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EU deal to clear grain glut unravels amid acrimony

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:20:50 GMT

BRUSSELS — A deal struck just a week ago between the EU executive and the bloc’s Eastern frontline states to clear a massive grain glut is already falling apart, and with it, the bloc’s unity in supporting Ukraine in the face of Russia’s war of aggression.The April 28 deal essentially had two elements: The first was a temporary ban on imports of Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seed that would allow some respite for the group of five Eastern countries — Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania — to clear the backlog.The second was to facilitate the transit of Ukrainian produce across the territory of the five countries, enabling shipments to continue to third countries — particularly those in the Global South that have faced disruptions to supplies, and rising hunger, as a result of Russia’s invasion last year and blockade of Ukraine’s main Black Sea export route.Poland has led calls to distribute the surplus in the form of humanitarian aid:...

Ticket Trouble, Trouble: Fans scramble after Commuter Rail tickets for Taylor Swift Gillette show on 5/19 sell out

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:20:50 GMT

It’s a problem Taylor Swift fans in New England know all too well at this point – trouble getting tickets for the singer’s “Eras Tour.”If the slog of getting tickets for the shows themselves was not enough, now some Swifties are dealing with travel issues after discovering Commuter Rail tickets for Swift’s May 19 performance at Gillette Stadium were sold out, and that tickets for the two following shows could only be bought in-person at South Station.https://twitter.com/MBTA_CR/status/1654488728801296387“The @taylorswift13 tickets for Friday, May 19th are completely sold out on the mTicket app & in Boston Stations!” the MBTA Commuter Rail Twitter account posted Friday morning around 10 a.m., just hours after first announcing that tickets for $20 round trips to Foxboro station were available via the mTicket app.“A limited number of tickets will remain for Saturday & Sunday at South Station ONLY!” the tweet ...

Orioles bench bat Ryan O’Hearn has bought into his sporadic role, one he believes can help his career

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:20:50 GMT

Ryan O’Hearn’s job, most days, is to sit on the bench and wait.The Orioles’ first baseman gets the occasional start against a right-handed starting pitcher. But usually his role is as a bench bat, a left-handed hitter at manager Brandon Hyde’s disposal to pinch hit against a right-handed reliever.The role isn’t new for O’Hearn, who spent the past few years in Kansas City as a bench bat for the Royals. It’s not the job O’Hearn wants, but it’s one he’s learned to accept — and even joke about.“We were joking earlier about if I was gonna get a statue over there,” O’Hearn said, recalling a conversation he had with his former teammates earlier this week. “I said, ‘Yeah, maybe on that bench over there they could put a statue for me.’”O’Hearn, who was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk after Thursday’s game, spent the first nine years of his professional career in the Royals org...

Larger crowds, less chaos: Why summer travel may be less bumpy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:20:50 GMT

2022 was the year of revenge travel. Travelers took trips they skipped in 2020 and 2021, catching up on a backlog of weddings and family reunions. Others finally checked off bucket list trips.Travel came back strong, resulting in high prices and packed airports. But with the surge, chaos often ensued. Hotels cut back on housekeeping, largely driven by a hotel worker shortage. Car rental costs spiked due to high demand and low supply. The flight delay rate hit highs not seen since 2014. All that culminated into major, distressing events shared by many travelers, such as the Southwest Airlines holiday meltdown.But if 2022 felt crowded, 2023 could be more so. Checkpoint data from the Transportation Security Administration for two out of the first three months of the year show that average airport passenger counts have actually exceeded their 2019 levels — and they’re set to keep growing.“In January, we experienced our first full month where travel volumes exceeded the same month in 201...

Headed to the Jimmy Buffett concert this weekend? Beat the crowd with these tips

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:20:50 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The time has finally come -- Snapdragon Stadium will host its first-ever concert on Saturday with Jimmy Buffett transforming San Diego into "Margaritaville."The icon will be joined by his Coral Reefer Band, plus special guests like GRAMMY Award-winner Jason Mraz and country music singer-songwriter Mac McAnally.The much anticipated show comes after the original concert date was postponed due to health issues experienced by Buffet. The iconic singer took time off to recuperate, but is now ready to take the stage in America's Finest City. 3 artists added to San Diego County Fair Concert Series lineup Snapdragon Stadium said fans with tickets to the original October 22, 2022 date should have received an email from Ticketmaster with information on how to get those passes honored at the rescheduled show. For those still looking to snag a ticket to watch the "Trip Around the Sun" singer live, there are still seats available for purchase. As it turns out, the San Diego Padres...

Kansas looses legal fight over voting law passed in 2021

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:20:50 GMT

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Kansas has lost a legal fight over one of the voting laws that its Republican-led Legislature passed in the wake of the 2020 election. U.S. District Judge Kathryn Vratil ruled Thursday that it was unconstitutional to make it a crime for groups to include voter’s name, address and other information on advance ballot applications.Two national nonprofit groups, VoteAmerica and the Voter Participation Center, sued after two voting laws were passed in 2021 over the veto of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. One of them included the restriction on prefilling ballots, even if the voter provided the information and requested an advance mail ballot application. The groups, whose mission is to promote voting among traditionally underserved groups, including young and minority voters, argued that there is a higher response rate when the group prefills the applications. Nearly 70,000 Kansas voters submitted an advance mail voting application provided by the Voter Participation Ce...

Biden marks Cinco de Mayo by going to taqueria in Washington

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:20:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden celebrated Cinco de Mayo on Friday by stepping out for tacos at a Washington food hall. His stop prompted one onlooker to remark, “This is the most D.C. thing that’s ever happened to me.”Biden was joined by Vice President Kamala Harris at Taqueria Habanero. The president paid in cash for his order of and posed with staff for pictures. To the people peering over a wall to see him, he joked, “Don’t jump.”Cinco de Mayo is a yearly celebration on May 5 that commemorates Mexico’s 1862 victory over France in the Battle of Puebla. The holiday has become increasingly popular in the United States.Last year, Biden and his wife, Jill, celebrated Cinco de Mayo at the White House. In 2021, the president visited Las Gemelas, a Mexican restaurant in Washington and told workers there that the company would be receiving financial aid from his COVID relief package.The Associated Press

School dean who shot student sentenced for racketeering

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:20:50 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — A former Boston high school dean serving a 26-year sentence in state prison for shooting a student he had recruited to deal drugs has received an additional 18 years or more on a federal gang-related charge. Prosecutors said that Shaun Harrison, 63, lived a double life, portraying himself as an anti-violence activist and mentor for troubled teens while hiding his own gang ties, and luring students into drugs and violence.In 2022, Harrison pleaded guilty to a count of racketeering conspiracy, also referred to as a RICO conspiracy. Harrison is serving time after his 2018 conviction for attempting to kill a student who was selling marijuana in the high school at Harrison’s direction, authorities said. The 17-year-old was shot in the back of the head after a dispute over declining drug sales, prosecutors said. The student survived but suffered partial face paralysis, permanent hearing loss and other injuries. Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins said Harrison ...

It’s Cornell for New Orleans student with $10M in offers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:20:50 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A 16-year-old high school senior in New Orleans who received scholarship offers from 149 colleges and universities totaling $10 million said Friday that he has chosen to attend Cornell University.Dennis “Maliq” Barnes will graduate on May 24 from the International High School of New Orleans, where he earned a 4.98 grade point average. He also has 27 college credits through a dual enrollment program with Southern University of New Orleans.He plans to study computer science at Cornell, an Ivy League school in Ithaca, New York. He has also said he is considering law school.“Today is an exciting day for me and my family, and I look forward to working with Cornell’s College of Engineering over the course of my undergraduate education,” Barnes said.In an interview las week, Barnes said that a major reason he cranked out applications to close to 200 schools was his desire to have numerous educational and financial options. He ultimately was accepted at 186 colleges and u...

Russia jails theater director amid crackdown on dissent

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:20:50 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A Russian court on Friday ordered pretrial detention for a theater director facing charges of justifying terrorism, the latest move in a relentless crackdown on dissent in Russia that spiked to unprecedented levels since the start of the war in Ukraine. The Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow jailed Zhenya Berkovich, a prominent independent theater director and playwright, for two months pending investigation and trial. Berkovich was detained in the Russian capital on Thursday because of the play she staged, “Finist, the Brave Falcon.” Police also raided the apartments of her parents and her grandmother in St. Petersburg. The play, named after a Russian fairy tale, depicts Russian women who faced prosecution after being lured into marriage and life in Syria by representatives of radical Islam. It was written by playwright Svetlana Petriychuk, who was also detained on Thursday and appeared in the same court on Friday right after Berkovich. The authorities ...