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French court won’t block Pornhub in France — for now

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:40:34 GMT

PARIS — Pornhub has lived to see another day in France.A French court on Friday postponed its final decision on whether to block the porn site until the country’s highest administrative court issues its own ruling on a decree laying out the procedure for blocking such sites, according to a decision seen by l’Informé. The postponement kicks Pornhub’s ultimate fate down the road, and it may yet still end up blocked in France. The case pits the porn industry giant and other websites including Tukif and Xvideos against audiovisual and platforms regulator Arcom over age verification; it started in 2021. For almost three years, Paris and the porn industry have squabbled over how to verify porn viewers’ ages. In 2020, France was one of the first countries to force adult websites to block online access to minors — with limited success. Porn companies including Pornhub have defended themselves before French courts, arguing the text cannot be implemented...

Rogue floating fishing farm reeled in on the North Shore

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:40:34 GMT

Crews were able to reel in a rogue “fishing farm” enclosure in Ipswich on Thursday, removing the floating object that officials said may have been drifting around New Hampshire and the North Shore for one week.Ipswich police in a statement said Ipswich Marine Patrol first responded to Plum Island sound around 12 p.m. after receiving a report that the enclosure was traveling on an incoming tide. Describing the item as a “navigational hazard,” police said crews towed the enclosure to the Eagle Hill Public Landing boat ramp in Ipswich. Officials said the enclosure was constructed using “PVC type material.” The Ipswich Department of Public Works will now handle disposal of the object.

3 families displaced after fire in New Bedford triple-decker

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:40:34 GMT

Three families were displaced Thursday after a fire broke out in a residential building in New Bedford, fire officials said. The New Bedford Fire department said crews first received 911 calls around 8 p.m. reporting flames in a multi-family home on Weld Street. The fire, officials said, was reportedly extending through the building’s roof when emergency calls came in. The fire department said the building had working smoke detectors and the people inside were able to get out before firefighters arrived on scene. While no one was injured, the fire department said a total of eight adults and five children were displaced. Officials said a cat was missing as of around 10:15 p.m., though they believed the cat escaped the building. The Red Cross is assisting displaced families and the fire remained under investigation Thursday night.

US will provide cluster munitions to Ukraine as part of a new military aid package: AP sources

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:40:34 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration has decided to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine and is expected to announce on Friday that the Pentagon will send thousands of them as part of a new military aid package worth up to $800 million for the war effort against Russia, according to people familiar with the decision.The decision comes despite widespread concerns that the bombs can cause civilian casualties and sparked a call from the United Nations to both Russia and Ukraine to avoid using them. The Pentagon will provide munitions that have a reduced “dud rate,” meaning there will be far fewer unexploded rounds that can result in unintended civilian deaths.U.S. officials said Thursday they expect the military aid to Ukraine will be announced on Friday. The weapons will come from Pentagon stocks and will also include Bradley and Stryker armored vehicles and an array of ammunition, such as rounds for howitzers and the High Mobility Arti...

FTC, FDA crack down on companies selling copycat snacks containing Delta-8 THC

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:40:34 GMT

(CNN) — The US Food and Drug Administration and the US Federal Trade Commission say they have sent warning letters to six companies for selling products containing delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-8 THC) that look strikingly similar to popular snack foods.Delta-8 THC is the psychoactive cannabinoid from the Cannabis sativa plant, of which marijuana and hemp plants are two varieties.The agencies said children, and maybe even some adults, could easily confuse these delta-8 THC products – packaged to look like Sour Patch Kids, Doritos, Gushers, Jolly Ranchers, Cheetos, Nerds Ropes and Oreos – for the real thing.Some of the products have clever names like Double Stuff Stoneos, Medicated DopeRope Bites or Stoney Patch. Others, like delta-8 THC Doritos and Cheetos products, have the same name as the original snack, with THC disclosed in tiny writing at the bottom and back of the packages. The DopeRopeBites that look like Nerds Rope cand...

Aaron Judge not considering legal action after Dodger Stadium toe injury

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:40:34 GMT

Aaron Judge has reached a verdict.The Yankees captain told the Daily News that he is not considering taking legal action against the Los Angeles Dodgers after he tore a ligament in his right big toe on June 3 while making a spectacular catch at Dodger Stadium. Judge crashed through the chain-link bullpen fence in right field on the play and smashed his toe against an exposed concrete step that divides the bullpen and the field.“Nah, no need,” Judge said when asked about a potential lawsuit.The News asked Judge about this because former Yankee Dustin Fowler sued the Chicago White Sox and the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, among other parties, after he collided with a concealed electrical box at what was then called U.S. Cellular Field on June 29, 2017.Fowler made his major league debut that day, but he hit his knee on the box’s sharp edge while chasing a foul fly ball during the first inning. Fowler had to be carted off and underwent season-ending surgery for...

Francisco Lindor tallies 5 hits, Mets stay hot for 5th straight victory with win over Diamondbacks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:40:34 GMT

PHOENIX — You could say the Mets charmed the Snakes this week in Phoenix, but the Arizona Diamondbacks probably found nothing charming about getting swept.The Mets hammered the NL West-leading Arizona Diamondbacks in the series finale, winning 9-0. Francisco Alvarez hit his third home run in as many games, Francisco Lindor had a five-hit game, Pete Alonso went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI and Carlos Carrasco went eight shutout innings to help the Mets (41-46) win their fifth straight. It marked the second time this season the Mets have won five consecutive games but the first time since April. They remain undefeated in the month of July (5-0).After months of vowing to show improved play, the Mets are making good on that promise, and they intend to keep doing so.“We’ll celebrate it, learn from it and turn the page,” Lindor said. “We’ll come back and be better tomorrow.”Lindor became the second player in franchise history to hit two t...

Gallery: Sox beat Rangers 10-6 at Fenway

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:40:34 GMT

Sox beat Rangers 10-6 at Fenway

How credit cards help my family travel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:40:34 GMT

Before having kids, my husband and I loved to travel. When our family grew, we agreed that we wanted to continue to prioritize exploring the world as much as we could. Unlike it may seem on Instagram, no one comes with a magic wand and whisks us away on vacation — we make sacrifices to design these experiences, and we work hard to make them happen.Now that we’re paying for four, credit cards play a major role in our ability to swing our travel, but perhaps not in the way you might think. We don’t rack up debt, and because we pay our bills in full each month, we don’t pay any interest. Instead, we rely heavily on the points and miles that we largely earn from credit card rewards. And with the national average domestic airline itinerary fare hovering just below $400 in the fourth quarter of last year, according to the Department of Transportation, every bit we can defray helps.Here are some of the ways that credit cards help make our family’s travel dreams a reality — for a fraction o...

OPP investigating suspected drowning of Toronto man north of Kingston

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:40:34 GMT

Ontario Provincial Police are investigating the death of a Toronto man following a marine incident on Big Clear Lake in Central Frontenac Township.Police were called to the area around 4:30 p.m. on July 5 for reports a man had been ejected from a personal watercraft.Witnesses said a 52-year-old man from Scarborough, who was not wearing a life-jacket, went under the water and did not resurface.Police and fire departments conducted an unsuccessful search for the man, ultimately suspending it overnight to wait for the OPP’s Underwater Search and Recovery Unit.Members of the USRU found the body of the missing man in the water shortly before 3:00 p.m. on July 6, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.No foul play is suspected, but an OPP collision reconstructionist and the Chief Coroner’s office are assisting with the investigation.