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The Biden administration once more bypasses Congress on an emergency weapons sale to Israel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:47 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — For the second time this month the Biden administration is bypassing Congress to approve an emergency weapons sale to Israel as Israel continues to prosecute its war against Hamas in Gaza under increasing international criticism.The State Department said Friday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had told Congress that he had made a second emergency determination covering a $147.5 million sale for equipment, including fuses, charges and primers, that is needed to make the 155 mm shells that Israel has already purchased function.“Given the urgency of Israel’s defensive needs, the secretary notified Congress that he had exercised his delegated authority to determine an emergency existed necessitating the immediate approval of the transfer,” the department said.“The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to U.S. national interests to ensure Israel is able to defend itself against the threats it faces,” it said.The emergency determinat...

Finally Clearing Out

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:47 GMT

The last few days have been all about the clouds, drizzle, fog, and showers. In the short term (as in tonight into tomorrow morning) that will continue to be the case. If you are heading out tonight, expect more clouds, drizzle, and fog, much like we had today. A rogue light shower is possible, but what’s out there is hardly umbrella worthy now and it will stay that way tonight. With the clouds locked overhead, temperatures won’t drop very far, falling to the upper 30s and near 40° overnight.Tomorrow is our improvement day. That improvement won’t happen until late in the day so when you wake up on Saturday morning, expect more low clouds with some drizzle, and that rogue light shower. It’ll stay that way until about noon, when we finally will punch some drier air in. It’s a slow process, so first we’ll get rid of the drizzle, then the clouds. Any hope of the clouds thinning out and showing a few peeks of sun will be mid to late afternoon — l...

Maura Healey says Massachusetts has complied with overflow site requirement

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:47 GMT

Gov. Maura Healey’s administration said Friday it believed it had fulfilled a requirement to set up an overflow site for families with children and pregnant people waiting for placement in Massachusetts’ emergency shelter system.Clearing the overflow site hurdle would allow the administration to access millions more in already allocated state funds to respond to the “ongoing humanitarian crisis and influx of families seeking shelter,” according to state law.A Healey spokesperson confirmed the administration felt it had complied with the statutory requirement to set up one or multiple locations as the waitlist for shelter hit 400 families as of Friday.“Our administration has set up safety net sites for families who need a place to stay, and we will continue to work closely with our local, state and federal partners to support the needs of families in Massachusetts,” Healey spokeswoman Karissa Hand said in a statement.Satisfying a component of a bill the Legislature passed...

Column: With sports movies an endangered species, a look back at memorable offerings of decades past

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:47 GMT

By Nina Metz and Shakeia Taylor, Chicago TribuneSports movies can serve as a backdrop for all kinds of storytelling about what it means to navigate through life. But mid-budget movies have all but disappeared from theaters, taking sports movies with them. When was the last time you saw a great sports comedy or drama that was new? Once a hardy genre, sports movies are something of an endangered species at the moment.With that in mind, Tribune film critic Nina Metz and sports writer Shakeia Taylor look back at four titles from decades past: “Slap Shot,” “A League of Their Own,” “White Men Can’t Jump” and “Bend it Like Beckham.” All are rentable or available on a streaming platform.Note: Next month Taylor will take part in the panel discussion “Leveling the Playing Field: Women in Baseball,” hosted by the Jackie Robinson Museum in New York, to talk about how women of color are stepping up to the plate across baseball.‘Slap Shot’ (1977)Paul Newman plays an aging player-coach of a strugg...

Patriots extra points: What Bill Belichick has seen from new QB

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:47 GMT

FOXBORO — The Patriots have rifled through No. 3 quarterbacks throughout the past year, but head coach Bill Belichick seems sold on the team’s new third-stringer.Including Brian Hoyer, who was released in March, the Patriots have had nine quarterbacks on their roster in the past year. Nathan Rourke, who was claimed off waivers from the Jaguars early last week, is Mac Jones’ and Bailey Zappe’s latest backup. He’s spent two weeks of practice with the Patriots now.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots’ Bill Belichick names five players to personal ‘All-Time team’ New England Patriots | Patriots get good news at Friday practice before Bills game New England Patriots | Patriots mailbag: How to acquire QB of the future while falling down draft board New England Patriots | Position switch has paid off for Patriots impending free agent New England Patriots | M...

Ozempic overdose? Poison control experts explain why thousands OD’d this year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:47 GMT

Jeremy Childs |  Los Angeles Times (TNS)Some of those taking Ozempic or Wegovy are learning that too much of a good thing is never good.Semaglutide, the medication prescribed under the brand names Ozempic, for treating Type 2 diabetes, and Wegovy, for weight management, works by mimicking the hormone GLP-1, which is released by the gut after eating. The hormone has several effects in the body, such as stimulating insulin production, slowing gastric emptying and lowering blood sugar.It has been hailed for its weight-loss benefits, most conspicuously among celebrities. Oprah Winfrey recently said she uses weight-loss medication and lauded “the fact that there’s a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime.” She said it felt “like a gift.”But between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30 this year, at least 2,941 Americans reported overdose exposures to semaglutide, according to a recent report from America’s Poison Center...

Alex Murdaugh’s pursuit of a new murder trial is set for an evidentiary hearing next month

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:47 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The new judge handling the fallout over Alex Murdaugh’s murder convictions plans to hold an evidentiary hearing late next month.Murdaugh’s lawyers want another trial in the killings of the former lawyer’s wife and younger son, citing allegations that the court clerk improperly influenced the jury. The defense will get to put forth evidence at a three-day hearing expected to begin Jan. 29, according to a tentative schedule shared by a media liaison for former South Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean Toal.Jurors, the clerk and even the trial judge might have to testify under oath.Murdaugh is serving life imprisonment without parole after a jury found him guilty this March of killing his wife, Maggie, and younger son, Paul, in June 2021. He got sentenced this November for stealing about $12 million to an additional 27 years behind bars under a plea deal that resolved scores of state crimes related to money laundering, breach of trust and f...

Sportsnet to broadcast select PWHL games during inaugural season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:47 GMT

Sportsnet has partnered with the Professional Women’s Hockey League to broadcast select games from the league’s inaugural season, beginning with the season-opener between Toronto and New York on New Year’s Day.Following the season-opener, Sportsnet’s broadcast schedule will include 16 games from January to March with additional games added at a later date.“The visibility offered across our broadcast and streaming schedule is unprecedented in women’s hockey and reinforces the growing interest in our sport,” said Stan Kasten, PWHL Advisory Board member. “Accessibility of PWHL games throughout our inaugural season is a giant win for fans everywhere. We felt it was a priority to engage a magnitude of committed partners on a variety of consistent platforms.”It has also been announced. Sportsnet’s parent company Rogers will also become the official telecommunications partner of the PWHL in Canada.They will create custom content with the PWHL to help engage fans, including the behind...

Kathy Griffin files for divorce ahead of her fourth wedding anniversary

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:47 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Comedian Kathy Griffin has filed for divorce from longtime partner Randy Bick just shy of the couple’s fourth wedding anniversary.Los Angeles Superior Court records show Griffin filed for divorce Thursday, citing irreconcilable differences.The pair dated for several years before marrying on New Year’s Day 2020. They have no children together, and Griffin’s filing says a prenuptial agreement dictates how their assets should be divided.Griffin, 63, was a star of the NBC series “Suddenly Susan” and poked fun at her celebrity on “My Life on the D-List.”Bick has worked as a marketing executive and began dating Griffin in 2011.Griffin was previously married. She accused her former husband of stealing from her on “Larry King Live” in 2006, and says she put their troubles into her act.The filing was first reported Friday by celebrity website TMZ.The Associated Press

Gunmen kill 6 people, wound 26 others in attack on party in northern Mexico border state

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:47 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Three gunmen pulled up to a party early on Friday in northern Mexico and opened fire on partygoers, killing six people and wounding 26 others. Two of the dead were under 18 years old, and five of the wounded were children. Four of the wounded were reported to be in critical condition at local hospitals, while 13 others were treated and released. Prosecutors in the border state of Sonora said the killings in the city of Ciudad Obregon was an attack on a suspected cartel member who was wanted in homicide and other charges.A fourth gunman who participated in the attack was already at the party. The suspected cartel member tried to flee but was killed.The attackers were able to escape. Sonora has been the scene of bloody turf battles between various drug gangs. The Associated Press