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Biden calls family of reporter detained as spy in Russia

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:55:38 GMT

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) — President Joe Biden spoke to the parents of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on Tuesday, nearly two weeks after the Moscow-based journalist was detained in Russia and charged with espionage.Biden made the call as he flew to Belfast to start a four-day trip to Northern Ireland and Ireland. The call happened one day after the Biden administration formally declared the reporter had been “wrongfully detained.”The designation elevates Gershkovich’s case for the U.S. government and means that a particular State Department office will take the lead on seeking his release.Before departing Washington on Tuesday, Biden again condemned the journalist’s detention. Both the U.S. government and Wall Street Journal have vehemently denied the Russian accusation that Gershkovich is a spy.“We’re making it real clear that it’s totally illegal what’s happening, and we declared it so,” Biden said. “It changes the dynamic.”White House press...

Charles Michel: Europe warming up to Macron’s ‘strategic autonomy’ push away from US

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:55:38 GMT

BRUSSELS — European leaders are becoming increasingly favorable toward French President Emmanuel Macron’s push for “strategic autonomy” away from the United States, European Council boss Charles Michel said Tuesday.As controversy swells around Macron’s comments that Europe should resist pressure to become “America’s followers,” Michel suggested that the French politician’s position was not isolated among EU leaders. While Macron spoke as the French president, his views reflect a growing shift among EU leaders, Michel said. “There has been a leap forward on strategic autonomy compared to several years ago,” Michel told French television show La Faute à l’Europe (which has a partnership with POLITICO) in an interview set to air on Wednesday. “On the issue of the relationship with the United States, it’s clear that there can be nuances and sensitivities around the table of the European Council. Some European leaders woul...

Second victim dies after fire in Hopkinton

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:55:38 GMT

A second victim in a house fire in Hopkinton over the weekend has died, state and local officials announced on Tuesday. The woman, described as an older adult in her 60s, was first taken to Milford Regional Medical Center after the fire. She was then taken to a Boston hospital. News of her death comes after officials already announced the death of a man in connection with the same fire. Officials on Monday said the fire did not appear to be suspicious. Crews first responded to reports of flames on Hayward Street in Hopkinton around 1:15 a.m. Sunday morning. Officials said emergency crews arriving at the scene immediately found heavy fire coming from a home. They soon began searching the building after learning two people were still inside. Miller said an older man was found in a hallway while an older woman was found in a bedroom. The man was taken to Milford Regional Medical Center, where officials said he was pronounced dead.While the exact cause of the fi...

Massachusetts House speaker unveils $654M tax relief plan

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:55:38 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts House Speaker Ronald Mariano on Tuesday unveiled a $654 million tax cut proposal for the 2024 fiscal year aimed at helping seniors, renters, businesses and wealthier homeowners while rewriting the law that sent about $3 billion back to taxpayers last year.The plan, which would increase to $1.1 billion in tax relief for the 2026 fiscal year, includes a number of proposals the Democratic speaker said will help make Massachusetts more affordable and competitive.“We wanted to have something that we felt impacted all segments of the economy, all segments of our constituency with some fairness and some equity,” Mariano told reporters Tuesday.The package would change a series of tax policies, including increasing the estate tax threshold from $1 million to $2 million.Massachusetts is one of just 12 states with an estate tax and has the lowest estate tax exemption threshold in the country, along with Oregon. Democratic Gov. Maura Healey, who released a $742 ...

Ex-candidate to change plea in child sex abuse images case

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:55:38 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A wealthy former gubernatorial candidate charged with possession of images depicting child sexual abuse plans to change his plea next month in Hancock County.The hearing for Eliot Cutler, who previously pleaded not guilty, is scheduled for May 4 in Superior Court, a court clerk said Tuesday. Cutler’s attorney declined to discuss details, including any potential agreement with prosecutors.The 76-year-old Cutler, who remains free on bail, was arrested last year at his waterfront home in Brooklin, a coastal community 130 miles (210 kilometers) from Portland. He was charged with four counts of possession of sexually explicit material of a child under 12.Each count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A message seeking comment was left with the prosecutor Tuesday.Cutler, a lawyer, ran for governor twice as an independent and used his personal wealth to bankroll both campaigns. He lost by less than 2 percentage points to Republican Paul...

Supermarkets to pay $800,000 in overtime violation case

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:55:38 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — A Boston-area supermarket chain will pay $800,000 to settle allegations that it violated state labor laws by failing to pay workers overtime and premium weekend rates, the state attorney general’s office said Tuesday.The C-Mart stores, which specialize in Asian foods and are located in Boston’s South End and Chinatown neighborhoods as well as in Quincy, were issued 15 citations in 2021 following an investigation by the attorney general’s Fair Labor Division.In addition to not properly paying workers for overtime hours or for hours worked on Sundays, authorities concluded that the stores failed to furnish accurate payroll records and failed to post required workplace notices.The settlement was reached after C-Mart appealed the 2021 citations.“I am proud of the office’s work to ensure that the workers harmed by C-Mart will get back the wages they are rightfully owed,” Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said in a statement.An email seeking comment was ...

Chicago Bears in Arlington Heights: Business owners, others want downtown to withstand $5B redevelopment plan

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:55:38 GMT

As the Chicago Bears and village of Arlington Heights leaders consider the football team’s behemoth, multi-billion dollar plan to redevelop the Arlington International Racecourse site the Bears recently purchased, the town’s downtown area is top of mind for leaders and some business owners already there.For Chip Brooks, who owns the live music venue and restaurant Hey Nonny, downtown Arlington Heights is unique because “we don’t have a lot of outsiders here.” For him, the dominance of locally-owned businesses in the area sets the village’s commercial district apart from its neighbors.The Bears’ official purchase of the former horse racing site, two miles north of downtown, has brought that distinguishing local character into even sharper focus for Brooks. The land sale is the first step in the process of developing what could possibly be a very large neighbor to the existing downtown.The village has already approved a pre-development agreeme...

Alleged serial rapist Ivan Cheung makes appearance in Suffolk Superior Court

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:55:38 GMT

The former State Street vice president charged with raping a series of girls and women appeared in court today for a scheduling hearing ahead of his upcoming trial expected to take place next January.Ivan Cheung faces 11 charges in Suffolk Superior Court: four counts of forcible rape of a child under 16, two counts of rape of a child under 16, four counts of aggravated rape, and a count of assault with intent to rape.Cheung was initially charged in September of last year. He was arraigned in Boston Municipal Court on Sept. 13. He was fired from his job at State Street, where his LinkedIn profile showed he had worked for 18 years and most recently as a vice president of “procurement category strategy,” which is building a new headquarters across from that court, on the same day.“We have made the decision to terminate the individual’s employment,” Ed Patterson, the company’s chief spokesman, told the Herald that evening.His case was kicked up to the Superior Court following an indictm...

The pandemic disrupted their freshman year. It may also have prepared the Class of 2023 for the job market.

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:55:38 GMT

Adonis Brooks is about to graduate from Muhlenberg College, and he has a job lined up. A dual-major in psychology and business, the Brooklyn, New York, native will be going home to New York City to work for a consulting firm.“I have a job, I’ve accepted the offer, which is great,” said Brooks, who has secured a position with Huron Consulting Group’s office in Manhattan. “But while I was looking for the job, I was just super stressed with interviews and stuff like that. Overall, I can’t really complain about the job hunt, it was just a lot of work.”For college seniors over the years, Brooks’ story is a familiar one. But for the Class of 2023 the road to graduation day and the beginning of a career was one that included some unusual obstacles.Midway through the first year, in the spring of 2020, the COVID pandemic hit, forcing a mass exodus away from campuses to virtual classes back home, then back to campus again with almost a whole year of the college experience wiped away.Then ther...

As Earth Day nears, these books for young readers show natural treasures and ways to protect them — every day

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:55:38 GMT

Caroline Luzzatto | Virginian-Pilot CorrespondentThe theme for this year’s Earth Day is “Invest in Our Planet” — an effort to encourage earthlings to preserve the planetary treasures we have and to look for ways to make the world a better, greener, healthier place. Young readers seeking ways to invest in the world they’ll inherit will find a great wealth of books about plants, animals, water and other resources.Here are just a few worth adding to your Earth Day (and everyday) bookshelf. (Earth Day, by the way, is April 22.)___Young people looking for a thoughtful, user-friendly guide to how and why to recycle will appreciate “Can I Recycle This?” by Jennie Romer. (Ages 4 through 8. Viking. $18.99.)Filled with sketchbook-like illustrations of grinning cans and bottles by Christie Young, this approachable book explains how recycling works and why some items can’t be recycled.But it also aims higher, looking ahead to “a future where all packaging is reusable or refillable, and companie...