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Italy’s Meloni urges quick start of Ukraine’s EU entry talks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:42 GMT

ROME (AP) — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday urged European allies to accelerate Ukraine’s European Union membership bid, as Rome hosted a bilateral conference on the war-torn country’s reconstruction attended by hundreds of Italian and Ukrainian businesses. “The future of Ukraine must include an always wider capacity of integrating with the European dynamics and institutions,” Meloni said, in joint statements with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on the sidelines of the conference. “The smartest way to thank Ukrainians for what they are doing is to accelerate their chance of being part of the European institutions. We need to acknowledge Kyiv’s enormous efforts to reform its system and bring it closer to targets required by the EU Commission,” Meloni added, urging a quick start of negotiations needed to grant Ukraine full EU membership.Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the conference attracted over a thousand companies, including hundre...

Today in Sports – Nolan Ryan becomes strikeout king (3,509)

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:42 GMT

April 271929 — Ryder Cup Golf, Moortown GC: Great Britain beats U.S., 7-5.1956 — Rocky Marciano retires as the undefeated heavyweight boxing champion. He finished with a 49-0 record, including six title defenses and 43 knockouts.1960 — The Minneapolis Lakers announce they will relocate to Los Angeles.1961 — NFL officially recognizes Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.1968 — Jimmy Ellis wins the heavyweight boxing title with a 15-round decision over Jerry Quarry in Oakland, Calif. This is the final bout of an eight-man elimination tournament to fill Muhammad Ali’s vacated title.1982 — NFL Draft: University of Texas defensive end Kenneth Sims first pick by New England Patriots.1983 — Walter Johnson’s record of 3,508 career strikeouts was eclipsed by Houston’s Nolan Ryan — a record that stood for 56 years. Ryan fanned Montreal pinch-hitter Brad Mills in the eighth inning as the Astros beat the Expos 4-2.1994 — Scott Erickson, who allowed the most hits in the majors the previous season, pitch...

Sports on TV for May 1-7

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:42 GMT

Adv29(All times Eastern)Schedule subject to change and/or blackoutsMonday, May 1GOLF4 p.m.GOLF — PGA Professional Championship: Second Round, Twin Warriors & Santa Ana Pueblo Golf Clubs, Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.MLB BASEBALL8 p.m.FS1 — San Francisco at HoustonNBA BASKETBALL7:30 p.m.TNT — Conference Semifinal: TBD10 p.m.TNT — Conference Semifinal: TBDNHL HOCKEY7 p.m.ESPN — Conference Semifinal: TBDESPN2 — Conference Semifinal: TBD9:30 p.m.ESPN — Conference Semifinal: TBDESPN2 — Conference Semifinal: TBDSOCCER (MEN’S)3 p.m.USA — Premier League: Everton at Leicester City_____Tuesday, May 2GOLF4 p.m.GOLF — PGA Professional Championship: Third Round, Twin Warriors & Santa Ana Pueblo Golf Clubs, Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.HIGH SCHOOL LACROSSE (BOY’S)7 p.m.ESPNU — GEICO National Showcase: Georgetown Prep vs. BullisMLB BASEBALL7 p.m.TBS — Toronto at BostonNBA BASKETBALL7:30 p.m.TNT — Conference Semifinal: TBD10 p.m.TNT — Conference Semifinal: TBDNHL HOCKEY8 p.m.ESPN — Conference Semifinal: ...

Protests for disabled rights in France before Paris Olympics

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:42 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Angry about decades of unmet promises, people with disabilities protested Wednesday in France by showing how difficult and frustrating it is for them to travel alone by train into Paris, delivering a stinging rebuke of government inertia before the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.In the town of Melun on the outskirts of the French capital, Babou Sene, 31, had to get out of the wheelchair he uses and shuffle with help down and then up two flights of stairs to catch the 11:15 suburban train to Paris’ Gare de Lyon, which connects to the only fully accessible Metro line in the future Olympic host city. Other people with disabilities had to stay behind, continuing the protest with placards denouncing limited access to public services. Their electric-powered wheelchairs were too bulky to be carried to the Paris-bound train platform. Helpers carried Sene’s smaller hand-pushed chair and assisted him on the stairs and navigating the gap between platform and train. ...

What we know about arrest of 3 high school students in deadly rock attack

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:42 GMT

ARVADA, Colo. (KDVR) -- We are learning more about the three 18-year-olds arrested in connection to the rock-throwing crime spree that killed a 20-year-old woman.Jacki Kelley, Public Information Officer with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, said the three high school seniors were arrested at their homes on Tuesday. 3 high schoolers arrested in deadly rock-throwing crime spree Joseph Koenig, Nicholas “Mitch” Karol-Chik, and Zachary Kwak are all facing charges of first-degree murder with extreme indifference.When asked if the suspects intended to kill someone, Kelley said, "The charge that they are facing is a murder charge with extreme indifference. And to be clear about what extreme indifference is, it is described as an attitude or behavior, because it is indifference about what they're doing. This one, in relation to respect for human life."All three suspects will face additional charges related to the crime spree, Kelley said. ‘All of a sudden, my front windshield explo...

It’ll be a tough job getting countries to approve EU’s spending rules reform

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:42 GMT

BRUSSELS — The European Commission’s proposal to reform government spending rules is only a few hours old yet it’s already been met with a chorus of complaints.For Germany it is too soft, despite having won some concessions. Governments in the EU’s south complain it is too strict. Others think Berlin has been listened to too much. For it’s part, the Commission reckons it’s well balanced. What’s clear is it’s going to be fiendishly difficult to get an agreement between all 27 EU countries before Europeans go to the polls in about a year’s time. No one is happy. But then again, that was expected.“If I told you that we were expecting something really easy and that it was going to be a walk in the park, you wouldn’t believe me, right?” a French official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with policy.The proposed reform of the Stability and Growth Pact aims to give EU countries more leeway in determining the pace at which they must r...

Meloni: EU should hurry up and let Ukraine in

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:42 GMT

The EU should speed up Ukraine’s accession process as a reward for its contribution to Europe’s security in fighting off Russia’s invasion, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Wednesday.Ukraine “is an outpost for the security of the European continent,” Meloni said, standing next to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal as part of a bilateral conference in Rome aimed at preparing the country’s reconstruction.“The smartest way to thank Ukrainians for what they are doing is to accelerate the possibility for them to become part of the European institutions,” Meloni added.Ukraine, which was granted EU candidate status last June together with Moldova, has been pushing its European partners to quickly integrate it into the bloc — a process that usually takes years.In January, Shmyhal told POLITICO he was aiming to secure EU membership within two years, which meant starting accession negotiations by the end of 2023.But so far, B...

Man accused of assaulting MIT student in Back Bay ordered held without bail pending dangerousness hearing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:42 GMT

A man accused of assaulting an MIT student in Back Bay over the weekend was ordered held without bail Wednesday pending a dangerousness hearing next week. Nahom Getaneh, 33, was arrested Tuesday afternoon after he allegedly assaulted a woman around 11:45 p.m. Saturday in the area of Beacon Street and Public Alley 908. Police say Getaneh was wanted on two outstanding warrants on charges including failure to register as a sex offender and possession of Class B drugs. He is also now facing charges of assault with intent to rape and indecent assault and battery, police said.Following the attack, MIT officials said the person who was attacked was a student. Officials said a man on a bike grabbed her from behind while she was going into the back door of a sorority house. The student said the man asked her for food, groped her, then followed her into the building where he further assaulted her. Students on campus were shaken by the news. “It was shocking news to hear,” Rites...

OBF: Bruins set for now, and the future

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:42 GMT

SUNRISE, Florida – If you want to see the sun come up around here, drive about 13 miles east and check out Lauderdale Beach.Located on the brink of the Everglades, this city was born during the South Florida real estate boom of the 1960s. Its NHL franchise stands as the No. 2 local attraction, behind a shopping complex you can see from space on Google Earth. Or No. 3 if you consider that temperatures haven’t fallen below freezing in 46 years.The Bruins came here last weekend on the brink of irrelevance in the NHL playoffs. Not only was the “Greatest Team Ever” coming off a brutal home loss, it had ceded home ice to the 8th-seeded Panthers. Even worse, the ailing Patrice Bergeron and David Krejčí would be injured no-shows for both games.Instead, Boston won two games here to take a 3-1 series lead by a combined score of 10-4. And it was 10-4, over and out for the Panthers. Game 5 of this series is tonight at TD Garden. But whatever sense of competitiveness in this series dissipated on...

New coalition forms to support MCAS, release testing reform recommendations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:42 GMT

As high-stakes MCAS testing gets underway this school year and opposition to the test intensifies, including by the state’s teachers union which wants to eliminate it as a graduation requirement for students, a new coalition is taking up the mantel to reform and preserve the controversial tests.“It seems like it’s been very much of a one-sided narrative when it comes to MCAS and what it does or doesn’t do for students,” said Mary Tamer, director of Education Reform Now Massachusetts. “And we wanted to have a conversation and specifically reached out to folks who acknowledge the value of MCAS but also see the opportunities for improvement.”The pro-MCAS coalition, Voices for Academic Equity, was convened by Education Reform Now Massachusetts and made up of a dozen education organizations and partners, the group said in a release.The group released a report, “Toward a Better MCAS: Consensus recommendations from organizations serving the C...