Latest news with #Welker
Boston Globe
5 days ago
- Sport
- Boston Globe
The Commanders, who visit for a joint practice and a game, have it all: superstars, former Patriots, old rivals, and more
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Even without McLaurin, unlikely to participate this week as he squabbles over his contract, the Commanders are loaded with superstars and recognizable names. Advertisement Second-year quarterback Jayden Daniels is already an MVP candidate after authoring arguably the greatest rookie season in NFL history. This offseason the Commanders signed pass rusher Von Miller, and traded for two big names, former 49ers Swiss Army knife Deebo Samuel, and five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil. The Commanders have several notable veterans, including tight end Zach Ertz, linebacker Bobby Wagner (one of three players, along with Jimmy Garoppolo and Russell Wilson, still active from Super Bowl XLIX between the Patriots and Seahawks), cornerback Marshon Lattimore (who often gets in fights), running back Austin Ekeler, quarterback Marcus Mariota, receiver Luke McCaffrey (younger brother of Christian), and 39-year-old quarterback Josh Johnson, who has signed 25 professional contracts since 2012 and played for 14 NFL franchises. Advertisement Everett's Mike Sainristil was drafted by the Commanders in 2024. Mark Schiefelbein/Associated Press The Commanders have some Boston flavor, from second-year cornerback As for Quinn, you may remember him from Super Bowl LI, when his Falcons couldn't protect a 28-3 lead late in the third quarter and lost to the Patriots, 34-28, in overtime. The Falcons never fully recovered after that loss, going from 10-6 to consecutive 7-9 seasons, to Quinn getting fired in 2020 after an 0-5 start. But Quinn had three productive years as the Cowboys' defensive coordinator, got a second chance with the Commanders, and oversaw a remarkable eight-game improvement in his first year, from 4-13 to 12-5. Then there are the reunions that will take place on Wednesday, which might get a little emotional. Did you know Wes Welker is with the Commanders? He quietly joined their front office as a personnel analyst in April after not being retained by the Dolphins as wide receivers coach. Welker has seemingly fallen outside the inner circle of the dynasty-era Patriots but has forged a nine-year coaching career thanks to his relationship with Commanders general manager Adam Peters. Advertisement Peters began his career as a Patriots scout (2003-08) and intersected with Welker in 2007. Peters left for Denver in 2009, and connected with Welker again when he signed there in 2013. Peters then helped hire Welker as the 49ers' wide receivers coach in 2019, when Peters was vice president of player personnel. Related : Welker also was a college teammate of Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, himself a Patriots sixth-round draft pick in 2003. Kingsbury lasted just one year with the Patriots, with no game appearances, but won a Super Bowl ring and called his experience with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady 'the mountaintop of preparation and competitiveness … things that stay with you for life.' Welker, of course, was teammates with Patriots coach Mike Vrabel in Foxborough (2007-08). So was Commanders special teams coordinator Larry Izzo (2001-08), who is a member of the Patriots' 'All-Dynasty' team. Izzo and Vrabel also coached together with the Texans (2016-17). Izzo is in his second season with the Commanders. Former Patriot Deatrich Wise is among the players back in Foxborough as a member of the Commanders. Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff Two of the Commanders' players will look awfully familiar. Advertisement Three other Commanders used to play in Foxborough. Receiver K.J. Osborn was one of several ill-fated free agent signings by the Patriots last year, catching just seven passes for 57 yards and a touchdown, before being traded to Washington midseason. Defensive tackle Carl Davis is on his eighth NFL team since 2015, but was a productive depth piece for the Patriots from 2020-22, playing in 33 of 34 games in his last two seasons. And former Harvard long snapper Tyler Ott, on his seventh NFL team since 2014, began his NFL career as an offseason participant with the Patriots in 2014-15. Finally, just when you thought you'd never hear the word 'Deflategate' again, a ghost from the past reappears. Entering his second season as the Commanders' senior vice president of football initiatives is Dave Gardi, who previously spent 21 years in the NFL office. Gardi was the senior vice president of football operations in January 2015, who communicated with Colts GM Ryan Grigson before the AFC Championship game about the Patriots' potentially deflating footballs, then authored the initial letter sent to the Patriots informing them that 11 of their 12 footballs had been found to be underinflated, which set off the investigation and firestorm. Gardi might want to avoid the Krafts for the next few days. Ben Volin can be reached at
Local France
6 days ago
- General
- Local France
'Human presence': French volunteers protect sheep from wolves
The two Bretons are volunteers who signed up to protect the flock belonging to farmer Nathalie Welker in the Drome Provencal, in France's southeast, from wolf attacks -- which have become so common that she feels under "pressure" from the predators. "The wolves are here, there's nothing to be done about that, so we need to find a response," said Welker, 57, wearing a T-shirt that reads: "I'm a farmer and proud of it" as she looked across her sun-drenched valley. Wolves have made a comeback in Europe, multiplying attacks on livestock and causing angry reactions from farmers, some of whom say the predators should be shot on sight. The European Union recently downgraded wolves from "strictly protected" to "protected", making such killings easier. The French government has authorised 192 wolves to be shot this year, out of the country's total wolf population of 1,013. But some say the killings do little to stop wolf attacks. The best prevention is "a human presence", said Welker, adding that she had lived alongside wolves for 20 years. But she cannot afford to pay a full-time shepherd to look after her two flocks, and instead turned to an organisation of volunteers, Pastoraloup, three years ago for help. READ MORE: Reader question: Do I need to worry about wolves and bears in the French countryside? 'I support wolves' Pastoraloup is run by the Ferus association, dedicated to the defence of large predators. It trains volunteers and sends them out to farmers who need assistance. Welker says she can now "sleep at night and be much less stressed". Meeting people and educating them about farming are a bonus of working with the volunteers. Advertisement Around 35 farmers in the French Alps, the Jura and Brittany are taking part in the scheme this year, up from around 20 two years ago. Morice-Couteau, 45, and Galliot, 48, are among 63 new volunteers who trained last year. "I support wolves, but I also support farmers," said Morice-Couteau, adding that the presence of the predator could become "one problem too many" for farmers. Welker fears that "major attacks" are coming, notably in the autumn, when young wolves learn how to hunt. 'Here to help' In October 2023, 17 of Welker's animals were killed after a volunteer left suddenly, leaving the flock without protection. At sundown, her two new volunteers herd around 50 sheep -- all meticulously accounted for -- into their night shelter, protected by a 1.4-metre high electric fence. Morice-Couteau makes a last round in the dark, equipped with a headlamp, before going to bed in a tipi a few metres away, aware that wolves can strike at any time "if they see an opportunity". Morice-Couteau, who works in the cinema industry, said that she believed farmers and wolves could co-exist, but that her volunteering experience had also made her "understand the violent feelings that some farmers harbour towards wolves". Advertisement Tensions have for years been building between farmers and environmentalists over the issue of wolf conservation in France as numbers of the predators have grown. Welker said there is "very strong social pressure" on farmers who use Pastoraloup which discourages others from benefiting from the programme because it is "labelled environmentalist". "We're not here for a debate," said Morice-Couteau. "We're here to help."
Politico
27-07-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Lindsey Graham sees Israel taking Gaza by force to wrap up war
Graham's comments come as the humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached crisis levels. Roughly a quarter of the exclave's population is facing famine-like conditions, a U.N. World Food Programme official said last Monday. Democrats, international partners and even podcaster and comedian Theo Von are imploring both the U.S. and Israel to substantially increase the flow of aid into Gaza. Israel's military on Sunday paused fighting in three major population centers inside Gaza to increase the delivery of humanitarian aid. Airdrops of aid have also resumed in the area. 'Israel is going to work with the U.N., the World Food Programme, to get some food into these people, who need it,' Graham told Welker. But even against that backdrop, the likelihood of a negotiated peace appears murky. The White House exited diplomatic talks with Hamas last week, with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff concluding that the U.S.-designated terrorist group 'does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith.' 'I think they want to die,' Trump told reporters outside the White House on Friday. Israel occupied Gaza, which had been an Egyptian territory, in the 6-Day War of 1967, and it had retained forces there until June 2005; since then it has periodically sent forces into the territory in response to incursions from Hamas or to prevent them. Graham said he agreed with the president that talks with the militant group Hamas were futile. 'I think President Trump has come to believe, and I've certainly come to believe, there's no way you're going to negotiate an end of this war with Hamas. Hamas is a terrorist organization who is chartered to destroy the state of Israel,' he told Welker. 'They're religious Nazis.'
New York Post
14-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Kristi Noem clashes with NBC anchor Kristen Welker over ‘inhumane' conditions at Alligator Alcatraz
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem clashed with NBC 'Meet the Press' host Kristen Welker in a testy exchange on Sunday over alleged 'inhumane' conditions at the newly-opened Alligator Alcatraz migrant detention facility in the Florida everglades. The detention facility, which currently holds 900 people but has the capacity to hold nearly 4,000, has been under scrutiny after Democratic lawmakers toured the facility on Saturday. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., described the facility as an 'internment camp.' Democratic lawmakers who toured the facility claimed that detainees were subjected to inhumane treatment, unsanitary conditions and sweltering heat. Wasserman Schultz claimed that detainees were forced to drink water from the same sink they use for the bathroom, and were packed into 'wall-to-wall cages.' 'Our detention centers at the federal level are held to a higher standard than most local or state centers and even federal prisons. The standards are extremely high, now this is a state-run facility at Alligator Alcatraz —' Noem told Welker in response to being questioned over whether the Florida facility was inhumane, before being interrupted by the host. 4 The detention facility, which currently holds 900 people but has the capacity to hold nearly 4,000, has been under scrutiny. NBC 'More than 30 people stuffed into a jail cell?' Welker asked, cutting off Noem. 'I wish they would have said that back during the Biden administration and back when the Democrats were in the White House when they were piling people on top of each other on cement floors and they didn't have two feet to move. They never did that, and that's why this politics has to end,' Noem said. 'I wouldn't call them jail cells, I would call them a facility where they are held and that are secure facilities, but are held to the highest levels of what the federal government requires for detention facilities –' Noem said before once again being cut off by Welker. 4 Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., described the facility as an 'internment camp.' NBC 'Democrats have called them cages,' the 'Meet the Press' host interrupted. Noem vowed to allow cameras to document the conditions inside migrant detention centers to show how their conditions are superior to centers used in the Biden administration. She also encouraged illegal immigrants to self-deport to avoid the detention process entirely and give themselves an opportunity to return to the country legally. Trump administration Border Czar Tom Homan also took Democrats to task Sunday for overlooking migrant detention conditions under Biden and failing to criticize them until Trump took office on CNN's State of the Union. 4 'Our detention centers at the federal level are held to a higher standard than most local or state centers and even federal prisons,' Noem told Welker. AP 4 Noem allows cameras to document the conditions inside migrant detention centers to show how their conditions are superior to centers used in the Biden administration. ''You didn't see them complaining about, under Biden administration, people being held in a border patrol parking lot surrounded by a fence and sweltering heat, they ignored four years of open borders, historic migrant deaths, historic Americans dying from fentanyl, historic numbers of women and children being sex trafficked.' The Trump administration's deportation policies have been the subject of widespread controversy and multiple court injunctions. The White House has aggressively moved to secure the southern border and has been deporting illegal immigrants at a rapid pace.
Politico
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Zohran Mamdani declines to condemn ‘globalize the intifada'
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Sunday again declined to condemn the phrase 'globalize the intifada' but emphasized he would be a mayor 'that protects Jewish New Yorkers' if elected in November. 'That's not language that I use,' Mamdani told NBC's Kristen Welker on 'Meet the Press.' 'The language that I use and the language that I will continue to use to lead this city is that which speaks clearly to my intent, which is an intent grounded in a belief in universal human rights. Mamdani, who last week scored an upset victory in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary against former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, took heat for declining to condemn the phrase in the days leading up to the vote. But rather than reject the phrase, he told Welker 'we have to root out that bigotry' and pointed to his campaign's commitment to increase funding for anti-hate crime programming by 800 percent. Mamdani will face off against beleaguered New York City Mayor Eric Adams — and perhaps Cuomo again — in November. 'I've heard from many Jewish New Yorkers who have shared their concerns with me, especially in light of the horrific attacks that we saw in Washington, D.C. and in Boulder, Colorado, about this moment of antisemitism in our country and in our city,' Mamdani told Welker. 'And I've heard those fears, and I've had those conversations.' The word 'intifada' has been used to describe Palestinian uprisings against Israel, beginning in 1987. The phrase 'globalize the intifada' has drawn criticism because of fears among Jewish people that it suggests support for the use of targeted violence against Jews around the world. New York Rep. Jerry Nadler, a Jewish Democrat, handed Mamdani a boost by endorsing him last Wednesday. Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Jewish Senate minority leader, congratulated Mamdani on social media last week but has not yet backed his campaign. Meanwhile, the state's junior senator, Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) called on Mamdani to denounce the term last Thursday. Mamdani has also faced xenophobic attacks since his victory, with top MAGA-aligned commentators including President Donald Trump's eldest son leaning into his Muslim faith. 'New York City has fallen,' Donald Trump Jr. wrote on X last week.
