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Abortion initiative hits milestone for getting in front of Florida voters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:05:14 GMT

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A petition initiative that would enshrine abortion rights in the Florida constitution on Friday reached the necessary number of verified signatures to qualify for the 2024 ballot, officials said.More than 911,000 signatures have been verified, according to the Florida Division of Elections, surpassing the more than 891,500 petition signatures required by the state to put a ballot initiative before voters.If the measure ultimately makes it on the fall ballot, voters in the third-most populous U.S. state could join citizens of other states in deciding what, if any, abortion protections or restrictions there should be following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022.Since that landmark 1973 case giving constitutional protections for abortion across the United States was overturned in the Dobbs decision, voters in at least seven states have supported ballot measures protecting abortion rights or rejected measures aimed at limiting ac...

Von der Leyen presses ahead for quick solution on EU aid to Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:05:14 GMT

BRUSSELS — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wants to get to a deal on new Ukraine aid “as quickly as possible,” she said on Friday. The issue of the €50 billion aid package for Ukraine landed back on her plate at the occasion of the start of the Belgian presidency of the Council of the EU — which placed her again in front of the Brussels press corps after the December summit where Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán blocked approving new EU funds for Ukraine. “After the historic decision to launch accession negotiations with Ukraine, we must urgently move forward on stabilizing our financial aid to the country,” von der Leyen said. She also criticized the “brutal” air strikes by Russia on civilian targets in Ukraine. The Commission president acknowledged what EU leaders were already floating right after the European Council in December — that it might be necessary to work around Orbán to get fresh aid to Kyiv. An agreement by t...

NYC sues 17 charter bus companies for $700 million over transporting asylum seekers to the city from Texas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:05:14 GMT

(CNN) — A migrant surge continues to overwhelm authorities at the US-Mexico border — and in US cities where many asylum seekers are being sent.Here are the latest developments:After attempting to pump the brakes on “rogue buses” from Texas dropping off migrants by the thousands, the mayor of New York City has filed a lawsuit against a dozen charter bus companies that transported migrants from Texas to New York City.The lawsuit, which names 17 charter bus companies from Texas, Louisiana, Ohio and Indiana, was filed in New York Supreme Court on Wednesday and is seeking $708 million in damages to cover the care provided for at least 33,600 asylum seekers who have arrived in the city since 2022.CNN has reached out to offices for the 17 bus companies.Mayor Adams’ latest legal action to curb the flow of asylum seekers to New York City aims to tackle the financial burden placed on the city as a result of the mounting migrant crisis that is taxing loc...

66-year-old man located after state, Everett police issue Silver Alert

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:05:14 GMT

A 66-year-old man who was reported missing after he failed to return from a doctor’s appointment in Boston has been located. Massachusetts State Police say a Silver Alert for Mark Rothwell was canceled after authorities were able to locate him on Friday. Rothwell had reportedly last been seen Thursday morning after being transported from Everett to Jamaica Plain for a doctor’s appointment.No additional details were released. https://twitter.com/MassStatePolice/status/1743359203954061587—Originally posted on Friday, Jan. 5 at 1:56 p.m.State and local police are asking for the public’s help as they work to find a 66-year-old man who never returned to Everett after being taken to a doctor’s appointment in Boston.Massachusetts State Police said Mark Rothwell was last seen around 10 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 4, when he was brought from a medical facility in Everett to a doctor’s office in Jamaica Plain. According to state police, Rothwell did not re...

Will 2024 be the year employers crack down on remote work? Not so fast

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:05:14 GMT

Don Lee | (TNS) Los Angeles TimesThese days, it looks like the bloom is coming off the rose for remote work: Many employers are talking tougher. New research shows employees are actually less productive when they work from home full-time. And, with the tight job market starting to slacken, some predict 2024 will be the year employers finally clamp down.But don’t be too quick to conclude things are going back to the days of 9 to 5 in the old cubicle.It’s true that widespread studies based on standard measures of efficiency have found that fully remote employees are 10% to 20% less productive than those working on company premises. Challenges related to communications, coordination and self-motivation may be factors in the decline.And some employers have been warning that those who fail to meet new standards for being in the office may find adverse effects on their performance evaluations and incomes.But the new research that showed lower productivity by full-time remote w...

Why Bailey Zappe has set ‘really good’ example for other Patriots

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:05:14 GMT

Bill Belichick saved some major praise for Bailey Zappe in what could be one of his last news conferences as Patriots head coach.Belichick, who was scheduled for an in-person presser but audibled to video conference because he was feeling sick, was asked about what kind of example Zappe set for other players for the competitive level and resilience he has shown since being cut in August and then starting the final six weeks of the season at quarterback.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots down 1 offensive starter at final practice before season finale New England Patriots | Callahan: If Bill Belichick’s time is over, say thank you before goodbye New England Patriots | Nor’easter set to blast Massachusetts with up to 12 inches of snow, Patriots could have a snow game New England Patriots | Patriots-Jets injury report: TE Hunter Henry among 11 limited Thursday New England Patriots | Jabri...

The ashes of a Massachusetts man will be launched into deep space on the Enterprise Flight: ‘He was a big science fiction reader’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:05:14 GMT

The ashes of a local man, who almost always had “a science fiction novel in his hands,” will be launched into deep space on the Enterprise Flight next week.Woburn native Francis Gillis’ cremated remains will be on board Celestis’ first-ever deep space Voyager Mission, known as the Enterprise Flight — which is scheduled for liftoff on Monday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.Gillis, a U.S. Army veteran who passed away in 2018 when he was 67, wrote in his will that he wanted to be involved in this specific space flight.“He didn’t want his ashes just going around the moon,” his sister Jacqueline Gillis told the Herald this week. “He wanted to be out there in deep, deep space.“We’re just thrilled for him,” she added. “What a crew he’s with.”Gillis will be on board a spacecraft containing the cremated remains, DNA samples, and greeting messages of more than 200 individuals.Among tho...

Duxbury Rep. Josh Cutler heading to Healey administration, opening House seat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:05:14 GMT

Gov. Maura Healey turned to a six-term House Democrat who has focused on labor and workforce development to serve in a new position tasked with expanding registered apprenticeships, work-based learning career pathways, and exploring the future of work.Rep. Josh Cutler, co-chairman of the Legislature’s Labor and Workforce Development Committee, will transition into the role of undersecretary of apprenticeship, work-based learning, and policy for the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, a move that creates another open seat in the House.In a statement provided by the Healey administration, Cutler said he looks forward to implementing policies and programs to help support workers and enable businesses “to thrive.”“I am grateful to the 6th Plymouth District for giving me the honor to represent them in the House for the past decade and look forward to supporting them and communities across the state in this new role,” he said.In the past 50-plus years through many redistr...

A Roxbury vocational high school was briefly on lockdown for hoax gun call

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:05:14 GMT

Madison Park Technical Vocational High School was put into a brief lockdown this afternoon after a caller reported a gun in the school.A Boston Police Department spokesman told the Herald that police received a call sometime around 1 p.m. reporting a gun in the school located at 75 Malcolm X Blvd. in Roxbury.Officer Jason Villanueva told the Herald that responding police could not find any firearm and that the department considers the call a hoax.This is a developing story.

Trump’s race for the White House runs through the courtroom

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:05:14 GMT

By Nancy Cook, Bill Allison and Gregory Korte, Bloomberg NewsIn Iowa, former President Donald Trump appears headed for victory in the first-in-the-nation caucuses on Jan. 15.In New York – and in Florida, and in Georgia, and in Washington, DC – Trump is headed for something else: court.For months, a divided nation has confronted the strange prospect of a split-screen election season, with Trump, the candidate, on one side, and Trump, the defendant, on the other.Now, that prospect is about to become reality – and upend presidential politics, if not the American presidency itself. For the first time, courtrooms across the nation are about to become some of the most crucial stops on the road to the White House.Three years after a mob attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in support of Trump, the worlds of politics and law are colliding spectacularly over the events of that day and the dueling narratives around them.The legal dramas stemming from Jan. 6 and Trump’s business dealings...