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Lawmakers return to Washington as debt limit crisis and other key issues loom

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:07 GMT

(CNN) — Lawmakers face a lengthy to-do list as they return to the Capitol after a two-week recess to confront a series of critical issues ranging from a looming debt limit crisis to the fallout from a leak of highly classified Pentagon documents.There is still no agreement in sight to raise the debt ceiling despite the threat of economic catastrophe if the issue is not resolved in a matter of months and Republicans are eying passing their own debt ceiling increase paired with spending cuts in an effort to pressure the Biden administration to the negotiating table.House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will deliver a speech on the economy at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, where he will address the looming crisis. A major challenge for House Republicans is whether they will be able to coalesce behind a detailed list of cuts.House Republican leaders are moving behind the scenes to get their conference behind a plan that would raise the debt ceiling for one year ...

One death and almost 100 cases of rare fungal infection linked to Michigan paper mill, health officials say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:07 GMT

(CNN) — Ninety-seven confirmed or probable cases of blastomycosis have been identified in Michigan’s Delta and Menominee counties, according to the local health department, and they are believed to be associated with a paper mill in the town of Escanaba.One death has been associated with the outbreak: A contractor who worked at the Escanaba Billerud Paper Mill until recently passing away due to blastomycosis.“We were saddened to hear this news. Our heartfelt sympathies and prayers go out to the family, friends and co-workers who have lost their loved one,” county health officer Michael Snyder said in a news release.“Everyone at Billerud is deeply saddened by this news,” Brian Peterson, Escanaba Billerud Paper Mill’s vice president of operations, said. “Anyone who works at our facility is part of our team, and we are keeping this individual, their family, coworkers and friends in our thoughts and close to our hearts.”Blastomy...

Live Updates: 127th Boston Marathon

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:07 GMT

Runners set off today on the 127th running of the Boston Marathon.Follow here for live updates.The men’s elite field starts at 9:37 a.m. and the women’s elite field starts 10 minutes later at 10:37 a.m..Complete Herald coverage leading up to this year’s marathon can be found here.Tweets by bostonmarathon BOSTON, MA. April 16: The memorial with flowers and a wreath remembering the 2013 bombing, Copley Sunday, April 16, 2023, in Boston, Mass. (Photo by Jim Michaud/ Boston Herald)BOSTON, MA. April 16: Pamela Iwaszewicz of Berkeley Cal. shows her love being here as she prepares to run in her very first Boston Marathon, as Copley Square was full of people taking in the marathon mania, Sunday, April 16, 2023, in Boston, Mass. (Photo by Jim Michaud/ Boston Herald) 

NFL Draft 2023: Jaxon Smith-Njigba and 9 potential Patriots WR picks to watch

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:07 GMT

Welcome to Potential Patriots!Each day leading up to the NFL Draft on April 27, the Herald will introduce prospects the Patriots are likely targeting position by position. The Pats have 11 picks this year, starting at 14th overall, their highest selection in more than a decade. As for their other picks, the Patriots could pad their depth at virtually any position.Below is a breakdown of the Patriots’ best prospect fits at wide receiver:Day 1Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ohio StateHt/Wt: 6-1, 196Projected round: 1stScouting report: Smith-Njigba is an ideal fit for the Patriots’ old prototype at receiver which relied heavily on 3-cone performance. His 6.57-second time led all participants at the NFL combine and reflected his ability to immediately uncover as a slot receiver. Smith-Njigba is effective at all three levels, ranks among the smoothest route-runners in the class and can create yards after the catch.If the Patriots prefer a burner — no team has drafted faster receive...

House of convict in notorious German cannibal case destroyed

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:07 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — The former home of a man serving a life sentence for killing and eating an acquaintance in a case that appalled Germany two decades ago burned down early Monday, police said.It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the overnight blaze in the small central town of Rotenburg an der Fulda, but police said they weren’t ruling out arson, German news agency dpa reported.Mayor Christian Grunwald said he hoped the fire would put an end to frequent trips to the site by people coming out of curiosity and for other reasons.“The ruin must be removed permanently; it must not become a pilgrimage site,” he said.The half-timbered house belonged to Armin Meiwes, who was convicted of murder and disturbing the peace of the dead, and was the scene of the crime. It had been empty for years. Meiwes was arrested in December 2002 over the death the previous year of Bernd Juergen Brandes. He has said that Brandes answered his internet posting seeking a young man for “slaughter and c...

Shooting of Black teen who went to wrong house investigated

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:07 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The investigation into the shooting by a homeowner of a Black teenager who went to the wrong house to pick up his younger brothers includes questions about whether it was racially motivated, authorities in Kansas City said.Police are quickly preparing evidence for prosecutors in Thursday’s shooting, Chief Stacey Graves said Sunday at a news conference at police headquarters.“I want everyone to know that I am listening,” Graves said, “and I understand the concern we are receiving from the community.” The Kansas City Star reported the 16-year-old, whom family members have identified online as Ralph Yarl, was hospitalized Thursday night after he was shot while trying to pick up his younger twin brothers from a friend’s house. Police said he went to the wrong house and was shot there. Officials would not confirm the number of times the homeowner shot the victim or where his injuries were. Police initially said Yarl was stable but had a life-threatenin...

Berlusconi’s treatment for infection continues in hospital

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:07 GMT

ROME (AP) — The doctors caring for former Premier Silvio Berlusconi in a Milan hospital, where he was admitted with a lung infection. said Monday that his treatment continues now that he is out of intensive care. His longtime personal physician, Alberto Zangrillo, and a hospital blood cancer specialist, Fabio Ciceri, signed off on the brief medical bulletin a day after the media mogul was transferred from the ICU at San Raffaele hospital to a regular-care section. Berlusconi, 86, was hospitalized on April 5. Days later, doctors revealed he has chronic leukemia as well as the lung infection. The latest medical bulletin gave no hint at when Berlusconi might be discharged. It said that “at the moment, the clinical status and the response to treatment allowed for the transfer” out of ICU. “The treatment and monitoring of functional parameters continue,” it said.The Forza Italia party he founded three decades ago is a partner in the coalition government of far-right Premier Giorgia...

Italian police scoop up 2 tons of cocaine bobbing in sea

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:07 GMT

ROME (AP) — Italian police scooped up two tons of cocaine, wrapped in protective plastic and bobbing in the sea off eastern Sicily, authorities said Monday.The financial police squad estimated that the recent “catch” would have fetched about 400 million euros (nearly $450 million) in street sales. The packages of cocaine were strung together with netting, police said in a statement. There was just enough plastic wrapping to keep the cocaine from getting wet without weighing it down and possibly sinking it. Investigators hypothesized that a cargo ship left it in the sea as part of a scheme for another vessel to come along and eventually bring it to land. Police aircraft flew over the area of sea as a precaution to spot any other cocaine bundles that might have separated from the netting.In all, police scooped up more than 1,600 packets of cocaine held in 70 bobbing bundles, the statement said.The Associated Press

Teck controlling shareholder calls Glencore bid the wrong one at the wrong time

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:07 GMT

VANCOUVER — The controlling shareholder of Teck Resources Ltd. rejected Glencore’s offer to buy the Canadian miner, but says he is open to talking about other possible deals once the company completes its own plan to split its business.Teck chairman emeritus Norman Keevil says Glencore’s proposal is the wrong one, at the wrong time. Teck’s board has rejected Glencore’s unsolicited takeover offer that would see shareholders receive a stake in a combined metals company as well as a choice of cash or shares in a company that would hold their merged coal assets.Instead, the company is pursuing a plan it announced in February to split up its metal and steelmaking coal businesses into two companies, Teck Metals and Elk Valley Resources. The proposal will be voted on by shareholders later this month. Keevil says he would support a transaction – whether it be an operating partnership, merger, acquisition, or sale – with the right partner, on the right terms for Teck ...

Italy pushes crackdown on migrants reaching its shores

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:07 GMT

ROME (AP) — Italy’s right-wing government pressed ahead with plans to crack down on migrants as they arrived by the hundreds on Monday at a Sicilian port after a Coast Guard rescue. Dozens more were taken on board a charity boat from an unseaworthy vessel operated by smugglers, while others came ashore unaided.This week, the Senate is due to take up proposed legislation put forward by the government of far-right Premier Giorgia Meloni that aims to make it harder for migrants to gain temporary permission to stay in Italy.Coalition ally Matteo Salvini, who leads the anti-migrant League party, wants the country to eliminate a status known as “special protection” for many of the tens of thousands of migrants who have come ashore in Italy for years now aboard smugglers’ boats launched from Libya, Tunisia, Turkey and other places. That status allows migrants who are unlikely to win refugee status to stay in Italy for two years, pending renewal. During this time, they can work ...