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Pope visits refugees, urges Hungary to show charity to all

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:45:25 GMT

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Pope Francis thanked Hungarians on Saturday for welcoming Ukrainian refugees and urged them to help anyone in need, as he begged for a culture of charity in a country where the prime minister has justified firm anti-immigration policies with fears that migration threatens Europe’s Christian culture.On the second day of a visit to Hungary, Francis met with refugees and poor people at St. Elizabeth’s church, which was named for a Hungarian princess who renounced her wealth to dedicate herself to the poor as a follower of the pope’s namesake, St. Francis of Assisi. Speaking in the white-brick church in Budapest, Francis recalled that the Gospel instructs Christians to show love and compassion to all, especially those experiencing poverty and pain and “even those who are not believers.”“The love that Jesus gives us and commands us to practice can help to uproot the evils of indifference and selfishness from society, from our cities and the places where we ...

Leclerc hits wall but on pole again for Azerbaijan sprint

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:45:25 GMT

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Charles Leclerc hit the wall and still qualified on pole position for Saturday’s sprint race in Formula One’s first “sprint shootout” qualifying session.The Ferrari driver, who also qualified on pole Friday for the main Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday, set a fast time midway through the last segment of the shootout but then veered into a barrier and broke his front wing. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen each had another lap to beat Leclerc’s time but fell short, with Perez placing second and Verstappen third.The new “shootout” event is a shortened version of the usual qualifying format which decides the grid for the 17-lap sprint race. Previously, F1 race weekends had a standard qualifying session for the sprint race, then used the sprint results as the grid for the main Grand Prix. The format change is designed to encourage drivers to take more risks in the sprint race because they won’t risk being penalized for the Gr...

‘Completely unacceptable’: 6 DC firefighters put on leave, man arrested after brawl caught on camera

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:45:25 GMT

A man was taken into custody after he and a group of D.C. firefighters got into a physical fight on Tuesday night, according to an incident report from the Metropolitan Police Department of D.C.In a police report, officials claim Charles Simpkins II, of no known address, was acting aggressively toward a firefighter out on a 911 call at 14 Florida Avenue NW when the fight began. According to the report, the 43-year-old punched the firefighter in the face, beginning the altercation.A video of the fight that was posted on Twitter the next day shows multiple firefighters punching and kicking Simpkins as another tackled him to the ground.According to the police report, officers arrived on the scene and placed Simpkins under arrest after the incident.The DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department released a statement that called the actions of the firefighters in the video “completely unacceptable” and are not reflective of “the behavior we require of our members....

Steamy Weekend with a Sunday Front

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:45:25 GMT

The hot and humid weather will continue into this weekend with overall nice conditions for the first half of the weekend before a broken line of strong to severe thunderstorms marches into South Florida on Sunday.Expect partly cloudy skies this Saturday with a few isolated showers and storms during the daylight hours, especially inland. Most areas will remain dry but the heat sure will not be of the dry variety with high humidity in place. High temperatures will reach the upper 80s to low 90s at most locations but will feel like the mid to upper 90s!More clouds build in tonight along with the chance for a couple showers and an isolated storm but most areas will remain dry once again.It’s not until Sunday when a front approaches Florida from the Gulf of Mexico with a broken line of rain and thunderstorms ahead of this front. This line of rain is forecast to move across South Florida during the late morning through early afternoon hours with sunshine and warm conditions ahead of...

Crimea fuel depot ablaze following apparent drone attack

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:45:25 GMT

A fuel depot in the port city of Sevastopol, on the Crimean peninsula illegally annexed by Russia, caught fire on Saturday, causing a major blaze.Preliminary information suggested the fire was caused by a drone strike, Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russia-installed governor of Sevastopol, wrote on Telegram.He said the fire at a fuel reserve in Sevastopol’s Kazachya Bay district engulfed “around 1,000 square meters,” but that the situation was under control and no one was hurt.Sevastopol, which houses the naval base for Russia’s Black Sea fleet, has repeatedly been targeted in air attacks following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.A spokesperson for Ukraine’s armed forces told Reuters that he did not have any information to suggest Ukraine was responsible for the fire.

ASK IRA: Are Heat complementary pieces deserving of playoff compliments (and offseason cash)?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:45:25 GMT

Q: The Bucks series proved that there are at least a few of the undrafted players that are what we thought they were. Your thoughts? – Brent, Wellington.A: As long as expectations were tempered with Gabe Vincent, Max Strus and Caleb Martin, their contributions certainly have contributed to success. What happened was once the Heat gave that five-year, $90 million package to Duncan Robinson, the calculus of concern changed, as if Pat Riley would lavish something similar on anyone and everyone with similar credentials. The Heat wound up re-signing Caleb at $20.4 million for three seasons last summer. That stands as a value contract as any measure. With a bit of salary-cap gymnastics, the Heat should be able to do the same with Gabe and Max this summer. At such price points, there would be value there, as well.Q: Pulling Bam Adebayo to play point guard during the last five minutes of regulation in Milwaukee was genius. – Ben, Weston.A: And was an interesting intersection of ...

Lucas: Biden’s debate phobia hurts voters

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:45:25 GMT

If President Biden were truly interested in standing up for democracy, he’d agree to debate his two Democrat Party opponents.After all, what is more democratic than a debate among candidates seeking to lead the greatest democracy the world has ever known?One opponent is easily written off. That’s fringe candidate Marianne Williamson, an author and spiritualist.The other is the more worthy candidate Robert F.  Kennedy Jr., son of New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy.Asked about challenging Biden to a debate, Kennedy, in a roundabout way, as is his wont, said he would.Kennedy said, “I have known and liked Joe Biden for many years, but we differ profoundly on fundamental issues such as corporate influence in government, censorship, civil liberties, poverty, corruption, and war policy, among others. I look forward to engaging him in debates and town hall meetings, in a primary election that is honest, civil, and transparent.“I invite him into a n...

Guregian: Patriots can’t miss on can’t-miss prospect Christian Gonzalez

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:45:25 GMT

FOXBORO – Christian Gonzalez certainly has the desired profile to be a fixture on defense for many years to come. The Oregon cornerback, taken with the 17th overall pick by the Patriots, has future star potential written all over him.Given his athletic traits, he could very well be added to the list of great defensive first-round picks made by Bill Belichick, joining such luminaries as Richard Seymour (2001), Ty Warren (2003), Jerod Mayo (2008), Devin McCourty (2010) and Dont’a Hightower (2012) in the pantheon of all-time best first-rounders.But let’s not put the proverbial cart before the horse.It’s up to Gonzalez and the Patriots to turn that potential into NFL stardom.Because, when it comes to cornerbacks, the Pats have been all over the map. They’ve hit it out of the park with undrafted free agents (Malcolm Butler, J.C. Jackson, Jonathan Jones), but don’t have the best batting average when it comes to developing their higher round picks at the position.Outside of McCourty and As...

FBI snooped on Bill Russell for discredited Black Panther links, betting, more

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:45:25 GMT

Newly released FBI documents show Celtics legend Bill Russell was being shadowed by the feds for possible ties to the Black Panthers and allegedly gambling on hoop games.He was also interviewed by the FBI after a “threat was made against his life” and the State Department allowed the FBI to review Russell’s passport.That passport document from 1968 listed his date of birth in Monroe, La., Feb. 12, 1934, his height, 6-feet, 9-inches tall, his wife, parents, address in Reading, Mass., on Haverhill Street and his occupation: Professional athlete.It’s all part of the first installment of documents — some heavily redacted — on the legendary center who won a staggering 11 championships in Boston as a player and player-coach. The Herald obtained the records under the federal Freedom of Information Act.The news that the FBI snooped on Russell upset one former teammate who blasted the G-men for targeting a Civil Rights icon and genuine superstar.“Rus...

Families minister says Tory premiers touting child care should ask Poilievre for plan

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:45:25 GMT

OTTAWA — Provincial conservative premiers touting $10-a-day child-care deals with Ottawa is a welcome move, even if some of the leaders now campaigning on the deals were among the last to sign them, federal Liberal Families Minister Karina Gould said.Now she says they need to push federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to explain if he would keep the agreements in place.“They should probably be prodding their federal counterpart at the Conservative Party of Canada as to what their position is.”Between July 2021 and March 2022, the federal government signed deals with every province and territory that would see child-care fees cut in half within the year and to an average of $10 a day within five years. The 2021 budget earmarked $30 billion over five years for the plan.Poilievre has not committed to honour the agreements. During the last election, the Conservatives under then-leader Erin O’Toole campaigned on a promise to respect the deals — not all of which w...