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West African bloc activates standby force for possible use against Niger junta

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:20 GMT

The Economic Community of West African States on Thursday ordered the activation of a standby force to possibly use against the military junta that orchestrated a coup in Niger last month, deposing democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum.“No option is taken off the table, including the use of force as a last resort,” said Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, the chair of the ECOWAS bloc, after a summit of its leaders on Thursday in his country’s capital Abuja. According to reports, the standby force would likely take at least several weeks to assemble.ECOWAS, a bloc of 15 West African countries, had threatened to use military force against the coup leaders if they failed by August 6 to free and reinstate Bazoum — a key ally of the EU and especially France, which has strong ties to Niger. Paris had reportedly deployed about 1,500 French soldiers in the country under a bilateral military agreement aimed at fighting terrorism, and Niger is a crucial supplier of ura...

Visiting gymnastics coach denies voyeurism charge in Vermont

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:20 GMT

BARRE, Vt. (AP) — A visiting coach at a Vermont gymnastics center pleaded not guilty Thursday to a charge of voyeurism, accusing him of video recording people using a bathroom at the facility.Jonathan Girard, 39, of North Adams, Massachusetts, was working as a visiting coach at the Central Vermont Gymnastics Academy in Waterbury, officials said. Vermont State Police said they received a report on July 15 of video recordings said to have come from the bathroom at the center. Police seized a computer from Girard and found evidence of voyeurism, they said.Court documents accuse Girard of having a flash memory card on his computer containing video of children changing and using the bathroom at the academy, WCAX-TV reported. Girard owns J-Star Gymnastics gym in North Adams, Massachusetts, police said.A phone message was left for Girard’s attorney seeking comment.

MBTA speaks on continuing worker shortage, safety progress

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:20 GMT

The T has seen a surge of hiring in 2023, MBTA officials said at a Board of Directors subcommittee meeting Thursday morning, but not enough of a spike to quell the ongoing worker shortage.The agency has hired 782 new workers and lost 407 since the start of the year, Chief Workforce Officer Ahmad Barnes reported in a presentation to the board. The staffing count overall is still around 6,600, Barnes said, well short of the 7,600 positions budgeted for fiscal year 2024.But hiring in the new fiscal year starting July 1 is “off to a great start,” Barnes said, with an increase of 57 employees in just the last month.The agency has seen the most turnover in bus operator positions by far, Barnes said. Fifty-two have voluntarily departed, and another 102 were fired during the year.The agency signed off a new $55 million union contract with its workers at the start of August, raising pay 18% over four years and creates a number of new incentives in an effort to boost the workforce...

Red Sox notebook: Rafael Devers took Triston Casas under his wing, helped rookie turn season around

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:20 GMT

Triston Casas’ rookie season got off to a rough start. At times the 23-year-old seemed overmatched by big league pitching, and by the end of April he was batting .133 with a .283 on-base percentage and .293 slugging percentage, hardly the production the club had envisioned from their former top prospect.Luckily for Casas, he didn’t have to look hard to find another left-handed power hitter in the clubhouse he could turn to for advice.Through a series of conversations, meals and interactions around the ballpark, Rafael Devers took Casas under his wing and helped the talented first baseman adjust to the major leagues. The results have been undeniable, and now for three and a half months Casas has been among the most impactful hitters in baseball.“I think Raffy really got through him in his own way as a leader in the group,” said Red Sox hitting coach Peter Fatse. “It was really cool for Raffy to go out and push the envelop.”Devers said Casas approac...

Pot boss O’Brien apologizes as Massachusetts weed sales hit all-time high

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:20 GMT

Cannabis board boss Shannon O’Brien is apologizing for her recent outburst saying she was too blunt in saying the state’s legal weed rollout was in a “crisis.”It came on the same day the commission announced the Bay State has hit a new one-month high in legal weed sales — $136 million in July.The previous record was set in June when 150 marijuana retailers sold $132.9 million in gummies, pre-rolls, drinks and other assorted THC-infused products.“I want to begin by apologizing to my fellow commissioners regarding the way I made an announcement before I left our July 28th meeting. I know I caught you off guard and I know that there was some concern about that,” she said Thursday.“At the time,” she added, “I believed I was alerting you to an important eventuality that I only discovered the day before.”The $181,722-a-year chair of the commission went on to say: “I was not graceful in doing it. I apologize for what I did.”O’Brien explained ...

People should wait, assess before donating to Hawaii fire recovery, experts say. Follow live updates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:20 GMT

By REBECCA BOONE (Associated Press)Follow live updates about wildfires racing across part of Maui in Hawaii, destroying sections of a historic town and forcing evacuations, including from the popular tourist spot of Lahaina. The National Weather Service says Hurricane Dora, which is passing south of the island chain at a safe distance, was partly to blame for strong winds that initially drove the flames, knocking out power and grounding firefighting helicopters.Philanthropy experts recommend that people seeking to donate to Maui’s wildfire victims wait to do so. Regine Webster, vice president of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, says the full scope of need may not be known for up to a week as firefighters finish up their response. She also urged potential donors to support organizations with deep local ties and community knowledge. People can also donate through the crowdfunding site GoFundMe, which vets fundraisers for those who have lost property or were injured. The org...

SDPD releases bodycam video of deadly shooting involving K-9

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:20 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego police released bodycam video Thursday of the moment an officer shot an armed suspect who then shot a K-9, leaving both dead, authorities say.The video begins with a recording of a call between a man and an SDPD dispatcher around 1 a.m. on Aug. 2. The driver says he had been followed and shot at by people inside a white Tesla on Ben Street."They got out of the car and just started shooting," the man is heard saying, adding that his front and rear windows were shot out. Watch bodycam video (WARNING: graphic images) The video continues with footage from a private dash camera, which captured the moment two people opened the Tesla's doors and started shooting at the other car. The Tesla then reverses out of sight.When officers located the Tesla in the alley behind the 7400 block of Armstrong Place, only its driver was inside, police said. Officers saw that the driver, 33-year-old Benjamin Pickens, had a firearm. Pickens drove off, and officers lost sight of him....

Maui fire deaths surge to 53 and likely to go higher, governor says. Over 1,000 structures burned

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:20 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — A search of the wildfire devastation on the Hawaiian island of Maui on Thursday revealed a wasteland of obliterated neighborhoods and landmarks charred beyond recognition, as the death toll rose to at least 53 and survivors told harrowing tales of narrow escapes with only the clothes on their backs.A flyover of historic Lahaina showed entire neighborhoods that had been a vibrant vision of color and island life reduced to gray ash. Block after block was nothing but rubble and blackened foundations, including along famous Front Street, where tourists shopped and dined just days ago. Boats in the harbor were scorched, and smoke hovered over the town, which dates to the 1700s and is the biggest community on the island’s west side. “Lahaina, with a few rare exceptions, has been burned down,” Hawaii Gov. Josh Green told The Associated Press. More than 1,000 structures were destroyed by fires that were still burning, he said. The death toll will likely rise as search...

Fire erupts at East County home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:20 GMT

RAMONA, Calif.-- Firefighters on Thursday are battling a house fire in the Ramona area.Around 4:05 p.m., SkyFOX was over the scene at 1621 Royal Vista Drive.The blaze, which authorities say started around 3:24 p.m., could be seen spewing white smoke at a rapid rate. SDPD releases bodycam video of deadly shooting involving K-9 No injuries have been reported at this time.The house fire comes a day after the "Bunnie Fire," also in Ramona, burned nearly 200 acres and prompted temporary evacuations Wednesday.Check back for updates on this developing story.

A rocket with a lunar landing craft blasts off on Russia’s first moon mission in nearly 50 years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:20 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A rocket carrying a lunar landing craft blasted off Friday on Russia’s first moon mission in nearly 50 years, racing to land on Earth’s satellite ahead of an Indian spacecraft. The launch from Russia’s Vostochny spaceport in the Far East of the Luna-25 craft to the moon is Russia’s first since 1976 when it was part of the Soviet Union.The Russian lunar lander is expected to reach the moon on Aug. 23, about the same day as an Indian craft which was launched on July 14. The Russian spacecraft will take about 5.5 days to travel to the moon’s vicinity, then spend three to seven days orbiting at about 100 kilometers (62 miles) before heading for the surface.Only three governments have managed successful moon landings: the Soviet Union, the United States and China. India and Russia are aiming to be the first to land at the moon’s south pole.Roscosmos, Russia’s space agency, said it wants to show Russia “is a state capable of delivering a payload to the ...