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Officials call for warrant sweep as crime, violence surge at Mass and Cass in Boston

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:13 GMT

While the area of Mass and Cass, or Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, normally see an uptick in activity during the summer, officials said this year is unlike others.Another public official is also calling attention to the public safety and health concern.“It’s just come to a boiling point,” state Rep. John Moran said.Moran sent a letter to state police and Boston police Thursday asking to conduct a warrant sweep in the Mass and Cass area. The letter also requested police to eliminate and enforce the banning of the existence of tents.“We’re at a point where public safety is being challenged,” Moran said. “More and more people are being preyed upon by criminals.”Rick Casey spends five days a week at the homeless encampment in the area. He’s been serving those who need his help most for the past decade.“I bring 12 steps to help break addiction,” he said. “Slowly, you’ve led people to a better place.”Moran’s call to action is quickly after Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, ...

Nancy Loud School in Rochester, NH closes permanently due to structural issues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:13 GMT

A Rochester, New Hampshire school is closing permanently after inspectors said it is not safe for students.Support walls at the Nancy Loud School are buckling and not structurally sound, officials said.The 88 students enrolled at the school will be reassigned for the upcoming academic year.The Nancy Loud School had initially been scheduled to close in 2025 when a new school building is scheduled to be completed.

Yankees place Anthony Rizzo on IL with post-concussion syndrome after months of struggling

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:13 GMT

After two months of not understanding why he was missing pitches, Anthony Rizzo is going on the injured list.The Yankees placed the first baseman on the 10-day IL with post-concussion syndrome on Thursday and recalled Oswaldo Cabrera to take Rizzo’s place. Aaron Boone called the move the result of a “likely concussion,” while a team spokesperson said doctors said Rizzo suffered from “a concussion cascading.”Rizzo will be shut down, according to Boone. The veteran will be treated with supplements and visual and video exercises. Rizzo will be evaluated “week to week,” according to Boone. He’s able to participate in physical activity, but Rizzo will avoid baseball activities for a few days.“The unknown is uncomfortable, but I also think the news he got yesterday, they feel good about treatment and what they’ll do,” Boone said. “He should be able to get better from it. So we’ll just see.”The Yankees and ...

White ex-officers in Mississippi plead guilty to racist assault on 2 Black men during raid

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:13 GMT

By MICHAEL GOLDBERG and EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS (Associated Press)JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Six white former law enforcement officers in Mississippi who called themselves the “Goon Squad” pleaded guilty Thursday to a racist assault on two Black men in a home raid that ended with an officer shooting one man in the mouth.The officers entered the house without a warrant on Jan. 24, assaulting the men with a sex toy and using stun guns and other objects to abuse them over a roughly 90-minute period, court documents show. After one victim was shot and wounded in a “mock execution” that went awry, the documents say the officers conspired to plant and tamper with evidence instead of providing medical aid.The Justice Department launched its civil rights probe in February. The Mississippi attorney general’s office announced Thursday it had filed state charges against the six former officers, including assault, conspiracy and obstruction of justice.“The defe...

Fired New Mexico State basketball coach says he was made the scapegoat for toxic culture

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:13 GMT

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — Former New Mexico State University basketball coach Greg Heiar says he was made the scapegoat for hazing and other problems that administrators chose to ignore and that he has suffered mental anguish and emotional distress since being fired by the university.He outlined the claims in a document related to an arbitration case in which he alleges that the university wrongfully fired him without cause, violated his due process rights and breached its contract. He contends that Athletic Director Mario Moccia and former Chancellor Dan Arvizu fired him “in order create their own self-serving narrative with the public and make (him) the scapegoat for all of the issues and cultural dysfunction within the university that NMSU had ignored.”The university responded with its own filing, denying the allegations that Heiar was wrongfully fired and that there were cultural problems at NMSU.The university released the documents Thursday following a report by ESPN, whic...

Appeals court allows Biden asylum restrictions to temporarily stay in place as case plays out

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:13 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — An appeals court Thursday allowed a rule restricting asylum at the southern border to temporarily stay in place. The decision is a major win for the Biden administration, which had argued that the rule was integral to its efforts to maintain order along the U.S.-Mexico border.The new rule makes it extremely difficult for people to be granted asylum unless they first seek protection in a country they’re traveling through on their way to the U.S. or apply online. It includes room for exceptions and does not apply to children traveling alone.The decision by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals grants a temporary reprieve from a lower court decision that had found the policy illegal and ordered the government to end its use by this coming Monday. The government had gone quickly to the appeals court asking for the rule to be allowed to remain in use while the larger court battles surrounding its legality play out. The three-judge panel ruled 2-1 in favor of the governm...

2 children critically injured in multi-vehicle crash in Brampton

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:13 GMT

Two children have been critically injured following a multi-vehicle crash in Brampton Thursday night that sent six people to hospital. Peel police say they were called to the area of Airport Road and Clark Boulevard just before 7:30 p.m. for reports two to three vehicles were involved in a crash. Police indicated it may have been a hit and run but have provided no further details. Peel paramedics tell CityNews two children were taken to SickKids hospital with critical injuries while a man and a woman were taken to a trauma centre in life-threatening condition. Two other men were transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. No indication as to the relationship between the six or how many people were in each vehicle at the time of the crash.

Expelled Nashville Democrat Justin Jones of the ‘Tennessee Three’ wins back state House seat

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:13 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nashville Democrat Justin Jones, a member of the so-called “Tennessee Three,” won back his state House seat Thursday after Republican lawmakers expelled him for his participation in a pro-gun control protest in the Capitol. Jones, 27, defeated Republican candidate Laura Nelson.Along with Jones, fellow Democrat Justin Pearson, 28, was also vying to reclaim his House seat in Memphis against independent candidate Jeff Johnston after also being expelled in April. The young Black lawmakers were reinstated by local officials after being booted from the GOP-dominated Statehouse, but only on an interim basis. They needed to clear a special election in order to fully take back their legislative positions. Thursday’s election comes as lawmakers are preparing to return to Nashville later this month for a special session to address possibly changing the state’s gun control laws. While Jones and Pearson’s reelection to their old posts won’t make a significant dent to the ...

The son of Colombia’s president says his father’s election campaign received money of dubious origin

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:13 GMT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The son of Colombian President Gustavo Petro acknowledged Thursday that his father’s 2022 election campaign received money of dubious origin, according prosecutors investigating the son for alleged illicit enrichment and money laundering.Nicolás Petro, who was a legislator representing a northern coastal region, agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in the probe after being charged Tuesday.Prosecutor Mario Andrés Burgos, who heads the investigation, said the younger Petro has revealed that unjustified increases detected in his assets came from two individuals being questioned by Colombian authorities. The money went partly into his own accounts and partly into the campaign that made his father Colombia’s first elected leftist president, the prosecutor said. On Tuesday, when he was charged, prosecutors said the younger Petro took thousands of dollars from drug traffickers and used it to buy luxurious homes and expensive cars. Nicolás Petro, 36, pleaded in...

Panama Canal foresees its income falling after shipping limited due to a drought

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:13 GMT

The managers of the Panama Canal said they expect income from the waterway to drop after authorities were forced to limit the number of ships passing through each to 32 due to a lack of rainfall. Ricaurte Vásquez, the canal’s administrator, said Thursday that income in 2024 could drop by as much as $200 million because of the drought. The canal implemented a measure Sunday capping the number of ships passing through its locks daily to a maximum of 32, compared to 36 to 38 under normal operation. Not enough rain has fallen to feed the watershed system of rivers and brooks that fill lakes, whose waters in turn fill the locks.The watershed also supplies freshwater to Panama City, home to about half the country’s population of 4 million. The canal had expected to earn about $4.9 billion in fees next year before the measures were announced.The Associated Press