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Russia’s Wagner Group uses Twitter and Facebook to hunt new recruits

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:47 GMT

Russia’s paramilitary Wagner Group has been using Twitter and Facebook to recruit medics, drone operators and even psychologists to aid fighting operations, including in Ukraine, according to exclusive research seen by POLITICO. Job ads for Wagner, which has mercenaries operating in several countries, have reached nearly 120,000 views on the two social media platforms over the last ten months, according to Logically, a U.K. disinformation-focused research group. Sixty posts in dozens of languages – including French, Vietnamese and Spanish – shared information about fighting, IT, driving and medical positions apparently available with Wagner. They also included contact phone numbers, Telegram accounts and touted monthly salaries of 240,000 rubles (€‎2,800) with benefits including health care. While the researchers couldn’t directly attribute the messages to Wagner with total certainty, the posts carry the footprint of the militia and its supporters. “We onl...

MIAA state boys volleyball pairings

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:47 GMT

DIVISION 1SEEDS: 1. Needham (22-0); 2. Lowell (19-1) 3. Natick (14-3); 4. Saint John’s (15-4); 5. St. John’s Prep (11-6); 6. Acton-Boxboro (16-1); 7. Newton North (14-6); 8. Cambridge Rindge & Latin (13-6); 9. Lexington (13-5); 10. Winchester (15-5); 11. Brookline (12-6); 12. Haverhill (14-5); 13. North Andover (15-5); 14 Boston College High (12-6); 15. Andover (12-8); 16. Methuen (12-8); 17. Chelmsford (12-8); 18. Lincoln-Sudbury (9-9); 19. New Bedford (13-7); 20. North Middlesex (14-3); 21. Taunton (11-9); 22. Revere (16-4); 23. Durfee (10-10); 24. Arlington (13-7); 25. Springfield Central (11-8); 26. Braintree (8-12); 27. Newton South (5-13); 28. Malden (14-6); 29. Xaverian (7-10); 30. Doherty (16-4); 31. Algonquin (6-12); 32. Quincy (9-11); 33. South Lancaster (13-6); 34. Medford (12-8); 35. Chelsea (10-9)PRELIMINARY ROUND – TBAGAME 1 – South Lancaster at QuincyGAME 2 – Medford at AlgonquinGAME 3 – Chelsea at DohertyFIRST ROUND – TBAGAME 4 – Game 1 winner at Need...

Key test ahead on federal debt deal that could prevent a disastrous default

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:47 GMT

By LISA MASCARO and AAMER MADHANI (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says he feels good about the debt ceiling and budget deal negotiated with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy as the White House and congressional leaders work to ensure its passage this week in time to lift the nation’s borrowing limit and prevent a potentially disastrous U.S. default.Signaling the tough days still ahead, McCarthy urged skeptical colleagues to “look at where the victories are.”The Republican speaker said Tuesday he will be sitting down and talking with lawmakers as they return to Washington from the long Memorial Day weekend.“This is just the first step,” McCarthy said of his agreement with Biden.In an appearance on “Fox & Friends,” he sought to shore up support amid rising opposition from conservatives in his party. Unhelpfully for Biden, he said of the Democrats, “There’s nothing in the bill for them.”A key test...

MIAA State rugby tournament pairings

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:47 GMT

   BOYS RUGBY PAIRINGS DIVISION 1SEEDS: 1. Belmont (5-0); 2. St. John’s Prep (3-1-1); 3. Xaverian (4-2); 4. BC High (2-2-1)SEMIFINALS – TBABC High at BelmontXaverian at St. John’s PrepFINAL – TBABCH/Belmont vs. Xaverian/SJPDIVISION 2SEEDS: 1. Algonquin (5-2); 2. Hanover (7-0); 3. Weymouth (6-1); 4. Catholic Memorial (4-3); 5. Blue Hills (4-2); 6. Braintree (5-2); 7. Chelmsford (4-3)QUARTERFINALS – TBABlue Hills at Catholic MemorialBraintree at WeymouthChelmsford at HanoverSEMIFINALS – TBABH/CM at AlgonquinBraintree/Weymouth vs. Chelmsford/HanoverFINAL – TBASemifinal winners   GIRLS RUGBY PAIRINGS DIVISION 1SEEDS: 1. Belmont (7-0); 2. Lincoln-Sudbury (4-3); 3. Brookline (3-4); 4. Weymouth (4-3)SEMIFINALS – TBABrookline at Lincoln-SudburyWeymouth at BelmontFINAL – TBABrookline/L-S vs. Weymouth/Belmont   

Here’s what’s in, what’s out of the debt limit bill to avert US default

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:47 GMT

By KEVIN FREKING, FARNOUSH AMIRI and STEPHEN GROVES (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have been working the phones in an intense push to sell Congress on the 99-page bill that would suspend the nation’s debt limit through 2025 to avoid a federal default while limiting government spending.The Democratic president and Republican speaker have to win their respective parties’ support for the plan in time to avert a default that would shake the global economy. On Tuesday, lawmakers will begin scrutinizing and debating the legislation, which also includes provisions to fund medical care for veterans, change work requirements for some recipients of government aid and streamline environmental reviews for controversial pipelines and other energy projects.The modest deal gives both men wins to tout, with Biden protecting major parts of his agenda from Republican cuts and McCarthy scoring several conservative spending cap...

Kosovo’s NATO-led peacekeepers beef up positions after clashes with ethnic Serbs in north injure 30

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:47 GMT

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Troops from the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo on Tuesday used metal fences and barbed wire barriers to beef up positions in a northern town following clashes with ethnic Serbs there that left 30 international soldiers wounded. The peacekeepers sealed off the municipality building in Zvecan where unrest on Monday sent tensions soaring, raising fears of instability and flareup in the Balkan hotspot amid increased Western efforts to resolve a long-simmering dispute.Kosovo is a former province of Serbia whose 2008 declaration of independence Belgrade does not recognize. Ethnic Albanians make up most of the population, but Kosovo has a restive Serb minority in the north of the country bordering Serbia.The United States and most European Union nations have recognized Kosovo’s independence from Serbia while Russia and China have sided with Belgrade. China on Tuesday expressed its support for Serbia’s efforts to “safeguard its sovereignty and territoria...

Notre Dame’s fire-ravaged roof rebuilt using medieval techniques

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:47 GMT

SAINT-LAURENT-DE-LA-PLAINE, France (AP) — If time travel was possible, medieval carpenters would surely be amazed to see how woodworking techniques they pioneered in building Notre Dame Cathedral more than 800 years ago are being used again today to rebuild the world-famous monument’s fire-ravaged roof.Certainly the reverse is true for the modern-day carpenters using medieval-era skills. Working with hand axes to fashion hundreds of tons of oak beams for the framework of Notre Dame’s new roof has, for them, been like rewinding time. It’s given them a new appreciation of their predecessors’ handiwork that pushed the architectural envelope back in the 13th century.“It’s a little mind-bending sometimes,” says Peter Henrikson, one of the carpenters. He says there are times when he’s whacking mallet on chisel that he finds himself thinking about medieval counterparts who were cutting “basically the same joint 900 years ago.”“It’s fascinating,” he...

Woman rescued after city pushed to demolish partially collapsed Iowa apartment building

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:47 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A woman was rescued more than a day after a six-story apartment building partially collapsed in Davenport, Iowa, and after city officials ordered that it be demolished, saying there were no known people left inside and it was in “imminent danger” of coming down. Protesters urged a delay, concerned that people could still be trapped.Protesters carried signs Tuesday morning near the building site, saying “Find Them First” and “Who is in the Rubble?” Some used a megaphone to shout out names of building residents. City officials said rescue crews escorted 12 people from the building shortly after a middle section collapsed at about 5 p.m. Sunday, and rescued several others, including one person who was taken to safety overnight Sunday. No fatalities have been reported. By Monday morning, Fire Chief Michael Carlsten told reporters: “No known individuals are trapped in that facility.” Authorities said they would soon shift from a rescue operation to a r...

Gunman in Pittsburgh synagogue massacre harbored ‘malice and hate’ for Jews, prosecutor says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:47 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Prosecutors on Tuesday described how a heavily armed suspect barged into a Pittsburgh synagogue and shot every worshipper he could find in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history.Robert Bowers’ federal trial got underway more than four years after the shooting deaths of 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue.Twelve jurors and six alternates — chosen Thursday after more than 200 candidates were questioned over a month — are hearing the case. They include 11 women and seven men.“The depths of the defendant’s malice and hate can only be proven in the broken bodies” of the victims and “his hateful words,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Soo C. Song said during her opening statement. Some of the survivors dabbed tears, while Bowers, seated at the defense table, showed no reaction.The defense was expected to present its opening statement before the prosecution began calling witnesses.Bowers, 50, could face the death penalty if convicted of some of the 63 cou...

One justice explained absence from case. Another didn’t. Ethics questions vexing Supreme Court

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:47 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — One Supreme Court justice explained her absence from a case. One justice didn’t.The difference shows how difficult forging consensus over even small steps on ethics can be at the Supreme Court, which is facing new calls to adopt an ethics code following revelations about undisclosed gifts from a Republican megadonor to Justice Clarence Thomas.Last week, Chief Justice John Roberts acknowledged the court needs to do more to reassure a skeptical public that the justices take their ethical obligations seriously.Though the justices have been resistant to a binding code of ethical standards, all nine signed a “statement on ethics principles and practices” issued in late April that promised at least some small additional disclosure when one or more among them opts not to take part in a case.A justice “may provide a summary explanation of a recusal decision,” the statement reads, a change from the standard practice of saying nothing at all. A week ago, Justice Elena ...