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ECB’s display of solidarity with Israel sparks internal furor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:51 GMT

FRANKFURT — Tensions over Europe’s stance on the Israeli-Hamas conflict, which have already rattled the European Commission, have spread to its central bank.The extra twist in Frankfurt is that some staff not only feel the ECB is taking the wrong position, but that it shouldn’t take a position at all.On October 9, with the shock of the terrorist attacks on Israel two days earlier still raw, the ECB put out a message on social media saying: “We stand with the people of Israel,” showing a picture of the Israeli flag flanked by European flags in the central bank’s lobby. It wasn’t clear whether the post was issued in the name of the organization as a whole, of the governing council, or just the six-strong executive board. Asked to clarify, an ECB spokesperson declined to answer directly, but gave a response markedly more nuanced than the original tweet, saying: “The ECB is shocked and saddened by the unfolding events in the Middle East. Our hearts go out to the in...

Putin’s (still) not dead, Kremlin insists

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:51 GMT

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Friday denied rumors of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s death which had spread on social media, calling them a hoax.Information that Putin had died and that a doppelgänger had taken over his post is “an absurd information canard,” Peskov told Russian state-owned newswire RIA Novosti on Friday.This is the second time this week that the Kremlin official has had to dismiss speculation about Putin’s health.An unverified report that Putin had gone into cardiac arrest, published on a Telegram channel on Sunday evening, got the rumor mill going — forcing Peskov to firmly deny the claim.“Everything is fine with him,” Peskov originally said on Tuesday.There is a great deal of secrecy around the personal life and health of Putin — who seeks to project a strongman image to the public — which has been a topic of speculation for years.So far, Russian authorities have almost invariably denied the rumors surrounding Putin...

Thousands of Mainers still under lockdown order as hunt continues for Robert Card, Maine mass shooting suspect

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:51 GMT

LEWISTON, Maine — Thousands of Mainers were still under lockdown orders Friday morning as law enforcement entered their second full day searching for a 40-year-old man suspected of committing a pair of mass shootings here.Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for eight counts of murder for Robert Card, the man they said allegedly entered Sparetime Recreation and Schemengees Bar and Grille Restaurant Wednesday and killed 18 people and injured 13 others.The shootings have put a pause on life in Lewiston and the surrounding communities of Lisbon and Bowdoin, where restaurants, shops, schools, and nearly all businesses have shuttered their doors as police look for Card.Police surrounded a home on Meadow Road in Bowdoin Thursday night with heavily armed law enforcement officials and tactical trucks. A searchlight was cast on the house, and police at one point commanded Card to come outside if he was in the building.But as the evening progressed, police eventually left the scene. Main...

Patriots mailbag: What’s JuJu Smith-Schuster’s future with Demario Douglas emerging?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:51 GMT

The Patriots are currently sitting with a surplus of wide receivers on their 53-man roster.After signing Jalen Reagor to the 53-man roster, the Patriots are sitting with seven wide receivers on their active roster. That’s leading to some questions from fans about what the team has planned for the future.Let’s get into questions about JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton, future needs and more in this week’s mailbag.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Callahan: What is the Patriots’ next move at wide receiver? New England Patriots | Patriots-Dolphins injury report: Tyreek Hill upgraded, Bill Belichick lists 13 Thursday New England Patriots | Patriots down 2 players at practice Thursday, return DL Keion White New England Patriots | Patriots’ first-round pick being helped by ‘mirror check’ and practice reps New England Patriots | Source: Patriots signing former 1st-ro...

Volunteer youth bowling coach,’ hero’ bar manager among Maine shooting victims

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:51 GMT

A volunteer youth bowling coach known for encouraging children and a bar manager whose father said tried to confront the shooter and died “a hero” were among the at least 18 people killed and 13 injured in two mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine.According to Maine State Police, seven people died Wednesday night at the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley. Six were male and one was female. Eight more people, all male, died at Schemengees Bar and Grille. Three others died after being taken to hospitals.Authorities have not released the victims’ names, but their family members have been confirming their deaths.BOB VIOLETTE:Retiree Bob Violette, 76, devoted himself to his volunteer job coaching the youth bowling league that was practicing Wednesday night, said Patrick Poulin, whose teenage son has been a member for three years.“He’s taught so many people over the years how to bowl, and he wasn’t getting paid,” he said. “We...

As the ‘Hollywood of the South,’ Atlanta has boomed. Its actors and crew are now at a crossroads

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:51 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — A lighting technician is mowing lawns. A camera assistant is teaching guitar again. An actor has thought about shifting careers.For more than a decade, work had been nonstop in Atlanta’s booming film industry thanks to Georgia’s extremely generous tax break. Dubbed the “Hollywood of the South,” metro Atlanta became a ubiquitous backdrop for huge projects, including Marvel films and Netflix’s “Stranger Things.” As soundstages sprouted up, the insatiable need for crews turned the city into a prime destination for both behind-the-scenes workers seeking to break into the entertainment industry and “journeymen” actors wanting a reprieve from the hustle of Los Angeles or New York. But work dried up last winter and has been at a near-standstill ever since the industry’s writers went on strike in May and actors joined them in July. Writers reached a deal late last month, but with the actors strike still ongoing, countless Atlanta-based performers, as w...

War-weary mothers, wives and children of Ukrainian soldiers demand a cap on military service time

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:51 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Scores of protesters gathered on the streets of Ukrainian cities on Friday to demand a cap of 18 months on mandatory military service, amid new suggestions of possible Ukrainian and international weariness with the 20-month war.Both the warring sides are striving to keep their military momentum, though neither side is able to land a knockout blow, and the fighting is expected to drag on deep into next year.The 18-month service limit would be the same maximum as before the war. It is currently open-ended for draftees. The protesters, who are part of a loose national network, want the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, to consider possible alternatives on service time.About 100 wives, mothers, children and relatives of Ukrainian soldiers attended a demonstration in the capital, Kyiv.They chanted “Demobilize the soldiers” and carried banners calling for the return of their loved ones. “Why is dad not coming back?” asked one placard carried by a child.“I li...

How a massive solar storm could fry our entire grid

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:51 GMT

In today’s Big Story podcast, depending on your mood, it sounds either terrifying, or like a sweet release from modernity. But solar storms hit the Earth all the time, and it’s only a matter of time until a truly gigantic one fries us—it’s happened before, and will again. Our modern reliance on electricity leaves us much more vulnerable to solar flares, and we really don’t know how the grid will handle the power of such a storm.Christopher Mims is a technology columnist with the Wall Street Journal. He says there’s reasons to be optimistic in terms of the way scientists are mobilizing to prepare for the worst-case scenario. “It’s just been so long since we’ve been faced with an existential threat where it felt like people were actually doing the right thing about it,” says Mims.So how should we test our electrical grid’s resilience without turning it all off and then back on again? Should we do that?You can subscribe to The Big Story podcast on Apple Po...

Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge shows still-persistent underlying price pressures

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:51 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — An inflation gauge that is closely monitored by the Federal Reserve showed price increases remained elevated in September amid brisk consumer spending and strong economic growth.Friday’s report from the Commerce Department showed that prices rose 0.4% from August to September, the same as the previous month. And compared with 12 months earlier, inflation was unchanged at 3.4%.September’s month-to-month price increase exceeds a pace consistent with the Fed’s 2% annual inflation target, and it compounds already higher costs for such necessities as rent, food and gas. The Fed is widely expected to keep its key short-term interest rate unchanged when it meets next week. But its policymakers have flagged the risk that stronger growth could keep inflation persistently high and require further rate hikes to quell it. Since March 2022, the central bank has raised its key rate from near zero to roughly 5.4% in a concerted drive to tame inflation. Annual inflation has tumble...

The Biden administration is encouraging the conversion of empty office space to affordable housing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:51 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is launching a multi-agency effort to encourage states and cities to convert more empty office buildings into housing units, with billions of federal dollars available to help spur such transitions. The new initiative, announced Friday morning, involves the departments of Housing and Urban Development and Transportation, along with the General Services Administration and the Office of Management and Budget in a multi-pronged effort to address both the national shortage of affordable housing and the post-pandemic surplus of vacant office buildings. “This presents an area of opportunity to both increase housing supply while revitalizing main streets. It’s a win-win,” said Lael Brainard, director of the National Economic Council. “We’re utilizing resources from across the government.” Several of the new measures will be designed to specifically encourage the creation of new affordable housing units near transportation hubs like bus...