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Tony Blair faces fresh scrutiny over Azerbaijan PR work amid Nagorno-Karabakh offensive

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:52 GMT

LONDON — Tony Blair, former U.K. prime minister, is under pressure over his work lobbying on a major Azerbaijani energy deal after the country’s strongman leader launched a military offensive against an enclave populated by ethnic Armenians.Ilham Aliyev, who has been president of Azerbaijan since 2003, declared victory on Wednesday following a military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has accused Aliyev of “ethnic cleansing” and there are fears Armenians are facing large-scale forced displacement.Blair built close links to Aliyev after he stepped down as U.K. prime minister and began earning millions as a consultant for governments and companies around the world.He was hired in 2014 to advise a BP-led consortium looking to export natural gas from Azerbaijan to Europe, a pet project of Aliyev’s. Blair reportedly discussed the so-called Trans Adriatic Pipeline, which terminates in Apulia, at a meeting with Italy’s then-Interior Minister Matteo Sa...

Sen. Bob Menendez and wife indicted on bribery charges, Justice Department says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:52 GMT

(CNN) — New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez was charged with corruption-related offenses for the second time in 10 years.Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, were indicted on bribery offenses “in connection with their corrupt relationship with three New Jersey businessmen,” the US attorney in New York tweeted.Prosecutors with the US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York have been investigating whether Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, or his wife received improper gifts, among other things.Menendez has vigorously denied any wrongdoing. In April, he told CNN, “This inquiry will end up, I believe, in absolutely nothing.”This is the second set of corruption charges levied against Menendez by the Justice Department in a decade. He previously fought off conspiracy, bribery and honest services fraud related to alleged personal favors.Senate Democratic Caucus rules will force Menendez to step aside as chairman of the ...

Some Lahaina residents can return to scorched town next week but most likely in protective gear due to toxic ash, governor says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:52 GMT

(CNN) — For the first time since wildfires decimated West Maui’s historic Lahaina community, some residents will be allowed to return to their properties on Monday but will likely have to don protective gear due to potentially toxic ash, Hawaii’s governor announced.“It’s going to be a slow process,” Gov. Josh Green said during a Thursday news conference. “It’s going to be a very emotional time. We’re going to have support staff there.”Hawaiian authorities prohibited public entry to Lahaina after wildfires tore through the town and surrounding areas in August, reducing the culturally rich community and many of its historic landmarks to rubble and ash. As about 100 people died in the Maui fires, many have still not returned to the land where their loved ones were lost.The disaster area has been split into zones, which will be gradually reopened to residents as they are inspected and deemed safe to reenter, according to Maui officials.Residents of the...

Why Patriots signed Will Grier for third QB spot on 53-man roster

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:52 GMT

If there was one clear message behind the Patriots’ decision to sign quarterback Will Grier off of the Bengals’ practice squad and onto their 53-man roster Thursday, it’s that current backup Bailey Zappe shouldn’t get too comfortable.But Zappe should have known that already. He was a surprise cut in late August just to pass through waivers and sign to the Patriots’ practice squad. For a brief time, Mac Jones was the Patriots’ only quarterback on the entire roster. Panthers 2022 third-round pick Matt Corral was claimed to the 53-man roster before he left the team without notice and landed on the exempt list. Only then did Zappe get a promotion to the 53-man roster.The Patriots briefly added another former fourth-round pick to the practice squad in Ian Book before waiving Corral with the original intention of signing him to their practice squad.Plans changed, and now Grier is on board as the Patriots continue to rifle through signal callers.Related ...

Pope visits multicultural Marseille as some in Europe talk of fences and blockades to curb migration

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:52 GMT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The French port city of Marseille, for centuries a multiethnic and multifaith melting pot, awaited the arrival Friday of Pope Francis, who plans to amplify his call for the Mediterranean region of Europe to be a place of welcome for migrants. The pope’s position on migration is an increasingly lonely one in Europe, where some countries are emphasizing border fences, repatriations and the possibility of a naval blockade to keep a new influx of would-be refugees out.Francis is presiding over the closing session of a gathering of Mediterranean Catholic bishops, but his two-day visit to Marseille is aimed at sending a message well beyond the Catholic faithful to Europe, North Africa and beyond. After a prayer at the southern French city’s basilica, Francis is scheduled to hold an interfaith prayer at a monument dedicated to those who have died at sea. The U.N.’s International Organization for Migration estimates that more than 28,000 Europe-bound mi...

Stock market today: Wall Street holds a bit steadier as it closes out an ugly week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:52 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street’s ugly week is getting a bit of a reprieve, and stocks are holding steadier on Friday, but it’s still heading for its worst week in six months.The S&P 500 was 0.2% higher in early trading, coming off an ugly slide caused by the stock market’s growing understanding that interest rates likely won’t come down much anytime soon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 3 points, or less than 0.1%, at 34,066, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.4% higher.Pressure has built on Wall Street as yields in the bond market climb to their highest levels in more than a decade. They’ve been rising for months and accelerated this week after the Federal Reserve indicated it’s unlikely to cut its main interest rate by as much in 2024 as investors had hoped. The federal funds rate is at its highest level since 2001, which grinds down on investment prices as it undercuts high inflation.Yields were easing a bit Friday, which reduced the pressure ...

Netanyahu tells UN that Israel is ‘at the cusp’ of an historic agreement with Saudi Arabia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:52 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is “at the cusp” of a historic breakthrough leading to a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia.In an address to the U.N. General Assembly on Friday, Netanyahu said “peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia will truly create a new Middle East.”The U.S. has been seeking to broker an agreement in which Saudi Arabia would normalize relations with Israel in exchange for a U.S. defense pact, aid in developing a civilian nuclear program and progress toward creating a Palestinian state.Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in an interview with Fox News this week that the two sides are getting closer to an agreement. But any such deal would face significant obstacles. The Saudis are believed to be pushing for a major step toward peace with the Palestinians, a hard sell for Netanyahu’s government, which is the most hawkish in Israel’s history.The Associated Press

New Jersey Sen. Menendez and his wife are indicted on bribery charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:52 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and his wife have been indicted on charges of bribery.Federal prosecutors on Friday announced the charges against the 69-year-old Democrat nearly six years after an earlier criminal case against him ended with a deadlocked jury. The latest indictment is unrelated to the earlier charges that alleged Menendez accepted lavish gifts to pressure government officials on behalf of a Florida doctor.The Senate Historical Office says Menendez appears to be the first sitting senator in U.S. history to have been indicted on two unrelated criminal allegations. Menendez faces reelection next year in a bid to extend his three-decade career in Washington, and as Democrats hold a narrow majority in the Senate.A lawyer for Menendez’s wife hasn’t responded to a message seeking comment. Messages were left for Menendez’s Senate spokesperson and his political consultant.The first time Menendez was indicted, he had been accused of using hi...

California bishop acquitted in first United Methodist court trial of its kind in nearly a century

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:52 GMT

A United Methodist Church court acquitted a California bishop Friday of all charges in the first trial of one of the church’s bishops in nearly a century.Bishop Minerva Carcaño, the first Latina bishop in the denomination and a prominent voice on behalf of immigrants, faced four charges of violating church law. They were for alleged harassment, fiscal malfeasance, disobedience to the order and discipline of the UMC and the undermining of another pastor’s ministry. The jury reached its verdict after a few hours of deliberation Thursday evening. It was announced Friday morning.Among other particulars, the prosecution alleged Carcaño retaliated against clergy and staff who challenged her decisions and that she took actions or allowed them to be taken while sidestepping committees and other staff that should have been consulted about decisions.The prosecution also said she benefited from her use of a San Francisco parsonage, which was renovated through a church-development fund, as a se...

Parents who want Youngkin’s transgender policies enacted sue the Virginia Beach school board

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:52 GMT

Two Virginia Beach parents have filed a lawsuit seeking to force their local school system to adopt Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s new model policies for the treatment of transgender students. The lawsuit, filed on the parents’ behalf by the conservative-leaning Cooper and Kirk law firm, alleges that local school boards must adopt the policies adopted earlier this year by the Youngkin administration. Those policies roll back many accommodations for transgender students urged by the previous Democratic administration. Last month, the Virginia Beach School Board narrowly voted down a proposal that would have adopted the Youngkin administration’s policies.School boards across the state have taken varied approaches to the issue. Some school boards with conservative majorities have adopted the policies. More liberal jurisdictions, especially in northern Virginia, have balked.Youngkin and Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares have said school boards must adopt t...