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Preparations underway as tropical storm watch affects coastal Mass., Cape and Islands

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:27:21 GMT

Officials in towns up and down the coast are warning people of the up to 60 mph winds, storm surges and winds that are coming this weekend as much of the area is under a tropical storm watch.Harbormasters in places like Marshfield are telling people to pull their smaller boats out of the water. Residents should also secure their larger vessels,ensure the pumps are working on board and cover the batteries.Hurricane Lee is bringing a tropical storm watch to all of coastal Massachusetts and a storm surge watch to to Barnstable County and Nantucket. Wind gusts are expected to hit 50-60 mph in the storm watch and more than 10-foot storm surges potentially into the bay.The Marshfield harbormaster said boaters should have a 72-hour plan before the storm to secure their vessels.“This is similar to our typical nor’easters, so the preparation is kind of the same, along those lines. We’re always going to get the flooding, the high winds, rip currents, high seas, things like t...

Son grateful for good Samaritans who helped rescue parents during Leominster flooding

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:27:21 GMT

A local man shared his thanks this week after good Samaritans jumped into action to rescue the man’s parents from their home during severe flash flooding in Leominster Monday night. Cell phone video captured some of the scene off Pleasant Street where rushing water created a moat around the small home where Andre Obin’s parents live. “They’re rattled,” Obin said. “It’s tough for them because they’re used to their comforts of home.” “They’re super grateful that they made it out but the displacement is difficult for them,” Obin continued.Joanne and Arthur Obin, who are in their 70s, were stuck in the house as conditions deteriorated. Luckily, a neighbor named Zack and his friend were able to save the pair in the nick of time after Zack noticed the ground giving way under the Obins’ home’s foundation. “I’m like, ‘Get them out,’” Zack told 7NEWS on Tuesday.Zack said his friend ran toward the house and banged on a door. “He got them out just as the walkway collapsed,”...

Tracking Lee: Watches for our area

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:27:21 GMT

7Weather – A lot happening this afternoon with tornado warnings. We’ll focus the blog’s attention with the latest on Hurricane Lee. A Tropical Storm Watch is issued for the coast shaded in yellow. Cape Cod and Nantucket both fall under the Tropical Storm Watch but are also included under a Storm Surge Watch.The Tropical Storm Watch means we will watch for the potential of tropical storm force winds. Preparations should be taken now to secure property before the wind becomes hazardous. Wind at this level could mean any unsecured objects could be blown about, tree limbs snapped off, trees uprooted and debris blocking roads. The Storm Surge Watch is in place for the potential of peak storm surge inundation 1-3 feet Friday evening until Saturday afternoon. The localized inundation will mainly occur along shorelines and low-lying spots. Moderate beach erosion, elevated surf and dangerous rip currents are also concerns. As of the National Hurricane Center’s 5:00 pm...

Trump set for ‘Meet the Press’ interview Sunday as Kristen Welker takes over as moderator

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:27:21 GMT

(CNN) — Kristen Welker will face a big first test as moderator of “Meet the Press” on her debut episode this Sunday.Welker is set to begin her time in the anchor chair with a sit-down interview with former President Donald Trump, CNN first reported and was later confirmed by NBC News.The interview, people familiar with the matter told CNN, is scheduled to be taped Thursday at Trump’s Bedminster club in New Jersey. While Trump participated in a town hall with CNN earlier this year, the “Meet the Press” sit-down will mark his first interview with a broadcast news network since he departed the White House and now faces a total of 91 charges in four criminal cases, in four different jurisdictions — two federal and two state cases.NBC News said it had also extended an invitation to President Joe Biden. A spokesperson for Trump did not respond to requests for comment.The appearance by Trump on the acclaimed Sunday public affairs program will mark his first since 2019, when the show w...

Battenfeld: Boston voters resoundingly reject unethical, above-the-law behavior, not woke policies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:27:21 GMT

Voters in Boston resoundingly rejected two scandal-scarred City Council candidates but not necessarily the super woke progressive policies they espoused.What the preliminary election showed was that voters will tolerate some extreme left positions but not repeated above-the-law behavior exhibited by defeated incumbents Kendra Lara and Ricardo Arroyo.Lara and Arroyo, both proudly progressive, made history Tuesday night as the first incumbents toppled in a city preliminary election in four decades – not an easy feat.But it was their personal behavior that sank them, not their devotion to bike lanes, a fossil fuel ban and racial equity.Boston, one of the bluest and most reliably liberal cities in the country, didn’t suddenly become un-woke overnight. This was not a realignment.This was also not a repudiation of liberal Mayor Michelle Wu – in fact she showed her endorsement power by helping Enrique Pepen win one of the two finalist slots in District 5.Pepen was the leading vote-getter i...

White Sox fans allege discriminatory ticketing policies for ADA in lawsuit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:27:21 GMT

Since the current Guaranteed Rate Field opened in 1991, Douglas McCormick has been a fixture in the stands.A fan since childhood, McCormick attended 25 to 35 Chicago White Sox games a year for nearly three decades. He also worked for the scaffolding company contracted by the team when the stadium was built.But since 2019, when McCormick began using a scooter in the stadium for his mobility disability, he says he’s faced discrimination when purchasing accessible tickets. The Sox would not sell season tickets in accessible seats, he said in a Wednesday news release.“Imagine helping in the construction of the home stadium for your team and being told you can’t buy season tickets to go to games there,” McCormick said in the news release. “Well, that’s exactly what the White Sox told me after decades of supporting them.”On Wednesday, McCormick, along with former AARP regional vice president and fellow Sox fan Ralph Yaniz, filed a lawsuit seeking ...

Biden White House strategy for impeachment inquiry: Dismiss. Compartmentalize. Scold. Fundraise.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:27:21 GMT

By COLLEEN LONG (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — On Capitol Hill, House Republicans were all-in Wednesday on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s announcement of an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. Down Pennsylvania Avenue, the president was holding forth at the White House on the importance of bipartisanship in fighting cancer — and ignoring shouted questions about impeachment.It was a clear sign of Biden’s broader reelection pitch: the idea that if he simply does his job and governs, Americans will see the results and reward him with four more years. Never mind all that pesky impeachment talk across town.Just an hour earlier, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had dismissed the inquiry as a “political stunt” and deflected questions about the details to the White House Counsel’s Office. House Republicans? “We think they should work with us on legitimate issues — things that actually matter to the American p...

Leaving Google’s search engine isn’t easy, government witness says in antitrust case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:27:21 GMT

By PAUL WISEMAN (AP Business Writer)WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department pressed ahead with its antitrust case against Google Wednesday, questioning a former employee of the search engine giant about deals he helped negotiate with phone companies in the 2000s.Chris Barton, who worked for Google from 2004 to 2011, testified that he made it a priority to negotiate for Google to be the default search engine on mobile devices. In exchange, phone service providers or manufacturers were offered a share of revenue generated when users clicked on ads. In the biggest antitrust case in a quarter century, the government is arguing that Google has rigged the market in its favor by locking in its search engine as the one users see first on their devices, shutting out competition and smothering innovation. Google counters that it dominates the internet search market because its product is better than the competition. Even when it holds the default spot on smartphones and other devi...

Woman with whom Texas AG allegedly had affair appears at impeachment trial but doesn’t testify

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:27:21 GMT

By PAUL J. WEBER and JAKE BLEIBERG (Associated Press)AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A woman with whom Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is said to have had an extramarital affair made a sudden appearance Wednesday at the Republican’s impeachment trial but never testified despite being called to take the witness stand.The affair is central to the historic proceedings and accusations that Paxton misused his power to help Austin real estate developer Nate Paul, who was under FBI investigation and employed the woman, Laura Olson. One of the 16 articles of impeachment against Paxton alleges that Paul’s hiring of Olson amounted to a bribe. Olson was called to take the stand Wednesday morning in the Texas Senate and waited outside the chamber. But her testimony was delayed for much of the day before Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is acting as the trial’s judge, said she was present but was “deemed unavailable to testify.” Patrick said both sides had agreed to that desc...

Red Sox notebook: Jansen tests positive for coronavirus, closer out for at least 7 days

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:27:21 GMT

If this Red Sox season wasn’t already more than halfway into the ground, they took another massive hit on Wednesday.Kenley Jansen tested positive for coronavirus and is going on the COVID-related injured list, manager Alex Cora announced Wednesday afternoon. The Red Sox recalled Left-hander Brandon Walter to fill his spot on the active roster.The veteran closer hadn’t pitched in six days when he took the mound for the ninth inning on Tuesday night. He ended up only facing two batters – giving up a leadoff walk to Oswaldo Cabrera and a single to Everson Pereira – before his manager and a trainer came out to collect him. The Red Sox announced that he’d been removed with “fatigue and illness symptoms.”The veteran closer had been feeling under the weather and dealing with a lingering hamstring issue. Earlier in the week, he was seen wearing a mask in the clubhouse.Under this season’s Covid protocol, Jansen must remain on the list for at least seven days. He’s the second Red Sox player (...