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Massachusetts will be the first state to stop buying plastic, governor says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:30 GMT

Massachusetts will no longer buy single-use plastic products, the governor announced to start the week.Speaking Monday in New York at an early morning session of the Clinton Global Initiative, Gov. Maura Healey used her brief time at the podium to announce she will issue two executive orders in the coming days, one of which would call on the Commonwealth’s procurement officers to stop buying so-called disposable plastics.“I will sign an executive order that bans the purchase of single use plastics by state agencies in Massachusetts,” the Bay State’s 73rd Governor said to open a session titled “Turning tides: how to accelerate sustainable practices for ocean conservation.”According to Healey, her order will make Massachusetts the first of the 50 states governments to officially stop purchasing single use plastic bottles. The order will be effective immediately upon issue, the governor said.“We know that plastic waste, plastic production are among the leading threats to our oceans, ou...

Patriots awaiting updates on two injured key players after Week 2 loss

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:30 GMT

The depths of the Patriots’ cornerback group was tested in Sunday night’s 24-17 loss to the Dolphins when Marcus Jones left the game and didn’t return after suffering a shoulder injury.Head coach Bill Belichick didn’t have an update on the second-year pro’s status as of his Monday morning appearanc on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.”Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez shines again in tough loss New England Patriots | Matthew Judon gives impassioned state of the Patriots address after loss New England Patriots | Patriots react to rare 0-2 start: ‘Something’s got to happen’ New England Patriots | Mac Jones’ plan to make sure Patriots don’t spiral after two tough losses New England Patriots | Patriots react to wild overturned play that sealed loss to Dolphins “No, not yet,” Belichick said....

Mom’s last ballgame: The O’s v. the Rays, an ‘inside-the-retirement-park home run’ | GUEST COMMENTARY

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:30 GMT

My mother stopped talking a couple of months ago, and it was something of a shock. Mom was a legendary kibitzer. In the days before cellphones, she had a princess landline installed on the wall of her bathroom so that even Mother Nature couldn’t interrupt a conversation.Need an opinion — or not? She had one either way. When she entered assisted living five years ago, her stories — about her three husbands, her acquaintanceships with various U.S. senators while working on Capitol Hill, and her days as a tap-dancing grandma — captivated the aides. They spent their breaks in her room, laughing and lapping up the received wisdom.To fill her now-silent days, my sister and I would turn on showtunes or the TV, but she ignored them, just like she mostly ignored us and stared at the wall, looking somehow both vacant and angry. And then, one day, I flipped past the Orioles-Tampa Bay game on TV. It was as if I had pointed the remote at her and pushed the unmute button. ...

Nexstar and DIRECTV reach new multi-year distribution agreement

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:30 GMT

Nexstar Media Group and DIRECTV have officially reached a comprehensive new multi-year distribution agreement covering 176 Nexstar-owned local television stations and the company’s national cable news network, NewsNation. This follows the return of the television stations and NewsNation to DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM and U-verse on the morning of Sept. 17.Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.Nexstar released a statment saying, "DIRECTV and Nexstar greatly appreciate the patience of their subscribers and viewers during this negotiation."

African Union says its 2nd phase of troop withdrawal from Somalia has begun

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:30 GMT

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The second phase of the African Union troop withdrawal from Somalia has begun, the bloc said Monday. The pullout follows a timeline for the handover of security to the country’s authorities, which are fighting al-Qaida’s affiliate in East Africa — the Somalia-based al-Shabab.Last year, the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a new African Union Transition Mission in Somalia, known as ATMIS, to support the Somalis until their forces take full responsibility for the country’s security at the end of 2024.The mission is aiming to pull out at least 3,000 more troops by the end of the month, out of the originally 19,626-strong AU force. In the first phase, some 2,000 AU troops drawn from various member states left Somalia in June, handing over six forward operating bases.On Sunday, the Burundian contingent handed over the Biyo Adde forward operating base in the south-central Hirshabelle state, near the capital of Mogadishu, to the Somali national arm...

Trial to begin for 3 Tacoma officers charged in death of Manny Ellis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:30 GMT

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in the trial of three Tacoma police officers charged in the death of Manuel “Manny” Ellis, a 33-year-old Black man who was tackled, punched, shocked with a stun gun and held face down on a sidewalk in March 2020, two months before George Floyd met a similar fate.Officers Christopher Burbank and Matthew Collins, who are white, have been charged with second-degree murder, and Timothy Rankine, who is Asian American, faces first-degree manslaughter charges. They pleaded not guilty. Opening statements are expected to start Oct. 2 in Pierce County Superior Court in Tacoma. The trial is expected to run four days each week until December.Ellis purchased a box of doughnuts and some water at a convenience store at about 11:21 p.m. that Tuesday night and walked across the street, where he encountered Burbank and Collins sitting in a patrol car, according to a probable cause statement filed by the Washington Attorney General’s Off...

Indigo founder Heather Reisman returns as CEO of retailer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:30 GMT

TORONTO — Indigo Books & Music Inc. says founder Heather Reisman has returned to the retailer as chief executive officer.She fills the void left by the abrupt resignation of Peter Ruis from the top job earlier this month.“There is a clear path for Indigo to regain its momentum,” Reisman said in a statement Monday.“I love this company and its mission. Even more, I care deeply about our people, who have given so much to build this incredible company over more than two and a half decades. I know that together we will return Indigo to growth and profitability.”Reisman had served as chief executive until last year, when Ruis took over, and retired from the Indigo board last month.As part of her return to the company, Reisman was also reappointed to the board.The retailer also announced that Craig Loudon, Indigo’s chief financial officer, has been appointed chief operating officer. In addition to his new role, the company said he will continue to act as t...

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts and oil prices climb ahead of Fed meeting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:30 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is drifting in the early going, while oil prices keep climbing and raising pressure on inflation. The S&P 500 was little changed in the first few minutes of trading Monday, coming off its second straight losing week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was just barely higher and the Nasdaq composite was just barely lower. Stocks have been see-sawing since early August on uncertainty about whether the Federal Reserve is finally done with its drastic hikes to interest rates. Traders almost universally expect the Fed to keep rates steady at its meeting this week, which ends Wednesday. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Wall Street turned toward losses early Monday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting this week.Futures for the S&P 500 fell 0.2% and futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% before the bell.The market posted some gains last week following reports of several healthy economic i...

UN warns disease outbreak in Libya’s flooded east could spark ‘a second devastating crisis’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:30 GMT

DERNA, Libya (AP) — The United Nations Support Mission in Libya warned Monday that an outbreak of diseases in the country’s northeast, where floods have killed over 11,000 people, could create “a second devastating crisis,” with Libyan authorities reporting the spread of diarrhea among over 100 people who drank contaminated water. In a statement, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya said it was particularly concerned about water contamination and the lack of sanitation after two dams collapsed during Mediterranean storm Daniel sending a wall of water gushing through the eastern city of Derna on Sept.11. Some 11,300 city residents were killed and a further 10,000 people are missing, presumed dead, the country’s Red Crescent said.The mission said there are nine U.N. agencies in the country responding to the disaster and working on preventing diseases from taking hold that can cause “a second devastating crisis in the area.” It added the World Health Organizati...

Wexton won’t seek reelection to Congress after new medical diagnosis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:30 GMT

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Jennifer Wexton, a Democrat, announced Monday she won’t seek reelection in her district in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington after learning she has a severe form of Parkinson’s disease.Wexton announced in April that she had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and that she planned to continue her work in Congress. On Monday, she said she received a modified diagnosis of progressive supra-nuclear palsy, which she described as “a kind of ‘Parkinson’s on steroids.”“I want to be honest with you now – this new diagnosis is a tough one,” Wexton said in her statement, “There is no ‘getting better’ with PSP. I’ll continue treatment options to manage my symptoms, but they don’t work as well.”Wexton said she received the new diagnosis after feeling like she wasn’t responding well to treatment and noticing that the women in her Parkinson’s support group were having a different experience.She plans to continue serving the res...