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‘We’re at your side,’ Italian president tells Zelenskyy in Rome before Ukraine leader meets pope

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:52 GMT

ROME (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Rome before talks on Saturday with Pope Francis at the Vatican, received assurances from Italian leaders of continued military and other aid as his country fights to liberate itself from Russia’s military invasion launched last year.Francis recently said that the Vatican has launched a behind-the-scenes initiative to try to end the war launched last year by Russia.In a tweet, sent shortly after his arrival in the Italian capital late Saturday morning, Zelenskyy cited his schedule of meetings with Francis, Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni. ” An important visit for approaching victory of Ukraine! ” Zelenskyy tweeted. When Zelenskyy arrived at a military airfield at Rome’s Ciampino airport, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani was on hand to greet him. Tajani told reporters that Italy will continue to support Ukraine “360 degrees” and press for a just peace, one that safeg...

Surrogate grandmother, daughter reflect on family history

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:52 GMT

REISTERSTOWN, Md. (AP) — It was a week before College Decision Day and Kai Hammond still hadn’t made up his mind.Kai, 18, a Carver Center senior and the second oldest of the Hammond triplets, had narrowed down his college choices to Berklee College of Music and Howard University. His mother, Camille, thought the choice should have been made by then. Kai’s siblings, Aaron and Simone, had decided to go to Morehouse College and Spelman College, respectively, more than a month earlier. But Hammond said Kai, her “creative,” was “keeping her on pins and needles.”“Two of my kids knew last month. But there was a last-minute negotiation and compromise figuring out where the next step would be for him,” the Reisterstown mother and physician said.The family set an in-house decision date of April 30, and Kai ultimately decided to attend Howard University in Washington, D.C.“As a parent at the end of the day, all you have is your best intention and hopes for the kids as to what they will do next...

Space Rabbit Coffee hops into changing part of Christiansburg

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:52 GMT

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (AP) — Lindsey and Tanner Ratcliffe noticed during their time living out West that coffee shops with only a drive-thru are quite common in that part of the country.So when the time came to open their own business, the couple already had a good idea of what they ultimately wanted to do.“We always knew we wanted to have a West Coast style on the East Coast,” said Lindsey Ratcliffe.That plan finally came to fruition this past winter when they opened Space Rabbit Coffee, a drive-thru shop on Christiansburg’s Roanoke Street that’s modeled after many of the spots they saw during their time out West.The drive-thru operates out of a nearly 1,000-square-foot building that formerly housed a LoanMax Title Loans location. One of the business’ distinguishing features is a mural on one of its exterior walls of a sunglasses-wearing rabbit dressed in an astronaut suit. The rabbit is painted against a mountainous backdrop, and coffee is shown floating around its helmet.The mural ...

Falls Church student charged in connection to 2 sexual assault cases

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:52 GMT

Police in Falls Church, Virginia, arrested a student Thursday in connection to two incidents of sexual assault.The student was charged with aggravated sexual assault and rape after a two-month investigation revealed serious incident involving a female student that happened on a Falls Church City Public Schools campus two hours after school was dismissed, authorities said.Police also said that they had probable cause to believe that the juvenile sexually assaulted another female student in an incident that took place away from school grounds and after school hours.FCCPS Superintendent Dr. Peter Noonan said that school administrators informed law enforcement after hearing about the allegations and cooperated with Falls Church police throughout the investigation.The accused student was expelled and hasn’t been on campus since the reported sexual assault.“We want to assure you that our students’ safety, security, and well-being are our top priorities,” Noonan said in a...

Tribes whose lands are cut in two by US borders push for easier crossings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:52 GMT

For four hours, Raymond V. Buelna, a cultural leader for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, sat on a metal bench in a concrete holding space at the U.S.-Mexico border, separated from the two people he was taking to an Easter ceremony on tribal land in Arizona and wondering when they might be released.It was February 2022 and Buelna, a U.S. citizen, was driving the pair — both from the sovereign Native American nation’s related tribal community in northwestern Mexico — from their home to the reservation southwest of Tucson. They’d been authorized by U.S. officials to cross the border. But when Buelna asked an agent why they were detained, he was told to wait for the officer who brought him in.“They know that we’re coming,” said Buelna, who has made the trip for a variety of ceremonies for 20 years. “We did all this work and then we’re still sitting there.”Now, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe is trying to change this — for themselves and potentially dozens of other tribes in the U.S. Tr...

Smoking third rail wiring causes service disruptions on Red Line

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:52 GMT

Smoke on the tracks at the MBTA’s Central Station caused some service disruptions on the Red Line on Saturday morning.The Cambridge Fire Department responded to the report of an odor of smoke around 7 a.m. It was determined smoke was coming from third-rail wiring.Shuttle buses were run from Harvard to Park Street to assist riders while the situation was addressed.Regular service has since resumed.https://twitter.com/MBTA/status/1657370546848276480https://twitter.com/CambridgeMAFire/status/1657341168882008069No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Bill Madden: The Mets hitting will come around, but the pitching is a different story

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:52 GMT

There’s no way to sugarcoat this. Steve Cohen’s $346 million Mets are off to an extremely disappointing start. They’re not hitting, having been shut out a major league worst seven times, one fewer than all of last season. And they’re not pitching, with only six quality starts, 28th fewest in baseball.So what’s a manager to do?Right now, Buck Showalter has to grin and bear it. He knew starting out he would be managing this year with a major handicap — one huge reliever short — after Edwin Diaz blew out his knee celebrating in the World Baseball Classic. What he did not see was his hitters going into such an early season malaise. But that he has to believe will soon turn around, although it may require an injection of Ronny Mauricio, who continues to tear it up in Triple-A, at second base and Jeff McNeil moving to the outfield (where both Starling Marte and Mark Canha have so far been mostly impotent). It is also worth noting that Francisco Li...

‘Unacceptable’: Ontario police investigating road rage incident that led to serious crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:52 GMT

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) continue to investigate a road rage incident involving two motorcyclists and an SUV driver on a busy highway.OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said officers in Toronto responded to a multi-vehicle incident on Thursday, May 11, on Highway 401 near Harmony Road.Two motorcyclists and a vehicle were entangled in a road rage incident that allegedly saw the two motorcyclists on both sides of the SUV on Highway 401. They cut the driver off and began brake-checking the driver, leading to a serious collision.One motorcyclist was rushed to a trauma centre with serious and potentially life-threatening injuries.“Not very harmonic,” Sgt. Schmidt said.“Motorcyclists need to remember how vulnerable they are to injury when they’re involved in collisions. Whether you’re right or wrong, motorcyclists are going to be the ones that pay the price if they go down.”Sgt. Schmidt said there is no place for road rage under any circumstances.“Thes...

Players, coaches excited for historic WNBA game in Canada

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:52 GMT

It has been 26 years since the first WNBA game was played. The ball went up on the historic matchup on June 27, 1997, between the Los Angeles Sparks and New York Liberty. Almost three decades later, another monumental moment in women’s sports is happening.The league is holding its first game in Canada when the Chicago Sky takes on the Minnesota Lynx at Scotiabank Arena.Tickets for the game sold-out fast, and with expansion talks for the league (Yes, Toronto is in the conversation), this is a test run to see if a franchise would work north of the border.There are only 12 teams in the WNBA, and more are needed to showcase talent worldwide. Presently, there is only one Canadian on either roster — Bridget Carleton of Chatham-Kent, Ont., who plays for the Lynx.CityNews spoke to the coaches and several players from both teams before tip-off.(CN) We are just a few hours away from tip-off. What were your reactions when you initially heard you would be playing in the first WNBA g...

Stellantis explores “contingency plans,” accuses Ottawa of failing on plant deal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:52 GMT

One of the world’s biggest automakers says the federal government has not lived up to its deal to build a battery plant in Windsor, Ont.Stellantis and South Korean battery-maker LG Energy Solution say they will immediately begin implementing contingency plans.The Chrysler, Jeep and Fiat maker has not said what those contingency plans involve.Stellantis and LG committed $5-billion last year to build an electric vehicle battery plant in Windsor with financial support from all levels of government.A spokeswoman for federal Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne says negotiations with Stellantis are ongoing.The federal government and Ontario recently closed a deal with Volkswagen to build an EV battery plant that includes billions of dollars in government subsidies.This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 13, 2023.The Canadian Press