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No fingerprints, DNA sample or leads from cocaine found at the White House, the Secret Service says

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:42:27 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — No fingerprints or DNA turned up on the baggie of cocaine found in a lobby at the White House last week despite a sophisticated FBI crime lab analysis, and surveillance footage of the area didn’t identify a suspect, according to a summary of the Secret Service investigation obtained by The Associated Press. There are no leads on who brought the drugs into the building.U.S. Secret Service agents found the white powder during a routine White House sweep on July 2, in a heavily trafficked West Wing lobby where staff go in and out and tour groups gather to drop their phones and other belongings.“Without physical evidence, the investigation will not be able to single out a person of interest from the hundreds of individuals who passed through the vestibule where the cocaine was discovered,” Secret Service officials said in the summary.The presence of cocaine at the White House prompted a flurry of criticism and questions from Republicans, who requested a bri...

Group of friends shatter state record by capturing Florida’s longest python

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:42:27 GMT

(CNN) — A group of friends in Florida has made history by capturing the longest python ever measured in the state. This remarkable feat becomes even more astonishing as some of the individuals had never gone python hunting before.The record-breaking python, measuring 19 feet in length and weighing 125 pounds, was wrestled to the ground by the intrepid hunters in a captivating showdown. The news of this feat reached Ana Waleri, the mother of one of the hunters, through a text message from her son in the middle of the night. The message included a picture of the friends triumphantly posing with the massive snake draped across their shoulders. However, it was the video she received the next morning that truly left her in awe. The footage showed her son, Jake, bravely throwing himself at the python, capturing it single-handedly.Jake Waleri, one of the amateur hunters, described the challenging encounter. “We were getting ourselves into a fight that was a little bit trickier than w...

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy disciplined for allegedly punching mother holding newborn during traffic stop

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:42:27 GMT

PALMDALE, Calif. (WSVN) — A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy has been disciplined after being accused of punching a mother while she was holding her newborn during a traffic stop in Palmdale, California. The incident, which took place last July, was captured on bodycam video recently released by the Sheriff’s office.The disturbing footage showed the arrests of two mothers, both cradling their babies, following the traffic stop, but it was during one particular arrest that a deputy can be seen throwing punches. The incident unfolded when deputies pulled over a vehicle driven by a man with four women, three of whom were holding infants. The driver was stopped for not having his lights on, and upon inspection, it was discovered that the infants were not secured in car seats. As a result, the women were arrested on charges of child endangerment.The bodycam video revealed a moment during the second arrest, in which a woman was holding her 3-week-old baby when the deputy al...

NATO summit wrap-up and the EU’s battle over biodiversity

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:42:27 GMT

Listen on Spotify Apple Music Google Play EN_Google_Podcasts_Badge Created with Sketch. Stitcher .st0{fill:#EB8A23;} .st1{fill:#FAC617;} .st2{fill:#612368;} .st3{fill:#3792C4;} .st4{fill:#C33727;} Acast This week, we bring you the latest from Vilnius as NATO leaders wrap up a crucial meeting of the defense alliance, plus all the news from Strasbourg as MEPs clash over an EU proposal to protect biodiversity...

Top Dutch minister steps down from party leadership over ‘intimidation’ and ‘threats’

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:42:27 GMT

Dutch Finance Minister Sigrid Kaag said Thursday she would not lead her liberal Democrats 66 (D66) party into the next election in the fall, citing the toll on her family after she faced multiple intimidation attempts.“I have decided not to run for the position of leader of the party,” Kaag said in a statement. “For me, in addition to love and appreciation, the past period was also accompanied by hate, intimidation and threats. That put a heavy burden on my family.” She added that “a new period of taking responsibility” would make things worse for them. Kaag, the first female finance minister in the Netherlands’ history, faced repeated threats over the past 18 months. In January 2022, a man who stood outside her home, shouting and waving a burning torch, was handed a six-month prison sentence by a Hague court.Last February, Kaag was confronted by farmers holding flaming torches at a campaign event. Kaag’s D66 party has been a...

Mass brawl breaks out in Kosovo parliament over Pinocchio picture and water toss

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:42:27 GMT

A brawl erupted in the Kosovo parliament Thursday after an opposition lawmaker threw water from a bottle on Prime Minister Albin Kurti during a speech.In video footage from the incident, a member of parliament can be seen walking up to Kurti, water bottle in hand, while the prime minister is addressing the room from the podium.The MP, identified as Mergim Lushtaku from the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo by local media, goes on to splash water in Kurti’s face and that of his deputy, Besnik Beslimi, triggering a brawl as ministers and other MPs jumped in to restrain Lushtaku.According to local news website Kallxo, the row began after opposition MPs placed a picture showing the prime minister with an elongated, Pinocchio-like nose in front of the podium before Kurti’s speech. Beslimi had removed and torn up the picture while Kurti was speaking.Local media reported that Kurti was escorted out of the hall.The cause of the latest disagreement is the episodes of violence...

Germany blasts China on human rights, but shies away from economic restrictions

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:42:27 GMT

BERLIN — Germany on Thursday released its first China strategy, accusing Beijing of “grave violations of human rights” but taking a softer line on economic measures like investment bans.The 64-page document — which can be read here in German and here in a slightly shorter version in English — calls China an indispensable partner but, increasingly, also a rival and competitor.“Without China, we will not succeed in curbing the climate crisis, nor in achieving more fair prosperity in the world,” Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said as she presented the strategy at the MERICS China think tank in Berlin.However, Baerbock also raised the need “to protect our European economy against unfair competition” from China, making an indirect reference to Beijing’s “Made in China 2025” industrial strategy and massive state subsidies for key sectors like electric vehicles. The strategy describes such unfair practices as a “threat” to Germany’s “security, ...

Quick start leads Revolution to 2-1 victory over Atlanta United

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:42:27 GMT

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Matt Polster and Giacomo Vrioni scored in the first nine minutes, Djordje Petrovic made a career-high 10 saves and the New England Revolution defeated Atlanta United 2-1 on Wednesday night.Polster netted his second goal of the season to give the Revolution (11-4-7) the lead, scoring unassisted in the 4th minute. Vrioni stretched the advantage to 2-0 when he took a pass from Carles Gil and scored his fifth goal this season. Gil returned from a one-match suspension for accumulating five yellow cards. He missed the Revs’ 2-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls on Saturday.Djordje Petrovic missed his shot at a clean sheet when Machop Chol scored unassisted in the third minute of second-half stoppage time for his second goal this season and the second of his career. Brad Guzan had four saves for Atlanta United (9-6-8).New England improves to 4-0-2 in its last six matches against Atlanta United after going 0-5-2 in the previous seven.Atlanta United was coming off...

Two brutal alleged murders head to trail in Boston

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:42:27 GMT

Jury selection has begun in two murder trials at Suffolk Superior Court, one for gunning down a man as he celebrated Father’s Day in a Roxbury park and another for the brutal stabbing of an 18-year-old woman to death in an East Boston parking garage.Parking Garage massacreOn June 15, 2016, construction workers walked to their worksite at a parking garage at 54 Princeton St. in East Boston and came across a horrible sight: a young woman, her face “covered in blood,” lying on top of pieces of wood with one arm over her face, according to Herald reporting at the time.Police would identify the dead woman as Blanca Lainez, 18, who would have turned 19 just two weeks later. An examination of her body and the scene would conclude she had been stabbed 15 times and beaten with a propane tank, according to the Suffolk DA’s office.Prosecutors say her murder occurred between 8:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. the night before, based on security camera footage of Lainez and the suspects.The body was found jus...

Vice President Kamala Harris to offer keynote speech at NAACP Convention in Boston

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:42:27 GMT

Vice President Kamala Harris plans to travel to Boston later this month to address the NAACP’s national convention scheduled to take place in the Seaport, the White House said Thursday morning.The convention is “one of the few places” where Americans can engage with some of the nation’s most influential voices, said NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson. The week-long convention is scheduled to run from July 26 to Aug. 2 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.“I am confident that Vice President Harris’ presence at convention will further motivate our members and supporters’ continued fight for racial justice across all 50 states,” Johnson said in a statement. “We look forward to hearing from the Vice President on how the administration is enacting its commitment to addressing the issues that are top-of-mind for Black America.”The White House said Harris plans to address the conference on July 29 as part of a multi-day “whirlwind” trip where she is scheduled to attend...