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UK government refuses to hand over Boris Johnson’s unredacted messages to coronavirus inquiry

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:31 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The British government on Thursday refused an order to hand over a sheaf of Boris Johnson’s personal messages to a COVID-19 pandemic inquiry that the former prime minister himself set up when he was the U.K.’s leader. The head of the probe, retired judge Heather Hallett, asked to see notebooks, diaries and WhatsApp messages between Johnson and other officials that represent key evidence in the inquiry. The government provided incomplete versions, saying it cut personal and private information that was “unambiguously irrelevant” to the investigation. Hallett, who has the power to summon evidence and question witnesses under oath, wants to judge for herself, and set a deadline of 4 p.m. (1500 GMT) Thursday for the government to hand over the unredacted documents, covering a two-year period from early 2020.Soon after the deadline passed, the government said it would seek to challenge the order in court.“The Cabinet Office has today sought leave to bring a judicial r...

Residents of collapsed Iowa building allowed to stay as reports noted crumbling wall

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:31 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A structural engineer report issued just days before an Iowa apartment building partially collapsed indicated a wall of the century-old structure was in imminent risk of crumbling, yet officials did not order residents to leave and said Thursday they relied on the engineer’s assurances that the building remained safe.Three residents of the six-story building in the eastern Iowa city of Davenport are still unaccounted for and there are no immediate plans to demolish what remains of the extremely unstable structure, according to local officials. Crews were using drones to scan the building and consulting with experts about how to safely bring down the structure while being respectful of bodies that could be buried in a debris pile, Mayor Mike Matson said.“It’s dangerous, and it’s shifting,” Matson said.The six-story building partially collapsed shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday. Rescue crews pulled seven people from the building in their initial re...

Desaparición de la niña Maddie: fiscalía alemana analizará objetos hallados en reciente búsqueda

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:31 GMT

BERLÍN — La fiscalía alemana analizará varios objetos encontrados la semana pasada en una operación de búsqueda en Portugal relacionada con la desaparición de Madeleine McCann, según indicaron los fiscales el jueves, aunque señalaron que todavía no podían decir si estaban relacionados con la niña británica desaparecida en 2007.La semana pasada, los investigadores buscaron pistas durante tres días en torno a un embalse a unas 30 millas del complejo turístico de Praia da Luz donde fue vista por última vez la niña, que entonces tenía tres años.La nueva búsqueda respondía a una petición de la fiscalía en Braunschweig, Alemania, que investiga a un hombre alemán en relación con la desaparición. Sin rastros de Maddie: terminan la búsqueda de la niña que desapareció hace 16 años mientras dormía ¿Dónde está Maddie? Nueva pista reactiva el caso de “la niña más buscada del mundo” En un breve comunicado el jueves, la fiscalía dijo que “se co...

New footprints revive hope in Colombia of finding four children missing in jungle

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:31 GMT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The discovery in recent days of small footprints in a southern jungle-covered part of Colombia has rekindled hope of finding alive four children who survived a small plane crash and went missing a month ago.Searchers found footprints Tuesday about 2 miles ( 3.2 kilometers) northwest of where the plane crashed May 1 with three adults and four indigenous children aged 13, 9 and 4 and 11 months, Gen. Pedro Sánchez, commander of the Joint Command of Special Operations said in an interview with The Associated Press. The searchers believe they were of the oldest child, a girl, and the new clue may indicate that the group has changed course. More than 100 members of Colombia’s special forces and more than 70 indigenous people from the area have joined the search through virgin jungle in the Colombia Amazon. Some soldiers have walked nearly 1000 miles (nealy 1,500 kilometers), or almost the distance from Lisbon to Paris, Sánchez said.“We have a 100% expectation of fi...

Book Review: ‘The Celebrants’ by Steven Rowley will make you want to call an old friend

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:31 GMT

“The Celebrants” by Steven Rowley (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)Steven Rowley is one of those authors where if you read one of his novels, his name gets added to a mental “TBR” (to-be read) list. That is, of course, if you love rich characters written with love and humor that you’d like to know in real life. Each of his books is so uniquely different in plot and beautifully told.Rowley’s “The Guncle” was a favorite of 2021 and his newest offering, “The Celebrants,” doesn’t disappoint. It follows a group of longtime friends from college who make a point to take time out of their separate busy lives and celebrate one other with “living funerals,” so nothing is left unsaid.These gatherings sometimes come at difficult points, divorces, times of loss, and surprises, but no matter what they provide a tonic for life’s tribulations that is often found with those you have a history with.Rowley keenly taps into the vibe of old friendships. Old friends can go a long t...

76ers hope new coach Nick Nurse can lead team to NBA title

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:31 GMT

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — The Philadelphia 76ers have named Nick Nurse as their new head coach as the franchise chases its first NBA championship in 41 years.The 76ers hired the 55-year-old Nurse, whom the Toronto Raptors fired in April. Nurse led the Raptors to the 2019 NBA championship after they beat Joel Embiid and the Sixers in Game 7 of the the Eastern Conference semifinals.Nurse replaced Doc Rivers, who was fired after he led the 76ers to their second straight 50-win season behind Embiid, this season’s league MVP, but again failed to lead them to the Eastern Conference finals.The 76ers held a 3-2 semifinals series lead against Boston before dropping Game 6 at home and getting crushed in Game 7 on the road.“It’s been a fun challenge coaching against this group over the last five years,” Nurse said in a statement. “Now, I look forward to coaching the Sixers and doing my part to deliver for this tremendous fanbase.”Nurse will be introduced later Thursday at the 76ers...

Maryland expands digital licenses, becoming 1st state to offer them in Google Wallet

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:31 GMT

Getting through airport security could be a bit easier for Maryland travelers with the launch of a digital ID option for people with Android smartphones.Maryland is now the first state in the nation to offer a digital driver’s license and ID for Google Wallet — and the first to offer a digital ID on both major mobile operating systems. Last May, Maryland launched the mobile ID option for Apple Wallet, which is available on iPhones.Thursday’s announcement means virtually all Marylanders with smartphones have the ability to swipe their phone at a TSA checkpoint — where the option is available -— to pass through security.“Maryland is leading the way in creating a more competitive and innovative digital environment while prioritizing accessibility and customer service,” said Maryland Gov. Wes Moore in a statement. “Maryland Mobile ID advances our administration’s work to deliver safe and secure services that benefit all Marylanders.”Basically, the mobile ID is a ...

US sanctions Iranians over alleged plots to kill John Bolton and others around the world

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:31 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. imposed sanctions Thursday on an Iranian Revolutionary Guard official and others it says took part in wide-ranging plots to kill former national security adviser John Bolton and others around the world, including at least one additional U.S. government official.The alleged 2021 plot against Bolton, one of the best-documented of the alleged assassination efforts, is part of what U.S. prosecutors and former government officials describe as ongoing efforts by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard to kill Trump-era officials behind a 2020 U.S. airstrike that killed the head of the Iranian guard’s elite Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani.In all, Thursday’s sanctions accuse three people based in Iran and Turkey, a company affiliated with Iran’s Quds Force and two senior officials of Iran’s Intelligence Organization in global plots to kill former U.S. officials, journalists and Iranian dissidents abroad, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. Brian E. Nelson, Treasury’s under...

Report: Denver among most expensive rental markets in Colorado

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:31 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- If you're renting in Colorado's biggest metro area, you're financially better off looking for apartments away from the capital city.Denver's famed expense isn't the metro area's highest, but it's close enough to make little difference according to a new report from rental site Zumper. Denver has the metro area's second-highest median rent for a 1-bedroom apartment, $1,770 a month. How much can you rent with $1,500 in Colorado? Colorado's capital is among the nation's most expensive, according to a RentCafe report. In Denver, a $1,500 rent budget can afford about 646 square feet. This is the 75th smallest rental size for the price in the U.S. among 100 cities, about equal to Austin or Philadelphia.Denver has city amenities and proximity to work, but cities with more rural atmospheres and better mountain views can command higher prices. Castle Rock and Golden are tied for the area's highest median rent with $1,800 per month in each.By contrast, living in Greeley co...

5-year-old located after going missing in Aurora

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:31 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Police were looking for a 5-year-old who was reported missing on Tuesday. On Thursday at noon, police confirmed she was located.The Aurora Police Department was asking the public to look out for the 5-year-old. Family’s truck and trailer stolen from hotel parking lot APD said the 5-year-old was possibly with her mother, who is her primary caretaker.Anyone with information on Mahali's whereabouts was asked to contact the Denver Metro Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.