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US announces $345 million military aid package for Taiwan

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:59:07 GMT

By NOMAAN MERCHANT, ELLEN KNICKMEYER, ZEKE MILLER and TARA COPP (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. on Friday announced $345 million in military aid for Taiwan, in what is the Biden administration’s first major package drawing on America’s own stockpiles to help Taiwan counter China.The White House’s announcement said the package would include defense, education and training for the Taiwanese. Washington will send man-portable air defense systems, or MANPADS, intelligence and surveillance capabilities, firearms and missiles, according to two U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters ahead of the announcement.U.S. lawmakers have been pressuring the Pentagon and White House to speed weapons to Taiwan. The goals are to help it counter China and to deter China from considering attacking, by providing Taipei enough weaponry that it would make the price of invasion too high.The package is in addition to nearly $19 ...

Election reform to minimum wage, groups position ballot questions ahead of 2024

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:59:07 GMT

From ending the use of the MCAS to legalizing psychedelic mental health treatments, special interest groups are positioning themselves to offer ballot questions on proposed laws ahead of the 2024 election and an initial August deadline.Groups have lined up behind some of the most debated topics on Beacon Hill over the past few sessions, including the rights and status of workers, government accountability and transparency, debt-free higher education, and increasing the minimum wage.One firm is eyeing a potential run at election reforms.Partners in Democracy, which is headed up by former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Danielle Allen and pitches itself as a “democracy renovation movement,” is weighing questions around same-day voter registration, simplifying the process for getting on the ballot, and updating the state’s primary process.The group has met with voters and policymakers “for months” to identify ways to improve the state’s current elections process, said John Griffin, ...

Family affair at Patriots summer camp

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:59:07 GMT

Being away from your family isn’t easy, even if you’re an NFL star.The Patriots found a fun solution and stuck to the tradition of players showing off their office — well, field — to their children Friday. Even Grandpa coach Bill Belichick joined in. All in a day’s work.New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick holds a grandchild during training camp at Gillette Stadium on Friday. (Matt Stone/Boston Herald)Matthew Slater #18 of the New England Patriots with his son during training camp at Gillette. (Matt Stone/Boston Herald) Carl Davis Jr. #98 of the New England Patriots holds his little one. (Matt Stone/Boston Herald)New England Patriots line backer coach, Steve Belichick with his family including father head coach Bill Belichick during training camp at Gillette Stadium on Friday in Boston, MA. (Matt Stone/Boston Herald) July 28, 2023

This stretch of La Jolla to be considered for historical designation

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:59:07 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The California State Parks Department is set to consider a proposal next week that could transform a stretch of La Jolla into a federally-recognized historic district. The draft proposal would establish the La Jolla Park Coastal Historic District, preserving and honoring about eight acres of parkland, trails, hotels and business centers along the coast for their role in molding the character of the community."The contiguous coastal parkway shaped the development of the picturesque suburb of La Jolla," the California State Parks department said in a release. "The proposal said (this area) led to the construction of small cottages, bungalows and hotels; and was the center of entertainment and leisure activities."The central roadway of the proposed district is Coast Boulevard. The boundaries for the district would run from the intersection of Coast Walk and Torrey Pines Road in the north to the end of Coast Boulevard in the south. "The entire length of this scenic parkway ...

Deadline for District 4 voter registration approaching in special election

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:59:07 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The deadline for registering to vote in the special election for the vacant Board of Supervisors seat is days away for residents of District 4.Those that live inside the boundaries of the district have until Monday, July 31 to register in order to receive a ballot in the mail for the Aug. 15 election. All registration forms must be postmarked or delivered by the deadline. Voters can also register online up until midnight.According to officials with the Registrar of Voters office, prospective voters will otherwise need to make a trip in person to the Registrar's office in Kearny Mesa or visit a vote center starting Aug. 5 to conditionally register. Timeline: Unfolding of the Nathan Fletcher scandal Voters who conditionally register after the deadline will be able to submit a provisional ballot through Aug. 15. Once the conditional voter registration is verified, registration will become active and the vote from the provisional ballot will be counted. More about condit...

These county parks will be closed to visitors next month

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:59:07 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Anticipating high temperatures, the San Diego County Parks and Recreation Department is closing off five regional parks to visitors for the entirety of August.El Capitan Preserve in Lakeside, Hellhole Canyon Preserve in Valley Center and Mt. Gower County Preserve in Ramona will close from Aug. 1 through Aug. 31, joining two parks near Anza-Borrego -- Agua Caliente and Vallecito -- that are closed now through Labor Day weekend.All of the parks, which undergo annual closures, carry a heightened safety risk for visitors when a heat wave sets in, according to county officials. This comes after multiple reported heat-related deaths on trails in the San Diego County area -- most recently, an elderly man who was found dead on Wednesday after likely experiencing heat exhaustion during a routine hike in Rancho Bernardo. Areas of Ocean Beach under advisory for bacteria in the water During the closure to the five parks, the Parks and Recreation department will also be conductin...

Trucking company Yellow Corp. is reportedly preparing for bankruptcy. Here’s what you need to know

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:59:07 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The fate of U.S. trucking company Yellow Corp. isn’t looking good.After years of financial struggles, Yellow is reportedly preparing for bankruptcy and seeing customers leave in large numbers — heightening risk for future liquidation. While no official decision has been announced by the company, the prospect of bankruptcy has renewed attention around Yellow’s ongoing negotiations with unionized workers, a $700 million pandemic-era loan from the government and other bills the trucker has racked up over time.Yellow, formerly known as YRC Worldwide Inc., is one of the nation’s largest less-than-truckload carriers. The Nashville, Tennessee-based company has some 30,000 employees across the country.Here’s what you need to know.IS YELLOW FILING FOR BANKRUPTCY?Not yet. But industry experts suspect that a bankruptcy filing could come any day now. People familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal that the company could seek bankruptcy protec...

Niger adds to growing list of countries in the Sahel run by the military

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:59:07 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Mutinous soldiers in Niger this week overthrew the democratically elected government of President Mohamed Bazoum, adding to a growing list of military regimes in West Africa’s Sahel region and raising fears of regional destabilization.The Sahel, the vast arid expanse south of the Sahara Desert, faces growing violence from Islamic extremists, which in turn has caused people to turn against elected governments.The military takeovers have followed a similar pattern: The coup leaders accuse the government of failing to meet the people’s expectations for delivering dividends of democracy. They say they will usher in a new democratic government to address those shortcomings, but the process gets delayed.Karim Manuel, west and central Africa analyst for the Economist Intelligence Unit, says the military governments threaten to unwind democratic gains made not just in the Sahel region but in the broader West Africa region.“This increases political instability going for...

Montana train derailment report renews calls for automated systems to detect track problems

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:59:07 GMT

Federal investigators renewed their recommendation that major freight railroads equip every locomotive with the kind of autonomous sensors that could have caught the track flaws that caused a fatal 2021 Amtrak derailment in northern Montana.But installing the sensors on the tens of thousands of locomotives in the fleet could be cost prohibitive, and it’s not entirely clear if one would have caught the combination of rail flaws that the National Transportation Safety Board said caused the crash near Joplin, Montana, that killed three people and injured 49 others. And rail unions caution that no technology should be a substitute for human inspectors.The NTSB report laid blame in part on BNSF railroad, which owns the tracks, and “a shortcoming in its safety culture.” But it noted that even if track inspections had been more frequent, the severity of the problems may not have been noticed the day of the crash without devices and technology designed to enhance the inspections.“It i...

Count of ballots from Spaniards abroad gives edge to right-wing block and deepens the stalemate

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:59:07 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Ballots from Spaniards living abroad were counted Friday, and they gave a new twist to the inconclusive results from the general election.The conservative Popular Party gained an additional seat from Madrid’s constituency late in the day at the expense of the Socialist Workers’ Party. That change gives the right-wing coalition of the PP and the far-right Vox party 172 seats in the lower house of parliament and drops left-wing forces to 171.Forming a stable governing coalition will require one of the blocks to have the support of 176 lawmakers in the 350-seat body, and it’s not clear that either side will be able to obtain enough backing from smaller parties.The country’s main political parties had been waiting for the count in the hope they might win seats from opponents and recompose the final picture. Results coming in from different constituencies during the day showed no changes across Spain — until Madrid added the last-gasp surprise.The switch lik...