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France sends weapons to Armenia amid fears of new conflict with Azerbaijan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:59 GMT

PARIS — France is selling military equipment such as air defense systems to Armenia, the French government said Monday, as fears grow that Azerbaijan could follow up its seizure of Nagorno-Karabakh last month with assaults on its neighbor’s territory. The announcement on French arms comes just a month after Azerbaijan declared victory following a lightning military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, forcing more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians living in the breakaway region to flee their homes. The concern — as raised by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken — is that may not be the end of Azerbaijan’s regional ambitions, and all eyes are now on the Zangezur corridor, a tract of land running along Armenia’s border with Iran. The danger is that another move by Baku’s forces could inflame a broader conflict in the Southern Caucasus — an area where Turkey, Russia and Iran all have core strategic interests. France, the country with Europe’s largest Armenian dias...

Russia claps back at Latvia amid Balticonnector investigation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:59 GMT

Russia called threats to the Kremlin “unacceptable” after Latvia’s president suggested NATO should close off the Baltic Sea if it can be proven Russia was involved in the Finnish gas pipeline leak.“Any threats should be taken seriously, no matter who they come from. Whoever they come from, the threats to Russia are unacceptable,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Monday, according to Russian state-run news agency Ria.Last week, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs told a Latvian broadcaster that NATO should close the Baltic Sea to ships if Russia is found responsible for damaging the Balticonnector.The 77-kilometer-long pipeline, connecting Finland and Estonia in the Baltic Sea, was shut off earlier this month after the Finnish gas grid’s operator Gasgrid reported that it was leaking. Finnish telecoms operator Elisa reported it detected a malfunction on an undersea cable it uses to verify communication connections.Finnish officials were quick to say t...

‘Be on alert’: Authorities identify victim found dead at Gardner home as search for ‘potentially armed’ man continues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:59 GMT

Authorities are warning the public to be on alert as they search for an “armed and dangerous” man in connection with a the death of a woman in Gardner on Sunday morning who was found in a home with four young children inside, officials said.Aaron Pennington, 33, of Gardner, is being sought in connection with the death of Breanne Pennington, 30, of 42 Cherry St. Investigators say four children, ages 2, 5, 7, and 9 were inside the home at the time and left to get help. The children are now in the custody of the Department of Children and Families, according to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office.Pennington is described as being a white man with blonde hair, blue eyes, who is about 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighing about 175 pounds. He is believed to be driving a white 2013 BMW model 320 with a MA Veteran plate 8A30.In an update on Monday morning, the DA’s office said may also be using two additional license plates – a Texas plate reading ̶...

Rapid melting in West Antarctica is ‘unavoidable,’ with potentially disastrous consequences for sea level rise, study finds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:59 GMT

(CNN) — Rapid melting of West Antarctica’s ice shelves may now be unavoidable as human-caused global warming accelerates, with potentially devastating implications for sea level rise around the world, new research has found.Even if the world meets ambitious targets to limit global heating, West Antarctica will experience substantial ocean warming and ice shelf melting, according to the new study published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change.Ice shelves are tongues of ice that jut out into the ocean at the end of glaciers. They act like buttresses, helping hold ice back on the land, slowing its flow into the sea and providing an important defense against sea level rise. As ice shelves melt, they thin and lose their buttressing ability.While there has been growing evidence ice loss in West Antarctica may be irreversible, there has been uncertainty about how much can be prevented through climate policies.The researchers looked at “basal melting,” w...

Trump will file for New Hampshire presidential primary in person ahead of campaign rally

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:59 GMT

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump on Monday will formally file for the New Hampshire presidential primary ahead of a campaign rally in Derry.It will be Trump’s second trip to the secretary of state’s office. Eight years ago, he signed up for the 2016 contest on the first day of the filing period, then sent Vice President Mike Pence to file his paperwork for the 2020 primary. He won both primaries but lost the state in the general election.Candidates this year have until Oct. 27 to officially sign up, and dozens are expected to do so. The process is easy: They need only meet the basic requirements to be president, fill out a one-page form and pay a $1,000 filing fee.The first to sign up this year was Mark Stewart Greenstein, who arrived at the Statehouse at 6:30 a.m. the day registration opened and paid his fee in cash, which included $400 in $2 bills. Greenstein got 31 votes when he ran in 2020.In 2020, 33 Democrats and 17 Republicans...

QB Tyson Bagent was precise — and the Chicago Bears finally win at home: Brad Biggs’ 10 thoughts on Week 7

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:59 GMT

10 thoughts after the Chicago Bears beat up the Las Vegas Raiders at the line of scrimmage and got a precise outing from undrafted rookie free agent Tyson Bagent on their way to a commanding 30-12 victory Sunday.The win at Soldier Field snapped a 10-game home losing streak.1. An early play that provided a glimpse into how the afternoon would go for Tyson Bagent came on the second series of the game.It was the second time Bagent, the Division II kid from Martinsburg, W.Va., was asked to throw on third down.The first third down, at the end of the opening possession, was a screen pass that D’Onta Foreman mishandled, maybe the only miscue of the day for the hard-chugging running back. On the next series, the Bears faced third-and-5 at their own 49-yard line. Starting in place of Justin Fields, who was knocked out of last week’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings with a dislocated right thumb, Bagent was in a big spot early in the game. A clear throwing situation for an offense th...

World’s oldest dog ever dies in Portugal, aged 31 (or about 217 in dog years)

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:59 GMT

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — A 31-year-old dog in Portugal that had been ranked as the world’s oldest dog ever has died, his owner said Monday. The guard dog, called Bobi, died over the weekend in a veterinary hospital, Leonel Costa told The Associated Press.Bobi lived on a farm in the village of Conqueiros in Portugal with Costa and four cats. He was born on May 11, 1992, when his owner was just 8 years old. That made Bobi more than 217 years old in dog years when he died.In an interview earlier this year, Costa told the Associated Press that Bobi’s secret to a long life was good food, fresh air and lots of love.“Bobi eats what we eat,” said Costa. What’s more, Bobi had never been put on a lead.Bobi claimed the Guinness World Record from Bluey, an Australian cattle dog, who died in 1939 aged 29 and had held the record for almost a century.Officials at the Guinness World Records on Monday said they were “saddened to learn of the death of Bobi, th...

Governor, AG issue guidance on college admissions following Supreme Court’s abolishment of affirmative action

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:59 GMT

Nearly four months after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action, Gov. Maura Healey and Attorney General Andrea Campbell have issued guidance on how schools can continue to work for equal access and representation in higher education.“We know there’s been concern and confusion about what is legal and allowable,” Healey said at an announcement at UMass Boston on Monday morning. “Now, these guidelines make clear every campuses’ continued rights and continued opportunities to expand access and advance equity and inclusion on every campus. Because we want you to know, don’t stop doing what you’re doing.”The guidelines outline what K-12 schools and colleges and universities can legally do to foster diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education, building off similar direction released by the Biden administration in September.The Supreme Court released a decision against Harvard and UNC in June banning the use of specific consi...

Will the Chicago Bulls’ Big 3 project finally pay off? ‘This is our last shot to make something happen.’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:59 GMT

Familiarity is the theme of the 2023-24 NBA season for the Chicago Bulls. Familiar roster. Familiar problems. Familiar solutions.The Bulls return 13 players from last season’s roster. Eight have been on the team since 2021 or earlier. In the span of two years, the front office chose to forego any major moves, remaining steadfastly stuck to the idea that a roster built around Nikola Vučević, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan could make a serious case for itself in the playoffs.That has yet to be true. The Bulls were bounced decisively out of the first round of the 2022 playoffs by the Milwaukee Bucks, then stumbled out of the play-in tournament last season after coughing up a fourth-quarter lead to the Miami Heat.Now, after two seasons of adapting and adjusting and tinkering with the same concept, the trio at the core of this Bulls project knows they’re running out of time.“This is our last shot to make something happen,” Vučević said. “W...

Blink-182 to bring 2024 tour to Petco Park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:59 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- "Going back to San Diego ..."Blink-182 announced Monday they will hit the road again next year, including a stop in their hometown. The Poway-formed band will play at Petco Park on June 30.The announcement comes days after the band released its reunion album, "One More Time."Opening for Blink-182 will be Pierce the Veil, another band out of San Diego. Tickets will go on sale Friday on Blink-182's website. Billy Joel and Sting coming to Petco Park The tour includes three other stops in California: SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Save Mart Center in Fresno and Chase Center in San Francisco. See all of the tour dates on blink182.com.