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Tax cut talks begin, again, as Legislature works to finish work abandoned last year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:24 GMT

Negotiators representing either chamber of the state Legislature met in public briefly before closing the door for a second year of secretive tax talks.A joint conference committee comprised of three state senators and as many representatives gathered at the State House Monday to begin again the process of ironing out the differences between their separate proposals to cut taxes in the Bay State. Members from both bodies acknowledged they had been in the same position before.“We want to make sure that we finish the job on this one, as we’ve obviously had some starts and stops over the last year or two related to these things,” House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz told his colleagues.For the second year running Michlewitz made the case for acting fast as he sat across the table from Senate Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues and after the pair called to order another attempt to make the commonwealth more affordable and competitive with other jurisdictions.This year’s ...

Ticker: Gas prices flat in Bay State; Feds dropping $1.7B on green buses 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:24 GMT

The price at the pump held steady in Massachusetts during the first week of summer, remaining flat at $3.54 per gallon, the same as last week.The gas price here is running 3 cents below the national average. The price in the most recent survey by AAA is 3 cents higher than a month ago and a full $1.39 lower than a year ago, according to the survey.“The price of a barrel of crude oil has been in the 70s most days this year but is now hovering right at 70 dollars or even dipping into the high 60s,” said Mary Maguire, AAA Northeast’s Vice President of Public and Government Affairs. “This means the price at the pump is significantly lower than a year ago and is one reason AAA is projecting a record-breaking year for Fourth of July travel.”Feds dropping $1.7B on green busesThe U.S. Department of Transportation is awarding $1.7 billion in grants for buying zero- and low-emission buses.The money goes to transit projects in 46 states and territories, including Seattle and Washington, D.C. T...

After the Titan implosion, the US Coast Guard wants to improve the safety of submersibles

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:24 GMT

By JENNIFER McDERMOTT, PATRICK WHITTLE and HOLLY RAMER (Associated Press)As an international group of agencies investigates why the Titan submersible imploded while carrying five people to the Titanic wreckage, U.S. maritime officials say they’ll issue a report aimed at improving the safety of submersibles worldwide.Investigators from the U.S., Canada, France and the United Kingdom are working closely together on the probe of the June 18 accident, which happened in an “unforgiving and difficult-to-access region” of the North Atlantic, said U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. John Mauger, of the Coast Guard First District. Salvage operations from the sea floor are ongoing, and the accident site has been mapped, Coast Guard chief investigator Capt. Jason Neubauer said Sunday. He did not give a timeline for the investigation. Neubauer said the final report will be issued to the International Maritime Organization.“My primary goal is to prevent a similar occurrence by mak...

Ohio mom charged in death of toddler left alone for 10 days, prosecutors say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:24 GMT

CLEVELAND (AP) — Prosecutors in Ohio have announced murder charges against a woman in the death of her 16-month-old daughter, who authorities say was left alone for 10 days while the woman went on vacation.The Cuyahoga County prosecutor’s office said Monday that Kristel A. Candelario, 31, was indicted last week on one count of aggravated murder, two counts of murder and one count each of felonious assault and endangering children.Prosecutors alleged that Candelario left the child “alone and unattended” at her Cleveland home June 6 to vacation in Detroit and Puerto Rico and didn’t return until the morning of June 16. Authorities say she called police after finding the child unresponsive upon her return.Cleveland police and fire personnel responded and the victim, who was described as “extremely dehydrated,” was pronounced deceased. “It is unfathomable that a mother would leave her 16-month-old child alone without any supervision for 10 ...

Celtics’ pick Jordan Walsh knows defense his foundation in NBA: ‘That’s what my game is’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:24 GMT

For a few minutes early Monday afternoon, Jordan Walsh stood at midcourt of the newly renovated gym at the Cambridge Community Center holding a microphone and instructed dozens of young campers on some defensive fundamentals.Over and over, Walsh – the Celtics’ draft pick last week – pushed the kids lined up in front of him to do an array of defensive drills such as getting into a stance, sliding and even diving on the floor for a loose ball. The 19-year-old Walsh may have been drafted less than five days ago, but the campers had a great teacher.In his lone season at Arkansas, Walsh – with his 7-foot-2 wingspan and relentless approach – showcased his advanced defensive skills that made him an NBA prospect. And as he enters the league, the 38th overall pick fully understands it’s defense that will not only represent his path to playing time, but also endear himself to Celtics fans.“A guy who harps on defense, who plays super-hard, who’s tough, who’s going to be consistent in that aspe...

VP Harris visits historic LGBTQ+ landmark, decries flurry of anti-trans bills in state legislatures

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris visited the Stonewall Inn national monument on Monday to pay tribute to activists at the site of a watershed moment in the gay rights movement. And she spoke out as state lawmakers around the U.S. have introduced or passed hundreds of bills this year that whittle away at LGBTQ+ rights.That tally includes a recent flurry of bills that affect transgender people, including legislation recently passed by Republican governors vying for the 2024 presidential nomination.The vice president’s surprise visit to Stonewall in New York City comes just days ahead of the 54th anniversary of the police raid and the rebellion it sparked on June 28, 1969, as patrons and others fought back against officers and against a social order that kept gay life in the shadows. The uprising is widely seen as one of the most pivotal moments in the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.Harris, in brief remarks, paid tribute to the “courage and determination and the inspir...

First Nations in B.C. call on minister to resign over horrific child abuse case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:24 GMT

CHILLIWACK, B.C. — For months, an Indigenous boy and his little sister were subjected to what a British Columbia judge called “incomprehensible” abuse from the foster parents who were supposed to care for them and instead meted out torture, starvation and assaults that culminated in the boy being beaten to death.Now the horrifying case has triggered a call for the resignation of the children’s minister, a vow from the children’s commissioner to conduct an inquiry, and a promise from the premier that his government would do better.Provincial court Judge Peter La Prairie in Chilliwack, B.C., sentenced the foster parents this month to 10 years in prison after they pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and manslaughter of the First Nation boy, 11, and aggravated assault of his sister, aged eight.The violence was captured in hundreds of hours of video footage filmed inside the home.“It is incomprehensible how someone can inflict such pain, suffering and viole...

California mushroom farms cited for workplace safety violations after January fatal shootings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:24 GMT

California has cited two Northern California mushroom farms for health and safety violations and proposed more than $165,000 in potential fines five months after a farmworker killed seven people in back-to-back shootings on the farms in Half Moon Bay.Chunli Zhao, who had worked at the farms, is charged with seven counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in the Jan. 23 shootings that stunned the small coastal community about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of San Francisco. He has pleaded not guilty.Authorities say Zhao opened fire at California Terra Garden, where he previously worked, killing four co-workers and wounding another one. They said he then drove about 2 miles (3.22 kilometers) to Concord Farms, a mushroom farm he was fired from in 2015, and shot to death three workers.The state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, known as CAL/OSHA, filed 22 violations against California Terra Garden, Inc. and proposes $113,800 in fines, according to a Monday new...

Self-professed ‘Wolf of Airbnb’ pleads guilty to wire fraud for defrauding landlords

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A Florida man who dubbed himself the “Wolf of Airbnb” pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge Monday, admitting gaining about $2 million illegally by defrauding landlords and cheating a government pandemic program.Konrad Bicher, 31, of Hialeah, Florida, entered the plea in Manhattan federal court, agreeing not to appeal any prison sentence that is roughly four to five years long. The wire fraud charge otherwise carried a potential 20-year prison sentence.Bicher also agreed to forfeit $1.7 million and make restitution of $1.9 million. A sentencing date was not immediately set.U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement that Bicher proudly referred to himself as the “Wolf of Airbnb” but admitted that his businesses were premised on fraud after he entered lease agreements based on false pretenses and made false statements to obtain U.S.-guaranteed loans.“Bicher lined his own pockets by abusing government programs and tenant protections intended to benefit those in c...

4 bodies found in charred remains of Arkansas house died from gunshot wounds, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:24 GMT

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Four people found dead in a burned down Little Rock house were killed from gunshot wounds, including one self-inflicted, police said Monday.Little Rock Police released the cause of death following an autopsy of the four bodies that were found in the charred remains of a house in southwest Little Rock early Friday morning. The Little Rock Fire Department has said the cause of the fire is under investigation.Police did not release the identities of the people found dead in the fire and said they’re notifying next of kin. They did not release ages of the four people or say if the four were related.Police said the investigation into the deaths is ongoing. The Associated Press