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USDA declares disaster in seven Massachusetts counties after heavy rains, floods

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:48 GMT

Federal agriculture officials declared a natural disaster in seven Massachusetts counties where farmers are still recovering from heavy rains and floods last month that caused at least $15 million in damages across 2,700 acres, the Healey administration said Tuesday afternoon.The declaration from the U.S. Department of Agriculture immediately opens up low-interest loans and the option to refinance existing loans for farmers that experienced losses caused by excessive rain and flooding from July 9 through July 16.A disaster was declared in Berkshire, Bristol, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Norfolk, and Worcester Counties. Bordering counties — Dukes, Middlesex, Plymouth, and Suffolk — are also eligible for the loans, including those in Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. More information is available online.Farmers in Massachusetts “should know that their government has their backs,” Gov. Maura Healey said.“Our administration is committed to using every opt...

Judge won’t dismiss charges against movie armorer in fatal shooting by Alec Baldwin on film set

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:48 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico judge told attorneys to “stay the course” on charges including involuntary manslaughter against a movie weapons supervisor in the 2021 shooting death of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal for the film “Rust,” rejecting on Tuesday a request from defense counsel to dismiss charges.The online ruling from Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer sets the stage for lengthy evidentiary hearings, starting next week, on manslaughter and evidence-tampering charges against movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. She is the sole remaining defendant in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during the filming of “Rust” on Oct. 21, 2021. In April, prosecutors dropped charges against Baldwin, who was pointing a gun at Hutchins when it went off, killing her and injuring director Joel Souza. This left Gutierrez-Reed as the sole remaining defendant in the case. If convicted, she faces up to three years in prison.An attorney for Gutierrez-Reed argued ...

Vintage computer that helped launch the Apple empire is being sold at auction

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:48 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — A vintage Apple computer signed by company co-founder Steve Wozniak is being sold at auction.The Apple-1 set in motion the company that in June became the first publicly traded business to close a trading day with a $3 trillion market value, according to RR Auction in Boston. The computer has been restored to a fully operational state and comes with a custom-built case with a built-in keyboard, the agency said.The computer, which originally sold for about $666, is expected to sell for about $200,000 at an auction that runs through Aug. 24. An Apple-1 prototype sold last year for nearly $700,000.About 200 were manufactured in Steve Jobs’ garage in Los Altos, California, in 1976 and 1977 and about 175 of them were sold, RR’s Executive Vice President Bobby Livingston said. “It is the legendary computer that launched Apple,” he said.Jobs approached Paul Terrell, owner of The Byte Shop in Mountain View, California, and he agreed to buy 50 Apple-1 computers...

Maine’s biggest newspaper group is now a nonprofit under the National Trust for Local News

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:48 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The largest newspaper group in Maine is becoming a nonprofit with Tuesday’s completion of the sale of more than 20 daily and weekly newspapers, including the Portland Press Herald.The National Trust for Local News, which already owns two dozen newspapers in Colorado, is expanding its portfolio through the purchase of five daily newspapers and 17 weekly newspapers that were part of Masthead Maine. Former Masthead owner Reade Brower retained ownership of several weeklies that weren’t part of the deal.Terms of the transaction, which closed Tuesday, were not disclosed.The newspapers will now fall under the umbrella of the Maine Trust for Local News.The deal, which covers all of the state’s daily newspapers except the Bangor Daily News, represents a trend toward a nonprofit business model as newspapers continue to struggle.“I wouldn’t say it’s sweeping the country but we’re seeing this trend. And it’s a healthy one. Commercial news organizations a...

Suspected militant attack in Yemen kills 5 troops loyal to secessionist group, spokesperson says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:48 GMT

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — A suspected militant attack early Tuesday in southern Yemen killed at least five troops loyal to a secessionist group, in the latest such assault blamed on an affiliate of al-Qaida, a military spokesman said.The attack took place in Wadi Omran in Abyan province and also wounded four troops from the Southern Armed Forces, which is loyal to the secessionist Southern Transitional Council, spokesman Mohammed al-Naqib said in a statement.The separatist council is backed by the United Arab Emirates and controls much of Yemen’s south. It is at odds with the internationally recognized government.Al-Naqib said suspected militants attacked their forces using mortars and rocket-propelled grenades. He said their forces were chasing the assailants, who fled to a mountainous area between Abyan and neighboring Bayda province.No group claimed responsibility for the ambushBut according to two security officials and a tribal leader, the attack was carried out by al-Qaeda militants...

Recreational marijuana is now legal in Minnesota but the state is still working out retail sales

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:48 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota’s legalization of recreational marijuana went into effect Tuesday, allowing people 21 and older to legally possess and grow their own marijuana for recreational purposes, subject to limits as the state establishes a legal cannabis industry in the coming months and years. The midwestern state is the 23rd in the country to legalize recreational marijuana. Surrounding states — including Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota – have not yet legalized it. At least two tribal nations in northwestern Minnesota are expected to open dispensaries for recreational marijuana this month. The Red Lake Nation and the White Earth Nation are using their tribal sovereignty to allow sales. But most other businesses aren’t expected to sell legal recreational marijuana until early 2025, as the state sets up a licensing and regulatory system for the new industry. Dennis Buchanan, who owns The THC Joint in Minneapolis and two other cannabis-relate...

Indiana abortion clinics stop providing abortions ahead of near-total abortion ban taking effect

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:48 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana’s six abortion clinics have stopped providing abortions ahead of the state’s near-total abortion ban officially taking effect and as a petition is pending before the state’s high court asking it to keep the ban on hold while legal action continues, clinic officials said Tuesday.Planned Parenthood’s four Indiana abortion clinics stopped performing abortions Monday in accordance with state guidance that providers received in July alerting them that on or around Tuesday abortion would become illegal in Indiana in clinic settings “with really very, very limited exceptions,” said Rebecca Gibron, CEO of the Planned Parenthood division that includes Indiana.Indiana’s two other abortion clinics have also stopped providing abortions, with one calling it “a dark day for Indiana.”Indiana’s Republican-backed ban will end most abortions in the state, even in the earliest stages of a pregnancy. Indiana became the first state to enact tighter abortion restrictions...

As Singh tours Atlantic Canada, New Democrats look to flip Liberal seats

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:48 GMT

OTTAWA — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is touring Atlantic Canada in an effort to highlight affordability issues — and flip two Liberal seats in the next federal election. Singh says voters who are increasingly struggling with the cost of living are dissatisfied with the federal government.He says the NDP has pushed for affordability initiatives through its confidence-and-supply agreement with the Liberals, including dental care, a one-time rental supplement and the doubling of the GST rebate.The party is looking to flip St. John’s East in Newfoundland, a seat that used to be a stronghold for the NDP, and Halifax, a seat that often flips between the Liberals and New Democrats.Singh says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is not a viable option for Atlantic Canada because he served in former prime minister Stephen Harper’s cabinet and will bring the same style of Harper conservatism to the region. Former Progressive Conservative premier of Newfoundland and Labrador Danny Wil...

Looming thunderstorms could threaten firefighting efforts in California-Nevada blaze

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:48 GMT

JEAN, Nev. (AP) — A brief but heavy downpour Tuesday helped firefighters battling a massive blaze in California and Nevada, but meteorologists warned of the potential for sudden and erratic wind shifts that could endanger crews later on.The York Fire was partially contained by Tuesday morning after igniting last week in the Mojave National Preserve in California and spreading into Nevada, while flames scorched tens of thousands of acres of desert scrub, juniper and Joshua tree woodland.Now the largest wildfire of the season in California, the blaze was mapped at roughly 125 square miles (323.7 square kilometers) on Tuesday, with 23% containment.While the 15-minute downpour early Tuesday helped firefighting efforts, thunderstorms could pose problems if they pass over the area, said Clay Morgan, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Las Vegas. If the storms miss the flames entirely, crews could face unstable wind conditions — with gusts up to 40 mph (64 kph) — and risk having th...

What would West African bloc’s threat to use force to restore democracy in Niger look like?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:48 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The stance of West Africa’s regional bloc known as ECOWAS in the military takeover in Niger is clear: “We will stand with our people in our commitment to the rule of law,” its chairman, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, said at the body’s meeting this week.The 15-nation bloc summoned its defense chiefs to discuss its threat to “take all measures necessary (that) may include the use of force” if ousted Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum is not reinstated within one week. ECOWAS is resolved to use military force after economic and travel sanctions used against the coup plotters failed, according to a Western diplomat in Niamey who did not want to be identified for security reasons.How the bloc would carry out its threat remains unclear given its lack of coordination in providing security regionally and formally with the U.S. State Department in Niger, said Aneliese Bernard, director of Strategic Stabilization Advisors. “There’s not enough actual trust among EC...