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EU-US summit penciled in for October

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:43:43 GMT

BRUSSELS — A high-level meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden, European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is tentatively scheduled for October, two EU officials said. The last official EU-U.S. summit was in June 2021, although Biden did attend a meeting of EU leaders in March 2022. Brussels and Washington have been closely cooperating since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February last year, with the transatlantic relationship seemingly back on track after the tumultuous years under former U.S. President Donald Trump. Both sides are also hammering out their differences over the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, which foresees billions in green technology subsidies for North American businesses. The October date coincides with a deadline to find a transatlantic agreement on a long-running dispute over steel and aluminum dating back to Trump’s imposition of tariffs on European imports in 2018. If the two...

DoJ: Former execs at Billerica-based company charged for misleading feds over malfunction that affected blood lead testing devices

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:43:43 GMT

Three former executives who worked at a medical device company were arrested after authorities say they misled customers and the government about a malfunction that caused devices used to test for lead in thousands of children and other patients to give “falsely low” results.The Department of Justice announced the arrests of Amy Winslow, 51, of Needham Heights, Mass., Hossein Maleknia, 64, of Bonita Springs, Fla., and Reba Daoust, 66, of Amesbury, Mass. on Wednesday – all of whom worked at Magellan Diagnostics, Inc., a medical device company headquartered in Billerica.Federal authorities said the three repeatedly misled customers and the Food and Drug Administration about a serious malfunction that affected Magellan’s LeadCare devices, which later led to a major recall notice being issued.The devices, including LeadCare Ultra, LeadCare II and LeadCare Plus, are used to detect lead levels and lead poisoning in blood samples from children and adults using either veno...

D’Arcangelo resigning at Commission for the Blind

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:43:43 GMT

Massachusetts Commission for the Blind chief David D’Arcangelo will depart his role Friday, the Healey administration confirmed, several days after The Boston Globe reported about deteriorating workplace conditions and a series of human resources complaints under his leadership.Health and Human Services Secretary Kate Walsh wrote to staff at the commission Tuesday afternoon to announce that D’Arcangelo “has decided to step down from his role” as commissioner, effective Friday.John Oliveira, MCB’s deputy commissioner, will take over as acting commissioner until a permanent successor is appointed, and D’Arcangelo will “stay on in an advisory capacity to support a smooth transition while a search for his replacement takes place,” Walsh said.“Please join me in thanking David for his service to the Commonwealth, and thanks to John for stepping in to this new role,” Walsh said.The Globe first reported about D’Arcangelo̵...

As Heat pre-playoff rotation tightens, Zeller, Oladipo, Robinson among those cast aside

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:43:43 GMT

The dynamic could change because of the next two games being part of a back-to-back set, but the tightening of the rotation in advance of the playoffs apparently has begun for Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.In Tuesday night’s tougher-than-expected 118-105 victory over the Detroit Pistons at the start of this three-game trip, Spoelstra went only eight deep, even with his entire rotation available, save for sidelined rookie big man Nikola Jovic.Beyond starters Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, Max Strus, Tyler Herro and Gabe Vincent, the only others to play were Kevin Love, Kyle Lowry and Caleb Martin.No Cody Zeller, who was coming off a 20-point performance when Adebayo was sidelined from Saturday night’s home victory over the Dallas Mavericks. No Victor Oladipo, who now seemingly only plays when Lowry sits out. No Duncan Robinson, who had made appearances in the previous three games.“Right now,” Spoelstra said, “I do like the fact that we have our depth and w...

Chicago White Sox will be without Eloy Jiménez for 2-3 weeks as OF/DH goes on IL

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:43:43 GMT

The Chicago White Sox placed outfielder/designated hitter Eloy Jiménez on the 10-day injured list with a low-grade left hamstring strain on Wednesday morning. The move is retroactive to Tuesday.Jiménez is estimated to miss 2-3 weeks. He suffered the injury running the bases in the seventh inning of Monday’s home opener against the San Francisco Giants at Guaranteed Rate Field.Jiménez is 4-for-20 (.200) with two doubles and three RBIs in five games. He spent more than two months on the injured list last season after tearing his right hamstring while running to first base in late April.In the corresponding move, the Sox recalled infielder Jake Burger from Triple-A Charlotte. Burger is 2-for-12 (.167) in three games with Charlotte. ()

Pat Leonard: Is John Mara really going to let Odell Beckham Jr. sign with the Jets?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:43:43 GMT

It was one thing to watch Odell Beckham Jr. go West and win a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams.It would be another to see OBJ wearing Jets green and white, taking flight and catching one-handed touchdowns on the Giants’ shared home field for New York’s ‘other’ franchise.John Mara can put slight qualifiers on his interest in re-signing Beckham like he did at last week’s NFL Owners meetings, saying he’s “in favor” of it if Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll “could make it work.”And if the Jets are willing to pay Beckham $10-15 million for the 2023 NFL season, then sure, Woody Johnson can have him.But if OBJ’s market settles into a realistic range and a bidding war comes down to a couple million dollars, is Mara really going to let one of the most electric talents in Giants franchise history become a Jet?A Jet?!Thinking about it as a possible outcome makes sense. Saying it out loud sounds much worse.Florham Park does seem l...

Firefighter 'very critical' as CFD battles Gold Coast fire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:43:43 GMT

CHICAGO — The Chicago Fire Department is currently battling a high-rise fire on inner Lake Shore Drive in the Gold Coast that has injured two firefighters, one critically.At around 7:20 a.m., CFD tweeted that they responded to the 1200 block of North Lake Shore Drive, which is near the intersection of Division, for a still-and-box response.Initially, CFD said two firefighters have been injured. Then a short time later, a mayday response was called for a firefighter down. One firefighter is in "very" critical condition and another is in fair condition.The fire department said the fire was initially out and they were just battling hot spots. However at around 8:55 a.m., the fire reignited and large flames are shooting out of another unit. Around 40 minutes later, the main body of the fire was put out with efforts being concentrated to one large apartment on the 27th floor.CFD has lost the ability to use elevators and said there are no sprinklers on the floor.On Tuesday morning, the de...

Brazil man kills 4 children with hatchet at daycare center

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:43:43 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A man with a hatchet jumped over a wall and invaded a daycare center Wednesday in Brazil, killing four children and wounding at least five others, authorities said.The assailant turned himself in at a police station and did not appear to have any connection with the center, which offers nursery services, preschool education and after-school activities. The dead were between the ages of 5 and 7, authorities said.Investigators were searching for a motive, a police detective told television reporters in Blumenau, a city in southern Brazil, near the Atlantic coast.Images broadcast on networks showed weeping parents outside the private daycare center called Cantinho do Bom Pastor.Amid rumors on social media of other potential attacks, Blumenau's mayor, Mário Hildebrandt, said the city suspended classes and will declare a 30-day mourning period. Firefighter ‘very critical’ as CFD battles Gold Coast fire The mayor said five wounded children were take to hospitals. O...

Pat's list of favorite 'Jacka$$' moments

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:43:43 GMT

CHICAGO — After not seeing enough fun prank videos on April Fool's Day, Pat Tomasulo decided to go back to one of his favorite programs to get a few laughs at the beginning of the month.So the WGN Morning News sports anchor used his time on "The List" to feature his favorite moments from "Jacka$$" - a television and movie comedy reality series that began in 2000. They included some pretty painful, cringe-worthy, and funny moments as the participants put their bodies in harm's way for a little entertainment.So which clips from "Jacka$$" were the funniest for Pat? Find out by watching "The List" from the April 5 show in the video above.Love the WGN Morning News? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up and subscribe to our WGN Morning News newsletter.

Dean's Home Video: A new 'Grease' prequel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:43:43 GMT

CHICAGO — It's been almost 45 years since the release of the iconic musical that featured the times of students at Rydell High. Now Paramount+ is bringing out a prequel to spotlight the formation of one of the groups of the film. "Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies" is streaming on Thursday and features a look at home this group of girls rose to prominence at the school. It was the first program featured by Dean Richards in his most recent "Dean's Home Video" on WGN Morning News on Wednesday.He also took a look at "Tiny Beautiful Things," Season 3 of "Dave," Season 2 of "Schmigadoon!," "On a Wing and a Prayer," and more of the programs that are set to be released this week.You can watch the full edition of "Dean's Home Video" from the April 5 show in the video above.