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Israel’s EU ambassador: To be relevant, EU should follow von der Leyen’s leadership

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:39 GMT

For the EU to play a bigger role in the war between Israel and Hamas, it should follow the example of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the Israeli ambassador to the EU said on Thursday.“I was surprised because she showed courage, she showed leadership, she raised the issue of humanitarian assistance … but she did it in the right manner,” Haim Regev said.  During her visit to Israel, lawmakers and diplomats sharply criticized von der Leyen for not explicitly calling on Israel to respect international law. Regev praised von der Leyen for keeping any critical messages she had for Israel behind closed doors, adding: “This is really exactly what the EU should do.”EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell has been vocal in criticizing Israel. Recently, he said Israel’s actions in Gaza may have already breached international law. The European Parliament called for a “humanitarian pause” on Thursday to provide food, water and medical aid to ...

Emergency crews respond to school bus crash in Wellesley 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:39 GMT

Emergency crews were on scene in Wellesley Thursday afternoon after a school bus was involved in a crash on Route 9, police said. Wellesley police in a post on X said the crash happened on the westbound side of Route 9 after the roadway’s interchange with Route 128. There were minor injuries reported and major traffic delays while police and fire personnel remained on scene around 4:30 p.m., according to police.Police said the bus was removed shortly before 4:45 p.m. Traffic was slowly inching past the crash site but police said delays continued “well into Newton.”No further information was immediately available.https://twitter.com/WellesleyPolice/status/1715105859020132673

More clouds and showers Friday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:39 GMT

It was nice to see the sun and feel the mild temperatures today! It’ll be a pleasant evening. It stays mild tomorrow, but comes with more clouds and a few showers. Scattered showers will be with us Saturday. Sunday, it’ll be cooler and gusty.Right now, we’re watching two areas of moisture that increase our rain chances over the next few days. A trough and area of low pressure will move east. A pocket of moisture near the Mid-Atlantic will become an area of low pressure tomorrow and get pulled north. These two will merge, and an area of low pressure will strengthen Sunday as it exits northeast. That’ll bring us a gusty breeze and cooler air.Tomorrow it’s mild again. Our temperatures aloft are warmer than today, meaning there’s the potential for more mild conditions. We’ll see more clouds tomorrow, so our temperatures should end in the mid/upper 60s for MetroWest. Temperatures west will be cooler in the upper 50s/low 60s. That direction is whe...

Jelly Belly sold to Ferrara Candy Company

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:39 GMT

Family-owned Jelly Belly, one of Fairfield, Calif.’s biggest employers, has been sold to Ferrara Candy Company in Chicago.Ferrara, which manufactures other popular sugar confections including Brach’s, Trolli and SweeTARTS candies, will take over 800 Jelly Belly employees across the world, including its facility in Fairfield. Executive Vice President of Global Operations and Distribution for Jelly Belly Jeff Brown will become CEO following the finalization of the acquisition.“Since our inception almost a century and a half ago, Jelly Belly Candy Company has been focused on providing exciting new flavors and continuous innovation, and we are extremely proud of the deep affinity we’ve built with our fans around the world,” said Lisa Brasher, President and Chief Executive Officer of Jelly Belly. “Ferrara’s interest reflects the substantial value of our storied brand, built on our team’s many successes, and the opportunity to drive continued growth. We look forward to being a part ...

Dalano Banton learned valuable lesson as he tries to stick with Celtics

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:39 GMT

Twenty-six seconds into the second half of last week’s preseason game against the 76ers, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla made a surprisingly quick substitution. After the first play, he sent Lamar Stevens to the scorer’s table to take out Dalano Banton.As Banton walked back to the bench, Mazzulla had some words to say to him. He wasn’t happy.On the previous play, Banton didn’t dive on a loose ball, which resulted in a jump ball and an extra 76ers possession. Mazzulla used the opportunity as a teaching moment to emphasize to the new Celtics guard the importance of playing hard. While the substitution was unusual, Banton felt it was warranted.“I can’t say it was surprising,” Banton told the Herald. “I feel like it was deserving.”To his credit, Banton processed the moment well. When he re-entered the game later in the third quarter, he played with energy. Mazzulla later praised Banton’s reception to a difficult moment.“He has a chance to be a really good player in this league, and I just lo...

Ticker: New claims for unemployment fall; Netflix subscribers surge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:39 GMT

Applications for unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level in eight months last week as businesses continue to retain workers despite elevated interest rates meant to cool the economy and labor market.Jobless claims fell by 13,000 to 198,000 for the week ending Oct. 14, the Labor Department reported. That’s the fewest since January and about 14,000 fewer than analysts expected.Despite the low level of weekly first-time jobless benefit applications, the number of Americans remaining on the unemployment rolls — known as “continuing claims” — jumped to its highest level in three months.Overall, 1.73 million people were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended Oct. 7, about 29,000 more than the previous week and the most since early July.Netflix subscribers surgeNetflix added 9 million subscribers during the third quarter, the Los Gatos, Calif.-based streaming video giant said, citing popular original shows and older licensed content, as well as the ...

MBTA knew years ago that GLX tracks were too narrow and needed repairs, Eng says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:39 GMT

MBTA officials knew as far back as April 2021 that large swaths of Green Line Extension tracks were defective and too narrow – but the agency opened the lines anyway – General Manager Phillip Eng said Thursday as he pledged that the public would not carry the burden of paying for needed repairs.The issue extends far beyond what was previously known and the MBTA made public this fall. Eng said half of the Union Square branch and 80% of the Medford-Tufts branch require repairs only a week after the MBTA said it had cleared slow zones that forced trains to run at walking speeds in some areas.“That does not mean that the trains are running today unsafely,” Eng said. “It means that we’re going to have the GLX Constructors re-guage the track to bring it back to what the project called for. And once we have a plan in place, we’ll share that with the public. And the goal is to make sure that we do that in the least impactful way, the most efficient way and put this behind us.”Go...

Anne Kirkpatrick, a veteran cop but newcomer to New Orleans, gets city council OK as police chief

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:39 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Anne Kirkpatrick, a veteran police official who has served as chief of departments in Spokane, Washington, and Oakland, California, won City Council approval as New Orleans’ new police chief Thursday on a 6-1 vote.Kirkpatrick had been serving as interim chief after Mayor LaToya Cantrell announced the appointment in June, pending council approval. Hailed as a reformer by her supporters, Kirkpatrick takes over a department that has been operating under a broad reform agreement with the U.S. Justice Department that was approved by a federal judge in 2013. It was the result of federal investigations growing out of deadly police shootings of civilians in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.She also must deal with a force that has been steadily dropping in manpower in recent years, even amid jumps in violent crime during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kirkpatrick succeeds Shaun Ferguson, who retired last year. Michelle Woodfork took over the chief’s duties on...

Peru imposes harsh penalties for stealing cellphones, including life in prison

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:39 GMT

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peru’s government will impose harsh penalties for those who steal a cellphone, including life in prison if a robber kills someone while stealing their mobile device.The changes to the country’s penal code, approved recently in Congress, went into effect Thursday.Peru’s penal code did not include prison time for stealing cellphones, but authorities say they decided to revisit the law after they saw an increasing rate of theft of mobile devices throughout the country.During the first nine months of 2023, about 1.2 million cellphones were reported stolen in Peru, according to the country’s telecommunication authority. That is more than 4,000 devices a day.The new penalties will send “a clear warning to all those who steal cellphones,” Interior Minister Vicente Romero said.At least 11 other crimes are punished with life in prison in Peru, including femicides, kidnapping of young children and sexual exploitation of minors.The new penal code...

Nebraska governor silent after dismissing news story because reporter was Chinese

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:39 GMT

Advocates and Nebraska lawmakers are defending a reporter after Gov. Jim Pillen said her story about environmental concerns at his farms wasn’t worth discussing because the reporter was from “communist China.”The Asian American Journalists Association, the chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and some state lawmakers have condemned Pillen and demanded that he apologize to Flatwater Free Press reporter Yanqi Xu.The comments, which received a flood of publicity this week when the online media organization’s executive director wrote a scathing column, is just the latest in the nation in which an elected official has personally attacked a reporter. The scrutiny the story is getting also comes amid a wave of pandemic-driven anti-Asian racism and new laws restricting foreign ownership of farmland.Pillen’s staff has not responded to emails or phone messages seeking comment, although he likely will be asked about it Friday during a news conference to di...