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OBF: No reason to cue the Duck Boats after Chaim Bloom’s deadline dud

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:07:05 GMT

Where have you gone, Dave Dombrowski?Red Sox Nation turns its lonely eyes to you, Ben Cherington.Theo Epstein has up and gone away.Hey, hey, hey.The rose is long off the Bloom.Red Sox fans were left holding a fistful of thorns after the trade deadline passed Tuesday evening.Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom didn’t make a splash. He didn’t stir the pot. He barely caused a ripple.The Red Sox acquired Luis Urias from the Milwaukee Brewers organization and sent him to Worcester.Cue the Duck Boats.For the next group of tourists.Even before the 6 p.m. trade deadline, the Red Sox had become an obligatory inconvenience. They were not the story of the day. Top billing continued to be focused on the doings at Gillette Stadium.Some of us even celebrated the first anniversary of sports betting being passed by the state legislature.Over 76.5 wins is all we ask of this team.The post-mortem spin hit 35,0000 RPM on NESN. No less than a minute after the deadline passed with no action, the name “Tre...

Foreign nationals evacuate Niger as regional tensions rise

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:07:05 GMT

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Foreign nationals lined up outside an airport in Niger’s capital Wednesday morning to wait for a French military evacuation flight, while a regional bloc continued talks about its response to the military coup that took place last week.France, Italy and Spain all announced evacuations for their citizens and other Europeans in the capital, Niamey, following concerns that they could become trapped after soldiers detained President Mohamed Bazoum and seized power. The United States has yet to announce plans for an evacuation, but some of its citizens have left the with the help of the Europeans. France’s first two flights evacuated more than 350 French nationals as well as other people from Niger and at least 10 other countries, the French Foreign Ministry said. The Paris airport authority said two more evacuation flights are scheduled to land Wednesday afternoon.Some 1,200 French citizens are registered at the French embassy, said the Foreign Ministry, and a...

Russian drone strikes on the Odesa region cause fires at port near Romania

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:07:05 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian troops hit port infrastructure in southern Ukraine with Shahed drones near the border with NATO member Romania overnight, the Ukrainian military and prosecutor-general’s office said Wednesday, damaging a grain elevator and causing a fire at facilities that transport the country’s crucial grain exports.Since leaving a deal that allowed Ukraine to export grain to world markets through the city of Odesa, Russia has hammered the country’s ports with strikes. Since July 17, Russian forces have fired dozens of drones and missiles at the port of Odesa and the region’s river ports, which are being used as alternative routes.The prosecutor-general’s office said the strikes hit in the area of the Danube River, which forms part of the Ukraine-Romania border. It didn’t immediately give further details. Three Ukrainian ports along the Danube are currently operating.“The goal of the enemy was clearly the facilities of the ports and ...

US soldier dead after a truck hit his military vehicle on a German highway

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:07:05 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A U.S. soldier died when a truck hit his Stryker armored vehicle on a highway in southern Germany, the U.S. military said Wednesday.U.S. Army Europe said in a statement that the accident happened on Tuesday near Tirschenreuth in Bavaria. It said that the civilian semi-truck hit the Stryker as it merged onto the A93 highway.Civilian medics treated the soldier, who was with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, and transported him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. No other soldiers traveling in the military vehicle were injured, the army said. It added that it would provide no further details pending notification of next of kin.The Associated Press

A powerful typhoon pounds Japan’s Okinawa and injures more than 20 people as it moves toward China

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:07:05 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — A powerful typhoon slammed Okinawa and other islands in southwestern Japan Wednesday with high winds injuring more than 20 people as it moved west making its way toward mainland China.Typhoon Khanun, which means jackfruit in Thai, was heading west at speeds of 10 kph (6 mph), packing surface winds of up to 180 kph (111 mph). It was at sea southwest of Okinawa’s main island, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.Twenty-two people were injured, most of them minor, according to the Okinawa prefectural government. The typhoon damaged homes and forced transportation to halt and stores to close as it slowly moved west.In the Ogimi village in northeastern Okinawa, a man was found without vital signs after a garage collapsed on him due to violent wind, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said. Several other homes were also damaged.Hundreds of domestic and international flights in and out of the Naha airport were canceled, and public transportation, including buses, l...

Irizarry walks it off for Amsterdam; Mohawks advance to fifth straight PGCBL Championship

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:07:05 GMT

AMSTERDAM, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Amsterdam Mohawks... they like to make things interesting. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! On the heels of a wild, back-and-forth East Division semi-final game with Saugerties Monday night, the 'Hawks followed up with an equally thrilling Divisional final against the Utica Blue Sox Tuesday night at Shuttleworth Park. It took 10 innings to get the job done, but thanks to an Alex Irizarry walk-off squeeze play, Amsterdam is headed to a fifth straight Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League Championship.Slow starts have plagued Keith Griffin's squad in their last two outings. They had to overcome a two-run deficit against the Glens Falls Dragons Friday, and climb out of a three-run hole against the Stallions. Well, that was not the case Tuesday night.Amsterdam snatched two early runs in the second inning. After a leadoff walk to designated hitter Cam Gurney, center fielder Jalen DeBose followed up w...

ValleyCats score five unanswered runs to take series opener

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:07:05 GMT

TROY, NY (NEWS10) - The Tri-City ValleyCats (43-24) had their third comeback victory in the last four games, and won their eighth straight game after defeating the Empire State Greys (12-54) 8-4 on Tuesday at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Tri-City got on the board in the third. Michael Barker issued a walk to Cito Culver. Jakob Goldfarb singled before Oscar Campos launched a three-run homer. His third long ball of the season gave the ValleyCats a 3-0 lead.Empire State stormed back in the fifth. Luis Atiles, JR DiSarcina, and Jordan Scott singled off Elijah Gill to load the bases. Gill nearly worked his way out of the jam after striking out Zach Whalin and inducing a 5-2 putout from Quentin Holmes. The southpaw was ahead 2-2 on Jaylen Smith, but barely missed the strike zone on back-to-back pitches, and ended up walking in a run. Afterward, Manny Garcia ripped a three-run triple off Tyler Jeans to...

Agriculture: Commission approves a new geographical indication from Bulgaria - ‘Българскобялосаламуреносирене / c'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:07:05 GMT

The Commission approved the addition of ‘Българско бяло саламурено сирене / Bulgarsko byalo salamureno sirene' – as Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) from Bulgaria.'Българско бяло саламурено сирене / Bulgarsko byalo salamureno sirene' is a fermented milk product made from whole cow's, sheep's, goat's, buffalo's or mixed milk with the addition of starter cultures containing Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and Lactobacillus casei, as well as symbiotic starters from the bacteria Lactoba-cillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, obtained by curdling with yeast for cheese, that has undergone necessary treatment, matured in brine and is in-tended for consumption.This new denomination will be added to the list of 1,648 agricultural products already protected. The list of all protected geographical indications can be found in the eAmbrosia database. More information is available online at Quality Schemes and on the GIView portal.

Growing concern in Washington for protection of rights of Iranian dissidents in Albania

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:07:05 GMT

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on 26 July to discuss several pending nominations to State Department positions, including that of Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. In his questioning of nominee James Obrien, the Committee’s Chairman Robert Menendez raised the issue of persons seeking refuge in his area of concern, and made specific reference to a community of approximately 3,000 Iranian exiles who have been residing in Albania for the past several years.“On June the 20th, the Albanian government raided Camp Ashraf 3,” Menendez specified, adding that there have been “different accounts” of the raid.According to news reports, one resident was killed in the raid and a number of others suffered injuries requiring hospitalization. Albania agreed to host thousands of members of the main Iranian opposition movement, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), beginning a few years ago.Menendez appeared skeptical about the rai...

Word Game: Aug. 2, 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:07:05 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — PHENOMENA (PHENOMENA: fuh-NOM-ih-na: Rare or significant facts or events.)Average mark 26 wordsTime limit 40 minutesCan you find 33 or more words in PHENOMENA? The list will be published tomorrow.YESTERDAY’S WORD — SUBVERT stub suer suet sure user best brut brute burst bust verb vertu vest rebus rebut rest rube ruse rust true tube tuberTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible.4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.Contact Word Game creator Kathleen Saxe at [email protected].