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Italy’s Meloni: Good China relations possible without Belt and Road

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:23 GMT

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Sunday that the country can enjoy good relations with China even without being part of Beijing’s controversial Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).Meloni gave her strongest remarks to date on the BRI in an interview with the Italian daily Il Messaggero amid speculation that Italy might soon drop out of Beijing’s global infrastructure project, which Rome joined in 2019, drawing criticism from the U.S.“Italy is the only G7 member that signed up to the accession memorandum to the Silk Road, but it is not the European or Western country with the strongest economic relations and trade flows with China,” the Italian leader noted in the interview.“This means that it is possible to have good relations with Beijing, also in important domains, without them necessarily being part of an overall strategic plan,” she added.Her comments come one week after G7 leaders met in Hiroshima, Japan, where they stressed the need to “de-risk” from China.Meloni ...

Vermont’s governor vetoes largest budget in state history

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:23 GMT

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Vermont’s governor has vetoed a state budget that would have been the largest in the state history.Republican Gov. Phil Scott said the proposed budget, which is well over $8 billion, would unfairly raise taxes and fees on state residents. He said in his Saturday veto message that Vermonters “have made it clear that living in our state is not affordable” and lawmakers shouldn’t ask them to take on more burden.Scott called on lawmakers to work with him on a new spending plan. The Vermont Legislature is controlled by Democrats, and adjourned its session by passing the budget.Vermont Senate President Pro Tempore Philip Baruth said the legislature can’t act again until late June. Baruth called the veto “disappointing” and said senators “will need to recalibrate our approach as we work with our partners in the House on a response to the governor’s action.”

Texas House of Representatives votes to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:23 GMT

(CNN) — The Texas House of Representatives has voted to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, an unprecedented move following a legislative probe that faulted the third-term Republican for a yearslong pattern of corruption, including abusing his office’s powers, retaliating against whistleblowers and obstructing justice.Under state law, Paxton is now temporarily suspended from his duties as attorney general and will await a Senate trial.The vote was 121-23, with two members voting “present.”“The evidence is substantial. It is alarming and unnerving,” said GOP Rep. Andrew Murr, chair of the General Investigating Committee, during his closing statement following hours of debate. The committee recommended 20 counts of impeachment against Paxton.Democrat Rep. Harold Dutton was one of the members voting present. He said the impeachment vote had been rushed. “The process by which we’re getting this done seems to be abbreviated to the point that it just encroaches on due process,”...

Bear wanders into downtown Hartford

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:23 GMT

HARTFORD, Connecticut (WFSB) — A young bear found its way into a part of downtown Hartford on Friday afternoon.The bear was spotted on Albany Avenue around 1 p.m.Shortly afterward, it entered the backyard of a home on Chestnut Street.That is where it climbed into a tree where it stayed for hours, less than half a mile from Dunkin’ Park.Hartford Police, animal control, DEEP, and EnCon Police were all on the scene.Residents who live in the area were surprised to see the young bear. Neighbors stuck around to watch and take pictures.“He was right there, nice beautiful bear. And then somehow, all these people came out and *woop* into the trees. And it’s been there for a while,” said Roberto Perez.“I was in my room just chilling, and then I heard my name, ‘George, George, there’s a bear out in the back.’ So I ran out in the back, and sure enough, there’s a bear out back right in the trees. So I took my little pictures. It was very strange though because you don’t see bears in this n...

Summer’s Sun, Soaring Temps

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:23 GMT

How about that start to Memorial Day weekend? Low humidity, full on sunshine and temps sent up into the low 70s coast, to low 80s inland. Weather so nice, we want to do it twice… or thrice when it’s a long weekend. The repeat of the sunshine and comfortable amount of humidity we can do today. The biggest difference? Temps run another 5-10 degrees warmer, pushing many towns and cities into the 85-90 range today. Even in Boston, it’ll be warm with highs well into the 80s. Cape Cod temps run 70-75 with a busy southwest wind picking up this afternoon. It will be windy at times across the Cape and Islands and Buzzards Bay this afternoon with gusts 20-30mph. Today is the best pool/beach day, just remember to use that sunscreen as the UV index runs very high. While the sand and the air is warm, the water is still cold this time of year, so be mindful of that if you’re heading out on the boat or planning of jumping in the water. Tomorrow, it’ll be bright again,...

Vacation inflation: Going out of town will cost you this summer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:23 GMT

Your summer getaway could be a budget buster.With inflation not fully tamed and Memorial Day weekend marking the unofficial start of summer, be warned that some vacation expenses are overheated.It wasn’t long ago that numerous businesses, particularly those that sell “fun,” were greatly limited or even shuttered due to pandemic limitations. So, discounting was needed to lure customers until the business restrictions dissolved.For summer 2023, those “welcome back” specials are history. Travel and hospitality businesses are jammed. And like many labor-intensive industries, there’s a worker shortage for leisurely endeavors. That has trimmed the availability of services and raised an operator’s costs.To gauge price pain across the spectrum of vacation spending, my trusty spreadsheet looked at 10 slices of the Consumer Price Index tracking common traveler expenditures. This vacation inflation scorecard compared price averages for the first four m...

Legendary: Derrick White’s incredible buzzer-beater saves Celtics’ season in wild Game 6 win

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:23 GMT

MIAMI — More than an hour after the final buzzer sounded, after the Celtics’ season was saved under improbable, unfathomable circumstances, Jayson Tatum sat up on a podium and buried his face in his hands.He still couldn’t believe what had just happened, what he had just witnessed.“Ooh-whee. Oh, my God,” he said. “That was incredible. …“I’m still like in disbelief. That s— was crazy.”The Celtics’ season looked suddenly lost in the final seconds of Game 6 on Saturday night in Miami. They needed a miracle after they had just blown yet another double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, after Jimmy Butler rose from the dead to put his Heat in front and on the cusp of the NBA Finals, after a wild sequence.But these Celtics thrive when they’re counted out.With three seconds on the clock, the Celtics trailing by one, Derrick White inbounded the ball to Marcus Smart, who heaved a last-second 3-pointer. It rattled in and out. But White didn’t give up on the play, he didn’t quit on ...

Diverse Republican presidential primary field sees an opening in 2024 with voters of color

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:23 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — During Donald Trump’s first visit as president to Chicago, a frequent target in his attacks on urban violence, he disparaged the nation’s third largest city as a haven for criminals and a national embarrassment.At a recent town hall, Republican presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy sat alongside ex-convicts on the city’s South Side and promised to defend Trump’s “America First” agenda. In return, the little-known White House hopeful, a child of Indian immigrants, found a flicker of acceptance in a room full of Black and brown voters.The audience nodded when Ramaswamy said that “anti-Black racism is on the rise,” even if they took issue with his promise to eliminate affirmative action and fight “woke” policies.“America First applies to all Americans — not just the few that Republicans talk to,” he said.Race has emerged as a central issue — and a delicate one — in the 2024 presidential contest as the GOP’s primary field so far features fou...

Government tries to claw back money so Jan. 6 rioters don’t profit from online appeals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:23 GMT

Less than two months after he pleaded guilty to storming the U.S. Capitol, Texas resident Daniel Goodwyn appeared on Tucker Carlson’s then-Fox News show and promoted a website where supporters could donate money to Goodwyn and other rioters whom the site called “political prisoners.”The Justice Department now wants Goodwyn to give up more than $25,000 he raised — a clawback that is part of a growing effort by the government to prevent rioters from being able to personally profit from participating in the attack that shook the foundations of American democracy.An Associated Press review of court records shows that prosecutors in the more than 1,000 of the Jan. 6, 2021, criminal cases are increasingly asking judges to impose fines on top of prison sentences to offset donations from supporters of the Capitol rioters.Dozens of defendants have set up online fundraising appeals for help with legal fees, and prosecutors acknowledge there’s nothing wrong with asking for help for...

Debt ceiling deal: What’s in, what’s out of the agreement to avert US default

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:23 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have reached an agreement in principle on legislation to increase the nation’s borrowing authority and avoid a federal default.Negotiators are now racing to finalize the bill’s text. McCarthy, R-Calif., said the House will vote on the legislation on Wednesday, giving the Senate time to consider it before June 5, the date when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the United States could default on its debt obligations if lawmakers did not act in time. While many details about the deal are unknown, both sides will be able to point to some victories. But some conservatives expressed early concerns that the compromise does not cut future deficits enough, while Democrats have been worried about proposed changes to work requirements in programs such as food stamps.A look at what’s in and out of the deal, based on what’s known so far:TWO-YEAR DEBT INCREASE, SPENDING LIMITSThe agreement would keep nondefense spending...