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Liberals in lead in Slovakia election, exit poll shows

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:14 GMT

An exit poll from Saturday’s election in Slovakia indicated the liberal, Western-oriented Progressive Slovakia was leading the leftist-populist Smer opposition party. Polls closed at 10:45 p.m. CET, with an exit poll from the Focus agency and the TV Markíza commercial station published minutes later.The exit poll showed Progressive Slovakia, led by Michal Šimečka, in front with 23.5 percent of the vote, followed by former Prime Minister Robert Fico’s Smer with 21.9 percent. By political custom in Slovakia, the front-runner gets the first chance at forming a majority in the 150-seat parliament. With the country profoundly polarized, that rule theoretically puts Šimečka, a former journalist and Oxford PhD, in a strong position to form a coalition for what would be his first term as prime minister. Saturday’s ballot is seen as pivotal to Slovakia’s democratic future, with Fico having promised to stop sending weapons to Ukraine, to block Kyiv’s potential NATO members...

DA: 22-year-old arrested for shooting mother, her friend in Lexington

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:14 GMT

A 22-year-old Lexington man is facing criminal charges after police say he shot his mother and her friend on Friday afternoon.Officers responding to a 911 call from Brent Justice Roman-Finnagan’s mother around 4:45 p.m. found her and a 55-year-old Haverhill woman suffering from gunshot wounds in a home on Keeler Farm Way, according to Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan and Lexington Police Chief Michael McLean.Roman-Finnagan was taken into custody without incident.The two women were taken to a nearby hospital, where they remain in stable condition.Roman-Finnagan was also taken to the hospital for a mental health evaluation before he was ordered held pending his arraignment Monday in Concord District Court on charges of armed assault with intent to murder, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, resulting in serious bodily injury, two counts of assault and battery as a result of discharge of a firearm, poss...

Ty Ciongoli tosses 3 touchdowns in St. Sebastian’s victory over Nobles

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:14 GMT

NEEDHAM — If you were to take a ride down Greendale Avenue in Needham lately, you would notice there is a sense of excitement in the air.That’s because the football program at St. Sebastian’s is looking to defend a share of the ISL-7 title and they’ve lived up to expectations so far.Junior quarterback Ty Ciongoli finished 14-for-22 passing with 205 yards and a trio of touchdowns, as St. Sebastian’s won its second straight game to begin the ISL season with a convincing 35-7 romp of rival Nobles on Saturday.“We felt like we had a good plan going in for both games we’ve had,” Ciongoli said. “Both offensively and defensively. That’s what happened. It’s preparation. We’re prepared like we should be.”Early in the game, the Arrows methodically moved their way to the Bulldogs’ 6. After faking a handoff, Ciongoli uncorked a pass and was promptly leveled.“We were in the red zone,” Ciongoli said. “I kinda knew they were going to blitz, and we had a play action thing going. I saw the outs...

Man indicted for allegedly threatening mass shooting at Stanley Cup game in Las Vegas

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:14 GMT

A Nevada grand jury has indicted a man on felony charges alleging he threatened to carry out a mass shooting in June at a Stanley Cup Final hockey game on the Las Vegas Strip.The six-count indictment handed down this week in state court charges Matthew DeSavio, 34, with threatening an act of terrorism, burglary and stalking.Las Vegas police arrested DeSavio hours before Game 5 was set to begin at T-Mobile Arena, where the Vegas Golden Knights would go on to defeat the Florida Panthers to capture their first championship that evening.The indictment doesn’t detail whether DeSavio had any weapons in his possession at the time of his arrest.Jessica Murphy, a deputy public defender who previously represented DeSavio in competency hearings, declined to comment about the indictment, and the Clark County public defender’s office said Thursday the case hasn’t yet been assigned to a lawyer who could immediately comment on DeSavio’s behalf.DeSavio, who is being held without b...

Marblehead’s Marrietta O’Connell runs out of sneaker, still wins Frank Kelley race

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:14 GMT

WRENTHAM — What could have turned into a disaster for Marrietta O’Connell at Saturday’s Frank Kelley Invitational merely became only a slight inconvenience for the Marblehead harrier.Racing in the small school junior/senior event at the Wrentham Developmental Center, O’Connell built a 40-yard lead and was in complete control.And then came a freak occurrence that has proved devastating for runners far more experienced than O’Connell. She lost a shoe with three-quarters of a mile left in the 3,000-meter race. Running on the wet, spongy grass with one shoe didn’t rattle the sophomore one iota, but only reaffirmed her toughness in competition.She continued to bear down on the pace to the end, winning easily in 10 minutes, 51.2 seconds.O’Connell broke up the pack early on as she tore through the opening mile in 5:30 and was never threatened even with one shoe. She finished comfortably ahead of Whitinsville Christian freshman Abby Flagg (11:10.2) and Me...

Supreme Court term preview: abortion, gun cases and social media free speech

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:14 GMT

The Supreme Court is returning to a new term to take up some familiar topics — guns and abortion — and concerns about ethics swirling around the justices.The year also will have a heavy focus on social media and how free speech protections apply online. A big unknown is whether the court will be asked to weigh in on any aspect of the criminal cases against former President Donald Trump and others or efforts in some states to keep the Republican off the 2024 presidential ballot because of his role in trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election that he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.Lower-profile but vitally important, several cases in the term that begins Monday ask the justices to constrict the power of regulatory agencies.“I can’t remember a term where the court was poised to say so much about the power of federal administrative agencies,” said Jeffrey Wall, who served as the deputy solicitor general in the Trump administration.One of those cases, to be argued Tuesday, th...

Orioles All-Star closer Félix Bautista to undergo Tommy John surgery, miss postseason and likely all of 2024

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:14 GMT

In the month since Félix Bautista flexed his right hand and walked off the Camden Yards mound, the Orioles have held out hope their All-Star closer would be able to return this season despite the partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow.Saturday, that possibility came to a public end as executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias announced that Bautista is done for the year and will undergo Tommy John elbow reconstruction. The procedure has a typical recovery time of 12 to 18 months, meaning Bautista will likely miss the 2024 season, as well.Elias added the Orioles have also agreed to a two-year deal with Bautista, covering next season and 2025, which would have been his first year of arbitration eligibility.“We’re going to miss the hell out of the guy,” Elias said.Bautista, 28, was baseball’s best reliever before the injury, with a 1.48 ERA, 33 saves and 110 strikeouts in 61 innings. His 46.4% strikeout rate led the sport an...

Bishop Feehan airs it out with Owen Mordas, talented receivers

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:14 GMT

ATTLEBORO — A year ago, behind a massive offensive line and running back Nick Yanchuk, Bishop Feehan coach Bryan Pinabell chose to run, run, and run some more.What a difference a year makes.Behind sophomore quarterback Owen Mordas and a talented group of pass catchers, Pinabell went with his passing game in a 31-6 romp over Archbishop Williams on Saturday.“Air Pinabell this year,” the Feehan coach joked after the game with a big grin on his face.“It’s funny, in my 18 years now as a head coach, there’s a system,” Pinabell said. “I understand. As I’m getting older, I’m just taking the kids we got and trying to build a system that best exemplifies their talents. If that means we have to throw the ball, we throw the ball. If we run the ball, we run the ball. But you’ve got to gear your systems toward what you have. That’s what we have.”The aerial assault proved explosive for the Shamrocks (3-1). Mordas completed 10 ...

House passes stopgap bill that would avert shutdown: live coverage

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:14 GMT

With less than 10 hours before a government shutdown would start, the House passed a Republican stopgap measure that funds the government for 45 days. The measure passed with overwhelming Democratic support; dozens of Republicans voted against it. It now heads to the Senate.The Senate had been set to vote Saturday afternoon on its proposed stopgap, but Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in midafternoon, as the House bill was moving its way through, that Republicans would not allow it to come to the floor for a vote.Follow along with live updates below.

Government shutdown threat eases after House passes a 45-day funding plan, sending it to Senate

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:14 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The threat of a federal government shutdown was suddenly easing Saturday after the House quickly approved a 45-day funding bill to keep agencies open, once Speaker Kevin McCarthy dropped demands for steep spending cuts and relied on Democratic votes for passage. The rushed package would leave behind aid to Ukraine, a White House priority opposed by a growing number of GOP lawmakers, but increase federal disaster assistance by $16 billion, meeting President Joe Biden’s full request. It goes next to the Senate, which was meeting late in the evening, hours to go before the midnight deadline to fund the government.“We’re going to do our job,” McCarthy said before the House vote. “We’re going to be adults in the room. And we’re going to keep government open.”It’s been a head-spinning turn of events in Congress after days of House chaos pushed the government to the brink of a disruptive federal shutdown.With no deal in place before Sunday, federal workers would face furl...