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In Secret Meeting, Pakistani Military Ordered Press to Stop Covering Imran Khan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:59 GMT

The Pakistani military invited the owners of the country’s major media organizations to Islamabad this week for a secret meeting to discuss coverage of the ongoing political and constitutional crisis, Pakistani journalists familiar with the gathering told The Intercept. The invitation was not one that could be refused, and the message was equally direct: Cease all coverage of former Prime Minister Imran Khan amid his ongoing clash with the military.Following the meeting, which has not been previously reported, top editors at news organizations across Pakistan issued directives to their journalists to pause coverage of Khan, said the Pakistani journalists, who requested anonymity for fear of their safety. An inspection of Pakistani media sites reveals a stark change. Earlier this week and every day for years before, Khan was a leading subject of coverage. He has effectively vanished from the news. The ban was confirmed by more than a half-dozen Pakistani journalists.“They have lots o...

Stock market today: Wall Street leaps after strong jobs report, Dow rallies 700

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:59 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are rushing higher Friday after a strong report on the U.S. job market suggested a recession may not be as close as Wall Street had feared. The S&P 500 was 1.6% higher in late trading, the latest surge in a rally that’s propelled it nearly 20% above a low hit in October. That puts Wall Street’s main measure of health on the edge of entering what’s called a “bull market” despite a long list of challenges. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 715 points, or 2.2%, at 33,76, as of 3:10 p.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 1.1% higher.They got a boost after a report showed employers unexpectedly accelerated their hiring last month. It’s the latest signal the job market remains remarkably solid despite much higher interest rates, and it offers a hefty pillar of support for an economy that’s begun to slow.Areas of the stock market that do best when the economy is healthy were leading the way, including energy producers, banks and...

Halifax residents board buses to view homes destroyed by wildfires

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:59 GMT

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (AP) — Residents from Canada’s Atlantic Coast city of Halifax whose homes have been destroyed by wildfires boarded buses Friday to get a look at what little remains of where they used to live.Bill Moore, the region’s executive director of community safety, told a news conference that about 200 people would be part of the grim tour through subdivisions northwest of the downtown, which fire officials said would be safe to enter for a short time.About 200 structures, including 151 homes, have been destroyed in the Halifax area, though those numbers could change. In all, more than 16,000 people were evacuated from homes and businesses there.“We’re very sensitive to the trauma this may cause people,” Moore said, adding that the first people admitted back into the evacuation zone around Upper Tantallon and Hammonds Plains would be those whose homes were gutted by the flames. Next, residents whose properties suffered less damage will be invited into the area to s...

Kvaratskhelia named Serie A player of the year after helping Napoli to title

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:59 GMT

NAPLES, Italy (AP) — Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was named Serie A player of the year on Friday and will be presented with his trophy on a bumper day of celebration for the southern team.Kvaratskhelia will receive the award before Napoli kicks off its final match of the season on Sunday, at home to Sampdoria. Luciano Spalletti will also be presented with the coach of the year prize.That will just be the start of the trophy presentations, as Napoli will finally get its hands on the Serie A trophy after the match. The team clinched it with five rounds to spare.Kvaratskhelia was a relative unknown when he joined Napoli in the offseason from Georgian team Dinamo Batumi for a reported fee of 10 million euros ($10.7 million).But the 22-year-old forward was fundamental in Napoli earning its first Serie A title in 33 years. So much so that he earned the nickname “Kvaradona” in homage to Napoli hero Diego Maradona, who led the team to its only two previous league titles.“Khvicha Kvar...

First-of-its-kind Mars livestream by ESA spacecraft interrupted at times by rain on Earth

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:59 GMT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A European spacecraft around Mars sent its first livestream from the red planet to Earth on Friday to mark the 20th anniversary of its launch, but rain in Spain interfered at times.The European Space Agency broadcast the livestream with views courtesy of its Mars Express, launched by a Russian rocket from Kazakhstan in 2003. It took nearly 17 minutes for each picture to reach Earth, nearly 200 million miles (300 million kilometers) away, and another minute to get through the ground stations. The transmission was disrupted at times by rainy weather at the deep space-relay antenna in Spain. Still, enough images made it through to delight the European space officials hosting the hourlong livestream. The initial views showed about one-third of Mars, which gradually grew bigger in the frames before shrinking again as the spacecraft circled the planet. White clouds could clearly be seen in some of the shots.“If you were currently sitting on board Mars Express &...

What sports do Coloradans gamble on most in the last three years?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:59 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Coloradans are trying to make a dollar on basketball more than any other sport. It's been three years since Colorado legalized sports gambling. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that states may make their own laws about sports betting, which had previously been federally illegal. Colorado ranked among top sports-betting states It has taken little time for Colorado to become one of the nation's most gambling-friendly states. Since it legalized sports betting in 2020, Colorado has grown to have the nation's seventh-highest total money wagered - over $9 billion in just two years, according to Sportsbook Review.Betting has risen quickly. Colorado went from $2.9 billion wagered in 2021 to $4.1 billion in 2022. The state now has the most legal sports books in the U.S. with 26 overall. The Denver Nuggets first championship win on Thursday night likely made a lot of Coloradans happy for more than just the win. By far, Coloradans prefer betting on basketball to any othe...

Witness: Driver flees crash scene, smashes into entrance of apartment complex in NE Miami-Dade

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:59 GMT

Police are investigating after a driver smashed into the entrance of an apartment complex in Northeast Miami-Dade.According to a witness, a black Honda sedan was speeding when the driver lost control in the area of Northeast 13th Avenue, near 119th Street, just after 4:30 a.m., Friday.Footage of the aftermath showed the Honda totaled and missing its front bumper. Lewis Kemp said this all started when the driver of the Honda hit his SUV on Biscayne Boulevard, causing minor damages to his vehicle’s back bumper.“I see his lights coming behind me. ‘Boom,’ he hits me,” said Kemp. After that, Kemp said, the driver got out to check the damage to his car before he got back into his vehicle and continued on his way.“I took it as a loss when he hit me,” said Kemp.Kemp said the driver of the Honda sped down the neighborhood until he smashed into the fence at the entrance of the apartment complex, less than two minutes later. “I see his lights jus...

8 construction workers injured as building partially collapses near Yale medical school

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:59 GMT

(AP) — A building under construction near the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, partially collapsed Friday when a concrete pour went awry, injuring eight people including two critically, city officials said, adding there were no fatalities.City firefighters and other authorities were called to Lafayette Street shortly after 12:30 p.m.“Our units responded immediately within minutes and found several persons in varying degrees of injury, from broken bones to three that were partially buried under the rubble,” Fire Chief John Alston Jr. said during a news conference.There were 36 people at the work site at the time, and all were accounted for, officials said. All eight injured people were construction workers. Six were pulled out of the building by firefighters, while two were able to escape on their own, officials said.“They were doing a concrete pour on this building and as they were pouring concrete a portion of the second floor collapsed onto the first floor ...

8-year-old boy dead after murder-suicide in New Bedford, DA says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:59 GMT

Investigators were on scene in New Bedford Friday after the Bristol County District Attorney’s office said a father allegedly killed his young child before killing himself in an apparent murder-suicide.The father, officials said, was also a person of interest in the case of a woman who disappeared in 2019 and the son of Red Sox legend George Boomer Scott. The DA’s office said New Bedford police first responded to a home on Phillips Road Friday shortly after 8 a.m. after a request for a well-being check. Once inside, officials said police found two bodies, identified as George Scott III, 53, and an 8-year-old child. The DA’s office said it had been investigating the March 2019 disappearance of the boy’s mother, Lisa Hazard, with detectives executing a search warrant last month at the same house where Scott and the child were found dead.Scott, the DA said, is a person of interest in Hazard’s disappearance. While an investigation into the recent apparent murder-suicide w...

Steeple topples over after flames rip through Spencer, Mass. church

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:59 GMT

Emergency crews in Spencer, Mass., are working to put out a fire burning through a church in the center of town.The Spencer Police Department shared multiple photos of the First Congregational UCC steeple showing heavy smoke around 3 p.m. on Friday.Authorities asked the public to avoid the area as fire crews responded to the place of worship at 207 Main Street.By 3:30 p.m., flames had torn through the majority of the church, with footage showing the steeple collapsing on the right side of the structure. This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.Image provided by the Spencer Police Department