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Russell Brand makes first public comments since sexual assault allegations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:14 GMT

(CNN) — Russell Brand has made his first public comments since being accused of rape and sexual assault, thanking followers for “questioning the information they have been presented with” while not addressing the claims.In a YouTube video published by the British comedian on Friday night, Brand – who denies the allegations – spoke of an “extraordinary and distressing week,” accusing the UK government of trying to censor him.Last Saturday, British outlets The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4’s “Dispatches” published a joint investigation in which four women alleged Brand sexually assaulted them in separate instances between 2006 and 2013. One of the women said she was 16 and Brand was 31 at the time of the alleged assault in London.The women chose not to be identified by name in the report, according to the The Times. CNN has not been able to independently verify their claims.At least two of the alleged assaults took place in Los Angeles. One woman was treated at a rape treatmen...

Search underway for woman reported missing from SW Miami-Dade

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:14 GMT

Police seek the public’s help in their search for a woman who was reported missing from Southwest Miami-Dade.According to Miami-Dade Police, 40-year-old Stephanie Torres was last seen along the 15700 block of Southwest 147th Lane, at around 8:45 a.m., Saturday.Torres stands 5 feet, 1 inch tall, weighs around 180 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes.She was last seen wearing a black tank top, black shorts and black sandals.Investigators said Torres was driving a silver, two-door 2010 Honda Accord with the Florida tag DJNI63.Police said she left her mother’s home without permission and has not made contact with family or friends. She may be in need of services.Officials urge anyone with information on her whereabouts to call Miami-Dade Police Detective Y. Hernandez, or any detective of MDPD’s Special Victims Bureau/Missing Persons Squad, at 305-715-3300, or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS (8477).

With House Republicans in turmoil, colleagues implore GOP holdouts not to shut down government

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:14 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Working furiously to take control of a House in disarray, allies of Speaker Kevin McCarthy implored their Republican colleagues Saturday to drop their hardline tactics and work together to approve a conservative spending plan to prevent a federal shutdown.In public overtures and private calls, Republican lieutenants of the embattled speaker pleaded with a handful of right-flank holdouts to resist further disruptions that have ground the House to a halt and back McCarthy’s latest plan to keep government open before next weekend’s Sept. 30 deadline for a shutdown.Republican Rep. Garrett Graves of Louisiana said the holdouts are “absolutely hallucinating” if they think they can wrap up work without the need for a temporary measure that many of them have shunned before time runs out.“An important part of this strategy is going to be ensuring that we do everything we can to avoid a government shutdown,” Graves sai...

Birthplace of the atomic bomb braces for its biggest mission since the Manhattan Project

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:14 GMT

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. — Los Alamos was the perfect spot for the U.S. government’s top-secret Manhattan Project.Almost overnight, the ranching enclave on a remote plateau in northern New Mexico was transformed into a makeshift home for scientists, engineers and young soldiers racing to develop the world’s first atomic bomb. Dirt roads were hastily built and temporary housing came in the form of huts and tents as the outpost’s population ballooned.The community is facing growing pains again, 80 years later, as Los Alamos National Laboratory takes part in the nation’s most ambitious nuclear weapons effort since World War II. The mission calls for modernizing the arsenal with droves of new workers producing plutonium cores — key components for nuclear weapons.Some 3,300 workers have been hired in the last two years, with the workforce now topping more than 17,270. Close to half of them commute to work from elsewhere in northern New Mexico and from as far away as Albuquerque, help...

Massachusetts federal delegation working to boost Healey’s funding request, Markey says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:14 GMT

The federal delegation is working to boost the profile of a plea from Gov. Maura Healey for federal funding to address an emergency shelter crisis in Massachusetts, Sen Ed Markey told the Herald Saturday.Healey has publicly called on the Biden administration multiple times for money to deal with an overcrowded emergency shelter system serving local homeless families and newly-arrived migrants. Managing the influx of migrants and crushing costs of housing in Massachusetts has emerged as one of the first major tests of the Healey administration.Markey said the state’s federal delegation is working to raise the issue of federal funding with the Biden administration.“We’re working with [Healey] to press for more funding from the federal level to help the governor and we’ve been doing it now for several weeks,” Markey said at the Massachusetts Democratic Party convention in Lowell. “We’re going to continue because we know it’s a problem that has to be dealt with and the...

Young conservatives gather to ‘grow base’ in Massachusetts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:14 GMT

The New England Young Conservatives gathered for their first conference in Natick on Saturday, networking and discussing how to grow the base in a blue state.“We want to build a strong robust party in Massachusetts,” NE Young Conservatives Co-President Jaclyn Corriveau said of the group. “We want to build a robust network of conservative thinkers to rival the other side. Obviously, we’re a minority now, and we want our generation to be the one who really brings balance to the Commonwealth.”The organization said they said they had about 100 attendees at the inaugural conference, which broke down into networking, speaking and Q&A portions.Corriveau called the Young Conservatives a “big tent organization” for anyone inspired by the conservative cause. Ahead of the conference, she said, they worked to bring in young people under 40 years old and recruit at colleges.Massachusetts is 27% Republican and 56% Democrat, according to Pew Research, ...

Chicago Cubs manager David Ross texts Pittsburgh Pirates counterpart Derek Shelton, trying to clarify postgame remarks about the team

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:14 GMT

Chicago Cubs manager David Ross tried to set the record straight Saturday.Ross thought he had corrected himself during his postgame remarks Thursday but wanted to clarify his intention with Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton.Ross texted Shelton on Friday night to explain that his comments after the Cubs’ 8-6 loss to the Pirates on Thursday at Wrigley Field stemmed from frustration about his team’s performance when he stated, “That’s not a good team that just took two of three from us — or not our caliber team, I believe — and we’ve got to turn it around. It’s on me. It’s on the guys in that room.”The Pirates took exception to Ross’ words. Shelton told reporters Friday, in part, that “it’s unfortunate that he chose to make them about our team instead of his team.” The Cubs won 10 of 13 games in the season series, outscoring the Pirates 101-49.“I was more talking about us and how we played ...

Diana DiZoglio burst into song as she pushed legislative audit at Massachusetts Democratic convention

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:14 GMT

LOWELL — If there was any question about what State Auditor Diana DiZoglio was going to say during her state Democratic convention speech Saturday, she immediately put to bed speculation when she walked out to the 1980s hit “Walking on Sunshine.”The song was used as an anthem — outside of her own ballad of transparency  — for her campaign to audit the legislature, a push that has met fierce resistance from top lawmakers on Beacon Hill. It is an effort that has taken DiZoglio from the Attorney General’s office to the 2024 ballot question realm.DiZoglio made clear during her short speech that the “biggest roadblock” she has faced since taking office earlier this year is ensuring “our Democratic values” are represented up on Beacon Hill.“See, I audit over 200 state entities and the only one that has refused to comply is unfortunately our own state legislature,” DiZoglio, a former state senator from Methuen, said to a crowd that included the very people she wants to audit. “Now, I...

Ticker: Wall Street closes its worst week in six months with more losses

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:14 GMT

Wall Street wheezed to more losses as it limped to the finish of its worst week in six months.The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% Friday after a late-day swoon erased a modest gain it had held for most of the day. The Dow fell 106 points, and the Nasdaq composite dipped 0.1%.It capped an ugly slide for the week caused by Wall Street’s growing understanding that interest rates likely won’t come down much anytime soon. Treasury yields eased a bit after jumping earlier in the week to their highest levels in more than a decade.Bond market yields climbed to their highest levels in more than a decade, and accelerated this week after the Federal Reserve indicated it’s unlikely to cut its main interest rate by as much in 2024 as investors had hoped.Many states are expanding their Medicaid programs to provide dental care to their poorest residentsA growing number of states are offering dental care to low-income adults who once had to rely on charity or the emergency room to treat their tooth proble...

Autonomous vehicles: California governor vetoes bill requiring human drivers to supervise

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:14 GMT

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill to require human drivers on board self-driving trucks, a measure that union leaders and truck drivers said would save hundreds of thousands of jobs in the state.The legislation vetoed Friday night would have banned self-driving trucks weighing more than 10,000 pounds — ranging from UPS delivery vans to massive big rigs — from operating on public roads unless a human driver is on board.Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, head of the California Labor Federation, said driverless trucks are dangerous and called Newsom’s veto shocking. She estimates that removing drivers would cost a quarter million jobs in the state.“We will not sit by as bureaucrats side with tech companies, trading our safety and jobs for increased corporate profits. We will continue to fight to make sure that robots do not replace human drivers and that technology is not used to destroy good jobs,” Fletcher said in a statement late Friday.In a statement announcing that he wo...