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Healey looks to leverage rainy day fund interest in race for federal grants

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:41 GMT

Massachusetts could turn to an additional $800 million in state dollars to help bolster its position when applying for federal grants under legislation Gov. Maura Healey filed Thursday.A trio of laws — the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act — signed by President Joe Biden made more than $1 trillion in federal funds available to states. Local officials estimate Massachusetts can compete for a remaining $17.5 billion that could support everything from transportation to technology services and security.Most federal grant programs require states to put up cash to cover a portion of proposed project costs and Healey said having money in hand to match federal dollars will make applications from Massachusetts more competitive when they are sent down to Washington. Healey’s bill creates a fund to build up matching dollars.“This Capital Investment and Debt Reduction Fund will give Massachusetts a competitive edge in pursuing this h...

Torrey Craig embraces role as a motivator for Patrick Williams, who faces a turning point with the Chicago Bulls

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:41 GMT

Patrick Williams is still overthinking it.That was clear in the first quarter of Tuesday’s preseason game against the Toronto Raptors. After three minutes, coach Billy Donovan had seen enough, yanking the forward off the court for a lengthy discussion about the same improvements Williams has been trying to make for more than a year.After practice Wednesday, Donovan’s frustration was palpable. Williams didn’t crash the boards enough. He danced away from physical defenders. He passed up multiple 3-point opportunities when defenders ducked under a screen, leaving him wide open with nearly 5 feet of space.This all might sound familiar.Williams, 22, hasn’t figured it out. But for Donovan, the disconnect has been mischaracterized.“The perception of him not being aggressive — really, the thing he’s got to get better at is the moment of the decision of what to be aggressive with,” Donovan said. “When people say, ‘be aggressive̵...

Trump lawyer Sidney Powell pleads guilty in Georgia election interference case, gets probation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:41 GMT

By KATE BRUMBACK (Associated Press)ATLANTA (AP) — Lawyer Sidney Powell pleaded guilty to reduced charges Thursday over efforts to overturn Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 election in Georgia, becoming the second defendant in the sprawling case to reach a deal with prosecutors.Powell, who was charged alongside Trump and 17 others with violating the state’s anti-racketeering law, entered the plea just a day before jury selection was set to start in her trial. She pleaded guilty to six misdemeanors accusing her of conspiring to intentionally interfere with the performance of election duties.As part of the deal, she will serve six years of probation, will be fined $6,000 and will have to write an apology letter to Georgia and its residents. She also agreed to testify truthfully against her co-defendants at future trials.Powell, 68, was initially charged with racketeering and six other counts as part of a wide-ranging scheme to keep the Republican president in power aft...

Hurricane Norma rapidly strengthens on a path toward Los Cabos in Mexico

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:41 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hurricane Norma strengthened to a major storm Thursday as it spun off Mexico’s Pacific coast on a path expected to bring it near Los Cabos at the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula.The U.S. National Hurricane Center said that Norma had 130 mph (215 kph) maximum sustained winds and was located about 410 miles (655 kilometers) south-southeast of Cabo San Lucas. The Category 4 storm was moving north at 7 mph (11 kph).Norma was expected to begin weakening Friday and into the weekend as it neared land. It remained unclear if it would make landfall at Los Cabos, made up of the twin resorts of San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, or veer off beforehand and hit Mexico’s Sinaloa state to the east.The southern Baja California Peninsula was under a hurricane watch.Hurricane specialist John Cangialosi with the U.S. National Hurricane Center said that Norma’s forecast was challenging. The storm was expected to continue moving north into Saturday, but then slow to a...

Civic group launches $4M campaign to boost embattled San Francisco ahead of global trade summit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:41 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A $4 million marketing campaign touting San Francisco’s resilience, innovation and moxie launches Thursday as the embattled city prepares to host a high-profile global economic summit next month that could boost its image or pile on to its woes.Business leaders behind the privately funded “It All Starts Here” campaign say they plan to blanket the city with billboards and ads featuring what makes San Francisco great — think the iPhone and Pixar Animation Studios — as tens of thousands converge on the city for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ summit.President Joe Biden and other heads of state, hundreds of foreign journalists and more than 1,000 business executives from around the globe are expected to attend the summit Nov. 11 to 17.“Birthplace of the waterbed. And the summer of love,” reads one ad. “The martini. The mai tai. And the Uber ride back home,” reads another. The campaign logo echoes the famous crisscross Haight and Ashbury street s...

Asylum seekers return to a barge off England’s south coast following legionella evacuation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:41 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Asylum seekers started returning Thursday to the barge moored off the south coast of England, more than two months after it had to be evacuated following the discovery of legionella bacteria, which can cause serious illness, in the water supply.As a coach arrived carrying the first group of asylum seekers to return to the Bibby Stockholm, protesters gathered at the gates of Portland Port, which is around 140 miles (225 kilometers) southwest of London, to decry what they view as the “inhumane” conditions aboard.All but 10 of the 39 men evacuated are believed to have returned, though they arrived later than planned after the coach was deliberately blocked by Just Stop Oil protesters, who argue that the climate crisis will inevitably lead to more migration around the world.Critics say the barge, which has a capacity of 504 people, is potentially a fire hazard and treats residents as though they are in prison.“They hate it: they say it feels like a prison, some hate being ...

Republicans warn many Gaza refugees could be headed for the U.S. Here’s why that’s unlikely

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:41 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump and other top Republicans want the U.S. to seal its borders against a potential mass exodus of Palestinians fleeing war in the Gaza Strip, suggesting that a surge of civilian refugees could allow extremists into the country. But such an onslaught is highly unlikely.People fleeing the fighting are largely barred from getting out of Gaza, and U.S. law already gives authorities broad leeway to deny people entry into the country if they present security risks. Cases of extremists crossing into the U.S. illegally are also virtually non-existent. Here’s a closer look at what’s being said and what the realities are.WHO WANTS TO BAN PALESTINIAN REFUGEES FROM THE U.S.?Trump has been the most outspoken on this issue. The former president vowed while campaigning in Iowa this week to bar refugees from Gaza and immediately expand a Muslim travel ban he imposed via executive order during his first administration. Pointing to the Oct. 7 a...

Profits, markups rose as competition weakened over 20 years: Competition Bureau

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:41 GMT

The Competition Bureau says profits and markups have increased over the last two decades as the state of competition in Canada has deteriorated.The bureau published a report today analyzing how competition evolved across industries between 2000 and 2020.It finds that the most concentrated industries got even more concentrated over time, while more industries came to be considered highly concentrated. Large firms are facing fewer challenges from smaller competitors, and fewer new companies are finding a foothold.The bureau also analyzed profits and markups and says both have increased over the last two decades.Commissioner Matthew Boswell says the report highlights the need to modernize Canada’s competition law and for governments to adopt pro-competitive policies.

PC Optimum members now eligible for Apple TV+ subscription rewards

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:41 GMT

Loblaw Companies Ltd. says members of its PC Optimum loyalty program can now redeem their points for monthly subscriptions to the Apple TV+ streaming service and Apple Arcade.PC Optimum members are also eligible for a three-month free trial of Apple TV+, Apple Music, Apple Fitness+, Apple Arcade and Apple News+, which they can access through the rewards program app and online.The company says 10,000 points are redeemable for one month of AppleTV+.Members can unlock one month of Apple Arcade by redeeming 6,500 PC Optimum points.Loblaw senior vice-president of loyalty Ryan Markle says the program’s foray into entertainment builds on its existing rewards in food, clothes, health, beauty and gas.The company says that in 2022, its nearly 16 million PC Optimum members earned more than $1 billion worth of points.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:L)The Canadian Press

Hurricanes are now twice as likely to zip from minor to whopper than decades ago, study says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:41 GMT

With warmer oceans serving as fuel, Atlantic hurricanes are now more than twice as likely as before to rapidly intensify from wimpy minor hurricanes to powerful and catastrophic, a study said Thursday.Last month Hurricane Lee went from barely a hurricane at 80 mph (129 kph) to the most powerful Category 5 hurricane with 155 mph (249 kph) winds in 24 hours. In 2017, before it devastated Puerto Rico, Hurricane Maria went from a Category 1 storm with 90 mph (145 kph) to a top-of-the-chart whopper with 160 mph (257 kph) winds in just 15 hours.The study looked at 830 Atlantic tropical cyclones since 1971. It found that in the last 20 years, 8.1% of the time storms powered from a Category 1 minor storm to a major hurricane in just 24 hours. That happened only 3.2% of the time from 1971 to 1990, according to a study in the journal Scientific Reports. Category 1 hurricanes top out at 95 mph (153 kph) and a hurricane has to have at least 111 mph (178 kph) winds to become major.Those are the ...