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US intelligence assessment says Iran not currently developing nuclear weapons

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:50 GMT

By MATTHEW LEE (AP Diplomatic Writer)WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. intelligence assessment says Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons at the moment but has ramped up activities that could help it develop them.The assessment from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released Monday says Iran has moved to increase its capacity to produce an atomic bomb since 2020 but has stopped short of that so far.The findings corresponded with previous U.S. assessments about Iran’s nuclear program, although many in Congress and elsewhere have been skeptical of those.The Biden administration has been defending its desire to return to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA, since it first took office. That effort has been complicated in recent months by the suspension of its chief negotiator, Rob Malley, who was placed on unpaid leave last month pending an investigation into claims he mishandled classified information.“Iran...

‘We are all heartbroken’: Missing Lowell girl’s body found in river

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:50 GMT

LOWELL — Officials announced Monday afternoon that the remains of the missing 7-year-old Lowell girl, Anna Mburu, were discovered in the Merrimack River after nearly a full 24 hours of searching.“We are all heartbroken to be here this afternoon to report that it appears that the end of the search has come with the recovery of a body of a young child, preliminarily identified as 7-year-old Anna Mburu,” Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan told reporters at a Monday afternoon press conference at the Lowell Police Department.Ryan said Anna’s remains were discovered by Massachusetts Environmental Police in the Merrimack River in Tewksbury near the Trull Brook Golf Course shortly after the search resumed for the day at 7 a.m.The search for Anna, who had autism and was nonverbal, was conducted in conjunction with a number of different local police departments and law enforcement agencies, Ryan said, and it involved the use of drones, K-9 units, the Massachusetts State Police Air Wing, ...

Brothers found dead inside East County home

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:50 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Two brothers were found dead Sunday inside a home in East County, authorities said.Around 5:15 p.m., authorities received a call about a death in the 15500 block of Creek Hills Road in unincorporated El Cajon, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said in a news release. When deputies arrived, they found 84-year-old Wilburn Burchette and 76-year-old Kenneth Burchette, who both appeared to have been dead "for some time." Two injured in plane crash near La Mesa church parking lot Homicide investigators are working to find the circumstances of the deaths, and say there is no threat to the community. The Medical Examiner's Office will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of deaths.Anyone with information about the deaths is asked to call the Homicide Unit at 858-285-6330.

Webb Space Telescope spots most distant black hole yet. More may be lurking

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:50 GMT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Astronomers have discovered the most distant black hole yet using the Webb Space Telescope, but that record isn’t expected to last. The black hole is at the center of a galaxy dating to within a mere 570 million years of the Big Bang. That’s 100 million years closer to the beginning of the cosmos than a black hole identified in 2021 by a Chinese team using a telescope in Chile. Webb already has spotted other black holes that appear to be even closer to the Big Bang nearly 14 billion years ago, but those findings are still under review, said University of Texas at Austin astronomer Steven Finkelstein, one of the lead researchers. The finding has been accepted for publication by the Astrophysical Journal Letters.Because the signals from this particular black hole are weak, more observations are needed, according to the Texas-led team. There are untold numbers of dormant black holes, some even more distant than this one. But without any glowing gas, th...

S&P/TSX composite ticks lower as telecom and utility stocks pull back, U.S. stocks up

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:50 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index ticked lower Monday, weighed down by losses in telecom and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets rose.It was a generally quiet day on the markets as investors gear up for a big Wednesday that will see U.S. inflation data released as well as the Bank of Canada’s interest rate decision, said Mona Mahajan, senior investment strategist with Edward Jones.“There’s some big news ahead of us,” she said. The S&P/TSX composite index was down 8.59 points at 19,822.45.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 209.52 points at 33,944.40. The S&P 500 index was up 10.58 points at 4,409.53, while the Nasdaq composite was up 24.77 points at 13,685.48.Economic data released in recent weeks has continued to be better than expected, helping support hope for a soft landing, said Mahajan.This hope may be helping buoy the recent broadening in market strength following a narrow, tech-stock-fuelled rally, she said.“I think we’re seeing a ...

Joseph Calleja withdraws from `Parsifal’ opening Bayreuth Festival on July 25

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:50 GMT

Tenor Joseph Calleja withdrew Monday from the title role in “Parsifal” that opens the annual Richard Wagner Festival at Bayreuth, Germany, and will be replaced by Andreas Schager.Calleja, who had been scheduled to make his role debut, said in a statement he was advised by his doctor to withdraw because of a persistent throat infection.“Goes without saying that this was a very hard decision to take, and I am so sorry for disappointing those of you who were looking forward to seeing me in this great opera and historic venue,” Calleja said.“Parsifal” opens July 25 in a production by Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Jay Schieb. A portion of the audience in the Festpielhaus will wear augmented reality glasses. There are seven performances through Aug. 27.Schager made his Bayreuth debut in 2016 and sang Parsifal from 2016-19 in Uwe Eric Laufenberg’s stagingSchager, who had been scheduled to sing Erik in “Der Fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman)” in a revival of T...

Pierre Poilievre ‘does not agree’ with ‘straight pride’ message in photo at Stampede

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:50 GMT

OTTAWA — A spokesman for Pierre Poilievre says the federal Conservative leader does not agree with the message of “straight pride,” after he was photographed with a man wearing a T-shirt bearing those words.Sebastian Skamski says Poilievre had been posing with “hundreds of people” at the Calgary Stampede on Saturday when he was photographed with an individual “without reading what was written on his shirt.”The bright green T-shirt featured the symbols for men and women that are often posted to the doors of public restrooms.It says “Thank a straight person today for your existence,” in black capital letters, with “straight pride” written at the bottom.Skamski says that “Poilievre does not agree with the message displayed on the T-shirt,” adding that Conservatives are working to build a country where everyone is free to be themselves, “regardless of their sexual orientation.” Poilievre and other politi...

Movie Review: Take the leap with Tom Cruise in ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part One’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:50 GMT

Wondering if you should choose to accept the latest “Mission: Impossible” entry? Maybe you’re sick of all the bombast at the movie theater lately? Well, put it another way: Do you really want to disappoint Tom Cruise?On the first day cameras were rolling for “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part One,” Cruise drove a motorcycle off an actual 4,000-foot Norwegian cliff and then parachuted down. He did it for you. The least you can do to repay him is watch his movie, right?If you do give in, you’re in for a treat — a heart-pounding, never dragging, mission accomplished that takes audiences from the frozen Bering Sea to the rooftop of Abu Dhabi International Airport and the narrow alleyways of Venice.It’s got plenty of facemasks being ripped off, a car chase through Rome, a shoot-out in the desert, a sword fight on a bridge and an intense, runaway train sequence that may top anything the franchise has ever produced.“This is getting exciting,” one character says e...

Another man arrested in connection with shooting at Kansas nightclub

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:50 GMT

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A second suspect is now in custody in connection with a mass shooting that injured nearly a dozen people earlier this month in Kansas, Wichita police announced Monday.A 27-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of aggravated battery and possession of a firearm by a felon. On Friday, a 19-year-old man was arrested. It wasn’t immediately clear if either man has been charged. Their names have not been released. A message left with Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett wasn’t immediately returned.The shooting happened in the early hours of July 2 at City Nightz in downtown Wichita. Nine people were shot and two others were trampled in the chaos that followed. No one died.In addition to the arrests, police are searching for a 23-year-old man believed to have been involved in the shooting. A St. Louis-area man was arrested July 3, but prosecutors later determined he fired his gun to defend himself after shots were fired by two other men at the clu...

Judge who led Desmond inquiry accuses N.S. government of spreading misinformation

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:50 GMT

HALIFAX — The Nova Scotia government is facing accusations from a former judge who says misinformation and ignorance were behind the attorney general’s decision last week to dismiss him as the commissioner leading a high-profile inquiry. Warren Zimmer was a provincial court judge when he was appointed in July 2018 to lead the fatality inquiry that investigated why Afghanistan war veteran Lionel Desmond killed three family members and himself in their rural Nova Scotia home in 2017.Last Tuesday, Premier Tim Houston said his government decided to replace the judge because his final report was taking too long to complete, and the premier said “it wasn’t clear … a report was forthcoming.”Zimmer was set to retire as a judge in March 2022, a month before the inquiry’s hearings concluded. But his term as a sitting judge was extended four times over the past 18 months to give him time to complete his report. On July 4, Attorney General Brad Johns confirmed he had dec...