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Battenfeld: Boston power brokers flexing weakened muscles to influence City Council race

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:48:02 GMT

The Boston old boys’ network that used to run the city is trying to flex its withered muscles to tilt the City Council race in what could be a last gasp at power.The group of power brokers is funding a new super PAC that’s running ads supporting a slate of more conservative candidates.But it’s questionable whether the strategy will work.The old Boston — once controlled by politicians like Marty Walsh and Ray Flynn — is gone.It’s been replaced by Michelle Wu’s Boston.The first term mayor put together a coalition of progressives to win the last election and install a number of progressive Democrats like Kendra Lara and Ruthzee Louijeune on the council. They now run the city.Southie’s Ed Flynn is still the council president for a few more months but he lost control of his more liberal colleagues a long time ago.The Wu administration has effectively shut out the once powerful network represented by businessmen like New Balance’s Jim Davis.Davis is now almost entirely funding the super P...

‘The world knows us.’ South Sudanese cheer their basketball team’s rise and Olympic qualification

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:48:02 GMT

JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — Basketball has united the South Sudanese.The country, which gained its independence just 12 years ago, is still celebrating the men’s national team after its first-ever qualification for the Olympics.South Sudan will play at the Paris Olympics as the automatic qualifier from Africa thanks to a 101-78 win over Angola a week ago at the basketball World Cup in the Philippines.Thousands of fans, some wrapped in the national flag, blew horns and flooded the streets of the capital this week to welcome the team home.Chol David, a 22-year-old diehard fan, called it incredible and historic.“The world knows us,” he said.The players and staff met Friday with South Sudan President Salva Kiir, who expressed his pride for their accomplishment. The government called the Olympic qualification a “remarkable achievement.”Earlier in the week outside the Juba International Airport for the team’s arrival, fan Anger Aquin Awan said “they have registered our names in history...

UN atomic watchdog warns of threat to nuclear safety as fighting spikes near plant in Ukraine

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:48:02 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The United Nations atomic watchdog warned of a potential threat to nuclear safety due to a spike in fighting near Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine as the forces of the war-torn country continued pressing their counteroffensive on Saturday.The International Atomic Energy Agency said its experts deployed at the Russia-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant reported hearing numerous explosions over the past week, in a possible indication of increased military activity in the region. There was no damage to the plant.“I remain deeply concerned about the possible dangers facing the plant at this time of heightened military tension in the region,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi warned in a statement issued late Friday. He noted that the IAEA team was informed that staff at the nuclear power plant had been reduced temporarily to minimum levels due to concerns of more military activity in the area.“Whatever happens in a conflict zone, where...

Violence flares in India’s northeastern state with a history of ethnic clashes and at least 2 died

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:48:02 GMT

GUWAHATI, India (AP) — Violence erupted in India’s northeastern state with a history of ethnic clashes when armed men exchanged gunfire with security forces, leaving at least two dead, police said Saturday.The shootout took place in Pallel village in Manipur state on Friday, the police said in a statement. As reports of the shooting spread, hundreds of people belonging to the majority Meiti community rushed to the spot fearing attacks by the minority Kuki ethnic group. Police said they fired tear gas. One army officer and three police were among 140 people injured, police said.The police reported two deaths on Friday, but the Press Trust of India news agency said another person succumbed to head injuries in a hospital on Saturday.The police tweeted the shootout was not between rival communities but involved unidentified armed men and security forces. Manipur has been wracked by ethnic violence since early May between the two dominant ethnic groups. More than 150 people have be...

Emotions will run high for Virginia as the Cavaliers honor slain teammate ahead of 1st home game

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:48:02 GMT

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Virginia will play its first home football game in 10 months on Saturday and the Cavaliers hope it is the high point of a long, emotional journey that started in an horrific way.Tributes and dedications for three players slain last Nov. 13 began Friday with a tree planting and placement of a plaque to honor them as well as another player and a female student who were wounded. The victims will be remembered in an on-field ceremony a half-hour before the noon kickoff against James Madison.“At UVA, we have a tradition of planting trees to mark the tradition and the moments that have shaped our history,” school President Jim Ryan said before those in attendance, including family members of the players killed, were allowed to help encase the roots in soil. The tree, an oak, can grow to as tall as 60 feet and live for hundreds of years. The plaque will serve as a reminder of the lives of Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry. Authorities just t...

Coco Gauff plays Aryna Sabalenka in the US Open women’s final

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:48:02 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka will meet in the U.S. Open women’s singles final.Gauff enters Saturday’s championship match at Arthur Ashe Stadium seeking her first Grand Slam title. Sabalenka is trying to win her second major trophy of the year.Gauff is a 19-year-old from Florida who is seeded No. 6 at Flushing Meadows. She has won 11 matches in a row and 17 of the past 18.Her semifinal victory on Thursday night was interrupted for 50 minutes early in the second set by four climate protesters, one of whom glued his bare feet to the concrete floor in the stands. The disruption to the match prompted the U.S. Tennis Association to increase security.Sabalenka is a 25-year-old from Belarus who is seeded No. 2 in the last major tournament of the season. She will rise to No. 1 in the WTA rankings for the first time on Monday no matter what happens against Gauff.Sabalenka is 23-2 in Grand Slam action in 2023, including her triumph at the Australian Open in Januar...

Pakistani police detain relatives of the man wanted in the death probe of his daughter in UK

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:48:02 GMT

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Police in central Pakistan detained for interrogation close relatives of a couple wanted by U.K. police in connection with last month’s death of their 10-year-old daughter in the outskirts of London, an official said Saturday.A police spokesman in Jehlum, 175 kilometers (108 miles) northwest of Lahore, said that Urfan Sharif and his wife Beinash Batool, the couple sought by U.K. police, were in hiding and 10 close relatives have been taken into custody for questioning and an investigation.Among them was Mohammad Sharif, the father of Urfan, his brothers and cousins. Police spokesman Khan Mudassir said detaining close relatives might force the wanted person to surrender. Pakistani police often detain close relatives of wanted suspects. Suspects’ relatives are not kept in jail, however, to avoid any intervention by the court. Last week Sharif appealed to his son and daughter in-law to surrender and help police in the investigation, after authorities widen...

Ask Amy: High school daughter is plagued by doubts

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:48:02 GMT

Dear Amy: I have a daughter in high school. She is gorgeous, popular, does well in school, and excels at soccer (she plays on a regional travel team).It is hard for her mother and I to understand why she seems to have low self-esteem. She is very hard on herself and sometimes seems consumed by doubt.We’re interested in any recommendations you might have.— Concerned ParentsDear Concerned: Take this in: Being beautiful, popular, smart, and high-achieving does not inoculate anyone against depression, anxiety, a mood disorder, or crushing doubt. Look to any number of gifted athletes for examples.A person’s brain seems to run independently from all of these external blessings. And your high-achieving and perfectionist teen is vulnerable.I recently watched a documentary featuring top ranked Spanish tennis player Paula Badosa, who has been open about her mental health struggles.During a particularly tough tournament, the documentary shows her meeting with her coach and talking about ...

Bridge: Sept. 9, 2023

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:48:02 GMT

“Simple Saturday” columns treat basic technique and logical thinking.Counting the distribution of the concealed hands is not difficult, but it takes focus, practice and experience — and experience is not something you can get on an easy-payment plan.Practice counting today. You play at four spades. East overtakes the first heart with the king, cashes the ace — West discards a club — and leads a third heart. You ruff high, and West throws a diamond. You take the K-A of trumps, finding West with a singleton, and lead a club to dummy’s king. East wins and leads a fourth heart, you ruff high again and West discards a diamond.LAST CLUBNext, you lead a club to dummy’s queen (a slight risk), draw East’s last trump and ruff your last club in dummy. East plays the jack. How do you handle the diamonds?East had three spades, six hearts and three clubs, so one diamond. When you cash the ace, East plays the ten, so you can confidently lead to dummy...

Vice Pulled a Documentary Critical of Saudi Arabia. But Here It Is.

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:48:02 GMT

In the past, Vice has documented the history of censorship on YouTube. More recently, since the company’s near implosion, it became an active participant in making things disappear.In June, six months after announcing a partnership deal with a Saudi Arabian government-owned media company, Vice uploaded but then quickly removed a documentary critical of the Persian Gulf monarchy’s notorious dictator, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS.The nearly nine-minute film, titled “Inside Saudi Crown Prince’s Ruthless Quest for Power,” was uploaded to the Vice News YouTube channel on June 19, 2023. It garnered more than three-quarters of a million views before being set to “private” within four days of being posted. It can no longer be seen at its original link on Vice’s YouTube channel; visitors see a message that says “video unavailable.” Vice did not respond to a request for comment on why the video was published and then made private or if there are any plans to make the video p...