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As high-profile police brutality cases have shaken the nation over this past year, many social workers remain divided over one important question: What should their relationship with law enforcement look like? Increased collaboration with police has support among the National Association of Social Workers and other social workers who say their work could reduce racism in policing and improve the relationship between law enforcement and communities of color. But many social workers across the county disagree, saying more cooperation between social work and police risks further harming communities of color and ignoring the systemic racism that exists within the field itself.

The U.S. has sanctioned an additional 24 Chinese and Hong Kong officials over Beijing’s ongoing crackdown on political freedoms in the semi-autonomous city, just ahead of the Biden administration’s first face-to-face talks with China. The sanctions follow planned changes to Hong Kong’s electoral law that will give a pro-Beijing committee power to appoint more of Hong Kong’s lawmakers, effectively shutting opposition figures out of the process. On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan are scheduled to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the foreign affairs chief of the Chinese Communist Party in Alaska. China has rejected criticism of its policies toward Hong Kong, accusing foreign governments of interfering.

President Joe Biden is marking St. Patrick’s Day as he meets virtually with Ireland's prime minister and recommits U.S. support for the Good Friday Agreement. That agreement was signed in 1998 and helped end sectarian violence that had raged for decades over the issue of Northern Ireland unifying with Ireland or remaining part of the United Kingdom. The agreement has come under increasing stress following the U.K.'s exit from the European Union. Biden is expected to attend Mass near his Delaware home Wednesday before returning to the White House to partake in St. Patrick’s Day celebrations toned down because of the coronavirus pandemic.

French former President Nicolas Sarkozy is going on trial again. Two weeks after being found guilty of corruption in a separate case, Sarkozy faces new allegations related to the illegal financing of his 2012 presidential campaign. That campaign was unsuccessful and he lost to Socialist Francois Holland. The trial scheduled to start Wednesday is likely to be quickly suspended and postponed to a later date as as one of the defense lawyers has been hospitalized with COVID-19. The 66-year-old Sarkozy was president from 2007 to 2012. He faces allegations his failed 2012 campaign spent almost twice the maximum amount allowed by law.

Three times a week, Aliye Tuerkyilmaz hits the markets and busy shopping streets of Neukoelln, the German capital’s crowded immigrant neighborhood that’s studded with minarets, kebab stores and hookah lounges. The 48-year-old Turkish immigrant hands out flyers informing about the coronavirus pandemic and tries to connect with other immigrants in one of the four languages she speaks. Tuerkyilmaz belongs to an multilingual team, a group of five street workers trying to explain the dangers of COVID-19 to those who are often not reached through other efforts by the authorities. The team was created in September in coordination with district officials to counter the infection numbers in Neukoelln which have been among the highest in the city throughout the pandemic.

Team New Zealand has retained the America’s Cup by beating Italian challenger Luna Rossa 7-3 in the 36th match for sailing’s oldest trophy. The defender came into the sixth day of racing Wednesday at match point with a 6-3 lead in the best-of-13 race series. Team New Zealand won the 10th race by 46 seconds in a shifty north-easterly breeze to complete a defense of the famous Auld Mug.

LeBron James has become a partner in Fenway Sports Group. That makes the Lakers star a part-owner of the Boston Red Sox. The Boston Globe first reported the deal. Fenway Sports Group is the parent company of the Red Sox as well as the Liverpool Football Club of the English Premier League and the Roush Fenway Racing NASCAR team. James has had a relationship with FSG since 2011, when he signed a marketing deal in exchange for an ownership stake in Liverpool.

The NCAA Tournament always seems to put a premium on guard play, and that may be even more important during this most bizarre of tournaments. So here’s a look at other backcourt wizards looking to make their mark on March, highlighted by UConn star James Bouknight and Iowa floor leader Jordan Bohannon.

Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey understands his Eagles made the NCAA Tournament the hard way. The team was among a dozen schools who'd punched tickets to the 2020 NCAAs before COVID-19 ended the event last March. The Eagles are back this year, along with Gonzaga, Liberty and Utah State. The Zags are the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament and there was little chance they'd be absent this season. Not so for the rest who as part of mid-major conferences must rely on winning their league tournament or hoping to impress NCAA selectors. 

Just over two weeks before opening day, Francisco Lindor and the New York Mets have begun talking about keeping him in town beyond this year. The newly acquired All-Star shortstop said Tuesday that he's started negotiations with the team for a long-term contract. Lindor reiterated that he won't negotiate during the season. He's eligible for free agency after the season. The Mets obtained Lindor from Cleveland in January.  One of the players Cleveland got for Lindor, shortstop Amed Rosario, had a rough day in his debut at a new spot. Playing center field for the first time, Rosario made three errors against the Angels.

After Tokyo, President Joe Biden’s top diplomat and defense chief are traveling to South Korea after North Korea made sure it had their attention by warning the United States to refrain from causing trouble amid deadlocked nuclear negotiations. How to get North Korea to return to talks will be a major focus when Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin meet South Korean officials. It has been more than two years since nuclear talks stalled, and some experts say the United States and its allies should settle for a deal that would freeze North Korea’s nuclear program in return for relaxing sanctions _ and possibly leave Pyongyang’s already manufactured nuclear weapons in place. 

President Joe Biden says New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo should resign if the state attorney general’s investigation confirms the sexual harassment allegations against him. Biden made the remarks in an interview with ABC News that is scheduled to air Wednesday morning. When asked by anchor George Stephanopoulos if the investigation confirms the claims of the women, should Cuomo resign, Biden said “yes,” adding, “I think he’d probably end up being prosecuted, too.” Cuomo is facing allegations that he sexually harassed or behaved inappropriately toward multiple women, including several former staffers. He has denied touching any women inappropriately.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is warning ominously of a “scorched earth” landscape if Democrats use their new majority to bring an end to the Senate filibuster process. Senators have been considering changes to the decades-old rules that typically require 60 votes to advance legislation. With Democrats controlling the chamber that's evenly split 50-50, they're facing a tough time approving their priorities and President Joe Biden's agenda. McConnell unleashed the dire forecast Tuesday, implying that Republicans would grind business to a halt by refusing to give consent for routine operations. Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer dismissed the warnings as a “diversion."

More than two dozen faith leaders in the U.S. capital region have gotten vaccinated against the coronavirus in an event aimed at encouraging others to get the shot. Tuesday's interfaith event held before television cameras at the Washington National Cathedral targeted in particular Black, Latino and other communities of color, aiming to overcome vaccine reluctance among populations that have disproportionately hit by the pandemic. The “vaccine confidence” event also included health leaders such as Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s leading infectious-disease scientist and the public face of the nation’s fight against COVID-19.