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Braverman says email blasting civil service ‘blob’ was ‘an error’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:42 GMT

LONDON — U.K. Home Secretary Suella Braverman on Wednesday night distanced herself from an email sent in her name accusing civil servants of frustrating plans to cut the number of small boats crossing the English Channel.The Cabinet minister was accused of a “cowardly attack” on the U.K. civil service after a campaign email sent by the Conservative Party — but bearing her name and signature — pointed the finger at government officials for scuppering earlier efforts to grip the issue.“We tried to stop the small boat crossings without changing our laws,” the email said. “But an activist blob of left-wing lawyers, civil servants and the Labour Party blocked us.” But, speaking to ITV’s Robert Peston Wednesday evening, Braverman said: “I didn’t write that email. I didn’t see it and it was an error that it was sent out in my name.”No. 10 Downing Street also sought to draw a line under the row earlier Wednesday, saying Braverman “did not see that e...

Drug investigation leads to seizure of 16 kilos of cocaine, nearly $200K across Suffolk County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:42 GMT

Some 16 kilograms of cocaine and a large amount of cash were seized from multiple spots in Suffolk County following a lengthy investigation, according to Massachusetts State Police.An MSP spokesperson said the seizure came after federal and local authorities executed a search warrant at a residence in Revere on Monday. Branching outside of the residence, officials found “approximately 16 kilograms of cocaine and a large amount of cash from multiple locations in Suffolk County,” according to MSP Director of Media Communications Dave Procopio. Procopio noted the total amount of cash added up to $190,750 and was the result of an investigation launched earlier in the year by state troopers assigned to the State Police Detective Unit for Suffolk County District. The operation had focused on a drug trafficking organization operating in the Greater Boston area.Police also arrested 52-year-old Humberto “Pancho” Mesa-Gomez on March 6.The suspect was later arraigned in...

Council Approves Boston Rent Cap Effort On 11-2 Vote

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:42 GMT

The fate of renewed rent control efforts in Boston is about to land firmly and completely on the shoulders of the Democrats who control state government. City councilors on Wednesday approved Mayor Michelle Wu’s bid to institute a cap on rent increases in the city nearly three decades after voters prohibited the practice statewide. The vote will send the home rule petition to a Legislature whose leaders have shown littler interest in rent control over the years. The council voted 11-2 in favor of Wu’s measure, which would ban covered landlords from raising rents more than 10 percent annually in the highest-inflation years and implement several other tenant protections. Councilors Frank Baker and Erin Murphy voted against the home rule petition. Baker argued that the policy would villainize property owners who he said have “created generational wealth for the middle class in Boston,” calling rent control — which landlord and real estate groups vocally op...

‘I hate him passionately’: Tucker Carlson’s scorn for Trump revealed in court

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:42 GMT

By DAVID BAUDER and NICHOLAS RICCARDI (Associated Press Writers)NEW YORK (AP) — A defamation lawsuit is revealing scornful behind-the-scenes opinions by Fox News figures about Donald Trump, including a Tucker Carlson text message declaring, “I hate him passionately.”Carlson’s private text comments were revealed in court papers at virtually the same time the former president was hailing the Fox News host on social media. Trump said he was doing a “great job” in presenting excerpts of U.S. Capitol security video of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection — though Carlson used the video to produce a false narrative of the attack.The documents are coming to light at a time of increased tension between Trump and Fox, the dominant media force appealing to conservatives, as he campaigns to regain the presidency.Voting machine manufacturer Dominion Voting Systems is suing Fox News for $1.6 billion, claiming the network broadcast false claims that the company...

Frankie Montas says he wasn’t ‘fully 100%’ when traded to the Yankees, vows to return this season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:42 GMT

The Yankees bought damaged goods with a no-return policy.Frankie Montas came over to the Bronx in a trade with the Oakland A’s in July of last season. However, the 29-year-old was not at full strength as he was nursing a shoulder injury.“I wasn’t fully 100 percent,” Montas told reporters Wednesday morning at the Yankees spring complex in Tampa. “I was trying to pitch through it. Of course, I got traded to a new team, I wanted to show what I can do.“Things didn’t go the way I was expecting. But I’m here to try to help this team and go out there and show what I can really do when I’m healthy.”It was clear Montas wasn’t the same pitcher after he donned the pinstripes as he struggled to a 6.35 ERA in eight starts with the Yankees.The shoulder discomfort continued throughout the offseason and ultimately led to his Feb. 21 surgery.If all goes well, Montas could return at some point during the second half of 2023. The righty...

GATORS PODCAST: AR takes off at NFL Combine and Riley Kugel’s rise (Ep. 156)

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:42 GMT

Former Florida QB Anthony Richardson was expected to steal the show at the NFL Scouting Combine, but might have even surpassed expectations. Will Richardon’s record-setting performance seduce an NFL team into the ultimate risk-reward move? Almost as predictable is Alabama coach Nick Saban complaining about something. This time it’s the Crimson Tide’s potential three permanent opponents if the pending 16-team SEC expands the schedule to nine games. Edgar takes a trip down memory lane with the legendary coach who is suffering a bit of amnesia. Meanwhile, don’t forget basketball season, even if it’s over for the Gators, barring an SEC Tournament miracle. Despite a disappointing Year 1, Todd Golden did find a future star in Riley Kugel. Will it be at Florida? Mark and Edgar break it all down during the latest Swamp Things.NFL Scouting Combine: Anthony Richardson (2:00)AR in the Top 5 (8:30)Problematic interview comments (14:30)The question is accuracy (18:0...

NASA officially targets November 2024 for Artemis II launch to send humans to orbit the moon

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:42 GMT

Richard Tribou | (TNS) Orlando SentinelORLANDO, Fla. — NASA mission managers said Artemis II is targeting November 2024 as it goes through issues found from the Artemis I mission including an unexpected heat shield performance during the 5,000-degree reentry.The uncrewed Artemis I flight saw the successful launch of the Space Launch System rocket on Nov. 16 becoming the most powerful rocket to ever bring a payload to space. It sent the Orion capsule on a 25 1/2-day mission to orbit the moon traveling 1.4 million miles before its return to Earth on Dec. 11 coming in faster than any previous human-rated spacecraft at 24,500 mph.Artemis II, though, looks to put humans on board the Orion capsule, and just how well the spacecraft can keep its passengers safe is at the top of NASA’s concerns.“This is a time for our vigilance to continue,” said NASA’s Jim Free, associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, during a Tuesday status update. “We have hear...

Arrest warrant out for man connected to Elnaz Hajtamiri kidnapping in Wasaga Beach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:42 GMT

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has issued an arrest warrant for a man believed to be involved in the kidnapping of Elnaz Hajtamiri, who was forcibly taken from a home in Wasaga Beach over a year ago.On Monday, police in York Region charged a fifth person connected to a separate frying-pan attack on Hajtamiri that occurred at an underground garage in Richmond Hill in December 2021.On Jan. 12, 2022, at around 8:30 p.m., less than a month after the frying-pan attack, police say Hajtamiri was abducted from a residence in Wasaga Beach by three suspects dressed in police costumes.In an update from provincial police, investigators say they have identified one of those suspects as 35-year-old Deshawn Davis of Toronto, who remains wanted.An arrest warrant has been issued for Deshawn Davis, 35, of Toronto. Photo: OPP.The two other persons of interest have not yet been identified, and police have released their photos with the hopes of gathering information. OPP believes the man and woman are...

Aid group shutters hospital in Haiti amid spike in violence

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:42 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Doctors Without Borders announced Wednesday that it was forced to temporarily close its hospital in Cite Soleil given a sharp rise in gang violence that has left dozens dead in recent weeks.The slum — one of the largest in the capital of Port-au-Prince — has been the site of repeated clashes between gangs.“We are looking at a war scene just meters from our hospital,” said Vincent Harris, the aid group’s adviser.Officials noted that large numbers of stray bullets have hit the hospital compound, and that it’s nearly impossible for the sick and injured to reach the institution for care.The organization added that in recent days, staff members at another nearby hospital have admitted up to 10 times the usual number of people with gunshot wounds.Human rights activists have said that from Feb. 24 to March 4, more than 60 people have been killed in one area of the capital alone, with dozens of others kidnapped.Gangs continue to fight over more territory and are...

‘Master thief’ convicted of Giants ring theft back in prison

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:42 GMT

FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) — The self-described “master thief” and New England Patriots fan convicted of stealing New York Giants Super Bowl rings in 2008 is back behind bars after a judge determined he had violated the terms of his probation, prosecutors said.Sean Murphy, 58, was sentenced last Thursday in Fall River Superior Court to 18 months in state prison for, among other things, allegedly posing as a homeless veteran and soliciting donations outside a supermarket for a fake veterans’ charity, according to a statement Wednesday from the office of Bristol District Attorney Thomas Quinn III.The judge also determined he had lied to his probation officer on multiple occasions about his whereabouts and place of residence, the DA’s office said.According to media reports, Murphy was charged in Essex County with violating the state’s stolen valor law by dressing in camouflage shorts and Marine Corps T-shirt and collecting donations outside a Whole Foods in Swampscott in ...