General news

• US personnel office walks back email ultimatum from Musk to workers

  24-02-2025 23:56 via theguardian.com
  
  OPM, which manages federal workforce, says failure to respond to email will not be considered resignationThe US government’s human resources office has walked back an ultimatum issued by Elon Musk that would have forced its workers to resign if they did not submit a bullet-point list of their recent accomplishments, in one of the first signs of internal pushback to the Tesla billionaire’s campaign to downsize the federal workforce.The demand, made in an email sent to million of gover
  
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• Trump says Putin will accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine

  24-02-2025 23:21 via theguardian.com
  France’s Macron corrects US president’s claim that Europe has only loaned funds to Kyiv at White House meetingDonald Trump has said the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, would accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of a potential deal to end the three-year war.The US president was speaking alongside the French president, Emmanuel Macron, at the White House on Monday as the leaders sought to smooth over a transatlantic rift to achieve peace. Continue reading...
  
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• Raiders’ Hudson Young and Morgan Smithies apologise for Las Vegas altercation before NRL opener

  24-02-2025 23:18 via theguardian.com
  Two players and toy baseball bat involved in hotel clashDuo set to be named to face New Zealand Warriors on SundayThe NRL has been dealt its first off-field behavioural issue in Las Vegas, with Canberra forwards Morgan Smithies and Hudson Young forced into explaining their actions after clashing on the opening night of the Raiders’ camp.The two players fronted the media on Monday (Tuesday AEDT) to apologise after becoming involved in an altercation with each other after a night out, when a
  
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• American tourist arrested in Paris after allegedly throwing newborn baby out of hotel window: reports

  24-02-2025 23:15 via foxnews.com
  
  An American woman was arrested in Paris after she allegedly threw a newborn baby out of a hotel window, according to reports.The Paris prosecutor's office confirmed the incident, first reported by local outlet Paris Match, with the New York Post on Monday. The child was thrown out of the window earlier that morning.The fall reportedly took place from a second-floor window. The newborn was given emergency medical care but did not survive.The hotel is located in the 20th arrondissement of Paris, a
  
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• More than 200,000 Canadians sign petition to revoke Musk’s citizenship

  24-02-2025 22:43 via theguardian.com
  
  Parliamentary petition launched due to billionaire’s link to Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to conquer CanadaMore than 200,000 people from Canada have signed a parliamentary petition calling for their country to strip Elon Musk’s Canadian citizenship because of the tech billionaire’s alliance with Donald Trump, who has spent his second US presidency repeatedly threatening to conquer its independent neighbor to the north and turn it into its 51st state.The British Columbia
  
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• Joann to shutter all 800 fabric stores after failing to find a buyer to save its locations

  24-02-2025 22:13 via nbcnews.com
  
  Fabrics outlet Joann will shutter all of its approximately 800 locations after failing to find a buyer who would keep its stores open.
  
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• Retired surgeon admits to 'hideous acts' as France's largest child sexual abuse trial gets underway

  24-02-2025 22:07 via nbcnews.com
  
  A retired surgeon admitted in court that he committed “hideous” acts, as France’s largest ever child sexual abuse case got underway on Monday.
  
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• Secret Service agent who rushed to first lady's side after JFK's assassination dies at 93

  24-02-2025 21:58 via nbcnews.com
  
  Clint Hill, the former Secret Service agent who shielded first lady Jacqueline Kennedy from gunfire during the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, has died, the agency said Monday.
  
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• ICC urged to investigate Biden for ‘aiding and abetting’ Gaza war crimes

  24-02-2025 21:21 via theguardian.com
  
  US-based nonprofit Dawn also accuses ex-secretary of state Antony Blinken and ex-Pentagon chief Lloyd AustinA US-based nonprofit organization has urged the international criminal court to investigate former president Joe Biden and two of his cabinet members for complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.The request, submitted by the Democracy for the Arab World Now (Dawn) last month but made public by the group on Monday, urges the ICC to investigate Biden, as well as former se
  
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• Denny's says some locations will start charging extra for eggs amid nationwide shortage

  24-02-2025 21:16 via nbcnews.com
  
  Denny's is the latest nationwide restaurant chain to announce surcharges for meals that include eggs in response to a nationwide shortage that has sent U.S. prices skyward.
  
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• Israel's ambassador slams UN's silence on Hamas: 'Has no resolutions'

  24-02-2025 21:10 via foxnews.com
  
  UNITED NATIONS — Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon is demanding the international body break its silence on Hamas’ atrocities not only on Oct. 7, 2023, but in the months since then, as released hostages detail the brutal conditions in which they were held."We demand justice for all of them to come back, and the U.N. should pass a resolution condemning Hamas," Danon said while speaking to the press on Monday. "Since October 7 it never happened."Since the attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, whi
  
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• Karla Sofía Gascón to attend Oscars despite tweet controversy

  24-02-2025 21:02 via theguardian.com
  
  The Emilia Pérez best actress nominee will be at Sunday’s ceremony with Netflix paying for all expenses incurredThe Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón is reportedly set to attend this Sunday’s Oscars after controversy over bigoted tweets.The Spanish actor, who is nominated for best actress, had been removed from the campaign trail by Netflix after resurfaced tweets led to a backlash. Continue reading...
  
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• Clint Hill, Secret Service agent who leapt on to car after JFK was shot, dies aged 93

  24-02-2025 20:46 via theguardian.com
  
  Hill received awards and was promoted for actions that day but for decades blamed himself for then president’s deathClint Hill, the Secret Service agent who leapt on to the back of John F Kennedy’s limousine after the then president was shot, then was forced to retire early because he remained haunted by memories of the assassination, died on Friday. He was 93.Hill died at home in Belvedere, California, according to his publisher, Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. A
  
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• Trump has changed Ukraine debate ‘for the better’, says Downing Street

  24-02-2025 20:43 via theguardian.com
  
  Starmer’s spokesperson says US intervention ‘could bring lasting peace’ as No 10 treads carefully before White House visitDonald Trump has changed the global conversation around Ukraine “for the better”, Downing Street has said, as the UK imposed further sanctions on Russia in an effort to force Vladimir Putin to make concessions.As world leaders marked the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Keir Starmer’s spokesperson said the
  
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• Missing British businessman’s body found in Kenyan forest

  24-02-2025 20:42 via theguardian.com
  
  Campbell Scott, a senior director at Fico, was reported missing while in Nairobi for a three-day conferencePolice searching for a British businessman missing in Kenya have recovered a body, found in a sack in scrubland about 60 miles from Nairobi, reports said.Campbell Scott, 58, a senior director at the data analytics company Fico, went missing on 16 February after arriving in the Kenyan capital to attend a conference at the JW Marriott hotel. Continue reading...
  
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• Germany election: Merz says it’s ‘five to midnight’ for Europe

  24-02-2025 20:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Leader of victorious conservative alliance says continent must build defence capability as US moves towards ‘America alone’ mottoThe man expected to be Germany’s next chancellor has said Europe must act swiftly to increase its defence capability in the face of a US administration whose motto is moving towards “America alone”, adding: “This is really five minutes to midnight for Europe.”In a wide-ranging press conference after his conservative alliance&rs
  
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• Uefa president Ceferin makes outspoken intervention on European politics

  24-02-2025 20:22 via theguardian.com
  
  Slovenian opines about immigration and populism‘We are all fed up with political correctness’The president of Uefa, Aleksander Ceferin, has made an outspoken intervention in European politics, claiming “freedom of speech no longer exists” and “we are all fed up of political correctness”.In a wide-ranging series of remarks Ceferin attacked European politicians over their handling of the Ukraine war and for “preaching to the world”. He even joked tha
  
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• Ukrainians in New York commemorate anniversary of Russia’s invasion: ‘three years of our resistance’

  24-02-2025 20:13 via theguardian.com
  
  City officials at flag raising ceremony gave speeches in support of Ukraine and Zelenskyy after his spat with TrumpNew York City officials, foreign dignitaries and members of the city’s Ukrainian community gathered in New York on Monday to raise the Ukrainian flag above lower Manhattan, marking three years since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.The anniversary this year follows escalating tensions between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Last week, the US president fals
  
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• US fossil fuel industry campaigns to kill policies that ban gas in new buildings

  24-02-2025 20:09 via theguardian.com
  
  Oil and gas interests coordinate campaign to stop local and state policies, putting climate at risk, new report showsOil and gas interests have waged a coordinated campaign to kill pro-electrification policies that ban gas connections in new buildings, putting the climate at risk, according to a new report.Since 2019, utilities and fossil fuel trade groups, including the American Gas Association (AGA) and National Propane Gas Association (NPGA), have worked together to successfully thwart variou
  
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• Americanswers... on 5 Live! What's Elon Musk's latest threat to federal workers?

  24-02-2025 19:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  And will the president listen to European leaders this week?
  
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• New Zealand minister quits after having ‘placed hand’ on staffer’s arm

  24-02-2025 18:59 via theguardian.com
  
  ‘I took the discussion too far,’ says commerce minister Andrew Bayly, calling his own behaviour ‘overbearing’A New Zealand government minister said on Monday he had resigned from his post after “placing his hand” on a staff member’s upper arm during an “animated” discussion.The country’s minister for commerce and consumer affairs, Andrew Bayly, told reporters his behaviour towards the staff member had been “overbearing”. Con
  
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• Roberta Flack, Grammy-winning singer of 'Killing Me Softly With His Song,' dies at 88

  24-02-2025 18:27 via nbcnews.com
  
  Grammy award-winning singer Roberta Flack, who crooned hits like “Killing Me Softly with His Song,” which was covered by The Fugees with Lauryn HIll, has died. She was 88.
  
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• Family of elderly British couple held by Taliban call for Foreign Office support

  24-02-2025 18:26 via theguardian.com
  
  Daughter of Peter and Barbie Reynolds says government must do ‘everything in their power’ to secure their releaseThe family of a British couple arrested by the Taliban in Afghanistan have called on the government to do “everything in their power” to secure their release.Peter and Barbie Reynolds, 79 and 75, who run education and training programmes in Afghanistan, were detained by the Taliban on 1 February while returning to their home in the central province of Bamiyan.
  
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• State, Treasury Departments reimposes 'maximum pressure' sanctions on Iran’s oil trade

  24-02-2025 18:21 via foxnews.com
  
  The U.S. State Department and Department of the Treasury reimposed what they describe as "maximum pressure" sanctions on Iran’s "shadowy" oil trade on Monday as tensions between Tehran and Washington remain high after President Donald Trump took office last month.The State Department designated 16 entities and vessels part of a "network of illicit shipping facilitators" that "obfuscates and deceives its role in loading and transporting Iranian oil for sale to buyers in Asia," spokesperson
  
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• Pope Francis' health shows 'slight improvement' as he has 'resumed work,' Vatican says

  24-02-2025 18:17 via foxnews.com
  
  Pope Francis' health showed a "slight improvement" Monday as he "resumed work" at the hospital and called a priest at a parish in the Gaza Strip, the Vatican announced. "The clinical conditions of the Holy Father in their criticality show a slight improvement. Even today, there were no episodes of asthmatic respiratory crises; some laboratory tests have improved," the Vatican said in a statement. "Monitoring of the mild renal insufficiency does not cause concern. Oxygen therapy continues, a
  
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• Lester Holt is stepping down as anchor of 'NBC Nightly News' after a decade

  24-02-2025 17:52 via nbcnews.com
  
  Lester Holt, the anchor and managing editor of “NBC Nightly News” for a decade, announced Monday that he is stepping down from the long-running broadcast at the beginning of the summer.
  
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• 'Dissent was not being tolerated': Woman dragged from Idaho town hall meeting

  24-02-2025 17:29 via nbcnews.com
  An Idaho woman was issued a citation after she was forcibly removed from an Idaho Republican legislative town hall after interrupting the speaker. KTVB's Abby Wilt reports.
  
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• Germany’s new conservative leader looks to ‘achieve independence’ from US

  24-02-2025 16:53 via foxnews.com
  
  Germany’s chancellor-elect, Friedrich Merz, leader of the center-right Christian Democratic Union party, said his "absolute priority" upon taking up the top job will be to secure Europe so that it can "achieve independence" from Washington."I would never have thought that I would have to say something like this in a TV show but, after Donald Trump's remarks last week... it is clear that this government does not care much about the fate of Europe," Merz said on Sunday, according to multiple
  
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• Hamas says Netanyahu ‘sabotaging’ peace deal as Israel steps up West Bank operation – as it happened

  24-02-2025 16:00 via theguardian.com
  Hamas official Basem Naim says Benjamin Netanyahu is ‘preparing atmosphere’ to return to war with GazaAccording to a report from Hebrew media outlet Ynet, Israel has told international mediators that it will release more than 600 Palestinian prisoners who were initially scheduled for release on Saturday if Hamas returns four bodies today without any ceremony. The Guardian has not confirmed this report.Israel suspended the handover of 620 Palestinians it was due to free from its priso
  
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• Starbucks to lay off 1,100 corporate workers as sales sag

  24-02-2025 15:51 via nbcnews.com
  
  Starbucks will lay off 1,100 corporate employees and will not fill several hundred other open positions, the coffee chain’s CEO Brian Niccol said Monday.
  
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• Apple boosts U.S. investment plans with $500 billion pledge amid Trump tariff threat

  24-02-2025 15:42 via nbcnews.com
  
  Apple on Monday reaffirmed a commitment to spend hundreds of billions on U.S. soil in the coming years amid pressure from President Donald Trump.
  
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• Russian consulate in France targeted with explosive projectiles on 3rd anniversary of Ukraine invasion

  24-02-2025 15:18 via foxnews.com
  
  Two explosive projectiles reportedly detonated near the Russian consulate in Marseille, France, on Monday – the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.A third soda bottle thrown over the perimeter wall of the facility reportedly failed to explode. There were no reports of injuries, and investigators are now analyzing the contents of the incendiary devices, according to Reuters. "The blasts at the Russian consulate general in Marseille exhibit all the signs o
  
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• Chinese fishing fleets using North Korean forced labour in potential breach of sanctions, report claims

  24-02-2025 15:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Report by Environmental Justice Foundation has found evidence that at least 12 Chinese fishing vessels had employed North Korean crew between 2019 and 2024Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastChinese fishing fleets are allegedly using North Korean forced labour, a potential breach of international sanctions, with workers allegedly kept at sea for up to a decade, according to a new report by the UK-based Environmental Justice Foundation.The EJF report, published on Monday, h
  
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• Musk’s ‘Doge’ claim about USAid funds for India sets off political firestorm

  24-02-2025 14:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Apparently baseless claim that $21m was given to help voter turnout seized on by Trump and Modi government Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” has been accused of setting off a political firestorm in India after it claimed that the US government had been sending millions of dollars to support the Indian elections.In a list published on Musk’s social media platform X last week, Doge, a special group that Donald Trump created, claimed that a $21m grant distrib
  
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• Albanese ‘confident’ US would come to Australia’s defence in event of attack

  24-02-2025 14:22 via theguardian.com
  
  PM tells Q&A that US relationship is ‘rock solid’ as he fields questions on cost of living, housing and antisemitismGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAnthony Albanese says he is confident that the US would defend Australia if it were to come under attack, despite the change in leadership in the US, but that Australia needed to look after its own security and would make its own decisions on foreign policy, including on support for Ukraine.The comments came
  
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• M23 militia’s advance in eastern DRC has killed 7,000 since January, UN told

  24-02-2025 13:55 via theguardian.com
  
  DRC prime minister tells human rights council fighting has left about 450,000 without shelter after camps destroyedAbout 7,000 people have died in fighting in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since Rwanda-backed M23 rebels started renewed advances in January, the DRC’s prime minister has said.At a high-level meeting of the UN’s human rights council in Geneva on Monday, Judith Suminwa Tuluka also said the war had left about 450,000 people without shelter after the dest
  
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• Ukraine war in maps: How control has shifted in three years

  24-02-2025 13:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  How are Russia and Ukraine placed after three years of fighting and with Donald Trump suggesting talks on ending the war could begin soon?
  
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• Surgeon on trial for allegedly raping, abusing 299 victims, mostly child patients

  24-02-2025 13:45 via foxnews.com
  
  A former French surgeon accused of raping or sexually abusing 299 victims, mostly children under his care, over the course of nearly three decades is set to stand trial in France on Monday.Joël Le Scouarnec, now 74, is set to stand trial over four months in Vannes, Brittany. The trial will examine alleged rapes and other abuses committed between 1989 and 2014 against 158 men and 141 women. The alleged victims’ average age was 11.Le Scouarnec, who will face hundreds of alleged victims
  
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• On third anniversary of Ukraine invasion, European leaders show support, express unease

  24-02-2025 13:44 via foxnews.com
  
  On the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, European leaders are showing support for Kyiv, while also expressing unease about the current state of the conflict with President Donald Trump's administration at the negotiating table. The winner of Germany’s election on Sunday – conservative leader Friedrich Merz – has been a staunch backer of Ukraine."More than ever, we must put Ukraine in a position of strength," Merz, whose victory was celebrated by Trump,
  
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• Thousands of children in England accused of witchcraft in past decade

  24-02-2025 13:17 via theguardian.com
  
  Figures emerge as Kindoki Witch Boy film tells true story of Mardoche Yembi who underwent an exorcism as a childThousands of children in England have been accused of witchcraft over the past decade, according to new figures that come alongside a film released on Monday.Faith-based abuse is a worldwide phenomenon but experts found 14,000 social work assessments linked to witchcraft accusations since 2015. In the year running to March 2024 alone, there were 2,180 assessments linked to witchcraft.C
  
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• Pope Francis resting on day 10 in hospital for lung infection that led to early stages of kidney insufficiency

  24-02-2025 11:54 via foxnews.com
  
  Pope Francis, 88, was resting Monday morning, his 10th day at Rome's Gemelli Hospital for a complex lung infection that led to the early stages of kidney insufficiency, according to the Vatican."The night passed well, the pope slept and is resting," the Vatican said in a statement.It is unclear if he was awake and eating breakfast.Francis was admitted to the hospital on Feb. 14 after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened. Doctors first diagnosed the complex viral, bacterial and fungal respirato
  
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• Cassius Turvey seen holding his bloody head after chase in bushland, court told

  24-02-2025 11:38 via theguardian.com
  
  A witness describes how she saw three men arm themselves before seeing a 15-year-old boy covered in bloodFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAn Indigenous teenager was spotted holding his bloody head after being chased into bushland by two men with metal poles, a murder trial has been told.Cassius Turvey, a 15-year-old Noongar Yamatji boy, died in hospital 10 days after prosecutors say he was chased, knocked to the grou
  
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• Ukraine enters fourth year of war with Russia: ‘Closer to the beginning than we are to the end’

  24-02-2025 10:00 via foxnews.com
  
  "We are way closer to the beginning than we are to the end," former CIA Moscow station chief Dan Hoffman said as Ukraine entered a fourth year of war on Monday. Since the Nov. 5, 2024, re-election of President Donald Trump, the Western world has been scrambling to understand what the future holds for Russia’s war in Ukraine as Washington looks to re-establish ties with Moscow in a move to end the conflict and secure a peace deal.In the span of a week, Trump held a call with
  
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• Afghanistan's only women-led radio station to resume operations after Taliban lifts suspension

  24-02-2025 07:12 via foxnews.com
  
  An Afghan radio station produced entirely by Afghan women will resume broadcasts after the Taliban lifted a suspension that was imposed over alleged cooperation with a foreign country's TV channel.Radio Begum launched on International Women’s Day in March 2021, just five months before the Taliban took control of Afghanistan during the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from the region.The station’s sister satellite channel, Begum TV, operates from France and broadcasts conten
  
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• ‘Extremely capable’ weapons on Chinese warships off Australia’s east coast, NZ government says

  24-02-2025 06:09 via theguardian.com
  
  New Zealand defence minister Judith Collins says department has ‘never seen a task group of this capability undertaking this sort of work’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastNew Zealand’s defence minister has warned that Chinese warships located off the east coast of Australia are armed with “extremely capable” weapons that could reach Australia.The three vessels, known as Taskgroup 107, un
  
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• US Coast Guard rescues 3 after boat capsizes off Florida coast: video

  24-02-2025 05:11 via foxnews.com
  
  Video from the U.S. Coast Guard shows the moment three boaters were rescued after their vessel capsized off the coast of Florida over the weekend.The rescue mission took place on Sunday after the Coast Guard was called out to find three overdue boaters off Captiva Island. A family member of one of the boaters notified the Coast Guard around 1 a.m. on Sunday that their last contact with the three boaters was at 8 p.m. on Saturday, and that they were on a 20-foot center console.A Coast Guard
  
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• Boston councilwoman sounds off after Tom Homan's CPAC promise to 'bring hell': 'We don't scare easy'

  24-02-2025 04:02 via foxnews.com
  
  A member of the Boston City Council called out Border Czar Tom Homan in a post on social media, calling his promises to enforce President Donald Trump's border policy "laughable."Councilwoman Sharon Durkan posted her response on X after Homan said he would "bring hell" to Beantown after Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox recently doubled down on the city’s sanctuary policies."You said you doubled down on not helping the law enforcement officers of ICE. I'm coming to Boston, and I'
  
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• Demi Moore, Selena Gomez, Brooke Shields and more stars shine on the red carpet

  24-02-2025 03:47 via foxnews.com
  
  Demi Moore turned heads Sunday at the 31st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles.Moore, 62, looked effortlessly chic walking the red carpet at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall wearing a custom Bottega Veneta strapless black leather drop waist gown paired with a delicate Tiffany & Co. necklace and matching bracelet.Selena Gomez of "Only Murders in the Building" served Old Hollywood glam in a custom Celine gown which featured a thigh-high slit to reveal a pair of Jimmy Choo heels
  
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• Trump announces Dan Bongino will be deputy director of the FBI

  24-02-2025 03:15 via foxnews.com
  
  President Donald Trump announced that Dan Bongino will serve as the next deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)."Great news for Law Enforcement and American Justice," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Sunday night. "Dan Bongino, a man of incredible love and passion for our Country, has just been named the next DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE FBI, by the man who will be the best ever Director, Kash Patel."The president said Bongino has a Master’s Degree in Psychology fro
  
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• Fresno State men's basketball players allegedly placed sports bets on games they played in: report

  24-02-2025 02:31 via foxnews.com
  
  Fresno State men’s basketball is mired in a sports gambling scandal, and ABC 30 Action News learned two of the three athletes involved allegedly bet on games they played in. The Bulldogs removed forward Mykell Robinson from the team while suspending guards Jalen Weaver and Zaon Collins for alleged sports betting. ABC 30 Action News reports Robinson and Weaver placed bets that their team would go under their projected points and rebounds totals. This is a clear violation of NCAA r
  
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