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Biden and Modi cheer booming economic ties in visit that also reckoned with India’s record on rights

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:24 GMT

By AAMER MADHANI, COLLEEN LONG and SEUNG MIN KIM (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday pronounced the U.S.-India relationship never stronger and rolled out new business deals with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as human rights activists and American lawmakers questioned the administration’s decision to honor the leader with a pomp-filled state visit.In a joint news conference with Modi, Biden called the relationship between the U.S. and India among the most consequential in the world and “more dynamic than at any time in history.” He underscored how two of the world’s most powerful democracies were cooperating on issues such as the climate, health care and space, saying that the U.S-India economic relationship was “booming.”But Modi bristled at a reporter’s question about his country’s commitment to democratic values as the country has seen an erosion of religious, political and press freedoms u...

Crime Briefs: Worcester book club slayer faces life in prison

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:24 GMT

The ex-boyfriend of Amanda Dabrowski was found guilty of stabbing her to death inside a Worcester restaurant while she was attending a book club meeting in 2019.Carlos Asencio, 32, was found guilty of first-degree murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon — connected to assaulting a restaurant patron who attempted to stop the attack — by a Worcester Superior jury on Tuesday following an eight-day trial. Asencio faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 29.“While no verdict will ever bring Amanda back, we are relieved that a jury found this man responsible for taking her from us. We know he can never harm another person again.” Dabrowski’s family wrote in a statement released following the verdict. “We ask that people continue to keep Amanda in their thoughts as she will continue to live through family and friends.”Dabrowski was attending her first meeting of the O’Connor’s Books, Brews and Ban...

Tyngsboro daycare worker charged with creating child pornography with children she works with

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:24 GMT

A New Hampshire woman working just across the border in a Massachusetts daycare was arrested this morning on child exploitation and child pornography charges.Lindsay Groves, 38, of Hudson, N.H., was charged by criminal complaint filed in federal court in Boston ahead of her arrest. An affidavit said she took nude photos of children she worked with at the Creative Minds daycare in Tyngsboro, with at least several of the photos being made within the last couple of weeks.“I want to do this with you with one of my kids,” Groves allegedly texted a female former romantic partner the afternoon of June 14 longside a picture of a prepubescent boy with a focus on his genitals. “I took that picture a couple minutes ago.”In all, the feds say Groves traded 2,500 text messages with this former romantic partner and that these messages discussed child exploitation at length and included at least four sexually explicit images that depicted children in her care. She allegedly used bathroom breaks and...

Live updates | White House offers condolences to families of Titan victims

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:24 GMT

By The Associated PressFollow along for live updates on the submersible that vanished while taking five people down to the wreck of the Titanic.___WHITE HOUSE OFFERS CONDOLENCES TO FAMILIES OF TITAN VICTIMSThe White House offered its condolences to the families mourning the five people killed aboard the Titan submersible.U.S. Coast Guard officials announced their deaths Thursday following the vessel’s catastrophic implosion in the North Atlantic.“Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives on the Titan,” the White House said in a statement. “They have been through a harrowing ordeal over the past few days, and we are keeping them in our thoughts and prayers.”The statement also thanked the searchers, including the Coast Guard, involved in the international effort to find the submersible.“This has been a testament to the skill and professionalism that the men and women who serve our nation continue to demonstrate e...

Northern Explorer a captivating rail ride through heart of New Zealand (no Wi-Fi needed)

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:24 GMT

Mary Ann Anderson | Tribune News ServiceOn a bright, clear fall morning, the train from Wellington to Auckland clatters away from the rail station precisely as scheduled at 7:55. The temperature hovers coolly in the mid-50s, not at all cold, and quite typical for a Southern Hemisphere fall morning.On the 423-mile journey northward through the rural heart of New Zealand’s North Island, the Northern Explorer, as the train is known and which is owned and operated by Great Journeys of New Zealand, will make several stops, including Ohakune, Tongariro National Park, Otorohanga, Hamilton and finally, some 12 hours later, Auckland.The Northern Explorer is New Zealand’s longest-running passenger train, tracing its beginnings to 1883, and one of the world’s greatest rail journeys. The ride is spectacular, simply breathtaking, and arcs across a swatch of one of the world’s most captivating and isolated countries.The spotlight is on flower-filled meadows, fast-running rivers and Tongariro Nati...

TikTok’s COO to step down after nearly 5 years at the popular social media company

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:24 GMT

The Associated PressNEW YORK (AP) — TikTok’s Chief Operating Officer, V Pappas, is leaving the popular social media platform after nearly five years at the company.In a note sent to employees Thursday morning and later shared on Twitter, Pappas, who uses plural pronouns, said now that the company has achieved a lot of success, she felt it was the right time to move on and focus on “entrepreneurial passions.”TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said in a note sent to employees that Pappas, one of the company’s most public faces, will continue to serve as a strategic adviser. “I want to take this opportunity to thank V for their many contributions over the years,” Chew wrote. “Throughout their time at TikTok, they have been instrumental in growing the business, advocating for the company, elevating our product offerings and marketing campaigns, and fostering a positive community of creators and users. They have had a significant and lasting impact an...

Buck Showalter’s struggling Mets set for crucial road test against the Phillies

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:24 GMT

The Mets will walk into Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Friday night battered and bruised.Buck Showalter’s struggling squad is set to take on the Phillies in a crucial three-game series having lost five of their last six series, owning a record of 34-40 (just 5-13 in the month of June) and sitting seven games back of the final Wild Card spot in the National League.Ironically enough, the last time they won a series was on May 31 with a sweep against these Phillies. However, this is a very different Philadelphia squad from just a few weeks ago. Rob Thomson’s club is winners of 13 of their last 16 games and have heated up putting them right back into the playoff picture just 2.5 games out of a Wild Card spot.The reigning National League champions have an opportunity to extend the Mets’ stunning freefall as they near the halfway mark of the season. The Amazins — who own the largest payroll in baseball by more than $60 million at $344 million — already...

Brad Stevens shows boldness in dealing Marcus Smart, and other thoughts from stunning Celtics trade

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:24 GMT

Marcus Smart was upset with the officiating, and then he got upset with his coaches.It was Nov. 7, 2019, during the third quarter of an otherwise ordinary early-season Celtics win over the Hornets, when Smart picked up his fifth foul. He was removed from the game by then-coach Brad Stevens. As he walked off the floor and past the coaching staff, a clearly miffed Smart voiced his displeasure and stopped to clap at them before taking a seat.Stevens didn’t take offense. It was all part of the Smart experience.“This is the part about Marcus that I love,” Stevens said after that game. “His fire, his competitiveness. If there’s a moment where he’s upset with us, that’s all part of it. We move on pretty quickly. We’ve been together a long time. I’ve been yelled at before and that’s OK.“I love him and I trust him.”That final sentence became a rallying cry and motto for a Celtics fanbase that grew to adore Smart, who left it all out on the court with his unique style of play over...

Looking back, sub tourist calls himself ‘naive’ for taking 2021 dive to the Titanic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:24 GMT

By FRANK JORDANS (Associated Press)BERLIN (AP) — As an international search determined the implosion of a vessel setting out for the underwater wreckage of the Titanic, a man who was one of the submersible company’s first customers characterized a dive he made to the site two years ago as a suicide mission.“You have to be a little bit crazy to do this sort of thing,” said Arthur Loibl, a 61-year-old retired businessman and adventurer from Germany.Loibl told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he first had the idea of seeing the Titanic wreckage while on a trip to the South Pole in 2016. At the time, a Russian company was offering dives for half a million dollars. After Washington state-based OceanGate announced its own operation a year later, he jumped at the chance, paying $110,000 for a dive in 2019 that fell through when the first submersible didn’t survive testing. Two years later he went on a voyage that was successful, along with OceanGate CEO ...

Deion Sanders says he will undergo surgery for blood clots in both legs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:24 GMT

By PAT GRAHAM (AP Sports Writer)Deion Sanders is scheduled to undergo surgery Friday for a blood clot in each leg, the University of Colorado football coach revealed in a video he posted.The news of Coach Prime’s impending procedure began to spread Thursday after Pat McAfee discussed what was called an emergency surgery on his podcast with longtime NFL defensive back Adam Jones. Later in the day, Sanders posted a video to clarify: “It’s time for the horse to talk. You heard from everybody else but you hadn’t heard it from me.”Sanders explained in the video on YouTube that his doctor found a blood clot in both legs, including one in his left thigh. He’s struggled with the left foot since having two toes amputated in 2021 due to blood clot issues while at Jackson State.He said that two of his three remaining toes on that foot are what he referred to as “hammer toes,” a condition where there’s an atypical bend in the middle joint.Th...