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Centrist French senator detained on suspicion he drugged a female MP

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:42 GMT

Joël Guerriau, a French senator with the centrist Horizons party, has been detained by police in Paris on suspicion that he drugged a female lawmaker in order to assault her, the public prosecutor’s office said Friday.Answering a written question from POLITICO, the Paris public prosecutor’s office confirmed that Guerriau had been arrested on Wednesday evening, after an unnamed person filed a complaint against him for “administering to a person, without their knowledge, a substance which may alter their judgment or control over their actions in order to commit rape or sexual assault.” The French senator is suspected of “administering ecstasy to a [female] guest, without her knowledge,” and ecstasy was found at his residence in a police raid, the prosecutor’s office said.He remained in custody on Friday morning, and faces up to five years in prison and a €75,000 fine.According to an official at the French Senate, who was granted anonymity to d...

Elon Musk and X can’t escape government oversight, judge rules

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:42 GMT

(CNN) — A federal judge said Thursday he would not intervene in a dispute between X owner Elon Musk and the Federal Trade Commission in an ongoing agency investigation of the social media giant that has triggered intense public scrutiny.The decision means Musk may be forced to cooperate with federal investigators who are probing X, the company formerly known as Twitter, over business decisions that regulators fear may have jeopardized user security or privacy.The 11-page order by US Magistrate Judge Thomas Hixon denies X’s attempt to invalidate a longtime privacy settlement with the FTC that forms the basis for the investigation. Hixon said the US District Court for the Northern District of California lacks the authority to grant X’s request to overturn the independent agency’s administrative order.For the same reason, Hixon said he could not block the FTC from trying to depose Musk as part of the probe. The ruling could indirectly boost a similar ...

New GLX Tracks To Be Fixed During Nighttime Closures

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:42 GMT

The MBTA will shut down service a few hours earlier than usual on the Green Line Extension on more than a dozen nights starting later this month while crews fix tracks that were improperly installed, officials announced Thursday.Nearly a month after MBTA General Manager Phil Eng revealed that rails are too close together on more than two-thirds of the expansion, he laid out details for how workers will address the problems.Trains will stop running on both the Union Square and Medford branches around 8:45 p.m. each night between Monday, Nov. 27 and Sunday, Dec. 10. During that time, shuttle buses will replace trains between North Station and Medford/Tufts, while riders hoping to get to Union Square will instead need to take other bus routes or the Orange Line, which travels to Sullivan Square.Normal Green Line Extension service will resume at the start of each day, except for Dec. 4 and Dec. 5, when buses will replace trains between Lechmere and North Station all day.“The inten...

Help sought to identify person killed on I-5

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:42 GMT

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office is asking for the public's help in identifying the pedestrian in a fatal collision on the Interstate 5 last month.The pedestrian was struck by a vehicle just north of the Old Town Avenue overcrossing while attempting to cross the northbound lanes of the highway on Oct. 14 at about 8 p.m., according to a county spokesperson.Law enforcement and medical personnel attempted life-saving measures on the pedestrian. However, he was later pronounced dead on the scene.No other details about the crash were immediately available. Driver, passenger killed in I-5 rollover crash A forensic artist created a possible sketch of the John Doe, who was described as a 5'11", roughly 215 pound Hispanic or Middle Eastern man in his 30s or 40s, and two of his unique tattoos. One of the tattoos is believed to read "Margarita" in cursive with a heart above the letter "i." The other tattoo is believed to be a crown over two script letters, the secon...

Dirt bike rider killed in University City crash

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:42 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A dirt bike rider was killed Thursday after colliding with a vehicle in University City, said the San Diego Police Department.Around 8:16 p.m., a 31-year-old man was riding a 2018 KTM eastbound on Governor Drive at a high rate of speed with no lights on, police said. The area was reported to be extremely dark. Are items hanging from rearview mirrors illegal in California? At that same time, authorities said a 66-year-old woman was driving a silver 2005 Lexus SUV westbound on Governor Drive. The woman reportedly did not see any westbound traffic and made a left turn onto Erlanger Street in front of the dirt bike. The dirt bike struck the Lexus, ejecting the rider. SDPD said the man was transported to a local hospital where he later died of his injuries.Alcohol was not determined to be a factor in this collision. SDPD's Traffic Division is investigating. Anyone with information related to the fatal incident is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

Bell seeks to appeal CRTC decision allowing carriers’ access to its fibre network

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:42 GMT

BCE Inc. is seeking to appeal a regulatory decision that will allow independent companies to sell internet services to their customers using its fibre network in Ontario and Quebec, saying it is at risk of suffering irreparable harm.The parent company of Bell Canada filed documents with the Federal Court of Appeal late Thursday requesting permission to appeal the CRTC’s temporary ruling, and for a stay of the decision pending the outcome of the court process.“The decision will have far-reaching impacts on Canadians’ access to high-speed internet beyond the interim period in which it is in effect,” the company said in its filings.The CRTC announced on Nov. 6 it would require large telephone companies, namely Bell and Telus Corp., to provide competitors with access to their fibre-to-the-home networks within six months.The regulator said the timeline would allow companies to prepare their networks and develop information technology and billing systems.The move is mean...

New Maldives president is sworn in and vows to remove Indian troops

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:42 GMT

MALE, Maldives (AP) — Mohamed Muizzu was sworn in Friday as the Maldives’ fifth democratically elected president and said he will ensure there is no foreign military presence in the archipelago.Muizzu, who is seen as pro-China, campaigned on a promise to evict Indian military personnel and balance trade, which he said was heavily in favor of India under his predecessor, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. “Lines of independence and sovereignty will be drawn clearly. The foreign military presence will be removed,” he said.“I will keep friendships with foreign countries. There won’t be any enmity, with countries close and far away,” Muizzu said.He said the right of the Maldives to lay down such limits should be respected.Muizzu was sworn in by Chief Justice Us Ahmed Muthasim Adnan after his surprise victory in September’s presidential election.The election was seen a virtual referendum on which regional power — China or India — should have the biggest influence on the Indian Ocea...

The harrowing Ukraine war doc ’20 Days in Mariupol’ is coming to TV. Here’s how to watch

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:42 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The visceral documentary “20 Days in Mariupol,” about Russia’s early assault on the Ukrainian city, will soon reach its widest audience yet.The 94-minute film, a joint production by The Associated Press and PBS “Frontline,” has been met with critical acclaim and an audience award at the Sundance Film Festival. AP journalist Mstyslav Chernov directed the movie from 30 hours of footage shot in Mariupol in the opening days of the war. Chernov and AP colleagues Evgeniy Maloletka, a photographer, and producer Vasilisa Stepanenko were the last international journalists in the city before escaping.“I thought I should do something more. I should do something more with that 30 hours of footage to tell a bigger story and more context to show the audience of the scale,” Chernov has said.After screenings in dozens of cities, “20 Days in Mariupol” will air on PBS stations in the U.S. beginning Tuesday. As it heads to home and streaming devices, here are details on how...

British writer A.S. Byatt, author of the novel ‘Possession,’ dies at 87

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:42 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Author A.S. Byatt, whose books include the Booker Prize-winning novel “Possession,” has died at the age of 87.Byatt’s publisher, Chatto & Windus, said Friday that the author died “peacefully at home surrounded by close family.”Byatt wrote two dozen books, starting with her first novel, “The Shadow of the Sun” in 1964.“Possession,” published in 1990, follows two modern-day academics investigating the lives of a pair of Victorian poets. It won the prestigious Booker Prize that year and was adapted as a 2002 film starring Gwyneth Paltrow.Her other books include four novels exploring Britain in the 1950s and 60s, known as the Frederica Quartet — “The Virgin in the Garden,” “Still Life,” “Babel Tower” and “A Whistling Woman” – and “The Children’s Book” (2009). A book of short stories, “Medusa’s Ankles,” was published in 2021.Clara Farmer, Byatt’s publisher at Chatto & Windus, said the author’s books — translated into 38 languages — were “the most wonderf...

Former Nigerian central bank chief arraigned and remanded in prison for alleged fraud

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:42 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, who was removed from office in June, was on Friday charged with procurement fraud at a local court, which remanded him in prison pending his bail ruling.In amended charges, the Nigerian goverment said Godwin Emefiele illegally awarded contracts for dozens of vehicles during his time as the governor of the apex bank in Africa’s largest economy, according to court documents.The charge sheet alleged that Emefiele used his position as the bank’s governor to “confer a corrupt advantage” on another member of staff by awarding the contracts to a company with links to that staff member, thereby breaching Nigeria’s procurement laws.Appearing in court in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, Emefiele pleaded not guilty to the charges, which could land him in jail for at least five years if convicted. He has been in custody for most of the time since he was removed from office.Regarded as one of the most powerful government of...