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‘The building will be rebuilt:’ Repairs underway after spate of six fires

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:15 GMT

Six separate “suspicious fires” at two shopping centers in Gaithersburg, Maryland, this weekend left store and building owners with a lot of work to do in the week ahead.The spate of fires started around 2:30 a.m. Sunday at the Holbrook Center across from Gaithersburg High School, according to the Montgomery County Fire Department. Around an hour later, more fires were reported at another shopping center at 3 Russell Avenue in Gaithersburg.“It was difficult to actually come and to see it so badly damaged and understand — or even begin to understand — why somebody would do such damage for no particular reason,” Mary Covell, the owner of the building on Russell Avenue, said.A person of interest is in custody, but Montgomery County Fire and Rescue have not identified the individual, nor their relation to the fires.Covell said the the fires were rattling to the business owners affected.“It’s frightening,” Covell said. “It’s frighteni...

Patriots react to rare 0-2 start: ‘Something’s got to happen’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:15 GMT

FOXBORO — The Patriots are tired.Frustrated. Hoping for better. Eager for more.The Pats have the look and sound of an 0-2 team, which they became after Sunday’s loss to Miami. They’re 0-2 for the first time since 2001. Several players gave voice to their frustration and disappointment after the game.Below is a sampling of player reaction from the locker room and post-game press conferences:QB Mac Jones“I think, obviously, it sucks. But, really, when you’re close, you just have to do more, I think. Weight room, film, practice. Like, everyone just has to do more.  And hopefully if you do that, I mean, you know you did everything you could do, right? So at that point, some of it’s out of your control. Some of it is luck, some of it’s other things. But for us, just got to do more.”WR JuJu Smith-Schuster“We’re all very, very upset and very down about it, but there’s a lot of things to learn and a lot of things to grow and to imp...

Mac Jones’ plan to make sure Patriots don’t spiral after two tough losses

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:15 GMT

FOXBORO — Mac Jones sat facing his locker, towel over head in full uniform 20 minutes after the Patriots’ latest distressing loss.Last week, the Patriots lost after rookie wide receiver couldn’t get a second foot in bounds on fourth down. This week, they lost after officials determined that guard Cole Strange came inches away from the first-down marker after a heads-up lateral from tight end Mike Gesicki on fourth down in the 24-17 loss.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots react to wild overturned play that sealed loss to Dolphins New England Patriots | Bill Belichick offers alternate reasons for Patriots rookie Demario Douglas’ apparent benching New England Patriots | Callahan: Patriots offense fails to deliver again, puts season in danger New England Patriots | Patriots can’t finish comeback, fall to Dolphins in 24-17 heartbreaker New England Patriots | Patriots inactives: Three start...

Patriots react to wild overturned play that sealed loss to Dolphins

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:15 GMT

FOXBORO — At first glance, it looked like the Patriots had made a spectacular, unexpected play to keep their comeback bid against the Dolphins alive.Facing fourth-and-3, trailing by seven with under a minute left in the fourth, the Pats desperately needed a first down. They reacted as such in their effort. Mac Jones found Mike Gesicki in the flat, but when stopped by a defender and noticing he was short of a first down, he made a head’s up play by lateraling the ball back to offensive lineman Cole Strange, who caught the ball in acrobatic fashion, and then barreled through multiple defenders in an attempt to get to the marker.Strange looked like he had pulled off the impossible. The call on the field was initially that he had converted the first down to keep the drive alive. Gillette Stadium roared. But after a video review, the play was overturned, ruled that Strange’s knee had hit the ground with the ball inches short of the first down marker at Miami’s 29-yard line. It sealed the...

Bill Belichick offers alternate reasons for Patriots rookie Demario Douglas’ apparent benching

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:15 GMT

FOXBORO — Patriots rookie wide receiver Demario Douglas was taught a lesson on Sunday night: fumble and you might not see the field again.Douglas did not appear to play any offensive snaps after losing a fumble on the final play of the first quarter in the Patriots’ 24-17 Week 2 loss to the Dolphins. Douglas caught a target from quarterback Mac Jones on third-and-8 from the Dolphins’ 39-yard line. He had enough yards to convert the third down before Dolphins edge defender Bradley Chubb chopped at his arm from behind, dislodging the football. Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson jumped on the football but couldn’t secure it. Chubb came away with the recovery.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots react to wild overturned play that sealed loss to Dolphins New England Patriots | Callahan: Patriots offense fails to deliver again, puts season in danger New England Patriots | Patriots can’t finish comeback, f...

Chevron says Australian LNG plant is back to full production after 3 days at 80% output

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:15 GMT

ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — A Chevron Corp. liquefied natural gas plant in Australia had resumed full production after a fault cut output by one-fifth for three days amid strike action, the U.S. energy giant said on Monday.A turbine tripped at the Wheatstone LNG plant in Western Australia state on Thursday last week as around 500 unionized Chevron staff escalated strike action over pay and conditions.Wheatstone and Chevron’s Gorgon plant, both in the state’s Pilbara region, account for between 5% and 7% of global LNG supply.Chevron said full production did not resume at Wheatstone until Sunday night.“During this time, LNG continued to be produced at approximately 80% of usual rates and vessel loading continued,” a Chevron statement said.“There has been no change to scheduled LNG deliveries,” Chevron added.Wheatstone produces 8.9 million metric tons (9.8 million U.S. tons) of LNG a year.About 500 Chevron employees who are members of the Offshore Alliance, a partnership between the Aus...

Oregon judge to decide in new trial whether voter-approved gun control law is constitutional

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:15 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon judge is set to decide whether a gun control law approved by voters in November violates the state’s constitution in a trial scheduled to start Monday.The law, one of the toughest in the nation, was among the first gun restrictions to be passed after a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year changed the guidance judges are expected to follow when considering Second Amendment cases.Measure 114 has been tied up in federal and state court since it was narrowly passed by voters in November 2022, casting confusion over its fate. The law requires people to complete a gun safety training course and undergo a criminal background check in order to obtain a permit to buy a firearm. The measure also bans high-capacity magazines holding more than 10 rounds.Circuit Court Judge Robert S. Raschio will preside over the trial this week in Harney County, a vast rural area in southeastern Oregon. Raschio temporarily blocked the law from taking effect in December after...

As Slovakia’s trust in democracy fades, its election frontrunner campaigns against aid to Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:15 GMT

MICHALOVCE, Slovakia (AP) — A populist former prime minister whose party is favored to win Slovakia’s early parliamentary election plans to reverse the country’s military and political support for neighboring Ukraine, in a direct challenge to the European Union and NATO, if he returns to power. Robert Fico, who led Slovakia from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2012 to 2018, is the frontrunner to occupy the prime minister’s office after the Sept. 30 election. He and his left-wing Direction, or Smer, party have campaigned on a clear pro-Russian and anti-American message. His candidacy is part of a wider trend across Europe. Only Hungary has an openly pro-Russian government, but in other countries, including Germany, France, and Spain, populist parties skeptical of intervention in Ukraine command significant support. Many of these countries have national or regional elections coming up that could tip the balance of popular opinion away from Kyiv and towards Moscow.“If Smer is part of...

The Taliban have banned girls from school for 2 years. It’s a worsening crisis for all Afghans

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:15 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Two years after the Taliban banned girls from school beyond sixth grade, Afghanistan is the only country in the world with restrictions on female education. Now, the rights of Afghan women and children are on the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly Monday in New York. The U.N. children’s agency says more than 1 million girls are affected by the ban, although it estimates 5 million were out of school before the Taliban takeover due to a lack of facilities and other reasons.The ban triggered global condemnation and remains the Taliban’s biggest obstacle to gaining recognition as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan. But the Taliban defied the backlash and went further, excluding women and girls from higher education, public spaces like parks, and most jobs.Here’s a look at the ban on girls’ education:WHY DID THE TALIBAN EXCLUDE GIRLS FROM HIGH SCHOOL?The Taliban stopped girls’ education beyond sixth grade because they said it didn’t comply with their i...

China’s foreign minister Wang Yi heads to Moscow after meeting US national security adviser

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:15 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China’s top foreign policy official is heading to Russia for security talks after two days of meetings with U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser over the weekend in Malta.Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who simultaneously holds the ruling Communist Party’s top foreign policy post, will be in Russia from Monday to Thursday for a round of China-Russia strategic security consultations, the Foreign Ministry said in a brief statement.The U.S. and China are at odds over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. China has refrained from taking sides in the war, saying that while a country’s territory must be respected, the West needs to consider Russia’s security concerns about NATO expansion. It has accused the U.S. of prolonging the fighting by providing arms to Ukraine, weaponry that the U.S. says is needed to defend against Russian aggression.China and Russia have grown closer in recent years as relations with the West have deteriorated ...