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German army employee arrested for alleged Russian espionage

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:20:53 GMT

BERLIN — Once again, German criminal police arrested a Bundeswehr employee on Wednesday in Koblenz in western Germany on suspicion of spying for Russia.According to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the man is strongly suspected of having worked for a foreign intelligence service and is now in custody. His apartment and workplace were also searched.He allegedly contacted the Russian consulate in Bonn and the Russian embassy in Berlin “on his own initiative” several times from May of this year, offering to cooperate with them, authorities said. In doing so, he is said to have passed on information from his professional activities to be forwarded to Russian intelligence services.The arrested man is a German citizen named Thomas H., an employee of the Office for Equipment, Information Technology and Utilization for the Bundeswehr, or German armed forces. Understood to be a sensitive role, the purpose of the position is to equip the German army with efficient and safe d...

American nurse and her young daughter freed nearly two weeks after abduction in Haiti

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:20:53 GMT

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — American nurse Alix Dorsainvil and her daughter were freed Wednesday, nearly two weeks after they were kidnapped in Haiti’s capital, according to aid organization El Roi Haiti.The Christian group founded by Dorsainvil’s husband asked that neither she nor her family be contacted: “There is still much to process and to heal from in this situation,” the group said in a statement.The group added that it confirmed the safe release “with a heart of gratitude and immense joy.” No other details were immediately available, including whether any ransom was paid.The U.S. State Department said it welcomed news that the two had been freed and thanked its Haitian and U.S. interagency partners for facilitating the release.“We have no greater priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas,” the agency said. “As you can imagine, these individuals have been through a very difficult ordeal, both physically and mentally.”Officials provided no other de...

Why Taco Bell’s free taco giveaway is happening everywhere but New Jersey

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:20:53 GMT

New York (CNN) — Taco Bell is opening a $5 million taco tab and offering free Doritos Locos Tacos in honor of the “liberation” of the “Taco Tuesday” trademark to customers across the country.Well, almost everywhere.The giveaway is valid in 49 states but not in New Jersey, the only place where the Taco Tuesday trademark is not canceled. Taco John’s, the regional taco chain that had “Taco Tuesday” trademarked for 34 years, announced last month that it’s ending its fight in defending the phrase against Taco Bell’s lawyers.But Gregory’s Restaurant and Bar in Somers Point, New Jersey, owns the trademark in the state, and the family-owned business still plans to hold on to the phrase.“We’re still keeping it, we’re fighting for it,” said Emma Gregory, who said she is a fifth-generation Gregory family worker at the restaurant.She said Taco Bell had reached out to the restaurant about the trademark “two, maybe three” weeks ago. Gregory’s said on its website that it has been serving tacos on ...

SUV driver slams into apartment building in Cambridge

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:20:53 GMT

Authorities say one person was injured after an SUV driver crashed into an apartment building in Cambridge Wednesday morning.The Cambridge Police Department said an individual was taken to a hospital with minor injuries after the crash happened off of Museum Way around 10 a.m. The driver themselves did not need medical assistance, according to the police department.By noontime, the vehicle had been removed from the structure, with one resident sharing later footage of the aftermath with 7NEWS, showing shattered glass and other pieces of debris scattered across a lobby area.Authorities have not yet said what may have led up to the crash or whether the driver was facing any charges.

Special counsel Jack Smith got a search warrant for Twitter to turn over info on Trump’s account, documents say

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:20:53 GMT

Special counsel Jack Smith’s team obtained a search warrant in January for records related to former President Donald Trump’s Twitter account, and a judge levied a $350,000 fine on the company for a delay in complying, according to court documents released Wednesday.The details were included in a decision from the federal appeals court in Washington rejecting Twitter’s claim that it should not have been held in contempt or sanctioned.X, the San Francisco-based platform formerly known as Twitter, sent an automated reply to a request for comment, saying it would respond soon.The filing says prosecutors got the search warrant directing Twitter to produce information on Trump’s account after a court “found probable cause to search the Twitter account for evidence of criminal offenses.” The government also obtained a nondisclosure agreement prohibiting Twitter from disclosing the search warrant, the filing says.The court found that disclosing the warra...

Recipe: Meringue-kiss cookies are a delicious treat

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:20:53 GMT

With or without crushed peppermint candies, these meringue-kiss cookies are a scrumptious treat. If you have an electric stand mixer, they are a cinch to prepare. If not, an electric hand mixer can be used, but the process is more challenging.Try to work quickly once the kisses are formed on the parchment-lined baking sheet; they tend to deflate if left to sit too long before baking.Meringue Kisses, With or Without Peppermint CandiesYield: About 72 cookiesINGREDIENTSParchment paper2 large egg whites1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar1/8 teaspoon table salt2/3 cup (4 2/3 ounces) granulated sugar1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract2 cups (12 ounces) mini semisweet chocolate chips, divided useOptional: 3 tablespoons crushed peppermint candies (about 7 round peppermint candies, crushed)2 teaspoons vegetable oilDIRECTIONS1. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 275 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.2. Using an electric stand mixer fitted with the...

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 90, falls at home and goes to hospital, but scans are clear, her office says

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:20:53 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the oldest member of Congress, fell in her home and went to a hospital for a short time, her office said on Wednesday.The 90-year-old California Democrat, who has faced mounting concerns about her health and her ability to perform the duties of a senator, “briefly went to the hospital yesterday afternoon as a precaution after a minor fall in her home,” her office said in a statement.All of her scans were clear, and she returned home later Tuesday, said her spokesman Adam Russell, who provided no further details.Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said in a statement he spoke with Feinstein on Wednesday morning.“She said she suffered no injuries and briefly went to the hospital as a precaution,” Schumer said. “I’m glad she is back home now and is doing well.”The San Francisco hospital visit comes after Feinstein missed months of work in Washington earlier this year when she was hospitalized for the shingles virus and its side...

‘Conscience’ bills let medical providers opt out of providing a wide range of care

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:20:53 GMT

Carly Graf | (TNS) KFF Health NewsA new Montana law will provide sweeping legal protections to health care practitioners who refuse to prescribe marijuana or participate in procedures and treatments such as abortion, medically assisted death, gender-affirming care, or others that run afoul of their ethical, moral, or religious beliefs or principles.The law, which goes into effect in October, will gut patients’ ability to take legal action if they believe they didn’t receive proper care due to a conscientious objection by a provider or an institution, such as a hospital.So-called medical conscience objection laws have existed at the state and federal levels for years, with most protecting providers who refuse to perform an abortion or sterilization procedure. But the new Montana law, and others like it that have passed or been introduced in statehouses across the U.S., goes further, to the point of undermining patient care and threatening the right of people to receive lifesaving and...

Bankrate: More cardholders carrying credit card balances in high rate environment

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:20:53 GMT

Poonkulali Thangavelu | Bankrate.com (TNS)More cardholders are carrying more credit card debt than ever before, and they’re paying a steep price for the privilege, a Bankrate survey on credit card debt finds. According to new data, 47% of credit cardholders currently carry debt from month to month — up slightly from 46% in December 2022 and 39% in December 2021.While emergency expenses are the prime culprit, consumers are also hard pressed to chip away at the debt in today’s high interest rate environment. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, credit card debt was at $986 billion at the end of March, up $145 billion from the first quarter of 2022.Inflation, which has moderated after reaching a 40-year high of 9.1% in June last year, has pushed up the costs of the goods and services, while — at the same time — the Fed has raised its target interest rate past 5% through a series of rate hikes. This has taken average credit card interest rates north of 20%, making it more ...

In-state tuition for undocumented students becomes law under signed FY24 budget

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:20:53 GMT

Gov. Maura Healey signed a $55.9 billion budget Wednesday that provides eligible undocumented students in-state tuition rates at public universities and colleges and offers free meals for students at public and some private schools.The budget Healey signed largely avoids conflict with proposals approved by the Democratic-led Legislature last month. It also represents the latest spending plan outside of the pandemic since 2001, when lawmakers sent the budget to the governor’s desk in November and it was signed at the start of December.House Speaker Ronald Mariano said he was not surprised budget negotiations “went a little long” because of all the factors that were in play, including parallel conversations on tax relief and how to spend new surtax revenue.“But I’m constantly surprised that everyone seems to have forgotten what was at stake here and what we were trying to accomplish,” the Quincy Democrat told reporters. “And to come up with a document that is this fair, and as t...