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Community condemns recent acts of hate at Fairfax Co. Pride rally

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:56:24 GMT

A group that included Virginia Del. Marcus Simon, Fairfax County Public School teachers and students and members of the organization FCPS Pride gathered Thursday night before a school board meeting to condemn recent acts of hate in county schools.FCPS Pride organized the event, a “Pride Rally Against Hate” for all communities in county schools, on the same night the board voted to proclaim June as LGBTQIA+ Pride Month in the school system.The proclamation later passed 11-0, with Board Member Abrar Omeish abstaining.The group used Thursday’s event to speak out about two recent hate incidents on school campuses.In one incident at Falls Church High School, a student admitted stealing a Pride flag from school grounds and then burning it, according to a message shared with the school community. The incident was caught on video, and “another young person is heard using homophobic and hate-filled language toward the LGBTQ+ community,” the message said.“T...

Mercedes-Benz partners with Microsoft to introduce ChatGPT for next-level in-car voice control

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:56:24 GMT

Carmaker Mercedes-Benz has partnered with tech giant Microsoft to introduce an innovative in-car voice control experience by integrating ChatGPT The collaboration aims to enhance the driving experience by integrating a voice assistant powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Starting Friday, drivers can participate in the beta program through theit Mercedes Me app or simply by saying, “Hey Mercedes, I want to join the beta program.” Users will gain access to a range of features, from requesting directions to making dinner reservations. Mercedes-Benz said the integration of AI into vehicles marks a significant step towards leveraging technology for improved mobility and customer convenience. By harnessing the power of machine learning, Mercedes-Benz is developing new functions for its future vehicles and mobility services. These intelligent assistance systems offer drivers a unique form of individual support, made possible by AI.With this groundbreaking update, Mercedes-...

Macron hosts Saudi crown prince for Ukraine, Mideast talks

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:56:24 GMT

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for talks focused on the Middle East and the war in Ukraine on Friday.Macron will press bin Salman, also known as MBS, to use his influence on Russia during a one-to-one lunch at the Elysée Palace, according to an official at the presidential palace who was not authorized to speak publicly.MBS is spending a week in Paris, during which he is expected to participate in the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact and attend a reception in the French capital next Monday supporting Saudi Arabia’s candidacy to host the Expo 2030 world’s fair.Bin Salman’s visit and the length of the stay have drawn sharp rebuke from NGOs campaigning against human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia, and in the wake of the brutal killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 — reportedly ordered by MBS himself. Human rights organizations also criticized Macron’s role in helping normalize the Sa...

Russia strikes Kyiv amid visit by African leaders on peace mission

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:56:24 GMT

Kyiv was hit by Russian airstrikes on Friday shortly before a delegation of African leaders arrived in the Ukrainian capital on a peace mission.The African delegation is being led by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, one of Moscow’s top allies.“An explosion in the capital,” Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram Friday morning, adding that the blast was reported in one of Kyiv’s northern districts. “Missiles are still flying at Kyiv.” “Air defense is operating in the region, on the outskirts of Kyiv,” the military administration said, urging locals to remain in shelters.According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched six Kalibr cruise missiles, six Kinzhal ballistic missiles, and two drones to carry out the strikes. No buildings or facilities were damaged in the attack, Klitschko said.The delegation of several African leaders is set to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday in Kyiv, before meeting wit...

Boris Johnson lands ‘six-figure’ Daily Mail column. Good luck getting him to file on time

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:56:24 GMT

LONDON — Boris Johnson has a new journalism job — but spare a thought for his new editors.The former British prime minister — and now ex-MP — will return to his journalism roots and write a weekly column for the right-leaning Daily Mail newspaper. Three separate figures told POLITICO London Playbook that a trail for a mystery “erudite new columnist” on the Mail’s Friday front page referred to Johnson. According to the trailer, the new columnist will start Saturday — and will be “required reading in Westminster.”Johnson will earn a “very-high six-figure sum” to write the column, according to one figure.The gig will give Johnson — the subject of a damning report by a parliamentary committee this week which accused him of misleading parliament — a platform to critique current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, his bitter rival.The Mail column will be Johnson’s first regular journalism gig since he gave up his Daily Telegraph slot in 2019. Editor...

No injuries reported after fire breaks out at multifamily home in Malden 

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:56:24 GMT

Authorities say everyone at a multifamily house in Malden was able to evacuate after a fire broke out overnight.The Malden Fire Department said residents of the home on Newhall Street evacuated themselves as crews were called in around 2 a.m.According to the assistant fire chief, firefighters arrived to find heavy flames in the rear of the building. The official noted that, on top of burning through the walls and attic, the fire also caused the home’s back roof to collapse.

Relatives searching for loved ones after Greek migrant boat disaster, as hundreds more feared dead

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:56:24 GMT

Kalamata, Greece (CNN) — Kassem Abozeed had arrived in Kalamata to try to find his wife and brother-in-law, as relatives poured into the Greek port city on Thursday, searching for their loved ones missing after a migrant boat sank off the coast, killing dozens of people.The 34-year-old refugee fled from the Syrian civil war to Hamburg, Germany, in 2016. He told reporters that his 21-year-old partner, Ezma, and her 19-year-old sibling, Abdullah, were two of the passengers caught up in one of the largest-scale migrant vessel disasters in southern Europe this year.“I tried to get my wife to come to Germany but it was very difficult to do so in a legal way. So we tried through Libya,” Abozeed said.“The last time we spoke was eight days ago and she told me she was ready to get on the boat. She paid $5,000.”He reflected on his relationship with his wife. “It was a love story.”Family members gathering at the port in southern Greece, as hopes for survivors fade and the scale of th...

Smiles, sweat and excitement fill Southie’s Curley Community Center as renovated facility opens

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:56:24 GMT

Southie resident Tadas Jalinskas had just gotten done with his first workout at the Curley Community Center in over three years, but the 28-year-old said he couldn’t wait to spend more time in the weight and cardio rooms.At long last, a $31.2 million renovation of the popular facility in Southie, along L Street Beach, has concluded, and members are back in gym mode.“This is a significant upgrade from a facilities perspective, the equipment,” Jalinskas told the Herald, with sweat dripping from his face. “I’m looking forward to coming here for the foreseeable future.”Thursday marked the first time members could workout on their own at the Curley Center in three years. The facility closed in March 2020, when the world shut down due to the pandemic, before construction started months later that October.Walk through the main entrance of the community staple, and you’ll see large windows looking out at JFK Library, the Harbor Islands and Dorchester Bay. New fitness, yoga and dance studios...

Howie Carr: RMV on collision course

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:56:24 GMT

How would you, as a resident of Massachusetts, rate the service of your state Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) for the legal citizens of the Commonwealth?Have you found it easy to schedule an appointment to obtain one of those coveted REAL ID’s?Was it easy, or difficult, to schedule a test for your 16-year-old to get his or her learner’s permit?Finally, though, the Registry is getting serious about making it easier to get a driver’s license.Starting next month, they’re expanding the hours they’re open on weekdays! They’re hiring more than 200 new workers! They’re even going to start opening seven of their sites on Saturdays!After basically taking the closest thing imaginable to an agency-wide vacation since the Panic was ginned up in 2020, the Registry is going to respond to the public’s needs.Of course this isn’t a response to the needs of the citizens, you understand. What must be met are the needs of the illegal immigrants who will be eligible to get drivers’ licenses here starti...

A Russian ransomware gang breaches the Energy Department and other federal agencies

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:56:24 GMT

By FRANK BAJAK (AP Technology Writer)The Department of Energy and several other federal agencies were compromised in a Russian cyber-extortion gang’s global hack of a file-transfer program popular with corporations and governments, but the impact was not expected to be great, Homeland Security officials said Thursday.But for others among what could be hundreds of victims from industry to higher education — including patrons of at least two state motor vehicle agencies — the hack was beginning to show some serious impacts. Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, told reporters that unlike the meticulous, stealthy SolarWinds hacking campaign attributed to state-backed Russian intelligence agents that was months in the making, this campaign was short, relatively superficial and caught quickly. “Based on discussions we have had with industry partners … these intrusions are not being leveraged to gain broader access, t...