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Callahan: Bill Belichick can’t beat Cowboys coaching conservatively

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:47 GMT

FOXBORO — Anyone else getting déjà vu?A new Patriots season kicks off, full of promise and hope. The Pats start slowly, inviting outside panic. Then here come the Cowboys, proud and talented, offering a stepping stone back to .500 and perhaps even greater things for Bill Belichick and Mac Jones.Two years ago, the Patriots failed to take that step, the same that awaits them Sunday. Belichick tied their shoelaces together with conservative game management over a 35-29 loss, while Dallas walked off on a long CeeDee Lamb touchdown in overtime.To review: leading 14-10 with 1:30 left in the first half, Belichick opted to kneel out the clock instead of pursuing a chance to score right before halftime and on the first possession of the second half. The decision ran contrary to most of the calls he made from 2001-18, when the Pats led the NFL in double-scores. His offense had averaged 7.5 yards per play to that point and only needed 35 more yards for a field goal.In overtime, Belichick punte...

Unifor sets Oct. 9 deadline for contract talks with General Motors

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:47 GMT

TORONTO — Unifor has set a deadline for its contract talks with General Motors for 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 9.Negotiations between the union and the U.S. automaker resumed this week after workers at Ford Motor Co. of Canada voted to approve a new contract.The GM talks cover about 4,300 workers at the automaker’s St. Catharines Powertrain Plant, the Oshawa Assembly Complex and the Woodstock Parts Distribution Centre. Unifor is looking to use its agreement at Ford as a pattern agreement in its talks with GM and Stellantis.The Ford deal included wage hikes, pension and benefit improvements, and special EV transition measures for workers at Ford’s assembly plant in Oakville, Ont.It also added two new paid holidays. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2023.The Canadian Press

Hong Kong and Macao police arrest 4 more people linked to JPEX cryptocurrency platform

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:47 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Police in Hong Kong and Macao said Friday they arrested four more people linked to the cryptocurrency platform JPEX, which is suspected to have defrauded more than 2,400 people of almost $200 million.The arrests bring the total number of people detained so far in the case to 18. Police have received 2,417 reports involving more than 1.5 billion Hong Kong dollars ($191.6 million) in alleged losses on the platform.Hong Kong police said in a news conference Friday they had arrested two men, one of whom had been trying to destroy documents with paper shredders and bleach. Cash and gold worth nearly $9 million Hong Kong dollars ($1.15 million) were also seized at three apartments in the latest police operation.Two other men were detained in Macao, with authorities seizing over 14 million Hong Kong dollars ($1.8 million) in cash and valuables, as well as money in a casino account. Police said the two had visited Macao many times in September.Assistant police commissioner ...

The far right has been feuding with McCarthy for weeks. Here’s how it’s spiraling into a shutdown

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:47 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — With little time left to prevent a government shutdown, the House is in a familiar position: effectively paralyzed as conservatives feud with Speaker Kevin McCarthy over matters large and small.McCarthy has pushed the Republican conference to embrace a short-term funding plan that would include a sweeping Republican proposal for the southern border. But a small group of hard-line conservatives has defied the speaker in a quest to get rid of stopgap funding plans, known as continuing resolutions, even if opposing them means forcing a government shutdown.It’s left McCarthy at an impasse. The California congressman will likely be left with the political damage of a shutdown unless he turns to Democrats for help in passing a bipartisan bill. But working with Democrats would give hard-right Republicans reason to remove him as speaker.Here’s what to know about the House Republicans’ conflict and where it may be headed:WHAT ARE THEY FIGHTING OVER?At its ...

Extremist attack kills at least 12 soldiers in Niger as jihadi violence increases post-coup

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:47 GMT

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — An attack by Islamic extremists in western Niger killed at least a dozen soldiers and wounded seven others, the West African nation’s military junta said. The soldiers were on a mission in the Tillaberi region town of Kandadji when hundreds of jihadis on motorcycles attacked them Thursday, Gen. Salifou Mody, Niger’s defense minister, said in a statement. The wounded were evacuated to military hospitals, the statement said.The junta claimed that military personnel killed a hundred extremists and destroyed their motorcycles and weapons. The Associated Press was not able to independently verify the claim. Niger has battled a jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group for years. Attacks have increased since mutinous soldiers toppled the country’s democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, in July. During the month after the junta seized power, violence primarily linked to the extremists soared by more than 40%, accordin...

Spanish griffon vultures are released into the wild in Cyprus to replenish the dwindling population

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:47 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Wildlife authorities and conservationists in Cyprus on Friday released seven imported griffon vultures to the wild after implanting tracking devices in hopes of ensuring the survival of the birds that are threatened with extinction on the island nation.A further seven vultures will be released in a week’s time. All 14 birds arrived last March and have spent several months acclimating. They were gifted to Cyprus by the autonomous community of Extremadura in Spain which hosts 90-95% of all vultures in Europe.Cyprus Game and Fauna Service spokesman Nicos Kasinis told The Associated Press the tracking devices are necessary to observe whether the young birds are integrating well in the first, crucial weeks with the island’s 29 other griffon vultures. Officials will monitor whether they’re frequenting the same feeding and watering areas.Griffon vultures are a resident species in Cyprus but their population has dwindled to dangerously low numbers. The local pop...

Police searching for man who allegedly shot and killed dog in downtown Toronto

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:47 GMT

Police are on the hunt for a man who allegedly shot and killed someone’s pet dog in downtown Toronto earlier this week.Toronto police say officers were called to Barbara Hall Park near Church and Wellesley streets around 11 p.m. Tuesday for reports of a shooting.It is alleged that two men got into an argument and the suspect initially left the area. The suspect returned a short time later with a gun before shooting and killing the other man’s dog.The suspect fled the area before officers arrived.Toronto police Const. Victor Kwong told CityNews earlier this week they believe the two men were unknown to each other prior to the argument. Kwong said the deceased dog was three years old, but the breed is unknown.Police say they are looking for a white man in his early 20s with curly blonde hair.Investigators are hoping to speak with any witnesses. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact police.

When will we know if the government is shutting down?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:47 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Lawmakers still have time – but not much – to avoid a government shutdown. The deadline is fast approaching and Congress appears to be at an impasse. Lawmakers have until the clock strikes midnight on Saturday night (or early Sunday morning, depending on how you look at it) to reach a deal. Otherwise, a government shutdown will be triggered. We may not know for sure whether the government will shut down until the final moments before the deadline. In years past, negotiations have come down to the wire. Thursday evening, the Associated Press reported a shutdown "appeared all but inevitable." How would a government shutdown affect national parks? While the Senate has proposed a bipartisan measure that would temporarily fund the government until Nov. 17, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was still scrambling to unite the divisions within his party. “Put your money on me; we're going to get this done,” McCarthy said in a CNBC interview. “I think we can work through t...

TikTok videos promoting steroid use have millions of views, report says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:47 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — TikTok has become a key marketing channel for vendors promoting steroids and other bodybuilding drugs to millions of the app's users, according to a report released Thursday that the social media company disputes.In the study, the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate says popular videos encouraging use of the products for aesthetic or athletic gain are being posted by influencers who often downplay the risks associated with them. It follows a warning issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April about performance-enhancing drugs being marketed to teenagers and young adults on social media platforms.“They’re being marketed to young men by influencers who are deliberately saying, ‘If you want to be like Captain America, you’ve got to take these drugs’,” CCDH founder and CEO Imran Ahmed said.The findings from the study show TikTok videos — under certain hashtags — promoting what researchers called “steroid-like drugs” have racked up more than 587...

What you should know as fall vaccinations against COVID, flu and RSV get underway

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:47 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Updated COVID-19 vaccines may be getting a little easier for adults to find but they’re still frustratingly scarce for young children. Health officials said Thursday the kid shots have started shipping — and reminded most everyone to get a fall flu shot too.About 2 million Americans have gotten the new COVID-19 shot in the two weeks since its approval despite early barriers from insurance companies and other glitches, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.For the first time, the U.S. has vaccines to fight a trio of viruses that cause fall and winter misery. But health officials worry that shot fatigue and hassles in getting them will leave too many people needlessly unprotected.“We need to use them,” Dr. Mandy Cohen, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Thursday. “Right now is the right time.”A flu vaccination and that updated COVID-19 shot are urged for just about everyone, starting with babies as ...