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Biden asks Congress for $40 billion to support Ukraine, replenish US disaster aid and bolster border

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:34 GMT

By LISA MASCARO and COLLEEN LONG (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Thursday asked Congress to provide more than $13 billion in emergency defense aid to Ukraine and an additional $8 billion for humanitarian support through the end of the year, another massive infusion of cash as the Russian invasion wears on and Ukraine pushes a counteroffensive against the Kremlin’s deeply entrenched forces.The package includes $12 billion to replenish the U.S. federal disaster funds at home after a deadly climate season of heat and storms, and funds to bolster the enforcement at the Southern border with Mexico, including money to curb the flow of deadly fentanyl. All told, it’s a $40 billion package.While the last such request from the White House for Ukraine funding was easily approved in 2022, there’s a different dynamic this time.A political divide on the issue has grown, with the Republican-led House facing enormous pressure to demonstrate support for the party’s l...

Patriots assign rookie numbers before preseason opener vs. Texans

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:34 GMT

The Patriots rookies once again have position-appropriate uniform numbers.The rookies, who have been wearing jersey Nos. 50-67 regardless of position, received their preseason uniform numbers before Thursday night’s preseason opener against the Houston Texans.These still might not be the official numbers the Patriots’ draft class and rookie free agents will be wearing when the regular season starts Sept. 10 at home against the Philadelphia Eagles.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | The Patriots’ 4 big questions heading into the preseason New England Patriots | Five things to watch in preseason opener New England Patriots | Patriots fill 90-man roster by signing free-agent linebacker New England Patriots | Patriots extra points: Rookie WR Demario Douglas explains his impressive weight gains New England Patriots | Patriots training camp Day 14: Mike Gesicki dazzles, Trent Brown returns and will the sta...

NYC mayor calls on Biden to offset $12B in costs for housing migrants [+gallery]

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:34 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — With thousands of migrants still arriving in New York City, Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday renewed his appeal to the federal government to help the city avert a budgetary crisis as expenses mount — now projected at $12.2 billion by the end of next year — because of the influx of people coming from the southern U.S. border seeking temporary care and shelter.“Our compassion may be limitless, but our resources are not. This is the budgetary reality we are facing if we don’t get the additional support we need,” Adams said during an address that sought to put the onus on the Biden administration to help relieve his city from the growing financial burden.“New Yorkers did not create an international humanitarian crisis. But our city’s residents have been left to deal with this crisis almost entirely on our own,” the mayor said.The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently dispatched a small team to New York City to help determine how t...

Celtics announce 2023 preseason schedule, open Oct. 8 vs. 76ers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:34 GMT

The Celtics announced their 2023 preseason schedule on Thursday, and they’ll return to the TD Garden parquet floor on Oct. 8 against the 76ers.As opposed to the last two seasons when they played four, the C’s will have a five-game preseason slate, with two home games and three home games. They’ll play a home-and-home with both the Sixers and Knicks before finishing off the preseason against the Hornets. All five preseason games will be broadcasted on NBC Sports Boston.The regular season schedule has not been released, but is expected to be announced later this month.Here’s the Celtics’ preseason schedule:Sunday, Oct. 8: Celtics vs. 76ers, 6 p.m.Monday, Oct. 9: Celtics at Knicks, 7:30 p.m.Wednesday, Oct. 11: Celtics at 76ers, 7 p.m.Tuesday, Oct. 17: Celtics vs. Knicks, 7:30 p.m.Thursday, Oct. 19: Celtics at Hornets, 7 p.m.

Howie Carr: Get real! Lt. Gov. Driscoll wants Massachusetts families to house migrants

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:34 GMT

Is the state of emergency over yet?I mean, it’s been a couple of days now since the governor and lieutenant governor of Massachusetts asked their big-hearted Democrat constituents to step up and offer free room and board in their gated communities to the teeming hordes of Third World criminals yearning to live, er, breathe free.Surely the crisis has passed.Every trust-funder in the Bay State surely must be stepping up to the plate, because we’ve all seen the yard signs outside their $5 million mansions.“Hate Has No Home Here.”Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll may have put it most brilliantly at her press conference:“If you have an extra room or suite in your home, please consider hosting a family.”An extra suite! It used to be that some real-estate listings would prominently mention the home’s “in-law suite.”Now, the Commonwealth wants you to give foreign criminals their own “outlaw suites.”So the Democrats are asking their compassionate comrades to step up to the plate. Driscoll continued:“Saf...

Orioles place Danny Coulombe, club’s top left-handed reliever, on injured list with left biceps tendinitis

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:34 GMT

After allowing five runs in back-to-back losses to the Houston Astros, the Orioles’ third-best reliever is heading to the injured list.Danny Coulombe, the best left-hander in Baltimore’s bullpen, was placed on the 15-day injured list Wednesday morning with biceps tendinitis, the Orioles announced before their matinee against the Astros. The IL stint is retroactive to Aug. 9. Right-hander Joey Krehbiel was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to replace Coulombe on the 26-man roster.Manager Brandon Hyde said the hope is Coulombe can return to the Orioles “right when the IL stint is over.” The earliest Coulombe can return is Aug. 24.Coulombe was a nondescript addition at the end of spring training when the Orioles acquired him from the Minnesota Twins for cash. But the veteran lefty has turned out to be one of Hyde’s most trusted relievers, often pitching in high-leverage situations before the All-Star duo of Yennier Cano and Félix Bautista. In 47 appearan...

Mark Vientos details the mental jump from the minors to the Mets: ‘Things happen super quick’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:34 GMT

As Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and mostly anyone of value got shipped out the door at the trade deadline — in exchange for prospects LuisAngel Acuna, Drew Gilbert and others — developing young talent became the priority for the foreseeable future in Flushing.By trotting out inexperienced prospects every day, growing pains are expected with blue-chip youngsters playing at the highest level of competition on a consistent basis for the first time. However, the adjustment period may not necessarily be from the increased level of talent in between the lines.“I feel like over here at this level, it could be a hiccup, you could cough the wrong way and then the next second someone hits a ball at you and then you misplay it. Then the next at-bat you strike out. It’s like things happen super quick,” rookie Mark Vientos told the Daily News.“With here it’s just how quickly can you get it out of your mind. How quickly can you be like alright onto the ...

Maui surveys the wreckage caused by the deadliest US wildfire in years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:34 GMT

WAILUKU, Hawaii (NEXSTAR) — The search of the wildfire wreckage on the Hawaiian island of Maui on Thursday revealed a wasteland of burned out homes and obliterated communities as firefighters battled the stubborn blaze that has already claimed 36 lives, making it the deadliest in the U.S. in recent years.Fueled by a dry summer and strong winds from a passing hurricane, the fire started Tuesday and took the island by surprise, racing through parched growth and neighborhoods in the historic town of Lahaina, a tourist destination that dates to the 1700s and is the biggest community on the island's west side. PHOTOS: Intensifying fires wreak havoc on Maui Maui County said late Wednesday that at least 36 people had died, making it the deadliest U.S. blaze since the 2018 Camp Fire in California, which killed at least 85 people and laid waste to the town of Paradise. The Hawaii toll could rise, though, as rescuers reach parts of the island that had been unre...

Nuclear regulator weighs decision as First Nations irate over Chalk River waste site

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:34 GMT

OTTAWA — Several First Nations are sounding the alarm about a proposed nuclear waste facility near the Ottawa River, as Canada’s nuclear regulator decides whether the project should be approved. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission held a final public hearing about the matter on Thursday after pausing its decision to move ahead with the site last year amid the criticism.“When building a camp and you need potable drinking water and you build a well, you don’t go and build your outhouse beside that well,” said councillor Justin Roy of Kebaowek First Nation.“That is what (the Near Surface Disposal Facility) is trying to do here.” The facility is slated to be built on the Chalk River Laboratories site in Deep River, Ont., about 180 kilometres northwest of Ottawa. The lab tests nuclear technology.The site sits within a kilometre of the Ottawa River, or the Kichi Sibi as it is known in the Algonquin language, and is located near sacred sites at Oiseau...

17-year-old suspect in the New York stabbing of a dancer is indicted on a hate-crime murder charge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:34 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A 17-year-old was indicted on a hate-crime murder charge in a stabbing that followed taunts and confrontation over a group of men dancing shirtless to Beyoncé as they gassed up their car, prosecutors said Thursday.Prosecutors concluded O’Shae Sibley’s death was motivated by anti-Black and anti-LGBTQ bias, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said.“It’s clear to me, under the circumstances of this case, that in substantial part, this attack was caused because people were offended by Mr. Sibley and his friends dancing and celebrating,” Gonzalez said.The suspect is due in court Friday to answer the charge. It mirrors the charge on which he was arrested last week. If convicted, he faces at least 20 years in prison.The Associated Press sent a text message to his attorney, Mark Pollard, seeking comment. Pollard’s voicemail box was full. The teen’s grandmother told the Daily News he was defending himself. Prosecutor’s have not released the suspect’s na...