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European Parliament set to grow by 15 MEPs in 2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:52 GMT

BRUSSELS — An extra 15 MEPs will take up their seats in the European Parliament following next year’s EU elections, after governments struck a preliminary agreement on the size and shape of its composition.The biggest winners are France, Spain and the Netherlands, as each of these countries will gain two MEPs, while the countries that will add one more are Austria, Belgium, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Latvia, Ireland and Denmark, according to a document from the Council of the EU dated July 26. No country will lose any spots in the hemicycle.The changes — which still need formal legal approval by the European Council and the Parliament itself — will take the number of seats from 705 to 720 between 2024 and 2029.The Parliament — which doesn’t have the power to decide on its own composition alone — had sketched out a slightly different shape for itself, which would have brought the increase to only 716. In the negotiations between governme...

Third racism scandal hits Finland’s government in space of a month

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:52 GMT

Finland’s right-wing coalition government has only been in office for a little over a month and has now been rocked by its third racism scandal, after a media report uncovered racist messages sent by the minister of economic affairs.Wille Rydman — of the far-right Finns Party — used racial slurs in private messages with his then-girlfriend in 2016, according to Helsingin Sanomat. According to the report, Rydman said he would rather ban headscarf-wearers than headscarves, and told his then-partner when she suggested giving her future children traditional Hebrew names: “We Nazis don’t really like that kind of stuff.”At the time Rydman sent the messages, he was a 30-year-old member of parliament for the National Coalition Party. He joined the Finns Party earlier this year and was appointed minister of economic affairs in June. On Friday morning, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo discussed Rydman’s messages with the chairs of the government parties. He wants to se...

The Eagles announce the death of founding member Randy Meisner at 77

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:52 GMT

(CNN) — Randy Meisner, who was a co-founding member of legendary rock band the Eagles and served as a bassist and vocalist, has died, according to an announcement on the band’s official site. He was 77.“The Eagles are sad to report that founding member, bassist, and vocalist, Randy Meisner, passed away last night (July 26) in Los Angeles at age 77, due to complications from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease (COPD),” the statement, posted on Thursday, read.“Randy was an integral part of the Eagles and instrumental in the early success of the band. His vocal range was astonishing, as is evident on his signature ballad, ‘Take It to the Limit,’” said the Eagles.Meisner’s musical career began with Rick Nelson’s Stone Canyon Band as their vocalist and bassist. He later joined country-rock band Poco as their original bass player in the 1960s before forming the Eagles in 1971 with the band’s original members, Glenn Frey, Don Henley and Bernie Leadon.Meisner cont...

Police investigating deadly crash in Taunton

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:52 GMT

An investigation got underway Friday after a deadly crash involving a moped and an SUV in Taunton on Friday, police said.Taunton police, in a statement, said officers responded to the area of Bay Street and I-495 for reports of a crash around 6:30 a.m. A state police spokesperson said troopers also responded and closed the off-ramp from I-495 to Bay Street.On scene, Taunton police said officers found the moped and the SUV had collided near the off-ramp.The moped rider, described as a 60-year-old Taunton man was flown by helicopter to a hospital, according to police. The SUV’s driver, described as a 47-year-old Carver, did not report any injuries.State police confirmed the crash was fatal around 8:30 a.m.The Taunton Police Department said it was actively investigating the crash as of Friday morning.No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Arizona mom never stopped looking for her daughter. Alicia Navarro appeared 4 years later in Montana

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:52 GMT

HAVRE, Mont. (AP) — When Alicia Navarro disappeared in 2019 from her home in a Phoenix suburb days before her 15th birthday, she left a signed note for her family promising she would return.“I will be back, I swear,” the note read. “I’m sorry.”Believing she would keep her promise, Jessica Nunez never stopped searching for her daughter.She paid for a billboard ad in Mexico that featured a photo of her daughter for a year. She bought 10 more ads in Las Vegas. She spoke at events and gave media interviews to raise awareness. She left flyers all around Glendale — at salons, truck stops, parks.Nunez’s yearslong search came to an end Sunday when her daughter, now 18, walked into a small-town Montana police station near the Canadian border and identified herself as the missing teenager.Police said Navarro told them she hadn’t been harmed, wasn’t being held, and could come and go as she pleased. She does not face any criminal charges, they added.Investigators are now trying to d...

Stock market today: Wall Street resumes its rally after encouraging reports on profits and inflation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:52 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is back to climbing on Friday following more encouraging profit reports and the latest signal that inflation is loosening its chokehold on the economy.The S&P 500 was 0.8% higher in early trading, near its highest level in more than 15 months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 174 points, or 0.5%, at 35,347, as of 9:40 a.m. Eastern time, after breaking a 13-day winning streak a day before. The Nasdaq composite was 1.4% higher.Stocks have been rallying hard recently on hopes high inflation is cooling enough to get the Federal Reserve to stop hiking interest rates. That in turn could allow the economy to continue growing and avoid a long-predicted recession.A report on Friday said the inflation measure the Fed prefers to use slowed last month by a touch more than expected. Perhaps just as importantly, data also showed that total compensation costs for workers rose less than expected during the spring. While that’s discouraging for workers, investo...

A pollution tax on older cars can be extended to London’s suburbs after a British court ruling

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:52 GMT

A British court ruled Friday against London suburbs that tried to block a pollution tax on older cars as green policies become a hot political issue in the U.K. amid increasingly dramatic impacts of global climate change. The High Court ruled that Mayor Sadiq Khan had the authority to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone, or ULEZ, which charges drivers of older gas and diesel vehicles 12.50 pounds ($16) a day they operate, to the city’s outskirts next month. Five conservative councils challenged Khan’s right to impose the measure. They criticized the expansion to an area where there are fewer public transport options and people are more reliant on cars, and because of a disproportionate impact on lower-income drivers who can’t afford newer, cleaner cars. Khan said the ruling would allow the expanded zone to take effect Aug. 29 and help reduce air pollution. He said he would also expand a program that provides financial assistance to some families and small businesses...

Former US Federal Reserve chair to lead Bank of England review on economic forecasts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:52 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will lead a review of the Bank of England’s economic forecasting amid concern that inaccurate predictions about growth and inflation hampered the central bank’s efforts to combat Britain’s cost-of-living crisis.Bernanke, who served as Federal Reserve chair from 2006-2014, will examine how procedures and analysis affected the decisions of the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, which has approved 13 consecutive interest rate increases as it battles stubbornly high inflation. Some business leaders and government officials have suggested the bank’s response to the crisis was hamstrung by overly pessimistic forecasts of a recession that never materialized and overly optimistic expectations for a rapid drop in inflation.“The UK economy has faced a series of unprecedented and unpredictable shocks,’’ Bank of England Gov. Andrew Bailey said in a statement. ‘‘The review will allow us to take a step back and reflect on where our pr...

Extreme heat moves east where many will see their hottest days of the year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:52 GMT

Dangerous heat is forecast to “engulf” much of the eastern half of the United States as extreme temperatures spread from the Midwest into the Northeast and mid-Atlantic where some residents will see their hottest temperatures of the year, according to the National Weather Service. Althouth much of the country does not cool much on normal summer nights, night temperatures are forecast to stay hotter than usual, prompting excessive heat warnings from the Plains to the East Coast. On Thursday nearly 200 million people in the United States, or 60% of the U.S. population, were under a heat advisory or flood warning or watch, but moisture moving into the Southwest has reduced the area of excessive heat warnings to the southernmost counties of California and parts of southern Arizona.On top of the heat, severe thunderstorms are forecast for parts of the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley, west to the Middle Missouri Valley through Saturday morning.The prediction for continued excessive heat comes...

Officers fired stun gun during arrest at Pearson Airport; suspect allegedly damaged vehicle and fled

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:52 GMT

A man is facing charges after he allegedly damaged a vehicle at Pearson Airport and then ran away from responding officers.Peel Regional Police says officers were called to the Pearson Terminal 1 for reports of someone damaging a vehicle outside around 6 p.m. Thursday.It is alleged the suspect tried to run away and there was a brief pursuit before officers fired a Taser at him. He was subsequently arrested.Police have arrested a man in his 20s and charged him with mischief over $5000.