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Putin pays glowing tribute to ‘true friend’ Berlusconi

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:42 GMT

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday paid tribute to “a true friend,” Silvio Berlusconi, who died on Monday morning after a long and colorful career in Italian business and politics.In a message of condolence to Italian President Sergio Mattarella published on the Kremlin website, Putin wrote: “Silvio Berlusconi will be remembered in Russia as a consistent and principled supporter of strengthening friendly relations between our countries. He made a truly invaluable personal contribution to the development of mutually beneficial Russian-Italian partnerships.”Putin went on: “For me, Silvio was a dear person, a true friend. I have always sincerely admired his wisdom, his ability to make balanced, far-sighted decisions even in the most difficult situations. During each of our meetings, I was literally charged with his incredible vitality, optimism and sense of humor. His death is an irreparable loss and great sorrow.” Berlusc...

Arlington schools issue warning, delay opening after bear sightings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:42 GMT

Schools opened an hour late in Arlington on Monday after several reported black bear sightings.In a statement the schools said, “Early this morning, there were multiple sightings of a bear in Arlington Heights, around the area of the Dallin, Brackett, and Peirce Elementary Schools. In collaboration with the Arlington Police Department and Town officials, we decided it was prudent to delay schools while resources were deployed and in the interest of student safety.”The school district also urged parents and students to “exercise caution in going to school this morning, as we have not yet confirmed that the bear has left Arlington.”Students will be kept inside for recess and other activities.https://twitter.com/ArlingtonMAPD/status/1668228687475384320https://twitter.com/ArlingtonMAPD/status/1668194103652151296https://twitter.com/ArlingtonMAPD/status/1668210819518152705This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details

Trial of suspect in deadly 2019 stabbing in Worcester set to begin

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:42 GMT

The trial of a man accused of fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend at a restaurant in Worcester in 2019 is set to begin on Monday.Opening statements are expected in the trial of Carlos Asencio, of Derry, New Hampshire, who is facin a murder charge in the July 3, 2019, death of Amanda Dabrowski inside O’Connor’s Restaurant in Worcester in front of patrons and workers. He has pleaded not guilty.Authorities say Asencio stabbed Dabrowski, 31, nearly 20 times in the neck and body before being subdued by patrons and restaurant staff. They had met at work and briefly dated, authorities have said.Asencio was initially found not competent to stand trial, but has since been found competent and transferred from Bridgewater State Hospital to the Worcester County jail.

Suspect in series of Charlestown rapes back in court for bail hearing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:42 GMT

A suspect in a series of rapes in Charlestown will be back in court Monday for a bail hearing.Matthew Nilo, 35, pleaded not guilty in a Boston courtroom last week as he was arraigned on charges stemming from four sexual assaults that took place in Boston in 2007 and 2008. The charges include aggravated rape, kidnapping, and sexual assault and battery.During the arraignment hearing, prosecutors detailed four incidents, from August 2007 to December 2008, in which they say Nilo attacked several women. The suspect was in his 20s at the time and was a student living in the North End.Prosecutors say three victims underwent a sexual assault examination collection exam after the attacks. Up until recently, there were no DNA matches at the time. Nilo was arrested last week and appeared in a New Jersey courtroom before being brought to Massachusetts.Nilo is currently being held on $500,000 cash bail.

Arlington schools delayed after bear sighting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:42 GMT

Schools in Arlington are being delayed this morning by an hour after a bear made several appearances in the Boston suburb.The bear was first spotted in the area in the area of Scituate Street at Spring, according to Arlington police.Officers responded and in a short time updated that the wandering bruin and then been spotted in the area of Paul Revere Road and Park Avenue.Arlington Police, along with the town’s animal control officer and the Massachusetts Environmental police have responded.Officers are also monitoring in the area of the town’s schools.Monday’s sighting comes after a bear caused a stir in Newton on Sunday. It’s not know at this time if the Arlington and Newton ursids are the same animal.Newton police on Sunday shared video of a black bear in that community after it made an appearance in Newton Highlands near Cold Springs Park.Environmental police, in a statement to the Herald on Sunday, said that no aggressive behavior had been observed related to the Newton sightin...

Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s tarnished 3-time premier, dies at 86

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:42 GMT

By FRANCES D’EMILIO (Associated Press)ROME (AP) — Silvio Berlusconi cast a spell over Italy — and nearly led it to financial ruin.Many Italians admired the media mogul for his wealth, his charm and his brash, boastful style, and they kept returning him to power, making him the country’s longest-serving premier.Nothing seemed to shake the one-time cruise ship crooner — not his corruption trials or diplomatic gaffes, not accusations that he was wrecking the country, not even the lurid scandals stemming from sex-fueled “bunga bunga” parties with young women at his villas that turned him into a global joke.Berlusconi — whose Mediaset television network announced his death Monday at the age of 86 — had a hold on Italian politics that he summed up in 2009: “The majority of Italians in their hearts would like to be like me.”That affection faded in 2011 when Europe’s debt crisis turned Italy’s economy into a shamb...

Stock market today: Wall Street points higher ahead of inflation data, Fed policy meeting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:42 GMT

BANGKOK — Wall Street was on track to open higher early Monday with two inflation reports and an interest rate decision by the Federal Reserve on tap in the coming days.Futures for the S&P 500 gained 0.3% while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 0.1% before the bell Monday.Many observers expect the Fed to stand pat given recent data showing the U.S. economy slowing. This week also brings data on prices that might indicate whether the Fed is succeeding in snuffing inflation. On Tuesday, the government releases its monthly report on inflation at the consumer level. Most analysts expect that consumer prices rose modestly in May, easing from a bigger-than-expected jump in April. The government on Wednesday issues its report on inflation at the wholesale level, with many economists predicting a small decline in prices. After its meeting Wednesday afternoon, the Fed will announce its latest interest rate decision. While many expect the Fed to leave rates alone for ...

Mount Washington, known for extreme weather, records its snowiest June

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:42 GMT

GORHAM, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire mountain known for its extreme weather conditions has recorded its snowiest June in 91 years of recordkeeping. Snowfall on Saturday atop Mount Washington brought the total amount to 8.4 inches (21.3 centimeters) for the month of June, according to the Mount Washington Observatory. But with a return to warmer weather, nearly all of it had melted by early Monday. The observatory posted on Facebook that statistically speaking, the last snowfall of the season typically occurs in early to mid-June most years.A quasi-stationary low sat over the region, delivering snow early every day of the month.“With another low and cold air approaching in the days ahead, we could see that total grow further,” the observatory said in a statement. The observatory is at the summit of the Northeast’s highest mountain, at 6,288 feet (1,916.5 meters). The Associated Press

The ChatGPT guy wants to scan your eyeball with an orb. What could go wrong?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:42 GMT

Sam Altman, the CEO of Open AI, the company behind ChatGPT, has co-founded a cryptocurrency project called Worldcoin, which is currently scanning people’s eyeballs using an orb, and digitizing their irises for use as identification. As of this podcast’s release, over 1.8 million people have had their irises scanned in exchange for the promise of receiving some Worldcoin in the future (despite the currency not yet being in existence), some local currency, or small gifts.Jacob Silverman, co-author of Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud and host of CBC podcast The Naked Emperor, says  we should be skeptical when those within Silicon Valley claim altruistic or humanitarian motives. “Crypto typically speaks towards ideas of decentralization and disrupting existing power structures, but I think we’ve seen that in practice it doesn’t often do that, or [it] sometimes replicates existing power structures,” says Silverman.So why does Wo...

JPMorgan reaches settlement with victims of Jeffrey Epstein

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:42 GMT

JPMorgan Chase has reached a settlement in a class action lawsuit with victims of financier Jeffrey Epstein.Epstein was arrested in 2019 on federal charges accusing him of paying underage girls hundreds of dollars in cash for massages and then molesting them at his homes in Florida and New York. He was found dead in jail on Aug. 10 of that year, at age 66. A medical examiner ruled his death a suicide.The lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court in November sought to hold JPMorgan financially liable for Epstein’s decades-long abuse of teenage girls and young women. A related lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. Virgin Islands.Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.“The parties believe this settlement is in the best interests of all parties, especially the survivors who were the victims of Epstein’s terrible abuse,” the bank said in a statement on Monday. Litigation is still pending between the U.S. Virgin Islands and JPMorgan Chase, as well as JPMorgan Chase’s claims against former...