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UK and Canada ‘break impasse’ on Indo-Pacific trade pact

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:58 GMT

LONDON — Britain’s trade chief Kemi Badenoch and her Canadian counterpart Mary Ng settled differences during a crunch lunch Tuesday in a move that bodes well for the U.K.’s post-Brexit hopes of joining a key Indo-Pacific trade bloc.Ng and Badenoch “tackled some of the remaining issues” and are “now wrapping up final negotiations” on market access, a senior Canadian official told POLITICO. This, they said, “breaks [an] impasse with the U.K. on CPTPP negotiations.”The details of the settlement between Canada and the U.K. are being closely held. The U.K. government declined to comment on live negotiations.But the crunch talks come after the U.K.’s negotiations to join the 11-nation Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade bloc soured in Vietnam earlier this month amid a row over agricultural market access.Canada blocked an agreement in principle on Britain’s accession over the issue, four people confirme...

Polish court finds activist guilty of facilitating abortion

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:58 GMT

WARSAW — A court in Warsaw has found Justyna Wydrzyńska, a Polish abortion rights activist, guilty of facilitating abortion, sentencing her Tuesday afternoon to eight months of community service at 30 hours a month. The verdict is a setback for the Polish and international abortion rights movement, which is being forced increasingly underground following the abolition of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court last year.Wydrzyńska, one of the leaders of Abortion Dream Team, an abortion rights NGO, was charged with helping a woman known as Ania with an at-home abortion using medication. It is not illegal for a woman in Poland to terminate her own pregnancy. But it is illegal to provide help, which is what Wydrzyńska did, sending Ania — who was in an abusive relationship at the time — her own abortion pills via post.Ania had previously tried to travel to Germany for the procedure but was prevented from doing so by her husband. She ordered tablets but worried they might not be delivered ...

George Santos files paperwork formally declaring 2024 candidacy

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:58 GMT

(CNN) — Scandal-plagued Rep. George Santos filed paperwork Tuesday with federal regulators formally declaring his 2024 candidacy.The formal declaration does not mean that the embattled congressman has to pursue reelection. His action follows a demand last month from the Federal Election Commission that he declare his intentions after the Long Island Republican crossed a fundraising threshold that required him to file a statement of candidacy.Last week, when asked by CNN’s Melanie Zanona whether he’d run for office again, Santos answered, “Maybe,” and acknowledged that some of his fellow Republicans had urged him not to seek reelection. But he said he was focused on his current job in Congress.Santos, who has lied extensively about his resume, education and family background, faces federal and local investigations into his finances and a House ethics committee probe into whether he may have engaged in unlawful activity ...

Hundreds of flights canceled as winter storm moves into Northeast

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:58 GMT

(CNN) — Hundreds of flights were canceled in the United States Tuesday and thousands more delayed as a winter storm bringing heavy snow, winds and coastal flooding moved into the Northeast.As of 1:30 p.m. ET, more than 900 flights within, into or out of the US had been canceled, according to flight tracking site FlightAware. More than 2,700 flights were delayed.There were about 300 cancellations at Boston Logan International Airport and about 230 at New York’s LaGuardia. Newark Liberty International Airport had about 140 cancellations as of 1:30 p.m.Boston Logan advised travelers to check with their airlines on flight status before coming to the airport.Newark Liberty International Airport also urged travelers to check with their airlines before heading to the airport and to allow extra travel time.“Today, a wintry mix of snow and rain is expected in the NJ/NY metro area. These conditions, and anticipated wind gusts, may cause hazardous travel conditions,...

Novo Nordisk becomes latest to announce it is cutting insulin prices by up to 75%

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:58 GMT

(CNN) — Novo Nordisk said Tuesday it will slash the list prices of several of its popular pre-filled insulin pens and vials by up to 75%, becoming the latest drugmaker to reduce the cost of the critical medicine for diabetes patients. The change will take effect January 1.However, the company did not announce an expansion of its programs that cut patients’ out-of-pocket costs, which has been a focus of President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats.Novo Nordisk’s move comes two weeks after Eli Lilly announced a series of price cuts that would lower the price of the most commonly used forms of its insulin by 70%. Eli Lilly also said it will automatically cap out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 for people who have private insurance and use participating pharmacies, as well as expand its Insulin Value Program, which caps out-of-pocket costs at $35 or less per month for people who are uninsured.After the reductions, Novo Nordisk’s NovoLog and ...

Russian fighter jet forces down US drone over Black Sea after intercept

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:58 GMT

(CNN) — A Russian fighter jet forced down a US Air Force drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday after damaging the propeller of the American MQ-9 Reaper drone, according to a US official familiar with the incident.The Reaper drone and two SU-27 Flanker jets were operating over international waters over the Black Sea when one of the Russian jets intentionally flew in front of and dumped fuel in front of the unmanned drone, according to the official. One of the jets then damaged the propeller of the Reaper, which is mounted on the rear of the drone, the official said. The damage to the propeller forced the US to bring down the Reaper in international waters in the Black Sea.The US Air Force issued a statement accusing the Russian aircraft of acting in a “reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner.”“At approximately 7:03 AM (CET), one of the Russian Su-27 aircraft struck the propeller of the MQ-9, causing U.S. forces to have to bring the MQ-9 down ...

US: Russian fighter jet hits American drone over Black Sea

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:58 GMT

STUTTGART, Germany (AP) — The U.S. military said a Russian fighter jet on Tuesday struck the propeller of a U.S. drone over the Black Sea, causing U.S. forces to bring it down in international waters.The U.S. European Command said in a statement that two Russian Su-27 fighter jets “conducted an unsafe and unprofessional intercept” of a U.S. MQ-9 drone that was operating within international airspace over the Black Sea.It said one of the Russian fighters “struck the propeller of the MQ-9, causing U.S. forces to have to bring the MQ-9 down in international waters,” adding that several times before the collision, the Su-27s dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9 in “a reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner.” “This incident demonstrates a lack of competence in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional,” it added.The incident comes amid soaring Russian-U.S. tensions over Moscow’s war in Ukraine.THIS ...

Biden issues order to strengthen gun background checks

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:58 GMT

By ZEKE MILLER and COLLEEN LONG (Associated Press)SAN DIEGO (AP) — President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Tuesday aiming to increase the number of background checks to buy guns, promote more secure firearms storage and ensure U.S. law enforcement agencies are getting the most out of a bipartisan gun control law enacted last summer. The Democratic president was set to address his latest efforts to curb gun violence in a speech from Monterey Park, California. In January, a gunman stormed a dance hall in the community near Los Angeles and shot 20 people, killing 11, following a Lunar New Year celebration. He’s also scheduled to meet with families of the victims and first responders from that day. Biden’s rhetoric has only grown stronger around guns — he routinely calls for banning so-called assault weapons in his speeches — and Democrats didn’t push such a vocal gun-control platform even during the Obama administration, when Biden was vice ...

What regular people need to know about SVB’s sudden closure

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:58 GMT

Silicon Valley Bank — a California-based bank that largely catered to technology, venture capital and startup-focused customers — made news as it swiftly collapsed, creating great concern over the billions of dollars it held in deposits.The bank was insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and on Monday, the FDIC took over SVB’s operations so customers wouldn’t lose their funds, even those above the insurable limit. These customers, some of which were businesses that needed to be able to pay their employees, have likely been spared from financial catastrophe.The FDIC is working to resolve things for SVB’s customers, but you may still be wondering what you should do if your bank fails in the future. Another bank, New York-based Signature Bank, also recently collapsed and was bailed out by the FDIC, so banks failing in the future could be a reality, though generally unlikely. Here are some common questions that have come out of SVB’s collapse.How does FDIC insurance work?FDIC i...

New atmospheric river pushes into swamped California

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:58 GMT

WATSONVILLE, Calif. (AP) — Steady rain fell Tuesday from California’s latest atmospheric river storm fell as truckloads of rocks were brought to a broken river levee that unleashed floodwaters into central coast farmland and small agricultural communities.At one end of the rupture on the muddy Pajaro River, a heavy earth-moving machine used its excavator bucket to press the rocks into the levee before big boulders were brought in to fill the gap that opened last weekend.The new storm initially spread light to moderate rain over northern and central regions of the state. But the National Weather Service said it was moving more quickly than expected and most of the precipitation would shift southward.Along the Southern California coast, evacuation orders took effect at 8 a.m. in Santa Barbara County for several areas that were burned by wildfires in recent years, creating increased risk of flash floods and debris flowsSo far this winter, the state has been battered by 10 previou...