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Volleyball notebook: Needham boys keep rolling

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

The Ohio State and Harvard mens volleyball rosters verify what two-time defending Div. 1 champion Needham accomplished in each of the last two unbeaten seasons.Ben Putnam is now surrounded by teammates from California or the Midwest on the national championship-contending Buckeyes. Same for Owen Fanning through two years with the Crimson.Between them, two-time All-Scholastic Nolan Leary, two-time All-Scholastic Raymond Weng, and All-Scholastic contributions from Kevin Coppinger, Eli Blumenstein and Ethan McCarron, the Rockets were overwhelmingly loaded with talent. And after all but seniors Weng and McCarron graduated in either 2021 or 2022, the widespread belief in the boys volleyball community was that this year – while it would still be difficult to beat the Rockets – would be different.But at 15-0 so far with the state’s second-highest strength of schedule, Needham is proving that breaking down its success doesn’t come down to a just handful of star players.The current 61-game w...

Looking Glass: I don’t care what the captain is doing, get him out here!

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

About halfway through a flight from Barbados to South Florida, a passenger became enraged because he felt that flight attendants were not sufficiently deferential to him. He insulted them and demanded that they “get the Captain out here.” He shoved one flight attendant and pinned another up against the cockpit door before another passenger lifted him up and forced him back into his seat.WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THEY’RE MINE, OFFICER?: A woman claimed that the pants she was wearing were not hers when police found methamphetamine in her pocket after they pulled her over for a traffic violation in Bedford, Ind.HOW YOU GALS DOIN’?: Officials have released “frisky teenage” stallions into New Forest National Park in England for breeding purposes after keeping them in an isolated field for most of the year to help manage population numbers. They have urged visitors to give the animals a wide berth. “The stallions … haven’t seen a girl for ten months, (and the female) ponies haven’t...

San Diego breaks ground on nation’s first childcare center for police 

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Police Department broke ground Thursday on the nation’s first childcare center for police, said the City of San Diego.Officials say this historic project is meant to provide better childcare options for law enforcement while customizing services to their specific needs. More migrants arrive at border as donations continue According to the city, this program is led by the San Diego Police Officers Association with support from San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria. “This first-of-its-kind childcare facility is part of our comprehensive effort to ensure SDPD is a great department to work for,” said Gloria. “With careers in law enforcement being more demanding than ever, this childcare center will help alleviate our officers’ childcare challenges so they can focus on keeping San Diego one of the safest big cities in America."The city says this childcare center will offer police offers extended hours to accommodate non-traditional work schedules and affordable rates t...

Zelenskyy meets with Pope Francis at Vatican, says he sought backing for his peace plan

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

ROME (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had private talks with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Saturday, later saying he sought support for his peace plan from the pontiff , who in the past has offered to try to help end the war launched by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago.Zelenskyy held his hand over his heart and said it was a “great honor” to meet with the pope. Francis, using a cane for his knee problem, came to greet the Ukrainian president before ushering him into a papal studio near the Vatican’s audience hall. “Thank you for your visit,” Francis said, as their 40-minute-long meeting began.In a tweet after the papal audience, Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to Francis for “his personal attention to the tragedy of millions of Ukrainians.” He said he spoke with the pontiff “about the tens of thousands of deported (Ukrainian) children. We must make every effort to return them home.” Last month, Ukraine’s prime minister, Denys S...

German rail union cancels planned two-day strike after employers meet minimum wage demand

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A labor union representing more than 200,000 railway workers in Germany said Saturday that it was cancelling plans for a two-day strike after employers met one of its key demands.The EVG union had said earlier this week that its members would walk out for 50 hours from late Sunday until late Tuesday. Rail company Deutsche Bahn said this would have affected all long-distance travel during that period and warned that most regional trains also wouldn’t run.Deutsche Bahn had sought a court injunction against the strike Saturday, insisting that it had agreed to the union’s demand for the minimum wage of 12 euros an hour to be ensured through basic pay rather than with bonuses.Negotiations on a broader deal continue.The company has offered tax-free one-off payments and a raise of 10% for low- and medium-wage groups, as well as 8% for those on higher wages. EVG had demanded an increase of 12%, saying it wanted an agreement valid for 12 months rather than Deutsche ...

DeSantis and Trump competing to sway Iowa GOP activists at dueling events

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

SIOUX CENTER, Iowa (AP) — With hamburgers and handshakes, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sought to weaken former President Donald Trump’s grip on the Republican Party on Saturday as the GOP’s leading presidential prospects collided in battleground Iowa.DeSantis, expected to announce his 2024 presidential campaign any day, waded into Iowa’s hand-to-hand politicking at a congressman’s fundraiser in Sioux Center where several hundred conservatives ate burgers while surrounded by classic Corvettes. DeSantis later planned to attend a state party fundraiser in Cedar Rapids, while Trump, a candidate since November, hoped to demonstrate his political strength with a large outdoor rally in Des Moines, the capital.Although Trump and DeSantis were scheduled to be hundreds of miles apart, the split-screen moment in the GOP’s leadoff primary state marked a first for the two Republican powerhouses. The day offered an early preview of the match-up between Trump, well ahead...

3 men wanted in armed robbery, sexual assault of woman in North York

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

Toronto police are searching for three men that robbed and sexually assaulted a woman in North York.Authorities said a woman was walking in the Sentinel Road and Murray Ross Parkway area around 11 p.m. on Friday when three men approached her.It’s alleged one of the suspects was holding a knife. The three men then robbed the woman of her items.One of the men sexually assaulted the woman, police said. The suspects fled on foot and were last seen in the Four Winds Drive area west of Keele Street near Finch West Station.The first man is described as white, five-foot-seven and approximately 25 years old, with unkempt blonde hair and a thin build. He was last seen wearing a brown scarf around his face and possibly a green jacket.The second suspect is male, Black, five-foot-seven and approximately 25 years old, with short black hair and a thin build. He was last seen wearing a grey scarf around his face and a white t-shirt.The third suspect is described as white, five-foot-seven and ...

Lebanese and UAE foreign ministers speak after man dies in custody

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s foreign minister spoke Saturday with his counterpart in the United Arab Emirates following the death of a Lebanese citizen while in custody in the oil-rich Gulf nation, the foreign ministry said in a statement.Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry said in a short statement that Lebanon’s ambassador to the UAE, Fouad Dandan, spoke by telephone with the wife and brother of the late Ghazi Ezzedine, 55. The envoy later received a signed letter from the family saying the man died as a result of heart problems.Ezzedine’s death had earlier raised questions about his possible mistreatment by authorities in the UAE. Earlier this week, a committee of family members of Lebanese citizens detained in the UAE, including the man who died earlier this month, alleged in a statement that Ezzedine had died as a result of being tortured.The foreign ministry statement said UAE’s Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan told his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bouhabib that Ezzedine...

Quebec premier says raising politicians’ salaries by $30K requires ‘courage’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

Quebec Premier François Legault says courage was necessary to propose raising the salaries of provincial politicians by $30,000.Legault made the comments today as the Coalition Avenir Québec’s party convention got underway in Sherbrooke, Que., about 150 kilometres east of Montreal.His government tabled a bill this week that would raise the base pay for elected officials from $101,561 to $131,766, making it the highest among Canadian provincial politicians.The governing party’s caucus is unanimous in supporting this considerable increase, which was recommended by a committee earlier this year so as to attract strong candidates.Legault told reporters today the debate on the salaries of elected members of the national assembly had dragged on for too long and it was necessary to have the courage to increase their base pay.Most of the 125 elected members of the legislature already earn substantially more than base salary because of other duties, but everyone will see an incre...

'It sickens us': Rhode Island officials investigate 'racist and hateful' signs designed to mimic official notices

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

LINCOLN, R.I. (WPRI) — The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is investigating after "racist and hateful" signs were spotted in Lincoln Woods State Park.The metal signs, which were designed to look similar to the signs DEM posts throughout its state parks, were discovered attached to trees throughout Lincoln Woods."These are not DEM signs and the Division of Parks and Recreation did not post them," the DEM wrote in a social media post which included photos of two of the signs. "We strongly condemn racism and discrimination.""It’s particularly sad that vandals have targeted Lincoln Woods, Rhode Island's first state park which, since 1909, has existed to afford 'the greatest good for the greatest number,'" the post continued. Cashier charged in scheme to steal $3M lottery jackpot from unsuspecting customer DEM spokesperson Mike Healey said the signs were taken down immediately."It's discriminatory and it sickens us," Healey said. "We don't want to think for a ...