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Interior states like Massachusetts not receiving enough federal funds to support migrants, delegation says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:24 GMT

Massachusetts did not receive an equitable share of federal funds designed to help states pay for shelters, leaving the Bay State to “expend increasingly large sums of money” to support an influx of migrants and local homeless families seeking help, the state’s congressional delegation wrote in a Wednesday letter.About four months after Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency in response to the number of migrants arriving seeking shelter, the emergency shelter system is still maxed out at 7,500 families.Massachusetts finds itself in a “particularly precarious position,” federal lawmakers wrote in a note to U.S Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell.“The United States has been experiencing a virtually unprecedented number of new arrivals, with an increasing trend of migrant families ending up in interior states like Massachusetts. This shift in migration patterns has gi...

What stands out about pitcher Erick Fedde, plus 4 takeaways from the Chicago White Sox at the winter meetings

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:24 GMT

Erick Fedde’s pitch arsenal got the attention of the Chicago White Sox.“There’s some real material differences with his stuff,” Sox general manager Chris Getz said Wednesday. “He added the sweeper, he got a better feel for his sinker, he changed his attack plan. And he more or less dominated over in the (Korea Baseball Organization).”The Sox signed the right-hander to a two-year, $15 million deal on Tuesday. The move is pending a physical.The right-hander was sensational in 2023, going 20-6 with a 2.00 ERA and 209 strikeouts in 30 starts for the NC Dinos in the KBO. He pitched for the Washington Nationals from 2017-22.“There’s been (KBO to the majors) success stories here recently, the Merrill Kellys of the world,” Getz said, referring to the Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher. “We talked to hitters over there, we talked to people that are around that league, and we felt he was the most feared pitcher in that league. And the numb...

Brookline to take down Black Lives Matter sign, decision tied to posters of kidnapped Israelis

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:24 GMT

A Black Lives Matter sign in front of Brookline Town Hall will soon be taken down, weeks after the town administrator told residents to stop placing posters of kidnapped Israelis on public property.Officials have ordered the sign, which has stood in front of Town Hall since 2020, as a response to the murder of George Floyd, to be removed under a public signage policy the Select Board approved on Tuesday, hyperlocal Brookline.News first reported.Under the new policy, which seeks to “provide clarity to the public,” it’s up to the Select Board to decide what signage — flags, signs, posters, etc. – is placed on public property.“The Select Board may approve fixtures that express views supported by the government of the Town of Brookline and that do not violate other legal obligations of the Town government,” the new policy reads.Signage expressing political support, religious messaging, and content involving conflicts of interest, discrimination or violence, is not allowed. And tho...

Pearl Harbor remembrance at Charlestown Navy Yard kicks off Army-Navy weekend

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:24 GMT

A gathering at the Charlestown Navy Yard to remember and honor the 2,403 Americans who died during the Pearl Harbor attack will kick off Army-Navy weekend in New England.The event will feature a remembrance gathering at the USS Constitution Museum and wreath-laying ceremony on the USS Cassin Young. It starts at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, 82 years ago to the day of the attack which initiated the country’s entry into World War II.“On this day of remembrance and reflection, the National Parks of Boston is proud to honor the service people of the United States Navy past and present, and share the history of USS Cassin Young with visitors from around the world,” National Parks of Boston Superintendent Michael Creasey said.Rifle and cannon salutes, along with the playing of taps, will accompany the wreath-laying on the USS Cassin Young, a World War II-era destroyer celebrating its 80th anniversary of commissioning this month.In Foxboro, festivities leading up to Saturday’s Army-Navy footb...

98.5’s Kendra Middleton interviews for the ‘Toucher and Rich’ host opening; Mike Felger comments on who would be the best morning show fit

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:24 GMT

A 98.5 The Sports Hub rising star who has been floated as a contender for the “Toucher and Rich” host opening has interviewed for the highly coveted job.Kendra Middleton, who makes regular appearances on the morning show, confirmed on Wednesday that she interviewed for the open position.Longtime host Rich Shertenlieb left “Toucher and Rich” last month after host Fred Toucher signed a multiyear extension to stay with the morning show.Middleton on Wednesday joined 98.5’s Mike Felger on the Facebook Live “Off-Air Show,” and Felger asked her if she had interviewed for the morning show.“I think I got a courtesy interview, so yes,” Middleton responded. “I think because I applied, they brought me in, which was really nice.”Felger asked why she thought it was just a courtesy interview.“Just because I think that I’m young and new,” Middleton responded, later adding, “I think (Program Director) Rick (Rad...

Trump would be dictator for just ‘a day,’ he says, citing alleged Biden actions

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:24 GMT

“I’m not the dictator, you are,” seems to be the response of the Trump campaign after the former president told Fox News host Sean Hannity he wouldn’t act like an authoritarian, “except for day one.”In a lengthy bit of clean-up messaging sent by former President Donald Trump’s campaign Wednesday morning, the ex-commander-in-chief’s representatives said that, despite his assertion he would be dictator — if only temporarily — it is not Trump who is threatening to lead a dictatorship, but President Joe Biden.“There’s a dictator in the White House. While the White House and their puppets in the media project themselves onto President Trump, the truth is that the real dictator is already in the White House. Joe Biden abuses his power to target journalists, politicians, activists, and concerned parents,” the campaign wrote.The campaign’s response to Trump’s comments — comically reminiscent of his insistence that it was Hillary Clinton, not he, serving as a puppet o...

Indonesia ends search for victims of eruption at Mount Marapi volcano that killed 23 climbers

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:24 GMT

BATU PALANO, Indonesia (AP) — The seacrh has ended for any more victims among climbers who were caught by a weekend eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Marapi volcano that killed 23 people and injured several others, officials said Thursday.About 75 climbers started up the nearly 2,900-meter (9,480-foot) mountain in Agam district of West Sumatra province on Saturday and were on the volcano when it erupted the following day.West Sumatra Police Chief Suharyono said earlier that the discovery of the body of a female university student Wednesday had raised the confirmed death toll to 23. Officials said Thursday that they believed all the dead had been recovered.After an evaluation of the search and rescue results, “authorities have ended the search and rescue operation in Mount Marapi as all the victims have been found by late Wednesday,” said Abdul Muhari, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson.The National Search and Rescue Agency said all the bodies had been taken to a ...

Jury acquits officer in Maryland county’s first police murder charge in shooting handcuffed man

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:24 GMT

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (AP) — A Maryland police officer was acquitted by a jury of murder and other charges Wednesday from the fatal shooting a handcuffed man.The jury acquitted Michael Owen Jr. of all four charges, including second-degree murder, first-degree assault, voluntary manslaughter and misconduct in office. It took the jury less than two hours of deliberations to deliver the not guilty verdict.Owen had served on the police force for 10 years when he became the first officer in the county’s history to be charged with murder in an on-duty killing. Owen fatally shot William Green, 43, while the handcuffed man was sitting in the front seat of the officer’s police cruiser in 2020. Owen’s attorneys claimed at trial that he acted in self defense during a struggle in which Green tried to grab his gun. After the gun went off, he shot Green six times. In opening statements, prosecutors and the defense agreed on certain basic facts: that Owen fatally shot Green while the handcuffe...

US Coast Guard service members don’t feel safe, new review says. Officials are promising changes

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:24 GMT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — U.S. Coast Guard officials are promising reforms after an internal review sparked by reports of sexual assault and harassment found that “too many” of its members don’t feel safe and trust in leadership is eroding.The wide-ranging 90-day review, released Wednesday, calls for an end to a “permissive environment” that extends to inappropriate jokes and comments, and a greater focus on preventing “inappropriate or unhealthy behavior” at the earliest stages.Many of the recommendations in the report stem from interviews with hundreds of Coast Guard members at locations throughout the service, including from victims of sexual assault and harassment dating from the 1960s to the present. “These victims expressed deep rooted feelings of pain and a loss of trust in the organization,” the report says. “Acknowledging this broken trust is an important first step in reestablishing it.”The review was ordered by Adm. Linda Fagan, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, afte...

CPD: Missing 14-year-old boy last seen Thanksgiving week in Washington Park

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:24 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago police are seeking the whereabouts of a 14-year-old boy whom the department says hasn't been seen since last month.Jaynon Stephens last known spotting was in the 6200 block of S. Indiana on Nov. 21, two days before Thanksgiving. The teen is known to frequent the area of 52nd and Indiana.SEE ALSO: 15-year-old Joliet girl missing nearly a month may be in Chicago, police sayJayvon stands 5 feet 6 inches, weighs 130 pounds and has brown eyes and black hair. Read more: Latest Chicago news headlines Anyone with information is asked to call Chicago police at (312) 747-8380 or 911.