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Qatargate judge Michel Claise steps down

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:07 GMT

Michel Claise, the Belgian judge leading the European Parliament corruption probe, announced Monday he will step down from the ongoing investigation known as Qatargate, according to a statement from the Belgian prosecutor’s office.“As a precautionary measure, and in order to allow justice to pursue its work in serenity and maintain the necessary separation between private and family life and professional responsibilities, the investigating judge Michel Claise has informed us that he has decided this evening to step down from the case,” reads the statement. The prosecutor’s office added that the move comes in “the absence of any real evidence to cast doubt on the probity of any of the parties involved, and the substantial work he and his investigators have accomplished in this case.”Judge Aurélie Dejaeffe, who was already involved with the case, is expected to take over the investigation. The resignation by Claise could delay the investigation for a significant period of ti...

Boston police search for man seen with gun in Dorchester

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:07 GMT

A search got underway Monday after a man seen with a gun in Dorchester took off before officers could arrive. Police said the incident happened Monday morning along Mercier Avenue. Officers were called to a home, according to police, for reports of a man armed with a rifle and barricaded inside. A heavily armed tactical team soon swarmed the area, using drones and dogs while working to peacefully resolve the situation. Neighbors said the man was seen acting strange outside on a sidewalk shortly before the police response. “The person was bathing, literally in his driveway with a small container, just kind of bathing. But he had a rifle to his right side,” one neighbor said.Marie Exume is the landlord of the building where police were called. She told 7NEWS her tenant pointed a weapon at her son. SWAT team members eventually entered the house but were unable to locate the suspect. Police later learned the man slipped away, possibly through a back door.Police cruis...

Your guide to a tabletop role-playing game party

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:07 GMT

Erin Thorburn | Tribune News ServiceIt’s easy to see why tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) are growing in popularity. The games — often ongoing for weeks, months or even years at a time — involve creative, interactive and adventurous collaborative storytelling. According to MarketWatch.com, the TTRPG market is headed to become a multimillion dollar merchandise category in the U.S. by 2029.If you’ve always wanted to try to facilitate your own TTRPG experience or kickoff event, TTRPG pros Aaron Rollins, host of the comedy Dungeons & Dragons podcast “Break Battle & Roll,” and Mary Holocher, director of Mox Boarding House, have tips to get you started.Consulting the game masterThose new to the TTRPG game — pun intended — may be curious about where to begin. Which is best to host for a newbie to the RPG world?“There’s lots of different systems depending on what people like,” Rollins says. “Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) [is] one of the most popular that peo...

Clashing ideas on taxes teed up for 2024 campaign

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:07 GMT

WASHINGTON — Just six days after the bipartisan deal on the debt limit became law, House Republicans proposed a slew of tax cuts, leading to charges of hypocrisy by Democrats in a squabble that shows two clashing visions for the U.S. economy.GOP lawmakers are pushing deep tax cuts for companies and the affluent as the primary driver for sustaining economic growth, while President Joe Biden and fellow Democrats seek more targeted tax cuts to achieve social goals such as reducing child poverty and shifting to renewable energy that can help the economy in the long run.The Republican tax cuts for businesses, coupled with an increase in the standard deduction for households, would be funded by wiping out $216 billion in tax breaks over 10 years that Biden signed into law last year to support the development of electric vehicles and renewable energy.“They should look at this plan as more jobs, higher wages,” said Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., chairman of the House Ways and Means Co...

Biden plans 4 fundraisers in the San Francisco area as he revs up his 2024 campaign

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:07 GMT

By JOSH BOAK and ZEKE MILLER (Associated Press)PALO ALTO, California (AP) — President Joe Biden ramps up his reelection effort this week with four fundraisers in the San Francisco area, as his campaign builds up its coffers and lays strategic foundations for 2024.In the back half of June, Biden’s campaign will have more than 20 fundraisers involving him, Vice President Kamala Harris, first lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, according to a person involved in Biden’s travel plans who insisted on anonymity to discuss the schedule.More than half of the fundraisers are with the Democratic president, who arrived in California on Monday and was greeted by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Biden also will be traveling to New York, Maryland and Illinois. The president hit the themes of his campaign at a Friday fundraising event in Connecticut, saying his goal is to do more to tell voters about his legislative accomplishments with infrastructure, computer chip production ...

Try the Messi burger, sip the Messi mojito, visit the Messi murals — it’s Messi Mania in Florida

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:07 GMT

Feeling Messi Madness?You’ve got all that excited energy because soccer superstar — and Argentina World Cup champion — Lionel Messi is coming to South Florida, but it’s got no place to go yet because his Inter Miami CF matches are still a ways away.Well, fear not, because there are plenty of places where you can go now to bask in the Messi Magic. With this handy guide, you can eat, drink and be merry while you count the days till his first game in that pristine pink, black and white jersey.Who wants a burger?You’re in luck, because there are options! The Hard Rock Cafes in Hollywood and downtown Miami invite you to “experience the taste of victory” with a special Messi Burger, a double stack loaded with provolone cheese, sliced chorizo, caramelized red onion, lettuce, tomato, a sunny-side-up egg and a “spicy smoky sauce.” On a toasted brioche bun. Plus french fries. Wow, that’s goals right there.The Messi Burger is a winner at the Hard Rock Cafes in Hollywood and Miami. (Mike Stocke...

Coast Guard crew from Boston searches for missing sub that explores the Titanic wreck site

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:07 GMT

A U.S. Coast Guard crew from Boston was searching on Monday for five people who were on a missing sub that explores the Titanic wreck site.The Coast Guard was looking for the missing submersible about 900 miles off of Cape Cod.“The @USCG is searching for a 21-foot submersible from the Canadian research vessel Polar Prince,” the U.S. Coast Guard Northeast tweeted Monday afternoon.“The 5 person crew submerged Sunday morning, and the crew of the Polar Prince lost contact with them approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes into the vessel’s dive,” the Coast Guard added.A Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, C-130 Hercules aircraft, as well as a Canadian P8 aircraft equipped with underwater sonar capability, were searching for the missing submersible about 435 miles south of St. John’s, Newfoundland.“A @USCG C-130 crew is searching for an overdue Canadian research submarine approximately 900 miles off #CapeCod,” the Coast Guard...

Video game review: ‘Street Fighter 6’ is a bold revamp that widens the fanbase

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:07 GMT

Every once in a while “Street Fighter” reinvents itself, and in the process, manages to draw new players to the fighting game community. It’s this fresh blood, embraced by a welcoming fanbase, that has kept the genre alive long after the demise of its ancestral home — the arcades.The latest chapter in the franchise, “Street Fighter 6,” brings an even more inclusive approach to fighting games. Capcom streamlined years worth of fighting game mechanics and made the release more approachable to all skill levels. Trying to make the game easier for newcomers to pick up, the developers offer in-depth guides to teach novices the ins and outs of the systems and the characters so newbies can pick a fighter that appeals to them. Lastly, the developers acknowledge that not everyone is a fan of competitive gaming and they added a surprisingly deep single-player campaign called the World Tour.A HUGE ADDITIONNo matter your skill level, players will find at least one element they like in “Street Fi...

Ancient Roman temple complex, with ruins of building where Caesar was stabbed, opens to tourists

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:07 GMT

ROME (AP) — Four temples from ancient Rome, dating back as far as the 3rd century B.C. stand smack in the middle of one of the modern city’s busiest crossroads. But until Monday, practically the only ones getting a close-up view of the temples were the cats that prowl the so-called “Sacred Area,” on the edge of the site where Julius Caesar was assassinated.With the help of funding from Bulgari, the luxury jeweler, the grouping of temples can now be visited by the public.For decades, the curious had to gaze down from the bustling sidewalks rimming Largo Argentina (Argentina Square) to admire the temples below. That’s because, over the centuries, the city had been built up, layer by layer, to levels several meters above the area where Caesar masterminded his political strategies and was later fatally stabbed in 44 B.C.Behind two of the temples is a foundation and part of a wall that archaeologists believe were part of Pompey’s Curia, a large rectangular-shaped hall t...

‘Very disappointing:’ Off-duty York regional officer charged with impaired driving

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:07 GMT

York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween expressed his dismay Monday after one of his officers was charged with impaired driving while off-duty on the weekend. Halton Regional Police arrested the off-duty officer after he was involved in a two-vehicle collision near Dundas Street West and Hospital Gate in Oakville on Sunday just after midnight. No one was injured the crash. Ronald Tisdelle, 32, was charged with operation while impaired with a blood alcohol concentration 80 plus. He’s been a member of York Regional police since 2018 and is currently suspended with pay.“This is very disappointing,” said Chief Jim MacSween in a release Monday. “York Regional Police takes a firm stance against impaired driving. The alleged actions of this officer do not reflect the values of our organization or the professionalism demonstrated by our members each and every day.”