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Biden to deliver Howard University commencement speech later this month

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:59 GMT

President Joe Biden is expected to deliver the commencement speech at Howard University this month, a historically Black university in Washington. The commencement is scheduled for May 13.The White House confirmed to CNN that Biden will also give the keynote address at the United States Air Force Academy’s commencement in El Paso County, Colorado, on June 1. He disclosed that appearance last month at the White House when he presented the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy to the Air Force’s football team, the Falcons.“In a few weeks, I’ll be headed to your home turf for commencement,” the president joked at the time. “You’re going to get stuck with me being your commencement speaker.”Howard University, Vice President Kamala Harris’ alma mater, has received an ample amount of focus from the Biden administration since the pair took office in 2021. Last month, Harris delivered a fiery speech on abortion rights during a rally on the H...

Across town from show dogs, a labor to save suffering ones

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:59 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — On a recent afternoon at a Manhattan animal hospital and adoption center, a pit bull mix called T-Bone, rescued after being tied to a utility pole, gazed out at visitors from his tidy room. Trigger was recuperating from a stab wound, a large incision still visible on his side.Pert little Melanie had been abandoned at one of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ community veterinary clinics. Tip’s owner had been overwhelmed by six dogs and four cats. Friendly, retriever-like Rainbow, surrendered by someone who could not care for him, snoozed in the adoption office. While the Westminster Kennel Club crowns the cream of the canine elite on one of tennis’ most storied courts this week, the ASPCA’s facility across town will be tending to dogs that have had far darker lives. New York is home to both the United States’ most prestigious dog show and its oldest humane society, the ASPCA. Their histories connect: Some proceeds from the inau...

Bus drivers for 3 Mass. school districts set to strike

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:59 GMT

Bus drivers for three Massachusetts school districts are set to strike if a deal on a new contract isn’t reached.Bus drivers in Marlborough, Framingham, and Westborough will be on strike Monday morning if an agreement isn’t reached on a new contract, according to Teamsters Local 170.The districts say they won’t cancel classes and will provide alternate transportation to get kids to school if necessary.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

WHO says COVID emergency is over. So what does that mean?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:59 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization downgraded its assessment of the coronavirus pandemic on Friday, saying it no longer qualifies as a global emergency. The action reverses a declaration that was first made on January 30, 2020, when the disease had not even been named COVID-19 and when there were no major outbreaks beyond China.A look at what WHO’s decision means:WHY END THE GLOBAL HEALTH EMERGENCY?WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the pandemic has been “on a downward trend for more than a year, with population immunity increasing from vaccination and infection.” That, he said, has allowed most countries “to return to life as we knew it before COVID-19,” meaning that the worst part of the pandemic is over.Tedros said that for the past year, WHO and its emergency committee experts have been analyzing COVID-19 data to decide when the time would be right to lower its level of alarm. On Thursday, the experts recommended to Tedros th...

Wood, Jones lead Revolution to 2-0 victory over Toronto

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:59 GMT

TORONTO (AP) — Bobby Wood scored a first-half goal, DeJuan Jones found the net in the second half and the New England Revolution dispatched Toronto FC 2-0 on Saturday night.Wood staked New England (7-1-3) to an early lead when he scored unassisted in the 19th minute.Jones added an insurance goal in the 62nd minute, scoring unassisted. Wood notched his third goal this season and Jones’ netter was his first.The Revolution, who kept pace with FC Cincinnati atop the Eastern Conference standings with the victory, entered the match with a 1-4-4 record in their last nine trips to Toronto.Toronto (2-3-6) was coming off a 1-0 victory over New York City FC. Toronto has just two wins in its last 17 matches. The two wins and 13 points over that span are league lows.Toronto took 20 shots to 10 for New England, but the Revs had a 6-5 edge in shots on goal.Djordje Petrovic totaled five saves to earn the clean sheet for New England, which entered play having won four one-goal matches. Se...

Gervon Dexter — once opposed to playing football — joins the Chicago Bears as a talented defensive tackle with untapped potential

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:59 GMT

If persistence is the intersection of optimism and grit, Lake Wales (Fla.) High football coach Tavaris Johnson leaned heavily on those traits every time he crossed paths with Gervon Dexter in the hallways of the school.Johnson, who is also a dean, was eager to see Dexter, a hulking freshman and talented AAU basketball player, on the football field. His initial efforts were met with the kind of box-out Dexter would use to corral rebounds easily.“I knew Gervon and I knew his family well,” Johnson said. “I played with a few of his uncles. He comes from a very talented family. The first thing I said to Gervon was, ‘Hey, a guy your size should be on the football field. You are a dream waiting to happen.’ He looks at me and he says, ‘Coach, I’m not playing football.’ I’m like, ‘What?!? You’ve got to be kidding me.’”Undeterred, Johnson kept a full-court press on Dexter into his sophomore year and he remained sing...

Column: Shades of 1997 in Chicago? A Sunday stroll through the start of the Cubs and White Sox seasons.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:59 GMT

Wandering through the start of the baseball season while pulling over to the side of the road for a brief rest on a lazy Sunday morning in early May.Here’s what we’ve learned so far.Shades of 1997The 1997 Cubs lost their first 14 games, setting a National League record and effectively ending their season before it ever got off the ground.The White Sox’s 7-21 start was similar, though manager Pedro Grifol insisted after the 10-game losing streak hope remained despite being 14 games under .500 on April 30. “It doesn’t feel like that,” Grifol said. “I can’t explain that feeling. I wake up every morning, and my feeling is today is going to be the start of something good. That’s how we prepare, that’s how we work, that’s how we address things. That’s what we do. …. I don’t feel this is over by any means.”The Sox scored seventh ninth-inning runs the next day in a comeback win over the Tampa Bay Rays ...

Coronation conversation must include impacts of colonization: On Canada Project

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:59 GMT

The Coronation of King Charles III has been widely covered this weekend as a historic day but a local group is highlighting the importance of remembering the impact of the British monarchy and what they call a shameful legacy.On Canada Project is a group that says it aims to dismantle the status quo and champion change, while bridging “information gaps to invite more Canadians into critical conversations about Canada and the world.”Founder Samanta Krishnapillai says conversations and public discourse around the coronation must include more than the new king’s patronage work, how he was the longest-waiting heir apparent in history, and the ongoing royal family drama.“If you’re going to get all hyped up about this coronation, alright — but also speak to the harm that this family has done and continues to benefit from and continues to ignore,” she says, echoing a recent On Canada Project Instagram post that calls for “the whole damn story.” View this ...

Five more names to be added to Ontario Police Memorial on Sunday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:59 GMT

Five more names will be added to the Ontario Police Memorial on Sunday, honouring those who are killed in the line of duty. The sacrifices of Const. Andrew Hong of the Toronto Police Service, Const. Devon Northrup and Const. Morgan Russell of the South Simcoe Police Service, Const. Grzegorz Pierzchala of the Ontario Provincial Police, and Const. Vicki Lynn Wilson of the Durham Regional Police Service will be recognized during a ceremony at 11 a.m. at the Wall of Honour.Hong, a 22-year veteran motorcycle officer, was on his lunch break in a coffee shop in Mississauga when he was approached by a man carrying a gun and fatally shot in September 2022 what police say was an ambush attack. Northrup and Russell were killed after exchanging gunfire with a man while responding to a disturbance at a home in Innisfil, Ont., in October 2022. Pierzchala was shot and killed after stopping to check on a vehicle that had become stuck in a ditch in Hagersville, Ont., in December 2022. He had just pa...

Kentucky GOP aims for strong matchup versus Dem Gov. Beshear

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:59 GMT

LIBERTY, Ky. (AP) — As Kentucky’s GOP primary campaign sprints toward the finish line, some Republicans are looking ahead to the November election with an eye toward who best can reclaim the governorship — a job that the state’s dominant party has struggled to hold despite its strong showing in other races.With candidates dashing from the hills of Appalachia to the suburbs of Lexington and Louisville and rural communities out west, some of the voters they meet along the way say they are basing decisions in the May 16 primary mostly on which Republican would pose the toughest challenge to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, who is facing nominal party opposition.The contest, coming a year before national elections will determine control of the presidency and Congress, is expected to send loud signals about whether Democrats can remain competitive in what has become rock-solid Republican territory.Republican voters are handicapping a crowded pack of candidates vying for the gube...