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‘I was poisoned by Russian agents,’ Georgia’s ex-President Saakashvili says

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:05:15 GMT

Georgia’s former President Mikheil Saakashvili, who has been detained by authorities in Tbilisi for over a year, suffering dramatic weight loss and severe ill health, told POLITICO he believed he was “poisoned by Russian agents.”The claim from the pro-Western politician forms part of a broader series of accusations about nefarious Russian influence. In particular, he insisted that Bidzina Ivanishvili, the oligarch founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, was acting under instruction from Moscow to “capture” the Georgian state. Although the vast majority of Georgians support closer ties with NATO and the EU, critics of Georgian Dream say the government has deliberately undermined a more westward political trajectory in order not to inflame relations with Russia. The Russian agents “infiltrated [the] Georgian security services,” Saakashvili said. “I remember vividly the day when poison was administered, I almost died.”“S...

Former lawmaker’s wife sentenced in theft of COVID-19 funds

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:05:15 GMT

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — The wife of a now-former Connecticut state lawmaker was sentenced Thursday to six months in federal prison in connection with her role in the alleged theft of federal coronavirus relief funds from the city of West Haven.Lauren DiMassa, one of several people arrested with former state Rep. Michael DiMassa in the investigation, had pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.Federal prosecutors said the city of West Haven paid Lauren DiMassa, nearly $148,000 for services she never provided to the city. She and her husband were accused of submitting fraudulent invoices to the city for coronavirus-related services including youth violence prevention, but instead they used the money for their own benefit, prosecutors said.“I am embarrassed and appalled at my own actions and simply wish to pay my debts and live out a quiet life with my family,” she wrote in a letter of apology to the judge.Judge Omar Williams ordered Lauren DiMassa to report to prison on May 23. He a...

Hot Property: Beacon Hill beauty delivers luxury

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:05:15 GMT

High-end and ultra high-end buildings are no longer a novelty in Boston.That is, anywhere except for Beacon Hill, where there are luxury residences aplenty but luxury buildings with all the trimmings? Not so much.Enter The Archer and its 62 unique residences. Located at 45 Temple Street, the mid-rise building is so prime Beacon Hill, you can gaze out to the State House’s gold dome and manicured courtyard from the building’s shared roof deck.Among the units currently available, unit 409 is an impeccably styled, single-level four-bedroom, 2,958 square-foot condominium. Perched on the fourth floor with views rising above charming rooftops, the condo boasts dramatic 16-foot ceilings. Coupled with floor-to-ceiling paned windows in the living room and an open floor plan that includes a Wolf and Sub-Zero clad kitchen, the end result is a refined, loft-like atmosphere.Two parking spaces are available in the on-site garage, with valet parking, naturally.On top of the roof deck — not literall...

Stocks rise, claw back some of the prior day’s steep loss

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:05:15 GMT

By STAN CHOE (AP Business Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are clawing back some of their steep losses from a day before, when markets tumbled into the close.The S&P 500 was 0.6% higher in afternoon trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 146 points, or 0.5%, at 32,181 as of 2:18 p.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 1.3% higher. A day earlier, stocks fell sharply after the Federal Reserve indicated that while the end may be near for its market-rattling hikes to interest rates, it still doesn’t expect to cut rates this year. Markets lost momentum after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that, along with an insistence that it could keep raising rates if inflation stays high. But traders on Thursday were still largely betting the Fed will cut rates later this year. Such cuts can act like steroids for markets, juicing prices for stocks, bonds and other investments. They would relax the pressure on the economy, but they could also give inflation more fuel. B...

East High shooting suspect died by suicide, DA says; leaders vow to put police back in schools

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:05:15 GMT

The suicide of suspected Denver East High School shooter Austin Lyle and the declaration by Denver Public Schools’ superintendent that police officers will be put back in schools reverberated Thursday with the city’s top law enforcer vowing aggressive prosecution of juveniles involved in violence.Denver District Attorney Beth McCann also called on Colorado lawmakers to pass stricter gun control as demanded by East High students who recently walked out of class and testified in the state capitol. Scores of students and parents rallied again at the Capitol Thursday demanding stricter gun control.McCann called DPS superintendent Alex Marrero’s decision “a courageous and necessary step,” urging DPS school board support.“I know the city of Denver is mourning after yesterday’s shooting at East High School and the subsequent suicide of the troubled young man who committed the shooting,” McCann said in a statement issued Thursday morning as DPS offi...

NHL team won’t wear Pride jerseys, citing new Russian law

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:05:15 GMT

CHICAGO — At least one National Hockey League team with a Russian player has decided against wearing special warmup jerseys to commemorate Pride night, citing an anti-gay Kremlin law that could imperil Russian athletes when they return home.The Chicago Blackhawks will not wear Pride-themed warmup jerseys before Sunday’s game against Vancouver, a person with knowledge of the matter told The Associated Press, because of security concerns involving the law Russian President Vladimir Putin signed in December to expand restrictions on supporting LGBTQ rights.The decision was made by the Blackhawks following discussions with security officials within and outside the franchise, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke to the AP on Wednesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the move.Chicago coach Luke Richardson said he and his players were disappointed in the decision.“It’s an unfortunate situation, but that’s just wha...

Protesters fill French streets as anger at Macron mounts

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:05:15 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Protesters filled the streets of Paris and other French cities Thursday, with violence marring several marches, a day after President Emmanuel Macron further angered his critics by standing strong on a bill raising the retirement age that his government forced through parliament without a vote.Strikes upended travel as protesters blockaded train stations, Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, refineries and ports. More than 250 protests were organized across the country and union leaders praised the “significant” mobilization.In Paris, street battles between police and black-clad, masked groups who attacked at least two fast food restaurants, a supermarket and a bank reflected intensifying violence and drew attention away from the tens of thousands of peaceful marchers.Police, pelted by objects and fireworks, charged multiple times and used tear gas to disperse rioters. A haze of tear gas fumes covered part of the Place de l’Opera, where demonstrators converged at t...

Feds: Woman charged in Wyoming clinic fire opposes abortion

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:05:15 GMT

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A woman accused of setting fire last year to a Wyoming abortion clinic that was under construction told investigators she opposed abortion and was experiencing anxiety and nightmares over the facility opening, authorities say in court documents.According to the court filing, Lorna Roxanne Green, of Casper, told Matthew T. Wright, an agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, that she broke into the Wellspring Health Access clinic in Casper on May 25, poured gasoline around the facility and lit it.Several tipsters identified Green as a possible suspect after the reward for information in the case was increased to $15,000 earlier this month. Officers arrested Green in Casper on Tuesday.Green, 22, made an initial appearance by video Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kelly Rankin in Cheyenne. She remained jailed in Wheatland, a town of 3,500 people about 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of Cheyenne, with no bond set yet.Appearing in...

Mexico president confirms killer of Jesuits was found dead

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:05:15 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president said Thursday forensic tests have confirmed that a body found in northern Mexico was that of a drug gang leader accused of murdering two Jesuit priests last year. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador did not say whether the tests involved a DNA match or fingerprints. The sister of accused killer José Noriel Portillo Gil, alias “El Chueco,” or “The Crooked One,” had earlier identified his body by sight. The murder of the two beloved Jesuit priests in June 2022 had shocked Mexico. The Jesuits said in a statement Wednesday that the suspect’s death proves the government can’t catch criminals and has lost control of parts of the country.Despite nine months of supposed searches for Portillo Gil, the circumstances of his death suggest he was executed by his own or a rival drug gang. Portillo Gil’s gang was also implicated in the 2018 killing of an American travelling in the area.Portillo Gil was believed to have been shot to death some time Monday. Th...

Denver school shooting suspect dead; parents push security

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:05:15 GMT

DENVER (AP) — A 17-year-old student was found dead in the Colorado woods after being accused of shooting and wounding two administrators at his Denver high school where students and parents were already fed up over recent violence and a lack of action by officials, authorities said Thursday.The shooting occurred Wednesday morning at East High School, not far from downtown, while two administrators searched Austin Lyle for weapons, a daily requirement because of the boy’s behavioral issues, authorities said.Lyle fled after the shooting and his body was found Wednesday night near his car in a remote, mountain area about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Denver, outside the small town of Bailey, in Park County. The county coroner’s office confirmed early Thursday that the body was Lyle’s. Cause of death was not released, pending an autopsy.The shooting, at a time of rising gun violence on school campuses across the U.S., has stoked a backlash against a policy adopted in Denver seve...