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US soldier Travis King back in American custody after crossing into North Korea

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:23:56 GMT

(CNN) — US Army Private Travis King has been returned to American custody, two US officials said Wednesday, weeks after he crossed into North Korea.The news came after North Korean state media KCNA reported earlier Wednesday that the secretive state had decided “to expel” King, who entered its territory during a tour of the joint security area between North and South Korea in July.The KCNA report said a North Korean investigation into King “has been finished.”King crossed the military demarcation line from South Korea into the North during a tour of the Joint Security Area inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) in July. King, a junior enlisted soldier assigned to US Forces Korea, had faced assault charges in South Korea and was due to return to Fort Bliss, Texas, and be removed from the military just one day before he crossed into North Korea, CNN previously reported.North Korea claimed on Wednesday that King has “confessed that he illegally intruded into the territory of the...

Commuter Rail to offer free rides during 16-day closure of Red Line’s Ashmont Branch and Mattapan Line

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:23:56 GMT

Red Line riders affected by an upcoming, 16-day closure of the Ashmont Branch and Mattapan Line will be able to use the Commuter Rail’s Fairmount Line free of charge, according to officials.The MBTA announced Wednesday that while track work is underway on the Red Line from Oct. 14 to Oct. 29, passengers will be able to ride for free on the Fairmount Line by showing their CharlieCard to a Commuter Rail conductor while onboard.Over the course of the two week shutdown, crews are slated to perform work that includes the replacement of rails, ties, and ballasts, which officials have said will improve reliability and reduce maintenance needs. The MBTA said that the work will allow 28 speed restrictions in the area to be “alleviated,” while also improving travel times.“The upcoming work on the Ashmont Branch and Mattapan Line is critical to addressing and improving safety and reliability along this stretch of the Red Line, and the complete closure of these lines allows us to accompli...

Storms batter Greek island as government prioritizes adapting to the effects of climate change

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:23:56 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Torrential rain swept across central Greece on Wednesday damaging roads, flooding homes and causing power outages on the island of Evia, as the government declared that adapting to climate change has become a national priority.Army and municipal crews cleared debris from the roads near the flood-hit towns of Limni and Mantoudi in the north of the island, where the Fire Service reported receiving dozens of calls from flooded households for assistance.Authorities remain on alert in central Greece and nearby islands where a massive storm caused extensive damage earlier this month and left 16 people dead. The government said the initial estimate of the damage exceeded 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion), with infrastructure repair alone expected to cost nearly 700 million euros ($735 million). Greece has been promised emergency funding from the European Union and is renegotiating details of existing aid packages to target more funds to cope with the damage caused by wil...

US soldier who crossed into North Korea 2 months ago is in American custody, US officials say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:23:56 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The U.S. soldier who sprinted into North Korea across the heavily fortified border between the Koreas two months ago was released into American custody Wednesday, according to two officials.Earlier, North Korea said it would expel Pvt. Travis King — an announcement that surprised some observers who had expected the North to drag out his detention in the hopes of squeezing concessions from Washington at a time of high tensions between the rivals.King’s expulsion almost certainly does not end his troubles or ensure the sort of celebratory homecoming that has accompanied the releases of other detained Americans. And there remain unanswered questions about the episode, including why King went to North Korea in the first place. His fate also remains uncertain, having been declared AWOL by the U.S. government. That can mean punishment by time in military jail, forfeiture of pay or a dishonorable discharge.King was transferred to American custody in China, accordi...

Deion Sanders’ impact at Colorado raises hopes that other Black coaches will get opportunities

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:23:56 GMT

Floyd Keith has waited half a century for a Black coach with Deion Sanders’ swagger and success to shake up college football.The fanfare and hoopla surrounding the Colorado program since Sanders’ arrival has been well documented, but Keith, who for more than a decade was executive director of the Black Coaches Association, hopes the spotlight leads to opportunities for more Black coaches.Even with a loss at Oregon on Saturday that knocked the Buffaloes out of the AP Top 25, Sanders has the football world’s attention. The 75-year-old Keith believes that includes decision-makers who typically have shied away from hiring Black coaches.“There was maybe this model that everybody (thought they) had to follow,” Keith said. “There was this blueprint of the way it’s done. Well, I think Deion shattered that.”While there is optimism, there’s also a healthy dose of skepticism. Sanders is a unicorn in many ways, so it’s unclear if the whirlwind he has created will have coattail...

4 in 5 Black adults see racist depictions in the news either often or sometimes, says new study

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:23:56 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — In a new study, Black Americans expressed broad concerns about how they are depicted in the news media, with majorities saying they see racist or negative depictions and a lack of effort to cover broad segments of their community.Four in five Black adults say they see racist or racially insensitive depictions of their race in the news either often or sometimes, according to the Pew Research Center.Three years after George Floyd’s killing triggered a racial reckoning in the news media, Pew took its first broad-based look at Black attitudes toward the media with a survey of nearly 5,000 Black adults this past winter and follow-up focus groups.The survey found 63% of respondents saying news about Black people is often more negative than it is toward other racial or ethnic groups, with 28% saying it is about equal.“It’s not surprising at all,” said Charles Whitaker, dean of the Medill journalism school at Northwestern University. “We’ve known both...

Bahrain rights group says 13 convicted over prison sit-in that authorities say was violent

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:23:56 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Bahrain has sentenced 13 prisoners to an additional three years over a sit-in held in a detention facility in 2021 that prison authorities say was violent.The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy said Wednesday that the convictions issued the day before stemmed from a mass trial of 65 defendants, the rest of whom were acquitted. It alleged “severe due process violations, including the right to attend the trial, or meeting with the lawyer.”It also publicized what it said were firsthand accounts given to the public prosecution in which the prisoners said they were beaten with metal objects and tear-gas cannisters.Bahrain’s prison authority denied the allegations, saying prisoners’ legal rights are guaranteed and that any allegations of mistreatment are thoroughly investigated. It said inmates taking part in the sit-in had attacked and injured guards, and damaged public property.Bahrain launched a heavy crackdown on dissent in ...

Former Spain women’s national team coach Jorge Vilda added to probe into Rubiales’ kissing a player

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:23:56 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Former Spain women’s national team coach Jorge Vilda has been summoned to appear before a judge in the probe involving former soccer federation president Luis Rubiales for his kissing a player on the lips after the team won the Women’s World Cup title last month, court officials said Wednesday.Vilda and two other federation officials were summoned to appear as investigated parties. They are expected to be in court on Oct. 10.Three national team players had already been summoned as witnesses. Spanish news agency EFE said they were Alexia Putellas, Irene Paredes and Misa Rodríguez.Spanish state prosecutors have accused Rubiales of sexual assault and coercion for kissing Jenni Hermoso on the lips without her consent during the awards ceremony after the Women’s World Cup final in Australia.According to a sexual consent law passed last year, Rubiales could face a fine or a prison sentence of one to four years if found guilty of sexual assault. The new law elimin...

Ronald Reagan famously spoke of the ‘ash heap of history.’ So do several GOP candidates today

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:23:56 GMT

The words don’t stir the collective national memory like, “ Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”But for students of Ronald Reagan’s more notable speeches, “the ash heap of history” may ring a bell, one chiming regularly during the 2024 Republican presidential campaign.Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has promised to send the People’s Republic of China to the metaphorical refuse pile. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis lists several policies he would consign there as president. Former Vice President Mike Pence simply wants the overturned abortion-rights decision in Roe v. Wade to stay put there.As most Republican White House hopefuls gather Wednesday at Reagan’s presidential library for a debate, expect to hear more homages to the “Great Communicator.” The references — and the embrace of some of his rhetoric — reflect how the party has changed, as those seeking to portray themselves as heirs to Reagan’s optimistic conservative vision also regularly resort t...

Japan’s court recognizes more victims of Minamata mercury poisoning and awards them compensation

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:23:56 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese court on Wednesday ordered the central government, the Kumamoto prefecture and a chemical company to recognize more than 120 plaintiffs as patients of the decades-old Minamata mercury poisoning and pay compensation they have been denied because they developed symptoms after moving away from the region. The Osaka District Court recognized all 128 plaintiffs as Minamata disease victims and ordered the government, Kumamoto and Chisso Corp., which is held responsible for the pollution, to pay 2.75 million yen ($18,400) each, according to officials and media reports.The plaintiffs, in their 50s and 80s, were living in Kumamoto and nearby Kagoshima at the time of the mercury poisoning and later moved to Osaka and elsewhere in western Japan. They filed a lawsuit in 2014, saying they were unfairly excluded from a 2009 compensation. They had demanded 4.5 million yen ($30,170) each, according to their lawyers.In the ruling, Judge Yuki Tatsuno said the plaintiffs were p...