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Cuba exposes Russian human trafficking ring for military recruitment

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:09 GMT

The Cuban government has exposed a Russian trafficking operation used to lure Cubans into the war against Ukraine, Cuban authorities announced Monday. “The Ministry of the Interior has detected and is working to neutralize and dismantle a human trafficking network operating from Russia to incorporate Cuban citizens living there, and even some from Cuba, into the military forces participating in war operations in Ukraine,” the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday.The authorities are taking legal actions against the traffickers, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday.Cuba condemned the recruitment racket, underlining that the country is “not part of the war conflict in Ukraine,” and that it does not want to look “complicit in these actions.” Russia and Cuba share a history of communism and have historically been allies. In July, Cuba came under fire for allegedly taking orders from Russia, after the country...

1 dead, 2 injured in early morning crash on Route 3 in Pembroke

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:09 GMT

One person is dead, and two others are hospitalized after an early morning crash on Route 3 in Pembroke, state police said.Troopers responding to a single-vehicle crash on Route 3 southbound around 3:45 a.m. Tuesday determined the crash resulted in a fatality and assisted in transporting two other occupants to an area hospital. The name of the person who died has not been released.The cause of the crash remains under investigation.No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

After a small sample, Austin Wells’ defense receives rave reviews

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:09 GMT

HOUSTON — Being a rookie is tough. Being a catcher is intricate. Being both — while learning a new pitching staff in the middle of a season — seems daunting.And yet, early reviews say Austin Wells is doing a great job with all of it after three games in the majors.“I’ve been extremely impressed with just kind of the aptitude and how he’s stepped into this environment,” Yankees catching coordinator Tanner Swanson told the Daily News, noting that Wells has to manage the PitchCom, pitch clock and running game signs, in addition to learning new pitchers and opposing hitters on the fly. “All things considered, he’s been able to step back there and kind of manage the moment and really just lock in on the task at hand, which is a challenge for a lot of young players.”Swanson spoke before the Yankees completed their sweep of the Astros with a 6-1 win on Sunday. In addition to recording an RBI double, Wells nabbed the very first big...

Turkey and Greece agree to revive talks and seek ‘new approaches’ to resolve decades-old disputes

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:09 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The foreign ministers of Greece and Turkey agreed on Tuesday to revive high-level contacts between their countries and seek “new approaches” to problems as part of efforts to improve ties between the two NATO allies who are at loggerheads over a string of decades-old disputes. Discussions between Greece’s Giorgos Gerapetritis and Turkey’s Hakan Fidan were held in a more friendly climate triggered by Greece sending assistance to Turkey following a devastating earthquake earlier this year, and Turkey offering condolences after a deadly train accident in Greece.“We have entered a new and positive period in our relations with Greece,” Fidan told journalists at the end of their talks. “We reiterated our belief that our problems will be resolved through a constructive dialogue between the two neighbors and allies.”The meeting came as Ankara, in the throes of an economic downturn, is seeking a reset of its often-troubled relations with Western nations. It follow...

The impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is set to begin in the state Senate

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:09 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton faced the most serious threat to his troubled career Tuesday with the start of an impeachment trial that could permanently oust the embattled Republican from office after years of alleged corruption and scandal. The fate of Paxton, a 60-year-old Republican, is in the hands of GOP senators with whom he served before winning a statewide race to take charge of the attorney general’s office in 2015.A handful of Paxton supporters in red shirts began lining up outside the Texas Capitol before sunrise, waiting for state police to open the doors so they could witness Texas’ first impeachment trial in nearly half a century.“It is the Austin swamp,” said Kaci Sisk, who heads a group of conservative activists near San Antonio who have been looking to line up primary opponents to Republicans who have supported Paxton’s impeachment. “This thing has been a sham from the start.”In an era of bitter partisanship, the historic p...

One way to boost students’ scores? Help teachers conquer their math anxiety

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:09 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — In July, in a packed classroom in downtown Chicago, a group composed mostly of early elementary teachers and child care workers read a story about “Wendi,” a fictional preschool teacher who loves reading but struggles in math. Even though Wendi was drawn to early education, where “math was so easy,” she still felt unsure of her skills. In the story, she decided to skip math concepts, leaving them for the teachers her students would have next year. Across the room, people nodded their heads as they listened.“I am Wendi. Wendi is me,” said Ivory McCormick, a kindergarten teacher from Atlanta. Several other educators in the classroom identified with Wendi, and that was the point. Decades of research shows math anxiety is a common problem for adults, and surveys show it particularly affects women, who make up nearly 90% of elementary teachers in the United States.Put simply, a lot of elementary school educators hate the prospect of teaching math, even when the concepts ar...

Stock market today: Wall Street points modestly lower to kick off holiday-shortened week

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:09 GMT

Wall Street pointed modestly lower Tuesday in a shortened trading week following the Labor Day holiday.Futures for the Dow Jones industrials were essentially flat andthe S&P 500 dipped a little more than 0.1%.Markets are looking ahead to a quieter week with earnings season winding down and just a trickle of government economic data out this week, including updates on manufacturing, layoffs and trade.On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 0.2%, coming off its first monthly loss since February, as U.S. employment figures suggested the jobs market may be cooling. That fueled hopes that the Federal Reserve might moderate interest rate increases to tamp down inflation. The Labor Department reported Friday that employers added a solid 187,000 jobs in August, an increase from July’s revised gain of 157,000. Hiring moderated: From June through August, the economy added 449,000 jobs, the lowest three-month total in three years.The report also showed the unemployment rate rose to 3.8% from 3.5%....

Canadian home prices forecasted to be flat this fall amid high interest rates: report

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:09 GMT

TORONTO — A new report forecasts Canada’s real estate market will be softer this fall with average home prices predicted to remain flat.In its fall housing market outlook, Re/Max Canada says the forecast comes as the housing market deals with high interest rates and a lack of homes for sale.According to an online survey, the report says 33 per cent of Canadians who are interested in buying and/or selling a home in the next 12 months will wait and see how interest rate changes play out before buying. Mortgage rates have risen sharply as the Bank of Canada has raised interest rates in an effort to bring inflation under control and back to its target of two per cent.Bucking the overall trend, Re/Max says there are a few outliers where home prices are expected to increase, including larger markets such as the Greater Toronto Area, Calgary and Sudbury, Ont.The online survey of 1,517 Canadians was done by Leger between July 21 and 23.The poll cannot be assigned a margin of error bec...

27 Metro grocery stores reopening today for first time in over a month

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:09 GMT

More than two dozen Metro stores that were shut down due to a workers’ strike are reopening on Tuesday for the first time in over a month.Union members approved a tentative agreement on Thursday, putting an end to the job action. Despite this, the company said the shuttered locations were not be ready to reopen last week since they were in need of major restocking.More than 3,700 workers at 27 locations were off the job since July 29. The closed stores were located almost entirely in the GTA (full list below).A new five-year deal means workers will get an immediate raise of $1.50 an hour, with full-time and senior part-time workers getting an additional $0.50 raise in January, bringing their total pay increase over the coming months to $2 an hour.The workers, represented by Unifor, voted to ratify the deal just two days after Metro was granted a temporary injunction restricting secondary picket lines that blocked fresh product deliveries to its stores.A list of Metro locations...

It’s time to celebrate annuals, the type of loyal friend every gardener can use

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:09 GMT

Summer annuals are the champions of the late-season garden.Perennials are the majority residents in my flower gardens, and each year, I welcome the reliable, repeat performers when they arrive to spend summer like a dear, old friend who comes to visit. Most bloom intermittently from late spring through August, but as I flip my calendar to September, it’s apparent that many of them have one foot out the door.However, the annuals that share their beds don’t care that Halloween decorations are showing up in the stores or that pumpkin spice lattes are back. They’re still showing up every day like it’s mid-July.I didn’t always plant annuals in the ground, instead relegating a few seasonal purchases of petunias, impatiens and calibrachoas to hanging baskets and window boxes. But I always regretted that decision when the shoulder season between summer and fall crept in. This year, the annual Beacon impatiens, Superbena verbenas and Queen Lime zinnias I planted in spring are carrying the la...