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Teachers union looks into ballot question nixing MCAS graduation requirement

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:49 GMT

The MCAS graduation requirement debate may be coming up as a 2024 ballot question, the Massachusetts Teachers Association indicated, releasing poll results showing significant support for the idea.“We are exploring two questions — one eliminating the graduation requirement on MCAS and replacing it with a much better assessment system,” MTA President Max Page hold the Herald  Sunday.  “There’s a deadline for submitting proposals for 2024 ballot initiatives this August, and so we’ll be making our final decision whether to move forward on gathering signatures, which is the first big step.”The union released results from a Echo Cove Research poll of 800 registered voters aged 21 and older at the end of June showing 73% support for eliminating the MCAS as a graduation requirement.The potential ballot initiative effort would join the union and many legislators’ efforts to remove the graduation requirement through the proposed Thrive Act, whi...

Four men injured after vehicle flips while trying to flee police

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:49 GMT

Four men are in hospital with serious injuries after an overnight single-vehicle crash in Brampton.Officers responded to the area of Torbram Road and Sandalwood Parkway East around 2:50 a.m. Monday for reports of a suspicious vehicle.Police tell CityNews the vehicle took off and flipped over once officers attended the area.The four men inside the vehicle were injured and taken to hospital with serious injuries. Police said all four were conscious and breathing.There is no word yet on any charges.Torbram is closed in both directions north of Sandalwood for the investigation.COLLISION:– Torbram Road north of Sandalwood Parkway East #Brampton– A vehicle has flipped over– 4 males have been taken to a local hospital -males are conscious and breathing– N/B and S/B Torbram road are closed– Please use alternate routes– C/R at 2:50am– PR23-0222346— Peel Regional Police (@PeelPolice) July 10, 2023With files from CityNews reporter Carl Hanstke

Swedish foreign minister optimistic Turkey will drop objections to NATO membership

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:49 GMT

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Sweden’s foreign minister expressed optimism on Monday that Turkey will drop its objections to Swedish NATO membership, saying the Nordic’s country’s accession is a question of when, not if.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson were expected to meet later Monday in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, ahead of a two-day NATO summit.Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström told public broadcaster SVT that he expects Turkey will eventually signal that it will let Sweden join the alliance, though he couldn’t say whether that would happen at the annual summit.“What we are counting on, of course, is to reach a point where we get a message back from President Erdogan that there will be what you might call a green light … a message that the ratification process in the Turkish Parliament can start,” Billström said.Turkey has stalled Sweden’s NATO accession, saying it needs to do more to crack do...

A Russian airstrike during an aid distribution at a southern Ukraine school kills 4

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:49 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian airstrike on a school in southern Ukraine killed four adults as people gathered to receive humanitarian aid, the governor of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region said Monday, branding the incident “a war crime.” Three women and a man, all in their 40s, died in Sunday’s attack in the town of Orikhiv, Gov. Yuriy Malashko said. A guided aerial bomb caused an explosion at the school, Malashko said, without providing evidence. Eleven other people were wounded in the attack, he said.Overall, Russia fired on 10 settlements in the province over the course of a day, he said.Moscow denies it targets civilian locations. Russia has been accused numerous times of doing so and committing other war crimes since its full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022.In March, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of ch...

Investigation finds Clarence Thomas accepted more undisclosed gifts from wealthy friends through elite association

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:49 GMT

(The Hill) - A New York Times investigation revealed that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was brought access to the wealthy through relationships he built with members of the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans.The Times reported that just months after Thomas joined the bench in 1991, he was welcomed into the Horatio Alger Association, a nonprofit scholarship organization, where he forged relationships with a select group of largely wealthy conservatives. This organization granted him access to wealthy friends who gifted Thomas with vacation retreats and V.I.P. tickets to sporting events, as well as invited him to parties, according to The Times.The Times’s investigation discovered that Thomas received benefits from the members of the association and large donors to conservative causes. Among many of the contacts he made through the group was David Sokol, an investor and former executive at Berkshire Hathaway, who hosted Thomas and his wife Ginny at their ranc...

Sunak says UK part of a convention that discourages use of cluster munitions

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:49 GMT

Britain is signatory to a convention which prohibits the production or use of cluster munitions and discourages their use, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Saturday after the United States said it was planning to supply Ukraine with them."We will continue to do our part to support Ukraine against Russia's illegal and unprovoked invasion," Sunak told reporters.

Brussels resto scores top marks – for equality as well as food

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:49 GMT

One Brussels-based businesswoman is flying the flag for gender equality - as well as food quality.Katia Nguyen is a firm believer in equality but the “gender policy” she employs in her successful restaurant business is also a definite nod to culinary traditions in her native Vietnam.In Vietnam, it is quite typical to find women, rather than men, beavering away in the kitchen so a (mostly) “all-female team” at her Brussels restaurant - L’Orchidee Blanche – in a way continues a long-standing Vietnamese tradition.That is not to say there are no males working here – there are but they are usually in the actual kitchen with the wonderfully-clothed females looking after thing front of house. There can be few customers, surely, who are not taken aback by the sheer delight of being served by staff in such gear.The female staff are turned out in stunningly beautiful traditional South Vietnamese tunics, each specially brought to Belgium from Vietnam, often when one of them retu...

Horoscopes July 10, 2023: Sofia Vergara, embrace new concepts

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:49 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Jessica Simpson, 43; Adrian Grenier, 47; Sofia Vergara, 51; Arlo Guthrie, 76.Happy Birthday: Take everything in stride this year. Look at the pros and cons of every situation before you take a risk with your profession, partnerships or reputation. Work on personal growth, educational pursuits and making a difference. Choose kindness and consideration when dealing with friends, relatives and colleagues. Embrace new concepts, but disagree with anything that will jeopardize your lifestyle or position. Your numbers are 6, 10, 17, 27, 38, 44, 47.ARIES (March 21-April 19): Get along with your peers. The relationships you build will help you get ahead. Don’t hesitate to work extra hours or sign up for events that encourage camaraderie. Enthusiasm will pay off, but don’t take on more than you can handle. 3 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): Be upfront about how you feel and the plans you want to put into motion. Listen to what others plan to contribute,...

Ask Amy: How do I save myself from a cruise with these pretentious women?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:49 GMT

Dear Amy: Recently, I went on a five-day cruise with three high school friends.We do not live near each other. I had not seen “Bobbie” in 57 years. I am in frequent contact with “Christine,” and the third woman was out of touch for 50 years, but we became connected again seven years ago.Bobbie told us all about her career, marriages, family and extensive deluxe travel. She came across as pretentious. Christine joined in with her own pretentious stories. The third friend also shared a lot about herself.My way of participating was to ask follow-up questions to learn more about them. As it turned out, they loved my interest in them but never asked me even one question about myself!Therefore, I never talked about my husband, family and career of 25 years. I have three college degrees that are varied and intriguing.When I said goodbye to Bobbie, I realized she did not learn one thing about me.The group’s enthusiastic consensus was to get together again within the year. How do I gracefull...

Harriette Cole: This B-list celebrity is a drag on our event

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:49 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: I am a producer for a major multimedia company, and I’m currently in a tricky situation.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: Is it a red flag that he wants me to ride a bus to our first date? Advice | Harriette Cole: People are saying my friend’s bad news is just a scam to get money Advice | Harriette Cole: She fought my sentimental claim to my mom’s table. Now we don’t speak. Advice | Harriette Cole: I’m starting to believe the rumor about my ex Advice | Harriette Cole: We posted a vacation TikTok, and this guy flipped out My team and I were tasked with producing a special event that features several high-profile celebrities, and one of our guests isn’t up to par with the others. The guest is a friend of one of my co-producers, so he was able to finesse his way onto the show. I don’t think my co-producer should be allowed to tarnish the quali...