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Massachusetts will receive $41M in massive settlement with Juul ‘for causing a nationwide youth vaping epidemic’

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:24:27 GMT

The Bay State will receive $41 million as part of a massive $462 million settlement with vaping giant Juul for its alleged role in sparking the youth vaping epidemic that led to a rise in underage e-cigarette vaping nationwide.The funds from the largest multistate agreement with Juul will help young people quit vaping and support underage vaping abatement programs, according to the attorneys general who made the announcement on Wednesday.The agreement also requires Juul to secure its products behind retail store counters, and to verify the age of consumers that directly sell or promote its products online.“Make no mistake, Juul’s targeting of young people rolled back decades of progress in combatting underage tobacco and nicotine use, and has led to a nationwide public health crisis for young people all across this country,” Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell said during the settlement announcement.“They (Juul) targeted those young people, and the...

Heat need Bam Adebayo to rise to occasion to avoid falling short of playoffs

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:24:27 GMT

On a night both teams needed something big from their big men, the Atlanta Hawks shrunk Bam Adebayo down to size. Now the question becomes whether the Miami Heat’s All-Star center can rise to the occasion in a winner-take-all Friday play-in game.With the Atlanta Hawks getting 21 rebounds from center Clint Capela, they easily moved on to the first round of the NBA playoffs with Tuesday night’s 116-105 kick in the teeth to the Heat at Kaseya Center.With Adebayo again something less than his All-Star self, the Heat now either must win their Friday night second-chance home play-in game or miss the playoffs for the first time since 2019.While Adebayo closed with 12 points and nine assists against the Hawks, as well as four assists, three steals and two blocked shots, his 5-of-12 shooting was indicative of an effort that failed to meet the challenge.Since playing in the Feb. 19 All-Star Game, Adebayo has been reduced to something less than an All-Star. In his 54 games before t...

Saquon Barkley won’t sign franchise tag to join Giants at start of offseason program: report

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:24:27 GMT

The ideal time for Saquon Barkley to get his preferred contract extension, to leverage his talent, to hold out, would have been after the 2020 NFL season.A resurgent third season, if he’d bounced back to the level of his impressive 2018 rookie year, probably wouldn’t have made it difficult for Barkley to sway a Giants franchise led by the GM that drafted him No. 2 overall.But Barkley tore his right ACL in Week 2 and missed almost the entire 2020 season. He badly sprained his left ankle in Week 5 of the 2021 season and was barely a factor that year, too.Dave Gettleman got fired. And in stepped new GM Joe Schoen with fresh eyes and a modern perspective on running back value and roster construction.So even after an improved rushing season in 2022, Barkley didn’t have the leverage he and his representatives hoped or believed they did.And once Schoen placed the $10.091 million franchise tag on Barkley in March, that left him with only one remaining move to get a better ...

US stocks edge higher following report of cooling inflation

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:24:27 GMT

By STAN CHOE (AP Business Writer)NEW YOR (AP) — Stocks are edging higher Wednesday following the latest update to show inflation continues to cool.The S&P 500 was 0.2% higher in afternoon trading after bouncing between small gains and losses earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 99 points, or 0.3%, at 33,785, as of 12:44 p.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was relatively unchanged.The main focus on Wall Street for more than a year has been high inflation and how much painful medicine the Federal Reserve will have to dole out to contain it. A report Wednesday morning showed that prices at the consumer level were 5% higher last month than a year earlier. That’s still well above the Federal Reserve’s comfort level, and some underlying trends within the data were also concerning. That weighed down financial markets. But on the upside for investors, the overall inflation number was still better than the 5.2% that economists expected. It also mark...

Emmanuel Macron says his position on Taiwan is unchanged

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:24:27 GMT

AMSTERDAM (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron commented on his published remarks on China and Taiwan that raised questions after he visited Beijing last week, insisting Wednesday that his views have not changed. “The position of France and the Europeans on Taiwan is the same. We are for the status quo, and this policy is constant,” Macron told reporters in Amsterdam near the end of a two-day state visit to the Netherlands. “It hasn’t changed. It’s the policy of one China and the peaceful settlement of the question.”He was referring to remarks published Sunday from an interview with French newspaper Les Echos and Politico Europe. The remarks elicited doubts about whether Macron’s views were in line with the European Union’s position on Taiwan’s status. Beijing claims that the island is a Chinese territory that must be brought under its control, by force if necessary. “The question we need to answer, as Europeans, is the following: is it in our interest to accele...

Big flames, raining embers in New Jersey Pine Barrens fire

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:24:27 GMT

MANCHESTER, N.J. (AP) — Firefighters in New Jersey were confronted by 200-foot (60-meter) flames as they battled a wildfire tearing through 6 square miles of the state’s Pine Barrens, raining down embers and prompting evacuations but leaving no one injured and property intact, officials said Wednesday.The blaze in Manchester, near Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, forced the evacuation of around 170 homes late Tuesday, with police and fire officials going door-to-door to ask people to take temporary shelter at a nearby high school. Helicopters were filling large containers with water from a nearby lake Wednesday and dropping it on the flames.“We saw the red glow in the sky, and every time the wind would shift, it got worse,” said Jason Cylenica, who lives in the neighborhood closest to the fire. His wife, Cynthia Tiemper, said burning embers were landing in their back yard Tuesday night, making them decide to evacuate even before the fire department knocked on their door at 10:45 p....

Michigan researchers find 1914 shipwrecks in Lake Superior

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:24:27 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Michigan researchers have found the wreckage of two ships that disappeared into Lake Superior in 1914 and hope the discovery will lead them to a third that sank at the same time, killing nearly 30 people aboard the trio of lumber-shipping vessels.The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society announced the discoveries this month after confirming details with other researchers. Ric Mixter, a board member of the society and a maritime historian, called witnessing the discoveries “a career highlight.”“It not only solved a chapter in the nation’s darkest day in lumber history, but also showcased a team of historians who have dedicated their lives towards making sure these stories aren’t forgotten,” Mixter said.The vessels owned by the Edward Hines Lumber Company sank into the ice-cold lake on Nov. 18, 1914, when a storm swept through as they moved lumber from Baraga, Michigan, to Tonawanda, New York. The steamship C.F. Curtis was towing the schooner barges Selden E. Marvin ...

French investigative site claims Depardieu groped extras

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:24:27 GMT

PARIS (AP) — A French investigative news website claims that actor Gérard Depardieu has been accused of harassing, groping or sexually assaulting 13 young women, mainly extras.Most of the claims reported by the Mediapart website relate to film shoots between 2004 and 2022. None of the women has filed a complaint. Depardieu himself has denied any criminal behavior. Depardieu, 74, is among France’s most well-known stars. He was placed under investigation in December 2020 for rape and sexual assault, reportedly at his Paris home, following claims by an actress in 2018. The investigation is ongoing.Mediapart, which is regarded as a reliable website, published the accusations in an article on Tuesday. They feed into the long-standing stereotype of an industry full of dirty secrets where silence is golden.The incidents allegedly took place in public places, mainly on film sets.In a Manhattan cabaret for the filming of the 2015 movie “Big House,” Depardieu allegedly tried to fondle three n...

Syria’s rapprochement advances with Tunisia, Saudi Arabia

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:24:27 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria will reopen its embassy in Tunisia, state media reported Wednesday, as Syria’s top diplomat visited Saudi Arabia seeking to restore ties that have been severed for more than a decade.Tunisia has become the latest Arab state to reestablish diplomatic ties with Syria, after cutting off relations in 2012. Tunisian President Kais Saied announced earlier this month that he had directed the country’s foreign ministry to appoint a new ambassador to Syria.His move to appoint a new ambassador to Syria was reciprocated by the Syrian government, a joint statement from the two countries’ foreign ministries said Wednesday, according to Syrian state news agency SANA.The announcement was the latest in a regional trend of rapprochement with the war-torn country, which has picked up pace since the massive Feb. 6 earthquake in Turkey and Syria, and the Chinese-brokered reestablishment of ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran.Syria was widely shunned by Arab governments over Syr...

Whitby restaurant owner faces more than a dozen new historical sex charges

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:24:27 GMT

A Whitby restaurant owner is facing new workplace sexual assault charges in connection to an ongoing investigation by Durham Regional Police.Police originally charged James Chatterpaul in January 2023 after a person came forward claiming they were sexually assaulted by him at his restaurant.Chatterpaul is the owner of Chatterpaul’s restaurant at 3500 Brock St. in Whitby.He was hit with more charges in March, 2023 after investigators say four more alleged victims came forward, claiming they were sexually assaulted by Chatterpaul between 2005 and 2019.On Wednesday, police announced 13 new charges, saying six more alleged victims came forward with historical allegations against Chatterpaul.The newest charges stem from alleged incidents dating back between 2002 and 2018, police said.Police say Chatterpaul often goes by the names “Chef Chad” or “Chad” and note that he was previously employed at an Oshawa restaurant.Investigators said some of the alleged victims in the latest charges R...