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State housing chief says 13,000 households could enter emergency shelter if the state found enough units

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:56 GMT

The number of eligible migrant and local homeless households in the state’s emergency shelter system could soar to more than 13,000, a top housing official warned.Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus said the system’s expansion rate is “unsustainable” just as a judge was weighing whether to temporarily pause a Healey administration plan to cap the number of families in shelters at 7,500.Low turnover rates and the push to find enough units to accommodate everyone is behind the high estimate, he added.“At current rates of entries into and exits from emergency assistance shelter, the number of eligible families in shelter would continue to increase to more than 13,000 households in shelter by fiscal year end (if sufficient shelter units could be found to accommodate that many households),” Augustus wrote.He added: “With the average length of stay growing each month (averaging 13.6 months as of the first quarter of fiscal year 2024), the pressure on th...

Ticker: Auto strike settlements loom large; Toyota more than doubles investment and job creation at North Carolina battery plant

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:56 GMT

From generous pay and benefits to stronger job security, the United Auto Workers union won significant concessions in tentative settlements that have ended their strikes against Detroit’s three automakers.Now, General Motors, Ford and Stellantis are facing sharply higher labor costs, estimated by some analysts at exceeding $1 billion per year, per company. The automakers will try to absorb those cost increases through expense reductions and efficiencies while still aiming to post strong enough profits to please Wall Street.In addition, analysts say, the companies will likely try to offset their cost increases by raising vehicle prices for consumers. How much they’ll be able to do so, though, remains unclear.Toyota more than doubles investment and job creation at North Carolina battery plantRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Toyota will invest an additional $8 billion in the hybrid and electric vehicle battery factory it’s constructing in North Carolina, more than doubling its prior in...

MIAA statewide field hockey tournament pairings

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:56 GMT

DIVISION 1SEEDS: 1. Walpole (17-1-0); 2. Andover (15-2-0); 3. Wachusett Regional (13-1-4); 4. Franklin (17-0-1); 5. Acton-Boxboro (13-4-1); 6. Central Catholic (14-2-1); 7. Algonquin (13-2-3); 8. Bishop Feehan (11-5-1); 9. King Philip Regional (14-4-0); 10. Concord-Carlisle (13-4-1); 11. Belmont (14-3-1); 12. Needham (13-5-0); 13. Winchester (13-5-0); 14. Barnstable (13-3-2); 15. Wellesley (10-4-4); 16. Lincoln-Sudbury (8-5-3); 17. Braintree (9-7-2); 18. Arlington (8-8-2); 19. Shrewsbury (6-9-2); 20. Chelmsford (5-9-3); 21. Newton North (12-5-3); 22. Durfee (12-3-2); 23. Natick (6-7-5); 24. Lexington (8-9-1); 25. Brookline (9-7-2); 26. North Andover (6-8-3); 27. Westford Academy (8-8-2); 28. Essex North Shore (10-6-2); 29. Beverly (8-8-2); 30. Attleboro (5-11-2); 31. Methuen (8-5-5); 32. Marshfield (4-4-8)FIRST ROUND – ThursdayGAME 6 – Chelmsford at Winchester, 4:30GAME 12 – Natick at Concord-Carlisle, 4:30GAME 13 – Attleboro at Wachusett, 5GAME 11 – North Andover at Algonquin, 5FIR...

6 takeaways from the Chicago Bulls’ 112-105 win, including Nikola Vučević leading the offense and an excruciating final minute

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:56 GMT

The Chicago Bulls recorded their most resounding win of the season Monday night, beating the Indiana Pacers 112-105 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to even their record at 2-2.All three of their main stars finished with 20 or more points: Nikola Vučević scored 24, Zach LaVine 23 and DeMar DeRozan 20.Here are six takeaways from the win.1. Nikola Vučević led the offense.The Bulls targeted Vučević from the jump, utilizing pick-and-rolls with DeRozan and Coby White to create better looks for the center in the paint.The Pacers chose to play center Myles Turner in drop coverage, which could have tempted Vučević to settle for outside shots. Instead he continued to drive directly into the teeth of the defense, racking up 24 points despite a slow shooting start.Vučević voiced frustration after the season opener that the Bulls weren’t finding him enough — a consistent complaint since they acquired him from the Orlando Magic at the 2021 tr...

A pilot has been indicted for allegedly threatening to shoot the captain if the flight was diverted

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:56 GMT

A pilot has been indicted for allegedly threatening to shoot the plane’s captain if the captain diverted the flight because of a passenger who needed medical attention.A grand jury in Utah issued the indictment against Jonathan J. Dunn on Oct. 18 over an incident that happened in August 2022, charging him with interference with a flight crew, according to federal court records. The Transportation Department’s inspector general’s office said in an email sent Tuesday that Dunn was the first officer, or co-pilot, on the flight and was authorized to carry a gun under a program run by the Transportation Security Administration.“After a disagreement about a potential flight diversion due to a passenger medical event, Dunn told the Captain they would be shot multiple times if the Captain diverted the flight,” the inspector general’s office said.The inspector general described Dunn as a California pilot. It did not identify the airline on which the incident occurred,...

Long Island woman convicted of manslaughter in the hit-and-run death of a New York police detective

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:56 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A Long Island woman was convicted on Tuesday of aggravated manslaughter in the death of a New York City police detective killed on the Long Island Expressway.Jessica Beauvais, of Hempstead, was arrested in April 2021 after 43-year-old Anastasios Tsakos, a 14-year veteran of the police department, was struck and killed while assisting officers at the scene of another fatal crash on the expressway in Queens.Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said Beauvais, 34, was intoxicated and driving with a suspended license. She fled, but was arrested a short time later.“The defendant had absolutely no business being behind the wheel,” Katz said in a written statement. “Her selfish decision-making and recklessness led to a horrific, senseless tragedy that left Detective Tsakos’ widow to raise their two young children without their father. We are grateful for the jury’s verdict and hope it brings at least some measure of solace to the detective’s loved ones.”The 43-y...

North Dakota GOP party leader resigns 1 week into job after posts about women, Black people

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:56 GMT

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Only a week into the job, the North Dakota Republican Party’s executive director has resigned after a media outlet publicized some of his social media posts that were demeaning toward women and dismissed concerns raised by Black people about racism.The party announced the resignation Monday of Dave Roetman, who previously worked for the South Dakota GOP. He quit seven days after being hired and a few days after Forum News Service reported about his posts and replies on X, formerly known as Twitter. The posts dated from just over a year ago to as recently as this month.Many of the posts and replies were about political issues. But they also included crass comments, such as replying “she seems nice” to several posts of women in revealing clothing, and responding unfavorably to a woman in a plus-sized swimsuit. In another reply, he speculated about whether women should be addressed as “broads” or “dames,” adding that debates about gender and language are why...

Austin airport employee fatally struck by vehicle on tarmac

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:56 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A vehicle fatally struck a person on the tarmac of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, officials said Tuesday, the second fatal incident this year involving a worker at the airport in the Texas capital.The person was identified as an airport employee but authorities did not immediately release details about how the collision on Tuesday occurred. Firefighters and police responded to the scene, according to Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services. The airport said in a statement that flights were not impacted. During the busy summer months, the airport had more than 2 million monthly passengers.The Austin Police Department said in an email that the investigation was ongoing and no other details were available. In April, an American Airlines employee died after driving a service vehicle that struck a jet bridge. Work around commercial airplanes has resulted in other fatal injuries in recent years. At the Austin airport in 2020, a man was fatally struck ...

Missouri appeals court rules against ballot summary language that described ‘dangerous’ abortions

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:56 GMT

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri appeals court on Tuesday ruled against Republican-written summaries that described several abortion-rights amendments as allowing “dangerous and unregulated abortions until live birth.” A three-judge panel on the Western District Court of Appeals found the summaries written by Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, who is running for governor in 2024, are politically partisan. The judges largely upheld summaries that were rewritten by a lower court judge to be more impartial.Ballot summaries are used on Missouri ballots to help voters understand sometimes lengthy and complex constitutional amendments and policy changes.Ashcroft said he plans to appeal the ruling. Summer Ballentine, The Associated Press

More than 40% of Ukrainians need humanitarian help under horrendous war conditions, UN says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:56 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russian strikes are inflicting unimaginable suffering on the people of Ukraine and more than 40% of them need humanitarian assistance, a senior U.N. official told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday.Ramesh Rajasingham, director of coordination in the U.N. humanitarian office, said thousands of civilians have been killed in strikes on homes, schools, fields and markets since Russia’s invasion in February 20022. The U.N. human rights office has formally verified 9,900 civilians killed, but he said “the actual number is certainly higher.”Ukrainian civilians are suffering “horrendous humanitarian consequences” and “unimaginable levels of suffering” from the Russian strikes, Rajasingham said. About 18 million Ukrainians — more than 40% of the population — need some form of humanitarian assistance, and as winter approaches “needs will be magnified,” he said.Rajasingham said significant damage and destruction of critical infrastructure continues to severely imp...