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Biden administration demands TikTok’s Chinese owners spin off their share or face US ban

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:13:52 GMT

 (CNN) — The Biden administration has threatened to ban TikTok from the United States unless the app’s Chinese owners agree to spin off their share of the social media platform, TikTok acknowledged Wednesday evening.The apparent ultimatum by a US multiagency panel known as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) marks a possible turning point in the long-running negotiations between federal officials concerned about TikTok’s links to China and a wildly popular social media company with more than 100 million US users.The recent divestiture request was first reported Wednesday by the Wall Street Journal; TikTok later confirmed to CNN that CFIUS had contacted the company, adding that it did not dispute the Journal’s report. But TikTok declined to discuss specifics of the US government’s request, including details around its timing.“If protecting national security is the objective, divestment doesn’t solve the ...

Antwan Staley: Aaron Rodgers and the Jets need each other as both have something to prove

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:13:52 GMT

After weeks of publicly saying all the right things, Aaron Rodgers finally acknowledged that he and the Packers are headed for a divorce.As a result of the messy breakup, Rodgers told “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday afternoon that he intends to play for the Jets next season. He isn’t ready to retire, he is ready to prove a point.The tipping point for the superstar quarterback was finding out the Packers were apparently looking to ship him out without his knowledge.But as a hip-hop artist Macklemore once said, one man’s trash is another man’s come-up. As the details of the trade continue to be worked out between the Jets and Packers, Gang Green hopes Rodgers is the key to coming out of years of being in the NFL abyss.The Jets need Rodgers as much as Rodgers needs the Jets at this point. Both sides have something to prove to others in the league and to themselves.For the Jets, it’s simple. They desperately need a veteran quarterback that can help...

Gathering for St. Patrick’s Day? Boston health officials recommend wearing a mask as COVID cases go down

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:13:52 GMT

While COVID cases keep dropping in the city and across the region, Boston health officials ahead of St. Patrick’s Day recommended that people gathering for the holiday wear a mask in public indoor spaces.“Keep your weekend filled with luck and happiness (and not COVID-19)!” reads a poster from the Boston Public Health Commission.“Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day?” the Boston Public Health Commission tweeted on Thursday. “While Boston is experiencing lower levels of COVID-19 spread, it’s still very easy to get sick when gathering in large crowds. Consider wearing a mask and be sure to stay home if you’re sick and to test for COVID before and after gathering.”Meanwhile, the city’s virus wastewater data is continuing to fall. Data from the city’s wastewater surveillance program shows that the number of COVID particles in the wastewater dropped 46% over the past two weeks.The citywide average is now 479 viral RNA copie...

Michelle Wu pushes energy-efficiency ordinance, grants

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:13:52 GMT

In the latest part of her “Green New Deal” push, Mayor Michelle Wu’s proposing legislation to move Boston to the state’s new electricity-focused standards and is putting federal recovery money toward retrofitting affordable housing to be more environmentally friendly.Wu said she’s going to be filing an ordinance that would put Boston in line with the state’s “stretch code,” a set of regulations that cities and towns can opt into that’s aimed at reducing emissions from residential buildings.“Building a Green New Deal city means improving on our existing infrastructure as well as investing in future resilient development,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “This new green building code will help ensure that we set the foundation for healthy, resilient growth throughout our neighborhoods.”If passed by the city council, the ordinance change would require new residential buildings to add wiring for future conversion to electri...

Source: Patriots re-sign LS Joe Cardona to 4-year deal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:13:52 GMT

The Patriots have re-signed long snapper Joe Cardona to a 4-year deal with a $1 million signing bonus, a source confirmed to the Herald.Cardona, 30, is the team’s second-longest tenured player after special teams captain Mathew Slater. The Patriots selected him in the fifth round of the 2015 draft out of Navy. Cardona is viewed as an important locker room leader. The team’s punt and field goal operations missed Cardona at the end of last season when he missed multiple games with a partially torn tendon in his foot.He becomes the 11th free agent the Patriots have retained this offseason, including restricted free agents the team has tendered. The lone exceptions have been safety Devin McCourty, who retired, and wide receiver Jakobi Meyers, who signed with the Raiders.The NFL Network first reported Cardona’s new deal.

MIAA state boys basketball finals preview and picks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:13:52 GMT

When Mansfield and Malden Catholic face off on Friday night for the Division 2 state title, it will be a battle between two of the winningest coaches of the last decade.Mike Vaughan is looking to lead No. 2 Mansfield to its second championship in program history as the Hornets play in their third state final. The Hornets have overcome injuries to a pair of starters in impressive fashion by winning each of their tournament games by 20 plus points. Eddie McCoy has been the star during the postseason run alongside 6-foot-7 stretch forward JT Veiking. Chris Hill has been at the center of the Hornets’ success all season long.On the other side will be John Walsh, who coached the Lancers to a state championship a year ago to add to his previous collection of three at Danvers High School. Top seed Malden Catholic has also overcome its share of seemingly killer injuries. Catholic Conference co-MVP Nick Martinez is one of the premier defensive players in Eastern Mass., while sophomore g...

Russian fighter jet dumps fuel on US drone before hitting propeller, Pentagon video shows; Seth Moulton calls it ‘reckless’ behavior from Putin’s military

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:13:52 GMT

A Russian fighter jet dumped fuel on a U.S. drone before hitting its propeller in international airspace over the Black Sea, according to a new declassified video released by the Pentagon, as tensions continue to rise between Washington and Moscow.This latest incident of Russian fighter pilots harassing U.S. aircraft happened between two Russian Su-27s and a $32 million U.S. Air Force surveillance MQ-9 Reaper drone — which ended up getting damaged and crashing into the sea.This was the first time since the Cold War that a U.S. aircraft went down during a confrontation with Russia.“By targeting an unarmed, unmanned U.S. plane in international airspace, Putin’s military knowingly and deliberately violated the law,” Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton said in a statement.“This type of behavior is reckless and will not deter the U.S. from continuing to conduct its security missions wherever the law allows,” added Moulton, a military veteran.Several...

Heat’s Kevin Love deals with jolt after Grizzlies’ Desmond Bane goes nuts | Video

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:13:52 GMT

It might not have been intentional, but that didn’t necessarily matter to Miami Heat forward Kevin Love when Memphis Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane went nuts Wednesday night.So even after the Heat’s rout was completed, their fifth victory in seven games, Love still took a moment to gather his thoughts on the moment that left Bane with his first career ejection.With 6:44 to play in what turned into the Heat’s 138-119 victory, Bane was charged with an offensive foul.In this case, offensive was somewhat the operative word.As the officiating staff indicated an initial willingness to continue play with a mere common foul on Bane, the Heat’s in-house video operations almost immediately showed a replay of Bane’s left forearm and elbow swinging directly into Love’s groin, with Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and assistant Chris Quinn waving to both lead official Marc Davis and the video board.On the televised replay, Heat analyst John Crotty referred to Bane̵...

Despite Mets closer Edwin Diaz’s knee injury, players quick to say don’t blame the World Baseball Classic

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:13:52 GMT

The World Baseball Classic has reached peak controversy.Mets star closer Edwin Diaz was taken off of the field in a wheelchair Wednesday night in Miami after suffering what appeared to be a serious knee injury during Puerto Rico’s post-game celebration. Diaz had just pitched a perfect ninth inning in a 5-2 win over the Dominican Republic.Diaz is expected to undergo an MRI Thursday afternoon with the results likely available later in the day.Despite outrage from Mets faithful on social media over the thought of possibly losing their All-Star closer for the season due to a freak celebration in an outside competition, Major League players are rallying to defend the international spring tournament.Mets reliever Adam Ottavino — who is pitching in the WBC for Team USA — said it was just a “fluke thing.”“It could’ve happened in any type of situation, regardless,” Ottavino told reporters after Team USA’s victory over Colombia Wednesday n...

Microsoft adds AI tools to Office apps like Outlook, Word

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:13:52 GMT

NEW YORK — Microsoft is infusing artificial intelligence tools into its Office software, including Word, Excel and Outlook emails.The company said Thursday the new feature, named Copilot, is a processing engine that will allow users to do things like summarize long emails, draft stories in Word and animate slides in PowerPoint.Microsoft is marketing the feature as a tool that will allow workers to be more productive by freeing up time they usually spend in their inbox, or allowing them to more easily analyze trends in Excel.The tech giant based in Redmond, Washington, will also add a chat function called Business Chat, which resembles the popular ChatGPT. It takes commands and carries out actions — like summarizing an email about a particular project to co-workers — using user data.“Today marks the next major step in the evolution of how we interact with computing, which will fundamentally change the way we work and unlock a new wave of productivity growth,” Microsoft CE...