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EU lawmakers say Hungary is not ready for frozen EU funds

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:25 GMT

A group of EU lawmakers on a visit to Budapest raised doubts on whether they think Hungary is ready to receive frozen EU cash.Members of the European Parliament weighed in on the ongoing row between the European Commission and Viktor Orbán’s right-wing government following Brussels’ concerns about judicial independence and corruption in Hungary.Four MEPs from across the spectrum criticized Hungary’s audit body as unfit for purpose and accused the government of using public tenders to “enrich the family and friends of Viktor Orbán.”“Our questions to the state audit authority concerning misuse, manipulation of tenders, reliability of budget accounts, reporting of fraud cases to prosecution remained unanswered,” Monika Hohlmeier, the chair of the Parliament’s budgetary control committee, told reporters in Budapest.At the end of a three-day visit with Hungarian public officials, NGOs and journalists, European lawmakers praised Hungary’s progress on some rule-of-law issues but poin...

Lawmakers Weigh Bills To Decriminalize Prostitution

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:25 GMT

Prostitution would be decriminalized in Massachusetts under bills discussed before the Judiciary Committee this week, though there is a deep divide among sex workers and activists about how far that decriminalization should go.Two bills filed this session would decriminalize prostitution. One, however, would only repeal criminal penalties that apply to prostitutes themselves, leaving those who sell and purchase sex (“pimps” and “johns”) open to arrest and prosecution. Another bill filed by Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa seeks to entirely legalize the sex trade.Dozens of people testified Tuesday afternoon — into Tuesday evening — at a Joint Committee on the Judiciary hearing in favor of a Rep. Mary Keefe and Sen. Cindy Friedman bill (H 1597 / S 983) to decriminalize prostitution while maintaining legal consequences for people who buy sex and those who exploit sex workers.“The sex trade is rooted in United States history of exploitation of buying and s...

Suspect in University of Idaho quadruple killings, Bryan Kohberger, indicted by grand jury on murder and burglary charges

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:25 GMT

(CNN) — The suspect in the fatal stabbing last year of four University of Idaho students has been indicted by a grand jury on murder and burglary charges, a court official told CNN.Bryan Kohberger was indicted on all five original charges – four counts of murder and one count of burglary – Latah County Deputy Court Clerk Tamzen Reeves said Wednesday. If found guilty, he could face the death penalty.A hearing is set for Monday.Kohberger was arrested in December for allegedly carrying out the November 13 killings of Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20, at a home just outside the University of Idaho’s main campus in Moscow, not far from the border with Washington state.CNN has reached out to Kohberger’s attorney for comment.The slayings prompted a weekslong search for a suspect, leaving the campus and surrounding community wracked with uncertainty and fear until Kohberger’s arrest December 30 at his pa...

Patriots reportedly hire first woman scouting assistant from college ranks

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:25 GMT

The Patriots have reportedly hired former Princeton director of football operations Maya Ana Callender, making her the second female employee in their scouting department and the first female scouting assistant.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots CB Jonathan Jones offers surprising take on Christian Gonzalez draft pick New England Patriots | Patriots OT Riley Reiff has one goal in debut season with New England New England Patriots | Patriots-Titans preseason game date and time announced New England Patriots | Guregian: Emptying the notebook after a 38-year run at the Herald New England Patriots | Guregian: Patriots schedule is a doozy no matter which way you slice it Callender spent four years at Princeton, where she worked with NFL scouts as a liaison. According to the school, she was also involved in team travel, communication, player engagement and alumni relations. Callender follows direc...

NBA Coaching Carousel: Matchmaking for the league’s five coaching vacancies

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:25 GMT

Who’s up next?It’s the question at least five NBA teams are going to have to answer in the coming weeks as the league’s championship hunt nears its end.The Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons each went in a different direction with their head coaches this offseason, with several of those teams pivoting despite recent success from the sidelines.What they do next could make or break their odds at success this upcoming season. Here’s a peek into each team’s coaching hunt ahead of the reshuffle this summer.<u>PISTONS</u>Former coach: Dwane Casey (promoted to front office)Goal: Develop young playersThe Pistons are one of the youngest teams in the NBA, and owning both the fifth and 31st picks in the June 22 NBA Draft, they project to get younger.That makes former UConn head coach Kevin Ollie a perfect prospect for the job — and Ollie has reportedly advanced to the second round of interviews ...

Rachael Rollins committed ‘an extraordinary abuse of her power,’ US Office of Special Counsel wrote to Biden

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:25 GMT

U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins “committed an extraordinary abuse of her power” when she violated the Hatch Act, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel wrote to President Biden on Wednesday, as the agency called the violations “among the most egregious transgressions of the Act that OSC has ever investigated.”OSC, an independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency, ruled that Rollins should be disciplined for her repeated abuse of her official authority as U.S. Attorney for political purposes in violation of the Hatch Act.However, because Rollins announced that she will be resigning later this week, she will get off scot-free without any discipline from the feds.The OSC on Wednesday sent a report to Biden, detailing how Rollins willfully violated the Hatch Act on multiple occasions.“The U.S. Office of Special Counsel has found that U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, Rachael Rollins, violated the Hatch Act and, in doing so, committed a...

Prince Harry and Meghan pursued in their car by photographers in NYC, made getaway in taxi

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:25 GMT

By MICHAEL R. SISAK, BOBBY CAINA CALVAN and DANICA KIRKA (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, were pursued in their car by photographers after a charity event in New York, an incident that the mayor and the couple’s office described Wednesday as potentially dangerous and stirred memories of the 1997 car crash that killed Harry’s mother, Princess Diana.With the help of police, the couple was eventually able to switch to a taxi cab and be whisked away, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter and did so on condition of anonymity.The cab driver, Sukhcharn Singh, told The Associated Press that he instantly recognized his passengers when they scooted in. “They were following us the whole time,” he said of the paparazzi, though he said he wouldn’t call it a chase.The New York City police department confirmed the incident involving photographers and the Duke and Duch...

Vaccine to fight cancer shows promise using mRNA technology

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:25 GMT

The same technology that was used to create Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine is being targeted on melanoma, and the treatment is having positive effects, according to researchers at the Yale Cancer Center.It’s another step in using the body’s immune system to fight diseases, using a person’s own mRNA to target cancer.The randomized Phase 2 study compares personalized mRNA vaccines given along with Keytruda, an immunotherapy drug with the generic name pembrolizumab, vs. giving Keytruda alone.Dr. Thuy Tran of the Yale School of Medicine (Robert Lisak)“Keytruda was established as part of standard of care for stage three melanoma patients … after surgery to help minimize recurrence risk for individuals with high-risk disease,” according to Dr. Thuy Tran, the principal investigator.Moderna proposed the study combining Keytruda with the mRNA vaccine “to try to improve upon those odds to further decrease recurrence,” she said. Of 157 participants, 107 received both drugs and 50 received only Key...

Mets call up slugging prospect Mark Vientos after torrid start at Triple-A: source

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:25 GMT

Mark Vientos is headed back to the Major Leagues, but how the Mets are going to use him is another question.The Mets badly need more firepower in an offense that ranks toward the bottom half of the league in runs, home runs and average with runners in scoring position. A source confirmed to the Daily News that the Mets are calling up Mark Vientos, who has provided plenty of power for Triple-A Syracuse this season.But where he’ll play isn’t quite clear. Brett Baty is at third base and Pete Alonso is at first. The Mets could DH him in place of Daniel Vogelbach or Tommy Pham, but the team decision-makers have been hesitant to use their rookies in the DH spot because of their developing defense. The Mets didn’t want to do that with catcher Francisco Alvarez this year and they didn’t call up Baty until they were forced to, saying they wanted him to master defense at Triple-A.The best place to play him might be in left field in place of the struggling Mark Canha, b...

New book ‘Last On His Feet’ captures brilliantly boxer Jack Johnson and the Battle of the Century

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:25 GMT

Rick Kogan | Chicago Tribune (TNS)The first Black boxing champion was a man named Jack Johnson and a few years before he died in 1946, he told a young reporter, “Just remember, whatever you write about me, that I was a man.”You will meet this man in all his ferocity, style, audacity and courage in a spectacular new book, a dynamic and unforgettable collaboration between artist Youssef Daoudi and writer Adrian Matejka.“Last On His Feet: Jack Johnson and the Battle of the Century” is a wonder of words and images. It could be called a graphic novel if that description didn’t fail to fully capture its cinematically visual and literary substance.Writers and artists have long been intrigued by boxing, with the physical and emotional drama that is inherent in the sport, as far back as Homer and Plato. Jack London wrote a lot about boxing (in this book showing a vile racism) and so did George Bernard Shaw, A.J. Liebling, who called it the “sweet science,” and Hemingway and Mailer. Novelist ...