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Boris’ bodycount: BBC chief Richard Sharp is just the latest Johnson casualty

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 12:59:45 GMT

LONDON — Don’t go near Boris Johnson. Your reputation might depend on it. Richard Sharp, who resigned as BBC chairman Friday after a damaging report into his links to the former prime minister, is just the latest in a long line of figures who have taken a disastrous hit after personal dealings with Johnson. Responding to Sharp’s exit, one well-placed government official sighed that they didn’t know anyone who had worked with Sharp at the BBC who felt he hadn’t been a “good chairman.” “But Boris damages everyone,” they added pointedly.Here’s POLITICO’s guide to some of the other memorable casualties of dealings with Johnson.The ex-prime ministers’ clubJohnson’s unbridled ambition and capacity for trouble-making effectively ended the premierships of two of his Conservative predecessors.Johnson’s decision to back the Brexit camp during the 2016 referendum proved critical for the final result, forcing his old ...

State police: Car fire closes several lanes on I-93 northbound in Woburn

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 12:59:45 GMT

A car fire on I-93 northbound in Woburn reduced traffic just as the evening commute was getting underway, according to officials.Massachusetts State Police said the right and center lanes near Exit 30 were closed to traffic around 3 p.m. on Friday as both state troopers and the Woburn Fire Department responded to the incident.An image shared on the MSP Twitter account showed what appeared to be the front of an SUV engulfed in flames near an on-ramp for the Northern Expressway.https://twitter.com/MassStatePolice/status/1652025808540540939Authorities said drivers should expect delays as the response continues.In an update nearly 45 minutes later, the MassDOT said the highway’s center lanes had reopened to traffic while the right lane remained closed.https://twitter.com/MassDOT/status/1652035825645789188No information on the condition of the SUV’s driver has been released.This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

Surviving roommate in Idaho murders agrees to speak to suspect’s attorneys

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 12:59:45 GMT

(CNN) — One of the surviving roommates in a stabbing attack that left four University of Idaho students dead has agreed to speak to defense attorneys for suspect Bryan Kohberger after initially resisting efforts by his legal team to compel her testimony.In a court filing made Wednesday, obtained by CNN affiliate KRNV, an attorney for Bethany Funke agreed to make Funke available for an interview with defense attorneys in Reno, Nevada, in place of appearing at a preliminary hearing scheduled for late June in Idaho.Previously, Kohberger’s legal team had asked a Nevada court to compel Funke to travel to Idaho and testify as a witness, arguing her testimony would be exculpatory and her “information is unique to her experiences and cannot be provided by another witness.”Funke, who returned to her hometown of Reno following the killings last November, had fought the subpoena. Her attorney, Kelli Anne Viloria, filed a motion to quash it, arguing &...

Orioles-Tigers game Friday in Detroit postponed because of rain, setting up Saturday split doubleheader

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 12:59:45 GMT

The Orioles’ efforts to continue their hot streak were temporarily cooled Friday, with inclement weather in Detroit prompting the postponement of the second game of Baltimore’s four-game series with the Tigers.The teams will instead play a split doubleheader Saturday, with the first game scheduled for 12:10 p.m. and the second at 5:10 p.m. The Orioles have won nine of their past 10 games and 11 of their past 13 after beating Detroit, 7-4, in Thursday’s series opener. Baltimore has won the first game of all nine of its series thus far, winning five straight series overall. The Orioles’ 17 victories are the most before May 1 in franchise history.Both teams will be able to carry a 27th player on their active roster for Saturday’s game. This series begins a 10-game road trip for the Orioles that also features stops in Kansas City and Atlanta. ()

Michael King emerging again as late-inning weapon for Yankees after early finish to ‘22 season

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 12:59:45 GMT

ARLINGTON — Michael King is returning to form as a crown jewel of the Yankees bullpen.After struggling with his velocity and effectiveness to start the year, the right-hander continues to string together strong outings as he becomes further removed from the right elbow stress fracture that ended his 2022 season early.King sports a 1.72 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 15.2 innings this season after recording the last seven outs of Thursday’s 4-2 win over the Texas Rangers. He didn’t allow a hit during the outing as he picked up his first save of the season.“I’ve been feeling a lot better,” King said afterward.The 27-year-old emerged as a dominant late-inning reliever in 2022, going 6-3 with a 2.29 ERA and 66 strikeouts in 51 innings before undergoing surgery last July.His 2023 season began with two rocky outings in which he allowed a total of eight hits and two runs over three innings, with his fastball coming in slower than the 96 mph he averaged last y...

Falling debris suspends Amtrak service between Irvine and San Diego

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 12:59:45 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Pacific Surfliner service was suspended again Friday between Irvine and San Diego due to debris falling from a slope north of the San Clemente Pier, Amtrak officials said.The track closure, which took effect Thursday at 1:11 p.m., will reopen once the tracks have been deemed safe, according to Amtrak.On Friday morning, Pacific Surfliner said that service was again suspended between San Diego and Irvine due to the debris. Some limited train service was available to and from San Juan Capistrano."The location of the closure is near San Clemente’s Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens, approximately two miles north of where the Orange County Transportation Authority is completing construction work. It is an unrelated issue," the train service stated on its website. Rules of the Road: Are tinted windows legal in California? A spokesperson with Amtrak released a statement, saying that they are assuring the passengers at Oceanside that no one will be left stranded and m...

Biden to huddle with top donors as 2024 effort kicks off

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 12:59:45 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their spouses will fete about 150 of the Democratic Party’s top donors in Washington Friday evening as they lay the groundwork for their reelection campaign, which is expected to need to raise well over $1 billion.The summit is not a fundraiser and it was not clear how many of the attendees had yet cut checks to Biden’s campaign. Rather, it is billed as a strategy session for high-dollar donors and fundraisers who will tap their networks to help fund Biden’s campaign over the next 18 months. In addition to a Friday evening dinner, top Biden advisers and his campaign co-chairs will brief attendees Saturday on the campaign’s strategy ahead of the 2024 race to “fund winning campaigns from the top of the ticket on down,” the campaign said.Some Democratic lawmakers, including governors who have proven to be prolific party fundraisers — Wes Moore of Maryland, Phil Murphy of New Jersey and...

Queen Elizabeth’s coronation lifted Britain’s post-war gloom

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 12:59:45 GMT

LONDON (AP) — In 1953, London was still recovering from World War II. The city was pockmarked with bomb damage, food supplies were tight and life was dull for children who had never eaten anything so exotic as a banana.But the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II helped lift the gloom.Central London buzzed with activity as workers built temporary stands along the 5-mile route of the queen’s procession. Giant crowns were suspended from arches that soared over The Mall approaching Buckingham Palace, and shopkeepers filled their windows with colorful banners and coronation-themed products.With Elizabeth’s son, King Charles III, set to be crowned on May 6, people are recalling his mother’s coronation 70 years ago, which was the last time the British public witnessed the ritual. “The whole of London was sort of a cauldron of people rushing to the area to look at what was happening,” said James Wilkinson, then an 11-year-old member of the Westminster Abbey choir, which sang during...

Conrad Black says he’s regained the Canadian citizenship he renounced in 2001

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 12:59:45 GMT

Conrad Black says he has regained his Canadian citizenship, more than 20 years after he renounced it following a well-publicized fight with then-prime minister Jean Chrétien over accepting a British peerage. Black provided The Canadian Press with a copy of an opinion piece he says is to be published Saturday by the National Post, the newspaper he founded and regularly contributes to, saying he received his Canadian passport this week. “My status in this country was for some years a matter of some controversy and curiosity. These disagreeable memories made the arrival of my Canadian passport by special delivery at my home this week a particularly welcome event,” Black wrote. The former media mogul was convicted of fraud and obstruction of justice in 2007 and spent time in a Florida federal prison for what prosecutors alleged was a scheme to siphon millions of dollars from the sale of newspapers owned by Hollinger Inc., where he was chief executive and chairman. The Montre...

Champagne vows to take action if telecoms don’t reach deal for TTC cell service

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 12:59:45 GMT

Canada’s industry minister vowed to step in if Canada’s major telecom providers don’t reach an agreement to ensure wireless service is available for all riders on Toronto’s subway system.Speaking at a press conference in Montreal on Friday, François-Philippe Champagne said he’s not shy about “pushing the telcos to do what’s right for Canadians.”“Because some of them, they listen to me — they tend to do that when I speak about them — if they don’t come to an arrangement together that would serve Canadians, that would increase the coverage, that would increase the 911 services in the subway system in Toronto, we’ll take action and we’ll make sure that we do what’s right for Canadians,” Champagne said.Last week, the minister penned a letter to the executives of Bell Canada, Telus Communications Inc., Quebecor Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc. calling on the major carriers to reach a deal that would allow any company to access the TTC’s wireless network a...