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Frans Timmermans to leave Brussels to run in Dutch election

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:42 GMT

EU Green Deal chief Frans Timmermans will leave the European Commission to run in the Dutch election, local media reported on Thursday. The Netherlands will head to the polls in November. Long-time Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced his departure from politics earlier this month following his government’s collapse. Members of Timmermans’ Labor Party recently voted to fight in the upcoming election together with the Dutch Greens. This morning, Timmermans told NOS that he would run as a candidate to lead the joint list. He’s expected to make a formal announcement later today. De Volkskrant reported that he has already informed Commission President Ursula von der Leyen of his imminent departure. Timmermans has served in the Commission since 2014. In 2019, he became executive vice president in charge of the European Green Deal. 

Summer Beauty

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:42 GMT

Whoa! How about that start to the day this morning! Temps and humidity down a few notches and it feels great. In Boston, the dew point has slid to 59, one of the lowest readings we’ve have over the last month. In addition, temps inland feel back into the upper 50s and low 60s overnight, allowing for a very comfy feel to the air to kick off this Thursday morning. The lower humidity will last into the afternoon with highs running 80-85 away from the beaches and 75-80 close to the coast. Overall, with a mix of clouds and sun and the less humidity air, we’re in store for a beauty of a summer’s day. Now the question… can we keep this pattern around? In short, the 7 day forecast does offer more nice weather, but not every day. Tomorrow, humidity ramps back up with more clouds in the mix. Temps hold near 80 with dew points push up into the mid to upper 60s. That higher humidity, combined with a disturbance moving in from the west, will create the opportunity for ...

US says North Korea has not responded to attempts to discuss American soldier who ran across border

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:42 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea hasn’t responded to U.S. attempts to discuss the American soldier who bolted across the heavily armed border, officials in Washington said, underscoring that the serviceman’s prospects for a quick release are unclear at a time of high tensions and inactive communication channels.Pvt. Travis King, who was supposed to be on his way to Fort Bliss, Texas, after finishing a prison sentence in South Korea for assault, ran into North Korea while on a civilian tour of the border village of Panmunjom on Tuesday. He is the first known American held in North Korea in nearly five years.“Yesterday the Pentagon reached out to counterparts in the (North) Korean People’s Army. My understanding is that those communications have not yet been answered,” Matthew Miller, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, told reporters Wednesday in Washington.The U.S. and North Korea, who fought during the 1950-53 Korean War, are still technically a...

The Senate Judiciary panel will consider ethics rules for the Supreme Court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote Thursday on a new ethics code for the Supreme Court, an attempt to respond to recent revelations about justices’ interactions with wealthy donors and others. Republicans are strongly opposed, arguing the ethics bill could “destroy” the high court.The committee’s legislation would impose new ethics rules on the court and a process to enforce them, including new standards for transparency around recusals, gifts and potential conflicts of interest. Democrats first pushed the legislation after reports earlier this year that Justice Clarence Thomas participated in luxury vacations and a real estate deal with a top GOP donor — and after Chief Justice John Roberts declined to testify before the committee about the ethics of the court.Since then, news reports also revealed that Justice Samuel Alito had taken a luxury vacation with a GOP donor. And The Associated Press reported last week that J...

Volleyball All-Scholastics and league All-Stars

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:42 GMT

VOLLEYBALL ALL-SCHOLASTICSAaron Bennett (Haverhill)Callum Brown (St. John’s Prep)Nate Caldwell (North Quincy)Adam Christianson (Newton North)Mason Cleary (BC High)Matt Deeley (St. John’s Shrewsbury)Cody Fitzpatrick (Lowell)Arthur Gomes (Milford)Alex Guerra (Milford)Nick Heitman (Acton-Boxboro)Cam Jilek (Brookline)Cameron Johnston (North Quincy)Joe Kelly (Wayland)Harrison Landry (Natick)Luke Lorence (Needham)Tyrell Lout (Lowell)Matteo Luciani (Lexington)Ethan McCarron (Needham)Jonathan Narsjo (O’Bryant)Son Nguyen (O’Bryant)Tyler Randall (Newton North)Matt Salerno (Natick)Isaac Wedaman (Cambridge)Raymond Weng (Needham)Jamie Watt (Winchester)HONORABLE MENTIONBranch Barnes (Natick)Finn Bell (Wayland)Christyan Berger (Revere)Henry Bonney (Cambridge)Justin Cheng (Lexington)Eddie Djatcha (Lowell)Dom Flores (Chelmsford)Alex Gundaker (Needham)Oscar Klappenbach (Lincoln-Sudbury)James Levesque (Methuen)Tighe Lusk (St. John’s Prep)Ben Saro (St. John’s Shrewsbury)Kyler Shea (North Andover)Lucas ...

Push to take back Roxbury park from Mass & Cass addicts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:42 GMT

City officials say they are committed to making the deplorable Clifford Playground a safer and more accessible park for local youth sports organizations and the community at large.Residents, starting in August, will get the chance to suggest how the city should redesign the 8-acre Roxbury park, a few blocks from the heart of Mass and Cass, where people roam the streets, visibly buying, selling and using drugs.The community engagement will inform what is included in the renovated playground, with construction slated for next year. Officials allocated $7.2 million towards the project in this year’s $4.2 billion capital plan.A Pop Warner football program that plays at the park, the Boston Bengals, had been on the verge of collapse due to the unsanitary conditions; needles, human feces and other trash. But area philanthropist Ernie Boch Jr. tossed a $15,000 donation for Domingos DaRosa to save his non-profit organization after reading a Herald article on the state of the playground.Spea...

BMW M340i is sporty and pricey

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:42 GMT

BMW, known for their sportiness in the consumer market, is also known in Grasso’s Garage for their excellent driving automobiles. Fun to drive and good looking while doing so, the 2023 M340i xDrive sedan is no different.Wrapped in upgraded Tanzanite Blue Metallic paired with Mocha Vernasca leather was glorious. Did I mention the M-Sport package addition as well? This combo of Red calipers, 19” alloy wheels and that color combination was a huge hit in town and around the community. Comfort was what stood out the best in Grasso’s Garage as we noticed a great span of legroom in the front seats, while still having enough space for passengers in the back. Carbon Fiber, and a sleek interior also helped the interiors historic lack-luster appearance.A 3.0 Liter TwinTurbo inline 5-cylinder engine is paired with a 48V mild hybrid technology and an 8-speed sport automatic transmission. With selectable drive modes at your fingertips, the BMW M340i comes to life in both sport and sport plus mode...

RFK Jr. will testify at a House hearing over online censorship as the GOP elevates Biden’s rival

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans will be delving into claims of government censorship of online speech at a public hearing, asking Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to testify despite requests from outside groups to disinvite the Democratic presidential candidate after his recent antisemitic remarks.The Republican-led Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government is set to convene Thursday. Republicans claim conservatives are being unfairly targeted by technology companies that routinely work with the government to try to stem the spread of disinformation online. In announcing the hearing, the panel led by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said it “will examine the federal government’s role in censoring Americans.” The panel said it will probe “Big Tech’s collusion with out-of-control government agencies to silence speech.”The Big Tech companies have adamantly denied the GOP assertions and say they enforce their rules impartially for everyone regardless of ideology or polit...

Russia’s Wagner mercenaries launch joint training with Belarusian military near Polish border

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:42 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Mercenaries from Russia’s military company Wagner on Thursday launched joint drills with the Belarusian military near the border with Poland following their relocation to Belarus after their short-lived rebellion, a move that prompted Warsaw to redeploy its troops.The Belarusian Defense Ministry said that the weeklong maneuvers will be conducted at a firing range near the border city of Brest and will involve Belarusian special forces. The ministry added that Wagner’s combat experience will help modernize the Belarusian military.A video released Wednesday appeared to show Wagner’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin for the first time since he led last month’s rebellion. In the video, Prigozhin was seen telling his troops they will spend some time in Belarus training its military to help “make the Belarusian army the second strongest army in the world” before deploying to Africa. In addition to their involvement in Ukraine, Wagner mercenaries have been sent...

Prominent Egyptian rights activist with ties to Italy walks free from jail, rights defender says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:42 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — A renowned Egyptian rights activist with ties to Italy walked free from jail Thursday, a rights defender said.Patrick George Zaki, a post graduate student in Italy, was pardoned by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, along with five other people on Wednesday, according to the country’s Official Gazette.The news of his release was announced by Hossam Bahgat, founder of Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, who posted a picture of Zaki on his Facebook page Thursday afternoon.Zaki was sentenced to three years in prison earlier this week over an opinion article he wrote in 2019, Egypt’s MENA news agency said.The Associated Press