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State lawmakers introduce tax relief plan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

Top state lawmakers on Tuesday revealed a long-awaited plan to provide tax relief to families across Massachusetts, detailing a number of changes aimed at making life in Massachusetts more affordable. The plan would provide roughly $561 million in relief in the current fiscal year, with more than $1 billion in relief expected by the 2027 fiscal year, as reported by the State House New Service. Relief measures in the plan include an envisioned increase to the state’s child and dependent tax credit from $180 to $310 for this year. The credit would increase again in 2024, making Massachusetts’s child and dependent credit the most generous in the country. Relief measures would also increase Massachusetts’ earned income tax credit from 30% to 40% of the federal credit. Among other measures is a plan to cap the rental deduction from $3,000 to $4,000 in a move that is expected to impact 800,000 renters. “This tax relief bill will help alleviate many, many financial...

Mass. lawmakers, advocates discuss proposed ‘Harmony Commission’ named in memory of Harmony Montgomery

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

State leaders and advocates met on Beacon Hill Tuesday to discuss efforts to protect children in a hearing in honor of Harmony Montgomery — a young girl last seen in 2019 but not reported missing until 2021. Montgomery was originally in Massachusetts state custody before she was handed over to her father in New Hampshire. Authorities have since said Harmony’s father, Adam, allegedly killed his daughter. Now hoping to form the “Harmony Commission” state leaders are hoping to make sure what happened to Harmony does not happen to other children. “Right now, a priority is looking at the reunification of the child with its family,” said State Sen. Michael Moore. “Reunification doesn’t always necessarily mean the best safety and welfare of the child.” The Harmony Commission would work to balance the rights of parents with the needs of children. Speaking to the Committee on Children and Families on Tuesday, Blair Miller said such balance did not happen in Harmony’s cas...

Fishing crew responds to distress call, rescues man who fell off oil tanker near Boston coast

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

A fishing vessel returning to port due to rough conditions was able to turn around and pull a man from the water after he fell from an oil tanker near the Boston coast, authorities said.The United States Coast Guard said a mayday call from the MTM Dublin was issued around 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday after someone went overboard.At the same time, a fishing vessel named “America” was on its way back to port due to inclement weather, according to its captain. But when the call made its way to the ship, he said the America turned back to do what it could.“[Our’s] was the closest boat, so we tried our best to do our best,” Bryant Moulton told 7NEWS.He said his crew worked in pitch black conditions using flashlights before, by chance, they located the man in the water“I saw that they had thrown a couple life rings with buoys on them, with lights on them, so I proceeded to those and there was no body, so we looked around the area and kept looking and finally, w...

Orioles closer Félix Bautista throws live bullpen for 1st time since injuring elbow, but timeline still unknown

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

Félix Bautista took another step Tuesday toward returning from his elbow injury, but Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said the closer’s timeline is still murky.Bautista threw a live bullpen — pitching on the mound at Camden Yards and facing a hitter — for the first time since he partially tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow one month ago Tuesday. The right-hander had thrown bullpen sessions in recent weeks as he attempts to ramp up for a postseason return, but Hyde said after Bautista’s live session that he still has “no idea” when or if the All-Star closer can return this season.“We’re running out of time a little bit and he’s going to need to get on the mound more often,” Hyde said. “He’s thrown a couple of bullpens; this was his first time experimenting against a hitter on the mound. We’ll see how he feels tomorrow and just make decisions on a daily basis.”Bautista threw 25 pitc...

Patriots place DL Daniel Ekuale on IR, release William Hooper from practice squad

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

The Patriots placed defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale on injured reserve and released defensive back William Hooper from their practice squad Tuesday.According to ESPN, Ekuale suffered a torn bicep while attempting to make an arm tackle in the second quarter of last Sunday’s 15-10 win over the Jets. He will miss at least four games and could be in danger of sitting out the season. The Pats also lost defensive tackle Davon Godchaux to an ankle injury against the Jets, though the severity of his injury is unknown.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez has Cowboys’ attention with early standout play New England Patriots | Why the Cowboys are changing their offense before facing the Patriots New England Patriots | Bill O’Brien responds to Cowboys’ claim Patriots will interrogate ex-QB for intel New England Patriots | Patriots pass rusher reportedly suffered torn biceps vs. Jets New En...

Amazon hit with antitrust lawsuit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

U.S. regulators and 17 states are suing Amazon over allegations the e-commerce giant abuses its position in the marketplace to inflate prices on and off its platform, overcharge sellers and stifle competition.The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Amazon’s home state of Washington, is the result of a yearslong investigation into the company’s businesses and one of the most significant legal challenges brought against it in its nearly 30-year history.The Federal Trade Commission and states including Massachusetts that joined the lawsuit allege Amazon is violating federal and state antitrust laws. They are asking the court to issue a permanent injunction that they say would prohibit Amazon from engaging in its unlawful conduct and loosen its “monopolistic control to restore competition.”“Amazon has become dominant as an online superstore. But – out of view from the average person, family, or business – Amazon has used that dominance to infla...

California governor signs law raising taxes on guns and ammunition to pay for school safety

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

By ADAM BEAM (Associated Press)SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California will ban people from carrying firearms in most public places while doubling the taxes on guns and ammunition sold in the state under two new laws Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Tuesday that will test the limits of the U.S. Supreme Court’s new standard for interpreting the Second Amendment.The federal government already taxes the sale of guns and ammunition at either 10% or 11%, depending on the type of gun. The law Newsom signed adds another 11% tax on top of that — making California the only state with a separate tax on guns and ammunition, according to the gun control advocacy group Brady.The money will pay for security improvements at public schools and a variety of gun violence prevention programs, including those geared toward young people in gangs. The money from the federal tax, which has been in place for more than 100 years, pays for wildlife conservation and hunter education programs.The laws w...

John ‘Zip’ Connolly’s medical parole survives as brother of victim slams Florida board

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

A fed-up Steve Davis ripped the Florida parole board for allowing disgraced ex-FBI agent John “Zip” Connolly to remain free to take convalescent walks.“It’s not right. It’s corrupt. It’s frustrating,” Davis scolded the board Tuesday. “That piece of garbage! … I just can’t believe the state of Florida.”Davis has fought for victims’ rights ever since his sister, Debra, was reportedly slain by Southie mobster James “Whitey” Bulger in 1981 – when Connolly was Whitey’s FBI handler.“I completely don’t understand it,” Davis told the Florida Commission on Offender Review, which voted 2-1 to allow Connolly to remain in Lynnfield.“It’s been two-and-a-half years since he’s been released. … I asked if he was dead yet. I thought he only had six months to live,” Davis said, alluding to a doctor saying the onetime G-man was terminally ill.“It seems like Florida is lying in bed with him,” Davis added. “He acted like he was Godfather … I got a li...

Who is Anthony Rota, the Speaker of the House of Commons who is stepping down?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

OTTAWA — Anthony Rota has been jokingly dragged to the Speaker’s chair by the prime minister and the leader of the Opposition twice, in what is a long-standing parliamentary tradition.The second time, in 2021, MPs thanked him for his fairness and leadership in the House of Commons during the COVID-19 global pandemic — and for how he managed all the unprecedented challenges that upended how Parliament normally operates. On Tuesday, about two years later, Rota delivered his resignation, effective at the end of the day on Wednesday.Until Friday afternoon, the Speaker was considered a highly respected Speaker on both sides of the political aisle. But on that day, he invited a Ukrainian veteran who fought for the Nazis to the House of Commons to witness a speech by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and lauded the man as a Canadian and Ukrainian hero.Rota apologized to the House on Monday amid international criticism over the incident. “I don’t think I̵...

Less-redacted report on Maryland church abuse still redacts names of church leaders

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — Maryland’s attorney general released some previously redacted names in its staggering report on child sex abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore on Tuesday, but the names of five Catholic church leaders remained redacted amid ongoing appeals, prompting criticism of the church by victims’ advocates.While the names of the high-ranking church leaders already have been reported by local media, the director of the Maryland chapter of Survivors of those Abused by Priests said he was disappointed, but not surprised that resistance continues to fight against transparency and accountability, despite what church leaders say. “Once again, it just shows that the Church is not doing what they say they’re doing,” said David Lorenz, the leader of SNAP’s Maryland chapter. “They’re just not. They’re not being open and transparent, and they should be, and they claim to be.” Lorenz said he questioned whether the names in the report would ever be made publi...