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Some Massachusetts fresh-cut Christmas tree farms already selling out of trees this year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:43 GMT

If you were thinking of waiting to decorate for the holidays, you might want to reconsider. Many local farms across the state say they are selling out of fresh cut Christmas trees. At White Gate Farm in West Newbury, owner Pat Kelly told 7NEWS all of the 18-acre farm’s 600 trees were gone in just the first two days of operation this season.Elsewhere, the Massachusetts Christmas Tree Association on Tuesday said more than a dozen farms in the state had also already sold out of trees.“It’s just another normal year,” said Dave Morin of the Massachusetts Christmas Tree Association.“We can’t grow them as fast as people want them,” Morin said. “Also, the word is finally getting out that no tree is fresher than the one you watch being cut right in front of you.”Back at White Gate Farm, Kelly said the past three years “have been really kind of difficult” due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “You couldn’t handle the place the way it used to be and we just sold so many more trees than we no...

Blazing I-93 commute

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:43 GMT

A car fire on the northbound side of Interstate 93 in Stoneham Thursday before noon tied up traffic as firefighters tackled the blazing vehicle. The occupants of the minivan escape unharmed. Smoke from the blaze could be seen for hours.I-93 traffic was snarled in Stoneham for a car fire. (Glenn Preston photo)

Nikki Haley targets Trump in Iowa, NH ad blitz [+video]

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:43 GMT

Ahead of a fourth debate appearance and with her numbers climbing in early primary states, former U.N Ambassador Nikki Haley is launching her first advertising campaign of the primary and it seems to be aimed directly at her former boss.Titled Moral Clarity, the 30 second video will be broadcast on cable and across digital services in Iowa and New Hampshire, where the first caucus and first primary will occur, and where Haley has been making ground against former President Donald Trump.“A president must have moral clarity and know the difference between good and evil. Today, China, Russia, and Iran are advancing. There’s chaos in our streets and college campuses. Our security is threatened at home and abroad. It’s time for a new generation of conservative leadership. We have to leave behind the chaos and drama of the past and strengthen our country, our pride, and our purpose,” Haley says in the ad.If that’s not a shot at Trump, who no longer causes as much turmoil with his tweets b...

Ticker: Some OPEC+ members will cut the oil that they send to the world to try to boost prices; Drivers would pay $15 to enter busiest part of NYC under plan to raise funds for mass transit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:43 GMT

The OPEC oil cartel led by Saudi Arabia and allied producers including Russia made another big swipe at propping up lagging crude prices Thursday, expanding some output cuts into next year and bringing up-and-coming oil supplier Brazil into the fold.Lower oil prices have been a good thing for U.S. drivers, who have been able to fill their gas tanks for less money in recent months. But it’s bad news for OPEC+ countries whose oil income bolsters their economies and who have faced setbacks in pushing prices higher despite initial fears that the Israel-Hamas war could affect oil flows.The OPEC+ oil ministers came out of an online meeting with more than 2 million barrels per day in voluntary cuts through the first three months of next year and declared that Brazil would join the bloc in January, bringing one of the world’s fastest-growing oil producers into an alliance that is trying to rein in global supply.Drivers would pay $15 to enter busiest part of NYCMost drivers would pay $15 to ...

Fairhaven rides a record-setting performance by Justin Marques to Div. 6 title

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:43 GMT

FOXBORO — There was no secret to how Fairhaven planned on winning the Division 6 Super Bowl against Salem on Thursday: Put the game in the hands of Justin Marques and a powerful offensive line.That plan worked almost to perfection. Marques set a Super Bowl record with 46 carries en route to 228 yards and four touchdowns and a 26-22 victory over the Witches.“Our offensive line was so powerful and was blowing people off the ball,” Fairhaven coach Derek Almeida said.The dominance of Fairhaven’s line was told in the final stats as 71 runs accounted for 371 of the Blue Devils’ 377 total yards.“That offensive line is the reason we are state champions,” Marques said. “They believe in each other and we’re so good.”The Fairhaven defense also stepped to the fore, holding Salem 14 points below its season average and forcing three turnovers, two which they turned into touchdowns.“What killed us was the turnovers, something that we haven’t done all season,” Salem coach Matt Bouchard said. ...

Investors buying up homes in Massachusetts at red-hot pace: report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:43 GMT

An investor purchased one in every five homes sold between 2004 and 2018 across Greater Boston, a recent finding that housing advocates say is not surprising and one that confirms what they’ve seen anecdotally in their communities over the past decade.The Metropolitan Area Planning Council released a report this week, dubbed “Homes for Profit: Speculation and Investment in Greater Boston,” showing that investors accounted for 21% of total home sales in the region during the period.Roughly 87% of the transactions involved single-family homes and condominiums, with investor activity increasing from 16% of purchases in 2004 to 23% in 2018, the report found.The number of housing units being flipped over in less than two years came as a surprise to MAPC Executive Director Marc Draisen. Researchers found that large and institutional investors flipped nearly a quarter of single-family homes and a fifth of two-family homes that they purchased, compared to rates of just 8 and 9%, respectivel...

Push for professional soccer stadium in Everett dropped from Beacon Hill budget bill

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:43 GMT

A push to develop a soccer stadium in Everett stalled out on Beacon Hill Thursday after state lawmakers chopped a proposal from a multi-billion budget bill, putting ice on an idea that had drawn support from Robert Kraft.House lawmakers pushed for the proposal last year and the Senate included language connected to a professional soccer stadium in the city in a nearly $3.1 billion supplemental budget this session that has since become the subject of a procedural battle on Beacon Hill.But as Democratic negotiators announced a deal on the budget bill, it became clear that the soccer stadium language was dropped. House budget writer Rep. Aaron Michlewitz said lawmakers had a “lot of unanswered questions” about what environmental impacts a potential stadium could have on the city.“There was a lot of confusion coming from the environmental groups. Some said they supported it, some said they were against it. I think we still have a lot of things to iron out and flush out,” Michlewitz said...

Entertainment consultant killed by woman who stalked his film director friend, prosecutors say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:43 GMT

By STEFANIE DAZIO and CHRISTOPHER WEBER (Associated Press)LOS ANGELES (AP) — A high-profile entertainment marketing consultant was targeted by a woman who had been stalking and threatening a film director friend of his before she fatally shot him after her forcing her way inside his Los Angeles home, according to prosecutors and court records obtained Thursday.This week’s slaying of Michael Latt sent shockwaves through Hollywood as the suspect faces charges of murder and burglary. Latt, 33, had worked on projects with filmmakers including Ryan Coogler and Ava DuVernay, as well as rap artist Common.He was pronounced dead Monday at a hospital. Prosecutors allege that Jameelah Elena Michl, 36, knocked on his home’s door and forced herself inside once it was open. She had sought out Latt’s home “after she targeted him for being friends with a woman she had been stalking,” the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release T...

Las Vegas man accused of threats against Jewish U.S. senator and her family is indicted

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:43 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A federal grand jury has indicted a Las Vegas man arrested last month on suspicion of making antisemitic threats against U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen and her family, along with the family of another U.S. senator, according to court records.Rosen, a Democrat from Nevada, is Jewish and has maintained a vocal pro-Israel stance, including support for U.S. aid to Israel. Though the indictment doesn’t identify her specifically, Rosen’s office confirmed to The Associated Press the allegation that she and her family were targeted.John Miller, 43, is charged with one count of threatening a federal official and two counts of influencing, impeding or retaliating against a federal official by threatening a family member. Miller is also accused of threatening the family of another unnamed U.S. senator, according to court records.The public defender representing Miller did not return an email request for comment on Thursday. Miller allegedly made several threatening calls...

Peruvian rainforest defender from embattled Kichwa tribe shot dead in river attack

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:43 GMT

LIMA, Peru (AP) — A Kichwa tribal leader has been shot to death in an area of the Peruvian rainforest that’s seen high tensions between Indigenous people and illegal loggers.Quinto Inuma Alvarado was attacked as he was returning from presenting at a workshop for women environmental leaders in the San Martín region of the Amazon on Wednesday, his son, Kevin Arnol Inuma Mandruma, told The Associated Press in a phone interview. Peruvian police confirmed his death.“He was travelling in a boat,” when assailants blocked the river with a tree trunk, Kevin Inuma said. “There were many shots fired.”The boat carried six people, said Kevin Inuma, including his mother, brother, sister and uncles. Quinto Inuma was shot three times in the back and once in the head, and Kevin Inuma’s aunt was wounded too, he said.Kevin Inuma was not on the trip. He said his brother and mother recounted the attack to him.Quinto Inuma had received numerous death threats over illegal logging, said Kevin Inuma.The log...