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Top EU court whacks Poland on judiciary’s lack of independence, again

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:50 GMT

The top court of the European Union on Thursday took another swing at Poland’s lack of judiciary independence by ruling in favor of a Polish judge who had opposed his own suspension.The European Court of Justice said the removed judge should “be able to continue to exercise jurisdiction in the criminal proceedings before him” and added that cases must be reassigned to him.The court was examining two cases related to the judge’s 2020 suspension at the Warsaw regional court, which had raised questions over the independence of its judiciary and a disciplinary chamber that suspended the judge. The disciplinary chamber was monitoring what judges did on or off their jobs, and has since been abolished. Pekka Pohjankoski, a researcher in European law from the law faculty at the University of Helsinki, said, “This case is empowering the national judges.” “The EU court is saying that Polish judges themselves have the right under EU law to not apply th...

Still reeling from catastrophic flooding, Vermont braces for another round of rain

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:50 GMT

(CNN) — Another round of rain could bring fresh flooding to Vermont as the state begins the long road to recovery from devastating floods that ravaged the region earlier this week.Southern Vermont is facing a moderate risk of excessive rainfall, and thunderstorms expected Thursday afternoon will last through the night, the National Weather Service said. Much of the already waterlogged state is under a new flood watch.The rainfall totals for Vermont, New Hampshire and parts of New York could reach 1.5 to 2 inches, the weather service warned. While rainfall totals for Vermont are expected to be lower than they were earlier in the week, the soil is saturated and rivers are still running high, making the region more prone to flooding.“This may not be over. With rain in the forecast – and nowhere for it to go – we could see waters rise again,” Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said Wednesday.Vermont is still reeling from catastrophic flooding that turned streets into river...

One year after launch, 988 mental health crisis line still building awareness and staffing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:50 GMT

(CNN) — Thanks to a trio of digits — 988 — the past year has been “transformative” in the United States’ ongoing efforts to tackle the nation’s mental health crisis, according to health officials. But as it heads into its second year of existence, the three-digit number for the country’s mental health crisis lifeline still has some hurdles to overcome when it comes to awareness, staffing and routing.The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, transitioned last year from 1-800-273-TALK to a simpler dial code, 988. Those three numbers are intended to be easier to remember, like 911 for emergency medical services.Sunday marks the first anniversary of 988’s launch, and there have been nearly 5 million calls, texts and online chat messages answered through 988 in the year since its launch, according to data released Thursday by the US Department of Health and Human Services.“That is well over a million, close t...

Alleged serial rapist Matthew Nilo faces 7 additional rape, assault charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:50 GMT

New York Lawyer and alleged serial rapist Matthew Nilo has been charged with seven additional assault and rape charges in the proceedings against him at Boston’s Suffolk Superior court.Nilo appeared in court Thursday morning where he pleaded not guilty to the additional charges.Magistrate Clerk Edward Curley also imposed an additional $50,000 bail on Nilo. That comes on top of the $500,000 previously assessed by the court.In addition to the four victims in the Charlestown area, the new charges allege he assaulted or raped four additional victims across five incidents in the North End.One of the victims was attacked twice, 11 days apart. The attacks occurred in January 2007, July 2007, January 2008, and July 2008, a time frame similar to the alleged Charlestown assaults.The new seven charges are: one count of rape, one count of aggravated rape, three counts of assault with intent to rape, and two counts of indecent assault and battery.Nilo, 35, who now lives in New Jersey, had been p...

Watch Live: John Kerry grilled on Climate Office budget

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:50 GMT

This could finally be the day Climate boss John Kerry thaws his budget out. To what degree we’ll find out as the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability grills him. Follow along below and stay here for updates and a full report:

FDA backs first over-the-counter birth control pill

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:50 GMT

WASHINGTON — U.S. officials have approved the first over-the-counter birth control pill, which will let American women and girls buy contraceptive medication from the same aisle as aspirin and eyedrops.The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it cleared Perrigo’s once-a-day Opill to be sold without a prescription, making it the first such medication to be moved out from behind the pharmacy counter. The company won’t start shipping the pill until early next year, and there will be no age restrictions on sales.Hormone-based pills have long been the most common form of birth control in the U.S., used by tens of millions of women since the 1960s. Until now, all of them required a prescription.Medical societies and women’s health groups have pushed for wider access, noting that an estimated 45% of the 6 million annual pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended. Teens and girls, women of color and those with low incomes report greater hurdles in getting prescriptions and picking them up...

Firefighters respond to Red Line, riders evacuate; Disabled train on Green Line

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:50 GMT

Either smoke or a small fire on a Red Line train this morning at Charles MGH interrupted service, forcing passengers to evacuate while firefighters put out the blaze.The fire broke out on the underside of a train at about 5:45 a.m. according to Deputy Chief James Greene who described it as a “small fire.”The MBTA, however said the driver stopped the train because of smoke.“There was no confirmed report of flames nor fire,” said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo.Greene said firefighters first secured the power and then “got water up on the fire.”All passengers were able to self-evacuate at the platform, Greene said and there were not injuries to report.Pesaturo said the smoke came from an air compressor control box on the train.Firefighters actually manually brought “cans” of water to the train to put out the fire, Greene said.Shuttle buses are providing service between Harvard and Broadway while the T moved the train out of the way. Service resumed at 7...

North County burglary spree ends in crash; 4 teens detained

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:50 GMT

ESCONDIDIO, Calif. -- Four teens were detained Thursday morning in connection to a string of burglaries in North County, authorities said.According to the Escondido Police Department, the teens, who are reported to be from the Hemet area, are suspected of burglarizing multiple businesses in San Marcos and Escondido. This included restaurants, a donut shop, a nail salon and a clothing store, among other locations. Authorities say alarms went off at some of these businesses, prompting a police response. San Diego among cities where majority of homes cost over $1M: study EPD told FOX 5 officers eventually caught up with the suspects who were traveling in an unspecified vehicle. During a confrontation, authorities say the teen driver hit a police car before hitting a tree on West Washington and Centre City Parkway."When officers arrived on the scene, as the officer was exiting his vehicle, the suspects backed into the officers vehicle -- ramming it -- and then fled the scene," said S...

7 San Diego brewers win medals at US Open Beer Championship

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:50 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Award winners for the 2023 US Open Beer Championship were announced this week and several San Diego County brewers took home medals. As the Capital of Craft, it may not come as a surprise that a total of seven brewers in the region took home gold and silver in this large scale competition that included over 9,000 beers.Awards were given in categories representing 160 different styles of beer. Here are the San Diego breweries recognized for their brewed creations: These San Diego breweries won medals at the 2023 Brewers Cup of California -- Black Plague Brewing (Oceanside): Bronze medal for Beautiful Oblivion, Specialty Pale Ale. -- Ketch Brewing (San Diego): Gold medal for Celestial Navigation, Brut India Pale Ale; gold medal for Zwickelbier in the category of Kellerbier or Zwickelbier; bronze medal for Dr. Billheimer’s Magic Pilsner, German Lager/Pilsner.-- Kilowatt Brewing (San Diego): Gold medal for Peach Cobbler, Experimental Beer.-- Modern Times Beer (San Diego):...

Russian lawmakers move to further restrict transgender rights in new legislation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:50 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russian lawmakers on Thursday approved a toughened version of a bill that outlaws gender transitioning procedures, with added clauses that annul marriages in which one person has “changed gender” and bar transgender people from becoming foster or adoptive parents.The bill received swift, unanimous approval of Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, in its key second reading, and lawmakers scheduled the third and final reading for Friday. There is little doubt that the bill, a crippling blow to Russia’s oppressed LGBTQ+ community, will be adopted amid the Kremlin’s crusade to protect what it views as the country’s “traditional values.” The bill bans any “medical interventions aimed at changing the sex of a person,” as well as changing one’s gender in official documents and public records. New clauses added to the bill also amend Russia’s Family Code by listing gender change as a reason to annul a marriage and adding th...