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In a second Trump or Biden term, who’d be the next defense chief?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:24:41 GMT

The presidential election is still 10 months away, but that hasn’t stopped water cooler speculation about who might lead the Pentagon in a potential second term for President Joe Biden or Donald Trump.Biden made history when he announced that he would tap retired Gen. Lloyd Austin as the first Black defense secretary, a pick POLITICO first reported in December 2020. If he wins a second term, Biden may want to break another barrier: putting a woman atop the Pentagon for the first time.While Austin isn’t expected to leave his post early — and a senior administration official told POLITICO there are no conversations underway about replacing him — a number of women’s names are circulating in national security circles.POLITICO took a look at some of the top contenders, which emerged out of conversations with DOD and White House insiders, as well as former officials in Trump’s circle. They all were granted anonymity to speak candidly about decisions still very early in the makin...

Which young arms could Red Sox target in trade?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:24:41 GMT

Every time he’s spoken publicly this offseason, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has extolled the importance of bolstering the club’s starting rotation. And not just for this season, but for many years to come.Translation, he’s not looking for a one-year rental, but an up-and-comer who offers multiple years of team control.Trading for that kind of young standout would be the biggest move the franchise could possibly make, but getting a deal done won’t be easy. Acquiring anyone like that would be costly, likely necessitating at least one of Boston’s top young players — Triston Casas, Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, Kyle Teel — plus a lot more on top of that.But if Breslow were to swing a franchise-altering blockbuster, who could he actually get? There aren’t that many young, controllable starting pitchers out there who’d really move the needle, but if the Red Sox were to take the plunge, here are a few arms who might be worth the pr...

A timeline of key moments leading to Japan planes colliding. Human error is seen as a possible cause

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:24:41 GMT

It only took 18 minutes to evacuate the 379 passengers of Japan Airlines Flight 516 after their plane burst into flames just after touchdown at Tokyo’s Haneda airport Tuesday evening. A smaller coast guard Bombardier Dash-8 aircraft, preparing to take off to deliver urgent aid to quake-hit central Japan, was using the same runway when the two collided. The captain of the coast guard craft escaped with burns but his five crew members died.The Associated Press collected accounts from officials and transcripts of traffic control communication. Here is a look at key moments leading to the collision. TRAFFIC CONTROLSTranscripts of the recorded communication, released by the transport ministry Wednesday, at 5:43 p.m., show airport traffic control and the JAL Airbus A350 establish communications four minutes before landing. Two minutes later, traffic control tells the JAL plane it’s allowed to land on the designated runway, 34R, with the pilot saying “cleared to land.”Just 10 seconds...

Death toll rises to 5 in hospital fire in northern Germany

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:24:41 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — The death toll in a fire that broke out in a hospital in Germany this week has risen to five, with all of the victims patients, as investigators sought to understand the cause of the blaze.The fire broke out late Thursday at the hospital in Uelzen, southeast of Hamburg. Emergency workers arrived to flames and calls for help. They evacuated several people, and were able to stop the fire from spreading any further, according to the dpa news agency, which cited police.Firefighters and police, some using ladders, rescued several patients from their rooms.The German news agency dpa reported late Friday that a fifth victim succumbed to injuries, raising the earlier death toll of four to five.Six people were seriously injured and 16 others had lesser injuries, dpa reported, citing the hospital. The injured suffered smoke inhalation and burns.The cause of the fire was still unclear on Saturday.The Associated Press

Thousands of mourners in Islamabad attend funeral for Pakistani cleric gunned down in broad daylight

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:24:41 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Thousands of mourners attended a funeral Saturday for a Pakistani Sunni Muslim cleric gunned down in broad daylight on the outskirts of the capital, Islamabad, police and and a spokesman for the cleric’s organization said.The funeral of Masoodur Rehman Usmani was held a day after unidentified gunmen shot and killed him and wounded his driver in the neighborhood of Ghauri town, according to a statement issued by the Islamabad police.No one claimed responsibility for the attack, which is a rare occurrence near Islamabad. Police said they were using closed-circuit TV footage to track down the attackers, and vowed that they would be arrested and brought to justice.Authorities in Islamabad have stepped up security by deploying additional police and some embassies were advising their nationals to avoid visiting the area where the funeral for Usmani was to be held.Usmani was a deputy secretary at his Sunni Ulema Council, which emerged after Pakistan outlawed the Sipa...

South Korea says the North has again fired artillery shells near their sea border

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:24:41 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea conducted a new round of artillery firing drills near the disputed sea boundary with South Korea on Saturday, officials in Seoul said.South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North fired more than 60 rounds near the western sea boundary.A day earlier, North Korea fired about 200 artillery shells near the area, prompting South Korea to conduct its own firing drills in response.The Joint Chiefs of Staff said it strongly urges North Korea to halt acts that heighten tensions.The Associated Press

Pope Francis warns against ideological splits in the Church, says focus on the poor, not ‘theory’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:24:41 GMT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Amid resistance to some Vatican policy by more conservative factions of the Catholic church, Pope Francis on Saturday cautioned the faithful against fracturing into groups “based on our own ideas.” He issued the call to abandon “ecclesiastical ideologies” in his homily in St. Peter’s Basilica during Epiphany Day Mass, the last major Christmas season holiday.Francis also warned against “basking in some elegant religious theory” instead of finding God in the faces of the poor. Last month, Francis gave permission for priests to bless couples outside of marriage, including same-sex relationships, as long as the blessing was pastoral and not liturgical or part of some religious rite. Some bishops who view Francis as a dangerous progressive immediately rejected such blessings. That prompted the Vatican earlier this week to issue a statement stressing that the blessings don’t constitute heresy and there were no doctrinal grounds to reject the practice....

N.B. wrongful convictions: A story of undisclosed evidence, recanting witnesses

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:24:41 GMT

The story behind two New Brunswick men’s wrongful convictions for murder contains classic elements of how things can go terribly wrong in Canada’s justice system, say the lawyers who fought to prove their innocence.A written submission presented to the court by Innocence Canada lawyers on Thursday argues that “police tunnel vision, the non-disclosure of important evidence, recantations by the two key Crown witnesses,” as well as a disregard for the men’s strong alibis, were key factors in Robert Mailman and Walter Gillespie’s 1984 murder convictions.Mailman, 76, spent 18 years in prison, while Gillespie, 80, served 21 years. On Thursday, the province’s chief justice found them innocent, following the federal justice minister’s Dec. 22 decision to overturn the 1984 convictions for second-degree murder.The court document goes back to Nov. 30, 1983, when George Leeman’s partially burnt body was found by a jogger in a wooded area in ...

The Epiphany is on Saturday: How is it celebrated and why does it have other names?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:24:41 GMT

Christians around the world will mark the Epiphany on Jan. 6 with a series of celebrations that go from parades and gift-giving for children to the blessing of water. The holiday is also called the Feast of Epiphany, Three Kings Day and Theophany.Why is it known by different names?Some Western Christian churches know the feast day as Three Kings Day. It recalls the visit of three Magi, or wise men, to the infant Jesus, and their sense of wonder at the encounter. It is the 12th day after Christmas and closes the Christmas season.Eastern traditions call it Theophany, and they focus on the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. Orthodox Christians also know it as the Baptism of Christ.What does Epiphany mean?The Greek word “epiphaneia” means “appearance” or “manifestation,” and it refers to the manifestation of Jesus to the world, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.How is it celebrated?The day is often celebrated by Catholics in Spain with parades that include decorative floats carryi...

Ask Amy: Husband wants to relocate, after death

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:24:41 GMT

Dear Amy: My husband has lived in the Pacific Northwest since 1966. That’s 57 years! We’ve been married for 25 years.On a recent trip to Kansas, my husband’s birth state, he learned that the family cemetery plot has room for one more person, so now he wants his remains buried next to his paternal grandparents and uncles.These people have been deceased now for decades. I never met any of them.There is no room for me in this family plot in Kansas, although there are plots available in another section of the cemetery.I am not interested in being buried in a state I’ve never lived in.I am perturbed that my husband prefers to be buried with these relatives instead of near me, in the place where our five kids were raised, and where his own parents are buried.Rationally I know that my annoyance is silly since, after I’m dead, I won’t know where I was buried. But jeez, there is a cemetery six miles from our house and I guess I will be cremated and interred there by myself.Am I being unreaso...