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Yan Mingfu, Communist Party envoy to protesters in China’s Tiananmen Square in 1989, dies at age 91

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:52 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Yan Mingfu, a former top Communist Party figure who acted as an envoy to pro-democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989 and was forced out after the protests were crushed, has died, according to Chinese news reports. He was 91.Yan died Monday in a hospital of unspecified causes, media including the business news magazine Caixin and Phoenix Satellite TV reported.Born in 1931, Yan was the son of Yan Baohan, an intelligence official for the party, then an underground group fighting a guerrilla war against the Nationalist Party-led government of Gen. Chiang Kai-shek.Yan joined the party in 1949, the year the Nationalists were driven into exile on Taiwan and the Communist government was established. He studied Russian and spent two decades as an official interpreter, including for then-leader Mao Zedong in meetings with the Soviet Union’s Josef Stalin and other foreign leaders.Yan and his father were arrested in 1967, a year after Mao launched t...

Canceled and postponed fireworks shows: Check the updated list

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:52 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- The Fourth of July is here. Celebrate Independence Day with a bang at free fireworks displays in communities across Colorado.We put together a full list of events happening across the state.Postponed or canceled fireworks shows in ColoradoSevere storms are expected in Denver and along the Front Range on Tuesday afternoon and evening, with the potential to impact July 4th fireworks displays. Storms on July 4th: Check the Pinpoint Weather forecast These are the updates that have been announced:Estes Park: Postponed to July 15 at 9:30 p.m.Golden: Postponed to later this summerKremmling: Canceled due to eagles nesting in areaThis list will be updated with cancellations and postponements as they are announced. Look for details on events in red on the full list below.Colorado fireworks shows: Full listTuesday, July 4Arvada: Arvada’s Independence Day Celebration will be held at the Stenger Sports Complex starting at approximately 9 p.m. Gates will open to ...

Arvada police ask for help finding missing 10-year-old boy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:52 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- The Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the Arvada Police Department are asking the public for help in finding a missing boy.Demetrius Martinez, 10, reportedly walked away from Wolff Park, located at 8500 W. 57th Ave. in Arvada at approximately 6:40 p.m. Monday, according to CBI. Two homes destroyed, firefighter burned in 2-alarm firework fire The boy is described as white, 4 feet 11 inches tall with brown hair and hazel eyes.He was last seen wearing a white t-shirt and gray shorts with flip-flops.CBI said they are concerned about him at his young age and are asking the public to call the Arvada Police Department at 720-898-6900 if you see him.

Victims’ families and survivors granted private visits to Parkland school shooting building

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:52 GMT

In an effort to provide closure and support healing, officials will be conducting private visits to the interior of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School’s 1200 building. The building holds significance as the location where a lone gunman tragically took the lives of 14 students and three staff members on Feb. 14, 2018.The visits, set to take place over the next few days, were requested by the affected families and survivors and will be strictly private. Those who wish to see the crime scene before any changes are made will have the opportunity to be accompanied by representatives from the Broward State Attorney’s Office, advocates from Eagles’ Haven Wellness Center, law enforcement officials from the Broward Sheriff’s Office, and the liaison advocate for the Broward County School District.This arrangement, specifically tailored for the 34 victims involved in the mass shooting prosecution, was established based on their explicit request and with the full coope...

Partygate reignites as UK police probe fresh claims

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:52 GMT

LONDON — British police are investigating fresh claims of coronavirus lockdown-breaching gatherings in Westminster, in the latest twist in the Partygate scandal. The Metropolitan Police announced Tuesday that it is opening one new investigation — into a December 8, 2020 “gathering in Parliament” — and re-opening another, covering an “event in Matthew Parker Street on 14 December 2020.”The first date is the same as a gathering reportedly attended by senior Conservative MP — and Partygate inquisitor — Bernard Jenkin, according to the Guido Fawkes website.The second date matches with a controversial “jingle and mingle” event at Conservative HQ. That event, at which party aides were pictured dancing and laughing at a time social gatherings were tightly restricted, was the subject of an exposé by the Sunday Mirror.In June, Boris Johnson — who was fined for his own COVID-19 rule breaches and recently condemned by the Commons privileges committee fo...

European Commission cooks up GDPR steroids shot 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:52 GMT

The European Union executive on Tuesday presented a new law that would require European privacy regulators to share more information upfront in major privacy cases and more often settle such cases out of court — in an effort to speed up how its General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is enforced.The European Commission suggested a set of new rules to speed up cross-border cases like the ones against Meta, Google, Amazon and others that the bloc’s privacy regulators have finished in past years as POLITICO previously reported Monday. The draft rules include sharing information earlier on to avoid last-minute haggling between authorities and nudging them to avoid litigation in court. Authorities are also asked to broadly keep investigations confidential to protect the process. “The GDPR is well enforced but we can do better,” Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said today. “We’ve seen many fines, but sometimes it’s complex and long,” he said, referring...

Vehicle smashes through single-family home in Chelmsford

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:52 GMT

A home in Chelmsford suffered some significant damage Tuesday morning after a car plowed through its garage and a back wall on Proctor Road.The Chelmsford Fire Department said the driver told them she had been in her vehicle when a pedal became stuck. From inside of the single-family home’s garage, the car then accelerated and plowed through a wall, ripping off siding and striking an electric meter on the other side.“As she went forward, went into drive, [it] kind of accelerated forward,” said Chelmsford Fire Captain Danielle Koutsoufis. “I’m just thankful no one was hurt – that’s the most important thing, always.”Due to the damaged meter, authorities cut both gas and electric service to the home as workers surveyed the damage and began to make repairs.Officials said that due to recent construction work done at the home, they believed the house was still structurally sound.Crews were able to safely remove the vehicle before noon.

Progressing Aaron Judge believes he’ll have to manage pain after he returns from toe injury

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:52 GMT

Aaron Judge in continuing to take steps in the right direction as he recovers from the ligament tear in his right big toe.The slugger began lightly hitting over the last few days, in addition to playing catch, which he started doing during the Yankees’ recent road trip. Judge, out since June 3 thanks to a fence-breaking catch at Dodger Stadium, has been hitting off the tee and soft toss flips.“It’s feeling good, but not great yet,” Judge said Tuesday when asked about hitting. “So we’re getting there.”Judge said he needs to be able to run and put all his weight on his back foot before he can play. Even then, he anticipates having discomfort for the foreseeable future.Judge noted that some injuries can make an impact for years. For example, he said his pinky still feels lingering effects after he dislocated it in 2021.“I kind of understand you’re going to deal with some pain coming back,” Judge said of his toe, “so it&#...

Shots fired into a crowd of hundreds after a holiday festival in Texas leaves 3 dead, 8 injured

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:52 GMT

By JAMIE STENGLE (Associated Press)DALLAS (AP) — Three people were killed and eight others injured when shots were fired into a crowd of hundreds following a festival in a Texas neighborhood, authorities said.The shooting in the Fort Worth neighborhood of Como happened at about 11:47 p.m. Monday, and police said a chaotic scene followed as people tried to flee on foot and in vehicles as shots rang out. The shooting happened just hours after the end of the Independence Day celebration called ComoFest in the historically Black neighborhood.Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker said she was “devastated” by the news of the shooting.“My heart breaks for the victims, their loved ones, and the entire Como community that works to build positivity and celebration in their community and our city,” Parker said on Twitter.Police said that responding officers found multiple victims in a parking lot, including one who was pronounced dead at the scene. Others were taken to h...

Five dead in Philadelphia-area shooting spree that’s nation’s worst violence yet around July 4

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:52 GMT

By TASSANEE VEJPONGSA (Associated Press)PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A 40-year-old man with a rifle, a pistol, extra magazines, a police scanner and a bulletproof vest fatally shot four men in a Philadelphia neighborhood and chased and killed a fifth man inside a house, police said. A 2-year-old boy and a 13-year-old were also wounded in the Monday night violence that made the working-class area of Kingsessing the site of the nation’s worst violence around the July 4 holiday. The gunman fired at police as they chased him for blocks, police said. When they caught up, he surrendered in an alley, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said at a news conference. The shooter had no connection to the victims before the shooting, she said. “Thank God our officers were on the scene and responded as quickly as they did. I can’t even describe the level of bravery and courage that was shown, in addition to the restraint that was shown here,” Outlaw said.About four hours after...