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Bear Grylls’ new challenge: Helping Zelenskyy rebuild Ukraine

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:27:47 GMT

Famous British adventurer Bear Grylls has joined Ukraine’s fight against Russia, raising cash to help rebuild war-torn Kyiv apartments. In a statement to POLITICO, Grylls said he was “proud” to be supporting the people of Ukraine, and added that he wanted to “support the millions of people who have had their lives torn apart by this war.”Grylls — who recently met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv for a British TV documentary — also said that he knows from training experience that survivors develop a “quiet courage and resilience that becomes their character,” attributes which he sees in the Ukrainian people who have been under attack from a Russian assault for more than a year. Grylls has become famous over the past two decades for starring in TV survival shows in which he defies brutal weather conditions, harsh environments, hunger and thirst. Last week, he officially became an ambassador for the Rebuild Ukraine program, which aims to restore 18 apar...

The four astronauts NASA selected for historic moon flyby mission

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:27:47 GMT

(CNN) — Members of the crew who will helm the first moon mission in five decades were revealed on Monday, queuing up the quartet to begin training for their historic lunar flyby that is set to take off in November 2024.The astronauts are NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency.Wiseman is a 47-year-old decorated naval aviator and test pilot who was first selected to be a NASA astronaut in 2009. He’s completed one prior spaceflight, a 165-day trip to the International Space Station that launched aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket in 2014. Most recently, Wiseman served as chief of the astronaut office before stepping down in November 2022, making him eligible for a flight assignment.Hansen, 47, is a fighter pilot who was selected by the Canadian Space Agency for astronaut training in 2009. He is one of only four active Canadian astronauts, and he recently became the first Canadian to be put in charge of tra...

Lowell man faces slew of charges after allegedly causing multiple crashes on Mass Pike, fleeing into swamp

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:27:47 GMT

A 33-year-old man from Lowell is facing a number of OUI and motor vehicle charges after state police say he caused multiple crashes on the Mass Pike before his arrest over the weekend.Massachusetts State Police spokesman David Procopio said Carlos Rodriguez is facing at least twelve separate charges after troopers arrested him in Charlton Sunday evening.According to Procopio, it was around 5:30 p.m. when state police started receiving multiple reports of a gold Cadillac being driven erratically on the Pike headed westbound, causing multiple crashes as he continued to drive.When located by troopers at the 82.8 mile marker in Charlton, the suspect refused to stop and caused a pursuit that soon ended after the suspect caused another crash, leading the pursuing trooper to stop and tend to the crash victim(s).Procopio said a total of two vehicles allegedly struck by Rodriguez included a Toyota RAV 4 SUV driven by a 62-year-old from Utica, NY, who was not injured, and an Audi Q5 driven by...

MSPCA searching for homes for over 30 sugar gliders

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:27:47 GMT

The MSPCA is searching for homes for 33 sugar gliders, exotic pets in the possum family. The organization took in the animals at Nevins Farm on March 30 after they were surrendered by their owner in Western Mass. “The owner was dealing with some medical issues, and there were a lot of [sugar gliders] on the property, so those factors likely led to the surrender,” said Nevins Farm Director Meaghan O’Leary.Courtesy of MSPCA-AngellO’Leary said many people don’t consider sugar gliders as pets, but they’re great for the right adopters. “We don’t often have sugar gliders in our care,” she added “It’s also rare that we get so many at once, so we really need adopters to step up and take these guys home,” she added.Courtesy of MSCPA-AngellSugar gliders are omnivores that need to eat a combination of insects, fruits, vegetables, nectar-based food, and commercia...

Report Documents “Stunning” MBTA Labor Shortage

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:27:47 GMT

The MBTA appears to be on track to start the next fiscal year with staffing levels 20 to 25 percent below what’s required to maintain the system and needs to hire 2,800 workers in the next 12 months to ensure safety and progress, according to a new report, which raises questions about how long staffing-related service reductions will remain in place. Gov. Maura Healey promised to hire an additional 1,000 transit workers before the end of 2023, and recently proposed $20 million toward the effort with other funds for MBTA hiring coming from the money lawmakers and former Gov. Charlie Baker steered to the T last year. Her hand-picked MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng takes over the fraught system next week, and has said he is committed to “ramping up hiring to ensure that we have the workforce in place to deliver the reliable service that riders deserve.” Factoring in current workforce numbers, vacancies and expected departures, the new Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundati...

2 arrested, 1 sought in thefts of catalytic converters from vehicles in Mississauga

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:27:47 GMT

Peel regional police say they’ve arrested two men and are seeking a third after several catalytic converters were stolen from vehicles in Mississauga late last month.Police alleged the suspects were caputured on security camera stealing several catalytic converters in the area of Tomken and Kamato roads on March 25, 2023 at around 2 a.m.“Uniformed officers and investigators from 12 Division attended the area and located the suspect vehicle fleeing the scene,” police said in a release. “The suspects were located a short distance away with the assistance of K9. Two suspects were arrested, and the stolen property was recovered.”Emerick Long-Lalonde, 25, of Innisfil, and Samuel Pelletier, 24, of Quebec, are both facing numerous theft and mischief charges.An arrest warrant has been issued for a third suspect, Charles Savoie Tessier, 25, of Mississauga.Catalytic converters are located on the bottom of vehicles and turn exhaust pollutants into less harmful emi...

Court hears legal challenge over a year after government invoked Emergencies Act

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:27:47 GMT

OTTAWA — A national civil liberties group says nebulous claims about economic instability or general unrest weren’t enough to legally justify the Liberal government’s use of the Emergencies Act early last year.The Canadian Civil Liberties Association is among the groups and individuals appearing in Federal Court beginning today to argue Ottawa lacked sound statutory grounds to use the emergency measures to quell protests that paralyzed the national capital and key border points.The government contends the measures taken to deal with the pan-Canadian emergency situation were targeted, proportional, time-limited and compliant with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.The Public Order Emergency Commission, a mandatory review that takes place after invocation of the Emergencies Act, found the government met the very high threshold for using the law.Now the legal arguments for and against the decision are being heard in a court of law.The three-day hearing began this m...

Energy stocks help lift S&P/TSX composite higher as oil prices rise

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:27:47 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index was up nearly 100 points in late-morning trading, helped higher by strength in energy stocks after Saudi Arabia and other major oil producers announced surprise cuts on the weekend.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 95.68 points at 20,195.57.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 174.87 points at 33,449.02. The S&P 500 index was down 5.19 points at 4,104.12, while the Nasdaq composite was down 109.24 points at 12,112.67.The Canadian dollar traded for 74.30 cents US compared with 73.89 cents US on Friday.The May crude contract was up US$4.07 at US$79.74 per barrel and the May natural gas contract was down 13 cents at US$2.09 per mmBTU.The June gold contract was up US$16.40 at US$2,002.60 an ounce and the May copper contract was down four cents at US$4.06 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 3, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

Abortion bills gain no ground in Kentucky with ban in place

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:27:47 GMT

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — After years of setbacks, abortion-rights supporters in Republican-leaning Kentucky thought they achieved a breakthrough in November, when voters defeated a measure aimed at denying any constitutional protections for abortion.But their hopes that the state’s sweeping abortion ban might be relaxed vanished well before the GOP-dominated Legislature ended its annual session.After years of making anti-abortion policies a cornerstone of their agenda, Republicans skipped over the issue this year, leaving intact a ban on abortion at all stages of pregnancy while it’s hashed out in the courts. Instead, social conservatives focused on enacting legislation aimed at transgender youths during the session that ended Thursday. A handful of abortion bills, including proposals to restore abortion rights or add rape and incest exemptions to the sweeping ban, either failed to get a committee hearing or never were assigned to a committee. For most states, this was the ...

Rights group urges eastern Libya to free singer, blogger

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:27:47 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — A global rights group Monday urged authorities in eastern Libya to release a singer and a blogger arrested for allegedly violating a widely criticized cybercrime law.According to a statement from Human Rights Watch, both women — popular folk singer Ahlam al-Yamani and blogger Haneen al-Abdali — were arrested in February for allegedly violating “honor and public morals.”The Interior Ministry in the eastern city of Benghazi accused them of insulting “the status of the chaste and dignified Libyan woman in our conservative society with acts and behaviors that are foreign to us and offend our customs, traditions and true religion.”They have since been held in connection with cases “against honor and public morals” and for violating the anti-cybercrime law, which the east-based House of Representatives adopted in September, the ministry said.A spokesman for the the east-based government did not respond to a request for comment.U.N.-backed investigators and other global ...