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US Defense Secretary Austin meets with Zelenskyy in Kyiv to show steadfast support for Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:07:54 GMT

A woman sings the national anthem of Ukraine during a demonstration in central Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023. People gathered to protest against corruption and demand the reallocation of public funds to the Armed Forces. (AP Photo/Alex Babenko)(AP/Alex Babenko) A woman sings the national anthem of Ukraine during a demonstration in central Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023. People gathered to protest against corruption and demand the reallocation of public funds to the Armed Forces. (AP Photo/Alex Babenko)(AP/Alex Babenko) KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Monday in a high-profile push to keep money and weapons flowing to Ukraine even as U.S....

Insider Q&A: Pentagon AI chief on network-centric warfare, generative AI challenges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:07:54 GMT

The Pentagon’s chief digital and artificial intelligence offer, Craig Martell, is alarmed by the potential for generative artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT to deceive and sow disinformation. His talk on the technology at the DefCon hacker convention in August was a huge hit. But he’s anything but sour on reliable AI. Not a soldier but a data scientist, Martell headed machine-learning at companies including LinkedIn, Dropbox and Lyft before taking the job last year. Marshalling the U.S. military’s data and determining what AI is trustworthy enough to take into battle is a big challenge in an increasingly unstable world where multiple countries are racing to develop lethal autonomous weapons.The interview has been edited for length and clarity.—-Q: What is your main mission? A: Our job is to scale decision advantage from the boardroom to the battlefield. I don’t see it as our job to tackle a few particular missions but rather to develop the tools, processes, inf...

Near-record Thanksgiving travel projected for DC region as gas prices continue to drop

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:07:54 GMT

More than 1.25 million people in the D.C. region will be hitting the roads over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, making it the second-highest number since AAA began tracking holiday travel in 2000. And, gassing up for the travel will be considerably cheaper this year.Overall, the travel group projects more than 1.3 million Washington metro area residents will travel during Thanksgiving 2023, an increase of more than two percent over last year. The highest travel volume was in 2005, when more than 1.4 million District-area residents traveled for the holiday.The vast majority of people traveling more than 50 miles — 90% — will drive to their holiday destination. The highest number was in 2019 when 1.26 million drove to their holiday feast.Fueling the car or SUV will be far less expensive this year.“There’s some great news to be grateful for, heading into the holiday,” said Ragina Ali, spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “Gas prices are trending nearly 30 cents l...

Gov. Polis to hold Colorado's first turkey pardon

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:07:54 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — It's been a national tradition for decades, and now Colorado is getting in on the Thanksgiving turkey pardon.Gov. Jared Polis will hold the pardoning ceremony Monday at noon at the Governor's Residence. He'll be joined by First Gentleman Marlon Reis, Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera and Kate Greenberg, executive director of the Colorado Department of Agriculture. What to know before heading to DIA for Thanksgiving travel According to a release from the governor's office, the turkey pardon is designed to "encourage Coloradans to support local farmers, ranchers and producers."You can watch the pardoning live in the FOX31 NOW player above.

What is Colorado's preferred frozen pizza? New state-by-state analysis released

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:07:54 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – When Americans give up on making dinner and settle for a frozen pizza, which types of frozen pizza do they most often settle for?It might depend on where they’re located.A new analysis from Instacart suggests that America is a nation divided by its favored frozen-pizza varieties. The findings, as determined by Instacart’s recent online-ordering data, appear to indicate that varieties like pepperoni, supreme and even veggie pizza have their own little strongholds over certain sections of the country.It’s important to note, however, that Instacart’s analysis doesn’t indicate which pizza varieties are the top-selling in each state, but rather which varieties each state’s customers are ordering at the highest rate over the national average. (When considering sales volume alone, an Instacart analyst confirmed with Nexstar that the actual top-selling pizza varieties, in each state, were either pepperoni or cheese across the board, with nearly 40% of Instacart’s frozen-pizza pu...

Dog owners advised to avoid kennels as vets investigate mystery illness in several states including Florida

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:07:54 GMT

(TMX) – A mysterious respiratory illness that has sickened more than 200 dogs in Oregon has been detected in at least a dozen states, per reports.The Oregon Veterinary Medical Association announced earlier this month that it was investigating the causes behind an atypical canine infectious respiratory disease circulating in the Portland metro and Willamette Valley areas. The agency said local veterinarians were working to collect samples for analysis by a state veterinary laboratory and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory.The American Veterinary Medical Association on Friday said the cause of the mystery illness is still unknown after more than 200 cases were reported in Oregon.The illness begins with a cough that lasts for weeks, and may not respond to antibiotics. It can develop into severe pneumonia, and can potentially be fatal. Other symptoms include sneezing, nasal or eye discharge, lethargy, blue or purple gums, and trouble...

EU Parliament seeks to improve gender balance on committees 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:07:54 GMT

BRUSSELS — The European Parliament is considering changing its rules to improve the gender balance of its committees. The measures are designed to address “striking disparities” in the gender balance of committees and delegations across the institution, according to an internal letter, seen by POLITICO, from senior Greek MEP Dimitrios Papadimoulis.  Papadimoulis — a Parliament vice-president who chairs a group of senior MEPs working on gender equality in the institution — sent the letter to the Constitutional Affairs Committee last month requesting its help in changing Parliament’s internal rules.“A possible proposal could be that at least it’s needed to have 30 or 35 percent of women in each committee,” Papadimoulis said in the letter. The MEPs in Papadimoulis’ group suggested that the “starting point” should be the Parliament’s current ratio of male to female MEPs: 61 percent of MEPs are male and 39 percent female.“I think it’s an overall strategy the Parliament agr...

Milei’s win in Argentina hits hopes for EU’s Latin America trade deal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:07:54 GMT

BRUSSELS — The victory of a Trump-like president in Argentina could deliver a knockout blow to already teetering hopes of wrapping up a trade deal between the European Union and the Mercosur bloc of South American countries before the end of the year. Javier Milei, an anarcho-capitalist outsider nicknamed El Loco — the Crazy One — won Argentina’s presidential run-off on Sunday, coming from behind to beat Economy Minister Sergio Massa by 56 percent to 44 percent.The result stunned many in Brussels who fear that Milei’s victory spells further trouble for already-difficult talks on a landmark trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur that has been two decades in the making.Among the many inflammatory statements he made during his campaign, Milei has threatened to quit Mercosur — which groups Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay with Argentina.The former tantric sex coach, who has no government experience, called Mercosur a “phenomenal failure” and described it as a “...

New State Police Unit Will Target Hate Crimes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:07:54 GMT

A new State Police unit will work with other law enforcement agencies and community partners as Gov. Maura Healey’s office looks to bolster strategies for address hate-based incidents tied to race, ethnicity and religion, among other biases.The Hate Crimes Awareness and Response Team will be tasked with improving statewide data collection efforts to identify patterns and trends, developing “advanced training” with the Municipal Police Training Committee, and improving law enforcement coordination at the federal, state and local levels, Healey’s office announced Monday.Ten school districts are also receiving grants totaling nearly $462,000 to cover professional development for educators, community engagement and other efforts to clamp down on bias incidents and hate crimes.Massachusetts logged 440 hate crime incidents last year, and 406 in 2021. It was the highest volume since 2002, Healey’s office said.The state also recorded the country’s si...

Southborough police arrest man accused of inappropriately grabbing Dunkin employee

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:07:54 GMT

Southborough police say a man was arrested and faces charges that include indecent assault and battery after he allegedly “inappropriately grabbed” a Dunkin employee over the weekend.The Southborough Police Department said its officers made the arrest Sunday, after responding to a Dunkin location on Cordaville Road. The department had initially received a report that a male customer had accosted a female employee, who arriving officers made contact with.The department said that, according to the employee, a male suspect accosted and “inappropriately grabbed” her during the incident. Reviewing surveillance footage, officers identified and later arrested Paul Smith of Southborough.According to Southborough PD, Smith now faces charges that include Assault and Battery and Indecent Assault and Battery On A Person 14 Or Over.