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Guregian: Patience wearing thin on Patriots’ efforts in free agency

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:39:37 GMT

After two days working the legal tampering window ahead of free agency, two days where many of the important deals are usually consummated, here’s one way to sum up the Patriots and their approach:Still waiting.They’re waiting for who knows what, while the fan base is anxiously waiting for more. And patience is starting to wear thin.Thus far, the so-called improvements team owner Robert Kraft anticipated and promised season ticket holders in a letter sent earlier in the year have been few and far between.Getting another team to take free agent flop Jonnu Smith and his contract off their hands was certainly a plus. So was re-signing cornerback Jonathan Jones and safety Jabrill Peppers.But losing top receiver Jakobi Meyers on Tuesday was a head-scratcher. Especially given the affordable three-year, $33 million contract he signed with the Las Vegas Raiders.Talk about a bargain. This would have been a great deal for the Patriots given early projections of what Meyers was exp...

OBF: Is it time for The Panic Button?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:39:37 GMT

Bob Lobel saw it all during his nearly 30-year run as the face of sports at WBZ-TV.He went from Larry, Robert, and Kevin.To Paul, Ray, and Kevin.Game 6 in 1986.To Eight Days In October 2004.Lobel kept viewers from losing it in the abyss of “Loserville” in the 1990s. He shared their ride to the stratospheric heights of the early 21st century.Lobel, now 79, was honored last year for his stellar career with a New England Gold Circle Emmy Award. He left WBZ-TV nearly 15 years ago. But his legacy continues with two gifts that remain as relevant today as they were when Lobel introduced them into the Greater Boston sports lexicon.His first is a seven-word phrase.Jeffersonian in its succinctness, endurance, and impact:“Why can’t we get players like that?”It was spawned by the Hall of Fame career of Jeff Bagwell. The Astros first-baseman and DH was famously traded by the Red Sox in 1990, when he was a minor-leaguer, for pitcher Larry Andersen. Andersen fanned 25 batters and notched a 1.23 ER...

Cyclone Freddy to ease after battering Malawi, Mozambique

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:39:37 GMT

BLANTYRE, Malawi (AP) — After barreling through Mozambique and Malawi since late last week, killing hundreds and displacing thousands more, Cyclone Freddy is set to move away from land Wednesday, which should bring some relief to southern African regions that have been ravaged by its torrential rain and powerful winds. The cyclone has killed at least 199 people in Malawi’s southern region including Blantyre, the country’s financial hub, according to local authorities. In neighboring Mozambique, officials say at least 20 people have died since the storm made landfall in the port town of Quelimane on Saturday night.“There are many casualties — either wounded, missing, or dead and the numbers will only increase in the coming days,” said Guilherme Botelho, emergency project coordinator in Blantyre with Doctors Without Borders. Malawi, which has been battling a cholera outbreak, is at risk of a resurgence of the disease, Botelho said, “especially since the vaccine...

Biden drawing contrast to Republicans on lower drug costs

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:39:37 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — President Joe Biden will highlight the stark differences in how Democrats are tackling skyrocketing drug prices compared to their Republican counterparts as he gears up for an expected reelection announcement. In a speech on Wednesday in Las Vegas that could serve as a preview of the campaign ahead, Biden planned to put the issue of lowering drug costs at the center of his policy and political agenda. The White House thinks it has a winning message in showcasing legislation passed last year that is expected to save taxpayers billions of dollars and lower the cost of drugs for the roughly 84 million Americans who rely on Medicare.“These kind of savings will give people a little bit more breathing room, more comfort as they decide to go to the grocery store to buy their food, more ability to pay their rent, or maybe it’s just to do something decent for their families,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra told reporters on Tuesday as he previewed the Dem...

Cat Stevens to return this summer with a new album

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:39:37 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Legendary British singer-songwriter Cat Stevens will release a new album of original songs this summer that took the “Peace Train” hitmaker over a decade to make and revisits familiar themes of togetherness.The 12-song collection is called “King of a Land” and comes out in June on George Harrison-founded Dark Horse Records. The album cover illustration shows a boy playing guitar on top of the Earth, as a cat stretches and a train puffs along a track.The first single is the cheerful, family friendly “Take the World Apart,” with the lyrics “I’ll take the world apart/to find a place for a peaceful heart.”“The source of musical inspiration for this song came from the 50s. The smoochy harmonies and chords have an enchanting effect on the ear. Life was simpler then: lonely hearts yearning for love,” he said in a statement to The Associated Press.The album reunites Stevens with producer Paul Samwell-Smith, who produced three Stevens albums between 1970-72 — “Tea...

Despite market slump, high rates dim homebuyer affordability

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:39:37 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Homeownership is likely to remain a pipe dream for many Americans this spring homebuying season.The nation’s worst housing slump in nearly a decade stoked hope among prospective buyers that homes could be scooped up more easily. But while prices appear to have peaked last summer, they still ended 2022 higher than they were at the end of 2021. And the median U.S. home price has increased 42% since 2019.A series of interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve last year is making matters worse for homebuyers, pushing mortgage rates to their highest level in two decades.The average long-term rate on a 30-year mortgage reached a two-decade high of 7.08% in the fall. Rates eased in December and January, but have been climbing since early February. The average rate hit 6.73% last week, the highest level since early November. A year ago, it averaged 3.85%. That rate translates into a roughly 49% increase in the monthly payment on a median-priced U.S. home than a year ag...

Italian’s espresso machine a hit at World Baseball Classic

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:39:37 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Old-time baseball players would be appalled. Italy’s dugout at the World Baseball Classic comes outfitted with an espresso machine. And it’s getting lots of attention.“We are kind of shocked, actually, because this is something in Italian culture that’s sort of like water. I mean, coffee would be right after water,” Italy manager Mike Piazza said.Piazza said he was content with the Nespresso machine in the dugout, but dissatisfied the coffee was being served in a paper cup and not a ceramic one.“I don’t like espresso out of a paper cup. It’s kind of sacrilege,” Piazza said. “But when it’s the only option you have, you have to deal with it. Maybe next time we’ll bring the metallic machine with the copper eagle on the top and someone in there knocking espressos out. You have to make the most with the tools you have.”Andre Marcon, the president of the Italian Baseball Federation, said he was content with the exposure Italian baseball was getting — even fo...

Indonesia arrests 4 foreigners for alleged drug smuggling

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:39:37 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian authorities said Wednesday they have arrested four foreigners for allegedly trying to smuggle drugs into the country, including a Nigerian man who had swallowed dozens of capsules filled with more than a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of methamphetamine.A Brazilian man and three Nigerian men were arrested separately between January and March at Soekarno-Hatta international airport in Jakarta and several apartments in the capital, police spokesperson Trunoyudo Wisnu Andika told a news conference in Jakarta.Indonesia is a major hub for drug trafficking in Southeast Asia and has strict drug laws, with convicted smugglers sometimes executed by firing squad.Gatot Sugeng Wibowo, chief of customs at Soekarno-Hatta, said officers arrested Malachi Onyekachukwu Umanu, a Nigerian who arrived at the airport from Ethiopia on March 5 with no suitcase or bag.His suspicious behavior prompted officers to check his body, and an X-ray turned up some 64 capsules inside his s...

AI child-welfare tool may flag parents with disabilities

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:39:37 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — For the two weeks that the Hackneys’ baby girl lay in a Pittsburgh hospital bed weak from dehydration, her parents rarely left her side, sometimes sleeping on the fold-out sofa in the room.They stayed with their daughter around the clock when she was moved to a rehab center to regain her strength. Finally, the 8-month-old stopped batting away her bottles and started putting on weight again.“She was doing well and we started to ask when can she go home,” Lauren Hackney said. “And then from that moment on, at the time, they completely stonewalled us and never said anything.”The couple was stunned when child welfare officials showed up, told them they were negligent and took their daughter away.“They had custody papers and they took her right there and then,” Lauren Hackney recalled. “And we started crying.”More than a year later, their daughter, now 2, remains in foster care. The Hackneys, who have developmental disabilities, are struggling to understand how taking t...

Capital Region snow emergencies for March 13-15 storm

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:39:37 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A winter storm is set to hit the Capital Region starting Monday night into Tuesday. According to Meteorologist Jill Szwed, this will be the biggest storm of the season yet. Get all of the latest news, weather, sports, and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! The entire NEWS10 area is under a Winter Storm Warning between Monday afternoon and Wednesday morning. The high impact, long duration winter storm will bring heavy wet snow and gusty winds. Power outages are expected.Albany County Executive Dan McCoy has declared a state of emergency for the county due to the impending storm starting at 8 p.m. on Monday. The order directs all Albany County departments and agencies "to take whatever steps necessary to protect life and property, public infrastructure, and provide such emergency assistance deemed necessary." 03/13/2023: Gearing up for a big nor’easter Schenectady County has also declared a state of emergency. The emergency restricts travel ...