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Quincy looks to bring back retired firefighters to work detail assignments

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:51 GMT

Quincy officials are looking for state lawmakers to approve a request that would allow retired firefighters to come back on board for support duties.The Quincy City Council supports giving the fire chief the power to appoint retirees as “special firefighters” who’d help cover detail assignments. A home rule petition the council filed this week requires approval from the state Legislature for such positions to be created.An increased workload within the fire department has sparked the need for the special firefighters to man detail assignments, particularly at construction sites, said Tom Bowes,  president of the Quincy Firefighters Association Local 792.Developers are required to get a fire watch detail when welders and pipefitters are performing work inside a building, and the fire department sometimes has a hard time making sure someone is at the site, Bowes told the Herald on Wednesday.He estimated that if the home rule petition passes, there’d be about 10 to 15 instances a...

Massachusetts woman is scammed out of $28,000 while online shopping, police warn of rise in scams

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:51 GMT

A 65-year-old Massachusetts woman was recently scammed out of $28,000 after clicking on a link while online shopping, as police warn residents about the rise in such scams.Merrimac Police are investigating after a resident last week contacted police because she realized she had been scammed out of $28,000.The 65-year-old woman had been online shopping when she clicked on a link and began receiving warnings that claimed to be scam alerts. Those alerts told her to call a phone number.After calling the number, she was told to download an application, that funds had been mistakenly transferred to her bank account, and she needed to contact her bank to make arrangements to correct the error.That downloaded application led to the scammers accessing her personal information.Then in a series of phone calls, the scammers pretending to be from her bank convinced her to withdraw money from her bank account, go to a nearby Bitcoin ATM, and deposit a total of $28,000 to correct the alleged bank ...

Ravens sign cornerback Rock Ya-Sin to 1-year deal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:51 GMT

Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said after last season that his team can never have enough good cornerbacks, a stance he reiterated throughout the offseason.Adding one before next season was a priority, and Baltimore did Wednesday by signing veteran free agent Rock Ya-Sin. The deal is for one year and worth up to $6 million, according to multiple reports.“It’s an important position,” DeCosta said Saturday during the NFL draft. “What we’ve seen is you can never have enough good corners to start the season and throughout the season. That’s a fast way to get beat, is to not have enough corners on the field.”Indeed.The Ravens have All-Pro Marlon Humphrey on one side but there was uncertainty at the other starting spot after they did not re-sign veteran Marcus Peters. Now they have bolstered the position with the addition of Ya-Sin, a second-round draft pick of the Indianapolis Colts in 2019 who spent last season with the Raiders after being ...

Assisted suicide is widely supported by Mass. voters, new poll shows

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:51 GMT

A proposal before the state Legislature to legalize medically assisted suicide sees wide support among most voters, even those from traditionally conservative backgrounds, according to a new poll.Joined by dozens of advocates, lawmakers and patients Wednesday, JoAnn Vizziello, who is diagnosed with an incurable form of blood cancer, welcomed the release of the poll of over 1,000 Bay State voters conducted by Beacon Research, which showed about 7 in 10 of those surveyed were in favor of allowing patients suffering from terminal medical conditions to end their lives in consultation with their doctors and provided they are of sound mind.“I don’t want to be in unbearable pain and suffering when I die. I also don’t want to be so doped up on morphine that I’m barely conscious during the countless days or weeks it could take my body to completely break down. I want to be in my own home, aware of my surroundings, and in the arms of my loving husband,” Vizziello said.Sponsored by state Sen. ...

Red Sox notebook: Faith in young players finally paying off

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:51 GMT

Last year when injuries ravaged the Red Sox midseason, the young up-and-comers entrusted to pick up the slack weren’t ready for prime time.This year the club’s so-called sophomores aren’t just keeping the Red Sox afloat, they’re powering the team to unexpected early success.Despite playing the toughest schedule in baseball through April while suffering several significant injuries, the Red Sox came into Wednesday in playoff position thanks in large part to their cohort of second and third-year players. Outfielder Jarren Duran, catcher Connor Wong and right-hander Josh Winckowski all rank top five on the team in wins above replacement, and righty Kutter Crawford isn’t far behind either.Wong, who made a brief cameo in 2021 before earning his first extended MLB opportunity last September, is enjoying the best week of his baseball life. Over his last three games entering Wednesday, the 26-year-old catcher was nine for his last 12 (.750) with three home runs...

State tax revenue plummeted in April, came in billions under projections

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:51 GMT

The state’s tax takings fell billions short of revenue predictions for April, an announcement swiftly met with alarm by both conservative and progressive political groups.April’s tax haul, originally forecast to come in at around $6.4 billion, was instead $1.6 billion less than expected by state budget writers and $2.2 billion lower than the historically high windfall of last April.“The decrease in April revenues largely represents a previously understood exposure to the fiscal year 2023 budget from capital gains and the timing of taxpayers’ use of pass-through-entity credits that we are reviewing closely and will continue to monitor over the final two months of the fiscal year,” Secretary of Administration and Finance Matthew Gorzkowicz said in a statement with the release of the Department of Revenue’s April report.When last year’s mid-spring revenue report arrived nearly $2 billion higher than was expected, lawmakers began to consider a tax cut proposal floated by then Gov. Charl...

Messi the latest pawn in proxy rivalry in Middle East

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:51 GMT

Lionel Messi was supposed to be training alongside his Paris Saint-Germain teammates on Monday, with his club embroiled in an increasingly fraught French league title race.Instead, the soccer great was in Saudi Arabia, holding a falcon on his arm, watching a palm-weaving demonstration and looking around the Arabian Horse Museum as part of his commercial contract with the kingdom to promote tourism in the Middle Eastern country.It will prove to be an expensive trip for the recent World Cup winner.Messi has been suspended by PSG — reportedly for two weeks, when he won’t get paid or be allowed to train or play with the team. That could yet spark the end of a turbulent and somewhat underwhelming two-season spell at a club where soap opera-style drama, on and off the field, is rarely far away given the presence of other superstars like Kylian Mbappé and Neymar in the squad.It also exposes the tensions now that Qatar and Saudi Arabia — gulf neighbors and fierce recent rivals in regional p...

Why nationalities matter as US braces for migration surge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:51 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A decade ago, it was a safe bet that anyone stopped by U.S. authorities at the southern border was probably Mexican. That’s no longer the case, complicating Biden administration efforts to prevent a swell of migration when it lifts pandemic-related asylum limits next week.Now, people come from dozens of countries, with large showings from Peru, Venezuela, Haiti, India, Russia and elsewhere. Only about a third are from Mexico — down from 85% in 2011.With the expiration on May 11 of Title 42 — which suspended migrants’ rights to asylum to prevent the spread of COVID-19 — more people are expected to arrive. Illegal crossings tumbled after President Joe Biden announced asylum restrictions in January, but they have risen since mid-April. Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, said they have been hovering around 7,200 daily, up from about 5,200 in March. The administration plans to rapidly screen migrants and quickly send home those who don’t...

Congressional candidate arrested for alleged drunken driving

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:51 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California lawmaker who is running for Congress was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving Tuesday night, according to law enforcement and jail records.Sen. Dave Min, a Democrat who is running in the competitive 47th congressional district, said in a Facebook post that he was cited with a misdemeanor for driving under the influence. Min was released Wednesday morning after being arrested by California Highway Patrol, the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department said. It wasn’t clear if he would have to appear in court.“My decision to drive last night was irresponsible. I accept full responsibility and there is no excuse for my actions,” Min posted Wednesday. “To my family, constituents and supporters, I am so deeply sorry. I know I need to do better. I will not let this personal failure distract from our work in California and in Washington.”A spokesperson for Min’s Senate office declined to comment.The Orange County congressional race...

PM’s brother denies Trudeau Foundation was involved in foreign interference

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:51 GMT

OTTAWA — The prime minister’s brother insisted to members of Parliament on Wednesday that the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation has not been part of any foreign interference attempts by China, as the organization continues to be dogged by questions about controversial donations. Alexandre Trudeau, who has been involved in the foundation since its early days and was an executive director until 2020, said the donations from Chinese businessmen were negotiated before his brother became prime minister.“I must insist there was no foreign interference, no possibility of interference, no intention or means of interference at or in the Trudeau Foundation,” he told the House of Commons ethics committee. “This is a waste of time.”The committee is investigating the circumstances around a pair of 2016 and 2017 donations from Chinese billionaire Zhang Bin and another Chinese businessman, Niu Gensheng, that totalled $140,000. The Globe and Mail had reported in Februa...