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Want to win a pint with Nigel Farage? Just give him £5 a month

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:08:12 GMT

LONDON — Five pounds won’t buy you a pint in Westminster these days — but it could win you a drink with Nigel Farage.The former Brexit Party leader has launched a private Twitter Subscribers Club, boasting monthly “win a pint with Nigel” prizes, Q&As on Twitter Spaces — and other “exclusive behind-the-scenes content” from the man himself.In a video launching the new venture, Farage praised Twitter owner Elon Musk for turning the platform into a “public space for free and open debate.”“I’m more enthusiastic about Twitter than I’ve ever been before,” he said. To join the Farage club — pitched at “Farage super fans” — you’ll need to cough up £4.92 a month. It’s not the first time Farage has tried to convert his campaigning clout into coins.He opened an account on the video sharing platform Cameo in 2021, where for £75 he will record a personal message of the customer’s choice.Critics of ...

SWAT situation in Mansfield ends peacefully

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:08:12 GMT

A tense SWAT situation that drew a large police presence to a neighborhood in Mansfield overnight came to a peaceful resolution, police said.Officers responding to an incident on Erick Road around 1 a.m. urged residents to avoid the area while the MetroLEC SWAT team was working.At 3:21 a.m., Mansfield police announced the incident ended peacefully.No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Man facing armed assault to murder charge in stabbing outside Abington liquor store

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:08:12 GMT

A 26-year-old man is facing several charges in connection with a stabbing outside a liquor store in Abington that left a 61-year-old hospitalized. Officers responding to a reported stabbing outside Rosie’s Liquors on Bedford Street around 5 p.m. Friday found the victim suffering from several stab wounds, according to Abington police. After an investigation, Devon B. Pelrine was located at the Vinson Blanchard Garden Apartments on Shaw Avenue and taken into custody without incident on charges of armed assault to murder, armed robbery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a person 60 years or older (3 counts), threatening to commit a crime (murder), disturbing the peace and carrying a dangerous weapon (second offense). He is expected to be arraigned Monday in Brockton District Court.

What a new offense and new receivers means for Ravens star tight end Mark Andrews | ANALYSIS

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:08:12 GMT

The NFL offseason is a lot of things, depending on the team. For the Ravens, it’s been a roller coaster.There were notable departures (left guard Ben Powers, defensive end Calais Campbell), significant additions (wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., offensive coordinator Todd Monken) and, of course, the drama that swirled around Lamar Jackson and the organization before they came to terms on a five-year contract extension that reportedly makes him the league’s highest-paid quarterback per year.Then there’s Mark Andrews.Amid all the ups and downs Baltimore has endured — not just in the past five months, but in the past five years — the steadiest influence has been the tight end it selected out of Oklahoma in the third round of the 2018 draft. Andrews has nearly done it all in his career. He was named an All-Pro in 2021 after a 107-catch, 1,361-yard, nine-touchdown season. He’s led the Ravens in targets, catches and receiving yards in three of the past ...

Business confidence turns pessimistic for the first time since 2020

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:08:12 GMT

Business confidence among the state’s employers fell last month to the lowest level seen since the height of the pandemic, according to a recent survey of Massachusetts employers.The Associated Industries of Massachusetts, in its monthly Business Confidence Index, says Massachusetts business owners’ faith in the economy plunged half-a-point in May, dropping from 50.1% to 49.6% and continuing a downward trend that first began in November.And while a half point may not sound like a lot, the move is significant as a reading below 50 indicates a pessimistic outlook.“Massachusetts employers turned pessimistic about the economy for the first time since December 2020 last month as the state economy slowed to a crawl and the Federal Reserve continued to raise interest rates,” the survey reads, in part.The index, taken well ahead of Friday’s unexpected report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing the economy had added a further 339,000 jobs and before President Biden’...

As India grieves train crash that killed 275, relatives wait for bodies of loved ones

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:08:12 GMT

BHUBANESWAR, India (AP) — Families of the victims of India’s deadliest train crash in decades filled a hospital in Bhubaneswar city on Monday to identify and collect bodies of relatives, as railway officials recommended the country’s premier criminal investigating agency to probe the crash that killed 275 people.Distraught relatives of passengers killed in the crash Friday lined up outside the eastern city’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences. Meanwhile, survivors being treated in hospitals said they were still trying to make sense of the horrific disaster.Outside the hospital, two large screens cycled through photos of the victims, their faces so bloodied and charred that they were hardly recognizable.Each body had a number assigned to it, and relatives stood near the screen and watched as the photos changed, looking out for details like clothing for clues.Many of them said they had spent days on desperate journeys from neighboring states, travelling in multiple trains, buses ...

Biden, looking to shore up Hispanic support, faces pressure to get 2024 outreach details right

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:08:12 GMT

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — Joe Biden vowed in 2020 to work “like the devil” to energize Hispanic voters, and flew to Florida seven weeks before Election Day to do just that. But as he stepped to the podium at a Hispanic Heritage Month event near Disney World, Biden declared, “I just have one thing to say” and used his phone to play part of “Despacito.” It was meant as a salute to the singer of the reggaeton hit, Luis Fonsi, who had introduced Biden and cried, “Dance a little bit, Joe.” Still, the gesture triggered swift online backlash from some Hispanics, who saw it as playing to belittling stereotypes — proof that while outreach is important, failing to strike the right cultural tone can undermine such efforts. “The details actually matter for people because it’s respecting their background, respecting their history, respecting their culture,” said Grecia Lima, national political director of Community Change Action. “It’s not an insignificant portion of what ca...

Belgium investigating whether arms destined to defend Ukraine ended up in Russia fighting

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:08:12 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium is investigating whether weapons it sent to help Ukraine defend its territory were used in fighting just over the border following a news report that said equipment produced by a Belgian company turned up around Russia’s Belgorod region. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo warned Monday against jumping to any hasty conclusions since shipments over decades and different regions can make arms turn up in unexpected places. “Defense and information services started a probe to be absolutely sure what happened there,” De Croo told Belgian broadcaster VRT. The Washington Post published extensive reporting over the weekend saying that arms from some NATO member countries, including the United States, Poland, Czechia and Belgium, had appeared in Belgorod, which borders Ukraine. The Post’s report cast doubt on whether Ukraine had proper controls in place. De Croo said European Union nations supplied Ukraine with weapons on the condition the arms were u...

Hormone patches or creams for menopause symptoms may have lower blood pressure risk than pills

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:08:12 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Women often use hormone therapy to relieve hot flashes and other menopause symptoms — and new research suggests patches or creams may be safer for their blood pressure than pills.As women’s bodies produce lower levels of reproductive hormones during menopause their risk for heart disease rises. High blood pressure further increases that risk — but it’s not clear whether there’s a link with hormone therapy for menopause symptoms.Canadian researchers wondered if the way hormones are absorbed — orally, vaginally or through the skin — could play a role.The University of Calgary team examined health records of more than 112,000 women ages 45 and older who filled prescriptions for at least six months’ worth of estrogen-only hormone treatment between 2008 and 2019. They tracked which women went on to develop high blood pressure at least a year after starting treatment.While the differences weren’t huge, women who took estrogen pills had a 14%...

Dozens of dangerous rail crossings will be eliminated with $570 million in grants

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:08:12 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — With the rail industry relying on longer and longer trains to cut costs, the Biden administration is handing out $570 million in grants to help eliminate many railroad crossings in 32 states.The grants announced Monday will contribute to building bridges or underpasses at the sites of more than three dozen crossings that delay traffic and sometimes keep first responders from where help is desperately needed. In some places, trains routinely stretching more than 2 miles (3.2 km) long can block crossings for hours, cutting off access to parts of towns and forcing pedestrians to attempt the dangerous act of climbing through trains that could start moving without warning.“We see countless stories of people unable to get to work on time, goods being blocked from getting where they need to be and first responders being delayed by these these trains that can be slowed or stopped — even seeing images of children having to crawl between or under freight trains in order to ...