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Pondering a few thoughts before NHL’s conference finals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:00 GMT

The big, brand name teams are all gone. There are no Original Sixers left in the NHL’s final four and that’s fine. Sure, we’d love to be covering that expected long playoff run by the Bruins, but the best teams are determined on the ice.And just because the remaining four teams – Dallas Stars, Vegas Golden Knights, Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers – don’t come from “traditional” hockey cities doesn’t mean they don’t matter. The Stars, Knights and Canes have all developed passionate fan bases. The Panthers? Well, they’re still trying to figure out how to keep opposing fans from buying all the tickets at Florida Live Arena. But three out of four isn’t bad.As we await the kickoff of conference finals on Thursday when the Panthers and Canes get it going, here are few observations and quick hits from the first month of the post-season:Full Monty: There is not a member of the Bruins’ press corps who is not happy for Bruce Cassi...

Biden, congressional leaders meet anew on debt limit as White House reevaluates foreign trip

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:00 GMT

By LISA MASCARO, FATIMA HUSSEIN and SEUNG MIN KIM (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is considering cutting short his upcoming foreign trip because of the looming debt ceiling crisis, adding urgency to the talks that resumed Tuesday at the White House with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other congressional leaders. “We’re just getting started,” Biden said in brief remarks to reporters, while others in the Oval Office — Vice President Kamala Harris, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. — stayed quiet and sat soberly. Tuesday’s meeting was pivotal as negotiators were staring down a June 1 deadline, which is when the Treasury Department says the U.S. could begin defaulting on its debts. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters the White House was considering cutting short Biden’s planned tri...

New coach, new conference. West Aurora hires Michael Fowler as boys basketball coach, moves back to Upstate Eight.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:00 GMT

It’s still there, rising in flight on Michael Fowler’s upper right arm.A tattoo of the Mighty Mouse cartoon character Fowler had applied when he was 19 years old pays homage to one of the 2000 West Aurora graduate’s heroes — former NBA standout Damon Stoudamire.District 129 officials are hoping it becomes symbolic of Fowler’s return home and the impact the former state champion has as coach of the program he played for during the Gordie Kerkman era.West Aurora athletic director Jason Buckley confirmed Monday that Fowler had been hired to succeed Brian Johnson, who was let go in early March.“I was a quiet kid and also a lefty like Stoudamire, who has the Mighty Mouse nickname and tat,” Fowler said.Toronto fans booed his selection on draft night but Stoudamire was named the NBA’s rookie of the year. He played 17 seasons and was featured with the tattoo in a Nike promotional poster.As a junior for the Blackhawks, Fowler was a 5-foot-10 po...

Lawyer for US attorney Rachael Rollins says she is resigning

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:00 GMT

BOSTON — Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins will resign after a monthslong ethics investigation by the Justice Department’s inspector general into her appearance at a political fundraiser and other potential issues, her attorney said Tuesday.The Justice Department’s watchdog has yet to release its report detailing the findings of its investigation, but an attorney for Rollins told The Associated Press that she will be submitting a letter of resignation to President Joe Biden by close of business Friday.“She is optimistic that the important work she started will continue but understands that her presence has become a distraction,” her attorney said in a statement. “The work of the office and the Department of Justice is far too important to be overshadowed by anything else.”Rollins, who was represented in the investigation by former Justice Department Inspector General Michael Bromwich, was sworn in as Massachusetts’ top federal law enforcement office...

Project to bring Canadian hydropower to New England grid back on

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:00 GMT

Massachusetts’ top environmental official applauded a decision by Maine conservationists to let work resume on a transmission line that would bring Canadian hydroelectric power to the Bay State.Opponents to the project had until Friday to appeal a 9-0 jury vote from last month that allowed construction on the project to restart after a trial in a Maine courtroom. But the opposition groups made clear last week that they would let the ruling stand.Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper said the Healey administration “looks forward to construction restarting on the New England Clean Energy Connect transmission project.”“The completion of this project will provide new, reliable, and affordable clean power not only to Massachusetts residents and businesses but the broader New England region,” Tepper said in a statement to the Herald.The project’s success was key to a 2016 Massachusetts climate plan shepherded by former Gov. Charlie Baker that required the...

This week’s literary pick: A kids’ book about two seeds from the dinosaur age

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:00 GMT

Merwin and Louise, sibling Sycamore seeds living 100 million years in the Cretaceous period, long to put down roots and grow into big trees. But when a fire forces them to leave their mother tree prematurely, they find themselves catapulted into the unknown, far from home.Brian SelznickThat’s the essence of Caldecott medalist Brian Selznick’s new book “Big Tree,” which he will introduce with a reading at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 17, at the University of St. Thomas O’Shaughnessy Education Center, 2115 Summit Ave., St. Paul, in partnership with St. Paul’s Red Balloon Bookshop.“Big Tree” (Scholastic), began as a planned collaboration between Selznick and producer/director Steven Spielberg for a film project that never got off the ground. But both men agreed it would make a terrific book, and it lives up to that prediction with starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal and The Horn Book. It is enlivened with nearly 300 pages of pictures, including those showing the ...

USPS offices to host 'Superbloom' of passport fairs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO — Need to get your passport before your summer vacation? Here is your chance.The United States Postal Service will hold a series of passport fairs at various offices in San Diego, San Bernardino and Imperial Counties.The first string in this "superbloom" of passport fairs will take place on Saturday, May 20, according to USPS.Postal employees at each participating location will accept applications for new U.S. passports during the events on a first come, first serve basis. No registration is required to attend.“Now that COVID-19 concerns have declined and nations are welcoming back travelers, many Southern California residents are eager to get out and see the world,” San Diego Postmaster Justine Valadez said in a news release. “We encourage our customers to plan ahead and get their passport applications in now. The U.S. Passport Agency’s processing time for new passports is longer than usual due to extremely high demand."All of the San Diego County pass...

Rapper 'Boosie' charged with firearm possession after San Diego arrest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO (KSWB) -- Louisiana-based rapper Torrence "Boosie" Hatch Jr. pleaded not guilty on Monday to one count of felony firearm possession during his first court appearance after his arrest earlier this month.The rapper was arrested by San Diego police on May 6 after a traffic stop at 4700 Market Street in the Chollas View neighborhood. What prompted the stop was not disclosed by San Diego police, however, officers allegedly recovered two loaded handguns in the vehicle.Hatch, 40, was charged with one count of felony possession of a firearm by a prohibited person during his arraignment Monday morning. If convicted of the charge, he could face up to three years in state prison.A 28-year-old was also arrested by SDPD during the stop, but, he has not been charged in connection to the incident. Post Malone to make Chula Vista stop on 2023 tour He remains out of custody on a $50,000 bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for May 24, with a preliminary hearing set to take place ...

Police seek motive for New Mexico high schooler’s attack that killed 3 and wounded 6

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:00 GMT

FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) — The bullets that an 18-year-old high school student fired while meandering through his northwestern New Mexico neighborhood struck targets he apparently picked at random, including cars, homes and passersby. Police responded to the scene within minutes and swiftly killed the gunman, but not before he killed three people and wounded several others.Authorities on Tuesday were trying to determine what led to Monday’s attack in Farmington, a city of about 50,000 that is a bedroom community for the oil and gas industry near the Four Corners, where New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado meet.The attacker, whose name hadn’t been released as of Tuesday morning but who neighbors say was a student at Farmington High School, carried at least three weapons, including an AR-style rifle, according to police. Authorities also hadn’t identified the dead or six wounded, including two police officers who were treated at a hospital. Police were expected to rel...

All Quebec’s bilingual towns resolve to keep right to operate in English and French

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:00 GMT

MONTREAL — All the Quebec municipalities that were at risk of losing their bilingual status under a provincial language law have opted to maintain their right to serve people in both English and French, the province’s language office confirmed.The Office québécois de la langue française says all 48 cities, towns or boroughs that were notified their status could be revoked have taken the necessary action to remain bilingual.“Thanks to this legislative amendment, the recognized municipalities that received notices had to analyze the need to maintain or not their bilingual status and thus to take a position,” the language office said late Monday in a statement.Under Quebec’s new language law, Bill 96, municipalities could lose the right to communicate with residents in English if less than 50 per cent of the population has English as a mother tongue.However, the law allows cities already recognized as bilingual to preserve their status — even if their anglophone...