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House Republicans ready contempt vote against FBI director Wray over document

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:37:14 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the House Oversight Committee plans to move forward this week with holding FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress.Oversight Chairman Rep. James Comer said a more-than-hourlong briefing he received Monday from bureau officials about an unverified law enforcement tip against President Joe Biden does not amount to compliance with a subpoena. FBI officials came to the Capitol on Monday to brief Comer, R-Ky., and Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the panel, about a June 2020 document that purportedly relates to Biden and his family. The briefing was conducted privately in a secure space because FBI officials say the “several page” form contains sensitive information.“The FBI again refused to hand over the unclassified record to the custody of the House Oversight Committee,” Comer told reporters after the briefing. “And we will now initiate contempt of Congress hearings this Thursday.”House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told reporter...

Hate crime investigation underway after vandalism at Bolton Pride display

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:37:14 GMT

A hate crime investigation got underway over the weekend after a Pride Day display in Bolton was hit with hateful vandalism, police said. Police said spray-painted graffiti was found on a Pride banner attached to a railing on Main Street and on a separate sign roughly 100 yards away overnight between Saturday and Sunday. The community quickly got to work to hide the hateful words, putting a tarp over at least one of the signs. Someone also put a piece of paper on the sign saying “Love is love, hate has no home here.” Bolton’s police chief has asked for the public’s help as the police investigation into this weekend’s incident continues.

Unsettled Pattern Is Here

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:37:14 GMT

The ying and the yang of the atmosphere had to catch up with us at some point. Meaning, May was such a great month for us with a lot of sunny days, cool nights, mild afternoons; and of course limited rainfall. This is not to say that June is already a lost cause but rather, sooner or later we were bound to find a stretch of less than ideal days. These types of patterns are typical in spring/early summer tho…In May, we were under the influence of a slow moving High Pressure system and at least for this week, we’ll be under the influence of a Low Pressure system. The reason these systems move slow is due to the fact that the fast-moving winter jet stream has retreated (and slowed) up into northern Canada and will reside there until September-October.The good news is that even within an unsettled pattern, one can eek out a decent day…I think that happens for a lot of us Tuesday.We’ll still be under the influence of Low Pressure centered up in the Canadian Mariti...

Apple unveils a $3,500 headset as it wades into the world of virtual reality

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:37:14 GMT

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE (AP Technology Writer)CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Apple on Monday unveiled a long-rumored headset that will place its users between the virtual and real world, while also testing the technology trendsetter’s ability to popularize new-fangled devices after others failed to capture the public’s imagination.After years of speculation, Apple CEO Tim Cook hailed the arrival of the sleek goggles — dubbed “Vision Pro” — at the the company’s annual developers conference held on a park-like campus in Cupertino, California, that Apple’s late co-founder Steve Jobs helped design. The device will be capable to toggling between virtual reality, or VR, and augmented reality, or AR, which projects digital imagery while users still see can see objects in the real world.“This marks the beginning of a journey that will bring a new dimension to powerful personal technology,” Cook told the crowd. Although Apple executives ...

Massachusetts Guardsman Jack Teixeira’s new attorney represented a Guantanamo Bay detainee

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:37:14 GMT

Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, who’s accused of leaking top secret military documents, has a new attorney who represented a Guantanamo Bay detainee.Attorney Michael Bachrach, who is based in Manhattan, has been appointed as a lawyer for the 21-year-old federally detained Dighton man.“Mr. Bachrach’s notable cases include: winning 284 counts of acquittal for Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, the first and thus far only Guantanamo Bay detainee to be transferred to civilian custody for trial,” reads the attorney’s website.“Ghailani was found guilty of only one count of a 308-count indictment charging him with the bombings of the United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania,” the website states. “Along the way, Mr. Bachrach and his co-counsel won major victories requiring preclusion of evidence obtained as a result of the torture of their client, as well as requiring the United States government to disclose evidence well beyond ...

Smoke from Canadian wildfires returns to Massachusetts, ‘Air Quality Alert’ issued for region

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:37:14 GMT

After smoke from the Canadian wildfires sparked hazy skies and a strong smell across the region last week, another round from that large plume of smoke will impact the Bay State on Tuesday.The air may have the smell of smoke at times on Tuesday, as Massachusetts environmental officials have issued an “Air Quality Alert” until midnight on Tuesday.“AIR QUALITY: Smoke from Canadian wildfires over our region will likely elevate fine particle levels into the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups range over much of the State,” the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s forecast reads.“An Air Quality Alert will be posted for these elevated PM2.5 levels for the midnight to midnight period Tuesday,” MassDEP added.The significant smoke from the Canadian wildfires might lead to a hazy sun during the day.Related ArticlesLocal News | Massachusetts State Police investigating ‘several suspicious fires’ in Blue Hills Reservat...

Boston will spend $4M to connect 1,000 residents to life sciences jobs

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:37:14 GMT

Boston is now considered to be the world’s largest hub for biotechnology, but many residents still “feel deeply disconnected” from the opportunities created by this local life sciences sector, Mayor Michelle Wu said.The city, with the help of a $4 million grant, is looking to bridge that gap by establishing a new workforce initiative designed to train and get 1,000 Boston residents hired into the life sciences industry by 2025, Wu announced Monday at the outset of the BIO International Convention in Boston.“We are a city committed to innovation for community, for the good of our people and the good of the public,” Wu said. “We know that in the years ahead the regional life sciences industry will need thousands of new workers, and they continue to grow right here in Boston.“And as the world’s leading life sciences hub, Boston must be prepared to meet that demand by drawing on the talent that lives right here in our city today. “Standing alongside life science leaders in the Boston Co...

Ravens, Laquon Treadwell agree to 1-year deal, giving Baltimore 5 former first-round picks at wide receiver

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:37:14 GMT

The Ravens continue to add to their wide receiver depth.Free agent receiver Laquon Treadwell and Baltimore have agreed on a one-year deal, his agent confirmed on Monday.A first-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings in 2016, the 27-year-old played for the Seahawks last season. He appeared in six games and caught six passes for 42 yards in 138 offensive snaps; he also played 41 on special teams. He was on the New England Patriots’ and Arizona Cardinals’ practice squads last season before joining the Seahawks’ in November and being promoted to the active roster in December.Treadwell, who spent four years in Minnesota after being drafted out of Mississippi, had his most productive season in 2021 when he played for the Jacksonville Jaguars. In 12 games, including seven starts, he caught 33 passes for 434 yards and one touchdown.He also had 35 catches for 302 yards and a touchdown in 15 games, seven of them starts, for the Vikings in 2018.Treadwell joins a deep group of Ra...

‘Cheers’ bar sells for $675,000 

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:37:14 GMT

DALLAS — The bar from the television series “Cheers” sold for $675,000 at auction over the weekend, garnering the highest bid among the nearly 1,000 props, costumes and sets from classic TV shows offered up from a collection amassed by one man over more than three decades.Heritage Auctions said that the items sold during its three-day event that wrapped up Sunday in Dallas brought in over $5 million. James Comisar has said that after his dream of creating a museum to house his collection failed to come together, it was time for the pieces to go to fans to enjoy.“The auction’s success confirmed what I have always known: that television characters are cherished members of our extended family and that their stories and our own are inseparable,” Comisar said in a news release from the auction house.Among other items on the block, the Batman and Robin costumes worn by Adam West and Burt Ward in the 1960s television series went for $615,000, while the set whe...

Revenue rebounds after steep drop in April

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:37:14 GMT

State tax revenues surpassed expectations in May after a steep nosedive in April, yet the total haul remains hundreds of millions of dollars short of projections with the budget year drawing to a close, officials said Monday.The Department of Revenue announced that Massachusetts collected $2.706 billion in May 2023, an increase of $236 million or 9.5% over May 2022 and $169 million or 6.7% above the most recent benchmark projection for the month.That’s a bounceback after April, when tax collections dropped more than $2 billion from the prior year, causing both supporters and opponents of tax relief bills to suggests plans be reevaluated.Healey administration officials signaled at the time they were optimistic they would not need to cut government spending to make up the potential year-end revenue shortfall, particularly given the sizable amounts of money in state savings accounts.Massachusetts has collected about $35.026 billion in taxes through the first 11 months of fiscal 2...