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Guregian: No ultimatums, but Patriots owner Robert Kraft got his points across

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:41 GMT

PHOENIX — Robert Kraft stole headlines last year at the NFL owners meetings when he seemingly drew a line in the sand with members of his football staff by voicing his displeasure over not winning a playoff game in three seasons.That tone didn’t change after the Patriots’ 8-9 season last year, as Kraft sent a letter to season ticket holders in January once again voicing dissatisfaction with the product and promising “critical evaluations.”Let’s just say being irrelevant in the NFL is not Kraft’s cup of tea.So did he toss any more verbal grenades during his session with the media Monday at the owner’s meetings?Let’s just say spliced in between numerous compliments for his head coach — “I still believe in Bill” — and the optimism he now feels given moves made thus far, most notably the addition of Bill O’Brien, Kraft still managed to launch a few zingers.Asked if he still had confidence in Bill Belichick, Kraft closed his answer with this: “In the end, this is a business. You ei...

Former Taiwan leader begins mainland tour at historic tomb

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:41 GMT

NANJING, China (AP) — Former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou began a 12-day tour of China with a symbolism-laden visit to the mausoleum where the founding father of both China and Taiwan is entombed.Ma visited the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing, the capital when Ma’s Nationalist Party (Kuomingtang) ruled China in the early part of the 20th century. The party claimed to be the legitimate ruler of China for decades and is seen as more sympathetic to integration or unification with the mainland than the ruling Democratic People’s Party.There, he paid tribute to Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Republic of China and the Nationalist Party, giving a short speech and then bowing in front of the memorial. “The people of both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to the Chinese nation, are children of Yandi and the Yellow Emperor,” he told a group of Chinese and Taiwanese reporters who had been allowed to follow him on the trip, referring to mythical emperors revered as founders of China’s ...

France braces for violence in new wave of pension protests

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:41 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Striking workers waving burning flares on Tuesday invaded and blocked train tracks serving one of Paris’ main railway stations, joining a new day of nationwide protests against unpopular pension reforms. Dozens of railway workers with flags and flares marched along tracks outside Gare de Lyon. Peaceful marches were also getting underway in other cities, in the latest day of nationwide marches and strikes against President Emmanuel Macron’s push to raise France’s legal retirement age from 62 to 64.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.PARIS (AP) — France’s government unfurled ramped-up security measures and warnings that violent demonstrators intend “to destroy, to injure and to kill” as trade unions launched a new flurry of marches and strikes Tuesday against pension reforms that have triggered an intense months-long firestorm of protest.Fears that violence could mar demonstrations planned across the country prompted what Interior ...

US, Japan reach deal on vital minerals for EV batteries

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:41 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japan and the United States have reached an agreement on trade in critical minerals for electric vehicle batteries, part of an effort to diversify supply chains and reduce reliance on China for strategically important resources. The deal struck Tuesday is expected to help electric vehicles using metals processed in Japan qualify for tax incentives under President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. “This announcement is proof of President Biden’s commitment to building resilient and secure supply chains,” U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a statement. The Inflation Reduction Act, enacted in August, requires a portion of the critical minerals used in EV batteries to be mined in or processed domestically or from countries with which the U.S. has free trade agreements. Japan and the U.S. have no such FTA, but the deal will grant Japan the same treatment as an FTA partner regarding such minerals, Japanese officials said. As a result, the two sides said ...

China ambassador arrives in North Korea in sign of reopening

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:41 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China said Tuesday its new ambassador to North Korea has taken up his post, in a sign the North is reopening amid reports it has been suffering heavily from the COVID-19 pandemic and food shortages. Wang Yajun will help in the development of the traditional friendship between the “close neighbors sharing mountains and rivers,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily briefing.China is North Korea’s main source of economic aid and political support, but interactions have been disrupted by travel restrictions imposed in an attempt to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The ambassador’s posting comes as North Korean state media reported that leader Kim Jong Un urged his nuclear scientists to increase production of weapons-grade material to make bombs to put on the country’s widening range of weapons. The report Tuesday followed a series of missile launches — seven this month alone — and rising threats to use the weapons against North Korea’s enemies...

In North Carolina, Biden to compare economic plan with GOP’s

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:41 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will visit an expanding North Carolina semiconductor manufacturer on Tuesday as he launches an extended effort to spotlight the impact legislation passed earlier in his administration is having on the U.S. economy and contrast his vision with that of Republicans as they square off on budget priorities.Biden’s visit to Wolfspeed follows the Durham-based company’s announcement last September to build a $5 billion manufacturing facility in Chatham County that is expected to create 1,800 new jobs. Biden had won passage last July of a $280 billion legislative package known as the CHIPS Act, which was intended to boost the U.S. semiconductor industry and scientific research.It’s nothing new for the Biden administration to highlight the CHIPS Act, the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill, the $1 trillion infrastructure legislation and a roughly $375 billion climate bill — major legislation that the Democratic administration steered into la...

California farmers flood fields to boost groundwater basin

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:41 GMT

A field that has long grown tomatoes, peppers and onions now looks like a wind-whipped ocean as farmer Don Cameron seeks to capture the runoff from a freakishly wet year in California to replenish the groundwater basin that is his only source to water his crops. Taking some tomatoes out of production for a year is an easy choice if it means boosting future water supplies for his farm about 35 miles (56 kilometers) southwest of Fresno. He’s pumping 300 acre-feet a day — enough to supply hundreds of households for a year — from the gushing North Fork of the Kings River onto former vegetable fields and others dotted with pistachio trees, which can withstand heavy flooding.“We knew long-term if we didn’t have water, we’d be out of business,” Cameron said. “We’re doing our part to protect communities downstream, but we’re also putting the water in the ground.”The 70-year-old has spent more than a decade building and expanding a system to divert floodwaters from nearby rural communities a...

Global shares mostly rise on relief over US bank strength

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:41 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares were mostly higher on Tuesday as investors got some relief from worries over troubled U.S. lenders from a takeover of failed Silicon Valley Bank. France’s CAC 40 added 0.5% to 7,116.72 in early trading. Germany’s DAX rose 0.4% to 15,191.93. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.4% to 7,504.04. The future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1% while the future for the S&P 500 was virtually unchanged. Asian shares finished higher. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 edged up 0.2% to finish at 27,518.25. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.0% to 7,034.10. South Korea’s Kospi added 1.1% to 2,434.94. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.9% to 19,751.94, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.2% to 3,245.38. “Asian equities were positive on Tuesday, lifted by mostly higher major indices in the previous session. Receding fears surrounding the banking crisis and surging oil prices led to solid risk-taking flows,” Anderson Alves of A...

Queer photographer Evergon, witchy artists Fastwurms among Governor General winners

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:41 GMT

A photographer whose work documents and celebrates the homoerotic is among the winners of this year’s Governor General Awards in Visual and Media Arts.Evergon, 77,said he was hopeful he’d receive one of the Artistic Achievement Awards eventually, but he’s “gobsmacked” that it’s actually happened. Over the course of his career, which is now in its fifth decade, the artist born Albert Jay Lunt said he’s seen attitudes towards his work shift alongside the perception of the LGBTQ community.“There’s pieces that were scandal 40 and 50 years ago, and there seems to be no scandal with those pieces at the moment,” he said in a phone interview ahead of Tuesday’s announcement. “Matter of fact, there has been no scandal.”A retrospective of the Montreal artist’s work is on display at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec in Quebec City. The museum describes his art as audacious and carnal, exploring issues ...

MLB free agent watch: Ohtani leads possible 2023-24 class

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:41 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — The number will follow Shohei Ohtani until it is over. No, not Ohtani’s home runs or strikeouts or any of his magnificent numbers from the field. Nothing like that.It’s all about how much. As in how much will his next contract be worth.Ohtani is among several players going into their final seasons before they are eligible for free agency. There is still time for signatures and press conferences before opening day, but history shows a new contract becomes less likely once the real games begin.There is no real precedent for placing a value on Ohtani’s remarkable skills, especially after baseball’s epic offseason spending spree. And that doesn’t factor in the potential business opportunities that go along with the majors’ only truly global star.Ohtani hit .273 with 34 homers and 95 RBIs last season in his fifth year with the Los Angeles Angels. The 2021 AL MVP also went 15-9 with a 2.33 ERA in 28 starts on the mound.He prepared for thi...