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Biden heads to Maui for an emotional day of meeting wildfire survivors and emergency workers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:07 GMT

By SEUNG MIN KIM (Associated Press)SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) — President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are traveling to Maui on Monday for an emotional day of comforting survivors of the devastating wildfires that ripped through the western part of the Hawaiian island, as his administration responds to the devastation whose full scope is still unknown.The Bidens interrupted a weeklong vacation in the Lake Tahoe area for the five-hour flight to Lahaina, a historic town of 13,000 people that was virtually destroyed by the flames. The couple will meet with first responders and be briefed by state and local officials about the ongoing response.They will also see the destruction from the air and on the ground, and the Democratic president will deliver remarks paying tribute to the victims of the wildfires, which have killed more than 100 people since they erupted on Aug. 8.“It’s going to be an emotional day for everyone,” Olivia Dalton, the White House d...

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu endorses Enrique Pepén for City Council, rejecting Ricardo Arroyo

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:07 GMT

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu endorsed her former employee Enrique Pepén for the District 5 seat on the City Council, scorning the embattled incumbent Ricardo Arroyo, a longtime ally she’s supported in prior elections.In a Monday statement, Wu described Pepén as “exactly the kind of leader we need in government,” saying that he “not only knows City Hall inside out, but has lived the challenges of our community through growing up in Boston and now raising his two young kids here.”“He’ll be a fantastic partner on the Council with the shared progressive values, determination, and heart for service to make Boston a city for everyone,” Wu said.The endorsement, first reported by Politico, is the mayor’s latest effort to back her former employees in the Boston City Council race, ahead of the Sept. 12 preliminary. Pepén worked as the executive director of the Boston Office of Neighborhood Services under Wu.Wu has also backed Henry Santana, her former director of civic organizing, for councilor-a...

Bruins ink veteran forward Alex Chiasson to tryout deal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:07 GMT

With jobs in their bottom-six forward group up for grabs when training camp opens on Sept. 20, the Bruins added yet another body to the mix on Monday.The B’s signed well-traveled forward Alex Chiasson to a Professional Tryout Agreement. The 32-year former Boston University Terrier and Montreal native last played in the Detroit organization, playing 20 games for the big club late in the season, contributing six goals with three assists. He also played 29 games in Grand Rapids in the AHL.Originally a second-round pick of the Dallas Stars (38th overall) in the 2009 draft, the 6-foot-4, 208-pound Chiasson has also played for the Ottawa Senators, Calgary Flames, Washington Capitals (with whom he won a Stanley Cup in 2018), Edmonton Oilers and the Vancouver Canucks. His most productive season was in 2018-19 with the Oilers when he had 22-16-38 totals in 73 games.The PTO deal guarantees Chiasson nothing, but he’s had a knack of turning tryouts into NHL contracts. His stops in W...

Mayo Clinic Minute: Health benefits of kids and sports

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:07 GMT

Jason Howland | (TNS) Mayo Clinic News NetworkSome children are back in the classroom, and others are getting ready. An important tool for keeping kids healthy is participation in youth sports, and it’s not just because of physical activity.There are the obvious physical benefits when kids play sports. It improves cardiovascular health and prevents obesity. But that’s not all.“There can be social benefits where you make friends. You have an opportunity to connect with other people,” says Dr. David Soma, a Mayo Clinic pediatric sports medicine specialist.He says there also are emotional benefits.“So you learn … that teamwork piece or that perseverance — learning how to win, learning how to lose.”He says a way to get your kids involved in sports is to start young by just getting them active and outdoors.“We live in a society where people want to stay inside and stare at screens,” says Dr. Soma. “But get outside. Go for a bike...

Woman assaulted, two others restrained during home invasion in Markham

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:07 GMT

Police are searching for four suspects following a violent home invasion in Markham that left one woman with injuries.York Regional Police officers were called to the home in the area of Greensboro Drive and Milliken Meadows Drive near Highway 407 just before 2:30 a.m. on Monday.Police say four male suspects, one armed with a gun, forced their way into the home and assaulted a woman while restraining two other adults in their bedroom.According to investigators, the suspects stole several cell phones and wallets before fleeing the scene.The woman who was assaulted received minor injuries.A dog, described as a small brown poodle, got out of the home during the incident and hasn’t been found. Police have not released a photo of the dog at this point.Police don’t have detailed descriptions of the suspects but say they were wearing ski masks.

Jury selection begins in final trial over foiled plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor in 2020

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:07 GMT

BELLAIRE, Mich. (AP) — Nearly three years after authorities foiled a bizarre plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the last defendants accused of taking part went on trial Monday.Eric Molitor and brothers William Null and Michael Null were among 14 men, described by prosecutors as anti-government extremists, charged in the scheme weeks before the November 2020 election. They were angered by Whitmer’s COVID-19 policies, which shut down schools and restricted the economy, investigators said in court filings.The plotters were members of paramilitary groups and spoke of attacking the state Capitol and police to ignite civil war, the documents said.Nine men so far have been convicted in state or federal court, including four who pleaded guilty. Two others were acquitted at trial.Jury selection in the final case began Monday. Opening arguments are scheduled for Wednesday in rural Antrim County, a tourist haven known for cherry and apple orchards, sparkling lakes and quaint ...

After school shooting, Tennessee lawmakers not expected to take up gun control in special session

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:07 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee lawmakers will gavel in Monday for a special session stemming from a shooting at a Nashville elementary school that left six dead, including three young children.However, even after hundreds of community organizers, families, protesters and many more spent months asking lawmakers to consider passing gun control measures in response to the shooting, the GOP-dominated Statehouse is unexpected to do so.Instead, Republican leaders are focused on advancing proposals that would toughen penalties for violent criminals, arguing that placing limitations on weapons would do very little to deter those who want to cause harm. Other GOP members have introduced proposals to boost mental health resources and school security measures. On March 27, a 27-year-old shooter opened fire at a Nashville Christian elementary school and killed six people, including three young students. The shooting contributed to a record pace for mass killings in the U.S. this year and ren...

Chicago-area woman charged with emailing threats to shoot Trump and his son

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:07 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Federal agents arrested a Chicago-area woman Monday on a complaint accusing her of sending emails threatening to shoot former President Donald Trump and his son Barron, according to federal prosecutors and a newly unsealed criminal complaint. Tracy Marie Fiorenza, 41, was arrested Monday morning on a charge of transmitting threats to kill or injure, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago. The case was filed earlier this month in U.S. District Court in southern Florida but was only unsealed this week. “I will state that I will shoot Donald Trump Sr. AND Barron Trump straight in the face at any opportunity I get!,” Fiorenza said in a May 21 email to the head of an educational institution in the Palm Beach, Florida, area, according to an affidavit accompanying the complaint. Donald Trump’s primary residence is in Palm Beach. Fiorenza allegedly wrote a similar email on June 5, saying she would “slam a bullet” into Barron Trump “with his father IN S...

Wildfire fight switches from defence to offence near capital of Northwest Territories

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:07 GMT

YELLOWKNIFE — Firefighters battling a wildfire near the capital of the Northwest Territories shifted from defence to offence Monday after a weekend of cooler temperatures, favourable winds and some rain.“We’re in a position to move to direct attack on that fire,” N.W.T. fire information officer Mike Westwick said Monday.Until now, firefighters had mostly focused on trying to stop the spread or reduce the intensity of the fire near Yellowknife. That means building fire lines to rob the fire of fuel or water-bombing it from the air to cool it off.“A lot of the tactics we’ve been using have been more indirect,” he said. “In this case, we’d be looking at putting out fire right on the perimeter, which is more of an offensive strategy.”Flames remained about 15 kilometres from Yellowknife, whose 20,000 people were largely evacuated by road and air. Most evacuees were staying in Alberta communities, while about 3,000 were flown to Manito...

Group of House conservatives unveil demands to support spending bill and avoid shutdown

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:07 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House conservatives in a group known as the Freedom Caucus have unveiled a list of demands that they want included in a stopgap spending measure to keep the federal government running after the end of September. It’s a smorgasbord of non-starters for the Democratic-controlled Senate and the White House, signaling the challenges House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will face next month to get a bill passed in the House without alienating a sizeable share of his conference. Historically, members of the Freedom Caucus rarely support short-term spending bills to keep the government open, but with Republicans holding just a five-seat majority in the House, they have significant leverage over the agenda. Still, McCarthy will likely need votes from Democrats to pass a short-term funding measure than can also get through the Senate and be signed into law.Among the demands from the House Freedom Caucus: —Spending levels below the top-line numbers that McCarthy had agreed to w...