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Biden brushes off House impeachment inquiry and says Republicans want to shut down the government

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:38:16 GMT

By LISA MASCARO, WILL WEISSERT, STEPHEN GROVES and KEVIN FREKING (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden late Wednesday brushed off the House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry, saying the way he sees it, they launched the investigation against him because they want to shut down the federal government.Biden, speaking at a Democratic fundraiser in Virginia, said that instead of being concerned about the probe, “I’m focused on the things the American people want me focused on.”The president’s remarks were the first since Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced the launch of a Biden impeachment inquiry while the Republican House leader is also struggling to shore up votes to fund the government and prevent a federal shutdown.“The best I can tell is they want to impeach me because they want to shut down the government,” Biden said.He also made a reference to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a top ally of his chief rival heading i...

‘Moments I will always remember’: Tim Anderson reflects on his road to 1,000 hits with the Chicago White Sox

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:38:16 GMT

Tim Anderson was back in his role as an igniter, singling sharply to center field on the first pitch of his first-inning at-bat in Game 1 of Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Kansas City Royals.The hit jump-started a five-run rally for the Chicago White Sox in a 6-2 win at Guaranteed Rate Field.It was typical Anderson in a season that has been anything but for the eight-year veteran.While the year hasn’t gone anywhere close to plan for the shortstop and the Sox — Anderson entered Wednesday hitting .240, and the Sox were 33 games under .500 — he did recently reach a milestone by collecting his 1,000th career hit with a double in the first inning against the Detroit Tigers on Sept. 3 at Guaranteed Rate Field.In doing so, Anderson became the 19th player to record his first 1,000 hits with the franchise.“It’s an unbelievable accomplishment because a lot of things go into that,” manager Pedro Grifol said last week. “Health, talent, youR...

Orioles’ Ryan Mountcastle exits game against Cardinals with left shoulder discomfort

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:38:16 GMT

Orioles first baseman Ryan Mountcastle exited Wednesday night’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals with left shoulder discomfort, the team said.During a first inning at-bat, Mountcastle grabbed his shoulder after swinging and fouling off a pitch before eventually earning a walk. He was assessed by trainers at first base, but remained in the game until the third inning, when Ramón Urias pinch hit and replaced him at first base. It marked the 12th time in his career that Urias has played first base, all this season.Mountcastle missed about a month this season after experiencing vertigo, but returned in July and has hit .328/.406/.497 in 50 games since.During Wednesday’s Norfolk Tides’ game, prospect Heston Kjerstad was removed in the fifth inning for a pinch-hitter. Kjerstad, the No. 2 pick in the 2020 draft, has played both outfield and first base for Triple-A Norfolk, where he has hit .299/.371/.500 this season.This story will be updated. ()

Boston City Council rejects $2.55M set aside for police department intel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:38:16 GMT

The Boston City Council, in a post-election flurry, voted to reject $2.55 million in state grants earmarked for the investigative arm of the city’s police department.City Councilor Michael Flaherty had pushed to suspend the rules and pass three grants for $850,000 apiece for the Boston Regional Intelligence Center, for the purposes of improving “technology and protocols related to anti-terrorism, anti-crime, anti-gang and emergency response.”“These funds are vital,” Flaherty said. “They’re needed to thwart anyone looking to do harm in our city.”Mayor Michelle Wu had filed communications for the grants for the day’s City Council meeting, for fiscal years 2021, 2022 and 2023. The Council voted to reject the grants in FY21 and FY22, and did so again Wednesday, via a 7-5 vote.The vote was taken after City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo, who lost his District 5 seat in Tuesday night’s election, questioned if the police department funding was the same grant that “now-Attorney General Andrea Cam...

Boston City Council preliminary election results

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:38:16 GMT

Boston voters narrowed four City Council races to two candidates for the November election in Tuesday’s dramatic preliminary, ousting two embattled incumbents from the running.Councilors Ricardo Arroyo and Kendra Lara lost their coveted Districts 5 and 6 seats respectively after drifting into third in their races.In District 5, Enrique Pepen will be facing off against Jose Ruiz, and in District 6, it will be Benjamin Weber and William King in the final. The general election is Nov. 7.Here is the rundown of unofficial results from the four contested races Tuesday, per the city’s Elections Department.CITY COUNCILOR DISTRICT 3BALLOTS CAST 6,483CANDIDATESJohn M Fitzgerald Votes: 43%  — 2,777Joel G Richards 19% — Votes: 1,237 |Ann M Walsh 18% — Votes: 1,151Matthew D Patton 8.53% —  Votes: 550Jennifer Anne Johnson 4% — Votes: 271Barry Oliver Lawton 4% — Votes: 237Rosalind Wornum 3% — Votes: 213CITY COUNCILOR DISTRICT 5BALLOTS CAST: 7,583CANDIDATES...

Flaherty to Mayor Wu: Don’t wait on Boston City Council to clear out Mass and Cass

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:38:16 GMT

Boston City Councilor Michael Flaherty says the mayor shouldn’t wait for his colleagues to act before removing tents in the troubled Mass and Cass zone.Flaherty said the City Council’s committee on government operations should have held a hearing on Mayor Michelle Wu’s anti-encampment ordinance “at the first possible moment,” rather than wait until Sept. 28, as scheduled by committee chair Ricardo Arroyo.“Frankly, if I was the mayor, I’d clear it up myself now,” Flaherty told the Herald Wednesday. “The Boston City Council can’t organize a one-car funeral these days. If I’m the mayor of Boston, I don’t wait for the Boston City Council. I do it myself.”The late September hearing date pushed a Council vote on the matter into October, Flaherty said, more than a month after the mayor proposed the ordinance as part of her three-pronged plan to tackle crime at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard.Given that the ordinance was introduced to the Council on Wednes...

Facing $1.5B deficit, California State University to hike tuition 6% annually for next 5 years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:38:16 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Trustees at California State University, the nation’s largest public university system, voted Wednesday to raise student tuition by 6% each year for five consecutive years to try to narrow a $1.5 billion deficit, a decision that some students called disheartening. The university’s governing board voted 9-0 to approve the increases that will start across the 23-campus system in the fall of 2024. Annual tuition for full-time California undergraduate students will increase by $342 next year to $6,084. By the 2028-2029 school year, those students will be paying $7,682.The tuition hikes are needed to provide support to students, both through financial aid and programs to help them succeed academically, university officials say. The extra revenue is also needed to give more resources to faculty and staff and maintain school facilities, according to a report about the system’s finances released in May. The report found the system with 460,000 students, many of them min...

Teen driver accused of intentionally hitting three cyclists, killing one, in Southern California

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:38:16 GMT

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A teenage driver was in custody Wednesday on suspicion of intentionally striking three bicyclists, killing one, in a Southern California beach city last weekend, police said. In the first hit-and-run collision, a bicyclist said a black Toyota sideswiped him around 10:30 p.m Sunday night in Huntington Beach, leaving him with minor injuries, said Jessica Cuchilla, a police spokesperson. Another cyclist said he was aggressively sideswiped by a black Toyota about 15 minutes later just up the road from the first collision, police said. And 15 minutes after that, a black Toyota sedan struck 70-year-old Steven Gonzales, who was alive when paramedics showed up but died at the scene.On Tuesday, officers discovered the suspect’s vehicle in Huntington Beach, leading them to identify the teen as a suspect, Cuchilla said. The teen, who was not identified, was arrested around 9 p.m. His age was not given. Investigators believe the crashes were all intentional, but ...

Police say another Sikh student attacked on bus in Kelowna, B.C.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:38:16 GMT

KELOWNA, B.C. — Police say a Sikh high school student in Kelowna, B.C., was pepper sprayed after an “altercation” on a bus on Monday, in the second instance of violence against a Sikh youth riding public transit in the city this year. The World Sikh Organization of Canada says it’s deeply concerned by the latest incident that it says began when two people tried to bar the Grade 11 student from boarding, then got on with him and began threatening him with a lighter, filming the interaction on their phones. A statement issued by the organization on Wednesday says the assailants began kicking and punching the student, a newcomer to Canada, before the bus driver kicked them all off the bus, and the attackers pepper sprayed the teenager before bystanders got involved.  Kelowna RCMP say they were called to an intersection in Rutland Monday afternoon and found that a 17-year-old Sikh student had been pepper sprayed or bear sprayed by another teenage male. Kelowna Mounties...

Heavy surf is pounding Bermuda as Hurricane Lee aims for New England and Atlantic Canada

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:38:16 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The outer bands of Hurricane Lee began to lash Bermuda late Thursday as big surf pounded the island, with the Category 2 storm expected to make landfall on the coast of New England or Atlantic Canada over the weekend.The storm was located about 370 miles (595 kilometers) south-southwest of Bermuda. It had winds of up to 105 miles per hour (165 kilometers per hour) and was moving north-northwest at 9 mph (15 kph).Lee was expected to pass just west of Bermuda, prompting forecasters to issue a tropical storm warning for the island.”I cannot stress enough that we must all take this storm seriously,” David Burch, acting national security minister, said in a press conference.Bermuda’s government announced it would shutter its airport at midday Thursday and reopen it Friday. Banks, city parks and ferry service also were scheduled to shut down Thursday. Public schools would shutter Thursday and Friday.“We don’t want 4,000 little people wandering around the...