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Amid pressure, Flemish party leader resigns over racist remarks 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:52 GMT

Flemish Socialist Party leader Conner Rousseau resigned Friday evening after he recently came under fire for racists from fellow party members for remarks he made in September about the Roma community. On Friday evening, the Brussels’ section of his party called for Rousseau’s resignation during the party’s extraordinary meeting, according to Dutch news.In September, Rousseau made racist remarks to a police officer about “all that brown scum,” xenophobic remarks that led to calls for resignation from several Belgian public officials against the now-ousted president of the Vooruit party, according to Dutch news Nieuwsblad. He later claimed he was drunk and apologized.“These statements are absolutely unacceptable,” Brussels MP Els Rochette said.Other officials chimed in on Thursday before his resignation.“Racist statements are never to be tolerated. But [they are] totally unacceptable for a leader of a socialist party because they are c...

Ticker: Honda recalls nearly 250K vehicles because bearing can fail

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:52 GMT

Honda is recalling nearly 250,000 vehicles in the U.S. because bearings can fail, causing the engines to stall and increasing the risk of a crash.The recall covers certain 2018 and 2019 Honda Pilot SUVs and Odyssey minivans and some 2017 and 2019 Ridgeline pickup trucks. Also affected are certain 2015 to 2020 Acura TLX cars and some 2016 to 2020 Acura MDX SUVs.Honda says in documents posted Friday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that connecting rod bearings in the engine can wear and seize due to a manufacturing error, damaging the engines. The engines could run improperly or stall while being driven, increasing the risk of a fire, crash or injury.FDA screening US cinnamon imports after kids sickened by tainted applesauceThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration is screening imports of cinnamon from multiple countries for toxic lead contamination after growing reports of children who were sickened after eating pouches of applesauce and apple puree.Cinnamon from a m...

Column: GM Chris Getz gets an early start on dismantling the 2023 Chicago White Sox. Who will be next?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:52 GMT

Chicago White Sox general manager Chris Getz stared back at a few dozen reporters on a Zoom call Friday afternoon after informing them top prospect Colson Montgomery doesn’t have to worry about making the team out of spring training.No one had any more questions and no one was stopping the Zoom.Getz wasn’t sure exactly what to do.“Are we at the point where we just do a staredown?” Getz asked reporters.I was prepared to take over as emergency moderator, but the White Sox media relations man got back on the screen after his Wi-Fi returned, saving the day.It’s been that kind of a year for the White Sox, who never found a low point that couldn’t get even lower. The recent exodus by broadcaster Jason Benetti to the Detroit Tigers booth was just the latest blow, coming off a season so horrible Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf admitted he wouldn’t watch the games on his DVR if the Sox lost. The team lost 101 games, so he missed some of Benetti’s fine...

No evidence yet to support hate crime charge in death of pro-Israel protester, officials say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:52 GMT

By JOHN ANTCZAK and JULIE WATSON (Associated Press)LOS ANGELES (AP) — California authorities said Friday they have not ruled out that a hate crime was committed in the death of a pro-Israel demonstrator following a confrontation with a college professor but so far the evidence only supports the charges of involuntary manslaughter and battery. Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said his office charged Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji, 50, with those two offenses in the death of Paul Kessler, 69, after reviewing over 600 pieces of evidence and interviewing more than 60 witnesses. “We were not pre-committed to any specific outcome or even criminal culpability, and we never treated the fact that criminal charges would be a forgone conclusion,” he said.The two men got into a physical altercation Nov. 5 during protests over the Israel-Hamas war, and Kessler fell back and hit his head on the ground, which caused the fatal injuries, authorities have said. He died the n...

Worcester-based group adult foster care managers indicted for alleged $1.6M Medicaid fraud scheme

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:52 GMT

The managers of a Worcester-based group adult foster care company have been indicted in connection with an alleged $1.6 million Medicaid fraud scheme, according to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.Union Home Health Care Services’ managers were arrested on Thursday and charged with allegedly defrauding MassHealth of more than $1.6 million, Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s Office announced.Worcester residents Bernice Codjia, 39, and Augustus Kormah, 66, were indicted by a Worcester County grand jury. Their company, Union Home Health Care Services, was also indicted.Each defendant was charged with Medicaid false claims. Codjia and Home Health Care Services were also charged with larceny over $1,200.Group adult foster care services help MassHealth members with performing daily life activities, such as eating, bathing, housekeeping and laundry.Union Home Health Care Services and Codjia are accused of using fraudulent nursing assessments and forms to sign up...

Home Showcase: Updates shine in Wellesley 4-bed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:52 GMT

Between its highly coveted location close to Linden Square in Wellesley, proximity to shopping and dining options, schools, and access to commuting options, 6 Pleasant Street already has a lot going for it. Tack on a sparkling renovation, an ideal layout, and outdoor space and you have a winning space that will find its new family sooner rather than later.Curb appeal? Check. Meticulous but unfussy landscaping? Check. A home that exudes that suburban warmth while being thoroughly updated and close to everything? Yup, check. Although it’s been opened up and brightened significantly, the home’s 1917 bones suit it quite well because it manages to achieve everything buyers want in an open floor plan — the flow, the togetherness — and the coziness of dedicated spaces for dining and resting. With the addition of a sunroom, there are plenty of nooks to curl up in.Four bedrooms are split between the second and third level — there’s also a partially finished basement in case you have ideas fo...

Rosalynn Carter enters hospice care

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:52 GMT

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has entered hospice care at her home in Plains, Georgia, the Carter Center announced Friday.The 96-year-old joins her husband, former President Jimmy Carter, who entered hospice care back in February.The family announced earlier this year that the former first lady is suffering from dementia. The former president entered hospice care at home in February."She and President Carter are spending time with each other and their family," said a statement, shared on behalf of the Carters' grandson, Jason. "The Carter family continues to ask for privacy and remains grateful for the outpouring of love and support."Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter have been married for more than 77 years, through his rise from their Georgia farm to his election to the presidency in 1976. After his 1980 defeat, the couple established The Carter Center in Atlanta as a global center to advocate human rights, democracy and public health.The Associated Press contrib...

Golden Globes find new home at CBS after years of scandal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:52 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The Golden Globes have found a new broadcast home at CBS after the troubled awards show lost its longtime home at NBC and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association was dissolved after years of scandal.The 81st Golden Globes will air live on CBS and stream on Paramount+ on Sunday, Jan. 7, CBS and the Globes announced Friday. The show will also be available on the CBS app. The network declined to comment on the terms of the deal, including how long the agreement runs for. NBC broadcast the 2023 Globes on a one-year basis after the 2022 edition was essentially canceled. After a 2021 report revealed the Hollywood Foreign Press Association had no Black members, stars and studios boycotted the Globes before returning for this year’s awards. After the 2023 broadcast, held on a Tuesday evening, NBC opted not to renew its contract. A near-record low of 6.3 million viewers tuned in, according to Nielsen. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has since been reorganized an...

Organized crime figure Gregory Woolley killed in daytime shooting near Montreal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:52 GMT

MONTREAL — An influential organized crime leader has been killed in a daytime shooting in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, southeast of Montreal. Police did not immediately identify the victim but The Canadian Press has learned he was Gregory Woolley, who has long been associated with the Hells Angels biker gang as well as with the Mafia and street gangs.St-Jean-sur-Richelieu police responded to a call of shots being fired at around 10:30 a.m. in a parking lot located near a health-care facility, and found a 51-year-old man who was later declared dead in hospital.Quebec provincial police say they have taken over the investigation because of its apparent links to organized crime, and nobody has been arrested.Woolley has been described by authorities in the past as a street gang boss and confidant of the late Hells Angels kingpin Maurice (Mom) Boucher.Woolley was sentenced to eight years minus time served in 2018 after pleading guilty to gangsterism and drug trafficking and was released in 2020...

Tropical disturbance hits western Caribbean, unleashing floods and landslides in Jamaica

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:52 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A potential tropical cyclone moved across the western Caribbean on Friday, knocking out power to thousands in Jamaica as it unleashed landslides and floods, authorities said.The disturbance was located about 50 miles (85 kilometers) southwest of Montego Bay, Jamaica with top winds of 35 mph (55 mph). It was moving northeast at 16 mph (26 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.Some 14,000 customers were without power in Jamaica after heavy rains downed trees, severed power lines and caused landslides, according to the Jamaica Public Service Company.At least 24 people were rescued from floodwaters in the island’s southeastern region, according to the Jamaican Defense Force.A tropical storm watch was in effect for Jamaica, Haiti, the Cuban provinces of Guantanamo, Santiago de Cuba, Holguin, Granma and Las Tunas, the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.The disturbance was expected to move across southeast Cuba by early Sa...