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Judge issues arrest warrant after Roy McGrath, facing charges for fraud and embezzlement related to Md. state job, fails to appear for trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

This content was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.A federal judge has issued an arrest warrant for Roy McGrath after the former top aide to former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) failed to appeal in court.McGrath was to appear in U.S. District Court in Baltimore at 9 a.m. Monday for a re-arraignment that preceded jury selection.Joseph Murtha, McGrath’s attorney, said in court that he spoke to McGrath on Sunday for about 90 minutes and was assured his client would travel to Maryland for the hearing and trial.Murtha said he texted both McGrath and his wife on Monday but received no answers.It was at that point that U.S. District Court Judge Deborah Boardman issued an arrest warrant.“Let’s hope he’s safe and there’s some mix-up,” she said.Prosecutors and Murtha are expected to be back in court at 11 a.m. Monday morning.Source

Xi Jinping promete hacer del ejército de China una “gran muralla de acero” en el primer discurso de su nuevo mandato presidencial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

(CNN) — El líder de China, Xi Jinping, prometió este lunes reforzar la seguridad nacional y convertir al ejército en una “gran muralla de acero”, en el primer discurso de su tercer mandato como presidente.En la clausura de la reunión anual del Parlamento de China, Xi subrayó la necesidad de modernizar de forma integral la defensa nacional y el ejército.Taiwán dice que soldado desaparecido en una isla cercana a la costa china ha sido encontrado en China“Debemos convertir el Ejército Popular de Liberación en una gran muralla de acero que salvaguarde eficazmente la soberanía nacional, la seguridad y los intereses del desarrollo”, dijo Xi a los casi 3.000 delegados de la Asamblea Popular Nacional (APN).Xi, de 69 años, fue ratificado unánimemente por la APN como presidente de China para otros cinco años en una votación coreografiada y ceremonial este viernes, lo que le convierte en el jefe de Estado de la China comunista que más tiempo lleva en el cargo desd...

Bank stocks plunge and S&P 500 swings as Wall Street shakes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is worried about what may be next to topple following the second- and third-largest bank failures in U.S. history, and stocks are swinging sharply Monday as investors scramble to find someplace safe to park their money.The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in morning trading, but only after tumbling 1.4% at the open. The sharpest drops were again coming from banks. Investors are worried that a relentless rise in interest rates meant to get inflation under control are approaching a tipping point and may be cracking the banking system and broader economy. The U.S. government announced a plan late Sunday meant to shore up the banking industry following the collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank since Friday. The most pressure is on the regional banks one or two steps below in size of the massive, “too-big-to-fail” banks that helped take down the economy in 2007 and 2008. Shares of First Republic plunged 66.3%, even after the bank said Sunday i...

Men make $12,000 more per year than women in Colorado

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Across the United States, the gap of pay between men and women remains wide, according to data form the U.S. Census Bureau.Tuesday will mark Equal Pay Day, which is the date that symbolizes how far into the year women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year, according to the National Committee on Pay Equality. Data: Colorado still losing clout as ‘it’ state According to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey in 2019, the national average for pay was $53,544 for men and $43,394 for women.The gap is even wider in Colorado, where men make $60,574 compared to women, who make $48,381. The gender pay gap in our state is $12,193, according to the data.States with highest gender pay gapHere is a look at the states with the highest gender pay gap, according to the U.S. Census Bureau:Wyoming: $21,676Utah: $17,303Washington, D.C.: $16,032Louisiana: $14,926Washington: $14,609North Dakota: $13,950New Jersey: $13,434Oklahoma: $13,302Massachusetts: $13,2...

Denver Botanic Gardens announces lineup for summer concert series

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado has some of the most beautiful outdoor concert venues in the world, and one you may not be too familiar with is in the heart of Denver surrounded by gorgeous flowers. The Denver Botanic Gardens announced the lineup for its Music at the Gardens series.The decades-long tradition will hold 10 concerts in the heart of the gardens in the UMB Bank Amphitheater, so you can listen to some world-famous artists while being surrounded by some of the most beautiful flowers. Who is playing in the 2023 Greeley Stampede concert series? The following musicians will be performing for Music at the Gardens:Neko Case and Nora O'Connor - June 20Marc Cohn and Shawn Colvin - June 21Rising Appalachia - June 26Santigold - July 6Esperanza Spalding - July 11Fitz and the Tantrums - July 17Preservation Hall Jazz Band - July 24Andy Grammer - Aug. 1Steep Canyon Rangers and Amythyst Kiah - Aug. 2Ozomatli - Aug. 9According to the Botanic Gardens, all concerts will begin approximately at 6...

Lunchables are going to be rolled out directly to students. Here’s what’s in them

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

 (CNN) — Kraft Heinz has succeeded in getting its ready-to-eat packaged Lunchables into school lunch programs starting this fall, in a major new initiative. But the company had to reformulate the ingredients to ensure the products meet federal guidelines first.A Kraft Heinz executive announced last month that the company is preparing to deliver its packaged ready-to-eat Lunchable kids meals directly to students by putting them in school cafeterias.Carlos Abrams-Rivera, an executive vice president with Kraft Heinz, said two new varieties of Lunchables (separate from Lunchables sold in grocery stores), with “improved nutrition” that comply with the National School Lunch program requirements, will be served in K-12 schools nationwide, beginning this fall.While Abrams-Rivera, speaking at the annual Consumer Analyst Group of New York conference on Feb. 21, didn’t provide details about the specific Lunchable products headed into schools, a company website appe...

West Palm Beach residents speak out following recent distribution of hate messages in community

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

A West Palm Beach neighborhood was hit by hate once again as several threats and antisemitic messages have been seen throughout the area over the past few months. Now residents are saying their community no longer has room for words of hate.As they pulled into their driveway, Molly and her family were shocked to find this type of message in their yard.“I think it’s just a violation of people’s property,” said Molly. “I think people just need to keep it away from people’s homes. This is their safe space.”Other neighbors in the area echoed those same concerns.“The stuff that was written about it in these little packages, it was disgusting, it was vile and it was clearly antisemitic,” said one female resident.Upwards of 100 flyers were thrown out in this West Palm Beach neighborhood which once again contained a piece of paper and small brown pellets. Video footage showed the messages that have been blurred out but in addition to ant...

EU ‘foreign agents’ law spooks NGOs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

BRUSSELS — The European Union is working on a law that would force nongovernmental groups, consultancies and academic institutions to disclose any non-EU funding as part of a crackdown on foreign influence in the bloc, three sources confirmed to POLITICO.The planned legislation, which is in very early stages, echoes similar laws in Australia and the United States. In the U.S., the Foreign Agents Registration Act has required lobbyists working on behalf of foreign governments to register with the federal government since 1938.The EU’s version is unlikely to target individuals, but would make both commercial and nonprofit organizations around the bloc reveal non-EU funding pertaining to transactions such as paying for academic study, according to one European Commission official who asked not to be named in order to discuss preliminary thinking around the law, which is due to be finalized in late May.Europe has been grappling with an array of foreign influence operations over re...

Rishi Sunak treads fine line on China in foreign policy refresh

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

LONDON — Britain will seek to break a host of dependencies on China — without completely decoupling from the Asian power, according to a refresh of its sweeping foreign policy plan, which also tries to better shore up the country against Russian aggression.The U.K. government’s updated Integrated Review of foreign policy and defense, published Monday, stresses that Russia is Britain’s “most pressing national security and foreign policy priority in the short-medium term” in the wake of the Ukraine invasion.But it doubles down on the U.K.’s recent focus on the Indo-Pacific region, warning that tensions in the region are “increasing and conflict there could have global consequences greater than the conflict in Ukraine.”It lays out plans to beef up the U.K.’s understanding of China and shield its intellectual property — but insists relations with Beijing are not on a “predetermined course” of hostility.In the foreword to the strategy, which...

Rename Russia? Zelenskyy wants to look into it

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:00 GMT

KYIV ­— Ukrainians would like to rename Russia — and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is interested in the idea. A petition has been circulated urging the Ukrainian government to officially change Russia’s name to “Muscovy,” a term which originated in the 13th century and referred to large swathes of modern-day northwestern Russia. The move is part of a Ukrainian push to diminish what the Russians claim as their historic origin story. Senior Russian officials have already slammed the plan and criticized it as being a provocation. The recent row has its roots in a historical dispute over whether Russia or Ukraine can claim to be the legitimate successor of Kyivan Rus — the first state of the Eastern Slavs, which converted to Christianity. Zelenskyy responded to the petition by saying the issue needs careful historical and cultural consideration with regard to possible international legal consequences — but didn’t rule it out. “Taking into account t...