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Top legislative Democrats confident in Healey’s MassDOT as Gina Fiandaca departs

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:23 GMT

Top legislative Democrats focused on transportation expressed confidence in the leadership capabilities of Monica Tibbits-Nutt, who will take over as acting transportation secretary in two weeks after Gina Fiandaca steps down.Gov. Maura Healey announced Monday that Fiandaca, the state’s transportation secretary, plans to leave her position on Sept. 11 and serve in an “advising role” through the end of the year while Tibbits-Nutt steps in as acting secretary. During the period as a MassDOT advisor, Fiandaca will continue to collect her full secretarial salary of $181,722, a Healey spokesperson said.Healey offered no explanation for Fiandaca’s departure, but in an internal MassDOT email sent Monday, the secretary indicated she came to the decision on her own.The top ranks of MassDOT make for a “good working lineup” during the secretarial transition, said Rep. William Straus, a Mattapoisett Democrat who co-chairs the Legislature’s Transportation Committee.Straus said he is satisfied &#...

Massachusetts private investigators want online access to RMV records

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:23 GMT

Private investigators in Massachusetts petitioned state lawmakers Tuesday to give them online access to a swath of records held by the Registry of Motor Vehicles, a move they said is necessary to save time and taxpayer dollars.Detectives can already get their hands on many RMV records but they are required to go in person to pick them up, a scenario that can often take hours and prove inconvenient for those who work far away from a service center, said Martin Kraft, vice president of the Licensed Private Detectives Association of Massachusetts.Private investigators working a case for the Committee for Public Counsel Services, a state-funded agency that provides legal counsel for the indigent, can charge up to $75 an hour, including for time spent retrieving records from the Registry of Motor Vehicles, according to the association.Kraft and the association are backing legislation from Sen. John Keenan and Rep. Rob Consalvo that would give private eyes online access to RMV records the...

Yankees place OF Harrison Bader on waivers: reports

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:23 GMT

The Yankees have placed Harrison Bader on waivers, according to reports.The outfielder, who was acquired via trade in exchange for Jordan Montgomery from the Cardinals last season, has been in a huge slump recently.The news, which was first reported by Newsday’s Erik Boland, comes hours after the team released three-time All-Star Josh Donaldson. This is a developing story. Check back for more details. ()

Patriots’ offensive line gets good news on roster cutdown day

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:23 GMT

FOXBORO — Hours away from the NFL’s roster cut deadline Tuesday, Bill Belichick described the Patriots three times as having “balls in the air.”A more apt description might’ve been offensive linemen in the mix.The Patriots executed dozens of transactions in the final hours before the league’s 4 p.m. deadline that helped sort out an offensive line steeped in injuries and inexperience. The Pats’ first move was to activate projected swing tackle Calvin Anderson off the Non-Football Illness List. Anderson missed all of training camp with an illness he developed sometime between June’s mandatory minicamp and late July.During Tuesday’s shorts-and-shells practice, Anderson took warmup reps at both offensive tackle spots. Speaking to reporters hours later, Anderson declined to offer many specifics on the illness that sidelined him.“We agreed we’re not gonna talk in depth about what actually happened just yet,” Anderson ...

Forecast: Clear skies over Boston for the Super Blue Moon Wednesday

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:23 GMT

You’ll only get to see this super display once in a blue moon.And that time is Wednesday night, when the moon reaches its perigee in its elliptical orbit around Earth — the closest it will come to our planet all year, at around 226,000 miles away, according to NASA, some 13,000 miles closer than its average of 238,855 miles distance.It’s the second supermoon this month, making it a blue moon by the modern definition, which NASA said was established in Sky & Telescope magazine in 1946.The moon should appear about 17% bigger and 30% brighter than the faintest moon of the year, which itself appears when the moon is the furthest distance from us.To celebrate the occasion, the planet Saturn has joined in on the fun, the space agency says. The planet, nearing its closest and brightest appearance from earth for the year, will appear about 5 degrees to the upper right of the moon at about 8:42 p.m. and can be seen swinging, clockwise, around the rocky satellite.Bostonians worried about ...

State awards $18M for clean energy job training

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:23 GMT

Training people from underserved and underrepresented communities for the clean energy jobs of tomorrow is a prerequisite for the state to meet its legally enshrined climate goals, according to the governor.Toward that end, the Healey Administration announced Tuesday they had awarded $18 million in grants to dozens of organizations which focus on training women and minorities looking to enter the green job market.“Strengthening a dynamic and inclusive clean energy workforce is vitally important to reaching our state’s climate targets. These awards stand at the intersection of the climate crisis, environmental justice, and economic development,” Gov. Maura Healey said along with the grant announcement.Provided through the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, grants were awarded to 44 organizations from across the state. Grants are given to small businesses, trade schools, community colleges, non-profits, and neighborhood organizations which are “introducing young people to clean energy...

Patriots cut Bailey Zappe, Malik Cunningham, leaving Mac Jones as lone QB

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:23 GMT

FOXBORO — NFL teams, collectively, were forced to make over 1,000 roster moves Tuesday to trim their 90-man rosters down to 53. The Patriots made one of the most surprising cuts of the day.The Patriots waived backup quarterback Bailey Zappe on Tuesday, a source confirmed. Mac Jones is now the only quarterback on the Patriots roster after Trace McSorely was released Monday and quarterback/wide receiver Malik Cunningham was also waived Tuesday.Waiving Zappe comes as a major surprise after head coach Bill Belichick entertained the possibility of a quarterback competition as recently as this summer. The Patriots must now find a new backup quarterback behind Jones unless Zappe clears waivers and returns to the team’s practice squad as the team’s No. 2 option for their season opener against the Eagles. That remains a possibility, according to a source.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots’ offensive line gets good news on roster cutdown day New ...

US says a smuggler with terrorist ties helped get migrants from Uzbekistan into the country

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:23 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Tuesday that it detected and stopped a network attempting to smuggle people from Uzbekistan into the United States and that at least one member of the network had links to a foreign terrorist group.U.S. officials do not believe the Uzbek nationals who used the smuggling network had any terrorist ties or were planning a terrorist attack, said a statement from National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson. The statement did not specify the foreign terrorist group, but a U.S. official told The Associated Press that it was the Islamic State. The official was not authorized to speak about the ongoing investigation and spoke on the condition of anonymity.The U.S. worked with governments overseas to detain key members of the smuggling network, including the person with the foreign terrorism links, the NSC said. The statement did not specify how the person was linked to the terrorist group or what governments the U.S. worked with to a...

Lightning sparks about 40 new B.C. wildfires, but rain may bring relief

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:23 GMT

Lightning strikes have sparked dozens of new wildfires in British Columbia, as thunderstorms brought mixed blessings to the province’s battle against its worst fire season on record.A forecast of rain promised relief for some wildfire zones in the south and Interior, but lightning associated with the storms triggered most of the 47 new blazes recorded in the past day, pushing the total number of fires in the province above 400 on Tuesday.Thirty-seven lightning-caused fires started in the Coastal fire region, including Vancouver Island, but there were also new lightning-related blazes in the Kamloops and Prince George regions.Some much-needed rain fell on the island, with almost two millimetres recorded at Victoria’s airport, but the BC Wildfire Service had warned on social media that lightning associated with a severe thunderstorm event over the island Monday night risked setting fires.Meanwhile, crews battling a destructive wildfire in the Shuswap region in the Interior...

Trades dominate the day as NFL teams trim rosters to 53 players

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:23 GMT

A slew of trades highlighted roster cutdown day in the NFL on Tuesday.Kicker Wil Lutz is reuniting with coach Sean Payton in Denver. The Eagles got tight end Albert Okwuegbunam from the Broncos. Veteran kicker Nick Folk went from New England to Tennessee.Defensive end Boogie Bashum, defensive tackle Neil Farrell Jr., cornerbacks Noah Igbinoghene and Kelvin Joseph, offensive lineman Dan Feeney and Kendrick Green and wide receiver/returner Ihmir Smith-Marsette are among the players on the move in trades.Jonathan Taylor isn’t going anywhere, however. The Indianapolis Colts didn’t trade the disgruntled star running back, but they’re keeping Taylor on the physically unable to perform list. That means he will miss the first four games, even if he’s traded.The most surprising cut came from New England, which let second-year quarterback Bailey Zappe go. Zappe was 2-0 as a starter last year filling in for Mac Jones but struggled in the preseason. The Patriots currently don’t have a backup be...