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UMass Lowell housing facility repurposed for migrants amid concerning influx in Mass.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:19 GMT

As more than 80 communities in the state are housing migrant families, Massachusetts is looking to address growing concerns about resources during a meeting with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.The UMass Lowell Inn and Conference Center is no longer housing college students. School leaders explained in a letter that the facility may instead provide shelter to migrant families.The Town of Foxboro has also announced they will be housing 93 families in a hotel as early as next week. Lowell City Councilor Corey Robinson said there’s a lack of information coming from the state about sending migrants to Lowell.“We’ve been hearing rumors for the past couple of weeks of a potential influx of a few hundred families being sent to Lowell,” Robinson said.Robinson said as Lowell struggles with its own unhoused population, he’s concerned about a lack of state assistance.“We have hundreds of unhoused residents within our community that we’ve been struggling to help,” Robinson s...

Nationals’ Stephen Strasburg to retire after injury-plagued seasons: reports

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:19 GMT

Stephen Strasburg, a World Series hero for the Washington Nationals, is set to retire at age 35, according to reports.The right-handed pitcher was the MVP of the 2019 World Series, which the Nationals won in seven games over the Houston Astros. Injuries, however, have limited Strasburg to only eight starts since then, and none this season.The Nationals haven’t made an announcement but scheduled a press conference for Sept. 9, according to The Washington Post, which was first to report the news.Strasburg boasts a 113-62 record, a 3.24 ERA and 1,723 strikeouts in 1,470 innings over 13 MLB seasons.The Nationals selected Strasburg first overall in the 2009 MLB Draft after a standout college career at San Diego State. Strasburg made his MLB debut the following year but required Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his elbow after 12 starts as a rookie.By 2012, Strasburg was a staple of the Washington rotation, making three All-Star teams and finish...

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu sets timeline for new MBTA board seat appointment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:19 GMT

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said she plans to appoint a member to the city’s new seat on the MBTA Board of Directors before its next meeting in September.The mayor represented the city for the first time at a Thursday board meeting, after being granted the authority to appoint a new Boston-specific representative through this year’s state budget.“You all have no idea how excited I am to be here,” Wu, a self-described T rider, told the board. “This is just such a gratifying and fulfilling moment, I believe, for the entire city of Boston.”Wu and other city officials had long advocated for the seat as a way to have a direct role in the governance of their public transportation system. There was momentum for the change last year, but the Boston seat was scrapped during last-minute budget negotiations.This year’s state budget expands the MBTA Board of Directors from seven to nine members. As mayor, Wu appoints a member to the Boston seat. The governor’s office is conducting a search for the...

Massachusetts free community college program up and running in time for fall semester

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:19 GMT

Danita Mends tried to pursue a college degree after leaving Needham Public Schools in 2003 but financial setbacks got in the way.She worked for the state before shifting to “corporate America.” But she realized she “was hitting ceilings, a lot of opportunities were passing me by. I was constantly overlooked.”One career shift later into an interior design program at MassBay Community College and Mends was pregnant with her son. That eventually led her to take a break from school until a new state program came calling that allowed her to attend college for free this year.“To have this financial burden lifted is amazing,” Mends said at MassBay Thursday. “And I’m excited for the opportunities that are going to open up and the things that are going to change my family. I have a son watching me now.”Mends is taking part in a program that offers students 25 and older a free community college education. The program is expected to serve a...

Aaron Judge homers again but Tommy Kahnle implodes as Yankees drop 5th straight series with loss to Nationals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:19 GMT

Fresh off of breaking a nine-game losing streak with a feel-good victory featuring three Aaron Judge homers on Wednesday night, the Yankees dropped a heart-breaker on Thursday afternoon to the Nationals, 6-5.Entering the seventh inning owning a 3-1 lead, Tommy Kahnle gave it all back and then some. Alex Call’s two-run homer gave the Nationals the lead and then CJ Abrams followed up with a solo homer going back-to-back for the exclamation point.Kahnle, who was greeted by the boo birds walking off the mound, spoiled what was otherwise a strong performance for the Yankees’ arms.Michael King, in his second start of the season, tossed 2.2 innings allowing one unearned run on one hit while striking out three. The right-hander is being stretched out with hopes of joining the starting rotation at some point in the future. King reached 50 pitches before being pulled in the third after Anthony Volpe’s 12th error.Jhony Brito took on some length, too, executing Aaron BooneR...

3 dead, 6 wounded after a retired police officer opens fire at a Southern California biker bar

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:19 GMT

By EUGENE GARCIA, AMY TAXIN and JOHN ANTCZAK (Associated Press)TRABUCO CANYON, Calif. (AP) — The cover band at the historic Southern California biker bar had just launched into their next song when the gunman walked in and opened fire. Some froze, others ran as the bullets flew inside busy Cook’s Corner, which was holding its weekly spaghetti night on Wednesday. The gunman then went outside and kept firing, witnesses said. Within minutes, deputies arrived and killed the shooter, a retired police officer, Orange County Sheriff’s Sgt. Frank Gonzalez said.Three people were pronounced dead at the scene; six others were shot and taken to a hospital, officials said Thursday. M Street band keyboardist Mark Johnson hid behind a speaker with his wife, singer Debbie Johnson.“Once he started shooting, it was very indiscriminate,” Mark Johnson said. “He just is firing indiscriminately.”The Orange County District Attorney’s Office identified the gu...

Ramaswamy raises $450,000 in first hours after Republican debate as campaigns try to seize momentum

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:19 GMT

By MEG KINNARD (Associated Press)COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The first Republican presidential debate provided an opportunity for candidates to make their cases directly to a national audience, and some of that attention is translating into fundraising boosts.Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has taken in $450,000 since Wednesday night’s debate, with an average donation of $38, campaign spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told The Associated Press on Thursday.Ramaswamy, a political newcomer who occupied center stage in the absence of current GOP front-runner Donald Trump, scored several memorable moments during the debate, criticizing some rivals as “super PAC puppets” who were using “ready-made, preprepared slogans” to attack him.Ramaswamy, has largely been self-funding his campaign and raised more than $7.7 million in the second quarter, finishing with more than $9 million on hand.At least one candidate, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, made a direct fundr...

Healey meets with Secretary Mayorkas today weeks after emergency declaration

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:19 GMT

Gov. Maura Healey planned to meet with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas today, only weeks after the governor declared a state of emergency in Massachusetts and petitioned the secretary for help with an influx of migrants.Mayorkas was in Boston for two publicly scheduled events, an awards ceremony at a U.S. Coast Guard Base near the North End and a naturalization ceremony at Faneuil Hall. After an event in Wellesley earlier in the day, Healey said she planned to meet with the secretary at the State House.The meeting comes more than two weeks after Healey penned a letter to Mayorkas calling on him and the Biden administration to remove “burdensome barriers” to work authorizations for migrants and provide more federal funding to address an influx of new arrivals.Healey said employers around the state are ready to employ migrants as nurses, laborers, and “so much more.”“And my meeting with Secretary Mayorkas, with whom I’ve already had conversations, as well as ...

Boil water advisory issued for Coronado's Silver Strand, Imperial Beach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:19 GMT

Editor's note: This story was updated to reflect a correction by County of San Diego. The advisory is in only in effect for the Silver Strand area of Coronado and Imperial Beach.SAN DIEGO -- Imperial Beach and Coronado's Silver Strand residents are urged to boil their water before using it or use bottled water after E. coli bacteria was found in the drinking water system.The State Water Resources Control Board Division of Drinking Water issued a boil water advisory for the two areas Thursday afternoon, according to the county's emergency website. Cal American Water Company was expected to contact affected customers with more information."The presence of E. coli bacteria indicates that the water may be contaminated with human or animal waste," the county said. Four killed at famous Orange County biker bar, including gunman The advisory states the water is not safe to drink and should be boiled for 3 minutes to kill bacteria. Residents are also encouraged to use bottled water for dr...

S&P/TSX composite down more than 100 points Thursday, U.S. stock markets also lower

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:19 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index declined by more than 100 points Thursday amid broad-based weakness, while U.S. markets also moved lower. The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 103.96 points at 19,775.83.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 373.56 points at 34,099.42.The S&P 500 index was down 59.70 points at 4,376.31, while the Nasdaq composite was down 257.06 points at 13,463.97.The Canadian dollar traded for 73.72 cents UScompared with 73.79 cents US on Wednesday.The October crude contract was up 16 cents at US$79.05 per barreland the October natural gas contract was up four cents at US$2.64 per mmBTU.The December gold contract was down one dollar at US$1,947.10 an ounce and the September copper contract was down four cents at US$3.77 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 24, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press