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Harvard and NYC Education Department face federal probe over allegations of antisemitism and Islamophobia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:59 GMT

(CNN) — The US Department of Education added Harvard University and the New York City Department of Education to a growing list of universities and school districts that are being investigated over alleged incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia following the October 7 attacks by Hamas against Israel.The announcement comes just days before Harvard president Claudine Gay is scheduled to testify before Congress at a hearing on antisemitism on campus, along with MIT president Sally Kornbluth and University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill.The hearing, which is set for Tuesday, will be held by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.There have been hundreds of protests and counterprotests on these campuses, with some of them turning violent. The faces and names of some students allegedly linked to anti-Israel statements were displayed on mobile billboards last month near the Harvard campus.The Office of Civil Rights announced ear...

US Coast Guard leaders long concealed a critical report about racism, hazing and sexual misconduct

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:59 GMT

(CNN) — For nearly a decade, US Coast Guard leaders have concealed a critical report that exposed racism, hazing, discrimination and sexual assault across the agency.The 2015 “Culture of Respect” study, a copy of which was obtained by CNN, documented how employees complained of a “boys will be boys” and “I got through it so can you” culture. Many said they feared they would be ostracized and retaliated against for reporting abuse and that those who did come forward often had their complaints dismissed by supervisors.Some of the report’s core findings mirrored those of another secret investigation into rapes and sexual assaults at the Coast Guard’s academy. The existence of that probe, which was dubbed Operation Fouled Anchor and completed in 2019, was revealed by CNN earlier this year. That investigation found that serious misconduct had been ignored and, at times, covered up by high-ranking officials, allowing alleged offenders to rise within the ranks of the Coast G...

Shane MacGowan, lead singer of The Pogues, dead at 65

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:59 GMT

London (CNN) — Shane MacGowan, the lead singer of Irish band The Pogues, has died, according to a statement from his wife, Victoria Mary Clarke.Clarke announced the death of the 65-year-old on Instagram, saying: “There’s no way to describe the loss that I am feeling and the longing for just one more of his smiles that lit up my world.”MacGowan is widely known for the 1988 Christmas hit “Fairytale of New York.”This is a developing story and will be updated.

Inside Ravens rookie WR Zay Flowers’ ‘electrifying’ impact: ‘A guy that wants to be great’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:59 GMT

Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers is a big fan of soccer stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, which explains his reaction after his second touchdown against the host Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday night. After shooting a fake penalty kick past fellow wideout Odell Beckham Jr., he imitated Ronaldo’s “Siuuu” celebration with NBC’s Mike Tirico shouting “Gooooooooooooal!” on the broadcast.“I’ve been playing FIFA a lot,” Flowers said.He’s been catching a lot, too. The 22nd overall draft pick’s team-leading 58 receptions are already the most by a rookie in franchise history. He’s just 228 yards away from surpassing Torrey Smith’s mark for the most yards by a first-year Ravens player, and his 613 yards rank fourth in the NFL among rookie receivers this season. Only the Los Angeles Rams’ Puka Nacua (73) has more catches.Beyond the numbers, what’s been Flowers’ impact?“I would describe t...

Chicago Bears Q&A: How many layers are there to the QB decision? Where has Darnell Mooney gone? What was with all the screen passes?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:59 GMT

The Chicago Bears entered their bye week with good vibes after a final-minute drive for the winning field goal in Monday’s 12-10 road victory over the Minnesota Vikings.But with five games remaining this season, a decision looms regarding quarterback Justin Fields’ future with the team and how to use what likely will be two high draft picks. Brad Biggs kicks off his weekly Bears mailbag with more on the QB decision.Do you think the Bears can win with Justin Fields? I seesaw on this constantly. He clearly lacks the clock in his head to know when to hold the ball and when to get rid of it. But his athleticism is so outstanding that, with a great offensive line and another weapon at receiver, the Bears could keep their top picks and say, “This is our guy. He’s a top four or five athlete at the position, he has a cannon and we’re going to make sure he gets that extra second that he requires to process and then throw.” DJ Moore, Cole Kmet, Darnell Moon...

Families reunite with 17 Thai hostages freed by Hamas at homecoming at Bangkok airport

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:59 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Seventeen Thai workers released from captivity by the militant Hamas group were greeted Thursday by family and friends, officials and journalists in an emotional homecoming at Bangkok’s international airport.The 17 are among 23 Thais freed so far, with six left temporarily behind in Israel because doctors said they were not yet fit to travel. Thai officials says another nine Thai hostages are still being held in Gaza.Ratree Sampan, who traveled from the northeastern province of Nakhon Phanom, arrived early at the airport for the reunion with her son Buddee Saengboon.“After the war broke out, I could not contact him,” said the 57-year-old Ratree. “For one month and 18 days, I assumed he was already dead.”“I waited for a miracle, and it happened. He survived,” she said.There were about 30,000 Thai workers — mostly laborers in the agricultural sector — in Israel prior to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, when militants stormed through a border fence and killed hundreds o...

Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge shows price pressures continuing to cool

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:59 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure cooled last month, the latest sign that price pressures are waning in the face of high interest rates and moderating economic growth. Thursday’s report from the Commerce Department said prices were unchanged from September to October, down from a 0.4% rise the previous month. Compared with a year ago, prices rose 3% in October, below the 3.4% annual rate in September. It was the lowest year-over-year inflation rate in more than 2 1/2 years.Excluding volatile food and energy costs, increases in so-called core prices also slowed. They rose just 0.2% from September to October, down from a 0.3% increase the previous month. Compared with 12 months ago, core prices rose 3.5%, below the 3.7% year-over-year increase in September. Economists closely track core prices, which are thought to provide a good sign of inflation’s likely future path.With inflation easing, the Fed is expected to keep its key benchmark rate unch...

Applications for US jobless benefits rise modestly, but continuing claims are most in 2 years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:59 GMT

Slightly more Americans filed for jobless claims last week, pushing the overall number of people in the U.S. collecting unemployment benefits to its highest level in two years.Applications for unemployment benefits rose by 7,000 to 218,000 for the week ending Nov. 25, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Jobless claim applications are seen as representative of the number of layoffs in a given week.However, overall, 1.93 million people were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended Nov. 18, about 86,000 more than the previous week and the most in two years. Continuing claims have risen in nine of the past 10 weeks.The four-week moving average of jobless claim applications, which flattens out some of weekly volatility, fell by 500 to 220,000.Matt Ott, The Associated Press

Russia’s Lavrov faces Western critics at security meeting, walks out after speech

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:59 GMT

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov faced Western critics while attending international security talks Thursday in Northern Macedonia, where he blamed “NATO’s reckless expansion to the East” for war returning to Europe.Lavrov arrived in Skopje to attend meetings hosted by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The diplomats of several OSCE member nations, including Ukraine, boycotted the event due to Lavrov’s planned attendance amid Russia’s war in Ukraine. The Russian foreign minister spoke for 15 minutes before walking out of the meetings. He blamed what he described as Western tolerance of the “ruling neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv” for the war that started with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.“The very existence of Russians and their decisive contribution to the history of Ukraine are denied,” Lavrov said. “There are plenty of facts. The OSCE and its relevant institutions are silent.”Russian President Vladimi...

Ex-health secretary Matt Hancock defends his record at UK’s COVID inquiry

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:59 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Former British health secretary Matt Hancock defended his record at the U.K.’s COVID-19 inquiry on Thursday, contesting widespread accusations of incompetence in leading the response to the biggest public health crisis Britain faced in a century. The inquiry, which began public hearings this summer, is questioning key government officials about their political decision-making — namely when they decided to impose national lockdowns — during the pandemic.Hancock played a key role in the U.K.’s pandemic response but resigned in 2021 after he was caught on camera kissing his aide in his office, breaking the social distancing rules in place at the time.A number of officials who gave evidence at the inquiry have accused Hancock of being “overoptimistic” and recalled concerns at the time about poor organization within the health department under him.The inquiry heard that in one WhatsApp message, Mark Sedwill, the U.K.’s most senior civil servant at the time, joked to D...