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December Social Security checks start trickling into millions of homes across America

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:37 GMT

Social Security checks are trickling into millions of homes across the country, with the first of two payments hitting mailboxes Friday, while higher disbursements loom in the new year.The next payment is scheduled for Dec. 29, as Americans recuperate from what is expected to be one of the more pricier holiday shopping seasons due to continued high inflation rates.Only those who qualify for Supplemental Security Income benefits will be receiving the pair of the payments, worth as much as $2,700 in total, according to the Social Security Administration, the federal agency that cuts the checks.SSA estimates roughly 67 million Americans will be scoring the payments.Married couples are getting two individual disbursements of $1,371, or $2,742 in total, while individuals are getting lower rates of $914 per and $1,828 in total.The payments are designated to help citizens who earn less than $1,913 from work each month and those who don’t have an income at all. SSA considers disability bene...

Home Showcase: Right on the water in Sandwich

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:37 GMT

Beach lovers, this might be as close as you can get to the water without needing to board a seaworthy vessel.Sitting pretty on the shores of Cape Cod Bay, 5 Bay Beach Lane in Sandwich enjoys a distinctive sprinkling of sand, salt, and summer magic. While the proximity to water is its primary calling card, this lovely beach house has a little something for everyone — making it a crowd pleaser in case you’re in a hosting mood and a perfectly snug family retreat.A generous 1.28-acre lot that includes a flat lawn and two-car garage practically kisses the waters. The home’s location is just as convenient to Sandwich’s creature comforts, namely the historic Sandwich Village and the new boardwalk. And there’s no better place to take in the waterside vibes than from the living, dining, and kitchen area. Set front-to-back, the space feels expansive thanks to soaring beamed, cathedral ceilings and huge windows overlooking the bay.You don’t even have to wait for summer to shine down on us. In ...

LaChapelle brothers lift Uxbridge to the Div. 7 state title

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:37 GMT

FOXBORO — For the first time since winning back-to-back titles in 1991-92, Uxbridge rode siblings to win the Div. 7 state title.Senior captain Kellen LaChapelle and sophomore Camden LaChapelle combined for 31 carries and 302 yards to go along with all six scores as the top-seeded Spartans cruised to a 42-16 victory over No. 6 Amesbury at Gillette Stadium on Friday night.“Outstanding,” said Uxbridge coach Matt Blood about winning the state title. “I’m so happy for the kids, the players and the families that have supported their kids throughout the process. I’m so happy for the community who has shown us great support throughout this process. Again, I’m so proud of this group.”To open the third, the Redhawks made it a one-possession game as senior Michael Sanchez rushed it in from 48 yards out and sophomore Justin Dube found sophomore Ollie Peters for the two-point conversion as Amesbury trailed 20-14.From there, Uxbridge (13-0) took over physically as Kellen LaChapelle scored twice i...

Massachusetts pot boss was suspended for racist remarks: report

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:37 GMT

Massachusetts Treasurer Deborah Goldberg said that she takes allegations that suspended state pot boss Shannon O’Brien made racist remarks “very seriously” and wants O’Brien given an opportunity to address them “without further delay.”“The Treasurer takes these allegations very seriously, which is why she wants to provide Chair O’Brien with the opportunity to address them without further delay, and with a fair process that provides an opportunity for her to do that,” Goldberg’s director of communications Andrew Napolitano wrote in a statement provided to the Herald.O’Brien was suspended with pay from her $181,722 post as chair of the state’s Cannabis Control Commission in September for reasons that were never very clear. Weeks after the suspension, Treasurer Goldberg said that she was left no alternative but to suspend O’Brien following an investigative report compiled by an outside law firm that made “several serious allegations.” Those allegations were not disclosed and the report...

Foot injury will sideline Chicago Bulls’ Zach LaVine for a week: ‘It felt a little better and just progressively got worse’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:37 GMT

For Zach LaVine, the last two weeks have been defined by one thing — not the latest round of trade rumors but an injury to his right foot.The Chicago Bulls star guard will be sidelined a week with a right foot sprain he incurred during a home game against the Miami Heat on Nov. 20. That means he likely will miss Friday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Wednesday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets and a Dec. 8 road game against the San Antonio Spurs.LaVine continued to attempt to play through the injury but has never fully recovered. He sat out a road game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Nov. 22, then played the following two road games before being yanked early in a blowout loss to the Boston Celtics and sat out Thursday’s win against the Milwaukee Bucks.When he did play, LaVine’s mobility appeared to be limited. He scored 13 points in each of the Heat games, then turned around and dropped 36 points in his return against the Toronto Raptor...

Inmate who stabbed Derek Chauvin 22 times is charged with attempted murder, prosecutors say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:37 GMT

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and MICHAEL BALSAMO (Associated Press)An incarcerated former gang member and one-time FBI informant was charged Friday with attempted murder in the stabbing of ex-Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin at a federal prison in Arizona.John Turscak stabbed Chauvin 22 times at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson and said he would have killed Chauvin had correctional officers not responded so quickly, federal prosecutors said.Turscak, serving a 30-year sentence for crimes committed while a member of the Mexican Mafia gang, told investigators he thought about attacking Chauvin for about a month because the former officer, convicted of murdering George Floyd, is a high-profile inmate, prosecutors said. Turscak later denied wanting to kill Chauvin, prosecutors said.Turscak is accused of attacking Chauvin with an improvised knife in the prison’s law library around 12:30 p.m. on Nov. 24, the day after Thanksgiving. The Bureau of Prisons said employees st...

'We still need to do the business of the city': Chula Vista mayor reacts to council holdup

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:37 GMT

CHULA VISTA, Calif. -- Embattled Chula Vista city councilmember Andrea Cardenas has missed the last two city council meetings and now, city leaders are calling for her to step down. Cardenas has pleaded not guilty to mishandling COVID-19 relief funds and has vowed to not step down from the Chula Vista City Council. “She said she was sick. This last meeting, she was not at. She just today went ahead and sent a memo and said she didn’t make it for health reasons as well,” Chula Vista Mayor John McCann said to FOX 5 on Thursday. "We need to make sure that we have councilmembers that show up and whether they agree with me or not, we still need to do the business of the city."Now, city leaders are complaining of commission appointments being shelved and votes being delayed. Mikey Williams pleads guilty to single count of making criminal threats “If you can’t show up at the council meeting, then you should resign,” said John Moot, a former councilmember. "Have her paycheck garnere...

Movie armorer in ‘Rust’ fatal shooting pleads not guilty to unrelated gun charge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:37 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The weapons supervisor on the film set where Alec Baldwin shot and killed a cinematographer in 2021 waived her arraignment in a separate case, pleading not guilty to a charge of carrying a gun into a Santa Fe bar. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed had been set to appear in court next week on the charge, but a state courts spokesperson said Friday that her attorneys opted instead to waive her appearance. Her attorneys did not immediately respond to a message that The Associated Press left Friday seeking comment.The firearm charge against Gutierrez-Reed stems from an incident days before she was hired to work as the armorer on “Rust.” According to court records, a witness told authorities that she was carrying a gun when she walked into a bar in downtown Santa Fe.Gutierrez-Reed also is awaiting trial on charges of involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering stemming from the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal on the “Rust” movie set on O...

Why you should vaccinate your dog against leptospirosis in Ontario

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:37 GMT

When Helen Da Silva’s six-year old Maltese Charlie refused his dinner one recent Friday night, she couldn’t have anticipated how quickly the situation would escalate or the harrowing ordeal that was to follow.When he still looked ill the next morning, she decided to take him to the vet. “He was looking very mushy, just not like himself at all. Because he was a very playful puppy,” she tells CityNews.Initial tests showed some inflammation in the dog’s stomach and bowels so a blood test was done and a broad-spectrum antibiotic was prescribed.That night, Charlie continued to refuse food and by noon the next day, Da Silva received news that his kidney levels were “elevated.”A visit to the emergency clinic and ultrasounds followed along with more bloodwork which revealed that Charlie had contracted a disease called leptospirosis.“I’d never heard of it,” says Da Silva. “[Thereafter] we were referred to the Ontario Veterinar...

UN ends political mission in Sudan, where world hasn’t been able to stop bloodshed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:37 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations Security Council voted Friday to end its political mission of a few hundred people dedicated to ending the civil war in Sudan.Russia abstained from the unanimous vote to end UNITAMS, the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan. The United States’ and United Kingdom’s ambassadors expressed dismay over the decision to pull out from Sudan but said the move was inevitable, given the Sudanese government’s desire to end the mission’s presence.While the United States voted in favor of this resolution in order to enable a safe and orderly drawdown, U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood said, “we are gravely concerned that a reduced international presence in the Sudan will only serve to embolden the perpetrators of atrocities.” A paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces, which was born out of the notorious Janjaweed militias, has been at war against the Sudanese military since mid-April, when m...