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Will 2024 be the year employers crack down on remote work? Not so fast

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:35:49 GMT

Don Lee | (TNS) Los Angeles TimesThese days, it looks like the bloom is coming off the rose for remote work: Many employers are talking tougher. New research shows employees are actually less productive when they work from home full-time. And, with the tight job market starting to slacken, some predict 2024 will be the year employers finally clamp down.But don’t be too quick to conclude things are going back to the days of 9 to 5 in the old cubicle.It’s true that widespread studies based on standard measures of efficiency have found that fully remote employees are 10% to 20% less productive than those working on company premises. Challenges related to communications, coordination and self-motivation may be factors in the decline.And some employers have been warning that those who fail to meet new standards for being in the office may find adverse effects on their performance evaluations and incomes.But the new research that showed lower productivity by full-time remote w...

Why Bailey Zappe has set ‘really good’ example for other Patriots

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:35:49 GMT

Bill Belichick saved some major praise for Bailey Zappe in what could be one of his last news conferences as Patriots head coach.Belichick, who was scheduled for an in-person presser but audibled to video conference because he was feeling sick, was asked about what kind of example Zappe set for other players for the competitive level and resilience he has shown since being cut in August and then starting the final six weeks of the season at quarterback.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots down 1 offensive starter at final practice before season finale New England Patriots | Callahan: If Bill Belichick’s time is over, say thank you before goodbye New England Patriots | Nor’easter set to blast Massachusetts with up to 12 inches of snow, Patriots could have a snow game New England Patriots | Patriots-Jets injury report: TE Hunter Henry among 11 limited Thursday New England Patriots | Jabri...

The ashes of a Massachusetts man will be launched into deep space on the Enterprise Flight: ‘He was a big science fiction reader’

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:35:49 GMT

The ashes of a local man, who almost always had “a science fiction novel in his hands,” will be launched into deep space on the Enterprise Flight next week.Woburn native Francis Gillis’ cremated remains will be on board Celestis’ first-ever deep space Voyager Mission, known as the Enterprise Flight — which is scheduled for liftoff on Monday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.Gillis, a U.S. Army veteran who passed away in 2018 when he was 67, wrote in his will that he wanted to be involved in this specific space flight.“He didn’t want his ashes just going around the moon,” his sister Jacqueline Gillis told the Herald this week. “He wanted to be out there in deep, deep space.“We’re just thrilled for him,” she added. “What a crew he’s with.”Gillis will be on board a spacecraft containing the cremated remains, DNA samples, and greeting messages of more than 200 individuals.Among tho...

Duxbury Rep. Josh Cutler heading to Healey administration, opening House seat

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:35:49 GMT

Gov. Maura Healey turned to a six-term House Democrat who has focused on labor and workforce development to serve in a new position tasked with expanding registered apprenticeships, work-based learning career pathways, and exploring the future of work.Rep. Josh Cutler, co-chairman of the Legislature’s Labor and Workforce Development Committee, will transition into the role of undersecretary of apprenticeship, work-based learning, and policy for the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, a move that creates another open seat in the House.In a statement provided by the Healey administration, Cutler said he looks forward to implementing policies and programs to help support workers and enable businesses “to thrive.”“I am grateful to the 6th Plymouth District for giving me the honor to represent them in the House for the past decade and look forward to supporting them and communities across the state in this new role,” he said.In the past 50-plus years through many redistr...

A Roxbury vocational high school was briefly on lockdown for hoax gun call

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:35:49 GMT

Madison Park Technical Vocational High School was put into a brief lockdown this afternoon after a caller reported a gun in the school.A Boston Police Department spokesman told the Herald that police received a call sometime around 1 p.m. reporting a gun in the school located at 75 Malcolm X Blvd. in Roxbury.Officer Jason Villanueva told the Herald that responding police could not find any firearm and that the department considers the call a hoax.This is a developing story.

Trump’s race for the White House runs through the courtroom

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:35:49 GMT

By Nancy Cook, Bill Allison and Gregory Korte, Bloomberg NewsIn Iowa, former President Donald Trump appears headed for victory in the first-in-the-nation caucuses on Jan. 15.In New York – and in Florida, and in Georgia, and in Washington, DC – Trump is headed for something else: court.For months, a divided nation has confronted the strange prospect of a split-screen election season, with Trump, the candidate, on one side, and Trump, the defendant, on the other.Now, that prospect is about to become reality – and upend presidential politics, if not the American presidency itself. For the first time, courtrooms across the nation are about to become some of the most crucial stops on the road to the White House.Three years after a mob attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in support of Trump, the worlds of politics and law are colliding spectacularly over the events of that day and the dueling narratives around them.The legal dramas stemming from Jan. 6 and Trump’s business dealings...

NY seeks more in penalties in Trump’s civil fraud trial. His defense says no gains were ill-gotten

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:35:49 GMT

By JENNIFER PELTZ (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — New York state lawyers increased their request for penalties Friday in Donald Trump’s civil business fraud trial, while his defense argued that 10-plus weeks of testimony produced no evidence of fraudulent intentions or ill-gotten gains. Both sides highlighted their takeaways from the trial in court filings ahead of closing arguments, set for Thursday. Trump is expected to attend, though plans could change. It will be the final chance for state and defense lawyers to make their case in a lawsuit that is consequential for the leading Republican presidential hopeful even while he fights four criminal cases in various courts. The New York civil case could end up barring him from doing business in the state where he built his real estate empire, and state Attorney General Letitia James is now seeking over $370 million in penalties. The figure emerged in her office’s filing Friday; the state had sought $250 million bef...

Actor Christian Oliver, 2 daughters die after plane crashes into ocean

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:35:49 GMT

(KTLA) – Actor Christian Oliver has died in a tragic plane crash in the Caribbean alongside his two daughters. Oliver, known for his roles in "Speed Racer" and "Valkyrie," was 51 years old. Deadline reports that Oliver and his daughters were in a small plane that crashed into the ocean off a Caribbean island Thursday. The plane's owner and pilot, Robert Sachs, also died in the accident. Oliver, whose real name is Christian Klepser, and his daughters, Madita, 10, and Annik, 12, were the only passengers on the flight, according to TMZ. Christian Oliver attends the WanderLuxxe Celebrates Diversity in Television Honoring 2018 Emmy Nominees with Variety at Craig's in West Hollywood, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision for WanderLuxxe/AP Images)Authorities say the flight took off from the J.F. Mitchelle Airport, known as the Bequia Airport, which serves St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and was headed to St. Lucia."Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft experienced difficulties and nose-...

Magnitude 4.2 earthquake rattles Southern California

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:35:49 GMT

An earthquake measuring 4.2 in magnitude shook the Los Angeles area Friday morning and was felt by potentially millions of people across Southern California. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake struck at 10:55 a.m. Pacific time with an epicenter 5.5 miles underground, just north of Rancho Cucamonga in the San Gabriel Mountains. The temblor, now dubbed the Lytle Creek Earthquake, had a preliminary magnitude of 4.6, was downgraded to 4.1 and eventually the Geological Survey determined it was a 4.2. Interactive California Earthquake Map There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. "The Los Angeles Fire Department remains in a normal operating mode. There have been NO reports of injury, structure or infrastructure damage within our @LACity jurisdiction related to the M4.1," LAFD posted on X, formerly Twitter. Dr. Lucy Jones, a seismologist and founder of the Dr. Lucy Jones Center for Science and Society, said the earthquake occurred along two fault lines. "The...

Multiple injuries in tour bus rollover on upstate New York highway

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:35:49 GMT

WARRENSBURG, N.Y. (AP) — Multiple people were injured when a tour bus carrying passengers rolled over Friday on a highway in the southern Adirondacks, state police said.The crash occurred just before 1 p.m. on the Adirondack Northway, north of Lake George Village, according to state police. A video posted from a car traveling in the other direction shows a bus resting on its side by the roadway.Gov. Kathy Hochul said police and Department of Transportation workers were at the site performing rescue operations. The southbound highway was closed between exits 23 and 22.Police spokesperson Deanna Cohen said the scene was still being assessed and had no further details.“I join the people of New York in praying for the well-being of all involved in this horrific incident and am deeply grateful for the heroic efforts of our first responders,” Hochul said in a prepared release.The Associated Press