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Boston City Council approves ‘historic’ $82 million police contract

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:43 GMT

The Boston City Council approved a new five-year contract between the city and its largest police union, an $82 million deal that includes a 9% raise in salary and significant reforms around officer discipline, overtime and paid details.The 12-0 vote on Wednesday brings to a close a process that included 18 months of “intense” negotiations, resulting in what the mayor described as a “historic” agreement that was reached Dec. 1 and ratified by union membership days later.“We’re ecstatic about it,” said Larry Calderone, union president. “The men and women in the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association have worked tirelessly over the last three-and-half years and they deserve this thank-you.”The agreement will cost the city roughly $82.3 million, or a 21% increase over a five-year retroactive period, from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2025. It includes annual base wage increases for officers of 2%, 1.5%, 2%, 1% and 2.5%.The two votes taken by the Council authorized the city to reduce the fisc...

Puerto Rico’s restaurant scene has never been better. Here’s why

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:43 GMT

Nevin Martell | (TNS) Bloomberg NewsMaybe you’ve heard about the ascendant restaurant scene in Puerto Rico. Most people haven’t: The island is still principally known as a highly convenient place for sun and beaches, with no passport required for U.S. citizens, and the food scene is often relegated to what’s convenient to cruise ship ports.If you didn’t know, Puerto Rico has become one of the most exciting destination-dining scenes in the Caribbean. It’s rich with exciting concepts and heritage-minded chefs who showcase culinary traditions and fresh local ingredients in ways that range from ingenious riffs on Puerto Rican classics to exuberant explorations of Mediterranean cuisine—and even noteworthy pizza. This is all happening in spite of the long-lasting impact of Hurricane Maria in 2017 and the subsequent COVID-19 pandemic.In fact, those two crippling events inspired many chefs to work with the most readily available ingredients — what they could obtain from the island’s f...

Some 2024 GOP hopefuls call for ‘compassion’ in Texas abortion case but don’t say law should change

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:43 GMT

By MEG KINNARD, CHRISTINE FERNANDO and MICHELLE L. PRICE (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Some of the Republicans seeking their party’s 2024 presidential nomination have said the case of a Texas woman whose health deteriorated as she unsuccessfully sought an abortion should be handled with “compassion,” but they did not criticize the state’s law.It’s the latest indication that the candidates see the politics surrounding abortion as a delicate — and fraught — issue for the GOP after the Supreme Court’s reversal of constitutional protections for the procedure helped power Democrats to unexpectedly strong performances in the 2022 midterms.While campaigning Tuesday, both former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis expressed sympathy for Kate Cox, a mother of two who sought an abortion after learning the baby she was carrying had a fatal genetic condition and suffering health complications of her own....

After ‘Barbie’ success, Mattel to make American Doll live-action movie

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:43 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — “Barbie” may soon be joined by another Mattel doll on the big screen. The toy company is developing a live-action film based on its American Girl doll line, Mattel announced Wednesday. “American Girl” will be produced by Mattel Films, Paramount Pictures and Temple Hill Entertainment, the production company of “Twilight” and “The Fault in Our Stars.” Attached to write the script and produce is Lindsey Anderson Beer, the writer of this year’s “Pet Cemetery: Bloodlines.” The project adds to the already teeming pipeline of movies in development for Mattel Films. Following its blockbuster first release, “Barbie,” Mattel Films is prepping some 14 live-action films, including movies based on Hot Wheels, Magic 8 Ball, Polly Pocket, Rock ‘Em Sock ’Em Robots and UNO. “Saturday Night Live” has already spoofed the idea of an American Girl doll movie. In April, the NBC sket...

Colombia investigates the killing of a Hmong American comedian and activist in Medellin

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:43 GMT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian authorities on Wednesday were investigating the alleged kidnapping and murder of a Hmong American comedian and activist who was found dead Monday in a wooded area of the northern city Medellín.Prosecutors told reporters that Tou Ger Xiong, 50, arrived in Medellín on Nov. 29. He went to meet a friend in the city on Dec. 10. Hours later he called a friend in the United States to tell him that he was kidnapped and his captors demanded a $2,000 ransom to free him, according to prosecutors.Yiri Amado Sánchez, sectional director of Medellín prosecutor’s office, indicated that another friend of the activist reported the kidnapping for ransom — a common occurrence in the city. The office did not identify the friend by name.“The man was the victim of a kidnapping,” Sánchez said, adding that the alleged kidnappers didn’t collect the money.Xiong, who lived in the St. Paul, Minnesota, suburb of Woodbury, was a comedian, entertainer, storyteller and ...

Drop in Canadian maple syrup production not expected to affect access

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:43 GMT

Pancake and waffle loves can breathe a sigh of relief as a five-year low in maple syrup productions is not expected to affect Canadians’ access to the sugary topping, according to the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers’ Association (OMSPA).Numbers from of Statistics Canada found maple syrup production dropped from a record high of 79 million litres in 2022 to just over 47 million litres of syrup this year. However, Executive Director of OMSPA John Williams said the strategic reserve in Quebec will ensure the global supply will stay stable.Across Canada, production dipped down from 40 per cent in Quebec, 35 per cent in New Brunswick to 15 per cent in Ontario.“It’s like millions of dollars in bulk sale really. And, it creates a stress for the industry, because if you don’t have those dollars, then you can’t really invest or expand in your company,” said Louise Poitras, Executive Director of the New Brunswick Maple Syrup AssociationHowever, suppliers, lik...

Beer and wine coming to Ontario convenience stores, gas stations in January 2026: sources

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:43 GMT

Premier Doug Ford will announce on Thursday that beer, wine and canned cocktail drinks will be sold in Ontario convenience stores and gas stations starting in January 2026, sources confirm with CityNews.The cap on the number of grocery stores allowed to sell beer will be also removed, and any retailer selling beer will be allowed to sell 12 and 24 packs, which currently are restricted to The Beer Store.Ford teased the announcement on Wednesday — the same day that his government announced a reversal of its previous plan to dissolve Peel Region.“We made a promise to you to bring beer and wine to convenience stores and grocery stores across the province of Ontario. Get ready, we’ve got big news coming tomorrow,” Ford said in the brief clip posted to social media.Tune in tomorrow for some very exciting news Ontario! ???? ???? pic.twitter.com/jTchNPoCQk— Doug Ford (@fordnation) December 13, 2023Under the new plan, The Beer Store will continue to handle distr...

Wisconsin Supreme Court refuses to hear lawsuit challenging voucher school program

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:43 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to hear a lawsuit brought by Democrats seeking to end the state’s taxpayer-funded private school voucher program. The lawsuit could be refiled in county circuit court, as both Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ administration and Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos had argued. The Supreme Court rejected it without comment in an unsigned, unanimous order.Democrats who brought the lawsuit asked the state Supreme Court to take the case directly, which would have resulted in a much faster final ruling than having the case start in lower courts.Brian Potts, attorney for those challenging the voucher programs, did not reply to a message seeking comment.Supporters of the voucher programs hailed the court’s rejection of the lawsuit.The lawsuit “was plagued with misleading, misinformed, and nonsensical legal arguments,” said Rick Esenberg, president of the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty. That group r...

Aimed at safety, Atlantic City road narrowing accelerates fears of worse traffic in gambling resort

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:43 GMT

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Even with two lanes in each direction, the main road through Atlantic City can be choked with traffic, particularly on days when one or more big concerts are in town.Now, to access federal and state highway safety money to repair the decrepit condition of Atlantic Avenue, the city is acceding to the main demand of both governments by narrowing the roadway from four lanes to two, in the name of protecting pedestrians. Skeptics warn of even worse traffic jams to come in the gambling mecca. But the city dismisses their concerns about the changes, particularly in light of the free improvements it says it is getting.Atlantic Avenue spans the length of the resort, but it is not the road on which six of the city’s nine casinos front. They are located along Pacific Avenue, a block to the east, which is and will remain one lane in each direction.Mayor Marty Small called the combined $24 million in federal and state funding that will pay for newly paved roads ...

Lawsuit alleges ex-Harvard Medical School professor used own sperm to secretly impregnate patient

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:43 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — A former professor at Harvard Medical School and founder of one of the nation’s largest fertility clinics is being accused of secretly impregnating a patient in 1980 after promising the sperm would come from an anonymous donor, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday.Sarah Depoian, 73, said she and her husband first went to Dr. Merle Berger, now-retired professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology, in 1979 to discuss an intrauterine insemination. Depoian said Berger told her the sperm would come from an anonymous donor “who resembled her husband, who did not know her, and whom she did not know,” according to the lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.The artificial insemination that Berger performed resulted in a successful pregnancy, and Depoian’s daughter, Carolyn Bester, was born in January 1981. Earlier this year, Bester conducted a home DNA test and discovered Berger was her biological father, according t...