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Biden is ‘weighing’ a visit to Israel for show of solidarity

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:18:53 GMT

The Biden administration is considering a presidential visit to Israel as a sign of support for the country following the brutal attack by Hamas.Two U.S. officials, granted anonymity to detail sensitive internal discussions, said President Joe Biden could land in Israel as early as this week. But they stress a trip might not happen any time soon, or at all, depending on the security situation in Israel and the state of a war that is quickly spiraling out of control. Israel is on the verge of ordering a ground invasion of Gaza.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invited Biden to visit when the two men spoke on Saturday, the officials said, with one of them saying the administration was “weighing” the offer.Biden has told aides he’s interested in going, as his presence would demonstrate strong U.S. support after Hamas killed more than 1,300 Israelis and took around 150 hostages, including Americans. But the likelihood of escalating hostilities could mean that any future trip occ...

Lebanese hold their breath as fears grow Hezbollah will pull them into war

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:18:53 GMT

BEIRUT — Once again, the Lebanese are glued to their TV sets and are compulsively checking their cell phones, following every twist and turn of skirmishes on the border, trying to weigh up whether another war is imminent. In desperation, they are asking themselves how a nation so often shattered by conflict — and pummeled by an economic crisis — is again at risk of tipping back into the abyss. “People are exhausted — they can’t take much more,” said Ramad Boukallil, a Lebanese businessman, who runs a company training managers. “Lebanon is reeling — we have had four harsh years with the economic crisis, people are skipping meals and can hardly get by. We had the port explosion, the pandemic, a financial crash. Please God we’re not hit with another war,” he added, in a conversation at Beirut airport. The chief fear for many Lebanese is that they could soon be the second front of Israel’s war against its Islamist militant enemies, after Hamas’ brutal onslaught against Isra...

Israel or Hezbollah miscalculation could blow region apart

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:18:53 GMT

Nicholas Blanford is a Beirut-based senior nonresident fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs.BEIRUT — As Israel embarks on what looks like ground incursions into the Gaza Strip, the country’s northern border with Lebanon has been heating up.Since Hamas launched its devastating assault on southern Israel on October 7, Hezbollah and Palestinian militants have been carrying out a spate of small-scale attacks from Lebanon, putting the people of both Lebanon and Israel on edge, fearful of a broader conflict engulfing the region.So far, Hezbollah has remained relatively coy about its intentions. However, Sheikh Naim Qassem — the organization’s deputy leader — said in a speech on Friday that it was ready for action.“The question being asked, which everyone is waiting for, is what Hezbollah will do and what will its contribution be,” he said. “We will contribute to the confrontation within our plan — when the time comes for any action, we will carry it out.”Hezbollah...

Europe is still teeming with antisemitism

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:18:53 GMT

Jamie Dettmer is opinion editor at POLITICO Europe. If anyone had any doubt as to whether the Western world is still teeming with antisemitism, the displays of jubilant pro-Hamas rallies in various European and American cities, and the avalanche of social media posts rejoicing in the carnage of the attack on southern Israel, should have disabused them of the notion.Last week’s butchery by Hamas gunmen struck many as a gruesome throwback to the “Holocaust of bullets” by the Einsatzgruppen — the mobile Nazi death squads that conducted mass shootings of Jews in Poland and Ukraine as their horrific contribution to the ‘final solution.”But that hasn’t stopped the hate speech — nor the pro-Hamas demonstrations — bringing activists from the far left and far right together with radical Islamists.In the wake of the attack, “antisemitic rhetoric spiked across social media platforms, particularly on extremist favorites 4chan and Telegram. This includes a rise in the use of phrases that ca...

DUP leader preps party for move back into Belfast power-sharing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:18:53 GMT

BELFAST — Jeffrey Donaldson can give the impression of being one of those statues of the Virgin Mary that, back in the 1980s, kneeling crowds of devout Irish Catholics convinced themselves were moving. Stare at something long enough and even the most immovable object can appear to move.This could turn out to be another trick of the eye. But it looks like Sir Jeffrey the Immaculate is finally moving, two years after he launched his confrontation with the U.K. government over the post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland and one year after the collapse of its power-sharing government atop the hill at Stormont.His leader’s speech Saturday to the Democratic Unionist Party faithful did attempt to keep all options open. He restated his willingness to keep saying no to the Windsor Framework, the compromise struck by the U.K. and the EU in February that seeks to simplify and reduce the level of checks and restrictions on goods flowing into Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K. —&nbs...

Rishi Sunak’s government quietly revives plan for China trade talks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:18:53 GMT

LONDON — Rishi Sunak’s government is quietly drawing up plans to hold key trade talks with China for the first time in five years.Whitehall is examining several options for strengthening economic ties with China, including the revival of ministerial trade talks, according to two U.K. government officials briefed on the discussions. One option being looked at is convening the U.K.-China joint economic and trade committee (JETCO) for the first time since 2018, both officials said. They were granted anonymity to disclose private discussions.The JETCO is a forum attended by ministers and senior company representatives and effectively signals two countries’ desire to boost trade. It often comes hand-in-hand with mini export deals.The plans are likely to trigger a backlash from some Tory MPs who oppose closer economic ties with China. Liz Truss, the former U.K. prime minister, warned Sunak to keep these specific talks on ice in a speech in Taiwan last spring. One of the senior U.K. offici...

Column: How bad is Justin Fields’ hand injury? After another loss, what does it mean for the Chicago Bears’ direction?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:18:53 GMT

For those desperately seeking positives from the Chicago Bears’ latest loss — a 19-13 clunker against the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field — the Sunday X-rays taken on quarterback Justin Fields’ throwing hand came back negative.So there’s that, right?No broken bones. No extreme dread that Fields’ availability for the rest of the season could be in jeopardy.In fact, Bears coach Matt Eberflus said Fields expressed a desire to return after he landed funny on his right hand while taking a third-quarter sack. Fields first went to the bench grimacing, then retreated to the blue medical tent on the sideline, then went back toward the locker room for those in-stadium X-rays.Fields wanted back in. “He just couldn’t grip the ball to throw it,” Eberflus said.According to a report from Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer, Fields dislocated his right thumb on his fall. Thus, the quarterback’s day was done. And eventually so were t...

Queen + Adam Lambert = a killer collab

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:18:53 GMT

Adam Lambert strikes a pose atop a spinning motorcycle that’s half Harley-Davidson, half disco ball singing “Bicycle Race.”Lambert is at peak Glambert. He’s cheeky, charming, swagger stuffed in leather, and absolutely crushing an insanely difficult song to cover on stage Sunday at the TD Garden in front of a packed house.Adam Lambert is very good at his job. And at the same time, no one can replace Freddie Mercury. And everyone knows this. Especially Adam Lambert.The thing is Brian May and Roger Taylor are still perfect — note for note perfect! —  at their jobs, even at 76 and 74, respectively.Rock has entered an interesting, odd phase. John Mayer can stand in for Jerry Garcia with members of the Grateful Dead. Axl Rose can fill in for Brian Johnson in AC/DC. Eagles tour with Glenn Frey’s kid, Phil Collins tours with his own kid playing his drum parts, Michael Sweet of Stryper actually logged time singing for Boston.What are we to do? Scream “cash grab?” Skip the show? M...

How Patriots’ Jabrill Peppers avoided flag on big hit on Davante Adams

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:18:53 GMT

LAS VEGAS — Safety Jabrill Peppers made one of the best plays of the Patriots season when he annihilated Davante Adams as the Raiders wide receiver was trying to corral a pass.The @JabrillPeppers force, the Tavai INT. : #NEvsLV on CBS pic.twitter.com/sX1leAzkSm— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 15, 2023Peppers’ spear dislodged the ball, which landed in linebacker Jahlani Tavai’s arms for an interception. Peppers has been fined for unnecessary roughness this season, but this play — a massive collision — was not penalized.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots took odd approach to pregame warmups with backup QB New England Patriots | Mac Jones, offense cost Patriots again with late-game failures at Las Vegas New England Patriots | How Patriots’ Mac Jones, DeVante Parker reacted to momentous late-game drop New England Patriots | Callahan: It’s time for the Patriots to start selling ...

Boyfriend arrested after Northern California sheriff’s deputy found dead at her home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:18:53 GMT

CRESCENT CITY, Calif. (AP) — A Northern California sheriff’s deputy was found dead in her home and her boyfriend was later arrested arrested in Oregon on suspicion of killing her, authorities said. The body of Deputy Deanna Esmaeel was discovered Thursday at the residence in coastal Crescent City, California, the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. An arrest warrant was issued for Daniel James Walter, who was last seen near Esmaeel’s house on the day of the killing. Authorities in Curry County, Oregon, found Walter’s black Mazda sedan on Friday and he was arrested a short time later, officials said.Sheriff’s officials didn’t say if the 54-year-old suspect had an attorney and contact information for Walter could not be found on Sunday. Esmaeel was the mother of actor Marty York, best known for a role in the 1993 movie “The Sandlot.” Esmaeel had worked as an animal trainer on film sets for decades before making the change to law e...