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Key radar antenna stuck on Europe’s Jupiter-bound spacecraft

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:52 GMT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A critical antenna is jammed on a Jupiter-bound spacecraft launched two weeks ago, the European Space Agency reported Friday.The 52-foot (16-meter) radar antenna on Juice unfolded only one-third of the way following liftoff, according to the space agency.Engineers suspect a tiny pin may be protruding. Flight controllers in Germany plan to fire the spacecraft’s engine in hopes of shaking the pin loose. If that doesn’t work, they said they have plenty of time to solve the problem.Juice, short for Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, won’t reach the giant planet until 2031. It’s taking a roundabout path to get there, including gravity-assist flybys of Earth and our moon, and Venus.The radar antenna is needed to peer beneath the icy crust of three Jupiter moons suspected of harboring underground oceans and possibly life, a major goal of the nearly $1.8 billion mission. Its targets include Callisto, Europa and Ganymede, the largest moon in the solar system.The sp...

Bill allows DeSantis to run for president while governor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:52 GMT

Republican Ron DeSantis would not have to resign as Florida governor in order to run for president if he chooses under a bill given final approval Friday in by the GOP-dominated state Legislature.The measure, attached to a much broader elections bill, would carve out an exemption to Florida law requiring anyone seeking office to resign from one they already hold after qualifying as a candidate. Only an officeholder running for U.S. president or vice president would not have to resign.Supporters portrayed the bill as purely a clarification and not intended specifically for DeSantis, who has not yet announced a presidential bid but is widely expected to declare his candidacy for the Republican nomination in the coming weeks. The bill passed the state House 76-34 along party lines and now goes to DeSantis, who is expected to sign it into law.“It is an individual office that is unique. It is the chief executive of our country,” GOP Rep. Ralph Massullo said during House debate Frid...

Florida principal forced out in ‘porn’ flap views David statue

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:52 GMT

ROME (AP) — A former Florida school principal who was forced to resign after students were shown an image of Michelangelo’s iconic statue of a nude David viewed the masterpiece in person on Friday in Florence.Cecilie Hollberg, who directs the Accademia Gallery in Florence, where the David is the star attraction, said that Hope Carrasquilla, her husband and two children, came straight to the museum right after they arrived in the city.Carrasquilla stepped down as principal of Tallahassee Classical school in the Florida city last month after one parent claimed the towering sculpture was pornographic. Other parents complained they weren’t notified in advance that their children would be shown the nude figure during a lesson featuring the Renaissance.Hosting Carrasquilla was an “immense pleasure,” the gallery director said.“I am happy to be able to welcome her and introduce her to the beauties of our museum, besides showing her the David, a sculpture that, I repeat as I have...

Street flood advisory issued for parts of Miami-Dade County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:52 GMT

Due to heavy rains in South Florida, the National Weather Service on Friday issued a street flood advisory for parts of Miami-Dade County. The areas under the advisory include the following:Cutler BayPrinceton Palmetto Bay NaranjaPinecrestCountry WalkThe advisory lasts until 4:45 p.m. Please check back on WSVN.com and 7News for more details on this developing story.

Eastern EU countries strike deal with Commission to clear Ukrainian grain glut

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:52 GMT

BRUSSELS — Five EU countries have struck a deal with the European Commission on shifting millions of tonnes of Ukrainian grain out of the region after almost two weeks of intensive negotiations, EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis said Friday.“I’m glad to announce that we have reached a political agreement concerning Ukrainian agrifood imports in the EU. We’ve agreed with the five neighboring EU member states and Ukraine on how we’ll tackle the situation,” Dombrovskis said. Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria restricted imports of Ukrainian produce earlier this month following protests by farmers unable to sell their crops due to a supply glut.As previously announced, the European Commission will put forward emergency safeguard measures for wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seeds, Dombrovskis said, adding that investigations into other products could follow.He did not provide more details on what the emergency measures entail, but EU diplomats say that the imports of those...

France’s financial intelligence chief slams weak anti-corruption efforts in Germany, EU

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:52 GMT

PARIS — The head of France’s financial watchdog slammed anti-corruption efforts in Germany and among European partners at hearings held by a parliamentary committee in France.Recently released documents reveal that France’s financial intelligence chief Guillaume Valette-Valla deemed the risk of corruption among French MPs, ministers and elected officials to be “incomparably much lower” than elsewhere, “including in neighboring countries.”Valette-Valla was answering questions from MPs at a hearing of a parliamentary committee investigating foreign interference in France in February.The head of Tracfin, an anti-money laundering unit of the French finance ministry, expressed frustration at the lack of cooperation with Germany’s Central Office for Financial Transaction Investigation, whose appointed director has yet to take office amid reports of unprocessed suspicious activity notifications.“We are again trying to collaborate with the German financial intelligence unit that is in a com...

Boston man wins a million via Mega Millions, plans to put cash toward buying home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:52 GMT

A man from Boston was the winner of a million dollar prize after buying a Mega Millions ticket earlier this month, according to lottery officials.The Massachusetts State Lottery said Melvin McKenzie had the right first five numbers on his Quic Pic ticket during the Mega Millions drawing on Friday, April 14.Claiming his prize days later at the lottery’s headquarters in Dorchester, McKenzie received a one-time payment of $1,000,000 (before taxes), which he told officials he planned on putting towards buying a home.The winning ticket itself was bought at the Quick Pick Convenience store at 973 Tremont Street, which received a $10,000 bonus for selling it.

Jayson Tatum apologizes to Janet Jackson for concert delay as Boston Celtics win Game 6 to eliminate Atlanta Hawks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:52 GMT

(CNN) — Any Time, Any Place — just not in Atlanta on Thursday.Boston star Jayson Tatum apologized to Janet Jackson after the Celtics’ 128-120 Game 6 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.Jackson had been scheduled to perform a concert at the Hawks’ State Farm Arena on Thursday, but — in a turn of events that would make Janet fans Scream — a shock victory over the Celtics in Boston on Tuesday meant the series returned to Atlanta and the concert had to be postponed until Friday.“I wanna send an apology to the legend Janet Jackson,” Tatum told TNT after the game. “We were supposed to close it out in Boston. She had to postpone her show.“I hope she sees this, you know, I apologize for that, but we got it done today.”Tatum certainly got it done, registering 30 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and a steal to help close out a 4-2 series win and set up a Eastern Conference semifi...

Accused Pentagon leaker’s violent rhetoric raises fresh questions about top secret vetting process

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:52 GMT

(CNN) — New details about the 21-year-old Air National Guardsman accused of leaking a trove of classified documents online reveal how multiple red flags went unheeded and weren’t enough to prevent the Pentagon from granting him a top-secret security clearance.Officials across the government are now scrambling to figure out why.The US government has spent years and vast sums of money overhauling the way it vets and monitors people with access to government secrets. But that didn’t stop the Pentagon from granting a top-secret security clearance to Jack Teixeira, who prosecutors say had an arsenal of weapons at home and a history of violent online rhetoric.Teixeira had to fill out an extensive questionnaire known as E-QIP (Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing) and be vetted by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency before being granted his clearance in 2021, officials told CNN.But according to court documents fi...

Jerry Springer’s cause of death revealed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:52 GMT

(CNN) — Longtime television host and former mayor of Cincinnati Jerry Springer died from pancreatic cancer, his longtime representative Linda Shafran confirmed to CNN Friday.He was 79.Springer’s death had been announced Thursday.“Jerry’s ability to connect with people was at the heart of his success in everything he tried whether that was politics, broadcasting or just joking with people on the street who wanted a photo or a word,” Jene Galvin, a lifelong friend and spokesman for the family, said in a statement.His tabloid talk series, “The Jerry Springer Show,” premiered in 1991 and was wildly successful in syndication. It ended in 2018 after more than 4,000 episodes.Both Springer and his show were often criticized for helping to popularize “trash TV” due to the often outrageous guests he hosted.Springer once told CNN that he did not mind being referred to as the “grandfather of trash TV,” saying in 2010, as ...