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China says Biden comments calling leader Xi a dictator ‘extremely absurd and irresponsible’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:42 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China on Wednesday called comments by President Joe Biden describing Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a dictator “extremely absurd and irresponsible.” The new clash of words comes just over a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded a visit to Beijing that sought to break the ice in a relationship that has hit a historical low. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Biden’s comments at a fundraiser in California “go totally against facts and seriously violate diplomatic protocol, and severely infringe on China’s political dignity.” “It is a blatant political provocation. China expresses strong dissatisfaction and opposition,” Mao said at a daily briefing. “The U.S. remarks are extremely absurd and irresponsible,” Mao said. Blinken’s visit, during which he met with Xi, was aimed at easing tensions between the two superpowers but appeared not to have achieved any solid results. Biden, at the fundraiser on Tuesday night local time, said that Xi was em...

Poland’s conservative ruling party leader Kaczynski is joining the government as the deputy premier

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:42 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s powerful conservative ruling party leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, is reentering the government on Wednesday as the only deputy prime minister in the Cabinet, a move that gives him an enhanced position as the country heads toward a general election this fall.Kaczynski is the head of Law and Justice, the party that has governed Poland since 2015. It is widely believed in Poland that he decides most of the government’s policies and appointments, guiding the country in his position as party leader.He has previously served as deputy prime minister with a focus on security issues. He announced exactly a year ago that he was resigning from that position.This time, he will become the only deputy prime minister in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, the government spokesman Piotr Mueller told the Polish news agency PAP.So far, there had been four deputy prime ministers in the Cabinet.“The other deputy prime ministers have resigned from th...

Underwater noises heard in frantic search for missing submersible near Titanic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:42 GMT

A Canadian military surveillance aircraft detected underwater noises as a massive search continued early Wednesday in a remote part of the North Atlantic for a submersible that vanished while taking five people down to the wreck of the Titanic.A statement from the U.S. Coast Guard did not elaborate on what rescuers believed the noises could be, though it offered a glimmer of hope for those lost abroad the Titan as estimates suggest as little as a day's worth of oxygen could be left if the vessel is still functioning.Meanwhile, questions remain about how teams could reach the lost submersible, which could be as deep as about 12,500 feet (3,800 meters) below the surface near the watery tomb of the historic ocean liner. Newly uncovered allegations also suggest there had been significant warnings made about vessel safety during its development.Lost aboard the vessel are pilot Stockton Rush, the CEO of the company leading the expedition. His passengers are a...

MVP Arena GM Bob Belber discusses potential new ownership

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:42 GMT

ALBANY, NY (NEWS10) -- MVP Arena general manager Bob Belber has told NEWS10 Sports Director Griffin Haas that he and Ron Tridico had discussions on Monday night regarding Tridico's interest in bringing a new arena football team to Albany. Belber says the discussions were sparked by NEWS10's story on Monday regarding Tridico's interest. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Belber tells NEWS10 he had a great conversation with Tridico, and the next step in the process would be for Tridico to come up with a proposal. Belber added that Tridico's proposal would need to come with confirmation from one of the arena league's that the team will be welcomed into that league. Belber mentioned there is at least one other potential ownership group in the mix. He says the arena will review their offers over the next couple of weeks. Tridico tells NEWS10 if he does bring a team to Albany, it will be a completely new team with completely new br...

Mohawks continue tear; improve to 14-1 with doubleheader sweep of Lumberjacks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:42 GMT

AMSTERDAM, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- It's a bad day for opposing teams to see the Amsterdam Mohawks on their schedule. Keith Griffin's squad is off to its' best start in organization history, and that's saying a lot, considering they're coming off their winningest season ever last year. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Amsterdam improved to 14-1 with a doubleheader sweep of the Boonville Lumberjacks Tuesday at Shuttleworth Park. The Mohawks erased a 4-0 deficit to take game one 8-6, and never trailed in game two, securing a 7-5 victory.After a sluggish start to the opening game, the Mohawks were sure to get a jump on Boonville in the nightcap, manufacturing two first-inning runs as leadoff hitter Gage Miller scored on a wild pitch, and first baseman Cam Gurney drove in Luke Longo with a sacrifice fly.Boonville managed to respond by scraping across two runs of its' own. A bases-loaded walk in the second inning drew the Lumberjacks wit...

Attack on Vienna's pride parade prevented, security services say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:42 GMT

Austrian security services said on Sunday (18 June) they had thwarted a planned attack on Saturday's (17 June) pride parade in the capital.Three suspects between the ages of 14 and 20 were arrested on suspicion of planning to attack the parade in Vienna, which was held to celebrate LGBTQ+ rights and attracted around 300,000 people, officials said."Through the successful and also timely intervention, we managed to defuse the moment of danger for Vienna Pride and to ensure the safety of all participants," said Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, Austria's domestic intelligence chief.He did not give details of what the attack would have consisted of, but said items prohibited under Austria's weapons law were seized in searches carried out at the suspects' homes.Vienna police and Austria's state protection service were involved in the operation.The three suspects - Austrian citizens with Bosnian and Chechen roots - sympathize with the Islamic State militant group, Haijawi-Pirchner said.

Ask Amy: I was nervous I’d say something wrong about my niece’s big news

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:42 GMT

Dear Readers: Like you, I’m often curious about what happens to the advice I offer once it leaves my desk, and so I’ve asked readers to send in “updates” to let all of us know how things turned out.The responses have flowed in, and I’m interested and often gratified to learn what impact this experience has had on readers. Publishing these updates reminds me that we have been through a lot over these past decades.(It’s important to understand that most of these updates offer a positive outcome. I assume this is because when things go well, people are more willing to share their experience.)To refresh all of our memories, I’m running the original Q&A, followed by the update.Dear Amy: I am one of six adult siblings. We gather once or twice a year in a low-key kind of way to stay connected and catch up.My brother “Tom,” his wife and three adult children stopped attending these events a couple of years ago. This left us perplexed.Recently Tom’s son (my nephew) shared with the family ...

Harriette Cole: My boyfriend and I fought about his plan to taunt my ex

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:42 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: I recently found an expensive ring that my ex-boyfriend had lent me. I had been stressed about it for a while because it was not a gift, and I could not locate it when we broke up.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: He refused to pull over, and her new car got damaged Advice | Harriette Cole: My former teacher tells stories about me that aren’t true Advice | Harriette Cole: I’m afraid my son made a huge mistake, and I don’t know what to do Advice | Harriette Cole: It hurt my feelings when he treated me like a buddy Advice | Harriette Cole: I feel terrible that I hurt their feelings on social media I went for a walk with my current boyfriend and my best friend and expressed my happiness about finally finding the ring. My boyfriend made a joke about posting a photo of him wearing my ex’s ring, and my best friend and I immediately shut it down. We had not ended o...

DC region is home to two of the nation’s best children’s hospitals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:42 GMT

When parents in the D.C. area need the best advanced medical care for their children, they don’t have to look far.Both Children’s National Hospital in D.C. and Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore, Maryland, have landed on the Top Ten Honor Roll of U.S. News and World Reports Best Children’s Hospitals.It’s the 16th year U.S. News has released the rankings, meant to help families and doctors make informed decisions.“I saw a study today that indicated that there are about 1,500 hospitals that provide pediatric services in the country. So the top 10 are better than the top 1% of those 1,500 hospitals. So, the fact we have two of those in the Baltimore-Washington region is pretty extraordinary,” said Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and a managing editor of U.S. News.Hospitals are evaluated in 10 different pediatric specialties. Both Children’s National and Hopkins ranked high across the board.Children’s National’s ...

Aaron Rodgers is set to speak at a psychedelics conference

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:42 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Months after Colorado’s voters decided to join Oregon in decriminalizing psychedelic mushrooms, Denver will host a conference this week put on by a psychedelic advocacy group bringing together an unlikely cohort of speakers — including an NFL star, a former Republican governor and a rapper.The conference and the thousands expected to attend it is an indication of the creep, or perhaps leap, of cultural acceptance for psychedelic substances that proponents say may offer benefits for things like post-traumatic stress disorder and alcoholism. Still, medical experts caution that more research is needed on the drugs’ efficacy and the extent of the risks.NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who’ll soon debut with the New York Jets after years with the Green Bay Packers, has been open about his use of ayahuasca in the past and is slated to speak Wednesday. Rapper Jaden Smith, the son of Will Smith who has publicly shared the “ego dissolution” he felt when using psychedelics, ...