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Inside the group that’s saving Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:28 GMT

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — When U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin brings together the defense chiefs of more than 40 nations here in southwest Germany each month, the hours-long gathering typically ends the same way: Celeste Wallander, the Pentagon’s head of international security affairs, calls on each participant to read out what weapons their nation is ready to donate to Ukraine.It’s a question — perhaps the question — that will help determine Ukraine’s future more than a year following Russia’s invasion.And it’s made the monthly closed-door grouping of leaders — known by the anodyne bureaucratic title of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group — an under-the-radar yet central force in equipping the Ukrainian military with everything from precision rockets to main battle tanks. It’s also helped the nation create an ad hoc yet astonishingly modern military that would be capable of outgunning some long-standing NATO members.But on the sidelines of the group’s April 21 meeti...

Guregian: Sizing up how the Patriots, AFC East teams fared in the draft

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:28 GMT

Before the NFL draft kicked off Thursday night, the Patriots had some catching up to do with in the AFC East.The Jets secured one of the top quarterbacks in the league in Aaron Rodgers to complement their shutdown defense. The Dolphins, meanwhile, bolstered their soft spot — defense — during free agency, and the Bills continue to be one of the elite teams in the league thanks to the presence of Josh Allen.So did any of the teams make any dramatic moves during the draft to improve?Here’s how it shapes up for the Patriots and the rest of the AFC East teams:Buffalo BillsDraft haul: Dalton Kincaid, TE, Utah; O’Cyrus Torrence, G, Florida; Dorian Williams, LB, Tulane, Justin Shorter, WR, Florida, Nick Broeker, G, Houston, Alex Austin, CB, Oregon State.Best pick: Kincaid. Torrence is a close second given they snagged one of the best interior line prospects in the second round. But Kincaid, who the Bills surrendered a fourth-round pick to move up the board to get, is the premier pass-catchi...

Winners, losers of 2023 NFL draft: Ravens’ goal was to take ‘best guy that’s there at every single pick’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:28 GMT

During the roughly 20 or so hours the NFL draft took to complete between Thursday and Saturday in Kansas City, Missouri, there was one constant: Every time a camera showed a team’s draft room following its pick, people were celebrating. Never were team officials shouting in disagreement or glum.The same can’t be said for some fans, but the draft is mostly about hope, promise and excitement, as much as it is for those following along as it is the teams they root for.As for the Ravens, their celebrating — or sigh of relief — began a few hours before the draft even started with reaching terms with quarterback Lamar Jackson on a five-year contract extension. There were signs that a deal was going to get done at some point, but there were also real moments of concern, particularly Jackson’s request to be traded and the fatigue that had set in on both sides over a two-years-long stalemate in negotiations.“It’s been emotional,” said Ravens ge...

Mike Preston: Ravens draft projects could pay off in the long run | COMMENTARY

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:28 GMT

All drafts are geared toward building for the future, but the Ravens’ 2023 class in particular will be remembered more for long-range plans than immediate starters.That’s different from a year ago when first-round picks Kyle Hamilton, a safety, and Tyler Linderbaum, a center, were expected to start right away. The Ravens also drafted other prominent rookies such as defensive tackle Travis Jones and cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis in 2022.Both general manager Eric DeCosta and Joe Hortiz, the team’s director of player personnel, mentioned the word “projects” several times Saturday, which would be of some concern if the team were rebuilding.But the Ravens aren’t in that class. They should be contenders again with their starting lineup pretty much set before the draft began Thursday night. The Ravens provided themselves with several possible starters in a few years in defensive end-outside linebacker Tavius Robinson (fourth round), Stanford cornerback K...

OBF: Celtics-Sixers a marquee matchup

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:28 GMT

The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers have been the best of frenemies for 70 years.The teams renew their vows of antipathy tonight at TD Garden in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. A mouthful for Round 2 of the playoffs. Tip is sometime after 7:30, depending on how long of a pregame show is offered on TNT.No two franchises have met more in the NBA postseason. Their first playoff meeting was in 1953. In those days, the Philadelphia 76ers were the Rochester Nationals.That the NBA once had franchises in places like Rochester, Syracuse, and Fort Wayne is another illustrative note of just how much The Association has grown in reach and prosperity. A rinky-dink league that played in dinky rinks and arenas now commands a worldwide audience.Boston and the Sixers franchise met 17 times in the playoffs from 1953 through 1985, averaging more than every other year. Overall, they have clashed 21 times in the postseason. Boston has won 14 series and is 62-47 (.589) overall.To get h...

Biden hosts Philippines leader Marcos as China tensions grow

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:28 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is set to host President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines for White House talks Monday as concerns grow about the Chinese navy’s harassment of Philippine vessels in the South China Sea. Marcos’ visit to Washington comes after the U.S. and the Philippines last week completed their largest war drills ever and as the two countries’ air forces on Monday will hold their first joint fighter jet training in the Philippines since 1990. The Philippines this year agreed to give the U.S. access to four more bases on the islands as the U.S. looks to deter China’s increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan and in the disputed South China Sea.Meanwhile, China has angered the Philippines by repeatedly harassing its navy and coast guard patrols and chasing away fishermen in waters that are close to Philippine shores but that Beijing claims as its own. Before departing for Washington on Sunday, Marcos said he was “determined to forge ...

Russia missile attack on Ukraine injures 34, damages homes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:28 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched its second large salvo of missiles at Ukraine in recent days early Monday, damaging buildings and wounding at least 34 people in the eastern city of Pavlohrad but failing to hit Kyiv, officials said. Air raid sirens began blaring across the capital at about 3:45 a.m., followed by the sounds of explosions as missiles were intercepted by Ukrainian defense systems. Eighteen cruise missiles were fired in total from the Murmansk region and the Caspian region, and 15 of them were intercepted, said Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi. The head of Kyiv’s city administration, Serhii Popko, said all missiles fired at the city were shot down, as well as some drones. He didn’t provide further details, but said more information would be available later. The attack follows Friday’s launch of more than 20 cruise missiles and two explosive drones at Ukraine, which was the first to target Kyiv in nearly two months. In tha...

Fraught U.S-Israel ties on display as Knesset reconvenes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:28 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli lawmakers reconvene Monday after a month-long parliament recess, resuming the fight over a contentious government plan to overhaul the judiciary that has split Israelis and drawn concern from Israel’s most important ally, the United States.The tensions will be on full display when the highest-ranking Republican politician in the U.S., House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, addresses the Knesset later Monday.Israel’s government has portrayed McCarthy’s visit as a nod to bipartisan U.S. support for Israel as it marks 75 years since its creation. Critics say the rare honor given to McCarthy — he’s only the second House speaker to address the Knesset, after Newt Gingrich in 1998 — is a pointed jab at Democratic President Joe Biden. Biden has publicly voiced concern about the legal overhaul and, largely because of it, has so far denied Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a typically customary invitation to the White House after his election win late last year.M...

Millions snap up new Germany-wide public transit ticket

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:28 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Public transit companies in Germany say more than 3 million people have already snapped up a new ticket being launched Monday that allows them to use all local and regional trains, buses and metros across the country for 49 euros ($53.90) a month.The new Germany Ticket is intended to encourage people to ditch their cars in favor of more environmentally friendly forms of transportation. It follows on from an experimental 9-euro ‘all you can ride’ ticket that proved to be success last year, but which officials said wasn’t financially viable.The new ticket is considered a revolution in Germany’s fractured public transit system where dozens of regional companies offered myriad different fare options that baffled many travelers.The Germany Ticket will be valid for almost all forms of public transport apart from long-distance intercity trains. Cross-country travel will still be possible using regional trains, significantly reducing costs for some people who used to pay...

Missouri judge to rule on strict trans health care limits

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:28 GMT

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri judge is expected to rule Monday on whether a strict, first-of-its-kind rule in the U.S. on gender-affirming health care can take effect, or if the new rules will remain unenforced as a legal challenge seeking to overthrow them plays out in court. The rule, which requires documented gender dysphoria for three years and more than a year of therapy, was scheduled to kick in last Thursday. But transgender Missourians and health care providers sued to block it, claiming Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey sidestepped the GOP-led Legislature and acted beyond his authority in attempting to regulate gender-affirming health care under the state’s consumer-protection laws.St. Louis County Circuit Judge Ellen Ribaudo on Wednesday temporarily delayed the rule’s effective date as she considers blocking its enforcement throughout the court battle. The rule will require people to have experienced an “intense pattern” of documented gender dysphoria for t...