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Rivas: Menthol ban would boost $$ incentive for cartels

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:28 GMT

International commerce flowing across the border between the United States and Mexico is a shared responsibility between our two nations and an important area of focus for our collective long-term prosperity. As such, news of President Joe Biden’s plans to finalize a ban on menthol cigarettes is a source of great concern.Powerful Mexican cartels, sophisticated multibillion-dollar criminal enterprises, are already trafficking illicit tobacco to fund their violent operations. The current regulated market for menthol cigarettes is $30 billion. A nationwide prohibition on menthols will create a tremendous profit incentive for these cartels to become more aggressive in their activity.As the General Director of the National Citizen Observatory of Security, Justice and Legality A.C. (ONC), and a National Security Council of Mexico member, I know what the cartels are capable of. These high-tech, organized crime networks continue to innovate and diversify beyond drugs and weapons. They evolv...

Ian Anderson brings fresh & fave Tull to MGM

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:28 GMT

For a good half-century, the list of notable rock/pop flute players largely began and ended with Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull. In recent years, he says, he’s finally noticed a new one on the scene.“There is somebody called Lizzo that I hear about,” he said during a recent Zoom interview. “And she’s probably a much better flute player than I am, having been classically trained.”They’ve gone in and out of style too many times to count, but Tull remains as individual as ever. Their latest album “RokFlote” is the best – and probably only – concept album about Norse mythology you’ll hear this year. But then, not many people were making albums about organized religion in 1971, when Tull released the now-classic ”Aqualung.” Both albums will likely be represented when the band hits the MGM Grand on Saturday.“Norse mythology originally struck me as a very bad jumping off point for a Jethro Tull record,” he says. “The challenge was to find a way to do it. I had to adopt a light touch in the wr...

Chieppo & Gass: Civics poll shows state has much work to do

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:28 GMT

With wars raging in the Middle East and Ukraine — not to mention the recent conflict in the Republican caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives — it has rarely been more important that American voters have the knowledge they need to make wise choices in upcoming federal elections. Unfortunately, after decades of civics being marginalized in public schools, the data show that such knowledge is sorely lacking.Massachusetts is one of the best-educated states in the country, the only one in which more than half the workforce holds a bachelor’s degree or better. Yet when Pioneer Institute commissioned and Emerson College Polling conducted a survey that asked state residents some of the questions immigrants must answer correctly to gain U.S. citizenship, the responses earned those voters a cumulative grade of 63, or a “D.”State residents got a failing grade on two basic questions about the U.S. Senate. Only 52% knew the Senate has 100 members, while just 55% knew that a senator’s term ...

McCaughey: Why Dems push for noncitizen voting rights

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:28 GMT

If you think offering migrants luxury hotel rooms, free meals, laundry service, transportation, health care and immigration lawyers is excessive, just wait until they can vote. Democrats are pushing to allow noncitizens to vote in local elections in New York City, Boston and other municipalities.The number of migrants pouring across the southern border hit a record high, according to data released last week. Illegal immigrant crossings soared 21% over the previous month. On a yearly basis, the figure hit 2.48 million.Democrats may feign shock and distress. Don’t be fooled. Dems see these newcomers as their guarantee of a permanent voting majority in local elections. Not years from now, after the newcomers become citizens. Right now.New York Mayor Eric Adams’ rhetoric is typical. He warns that the overwhelming number of migrants arriving — currently 16,000 to 17,000 a month — “will destroy New York City,” but he’s also leading the legal effort to turn mi...

Great fight can’t make ‘The Killer’ into thriller

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:28 GMT

Based on a long running French graphic novel by writer Alexis Nolent aka Matz (“Bullet to the Head”) and artist Luc Jacamon, “The Killer” is a violent film neo-noir from the great David Fincher (“Zodiac”), starring Michael Fassbender as the assassin without a name. Unfortunately, he is also without a heart, a soul or a personality.The action begins in Paris. The killer is a like a monk in his cell, not praying, but waiting in extremely stoic circumstances (a breezy construction site) for his target to appear. We hear the assassin narrate the action in a monotone. He tells us that boredom is his enemy. An electric heater glows by his side. He wears black rubber gloves and quotes Popeye. He practices some form of yoga. He eats from McDonald’s, wears shades and a hat with a drawn-down band in public. In a park, a boy shoots a woman in the head with a toy gun. Is it his mother? His nanny?Ah, the banality of gun violence. Remember when Fassbender was in everything? He’s taken...

Editorial: Boston needs voice of law enforcement on council

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:28 GMT

Far too often, the public gets a stark reminder of why law enforcement is important.Wednesday night’s mass shooting at a bowling alley in Lewiston, Me.; the gunfire at a Dorchester parade in August that left eight injured, the shootings that shatter the peace of Boston’s streets night and day. These are, sadly, just to name a few.Law enforcement is vital to the central nervous system of this city, and a crucial voice at the table.Unfortunately, it doesn’t have one.The Boston City Council votes on the Boston Police Department budget, makes declarations and proclamations and protestations about neighborhood policing and safety, but none of the councilors knows what it’s like to work those streets as a police officer.Enter Jose Ruiz.The City Council candidate for District 5 has been in the BPD for 29 years. He can speak from experience of what’s needed to make communities safe, because he’s seen what happens when they’re not. And not from the v...

Dear Abby: Death of beloved dog hits BF hard

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:28 GMT

Dear Abby: I have been dating “Paul” for several years. He lives about an hour away, and we see each other a few weekends a month. I know he loves me. A few months ago, his dog suddenly died from cancer. It was traumatic because “Bruiser” was his best friend.Paul has been different since Bruiser’s death. He has zero interest in anything physical. To me, touch is important — not just sex. There’s shared intimacy in holding someone’s hand or kissing. I feel like a plant that’s wilting with no sun. I know Paul is struggling, but I don’t know how to help him through. We talked about it once, but other than acknowledging he’s struggling, he has done nothing further.I don’t want to force the issue, but time is precious. I know what it’s like to struggle with depression, and I recognize the signs, but he won’t get help. How can I support him through this and get over my selfishness? — In the Dark in N...

Abortion restrictions in Russia spark outrage as the country takes a conservative turn

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:28 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Despite its last-minute scheduling, the meeting at a bookstore in Russia’s westernmost city of Kaliningrad still drew about 60 people, with many outraged by a lawmaker’s efforts to ban abortions in local private clinics.The weeknight turnout surprised and heartened Dasha Yakovleva, one of the organizers, amid recent crackdowns on political activism under President Vladimir Putin.“Right now, there is no room for political action in Russia. The only place left is our kitchens,” Yakovleva, co-founder of the Feminitive Community women’s group, told The Associated Press. “And here, it was a public place, well-known in Kaliningrad, and everyone spoke out openly about how they see this measure, why they think it’s unjustified, inappropriate.”Although abortion is still legal and widely available in Russia, recent attempts to restrict it have touched a nerve across the increasingly conservative country. Activists are urging supporters to make official comp...

South Korean and US forces stage drills for reaction to possible ‘Hamas-style’ attack by North Korea

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:28 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean and U.S. troops have been conducting live-fire exercises this week to hone their ability to respond to potential “Hamas-style surprise artillery attacks” by North Korea, South Korea’s military said Friday.The two forces regularly conduct live-fire and other training, but this week’s drills come after Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault on Israel raised security jitters in South Korea, which shares the world’s most heavily fortified border with rival North Korea.Experts say the North’s forward-deployed long-range artillery guns can fire about 16,000 rounds per hour in the event of a conflict, posing a serious threat to Seoul, which is about 40-50 kilometers (25-30 miles) from the border.The three-day firing exercises, which began Wednesday, involved 5,400 South Korean and U.S. soldiers, 300 artillery systems, 1,000 vehicles and air force assets, according to South Korea’s military.In a simulated response to “the enemy’s (possible) Hamas-style surprise artille...

Survivors of deadly Hurricane Otis grow desperate for food and aid amid slow government response

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:28 GMT

ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) — Survivors of the Category 5 storm that killed at least 27 people and devastated Mexico’s resort city of Acapulco are getting desperate amid a slow government response, worrying that the focus will remain on repairing infrastructure for the city’s economic engine of tourism instead of helping the neediest.Despite hopes of incoming aid by many in Acapulco, the coastal city of 1 million once known for its beachside glamour was still in a state of complete chaos by the end of Thursday.Entire walls of beachside high rises were ripped clean off. Hundreds of thousands of homes remained without electricity. People lacking even the most basic resources were emptying stores out of everything from food to toilet paper.Miguel Angel Fong, president of the Mexican Hotel Association told the AP that 80% of the city’s hotels were damaged.Dozens of desperate tourists, tired of waiting for buses out of the city, walked along the narrow sidewalks through the long car tunnel und...