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Details of Department of Homeland Security visit to Massachusetts scarce as trip is expected to end

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:31:00 GMT

Details are scarce about a Department of Homeland Security trip this week to Massachusetts where federal officials planned to “assess” an influx of migrants that has strained an already unsteady emergency shelter system designed to temporarily house people.A team from the Department of Homeland Security was scheduled to visit Boston Tuesday and Wednesday but the itinerary for the trip has not been made public nor have state or federal officials disclosed specific details.In a statement last week, a White House spokesperson said a team would be “deployed to assess the current migrant situation and identify ways to improve efficiencies and maximize our support for communities that are addressing the needs of migrants.”A Healey spokesperson said Tuesday the administration would have more information to share when the visit concluded and referred some questions to the Department Homeland Security.“Our administration welcomes the opportunity to show officials from the Department of Homel...

Ticker: Wholesale inflation on the rise; Birkenstock stays earthbound on open 

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:31:00 GMT

U.S. wholesale prices rose last month at the fastest pace since April, suggesting that inflationary pressures remain despite a year and a half of higher interest rates.The Labor Department reported Wednesday that its producer price index — which measures inflation before it hits consumers — climbed 2.2% from a year earlier. That was up from a 2% uptick in August.On a month-to-month basis, producer prices rose 0.5% from August to September, down from 0.7% from July to August.Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core inflation rose 2.7% in September from a year earlier and 0.3% from August. The Federal Reserve and many outside economists pay particular attention to core prices as a good signal of where inflation might be headed.Birkenstock stays earthbound on openBirkenstock stumbled in its stock market debut Wednesday, a day Wall Street traded in its wingtips for sandals.Some traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange donned the iconic opened-toed footwear, a...

Biden calls Hamas attacks the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust as US death toll ticks up

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:31:00 GMT

By MATTHEW LEE and AAMER MADHANI (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday condemned the weekend attack by Hamas militants on Israel as the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust as the number of U.S. citizens killed in the fighting ticked up to at least 22.“This attack was a campaign of pure cruelty — not just hate, but pure cruelty — against the Jewish people,” Biden told Jewish leaders gathered at the White House.Beyond the 22 known to have been killed, the State Department said at least 17 more Americans remain unaccounted for in a war that has already claimed more than 2,200 lives on both sides. A “handful” of U.S. citizens are among the estimated 150 hostages captured by Hamas militants during their shocking weekend assault on Israel, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday. Signs of U.S. support for Israel were seen across the administration, with Secretary of State Anton...

An Oklahoma judge could be removed from office for sending more than 500 texts during a murder trial

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:31:00 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A new Oklahoma judge could lose her job for sending more than 500 texts to her bailiff during a murder trial, including messages mocking the prosecutor, praising the defense attorney and calling a key witness a liar.The chief justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court recommended the removal of Lincoln County District Judge Traci Soderstrom in a court filing Tuesday following an investigation by the state’s Council on Judicial Complaints. Soderstrom has been under scrutiny since July after she was caught on camera scrolling through social media and texting during the trial of a man accused in the fatal beating of a 2-year-old. Soderstrom, who was sworn in on Jan. 9 after being elected in November, was suspended with pay pending the outcome of a hearing by the Court on the Judiciary, which will determine whether to remove her from the bench.“The pattern of conduct demonstrates Respondent’s (Soderstrom’s) gross neglect of duty, gross partiality and oppression,” C...

Kansas escapes postseason ban, major penalties as panel downgrades basketball violations

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:31:00 GMT

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas men’s basketball program was put on probation and ordered to take down its 2018 Final Four banner but escaped a postseason ban Wednesday, when an independent panel created by the NCAA to handle complex cases downgraded five Level I violations lodged against the Jayhawks.The violations stem from a 2017 federal investigation into college basketball corruption, and hinged on whether representatives of the apparel company Adidas were considered boosters when two of them arranged payments to prospective recruits.Kansas officials never disputed that payments were made, only that they had any knowledge of them, and they appealed the violations through the Independent Accountability Resolution Process. Their hearing took place in April and the ruling was announced less than a month before the start of the season, in which the powerhouse Jayhawks will be a national championship contender.“Today’s decision by the Independent Resolution Panel confirms wha...

Train derailment in India leaves at least 4 dead and 50 injured

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:31:00 GMT

PATNA, India (AP) — A train derailed in eastern India Wednesday night, killing at least four people and injuring 50 other passengers, a government official and news reports said.Six of the 23 coaches of the North-East Express train, on its way to Assam state from New Delhi, derailed near Raghunathpur railroad station in Buxar district of Bihar state.The Press Trust of India news agency cited police officer Manish Kumar as saying that four people died in the accident.The injured were rushed to hospital and rescue work was in progress though hampered by darkness, Kumar told reporters. Medical teams with ambulances rushed to the scene and hospitals were alerted to receive injured passengers, another police officer, Deepak Kumar, said.D.K. Pathak, a railroad official who was on the train at the time of the accident, said most injuries were reported from one of the derailed coaches.Other details were not immediately available.In June, India had one of the country’s deadliest rail crashes...

Appeals court says California’s higher-capacity magazine ban can remain in effect amid legal fight

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:31:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California’s ban on higher-capacity magazines can remain in effect while the state fights a lower court’s ruling last month that the law is unconstitutional.The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday granted state Attorney General Rob Bonta’s request that the law banning detachable magazines that hold more than 10 rounds remain in effect as the state appeals last month’s ruling by U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez.The appeals court also wrote that the state’s case is likely to succeed against the challenge by the federal judge in San Diego. The September ruling marked the second time Benitez struck down the law and was in response to legal action filed by five individuals and the California Rifle & Pistol Association challenging the law’s constitutionality under the Second Amendment. Benitez also struck down the law in 2017, but an appeals court ended up reversing that decision.The Supreme Court ordered the case to be heard agai...

Transgender North Carolinians file federal lawsuit challenging gender-affirming care ban for minors

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:31:00 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The family of a transgender boy in North Carolina is suing state health officials to block implementation of gender-affirming care restrictions that they say will force their son to undergo a traumatic wrong-gender puberty.A federal lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court alleges the new state law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment by denying treatment access to transgender youths and undercuts parents’ rights to make medical decisions for their children. The North Carolina lawsuit closely follows the playbook of other successful court challenges to gender-affirming care bans that have swept Republican-controlled states this year. At least 22 states have enacted laws restricting or banning common treatments for transgender minors, and legal challenges have delivered mixed results. But court victories in states like Arkansas, where a federal judge struck down a state ban as unconstitutional, mapped out what Lambda Legal attorn...

Alberta MP accuses premier of ‘baseless,’ ‘ludicrous’ statements on electricity

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:31:00 GMT

CALGARY — The fuse is lit for fireworks in Ottawa after a Liberal member of Parliament accused Alberta Premier Danielle Smith of making false claims days before Smith is slated to appear before a federal environmental committee.Calgary MP George Chahal said Wednesday that Smith is spreading misinformation about the federal Liberal government’s plans to bring Canada’s electricity grid to net-zero. “Over the past several months, the premier has actively worked to undermine and misinform Albertans,” Chahal said in a press conference.He pointed to Smith’s claim that her decision to suspend new approvals for renewable power in the province was done at the request of rural counties, but Rural Municipalities Alberta has said it made no such request.Chahal added that Smith’s United Conservative Party government is keeping secret its own report on the costs of decarbonizing the electrical grid.He called an $8-million ad campaign to sway Ontario voters agai...

Spin Master bets on nostalgic wooden toys in US$950M deal for Melissa & Doug

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:31:00 GMT

TORONTO — The company best known for the kids’ cartoon “Paw Patrol” is betting its acquisition of a U.S. toymaker specializing in wooden games and toys will broaden its appeal with parents limiting their children’s screen time. Toronto-based Spin Master Corp. announced on Wednesday it has signed a US$950 million deal to buy Wilton, Conn.-based Melissa & Doug, which is known for its nostalgic, pretend-play toys for preschoolers.“The acquisition of Melissa & Doug represents a significant step forward in our growth strategy and will help support our vision to reimagine everyday play,” Spin Master chief executive Max Rangel said during a news conference. He said the acquisition will be an important new brand within Spin Master’s infant and preschool toddler group.Doug Stephens, the founder of Retail Prophet, said Spin Master may be sensing resistance from parents toward digital toys and games, and felt the need to diversify.“There&...