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Agreement reached for Biden-Xi talks, but details still being worked out, official tells AP

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:08 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping have agreed to meet on the sidelines of next month’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, according to a U.S. official familiar with the planning.The two sides worked out an agreement in principle to hold a meeting during the summit as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Friday with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment and spoke on the condition of anonymity.The official added that the two sides have still not worked out details on the exact day of the meeting, venue and other logistics.The White House said in a statement following Friday’s meetings that the two sides were “working toward” a Biden-Xi face-to-face on the sidelines of APEC, a forum of 21 Pacific countries.Earlier Friday, Biden met with Yi, holding an hourlong talk with the senior Chinese official in the Roo...

Make-A-Wish flies in 15-year-old Virginia girl fighting bone cancer for tour at Zoo Miami

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:08 GMT

A teen who is in the fight of her young life has a great love of animals. To make her dreams come true, a South Florida attraction became her “Zootopia.”Friday was a big day at Zoo Miami for 15-year-old Leslie Jarrett, who has been fighting bone cancer.“You’re going to see Malcolm, my absolute favorite giraffe,” said Ron Magill, a conservationist with Zoo Miami.During her day at Zoo Miami, Jarrett got a behind-the-scenes tour and took on the role of zookeeper.“This is really cool, and it’s just – I can clearly see myself doing this ’cause I can stay calm near wild animals,” she said.“You see them after the challenges they faced, you see what animals can do for people,” said Magill. “Animals can make people happy.”Jarrett and her whole family were flown in from Virginia by the nonprofit Make-A-Wish Foundation for her special moment. “She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, which is bone cancer, in March ...

Madison Park captures BCL volleyball title over Snowden

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:08 GMT

BOSTON – Madison Park battled through some early adversity to capture its second-ever Boston City League title in a 3-1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-17, 25-19) victory over Snowden.The Lady Cardinals grabbed their first championship since 2001 as Kiara Tejada (nine kills, two aces) and senior captain Barbara Wilson, who pretty much matched Tejada, had 10 kills, two aces and two digs in the win.Tejada’s play outside was critical, finding spots in the short game and taking advantage of the Lady Cougars’ defense in the fourth and final game. The sophomore hitter came alive with four of her six kills just as Snowden crept back into things and only trailed by one, 16-15, looking to tie the series 2-2.But Tejada and two aces from Naisha Marte sealed things up for Madison Park as it pulled away with a 24-17 lead enroute to the third win for the match victory and created the on-court frenzy for the Cardinals faithful.“Coach just told me what to do, and I just started tipping but when I saw that ...

As shelter order persisted, some Lewiston businesses decided to open anyways

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:08 GMT

LEWISTON, Maine — Lewiston resident Diane said Friday she could not “take staying home again” after spending the previous day complying with a shelter-in-place order as police scoured the region for a suspected mass shooter.So Diane, who declined to give her last name, decided to head to downtown Lewiston and open up the Paris Adult Bookstore and Head Shop, a 40-year-old business on Lisbon Street.“I mean, we have to run a business. We have to make money … we can’t stay closed forever,” she told the Herald while sitting in the store as the shelter-in-place order persisted in the city and surrounding communities.Lewiston residents appeared to start cautiously venturing out from their homes Friday, the second full day of a shelter-in-place order in the city that also saw law enforcement settle into a massive evidence-gathering and search operation.The shelter-in-place order was lifted later in the afternoon after most businesses that were open had closed for the day. Offici...

Celtics united after holding meeting to discuss starting five situation: ‘We just want to win’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:08 GMT

Joe Mazzulla has downplayed the importance of who he picks to be in the Celtics’ starting lineup, but the topic was significant enough that the team’s top six players held a meeting last week before the season began to discuss it.The Celtics have six starting-caliber players in Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White and Al Horford, and they’ve each recognized and embraced that sacrifice will be required among them to reach their ultimate championship goal. The details of the meeting were sparse. Horford was ultimately the first of the group to come off the bench, which was the first time in his Celtics career he did so. He didn’t volunteer to do it, but after the group had a conversation, he accepted the role.“I’m not saying he lined up, (expletive), like raising his hand excited about it,” Mazzulla said. “But he’s Al, so we’re grateful for him.”“Al’s a cultural warrior for us. So for a guy of his stature, what he’s ...

‘Everything is on the table’: Province considering uploading costs for Gardiner, DVP

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:08 GMT

Hundreds of thousands of vehicles travel to and from – and through – the downtown core using the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway daily and it costs a lot of money to maintain those roadways.The discussion surrounding who should handle those costs has taken an interesting turn with reports that the Ford government may be entertaining the idea of uploading responsibility for the roadways as part of the provincial-municipal new-deal working group aimed at helping to deal with Toronto’s ballooning budget shortfall.“This signals that there’s a shift towards looking to make the city whole,” said Matti Siemiatycki, the Director of the Infrastructure Institute at the University of Toronto.The city has budgeted nearly $2 billion in capital work for the Gardiner over the next decade alone and it’s expected to cost at least $1.2 billion to rebuild the eastern elevated segment.“This will not solve the entire physical challenges that...

Richard Moll, bailiff on the original sitcom ‘Night Court,’ dies at 80

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:08 GMT

Richard Moll, a character actor who found lasting fame as an eccentric but gentle giant bailiff on the original “Night Court” sitcom, has died. He was 80.Moll died Thursday at his home in Big Bear Lake, California, according to Jeff Sanderson, a family spokesperson.Moll played “Bull” Shannon on NBC’s “Night Court” from 1984-1992 alongside stars Harry Anderson and John Larroquette. His character formed a close friendship with the court’s other bailiff, Roz Russell, played by Marsha Warfield. Bull was known for his shaved head, catchphrase, “Ohh-kay,” and a dim but sweet world view.After “Night Court” ended, Moll contributed his trademark gravelly voice to various video games and comic book projects like “Batman: The Animated Series” as Harvey Dent and appeared in horror films like “Ghost Shark” (2013) and “Slay Belles” (2018).He voiced Scorpion on the 1990s’ “Spider-Man: The Animated Series” and had small parts in 1994’s “The Flintstones,” the Arnold Sch...

Chicagoland woman recounts move back home from Israel after Hamas attacks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:08 GMT

Deborah, a Chicago-area native, was raising her family on a Kibbutz near the Gaza border, until earlier this month when Hamas launched a surprise terror attack into Israel.Due to rising tensions in the Middle East, Deborah asked WGN News to not share her last name or show the faces of her family members.The word "kibbutz" translates to "grouping" or "gathering" in Hebrew, and generally refers to a community often seen in Israel where people voluntarily live and work together on a noncompetitive basis, following an agreed-upon social contract that benefits the group, more so than any given individual.Deborah and her family were used to hearing alerts and rocket warnings at their kibbutz, being only a few short miles from the Gaza Strip. Israel rejects calls for cease-fire in Gaza at major UN meeting "We get six-to-eight seconds to run to the safe room when we get rocket alerts … You go and wait for the boom and the boom is usually the [Israeli Defense Force] intercepting their rock...

LIVE: Bowie starts tough 2-week stretch vs. Westlake on Friday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:08 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Bowie Bulldogs run a gauntlet in the last two weeks of the season in the midst of a potential postseason run, and they'll head to undefeated Westlake on Friday to try to lock up a playoff spot.The game kicks at 7:30 p.m. from Chaparral Stadium and will be streamed on KXAN.com/Westlake and in the video player above starting at 7:20 p.m. for those in the Austin area. Folks outside of the KXAN viewing area can watch the game through our official high school football streaming partner NFHS Network. REPORT YOUR SCORE: We'd love to post your team's score on our website, but we need your help to do it. Email the score of your game to [email protected] and we'll get it on our websiteThe Bulldogs rely heavily on junior quarterback Cruz Tello, who accounts for 64% of his team's total offense. Tello has thrown for 1,168 yards and rushed for a team-high 434, so he'll need to have a big game in order for the Bulldogs to hang with the No. 4-ranked team in Class 6A.Bowie plays La...

St. Thomas’ Robinson taking charge at center

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:08 GMT

As an offensive lineman, St. Thomas junior Langston Robinson’s focus has long been on creating holes. This season, he’s been called upon to fill one.The 6-foot-2, 313-pound Robinson started at left guard last season, but the plan had been in place since the start of spring ball last year that he would be moving to center this season to deal with the loss of All-American Matt Weimann due to graduation.Tommies head coach Glenn Caruso said he knew from the time Robinson was being recruited at Marquette University High School in Milwaukee that he had the physical and mental aptitude needed to handle the demanding position. With Robinson as a willing participant, the transition took root 18 months ago.“There’s so much more to the center position than just snapping the ball and blocking your guy,” Caruso said. “You’re responsible for orchestrating, not just what is happening on the obvious things like pass protection, but even in the run game. It calls for intuitive adjustments. And I wou...