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Business, faith groups rally around Healey’s housing bill as transfer tax draws opposition

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:09 GMT

Business and faith organizations cheered a $4.1 billion housing bond bill filed by Gov. Maura Healey as a potential silver bullet to counteract the high cost of living in Massachusetts while real estate and fiscal groups pushed back on parts of the proposal.Advocates said the legislation comes at a crucial moment in Massachusetts as high costs of housing and living push people out of cities and towns to other parts of the country. Critics, like the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, argue the legislation is packed with “just about every bad idea.”Associated Industries of Massachusetts President Brooke Thompson said the business group supports the bill, and the development of “reasonably priced housing” in Massachusetts will ensure workers can live and raise families in the state.“Virtually every employer in Massachusetts has at one time heard a valued employee say: ‘I love working for this company, but my family can’t afford a house here,’” Thompson said in a statement. “AIM looks forwa...

Alex Verdugo is lone Gold Glove finalist from indefensible 2023 Red Sox

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:09 GMT

Alex Verdugo is a first-time Gold Glove finalist, Rawlings announced on Wednesday afternoon.He’s also the only Red Sox player up for the prestigious defensive award this season.Verdugo is up against Adolis García of the Rangers and Kyle Tucker of the Rangers, but has a strong case to take home the gold. He finished the season plus-1 in Outs Above Average (70th MLB percentile), behind García’s plus-3. His plus-9 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) tied for the lead among AL right-fielders, as good as García (plus-7) and Tucker (plus-2) combined.Statistically, this should come down to Verdugo and García. Though Tucker led the AL with 13,23 ½ innings in right field, he was minus-4 OAA and only plus-2 DRS. Verdugo was in the 95th MLB percentile in Arm Strength, and his 10.6 Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) outranked all AL right-fielders (minimum 140 innings) by a wide margin; García placed second with 6.4, but Tucker came in at minus-1.1.Gold Gloves are awarded through a combination of manager and co...

Georgia sheriff releases body camera video of traffic stop in which deputy killed exonerated man

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:09 GMT

By RUSS BYNUM (Associated Press)WOODBINE, Ga. (AP) — The family of a Black man fatally shot by a Georgia sheriff’s deputy during a traffic stop viewed video of the roadside confrontation Wednesday, with siblings saying they believe their brother resisted arrest because of the 16 years he had previously spent being wrongfully imprisoned.Camden County Sheriff Jim Proctor’s office posted dash and body camera video online Wednesday of the stop that left 53-year-old Leonard Cure dead.Cure’s mother and siblings arrived at a Georgia Bureau of Investigation office with their attorney, civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump, to view the video before its public release. They said it showed an aggressive deputy who could have done more to de-escalate the conflict with Cure.“He really should be alive,” said Michael Cure, one of the slain man’s older brothers. “The officer hit him with his baton and he tazed him, twice as a matter of fact. But he ...

Father arrested after New Orleans house fire killed his three children, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:09 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The father of three children who died in an overnight house fire in New Orleans was arrested Wednesday and faces charges of second-degree murder and aggravated cruelty to juveniles, police said. The victims in the fire that was reported around midnight Tuesday included a 3-year-old boy who was found dead in the eastern New Orleans home. A 5-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy were rescued but died later at a hospital.The father, Joseph Washington, 29, was arrested Wednesday afternoon. Washington’s car had been found Wednesday morning in the neighboring city of Gretna, partially submerged in the Mississippi River. New Orleans police and U.S. marshals spotted him in another vehicle Wednesday afternoon on Interstate 610 in New Orleans, according to a police news release. He got out of the car and attempted to escape by leaping from an interstate ramp, according to officials at a Wednesday news conference. Before being jailed, Washington was taken to a hospital ...

South Texas police officer was fatally shot during a pursuit of 2 men, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:09 GMT

SAN BENITO, Texas (AP) — A South Texas police officer was fatally shot after he joined an hourslong pursuit of two men who fled a traffic stop and led officers on a chase through several cities before they were arrested, authorities said.San Benito Lt. Milton Resendez was fatally shot as his vehicle crossed paths with the suspects’ vehicle late Tuesday night, police Chief Mario Perea said at a news conference Wednesday. Perea said it wasn’t known how many rounds were fired at Resendez’s vehicle but one round struck his front bumper and another went through the driver’s side door, hitting him just below his body armor in the abdomen. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital.“He cared about everyone, he got along with everyone,” Perea said.Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz said the pursuit began around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday on South Padre Island when a truck carrying the two men, two women and two small children was pulled over for speeding on the beach. As the dri...

Netflix’s password-sharing crackdown reels in subscribers as it raises prices for its premium plan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:09 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Netflix on Wednesday disclosed summertime subscriber gains that surpassed industry analysts’ projections, signaling the video streaming service’s crackdown on password sharing is converting former freeloaders into paying customers.In an effort to bring in even more revenue, Netflix also announced it’s raising the price for its most expensive streaming service by $2 to $23 per month in the U.S. — a 10% increase — and its lowest-priced, ad-free streaming plan to $12 — another $2 bump. The $15.50 per month price for Netflix’s most popular streaming option in the U.S. will remain unchanged, as will a $7 monthly plan that includes intermittent commercials.It also raised its prices for subscribers in the U.K. and France.The company added nearly 8.8 million worldwide subscribers during the July-September period, more than tripling the number gained during the same time last year when Netflix was scrambling to recover from a downturn in customers during the ...

Thrift store chain case was no bargain for Washington attorney general; legal fees top $4.2 million

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:09 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s long-running legal case against the thrift store chain Savers Value Village turned out to be no bargain, as the state has been ordered to pay the company nearly $4.3 million in legal fees.King County Superior Court Judge David Whedbee issued the award on Tuesday, eight months after the state Supreme Court unanimously rejected the attorney general’s claims that marketing practices by the thrift store chain were deceptive. The judge called the state’s lawsuit “needless.”“Defending and fully prevailing in this lawsuit was burdensome and costly,” Richard Medway, Savers Value Village general counsel, said in an emailed statement. “But the result underscored the many positive aspects of our unique business model, which benefits the environment, consumers, and our many nonprofit partners.”Savers Value Village, which is based in Bellevue, Washington, and operates more than 300 stores in the U.S., Canada and Au...

Brazil congressional report recommends charges against Bolsonaro over riots

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:09 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A Brazilian congressional panel on Wednesday accused former President Jair Bolsonaro of instigating the country’s Jan. 8 riots and recommended that he be charged with attempting to stage a coup.An inquiry panel of senators and representatives mostly allied with the current leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — who narrowly defeated Bolsonaro in last fall’s election — voted 20-11 to adopt the damning report drafted by Sen. Eliziane Gama.The move was largely symbolic because it amounts to a recommendation for police and prosecutors to investigate, and federal law enforcement officials separately have already been investigating Bolsonaro’s possible role in inciting the Jan. 8 uprising.Bolsonaro has denied involvement in the rioting, which took place more than a week after the right-wing leader had quietly left the country to stay in Florida while refusing to attend Lula’s inauguration.“It’s completely biased,” Bolsonaro said Wednesday of the inquiry, in co...

Concert Review: Lauryn Hill’s 25th ‘Miseducation’ celebration passes with a grade curve

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:09 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — “Twenty-five years of support. 25 years of love… it’s our first show, it’s a little challenging because we’re home, and I’ve been emotional.”Those were the words Lauryn Hill spoke to an adoring crowd as she kicked off the “Ms. Lauryn Hill & Fugees: Miseducation of Lauryn Hill 25th Anniversary Tour.” Throughout the night, the artist who now styles herself as Ms. Lauryn Hill, re-lived songs from her iconic album in Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center, located about 20 minutes away from her hometown of East Orange.Standing regally with flowy black pants, jeweled sunglasses and a white shirt with oversized balloon sleeves covered by an enormous, reddish floral-like cape, Hill triumphantly proclaimed, “New Jersey, I’m home!”As a packed house stood on their feet, the eclectic singer, flanked by a sizeable band which included a string section, began with a powerful rendition of “Everything is Everything.” Accompanying Hill were marching band students from her alma ma...

Complainant’s ex-husband, mother testify at Peter Nygard sexual assault trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:09 GMT

TORONTO — The ex-husband of a woman who has accused Peter Nygard of sexual assault testified Wednesday that he and the complainant agreed she was “absolutely” taken advantage of, but they struggled to determine whether what happened could be considered rape at the time.Societal attitudes were different more than three decades ago, he testified, and they both wondered if her allegations against a powerful fashion mogul could lead to a conviction.  “She asked me point blank, ‘Do you think I was raped?’ And we talked about that a long time. It’s 30 years ago, so society’s attitudes have changed,” he said of the conversation that took place during a date in the early 1990s. “We both knew it was wrong, we both knew she had been absolutely taken advantage of, if not raped, but we both had a hard time wrestling with the fact of if she was or not.”The identities of the complainant and the man are protected by a publication ban. Nyg...