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US DOJ cites January 6 threats to democracy in push for steep Oath Keepers sentences

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:41:27 GMT

Prosecutors are seeking the most severe sentence yet in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol — a 25-year prison term — for the founder and leader of the far-right Oath Keepers militia, characterizing it as a necessary punishment to deter future attacks against democracy.The Justice Department says Stewart Rhodes and his allies were among the most significant drivers of the violence that unfolded at the Capitol, amassing a stockpile of weapons nearby in Virginia and dressing in military-style gear in a way that exacerbated the sense among the Jan. 6 mob that a revolution was underway.In seeking the stiff sentence for Rhodes — on a rare seditious conspiracy conviction — prosecutors said that lengthy sentences are necessary for the survival of American democracy.“As this Court is well aware, the justice system’s reaction to January 6 bears the weighty responsibility of impacting whether January 6 becomes an outlier or a watershed moment,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nes...

Ravens sign cornerback Rock Ya-Sin to 1-year deal, filling biggest offseason need

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:41:27 GMT

Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said after last season that his team can never have enough good cornerbacks, a stance he reiterated throughout the offseason.Adding one before next season was a priority, and Baltimore did Wednesday by signing veteran free agent Rock Ya-Sin. The deal is for one year and worth up to $6 million, according to multiple reports.“It’s an important position,” DeCosta said Saturday during the NFL draft. “What we’ve seen is you can never have enough good corners to start the season and throughout the season. That’s a fast way to get beat, is to not have enough corners on the field.”Indeed.The Ravens have All-Pro Marlon Humphrey on one side but there was uncertainty at the other starting spot after they did not re-sign veteran Marcus Peters. Now they have bolstered the position with the addition of Ya-Sin, a second-round draft pick of the Indianapolis Colts in 2019 who spent last season with the Raiders after being ...

Chicago White Sox slugger Eloy Jiménez out 4 to 6 weeks after undergoing an appendectomy at a Cincinnati hospital

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:41:27 GMT

Eloy Jiménez underwent an appendectomy Saturday evening at Cincinnati’s Good Samaritan Hospital, the Chicago White Sox announced.The team expected the outfielder/designated hitter to be discharged later Saturday. He’ll return to Chicago and begin his recovery, which the team said is expected to take four to six weeks.“Those things are scary,” Sox manager Pedro Grifol said after Saturday’s 5-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park.Jiménez experienced abdominal pain Friday night, went to the hospital Saturday morning to be evaluated and was identified with acute appendicitis.“Losing his presence, it’s tough,” outfielder/first baseman Gavin Sheets said. “How talented he is and the way he’s swinging the bat. But more than that, outside of baseball it’s a scary situation. Glad we got it handled.“It sucks for all of us. He was excited to get back to form, and we really need him.”Jim&#...

Howie Carr: WHO says the pandemic is over, now that the powers that be used it to wreck everything

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:41:27 GMT

The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced the official end of the “global emergency” over the Panic, but I fear the real emergency is just beginning, and not just here in Massachusetts.You can always start something whenever you want — whether it’s an argument, a brawl or even a war — but once it gets going, you never know when it’s going to end, or how, or even who is going to end it.COVID was a convenient way to get rid of Donald Trump. That’s a fact. Jane Fonda said it was “God’s gift to the left.”Well, he’s gone, and so is so much else. Hey, all you people still wearing masks — are you happy now?Locally, to take just one example, consider the state budget. When the Panic was ginned up, Massachusetts was spending $40 billion a year — way, way too much obviously.Three years later, the state budget is $55 billion. Anyone think the taxpayers are getting anything more for all that extra cash?Of course, most of it was federal funny money, just being rolled off the printing pre...

NFL notes: Patriots great Kevin Faulk is bullish on LSU receiver Kayshon Boutte

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:41:27 GMT

The Patriots have rolled the dice and taken chances on draft picks before.Be it injury concerns, questions about effort, or off-field issues, the Patriots haven’t shied away from gambling on a player who falls into any of the those categories. Especially if said player has talent that can be honed and developed.Enter Kayshon Boutte.Which category does the Patriots 2023 sixth-round draft pick fall into? Judging by several draft profiles on Boutte, all of the above.The LSU receiver has what appears to be a nagging right ankle problem, one that’s required two different surgeries. Unnamed sources have also questioned his effort and maturity. And, according to The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, Boutte planned to return to LSU for his senior season but “an off-field incident put his status with the team in jeopardy,” so he declared for the draft.A less-than impressive Combine also didn’t help his cause. He ran a 4.50-second 40-yard dash and a  7.14-second 3-cone drill. In other word...

Decision on Chinese diplomats being made ‘very, very carefully:’ Trudeau

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:41:27 GMT

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says any decision to expel Chinese diplomats over alleged attempts to threaten a Conservative MP is being made “very, very carefully.”Trudeau says his government needs to consider potential Chinese backlash and what that would mean for the safety of Canadians and the prosperity of the country. “This is a serious and significant question,” Trudeau said, speaking with reporters in London.“This is a decision not to be taken lightly and the foreign minister is leaning into this very, very carefully.” Conservative MP Michael Chong discovered only last week after a report in the Globe and Mail that CSIS had information in 2021 that the Chinese government was looking at ways to intimidate him and his extended family in Hong Kong. Chong had sponsored a motion in the House of Commons labelling Beijing’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims in China a genocide.Trudeau has said CSIS did not tell anyone outside the spy agency about ...

Jerome Johnson: A Rondo bypass not to pass by

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:41:27 GMT

A half-mile long lid over Interstate 94 has been proposed to reunite St. Paul’s freeway-bisected Rondo community by placing 20 acres of residential, recreational and commercial development astride the freeway.But 20 acres seems more commemorative than restorative, given the hundreds of acres and thousands of lives actually impacted by the invasive 1962 freeway project.And the $450 million price tag seems high for a maintenance-intensive contrivance that does little to improve mobility options for either motorists or the transit dependent of Rondo and nothing to improve community air quality conditions.The freeway, in other words, will still be there.But should it?I-94 west of downtown St. Paul is also at the end of its service life and, based on comparable metro area projects, will require at least $100 million to simply rebuild in-place through the greater Rondo area. That means a whopping $550 million could be spent on just 20 lane miles of renewed freeway and 20 acres of co...

John Angelos eyes Atlanta’s ‘The Battery’ as a model for Camden Yards. Here’s what Braves fans think about the ballpark district.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:41:27 GMT

Crea Petty is a little embarrassed about how often she’s been to The Battery.“Like, a lot. A lot,” the 31-year-old Atlanta Braves fan said. “Probably 100-plus times.”Petty, who lives in nearby Smyrna, said going to The Battery, the ballpark district that surrounds the Braves’ stadium, is the hip thing to do, not just to see the local nine, but also to go out to dinner, shop, celebrate birthdays and, even, attend a wedding.“There’s something for everyone,” said Petty, who was spending Saturday afternoon there before the Braves’ game against the Orioles. “It’s such a good environment.”The Battery, which debuted alongside the stadium in 2017, is 10 miles outside downtown Atlanta, drawing an eclectic mix of people from the metropolitan area — from diehard Braves fans to families to young people like Petty.The success of The Battery — 10 million visitors in 2022, according to the Braves — has ...

Skywatch: Faint but beautiful heavenly hair

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:41:27 GMT

Believe it or not, there are still a few winter constellations, most notably Gemini the Twins and Auriga the Charioteer, hanging out in the western evening sky.The spring constellations have taken over across the rest of the heavenly dome, but honestly, they’re not as flashy as the winter shiners. There are still many celestial treasures to find though. You just need to dig for them a little visually, but that can be a lot of fun, especially if you can stargaze in the darker countryside skies.(Mike Lynch)A good example is the faint constellation Coma Berenices or Berenice’s Hair. In darker skies you can really appreciate its beauty. The constellation actually resembles faint flowing hair. I think the best way to find it is to face southeast as darkness sets in and look for the brightest and highest star you can see. That’s Arcturus, a star with a definite orange-reddish glow. Just hold your fist at arm’s length, and about two and a half of your fist-widths to the upper right o...

Readers and writers: A journal’s belated birthday bash and a genre-jumping novel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:41:27 GMT

Rain Taxi Review, edited by Eric Lorberer, was 25 years old in 2020, but the pandemic shut down celebrations. So the Minneapolis-based, nonprofit literary journal is throwing a belated silver anniversary party at 7 p.m. on Wednesday (May 10) at Granada Theater, located at 3022 Hennepin Ave.“We’ve got a good cast for the celebration and we’re delighted to have a sort-of old-fashioned, in-person night of words and music, almost a variety show, in a beautiful theater. It will be a panoramic look at a lot of exciting things happening in our Twin Cities,” Lorberer said in a phone conversation on Monday.Among the cast will be musicians Colin Bracewell, Dosh, Adam and Ava Levy, Allie McIntosh and Mason-Hicks Party Supplies. Writers taking the stage include Michael Bazzett, Michael Kleber-Diggs, Tish Jones, Mary Lucia, Benjamin Percy and Sun Yung Shin.Rain Taxi Review published its Twin Cities Independent Bookstores Passport for Independent Bookstore Day on April 29,...