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One person dead, one seriously injured after fire in Orange

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:49 GMT

One person died and another was seriously injured as a result of a three-alarm fire in Orange late Wednesday night, officials said. Orange Fire Chief James Young and State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine in an initial statement said firefighters responded to a home on West River Street after receiving a report of a fire at 11:49 p.m. Once on scene, officials said, crews found heavy fire in the rear of the home and were told that one occupant was trapped inside. Crews immediately entered the structure and located the occupant, an older adult, who received medical attention on scene before being transported to Athol Memorial Hospital.A second occupant, also an older adult, was also transported for medical care. Both were later taken to Boston hospitals, according to state and local authorities. Two further adult occupants of the home were able to escape without injury.Young on Thursday morning thanked mutual aid partners who aided in this fire response and said “Our foremost conc...

Remains of MA airman, killed in Japan helicopter crash, returning home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:49 GMT

The Massachusetts airman killed in the Osprey helicopter crash off the coast of Japan last month will be honored Friday as he returns home. Staff Sergeant Jacob Galliher, of Pittsfield, was among the eight crew members killed in the Nov. 29 crash, which occurred during a training mission. A procession will escort Galliher’s remains from the Westover Air Force Base to a funeral home in Pittsfield Friday afternoon. The public is invited to pay their respects along the route in Pittsfield.

Logan Clegg set to be sentenced in 2022 murder of retired NH couple

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:49 GMT

The man convicted of killing a retired New Hampshire couple in April 2022 is set to be sentenced Friday.Logan Clegg, who was convicted of shooting and killing Stephen and Djeswende Reid, will be in court today to find out his fate.A jury in October found Clegg guilty on all nine charges he faced, including second degree murder and falsifying evidence, after two days of deliberation.The couple was attacked by Clegg while out on a hike on April 18, 2022. Their bodies were found days later, both with multiple gunshot wounds, setting off an investigation that ended when police arrested Clegg in Vermont in October that year.Family members who spoke in court said the pair were “lifelong humanitarians” who were “beloved worldwide”. Prosecutors say Clegg had been living in the woods in the area where the bodies were discovered. Police used surveillance videos and credit card records to connect Clegg to the murders.This is a developing story; stay with ...

RI bridge open to two-way traffic

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:49 GMT

Traffic is moving again in both directions over the Washington Bridge in Rhode Island following the bridge’s abrupt closure Monday.Rhode Island Dan McKee announced early Friday that the bridge was once again open to two-way traffic, a day earlier than previously expected. Two bypass lanes are open going in each direction.The sudden closure of the westbound lanes Monday was due to discovery of “critical failure” of parts of the original 1960s-built infrastructure of the bridge. After investigating, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation said they found eight of the 10 pins that hold the bridge in place had been snapped, with large gaps left in beams as a result.Officials said if the westbound side had remained open, it could have collapsed. Repairs could take at least three months.https://twitter.com/GovDanMcKee/status/1735580646662181110?s=20

Live updates | As fighting rages in Gaza, a US envoy is set to meet with the Palestinian president

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:49 GMT

The Palestinian president was set to meet Friday with U.S. officials to discuss postwar arrangements for Gaza that could include reactivating Palestinian security forces driven out by Hamas in its 2007 takeover of the territory.While Israel has vowed to keep fighting until it wipes out Gaza’s Hamas rulers, the international call for a cease-fire has grown in volume. Israel has drawn international outrage and rare criticism from the U.S. — its main ally — over the killing of civilians. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told U.S. President Joe Biden during a call Thursday that a quick cease-fire for Gaza would be possible if Washington withdrew its unconditional support for Israel.More than 18,700 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory, which does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths. Israel says 116 of its soldiers have died in its ground offensive after Hamas raided southern Israel on Oct. 7, ki...

Denmark widens terror investigation that coincides with arrests of alleged Hamas members in Germany

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:49 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark is holding two people in custody and four others are the target of a terrorism investigation, a prosecutor said Friday, in a case that coincided with one arrest in the Netherlands and several in Germany of alleged Hamas members.While Denmark hasn’t said there is a Hamas link, authorities in Germany said that three people arrested there are suspected of preparing for attacks Jewish institutions in Europe.Danish authorities say that one person was arrested in the Netherlands, but it wasn’t clear if there were any ties to the Hamas investigation in Germany.The two suspects being held in Denmark were ordered to remain in pretrial detention until Jan. 9. The whereabouts of the other four, and whether there was an ongoing search for them, weren’t immediately known.On Thursday, Danish intelligence agency PET, announced the arrest of three people on suspicion of plotting to carry out “an act of terror.” One of them was released, prosecuto...

Hungary’s Orbán says he won’t hesitate to slam the brakes on Ukraine’s EU membership

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:49 GMT

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Friday his country will have plenty of opportunities in the future to interrupt Ukraine’s process of joining the European Union, the day after the right-wing leader’s stunning turnaround allowed an EU summit to move forward on bringing the war-torn country into the bloc.Orbán had spent weeks vigorously declaring that his country would not consent to the EU beginning talks with Ukraine on its eventual membership, arguing such a decision would be catastrophic and that Kyiv was unprepared to begin the process. But in a dramatic reversal in Brussels on Thursday, Orbán left the room where the leaders of the EU’s 27 member nations were debating the measure and allowed a unanimous vote of 26 to approve the start of accession talks for Kyiv. In an interview Friday with Hungarian state radio, Orbán said that EU leaders told him he would “lose nothing” by dropping his veto since he’d have chances in the futu...

Hague court rejects bid to ban transfer to Israel of F-35 fighter jet parts from Dutch warehouse

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:49 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A Dutch court on Friday rejected a request by a group of human rights and humanitarian organizations to order a halt to the transfer to Israel of parts for F-35 fighter jets.The organizations went to court Dec. 4 arguing that delivery of parts for F-35 jets makes the Netherlands complicit in possible war crimes being committed by Israel in its war with Hamas. The parts are stored in a warehouse in the Dutch town of Woensdrecht.In a written statement, the Hague District Court said the judge who heard the civil case concluded that the government of the Netherlands “weighed the relevant interests” before agreeing to the delivery of parts.Lawyer Liesbeth Zegveld told the court that the Dutch government decided to continue transferring F-35 parts to Israel even after the deadly Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas triggered the Israel-Hamas war.“The warning that the fighter jets can contribute to serious breaches of the laws of war does not, for the (Dutch) state, ...

UK police say they’re ‘overjoyed’ that British teen missing for 6 years has been found in France

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:49 GMT

LONDON (AP) — U.K. police said Friday that they are “relieved and overjoyed” to learn that a teenager found walking along a road in southwestern France is a British boy who went missing six years ago. Greater Manchester Police said the teen claiming to be Alex Batty had held a video call with his grandmother, Susan Caruana.“Whilst she is content that this is indeed Alex, we have further checks to do when he returns to the United Kingdom,” Assistant Chief Constable Chris Sykes said.He said police were “still establishing the full circumstances around his disappearance and where he has been all these years.”“Our main priority now is to see Alex returned home to his family in the U.K. and our investigation team are working around the clock with partner agencies and the French authorities to ensure they are all fully supported,” Sykes said.Batty, now 17, went on vacation to Spain in 2017 with his mother and grandfather, who are not his legal guardians, and failed to return to his ...

Eclipse children's book brings Mars family to Austin; teaches kids eye safety

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:49 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A total solar eclipse will pass over Austin on April 8, 2024. It won't be the only solar event visiting the area. A family of four from Mars, the Moonies, will fly down to Central Texas, hoping this year they won't miss out on this rare lunar event.That's the premise for Meg Jerit's new children's book, "The Moonies". "A children's book definitely provides this opportunity to really get all the significance of this moment," Jerit said.According to Jerit, the family comes to Central Texas after missing the 2017 eclipse. The get to enjoy the sights of the area and witness the eclipse while also learning about proper eclipse safety. Each copy of the book comes with two pairs of eclipse glasses."I just feel like to experience a total solar eclipse as a child would be a pretty amazing experience," Jerit said.The Austin-based author comes with strong ties to the eclipse. Her father is the owner and CEO of American Paper Optics. "We make all of the eclipse glasses, the lar...