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UK’s Sunak likens Italy’s Meloni to Margaret Thatcher

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:39 GMT

ROME — U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak likened Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to Margaret Thatcher as he called on European leaders to channel the old Conservative British leader’s “radicalism” and challenge decades-old rules around refugees.“Thatcher understood that ideas are only important if they can be implemented,” Sunak said in a speech at the governing Brothers of Italy party’s right-wing Atreju festival in Rome. “She never backed down even when the fight was hard, and today we have to apply Thatcher’s radicalism to illegal immigration.”Both leaders have put migration front and center since they took office in November 2022. Last month, Meloni brokered a deal to process asylum applications in neighboring Albania; and earlier this week the U.K. won parliamentary acceptance for its contentious plan to deport certain migrants to Rwanda.“If we do not tackle this problem, the numbers will only grow,” Sunak said in a short speech on Saturday. “It will...

Boston College wide receiver Lewis Bond attracting plenty of attention

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:39 GMT

Boston College wide receiver Lewis Bond began training camp for the 2023 season looking to get noticed.While portal transfer Thomas Castellanos was supplanting incumbent Emmett Morehead for the starting quarterback’s position, Bond followed suit by enhancing his standing in the wide receiver’s room.In his first two seasons at the Heights, the 5-11, 188-pound redshirt sophomore from Chicago, Ill., appeared in eight games with six receptions for 57 yards.Bond worked his way to the top of Castellanos’ targets list and will make his 13th start when the Eagles (6-6) engage the Mustangs of SMU (11-2) in the second annual Wasabi Fenway Bowl on Dec. 28 at Fenway Park.“It started with practice and making sure you are running the right routes every time in seven-on-seven with the team,” said Bond. “When you are down there practicing in the red zone you have to be reliable so in the game, he (Castellanos) trusts you.“Then you just have to take advantage of your opportunities in the game.”BC wi...

NFL notes: Inside the Dirty Show, one of the last hallmarks of New England’s dynasty

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:39 GMT

In the early days of the Patriots’ dynasty, the defense that frustrated Tom Brady most often was his own.Not the legendary starting units that shared Brady’s locker room and sideline, but their backups: The Dirty Show.The Patriots’ scout-team defense earned its “Dirty Show” nickname from former linebackers coach Pepper Johnson, who orchestrated the unit that pestered Brady in practice, occasionally to the point of repeated outbursts. Offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien once referred to Johnson as the best scout-team coach ever; a coach who turned a mash unit of backups into a loud and proud defense that brought out the worst in the greatest of all time.Unlike most franchise hallmarks from that era, the Dirty Show tradition remains fiercely alive in Foxboro.“It’s about dudes who want to grind every day, show up to work and have fun doing it,” said Pats cornerback Alex Austin.According to Dirty Show cast members who previously playe...

One arrested at DUI checkpoint in Santee

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:39 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- One person was arrested at a driving under the influence /driver’s license checkpoint in Santee Friday night, authorities said.According to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, deputies conducted the checkpoint in the 8700 block of Fanita Drive from 8 p.m. to midnight. Authorities say 525 vehicles traveled through the area during that timeframe. VIDEO: Coyote seen prowling Mt. Soledad neighborhood, but why? One driver was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. The identity of that individual was not immediately released.Additionally, six other drivers were cited for operating a vehicle unlicensed, two drivers were cited for operating a vehicle with a suspended license, and one driver with a provisional license was cited for driving with other minors as passengers.Ultimately, two vehicles were also towed during the checkpoint.From Dec. 13 through New Year’s Day, the sheriff's department said there will be additional deputies on patrol lo...

NFL bans Eagles security chief Dom DiSandro from sideline for rest of regular season, AP sources say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:39 GMT

The NFL has banned Eagles security chief Dom DiSandro from being on the sideline for the remainder of the regular season after he was ejected from a game earlier this month for a scuffle with 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw, two people familiar with the league’s decision told The Associated Press on Saturday.DiSandro is still allowed to travel with the team to Seattle for its Monday night game and he can perform all other work duties but he is not permitted on the sideline, one of the people said. Both people spoke on condition of anonymity because the league hasn’t announced its decision.DiSandro pulled Greenlaw off Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith and shouted at him after a reception in the third quarter of Philadelphia’s 42-19 loss to San Francisco on Dec. 3. Greenlaw, who was penalized for unnecessary roughness on the play, popped up and reached over two officials to put his hand in DiSandro’s face.Greenlaw was ejected and later fined $10,927 by the league for the unnecessary ro...

Man convicted in Arkansas graduation shooting gets 105 years in prison

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:39 GMT

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (AP) — A jury has convicted a man accused of firing a gun into a crowd following a high school graduation ceremony in Arkansas, killing one and injuring four others.At the end of the five-day trial in Garland County Circuit Court, the six-man, six-woman panel deliberated for less than an hour Friday before convicting Charles Johnson Jr., 26, of first-degree murder in the 2022 death of Michael Jordan, 39, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.It took just over an hour before the jury recommended a sentence of 40 years in prison with an enhancement of five years added for the use of a firearm, the newspaper said. They also found him guilty of four counts of first-degree battery and sentenced him to 20 years for injuries to Markezeon Carlton Green, with an enhancement of 10 years for committing the offense in the presence of a child; 15 years for injuries to Candice Hughes; and five years each for the injuries to Monique West and Adamma Watson.Judge Ralph Ohm said th...

Boston Tea Party turns 250 years old with reenactments of the revolutionary protest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:39 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Patriotic mobs and harbor tea-dumping returned to Boston on Saturday as the city marked the 250th anniversary of the revolutionary protest that preceded America’s independence.The commemoration of the Boston Tea Party included scheduled reenactments of the throwing of tea leaves into the city’s harbor and community meetings that preceded the defiant act on Dec. 16, 1773. City officials were expecting thousands of visitors for the celebration.Tea for the reenactment was being supplied by the East India Co., the same British company that was at the center of the raucous dispute.Protesting “taxation without representation,” members of the Sons of Liberty and others boarded East India Co. ships and dumped their valuable haul — some 92,000 pounds of tea worth nearly $2 million today — into the murky waters of Boston Harbor.The British would respond with military rule and other sanctions on Massachusetts, stoking American opposition to colonial rule.The Tea Party...

Premier League player Lockyer ‘responsive’ after suffering cardiac arrest on field

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:39 GMT

Luton captain Tom Lockyer collapsed on the field for the second time this year after suffering cardiac arrest, prompting the abandonment of their English Premier League game at Bournemouth on Saturday.Lockyer was taken to the hospital and was “stable and currently undergoing further tests with his family at his bedside,” Luton said.The Wales international defender dropped to the ground untouched in the 59th minute. Players from both sides immediately called for help and Luton manager Rob Edwards entered the field, looking distressed.The 29-year-old Lockyer received a long period of medical treatment and was carried away on a stretcher, by which time he was responsive, Luton said. The score was 1-1 at the time and referee Simon Hooper made the decision to abandon the game, with the clock having stopped in the 65th.Fans stayed behind at Vitality Stadium after the match was called off and chanted the name of Lockyer.We are sorry to all supporters present that players from b...

4 Chicago Blackhawks prospects make Team USA for 2024 World Juniors

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:39 GMT

CHICAGO — USA Hockey announced their roster for the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championships in Sweden Saturday, and four Chicago Blackhawks prospects were selected to join the team.According to a USA Hockey post on X, left wing Gavin Hayes, centers Oliver Moore and Frank Nazar III, and defenseman Sam Rinzel were the four skaters who made the cut from Chicago.The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Juniors Championship, or "World Juniors" for short, is an annual tournament held internationally for IIHF member nations' under-20-year-old ice hockey teams.Hayes (Round 3, Pick 1), Nazar III (Round 1, Pick 13) and Rinzel (Round 1, Pick 25) were all draft selections made by the Blackhawks in 2022, while Moore was the 19th overall pick made by Chicago in the 2023 NHL Draft. Connor Bedard is living up to the hype, but the Blackhawks remain one of the NHL’s worst teams Hayes, a product of the Flint Firebirds in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), notched 81 points (41 G, 40 A) last y...

Florida man pours eye drops on nephew's sandwich to make him 'puke his brains out,' police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:39 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Pinellas Park, Florida man was accused of putting eye drops in his nephew's sandwich in an attempt to make him sick. According to an arrest report from the Pinellas Park Police Department, a witness reported a regular customer asking for a bottle of Visine eye drops while purchasing food at an unnamed business on Wednesday. The witness told police that the customer, later identified as James Leach, 45, said he was having issues with his nephew and that he "hated him" that day, according to the report. After handing Leach the eyedrops, the witness said he opened the bottle and "proceeded to pour the eye drop solution all over the meatball sandwich," PPPD said. TGI Fridays chicken bites recalled due to plastic pieces "The witness stated that could hurt someone and the defendant responded by saying that it would only cause him (referring to the victim) to 's--- himself and puke his brains out'," the arrest report stated. Pinellas Park police reviewed security ...