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House on track to raise debt ceiling and avert default, with Biden and McCarthy confident of passage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:25 GMT

By LISA MASCARO, KEVIN FREKING, STEPHEN GROVES and FARNOUSH AMIRI (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — The debt ceiling and budget cuts package that would avert a federal default headed toward House passage late Wednesday as President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy assembled a bipartisan coalition of centrist Democrats and Republicans against fierce conservative blowback and progressive dissent.The hard-fought compromise pleased few, but lawmakers assessed it was better than the alternative — devastating economic upheaval — if Congress failed to act. Tensions rose when Republican support lagged on a procedural vote in the afternoon, but the package ultimately sailed ahead once Democrats unleashed their votes in a show of bipartisan support. A final House roll call was expected by evening.As debate began, Biden expressed optimism that the agreement he negotiated with McCarthy would pass the chamber and avoid an economically disastrous default on America’s...

Making cocktails to-go permanent and reviving happy hour back on Beacon Hill docket

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:25 GMT

A pair of state lawmakers are separately pushing to make permanent the ability to buy cocktails to-go and revive happy hour in Massachusetts, arguing the measures promote more business in the state in the wake of the pandemic.Sen. Julian Cyr filed a bill that repeals the statewide ban on happy hour approved in 1984, putting in place an opt-in happy hour program for cities and towns. The Truro Democrat said a local option would empower communities to make their own decision on happy hour in a way “that is safe and appropriate.”And with remote work now the norm, bringing back happy hours may draw more people to businesses in local downtowns or Main Streets that have suffered from the loss of clientele over the past several years, Cyr said.“In certain neighborhoods, a happy hour might not make sense. But for other cities and towns, I think it really does. And particularly for these Main Streets, these downtown’s that are really struggling, this is an alluring tool,” Cyr told memb...

MIAA state girls lacrosse tournament pairings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:25 GMT

 GIRLS LACROSSE DIVISION 1SEEDS: 1. Lincoln-Sudbury (16-2); 2. Wellesley (14-6); 3. Westwood (18-3); 4. Walpole (18-2); 5. Reading (19-1); 6. Longmeadow (17-3); 7. Franklin (17-3); 8. Central Catholic (15-5); 9. Chelmsford (14-4); 10. Concord-Carlisle (13-7); 11. Weymouth (14-6); 12. Acton-Boxborough (10-6); 13. Natick (11-7); 14. Winchester (15-4); 15. North Andover (14-6); 16. Hingham (13-8); 17. Algonquin (17-3); 18. King Philip (12-6); 19. Shrewsbury (15-4); 20. Brookline (12-6); 21. Needham (6-12); 22. Peabody (13-5); 23. Westford Academy (11-6); 24. Lexington (12-8); 25. Newton North (6-12); 26. Andover (8-10); 27. Belmont (13-5); 28. Bishop Feehan (12-6); 29. Woburn (8-11); 30. Beverly (13-5); 31. Boston Latin (8-10); 32. Hopkinton (6-12); 33. Quincy (13-7); 34. Haverhill (9-9); 35. Attleboro (12-6); 36. Mansfield (10-8); 37. New Bedford (14-4); 38. Milford (11-7); 39. Doherty (9-8)PRELIMINARY ROUND – TBAGAME 1 – Quincy at HopkintonGAME 2 – Mansfield at WoburnGAME 3...

‘That ‘70s Show’ star Danny Masterson found guilty of 2 rape counts, is led from court in handcuffs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:25 GMT

By ANDREW DALTON (AP Entertainment Writer)LOS ANGELES (AP) — A jury found “That ’70s Show” star Danny Masterson guilty of two out of three counts of rape Wednesday in a Los Angeles retrial in which the Church of Scientology played a central role.The jury of seven women and five men reached the verdict after deliberating for seven days spread over two weeks. They could not reach a verdict on the third count, that alleged Masterson raped a longtime girlfriend. They had voted 8-4 in favor of conviction.Masterson was led from the courtroom in handcuffs, and will be held without bail until he is sentenced. No sentencing date has yet been set, but the judge told Masterson and his lawyers to return to court Aug. 4 for a hearing. The 47-year-old actor could face 30 years to life in prison.His wife, actor and model Bijou Phillips, wept as he was led away. Other family and friends sat stone-faced.“I am experiencing a complex array of emotions — relief, exha...

Holiday Bowl sues Pac-12, UC Regents after UCLA pulled out of 2021 game

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:25 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The organization that runs the Holiday Bowl is suing the Pac-12 Conference and the University of California Regents because UCLA backed out of the 2021 game citing COVID-19 concerns.The San Diego Bowl Game Association is seeking a minimum of $3 million in compensatory damages in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in California Superior Court in San Diego County.UCLA announced less than five hours before it was supposed to kick off against North Carolina State on Dec. 28, 2021, that it was pulling out of the game after three defensive linemen tested positive for COVID-19. How to watch Padres games starting Wednesday, May 31 The 10-page filing comes more than 17 months after negotiations between the bowl organization and the Pac-12 failed to come to a resolution. The filing by the bowl organization alleges “a failure of defendants to accept responsibility and accountability for their conduct, which caused substantial damages to plaintiff.”The bowl game organization says it l...

Iowa judge orders continued probation for teen sex trafficking victim who killed her alleged abuser

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:25 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A teenage sex trafficking victim who fatally stabbed the man she accused of abusing her was resentenced Wednesday to probation, telling an Iowa judge that she now has a support system to help keep her on track. Prosecutors agreed that Pieper Lewis should continue her probation rather than be incarcerated. Polk County Attorney Kimberly Graham told the judge that her office “sees her as a human being,” that she is vulnerable to revictimization and that there is low risk she will commit more violence. Lewis, now 18, had faced a 20-year prison sentence for the June 2020 fatal stabbing of 37-year-old Zachary Brooks, who Lewis said she was trafficked to against her will and forced to have sex with multiple times at age 15. She pleaded guilty in September to involuntary manslaughter and willful injury and was sentenced to probation. Polk County Judge David Porter ruled then that Lewis’ charges would have been expunged from her record had she kept to the terms ...

‘That ’70s Show’ actor Danny Masterson’s rape conviction: Key things to know

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:25 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles jury on Wednesday convicted actor Danny Masterson of two counts of rape in a retrial that focused on allegations the “That ‘70s Show’ star raped three women between 2001 and 2003. The verdict sided with two of Masterson’s accusers, but the panel was unable to reach a verdict on similar allegations by a longtime girlfriend of Masterson. The actor, who was led from court in handcuffs after being a free man throughout the proceedings, faces 30 years to life in prison when he is sentenced. The second trial made the Church of Scientology, which Masterson is a member of, a prominent element. Here are some of the key elements that emerged during the three-week retrial and what’s next for the actor.WHAT’S NEXT FOR MASTERSONThe actor will remain in custody while he awaits sentencing, which hasn’t been scheduled yet.The women Masterson is convicted of raping could give victim impact statements during the sentencing hearing, and th...

Hamilton couple killed by landlord planned on moving out this week, police say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:25 GMT

A Hamilton couple shot dead by their landlord last weekend planned on moving out of their Stoney Creek basement apartment this week, investigators say.Hamilton Police were called to the home around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 27, and found 27-year-old Carissa MacDonald and 28-year-old Aaron Stone dead.It was revealed that the suspect was the couple’s 57-year-old landlord, who lived in a unit above his two tenants.A spokesperson with Hamilton Police confirmed with CityNews that concern over mold inside the tenants’ unit led to a dispute between the three and ended in the couple being fatally shot.It was also revealed that MacDonald and Stone, identified by police on Tuesday, were preparing to move out of the unit on Thursday, June 1.Members of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) at the scene of a homicide investigation in the area of Jones Road and Barton Street in Hamilton. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nick IwanyshynInvestigators described the couple as “truly innocent vict...

Canada closing in on deal to get Stellantis battery plant back on track: Champagne

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:25 GMT

OTTAWA — A deal to save a $5-billion electric vehicle battery plant in Windsor is inching closer, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Wednesday.“I would say everyone should take a deep breath, things are going well, the negotiations are progressing,” Champagne said following a Liberal caucus meeting in Ottawa.“We’re getting closer to the end of the negotiation.”The federal government, Ontario, Stellantis and LG Energy Solution have been in heavy negotiations for a few weeks after the companies paused construction on their planned factory in a dispute over federal subsidies.The negotiations have been stuck between what Canada thinks is fair and affordable and what the company believes it is due. It has threatened to move the plant out of Windsor if it doesn’t get what it says it was promised by the federal government in a “special contribution agreement” in February.Champagne said the company has to be “reasonable.&...

Court of Appeal overturns ruling directing Ottawa to help repatriate men in Syria

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:25 GMT

OTTAWA — The Federal Court of Appeal has overturned a judge’s declaration that four Canadian men being held in Syria are entitled to Ottawa’s help to return home.In a ruling released Wednesday, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal said the federal government is not obligated under the law to repatriate the men. The Canadians are among the many foreign nationals in Syrian camps and jails run by Kurdish forces that reclaimed the strife-torn region from the extremist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.The latest ruling sets aside a January decision by Federal Court Justice Henry Brown, who directed Ottawa to request repatriation of the men from the squalid conditions as soon as reasonably possible and provide them with passports or emergency travel documents. Brown said the men were also entitled to have a representative of the federal government travel to Syria to help facilitate their release once their captors agree to hand them over. The men include Jack ...