On this day: Hank Finkel born; Celtics win 1st game in ’08 playoffs

Reuters
US envoy in Moscow held talks with senior Russian diplomat, RIA reports
Lynne Tracy, the U.S. ambassador in Moscow, on Tuesday held talks with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and discussed the operations of Russian diplomatic institutions abroad, the RIA state news agency reported. RIA cited Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, as the source of the information. On Monday, Ryabkov, Russia's point man for relations with the United States, held a news conference and, among other topics, discussed potential peace talks on Ukraine between Moscow and Washington.
Reuters
China's JD.com moves into food delivery, starts recruiting restaurants
China's e-commerce giant JD.com is venturing into the country's highly competitive food delivery business, announcing on Tuesday that it will register catering merchants on its courier system. Catering merchants who register with JD Takeaway before May 1 will enjoy commission-free services for the entire year, it said. JD.com stated in its announcement that JD Takeaway will provide comprehensive support for merchants, aiming to promote the healthy and sustainable development of the food delivery industry.
AFP
Venezuela sends planes to fetch undocumented migrants from US
Venezuela sent two planes to bring nearly 200 undocumented migrants back from the United States, saying it hoped for a "new beginning" in ties with Washington, which does not recognize Nicolas Maduro as the legitimate president.Caracas broke off ties with Washington in January 2019 after Trump recognized then-opposition leader Juan Guaido as "interim president" following 2018 elections widely rejected as neither free nor fair.
USA TODAY
A ‘good ‘ol American boy’ and a bubbly woman everyone loved. Who were James Ford's victims?
As James Dennis Ford is set to be executed in Florida, we take a look at the lives of his victims, Kimberly and Gregory Malnory.
USA TODAY
Will Trump’s ‘Iron Dome’ missile defense make Americans safer? It’s complicated
Space-based interceptors and "particle beams" are part of a new multi-billion-dollar Trump order to build a new U.S. missile defense system.
AFP
Europe rights court condemns Russia for suppressing Ukraine war dissent
Europe's rights court on Tuesday condemned Russia over "a coordinated effort to suppress dissent" inside the country over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched in February 2022.The restrictions showed "a coordinated effort to suppress dissent rather than counter any threat to national security," it said.
Associated Press
5 people killed in a suicide bombing near a bank in northern Afghanistan
A suicide bomber blew himself up near a bank in northern Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing at least five people and wounding seven others, police said. The attack happened near a branch of the Kabul Bank in Kunduz province, said Jumauddin Khaksar, a police spokesman. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack and Khaksar said police were working to track down those who orchestrated the attack.
USA TODAY
Puppy lovin' dog days: Westminster's Best in Show is back at Madison Square Garden
Competitors are judged on how much they live up to the expected characteristics of their breed.
USA TODAY
5 ways Elon Musk is working to dismantle the federal government
President Trump has empowered Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, to gut the federal bureaucracy. Here's 5 ways he's starting to carry it out.
Associated Press
Ukraine and Russia trade long-range attacks as officials probe possibilities for peace
Russian forces targeted Ukraine’s energy and gas infrastructure in a “massive” nighttime missile attack and Ukrainian drones struck an important oil refinery inside Russia, officials said Tuesday, as the almost three-year war rumbled on against a backdrop of renewed diplomatic efforts to end it. Ukraine’s state energy company, Ukrenergo, said it imposed emergency blackouts due to the Russian attack. Russia has repeatedly hammered Ukraine’s power grid throughout the war.
USA TODAY
Death Row inmate James Dennis Ford's life shaped by alcohol, loss before couple's murder
Ford was convicted of murdering Kimberly and Gregory Malnory, whose toddler daughter was found covered in her mother's blood after the brutal crime.
CNN
Top Justice officials who played key roles in January 6 cases now leading ‘weaponization’ review
On January 6, 2021, Emil Bove sat in lower Manhattan, watching on television as a pro-Trump mob invaded the US Capitol, violently attacking police and temporarily causing Congress to suspend its certification of Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
AFP
BP pledges strategic 'reset' as profit tumbles
Britain's BP on Tuesday said its annual net profit slumped 97 percent last year, as the struggling oil and gas giant pledged to "fundamentally reset" its strategy.Faced with lower oil and gas prices, Shell also reported a drop to its annual net profits for 2024 last month. ajb/bcp/lth
AFP
Gucci owner Kering's annual profit plunges
Gucci owner Kering reported a sharp drop in 2024 earnings on Tuesday, days after parting with its flagship brand's creative director in a bid to revive the struggling fashion house.Gucci parted ways with its creative director, Italian designer Sabato De Sarno, last week after a collaboration that lasted two years and failed to turn things around at the fashion label known for its handbags with the double G logo.
CNN
At over $10,000 per kilogram, Africa’s first caviar is surprising the luxury food industry
In Madagascar, Africa’s first sturgeon farm is producing caviar – and it’s made its way into some of the most prestigious kitchens in the world.
AFP
Trump signs orders for steel, aluminum tariffs to start March 12
US President Donald Trump signed executive orders to impose 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from March 12, ramping up a long-promised trade war despite warnings from Europe and China.In an executive order released Monday, Trump said: "As of March 12, 2025, all imports of aluminum articles and derivative aluminum articles from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Mexico, EU countries, and the UK shall be subject to the additional ad valorem tariff."
AFP
Seoul says N. Korea has given Russia 200 long-range artillery pieces
North Korea has given Russia 200 long-range artillery pieces, a South Korean defence ministry official told AFP on Tuesday, as Moscow and Pyongyang deepen their military ties.The North has given Moscow "some 11,000 troops, missiles, 200 pieces of long-range artillery and a substantial amount of ammunition," the South Korean official said.
Associated Press
JD Vance rails against 'excessive regulation' of AI at Paris summit
U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday warned global leaders and tech industry executives that “excessive regulation” in the artificial intelligence industry will kill the rapidly growing industry just as it’s taking off. Vance, making his first major policy speech since becoming vice president last month, said the Trump administration will “ensure that AI systems developed in America are free from ideological bias,” and that the United States would “never restrict our citizens’ right to free speech.” Vance's address challenged Europe’s regulatory approach to artificial intelligence and its moderation of content on Big Tech platforms, underscoring divergence between the United States and its allies on AI governance.
Reuters
Crypto exchange platform BestChange in the dark over Russia block
Circulating and advertising digital currencies is banned in Russia, although using cryptocurrency for international payments is now legal, as is cryptocurrency mining. "bestchange.ru has been restricted in Russia by Roskomnadzor," the platform said late on Monday in response to a request for comment.
AFP
World leaders seek elusive AI common ground at Paris summit
World leaders were set to hold formal talks in Paris on Tuesday on artificial intelligence (AI), seeking elusive common ground on a technology subject to a global race for promised economic benefits.Sam Altman, the OpenAI chief set to speak in Paris later Tuesday, responded to the reported offer with a dry "no thank you" on X. For France, Macron vowed Monday to blast through red tape to build AI infrastructure in his bid to keep Europe competitive.

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