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Blinken wraps up frantic Mideast tour with tepid, if any, support for pauses in Gaza fighting

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

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was wrapping up a grueling Middle East diplomatic tour on Monday in Turkey after only limited success in his furious efforts to forge a regional consensus on how best to ease civilian suffering in Gaza as Israel intensifies its war against Hamas.Blinken met in the Turkish capital of Ankara with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan after a frantic weekend of travel that took him from Israel to Jordan, the occupied West Bank, Cyprus and Iraq to build support for the Biden administration’s proposal for “humanitarian pauses” to Israel’s relentless military campaign in Gaza.Blinken’s shuttle diplomacy came as Israeli troops surrounded Gaza City and cut off the northern part of the besieged Hamas-ruled territory. Troops are expected to enter the city Monday or Tuesday, and are likely to face militants fighting street by street using a vast network of tunnels. Casualties will likely rise on both sides in the mon...

Driver hospitalized after truck crashes into church rectory on Freetown

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

One person was taken to the hospital after a pickup truck crashed into a church rectory in Freetown on Sunday, police said.Officers responding to a reported crash at St. John Neumann Church found the truck against the building.Eversource and the town’s building inspector responded to the scene.The cause of the crash remains under investigation.No additional information was immediately available.https://twitter.com/FreetownPD/status/1721318670859747612

Yellen to host Chinese vice premier for talks in San Francisco ahead of start of APEC summit

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

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will host Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng for two days of talks this week, the latest in a series of high-level talks between U.S. and Chinese officials as the world’s two largest economies aim to ease tensions, the Treasury Department announced Monday.The Yellen-He talks set for Thursday and Friday come ahead of the start of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco which starts November 11. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet next week during the summit, what would be the first engagement between the two leaders in nearly a year.“As a foundation, our two nations have an obligation to establish resilient lines of open communication and to prevent our disagreements from spiraling into conflict,” Yellen wrote in a Washington Post op-ed to spotlight the upcoming meeting. “But we also know that our relationship cannot be circumscribed to crisis management.”The meeting b...

‘Amtrak Joe’ Biden is off to Delaware give out more money for trains

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

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden — perhaps the nation’s biggest Amtrak fan — is set to promote new federal investments for trains on the heavily-trafficked Northeast Corridor. Biden is headed to Amtrak Bear Maintenance Shops in Bear, Delaware, on Monday to announce more than $16 billion in new funding that will go toward 25 passenger rail projects between Boston and Washington, the White House says. Bear is located about 12 miles from Biden’s home of Wilmington.His remarks will be held at the Amtrak Bear Maintenance Shops, where trains are maintained and repaired. The investments, the White House says, will help trains run faster, cut delays and create union jobs.The money comes from the roughly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law that Biden signed nearly two years ago, one of several legislative achievements that the president is touting as he gears up for his reelection bid. From the law, Amtrak will get about $66 billion in new investments, according to the...

GasBuddy: Avg. Alb. prices fell 4.5 cents in last week

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

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Average gasoline prices in Albany have fallen 4.5 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.65/g Monday, according to GasBuddy's survey of 546 stations in Albany. Prices in Albany are 18.5 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and 29.0 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average diesel price has fallen 6.6 cents in the last week and is $4.38 per gallon. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Albany was priced at $3.35/g Sunday, while the most expensive was $4.04/g, a difference of 69.0 cents per gallon. The lowest price in the state Sunday was $2.75/g, while the highest was $4.85/g, a difference of $2.10/g.The national average price of gasoline has fallen 7.0 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.38/g today. The national average is down 32.8 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 40.6 cents per gallon lower t...

No.1 Saint Rose downs SCSU in quarterfinal win

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

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The College of Saint Rose women's soccer team opened Northeast-10 Conference postseason play with a 3-0 victory over Southern Connecticut State in quarterfinal round action today at Sullivan Field. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! The Golden Knights, who own the top seed in the conference playoff bracket, scored all three goals in the first 45 minutes to get past the eight-seeded Owls.Junior forward, Mia Klammer scored two goals in the first 14 minutes, as she took advantage of miscues from the Owl defense on both occasions to put Saint Rose ahead early.The Golden Knights rounded out the scoring with a 43rd-minute strike by graduate midfielder Caitlin Wania.Graduate defender Caylee Boorse started the sequence with a pass upfield to Klammer, who slid a lateral ball for Wania to let a right-footed attempt go from 30 yards away.With a five-point performance today, Klammer now ranks ...

Commission approves €44 million Slovak state aid scheme to support electricity storage facilities to foster the transition to a net-zero economy

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

The European Commission has approved a €44 million Slovak scheme to support electricity storage facilities to foster the transition towards a net-zero economy, in line with the Green Deal Industrial Plan. The scheme was approved under the state aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework, adopted by the Commission on 9 March 2023 to support measures in sectors which are key to accelerate the green transition and reduce fuel dependencies. The new Framework amends and prolongs in part the Temporary Crisis Framework, adopted on 23 March 2022 to enable Member States to support the economy in the context of the current geopolitical crisis, already amended on 20 July 2022 and on 28 October 2022.Under the scheme, which will be fully financed under the Recovery and Resilience Facility ('RRF'), the aid will take form of direct grants covering up to 65% of the total investment costs, with a maximum amount of aid per project of €25 million. The purpose of the scheme is to accelerate the depl...

Word Game: Nov. 6, 2023

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

TODAY’S WORD — COERCION (COERCION: ko-UR-shun: The act of compelling by force or threat.)Average mark 16 wordsTime limit 30 minutesCan you find 20 or more words in COERCION? The list will be published tomorrow.SATURDAY’S WORD — PERCEIVED peer peeve perceive piece pied pier pierce precede price pride pried eerie eider epee epic ever recede receive recipe reed reeve rice ride ripe rive cede cider creed creep crepe cried iced veer vice vide vied viper deceive deceiver decree deep deeper deer deice deicer deprive derive device dice dicer dire dive diver drip driveTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake...

Horoscopes Nov. 6, 2023: Emma Stone, surround yourself with creative people

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

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Emma Stone, 35; Ethan Hawke, 53; Maria Shriver, 68; Sally Field, 77.Happy Birthday: Evaluate what’s important to you and adjust your routine. Let your intuition and imagination lead the way, and you’ll find the path and people to make your journey more enjoyable. Opportunities are apparent, but first, you must let go of your inhibitions and distance yourself from negativity. Surround yourself with creative people, and structure your environment to offer space and time to express yourself. Your numbers are 8, 13, 22, 28, 31, 35, 46.ARIES (March 21-April 19): Expand your mind, do your research and plan your next move. Be secretive until you are ready to take the next step and present what excites you most. Don’t let emotions stop you; size up situations and do what makes the most sense. 3 starsTAURUS (April 20- May 20): Opportunity knocks. Don’t be shy; embrace what life offers and give it your best shot. An exciting partnership wi...

Bridge: Nov. 6, 2023

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

With COVID-19 seemingly on the wane, players flocked to the ACBL’s Summer Championships in Chicago.In the Spingold Knockout Teams, the premier event, most seeded teams comprised an affluent amateur plus professionals, many from overseas. The strength of players from outside the U.S. was evident as many highly regarded U.S. “sponsored” teams lost early.Today’s deal arose in the final, Marty FLEISHER vs. Leif BREMARK. (Fleisher and his partner Chip Martel were the only Americans still playing.) With FLEISHER’s pair North-South, South opened 1NT, and North passed.BALANCEWhen East bid two hearts, he couldn’t have foreseen what would happen to him, but South doubled for takeout, and North liked his hand enough to try 4NT, asking South to bid a minor-suit game.Against five diamonds, West led a heart; only a spade would have worked. Declarer won, lost to the ace of trumps, won the trump return, ruffed his last heart in dummy, cashed four club tricks, and led the ace and a low spade. When E...