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Rob Gronkowski discussed why ending up with Bill Belichick, Patriots was ‘perfect fit’

"He's the one who took my game to a whole new level," Gronkowski said of Belichick, adding that he thinks his former coach will be "unbelievable" as a television analyst.

The post Rob Gronkowski discussed why ending up with Bill Belichick, Patriots was ‘perfect fit’ appeared first on Boston.com.











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What Comes Next

This week, some Americans woke up to a country they didn’t recognize. Donald Trump’s victory left half the nation cheering, and half the nation in tears. Now everyone has to figure out how to move on.

Also on the programme, a Latino voter explains why he voted for Trump; unauthorized immigrants wonder what this election will mean for them in the future; and we spend a day in the life of a woman living in immigration limbo. Plus, will Trump bring a U-turn on climate policy? We end with a musician’s view of growing up on the US-Mexico border.

(Image: The White House is seen at dusk. Credit: Saul Loeb/Getty Images)




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It is all Words

As Trump embarks on his first foreign trip, his administration tries to cast ‘America First’ in a different light.

Also, helpful definitions of the words ‘autocrat’, ‘fascist’, and ‘demagogue’; why Trump's name sign is causing controversy in the American Sign Language community; a history of the word 'hack' that goes back further than you might expect; what happened to the first people to be called refugees; plus some new music from one of Marco Werman's favourite bands, Forro in the Dark.

(Photo: Copies of U.S. President Donald Trump's fiscal 2018 budget request sit on display for sale in Washington, D.C. Credit: Andrew Harrer/Getty Images)




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Water, Water, Everywhere

M.J. Khan, the president of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston, who spent a sleepless night monitoring relief efforts, tells us what Houston’s residents are doing to help each other.

Also: experts weigh in on how Houston can plan for future flooding events; a brewer in Amsterdam turns rain into beer; an activist vows to keep the Marshall Islands from disappearing beneath rising seas; we learn if climate change is behind extreme hurricanes; plus a port city in Maine revitalizes its economy by shipping pregnant cows to Turkey . (Image: A flooded road is seen during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey on August 30, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Credit: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)




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From Russia with Love

What impact did Russian internet “trolls’’ have on the 2016 US presidential election?

Also: we hear about wealthy Russians coming to America to give birth to US citizens; we learn why the poet Langston Hughes went to the USSR to work on a Soviet propaganda film in 1930s; we visit a Korean-Uzbek-Russian cafe in New York; we meet two science fiction writers who advise the US government on the future of warfare; and we find out why Tchaikovsky's concerto No. 1 had its world premiere in Boston.

(Image:The Kremlin stands in Red Square in Moscow on March 7, 2017 in Moscow, Russia. Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)




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The Future is Now

Selina Wang, a tech reporter for Bloomberg News, says that Twitter could still do more to stop Russian and Ukrainian spam accounts from spreading misinformation on the platform.

Also: people on social media keep blaming “Sam Hyde’’ for mass shootings, even though he's innocent, and we finally find out why; Facebook saves a dying mill town in the Pacific Northwest; Uber meets its match in Lebanon; a robot becomes a Saudi citizen; and a couple of amateur astro-explorers plan a trip to Mars.

Image: Colin Stretch, general counsel at Facebook, Sean Edgett, acting general counsel at Twitter, and Richard Salgado, director of law enforcement and information security at Google, testify before Congress on October 31, 2017 in Washington, DC. Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images




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On the Waterfront

Levi Draheim, 10, is suing the US government over climate change with 20 other young people.

Also: fishermen in Greenland are doing better than ever, and that’s in part thanks to climate change; instead of fighting global competition, Alaska's wild salmon industry (reluctantly) embraces it; a researcher imagines what the US would look like if sea levels were to rise by two meters; solar power entrepreneurs come to Puerto Rico; plus what it’s like to fly in a plane when most of the passengers are pets.

(Image: Levi Draheim, 10, lives in Satellite Beach, Florida. Credit: PRI’s The World)




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Walls We Don’t See

It’s not just the wall. There are lots of invisible barriers keeping immigrants from coming into the US. On this edition we explore some of those barriers.

We meet a three-year-old on Canada’s no-fly list; we speak to a student from India who grew up in the United States yet his visa expires as soon as he turns 21; we find out how much it costs to smuggle someone across the border and the lasting impact that debt can have on a family; and lastly we get a little loopy with musician Joe Kye.

(Image: A border patrol officer stands guard along the U.S.-Mexico border February 7, 2018 in San Ysidro, California. Credit: Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)




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Friends and Followers

In India, revelations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official app has been sending user data to a third party provoke outrage.

Also: Author Mona Eltahawy starts #MosqueMeToo to give Muslim women an outlet to speak out against abuse and it goes viral; two friends from Iran start a popular website about sexual health specifically for Farsi speakers; some researchers worry that we are not teaching our robots to be ethical enough; plus a woman named Ivanka Majic has an uninvited brush with fame.

(Image: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has his picture taken with a mobile phone on September 2, 2014. Credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)




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It’s The Law

There is nothing special about the building at 606 South Olive Street in Los Angeles. But if you're an immigrant fighting deportation, what happens inside is all-important.

Also: we hear about a child who was separated from his family and put in US immigration detention… in 1930; we meet a feisty Peruvian potato farmer facing down an American mining company; we learn about a proposal to legalise divorce in the Philippines; and we rock out to an Arabic remix of the Beatles song “Drive My Car”, to mark the end of the women's driving ban in Saudi Arabia.

(Image: The building that houses the US immigration court in Los Angeles, one of 57 such courthouses in the country. Credit: Saul Gonzalez)




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The New Normal

In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, scores of colleges and universities in Puerto Rico had to close because of all the damage. Schools on the US mainland, from New York to Florida, wanted to do something to help. So they opened their doors and offered free or discounted tuition to those students from Puerto Rico whose home institutions were closed. One of the first students to take them up on that offer was Rosamari Palerm. She enrolled at St. Thomas University in Miami in late September 2017. But even after a comfortable year in Miami, Rosamari felt homesick and was ready to go back to Puerto Rico.

Also: A study from George Washington University reveals new death toll numbers from Hurricane Maria; A year after Hurricane Harvey, some families in Houston, Texas are still recovering; After Hurricane Maria swept through their hometown, a group of women started cooking meals together for people who didn’t have access to food.

(A man bicycles in an area without grid power or running water about two weeks after Hurricane Maria swept through the island. Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)




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Well Read

Every Day Is Extra is the title of a new memoir by former US senator and secretary of state John Kerry. He chronicles his time serving in Vietnam, five terms in the Senate, his presidential run, and his tenure as secretary of state. He records a decades long pursuit of multilateral diplomacy and civil political discourse. John Kerry talks to Marco about the state of US politics in 2018.

Also: We visit a Persian bookstore in Los Angeles that sells banned Iranian books; Patrick Winn takes us on a ride through Southeast Asia’s drug-fuelled underworld; In her new memoir, Jean Guerrero takes readers on a cross border journey; and, a library in Canada offers a dial-in story reading service in 16 languages.

(Former US secretary of state John Kerry in the Boston Calling studio at WGBH. Credit: Steven Davy/The World)




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Into The Woods

Most of the town of Paradise, California, in the Sierra Nevada foothills, has been obliterated by raging wildfires. Dozens of people are known to have lost their lives and hundreds are still missing. Ellen VandenBerg recounts how she managed to escape the blaze with her 5-month-old son and her dog in tow.

Also: Professor Glen MacDonald from the University of California, Los Angeles explains the connection between climate change and wildfires; We learn about the effect that hurricane Maria had on Puerto Rico's tropical Rainforest; Fall foliage is big business in New England, with tourist visiting from around the globe, but climate change might change that; Fadi BouKaram is visiting all 47 cities and towns in the US named Lebanon, his mission: plant as many cedar trees as possible.

(Sacramento Metropolitan firefighters battle the Camp Fire in Magalia, California. Credit: Karl Mondon/Getty Images)




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The Lungs of the World

The fate of the Amazon is in jeopardy. Logging, cattle ranching, and soya bean farming are threatening its very existence. But the threat doesn’t end there; carbon dioxide coming from cities thousands of miles away is altering tropical forests and the climate on a much larger scale. In this special edition we travel to Brazil to find out why the fate Amazon is more consequential than ever and meet some of the people fighting to preserve it.

(Claudio da Silva and the Guajajara Guardians of the Forest ride up the Caru River to investigate a report of illegal cutting on Guajajara land. Credit: Sam Eaton/The World)




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Conversations without borders

We join a group of American tourists on an organised trip across the border to find out what life there is really like.

Also, a trilingual interpreter tells us about the challenges of interpreting for asylum seekers who only speak indigenous languages; A group of American exchange students in Italy meet African migrants who risked their lives to make it to Europe; Why Chinese Sci-Fi is gaining in popularity around the world; And Kenyan musician JS Ondara on how Bob Dylan changed his life and inspired his journey to America.

(Andres Vega pours beer for American visitors on a gastronomic tour of Nogales with the Arizona nonprofit, Border Community Alliance. Credit: Katherine Davis-Young/The World)




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At what cost?

The amount of weaponry Saudi Arabia buys from the US has risen dramatically over the past decade or so. We take the latest arms sales data and present it as an audio experience. Also, the human cost behind seemingly ordinary groceries; some states in the US are tightening abortion laws, leading some women to buy abortion pills online; a US fast-food chain introduces a new meat-free burger; and why burping cows are causing climate change.

(Image: Supporters of Houthis gather at Babul Yemen street to protest the US government's sale of $1.29 billion in smart bombs to Saudi Arabia, in Sanaa, Yemen on November 20, 2015. (Photo by Mohammed Hamoud/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)




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Notes from a new world

It wasn’t easy for Elton John to get producers to keep all the scenes in his new fantasy-biopic, “Rocketman.” He was determined that the Paramount film not gloss over his sexuality or past drug use. Despite his efforts, Russia’s version appears to be missing about five minutes-worth of footage. .

Also, we meet the American singer who teaches Italian kids how to sing like Beyoncé; plus the story of how Lucia Lucas became the first transgender person to sing a lead part in a standard operatic work in the US; why Lincoln, Nebraska is a great place to hear traditional Yazidi music; and Filipina-American musician Ruby Ibarra tells her family story with rap.

(Elton John (R) and David Furnish attend the "Rocketman" UK Premiere at Odeon Leicester Square in London, United Kingdom. Credit: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)




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Waste land

The coastal lowlands along Malaysia’s side of the Strait of Malacca are a mostly lush place, studded with fat palms and forest canopies dripping with vines. But over the past year and a half, black pillars of smoke have appeared above the treetops. We investigate how plastic waste American municipalities send for recycling, is piling up in illegal dumps thousands of miles away. Also, tiny plastic pellets, called 'nurdles' are the product of plastics producers, but why are these pellets appearing on the US Gulf Coast?; Americans have few options when it comes to recycled tissue products and that's having a devastating impact on Canada's northern forests; Meal kits are becoming very popular in the US, but are they helping us to reduce waste?

(Plastic waste at an abandoned factory in Jenjarom, a district of Kuala Langat, outside Kuala Lumpur. From grubby packaging engulfing small Southeast Asian communities to waste piling up in plants from the US to Australia, China's ban on accepting the world's used plastic has plunged global recycling into turmoil. Credit: Mohd Rasfan/Getty Images)




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Breaking with tradition

Next month, roughly two million Muslims will travel to the holy city of Mecca for one of the most important religious rituals in Islam. As long as they are in good health and can afford it, every Muslim must complete the Hajj at least once in their lifetime. But the Hajj can only be done in Saudi Arabia, which is making some people feel conflicted about making the journey.

Also, Dutton Books is trying to reinvent books for the smartphone generation with something called the ‘Dwarsligger’; Disney is remaking a live action version of the hit film ‘Mulan,’ this time though, they’re paying attention to their Chinese audience; Some women in Argentina are challenging gender roles on the dance floor, taking the macho out of tango; and in their new album, three Israeli sisters pay tribute to a family member going three generations back, from Yemen.

(Every year, millions of Muslims from around the world descend upon Mecca, Saudi Arabia, for the hajj. Credit: Shirin Jaafari/The World)




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The long wait

The US and the Taliban are reportedly inching closer to a breakthrough in peace talks. But the Afghan government has been notably missing from these negotiations. Afghanistan's first female ambassador to the US, Roya Rahmani, says that the Afghan government's position regarding the talks is that ‘peace is the highest desire.’

Also, we’ll take you Tijuana, Mexico, just south of the US border, where migrants from all over the world are waiting for a chance to enter the US; and long lost relatives reunite and share their family history after being seperated by a legacy of slavery.

(Afghan Ambassador to the United States Roya Rahmani. Credit: Shirin Jaafari/The World)




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Into the thaw (Part one)

Melting of Antarctica's massive Thwaites Glacier could add 60 centimetres to global sea level rise in the next 50 to 100 years, and unlock far more in the years beyond. A voyage by an icebreaker to the remote glacier's face laid the groundwork for a 5-year international research effort to try to answer urgent questions about Thwaites' future. Our reporter Carolyn Beeler takes us onboard the expedition, with deep dives into the science and the stakes for our future.

(The Nathaniel B. Palmer anchored off the Rothera research station near the Antarctic Peninsula. Nearing its destination offshore of the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica, the ship had to divert back north to the station for a medical emergency. Carolyn Beeler/The World)




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Into the thaw (Part two)

How quickly will Antarctica’s massive Thwaites Glacier melt, and what will that mean for global sea levels and coastal cities? Scientists spent several weeks aboard the research ship Nathaniel B Palmer, studying Thwaites as part of a five-year, international effort to try to answer those pressing questions. Our reporter Carolyn Beeler takes us onboard for a deep dive into the science and the stakes for our future.

(An iceberg in the Southern Ocean, is pictured here as the Nathaniel B. Palmer sailed by during its return trip from Antarctica in March 2019. Carolyn Beeler/The World)




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Who's listening?

When US presidents get on the phone to speak with foreign leaders, staff are on hand to take diligent notes. But is there a set procedure of how calls with foreign dignitaries are handled? Tom Blanford from the National Security Archives in Washington, DC says that Trump’s style has been very different compared with his predecessors.

Also, TikTok, is one of the most popular social media apps in the world but the company that owns it is based in China, and some say that's leading to censorship; When you think about the Soviet Union, you don’t often think about comedy, Michael Idov’s film ‘The Humorist’ delves into the life of a Soviet comic; the power of comedy is something stand-up comedian Noam Shuster-Eliassi is trying to harness in order to start a more honest conversation between Israelis and Palestinians; and the tale of a Russian ship captain whose message in a bottle was recently discovered on a beach in Alaska.

Image: Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump (Credit: Ukraine Presidential Press Service via EPA)




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Who's to judge?

About 4,000 Liberians could be at risk of deportation after the Trump administration terminated their legal status. Earlier this month, they finally got their day in federal court in Massachusetts. They’re still waiting for a ruling, but in the meantime, many of these Liberian families are stuck in limbo. They’re hanging between the prospect of life going on as usual and a new reality in which they would be forced to return to Liberia.

Also, we hear from an unauthorized immigrant who is suing the Trump administration for the right to stay in the US; Facebook is looking to set up a supreme court like system to moderate content; French chef Marc Veyrat is taking Michelin to court after losing a coveted star; and there’s a new kind of trainer that supposedly makes you faster, but some competitive runners think it offers an unfair advantage.

(A group of Liberian DED holders and their allies protest in Worcester, Massachusetts prior to a court hearing. Credit: Tania Karas/The World)




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Power and diplomacy

The impeachment inquiry has exposed some of the ways in which the US diplomatic corps feels undermined and undervalued by the Trump administration. We visit two US universities training a future generation of US diplomats to find out whether students there are reconsidering their career choice. Also, Samantha Power reflects on some of the toughest decisions she had to make while US Ambassador to the UN; we visit the Museum of the Palestinian People that is just blocks away from the White House; the rise and fall of Richard Holbrooke, a statesman known for his diplomatic breakthroughs and outsized ego; and beatboxers on a musical mission to bring the world together.

(Photo: A view of the Washington Monument and the US Department of State's flag in Washington, DC. Credit: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)




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Unwanted attention

Impeachment hearings have entered the public phase in Washington DC. Congress is investigating allegations that President Trump withheld aid to Ukraine to pressure it to deliver political favours. But in Ukraine they are focused on the conduct of their president, Volodymyr Zelensky, in a now infamous phone call with Trump.

Also, star basketball player Enes Kanter tells us how he became an enemy of Turkey’s president; a student suing the Trump Administration has her day in court; a controversial meme in the US gets a rebranding in Hong Kong; millennials tell boomers the world they have inherited is not okay; a song that got protesters in Lebanon to dance.

(Photo: Members of the media gather as State Department deputy assistant secretary, George Kent and acting US ambassador to Ukraine, William B. Taylor appear for a House Intelligence Committee impeachment hearing in Washington, DC. Credit: Matt McClain/The Washington Post/Getty Images)




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Wars and peace

A US hacker faces criminal charges for allegedly helping North Korea launder money through cryptocurrencies, but those who know him have a different story to tell. Also, President Donald Trump’s long obsession over tariffs; the long, tempestuous history of NATO; the fight against drug cartels smuggling narcotics across the US-Mexico border; plus the band Che Apalache wants to make bluegrass music more inclusive.

(Photo: In this photo illustration a double exposure picture with bitcoin coin and American flag. Credit: Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)




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Power balance

Retired US Army General David Petraeus has vast military and intelligence experience in the Middle East. He led US troops during some of the most critical years in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, with the assasination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, General Petraeus has some thoughts about the significance of this action.

Also, after its initial retaliation for the killing of general Soleimani, Iran still has other options, like cyber-attacks against US targets; we’ll also take a look at how governments around the world use internet shutdowns to control the free flow of information; next, like with Iran, US-North Korea relations are also tense, but how did we get to this point?; and our own Rupa Shenoy looks back at a decade of protests around the world.

(Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani (C) attends Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's meeting with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in Tehran. Credit: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)




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Two sides to a story

Carbon dioxide isn't the only greenhouse gas that's a threat to the planet. Nitrous oxide, emitted when farmers fertilise their fields, is a growing climate change threat as well. We find out about an environmentally-friendly potential solution.

Also, in Africa the agriculture sector wants more fertiliser so that farmers can boost crop yields; a controversial new novel about a Mexican woman forced to flee from drug cartels shines light on the world of American publishing; on the border between Venezuela and Colombia, a Colombian volunteer opens up her home to desperate migrants; and on opposite sides of the world, two guys try to make a planet Earth sandwich.

(David Melevsky, owner of Go Green Organic Land Care, treats grass areas that have been reseeded to repair winter damage with fertilizer at Ocean Park Meadow condos. Credit: Derek Davis/Getty Images)




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Leading the way

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has made a pledge to dole out $10 billions worth of grants to help slow down climate change. Environmentalists tell us where the money should go. Also, an aid worker knows first hand the danger of landmines; American basketball fans say Slovenia superstar Luka Doncic is the game’s future; an update on why one American couple decided to stay on a cruise ship under quarantine rather than be evacuated; plus, a college course on the late Mexican American singer Selena and what we can learn about Latino identity and culture.

(Photo: Chief Executive Officer of Amazon, Jeff Bezos (R), tours the facility of the Amazon Spheres, in Seattle, Washington on January 29, 2018. Amazon opened its Seattle office space which looks more like a rainforest. Credit: Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images)




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The world stage

We all have similar questions about the coronavirus pandemic. When will it end? How do we recover? Is it safe to visit friends and extended family? Most of us look to medical experts and our elected officials for guidance. Historically, as a superpower, the US has taken a lead in times of global crisis. Former NATO ambassador Nicholas Burns says this is not currently the case.

Female leaders are being praised for the way they are leading their nations in these uncertain times, so does gender affect governing style? Jon Huntsman, a former US ambassador to China says that during this pandemic the ‘stakes are high’ for the US-China relationship. Russia expert Fiona Hill explains how President Vladimir Putin has become a ‘wild card’ in Russia's political system. And cybersecurity chiefs, from Facebook and Twitter, explain what they are doing to combat false information in the age of the coronavirus.

Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing about coronavirus testing in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC (Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)













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Book Review: Sy Montgomery shares ‘What the Chicken Knows’ in new mini hardcover

Chickens outnumber people 4:1, they have more in common, anatomically, with dinosaurs than humans, you can mail order up to 350 different varieties of chicks, and roosters really are much meaner than hens.

The post Book Review: Sy Montgomery shares ‘What the Chicken Knows’ in new mini hardcover appeared first on Boston.com.