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Battenfeld: Political power struggle rages over $316K convention center job

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:59:19 GMT

A political power struggle over one of the crown jewels of the Massachusetts hackerama is reaching a crescendo with rumors rampant about the future of the convention center authority’s executive director.Longtime MCCA head David Gibbons – caught up in a dispute over equity and inclusion and a power play by elected officials – is at the center of the power struggle, according to sources.Gibbons – a hospitality industry executive with no political background – could be collateral damage in a bid by Gov. Maura Healey to put her own person in charge of the MCCA.Healey and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu recently overhauled the MCCA board, putting seven new members on it, including outgoing Boston City Councilor Michael Flaherty.Earlier this year, Flaherty and state Sen. Nick Collins banded together to criticize and block an MCCA land deal in their neighborhood. They are no fans of Gibbons and may be looking to install a new executive director,The Herald was unable to contact an MCCA spokespers...

India, Australia commit to boosting strategic ties as their diplomats and defense chiefs hold talks

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:59:19 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — India and Australia on Tuesday said they were committed to boosting economic and strategic ties, as their top diplomats shared concerns over China, regional security and the Israel-Hamas war. Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong a day after the two along with the countries’ defense chiefs held talks in New Delhi.Jaishankar said he and Wong took stock of their growing ties in trade and defense, and there was “a real momentum” in their relationship. The Indo-Pacific was a key priority for both countries, they said. Both Jaishankar and Wong said their nations are committed to a free, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific region.While neither of them named China, Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles on Monday said China remained a top concern for India and Australia. “For both of us, China is our biggest trading partner. For both of us, China is our biggest security anxiety,...

Property dispute in Colorado leaves 3 dead, 1 critically wounded and suspect on the run

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:59:19 GMT

WESTCLIFFE, Colo. (AP) — Authorities in Colorado hunted Tuesday for a man they believe shot and killed three people and critically wounded a fourth in a property dispute.The 45-year-old suspect was believed to be driving a white Ram 1500 pickup truck with a camper shell, according to a Facebook post from the Custer County Sheriff’s Office.Residents of the wooded, rural area were told to shelter in place for five hours on Monday as authorities hunted for the man, but the order was listed Monday night while he remained at large.At around 1 p.m. Monday, a report of shots being fired sent deputies to Rocky Ridge Road, about 8 miles (13 kilometers) from the county seat of Westcliffe and about an hour’s drive from Colorado Springs.The shooting took place on the property line in a wooded area and began with “a suspected property dispute,” the Sheriff’s Office said. Two men and a woman died at the scene and a fourth person was taken to a trauma center in critical condition...

Slovakia’s new government led by populist Robert Fico wins a mandatory confidence vote

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:59:19 GMT

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia’s new government, led by populist Prime Minister Robert Fico who ended the country’s military aid for Ukraine, won a mandatory confidence vote in Parliament on Tuesday.Of the 143 lawmakers present in the 150-seat Parliament, 78 voted in favor of the three-party coalition government that was sworn in on Oct 25.Fico returned to power and took over as prime minister for the fourth time after his scandal-tainted leftist Smer, or Direction, party won Slovakia’s Sept 30 parliamentary election on a pro-Russian and anti-American platform.Fico formed a parliamentary majority by signing a coalition government deal with the leftist Hlas, or Voice, party and the ultranationalist Slovak National Party.Fico’s victory may mark a dramatic turnaround in the country’s foreign policy and could strain a fragile unity in the European Union and NATO.Slovakia, a country of 5.5 million people that shares a border with Ukraine, had been a staunch supporter of Kyiv since ...

Israeli airstrike on south Lebanon kills 2 journalists of a pan-Arab TV station, official says

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:59:19 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — An Israeli strike on southern Lebanon killed Tuesday two journalists reporting for the Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV on the violence along the border with Israel, according to the Lebanese information minister and their TV station. The strike also killed a Lebanese civilian, said the station.The Pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV — politically allied with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah — identified the journalists as correspondent Farah Omar and cameraman Rabih Maamari saying they were “martyred by treacherous Israeli targeting,” adding it was an airstrike.“It was direct targeting. It was not a coincidence,” said Ghassan bin Jiddo, director of the TV channel, holding back his tears in a live broadcast. They join “the martyrs of Gaza,” he said Bin Jiddo said a man from the village, whom he identified as Hussein Akil, was also killed.Last week, the Israeli government blocked Al-Mayadeen TV news channel from broadcasting in Israel.Lebanese Information Minister Ziad Makary...

A vehicle rams into a victory celebration for Liberia’s president-elect, killing 2 and injuring 18

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:59:19 GMT

MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — A speeding vehicle rammed into jubilant supporters of President-elect Joseph Boakai at a victory celebration, killing at least two people and injuring at least 18 others, authorities said Tuesday.Police made an arrest following the crash late Monday but are withholding the name of the suspect pending their investigation, said Col. Melvin Sackor, deputy police inspector general for operations.It was not immediately known whether the crash at the headquarters of the Unity Party in Monrovia was politically motivated. However, it took place hours after election officials formally declared Boakai the winner of this month’s presidential runoff vote.According to the National Elections Commission, Boakai won with 50.64% of the second round balloting while incumbent President George Weah took 49.36%.Weah had already conceded defeat several days earlier based on the release of provisional results, and urged his supporters to respect the vote’s outcome.Mark...

UAW chief, having won concessions from strikes, aims to expand membership to nonunion automakers

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:59:19 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Entering contract talks with Detroit’s three automakers, Shawn Fain set lofty expectations for what he could gain for his union members — and delivered on many of them. He secured significant pay raises, improved benefits, the right to strike over plant closures and a raft of other concessions.But to the United Auto Workers president, the agreements that emerged from talks that were marked by six weeks of strikes were merely the start of a victory streak and a renaissance for the 88-year-old union. Now, Fain has set his latest ambitious goal: To gain UAW membership in nonunion companies across the industry — from foreign automakers with U.S. operations like Toyota to electric vehicle makers like Tesla to EV battery plants that will likely represent a sizable share of auto jobs in the decades ahead.Already, Fain asserted in an interview with The Associated Press, the contracts have benefited workers in nonunion auto companies: Soon after the UAW won major pay rai...

NFL’s look changing as more women move into prominent roles at teams across league

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:59:19 GMT

CLEVELAND (AP) — Catherine Raîche can remember hearing the doubt and disbelief over the phone when she said she was a college scout for the NFL.In her first role with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2019, Raîche would regularly reach out to schools across the country to inquire about prospective players. More than once, her requests were met with suspicion.“I was asked to send a picture of my business card because they didn’t believe I was a scout,” said Raîche, currently Cleveland Browns assistant general manager and vice president of football operations. “That happened multiple times, and it’s not like it was 10 years ago.”Those awkward conversations and questions come far less frequently these days.Now the highest-ranking female executive in league history, Raîche is one of the vanguard of women helping bring overdue balance to hiring in the NFL and opening doors in a world once ruled exclusively by men. After years of slow, sometimes sideways steps toward progress, record numbers of ...

Putin, Xi and UN Secretary-General Guterres to attend virtual meeting on Israel-Hamas war

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:59:19 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders from the BRICS bloc of developing countries will hold a virtual meeting on the Israel-Hamas war on Tuesday, with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also participating.The leaders of fellow BRICS members Brazil, India and South Africa, as well as of Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, which are set to join the bloc in January, will also take part, according to the office of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.Ramaphosa will chair the “extraordinary meeting” because of South Africa’s position as current chair of BRICS, his office said. It said the leaders are expected to deliver statements on the “humanitarian crisis” in Gaza and will likely adopt a joint statement.The meeting comes a day after China’s top diplomat hosted the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian Authori...

Man had no car, no furniture, but died with a big secret, leaving his N.H. town millions

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:59:19 GMT

HINSDALE, N.H. (AP) — Geoffrey Holt was unassuming as the caretaker of a mobile home park in Hinsdale, New Hampshire, where he lived a simple, but curious life.Residents would see Holt around town in threadbare clothes — riding his lawn mower, headed to the convenience store, parked along the main road reading a newspaper or watching cars pass.In this photo provided by Ed Smith, Geoffrey Holt rests his leg on top of his riding mower in Hinsdale, N.H., on April 4, 2020. Holt left the town of Hinsdale nearly $4 million when he died last June. (Ed Smith via AP)Town Hall catches the early morning sunlight, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in Hinsdale, N.H. The small town in southwestern New Hampshire received a gift of $3.8 million from the estate of Geoffrey Holt, a longtime trailer park resident. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)In this photo provided by Ed Smith, Geoffrey Holt smiles on Sept. 12, 2022. Holt left the town of Hinsdale, N.H., nearly $4 million when he died last June. (Ed Smith via AP...