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US, UK sanction 6 Syria-linked amphetamine traffickers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:00 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — The U.S. and U.K. on Tuesday slapped sanctions on four Syrians and two Lebanese involved in manufacturing and trafficking the amphetamine drug Captagon, the two governments said. The six include cousins of Syrian President Bashar Assad and notorious Lebanese drug lynchpins.Experts say Captagon is primarily produced in Syria and Lebanon, where packages containing millions of pills are smuggled into Gulf countries, Europe and elsewhere. The trade allegedly has strong ties to Assad and his associates, as well as key ally, the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in neighboring Lebanon. The U.K.’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office statement announcing the sanctions said the Captagon industry is worth $57 billion to Assad, and has been a key source of revenue as Syria’ uprising turned-conflict continues for a 13th year. Assad’s brutal crackdown on protests in 2011 led to his global isolation, and his forces were accused of rampant torture, bom...

HBO’s ‘Succession’ sets viewer mark for fourth-season start

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — HBO’s “Succession” opened its fourth and final season with a record first-night audience of 2.3 million viewers, the Nielsen company said on Tuesday.That tops the previous high for the drama about a backbiting family of media moguls. It beat the 1.7 million who watched last season’s finale the first night it was available, Nielsen said.For HBO, the first-night audience is usually only a fraction of the number of people who will watch one of their shows. For example, each episode last season averaged 7.2 million viewers when delayed viewing is taken into account.The numbers indicate that more people are catching on to the two-time Emmy winner for best drama just as it is approaching the end. There was anticipation for the season premiere, with HBO saying there was four times the viewership of previous “Succession” episodes on HBO Max last week compared to the week before.The first episode showed how much things are strained between family patriarch Logan R...

French authorities search 5 banks in Paris in tax fraud case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:00 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Authorities raided the Paris offices of five banks Tuesday on suspicion of tax fraud, the French National Financial Prosecutor’s Office said.The raids come as part of five preliminary investigations opened in December 2021 on counts of alleged money laundering, and alleged tax fraud linked to dividend payments, the office said in a statement. It didn’t specify which banks were raided.French media said the banks searched included HSBC, BNP Paribas, Exane — a subsidiary of BNP — Societe Generale, and Natixis.The Associated Press

Shoppers Drug Mart moves away from medical cannabis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:00 GMT

Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. is moving away from its medical cannabis distribution business and preparing to transfer patients to a platform run by biopharmaceutical company Avicanna Inc.The pharmacy chain owned by Loblaw Companies Ltd. announced the shift Tuesday, but did not say what prompted the change or how much money Toronto-based Avicanna is paying for Shoppers to refer patients to its MyMedi.ca platform.“We are grateful for the trust placed in us by our medical cannabis patients over the past few years, and are confident we’ve found the right partner in Avicanna to continue to support them,” said Jeff Leger, Shoppers‘ president, in a statement.His company will start to send customers to Avicanna’s platform in early May, with all of the patients set to be off-loaded from Shoppers‘ medical pot service by the end of July. Customers will be able to place orders on Shoppers‘ website through the transition period.Avicanna said it will offer a similar range of pr...

WATCH LIVE | 'LaSalle Street Reimagined' progresses to next stage

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:00 GMT

CHICAGO — Underutilized office space in The Loop will become apartments as part of a plan being pushed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot during her final weeks in office.LaSalle Street Reimagined was first presented to the public in Sep. 2022 with the goal of encouraging redevelopment and reinvestment along LaSalle Street between Washington Street and Jackson Boulevard. The initiative aims to provide TIF District backed grant funding for the "conversion of underutilized commercial spaces with mixed-income residential uses and related public amenities," and to "create a more neighborhood-oriented atmosphere within the corridor’s ground-level interior spaces," according to the plan's proposal. WGN Poll: Vallas leading Johnson in Chicago Mayoral runoff election Nine initial responses were narrowed to a list of six, and Tuesday Lightfoot has an event scheduled for an announcement about LaSalle Street, according to a release from her office.WGN plans to livestream the announcement in its en...

Christopher Morel won't start the season with the Cubs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:00 GMT

MESA, AZ — One of the most exciting players for the Cubs during the 2022 season was a rookie who But in 2023, fans are going to have to wait a little bit to see Christopher Morel at Wrigley Field. Per the MLB transaction wire, the outfielder won't be on the Opening Day roster as he was optioned to Triple-A Iowa on Monday, three days ahead of the season opener against the Brewers at Wrigley Field. In the same transaction, the Cubs also waived reliever Rowan Wick. Cubs reportedly reach extension with Nico Hoerner Morel played in 22 spring training games in the Cactus League over the last month hitting .269 with four homers and eight RBI but did have 24 strikeouts in 52 at-bats with five walks. Going to Triple-A will give the outfielder a chance to get a few more plate appearances than he might have gotten in the majors early in the season. Cubs fans might remember something similar happening with Nico Hoerner in 2021 when the team sent him to Triple-A in order to get more at-bats t...

Woman hospitalized after alleged social media stunt goes wrong in a California Target store

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:00 GMT

(KTLA) – A new social media challenge, which has people putting buckets on the heads of strangers and filming their reactions, went horribly wrong when a woman in California fainted after a group of young men unexpectedly targeted her for the prank.  The incident happened Sunday afternoon at a Target store in Tustin.  Lana Clay-Monaghan, a new mom of twin boys, said she was shopping for baby supplies when she was caught completely off guard by four teenage boys who tossed a bucket over her head while recording a video. They eventually ran out of the store.  “I was looking at some baby soap. I leaned down and my whole world changed,” Clay-Monaghan said. “Everything went quiet, dark and there was really no air. I flipped off what was put over me, around my neck, and I turned around and looked over my left shoulder. To my dismay, it was a group of individuals who were filming me, seemingly for some sort of prank or maybe for something like TikTok.”  A 30-year cancer...

Musk says Twitter now worth $20 billion, less than half what he paid for it

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:00 GMT

(The Hill) -- Twitter CEO Elon Musk reportedly told employees in an email Friday that the company is now valued at $20 billion, less than half of the $44 billion he paid to purchase the company last year. In the email, viewed by The New York Times, Musk also announced a new compensation program in which employees will be able to receive stock in his holding company, X Corp, which bought Twitter.Musk updated workers on Twitter’s current financial position in the email, noting that the company, at one point, was running out of cash. “Twitter is being reshaped rapidly,” Musk wrote, adding that the company could be thought of as “an inverse start-up.”  US faces questions over potential TikTok ban The company cut half of its workforce last year, and Musk has stirred controversy with myriad changes to the platform. The billionaire has defended Twitter’s layoffs, saying it was losing more than $4 million a day. According to The New York Times, Musk also mentioned in the email that...

Amber Alert discontinued after police finds 6-month-old in Houston

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:00 GMT

HOUSTON (KIAH) -- An Amber Alert has been discontinued for a 6-month-old girl who was missing out of Houston. Houston police said that they had located 6-month-old Summer Moore, along with her mother, 28-year-old Autumn Moore around 9:20 a.m. Both were found safe.Summer Moore was last seen on March 27, at around 5:10 p.m., in the 7400 block of Alabonson just north of West Little York Road in northwest Harris County. The little girl wasn't reported missing until Tuesday morning at 2 a.m.HPD believed Summer was in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death. There was no word on what she was wearing, so no clothing description is available.The Texas Center for the Missing had issued a Houston Regional Amber Alert on behalf of the Houston Police Department for the child, but now has canceled it.

2 juveniles arrested in east Austin robbery series

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Two juveniles were arrested in connection to a string of several robberies that took place on Thursday, March 23. Most of the robberies happened in east Austin, and one was in southeast Austin, according to the Austin Police Department. The first happened at approximately 4:55 a.m., at East 11th Street and Waller Street. APD said two victims were walking when one of the juveniles pointed a gun at them and demanded their belongings. Before leaving the scene, a suspect took a purse and a work bag with tools.The four other armed robberies occurred similarly. In two cases, the juveniles stole the victims' vehicles.APD said investigators were able to identify two juvenile suspects based on the location of the crimes, suspect descriptions, and how the incidents happened. According to APD, the robberies happened at the following locations and times and March 23: 4:55 a.m.: Intersection of East 11th and Waller Streets5:01 a.m.: 800 block of Chalmers Avenue6 a.m.: 1300 block...