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Diana DiZoglio burst into song as she pushed legislative audit at Massachusetts Democratic convention

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:11:31 GMT

LOWELL — If there was any question about what State Auditor Diana DiZoglio was going to say during her state Democratic convention speech Saturday, she immediately put to bed speculation when she walked out to the 1980s hit “Walking on Sunshine.”The song was used as an anthem — outside of her own ballad of transparency  — for her campaign to audit the legislature, a push that has met fierce resistance from top lawmakers on Beacon Hill. It is an effort that has taken DiZoglio from the Attorney General’s office to the 2024 ballot question realm.DiZoglio made clear during her short speech that the “biggest roadblock” she has faced since taking office earlier this year is ensuring “our Democratic values” are represented up on Beacon Hill.“See, I audit over 200 state entities and the only one that has refused to comply is unfortunately our own state legislature,” DiZoglio, a former state senator from Methuen, said to a crowd that included the very people she wants to audit. “Now, I...

Ticker: Wall Street closes its worst week in six months with more losses

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:11:31 GMT

Wall Street wheezed to more losses as it limped to the finish of its worst week in six months.The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% Friday after a late-day swoon erased a modest gain it had held for most of the day. The Dow fell 106 points, and the Nasdaq composite dipped 0.1%.It capped an ugly slide for the week caused by Wall Street’s growing understanding that interest rates likely won’t come down much anytime soon. Treasury yields eased a bit after jumping earlier in the week to their highest levels in more than a decade.Bond market yields climbed to their highest levels in more than a decade, and accelerated this week after the Federal Reserve indicated it’s unlikely to cut its main interest rate by as much in 2024 as investors had hoped.Many states are expanding their Medicaid programs to provide dental care to their poorest residentsA growing number of states are offering dental care to low-income adults who once had to rely on charity or the emergency room to treat their tooth proble...

Autonomous vehicles: California governor vetoes bill requiring human drivers to supervise

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:11:31 GMT

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill to require human drivers on board self-driving trucks, a measure that union leaders and truck drivers said would save hundreds of thousands of jobs in the state.The legislation vetoed Friday night would have banned self-driving trucks weighing more than 10,000 pounds — ranging from UPS delivery vans to massive big rigs — from operating on public roads unless a human driver is on board.Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, head of the California Labor Federation, said driverless trucks are dangerous and called Newsom’s veto shocking. She estimates that removing drivers would cost a quarter million jobs in the state.“We will not sit by as bureaucrats side with tech companies, trading our safety and jobs for increased corporate profits. We will continue to fight to make sure that robots do not replace human drivers and that technology is not used to destroy good jobs,” Fletcher said in a statement late Friday.In a statement announcing that he wo...

First Lady Jill Biden arrives in San Diego

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:11:31 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- First Lady Jill Biden arrived at San Diego International Airport around 2:20 p.m. Saturday. She was welcomed by San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria. At 3 p.m., the First Lady will deliver remarks at a political event for the Biden Victory Fund in San Diego.

VIDEO: Fire prompts closure of SR-76 in Pauma Valley

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:11:31 GMT

PAUMA VALLEY, Calif. -- A structure fire in Pauma Valley prompted a road closure on State Route 76 Saturday morning.Cal Fire says a call came in around 6:41 a.m. reporting a blaze at a 4,000 square-foot strip mall at 16220 CA-76 in Pauma Valley. Responding crews noticed the fire appeared to be coming from the ceiling of the structures.The El Rey Mexican Restaurant and Pauma Valley Trading Center, a grocery store, were completely destroyed in the fire, Cal Fire told FOX 5. Dump Day: How to dispose of unwanted items for free Around 8:30 a.m., fire officials reported the scene was still active with firefighters working to protect the surrounding exposed areas.A fire destroyed structures in Pauma Valley on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2023.(Credit: Cal Fire San Diego) Cal Fire later reported the fire was knocked down at 9:18 a.m., however, smoke was still billowing from the damaged structures. SR-76 is still closed in both directions between Cole Grade and Valley Center Road. Fire crews...

Coastal North Carolina hit by flooding as Tropical Storm Ophelia travels north

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:11:31 GMT

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Residents in parts of coastal North Carolina and Virginia experienced flooding Saturday after Tropical Storm Ophelia made landfall near a North Carolina barrier island, bringing rain, damaging winds and dangerous surges.The storm came ashore near Emerald Isle with near-hurricane-strength winds of 70 mph (113 kph) at around 6:15 a.m. but its winds weakened as it traveled north Saturday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Ophelia is expected to sweep northeast Sunday along the mid-Atlantic coast up to New Jersey.Videos from social media showed riverfront communities in North Carolina such as New Bern, Belhaven and Washington experiencing significant flooding. The extent of the damage was not immediately clear.Even before it made landfall, the storm proved treacherous enough that five people had to be rescued by the Coast Guard on Friday night from a boat anchored down near the North Carolina coastline.Ophelia promises a weekend of windy conditions and heavy...

As foreign minister speaks at UN blocks away, Venezuelan asylum-seekers strain New York City

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:11:31 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Ysamar López stood beneath the old hotel’s canopy, exploring New York City’s unfamiliar streets on Google Maps and making a plan to set out into the rain. The Venezuelan woman arrived late the prior evening after a two-day bus ride from Texas capping weeks of overland travel. She had no idea her country’s foreign minister was about to speak at the United Nations a few blocks away. She had installed herself and her two small children in a room inside, got them fed and had a medical check, and now she was focused on finding warm clothing. “Thank God, nothing bad has happened, but I’m waiting for a solution to see if they leave me here or send me somewhere else,” said López, 33, as her 3-year old son with big green eyes and a runny nose clung to her. “But we’re OK, we’re doing OK.”Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil’s speech Saturday comes only days after a U.N.-backed panel investigating human rights violations in Venezuela reported that the South American...

3 shot and killed in targeted attack in Atlanta, police say

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:11:31 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Three people were shot and killed Saturday in a targeted, daytime attack in Atlanta, police said.Officers responded to a call reporting that someone had been shot in the city’s West End neighborhood around 1:30 p.m., police said in a news release. A preliminary investigation indicates a man approached two people and opened fire, and one of those people returned fire. All three were shot and died from their injuries, police said.The shooting took place near a mall. Investigators were working to determine a motive, police said. They did not release additional information. The Associated Press

Speaker McCarthy is giving hard-right Republicans what they want. But it never seems to be enough.

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:11:31 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Staring down a fast-approaching government shutdown that threatens to disrupt life for millions of Americans, Speaker Kevin McCarthy has turned to a strategy that so far has preserved his tenuous hold on House leadership but also marked it by chaos: giving hard-right lawmakers what they want.In his eight months running the House, McCarthy has lived by the upbeat personal mantra of “never give up” as he dodges threats to his speakership and tries to portray Republicans as capable stewards of the U.S. government. He has long chided Washington for underestimating him. But with the House GOP majority in turmoil, all but certain to hurl the country into a shutdown, McCarthy has set aside the more traditional tools of the gavel to keep rebels in line. Instead, he has acceded to a small band led by those instigating his ouster, even if that means closing federal offices.It’s an untested strategy that has left McCarthy deeply frustrated, his allies rushing to his sid...

Man identified after two sexual assault incidents near Lawrence Park

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:11:31 GMT

Toronto police have identified the man wanted in a sexual assault investigation for two different incidents.On Friday the man was identified, and police say there is no further threat to public safety.Police responded to an incident on Sept. 19 at 9:30 a.m. at Lawrence West Station. While exiting a bus, a man reportedly blocked the path of an 8-year-old girl, bent down, grabbed the bottom of the victim’s sweater and lifted it up. The victim’s mother intervened and the man fled the area.Then, on Sept. 21, at 4:45 p.m. police responded to an incident in the area of Duplex Avenue and Glencairn Avenue. A man reportedly approached an 8 year-old girl as a family was walking their dog. The man asked to pet the dog, bent down, and lifted the victim’s shirt exposing their stomach.A family member yelled at the man and pushed the victim’s shirt down, but the man grabbed the shirt a second time, lifted it up and took a picture before fleeing the area.