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Ukraine won’t attend NATO summit without ‘signal’ on accession: Zelenskyy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:14 GMT

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy doubled down on Kyiv’s push to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ahead of NATO’s next summit in Vilnius this summer.“If we are not acknowledged and given a signal in Vilnius, I believe there is no point for Ukraine to be at this summit,” the Ukrainian president told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published Saturday. “We understand that we will not be in NATO or in any powerful security alliance during this war. But tell me, how many [Ukrainian] lives is one sentence at the Vilnius summit worth?” Zelenskyy said, adding he “honestly [did] not know” if he would receive such a signal.Kyiv has been intensely lobbying NATO member states to get a firm promise that Ukraine would eventually join the defense alliance. Ukrainian officials have expressed hopes they would receive a concrete political gesture putting them on the membership path at the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July...

Riders, 7News Team set off for Best Buddies bike ride

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:14 GMT

Hundreds of riders are taking off this morning for the Best Buddies Challenge, including a few familiar faces!Bikers are riding from Boston to Hyannisport to support the organization’s mission to change the lives of people living with intellectual and developmental disabilities.7NEWS is a proud partner with Best Buddies, continuing a relationship forged by the late owner of our station — Ed Ansin. There’s still time to donate to the station’s fundraiser in his memory.Members of the 7News Team started their ride 10:30 a.m. The Team also had time to meet with some of the buddies before setting off on their 20-mile ride.7’s Kim Khazei, Jeremy Reiner and Jadiann Thompson checked in with the station from Sandwich ahead of their ride on a somewhat dreary day.It’s Reiner’s first time participating in Best Buddies, and he reported that rain hasn’t hindered the event, and there’s a wind coming in as well. “No matter the weather, we’re Boston Strong,” Thompson said.

Ice cream extravaganza: 40th annual Scooper Bowl kicks off to support cancer research, care

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:14 GMT

Grab a spoon for all-you-can-eat ice cream at Gillette Stadium. The 2023 Jimmy Fund Scooper Bowl kicks off day two of the festivities at noon on Saturday. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for kids to enjoy ice cream and other frozen treats from noon until 8 p.m. to benefit a great cause. The proceeds go to the Jimmy Fund at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute to support both pediatric and adult cancer care and research.Melany Duval,  senior vice president and chief philanthropy officer at the institute, said this year is special, as the ice cream festival celebrates its 40th anniversary.“Providing a really incredible and unique community-based event, celebrating the beginning of summer, and bringing together one of the things that Massachusetts is known for, which is their love for ice cream and their love of Dana Farber,” Duval said.

Knicks star Julius Randle undergoes minor ankle surgery, expected back by training camp

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:14 GMT

All-Star Julius Randle, who suffered left ankle sprains before and during a disappointing playoff run, underwent arthroscopic surgery on that same ankle Friday and will resume basketball activities before training camp.Randle missed five regular season games and one in the playoffs because of the ankle sprains. He played through the pain in series against Cleveland and Miami, but the 28-year-old’s production was well below his standards.After the Knicks were eliminated in six games by the Heat, Randle declined to say whether he was hampered by the ankle injuries.“No, I’m not one to make excuses,” he said.Before the first ankle sprain, Randle played every game and averaged 25.1 points, 10 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.8 turnovers while shooting 46% overall and 34.3% on 3-pointers. He earned his second All-Star appearance in three years and a spot on the Third Team All-NBA.In the playoffs, however, Randle averaged just 16.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3...

Trump-appointed judge rejects Tennessee’s anti-drag law as too broad, too vague

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:14 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s first-in-the-nation law designed to place strict limits on drag shows is unconstitutional, a federal judge says.The law is both “unconstitutionally vague and substantially overbroad,” according to the ruling late Friday by U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump. The judge also said the statute encouraged “discriminatory enforcement.”“There is no question that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment. But there is a difference between material that is ‘obscene’ in the vernacular, and material that is ‘obscene’ under the law,” Parker said.“Simply put, no majority of the Supreme Court has held that sexually explicit — but not obscene — speech receives less protection than political, artistic, or scientific speech,” he said.The law would have banned adult cabaret performances from public property or anywhere minors might be present. Performers who broke the law risked being charged with a misdeme...

Connecticut governor poised to sign state’s most sweeping gun measure since post-Sandy Hook laws

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:14 GMT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A slate of gun control measures was headed Saturday to Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont’s desk, after an all-night state Senate debate and early morning vote to approve the state’s most wide-ranging gun legislation since the laws that followed the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting.Lamont, a Democrat, plans to sign the measure. He said in a statement that the legislation would “modernize our firearm safety laws in a smart and strategic way to help prevent tragedy from happening.” Among other things, the changes would ban openly carrying firearms and prohibit selling more than three handguns within 30 days to any one person, with some exceptions for instructors and others.Other provisions include expanding Connecticut’s current assault weapon ban to include some other similar weapons; stiffening penalties for possession of large-capacity magazines; expanding safe-storage rules to more settings; and adding some domestic violence crimes to the lis...

UAE defends Big Oil’s role at UN climate summit it will host

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:14 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A senior United Arab Emirates official says the Gulf nation wants the U.N. climate summit it’s hosting later this year to deliver “game-changing results” for international efforts to curb global warming, but doing so will require having the fossil fuel industry at the table.Environmental campaigners have slammed the presence of oil and gas lobbyists at previous rounds of talks, warning that their interests are opposed to the goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions — caused to a large degree by the burning of fossil fuels. Last month scores of U.S. and European lawmakers called for the summit’s designated chair, Sultan al-Jaber, to be replaced over his links to the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.The issue complicates already-delicate negotiations ahead of the Nov. 30 – Dec. 12 meeting in Dubai, known as COP28. Preliminary talks starting next week in Bonn, Germany, will show whether the incoming UAE presidency can overcome skepticism among ...

Russia bans ‘unfriendly’ countries’ journalists from showpiece economic gathering

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:14 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said Saturday that journalists from countries that Russia regards as unfriendly have been banned from covering this year’s economic forum in St. Petersburg, one of the country’s showpiece events.The move underlines the intensifying animosity between Russia and countries that have imposed sanctions connected to the fighting in Ukraine or that have criticized Moscow. The June 14-17 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum has for decades been Russia’s vehicle for touting its development and seeking investors. Putin’s appearances at the forum have been highly visible and he often used the occasion to hold roundtable discussions with international news executives.“Yes, indeed. It was decided not to accredit media outlets from unfriendly countries to the SPIEF this time,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as telling state news agency Tass.Russia formally designates scores of countries inc...

4 children found unresponsive after fishing mishap along banks of St. Lawrence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:14 GMT

Four children were found unresponsive and a man in his 30s remains missing after a fishing trip along the St. Lawrence River near a town northeast of Quebec City, according to Quebec provincial police.The Sûreté du Québec says the bodies of the four children were found around 2 a.m. Saturday along the shore in Portneuf-sur-Mer – across the river from Rimouski.Police believe a group of 11 people were fishing on the banks.“According to initial information, a group of people were fishing on the shore on foot when they got caught by the tide,” said Sgt. Catherine Bernard, a spokesperson for the SQ. “Six people managed to be rescued in time while five people were missing.”“Four young children were found very early this morning unresponsive on the edge of the bank and a man in his 30s is still missing.”The bodies of the four children were found a few hours after a 2 a.m. 911 call; they were transported to a nearby health clinic.Police are still waiting for word on the children’...

Gadhafi’s son goes on hunger strike in Lebanon to protest detention without trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:14 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — A son of Libya’s late leader Moammar Gadhafi, who has been held in Lebanon for more than seven years, began a hunger strike Saturday to protest his detention without trial, his lawyer said.Hannibal Gadhafi has been held in Lebanon since 2015 after he was kidnapped from neighboring Syria where he had been living as a political refugee. He was abducted by Lebanese militants demanding information about the fate of a Shiite cleric who went missing in Libya 45 years ago.Gadhafi was later taken by Lebanese authorities and has been held in a Beirut jail without trial.Attorney Paul Romanos told The Associated Press that his client started the hunger strike Saturday morning and “he is serious and will continue with it until the end.” Romanos did not go into details of the case as he was not authorized to speak about it to the media. Gadhafi issued a statement describing his conditions. “How can a political prisoner be held without a fair trial all these years?” Gadhafi, who is ...