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Robbins: Israel’s critics estranged from reality

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:35:42 GMT

There is a famous scene in the classic movie “Annie Hall” in which protagonist Alvy Singer visits his girlfriend’s family, and encounters her somewhat untethered brother in a hallway. Singer listens as the brother rambles incoherently before politely taking his leave. “Right, well, I have to go now, Duane,” he says, “because I’m due back on planet Earth.”“Planet Earth” came to more than one person’s mind about 36 hours after the news emerged about Israelis slaughtered in cold blood, babies riddled with machine gun bullets in their cribs, hundreds of young people mowed down at a music festival, human beings decapitated, raped and abducted by Hamas,1,300 Israelis murdered, 3,700 Israelis maimed. Over 150 terrified innocents held hostage in the terror state established in Gaza by Hamas for the purpose of annihilating Israel.At a solidarity rally for Israel in Boston, Massachusetts Senator Edward Markey announced that what was called for was “de-escalation” of “the conflict....

Ravens safety Marcus Williams ‘iffy’ to play vs. Lions; OLB Tyus Bowser’s injury status ‘more complicated’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:35:42 GMT

Ravens safety Marcus Williams is “iffy” to play Sunday against the Detroit Lions because of the hamstring injury he suffered in London while outside linebacker Tyus Bowser’s absence because of a knee injury has become “more complicated,” coach John Harbaugh said on Monday.Williams took a hit from behind when he was trying to block on fellow safety Geno Stone’s interception return in the third quarter of the Ravens’ 24-16 win over the Tennessee Titans. “Not a long-term hamstring, but hamstrings are finicky,” Harbaugh said. “So it’s not going to be a couple days. It’s going to be week to week, probably.”The Titans game was Williams’ second back from a pectoral injury he suffered in the season opener, so he was already playing through pain.The prognosis for Bowser, who has been on the non-football injury list all season, is murkier.“I’m going to let Tyus comment on that, ...

Massachusetts home sales hit 13-year low in September, new report finds

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:35:42 GMT

Massachusetts home sales dropped to a low for the month of September not seen since the Great Recession, according to a report from real estate data tracker The Warren Group released Monday.“Low inventory, record high prices, and rising interest rates have made it progressively more difficult for buyers to purchase homes – regardless of where they’re looking,” said Cassidy Norton, Warren Group Associate Publisher and Media Relations Director.The number of single-family homes sold in the state in September was only 3,608, the Warren Group report detailed, an over 25% drop compared to last September. The total number of single-family homes sold so far reached 30,665, trailing the same nine-month period in 2022 by over 10,000.This comes as housing inventory in the state remains remarkably low, and mortgage rates have surged to a 23-year high, according to data from Freddie Mac released in September.At the same time the report said the median single-family home price remaine...

Harvard suffers major loss as ‘stunned and sickened’ Wexner Foundation pulls support

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:35:42 GMT

The Wexner Foundation, a leading advocate for the Jewish faith, is pulling its support for Harvard University in the latest rebuke of the college’s handling of the terror attack in Israel.The foundation is cutting ties with Harvard’s Kennedy School and pulling its support.In an open letter addressed to Harvard’s Board of Overseers on Monday, the foundation said, “We have observed that this cherished tolerance for diverse perspectives has slowly but perceptibly narrowed over the years,” adding that the “Wexner Israel Fellows are increasingly marginalized, their voices and views even shouted down.”The Jerusalem Post adds the open letter goes on to state, “We are stunned and sickened at the dismal failure of Harvard’s leadership to take a clear and unequivocal stand against the barbaric murders of innocent Israeli civilians by terrorists.”The nonprofit was founded by former Victoria’s Secret billionaire Leslie Wexner and his wife Abigail, who accused Harvard of “tipto...

Matt Poitras bumps up as Bruins jumble lines

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:35:42 GMT

The Bruins have played two games and won them both, but that doesn’t mean the team is a finely tuned Stradivarius just yet, especially on offense. Against Nashville, they needed two power-play goals and a sublime David Pastrnak penalty shot to eke out the 3-2 victory.So in Monday’s practice ahead of the team’s four-game road trip that begins on Thursday in San Jose, coach Jim Montgomery jumbled his top nine forwards to create three different lines.The most eye-catching move was to to bump up rookie centerman Matt Poitras to play with Brad Marchand, bringing up Morgan Geekie with him. Jake DeBrusk moved back to his natural left wing to play with David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha while Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic, a solid pairing last season, were reunited with James van Riemsdyk on the left wing.Montgomery had said at the start of the season that he wanted to be patient with his new top six, but apparently two games was enough patience shown for him to start the b...

Prosecutors appealing length of prison sentences for Proud Boys leaders convicted of Jan. 6 plot

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:35:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is appealing the length of prison sentences for four Proud Boys leaders convicted of seditious conspiracy in the U.S. Capitol attack, challenging punishments that were significantly shorter than what prosecutors had recommended, according to court filings on Monday.U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly sentenced former Proud Boys national leader Enrique Tarrio and three lieutenants to prison terms ranging from 15 to 22 years after a jury convicted them in May of plotting to stop the peaceful transfer of presidential power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden after the 2020 presidential election. Tarrio’s 22-year sentence is the longest so far among hundreds of criminal cases stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, but prosecutors had sought 33 years behind bars for the Miami man. Prosecutors also had recommended sentences of 33 years for former Proud Boys organizer Joseph Biggs, of Ormond Beach, Florida; 30 years for Proud Boys chapt...

Republicans in Nevada are split in dueling contest over 2024 presidential nomination

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:35:42 GMT

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Nevada’s dueling contests of presidential nominees have split the field of Republican contenders, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis opting to compete against former President Donald Trump in the caucus run by the state GOP while three major rivals face off instead in the early state-run primary.Though DeSantis’ supporters were among those warning that the Nevada Republican Party had created rules that tilted the process in favor of Trump, the Floridian announced Sunday he would run in the Feb. 8 caucus and try to win delegates that help a candidate become a nominee. Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley on Monday filed as a candidate for the Feb. 6 primary, run by the state. The primary offers an opportunity to prove electability, at least symbolically, before crucial contests in South Carolina and a slate of primaries on Super Tuesday.Former Vice President Mike Pence and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott on Friday also filed for the primary. Nevada hol...

Mexican official confirms cartel gunmen forced a dozen tanker trucks to dump gasoline at gunpoint

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:35:42 GMT

A Mexican official on Monday confirmed a shocking video that emerged over the weekend of cartel gunmen forcing the drivers of about a dozen tanker trucks to dump their entire loads of gasoline into a field.The official, who was not authorized to be quoted by name, said the incident occurred last week in the border city of Matamoros, across from Brownsville, Texas, and was under investigation.The official said the gunmen had apparently forced the truck drivers to line their parked vehicles up on a dirt road to dump their cargo.Asked about the videos, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador acknowledged “there is resistance from criminals” in the area, long known for cartel violence, adding that “We continue to confront them.”In the video, a presumed member of the cartel can be heard mentioning the Gulf cartel faction known as The Scorpions, and saying all trucks carrying gasoline would suffer the same fate unless “they get in line,” or pay protection money to the gang.In the video, ope...

Trump, campaigning in Iowa, vows to ban Gaza refugees from US if he wins a second term

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:35:42 GMT

CLIVE, Iowa (AP) — Doubling down on the hard-line immigration policies that have long animated his base, former President Donald Trump on Monday vowed to bar refugees from Gaza and immediately expand his first-term Muslim travel ban if he wins a second term following the deadly attack on Israel last week.Speaking to supporters in Iowa, Trump said that if he returns to the Oval Office, he will immediately begin “ideological screening” for all immigrants and bar those who sympathize with Hamas and Muslim extremists. The war between Israel and Hamas has sparked what is now the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides, with more than 4,000 dead.His proposals would mark a dramatic expansion of the controversial — and legally dubious — policies that drew alarm from immigrant rights and civil liberties activists, but helped him win the GOP primary in 2016. Trump has long railed against the U.S. taking immigrants from countries he has dubbed inferior, particularly in Africa and the Middle...

Waiting for news, families of Israeli hostages in Gaza tell stories of their loved ones

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:35:42 GMT

They range from babies to the elderly. Most are civilians. Israel says at least 199 people taken during the Hamas attack are being held captive in Gaza. Some of their families received frantic phone calls or texts during the attack. Others heard nothing and later saw video evidence their loved ones were taken. For now, they wait, desperate to find out whether the hostages are even alive. And they tell their stories. Here are some of them.YAFFA ADARYaffa Adar loved reading, writing and keeping connected. Even at 85 she often sent her family messages and GIFs on WhatsApp. She was active on Facebook, her granddaughter recalls.Keeping in close touch online became especially important in recent years as she found it harder to walk beyond her home in Nir Oz, a kibbutz near the Gaza Strip. Amid that physical struggle, she kept her mind busy and knew what she wanted, her granddaughter said.“She loved reading,” Adva Adar recalled. “So we were like, ”We’re going to get you a Kindle.” What did...