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Jailed Putin foe Navalny says he’s facing additional charges in Russia

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:03:59 GMT

Alexei Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s best-known critic in Russia, told a Moscow courtroom Wednesday that he is facing extremism charges that could keep him in prison for 30 years, according to the Associated Press.In the hearing, he fought for time to review the charges he is facing.“It is a cynical insult, in this process investigators are trying to make it so that I can’t even see the materials of my case,” Navalny said in remarks tweeted out by his team’s Twitter account and translated from Russian. “Now, they’re probably slightly ashamed that they will discuss an obvious thing. There are 195 volumes in my case and they are not giving me the chance to study it.”It signifies the continuation of a trend that has seen critics of Putin and his regime subject to ever harsher prison sentences amid the escalation of Russia’s war in Ukraine.Navalny is serving an 11 ½ year prison term. In February 2021, he was sentenced to two years and eight months for...

In the trenches with bright, chic spring coats

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:03:59 GMT

Some style icons never die — they just get reinvented. Take the trench coat. Once again, they’re a must-wear for this spring and early summer. But not just the business-as-usual numbers; this year’s have gotten a little more cheeky, with designs that range from loose and casual to electric neon in hue. Follow one of these current trends to find the silhouette and style that will make your own personal statement this season. Choose your own fashion adventure from….Bold brightsThe latest colorful trenches are everything that your standard stone-gray version is not. Take the Maxi Trench Jacket ($99.95 on dynamiteclothing.com). Sure I love its removable sash andlightweight, soft fabric that makes any silhouette flattering. But I also credit the back vent for its allure, and most of all, the high-voltage shade of orange it comes in — which goes with just about everything you put on.Playful patternsIt’s customary for trenches to be a solid color, even when those colors come in all kinds o...

Boys track All-Scholastics and league All-Stars

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:03:59 GMT

BOYS TRACK ALL-SCHOLASTICSCam Allain (Carver) high jumpSam Burgess (Framingham) 2-mileNataenel Vigo Catala (Haverhill) 300Neil Chowdhury (Andover) 600Jacob Cookinham (Bishop Stang) shot putAndrew Gleason (Pembroke) 55Sean Golembiewski (Hopkinton) 55 hurdles/pentathlonColin Kirn (Andover) 1000Rowan McConkey (Arlington) high jumpNathan Shultz (North Attleboro) long jumpTyler Tubman (Newton North) mile4×200 (Lexington): Jayden Bai, Jake Wheaton, Branndon Uda-Thach, Alexios Kontothanassis4×400 (Newton North): Matthew Paquette, Jack Tsai, Myles Scott, Quincy Scott4×800 (Newton North): Alex Hrycyszyn, Reeve Derby, Gabe Grove, Tyler Tubman4×800 (Brookline): Declan Mulligan, Altamo Aschkenesay, Hunter Bailey, Kailas CiattoCAM ALLAINCARVERThe junior was third at the New Balance Nationals before soaring to a personal best of 6-8 for the win at the Adidas Nationals. The South Shore League champion and MVP was second at All-States and third at New Englands. The honor roll st...

Heat storm back to 128-126 OT victory in Milwaukee, Knicks up next in East semis

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:03:59 GMT

It was stunning and similar,For the second consecutive game the No. 8 playoff seed in the Eastern Conference stormed back from a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit against the No. 1 seed.So the Milwaukee Bucks, the team with the best regular-season record in the NBA, are done.And the Miami Heat, again fueled by Jimmy Butler, move on, this time after a 128-126 overtime victory Wednesday night at Fiserv Forum.It is just the sixth time a No. 8 has defeated a No. 1 in a seven-game series.Up next for the Heat?Another chance for the Heat to make history, this time against a familiar playoff opponent.Heat vs. New York Knicks, in the Eastern Conference semifinals, opening Sunday at 1 p.m. at Madison Square Garden.With Butler following up his 56 in Monday’s Game 4 home victory with 42, the Heat ultimately needed only five games to take down the Bucks, even while losing guards Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo in the series.Butler was supported by 22 points from point guard Gabe Vincent, ...

Editorial: D.C. pols need to boost Capitol Police funds, stat

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:03:59 GMT

Capitol Hill operates in two modes: outrage and “asleep at the switch.”In a prime example of the latter, lawmakers in D.C. have hit the snooze button while the very people who protect them plead for funding. .As RollCall reported, a fiscal year boost for the U.S. Capitol Police isn’t stretching far enough, as the force is still in dire need of more officers to handle the challenges of the upcoming presidential election, a recently reopened Capitol and growing threats against members, according to Chief J. Thomas Manger.Manger testified this week before the Senate Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee and made a plea for more funding to let the department add to its staff. Its $840.9 million fiscal 2024 request is a more than 14% increase over enacted fiscal 2023 funding. Much of that money would go toward hiring and retention, Manger said.It’s a problem facing many police departments across the country as they struggle with massive staffing shortages...

Davies: Tax code a playground for a few, maze for many

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:03:59 GMT

The tax code has become so convoluted and the ramifications of erring so onerous that tax preparers have become almost a priestly class of intercessors between the IRS and taxpayers. And yet, most of us are simply report numbers that the IRS already has. Filing our taxes is less about reporting our incomes than providing the IRS free secretarial support. This cesspool of confusion delivers a cornucopia of benefits to lawyers, tax accountants, favored industries, lobbyists and politicians.In part, the tax code is a make-work program. Congress digs legal holes, and we pay lawyers and accountants to fill them in again. Favored industries and lobbyists benefit more subtly. The more intricate the tax code, the easier it is for politicians to hand out favors without attracting attention. Industries pay lobbyists to encourage politicians to create special tax favors, and politicians receive political and financial support from the industries. This symbiotic relationship thrives in an envir...

OBF: Tuckered out? Celtics produce a lemon

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:03:59 GMT

It’s been a big week for shakeups.Tucker Carlson is out at Fox.Don Lemon is out at CNN.And Punxsutawney Phil is out as the official mascot of Groundhog Day.He’s been replaced by Lucky, the Celtics leprechaun.The Celtics are caught in an endless loop of late-game collapses, flat starts, and a persistent inability to close out foes with a vengeance.We’ve covered this before. There is a glaring lack of “grit and balls” in this version of the Celtics. We want to play fair, so we’ll hold off on the Larry Bird analogies.But the Big Three 2.0 only left town a decade ago.Those Celtics won Banner 17 with a 39-point rout in Game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals.Thirty-nine points.And they did it against the defending Western Conference champions led by the late Kobe Bryant.One must wonder if given the same opportunity in another time-space continuum, these Celtics would have stopped at 15 and subsequently asked Kobe to sign their jerseys.These are not the 2008 Celtics. Nor are they playing Kobe’s Lak...

Lucas: Dems’ stand on trans sports ban endangers women

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:03:59 GMT

It is a good thing Lori Trahan was never forced to compete against Lia Thomas.Otherwise, the U.S. Congresswoman from Lowell’s 3rd Congressional District might not have won that athletic scholarship to Georgetown University.Trahan was one of nine Massachusetts members of the House, all Democrats, who voted against Republican-sponsored legislation that would prevent biological men from competing in women’s sports.While no Democrats voted for it, the bill was passed last week on a 219 to 203 vote. President Joe Biden has promised to veto the bill in the unlikely event it is approved by the Democrat-controlled Senate.One wonders, though, if Trahan, would have gotten her free college ride had she competed for it against a biological man identifying as a woman, like Thomas.Perhaps she would have gotten her scholarship anyway. At a stately six feet tall, Trahan was a talented volleyball player at Lowell High School before attending Georgetown.But back then, and at Georgetown, Trahan compet...

‘Polite Society’ delights as action/comedy/Bollywood musical

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:03:59 GMT

MOVIE REVIEW“Polite Society”Rated PG-13. At the At the AMC Boston Common, Coolidge Corner and suburban theaters.Grade: A- Written and directed by British television writer and director of Pakistani-Muslim descent Nida Mazoor, “Polite Society” might be described as a mash-up of an immigrant coming-of age comedy, a martial-arts action film, and a Bollywood musical. It’s East meets West in the best possible way. The film’s protagonist Ria Khan is played by the human tornado known as Priya Kansara (“Bridgerton”). Ria studies karate and dreams of becoming a stunt woman, needless to say an unlikely and unacceptable dream as far as her traditional parents Fatima (a delightful Shobu Kapoor) and Rafe Khan (a quite funny Jeff Mirza) are concerned. Ria’s parents own their own home in Shepherds Bush, London and send their daughter to a public school, where she has two dear friends Alba (Ella Bruccoleri) and Clara (Seraphina Beh). Ria’s archenemy at school is mean ri...

Wednesday’s high school roundup/scores: Mike Cobb’s gem lifts Waltham past Bedford

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:03:59 GMT

BASEBALLMike Cobb pitched a complete-game, surrendering two hits and striking out 10, in a 4-0 win for Waltham (5-2) over Dual County League opponent Bedford.In a Greater Boston League matchup, Brady Warren went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, a homer and two RBI for Lynn Classical (8-1) in an 8-6 win over Revere. … Brandon McMahon fanned 13 and allowed just four hits in a complete game, stymying Everett for Malden (7-4) in a 5-0 win.Freshman Owen Miller registered three hits including a homer, driving in four in an 11-5 win for Bellingham over Tri-Valley League opponent Millis. … Brett Ebert cleared the bases with a double in the fourth inning, coupling with Austin Harper’s complete game on the mound to help Wilmington beat Lexington 5-3 in the Middlesex League.With a solo homer and three RBI, Robbie Welch led the Shawsheen offense (8-0) alongside Dyllon Pratt (two doubles, three RBI) in a 13-2 nonleague win over Saugus. … A complete-game, three-hitter with seven strikeou...