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Conservatives feud with the postal service, as Spain votes by mail in record numbers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:53 GMT

MADRID — Spain’s conservatives have a new boogeyman: The postal service. Ahead of next weekend’s national election, post offices across the country have been mobbed by voters seeking to sign up for mail-in balloting before the deadline for that option expires this Thursday. Spain’s center-right Popular Party, however, isn’t happy — and is accusing the postal service of meddling in the election. According to Correos, the state-owned postal service, a whopping 94,000 Spaniards filed for mail-in voting on Wednesday. Madrid resident Alejandro Rodríguez, who is registered to vote in his hometown of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, was one of them.“I waited until the last moment, more because of laziness than anything else,” he admitted sheepishly. “But fortunately it was all super straightforward: I came extra early, at 8:30 in the morning, and there was barely any line so I was done within 15 minutes.”It’s the first time that Spain ...

12-year-old boy killed in Mattapan shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:53 GMT

Authorities say a 12-year-old boy was shot and killed in Mattapan Thursday afternoon.Boston police said first responders were first called to the area of 35 Fessenden St. just after 2 p.m. for a report of a shooting. Authorities originally said a victim was located there and transported to a hospital.In a news conference held later in the afternoon, city officials said the victim was a 12-year-old child who had died as a result of the shooting. “Clearly this is an unnecessary death, it appears, of a young person in our city,” said Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox. “We’re doing all we can to combat gun violence but I implore folks – if you have guns in your homes, particularly illegal or whatever, turn them into us, let us know what we can do to take those off your hands. These guns on the street cause damage – simple as that.”Details on the circumstances of the shooting have not yet been released, though while taking questions towards ...

New details revealed in case against former Tyngsboro daycare worker accused of taking nude pictures of children

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:53 GMT

Federal court proceedings on Thursday brought with them new details in the case against a former Tyngsboro daycare worker accused of taking nude pictures of children during work hours. A matter of weeks after her arrest, a US attorney said Lindsay Groves’ behavior was reported to the owner of Creative Minds Early Learning Centers four years before Groves was accused in the case. While the government discussed its case, Groves’ defense said Groves is a victim herself.Groves is being held behind bars in New Hampshire. Thursday’s court appearance involved a judge hearing arguments over the question of whether he should keep Groves locked up.“Truly tragic that now we’re looking not at perhaps a limited group of children that were photographed or touched by this defendant,” said attorney Carmen Durso, representing victims of sexual abuse, outside federal court in Boston. “We now have to consider whether or not we have victims going back four years ago.”US Attorney Anne Paruti t...

Ticker: Free speech group sues over TikTok bans; Mortgage rate surged to nearly 7% 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:53 GMT

A First Amendment group sued Texas Governor Greg Abbott and others over bans of TikTok on official devices, arguing the prohibition – which extends to public universities – is unconstitutional and impedes academic freedom.The complaint was filed by The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, a free speech group in New York that’s suing on behalf a coalition of academics and researchers who study technology’s impact on society.The lawsuit said the state’s decision to restrict access to TikTok on official devices, as well as on personal devices used to conduct state business, is comprising teaching and research. And more specifically, it said it was “seriously impeding” faculty pursuing research into the app – including research that could illuminate or counter concerns about TikTok.Critics of TikTok have claimed the social media app, owned by Chinese parent company ByteDance, could push pro-Beijing propaganda on its platform or han...

As All-Star break nears end without new Camden Yards lease, Orioles’ John Angelos and Gov. Moore say they’re ‘determined to make it happen’ before year-end expiration

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:53 GMT

Both baseball season and the calendar year have passed their respective midpoints. The Orioles remain without a long-term lease to keep them at Camden Yards.In February, Orioles CEO and Chairman John Angelos said he would “love to have [a new lease] as an All-Star break gift for everybody, really, in the community.” The All-Star break ends Friday, when the Orioles begin the second half of their season against the Miami Marlins, but no new deal has been struck between the team and the Maryland Stadium Authority, which serves as its landlord at Oriole Park.In a joint statement Thursday from Democrat Gov. Wes Moore and Angelos, the two sides did not provide particulars on lease negotiations, but said progress is being made on their “vision to expand and revitalize the Camden Yards campus.”“We are determined to make it happen, and soon,” said the statement, which was originally credited to Moore and the Orioles before the team issued an amendment abou...

Biden proclaims NATO alliance ‘more united than ever’ in contrast to predecessor Trump

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:53 GMT

By SEUNG MIN KIM, CHRIS MEGERIAN and JARI TANNER (Associated Press)HELSINKI (AP) — The itinerary included a NATO summit, a brief stop in the United Kingdom and a coda in the Finnish shoreline capital that included a news conference in the ornate Gothic Hall at the presidential place.The president was Donald Trump and the year was 2018. In July of that year, Trump had upended the annual gathering of the military alliance, criticized the British prime minister to the London tabloids and ultimately, in Helsinki, sided with Russian leader Vladimir Putin while casting doubt on his own intelligence community.President Joe Biden’s journey through Europe this week was nearly identical, but every point of his three-country tour was an unsaid yet indelible rebuke of his predecessor who tore through the continent a half-decade ago. It was a portrait of a leader whose ardent belief in international alliances will be part of his case for reelection, particularly if Biden faces a rema...

Yankees scouting boss explains why George Lombard Jr. was the pick in first round of MLB draft

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:53 GMT

The Yankees drafted yet another player with Vanderbilt ties in the first round of the MLB draft. Shortstop George Lombard Jr. from Gulliver Prep High School (Fla.) was selected 26th overall by the Bombers on Sunday.The son of former major leaguer George Lombard was committed to play shortstop for Vanderbilt just as Anthony Volpe was back in the 2019 draft. Now Lombard will have to make the decision to head to Nashville or jumpstart his professional career with the Yanks.The selection of the 18-year-old comes a year after the Yanks dipped into the Vanderbilt basket again selecting outfielder Spencer Jones with their first-round pick in the 2022 draft.“It does look like we’ve gone down that route. It says something about Vanderbilt,” said Damon Oppenheimer, the Yankees’ Vice President of Domestic Amateur Scouting. “They recruit good players, they have a good program and — just like we do — they do their deep dives into what kind of human being...

Pentagon says cluster munitions have arrived in Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:53 GMT

By LOLITA C. BALDOR (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Cluster munitions provided by the United States have now arrived in Ukraine, the Pentagon said Thursday.The munitions — which are bombs that open in the air and release scores of smaller bomblets — are seen by the U.S. as a way to get Kyiv critically needed ammunition to help bolster its offensive and push through Russian front lines. U.S. leaders debated the thorny issue for months, before President Joe Biden made the final decision last week.U.S. leaders have said the U.S. will send a version of the munition that has a reduced “dud rate,” meaning fewer of the smaller bomblets fail to explode. The unexploded rounds, which often litter battlefields and populated civilian areas, cause unintended deaths. U.S. officials said Washington will provide thousands of the rounds, but provided no specific numbers.Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims, the director of operations for the Joint staff, told reporters on Thursday...

Hollywood actors join screenwriters on strike in first joint walkout since 1960, halting production across the industry

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:53 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood actors join screenwriters on strike in first joint walkout since 1960, halting production across the industry.

12-year-old boy shot and killed in Boston, police ask public for help in the investigation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:53 GMT

A 12-year-old boy was shot and killed in Mattapan Thursday afternoon, according to police who are asking the public for help in the investigation.Boston Police responded to the area of 35 Fessenden St., in Mattapan for a reported shooting at around 2:06 p.m. The shooting appears to have happened inside the residence, a triple decker.The boy was transported to the hospital with “life-threatening injuries,” a Boston Police spokesperson said.Around 4 p.m., police during a press conference outside the residence announced that the boy had died. He was pronounced dead at an area hospital.“It’s a horrible tragedy for the entire city whenever any one of our young people is lost,” Mayor Michelle Wu said, adding, “And for a child of this age being lost to gun violence is a nightmare.”Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden called the boy’s death “tragic” and “absolutely unspeakable.”Hayden asked for the public’...