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New men’s global rugby competition starting in 2026 hailed and assailed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:21 GMT

The Six Nations will lose a rest week to accommodate a new global men’s competition outside of the Rugby World Cup starting in 2026.A European conference of Six Nations sides will play the Rest of the World featuring the Rugby Championship teams and two others — tipped to be Japan and Fiji — in the July and November test windows culminating in a grand final in Europe at the end of the November window.Called the Nations Championship for now, it will be played every two years but ring-fenced to the 12 original teams until 2032 — after the next two Rugby World Cups.A second division of 12 tier two teams who have yet to be determined will start in 2026 with promotion-relegation from 2030.No contracts have been signed, everything has been agreed to in principle, but World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont hailed the vote to approve it all on Tuesday as “an historic moment for our sport that sets us up collectively for success.”But South America Rugby president Sebastian Pineyrua warned ...

Haitian gang leader charged with ordering kidnapping of US couple that left woman dead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:21 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A powerful Haitian gang leader has been charged by U.S. prosecutors with ordering the kidnapping of an American couple from their home in Haiti that left the woman dead, authorities said Tuesday.Vitel’homme Innocent — who remains at large and is believed to be living in Tabarre, Haiti — is accused of directing the Oct. 2022 kidnapping of Jean Franklin and Marie Odette Franklin for ransom.Armed gang members stormed their home, and Marie Franklin was shot and killed in the kidnapping. Her husband, Jean, was held for 21 days and released following ransom payments made to the gang on behalf of his family, authorities said.Authorities are offering a reward of $1 million for information leading to the arrest of Innocent, who runs the violent Kraze Barye gang that operates in Port-au-Prince.“When Americans are kidnapped abroad we will show there will be swift accountability for such conduct,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves.Innocent was prev...

GLX fixes could occur during overnight shutdowns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:21 GMT

Miles of tracks that are too narrow across the Green Line Extension could be fixed by mid-November following up to two weeks of evening closures, MBTA General Manager Phil Eng said Tuesday.Days after he revealed that most of the nearly brand-new rails on the extension need to be widened, Eng told agency overseers the contractors responsible for the project have proposed tackling the problems in 10 to 14 nights of work starting around Nov. 1.Green Line Extension Constructors, the joint venture that built the 4.4-mile expansion, suggested shutting down service on the rails from 9 p.m. each night until 5 a.m. the following morning during that span, Eng said. Regular service would resume each day following the overnight work.Eng said his team is still reviewing the proposal and has not yet committed to it.“This is not going to be something that continues on for months and months, or even longer. It is something that can be addressed in a matter of weeks,” Eng told the M...

Massachusetts GOP couple agree to state’s largest settlement after campaign finance investigation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:21 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — The Massachusetts Attorney General’s office announced settlements Tuesday with a Republican couple and others after investigators found evidence of campaign finance violations.The settlements to be paid by Republican state Sen. Ryan Fattman, Worcester County Register of Probate Stephanie Fattman and others total hundreds of thousands of dollars — the largest amounts ever paid by candidate committees to the state to resolve cases after campaign finance investigations, according to Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, a Democrat.The Office of Campaign and Political Finance investigated contributions funneled from Ryan Fattman’s senate campaign committee through state and local Republican committees to Stephanie Fattman’s register of probate committee during her 2020 reelection campaign.In 2020, Ryan Fattman’s campaign donated money to the Republican State Committee and the Sutton Republican Town Committee, which used the money to help fund more than 500,...

Aaron Rodgers says his goal is to return to the field this season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:21 GMT

(CNN) — New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers has said that he would “love to come back this season” as he continues his rehab from an Achilles injury suffered in the first game of the season.Rodgers tore his Achilles just four plays into his first game for the Jets and underwent surgery last month. He has since been attending Jets games and was seen throwing passes on the field before the team faced the Philadelphia Eagles on October 15.Speaking on ESPN’s ManningCast on Monday, Rodgers told Peyton and Eli Manning that he is targeting a full return this season.“I’ve had a couple of injuries over the years,” said the 39-year-old. “I think for me, you always have to set a goal, otherwise you go kind of crazy.“So the goal is to definitely come back. There’s a lot of factors that go into that. I’ve got to get to a point where I can protect myself and do what I do.“To me, throwing on the field was just a way to feel normal. When you’re away from the team a...

Tom Emmer’s bid to be speaker on verge of collapse

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:21 GMT

(CNN) — House GOP Whip Tom Emmer’s bid to be speaker is on the verge of collapse amid opposition from the right flank of his conference and fresh attacks waged by former President Donald Trump – coming just hours after the Minnesota Republican was picked as the party’s nominee.Several Republicans who oppose Emmer say they will not move off their opposition and are calling for a new candidate. Emmer can only afford to lose four Republicans, and 26 voted against him behind closed doors.Emmer voted to certify the 2020 election, voted to keep the government open for 47 days, voted for the bipartisan law to avoid a debt default and voted to codify same-sex marriage – all issues that members of the hard-right have cited as issues.In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump went after Emmer after House Republicans elected him as their latest speaker nominee, writing that voting for Emmer “would be a tragic mistake.”Pressure is intensifying on House Republicans to elect a new speaker t...

States sue Meta claiming its social platforms are addictive and harm children’s mental health

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:21 GMT

By BARBARA ORTUTAY (AP Technology Writer)Dozens of US states, including California and New York, are suing Meta Platforms Inc. for harming young people and contributing to the youth mental health crisis by knowingly and deliberately designing features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children to its platforms.A lawsuit filed by 33 states in federal court in California, claims that Meta routinely collects data on children under 13 without their parents’ consent, in violation of federal law. In addition, nine attorneys general are filing lawsuits in their respective states, bringing the total number of states taking action to 41 and Washington, D.C.“Meta has harnessed powerful and unprecedented technologies to entice, engage, and ultimately ensnare youth and teens. Its motive is profit, and in seeking to maximize its financial gains, Meta has repeatedly misled the public about the substantial dangers of its social media platforms,” the complaint says. “It has concealed the ways i...

‘World’s safest asset’ proves anything but amid wild Treasuries

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:21 GMT

By Liz Capo McCormick and Michael Mackenzie, Bloomberg NewsA surprisingly strong U.S. economy and mixed signals from the Federal Reserve have fueled some of the wildest swings in Treasuries in recent memory. Add geopolitical angst and a surge in debt supply and you have a recipe for sustained volatility for months to come, market watchers say.Dubbed the “world’s safest asset,” Treasuries have not lived up to that title lately as dramatic moves in yields become an almost daily occurrence. Just last week, the rate on the 10-year swung in a range of almost 40 basis points, buffeted by crosscurrents including resilient retail sales and jobless figures, a bevy of comments from Fed officials and rising demand for haven assets amid concerns of an escalating conflict in the Middle East.“It’s going to be a rough ride, so buckle up,” Mike Schumacher, head of macro strategy at Wells Fargo Securities, said on Bloomberg TV. Interest-rate volatility should “remain quite high, at least through the...

Massachusetts attorney general joins in multi-state, federal lawsuit against Instagram parent Meta

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:21 GMT

Massachusetts’ attorney general has announced that she is suing Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta for “unfair and deceptive practices that harm young people.”“Meta preys on our young people and has chosen to profit by knowingly targeting and exploiting their vulnerabilities. In doing so, Meta has significantly contributed to the ongoing mental health crisis among our children and teenagers,” Attorney General Andrea Campbell said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.Stuart Cahill/Boston HeraldAG Andrea Campbell (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald, File)“Because Meta has shown that it will not act responsibly unless it is required to do so by courts of law, my colleagues and I are taking action today — and will continue to push for meaningful changes to Meta’s platforms that protect our young people,” she added.Campbell said the lawsuit will be filed in Suffolk Superior Court today, joining “a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general” also filing similar lawsuits against Meta.The AG’s ...

Boston PR firm won’t hire Harvard grads who signed pro-Palestinian open letter

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:21 GMT

Harvard students need not apply at Regan Communications Group.George Regan, chairman and founder, is refusing to hire Harvard University students whose organizations signed on to a letter blaming Israel solely for the deadly attacks by Hamas.Regan will also pose a hiring ban on anyone who protests against Israel. Regan Communications Group employs over 100 people in 12 offices across the United States including its headquarters in Boston, as well as offices in New York City, Palm Beach, FL, Providence, Rhode Island, New London, CT, Charleston, SC, and Cape Cod.“As a human being, I was appalled and outraged by the October 7th sneak attack and massacre of innocent men, women and children (many of them babies) in the nation of Israel at the hands of the terrorist group Hamas,” Regan said in a statement.“I have had the great privilege to travel to Israel on many occasions with Robert and the late Myra Kraft and Abe Foxman, former national director of the Anti-Defamatio...