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OBF: In any language, the Patriots are terrible and Kraft faces big decisions

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:04:27 GMT

For Robert Kraft, it is the wurst of times.The Patriots’ season is kaput.And the team is on the fritz.Kraft traveled with the reputation of his NFL franchise across 12 time zones and 7,328 air miles this past weekend to Germany only to be humiliated on two continents thanks to NFL Network.A showcase moment for the Patriots at their new home-away-from-home in Frankfurt ended with a starting QB on the bench, the coach on the clock, and the team stuck in the AFC basement.Kraft has amassed unimaginable wealth.He transformed the Patriots from a laughingstock to the model franchise in pro sports.He has a large and loving family.He has a beautiful wife who doubles as an ophthalmologist 33 years his junior.He has earned eternal gratitude across New England reserved for the likes of Paul Revere, John Adams, Alan Shepard, Robert Frost, John F. Kennedy, Bobby Orr, Ted Williams and Lenny Clarke.His record as an NFL owner is unrivaled during his 30 seasons with six Super Bowl trophies.His stadiu...

Callahan: Mac Jones has lost the locker room and 6 more Patriots thoughts at the bye

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:04:27 GMT

The Patriots are taking this season on the chin.Mercy won’t come for another two months, but the Pats have momentarily been granted a breather with their annual bye. It’s time for rest and reflection.With seven games to play, here are seven Patriots thoughts and nuggets entering the break:Mac has lost the locker roomAfter he was benched for a second time this season during a Week 5 loss to New Orleans, several members of the organization lost faith in Mac Jones. But now, after getting benched for a third time last Sunday in Germany, Jones’ support is vanishing.One team source estimated that at least 80% of the Patriots’ locker room is out on Jones. Another said the “vast majority” of players are done with him. Both said the lack of belief spreads to both sides of the ball, with a shared sense that Jones’ worst mistakes negate the best efforts of his teammates.Certain players, including running back Rhamondre Stevenson, said they’re sti...

Greta Thunberg attends a London court hearing after police charged her with a public order offense

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:04:27 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Climate activist Greta Thunberg arrived at a London court on Wednesday for a hearing over a public order offense after she was arrested last month at a demonstration against a major oil and gas industry conference.The 20-year-old Swedish environmental campaigner was among more than two dozen people charged after protesters sought to block access to the luxury InterContinental Hotel in central London during last month’s Energy Intelligence Forum. She was charged with breaching a section of the Public Order Act that allows police to impose limits on public assemblies.A group of Greenpeace and Fossil Free London activists gathered outside Westminster Magistrates’ Court early Wednesday, chanting and holding banners reading “Oily Money Out” and “Make Polluters Pay.”Thunberg and other climate protesters accuse fossil fuel companies of deliberately slowing the global energy transition to renewables in order to make more profit. They also oppose the British g...

Taiwan’s opposition parties team up for January election

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:04:27 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s two main opposition parties, both of which have vowed to restart talks with China, announced a joint presidential ticket for January’s election in a deal that could bring a major political upset in the self-ruled island democracy.The agreement would bring together Hou Yu-ih, the presidential candidate for the Kuomintang, one of Taiwan’s two major political parties, and Ko Wen-je, of the independent Taiwan People’s Party.Up until now, both Hou and Ko have trailed in polls behind frontrunner William Lai, the Democratic Progressive Party’s candidate who currently serves as vice president.Lai and incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen have both been criticized by Beijing as separatists who should be blamed in the event a war erupts across the Taiwan Strait. China considers Taiwan as part of its territory and has not renounced the use of force to take control over it.The Kuomintang, also known as KMT, has had a friendlier relationship with Beijing during former P...

At the UN’s top court, Venezuela vows to press ahead with referendum on future of disputed region

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:04:27 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Venezuela’s vice president on Wednesday vowed that her country will press ahead with a referendum on the future of a large tract of mineral-rich territory that it claims in a long-running dispute with neighboring Guyana.Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was speaking on the second day of hearings into a request by Guyana for the United Nations’ top court to order a halt to parts of a consultative referendum in December on the future of the Essequibo region, which makes up some two-thirds of Guyana.“Venezuela reaffirms its categorical rejection of Guyana’s audacious action to interfere in its internal affairs. Nothing will prevent the referendum scheduled for Dec. 3 from being held,” Rodríguez told judges at the International Court of Justice.She added that her appearance at the court’s headquarters in the ornate Peace Palace in The Hague “in no way implies recognition of the jurisdiction of this honorable court over the territorial d...

Manchester City announces record financial figures for 2022-23 season

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:04:27 GMT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester City reported record revenues of 712.8 million pounds ($890 million) for last season in figures released on Wednesday. In its annual report for the 2022-23 season, City also announced record profits of 80.4 million pounds ($100 million) – an increase on the previous year’s total of 41.7 million pounds ($52 million).The club, which is backed by the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, won a trophy treble last season, including the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup. “In short, last season saw Manchester City achieve the greatest football and commercial year of its storied history,” club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said in a statement. “The season was the validation of a philosophy and sustained approach that has defined the Club since His Highness Sheikh Mansour became its custodian in 2008.”City has dominated English soccer since being bought by Sheikh Mansour and has won five of the last six Premier League titles under manager Pep ...

A man arrested over death of a hockey player whose neck was cut with skate blade is released on bail

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:04:27 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A man who was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in the death of American ice hockey player Adam Johnson, whose neck was cut by a skate during a game, was released on bail Wednesday. Johnson, 29, was playing for the Nottingham Panthers against the Sheffield Steelers on Oct. 28 when he was struck by an opponent’s skate blade in the Elite Ice Hockey League game at Sheffield’s home arena in central England. A post-mortem examination confirmed he died as a result of a fatal neck injury, police said. South Yorkshire Police did not name the suspect or provide his age. He was arrested on Tuesday, and released on bail on Wednesday pending further inquiries. Matt Petgrave, 31, who plays for Sheffield, was the other player involved in the grisly incident that reverberated around the hockey community and led to moments of silence in the NHL.Video of the incident shows Johnson skating with the puck toward the Steelers net. Petgrave skates toward Johnson and collides with ...

Taliban minister attends meeting in Pakistan despite tensions over expulsions of Afghans

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:04:27 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Cabinet minister from Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government attended a trade meeting in Pakistan despite tensions over the expulsion of Afghans living in the country illegally, officials said Wednesday.Around 300,000 Afghans have returned home since last month, when Pakistan launched a nationwide crackdown on undocumented foreigners. The crackdown mainly affects about 1.7 million Afghans who fled during the 1979-1989 Soviet occupation of their country and after the Taliban takeover in 2021. The Taliban-led administration in Afghanistan has denounced the crackdown.However, this week the Taliban government sent Commerce and Industry Minister Nooruddin Azizi to Islamabad for a meeting of commerce and trade ministers from Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan. Aziz met separately with Pakistani officials to discuss trade issues and the expulsion of Afghans.In a statement on X, previously known as Twitter, the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad said the three sides agreed...

Modeling finds Trump taking back four states, beating Biden in electoral college

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:04:27 GMT

(The Hill) - Stack Data Strategy is projecting that former President Trump would beat President Joe Biden for the presidency if the election were held today. Stack published a polling model on Monday that found Biden wining the popular vote but losing the electoral college by 292 votes for Trump, to 246 votes for Biden. It projected that Biden would lose four states he won in 2020: Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona and Georgia. It projected Biden as the winner in two other swing states of Michigan and Nevada. “Our research is the largest exercise of its kind so far this cycle and we can confidently say that as things currently stand, if Donald Trump is selected as the Republican candidate, he is likely to win,” Head of Stack Data Strategy Joe Bedell said in a statement.The research polled about 15,000 respondents from across the United States between Oct. 12 and Nov. 3. The researchers then used the respondents’ answers to power a model that projected the 2024 electoral map base...

Albany duo arrested in Napa Auto Parts grand larceny

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:04:27 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- An Albany man and woman were arrested Tuesday stemming from a grand larceny at the Ravena Napa Auto Parts. Mark Nolan-Schou and Chelsea Biathrow each face multiple charges. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! On Tuesday, around 6:22 p.m., Albany County Sheriff's deputies responded to reports of larceny at Napa Auto Parts in Ravena. Deputies say the suspect(s) left the scene before their arrival.Shortly after, members from the Bethlehem Police Department initiated a traffic stop on a car matching the description of the getaway car. Police say the car fled from the stop and was again stopped in Albany. 5 things to know this Wednesday, November 15 Both occupants, identified as Nolan-Schou and Biathrow, were taken into custody. Both were found to possess stolen items from the auto parts store in the car.Charges:Fourth-degree possession of stolen propertyFourth-degree grand larcenyBoth were released on an appe...