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Mariano puts Massachusetts gun reform bill on hold until fall

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:20 GMT

Top House Democrats will back down from their controversial push to approve a 140-page omnibus gun reform measure before lawmakers break for vacation in August.Less than a week after he convened a series of closed-doors meetings to hear from representatives about the sweeping proposal unveiled June 26, House Speaker Ron Mariano told his chamber Monday evening that the new goal is to bring the measure forward in autumn.“While the House’s commitment to pursuing a comprehensive update remains steadfast, a new legal landscape will be the greatest threat to those efforts. That is why the House believes that we must thoroughly evaluate all of the proposals made in [the legislation] over the Summer, and that House Members must have the chance to continue to speak with their constituents and provide feedback,” Mariano wrote in a message obtained by the News Service. “House leadership will continue to work on the bill until it is ready for debate this Fall.”The ...

Russian antiwar group in Serbia says authorities have rejected activist’s residence permit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:20 GMT

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — A Russian antiwar group in Serbia said Tuesday that authorities have refused to extend the residence permit of one of its activists, a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.The Russian Democratic Society said one of its founders, Vladimir Volokhonski, had all the necessary documentation but the authorities cited a security risk as the reason for their decision.Serbian police have not commented. A copy of a police document provided by the Russian group said a security assessment of Volokhonski’s case showed unspecified “obstacles” for the extension of his stay.Earlier this month, Serbian police temporarily banned entry to another prominent Russian antiwar activist, Peter Nikitin, who was forced to spend more than a day at the Belgrade airport before he was allowed in.The Balkan nation has maintained friendly relations with Russia and has not joined Western sanctions against Moscow, despite condemning its invasion of Ukraine.The United States recentl...

Bayreuth Festival plans to present Wagner’s ‘Rienzi’ for the first time in 2026

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:20 GMT

BAYREUTH, Germany (AP) — The Bayreuth Festival intends to present “Rienzi” for the first time in 2026 for its 150th anniversary, going outside the canon of Richard Wagner’s final 10 operas for the first time.Wagner’s family still runs the festival in Bayreuth Germany, and until now has limited it to only what are considered his mature works.Katharina Wagner, a great-granddaughter who directs the festival, announced future plans during a Zoom news conference on Monday, a day before this year’s schedule opens.“Rienzi” will be staged along with the 10 other operas in 2026. “Rienzi,” Wagner’s third completed opera, opened in 1842 and is based on the 14th century Italian politician Cola di Rienzo.Wagner said the 2024 festival will feature a new staging of “Tristan und Isolde” directed by Thorleifur Örn Arnarsson, conducted by Semyon Bychkov and starring Andreas Schager and Camilla Nylund. The 2025 festival will have a new production of “Die Meistersing...

Saquon Barkley, Giants settle on 1-year deal worth up to $11 million, AP source says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:20 GMT

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Saquon Barkley and the New York Giants settled on a contract for the star running back just in time for training camp, signing a one-year contract worth up to $11 million, a source close to the negotiations told The Associated Press on Tuesday.The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Giants had not announced the signing of the player they had placed the franchise tag on in March.The deal, which adds $909,000 in incentives to the $10.1 million Barkley will earn playing under the franchise tag, came on the day players reported to training came in New Jersey and a day before they started practice for the 2023 season.The team and Barkley failed to come to an agreement on a long-term extension by the NFL deadline of Aug. 17. Since the former Penn State star had not signed his tender offer under the franchise tag, he would not have been able to attend training camp. There was speculation he might sit out camp and miss some of the season.That ende...

Jill Biden marks US reentry into UNESCO with a flag-raising ceremony in Paris

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:20 GMT

PARIS (AP) — U.S. first lady Jill Biden attended a flag-raising ceremony at UNESCO in Paris on Tuesday, marking Washington’s official reentry into the U.N. agency after a controversial five-year hiatus.The Stars and Stripes was hoisted up outside UNESCO’s headquarters with the Eiffel Tower on the skyline to rousing applause, to a rendition of the national anthem. Biden made remarks about the importance of American leadership in preserving cultural heritage and empowering education and science across the globe.“I was honored to join you today as we raise the flag of the Unites States, the symbol of our commitment to global collaboration and peace,” Biden said. She said that this move was an example of President Biden’s pledge about “restoring our leadership on the world stage.”“We are so proud to rejoin UNESCO,” Biden proclaimed at the UN’s education agency, acknowledging that “as a teacher I’m a little biased.”The U.S. had announced its intention to rejoin UN...

A firefighting plane crashes as new evacuations are ordered in Greece

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:20 GMT

RHODES, Greece (AP) — A firefighting plane has crashed in southern Greece as authorities battled fires across the country amid a return of heat wave temperatures.The crash occurred on the island of Evia, and was aired in a state television broadcast that showed the low-flying aircraft disappearing into a canyon before a fireball was seen moments later.A third successive heat wave in Greece has pushed temperatures back above 40 C (104 F) across parts of the country Tuesday following more nighttime evacuations from fires that have raged out of control for days.The latest evacuations orders were issued on the islands of Corfu and Evia, while a blaze on the island of Rhodes continued to move inland, torching mountainous forest areas, including part of a nature reserveTHIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.RHODES, Greece (AP) — A week-old wildfire on the Greek resort island of Rhodes tore past defenses Monday, forcing more evacuations as strong winds and success...

Poetic gift: Poetry academy announces more than $1 million in grants for U.S. laureates

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:20 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A digital poetry archive in Utah, slam poetry workshops in South Carolina and creative writing programs in New Mexico are among the initiatives being supported by more than $1 million in grants from the Academy of American Poets. On Tuesday, the academy announced its 2023 Fellowships, contributions of $50,000 each to 23 state and local poets laureate around the country, from Portsmouth, New Hampshire to Redmond, Washington.The Poet Laureate Fellowship program, launched in 2019, are funded in part by the Mellon Foundation.“Collectively the voice and vision of these 23 poets laureate will bring together community members through the craft and creativity of poetry and illuminate place through words,” poet Elizabeth Alexander, president of the Mellon Foundation, said in a statement.Fellows include Utah laureate Lisa Bickmore and Lauren Camp of New Mexico, along with such local laureates as Diannely Antigua of Portsmouth, New Hampshire; Laura Da’ of Redmond, Washing...

Venice Film Festival unveils A-list lineup with ‘Priscilla,’ ‘Ferrari,’ ‘Maestro’ amid strikes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:20 GMT

Bradley Cooper’s Leonard Bernstein drama “Maestro,” Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla Presley movie, Michael Mann’s “Ferrari,” David Fincher’s “The Killer” and Ava DuVernay’s “Origin” will make their world debuts at the Venice International Film Festival this fall. Organizers announced the lineup Tuesday for the 80th edition of the festival, which — despite the flashy names behind the films — could have a little less Hollywood glamour than usual gracing its picturesque docks and red carpet come September if the Hollywood actors and writers strikes stretch on. As part of the strike, actors cannot promote projects from the studios and streamers with whom the union is negotiating.The prestigious film festival already lost one high-profile premiere to the labor disputes in the U.S. in Luca Guadagnino’s tennis drama “Challengers, ” starring Zendaya, which had been set to play in the opening night slot but has now been pushed to 2024. But Alberto Barbera, the director of the Venice Film Fes...

Transgender swimmers to be included in the trial of an open category at competitions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:20 GMT

FUKUOKA, Japan (AP) — Swimming will set up an “open category” that will include transgender competitors, the governing body of the sport said Tuesday.World Aquatics president Husain Al-Musallam said the event would take place in the future among other races but gave no details. Reports suggest it could be this year.“This is a very complex topic,” Al-Musallam said at the World Aquatics Congress in the southwestern Japanese city of Fukuoka. “But I am delighted to tell you today that we are now making plans for the first trial of an open category, and we hope to be able to confirm all the details soon.“Our sport must be open to everybody,” he said.World Aquatics had previously banned transgender competitors from major events like the Olympics and world championships.The topic has been divisive and many governing bodies in major sports have avoided it. And there will be many questions to answer as the first trial event unfolds under the eyes of lawyers and scientists.“It was very import...

A Russian fighter jet fired flares at a US drone over Syria and damaged it, the US military says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:20 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Russian fighter jet flew within a few meters of a U.S. drone over Syria and fired flares at it, striking the American aircraft and damaging it, the U.S. military said Tuesday.A senior Air Force commander said the move on Sunday was an attempt by the Russians to knock the MQ-9 Reaper drone out of the sky and came just a week after a Russian fighter jet flew dangerously close to a U.S. surveillance aircraft carrying a crew in the region, jeopardizing the lives of the four American crew members.“One of the Russian flares struck the U.S. MQ-9, severely damaging its propeller,” Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, the head of U.S. Air Forces Central, said in a statement describing the latest close call. “We call upon the Russian forces in Syria to put an immediate end to this reckless, unprovoked, and unprofessional behavior.”Grynkewich said one of the crew members operating the drone remotely kept it in the air and flew it back to its home base.The Sunday incident is the ...