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Conservative fiscal group calls for broad base tax cuts in 2024 after ‘minor’ reforms

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:44:19 GMT

A conservative fiscal group called Thursday for broad base tax cuts in 2024, arguing a “very minor” tax package Beacon Hill lawmakers passed earlier this year is not enough to keep Massachusetts competitive with the rest of the country.Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance spokesman Paul Craney and local officials also slammed a voter-approved 4% surtax on incomes over $1 million — revenue of which has been allocated to education and transportation needs in the state — as a reason why residents are leaving Massachusetts.“Even though the Legislature and the governor passed very minor tax relief, if the goal was to keep people here, stop people from leaving, or even attract people to Massachusetts, what they passed … is not going to do it,” Craney said. “There has to be more.”Gov. Maura Healey signed a $1 billion-a-year tax relief bill in October after the Legislature debated some form of the package for nearly two years.The law lowers the short-term capital gains tax from 12% to 8.5%, boosts...

Christmas carolers spreading cheer in Dorchester assaulted by a pair of juveniles: Boston Police

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:44:19 GMT

Spreading Christmas cheer turned into a bah humbug experience for a pair of carolers when they were assaulted by two juveniles on the street, according to the Boston Police Department.Authorities received a report of an assault and battery in progress on Johnston Street in Dorchester at about 3:05 p.m. Officers responding to the scene learned that a group of elderly Christmas carolers wanted to support a friend by singing carols, police said.But what the officers came across, instead, was anything but a merry experience.“As the group was facing a home, two elderly victims were attacked from behind, and punched multiple times in the back of the head,” authorities said in a release Thursday. “Officers were provided a description of the suspects, and searched the area to no avail.”The victims, both at least 60 years old, declined medical treatment on scene, police said.Detectives later identified the two juveniles involved, interviewed them with their parents, and the suspects admitted...

Column: A ‘nightmare’ 2023 for Chicago sports teams and fans included some memorable moments on TV and radio

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:44:19 GMT

How will we remember the year in sports?Let’s allow Chicago White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf to do the honors:“It was absolutely the worst season I’ve ever been through. It was a nightmare. It’s still a nightmare. It’s embarrassing. It’s disgusting. All the bad words you can think of is the way I feel about the 2023 season. It absolutely was just awful.”Reinsdorf obviously was referring to the White Sox, but there were enough nightmares to go around for fans of every team to complain about, including another lost season of the Bears rebuild and an epic Cubs collapse.Still, we watched and listened, groused and groaned and sometimes managed to laugh, because that’s what being a fan is all about.With the year about to end, here are some of the best and worst things we saw and heard in 2023.Ozzie and Chuck ShowNothing worked better after a White Sox loss than washing it down with some vitriol from analyst Ozzie Guillen on the NBC Chicago...

New FAFSA: What parents of college students need to know

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:44:19 GMT

By Eliza Haverstock | NerdWalletAttention parents: If your kid will be in college during the 2024-25 academic year, you’ll need to fill out a redesigned Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).The new FAFSA will launch by Dec. 31, a delay from its typical Oct. 1 release. It marks the form’s biggest overhaul in 40 years. The form will have fewer questions, some different processes and a new formula to calculate federal aid packages.“With everything that’s new, there’s a little bit of learning that has to happen … but at the end of the day, a shorter form is less of a burden on you, and it’s going to be a great opportunity for your student to have access to funding that can be impactful for the rest of their life,” says Kierstan Dufour, director of external training and partnerships at Get2College, a Mississippi college access organization of the Woodward Hines Education Foundation.It’s important to submit the FAFSA if your kid will be in college next year. Otherw...

UN says more than 1 in 4 people in Gaza are ‘starving’ because of war

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:44:19 GMT

By NAJIB JOBAIN, JACK JEFFERY and COLLEEN BARRY (Associated Press)RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — More than half a million people in Gaza — a quarter of the population — are starving, according to a report Thursday by the U.N. and other agencies that highlights the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel’s bombardment and siege on the territory in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.The extent of the population’s hunger eclipsed even the near-famines in Afghanistan and Yemen of recent years, according to figures in the report. The report warned that the risk of famine is “increasing each day,” blaming the hunger on insufficient aid entering Gaza.“It doesn’t get any worse,’’ said Arif Husain, chief economist for the U.N.’s World Food Program. “I have never seen something at the scale that is happening in Gaza. And at this speed.”Israel says it is in the final stages of clearing out Hamas from northern Gaza, but that months of fighting lie ahead in the south.The war sparked by Ha...

At least 15 people die in a mass shooting at a Prague university

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:44:19 GMT

By KAREL JANICEK (Associated Press)PRAGUE (AP) — A lone gunman opened fire Thursday in a university building in downtown Prague, killing at least 15 people and injuring more than 20 in the Czech Republic’s worst mass shooting, police and the city’s rescue service said.The bloodshed took place in the philosophy department building of Charles University, where the shooter was a student, Prague Police Chief Martin Vondrasek said. The suspected gunman also died, authorities said. His name has not been released.Vondrasek said 24 were injured, and authorities warned that the death toll could rise. Police gave no details about the victims or a possible motive for the shooting at the building located near the Vltava River in Jan Palach Square. Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said investigators do not suspect a link to any extremist ideology or groups. Vondrasek said police believe the suspect killed his father in his hometown of Hostoun, just west of Prague, earlier in...

San Diego police sergeant shot in head transported out-of-state for treatment

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:44:19 GMT

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego police sergeant critically injured in a shootout at a 4S Ranch shopping center was transported to the airport Thursday for airlifting to an out-of-state hospital for a specialized procedure, the department confirmed to FOX 5.Around 9 a.m., a procession of about 20 SDPSD officers escorted Sgt. Anthony Elliott from the La Jolla hospital where he had been treated since the shooting on Dec. 8 to the semi-private AirCare terminal at San Diego International Airport.SDPD officials say Elliott remains in stable condition, but still has a long way to go towards recovery. They did not specify what procedure he is seeking at the out-of-state medical facility, where he is headed or how long he may be there. String of Carlsbad burglaries rally slew of residents, local leaders to talk solutions Elliott was identified by SDPD's union, the San Diego Police Officers Association, as the sergeant injured in the shooting in a social media post promoting a fundraiser for him ...

Giuliani files for bankruptcy after staggering $148M verdict

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:44:19 GMT

Rudy Giuliani filed for bankruptcy Thursday, days after a jury ordered him to pay a staggering $148 million to two ex-Georgia election workers Giuliani baselessly accused of committing fraud in the 2020 election.Giuliani’s Chapter 11 petition, filed in U.S. bankruptcy court in New York, lists between $1 million and $10 million in assets and between $100 million and $500 million in liabilities, the filing shows.For months, the former New York City mayor has appeared to experience a cash crunch as he defended against increasing legal troubles in part for spearheading former President Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in court.But the bankruptcy filing was spurred by a jury’s verdict last week ordering him to pay about $148 million to former Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss following a four-day civil defamation trial.Giuliani vowed to appeal the verdict, calling the amount “absurd.” But at Freeman and Moss’s request, the judge on Wednesday ordere...

Honda to recall 297,000 cars in Canada due to fuel pump defect

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:44:19 GMT

Honda says it will recall approximately 297,000 Acura and Honda vehicles in Canada to replace their fuel pumps – a defect that can increase risks of engine failure or stalling while driving.This includes 2017 to 2020 models whose fuel pump impeller was improperly moulded, resulting in low-density impellers. A Honda Canada spokesperson said the car manufacturer had not received any reports of crashes or injuries related to this issue, noting that Canadian owners of affected vehicles will be notified of this safety recall by mail in Feb. 2024.The automaker said Thursday that it will replace fuel pumps for all vehicles impacted by the recall at no cost in separate phases.The recalled Acura models include the 2018-2020 ILX, 2018-2020 MDX, 2018-2020 MDX Sport Hybrid, 2017-2020 NSX, 2018-2020 RDX, 2018-2020 RLX and the 2018-2020 TLX.Honda models being recalled2018-2020 Accord 2017-2020 Accord Hybrid 2018-2020 Civic 2018-2020 Civic Type R&...

Two county officials in Arizona plead not guilty to charges for delaying 2022 election certification

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:44:19 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Two officials from a rural Arizona county pleaded not guilty Thursday to felony charges for delaying the certification of their county’s 2022 midterm election results. Cochise County Supervisors Peggy Judd and Tom Crosby had balked for weeks about certifying the results, in a process known as canvassing. They didn’t cite problems with election results. But they said they weren’t satisfied that the machines used to tabulate ballots were properly certified for use in elections, though state and federal election officials said they were.During brief arraignment hearings on Thursday, Judd and Crosby pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy and interference with an election officer and were informed of future court dates, including a May 16 trial.“We feel like there is no basis for these charges,” Kurt Altman, an attorney for Judd, said outside of court. “She was charged for doing her job.”Crosby and Tim Grimm, a lawyer representing the supervisor, declined to comment a...