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Lucas: Gavin Newsom needs to keep focus on Joe Biden

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:59:59 GMT

Forget Ron DeSantis.If California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a shadow Democrat candidate for president, wants to debate someone it should be Joe Biden.That is because Newsom would have to get by Joe Biden before he could take on DeSantis if the Florida governor should emerge as the 2024 GOP candidate for president.Former President Donald Trump, despite Biden’s unabated jihad against him, still might have something to say about that.Or, since they are not letting Biden out of the White House to campaign these days — and with good reason  Newsom should at least debate fellow Democrats Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and self-help author Marianne Williamson.They, along with Biden, are at least officially announced Democrat candidates for president.Newsom is not, although he acts like he is.Instead of officially challenging Biden, Newsom hovers around waiting for something to happen to him. And, given Biden’s age (80) and his deteriorating mental and physical well-being, something could.Meanwhile, the sl...

On the move? Think tanks offer different views on outmigration in Massachusetts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:59:59 GMT

Competing narratives have emerged over whether Massachusetts is facing an immediate outmigration crisis, with a flock of tax policy think tanks laying out arguments over the drivers and extent of population loss over the past several years.Outmigration conversations have been around for years, but have taken center stage this year as debate over tax relief heated up on Beacon Hill. Some top legislative Democrats and the progressive tax policy think tank MassBudget and Policy Center have started to push back on what they argue are “overblown” claims of outmigration.Speaking to business leaders Thursday, Senate President Karen Spilka said “a lot of sensational headlines” have run in recent weeks about Massachusetts falling behind other states, either because people are leaving or private investments are fleeing.“That’s not to say that we don’t need to take a hard look at what is happening in our state,” Spilka said to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, according to her remarks as...

Battenfeld: Michelle Wu puts a stop to foolish Boston City Council cuts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:59:59 GMT

What a huge mistake giving the Boston City Council budget authority.Related ArticlesOpinion Columnists | Boston Mayor Wu rejects City Council budget cuts to Boston Police, Veterans departments Tom Menino would never have stood for this.Now Mayor Michelle Wu is finding out what it’s like for the misguided, far left council to control the purse strings.In an ironic turn, it was the progressive darling Wu who put a stop to the extremist council’s foolishness, rejecting a 14% reduction in veterans’ services and over $30 million in cuts to Boston Police patrols.The geniuses on the council had also tried to cut $4.73 million from the Boston Transportation Department and $3.49 million from the Public Works Department.Yes, that’s right. Cut the budget of the agency that fills potholes. People will love that.Wu also rejected an $802,000 cut to one of the historic gems of the city, the Boston Public Library, and added an additional $700,000 to that department, her office said....

Patriot League Rugby All-Stars

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:59:59 GMT

Cullen Burke, Christian Carlson, Nick Freel, Griffin Gasdia, Luke Segalla, Jack Sullivan, Seth Willoughby (Hanover); Liam Burns, Connor Hill, Michael McNabb, Jakub Wozny (Hingham); Tyler Davis, Jack Regan, Alex Robinson, Aiden Sabin-White, Brian Williams (Marshfield)MVP: Nick Freel, Jack Regan

African leaders visit Russia to discuss their peace plan with Putin, after Ukraine trip

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:59:59 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday is set to host a group of African leaders who have traveled to Russia on a self-styled “peace mission” the day after they went to Ukraine.Seven African leaders — presidents of Comoros, Senegal, South Africa and Zambia, as well as Egypt’s prime minister and top envoys from the Republic of Congo and Uganda — visited Ukraine on Friday to try to help end the nearly 16-month-old war. The African leaders then traveled to St. Petersburg Saturday to meet with Putin who is attending a business forum in Russia’s second-largest city.Speaking at the forum on Friday, Putin declared that the first Russian tactical nuclear weapons have been deployed to Belarus, describing the move as a deterrent against Western efforts to defeat Russia in Ukraine. He previously said that the deployment would begin in July.Asked if he could order the use of battlefield nuclear weapons in Ukraine, Putin said that there was no need for that but n...

Suspect in Nottingham knife and van attack appears in court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:59:59 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A 31-year-old man appeared in a court Saturday accused of murdering two college students and a school caretaker in a knife and van attack earlier this week in the English city of Nottingham.Valdo Calocane was flanked by three security officers as he appeared at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court. He is charged with the murder of Nottingham University students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, who were stabbed to death in a street near student housing as they were walking home before dawn on Tuesday.He is also accused of killing school caretaker Ian Coats, 65, stealing his van and running down a group of pedestrians. Calocane is also charged with attempting to murder the three pedestrians in a hit-and-run that left one of the victims critically injured.The suspect spoke only to confirm his details. He gave a different name, Adam Mendes, and said he was of no fixed abode.Tuesday’s rampage in Nottingham, a university city of about 350,000 in central...

Thousands in western India relief camps begin returning home as Cyclone Biparjoy recedes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:59:59 GMT

JAKHAU, India (AP) — Over 100,000 people who had sheltered from Cyclone Biparjoy in relief camps in western India have begun to return home after the storm weakened and headed toward Pakistan, officials said Saturday.In the coastal village of Jakhau, where the cyclone made landfall in India’s Gujarat state on Thursday, over 130 people had shifted back to their homes from a government-run shelter by midday Saturday.India’s powerful home minister, Amit Shah, was expected to visit the village later Saturday and take stock of the situation.Officials said electricity had been restored in many villages but some were still without power. After the landfall, the cyclone uprooted trees and electricity poles in hundreds of villages along the coastal regions of Gujarat.“It was very scary and we expected huge damage,” said Adam, a trader who rents boats to fishermen in Jakhau and only uses one name. “But thankfully nature’s wrath was somewhat lighter than we anticipated.”He said there was...

Mayor of western Manitoba community says outpouring of support apreciated

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:59:59 GMT

DAUPHIN, Man. — The mood remains somber in Dauphin, Man., as area residents learn more details of a highway crash that killed 15 people and injured 10.Mayor David Bosiak says people are sad, and the effect on the city and surrounding area will be multi-generational.He adds residents appreciate the support and condolences that have come in from across Canada as the mourning continues.Those expressions come from, among others, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who said Canadians stand with those affected by the crash.A moment of silence was held ahead of the Canadian Football League game Friday night between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Saskatchewan Roughriders.Bosiak says he expects a decision will be announced Monday on whether a formal vigil or other public event will be held.Over the weekend, a support centre for families of those involved in the crash will continue to run at the community’s curling rink.RCMP are still investigating the fiery crash Thursday between a trans...

Author and writing mentor Jane Resh Thomas dies at 86

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:59:59 GMT

When Kate DiCamillo moved to Minneapolis from Florida, she joined a writers’ group taught by widely known Minnesota children’s author Jane Resh Thomas. One night DiCamillo stayed after class and poured out her troubles to her teacher. DiCamillo was poor and struggling, with more than 400 rejections of her writing. She didn’t know how much longer she could believe in herself.Thomas replied: “I will believe in you for you.”DiCamillo’s success as an award-winning writer is just one of the mentoring legacies left by Thomas, who died Monday, June 12, at Martin Luther Assisted Living Center in Bloomington from the effects of numerous health issues, according to her executor, Theodore Olson. She was 86 and was preparing for a writers’ workshop the next day. She had been leading a group of six writers and was coaching Daniel Bernstrom, a young picture book author.Award-winning author and writing mentor Jane Resh Thomas died Monday, June 12, 2023, at...

Ask Amy: Physician’s staffers prefer not to potluck

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:59:59 GMT

Dear Amy: My coworkers and I are employed by a doctor in a small successful practice. Including the doctor, there are eight staff members.He bought the practice several years ago from our former boss.Our former boss was generous and of a different generation. He lived within his means, was not extravagant, and didn’t try to compete with his peers.Our current employer is of a younger generation, lives in one of the more affluent neighborhoods, and has only given us raises when we bring it up to him as a group.He is very generous when it comes to bonuses, but bonuses are not something that can be counted on.The doctor has recently invited staff and their families to a lake house owned by his parents.The doctor will be there with his wife and five children.The problem we’re having is that he has asked that we all bring a dish to share and make this a pot-luck style affair.None of us has had a raise since January of 2022, and that was our first raise in two years.Many of us are having d...