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EU sanctions pro-Russian oligarch over plan to ‘destabilize’ Moldova

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:22 GMT

The EU has imposed sanctions on a high-profile Moldovan politician who has led a series of protests in recent weeks against the country’s pro-Western government.In a new list released Tuesday, Ilan Shor was named among five individuals who will face financial and travel restrictions “in view of actions destabilizing the Republic of Moldova.” A Russian plan to overthrow the Moldovan government was thwarted in February, officials in the country said.According to the EU Council sanctions order, the Moldovan-Israeli businessman’s Shor Party “is involved in the payment and training of persons in order to provoke disorder and unrest.” In April, a Moldovan court found Shor guilty of banking fraud to the tune of €254 million. Funds from that and his ties to Moscow are allegedly being used “to artificially create political unrest in the country.”Also on the list is Marina Tauber, a Shor Party member of the Moldovan parliament who was detained e...

Springfield police arrest driver and monitor for alleged assault on special needs student

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:22 GMT

Police in Springfield say both a driver and monitor were arrested and charged in connection with an assault on a special needs student.The Springfield Police Department announced that Judy Cubin, 65, of Chicopee, and William Kane, 73, an East Longmeadow resident, were arrested after officials say a special needs child was assaulted while in a transportation van “for students with different types of physical, behavioral and cognitive needs.”In a statement, the department said a representative for the van’s transportation company reached out to Springfield PD’s Special Victims Unit after reviewing footage from one of their vehicles.Police said an investigation was launched soon afterwards, with the unit reviewing the video themselves and speaking with the victim.Warrants for the arrests of the van’s driver, Kane, and monitor, Cubin, were later granted. Both were taken into custody with the assistance of police in East Longmeadow and Chicopee.According to ...

Bob Myers stepping down as Golden State Warriors GM, president: ‘It’s just time’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:22 GMT

Golden State Warriors president and general manager Bob Myers is walking away from the franchise he helped build into an NBA powerhouse.“It’s just time,” Myers told ESPN. A Warriors spokesman confirmed Myers’ exit on Tuesday.Myers, who won four NBA championships and was twice the league’s executive of the year, was up for a new contract. He said he turned down offers that would have made him one of the highest-paid executives in the league.The 48-year-old spent 12 years with the Warriors, turning the once-moribund franchise into a dynasty and the jewel of the league. Myers drafted future Hall of Famers Stephen Curry (a two-time MVP), Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, signed free agent Kevin Durant and hired coach Steve Kerr, which helped kick off an extended run of contention, including titles in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022. The team also made the NBA Finals in 2016 and 2019.Myers grew up in the Bay Area and was a player agent before he was hired as an assis...

Mark Jackson was heckled by ‘clowns’ in Denver over his Nikola Jokic MVP snub

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:22 GMT

Mark Jackson was heckled by Denver Nuggets fans because he left Nikola Jokic off his official MVP ballot. And while Jackson downplayed the taunts, there’s some discrepancy over the level of nastiness.“Mark is being kind to some of those fans. Some of those fans were clowns at the game,” said Jeff Van Gundy, who sat next to Jackson during the heckling as the ESPN analysts both called the Western Conference finals in Denver. “It used to be when you say you made a mistake, it goes away.”Jackson didn’t include Jokic in his top-5 for MVP voting and later acknowledged it was an oversight. Jokic finished second in the voting to Joel Embiid, a result that looked foolish as the playoffs unfolded.Jackson and Van Gundy will call Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday in Denver.“I’ve had no issues at all and I don’t expect any other than one or two fans during one of the games at the Western Conference Finals,” Jackson said. “And f...

Jimmy Butler and the Heat showing how badly the Mavericks screwed up with run to NBA Finals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:22 GMT

Adam Silver’s biggest tweak to the NBA since taking over for David Stern — the play-in tournament — produced this year both a finalist and semifinalist.The Heat and Lakers got through Silver’s extra game(s) and demonstrated there’s hope for the play-in teams beyond extra revenue for postseason gates. On a broader scale, the league is wide open because the Warriors and LeBron James lost their fizzle. We’re guaranteed five different champions over five years for the first time since (get this!) 1977 to 1981.Which brings us to the Dallas Mavericks and their decision to sit this one out. It’s impossible to overstate just how badly they botched it.Armed with one of the league’s top players in Luka Doncic, they made a hard and rapid pivot from going all-in on the season to tanking it away. They traded for a win-now piece and the picture of instability, Kyrie Irving. Then they lost and lost more before deciding that keeping a lottery pick out...

Smelling smoke in Massachusetts? Nova Scotia wildfire smoke overspreads the region

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:22 GMT

Have you been smelling smoke outside but don’t see a fire?Nova Scotia wildfire smoke made its way to Massachusetts on Tuesday, as those with a sensitive nose were able to smell the smoke as it pushed through the region. The smoke plume from Canada also impacted visibility in spots across southern New England.An “Air Quality Alert” was issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection with the wildfire smoke overspreading the Bay State.“Fine particle levels will elevate at times into the Moderate and Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups range as wildfire smoke influences our region,” the advisory stated. “An Air Quality Alert for elevated fine particle levels has been posted for areas of Mass through midnight tonight.”Related ArticlesWeather | Massachusetts, get ready for 90-degree heat as June arrives after cool Memorial Day Weather | Massachusetts weather forecast: ‘A lot of uncertainty’ for...

Florida-bound seaweed blob contains flesh-eating bacteria, study shows

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:22 GMT

Most people were already aware of the 5,000-mile long sargassum bloom making its way toward Florida — and possibly Alabama — beaches, but thanks to a new study, there’s more to be concerned about than just the stench which accompanies the bloom.Florida Atlantic University has released a study which found that sargassum bloom contains both the Vibrio bacteria and plastic marine debris, creating what the study’s authors called a “perfect pathogen storm” with significant health risks to both humans and marine life.The Vibrio bacteria, frequently referred to as the “flesh-eating” bacteria, can cause life-threatening illnesses from seafood consumption, as well as disease and death from open wound infections, according to the report.Not only can the Vibrio bacteria live within the sargassum, however, it also appears to be able to attach itself to plastic marine debris.“Plastic is a new element that’s been introduced into marine environments and has only been around for about 50 years,” sa...

These experts are seeing spikes in drug shortages. ‘I view this as a national health emergency’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:22 GMT

Shortages of essential drugs are threatening to become a crisis in the United States, health care providers say.While cancer drugs have been most publicized recently, experts in pharmacy say they often find themselves scrambling to find common generic medications such as antibiotics and fear having to resort to rationing.They say only a national effort to bring generic drug manufacturing back from overseas, among other steps, will help relieve the problem, which mostly affects injectable drugs, including chemotherapy and cardiac medications.“It is not just cancer, said Dr. Peter Yu, physician-in-chief of the Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute in Hartford, Connecticut. “It’s pediatrics, it’s infectious diseases, it’s rheumatology.”Yu said the American Society of Clinical Oncology looked into the problem when he was president in 2014-15. “In part what we learned is it wasn’t just oncology; it really is a health economics issue about how drugs are paid for and manufactured and distri...

Fire at Austrian hospital kills 3 patients, cigarette suspected as cause

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:22 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Three patients died in a fire that broke out overnight at a hospital in a town just outside Vienna, Austrian authorities said Tuesday. Police said they suspect a cigarette set off the blaze.The fire broke out in a fourth-floor room at the hospital in Moedling, and rescuers were unable to save three men who were in that room, Matthias Hofer, a spokesman for Lower Austria province’s health agency, told the Austria Press Agency. A woman was slightly injured.Authorities were alerted shortly before 1 a.m. to the fire, which filled the internal medicine ward with smoke. Around 90 patients were evacuated, with some being moved to other parts of the hospital and others transferred to a clinic in nearby Baden.The fire was extinguished by 3 a.m.Evidence points to a cigarette having been the cause, police spokesman Stefan Loidl told APA later Tuesday. Investigators believe that the fire started in the bed of a 75-year-old man who was a heavy smoker. The room’s window ...

Video, tips sought in probe of shooting outside suburban Philadelphia stadium that wounded 8

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:22 GMT

Authorities are asking the public to share any footage or information as they investigate a shooting that left eight teenagers wounded at a weekend gathering outside a stadium near Philadelphia.Police in the suburb of Chester said the gunfire erupted shortly before 11:30 p.m. Sunday in a parking lot outside Subaru Park, the sports venue beside the Delaware River where the Philadelphia Union play. In a statement, police appealed to businesses and residents to check their cameras for any footage that may assist the investigation. Authorities did not immediately say whether they had any suspects in connection with the shooting or were close to making any arrests. Six people between the ages of 17 and 18 were shot, authorities said. The Delaware County city’s police commissioner, Steven Gretsky, told reporters on Monday that all had been released from the hospital except for a 17-year-old boy, who remained in critical condition Tuesday. District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said Tuesday t...