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Biden declares ‘America will not default,’ says he’s confident of budget deal with GOP lawmakers

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:52:32 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — An optimistic President Joe Biden declared Wednesday that he is confident the U.S. will avoid an unprecedented and potentially catastrophic debt default, saying talks with congressional Republicans have been productive as he prepared to leave for a global summit in Japan.Biden’s upbeat remarks came as a select group of negotiators began meeting to try and hammer out the final contours of a budget spending agreement to unlock a path forward for raising the debt limit by June 1. That is when the Treasury Department says the U.S. could begin defaulting on its obligations and trigger financial chaos.“I’m confident that we’ll get the agreement on the budget and America will not default,” the president said from the Roosevelt Room of the White House. He said a meeting late Tuesday with Vice President Kamala Harris, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and other congressional leaders was “productive” and that “everyone came to the meeting, I think, in good faith....

Coconut Creek Police seek assistance in identifying voyeurism suspect

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:52:32 GMT

Authorities in Coconut Creek are seeking the public’s help in identifying a suspect involved in a voyeurism incident that occurred at a local Home Depot on April 24.According to the victim, an adult man, he informed officers that the suspect placed a mobile phone beneath a bathroom stall and discreetly captured several photos of him. Subsequently, the suspect exited the store before being apprehended.https://twitter.com/CoconutCreekPD/status/1658868958684905472?s=20Coconut Creek Police are urging anyone with information regarding the identity of the suspect to contact them at 954-973-6700.The investigation into the incident is currently ongoing.

Meta faces record privacy fine for data transfers to the US

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:52:32 GMT

Meta is expected to face a record privacy fine on Monday when Ireland’s data protection watchdog confirms the social media platform mishandled people’s data when shipping it to the United States, according to two people with direct knowledge of the upcoming decision.POLITICO was not able to confirm the size of the record-setting penalty, which will likely be more than the €746 million fine that Amazon was forced to pay in 2021 for similarly flouting the European Union’s privacy standards, the people added, who spoke on condition of anonymity to speak about internal deliberations.Ireland’s Data Protection Commission will publish its ruling on Monday; it is also expected to include demands that Meta’s Facebook stop using complex legal instruments to move EU data to the U.S., called standard contract clauses, in the fall. The upcoming decision dates back to revelations in 2013 from Edward Snowden, the former U.S. National Security ...

UK minister hosted House of Commons dinner for Tory donor without declaring financial links

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:52:32 GMT

LONDON — A U.K. government minister has apologized after POLITICO found she used House of Commons facilities to host a private dinner for a business group which donates money to her local party — without flagging her financial links.Energy Minister Amanda Solloway sponsored the event in June last year on behalf of Businessfore, an “unincorporated association” with ties to a City insurance firm. Businessfore had given £15,000 to her local Conservative grouping just six months earlier.House of Commons rules state that MPs using taxpayer-funded facilities are expected to declare any existing financial links with the groups they are hosting, and flag such events in advance with parliament’s standards watchdog.But while Solloway included the donation on the register of MPs’ interests, parliamentary records show she did not then highlight the connection when agreeing to host the dinner for Businessfore on the Westminster estate.Responding to a series of questions from POLITICO, Soll...

UK hopes for EU deal to stop post-Brexit carmaker exodus

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:52:32 GMT

LONDON — The U.K. government is pushing to cut a deal with Brussels to avoid a post-Brexit cliff-edge which could severely damage the British auto industry, No. 10 Downing Street confirmed Wednesday.A spokesperson for Rishi Sunak told journalists that “we hope” to cut a deal with the EU to stop an increase in tariffs on British electric vehicles (EVs) being exported to the EU from next year, after Vauxhall’s owner threatened to shut a key factory and as other automotive giants rebuked the existing timeline.In a statement shared with POLITICO Wednesday Ford warned that unless the current trading requirements are extended, the tariff rise would undermine the switch to electric vehicles, add “pointless cost to customers wanting to go green” and hit manufacturers that had invested in the EV transition hardest.“Today the industry does not have sufficient supply of locally-sourced batteries and components to meet demand,” the company said. “Ford is calling for current trad...

Window washer rescued in Brookline after hanging from 12th floor of apartment building

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:52:32 GMT

A window washer in Brookline is expected to be OK after he was left dangling from the twelfth floor of a building Wednesday morning, according to officials.Authorities said the worker was safely pulled in after first responders were called to Pond Avenue around 9 a.m.“It was a good 20 to 25 minutes of him purely hanging like this,” said onlooker Doug Laf, raising both of his arms.Laf told reporters that from what he could tell from watching down below, the window washer appeared to be able to call for help on his own.“Kudos to that man. Honestly, he was like, he was holding on – I’m pretty sure he called 911 himself – I saw him pull out his cell phone a couple of times and then reach back up – literally from the top floor hanging like this over the window,” Laf said.Brookline firefighters and other first responders rushed to the scene, launching a technical rescue response soon after arriving. Crews from Boston and Cambridge responded ...

READ: The full 161-page Inspector General’s report “An Investigation of Alleged Misconduct by United States Attorney Rachael Rollins”

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:52:32 GMT

The full report can also be viewed here.An Investigation of Alleged Misconduct by United States Attorney Rachael RollinsDownload

Prince Harry and Meghan pursued in their car by photographers; no injuries in NYC incident

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:52:32 GMT

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and DANICA KIRKA (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — The New York City police department has confirmed an incident involving photographers and Prince Harry and Meghan but says no injuries, collisions or arrests took place.In confirming Tuesday night’s incident, the police said they had assisted the private security team protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex because “there were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging.’“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in regard.″The episode evoked memories of the crash that killed Princess Diana 1997.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.NEW YORK (AP) — Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, were pursued in their car by photographers after a charity event in New York, an incident that the mayor and the couple’s office described Wednesda...

Domingo German’s looming suspension puts Yankees in sticky roster situation

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:52:32 GMT

TORONTO — Domingo German is subject to a 10-game suspension after umpires tossed the Yankees’ starter from Tuesday’s contest against the Blue Jays following a routine sticky substance check.Such ejections come with an automatic suspension, and the Yankees cannot replace German on their roster while the right-hander is sidelined. German can appeal, and thus delay, the suspension, but it’s unclear if he will.German expressed frustrations over a lack of clarity on how to prevent future ejections, and he insisted that he only used rosin against the Blue Jays on Tuesday. But crew chief James Hoye claimed the pitcher had “the stickiest hand I’ve ever felt.”“It’s not rosin. It was definitely not rosin,” the umpire said, per a pool reporter. “Because I’ve felt hands with rosin. That wasn’t rosin. It was extremely sticky. And rosin usually is kind of like a little tackiness. This was sticky, as in my fingers had a ...

What if I can’t afford Medicare?

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:52:32 GMT

At least 1.2 million Medicare beneficiaries pay premiums for Medicare Part B even though they likely qualify to get it for free through a Medicare Savings Program, according to a November 2021 letter from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS.Those premiums add up quickly. At $164.90 per month in 2023, they’re just shy of $2,000 per year for Part B alone. And there are other premiums, deductibles, copays and coinsurance to consider, too.Various programs can cover some or all of those costs, but they’re not always easy to find. There are free resources available to help you navigate the specifics of your situation.Medicare Savings Programs (Part A and Part B)More than 10 million Medicare beneficiaries received help paying for their coverage through a Medicare Savings Program in 2019, according to a 2022 data analysis by KFF, a health policy nonprofit.Medicare Savings Programs, or MSPs, help cover costs associated with Medicare Part A and Part B. You qualify for an ...