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Mayor Wu’s MBTA ceiling panel joke knocked as ‘insensitive’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:14 GMT

One of Mayor Michelle Wu’s jokes at the St. Patrick’s Day breakfast was an egg, some say.Wu, appearing to knock the MBTA for its frustrating slow zones, used the example of a ceiling panel that fell March 1 at the Harvard station nearly hitting a woman as a comedic hook.Wu joked at the breakfast that Gov. Maura Healey gave her an update on the toppled panel and said “the MBTA’s internal investigation was complete and it said the tile was actually scheduled to fall an hour-and-a-half before that but there were some delays.”She got some laughs and quickly added she “still rides the T.”Mela Bush-Miles, director of the MBTA Riders’ Union, said the mayor’s joke writer needs to find the straphanger who was “nearly killed” and make “sure she’s OK.” A 25-pound ceiling panel just missing you isn’t comedy — it was almost a tragedy, Bush-Miles added.“That was insensitive,” Bush-Miles tol...

No telling how much more snow coming for Sierra Nevada

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:14 GMT

RENO, Nev. (AP) — No one really knows how much snow fell on the infamous Donner Party when the pioneers were trapped atop the Sierra Nevada for months and dozens died near Lake Tahoe in the winter of 1846-47. But this season has now etched its way into the history books as the second snowiest in the 77 years of record-keeping at the Central Sierra Snow Lab — more than 56.4 feet (677 inches, 17.2 meters) with no end in sight.And there’s still a chance it could surpass the record of 67.7 feet (812 inches, 20.6 meters) set in 1951-52 when more than 200 passengers on a San Francisco-bound luxury train from Chicago were stranded for three days near Donner Pass west of Truckee, California.Over the weekend, the “winter that just doesn’t want to end” as the National Weather Service in Reno put it, topped the previous No. 2 record of 55.9 feet (651 inches, 17 meters) set in 1982-83. That was the second of back-to-back blizzard buster seasons remembered most for an avalanche that killed...

Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino accepts job at St. John’s

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:14 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Rick Pitino is back in the Big East Conference.St. John’s hired the Hall of Fame coach Monday to boost a storied program that’s been mired in mediocrity for much of this century. The school announced that Pitino will be introduced during a news conference Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.Following a successful run at nearby mid-major Iona, the 70-year-old Pitino was plucked away to replace Mike Anderson, who was fired after four seasons in charge of the Red Storm without making the NCAA Tournament.Reports quickly surfaced that St. John’s planned to target Pitino, who grew up on Long Island not far from the school’s Queens campus in New York City.“Coach Pitino is one of the most brilliant minds in the history of the game and has won at the highest levels everywhere he has coached,” athletic director Mike Cragg said in a press release. “There is no doubt in my mind he will restore a championship-level program and culture for St. John’s Basketbal...

Gun used in kidnapping of Americans in Mexico came from US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:14 GMT

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A man who admitted to purchasing firearms that he knew would be going from the U.S. to a Mexican drug cartel has been arrested in Texas after the discovery that one of the weapons was linked to the deadly kidnapping of four Americans, according federal court records.Roberto Lugardo Moreno made an initial appearance Monday at a federal court in Brownsville and was appointed a public defender, who did not immediately respond to a voicemail seeking comment. His detention hearing is scheduled for Thursday.The kidnapping occurred in Matamoros, Mexico, which is located just across the border from Brownsville.According to a federal complaint filed Saturday, Moreno has been charged with conspiring to illegally export a firearm. The complaint said that he admitted to buying firearms for people he knew were going to provide them to a member of the Gulf Cartel in Mexico. The serial number of a firearm he purchased in October 2019 matched that of a gun recovered by aut...

Could Joey Votto be traded to the Blue Jays? Reds GM says maybe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:14 GMT

Cincinnati Reds general manager Nick Krall says he could be open to trading Joey Votto to the Blue Jays if the Reds are out of contention at the trade deadline and the Toronto-born infielder wants to play for his hometown team.Krall made the comments Monday when asked what he’d do if Votto approached him on GMs Corner with Jim Bowden and Steve Phillips on the SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio channel on Monday.“If he came to that and we’re not in it at the trade deadline, we’d have a conversation,” Krall said. “I think it’s something to sit down and have a conversation and see where it goes. But we want him to be a lifelong Cincinnati Red, and that’s our goal.”Krall said any thoughts of a trade would be up to Votto.“At this point, he’s got a full no trade-clause, so he can control whatever he wants to control. I think for us, we envision him as a lifelong Cincinnati Red, just like Barry Larkin,” Krall said.The 39-year-old Votto is in the final y...

Trump legal woes force another moment of choosing for GOP

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:14 GMT

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — From the moment he rode down the Trump Tower escalator to announce his first presidential campaign, a searing question has hung over the Republican Party: Is this the moment to break from Donald Trump?Elected Republicans have wavered at times — whether it was Trump’s condemnation of John McCain’s war record, his racist attack against a Mexican-American judge, his sexually predatory language caught on video, his alleged extramarital affairs, his decision to side with Russian President Vladimir Putin over U.S. intelligence, his promotion of false allegations of election fraud and his incitement of a violent mob that threatened the lives of lawmakers in both parties.But after almost eight years of near-constant scandal, Republicans have ultimately rallied behind Trump over and over and over again.Now, on the eve of a new presidential campaign season, that loyalty is being tested anew as Trump prepares for the possibility that he may soon become the firs...

Federal judge blocks key parts of California handgun law

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:14 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge on Monday blocked key provisions of a California law that drastically restricts the sale of new handguns in the state, saying parts of the legislation violate the Second Amendment. A lawsuit challenging the law was filed last year by the California Rifle & Pistol Association and other gun rights supporters following a landmark 2022 decision from the U.S. Supreme Court that set new standards for evaluating firearm restrictions. The ruling left many laws aimed at regulating and limiting the sale and use of guns — in California and nationwide — at risk of being struck down.U.S. District Court Judge Cormac Carney, sitting in Santa Ana, wrote Monday that California’s requirements for new handguns are unconstitutional and cannot be enforced. Because of these restrictions, Carney wrote, no new models of semiautomatic handguns have been approved for sale since 2013 and Californians are forced to buy older and potentially less safe models.He issue...

Funeral for two officers shot and killed in Edmonton scheduled for next week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:14 GMT

EDMONTON — Police say a regimental funeral has been scheduled for two Edmonton officers who were shot and killed in the line of duty last week.The funeral for Travis Jordan, who was 35, and Brett Ryan, 30, is to be held March 27 at Rogers Place, the home arena for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League.Police say the constables were responding to a family dispute at a northwest apartment complex early Thursday when they were shot multiples times by a 16-year-old boy.Police say the boy shot and wounded his mother during a struggle for the gun and then shot and killed himself. The officers’ bodies are set to be transported Tuesday from the medical examiner’s office to a funeral home.Police say the public is encouraged to show their support by lining the route.Investigators said last week the boy’s 55-year-old mother had called 911 because she was having trouble with the teen, but there was no indication of a threat of violence or that he had a gun.Jordan a...

Offenders in custody after 2nd string of robberies in Rivers Casino, Mariano's parking lot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:14 GMT

PARK RIDGE, Ill. — Not even two weeks after a group of armed men robbed several victims at gunpoint in the parking lots of Rivers Casino and a Park Ridge Mariano's, another group was at it again, but this time police have offenders in custody. Previous: Group commits four armed robberies in Rivers Casino, Park Ridge Mariano’s parking lots According to the Des Plaines Police Department, officers were called to an armed robbery at the address of Rivers Casino — 3000 South Rivers Road — at around 9:58 p.m. Sunday.Their preliminary investigation revealed that four males, who were travelling in a black and white Jeep Compass with an Illinois registration, entered the casino's property and pulled behind a car with two men inside.Police said the four offenders then got out of the Jeep and approached the car, opening the driver's side and passenger's side doors. Next, two of the offenders each pressed a gun into the chest of the driver and the passenger of the car, taking money and a cell...

Early voting for mayoral race in Chicago begins

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:14 GMT

CHICAGO — Voting is underway in Chicago's runoff elections — from the mayor's race to the undecided races for members of City Council.While polls opened at 9 a.m. Monday ahead of the April 4 election, officials say there is still a gap to fill."We are facing a shortage. We need at least 1,000 poll workers," said Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough.Cook County election judges will receive $250 for the day while polling places technicians will make $385. The amounts reflect a recent pay increase for the roles, $50 and $20, respectively. "Our poll workers play a critical role in ensuring the integrity of our elections and efficiency of our operation at our polling locations," Yarbough said.  The Chicago Board of Elections commissioners also announced vacancies with similar pay. "We still also need voters to step up as election judges. Returning judges make up to $255 a day and new judges make up to $230," said BOE chairwoman Marisel Hernandez. Jobs are open to registered voters who may b...