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Lucas: Beacon Hill Dems losing grip on patronage jobs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:49 GMT

The Democratic Party is not what it used to be—at least not in Massachusetts.The party has gone so woke as to be unrecognizable to regular Democrats who still cling to hope that the party will eventually rediscover common sense.Yet the problem goes beyond that.It is party patronage — the lifeblood of the party — or what has become of it.It concerns how Beacon Hill Democrats allowed four new high-paying jobs at the MBTA to go to guys from New York — New York! — rather than to guys from Boston or from the Democratic-controlled State House or to other connected Democrats.We are not talking about low level but essential jobs at the T that nobody seems to want, even though you can sleep on the job. No, we are talking about some of the top paying positions in the state.And nobody has said a word about caving into New York, not Gov. Maura Healey, not Senate President Karen Spilka, not House Speaker Ron Mariano, all Democrats.What is the world coming to?Never would that have hap...

Amy Redford accents family drama in thriller ‘What Comes Around’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:49 GMT

Amy Redford, a second generation actor-director following in the footsteps of her Oscar-winning father Robert, has made something personal with Friday’s thriller “What Comes Around.”Summer Phoenix, of the acting clan that includes her Oscar-winning brother Joaquin, is Beth, a mother who discovers her daughter Anna’s (Grace Van Dien) 17th birthday heralds a complicated step into adulthood.Suddenly, there’s a man in Anna’s life, Tim (Kyle Gallner), an older, mysterious guy she met on the internet who has driven hundreds of miles to surprise her – and maybe seduce her — on her birthday.  As alarm bells ring, as confrontation ensues, “What Comes Around” pivots dramatically.It all began, Redford, 52, said in a Zoom interview this week,  when she read Scott Organ’s play.  “I realized what a wonderful opportunity it would be adapt it for the screen, especially during COVID times. It was Trojan Horse-ing some interesting ideas through genre.”Specifically, in the unraveling of who Tim ...

Dear Abby: Recovering alcoholic fights to get life back

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:49 GMT

Dear Abby: I am a married man (15 years) with three children, and I am a recovering alcoholic. My marriage has been a roller coaster filled with lies, infidelity (my wife’s), abuse and drinking. I am in an outpatient alcohol program to save myself, my family and my marriage.My wife is talking to other men. She constantly tells me they are better than I am, that I’m a loser and I’ll get what I deserve (meaning losing her and the children).I still want to save my marriage. I know I have been a poor husband due to the drinking, but that is changing. I keep trying to convince her to give me a little time to prove that I can be a brand-new, sober, honest man. She says it’s too late and that I pushed her into the arms of others. She says she no longer loves me and is going to divorce me. She evidently has hired an attorney.Our children beg her all the time to not divorce me, not to seek others and to let Dad show he is changing. I’m lost, angry, hurt and anxi...

El Cajon to deploy license plate-reading cameras program

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:49 GMT

EL CAJON, Calif. -- Just one day after San Diego city officials approved the use of 500 Smart Streetlights, the City of El Cajon is gearing up to start using its new cameras to track license plates.Forty new sets of eyes -- by way of surveillance cameras -- will soon call the streets of El Cajon home. The cameras will track license plates in real time, an effort police say to get criminals off the streets quicker."Time is the biggest impact on our job, time to investigate crimes and having this real-time information to respond immediately to get people in custody or recover stolen property," said Lt. Jeremiah Larson with the El Cajon Police Department.Police activated the cameras for a brief test run last week and say in that short time, the cameras tracked two cars that were reported in violent crimes -- one was involved in a carjacking and robbery and another was a stolen vehicle. Police dog killed in ‘violent shooting’; suspect pronounced dead Police say thanks to the cameras, ...

Indonesia buys 12 surveillance and reconnaissance drones from Turkish Aerospace

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:49 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia has bought 12 surveillance and reconnaissance drones worth $300 million from Turkish Aerospace to be used by its military to strengthen the nation’s defenses, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday.The purchase aims to increase the variety, quantity and quality of Indonesia’s military defense equipment with the contract signed Feb. 3 with Turkish Aerospace, which is headquartered in the capital, Ankara. The 12 units of ANKA drones are expected to be delivered before November 2025.Indonesia will also get training, logistic support and related equipment as well as a warranty period of two years or 600 flying hours.The 12 ANKA drones will be used by Indonesia’s air force, army and navy. The 8.6-meter (28-foot) drone can fly around 30 hours at an altitude of 9,100 meters (30,000 feet). The Turkish air force has used them since 2010.In January, Indonesia sealed another deal worth $805 million to buy a dozen advanced Mirage 2000-5 fighter...

Trump supporters view the latest indictment as evidence of a crime – against Trump

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:49 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump and his supporters are reacting to a third indictment against him with a now-familiar playbook: deflecting with unrelated accusations, distracting with misleading claims about the charges, and demonizing the prosecution.Instead of convincing his followers about the seriousness of the charges, Tuesday’s indictment is being held up as proof of a conspiracy to take down Trump and a continuation of the effort by Democrats, the media and the so-called deep state to interfere with the nation’s elections.For years Trump has told his supporters that elections can’t be trusted and that he is a victim of a corrupt persecution by the government and media. With that narrative endorsed by conservative news outlets and amplified on social media, it’s only natural that many of Trump’s supporters will accept it, said Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a New York University historian who studies authoritarian propaganda. “He’s set up the ide...

Rights group reports war crimes in Sudan, including deliberate attacks on civilians, sexual assault

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:49 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Sudan’s warring parties have committed extensive war crimes in the ongoing conflict, including deliberate killings of civilians and sexual assault, a leading rights group said Thursday.The east African country plunged into chaos in mid-April when monthslong tensions between the military and a powerful paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, exploded into open fighting in the capital of Khartoum, and elsewhere in the country.Amnesty International’s 56-page report said civilians were killed and wounded in targeted attacks. The group also reported women being raped, with some held in conditions “amounting to sexual slavery” mostly in the capital, Khartoum, and the western region of Darfur.“Sexual violence has been a defining element of this conflict since the beginning,” Donatella Rovera, co-author of the report, told The Associated Press. “Civilians really have no good options. It’s difficult for them to leave. It’s incredibly dangerous for them to stay....

Stock market today: Asia follows Wall St lower after the US government’s credit rating was cut

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:49 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets followed Wall Street lower on Thursday after Fitch Ratings cut the United States government’s credit rating.Tokyo’s market benchmark fell almost 1.5%. Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul declined. Oil prices edged higher.Wall Street turned in its biggest one-day decline in months after Fitch Ratings cut the U.S. government credit rating Wednesday by one level. The agency cited rising debt and a “steady deterioration in standards of governance” after Congress pushed Washington close to defaulting before agreeing to raise the amount it can borrow.“This is largely irrelevant despite some initial shock,” said Kristina Hooper of Invesco in a report, noting that this makes the U.S. rating more consistent with other major economies. “The timing was odd, given that it occurred well after the debt ceiling issue was resolved.”The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo tumbled 1.4% to 32,244.08 and the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.2% to 3,254.37. The Hang Seng in Hong ...

China proposes to limit children’s smartphone time to a maximum of 2 hours a day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:49 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China’s internet watchdog has laid out regulations to curb the amount of time children spend on their smartphones, in the latest blow to firms such as Tencent and ByteDance, which run social media platforms and online games.The Cyberspace Administration of China on Wednesday published the draft guidelines on its site, stating that minors would not be allowed to use most internet services on mobile devices from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., and that children between the ages of 16 and 18 would only be able to use the internet for two hours a day.Children between the ages of 8 and 15 would be allowed only an hour a day, while those under 8 would only be allowed 40 minutes.Only certain services, such as apps or platforms that are deemed suitable to the physical and mental development of minors, will be exempted. The CAC did not specify which internet services would be allowed exemptions.The restrictions are Beijing’s latest efforts to attempt to limit internet addiction, a problem ...

108 attendees at the World Scout Jamboree treated for heat-related illnesses in South Korea

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:49 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — At least 108 people were treated for heat-related illnesses at the World Scout Jamboree being held in South Korea, which is having one of its hottest summers in years.Most of them have recovered but at least two remain in treatment at an on-site hospital as of Thursday morning, said Choi Chang-haeng, secretary-general of the Jamboree’s organizing committee.The committee, which plans to proceed with the event while adding dozens of more medical staff to prepare for further emergencies, did not confirm the ages and other personal details of those who were injured.Wednesday night’s opening ceremony of the Jamboree, which brought more than 40,000 scouts, mostly teens, to a campsite built on land reclaimed from the sea in the southwestern town of Buan. The temperature there reached 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday.Lee Sang-min, South Korea’s Minister of the Interior and Safety, during an emergency meeting instructed officials to explore “a...