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Florida man charged with threatening to kill US Rep Eric Swalwell and his children

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:30 GMT

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A South Florida man threatened to kill U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell and his children in a series of voicemails left at the California Democrat’s Washington office last month, federal prosecutors said.Michael Shapiro, 72, of Greenacres, Florida, was arrested Wednesday morning on a charge of transmitting a threatening communication, according to court records. He made his initial appearance in West Palm Beach federal court, where a bond of $250,000 was set.According to a criminal complaint, Shapiro left five voicemail messages at Swalwell’s office D.C. office on Dec. 19. The complaint doesn’t name the member of Congress, but Swalwell confirmed that the messages were left for him in a social media post on Wednesday.“No threat is going to stop me from representing my constituents,” Swalwell said. “MAGA Republicans have chosen violence over voting and this is what it looks like.”In one of the messages, Shapiro stated that he was going to “c...

Voters file an objection to Trump’s name on the Illinois ballot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:30 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A petition filed by five voters on Thursday seeks to bar former President Donald Trump from the Illinois Republican primary election ballot in March, claiming he is ineligible to hold office because he encouraged and did little to stop the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.The petition, similar to those filed in more than a dozen other states, relies on the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits anyone from holding office who previously has taken an oath to defend the Constitution and then later “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the country or given “aid or comfort” to its enemies.The 87-page document, signed by five people from around the state, lays out a case that Trump, having lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden, fanned the flames of hardcore supporters who attacked the Capitol on the day Congress certified the election results. The riot left five dead and more than 100 injured.Officials in Colorado and Maine hav...

2 dead after early morning Dorchester crash, 1 in ‘grave’ condition

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:30 GMT

An early morning crash on Morrissey Boulevard in Dorchester Thursday claimed the lives of two people and injured two others, officials said.Massachusetts State Police confirmed two occupants of a vehicle which rolled over on the street suffered fatal injuries. A third was in “grave condition” at a Boston hospital as of Thursday afternoon and a fourth was also hospitalized, though they are expected to survive. Police in an update near 4 p.m. said all four occupants of the car were teenage males.State police said authorities found a gun in the crashed vehicle, which had been reported stolen out of Jamaica Plain earlier Thursday morning.Police in a prior statement said a state trooper on patrol on Morrissey Boulevard saw the vehicle crash on the northbound side of the road just after 3:15 a.m. near UMass-Boston. Additional state police and Boston police patrols, along with Boston Fire and EMS, were on scene shortly after. One person was pronounced dead on-site. The three ot...

New DPU Inquiry May Lead To Utility Rate Relief

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:30 GMT

Utility regulators want to hear from Massachusetts residents who grapple each month to make choices between paying utility bills and covering other essential costs.The Department of Public Utilities on Thursday launched an official “inquiry” on the high costs of energy bills and potential improvements to current energy affordability programs that could reduce that burden on residential ratepayers. After a public input period that runs through March 1, DPU will hold meetings to explain the changes under consideration and then issue a written order detailing any changes it might mandate to the energy affordability programs that utility companies are required to offer.“This proceeding will enable DPU to consider improvements to energy affordability programs to ensure maximum participation and determine if additional resources are needed to aid residential ratepayers to lower the percentage of their income used to pay electricity and heating bills.  Poss...

States expand health coverage for immigrants as GOP hits Biden over border crossings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:30 GMT

Phil Galewitz | (TNS) KFF Health NewsA growing number of states are opening taxpayer-funded health insurance programs to immigrants, including those living in the U.S. without authorization, even as Republicans assail President Joe Biden over a dramatic increase in illegal crossings of the southern border.Eleven states and Washington, D.C., together provide full health insurance coverage to more than 1 million low-income immigrants regardless of their legal status, according to state data compiled by KFF Health News. Most aren’t authorized to live in the U.S., state officials say.Enrollment in these programs could nearly double by 2025 as at least seven states initiate or expand coverage. Starting this month, Republican-controlled Utah is covering children regardless of immigration status, while New York and California will widen eligibility to cover more adults.“These are kids, and we have a heart,” said Utah state Rep. Jim Dunnigan, a Republican who initially opposed his state’s p...

Massachusetts public payroll: ‘Your Tax Dollars at Work’ 2023 database home 💸

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:30 GMT

Here it is! The 17th edition of the Herald’s “Your Tax Dollars at Work” public payroll report. You can sort for Gov. Maura Healey on down to the MBTA, UMass, DOC, DOR, DMH and all departments and DAs. Toss in sheriffs and MassDOT. It’s all here.To search on this database, click the magnifying glass icon (at right) and enter names and more. Use the scroll bar at the bottom to move the data over to the right to sort by highest to lowest. Send any tips or questions to [email protected]. Follow the Watchdog newsletter for related coverage.Look for more as this list grows:Top 2,000 overtime earners for 20232022 database homepage 

Hot Property: Create your own paradise in Falmouth

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:30 GMT

Ensconced in a coveted gated community on more than one acre of tree-hugged land, 53 Associates Road in Falmouth is the stuff of Cape Cod fantasies.The circa-1900 home charms with a whimsical gambrel roofline with dormers and chimneys, the classic cedar shingle facade, and rustic stone accents. It wouldn’t look out of place in the pages of a storybook and its next owners have a grand opportunity to weave their own fairytale on the expansive grounds.As the Maren Morris song goes, the bones are good — the property is dramatically scaled for entertaining and hosting and features expertly turned millwork, coffered ceilings, elaborate moulding, and natural stone accents throughout. The vintage details offer an opportunity, an invitation even, for the new owners to pursue a restoration project to usher the property from its grand past into a modern present.Currently, the home features five bedrooms and five baths, all spread across more than 4,700 square feet. The character-filled main fl...

Glynis Johns, ‘Mary Poppins’ star who first sang Sondheim’s ‘Send in the Clowns,’ dies at 100

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:30 GMT

By MARK KENNEDY (AP Entertainment Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Glynis Johns, a Tony Award-winning stage and screen star who played the mother opposite Julie Andrews in the classic movie “Mary Poppins” and introduced the world to the bittersweet standard-to-be “Send in the Clowns” by Stephen Sondheim, has died. She was 100.Mitch Clem, her manager, said she died Thursday at an assisted living home in Los Angeles of natural causes. “Today’s a sad day for Hollywood,” Clem said. “She is the last of the last of old Hollywood.”Johns was known to be a perfectionist about her profession — precise, analytical and opinionated. The roles she took had to be multi-faceted. Anything less was giving less than her all.“As far as I’m concerned, I’m not interested in playing the role on only one level,” she told The Associated Press in 1990. “The whole point of first-class acting is to make a reality of it. To be...

Jabrill Peppers expects to play in Patriots’ season finale vs. Jets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:30 GMT

FOXBORO — After a two-week hiatus to heal a hamstring injury, Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers expects to be back on the field for the team’s season finale against the Jets.Peppers missed the Patriots’ Week 16 win over the Broncos and their Week 17 loss to the Bills, but he’s been back on the practice field and expects to play.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Bailey Zappe believes he’s come ‘a long way’ since being cut by Patriots New England Patriots | Patriots legend Matthew Slater still undecided on football future New England Patriots | Patriots get good news at Thursday practice before Jets game New England Patriots | The inside story of the Patriots’ fall to rock bottom in the Bill Belichick era New England Patriots | Patriots won’t activate offensive tackle acquired before season via trade “It’s been eating at me, but they’ve b...

Bailey Zappe believes he’s come ‘a long way’ since being cut by Patriots

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:30 GMT

FOXBORO — Bailey Zappe wasn’t ready to fully reflect on what’s been a very strange season in the Patriots’ quarterback room, but he did talk about his progress as a second-year pro on Thursday.Zappe was cut after struggling in the preseason and training camp, leaving then-starter Mac Jones as the team’s only quarterback. Zappe was brought back to the practice squad and then signed to the 53-man roster before Week 1. It took nearly three-quarters of the season, but Zappe eventually surpassed Jones on the QB depth chart in Week 13. He’s since gone 2-3 as a starter.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Jabrill Peppers expects to play in Patriots’ season finale vs. Jets New England Patriots | Patriots legend Matthew Slater still undecided on football future New England Patriots | Patriots get good news at Thursday practice before Jets game New England Patriots | The inside story of the ...