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Ukraine’s needs-must approach won’t cut it with F-16 training

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:32:47 GMT

Jamie Dettmer is opinion editor at POLITICO Europe.Ukrainians are reacting with frustration, and in some cases fury, to reports that it could take until next summer — and possibly longer — to complete the training of Ukrainian pilots, so they can proficiently fly their much coveted F-16 warplanes. The F-16 is a versatile fighter, and one that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been pleading for since the very early days of the Russian invasion. On Friday, the Netherlands and Denmark confirmed they had received approval from the U.S. to hand over F-16s to Ukraine as soon as pilot training is complete. That question of pilot readiness is extremely contentious, however. United States Air Force General James Hecker, the commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Africa, told reporters that getting F-16 squadrons ready for battle could take “four or five years.”Admittedly, Hecker was talking about top expertise, but even for basic capability — such as solo air-to-ground attacks — si...

Russia scores double hit with missile attack on Chernihiv theater

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:32:47 GMT

KYIV — Russia’s missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv at the weekend not only killed seven people and injured 120, it also scored a second hit for the Kremlin by stoking internal anger against drone-makers, who are accused of turning the city into a target with a security blunder. On a bright holiday morning, as Ukrainians were returning from church on Saturday after celebrating the Apple Feast of the Savior — a harvest festival of the Orthodox church — a Russian Iskander-type ballistic missile exploded over the theater in the center of Chernihiv, a city north of Kyiv, only some 70 kilometers from the border with Russia.  The prosecutor’s office has started an investigation into a war crime that led to a mass murder.Online commentators, however, are already pronouncing guilty verdicts on an unexpected group of former national heroes, blaming not only Russia, but also Ukrainian drone producers and military volunteers who organized and advertised ...

Crash in Revere damages multiple cars, smashes windows at nearby building

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:32:47 GMT

Emergency crews responded in Revere on Monday after a multi-car crash left one car stuck on its side and damaged a nearby building. The crash happened near the intersection of Broadway and Fenno Street Monday morning. Revere police later shared photos from the scene showing at least two pickup trucks with damage in the street. A third vehicle was seen on its side on a sidewalk in the area. The front windows of a local store were smashed and there was debris scattered around the intersection.Revere police said all lanes in the area had reopened as of around 10:15 a.m. and the accident had cleared.

British nurse Lucy Letby imprisoned for life in murders of 7 babies and attempted murders of 6

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:32:47 GMT

By BRIAN MELLEY and DANICA KIRKA (Associated Press)LONDON (AP) — A former neonatal nurse convicted of murdering seven babies in her care and trying to kill six others at a hospital in northern England was sentenced Monday to life in prison with no chance of release by a judge who said she was cruel, cunning and callous, and acted with “malevolence bordering sadism.”Lucy Letby, who refused to appear in court for sentencing or to face an outpouring of anger and anguish from grieving parents, was given the most severe punishment possible under British law, which does not allow the death penalty.Justice James Goss said the number of killings and attempts and the nature of the murders by a nurse entrusted with caring for the most fragile infants provided the “exceptional circumstances” required to impose a rare “whole-life order.” Only three other women have received such a harsh sentence in the U.K.“There was a deep malevolence bordering o...

Healey admin seeks over $2 billion from federal grant programs

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:32:47 GMT

The Healey Administration has applied for more than $2 billion in federal grant funds aimed at four large scale infrastructure projects which could substantially improve traffic and ease travel in the impacted regions.According to a release from the governor’s office, the state has sought funds to support replacement of the Cape Cod bridges, the Allston I-90 Multimodal project, renovations to North Station and replacement of the Draw 1 bridge, and reconstruction of Route 9 in Williamsburg.Related ArticlesPolitics | Lucas: A tale of two bridge projects Politics | Lawmakers tell Army Corps, MassDOT to try harder on Cape Bridge funds “From day one, we said our administration was going to compete for the unprecedented level of federal funding opportunities available to support infrastructure projects across our state that are crucial to our communities, economies, and environment. These ambitious applications represent an important step forward toward del...

At John Angelos’ request, Maryland officials considered filing antitrust suit against MLB to aid Orioles during MASN dispute

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:32:47 GMT

At the request of current Orioles chairman John Angelos, Maryland officials seriously considered an extraordinary idea: that the state sue Major League Baseball on behalf of the team, alleging the league was misusing its antitrust exemption in a dispute over fees from the Os’ broadcast network.The prospect of such a lawsuit — which would have fractured the club’s already-tense relationship with the league — went far enough in 2019 that Attorney General Brian Frosh attended two meetings with a representative of Gov. Larry Hogan, Maryland Stadium Authority chairman Tom Kelso, Angelos and others to consider it, according to participants.The meetings were confirmed to The Baltimore Sun by Kelso, a Hogan appointee who chaired the stadium authority from 2015 until March. Frosh, a Democrat who left office in January, declined to discuss the sessions, saying they were confidential. Two other people with direct knowledge also confirmed the meetings to The Sun. They re...

Report: John Angelos casts doubt on Orioles’ ability to retain young stars, speaks about Kevin Brown’s discipline

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:32:47 GMT

In recent months, Orioles CEO and Chairman John Angelos has often compared his vision for the future of Camden Yards to The Battery area near the Atlanta Braves’ Truist Park.But Angelos told The New York Times it’s unlikely the Orioles echo the Braves by signing several members of their core to long-term contract extensions.“We’re going to have to raise the prices here — dramatically,” Angelos told The Times in terms of what he saw as the only way for the Orioles to retain their collection of young stars.Baltimore opened the season with MLB’s second-lowest player payroll, ahead of only the Oakland Athletics, who similarly had a talented young core in recent seasons but eventually traded those players away before becoming the majors’ worst team in 2023. The Orioles, conversely, have the best record in the American League, with that low payroll partly a product of young players who have yet to reach the expensive portion of their careers...

Massachusetts State Police trooper assaulted by Cohasset teenager with a ‘violent history towards police’

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:32:47 GMT

A Massachusetts State Police trooper was allegedly assaulted over the weekend by a Cohasset teenager who has a “violent history towards police.”During a traffic stop late Friday night, the 17-year-old boy is accused of punching the female trooper in the face — then pushing her away while shouting a swear at her, according to Mass State Police.The trooper suffered facial injuries from the juvenile’s alleged punch, and the boy later turned himself in to police Sunday after a day and a half on the lam. He has been charged with assault and battery on a police officer, and resisting arrest.“A trooper, on patrol by herself in the dead of night, approached a suspect with a criminal history who was known to be violent toward police,” said Col. John Mawn Jr., superintendent of Mass State Police. “She did so because she took an oath to defend society from violence, crime, and disorder.“She did so because she possesses the courage, at the risk of...

South Boston groom applying for new passport today in time for Italian wedding

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:32:47 GMT

Strike the wedding bells!A South Boston couple’s romantic Italian ceremony appears to be back on track as planned next week, and the groom will be in attendance.Donato Frattaroli is heading to the Boston Passport Agency for an appointment today, the North End native told the Herald this morning. He is set to pick up a new passport (hopefully) here in the Hub, just days after his Golden Retriever puppy, Chickie, destroyed his old one.U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch’s Office confirmed with the Herald that it had been handling the case ever since Frattaroli’s fiancee Magda Mazri reached out for help from the congressman. A spokesperson said the office secured the appointment for the couple.Frattaroli had previously told the Herald that he also had been in contact with U.S. Sen. Ed Markey. Local dog lover — PR guru George Regan — also assisted in the process. The story, first reported by the Herald on Friday, went national, with Frattaroli and Mazri appearing in a Monday segment on ...

Quebec community mourns four family members killed in home construction accident.

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:32:47 GMT

MONTREAL — A rural community in Quebec’s Bas-St-Laurent region is in mourning after four family members died in a home construction accident over the weekend.Investigators said two men and two women were atop a scissor lift on Saturday in St-Léandre, Que., when the device toppled for an unknown reason.Sixty-year-old Marco Roy and 53-year-old Jocelyne Bouchard were killed, as were 27-year-old Émerik Chenard and 24-year-old Kim Blouin. Police say the older two victims came from Rivière-du-Loup, 200 kilometres northeast of Quebec City, and that the younger two were from St-Léandre, a town of less than 400 people, about 400 kilometres northeast of the provincial capital.The mayor of St-Léandre said on Facebook that the entire town is in shock and is mourning the victims of the accident.Parti Québécois legislature member Pascal Berubé has expressed his condolences to the Maridel dairy farm, which has been owned by the Blouin family for several generations.This report by The Canadia...