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Loki, a 5-year-old Rottweiler, honored with “Dogtorate” from University of Maryland Baltimore

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:17 GMT

BALTIMORE, Maryland (WJZ) — The University of Maryland Baltimore shed light on the importance of service and therapy dogs in a special ceremony Tuesday.Among the honorees was one particular canine who has left a significant and lasting impact on the program.The University of Maryland Baltimore conferred “dogrees” to therapy and service dogs who have gone above and beyond their call of duty. This included one special K9, a five-year-old Rottweiler named Loki, who is now officially a “Dogtor.”Loki, trained as a service therapy dog, received her honorary ‘Dogtorate’ of Medicine from the University of Maryland Baltimore on Tuesday. Her handler, Dr. Caroline Benzel, was at her side throughout the ceremony.“The week that I got her was the same week that I was accepted to medical school. So I started putting her through service-dog level training but I knew I was going to try to make her a therapy dog for the hospital,” Benzel said.Whil...

Washington Post report shows Trump could have avoided federal indictment in Miami

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:17 GMT

A recent report by The Washington Post has uncovered that former President Donald Trump had the opportunity to negotiate a settlement with the Justice Department that could have prevented his federal indictment. However, Trump rejected the idea and disregarded the advice of his attorney Christopher Kise, who had proposed the settlement in the fall of 2022. The report details how Kise, one of Trump’s attorneys at the time, intended to quietly approach the Justice Department to negotiate a deal that would have precluded charges against the former president. Regrettably for Trump, he disregarded this proposal after consulting with other attorneys who dissuaded him from pursuing a settlement.On Tuesday, Donald Trump became the first former president in history to be arrested on federal charges and faced a federal judge. The indictment against him includes a staggering 37 counts, accusing the former president of mishandling highly sensitive documents. Trump is alleged to have taken...

Countries push back against US’s anti-China tech policy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:17 GMT

LONDON — Officials from the European Union, Malaysia and Singapore are skeptical about the United States’ efforts to cut China out of the global high-tech trading system, expressing reluctance to join Washington as it works to throttle the rapid expansion of the world’s second-largest economy into a global technology power.Speaking at POLITICO’s Global Tech Day on Thursday, David Koh, chief executive of Singapore’s Cyber Security Agency, said his country had grown rich because of its open economy and would continue to build ties with China. Lucilla Sioli, a senior official within the European Commission’s DG CONNECT, added that Brussels would continue to work with Beijing, even as some European countries became increasingly wary of potential economic dependencies on China.“For Malaysia, China is an important trading partner,” added Fahmi Fadzil, Malaysia’s communications and digital minister, who was also speaking at the event in London. “Ma...

Russia plans elections in occupied Ukraine, even as counteroffensive builds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:17 GMT

KYIV — As Ukraine’s counteroffensive ramps up, Russia announced plans to conduct local elections in the occupied territories of Ukraine, where active fighting is taking place.Elections in “the new subjects of the Russian Federation will be held on a single voting day on September 10, 2023,” the Russian Central Election Commission said in a statement Thursday.Russia calls territories it occupies in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson “the new subjects of the Russian Federation.” In last year’s sham referenda in the regions, according to Russia, the majority of Ukrainians voted in favor of joining Russia.  The U.N. and a majority of countries around the world condemned the referenda as illegitimate and undemocratic as they were conducted during the armed conflict and under occupation. Since then, the Kherson region has been liberated by the Ukrainian army.  The U.N. and a majority of countries around the world condemned the refere...

Unhappy birthday, Boris: How MPs will vote to punish Johnson as he turns 59

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:17 GMT

LONDON — Worst birthday ever?Three-and-a-half years ago Boris Johnson led Conservative MPs to a thumping election victory. On Monday, they’ll vote on whether or not to ban him from parliament. In a cruel twist of fate for the former British prime minister, Monday’s action coincides with him turning 59.A long-awaited probe released Thursday concluded that Johnson repeatedly misled the House of Commons over his knowledge of lockdown-busting gatherings that took place on government property during the coronavirus pandemic. The cross-party privileges committee came down even harder than expected on Johnson, who protests his innocence and has slammed the inquiry. Among its sanctions, the committee recommended Johnson — who quit as an MP before the findings were published — not be given a former member’s pass granting access to the parliamentary estate, a de facto ban and an unprecedented punishment for such a senior figure.Now MPs will have to decide if they back the in...

RT France now powered from Moscow, says former boss

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:17 GMT

PARIS — RT France’s website is still fed from Moscow with content in French, the Kremlin-backed outlet’s former editor in chief said Thursday. “I’m frequently asked whether RT France continues to operate in the form of accounts reappearing and claiming to be RT France. The answer is: RT France is in court-ordered liquidation — all journalists have been laid off by the liquidator — there is no longer any activity,” Xenia Fedorova tweeted. “On the other hand, the RT group continues to produce French-language content with a Moscow-based team under the official RT in French brand. This is still, however, banned from distribution in France due to European sanctions,” she added. RT France’s website features the latest news from Paris and beyond, but has been rebranded as “RT in French.” The website is not available in the EU without using a VPN, but is still accessible outside the bloc.In March last year, the EU banned ...

Chicago White Sox lose Mike Clevinger with right bicep soreness, but rally for 8-4 ‘gutsy win’ on the road

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:17 GMT

Mike Clevinger had just thrown the fourth pitch of a fifth-inning battle with Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter J.D. Martinez, which was fouled off.The Chicago White Sox starter walked behind the mound in obvious pain.The training staff checked on the right-hander, who exited the game with right biceps soreness. He will be evaluated Thursday.The Sox lost Clevinger, but rallied with three runs in the eighth and beat the Dodgers 8-4 for one of their best wins of the season in front of 44,442 on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.“That was a gutsy win,” Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. “This is a much-needed win in a tough place to play. It’s a really big win.”The game had several momentum turns. Jake Burger and Luis Robert Jr. homered to give the Sox a 2-0 lead. The Dodgers took the lead with four runs in a sloppy sixth inning for the Sox.Burger tied the game in the eighth with a two-run homer, his second long ball of the game. Clint Frazier gave the Sox the l...

Mission Beach stabbing leaves 2 hurt

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:17 GMT

Editors note: This story has been updated to reflect two people were stabbed in this incident. SAN DIEGO -- Two people were stabbed Wednesday night in Mission Beach, and officers were still searching for the assailant, police said.Police were called about the stabbing shortly before 9 p.m., according to SDPD. The victims were described by authorities as a man and a woman who were both 19-years-old. Man suspected of shooting SDPD officer arrested Police were investigating in the 3300 block of Ocean Front Walk.Check back for updates on this developing story.

MLB teams welcome LGBTQ+ fans with Pride Nights but not one has seen an active player come out

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:17 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — When it comes to baseball and LGBTQ+ inclusivity, Billy Bean often flashes back to his playing days.Ending his career without telling his parents about his life as a closeted gay ballplayer. Shielding his secret from teammates like Brad Ausmus and Torey Lovullo. The regret of not sharing his “full self,” he says.It’s a message Bean has delivered in clubhouses, and it resonates with today’s ballplayers — hyper-focused on staying in the majors, and being a good teammate. It’s also the lens through which Bean views baseball’s ongoing LGBTQ+ issues.“There’s some parts of my job where I feel like some days I just, you know, I’m floating,” said Bean, a senior vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion with Major League Baseball. “Then there’s other days when I see some pushback, I’m reminded that we have 8,000 human beings connected to the sport as an athlete in one way or another, and you’re not going to always have 100% of those people agre...

European Central Bank hikes rates again to battle inflation after US Fed hits pause

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:17 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank pressed ahead with another interest rate hike Thursday, aiming to crush inflation that is driving up the cost of groceries, utility bills and summer vacations even after the U.S. Federal Reserve took a break from its own string of increases.The boost of a quarter-percentage point, to 3.5%, is the eighth straight increase since July 2022 for the 20 countries that use the euro currency. That is an unprecedentedly swift campaign to tighten the flow of credit to the economy as the bank seeks to return inflation to its target of 2% from 6.1%. The ECB says higher rates are being “transmitted forcefully” and “are gradually having an impact across the economy.” Its own projections acknowledge that controlling inflation will take months longer even as the rate has fallen from a double-digit peak late last year.“Inflation has been coming down but is projected to remain too high for too long,” the bank said in a statement.The decision was wid...