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Healey hands out $100M in ‘Fair Share’ dollars for transportation upgrades

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:18:50 GMT

The Healey administration handed out $100 million in “Fair Share” dollars to the state’s 351 cities and towns Friday for transportation upgrades, with Boston raking in more than $5 million.Gov. Maura Healey left intact a plan Beacon Hill lawmakers approved in the fiscal year 2024 budget to spend $477 million of the expected $1 billion in revenue from the “Millionaires Tax” or “Fair Share Amendment” on transportation needs, including the MBTA and preserving highway bridge infrastructure.Healey said her administration was “going to make sure that Fair Share revenue was used to improve transportation and education for our communities, as the voters intended.”“This funding is particularly impactful because we are empowering cities and towns to decide how to use it to address their unique needs. We are grateful to the Legislature for making this funding available and look forward to seeing how the municipalities will use it to strengthen their communities,” she said in a statement.Offici...

Israeli military says it mistakenly killed 3 Israeli hostages in Gaza

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:18:50 GMT

By KARIN LAUB, NAJIB JOBAIN and JACK JEFFERY (Associated Press)RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The Israeli military on Friday mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages during its ground operation in the Gaza Strip, military officials said.The army’s chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said Israeli troops found the hostages and erroneously identified them as a threat. He said it was not clear if they had escaped their captors or been abandoned.The deaths occurred in the Gaza City area of Shijaiyah, where troops have engaged in fierce battles against Hamas in recent days.He said the army expressed “deep sorrow” and was investigating.The deaths were announced as a U.S. envoy said the U.S. and Israel were discussing a timetable for scaling back intense combat operations in the war against Hamas, even though they agree the overall fight will take months.U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the besieged enclave’s p...

These are the new traffic and vehicle-related laws going into effect in California in 2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:18:50 GMT

Among the hundreds of bills that California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law this year are several related to owning and driving a vehicle. Most new laws go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, unless there is a stipulation that it begins at a later date. •Video Above: California high-speed rail projects receive billions in federal fundingHere are more than ten significant laws regarding traffic and vehicle ownership going into effect soon in California. Ban on cruising prohibitionsAB 436 will prohibit cities and local governments from prohibiting cruising, and would no longer prohibit vehicles from being modified to sit at a level that’s lower than the vehicles’ rim. Tickets issued to speeding drivers caught via camerasAB 645 will allow several cities to establish a pilot system that will allow the citing of speeding drivers through the use of video cameras, similar to red light infractions that are issued with the help of video technology.  California faces reco...

La Jolla Children's Pool temporarily closed for harbor seal pupping season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:18:50 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- City crews put up a closure sign and roped off part of the beach in La Jolla Friday morning.Harbor seal pupping season has started and that means the Children’s Pool will be closed for the next five months. Visitors will still be able to walk on the sidewalk and be near the seawall, but access down to the sand is now off limits.Through May 15, harbor seals will give birth to their pups. Beachgoers will be kept at a distance from the seals to create a safer environment for them to not only birth their babies but also nurse them. No more motorized pedicabs, mobility devices allowed along San Diego Bay Divers and swimmers will not be able to access the water from the area.The closure is something that happens every year due to an agreement between city and the California Coastal Commission.FOX 5 spoke with a former San Diegan, who is visiting from out of state, who said he first fought for the protection of these marine mammals nearly 30 years ago.“I come back every year...

Pacific storm likely to bring rain to San Diego County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:18:50 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A Santa Ana weather pattern is expected to bring warm and dry weather through the weekend, just ahead of a Pacific storm.The National Weather Service said offshore winds are expected to peak Friday in the late morning through the afternoon in the foothills and valleys. Top gusts may reach speeds between 30-45 mph.These winds are expected to relax Saturday and even further into Sunday as temperatures boost west of the mountains. According to weather officials, Saturday will be the warmest day of the weekend with temperatures above normal about 6-14 degrees.The dry pattern could get dampened next week as a Pacific storm moves through Southern California and northern Baja.NWS said a low pressure system will bring a chance for light showers Monday and Tuesday, so isolated sprinkles can be expected. This winter’s El Niño could be one of the strongest in 70 years. What does it mean for San Diego? Then, a stronger Pacific storm will bring better...

Court upholds $75,000 in fines against Alex Jones for missing Sandy Hook case deposition

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:18:50 GMT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut appeals court on Friday upheld $75,000 in fines against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for missing a deposition in the lawsuit by Sandy Hook families, which led to a $1.4 billion judgment against Jones for repeatedly calling the 2012 Newtown school shooting a hoax.The state Appellate Court said that while Jones claimed an illness and doctor’s recommendations prevented him from attending the questioning in his hometown of Austin, Texas, in March 2022, he continued live broadcasts of his Infowars show at the same time. Jones later did appear for a deposition early the next month in Connecticut and was refunded the $75,000 in fines he paid.“We agree with the trial court that the undisputed fact that the defendant chose to host a live radio broadcast from his studio … significantly undercuts his claim that he was too ill to attend the deposition,” Judge José Suarez wrote in the 3-0 ruling. “We conclude that the court reasonably inferred &...

US-China relations are defined by rivalry but must include engagement, American ambassador says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:18:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S.-China relationship will be defined by strategic competition in the coming decades but must involve engagement when the interests of the two countries align, the U.S. ambassador to China said Friday, one month after President Joe Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping to stabilize the fraught relations.Nicholas Burns said the U.S. and China are “vying for global power as well as regional power” as they compete militarily, politically and economically.“I think we are systematic rivals, if you think about our national security and economic and political interests around the world,” Burns said at the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank.Yet, the two countries need to work together on issues such as climate change, narcotics, global health and food security, he said. “No person in their right mind should want this relationship to end up in conflict or in war,” he said. “So we’re going to develop a relationship where we can compe...

Michigan State reaches settlements with families of students slain in mass shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:18:50 GMT

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan State University trustees have approved settlements with the families of three students slain during a mass shooting earlier this year on the school’s campus.Trustees voted unanimously Friday to approve separate claims with the families of Brian Fraser, Arielle Anderson and Alexandria Verner.The school did not release the amounts of the settlements, but an attorney for Verner’s family told reporters the family will receive $5 million from Michigan State.“While no amount of compensation can ever replace the loss of a life, we do hope this brings some closure, support and relief to these impacted families,” Trustee David Kelly said. “The university gives its deepest condolences to each of the three families, and we are committed to ensuring the memory of their child in not forgotten in the Spartan community.”Anderson, Verner and Fraser were fatally shot and five other students were wounded Feb. 13 when Anthony McRae opened fire at Berkey...

US homelessness up 12% to highest reported level as rents soar and coronavirus pandemic aid lapses

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:18:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States experienced a dramatic 12% increase in homelessness as soaring rents and a decline in coronavirus pandemic assistance combined to put housing out of reach for more Americans, federal officials said Friday.About 653,000 people were experiencing homelessness during the January snapshot. That’s the highest number since the country began using the yearly point-in-time survey in 2007 to count the homeless population. The total represents an increase of about 70,650 homeless people compared to January 2022.The latest estimate also indicated that people becoming homeless for the first time were behind much of the increase, and it ended a downward trend in family homelessness that began in 2012. “This data underscores the urgent need for support for proven solutions and strategies that help people quickly exit homelessness and that prevent homelessness in the first place,” House and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge said in a prepared stateme...

Federal appeals court refuses to reconsider ruling on Louisiana’s congressional map

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:18:50 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal appeals court refused Friday to reconsider its ruling giving the Louisiana Legislature until Jan. 15 to enact a new congressional map after a lower court found that the current political boundaries dilute the power of the state’s Black voters.The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request by Louisiana’s Republican secretary of state and other state officials to have a larger set of judges rehear the Nov. 10 decision by a three-judge panel. That panel said if the Legislature does not pass a new map by mid-January, then the lower court should conduct a trial and “decide on a plan for the 2024 elections.”The political tug-of-war and legal battle over Louisiana’s GOP-drawn congressional map has been going on for more than a year and a half.Louisiana is among states still wrangling over congressional districts after the U.S. Supreme Court in June ruled that Alabama had violated the Voting Rights Act.Louisiana’s current map, which was used ...