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In letter sent to Md. State Board of Education, superintendent seeks another term

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:15:44 GMT

This content was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Mohammed Choudhury submitted a letter of intent to seek another term, the state Board of Education confirmed.Saturday marked the deadline for Choudhury to inform the board whether he wanted to remain as the public schools leader.Choudhury, who’s been superintendent since July 2021 after replacing Karen Salmon, has publicly stated he would like to continue his work on major education initiatives such as the multi-billion-dollar Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.During a discussion on school performance at Tuesday’s board meeting, Choudhury had a succinct and future message for employees. Choudhury, whose contract expires in June 2024, said certain employees haven’t visited a school in Baltimore that’s about five minutes away from the state Department of E...

Iniesta says farewell to Japanese soccer with rare start for Kobe

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:15:44 GMT

KOBE, Japan (AP) — Andres Iniesta said goodbye to Japanese soccer on Saturday with his first league start of the season as title-chasing Vissel Kobe had to settle for a 1-1 draw at home to Consadole Sapporo.The 39-year-old midfielder joined Kobe from Barcelona in 2018 but has found playing time increasingly hard to come by with the latest appearance taking his total minutes on the field after 18 games this season to just 94.A sell-out crowd of 30,000 at Noevir Stadium gave Iniesta an affectionate send-off, organizing a tifo display which showed the player wearing Kobe’s No. 8 shirt and holding banners that read “Gracias Andres.”Iniesta was a peripheral figure in the first half as Sapporo took control and the lead after 22 minutes of the J-League game. Thailand’s Supachok Sarachat reacted quickly to score from close range after goalkeeper Daiya Maekawa failed to deal with a cross from the right. By the time Matheus Thuler headed home a late goal to earn Kobe a point, Iniesta was watc...

Digging into the past for present and future generations

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:15:44 GMT

LADYSMITH, Va. (AP) — Anna Porter sat on a stump in the middle of a historic African American cemetery in Caroline County, wishing she knew more about those whose remains surrounded her.Since childhood, she’s been a regular visitor to graveyards, intrigued by the lives and times of the people in her midst. The cemetery in the woods behind St. Mary of the Annunciation Catholic Church in Ladysmith holds even more fascination for Porter because it contains more questions than answers.As many as 300 souls, including enslaved people and their descendants, are buried there, according to community lore. Porter, along with other members of a St. Mary’s committee, would like to find out as much as they can about those who lie in unmarked graves.“This is a very sacred space and it should be memorialized for the people who lived here and toiled here and their descendants who are buried here,” she said. “We as a church family feel it is important.”So do members of the Brown, Wright and Rock fam...

Lauderdale Lakes home of 7 people catches on fire overnight

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:15:44 GMT

A multi-family home in Lauderdale Lakes is left without a garage door after catching fire overnight. The home near Northwest 33rd Terrace and 35th Street caught on fire late Friday night.Authorities reported that the blaze began in the garage. A burned-out hole is now visible where the garage door used to be.American Red Cross volunteers from the Broward County Chapter responded to the incident with emergency aid for seven people affected by the fire, including one child. No injuries were reported but officials are still investigating.

Kyiv not in NATO after Russia war would be ‘suicidal,’ Ukraine foreign minister says

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:15:44 GMT

Paul Ronzheimer is the deputy editor-in-chief of BILD and a senior journalist reporting for Axel Springer, the parent company of POLITICO.Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba warned European allies that it would be “suicidal” not to accept Ukraine into NATO after the war with Russia is over.Kuleba’s comments come ahead of a NATO summit in mid-July when Kyiv’s membership bid is set to be the most politically sensitive point of discussion. Ukraine is looking to get a commitment from the defense alliance on its NATO aspirations, but a number of allies say a serious discussion on Ukraine in NATO can happen only after Russian forces are no longer on its territory.German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on June 22 that the NATO summit in Vilnius on July 11-12 should focus on strengthening Ukraine’s military power instead of opening a process for Kyiv to join the transatlantic alliance.“After the war ends, it will be suicidal for Europe not to accept Ukraine into NATO because it will mean t...

Macron postpones state visit to Germany to deal with violent riots across France

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:15:44 GMT

French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday postponed a long-planned state visit to Germany to deal with the worsening turmoil in France, in a clear sign of the gravity of the violent protests gripping the country.The killing of a 17-year-old of North African descent by a police officer on Tuesday has thrown France into chaos, sparking violent demonstrations in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, where the teen was shot. The violence has spread to other big cities.According to the latest estimates by France’s Interior Ministry, up to 1,300 rioters were arrested in the night between Friday and Saturday.The Élysée confirmed that Macron and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke on the phone on Saturday, agreeing to postpone the high-level visit. “Given the internal situation, the president has indicated that he wishes to be able to stay in France for the next few days,” according to a statement. “The two presidents therefore agreed to postpone the visit to Germany to a later date,”...

In Kyiv, Sánchez says Ukraine’s EU candidacy to be a priority of Spain Council presidency

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:15:44 GMT

Ukraine’s aspiration to join the EU will be one of the priorities of the Spanish presidency of the Council of the EU, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Saturday on a visit to Kyiv. “Spain reaffirms its commitment to work with Ukraine as it makes progress in meeting the conditions in its EU accession,” according to a joint statement by Sánchez and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued on Saturday. Sánchez arrived in Kyiv on Saturday morning to meet the Ukrainian leader for what was meant to be a highly symbolic visit, taking place as Spain officially takes over the reins of the presidency of the Council for the next six months.“The war in Ukraine will be one of the great priorities of our presidency, with the focus being on guaranteeing the unity among all member states,” Sánchez said at Friday’s European Council in Brussels.It’s yet to be seen, however, whether Sánchez will remain in power after elections scheduled for July 23, with recent polls released...

Police: One person dead, one hurt in shooting in Roxbury

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:15:44 GMT

Two people were shot in Roxbury early Saturday morning, and one of the victims was later pronounced dead at the hospital, officials said.Police, including the homicide unit, responded to 27 McGreevey Way in Mission Hill around 12:11 a.m. and shut down part of the street to search for evidence and put down evidence markers.Both victims were transported to the hospital, and the second victim’s injuries are considered non-life threatening.No other information was immediately available.This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

New law allowing Mass. residents regardless of immigration status to apply for driver’s licenses goes into effect

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:15:44 GMT

A new law allowing immigrants to get a driver’s license in Massachusetts regardless of their immigration status goes into effect Saturday.The Work and Family Mobility Act lets eligible Massachusetts residents get a license to ensure all drivers can legally drive safely to places like work and school.The law overcame opposition on the ballot last November. Question 4 sought to repeal the new law allowing immigrants in the country illegally to obtain state driver’s licenses, but voters chose to approve the law.The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles is closed on the Fourth of July.

Actors delay potential strike against studios and streaming services, extending contract negotiations

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:15:44 GMT

New York (CNN) — A union representing about 160,000 actors has put plans to go on strike against major studios and streaming services on hold.The contract between the actors and an alliance of studios had been due to expire at midnight Friday. But late Friday the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) announced it would push back the expiration until 11:59 p.m. PDT on July 12 as it continues negotiations.“In order to exhaust every opportunity to achieve the righteous contract we all demand and deserve, after thorough deliberation it was unanimously decided to allow additional time to negotiate by extending the contract,” said Fran Drescher, the star of the 1990s sitcom “The Nanny” and the current president of SAG-AFTRA, in email to members Friday night.Drescher appeared to be addressing some leading actors who have been publicly pushing the union to take a hard line in negotiations by ending her email: “No one should mistak...