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Biden aides wave off excitement over China’s Middle East deal

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:46 GMT

The détente China brokered between Iran and Saudi Arabia is spurring breathless talk in some corners of a regional paradigm shift and even the rise of a Beijing-centric world order.The Biden administration’s reaction, however, amounts to: Nothing to see here, folks.U.S. officials have issued brief public statements that downplay the initiative. Asked for details in interviews, they argued that, among other things: It’s a one-off case; it was in China’s economic interest to broker the deal; it doesn’t translate into long-term alliances; and anything that helps calm the region is in America’s interest.That display of nonchalance also suggests that the administration is eager to stave off concerns that China is eroding America’s global influence at a time when the Biden administration seeks solidarity with partners and allies to counter what Secretary of State Antony Blinken calls Beijing’s threat to the “rules-based international order.”“Ultimately, this ...

Biden to visit Belfast for Good Friday Agreement anniversary

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:46 GMT

SAN DIEGO — U.S. President Joe Biden has accepted a formal invitation from Rishi Sunak to visit Northern Ireland to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement next month.The U.K. prime minister extended the invite as the two leader met for talks as part of the AUKUS submarine program at the Point Loma naval base in San Diego, California.Sunak told the president: “I look forward to our conversations and also, importantly, to invite you to Northern Ireland, which hopefully you will be able to do, and so we can commemorate the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. ” know it’s something very special and personal to you. We would love to have you over.”Biden replied: “Twenty-five years? It seems like yesterday.”Accepting the invitation, he added: “It is my intention to go to Northern Ireland and the Republic.”The U.S. president’s presence at the Good Friday Agreement ceremonies had appeared in some question until Sunak brokered the Wind...

Boston police searching for missing 13-year-old from Dorchester

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:46 GMT

Boston police asked for the public’s help Monday in efforts to locate a 13-year-old from Dorchester who has been missing since last week.Police said Jamilianiz Montanez was last seen at about 7:40 a.m. on Wednesday, March 8 on Blue Hill Avenue. Police said Montanez is described as a Hispanic female, standing 5’6”, weighing 120 pounds with black and red hair worn in a bun. Police said Montanez was last seen wearing all black clothes, adding that she is known to frequent the Franklin Hill area. Anyone with information on Montanez’s whereabouts is asked to call 911 or call Boston police detectives at 617-343-4275.Those who wish to share information anonymously can do so by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line AT 1-800 (494) -TIPS or by texting the word ‘TIP’ to CRIME (27463).

Zach LaVine has found his rhythm for the Chicago Bulls — but is it enough to secure a spot in the postseason?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:46 GMT

Sometime in the last two months, something clicked for Zach LaVine. The change has been hard to miss — and it’s exactly what the Chicago Bulls need as they chase one of the last spots in the postseason.In the last 10 games, LaVine’s usage rate has spiked to 30% as he has averaged 30.4 points on 54.1% shooting, including 45.6% behind the 3-point arc. But the more important change is less tangible — the buoyancy that comes with a complete return to confidence.“I’m just being aggressive,” LaVine said. “The first half, I felt like we just needed that. It kind of got me tired, but that’s why we have DeMar and Vooch and Pat and Coby and all these guys.”LaVine and coach Billy Donovan saw this increase coming from the start of the season. For months, they repeated the same reminders: LaVine couldn’t play basketball at all last summer because of knee surgery, showed visible fatigue in the early weeks of the season and wouldn&#...

Yankees star Joe Pepitone dies at 82

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:46 GMT

Former Yankee and three-time All-Star Joe Pepitone has died at the age of 82, the team announced Monday. A cause of death was not disclosed.“The Yankees are deeply saddened by the passing of former Yankee Joe Pepitone, whose playful and charismatic personality and on-field contributions made him a favorite of generations of Yankees fans even beyond his years with the team in the 1960s,” the Yankees said in a statement.“As a native New Yorker, he embraced everything about being a Yankee during both his playing career — which included three All-Star appearances and three Gold Gloves — and in the decades thereafter. You always knew when Joe walked into a room — his immense pride in being a Yankee was always on display. He will be missed by our entire organization, and we offer our deepest condolences to his family, friends and all who knew him.”Pepitone was born in Brooklyn and was signed to the Yankees in 1958 as an amateur. He played with the...

New Hampshire bound, Florida Gov. DeSantis schedules pre-presidential pitstop

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:46 GMT

Ron DeSantis’ unannounced bid for the presidency is sure starting to look like a real campaign.The Florida governor is heading to New Hampshire for a traditional pre-presidential event in Manchester.“We are excited to announce that our 2023 Amos Tuck Dinner keynote speaker is special guest Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis,” the New Hampshire Republican Party said in a fundraising email Monday. “This will be our biggest and most exciting Amos Tuck Dinner to date.”The Sunshine State’s re-elected leader will be in the Queen City on April 14 for the dinner — an annual state party fundraiser dedicated to the Granite State politician cited as partly responsible for founding the modern Republican party.DeSantis is not running for president as of right now — officially he’s making the rounds to promote his new book, “The Courage to Be Free” — though he is often cited as the next leading candidate behind former President Donald Trump.His visit to New Hampshire, which will host the...

Dolphins reach deal with backup QB, local product Mike White and LB David Long to start free agency

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:46 GMT

On the first day of free agency, the Miami Dolphins found their backup quarterback.The Dolphins and former New York Jets quarterback Mike White have agreed to terms, according to a league source. The deal is reportedly for two years and worth up to $16 million, according to ESPN.It’s a homecoming for White, the Pembroke Pines product and former Broward County high school football standout at University School, which stands on the same Nova Southeastern University campus as the Dolphins’ old practice facility in Davie.The move kicked off the two-day negotiating period of free agency for the Dolphins on Monday after the team pulled off the immense trade for All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey on Sunday. Free agents can officially sign with a new team beginning 4 p.m. Wednesday.Over the past two seasons with the Jets, White, who turns 28 on March 25, has played in eight games with seven starts. He was 2-5 in those starts, completed 62.2 percent of passes for 2,145 yards, eight ...

After overcrowding situations, cats finding new homes through the Animal Rescue League of Boston

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:46 GMT

Kitty love is abounding so far this year at the Animal Rescue League of Boston.Just a handful of cats taken in last week from an overcrowding situation in Bristol County remain up for adoption. The 19 others from the bunch of two dozen have already found new homes, ARL media relations officer Mike DeFina told the Herald on Friday.“These cats for the most part are social, they are friendly,” DeFina said. “They may need a little bit more time to settle into their new homes, but really it’s only a matter of having patience and letting them settle in on their own. They will be great pets.”DeFina declined to comment where specifically the cats came from in Bristol County, but their caretaker had been working with the ARL over the past several years to ensure the cats were in good care, he said.The ARL has taken in three other large influxes of cats that had been involved in separate overcrowding situations, and less than a dozen remain available.Altogether, the organization has rescued m...

Robbins: Jan. 6 becomes Rashomon for Republican Party

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:46 GMT

Former Vice President Mike Pence made news last Saturday by saying something that shouldn’t have been news at all. Twenty-six months after an insurrectionist mob stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, beating the daylights out of police and seeking to overthrow an election so that Donald Trump could remain in power, Pence was ready to make a momentous announcement. “Make no mistake about it,” he told attendees at the Gridiron Club’s no-cameras-allowed dinner, “what happened that day was a disgrace, and it mocks decency to portray it any other way.”To Pence’s credit, confirming what everyone playing with a full deck could see with their own eyes is political suicide for anyone harboring a modicum of hope of winning the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, and somehow or other Pence harbors half a modicum. His speech was a direct challenge to Fox’s Tucker Carlson, who has amped up his Off-The-Deep-End Tour by stitching together snippets of Jan. 6 footage to make it look like noth...

Massachusetts, here comes a nasty nor’easter: Up to 22 inches of snow in spots, ‘blizzard-like conditions at times’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:46 GMT

After a pretty quiet December, January and February, of course now comes a wicked powerful nor’easter in mid-March.The strongest snowstorm of the year will likely be a real feast-or-famine situation across the Bay State, with close to 2 feet of heavy snow getting dumped on some spots while others might not even record an inch.But wherever you live in Massachusetts, this whopper of a storm is going to bring potentially damaging wind gusts that could spark power outages.Heavy wet snow weighing down on trees and power lines could also lead to power outages — with the highest risk for snow load issues in central Massachusetts and the Berkshires.“The biggest snow totals will be in the higher elevations of northern Worcester County and in the slopes of the Berkshires, where they could see 18 inches,” said Alan Dunham, meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Boston office. “Locally, some spots could see up to 22 inches.”Boston could record ...