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Portugal’s president announces early elections for March 2024

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:33 GMT

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on Thursday announced he will dissolve the country’s parliament in December and hold early elections in March 2024. The announcement followed Prime Minister António Costa’s resignation Tuesday, hours after authorities raided his official residence and the country’s attorney general confirmed he was being investigated under a corruption probe.Rebelo de Sousa said parliament would be dissolved once lawmakers passed Portugal’s draft 2024 budget, which is expected to be approved at the end of the month, adding it was a necessary step in order to ensure the country’s “indispensable economic and social stability.”“The approval of the budget will allow us to meet the expectations of many Portuguese people and to monitor the implementation of the recovery and resilience plan,” he said.The decision to schedule elections for March was meant to give Costa’s Socialist Party, which controls an absolute m...

Man wanted for fatal Worcester State University shooting appears in court, pleads not guilty

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:33 GMT

An 18-year-old man wanted for a fatal shooting at Worcester State University appeared in court on Thursday, a week after he was tracked down and arrested in New York.Kevin Rodriguez was in Worcester District Court where he was arraigned on charges that included assault with intent to murder, stemming from the shooting death of Randy Armando Melendez Jr., 19, of Southbridge.Rodriguez was back in Massachusetts after authorities found and arrested him in a Brooklyn apartment days after the shooting occurred on Sunday, Oct. 29.In addition to Melendez Jr., authorities said a 21-year-old man was also shot and suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Officials said neither the victims nor Rodriguez were Worcester State students.

Breezy Friday, staying dry

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:33 GMT

Gloomy out there today, don’t you think? Rain and sleet this morning. Now we’re left with the fog and some drizzle. It’ll be chilly tonight. Tomorrow is breezy and cool. Then another dry weekend is coming our way.Overnight, temperatures fall into the upper 30s and low 40s. Tomorrow, we’ll see more clouds than sun. It won’t be as cool as today, as some towns struggled to reach 40. Temperatures will be near average in the upper 40s/low 50s. The breeze will be noticeable with the west wind gusting 20-25 throughout the day.Luckily, tomorrow is dry. That’s a trend we’ll carry into the weekend. A cold front drops in and that’ll keep the cooler and drier air around. Saturday, temperatures start off chilly in the upper 30s and end cool in the upper 40s. The breeze will linger. Mostly sunny skies might help to offset the below-average temperatures and wind. You might want a thicker jacket for the Veterans Day Parades in Brockton and Marshfield, or grab a spot along the route in the sun!Sunda...

BMC officials note influx of people seeking shelter in emergency department after clearing of Mass and Cass encampments

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:33 GMT

After the clearing of homeless encampments at Mass and Cass, officials at Boston Medical Center say they’re seeing a rise in people seeking shelter in their emergency department. Blocks away from the BMC facility, gates were in place Thursday along Atkinson Street, where just weeks ago many people were living in tents and tarp structures. Barricades now block off nearby sidewalks, as well. Now that the tents and tarps are down, fewer people are hanging out or sleeping near Mass and Cass. At BMC, though, hospital officials this week said people are loitering on sidewalks and in garages in addition to using the hospital emergency room for shelter. “What I’m hearing is that it’s not any different than the situation has been in the past,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. “There has not been a spike or a change in that situation.” A hospital spokesperson, however, said BMC is in fact seeing an uptick. “These are the ones that didn’t want to go into shelter, th...

Local nonprofit hosts first wedding dress giveaway since flood damaged warehouse 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:33 GMT

A North Andover-based nonprofit this week showed support for veterans, first responders and healthcare workers headed to the altar with its first wedding dress giveaway event since flooding hit the organization’s warehouse earlier this year. Brides to be spent the day Thursday searching for the perfect dress with family and friends by their side. Held in Andover, this week’s event came a matter of months after Brides Across America’s warehouse was flooded back in August.“We don’t have a lot of extra funds right now for the wedding, so this is a very huge thing for me to be able to come and get a wedding dress,” said Karissa McFadden, a nurse.Flooding in August ruined hundreds of wedding dresses that were supposed to be donated. Speaking with 7NEWS, Brides Across America Founder Heidi Janson said about 80% of the organization’s inventory was destroyed.“The last few months have been devastating,” Janson said. “…Little by little, we’r...

Patriots offense gets bad news before flight to Germany

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:33 GMT

The Patriots will fly to Germany without two offensive starters after ruling out left tackle Trent Brown and wide receiver DeVante Parker following Tuesday’s practice.Brown, who was spotted in the Patriots’ locker room Thursday morning but declined to speak to reporters, was inactive for last week’s loss to the Commanders. Veteran Conor McDermott filled in at left tackle and is likely to be elevated off the practice squad again for Sunday’s game.Parker also missed last weekend’s loss, when third-year receiver Jalen Reagor took on a bigger role in his place at the “X” receiver position. The Pats also have JuJu Smith-Schuster, Demario Douglas, Tyquan Thornton and Kayshon Boutte at the position.The Patriots will fly to Frankfurt, Germany, overnight Thursday and release their final injury report Friday. Sunday’s kickoff against the Colts is set for 9:30 a.m. ETBoth teams’ complete injury reports are below.PATRIOTSOutOT Trent Brown, N...

MBTA slow zone repair plan will require sporadic closures through 2024

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:33 GMT

It will take more than half a year of occasional closures, but if everything goes right there will be no speed restrictions on the MBTA by the end of 2024, according to a repair plan laid out by General Manager Phil Eng.The GM, in a meeting with the beleaguered transportation network’s Board of Directors’ Safety, Health and Environment Subcommittee on Thursday, said that after 19 days of closures to end 2023, and 188 days of diversions in 2024, the 23% of MBTA tracks currently running under speed restrictions will be back to normal operations.“We want to bring our trains back to full-maximum speed, thereby reducing those delays associated with slow speeds and disruptions due to track infrastructure needs,” he said. “We want to do this where we can start to deliver timely, reliable, consistent service that is not only serving the public that is using our system today but to be able to bring people back to the system.”The plan calls for track repairs on all four subway lines — R...

Ticker: Apple co-founder hospitalized in Mexico; Mortgage rates tick down, again

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:33 GMT

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak remained hospitalized Thursday in Mexico City following a “health problem” while he was in the city to speak at a business conference, according to a source close to the conference who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the incident.Wozniak, 73, had been scheduled to speak at the World Business Forum in Mexico City, a two-day gathering billed as the world’s most important management event. Other advertised speakers were Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and Muhammad Yunus, a pioneer in microfinance who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.The convivial Wozniak, who teamed up with the late Steve Jobs to found Apple in 1976, had been scheduled as the conference’s closing speaker Wednesday afternoon.Wozniak suffered the “health problem” shortly before he was scheduled to arrive at the event, the source said, declining to detail what the health problem was.“At this momen...

Trump ally Steve Bannon appeals conviction in Jan. 6 committee contempt case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:33 GMT

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump’s longtime ally Steve Bannon on Thursday appealed his criminal conviction for defying a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.Bannon’s attorney argued he didn’t ignore the subpoena, but was trying to avoid running afoul of executive privilege objections Trump had raised. “Mr. Bannon acted in the only way he understood from his lawyer that he was permitted to behave,” attorney David Schoen said, adding that Bannon was wrongly blocked from making that argument at trial. Prosecutors, though, said Bannon was no longer working at the White House during the runup to Jan. 6 and refused to work with the committee to determine if there were questions he could answer. “Stephen Bannon deliberately chose not so comply in any way with lawful congressional subpoena,” said prosecutor Elizabeth Danello.The U.S. ...

Carr: Durant’s win a welcome change for MassGOP

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:33 GMT

A losing streak is no fun in any endeavor, but going five years without a single victory is almost unimaginable.Unless you’re the Massachusetts Republican party.Finally, on Tuesday, the local GOP posted a “W,” in a special state Senate election to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of a Democrat legislator.The winner was state Rep. Peter Durant, R-Spencer. He got 11,985 votes to 9,813 for the Democrat candidate, who is also an incumbent state rep. No recounts necessary. It was a clear victory, the first GOP takeaway of a Democrat seat since 2018, maybe longer.The lesson is, even though Massachusetts won’t be a two-party state again any time soon, maybe the Republicans don’t have to lose every single election, forever.Unless, of course, Jim “Jones” Lyons or one of his deranged followers returns from exile next year to reclaim control of the GOP state committee.Lyons lost his House seat in 2018, so he decided to take over the state committee. As the old saying goes, the job nee...