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Sales tax holiday will return but not expand, Spilka says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:38:00 GMT

Though lawmakers will move forward with an ongoing tradition of suspending the state’s sales tax for a single weekend during the summer, the Senate’s president announced Monday that her colleagues will not consider any plan to extend the temporary tax break.After leaving the second “leadership meeting” held with Gov. Maura Healey and House Speaker Ron Mariano in as many weeks, Senate President Karen Spilka told reporters during a brief press conference outside her Beacon Hill office that lawmakers had settled on the date of the holiday, though any suspension will still need to be made official by actual legislation.“We will be doing a sales tax holiday August 12th, 13th, that weekend,” Spilka said. Mariano did not voice any opposition to the dates.When asked if she and her colleagues would consider expanding the two-day pause on the state’s 6.25% sales tax, she said that “no, we’re not there yet.”“But we will be doing the weekend,” the Democrat from Ashland said.Fi...

Alleged Charlestown serial rapist Matthew Nilo ‘could get away… do it to somebody else,’ alleged victim says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:38:00 GMT

The accused Charlestown serial rapist who works at a New York City law firm “could get away” and “do it to somebody else,” one of his alleged victims said on Monday as the suspect was expected to be released.Matthew Nilo, 35, of New Jersey, has been linked to a series of sexual assaults that occurred over a decade ago on Terminal Street in Charlestown, Suffolk County prosecutors allege.On Monday, Nilo was reportedly posting bail after he was arraigned last week on three counts of aggravated rape, two counts of kidnapping, one count of assault with intent to rape, and one count of indecent assault and battery. Bail had been set at $500,000.His attorney, Joseph Cataldo, on Monday evening said, “The posting of bail is in process and my client will be released soon.”One of Nilo’s alleged victims showed up to Monday’s bail review hearing at Suffolk Superior Court, telling reporters that she was “upset” Nilo could post bail and w...

Trump tells Howie Carr he’s pleading ‘not guilty,’ calls indictment a ‘disgrace’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:38:00 GMT

Former President Donald Trump attacked both the process and prosecutor behind the indictment and capped it with a defiant vow — he’ll plead not guilty to 37 felony charges.“It’s a disgrace to our country,” Trump said on Howie Carr’s radio show Monday night of the accusations made against him by the Biden administration’s Justice Department.Trump, the current leading contender for the Republican nomination to the White House in 2024, was indicted on charges he willfully mishandled classified information he apparently admitted he did not have the right to possess and continued to withhold from the government despite numerous attempts by the National Archives and the Department of Justice to secure the nation’s secrets.The 45th President is due to surrender himself to federal authorities in Miami on Tuesday at 3 p.m. Trump told Carr he would plead “not guilty” to all charges.“Getting ready to head down to Doral in Miami. We must all be STRONG and DEFEAT the Comm...

Revs’ homegrown midfielder Peyton Miller signs pro deal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:38:00 GMT

The New England Revolution are getting better with age.The Revolution announced on Monday that defender/midfielder Peyton Miller, a 15-year-old Revolution Academy product from Unionville, Conn., had signed an MLS Next Pro contract through the 2023 season.At 15 years and 216 days, Miller is the youngest player in club history and second under age 16 to be tendered a pro contract. Diego Fagundez of Leominster was 15 years and 274 days old when he signed in 2015.Miller will compete as a Next Pro for the remainder on this season and step up to an MLS contract in 2024 as a homegrown player on a four-year deal with a one-year club option. Revolution Technical Director Curt Onalfo played a significant role in Miller’s rise through the system.“We are excited to continue working with Peyton as he continues his development here in New England,” said Onalfo.Miller joined the Revolution Academy in 2021 and led the Under-15 group with 25 goals in 28 games. He became the youngest player to make h...

California named most fun state to visit: study

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:38:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO (KSWB) -- With summer right around the corner, there is no better place to be than the Golden State when it comes to having fun.According to a new study released by WalletHub, California is the most fun state in the U.S. to visit in 2023.The study broke down 26 relevant, weighted metrics to determine a score in two categories, Entertainment & Recreation and Nightlife, to determine which state has the greatest number and variety of fun and cost-effective options. San Diego 6th best place in US to raise a family: study You can read more about the study and the methodology used here.California earned the top spot in the Entertainment & Recreation category and came in fourth for Nightlife, which culminated in the No. 1 ranking overall for the study.Florida, Nevada, New York and Illinois rounded out the top five most-fun states. Conversely, Arkansas, Rhode Island, Delaware, West Virginia and Mississippi came in at the bottom of the list. Welcome to Slowjamastan: Sou...

What you need to know about wildfires burning across Canada

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:38:00 GMT

Quebecers are returning home as the province goes on the offensive against a record wildfire season, but gusty winds and hot temperatures are fuelling fires in the West.Here’s a look at developments Monday.Worst wildfire season of the 21st century: BlairEmergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair says 431 wildfires are burning across Canada, and more than 200 are out of control.More than 47,000 square kilometres have burned so far this year.Blair says it marks Canada’s worst wildfire season of the 21st century.About 5,000 firefighting personnel are deployed, and hundreds more from Chile, Costa Rica, Spain and Portugal are to arrive in the coming days.Visas extended for people affected by wildfiresFederal Immigration Minister Sean Fraser says some work and student visas will get extensions if people have been affected by wildfires.Fraser says Ottawa wants to make sure these disasters don’t displace people who are on a specific kind of work or study permit.Ottawa also...

Tens of thousands of dead fish wash up on a Texas beach due to low oxygen levels

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:38:00 GMT

QUINTANA, Texas (AP) — Tens of thousands of dead fish washed up on the Texas Gulf Coast over the weekend, covering the shoreline with rotting carcasses and leading local officials to warn visitors to keep away.Waves from the Gulf of Mexico pushed in dead fish “by the thousands” Friday in Brazoria County, which is over 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Houston, Quintana Beach County Park officials said.Low levels of dissolved oxygen in the water made it difficult for the fish to breathe, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials said. The phenomenon — known as a “fish kill” — is common as temperatures rise in the summer, the state department said.While no one has connected this specific incident to climate change, researchers have said such kills may become more prevalent as temperatures warm and oxygen levels in lakes across the United States and Europe drop.Dissolved oxygen levels increase with photosynthesis, the process by which plants transform sunlight, water and carbon dio...

Relatives fight for custody of 4 kids who survived plane crash and weeks in Amazon jungle

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:38:00 GMT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A custody battle has broken out among relatives of four Indigenous children who survived a plane crash and 40 harrowing days alone in the Amazon rainforest in an extraordinary showing of youthful resilience that captivated people around the world. The siblings, ranging in age from 1 to 13, remained hospitalized Monday and were expected to stay there for several more days, a period that Colombia’s child protection agency is using to interview family members to determine who should care for them after their mother died in the May 1 crash.Astrid Cáceres, head of the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare, said in an interview with BLU radio that a caseworker was assigned to the children at the request of their maternal grandparents, who are vying for custody with the father of the two youngest.“We are going to talk, investigate, learn a little about the situation,” Cáceres said, adding that the agency has not ruled out that they and their mother may have ex...

Vancouver family who lost son to fentanyl donates $20 million to new treatment model

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:38:00 GMT

VANCOUVER — Jill Diamond says when her brother Steven was struggling with substance addiction the system meant to support him was messy and filled with delays, disappointments and waitlists.After years during which prolonged periods of sobriety were punctuated with the pain of addiction, she says her athletic, loving and helpful brother was put on a waitlist to see an addiction psychiatrist. He died in 2016 from a fentanyl overdose less than a week before the appointment.“Some people say the system is simply broken. But the truth is, the system we need doesn’t even exist,” she said.The Diamond family, well known for their philanthropy around the province, is donating $20 million towards a new model for addictions treatment based out of Vancouver’s St. Paul’s Hospital.Called Road to Recovery, the 95-bed program aims to streamline the process for someone working their way through withdrawal management, inpatient recovery-focused care, transitional housing...

2 active-duty Marines plead guilty to Capitol riot charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:38:00 GMT

Two men who were active-duty members of the Marines Corps when they stormed the U.S. Capitol pleaded guilty on Monday to riot-related criminal charges.Joshua Abate and Dodge Dale Hellonen are scheduled to be sentenced in September by U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes. Both pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of Columbia.Many Capitol rioters are military veterans, but only a few were actively serving in the armed forces when they joined a mob’s attack on Jan. 6, 2021.A third active-duty Marine, Micah Coomer, also was charged with Abate and Hellonen. Coomer pleaded guilty to the same misdemeanor charge in May and is scheduled to be sentenced by Reyes on Aug. 30.All three men face a maximum sentence of six months of imprisonment.As of May 19, the Marines were still in the service. No additional information was available Monday.David Dischley, an...