Home

Central Massachusetts leaders picked to serve on POST Commission

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:00 GMT

A Worcester reverend and the head of YMCA Central Massachusetts will join the state’s police licensing and oversight commission, Gov. Maura Healey and Attorney General Andrea Campbell announced Tuesday.Rev. Clyde Talley and Deborah Hall will join the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission as commissioners as the body faces some scrutiny in the wake of publishing a disciplinary records database last month and as staff continue to recertify thousands of officers whose last names start with the letters I through P.Talley thanked the governor and attorney general for the appointment.“It’s clear that over the past three years the commission has laid the foundations for strengthening accountability and trust in law enforcement, and I’m eager to continue building on that work,” said Talley, who is senior pastor of Belmont A.M.E Zion Church in Worcester.Talley also serves as president and CEO of Yes We Care, Inc. and is a member of both the governor’s ...

Patriots OC Bill O’Brien encouraged after ‘productive day’ of film review with Mac Jones

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:00 GMT

Mac Jones was deflated after the Patriots’ season-opening loss to the Eagles, and pinned the defeat on himself. There was clear disappointment about missed opportunities that could have led to an upset victory.But as the Patriots move on to Week 2, they seem encouraged. They didn’t do enough offensively to win, but in their first game under Bill O’Brien, there was plenty to build on. And after a long summer of implementing a new system, O’Brien and Jones finally have a full game of film to review. According to the offensive coordinator, the first evaluation was a good one when they met on Monday.“That’s something that we really look forward to and obviously, losing is unacceptable and we have to change that and we have to get back to being on the right side of the score,” O’Brien said. “But at the end of the day when we all come together and watch the tape as a unit, that’s a really good process that’s always been the process here, and I think Monday was a really good day. We were a...

How to invest in your 20s: 7 tips to get started

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:00 GMT

Brian Baker, CFA | (TNS) Bankrate.comInvesting as a young adult is one of the most important things you can do to prepare for your future. You might think that you need a lot of money to start investing, but it’s easier than ever to get going with small amounts. Once you set up your investment accounts, you’ll be well on your way to saving for goals like retirement, purchasing a home or even future travel plans.But before you dive headfirst into the market, it’s important to prioritize paying off any high-interest debt that might be straining your finances and then build up an emergency fund with savings that could meet at least three to six months of expenses.Once that is handled you can get a jump on investing, even if you’re starting small. Developing a consistent approach to saving and investing will help you stick to your plan over time.How to start investing in your 20sMoney invested in your 20s could compound for decades, making it a great time to invest for long-term goals. ...

Death rates for people under 40 have skyrocketed. Blame fentanyl

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:00 GMT

Tim Henderson | Stateline.org (TNS)A new Stateline analysis shows that U.S. residents under 40 were relatively unscathed by COVID-19 in the pandemic but fell victim to another killer: accidental drug overdose deaths.Death rates in the age group were up by nearly a third in 2021 over 2018, and last year were still 21% higher.COVID-19 was a small part of the increase, causing about 23,000 deaths total between 2018 and 2022 in the age group, which includes the millennial generation (born starting in the early 1980s), Generation Z (born starting in the late ’90s) and children. Vehicle accidents and suicide (about 96,000 each) and gun homicide (about 65,000) all took a cumulative toll from 2018 to 2022, according to a Stateline analysis of federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.Overdose deaths, however, took almost 177,000 lives in that time.Accidental overdose became the No. 1 cause of death in 13 states for people under 40, overtaking suicide in nine states and vehicle...

How to budget with a fluctuating income

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:00 GMT

By Chanelle Bessette | NerdWalletIf you’ve ever lived off of tips or commissions, you may be familiar with the up-and-down paychecks common in certain industries. Service jobs, sales jobs, creative careers and project-based work can all have fluctuating income, where seasonality, events or the general economy might affect your earnings.When you can’t depend on a regular paycheck amount or paycheck timing, it can be hard to know how you’ll make ends meet when money isn’t as abundant. With some planning, budgeting and creativity, however, it can become easier to weather a varying income.Create a budgeting planLawrence Sprung, a certified financial planner and author of the book “Financial Planning Made Personal,” works with several financial clients who are romance novelists. These authors live off of book deals and royalties and often have to budget differently depending on their publication cycle. Sprung and his firm help these clients determine their expenses so they can figure out...

Escaped Pennsylvania inmate stole rifle, fled homeowner’s gunfire and remains at large, police say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:00 GMT

POTTSTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Escaped murderer Danelo Souza Cavalcante stole a rifle from a garage and fled a homeowner’s gunfire, authorities said Tuesday as police closed roads in a rural stretch of southeastern Pennsylvania, told residents to lock their doors and set up a new search area in the nearly 2-week-old manhunt.Cavalcante entered the open garage late Monday in the search area northwest of Philadelphia, stole a .22-caliber rifle and ammunition, and fled when the homeowner who was in the garage drew a pistol and shot at him several times, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said at a news conference Tuesday morning.The developments came in the days after Cavalcante slipped out of an earlier search area to the south, stole a dairy delivery truck and went to the homes of onetime work associates in what police say is Cavalcante’s desperate quest for help.About 500 law enforcement personnel are now searching or guarding an 8- to 10-square mile area in northern...

‘White-hot angry’: Eby vows investigation of Chinatown stabbing suspect’s release

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:00 GMT

SURREY, B.C. — British Columbia Premier David Eby says he is “white-hot” angry over the day release of a man from a forensic psychiatric hospital before he was arrested for a triple stabbing in Vancouver’s Chinatown.Eby said the decision to release the man boggles the mind, and he wants to get to the bottom of how it occurred.He said the government “will ensure an independent person looks into the specifics of this case. The decision-making process. How we arrived at this awful place.”He added that work on that was “already underway.”Blair Evan Donnelly, who’s 64 years old, has been charged with three counts of aggravated assault and remains in custody after Sunday’s attack at the Light Up Chinatown! festival.Donnelly was found not criminally responsible on account of a mental disorder for stabbing his teenage daughter to death in 2006. He was sent to a psychiatric hospital, but Eby said the man was released in 2009 and “we...

Environment minister must unblock Rebel News founder Levant on X under court order

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:00 GMT

OTTAWA — Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault must unblock Rebel News founder Ezra Levant on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, under the terms of a court order.The order issued by Federal Court Justice Russel Zinn ends an action Levant filed two years ago claiming the Liberal minister was violating his constitutional rights by blocking him.Levant argued that his inability to see or respond to Guilbeault’s posts on the platform limited his ability to engage in debate on matters of public concern.Lawyers in the case wrote to Zinn on Sept. 7 consenting to an order that would resolve the matter.Under the order, the minister must ensure his X account unblocks Levant immediately and for as long as Guilbeault remains a member of Parliament.University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist, who has followed the case, says while the order does not affirm a constitutional right, it sends a strong signal about the state of the law.This report by The Canadian Press was ...

Massachusetts city gets 11 inches of rain, flooding homes, jeopardizing dam

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:00 GMT

LEOMINSTER, Mass. (AP) — Heavy rainfall has flooded parts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, with one city declaring a state of emergency as water poured into homes, creating moats around their foundations and leading to boat rescues of residents. Concern about a dam listed in poor condition led to more evacuations.More storms were in the forecast for Wednesday, and although it was still early, winds and flooding from Hurricane Lee were expected to affect Rhode Island, eastern Massachusetts, southeastern New Hampshire and central and coastal Maine during the weekend, forecasters said.Up to 300 people were evacuated by Tuesday morning in Leominster, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Boston, Mayor Dean Mazzarella said. That included residents of a high-rise apartment building and a nursing home. All schools were closed and two shelters were opened.Mazzarella said the city has not seen such widespread damage since a hurricane in 1936. He said most buildings downtown flooded a...

Houston Rockets’ Kevin Porter Jr. fractured girlfriend’s vertebra in NYC assault, prosecutors say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr.’s alleged attack on his girlfriend in a New York City hotel room left the woman with a fractured neck vertebra and a deep cut above her right eye, prosecutors revealed at his arraignment Tuesday.Porter, 23, is charged with felony assault and strangulation in connection with the incident early Monday at the Millennium Hilton near the United Nations in Manhattan. Prosecutors said he didn’t stop until his girlfriend, former WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick, ran out into the hallway covered in blood.Porter was not required to enter a plea during his brief court appearance.The NBA star, who had been in police custody since his arrest around 6:45 a.m. Monday, was ordered to post $75,000 cash or obtain a $100,000 bond to secure his release. He was also ordered to stay away from Gondrezick.“This is a serious domestic violence case,” Assistant Manhattan District Attorney Mirah Curzer said in court.According to Curzer, Porter has ...