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Massachusetts employers trending toward uncertainty, but more optimistic in October: Survey

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:23 GMT

A survey of Massachusetts businesses shows they don’t quite know how to feel about the overall state of the economy.Employers have spent the year bouncing back and forth between slightly pessimistic or barely optimistic economic outlooks, and October was no outlier, according to the latest Business Confidence Index published by the Associated Industries of Massachusetts.“Massachusetts employers appear to be just as ambivalent about the state of the economy as many experts,” the association wrote. “The BCI has moved for most of 2023 in a narrow range as employers attempt to gauge an economy that has proved surprisingly resilient in the face of rising interest rates, predictions of recession, and war in both Ukraine and the Middle East.”Confidence among the surveyed businesses was up 1.4 points last month, to 51.2%, pushing sentiment back into optimistic territory after a September slump toward a negative outlook.A surprising 4.9% third quarter economic-growth announcement by th...

Dear Abby: Childhood pal ruining book club vibe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:23 GMT

Dear Abby: I’m in a book club I started with friends 13 years ago. The 12 of us have grown close and value, appreciate and respect each other. I recently invited a childhood friend to join. She’s an avid reader.Abby, although she’s a nice person, she simply does not fit in with the group. She talks too much, tends to brag a lot and makes insensitive comments. An example: Two of us are leaving on a cruise soon, and she shared how tacky and claustrophobic she thinks those trips are. The rest of the group were appalled, and I feel awful that I introduced her into my longtime book club.On the other hand, I cannot fathom telling my childhood friend the group would prefer she not attend. I am sure it would be hurtful. A few of us are hoping you will have a solution. Please help. — Reading the RoomDear Reading: How about being completely honest? Tell your childhood friend that if she wants to remain a member of the book club, she will have to brag and talk less and ...

San Diego Wave misses Championship after loss to OL Reign

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:23 GMT

SAN DIEGO — San Diego Wave FC is out of the running for the National Women's Soccer League Championship after falling to Seattle's OL Reign in the semifinal on Sunday.San Diego closed out their second season with a 0-1 loss in front of a sold-out crowd at Snapdragon Stadium, a devastating end to a historic year for the team.At the end of the regular play, the club secured the NWSL Shield for the best season record with 11 wins, seven draws and four losses — an impressive accomplishment for a team only in its second year of existence.It came shortly after the Wave clinched a top-two seed for the first time, securing a first-round bye in the playoffs and home field advantage for a semifinal match-up. However, it was ultimately not enough to send San Diego to their first-ever Championship game.After a scoreless first half, Forward Veronica Latsko made a stunning go-ahead goal for OL Reign in the first minutes of the second. Padres’ Tatis Jr., Kim win first Gold Glove awards Despite m...

Padres' Tatis Jr., Kim win first Gold Glove awards

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:23 GMT

SAN DIEGO — Two Padres players brought home their first-ever Gold Glove awards on Sunday for outstanding defensive work this season.Fernando Tatis Jr. won the National League award in the right field, while Ha-Seong Kim earned the Padres their first utility Gold Glove. The accolades — a first for both — come after their first year in new positions, a switch brought on by shortstop Xander Boegarts' arrival.Despite missing the first 20 games of the season due to his PEDs suspension, Tatis led the Majors with 29 runs saved in 2023 after making the transition to the outfield spot. His elite arm also helped to nab 12 outfield assists, and a record of 11 outs above average."El Niño" bested Mookie Betts of the Dodgers and Lane Thomas of the Nationals, who were also finalists for the right fielder award. Betts and the Cardinals' Tommy Edman were also finalists in the utility catergory won by Kim. Customizable bricks available for purchase at Petco Park Meanwhile, Kim, who was a finalist ...

New Zealand’s ex-Premier Jacinda Ardern will join conservation group to rally for environment action

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:23 GMT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will work alongside leaders from Conservation International to advocate for climate action and better treatment of the environment, the group said Monday. Conservation International said Ardern has become its sixth Arnhold Distinguished Fellow and would serve a two-year term to advocate internationally, especially on issues affecting the Pacific and Antarctica. The group said the role was considered part-time and came with a stipend.It is one several new roles Ardern has announced since unexpectedly stepping down as prime minister in January. She is also completing dual fellowships at Harvard University’s Kennedy School and writing a book on leadership.“From the beginning of my time in the New Zealand Parliament, I’ve advocated for global climate action,” Ardern said in a statement. “My passion and sense of urgency on this issue has only increased over the last 15 years, especially as I witnessed f...

Abortion debate has dominated this election year. Here are Tuesday’s races to watch

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:23 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The most-watched races in Tuesday’s off-year general election have all been dominated by the ongoing debate over abortion rights.From a re-election bid for governor in Kentucky to a statewide ballot measure in Ohio to state legislative elections in Virginia, access to abortion has been a frequent topic in campaign debates and advertising, as it has since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in June last year overturning Roe vs. Wade.Here’s a look at three major races and how abortion has shaped each contest.Kentucky governorDemocratic Gov. Andy Beshear seeks a second term in a heavily Republican state Donald Trump carried twice. The GOP nominee is Daniel Cameron, who succeeded Beshear as state attorney general.Beshear has called the state’s restrictive abortion law “extremist” for not allowing exceptions in cases of rape and incest. He also vetoed a proposal banning abortions after 15 weeks. Cameron says he supports the state law and that as governor he...

South Korea plans to launch its 1st military spy satellite on Nov. 30

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:23 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea said Monday it plans to launch its first domestically built spy satellite at the end of this month to better monitor rival North Korea, as the North pushes to expand its arsenal of nuclear weapons targeting its adversaries.The plan was unveiled days after North Korea failed to follow through on its vow to make a third attempt to launch its own reconnaissance satellite in October, likely because of technical issues.Jeon Ha Gyu, a spokesperson for the South Korean Defense Ministry, told reporters Monday that the country’s first military spy satellite will be launched from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base on Nov. 30.The satellite will be carried by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. Under a contract with SpaceX, South Korea plans to launch four more spy satellites by 2025, according to South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration.South Korea currently has no military reconnaissance satellites of its own and relies on U.S. spy satellites to...

Live updates | Israeli warplanes hit refugee camps in Gaza while UN agencies call siege an ‘outrage’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:23 GMT

Israeli airstrikes hit two refugee camps in the central Gaza Strip on Sunday, killing scores of people, health officials said. The strikes came as the U.S. keeps urging Israel to take a humanitarian pause from its relentless bombardment of Gaza and rising civilian deaths. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Ramallah in the West Bank for a previously unannounced meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Blinken later flew to Baghdad for talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. On Saturday Blinken met with Arab foreign ministers in Jordan, after holding talks in Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who insists there could be no temporary cease-fire until all hostages held by Hamas are released. President Joe Biden suggested that progress was being made on the humanitarian pause.The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war surpassed 9,700 with more than 4,000 of them children and minors, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry i...

Trump’s business and political ambitions poised to converge as he testifies in New York civil case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:23 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — When Donald Trump takes the stand Monday in a Manhattan courtroom to testify in his civil fraud trial, it will be an undeniable spectacle: A former president and the leading Republican presidential candidate defending himself against allegations that he dramatically inflated his net worth.The charges cut to the very heart of the brand Trump spent decades carefully crafting and put him at risk of losing control of much of his business empire.But the appearance may also mark the beginning of what will likely be a defining feature of the 2024 election if Trump becomes his party’s nominee: a major candidate, on trial, using the witness stand as a campaign platform as he eyes a return to the White House while facing multiple criminal indictments.“It’s going to be a stunning moment. This is dramatic enough if he was simply an ex-president facing these charges. But the fact that he is the overwhelming favorite to run the GOP, it makes this a staggering Monday,” said p...

Man accused of Antarctic assault was then sent to remote icefield with young graduate students

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:23 GMT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A man accused of physically assaulting a woman at a U.S. research station in Antarctica was then sent to a remote icefield where he was tasked with protecting the safety of a professor and three young graduate students, and he remained there for a full week after a warrant for his arrest was issued, documents obtained by The Associated Press show.Stephen Tyler Bieneman has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor assault over the incident last November at McMurdo Station, which his lawyer said was nothing more than “horseplay.” The case is due to go to trial Monday in Honolulu.The National Science Foundation declined to answer AP questions about why Bieneman was sent out into the field in a critical safety role while under investigation. The case raises further questions about decision-making in the U.S. Antarctic Program, which is already under scrutiny. An AP investigation in August uncovered a pattern of women at McMurdo who said their claims of sexual har...