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No more free sailing for John Kerry, Republicans to grill him Thursday

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:49:13 GMT

Climate czar John Kerry will finally feel the heat when he’s grilled by House Republicans this week.The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability is set to force Kerry to explain his budget beginning Thursday at 10 a.m. The hearing will be carried live on YouTube, and accessible on bostonherald.com. (You can set a reminder below.)Kerry has been criss-crossing the globe and holding high-level meetings, with little oversight, since being named President Biden’s first-ever Special Envoy for Climate on Jan. 20, 2021. His office has informed the Herald he only reports to the president.The Herald has also been told Kerry won’t divulge his complete office staff, including titles and pay, until October of 2024 — a month before the next general election. An appeal to the U.S. State Department Freedom of Information office has been denied.That lack of transparency is the main reason the oversight subcommittee is hauling Kerry before the panel.“...

Battenfeld: Can Boston get its act together for upcoming NAACP convention?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:49:13 GMT

Boston, a city that struggles with a history of racism, nightmare traffic, dysfunctional government and an aging and unreliable public transit system, is about to welcome thousands of Black convention goers in a potentially awkward and embarrassing embrace.Can the Hub get its act together in time for all these important people from the NAACP coming in?We’ll find out in two weeks when the national convention, expected to generate $10 million for the local economy, begins.For the city’s reputation, the NAACP gathering is as important as a national political convention. These are prominent activists, community leaders and elected officials from around the country who may not have a great image of Boston. Hillary Clinton will be here to speak to the attendees, along with so-called surprise guests.What are they going to see?We have a mayor who faces daily protests and challenges, open drug dealing and violence at Mass and Cass, a public transit system that’s a running joke, a City Counci...

Orioles minor league report: Which prospect will be next to make his MLB debut?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:49:13 GMT

The Orioles called up Jordan Westburg and Colton Cowser in a span of 10 days. The organization’s other top prospects are jostling to be next.From prospects who have yet to make their MLB debuts — Heston Kjerstad, Connor Norby and Coby Mayo — to those who have already gotten a taste of the show — Joey Ortiz and Grayson Rodriguez — Baltimore has plenty of talent to choose from in Triple-A.Who could be next? And is there even space (or playing time) for any of those players on the 2023 Orioles?Westburg and Cowser were both putting up massive numbers in Triple-A — the former for essentially a full season’s worth of games, the latter reaching base at an otherwordly pace. Throughout the first three months of the season, there was clamoring for the club to promote the two prospects who rank inside Baseball America’s top 40. Whether the timing was correct or not, they’ve now been added to an impressively long list of prospects the Oriole...

Tourists are told to stay away from an erupting volcano in Iceland because of poisonous gases

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:49:13 GMT

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Authorities in Iceland on Tuesday warned tourists and other spectators to stay away from a newly erupting volcano that is spewing lava and noxious gases from a fissure in the country’s southwest.The eruption began Monday afternoon after thousands of earthquakes in the area, meteorological authorities said. This one comes 11 months after its last eruption officially ended. The eruption is in an uninhabited valley near the Litli-Hrútur mountain, some 30 kilometers (19 miles) southwest of the capital, Reykjavik.The area, known broadly as Fagradalsfjall volcano, erupted in 2021 and 2022 without causing damage or disruptions to flights, despite being near Keflavik Airport, Iceland’s international air traffic hub. The airport remained open on Tuesday.The Icelandic Meteorological Office said the eruption was initially more explosive than the previous two. Aerial footage showed streams of orange molten lava and clouds of gases spewing from a snaking fissure about 9...

Iran’s president delays Africa tour without elaboration

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:49:13 GMT

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi did not depart on a three-nation tour to Africa as planned, state media reported without elaboration.Raisi was supposed to travel from Tehran on Tuesday morning, but no Iranian news outlets reported him leaving. The country’s media said repeatedly over the past week that the president planned to visit Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe. State media did not elaborate on why he hadn’t departed. Kenya’s foreign ministry said in a brief statement that the visit was delayed until Wednesday morning so key memoranda of understanding could be finalized “that are central to the furtherance of relations.” The statement said the presidents would have a bilateral meeting after Raisi arrived.It would be unusual for Iran’s president to call off a foreign trip, though domestic visits sometimes are canceled.In 2018, Iran canceled a visit by Iraq’s then-prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, after he said he had no choice but to abide by renewe...

In the US Southwest, residents used to scorching summers are still sweating out an extreme heat wave

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:49:13 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Even Southwestern desert residents accustomed to scorching summers are feeling the grip of an extreme heat wave smacking Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Southern California this week with 100-degree-plus temps and excessive heat warnings.To add insult to injury, the region has been left high and dry with no monsoon activity, which can help offset the blazing temperatures. In Arizona, the monsoon season officially begins June 15 and can bring powerful storms with high winds, lightning and heavy bursts of rain.In Phoenix, Martin Brown and his black Labrador, Sammy, escaped the heat Monday in the lobby of Circle the City, an air-conditioned walk-in health clinic for homeless people that is also a designated hydration station. Anyone can come in, sit and get bottled water or snacks like a burrito or ramen. “We’re homeless, so we don’t have a choice. Well, we have a choice: We can sit at the park and swelter in the heat, but no thank you. This is much better,” Brown said. ...

Small passenger plane veers off runway after landing at international airport in Somalia’s capital

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:49:13 GMT

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A small passenger plane veered off the runway on arrival Tuesday at the international airport in Mogadishu, according to state media.The Somali National News Agency cited the transport minister as saying one person was injured and all others were safely rescued.Images shared on social media show the Halla Airlines plane with a partially detached cockpit lying next to a low concrete wall.It is not immediately clear what caused the accident. Weather at the seaside airport is partly cloudy.Omar Faruk, The Associated Press

Vietnam frees Australian pro-democracy campaigner sentenced in 2019 to 12 years in prison

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:49:13 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Vietnam allowed 73-year-old pro-democracy campaigner Chau Van Kham to return home to Sydney on Tuesday after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged that the retired baker be released from prison during a visit to Hanoi last month.The Australian citizen had been in custody in his birth country since he visited in January 2019. He was convicted that year on terrorism charges related to his support for democracy group Viet Tan and sentenced to 12 years in prison. The Vietnamese government considers Viet Tan a terrorist organization.Kham’s wife and two children thanked the Australian government on Tuesday for securing his release.“We share this happy news that Chau Van Kham is well and has returned to his family today,” a family statement said.Albanese described Kham’s release as an “example of how engagement in a constructive way achieves results in Australia’s national interest.”“Australia very much welcomes the release of Chau Van Kham. This...

Live Updates | Germany to provide 40 more armored vehicles to Ukraine

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:49:13 GMT

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Follow along for updates on the summit of the NATO military alliance in Lithuania’s capital:What to know: — Turkey’s decision to end opposition to Sweden’s NATO membership boosts summit— Sweden’s rocky road from neutrality toward NATO membership— What is NATO doing to help Ukraine in the war with Russia?— Ukraine, defense plans and Sweden’s membership top summit agenda—— Germany has announced a package of further military aid for Ukraine that includes 40 extra Marder armored personnel carriers, another 25 old Leopard 1 tanks and two Patriot defense missile launching devices.The German Defense Ministry said Tuesday that Germany also would give Ukraine another 20,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, 5,000 rounds of smoke ammunition, a reconnaissance and drone-defense package and a Luna drone system. There will also be five armored recovery vehicles.Germany, already one of the biggest providers of military aid to Ukraine, put the value of the latest packa...

Think tank head who claims to have given FBI info on Hunter Biden charged with acting as an unregistered agent of China

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:49:13 GMT

(The Hill) - The head of a U.S. think tank who has repeatedly accused President Biden and his family of corruption has been charged with acting as an unregistered agent of China, Manhattan prosecutors announced Monday evening.Gal Luft, co-director of the Maryland-based Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, is accused of recruiting and paying an unnamed former high-ranking U.S. government official on behalf of principals based in China in 2016, without registering as a foreign agent, which is legally required. The former high-ranking official was an advisor to then President-elect Trump and was allegedly paid to publicly support certain policies pertaining to China, according to the 58-page, eight-count indictment unsealed Monday. Manhattan prosecutors also allege Luft attempted to broker illicit arms deals to sell weapons to countries including Libya, the United Arab Emirates and Kenya without having a license to do so, as is legally required in the U.S.And L...