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Swedish woman gets 3 months in prison for Syria ‘war crime’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:30 GMT

Gothenburg District Court on Wednesday sentenced a woman to three months in prison for a war crime in Raqqa in 2014, “among other things.”The sentence is connected to Islamic State placing “mutilated bodies” at a roundabout in central Raqqa — a Syrian city that served as ISIS headquarters between 2014 and 2017. In a statement, the court said “the woman had twice published photographs” of heads impaled on a fence at the roundabout.An image shared on the woman’s social media depicts a woman in front of a severed head. The court said that she had written “derogatory comments” about the people in the pictures.Nevertheless, the 35-year-old denied any wrongdoing, saying that it was not her depicted in the photos she posted on social media.The court said that the described action was likely to “seriously violate the personal dignity of protected persons” under Swedish law. The woman additionally expressed clear sympathy with...

Police: 55-year-old woman killed in Lynn hit-and-run crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:30 GMT

A 55-year-old woman is dead following a hit-and-run crash in Lynn Wednesday morning, according to police.Police say the incident happened around 6 a.m. on Route 107 northbound between Ida and Cooper Streets. That area of the road remained closed for several hours, with traffic being rerouted down Ida Street.State police sent their Crash Reconstruction Unit and Crime Scene Unit to investigate. No information has been released on the suspect vehicle. This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

MSPCA-Angell rehabilitating exotic Abyssinian cats with plans to put them up for adoption

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:30 GMT

Nearly a dozen purebred, exotic cats are now under the care of MSPCA-Angell, with the organization hopeful to put the felines up for adoption soon.MSPCA-Angell announced on social media that eight Abyssinian cats were brought in after being surrendered by an owner who they said “couldn’t give them the care they needed.”Currently housed at the organization’s Cape Cod Adoption Center, they are the first Abyssinian cats the non-profit have received in five years, according to MSPCA-Angell. The new arrivals also mark the first time the organization’s received multiple Abyssinian cats in more than a decade.“It’s not often we get these kinds of purebred, exotic cats, let alone in these numbers,” Shelter Manager Colleen Evans said in a statement.Officials said the cats require some medical care before being put up for adoption. The exotic felines are currently being treated for gastrointestinal problems, while some are also being treated for “minor upper...

1 person taken to hospital following crash in Brockton

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:30 GMT

One person was taken to the hospital following a crash in Brockton Wednesday morning, according to fire officials. Crews responding to the corner of Banks and Ridge Streets around 6 a.m. found a vehicle on its side against a fence and bushes. Officials say one person was trapped inside the vehicle. The victim was removed and taken to a local hospital. No additional information has been released.https://twitter.com/Brockton_Fire/status/1641031516997255169

Father of missing NH girl faces new gun charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:30 GMT

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire man facing a murder charge in connection with the disappearance of his 5-year-old daughter who has not been seen since 2019 and is presumed dead has been indicted on unrelated gun charges.The Hillsborough County Grand Jury earlier this month indicted Adam Montgomery on two counts each of being a felon in possession of a firearm and being an armed career criminal.He is alleged to have been in possession of guns even though he has multiple felony convictions in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. He is scheduled to be arraigned on the new charges on April 4. An email seeking comment was left with his attorney.Montgomery pleaded not guilty in October to a second-degree murder, falsifying physical evidence and abuse of a corpse charges. Authorities allege that he killed his daughter, Harmony Montgomery, by repeatedly striking her in the head with his fist.He pleaded not guilty to prior gun charges last April.Authorities didn’t know Har...

US: Credit Suisse violates deal on rich clients’ tax evasion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:30 GMT

By JAMEY KEATEN and COURTNEY BONNELL (Associated Press)GENEVA (AP) — Credit Suisse violated a plea agreement with U.S. authorities by failing to report secret offshore accounts that wealthy Americans used to avoid paying taxes, U.S. lawmakers said Wednesday, releasing a two-year investigation that detailed the role employees at the embattled Swiss bank had in aiding tax evasion by clients.The U.S. Senate Finance Committee pointed to an ongoing, possibly criminal conspiracy tied to nearly $100 million in accounts belonging to a family of American taxpayers that the bank did not disclose. It also said Credit Suisse helped a U.S. businessman hide more than $220 million in offshore accounts from the IRS.Credit Suisse revealed that it had found 23 accounts each worth more than $20 million that were not declared to tax authorities, many of them unveiled just days before the report was released, according to the committee. It said its findings show that more than $700 million was con...

NBA play-in viewed as backing into playoffs? Heat’s Spoelstra says he doesn’t give a (bad word)

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:30 GMT

Before the start of Tuesday morning’s shootaround in Toronto, before that night’s disheartening 106-92 loss to the Raptors, before moving on to Wednesday night’s game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, as he is wont to do, was embracing a moment.No, the play-in tournament is not the path of preference when it comes to advancing to the NBA playoffs. But with his team teetering toward that reality, Spoelstra, as he also is wont to do, seized the moment as a call to battle.So on the practice court at Scotiabank Arena, Spoelstra told his players there is no detour that can’t be traversed, no roadblock that can’t be navigated.Play-in? Playoffs? No matter, Spoelstra said, insisting there still are visions of a deep run beyond the April 9 regular-season finale, having come up one victory shy of last season’s NBA Finals.“I know our group,” Spoelstra said. “That’s what we set out to do c...

New Hampshire court rejects latest Pamela Smart petition

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:30 GMT

CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire’s highest court on Wednesday turned away the latest attempt to get a sentence reduction for Pamela Smart, who is serving life in prison for plotting with her teenage lover to have her husband killed in 1990.Smart, 55, was 22 and working as a high school media coordinator when she began an affair with a 15-year-old student who later shot and killed her husband, Gregory Smart. Though she denied knowledge of the plot, she was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and other crimes and sentenced to life without parole.Having exhausted her judicial appeal options, Smart asked a state council for a sentence reduction hearing last year. The five-member Executive Council, which approves state contracts and appointees to the courts and state agencies, rejected her request in less than three minutes, prompting the appeal to state Supreme Court.But the court dismissed the petition for lack of jurisdiction on Wednesday, saying that ordering the council to r...

Scouting the Yankees: Experts weigh in on if Bombers have done enough to make World Series run

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:30 GMT

The Yankees had a huge winter, from re-signing record-breaker Aaron Judge and then naming him captain to retaining Anthony Rizzo and also adding another ace-level arm to their starting rotation in Carlos Rodon, all for a cool $562 million.But was it a big enough buying binge to guarantee there won’t be yet another October disappointment? Over the past few seasons in the Bronx, playoff failure has joined Halloween as an October constant. Three times since 2017, the Yanks have lost to the Astros in the AL Championship Series, including a humiliating sweep last year. The Red Sox have sent the Yankees home twice in earlier rounds over that same time frame and the Rays did it once.All those defeats have left Yankee fans pining for the glory of 2009 — the last time the Yankees won the World Series — and hoping that Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman can assemble a roster capable of unlocking MLB’s treacherous playoffs.Can the 2023 Yankees be the club that finally t...

Apple rolls out buy now, pay later service: What to know

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:30 GMT

By CORA LEWIS (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — Apple is getting into the buy now, pay later space with a few tweaks to the existing model — including no option to pay with a credit card. The company will roll out the product to some consumers this spring, and will begin reporting the loans to credit bureaus in the fall.Since the start of the pandemic, the option to “buy now, pay later” has skyrocketed in popularity, especially among young and low-income consumers who may not have ready access to traditional credit.If you shop online for clothes or furniture, sneakers or concert tickets, you’ve seen the option at checkout to break the cost into smaller installments over time. Companies like Afterpay, Affirm, Klarna, and Paypal already offer the service, typically with late fees for missed payments and the option to use a credit card or bank account to make installment payments.Apple’s version, which is integrated with Apple Pay and facilitated by ...