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GOP’s Scalise ends his bid to become House speaker after failing to secure the votes to win gavel

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:21 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Steve Scalise has ended his bid to become House speaker after failing to secure the votes to win the gavel.Scalise told GOP colleagues at a closed-door meeting late Thursday of his decision.Next steps are uncertain as the House is now essentially closed while the Republican majority tries to elect a speaker after ousting Kevin McCarthy from the job.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.WASHINGTON (AP) — Nominated to be House speaker, Rep. Steve Scalise on Thursday ran straight into a familiar, intensifying Republican problem: Skeptical GOP colleagues are refusing to give their support, denying him the majority vote needed to win the gavel.Frustrations mounted as the crisis deepened and Republicans lost another day without a House speaker. Scalise must peel off more than 100 votes, mostly from those who backed his chief rival, Rep. Jim Jordan, the Judiciary Committee chairman favored by hard-liners, who announced he was no longe...

Israel has lost my sympathy, says Croatia’s president

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:21 GMT

Croatian President Zoran Milanović said he doesn’t sympathize with Israel because of its reprisal actions in Gaza after last weekend’s Hamas attacks, and criticized displays of the Israeli flag in his country.In comments to media on Thursday, Milanović hit out at Israel over its retaliatory strikes in Gaza, which have so far killed more than 1,500 people according to Gaza’s health ministry, and called the Croatian foreign ministry’s decision to display the Israeli flag outside its building in solidarity with the country “an idiotic move.”“With all my sympathy for Israel, which unfortunately they lost within 15 minutes … there is no place for other flags in Croatia, except in strictly regulated situations,” Milanović said. “I condemned [Hamas’] murders, I even expressed disgust and abhorrence, but the right to defense does not include the right to revenge and the killing of civilians,” he added.Israel’s str...

Two seriously injured after head-on collision in Ipswich

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:21 GMT

Two people were seriously injured after a head-on collision in Ipswich, officials said.Sky7HD captured the crash at 330 High Street, where a Subaru and Hyundai collided after one vehicle crossed the center line. The driver of the Subaru, an 83-year-old Maine woman, and one of her passengers were extricated from the vehicle and flown to a Boston hospital.The second passenger of the Subaru, along with the 54-year-old Hyundai driver from Rowley and his 13-year-old daughter, were all transported to local hospitals.The crash remains under investigation, Ipswich police said.

Baltimore-born comedian Stavros Halkias, appearing at The Lyric, is more than his Ravens-loving ‘Ronnie’ persona

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:21 GMT

Stavros Halkias wants you to know he’s more than just Ronnie.The comedian, a native of Greektown, has picked up a robust social media following thanks in part to his embodiment of Ronnie, a Ravens-loving, obscenity-spitting, Dundalk- or Essex-residing character who posts video recaps after each of the team’s games. When the Ravens are winning, according to Ronnie, they’re headed straight to the Super Bowl. But when they lose, as they did against the Pittsburgh Steelers last week, Ronnie is apoplectic.Ronnie is also the reason, Halkias suspects, that all six Baltimore shows of his new standup act, the Fat Rascal Tour, are nearly sold out. His residence at The Lyric kicks off Thursday night at 7 p.m., with two shows a night scheduled through Saturday. The tour comes as Halkias’ career is skyrocketing, with a debut special, “Live at the Lodge Room,” garnering more than 5 million views on YouTube and more in the works.“I never expected to...

Bruins notebook: All-Centennial team unveiled

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:21 GMT

From Stanley Cup winners to the scrappers and everyone in between, the Bruins’ All-Centennial team represented all eras of B’s hockey.Unveiled on Thursday night at the B’s Gala at the Fairmont Copley Plaza, the team of 20 players – 12 forwards, six defensemen and two goalies – consisted of members from all six Stanley Cup teams, some current Bruins and the wildly popular Lunch Pail AC team that was far more talented than the nickname would indicate.The top 20 players came from a paring down of the “Historic 100” that was voted on by Bruins’ media members and hockey historians. The Herald had a vote on the committee. There were some obvious no-brainers – Bobby Orr, Ray Bourque, Phil Esposito, to name a few – but also some tough tough cuts.Current captain Brad Marchand is fifth among Bruins forwards in all-time points – and counting – and is one of the 12 forwards on the Centennial team. But he’s still star-struck at events like the ones that have been st...

1 of 2 Colorado officers convicted in death of Elijah McClain after police stop, ketamine injection

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:21 GMT

BRIGHTON, Colo. (AP) — Jurors convicted a Denver-area police officer of homicide Thursday and acquitted another of all charges in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, a Black man whose name became a rallying cry in protests over racial injustice in policing.Aurora police officer Randy Roedema was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault by a 12-person jury. They found officer Jason Rosenblatt not guilty.Roedema, who kept his head bowed after the verdict was read, faces up to three years in prison on the more serious homicide charge. Rosenblatt hugged his supporters as he walked out of court.McClain’s mother listened to the verdict from the front row, where Attorney General Phil Weiser had his hand on her shoulder. Sheneen McClain held her right hand high in a raised fist as she left the courtroom. She expressed disappointment in the verdict.“This is the divided states of America, and that’s what happens,” she said as she walked away from the court house.Mc...

Unpublished works and manuscript by legendary Argentine writer Cortázar sell for $42,120 at auction

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:21 GMT

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — A buyer from Argentina paid $42,120 for a manuscript of works, including seven unpublished stories, by legendary Argentine writer Julio Cortázar at an auction Thursday in the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo.The bundle of 60-year-old sheets bound together with metal fasteners bearing the inscription “Julio Cortázar. Historias de Cronopios y de Famas. Paris. 1952” was the basis for the writer’s iconic “Cronopios and Famas” book, published in 1962.The buyer paid $36,000, plus the auction house’s 17% commission, for the typewritten manuscript containing 46 short stories that make up the heart of what ended up becoming one of Cortázar’s most famous works.Of the total stories, 35 were published in “Cronopios and Famas.” Some were printed exactly as found in the manuscript that was once thought to be lost forever. It was discovered in Montevideo last year, while others underwent editorial changes. Three other stories were published in magazines before Cortáza...

South African authorities target coal-smuggling gang they say contributed to a power crisis

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:21 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South African authorities said they conducted raids across five provinces Thursday to break up a coal-smuggling syndicate they blamed for stealing more than $26 million in coal, degrading state-owned power plants and contributing to an electricity crisis.The criminal gang diverted trucks carrying high-grade coal to power stations, stealing the coal to sell, and replacing it with sub-standard product, the country’s tax and revenue agency said in a statement. The substandard coal has caused crippling damage to the country’s power plants, authorities said. The South African Revenue Service worked with other law enforcement agencies to carry out the search and seizure operations in the Gauteng, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and Limpopo provinces. No arrests have been made yet, national police spokesperson Brig. Athlenda Mathe said.Africa’s most advanced economy is in the midst of a power crisis that has resulted in scheduled rolling blackouts...

North Korea raises specter of nuclear strike over US aircraft carrier’s arrival in South Korea

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:21 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea lashed out Friday at the arrival of a U.S. aircraft carrier battle group in South Korea, calling it a provocation and again raising the specter of using nuclear weapons to defend itself.Emboldened by its advancing nuclear arsenal, North Korea has increasingly issued threats to use such weapons preemptively. But the North is still outgunned by U.S. and South Korean forces, and experts say it is unlikely to use its nukes first, though it will continue to upgrade those arms without returning to diplomacy for the time being.The North’s latest nuclear threat came a day after the USS Ronald Reagan and its battle group arrived at South Korea’s southeastern port of Busan, following U.S.-South Korean-Japanese naval exercise in international waters earlier this week.South Korean defense officials said the carrier is to be docked at Busan for five days as part of an agreement to increase the temporary deployments of powerful U.S. military assets in respons...

Movie Review: In the elated ‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,’ every seat is the best seat in the house

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:21 GMT

It opens with a clock counting down until show time — the dropped stomach, rollercoaster slowly encroaching its apex sensation — and then, a gentle fake out. Taylor Swift is heard before she is seen. “It’s been a long time…” her voice carries. Then the drop hits: an abridged performance of “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince” into “Cruel Summer,” a track that TikTok breathed new life into four years after its initial release on her 2019 album “Lover.”This is the moment it should become clear: “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” film is a near exact replica of her blockbuster concert performance, which recaps all 10 of her studio albums across 17 years of recorded work. There will be no narrative breaks, no behind-the-scenes footage, no additional ornamentation of the monolithic set (with the exception of a few CGI effects and album title cards to introduce each epoch.) The film delivers on the promise of its title: this is the Eras Tour in full — conveniently viewable ...