Here you go, Baker (Ty)
and please, for all, stop it at 8:00 if you are watching!
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‘Bones’ and ‘NCIS’ actor Heath Freeman dead at 41
Heath Freeman, best known for playing murderer Howard Epps on the Fox series “Bones,” has died. He was 41.
The actor’s manager Joe Montifiore confirmed his client’s passing Monday. The official cause of death has not been released.
https://nypost.com/2021/11/16/bones-and-ncis-actor-heath-freeman-dead-at-41/
Not a done deal yet: Germany blocks Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline
German energy regulators have temporarily halted certification of Russia's controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline to Germany. The move adds to the tensions already straining relations between Russia and the West over Belarus and Ukraine.
(CN) — Germany added to the rising tensions between the European Union and Russia on Tuesday by holding off on certifying a controversial Russian natural gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea.
Germany's Federal Network Agency, which regulates pipelines, said it was temporarily suspending the certification process for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline due to administrative issues.
Tuesday's announcement sent gas prices in Europe even higher and adds to a very tense atmosphere between Russia and the West over a border crisis in Belarus, an alleged military buildup along Ukraine's borders and Russia's launch of an anti-satellite missile that blew up a Soviet-era satellite. The United States blasted Russia for what it called its “reckless” act that resulted in space debris that allegedly endangered the International Space Station.
Halting Nord Stream 2 – a key project for the Kremlin and the state-owned Russian gas giant Gazprom – carries political and economic consequences.
Europe is in the midst of a global gas crunch and there are worries about extremely high gas prices this winter. On Tuesday, the gas prices jumped by about 10% after the certification process was halted on Nord Stream 2.
The pipeline, which adds a second gas line between Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea, has become a source of political friction because critics, the U.S. chief among them, contend it will give Russia more control over Europe and more leverage over Ukraine. Russia relies on Soviet-era pipelines that pass through Ukraine and it could bypass those with Nord Stream 2.
Over the strong objections of the U.S. and its attempts to derail the project through sanctions, the pipeline was completed in September and it is awaiting certification.
The Federal Network Agency said it could not certify the pipeline because its owner – a Russian-controlled Swiss-based company called Nord Stream 2 AG – has not finished setting up a German subsidiary to own and operate the German sections of the pipeline.
The agency said it “concluded that it would only be possible to certify an operator of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline if that operator was organized in a legal form under German law.”
It said Nord Stream 2 decided to establish a subsidiary under German law to govern only the German part of the pipeline. The agency said the certification process “will remain suspended until the main assets and human resources” of Nord Stream 2 “have been transferred to the subsidiary.”
Even once German regulators are done with their certification work, the European Commission, the EU's executive body, must still approve the pipeline.
Nord Stream 2 said in a statement that it is setting up the subsidiary but that it is “not in the position to comment on details of the procedure, its possible duration and impacts on the timing of the start of the pipeline operations.”
By halting certification, German regulators fueled speculation that Nord Stream 2 has become part of a new round of struggles between Russia and the West.
On Monday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on Europe to shut down the Nord Stream 2 project. He said the continent faced a choice “between mainlining ever more Russian hydrocarbons in giant new pipelines and sticking up for Ukraine and championing the cause of peace and stability.”
The EU accuses Russia of being behind a plan to send asylum seekers from the war-torn Middle East to the Polish border via Belarus. The Kremlin denies any involvement.
Tensions along the Polish-Belarusian border are running high with Polish police and soldiers forcefully keeping thousands of asylum seekers out of the EU. Polish forces have used water cannons and other harsh tactics to stop people from forcing their way through lines of razor wire fence.
At the same time, the U.S. and its European allies are warning about a military buildup by Russia along the border with Ukraine and they are even warning about a possible invasion by Russia. Relations between Russia and the West have become toxic ever since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. Moscow continues to support separatist groups in eastern Ukraine.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline's future is also made more uncertain with the likely entry of new leadership in Germany following September elections. A coalition made up of the center-left Social Democrats, Greens and Free Democrats is showing signs of wanting to take a tougher stance on Russia than outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
https://www.courthousenews.com/not-a-done-deal-yet-germany-blocks-russias-nord-stream-2-pipeline/