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Germany’s domestic spy agency warns of heightened threat of terror attacks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:53 GMT

The war between Israel and Hamas has fueled an increased risk of attacks that might be carried out by radicalized Islamists inside Germany, the country’s domestic intelligence agency warned on Wednesday.“We have been observing the declared intention of Islamists to carry out attacks in the West for some time now,” said Thomas Haldenwang, the president of Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. “However, a new dimension is now emerging.”The agency has observed increased calls for attacks among actors in the “jihadist spectrum,” Haldenwang said, while Al-Qaeda and ISIS are attempting to “latch on” to the conflict in the Middle East in order to win new supporters.The danger of attacks “is real and higher than it has been for a long time,” Haldenwang added.Much of the threat comes from the potential for radicalized individuals to attempt attacks on “soft targets,” according to th...

Source: Patriots WR Demario Douglas in concussion protocol

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:53 GMT

Patriots wide receiver Demario Douglas entered concussion protocol this week after taking a hit to the head in last weekend’s loss to the Giants, a source told the Herald.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Sources: Patriots adding wide receiver depth amid injuries New England Patriots | Bill Belichick explains Patriots rookie Malik Cunningham’s lack of QB reps New England Patriots | Bill Belichick ‘not prepared’ to announce Patriots’ starting quarterback New England Patriots | Will Patriots change kickers after missed game-tying field goal? Bill Belichick answers New England Patriots | OBF: These Patriots among worst 5 units Douglas was one of two players to miss practice Wednesday, along with veteran wideout/running back Ty Montgomery. The sixth-round rookie is currently the Patriots’ leading receiver with 36 catches for 410 yards. Douglas got injured on a punt re...

After being diagnosed with breast cancer at 22, she wants young women to know their risk

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:53 GMT

Devon Brown knew not to ignore it when she found a lump in her breast that just didn’t seem quite right.“It felt very round and hard, so that was pretty abnormal,” she said.A biopsy confirmed she was right to worry: the lump was cancerous. And so Brown, a 22-year-old Loveland resident, joined the unenviable, growing group of young people fighting cancers that generally had been considered diseases of later life.Nationwide, the rate of cancers before age 50 increased about 4.4% in women from 2010 to 2019, but decreased about 4.9% in men. Breast cancer accounted for the largest share of early diagnoses, though rates increased faster for cancers of the digestive system. Most of the increase came from people in their 30s, with rates holding steady for other groups.It’s not just an American phenomenon, either: cancer diagnoses worldwide in people between 14 and 49 increased 79% between 1990 and 2019, according to a study in the British Medical Journal of Oncology. Some of the increase ma...

Bailey Zappe leads QBs, Mac Jones sits out at start of Patriots practice Wednesday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:53 GMT

FOXBORO — Patriots backup quarterback Bailey Zappe took the majority of reps in an initial passing drill during the media-access portion of practice Wednesday.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Sources: Patriots adding wide receiver depth amid injuries New England Patriots | Bill Belichick explains Patriots rookie Malik Cunningham’s lack of QB reps New England Patriots | Bill Belichick ‘not prepared’ to announce Patriots’ starting quarterback New England Patriots | Will Patriots change kickers after missed game-tying field goal? Bill Belichick answers New England Patriots | OBF: These Patriots among worst 5 units Undrafted rookie receiver/quarterback Malik Cunningham also threw during the drill that involved wide receivers and tight ends. Mac Jones did not take a single rep, and instead stood behind the quarterbacks with newly re-signed practice-squad veteran Will Grier....

GOP considers holding formal vote to authorize Biden impeachment as White House questions legitimacy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:53 GMT

By FARNOUSH AMIRI (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are considering holding a formal vote next month to authorize the impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden as the party looks to legitimize a process that has yet to yield any direct evidence of wrongdoing by the president. GOP leaders floated the possibility of a vote during a closed-door meeting with Republican lawmakers Wednesday morning, according to a person familiar with the private discussion who was granted anonymity to discuss it.The possible reversal from House Republicans comes amid a growing standoff with the White House over requests for information related to Biden and his family. Republican leaders have long said a vote on the impeachment investigation was unnecessary, but are reconsidering as White House lawyers use the lack of formal House authorization to argue that the entire investigation lacks “constitutional legitimacy.”Yet holding a vote on the impeachment investigation would b...

Chinatown YMCA opens as day site for migrant, homeless families waiting for shelter

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:53 GMT

The YMCA of Greater Boston started Monday offering day programming and warm spaces for migrant and homeless families staying at a temporary overnight shelter inside the Park Plaza Transportation Building, the organization announced Wednesday.Staff from the Wang YMCA of Chinatown said they will provide food, programming, and a “warm and welcoming environment” for migrants during the daytime hours while temporary shelter is not available at the transportation building only blocks away.Emergency Assistance Director Lt. Gen. Scott Rice said the handful of community rooms and gym at the YMCA playing host to families during the day is “an ideal place” for people during the winter.Families are “integrated” into all the daily rhythm of the Wang YMCA, said YMCA of Greater Boston CEO David Shapiro, but are moved around throughout the building so as to not take away from members’ experience.Shapiro said there is no formal contract between the state and the YMCA of Greater Boston to offer dayti...

What to do instead of college: 6 alternatives to consider

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:53 GMT

By Eliza Haverstock | NerdWalletDespite a growing sentiment against college and its high sticker prices, getting a bachelor’s degree is still worth it: In 2021, the median earnings of 25- to 34-year-olds with a bachelor’s degree were 55% higher than those who only completed high school, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.But a traditional college degree isn’t the only ticket to a well-paying career and rewarding life.“The number of alternative pathways that are available is expanding dramatically. It’s no longer, ‘I have to go to a four-year school,’” says Mark Schneider, director of the U.S. Education Department’s Institute of Education Sciences. Increasingly, he says, hiring managers focus on skills rather than degrees.Many of these alternative pathways are more affordable than a bachelor’s degree, too. To build the skills necessary for a successful and potentially lucrative career, consider these six routes.If you want to build skills and learn1. Comm...

As last planned hostage releases begin, mediators aim to extend Israel-Hamas truce in Gaza

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:53 GMT

By WAFAA SHURAFA, JACK JEFFERY and MELANIE LIDMAN Associated PressEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — International mediators on Wednesday worked to extend the truce in Gaza, encouraging Hamas to keep freeing hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and further relief from Israel’s air and ground offensive. The cease-fire will otherwise end within a day.Hamas freed two Russian-Israeli women, who exited Gaza Wednesday evening, Israel said. The release was expected to be followed by the swap of 10 more hostages in Gaza for 30 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.Israel has welcomed the release of dozens of hostages in recent days and says it will maintain the truce if Hamas keeps freeing captives. Still, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underscored on Wednesday that Israel will resume its campaign to eliminate Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for 16 years and orchestrated the deadly attack on Israel that triggered the war. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist or...

Senate Majority Leader Schumer warns that antisemitism is on the rise as he pushes for Israel aid

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:53 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat who is the highest-ranked Jewish elected official in the U.S., warned Wednesday that antisemitism in the United States has reached levels unseen in generations and called on his fellow Democrats to clearly condemn it.Schumer’s remarks during a nearly-45 minute speech on the Senate floor come at a sensitive time in the Israel-Hamas war. The Biden administration is engaged in delicate negotiations to release hostages held by Hamas and extend a ceasefire, Democratic senators are increasingly calling to attach humanitarian conditions on a military aid package for Israe l, and the left-wing of the party has demonstrated a surge in support for Palestinians.Schumer is carefully navigating the moment, but said it was time for a clear-throated denouncement of the antisemitism that has flared in the U.S. and Europe ever since Hamas militants stormed into Israel last month. “The vitriol against Israel in the wake of Octob...

TDSB moves away from communicating every hate incident to parents

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:53 GMT

Canada’s largest school board says it has moved away from communicating every hate- or racism-related incident to school communities after finding that letters about the cases could lead to further harm.The changes in the Toronto District School Board procedures drew attention recently after two parents raised concerns about how an elementary school handled reports of hateful graffiti on site.The parents, who are school council co-chairs at McMurrich Junior Public School, say they were “disheartened” when they heard from their children last week about swastikas drawn in a girl’s bathroom at the school.Rachel Cooper and Livy Jacobs say the school principal and superintendent didn’t send an email to parents and other school community members about the incident, which they argue should have happened.TDSB spokesman Ryan Bird says the board decided more than a year ago to reduce the frequency of distributing letters to school communities because the communic...