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Hungary should stop relying on ‘war criminal’ Putin for gas, EU energy chief warns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:45 GMT

BRUSSELS — Hungary should step up efforts to end purchases of Russian energy that are leaving the country open to malign influence from the Kremlin, Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said today.“Even Hungary knows that by continuing this activity, they grant Russia the right to manipulate their market,” Simson said during POLITICO’s Sustainability Future Week summit, adding that it’s “not [in] their interest to continue this dependence.”Russian gas export giant Gazprom announced last month that it would ramp up deliveries of natural gas to Hungary this winter following talks in Beijing between Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán and Russian President Vladimir Putin.“I know one political leader in Europe who is shaking hands with this war criminal, but that’s it,” Simson said in an oblique reference to the meeting.The announcement was the second time Budapest and Moscow have agreed on additional gas volumes since Russia launched its full-sca...

Finland to tighten border with Russia amid spike in asylum seekers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:45 GMT

Finland’s government said on Tuesday that Russia has recently been allowing asylum seekers to enter its territory without the necessary travel documents, calling it an “international crime.”According to the Finnish border service, 91 undocumented migrants, many lacking visas, have arrived in Finland and applied for asylum since August; they are nationals of third countries who were transiting Russia, the authorities added. While the country’s interior ministry acknowledged in a Tuesday statement that the numbers are relatively low, it underlined that they have spiked within a short period.Russian border guards have been leaving the migrants at the border with Finland, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, leader of the conservative National Coalition Party, claimed during a press conference earlier on Tuesday, as reported by Reuters. “It is clear that these people are helped and they are also being escorted or transported to the border by border guards,” h...

France hopes to keep Brussels sweet with new electricity pricing scheme

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:45 GMT

PARIS — France unveiled a new electricity pricing mechanism on Tuesday, hoping to defuse months of tension over energy subsidies with Brussels and its neighbors.The strain has included a Franco-German fight over the reform of the bloc’s electricity market, with Germany accusing France of wanting to subsidize its industry via artificially low energy prices, while Paris maintained it should have the right to make the most of its relatively cheap nuclear energy. That fight has now been settled.On Tuesday, the French government presented a new mechanism — complex, and still-to-be-detailed — to bring the average price of electricity closer to €70 per megawatt hour (MWh) as of 2026. The new system was designed carefully to avoid upsetting the Commission and other member countries, French officials and energy experts say.“The agreement has been defined to comply with European rules and avoid difficulties with the European Commission,” said France’s Economy and ...

Schools remain closed in Andover, rally held in Boston as teachers strike continues

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:45 GMT

A rally was held in front of the State House in Boston Tuesday in support of the ongoing teacher strike in Andover as the union and school committee returns to the bargaining table in the hopes of coming to an agreement that will return kids to the classrooms. An Essex Superior Court judge ruled Monday that the Andover Education Association will face large fines for each day the illegal teachers strike continues. Hours later, it was announced that school would be canceled again Tuesday after a fourth day of failing to reach a contract agreement.News of the ruling came after striking teachers in Andover made their voices heard, interrupting a planned school committee news conference. The judge’s ruling means the union will face a $50,000 fine for Monday and that figure will increase $10,000 a day for each day the strike carries on.Members of the Andover Education Association voted on Friday to authorize a strike after months of negotiations with the Andover School Committee ove...

3 dead, 18 hospitalized when bus carrying students and truck crash on Ohio highway, officials say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:45 GMT

ETNA, Ohio (AP) — A charter bus carrying students from a high school was rear-ended by a semi-truck on an Ohio highway Tuesday morning, leaving three people dead and 18 others injured, according to an emergency official.Five vehicles were involved in the crash, including a Pioneer Trails charter bus that was transporting students from the Tuscarawas Valley Local School District in eastern Ohio, Licking County Emergency Management Agency Director Sean Grady said. There were a total of 57 people onboard, he said.Lt. Nathan Dennis of the Ohio State Highway Patrol confirmed that people were killed in the crash, but he declined further comment since they were still notifying the victim’s families.The bus was carrying Tuscarawas Valley students and chaperones to an Ohio School Boards Association conference in Columbus, Superintendent Derek Varansky said.“Right now, our focus is on getting in touch with our Tusky Valley families who had loved ones on the bus and providing support to ...

Chicago Bulls’ Lonzo Ball, his brother LaMelo and their parents are being sued by Big Baller Brand co-founder

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:45 GMT

Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball and his parents, LaVar and Tina Ball, are being sued for more than $200 million by Big Baller Brand co-founder Alan Foster, who accuses them of trademark infringement, fraud, unfair business practices and more.In a separate case, Foster is also suing LaMelo Ball’s older brother, Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball, for malicious prosecution, intentional interference with contractual relations and unjust enrichment. He is seeking more than $600,000 in legal costs in addition to damages, which could amount to millions more.The two lawsuits, filed less than two months apart, are unrelated in a legal sense but both reflect the deterioration of a once-close relationship between Foster and the Ball family, which is from Chino Hills.Last week, Foster filed a federal lawsuit in Los Angeles on Monday that named LaVar, Tina and LaMelo Ball among the co-defendants. The filing describes “a very coordinated effort on behalf of the Defendants to do one th...

What to buy (and skip) on Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:45 GMT

By Tommy Tindall | NerdWalletRetailers like Amazon, Target and Walmart pushed October sales as an early start to the holiday shopping season again this year. But only about a quarter of Amazon Prime Big Deal Days shoppers used the Oct. 10-11 event to buy holiday gifts, according to a survey of verified buyers from market research firm Numerator.The rest might be waiting for Black Friday (Nov. 24 this year) to get the gift list going.If that’s you, here’s a short list of what to buy (or skip) during the traditional start to holiday shopping, which is the sale period that includes Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 23), Black Friday and Cyber Monday (Nov. 27).Buy: TVs and big-ticket techThis one is no secret, but you may be looking for confirmation: Black Friday is still the “sweet spot” for TVs, says Trae Bodge, shopping expert from truetrae.com. “Yes, we saw some TVs on sale over Amazon [Prime Big Deal Days], but I really think that we’ll see better deals over Black Friday.”Expect discoun...

Stock market today: Wall Street rises, and Dow leaps on hopes for no more rate hikes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:45 GMT

By STAN CHOE (AP Business Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are gaining ground Tuesday after an encouraging report on U.S. inflation sent waves of relief through Wall Street.The S&P 500 was 1.9% higher and near its best level in two months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 476 points, or 1.4%, as of 1:12 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 2.3% higher.The highly anticipated report showed not only that overall inflation slowed last month from September, but so did a key underlying figure that economists see as a better indicator of future trends. The slowdown bolstered bets on Wall Street that inflation is cooling enough for the Federal Reserve to finally be done with its market-crunching hikes to interest rates.Such hopes lifted all kinds of investments, and more than 90% of the stocks in the S&P 500 climbed in a widespread rally. Technology and other high-growth stocks tend to get some of the biggest boosts from easier rates, and a 2.6% jump for Amazo...

Padres owner Peter Seidler dies at 63

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:45 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Peter Seidler, chairman and owner of the San Diego Padres, died Tuesday at age 63, the team confirmed.“The Padres organization mourns the passing of our beloved Chairman and owner, Peter Seidler,” Padres CEO Erik Greupner is quoted saying in a news release. "Today, our love and prayers encircle Peter’s family as they grieve the loss of an extraordinary husband, father, son, brother, uncle, and friend. Peter was a kind and generous man who was devoted to his wife, children, and extended family. He also consistently exhibited heartfelt compassion for others, especially those less fortunate. His impact on the city of San Diego and the baseball world will be felt for generations. His generous spirit is now firmly embedded in the fabric of the Padres. Although he was our Chairman and owner, Peter was at his core a Padres fan. He will be dearly missed.”Home Plate Gate at Petco Park will open Tuesday afternoon for fans to pay their respects, the Padres said. Parking at Tailgat...

Barring ‘thin blue line’ flag on Pennsylvania township property is unconstitutional, US court rules

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:45 GMT

A federal court has ruled that a Pennsylvania community’s resolution prohibiting the display of an American flag with a thin blue line on all township property is unconstitutional. The ruling about the flag that’s also used as part of the police union’s logo came down Monday. The dispute in Springfield Township, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) from Philadelphia, arose over the use of the black-and-white American flag, with one horizontal blue stripe. The township argued the use of the flag was creating “discontent and distrust” in the community against the police.Prohibiting the use of the thin blue line flag restricts the free speech of public employees under the First Amendment, U.S. District Judge Karen Marston decided.“The Township repeatedly suggests that the Thin Blue Line American Flag is of limited, if any, public value or concern because it is ‘offensive’ and ‘racist,’” Marston wrote in the court opinion. “But as this Court previously told the Township, ‘the Firs...