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John Kerry warns UK and Germany against ‘business as usual’ on climate

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:52:12 GMT

LONDON — John Kerry, the U.S. special presidential envoy for climate, warned the U.K. and Germany against a “business as usual” approach to fossil fuels.Speaking to POLITICO’s Power Play podcast, the former presidential contender flagged the risks of a lack of “concentrated effort” between nations to hit the global warming goals set by the Paris Agreement.And, asked about the U.K.’s decision to announce further licensing rounds for fossil fuel drilling and Germany’s continued coal generation, Kerry said: “I worry a little bit that in various places around the world there’s too much business as usual. There’s not enough concentrated effort to all help each other with this transition.”War in Europe and the Middle East, as well as the COVID pandemic had, Kerry said, “all taken a toll on our ability to just be focused on this in the way that we ought to be.“But, we can’t go back,” he added. “Nobody should be going ba...

John Kerry: US must get rid of ‘crazy’ oil subsidies

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:52:12 GMT

The United States must end “crazy” oil and gas subsidies to achieve its climate goals, but a stalled Congress is preventing President Joe Biden from taking action, U.S. climate envoy John Kerry told POLITICO.“The subsidies are crazy, and we have them still in the United States,” Kerry said in an interview with POLITICO’s Power Play podcast. “President Biden has said we’ve gotta get rid of these subsidies. But again … you have to legislate to do that and we’ve been pretty gridlocked in our country for a period of time.”As the U.S. heads into a presidential election year, Kerry said he hopes people will put aside “party labels” and “come together around good, common-sense solutions” to fight climate change. The U.S. diplomat, who is currently in Dubai for the COP28 summit, is preparing to welcome the U.S. Republican congressional delegation, slated to arrive in the United Arab Emirates later this week. Donald Trump, the American conservatives&...

Man dead, 2 women being treated for stab wounds after incident in Dedham

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:52:12 GMT

One man was dead and two women were being treated for stab wounds Wednesday night after a stabbing incident in Dedham, officials said. Dedham police in an initial statement said officers first responded to the scene on Jackson Pond Road around 6 p.m. Speaking near 11 p.m., Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey said people in a home in the area called police after they said a man stabbed two people he was related to. Morrissey said officers arrived to find a man in distress on Jackson Pond Road. Officers subsequently deployed pepper spray and a stun gun as they took the man into custody, according to Morrissey. Morrissey said the man continued showing signs of mental and physical distress and was treated at the scene before he was later taken to an area hospital, where he died.Morrissey said the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the cause and manner of the man’s death at a later date.In the meantime, Morrissey said the two women who were ...

Lucas: Biden’s ‘help’ leaves a lot to be desired

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:52:12 GMT

You’ve got a friend in Mo, not Joe, despite songwriter James Taylor’s best efforts.The singer/songwriter was part of Joe Biden’s fundraising concert this week called “You’ve Got a Friend in Joe.”But your real pal is Mo, especially if you are an illegal immigrant.“Mo” is Gov. Maura Healey.It was Mo, not Joe, who just signed a supplementary $3 billion budget bill that earmarks some $250 million in additional funds to deal with the overflow of thousands of illegal immigrants who have overwhelmed Massachusetts’ ability to care for them.That appropriation is just the beginning, because without federal assistance and a curb on illegal immigration Massachusetts will soon face higher taxes and a cut in taxpayer services.These Massachusetts arrivals  are just a fraction of the millions of illegal immigrants that Joe Biden has let into the country through his open borders policy.But while Biden has let them in, he has turned a cold shoulder to pleas from governor...

Editorial: City councilors racked up legal fees – let them pay

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:52:12 GMT

The Boston City Council honed dysfunction to a fine art this year. Why should Bostonians have to pay for its mistakes?We mean that literally.As the Herald reported, the fractious fight over redistricting that roiled the council and prompted a lawsuit racked up a bill of $700,000-plus. Guess who’s picking up the tab?That $700,000-plus is for the legal fees arising from that lawsuit – one that forced a federal judge to throw out an electoral map that likely violated the Constitution.The city, the Council and Mayor Michelle Wu were sued after an initial map was passed by the body last fall.That “unity map” as it was called, was a group effort, with input from advocacy groups including the NAACP Boston chapter teaming with some council members.It was tossed by a federal judge after a week-long court hearing, and it was deemed that the council likely violated the Constitution by factoring race into the redistricting map.Councilor-at-Large Michael Flaherty said the...

‘Tis the season to shop, sip, eat & play in Boston & beyond

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:52:12 GMT

Eat, drink, and be merry, that’s the go-to holiday motto. But we’re going to amend that. This year, how about: Eat, drink, shop, take classes, buy gifts, brunch with girlfriends, nosh with family, and yes — be very, very merry.The next few holiday weeks are filled with fabulous events spilling over with all that fun stuff.It starts as early as tomorrow, with a road trip for a smashing intimate in-person cocktail soirée and book signing with Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Bush, to celebrate their children’s book, “Love Comes First.” (https://aubergeresorts.com/whitebarninn/experiences/prelude-cocktails). From 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. the celeb sisters will be hosting and toasting with cocktails and light bites in the elegance-meets-rustic dining room of The White Barn Inn ((The Bush Family compound is located just down the road apiece in Kennebunkport, ME). For a $55 ticket you can meet them, get the opportunity to buy copies of their book for your favorite youngsters, and luxuriate in t...

‘Eileen’ psyches out audience with labored slog

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:52:12 GMT

How does a film go wrong? The ways are many. But usually the screenplay and the director are to blame. In the case of the 1960 Massachusetts-set neo-noir “Eileen,” the actors also chew the scenery. The acclaimed actor Thomasin McKenzie of “The Power of the Dog” and “Last Night in Soho” plays the title role. Eileen Dunlop, 24, is the repressed daughter of retired Boston police chief Jim Dunlop (Shea Whigham). Jim is an angry alcoholic, whose daughter brings pint bottles of whiskey home for him every day. We also see Jim bring home a case of Stroh’s. Jim sits in front of the TV in his and Eileen’s dingy house in a wintry New England, drinking beer and whiskey, smoking cigarettes and handling his old service revolver. Sometimes, he wanders the streets of his neighborhood at night, armed and drunk and is brought home by a nice, young fellow cop.Eileen drives a 1950s beater that smokes so badly when the engine runs that Eileen is forced to keep the widows open. This is only o...

Lenny Kravitz rides Oscar buzz for ‘Rustin’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:52:12 GMT

A four-time Grammy winner for best male rock vocal performance, Lenny Kravitz now sets his sights on a Best Song Oscar nomination for his work on the biopic “Rustin.”“The first thing that touched me about this wonderful film was how little I knew about Bayard Rustin – and I grew up in a family that taught me so much about civil rights,” Kravitz, 59, began in a Zoom press conference Monday.His father was Jewish NBC-TV producer Sy Kravitz, his mother the Black actress-activist Roxie Roker, who starred as half of TV’s first interracial couple in the long-running sitcom “The Jeffersons.”Rustin, portrayed by the out actor Colman Domingo in what’s predicted as an Oscar-nominated performance, was influential in befriending and strategizing with Martin Luther King. He was the architect of the historic 1965 March on Washington where King gave his “I have a dream” speech.  Because Rustin was gay, he was discriminated against and virtually erased from history.George C. Wolfe’s film aims to res...

Mastrangelo: Voters fear AI regulations aren’t enough

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:52:12 GMT

Artificial Intelligence is developing faster than many of us can imagine and is now becoming an integral part of everyday life. So far, businesses are the primary catalysts for this deployment. Studies show that in one year of introducing a new type of AI, one-third of respondents reported their organizations were using the technology in some form, and 40% expected to up their usage investments.As we saw with the development of computers, once the workforce gets a taste of advantageous technology, it’s likely irremovable. And that is why our policymakers must get off the sidelines in regulating AI.Despite AI’s burgeoning usage, Americans are just starting to warm up to the technology in many ways because of the “unknown” factor. In the same vein, they are skeptical that elected officials can get enough of a grasp on the gravity of AI capabilities to regulate. Recent polling found that 57% of voters said they were extremely or very concerned with the government’s ability to regulate ...

Dear Abby: Hubby banished from grandkids’ lives

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:52:12 GMT

Dear Abby: My common-law husband and my daughter don’t get along. Even though he is good with kids, she doesn’t want him around her children. The last time we were at her home, he got upset with me. He demanded we leave and went out to the car to wait for me. (I had told my daughter we were staying for two nights; this happened after one night.) My daughter felt he was disrespectful. She was upset and asked me what was going on. I became upset and my granddaughters saw me crying, which got them upset. My daughter then informed me she doesn’t want him around her kids again.Now, a year later, my husband still will not acknowledge any wrongdoing, nor will she. I’m stuck in the middle. He has threatened that if I spend time with her, he will spend time away from home. I am not choosing him over my kids. How can I handle this? — Just Wants Peace in CanadaDear Just Wants Peace: Handle this by stepping out of the middle. If you want to see your granddaughters,...