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Hurricane Lee forecast to become a Category 5; forecast for US impact next week still uncertain

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:41 GMT

(CNN) — Hurricane Lee strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane Thursday morning and will only further intensify into a Category 5 storm, days before a precarious and uncertain northward track that much of the US East Coast will have to watch closely.The Category 2 storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 105 mph as of early Thursday, located about 870 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands, according to the National Hurricane Center.Even more rapid intensification is expected because the forecast track takes the hurricane across some of the warmest waters in the Atlantic Ocean and through relatively calm upper-level winds. Lee is now forecast to reach 160 mph Category 5-strength Friday night as it approaches the eastern Caribbean and is still expected to be a dangerous hurricane over the southwestern Atlantic early next week.There is increasing confidence that the center of Lee will pass to the north of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin I...

Man charged with fatally stabbing woman on Mass and Cass

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:41 GMT

A man has been charged with stabbing a woman, who would later die from her wounds, in the troubled Mass and Cass area.Michael Bellanti, 33, a homeless man in Boston, appeared in municipal court in Roxbury Thursday morning to face a charge of assault to murder with a knife, stemming from an alleged Aug. 18 incident in which he stabbed a woman he and his girlfriend were fighting with on Atkinson Street near its intersection with Southampton Street — right in the heart of Boston’s opioid epidemic named after the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard.A not guilty plea was entered on Bellanti’s behalf and Judge Shelly Joseph set a $100,000 bail.Should Bellanti be able to post this bail, Joseph set release conditions that he stay away from the location of the stabbing and to stay away from the victim, the family of the victim and any witnesses.Police pulled up the the scene at around 12:15 a.m. on Aug. 19 and were directed by a security guard to a red ...

AI that alters voice and imagery in political ads will require disclosure on Google and YouTube

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:41 GMT

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN (AP Business Writer)Google will soon require that political ads using artificial intelligence be accompanied by a prominent disclosure if imagery or sounds have been synthetically altered.AI-generated election ads on YouTube and other Google platforms that alter people or events must include a clear disclaimer located somewhere that users are likely to notice, the company said in an update to its political content policy.The new rule starts in mid-November, just under a year before the U.S. presidential election. It will also affect campaign ads ahead of next year’s elections in India, South Africa, the European Union and other regions where Google already has a verification process for election advertisers.Though fake images, videos or audio clips are not new to political advertising, generative AI tools are making it easier to do, and more realistic. Some presidential campaigns in the 2024 race — including that of Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis ̵...

Patriots have concerning absence from practice ahead of Week 1

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:41 GMT

FOXBORO — Patriots cornerback Jack Jones was absent from Thursday’s practice one day after popping up on the injury report with a hamstring ailment.Jones was the Patriots’ lone absence from Thursday’s session. The Patriots had perfect practice attendance Wednesday.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots S Kyle Dugger: No update on possible contract extension New England Patriots | Patriots know they need more than Malik Cunningham to prepare for Jalen Hurts New England Patriots | Patriots eager to celebrate Tom Brady’s return ‘the right way’ New England Patriots | Patriots-Eagles injury report: DeVante Parker, Jack Jones among 5 starters limited Wednesday New England Patriots | The Patriots get great news at practice ahead of Sunday’s season opener All other players who were listed on the injury report Wednesday — offensive tackle Trent Brown (illness), guard M...

An influx of migrant children tests the preparedness of NYC schools

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:41 GMT

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN, ROBERT BUMSTED and ELLIOT SPAGAT (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — Damien, age 5, was giddy with excitement as he left a Manhattan homeless shelter, sometimes running and skipping along the sidewalk accompanied by his wistful mother, a migrant from Ecuador.“What I want for him is a future,” Kimberly Carchipulla said in Spanish of her son, one of nearly 800,000 New York City public school students who headed off to class Thursday for their first day of the new school year.That is what school officials want, too, as the city’s classrooms work to accommodate nearly 20,000 migrant children newly arrived in the U.S. — a number that could swell as record numbers of families cross the border from Mexico in hopes of gaining asylum.Several major U.S. cities have struggled with an influx of many thousands of asylum seekers who have filled up homeless shelters after entering the U.S.New York City’s shelter system has been especially ov...

A look at the uranium-based ammunition the US is sending to Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:41 GMT

By TARA COPP (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has announced it’s sending depleted uranium anti-tank rounds to Ukraine, following Britain’s lead in sending the controversial munitions to help Kyiv push through Russian lines in its grueling counteroffensive. The 120 mm rounds will be used to arm the 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks the U.S. plans to deliver to Ukraine in the fall. Such armor-piercing rounds were developed by the U.S. during the Cold War to destroy Soviet tanks, including the same T-72 tanks that Ukraine now faces in its counteroffensive. Depleted uranium is a byproduct of the uranium enrichment process needed to create nuclear weapons. The rounds retain some radioactive properties, but they can’t generate a nuclear reaction like a nuclear weapon would, RAND nuclear expert and policy researcher Edward Geist said. When Britain announced in March it was sending Ukraine the depleted uranium rounds, Russia falsely claimed they have nuclear component...

Man fatally stabbed near McDonald’s identified

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:41 GMT

SAN DIEGO — A man who was stabbed to death near a McDonald’s in the Midway District last week has been identified by authorities.According to the San Diego Police Department, 44-year-old Joshua Goodman was the individual found suffering from a stab wound in the parking lot at 3805 Midway Drive on Wednesday, Aug. 30.San Diego Police Homicide Detectives responded to scene to investigate. San Diego International Airport warns travelers about upcoming I-5 closure During the preliminary investigation, officers learned the victim rode his bicycle into theparking sometime before 11:30 a.m. with a suspect arriving shortly after in a light-colored minivan. Police say the suspect exited the vehicle and immediately began to chase the victim in circles in the parking lot. During the chase, the suspect repeatedly stabbed at the victim with what appeared to be a knife. Detectives have determined the minivan was driven by a second person, now believed to be an unknown female, who drove through ...

Dozens of migrants rescued off Greek island of Lesbos. Search is under way for woman feared missing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:41 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Dozens of migrants were rescued from a small boat in difficulty off an eastern Aegean Sea island and a search was underway for one more person, Greek authorities said Thursday, as arrivals to the southeastern European country increase.The coast guard said 43 people were picked up from the small vessel southeast of Lesbos, and three patrol boats were seeking a woman reported by survivors as potentially missing.Greece was once the main entry point to the European Union for people fleeing strife and poverty in the Middle East and Africa, but it has now been overtaken by Italy and Spain. Nevertheless, according to United Nations data, about 19,700 people have arrived in Greece since January. That surpasses the total of almost 19,000 for all of 2022. About half arrived in July and August. Most cross to the eastern Greek islands from the nearby Turkish coast.The coast guard said Thursday that, in addition to the people picked up off Lesbos, 50 migrants were rescued f...

Wisconsin GOP threatens to impeach justice over donations, but conservatives also took party cash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:41 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Republicans talking about impeaching a state Supreme Court justice before she’s heard a case are pointing to the nearly $10 million she received from the Democratic Party as proof that she can’t fairly rule on redistricting cases that could weaken the GOP’s hold on the Legislature.But the state GOP and other conservative groups have given campaign cash to other sitting justices, and they’re not recusing themselves on cases involving donors. All but one sitting justice — liberal Ann Walsh Bradley — have received contributions from a party at the national, state or county level, according to data from Wisconsin’s campaign finance system and an analysis by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, which tracks campaign spending.Conservative Justices Brian Hagedorn and Rebecca Bradley have received contributions from the state Republican Party totaling roughly $150,000 and $70,000 respectively. The state Democratic Party has given lib...

First offer from General Motors falls short of demands by the United Auto Workers, but it’s a start

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:41 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors first wage-and-benefit offer to the United Auto Workers on Thursday falls far short of the union’s initial demands.The offer comes just a week before the UAW’s national contracts with GM, Stellantis and Ford expire, and even though both sides are far apart, it’s a sign of movement on economic issues. Union President Shawn called the offer “insulting.” He is threatening to strike against any automaker that hasn’t reached a tentative agreement by the time contracts expire at 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 14. A strike against one or more automakers by up to 146,000 auto workers is a real possibility.GM said in a letter to workers that it’s offering a 10% wage increase during a new four-year contract, plus two more 3% one-time payments. It’s also offering a $6,000 inflation payment, $5,000 more in lump sums to protect against inflation during the contract, and a $5,000 contract ratification bonus. The company wouldn’t s...