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Live blog: Putin warns of civil war amid Russia mutiny

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:01 GMT

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday raised the specter of civil war after embittered warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin seized control of key parts of the south of the country. Prigozhin, who has long lambasted Russia’s top brass for their handling of the war in Ukarine, has seized the large strategic city of Rostov-on-Don, a crucial command center for the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, some 1,000 kilometers south of Moscow. His Wagner Group mercenary forces also appear to have a foothold around Voronezh, about 500 kilometers from the capital. Putin has condemned the insurrection as “treason” and Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov has said his fighters have already been dispatched to take the battle to Wagner — raising the prospect of imminent civil conflict inside Russia. Britain’s Ministry of Defense has called Prigozhin’s uprising “the most significant challenge to the Russian state in recent times.” Follow the latest developments here on POLITICO’s live blog:

Meta agrees to July ‘stress test’ on new EU content rules

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:01 GMT

Meta has agreed to a July “stress test” on new EU content rules, Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said late Friday after meeting with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in California.The test is a mock exercise on how the firm would comply with the EU  Digital Services Act‘s requirements on content moderation, which come into force in August. Breton said in a tweet that he had a “Productive discussion” with Zuckerberg in Menlo Park. “Preparedness on its way with 1,000 Meta employees working on” the DSA, he added. The DSA’s content provisions, which start applying in late August, will oblige major tech platforms to combat online hate speech, illegal content and disinformation.On Thursday, Breton met with Elon Musk and Twitter’s new Chief Executive Officer Linda Yaccarino about a similar “stress test” on that platform’s services. Breton also met with Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGPT’s OpenAI, and Jensen Huang, who runs microchips designe...

Lucas: Nobody orders two steaks anymore

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:01 GMT

The story, one of many, comes back to me now upon the death of former House Speaker David M. Bartley, 88, last week. He was buried Tuesday.We are at Anthony’s Pier 4, the once famous and iconic Boston Harbor restaurant, waiting to order dinner one night in 1974.After meeting him at his State House office on a story I was working on, he suggested we go to Anthony’s.Anthony Athanas, the proprietor, who loved to fuss over politicians and celebrities, made sure that Bartley got a choice sea view table, even though I, elbowed aside, was picking up the tab — or at least my newspaper was.Bartley, from working-class Holyoke, had earlier at the astonishing age of 33 become the youngest state representative elected Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1969. He served until 1975.He was a valuable source for a lot of reporters, myself included. He was also the most effective leader of the House to come along in a long time.Bartley was a pragmatic Democrat who could work with Republicans t...

Battenfeld: Democratic slime machine now targets Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:01 GMT

The Soviet-style Democratic Party slime machine has moved on from Donald Trump and chosen its newest target: a member of the prominent Kennedy family who has emerged as a threat to Joe Biden.The media of course is playing a willing part in the attacks, portraying Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the “conservative’s favorite Democrat” and a dangerous, paranoid, anti-vaccine wingnut. Canceled.“Democrats Shouldn’t Ignore RFK Jr. They Should Expose Him,” proclaims New York Magazine.“Pro-RFK Jr. Super PAC Has Deep Ties to Marjorie Taylor Greene, George Santos,” blares a Rolling Stone article.“He should be regarded as a pest doing the bidding of the opposing party,” New York Magazine said.Kennedy doesn’t stand much of a chance of being elected president, so why have the Biden campaign and media launched these vicious, coordinated attacks?It’s because Kennedy, son of the slain Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, is topping 20% in the polls. That’s enough in Biden’s view to trigger the kind of slime the old So...

Beijing sizzles under worst heat wave and authorities ask people to stay indoors

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:01 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Beijing and parts of northern China are experiencing record temperatures, with authorities urging people to limit their time outdoors.The Nanjiao observatory in southern Beijing on Saturday for the first time recorded temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) for a third consecutive day, according to the China Meteorological Administration. In nearby Hebei province and the port city of Tianjin, temperatures have also soared above 40 C over the past few days, prompting authorities to issue “red” alerts for extreme weather. In China’s four-tier weather alert system, the red indicates the most severe conditions.On Thursday, Beijing experienced its second-hottest day on record – with temperatures soaring to 41.1 C (106 F). It was also the highest temperature ever recorded in China’s capital during the month of June.Beijing’s all-time high of 41.9 C (107 F), since modern records began, occurred on July 24, 1999.Chinese meteorologists say the cur...

Politicians point fingers on housing crisis, but calls growing for more co-operation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:01 GMT

OTTAWA — Calls for co-ordinated action across levels of government to address Canada’s housing crisis are growing as affordability deteriorates and the country risks falling even further behind on building more homes. As it stands, Canada is not on track to build the 3.5 million additional homes — on top of the current pace of building — that the federal housing agency says are needed to restore affordability by 2030.During a roundtable interview with The Canadian Press last week, officials from the Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation said reversing this trend will require a “Team Canada” approach, in which all levels of government co-operate to address the shortage. And while the officials’ proposed solutions — building denser cities, incentivizing private investment in housing and boosting public investment in social housing — are shared by many housing experts, no one has yet presented a plan for executing these ambitious changes across levels of governmen...

Wyoming tornado injures 8 people and flips buses and train cars at mine site, report says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:01 GMT

CAMPBELL COUNTY, Wyo. (AP) — A tornado touched down at a mine in Wyoming Friday evening, injuring eight people and knocking over employee transport buses and empty train cars at the facility, a news report said.The tornado hit the North Antelope Rochelle Mine in Campbell County around 6 p.m. during a storm complex that also delivered tornadoes to neighboring Natrona and Johnson counties, the Gillette News Record reported.The Campbell County Fire Department responded to the open-pit coal mine about 64 miles (103 kilometers) south of Gillette. Six people with non-life-threatening injuries were transported by ambulance to Gillette, one victim was transported to Douglas and another refused treatment, the newspaper reported.The tornado struck during a shift change and flipped buses waiting to transport workers, although it was not immediately clear if there was anyone on the vehicles at the time, Campbell County Public Information Officer Leslie Perkins said.All workers were accounted fo...

Obituary: Renowned Eagan dermatologist Charles Crutchfield III was 62

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:01 GMT

Chris Crutchfield was enjoying dinner at Target Field just minutes before a Minnesota Twins baseball game when an employee summoned his brother.Moments later, Chris followed the dermatologist Charles Crutchfield III into the clubhouse where stars of the Twins were gathered.“They needed him right away, and he went in and took care of an issue and helped out immediately,” Chris said. “But that’s just my brother. I mean, those sorts of things were happening all the time.”Dr. Charles Crutchfield III (courtesy photo)Charles Crutchfield III, a prominent dermatologist who worked with the Twins as well as the Minnesota Timberwolves, Lynx, Vikings and Wild, died Wednesday of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He was 62.Crutchfield, who graduated from Carleton College and the University of Minnesota Medical School, had a private dermatology practice in Eagan. A former president of the Minnesota Association of Black Physicians, he wrote weekly health columns for the Bl...

Movie review: Funny, profound ‘Asteroid City’ feels like movie of the summer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:01 GMT

The Southwest meets the celestial — and the stage — in Wes Anderson’s latest ditty “Asteroid City,” in which the auteur brings his singular blend of melancholy charm to a story about the stars, of all kinds.Set in September 1955 in a tiny desert town known as Asteroid City (where the Arid Plains Asteroid touched down), the main plot takes place over the course of a week in which a motley crew who has descended on the town for the Asteroid Day and Junior Stargazer celebrations finds themselves unexpectedly stranded.But the film itself is much more than that. Much like his previous outing, “The French Dispatch,” Anderson deploys a somewhat fussy, and slightly distancing framing device. The action that unfolds in Asteroid City is a play written by Conrad Earp (Edward Norton), directed by Schubert Green (Adrien Brody), and this is a televised staging (the TV broadcast is shot in black and white). The host (Bryan Cranston) walks the double audience through the behind-the-scenes action: C...

Ask Amy: Red flags fly over mismatched relationship

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:01 GMT

Dear Readers: Like you, I’m often curious about what happens to the advice I offer once it leaves my desk, and so I’ve asked readers to send in “updates” to let all of us know how my advice was received, if it was followed, and how things turned out.The responses have flowed in, and I’m interested and often gratified to learn what impact this experience has had on readers.This year I celebrate my 20th year of writing this column. Publishing these updates reminds me that we have been through a lot over these past decades. Some updates read like postcards from old friends, and I’m happy to share them.(It’s important to understand that most of these updates offer a positive outcome. I assume this is because when things go well, people are more willing to share their experience.)To refresh all of our memories, I’m running the original Q&A, followed by the update.Dear Amy: I’m in my mid-20s. My boyfriend is in his late 20s.We’ve been seeing each other for 10 months, and s...