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Germany to put 2 percent NATO spending pledge in writing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:41 GMT

BERLIN — Germany will soon commit itself for the first time in writing to hitting NATO’s 2 percent defense spending target, according to several people familiar with the plan.The pledge will come as part of an upcoming national security strategy, the first of its kind. The document has faced several delays as Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party ruling coalition squabbled over the specifics. The group has now agreed, however, to enshrine a vow to spend 2 percent of Germany’s economic output on defense, according to the people who have seen the 40-plus-page document and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations. That would put the country in line with a long-standing NATO goal that many allies, including Germany, have struggled to meet. Scholz has previously made verbal commitments to hitting the 2 percent threshold as part of the country’s Zeitenwende, or major u-turn, on defense policy. But inserting that goal into the national security...

British MPs vote Wednesday on key part of UK-EU Northern Ireland deal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:41 GMT

LONDON — MPs will vote next Wednesday on one of the key measures in the U.K. and EU’s Windsor Framework deal on post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland, ministers have announced.Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt told parliament Thursday that MPs will get the opportunity to debate and vote on the “Stormont Brake” element of the deal, immediately after the weekly prime minister’s questions joust on March 22.Rishi Sunak struck the deal on the Northern Ireland protocol February, following months of talks over the contentious trading rules in the region.The British prime minister has been trying to sell his Windsor Framework deal to the fiercely anti-protocol Democratic Unionist Party, which is yet to decide if it will back it and restore power-sharing in Northern Ireland. A handful of Sunak’s Brexiteer backbenchers have also raised concerns over the deal.If approved, the Stormont Brake measure would effectively allow the Northern Ireland Assembly —...

Tony Blair says Sunak’s Northern Ireland deal ‘best you can do’ post Brexit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:41 GMT

LONDON — Tony Blair had warm words for the EU and U.K.’s latest attempt to put their bitter row over Northern Ireland trade rules to bed — even as he warned that wider issues thrown up for the region by Brexit will be hard to square.The former U.K. prime minister — who led the country for a decade from 1997 and was a key player in the Good Friday Agreement seeking to end conflict over Northern Ireland — has been a long-standing critic of Britain’s exit from the EU.He warned ahead of the U.K.’s referendum that leaving the bloc could wreak havoc with the carefully calibrated setup in Northern Ireland. Unionist politicians in the region are currently boycotting the power-sharing government in objection to post-Brexit rules they see as driving a wedge between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K.Speaking to MPs Thursday, Blair offered qualified praise for current U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s bid to square “a difficult circle” for the region t...

EU executive plans sanctions regime for Russian oligarchs’ relatives

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:41 GMT

The European Commission is preparing a new legal text that would make it possible to sanction family members of prominent Russian businessmen and women, three EU diplomats told POLITICO.The EU executive briefed EU countries on Wednesday that it was working on listing criteria for family members, the diplomats said. Sanctions hawks — Poland and the Baltic states — proposed a similar scheme in February. The Commission then promised to look into the issue in exchange for Poland dropping its resistance against the bloc’s 10th sanctions package at the end of February, a senior EU diplomat said at the time. Poland had claimed that trade restrictions for synthetic rubber didn’t go far enough and had refused to sign off on the package until it received more promises by the Commission for future sanctions.The Commission did not provide details on what specific criteria it is planning on introducing, nor a timeline when that would happen, two of the diplom...

Mass. Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley is asking FDA to investigate possible health risks of chemical hair straighteners

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:41 GMT

Mass. Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley is asking the FDA to investigate the possible health risks associated with chemical hair straighteners.The National Institutes of Health recently published research that shows women who use the products were twice as likely to develop uterine cancer by age 70. Pressley says Black women are disproportionately at risk because they use the products at higher rates. The congresswoman says the FDA should review that research and reevaluate the safety of those products.

Owner of Shaw Farm in Dracut thanks neighbors for helping with barn roof collapse during nor’easter

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:41 GMT

The owner of Shaw Farm in Dracut is thanking his neighbors for lending a helping hand when his barn roof caved in during Tuesday’s nor’easter.The farm lost six out of their 85 cows in the collapse and the remaining cows have been moved to nearby farms.Despite the devastation of losing animals, the Shaw family says they are grateful the collapse wasn’t worse and thankful for the outpouring of support from the community, with over 500 people reaching out to offer help. “People just showed up here to help,” Warren Shaw said. “Some of them with equipment, some of them ready to move animals, and it’s still going on now.”Shaw farm is a Dracut landmark and has been serving the Merrimack Valley for over 110 years.

Worcester parents push for new homework policy that gives ‘study break’ days

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:41 GMT

A group of parents in Worcester are pushing for a new homework policy that gives ‘study break’ days.The parents will propose a plan that would give students homework-free days, which they argue would boost students’ social, emotional, and mental health. The National Education Association has done several studies on how to get students’ hooked on homework. They say students in kindergarten should not have homework at all, and they have endorsed the 10 minute rule, or 10 minutes of homework a night per grade level. The association also recommends connecting assignments to the real world and making sure they have a specific purpose so students are learning and not just working.

Gallery: St. Mary’s 58-47 victory over Old Rochester High School

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:41 GMT

St. Mary's 58-47 victory over No. 3 Old Rochester at Quincy High School

Where might Ravens QB Lamar Jackson end up amid NFL free agency? Here are his potential suitors, ranked.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:41 GMT

The start of NFL free agency on Wednesday saw its share of frenzied activity — quarterback Aaron Rodgers announcing his “intention” to play for the New York Jets led the way — but there was one notable exception.The only news on Lamar Jackson was that there was no news. Unless you count the Ravens quarterback dancing around in some large red boots in a video he posted to Instagram and teammate Marlon Humphrey saying on Twitter that none of his own tweets about Baltimore’s signings or other free agency moves had anything to do with Jackson.“He is his own agent and he definitely not telling me anything cause he know I’ll tweet it,” Humphrey wrote.While Ravens backup quarterback Tyler Huntley’s future became a little more clear when he was given a right-of-first-refusal tender by Baltimore on Wednesday, only continued speculation remains over Jackson’s negotiations with the Ravens or other teams. Still, moves by other organiza...

Sewage spill leads to Oceanside Beach closures

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:41 GMT

OCEANSIDE, Calif. --- A sewage spill at the La Salina wastewater facility was reported at 10 a.m. Wednesday as crews were struggled with a runoff from the latest rainstorm, which flooded into the treatment plant.“We did have a wastewater spill at our la Salina plant. We, for notification purposes, had to put out signage to close the beach,” said Lindsey Leahy, the Oceanside Water Utilities director. San Diego rainfall totals: This area received over 5 inches of rain in two days Estimating thousands of gallons of sewage flowing out of the Loma Alta Creek, inspectors are currently reporting high bacteria levels at Buccaneer Beach. The Ocean was a soupy brown color and most people kept their distance. “I’ve never seen that color. It looks like someone changed the color of the ocean," said Ben Hansen, a local resident. "It looks pretty nasty."There is an obligatory 72-hour beach warning for surfers and swimmers after a rainstorm. In this case, however, water regulators will also be te...