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‘Eat, Pray, Love’ author pulls new book after backlash from Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:59 GMT

Author Elizabeth Gilbert, best known for her bestselling debut novel “Eat, Pray, Love,” said Monday her upcoming book won’t be released as scheduled after a backlash from Ukrainians over the tome’s Russian setting.The new novel, titled “The Snow Forest” and set in the middle of Siberia in the 1900s, was supposed to be released in February 2024, coincidentally around the two-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.However, Gilbert announced she was pausing the project due to a “massive outpouring of reactions” from Ukrainian readers who worried the book would romanticize Russia at a time when the country is accused of committing war crimes.Over the weekend, more than 500 people dished out one-star reviews on the Goodreads platform, while others reacted with frustration to the initial book announcement on Twitter. “I read these messages and I respect them and as a result I am removing the book from its publication,” Gi...

Suspect accused of shooting Boston police officer ordered held without bail

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:59 GMT

A Boston police officer shot while confronting an armed robbery suspect in Roxbury was released from hospital care Monday morning, while the suspected gunman was arraigned on multiple charges.A not guilty plea was entered on behalf of 23-year-old John Lazare, who was also ordered held without bail during his arraignment on charges that included assault and battery and armed robbery.Lazare was not physically in the courtroom for his arraignment, where dozens of law enforcement members attended the proceedings at Roxbury District Court. At least 50 members of the Boston Police Department were present to show solidarity with their fellow officer, who was shot twice on Friday, June 9.Authorities say the suspect was allegedly trying to rob a pizza delivery driver at gunpoint in the area of Cedric Street when the officer saw what was happening and stepped in.In court, prosecutors say a similar robbery had taken place earlier in the week on Wednesday, and that the officer shot was investig...

Charlestown serial rape suspect to be released on bail, according to defense attorney

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:59 GMT

The lawyer representing a man accused of committing a series of rapes in Charlestown over a decade ago says his client will make bail and be released.Matthew Nilo, 35, was not present for his bail hearing at Suffolk Superior Court on Monday morning, which lasted only several minutes. His attorney, Joseph Cataldo, said bail will be posted for Nilo. Once it is, the 35 year old will be fitted with a GPS monitoring bracelet as part of his bail’s conditions.Nilo pleaded not guilty in a Boston courtroom last week as he was arraigned on charges stemming from four sexual assaults that took place in Boston in 2007 and 2008. The charges include aggravated rape, kidnapping, and sexual assault and battery.Bail was set at $500,000 at the time, after prosecutors detailed the four separate incidents that occurred between August 2007 to December 2008 in Charlestown.Outside of the courthouse on Monday, 7NEWS spoke with a woman who said she was Nilo’s first victim.“This was a heinou...

In rubble beneath I-95 collapse in Philadelphia, investigators looking for truck fire’s cause

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:59 GMT

By MIKE CATALINI and MARC LEVY (Associated Press)State and federal investigators were trying to find out Monday why a tanker fire collapsed a section of the East Coast’s main north-south highway, throwing hundreds of thousands of morning commutes into chaos and disrupting commerce for untold numbers of businesses.Interstate 95 will be closed in both directions for weeks at the start of summer travel season. Motorists should expect extensive delays and street closures, and avoid the northeast corner of the sixth-largest city in the country, transportation officials said. The accident also disrupted the car route from Canada to Florida through the Boston, New York and Washington metropolitan areas, increasing Americans’ dependence on air travel and the interstate rail network.Pennsylvania Transportation Secretary Michael Carroll said the I-95 segment carries roughly 160,000 vehicles per day and was likely the busiest interstate in Pennsylvania.Sunday morning’s fire s...

Trump traveling to Florida as history-making court appearance approaches in classified docs case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:59 GMT

By ERIC TUCKER and JILL COLVIN (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump was traveling to Florida on Monday ahead of a history-making federal court appearance this week on dozens of felony charges accusing him of illegally hoarding classified documents and thwarting the Justice Department’s efforts to get the records back.Trump’s Tuesday afternoon appearance in Miami will mark his second time since April facing a judge on criminal charges. But unlike a New York case some legal analysts derided as relatively trivial, the Justice Department’s first prosecution of a former president concerns conduct that prosecutors say jeopardized national security, with Espionage Act charges carrying the prospect of a significant prison sentence.Ahead of his court date, he and his allies have been escalating efforts to undermine the criminal case against him and drum up protests. He’s ratcheted up the rhetoric against the Justice Department special counsel who fil...

Column: Lake County officials have nothing to lose by making a pitch for the Bears

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:59 GMT

As long as real bears are roaming Lake County, we might as well make a pitch for the gridiron Bears. Seems like other locales are trying to lure them, so perhaps county economic development officials have a new stadium package prepared for the team.Folks may have missed the black bear sightings last week first lumbering near Gurnee Mills, then in the backyard of an Antioch-area home. State wildlife officials didn’t seem too upset about a rare bear encounter.The ursine sightings must be the first such in the county, although we have had bison and cougar visitors in the past. Black bears were once common in the county until our forefathers disposed of them in the late 1870s in favor of farms and pioneer housing.With the glimpse of the beasts at least Lake County can claim there’s some real bears here, compared to those suburbs who want to be the eventual home of the Monsters of the Midway.Having a new Chicago Bears stadium in Lake County would piggyback on the team’s...

Brockton man accused of shooting Boston police officer held without bail

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:59 GMT

Brockton man John Lazare, 23, was held without bail on charges that he shot and injured a Boston police officer who had seen the alleged robbery of a pizza delivery guy on Cedric Street in the city.Lazare faced nine charges including assault with a dangerous weapon, armed robbery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and more at his arraignment Monday morning.“It’s a blessing that (the officer) made it out of there alive,” said Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association President Larry Calderone at the courthouse.“It’s a true miracle. It’s an officer doing his job, trying to protect the general public, trying to protect people that are delivering food to the general public, and he gets attacked as soon as he walks in the door. This is what officers face every night that they go to work,” Calderone continued.Lazare was held pending a dangerous ness hearing scheduled for June 23.The officer was shot multiple times Friday, being struck in the foot and re...

Biden will host outgoing NATO secretary-general Stoltenberg as competition to replace him heats up

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:59 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will welcome outgoing NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to the White House for talks on Tuesday as the competition to find his successor to lead the military alliance heats up.Stoltenberg, who has led the NATO since 2014 and has had his tenure extended three times, said earlier this year he would move on when his current term expires at the end of September. The jockeying to replace him is intensifying as leaders of the 31-member military alliance are set to meet next month for their annual summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. Stoltenberg is in the midst of a tour of NATO capitals to meet with leaders ahead of the summit. The meeting with Biden originally was scheduled for Monday, but the White House announced it was being rescheduled for Tuesday because the president underwent an unexpected root canal procedure after experiencing dental pain.Last week, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made the case for U.K. Defense Minister Ben Wallace directl...

Scott rolls out dozens of South Carolina lawmakers and local leaders endorsing his presidential bid

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:59 GMT

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) — Sen. Tim Scott is rolling out endorsements from more than 140 current and former elected officials from his home state of South Carolina, aiming to make a show of force in the first-in-the-South presidential primary state.The backing comes as Scott and other presidential contenders aim to carry on with their campaigns as much of the political world parses the indictment of GOP front-runner Donald Trump on dozens of federal charges.The list of supporters, shared with The Associated Press ahead of an official announcement on Monday, includes state Sen. Shane Massey, the current Republican leader of South Carolina’s Senate, who called Scott “the authentic conservative leader we need in the White House right now.”Daniel Rickenmann, elected in 2021 as the first Republican-aligned mayor of South Carolina’s capital city of Columbia in decades, lauded Scott’s career, which he said had been spent “focusing on people back home and supporting local go...

Silvio Berlusconi, scandal-scarred former Italian leader, dies at 86

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:59 GMT

MILAN (AP) — Silvio Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy’s longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died Monday. He was 86.Supporters applauded as his body arrived at his villa outside Milan from the city’s San Raffaele Hospital, where he had been treated for chronic leukemia. A state funeral will be held Wednesday in the city’s Duomo cathedral, according to the Milan Archdiocese.A onetime cruise ship crooner, Berlusconi used his television networks and immense wealth to launch his long political career, inspiring both loyalty and loathing.To admirers, the three-time premier was a capable and charismatic statesman who sought to elevate Italy on the world stage. To critics, he was a populist who threatened to undermine democracy by wielding political power as a tool to enrich himself and his businesses. His Forza Italia party is a coalition partner with current Premier Giorgia Melon...