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Healey to issue emergency declaration after rains batter homes, businesses

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:45 GMT

The governor will declare a statewide emergency in order to free up cash for communities slammed by relentless rain that has left the likes of Leominster devastated.Gov. Maura Healey was due to meet with her gubernatorial counterparts in Manchester, N.H., on Tuesday for a National Governors Association event, but instead was in Bristol and Worcester counties to survey the “real devastation” caused by severe storm systems.“I am preparing a declaration for a state of emergency that will be a statewide declaration,” she said alongside MBTA General Manager Phil Eng and other state and local officials joining her in Leominster to view the flooded city. “That will enable us to do certain things and further free assets and resources.”Healey was in North Attleboro earlier, where she said she was with a woman when she learned that flooding there had done enough damage to her home it would have to be condemned.“She had 6 feet of water in her basement last night,” Healey said.Rain Tuesday nigh...

Nathan Fletcher asks court to remove sexual assault allegations from lawsuit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:45 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Former San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher has filed new motions in court to ask a judge to remove significant portions from the ongoing lawsuit against him, including the allegations of sexual assault and harassment at the center of the case.The new motions filed by Fletcher's attorney last Friday reiterate his claims that the encounters between him and a former MTS employee, Grecia Figueroa, were "consensual" and that the lawsuit is not a "credible" recounting of these interactions.He also maintains that he had no control over Figueroa's employment with the transit agency and that her job "required very little, if any, direct interaction" with Fletcher.The motions ask the court to remove the allegations from the Figueroa's complaint that detail two instances of sexual assault by the former supervisor, as well as accusations that her job was abruptly terminated by MTS as a result of the incidents. Timeline: Unfolding of the Nathan Fletcher scandal "... the ev...

How Libya’s chaos left its people vulnerable to deadly flooding

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:45 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A storm that has killed thousands of people and left thousands more missing in Libya is the latest blow to a country that has been gutted by years of chaos and division.The floods are the most fatal environmental disaster in the country’s modern history. Years of war and lack of a central government have left it with crumbling infrastructure that was vulnerable to the intense rains. Libya is currently the only country yet to develop a climate strategy, according to the United Nations.The north African country has been divided between rival administrations and beset by militia conflict since NATO-backed Arab Spring uprising toppled autocratic ruler Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.The city of Derna in the country’s east saw the most destruction, as large swaths of riverside buildings vanished, washed away after two dams burst. Videos of the aftermath show water gushing through the port city’s remaining tower blocks and overturned cars, and later, bodies lined up on sidewalks cov...

SNC-Lavalin rebrands to AtkinsRéalis in bid to shed scandal-plagued past, reset image

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:45 GMT

MONTREAL — SNC-Lavalin is changing its name to AtkinsRéalis as it faces an “inflection point” in its 112-year history, according to CEO Ian Edwards, after a tumultuous decade for the engineering giant.The rebrand follows 11 years markedby trouble with the law, including the Libya corruption scandal that tarnished its reputation and ensnared the highest office of the Canadian government, as well as lacklustre earnings at times.The company also hopes to shed the costly backlog of big, over-budget rail contracts that has plagued it for years and launch expansion plans after a steady slim-down regimen and, until 2021, declining revenue and headcount.“Four years ago when I became the CEO, I think we were very transparent: We said there’s a part of the company which is excellent, performs really well; there’s parts of the company which don’t … We’re going to stop doing what’s not working, we’re going to do more of what working re...

Slave descendants vow to fight on after Georgia county approves larger homes for island enclave

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:45 GMT

DARIEN, Ga. (AP) — Descendants of enslaved people living on a Georgia island vowed to keep fighting Tuesday after county commissioners voted to double the maximum size of homes allowed in their tiny enclave, which residents fear will accelerate the decline of one of the South’s few surviving Gullah-Geechee communities.Black residents of the Hogg Hummock community on Sapelo Island and their supporters packed a meeting of McIntosh County’s elected commissioners to oppose zoning changes that residents say favor wealthy buyers and will lead to tax increases that could pressure them to sell their land.Regardless, commissioners voted 3-2 to weaken zoning restrictions the county adopted nearly three decades ago with the stated intent to help Hogg Hummock’s 30 to 50 residents hold on to their land.Yolanda Grovner, 54, of Atlanta said she has long planned to retire on land her father, an island native, owns in Hogg Hummock. She left the county courthouse Tuesday night wonde...

Escaped Pennsylvania inmate still believed to be within specific perimeter, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:45 GMT

POTTSTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Escaped murderer Danelo Souza Cavalcante is still believed to be within a search perimeter in a rural stretch of southeastern Pennsylvania hours after he stole a rifle from a garage and fled a homeowner’s gunfire, authorities said Tuesday.Heavily armed police descended on the South Coventry Township area closing roads and telling residents to lock their doors in the nearly 2-week-old manhunt. In the evening, Pennsylvania State Police said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Cavalcante was believed to be in the area of Routes 23 and 100, Fairview and Nantmeal Roads and Iron Bridge and County Park Roads.“Residents should secure buildings, property and vehicles,” police said. “Report sightings or related activity immediately to 911.”Helicopters hovered overhead throughout the day as officers brought in horses, search dogs and armored personnel carriers and began searching an 8- to 10-square-mile (21- to 26-square-kilometer) area of rolling farm country, forests ...

Georgia election case prosecutors cite fairness in urging 1 trial for Trump and 18 other defendants

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:45 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Prosecutors who have accused former President Donald Trump and 18 others of participating in an illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia maintain that all of the defendants should be tried together, citing efficiency and fairness.The case was brought under the state’s anti-racketeering law, meaning the same witnesses and evidence will be used in any trial, they wrote in a brief they said was filed Tuesday. Holding several lengthy trials instead would “create an enormous strain on the judicial resources” of the county superior court and would randomly favor the defendants tried later, who would have the advantage of seeing the state’s evidence and arguments ahead of time, prosecutors wrote.Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said last month in announcing the charges that she wanted to try all 19 defendants together. Two of the people charged have filed speedy trial demands, and Judge Scott McAfee set their trial for Oct. 23. ...

Updated Ford F-150 gets new grille, other features as Ford shows it off on eve of Detroit auto show

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:45 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — The top-selling vehicle in America will get a bit of a facelift next year, one of just a few new or updated vehicles that will be shown off this week at Detroit’s big auto show.Ford unveiled the latest version of the F-150 pickup Tuesday night at an event next to Huntington Place, the convention center that will host the North American International Auto Show starting with media day on Wednesday. It’s one of only four new or revamped vehicles to be unveiled at the show, including models from Stellantis’ Jeep off-road brand, and from General Motors’ GMC and Cadillac brands.That’s far short of the 40 or 50 new models that were often unveiled during the show’s heyday. During the past four or five years, automakers have been shunning auto shows as the preferred places to reveal new models. Instead, they’re opting to show them online for less money and at times when they don’t have to share the limelight with others.The Detro...

Missing woman last seen exiting vehicle on Edens Expressway

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:45 GMT

CHICAGO — A search is underway for a Wisconsin woman who went missing after leaving a car that was stuck in traffic along the Edens Expressway, according to Chicago police.Officers say they are searching for 53-year-old Fidelia Carpio, who was last seen exiting a car that was stopped in traffic near the Wilson Avenue exit (43A) along the Edens Expressway around 3:30 p.m. on Monday afternoon.  Court docs: 911 call from Lyft driver leads to police interrupting man trying to drown son Police say Carpio was last seen walking toward Cicero Avenue. According to police, Carpio has blonde hair and brown eyes. She stands 5-foot-1 and weighs around 160 pounds.Police notified the public about Carpio's disappearance on Tuesday, Sept. 12.  ‘This is crazy’: Investigation underway after string of car burglaries in South Loop Chicago Police ask anyone with information on the whereabouts of 53-year-old Fidelia Carpio to call Area 5 Detectives at 312-746-6554.Tips for police can al...

New COVID vaccine OK'd for people 5-and-older

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:45 GMT

WASHINGTON (Nexstar) -- The CDC voted to recommend a brand new version of the COVID-19 vaccine after the FDA also approved it. Everyone 5-and-older is eligible for the new COVID vaccine. Kids under 5 can also get it but they may need more than one dose.Dr. Mandy Cohen said, "We're in our strongest position yet to fight COVID-19.""The federal government is putting vast amount of money into research and these MRNA vaccinations are really, really working," said John Giramendi, a Democrat from California.Last week, though, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky criticized the recommendation of multiple doses for kids."Norway, South America and the UK all chose to recommend only one dose of Pfizer due to the risk of cardio vascular side effects for boostering kids," Paul said.But Dr. Anthony Fauci said it's important to consider all the facts. "The risk of myocarditis from COVID itself is greater than the risk of the vaccine."Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine said research and COVID vaccine development need t...