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IMF statement blocked over ‘totally unacceptable’ language on Russia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:15 GMT

MARRAKECH — Disagreements over language referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prevented the issuance of a joint statement from the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.Officials gathered in Morocco to discuss economic and monetary policy have failed to come to a consensus after countries including Ukraine, the Netherlands, Canada and the Nordics objected to the way the invasion was described in a draft text.The language was “totally unacceptable” said an official from Ukraine, who was granted anonymity to speak about confidential talks. “It was just not strong enough,” said an official from another country.Spain, which chaired the talks, had proposed replicating the language agreed to by G20 leaders in Delhi last month, which did not condemn Russia but instead stated that there are “different views and assessments of the situation.”“We have tried our best to reach a communique,” Spanish Finance Minister Nadia Calviño said. “This was not possible...

‘We’re at war’ — Tensions crackle in East Jerusalem and the West Bank as Israel prepares assault on Gaza

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:15 GMT

JERUSALEM — The streets of old Jerusalem are swept empty these days. Normally, tourists crowd through the narrow lanes past market stalls on their way toward the city’s celebrated holy sites.But in the week since Hamas massacred more than 1,000 Israelis outside of Gaza, the conflict has made itself felt here too. “We are at war,” a 26-year-old Palestinian named Adam told me as he strolled through the old town with his friends. In Jerusalem’s Old City he lives together with Israeli Jews and says that he has no friends in Gaza. But he was impressed with what Hamas had done and emphatic in his denials that the militant group killed any children. Muslims, he said, wouldn’t do that.The other young men nodded their assent. But before I could ask their names, they scattered to take refuge in a nearby building as three police officers approached. As Israel bombs Gaza in response to Hamas’ attack — which killed more than 1,300 Israelis, including many children&nbs...

The Orioles were one of three 100-win MLB teams to lose in the playoffs. It’s too early to blame the format. | ANALYSIS

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:15 GMT

Since 1990, MLB’s winningest team has won the World Series just seven times.The two teams tied for the most single-season wins in MLB history — the 1906 Chicago Cubs and 2001 Seattle Mariners — both had losing playoff records. The 2006 title-winning St. Louis Cardinals had a winning percentage of .516, just above average. And as recently as 2021, the Atlanta Braves — with the 12th-most regular season wins — won the World Series.The postseason is home to the unpredictable, where healthy rosters and timely performances reign supreme. If anything is to blame for MLB’s best getting bounced this year — the Orioles (101-61), Braves (104-58) and Los Angeles Dodgers (100-62) combined to go 1-9 in the divisional round — it’s the randomness of the playoffs and those teams falling flat for a few days in October, not the five-day break each of them received.“It’s a round bat and a round ball and a round Earth that we l...

Owings Mills football quarterback Malakai Dickens accounts for 3 touchdowns as Eagles beat Dulaney, 28-6

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:15 GMT

Owings Mills hosted the Dulaney Lions on Friday night with the host Eagles trying to keep their unbeaten season going.Owings Mills showcased an offensive barrage and played great defensively, posting a 28-6 win.Every time Dulaney tried to get the ball in the air, they could not get anything against the Eagles defense. Dulaney was forced into being one-dimensional on offense, with the bulk of the Lions’ yards coming on quarterback runs.Meanwhile, Owings Mills quarterback Malakai Dickens shook off a first-quarter fumble and was dominant in both the run and passing game. He threw two touchdown passes and ran in another touchdown.Dickens had an impressive 16-yard run late in the third quarter, scrambling after not finding any receivers open that led to a touchdown.Junior running back Nevaeh Elliot also had an impressive game. One of his best runs was a 51-yard run in the first quarter where was brought down a yard short of the end zone.Anytime that Elliot touched the ball, he wou...

NFL notes: Why the Patriots let reliable receiver Jakobi Meyers walk and what went wrong

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:15 GMT

Days before free agency opened last March, Jakobi Meyers found himself stuck in the NFL’s version of the friend zone.Front-office evaluators viewed the ex-Patriot as good, not great. Solid, but unspectacular. A receiver with a great personality who fulfilled his basic duties akin to making nice and picking up the tab.But Meyers did little outside of that to excite them; like gaining yards after the catch, breaking tackles and drawing defensive attention. Thus, no team wanted to marry itself to the 26-year-old financially, and instead extended timid offers within a once booming wide receiver market.Only one team, however, seemed intent on a breakup: the Patriots.Days before signing with Las Vegas, a shocked Meyers told inquiring teammates and staffers: “They don’t want me.”One league source indicated the Pats weren’t even the runner-up for Meyers, despite entering free agency with the sixth-most cap space in the NFL. This week, Bill Belichick claimed Mey...

Hunter Biden investigations lead to ethical concerns about President Biden, an AP-NORC poll shows

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:15 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ethical concerns are casting a shadow over President Joe Biden as he seeks reelection amid ongoing investigations into his son Hunter and an impeachment inquiry, with a poll showing that 35% of U.S. adults believe the president himself has done something illegal.An additional 33% say they think the Democratic president behaved unethically, but not illegally. And 30% say Joe Biden did nothing wrong, according to the poll. The results of the survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research reflect both a vast political divide and skepticism about the morality of government leaders. House Republicans have launched an impeachment inquiry into Biden, seeking to tie the president to the foreign business dealings of his 53-year-old son. Hunter Biden is facing a separate criminal indictment by a special counsel after a plea deal in a tax and gun case fell apart. Republicans have been investigating Hunter Biden for years, since his father was vice pres...

Police in Warsaw seal off a large square after a man climbs a monument and reportedly makes threats

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:15 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Large numbers of police and special counterterrorism officers sealed off a large square in the Polish capital on Saturday after a man climbed the top of a monument and threatened to blow himself up, the Polish news agency PAP reported.The incident took place at Pilsudski Square, the site of a memorial to late President Lech Kaczynski and the dozens of other victims of a plane crash near Smolensk, Russia.The man’s intentions and whether he had an explosive device were not immediately known. Police said the officers were still on site and did not give any further details.The incident came on the eve of a critical national election. The country’s de facto leader is Lech Kaczynski’s surviving twin, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, while his ruling Law and Justice party is fighting for an unprecedented third straight term.The Associated Press

Blinken calls for protection of civilians as Israel prepares for expected assault on Gaza

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:15 GMT

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Saturday for protection for civilians in both the Gaza Strip and Israel as the Israeli military ordered half of the Palestinian territory’s population to evacuate in advance of an expected ground assault. Blinken met his Saudi Arabian counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, in Riyadh as he began a third day of intense Middle East diplomacy aimed at preventing the Israel-Hamas war from expanding into a regional conflict and fueling a humanitarian crisis.Both stressed the importance of minimizing the harm to civilians as Israel prepared for an anticipated incursion against Hamas a week after the militant group’s unprecedented attack in Israel. “As Israel pursues its legitimate right, to defending its people and to trying to ensure that this never happens again, it is vitally important that all of us look out for civilians, and we’re working together to do exactly that,” Blinken said before heading to ...

Pinkett Smith discusses Oscar slap in new interview

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:15 GMT

(WCMH) — Another exclusive preview from Hoda Kotb’s in-depth interview with Jada Pinkett Smith aired on NBC’s “Today” show Friday morning.In the new clip, which is part of an hour-long special scheduled to air October 13 at 8 p.m. on NBC4, Pinkett Smith discussed the 2022 Academy Awards, when Will Smith slapped Oscar host Chris Rock on stage.During the 2022 ceremony, Rock made a joke about Pinkett Smith, who has been dealing with hair loss due to alopecia and had a shaved head. In response to the jab, Smith approached the stage, slapped Rock, and then turned and sat back down in his seat.In the segment, Kotb observed that Pinkett Smith seemed visibly perturbed when Rock initially made a comment about her hair.Pinkett Smith then explained why she reacted with an eye roll at the time.In an NBC News Special, Jada tells TODAY's Hoda Kotb her side of the story about the infamous episode at the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony when her husband, Will Smith, struck comedian Chris Rock after a j...

Gunfire from hunting can hurt hearing forever

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:15 GMT

HERBSTER, Wis. — The first thing you notice about Mike Amman’s new grouse hunting gun is that it doesn’t look anything like a grouse hunting gun.Far from a fancy Italian double-barrel with fine wood and an ornately carved receiver (he has something like that), his new pump gun is black and plastic and made in the U.S. And it has this thing on the end of the barrel that looks very strange.Mike Amman, of Ashland, Wis., has developed serious hearing loss and profound ringing in his left ear after years of shooting shotguns. He recently purchased a custom-made noise suppressor for his shotgun that dampens the noise of the blast. He also wears an electronic hearing protection ear bud that amplifies ambient sounds but cuts off shotgun blasts. (John Myers / Forum News Service)That thing is a suppressor, a device that quiets the blast noise, just part of the concerted effort Amman is making after suffering hearing loss due to shotgun blasts while hunting.Amman, 45, of Ashland, a county fore...