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Massachusetts emergency shelters for homeless, migrants max out, triggering waitlist

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:57 GMT

Massachusetts emergency shelters have maxed out at 7,500 families, leaving adults and children with few alternative options as they work their way through a state-run waiting list for temporary housing, according to data released Thursday.Shelters in the state reached the Healey administration’s self-imposed limit just as House lawmakers passed legislation that requires the creation of an overflow site for waitlisted families. But the bill still needs Senate approval and sign-off from Gov. Maura Healey.As advocates warn adults and children could find themselves stuck sleeping outside as they wait for shelter, the Healey administration moved this week to set up a $5 million grant program for nonprofits, community, and religious groups to offer overnight shelters.But overnight shelters are still in the works and any potential opening of an overflow site is still weeks away at best leaving immediate options for people seeking shelter limited. Interim solutions by community-based and fa...

Bruins notebook: Charlie McAvoy lays out his case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:57 GMT

Charlie McAvoy knows he screwed up. His hit on the Florida Panthers’ Oliver Ekman-Larson on October 30, made in the heat of a 2-2 game that he’d just tied up, was late and high and he understands there had to be consequences.But the Bruins’ defenseman appealed his four-game suspension because he felt it should have had a game lopped off of it. Commissioner Gary Bettman, who heard the appeal, did not agree and thus McAvoy was set to serve the fourth and final game of the suspension on Thursday.McAvoy spoke to reporters for the first time since the hit on Ekman-Larson on Thursday morning after the B’s morning skate at Warrior Ice Arena.“What we were hoping for was just to get it reduced. I understand the need for discipline there and take responsibility for my actions. I know I made a mistake on the play,” said McAvoy. “But really the way that we understood it, and sort of the way it was explained to us by (head of Player Safety) George (Parros) and Player Safe...

Chicago White Sox lose another veteran as announcer Jason Benetti leaves for the Detroit Tigers TV booth

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:57 GMT

The Chicago White Sox have plenty of holes on the field to fill in 2024.Now they’ll have another one in the TV broadcast booth.Jason Benetti, who replaced Ken “Hawk” Harrelson as the TV voice of the Sox on NBC Sports Chicago eight years ago, was signed by the Detroit Tigers to do a minimum 127 games for Bally Sports.“I’m incredibly proud to join this historic and ascending Tigers franchise,” Benetti said in a statement. “From every single person I talked with throughout the interview process it was clear why so many respected professionals and creative people have joined the organization in the last several years. There’s something special about it, and I’m excited to bring that energy to Tigers fans around the globe.”Benetti, 40, who grew up a Sox fan in Homewood and attended Homewood-Flossmoor High School, said after interviewing with the Tigers it was “clear this was the right place” for him.“I was born...

Ohio voted on abortion. Next year, 11 more states might, too

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:57 GMT

Bram Sable-Smith | (TNS) KFF Health NewsUNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. — As activists parse the results of Tuesday’s vote to protect abortion rights in Ohio, Jamie Corley is already well on her way to putting a similar measure in front of Missouri voters next year.Corley, a former Republican congressional staffer, filed not one, but six potential ballot measures in August to roll back her state’s near-total ban on abortion, triggered by the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision to end federal protections for terminating pregnancies.“I can’t emphasize enough how dangerous it is to be pregnant in Missouri right now,” Corley said at a restaurant near her home in this St. Louis suburb. “There is a real urgency to pass something to change the abortion law.”Missouri is one of at least 11 states considering abortion-related ballot measures for next year, part of the wave of such actions since the Supreme Court’s decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. And while November 2024 is s...

Spanish conservative politician is shot in the face in Madrid. The gunman fled on a motorbike

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:57 GMT

By ALICIA LEÓN and JOSEPH WILSON (Associated Press)MADRID (AP) — Veteran Spanish right-wing politician Alejandro Vidal-Quadras was shot in the face in broad daylight on a central Madrid street on Thursday. His life was not in danger, according to the hospital where he was rushed for treatment.Police said Vidal-Quadras was attacked at around 1:30 p.m. local time near his home and that he was conscious when taken to a hospital by emergency crews. A motive for the shooting wasn’t immediately disclosed.According to Spanish state news agency EFE, police believe the shooter fled the scene on a motorbike, wearing a black helmet.Four hours after the shooting, Madrid’s Gregorio Marañón hospital issued its first public medical report on Vidal-Quadras’ condition. The hospital said the gunshot had fractured his jawbone and that he will undergo surgery. It said he was in stable condition and that his life was not in danger. Vidal-Quadras, 78, was a long-tim...

Commission weighs whether to discipline Illinois judge who reversed rape conviction

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:57 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — A western Illinois judge could face removal from office after a judicial oversight body considered allegations this week that he circumvented the law when he decided to reverse a rape conviction.The move sparked outrage in the victim’s hometown of Quincy, Illinois, and beyond.The Illinois Courts Commission, which rules on complaints against judges in the state and has the power to remove, suspend, or reprimand them, heard arguments in Chicago on Wednesday over the allegations Adams County Judge Robert Adrian acted with willful misconduct by throwing out his own decision to avoid sending the defendant to prison.Adrian presided over a three-day bench trial in which Drew Clinton of Taylor, Michigan, was accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl during a graduation party in May 2021.In October of that year, Adrian found Clinton — who was 18 — guilty of criminal sexual assault. The offense carries a minimum sentence of four years in prison in Illinois.But at Clinto...

Democrats postpone a subpoena vote in the Supreme Court ethics probe after a blowup with Republicans

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:57 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee abruptly adjourned a meeting on Thursday without holding an expected vote on subpoenas for two conservatives who have helped arrange luxury travel and other benefits for Supreme Court justices.The panel’s Democratic chairman, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, gaveled out after Republicans on the committee made clear they would call for subpoena votes on a raft of Democratic officials and others, a protest of the planned subpoenas for Republican megadonor Harlan Crow and conservative activist Leonard Leo. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the panel, warned majority Democrats that the hearing would be contentious.Jammed with amendments and the possibility of hours of debate, Durbin gaveled out. He said in a statement after the meeting that there were “scheduling issues” but that they would try again. “We will continue our efforts to authorize subpoenas in the near future,” Durbin said. “The highest co...

Online gaming operator fined $150K for failing to protect player from massive losses: AGCO

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:57 GMT

An online gaming operator in Ontario has been hit with a fine of $150,000 for failing to help a player who was flagged as “high-risk” from accruing massive gambling losses, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) said in a release Thursday.The AGCO levied the financial penalties after claiming PointsBet Canada Operations 1 Inc., a registered internet gaming operator, failed to meet the province’s responsible gambling requirements.More specifically, the AGCO says the company failed to “intervene and provide assistance to a player who was potentially experiencing gambling harms. In this case, a player lost over $500,000 in under three months,” the AGCO said.“The player was flagged as potentially high-risk by the operator’s systems on multiple occasions, including due to incurring significant losses and making repeated withdrawal cancellations,” the AGCO added. “Despite this, no interventions were provided by the gaming site o...

Denys Arcand on lampooning political correctness with ‘Testament’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:57 GMT

Veteran filmmaker Denys Arcand is having a change of heart.“My energy comes from the public, which is absolutely wonderful,” the 82-year-old Québécois director says in a video call from Montreal. His latest film, “Testament,” expands theatrically in Canada on Friday after proving a hit in Quebec.“It makes me softer and more at ease with mankind.”The public is giving Arcand lots of energy, as “Testament” earned an impressive $400,000 during its opening weekend in Quebec last month and has already crossed the $1.5 million mark. It’s the strongest opening for a Quebecois film since the pandemic began.“Testament” marks another satire from Arcand after 1986’s “The Decline of the American Empire” and 2003’s “The Barbarian Invasions,” which represents Canada’s only Oscar win in the best international film category.Arcand’s latest film roasts political correctness as septuagenarian archivist Jean-Michel, played by Rémy Girard, sees a group of protesters rally outside his retirement home. As...

As Hollywood scrambles to get back to work, stars and politicians alike react to strike ending

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:57 GMT

Hollywood jumped into planning mode Thursday at the news of a tentative agreement between striking actors and the major entertainment companies. After 118 days of most productions shut down and most stars unable to promote projects, publicists, studios and awards strategists went into hyperdrive plotting out how to best use their newly available talent for what’s left of the year — and awards season.Just hours after the tentative agreement was announced, “The Marvels” star Iman Vellani was already being offered to press for interviews. The Walt Disney Co. movie, which cost over $200 million to produce, opens this weekend with showtimes starting as early as Thursday afternoon. Searchlight Pictures also started actively planning things for Michael Fassbender, who stars in Taika Waititi’s “Next Goal Wins,” out next week. One of the top priorities for the industry is getting actors back on set, whether for major blockbusters like “Gladiator 2” or “Deadpool 3″ to try to...