (solid, semisolid and liquid) that were identical in nutrient content. Then they measured how the varied forms of food affected appetite and specific blood tests in human subjects.Interestingly, scientists found that the liquid food caused a higher rise in triglycerides (a form of fat in the blood) than the solid food. The liquid food also caused less fullness and satisfaction (satiety) than the solid food.Other studies (cited in this same article) have found similar results. Gro...

Consumer Health: Enjoying the summer sun safely

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:51:52 GMT

Laurel Kelly | (TNS) Mayo Clinic News NetworkAugust is Summer Sun Safety Month, which makes this a good time to learn more about protecting yourself and your family from the harmful effects of ultraviolet, or UV, radiation from sunlight.Summertime is here, and for many, that means family vacations and spending time outdoors. Exercising and enjoying time outdoors are important for good health, and activities such as biking, hiking, swimming and boating can be a lot of fun. But these activities also require precautions to stay safe, healthy and protected from the sun.Exposure to UV radiation from the sun damages your skin, and increases your risk of developing skin cancer, wrinkles and age spots. Children are especially vulnerable because they tend to spend more time outdoors and can burn easily.Skin cancer, which develops primarily on areas of sun-exposed skin, including the scalp, face, lips, ears, neck, chest, arms, hands and legs, is the most common type of cancer, according to th...

Tech breakthrough could boost states’ use of geothermal power

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:51:52 GMT

Alex Brown | Stateline.org (TNS)Lawmakers in some states have been laying the groundwork to add geothermal power to the electrical grid and pump underground heat into buildings. Now, a technological breakthrough could dramatically expand those ambitions — and perhaps unleash a new wave of policies to tap into geothermal sources.Last month, a company announced the successful demonstration in the West of a new drilling technique that it says will greatly expand where geothermal plants could be built. And in the Eastern half of the country, where geothermal’s potential is mostly as a heating and cooling source, a community recently broke ground on the first utility-run thermal energy network.Some officials say those advances show great promise. A handful of states approved laws this year and others are considering measures that would provide money and regulations to help the industry.“There have been enormous technological breakthroughs in geothermal,” Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Po...

Manhattan judge rejects Trump’s request to boot him off Stormy Daniels hush money case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:51:52 GMT

By Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily NewsDonald Trump’s effort to boot the judge presiding over his Manhattan hush money case failed resoundingly, according to court papers made public Monday.State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan rejected the former president’s recusal motion on all grounds.“[This] Court has examined its conscience and is certain in its ability to be fair and impartial,” Merchan wrote in his decision.Trump is charged with 34 felonies in the case alleging he covered up an illegal payment to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election paid by his former fixer Michael Cohen. He’s pleaded not guilty.Trump’s May 31 motion sought to get Merchan off the case, claiming the judge’s daughter stood to profit from his downfall at her job at a digital agency that represents primarily Democratic candidates.The former president also argued that small-dollar donations to Democrats from the judge represented an impartiality issue. He further cited Merchan’s ...