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Meet Pieter Omtzigt, the Dutch election favorite who doesn’t want to win 

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:42:40 GMT

The Netherlands is heading to the polls next week in an election that will decide its new prime minister. There’s just one problem: The man who’s been leading the race doesn’t seem very keen on the job. Pieter Omtzigt only founded his New Social Contract (NSC) three months ago, but has been topping the polls in the closely fought campaign for weeks. Traditionally the largest party in the highly-fragmented parliament provides the candidate for premier, and that person is almost always the party leader. But Omtzigt has been vague about his intentions, leaving the door open to backing someone else for the top job, even if his party wins the most seats on November 22. “I see what The Hague does to politicians, it can consume you 24/7. And so I also have a responsibility at home and that is important,” said the father of four. “By the way, I think it’s also very valuable for my political antenna to be on a soccer field or in a church or at a s...

NH couple describes escape from sinking ferry in the Bahamas 

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:42:40 GMT

A New Hampshire couple recently walked 7NEWS through terrifying moments as ferry boat carrying more than 100 people sank Wednesday in the Bahamas. Melissa and Mark Kazemier were on a birthday cruise and excursion when the boat they were on suddenly started taking on water on its way to an island, sending them scrambling to get life vests. “One wave right after another and the nose of the boat went down and it never really recovered,” Melissa said. Melissa said the side of the boat she and Mark were on “was going down very quickly.” With strong waves continuing to crash into their sinking boat, Melissa said her husband grabbed lifejackets. “He helped me put mine on and there was a couple behind us that had a two-year-old and a four-year-old with them and so, of course they’re struggling to get vests on the two children,” she said. “So, my husband helped them.”Moments later, Mark and Melissa jumped into the water. “When it reached a point where we were getting slam...

Judge rules Former President Trump can remain on Colorado primary ballot

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:42:40 GMT

(CNN) — A Colorado judge has rejected an attempt to remove former President Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 primary ballot based on the claim that he is constitutionally barred from office because of the January 6, 2021, insurrection.The major decision issued Friday by Colorado District Judge Sarah Wallace comes after judges in Minnesota and Michigan also refused to remove Trump from that state’s Republican primary ballots.These three high-profile challenges against Trump, which had the backing of well-funded advocacy groups, have so far failed to remove him from a single ballot, with the 2024 primary season fast approaching.Wallace said she was keeping the former president on the ballot because the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban” does not apply to presidents, though she found that “Trump engaged in an insurrection on January 6, 2021 through incitement, and that the First Amendment does not protect Trump’s speech.”The 14th Amend...

Weston sweeps past Medfield, captures Div. 3 state volleyball title

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:42:40 GMT

WORCESTER – Players talked about winning the Weston girls volleyball program’s first state title when Eileen Leblanc took over as head coach three years ago.Friday night at Worcester State, they finally made it a reality.Sophomore setter Riley Huml dished 33 assists, balancing the attack to help the third-seeded Wildcats (20-5) take the year’s rubber-match against No. 1 Medfield, 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 26-24), in the Div. 3 state final.Overcoming slow starts in the first couple sets was part of the job, but Fielding Mayhugh (15 kills), Nevaeh Yancey (12 kills, two aces) and Eleanor Wilkins (eight kills) proved reliable options to build big runs in each set. The Warriors (23-2) put up a scare at the end to nearly extend the match to at least one more set, but Weston’s composure carried out its three-year mission.Seeing that goal fulfilled, while the program has since expanded from one team to three, brought Leblanc to tears.“It’s all them,” Leblanc said. “I am privileged to be their guid...

Scituate continues late-season rise, defeat Grafton in a Div. 4 state semifinal

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:42:40 GMT

MANSFIELD — After watching his group open the season 0-2, Herb Devine was still optimistic. While some folks were counting Scituate out before league play, the football coach was holding out hope things could still quickly turn around.Just weeks later, the Sailors are back in a spot they found themselves just two short years ago – one win away from the pinnacle.Senior quarterback Jackson Belsan completed 14-of-18 passes for 189 yards and two total touchdowns (one rushing), while junior running back Willy Robinson added 46 yards rushing and a score as the seventh-seeded Sailors returned to the Div. 4 Super Bowl for the first time since 2021 with a hard-fought 20-10 victory over No. 6 Grafton.The Sailors (8-3) were determined to prove they belonged in the Div. 4 Super Bowl conversation, and they opened action with a long drive. Facing fourth-and-long, Belsan decided to flick a prayer toward the end zone. It was answered in the form of Sam Allard, who hauled in a miraculous and c...

Big second quarter propels Walpole past Milford in Div. 3 state semifinal

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:42:40 GMT

BRIDGEWATER – No. 4 Walpole ran away in the second quarter to advance to the Division 3 Super Bowl with a 45-35 barnburner victory over top-ranked Milford at Bridgewater-Raynham High School.The win puts the Timberwolves (8-3) into their 10th Super Bowl with a chance to win their eighth title.  Noah Mackenzie had clutch throws throughout and had a four-touchdown game under center for the Timberwolves. Jamal Abdal-Khallaq had seven catches for 213 yards.Brendan Kearns added two sacks and two interceptions, his last coming with 1:20 left to secure the 10-point victory.“We are going to Gillette,” said Kearns when asked about the second pick when he chucked the football into the sky in celebration. “We got off to a rough start this season, but we knew we had the skill players. We were lacking on the line a little, but we gelled together, it’s just unreal.”Milford (9-2) made its first series look easy as a Nick Araujo 29-run finished a 74-yard, six-play drive for the Hawks. But Walpole ra...

Celtics not ‘best version,’ but find a way to escape with victory over Raptors

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:42:40 GMT

As the clock ran out, Jayson Tatum dribbled the ball across midcourt with a look of relief on his face.This was a game the Celtics easily could have lost, and probably would have last season. After taking a commanding lead, they let it go. Their offense suddenly went missing. They played ugly basketball. They found themselves in a dog fight with the Raptors, and trailed with less than two minutes to go.But in what’s becoming an early-season theme, the Celtics figured out a way. With the game tied in the final minute, Jrue Holiday found Derrick White in the corner, and like he has time and again in crunch time, he delivered. White’s 3-pointer with 28 seconds to go was the difference as the Celtics escaped with a 108-105 victory over the Raptors.“I loved our character today,” Kristaps Porzingis told NBC Sports Boston. “It wasn’t our best game and nobody was like, hot and going, but I saw some big plays.”It certainly wasn’t pretty. The Celtics had a 16-point lead after a dominant secon...

New Hampshire shooter kills security guard before being fatally shot at psychiatric hospital

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:42:40 GMT

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A shooter killed a security guard in the lobby of New Hampshire’s state psychiatric hospital on Friday before being fatally shot by a state trooper, officials said.The shooting happened around 3:30 p.m. at New Hampshire Hospital and was contained to the front lobby of the 185-bed facility, State Police Col. Mark Hall said at a news conference. He said CPR was performed on the victim, who later died at Concord Hospital.Authorities identified the victim Friday night as Bradley Haas, 63, a state Department of Safety security officer who was working at the front lobby entrance.Haas lived in Franklin, a small town about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from Concord. He worked as a police officer for 28 years and rose to become police chief, according to a statement from the state attorney general's office.All patients at the psychiatric hospital were safe, and the state trooper who killed the shooter was not wounded, according to authorities.“Investigators with the New Hamps...

Taiwan envoy says he’s hopeful Biden-Xi meeting will reduce tensions in the Asia-Pacific region

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:42:40 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The 92-year-old businessman who represented Taiwan at this week’s summit of Asia-Pacific leaders in San Francisco expressed hope Friday that the meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping should help to reduce tensions between the two superpowers and in the region. Morris Chang, the founder of the microchip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, also suggested the meeting could help to promote economic stability and reliable supply chains.“You don’t have to be a leader to know that if there is no peace, there is no supply chain to start with,” Chang said at a news conference at the close of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.Chang said the Biden-Xi meeting was a “good” one, pointing to their agreement to resume high-level military communications.“It should help reduce the tensions between the U.S. and China, and it should increase stability of Taiwan Strait,” Chang said. Taiwan, a self-governed island of 23 m...

Taiwan’s opposition parties fail to agree on a joint candidate for January’s presidential election

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:42:40 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s two main opposition parties have failed to agree on a joint candidate for president, once again throwing into doubt their ability to unseat the ruling party in January’s election.The Nationalist Party and the Taiwan People’s Party were expected to announce an agreed-upon candidate Saturday at a news conference. Instead, they announced they need further consultations after a disagreement over how to use polling data to make the selection.With the candidates for both parties trailing in the polls, they had agreed three days ago to form a joint ticket with one candidate for president and the other for vice president. The decision on who would get the presidential nod — Hou Yu-ih of the Nationalist Party or Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People’s Party — was to be based on a combination of public polls and internal party polls.The failure to agree on a joint candidate leaves current Vice President William Lai of the Democratic Progressive Party ...