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MBTA overpaid for transit ambassadors, did not set performance metrics, report finds

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:57:40 GMT

The MBTA overpaid a Tennessee-based company by more than $5.3 million to outsource in-station customer service agents and did not set clear goals to track their performance, Massachusetts’ top government watchdog found in a new report.A review from Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro found although the MBTA saved money by using the company, Block by Block, instead of using state workers as “transit ambassadors,” the overpayments arose because the agency failed to account for special events. The study also found the T paid Block by Block employees higher hourly wages than the contract called for.The so-called ambassadors are the employees typically dressed in red shirts that help riders get around, report maintenance and cleaning needs, and help ensure the safety and security of stations.The agency also succeeded in expanding the number of hours and stations covered by customer service agents.But a five-year contract between the MBTA and Block by Block lacked a way to track performance...

Selloff begins for Chicago White Sox, who trade pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López to Los Angeles Angels

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:57:40 GMT

Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López were pivotal additions when the Chicago White Sox began their rebuild in 2016.Late Wednesday, they were the first two players moved in what figures to be a busy selloff by the trade deadline.The Sox sent Giolito and López to the Los Angeles Angels for minor-league switch-hitting catcher Edgar Quero and left-handed pitcher Ky Bush.“Given this club’s performance over the course of the last several months, it’s apparent that these types of moves have to take place given where we are at and putting us in the best position we can be going forward,” Sox general manager Rick Hahn said.“Certainly not where any of us in the organization thought when this year started we would be come the trade deadline. But clearly moves like these in terms of putting ourselves in the best position going forward are essential and we are certainly pleased to add Bush and Quero.”Giolito and López, both free agents at the end of...

800 great white sharks have visited Cape Cod in recent years: ‘The Cape is among the larger white shark hotspots worldwide’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:57:40 GMT

A new population study of great white sharks off Cape Cod shows that the region is one of the largest white shark hotspots in the world, as the apex predators flock to the Cape to hunt seals.Local shark researchers recently found that about 800 individual white sharks visited the waters off the Cape from 2015 to 2018. This count of 800 sharks is the first-ever estimate of white shark abundance in the North Atlantic Ocean.Megan Winton, lead author of the study and a staff scientist for the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, had revealed this population estimate last month during a new National Geographic special for Sharkfest.“Cape Cod is the only area in the region where researchers can feasibly monitor the population, and our estimates suggest that the Cape is among the larger white shark hotspots worldwide, which is good news from a conservation standpoint,” Winton said.The researchers found that white shark numbers along Cape Cod peaked in the late summer and early fal...

Army fire kills a 14-year-old Palestinian boy as an Israeli minister visits a flashpoint holy site

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:57:40 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli military fire killed a 14-year-old Palestinian boy in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, Palestinian health officials said, as an ultranationalist Israeli Cabinet minister visited a sensitive Jerusalem holy site that has been a flashpoint for violence between Israel and the Palestinians.The visit by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to the disputed hilltop compound comes during a period of heightened Israeli-Palestinian violence in the West Bank for the past year and a half and threatens to inflame already surging tensions. It also prompted the Hamas militant group to announce the launch of a rare rocket from the West Bank and drew condemnation from across the Muslim world.The site is revered by Jews and Muslims, and the competing claims lie at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Early Thursday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said 14-year-old Fares Abu Samra was killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank town of Qalqilya. The Israel...

Judge sees dark writings of Michigan school shooter who could get life in prison

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:57:40 GMT

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — A teenager who killed four fellow students at a Michigan high school in 2021 wrote about his plans in a handwritten journal, detailing how he would target his victims and make himself famous, according to evidence offered Thursday.The lead investigator was the first witness at a unique hearing to determine whether Ethan Crumbley will be sentenced to life in prison or receive a shorter term with an opportunity for parole.Lt. Timothy Willis said a 22-page journal was found in a bathroom stall, apparently left behind by Crumbley before he emerged in a hallway at Oxford High School and began shooting.“I want America to hear what I did,” Crumbley wrote. “I will cause the largest school shooting in the state. I wish to hear the screams of the children as I shoot them.”Willis said Crumbley searched the internet for information about police emergency response times, prison sentences for teenagers and whether Michigan has the death penalty.Crumbley has admitted to carry...

Freedom Mobile adding 5G service for plans over $45 per month

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:57:40 GMT

TORONTO — Freedom Mobile is adding 5G capability for some customers as its new parent company implements network upgrades in accordance with orders from Ottawa.The telecom provider says it will begin offering 5G service to customers with plans that cost $45 per month or more in the Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton areas along with select cities across Ontario, B.C. and Alberta, with planned rollouts in other markets.In May, Freedom Mobile announced it would offer a $50 monthly plan, its first with national coverage, that includes unlimited calls and texts as well as 40 gigabytes of data usable throughout Canada and the U.S. following its purchase by Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron.The $2.85 billion acquisition was prompted by Rogers Communications Inc.’s takeover of Shaw Communications Inc., which agreed last year to sell Freedom Mobile in an attempt to ease competition concerns as a requirement for the merger.As part of conditions laid out by Industry Minister François-Philippe C...

Sweden’s prime minister “extremely concerned” as new applications to burn religious books pour in

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:57:40 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden’s prime minister said Thursday that police have received several permit applications for the burning of religious texts in the country next week, and that he fears this may escalate tensions further with the Muslim world.In his first public comments since the start of the Quran burning crisis that has severely strained Stockholm’s ties with Muslim nations, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told Swedish news agency TT he was “extremely concerned” about a new wave of desecrations.“It’s the police that make those decisions, not me. If they (permits) are granted, we face a number of days with the obvious risk of serious things happening,” Kristersson told TT. A recent string of public Quran desecrations by a handful of anti-Islam activists in Sweden – and more recently in neighboring Denmark – has sparked angry demonstrations in Muslim countries.Sweden does not have a law specifically prohibiting the burning or desecration of the Quran or other religious...

Greek wildfires trigger blasts at ammunition dump. EU agency records a huge carbon emissions spike

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:57:40 GMT

RHODES, Greece (AP) — Wildfires caused explosions Thursday at an air force ammunition dump in central Greece that had been safely evacuated in advance, as strong gusts of wind caused flare-ups around the country.The fires have raged across parts of Greece during three successive Mediterranean heat waves over two weeks, leaving five people dead, including two firefighting pilots, and triggering a huge evacuation of tourists over the weekend on the island of Rhodes.A blaze in the region of Volos, in central Greece, reached an ammunition dump outside a major military air base in Nea Anchialos, triggering a series of large explosions that broke windows in a surrounding area.The air force said the site, about 6 kilometers ( about 4 miles) north of the airbase, had been evacuated well in advance and no injuries were reported. Several villages in the broader area were ordered evacuated as a precaution.The wildfire burned on two fronts and forced a section of Greece’s busiest highway to clo...

Presidents of Indonesia and China meet to discuss joint projects and regional politics

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:57:40 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Indonesian President Joko Widodo met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday in southwestern China for talks about joint projects, including the development of Indonesia’s capital.Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said the governments of China and Indonesia signed several agreements, including a memorandum of understanding on exchanging knowledge and experience for the development of Nusantara.During their meeting in Chengdu, the two leaders also were discussing investments, cooperation in areas such as health, research and technology, and regional issues, including China’s relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, according to a statement from Widodo.“The Indo-Pacific is a strategic area that we must protect as a peaceful and stable area,” said Indonesia’s president, whose country is chairing the ASEAN this year. Widodo is on a three-day visit to China and also plans to meet with Chinese businesspeople to discuss possible investm...

S&P/TSX composite inches lower in late-morning trading Thursday, U.S. markets rise

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:57:40 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index inched lower in late-morning trading, weighed down by telecoms and utilities, while U.S. markets rose. The S&P/TSX composite index was down 4.34 points at 20,557.30.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 34.07 points at 35,554.19. The S&P 500 index was up 24.73 points at 4,591.48, while the Nasdaq composite was up 167.69 points at 14,294.98.The Canadian dollar traded for 75.77 cents UScompared with 75.64 cents US on Wednesday.The September crude oil contract was up US$1.27 at US$80.05 per barrel and the September natural gas contract was down 10 cents at US$2.59 per mmBTU.The August gold contract was down US$25.40 at US$1,944.70 an ounce and the September copper contract was down three cents at US$3.86 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 27, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press