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Biden urges striking auto workers to ‘stick with it’ in picket line visit unparalleled in history

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:59 GMT

VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — President Joe Biden grabbed a bullhorn on the picket line Tuesday and urged striking auto workers to “stick with it” in an unparalleled show of support for organized labor by a modern president.Donning a union ballcap and exchanging fist bumps, Biden told United Auto Workers strikers that “you deserve the significant raise you need” as he stopped in the Detroit area just a day ahead of a planned visit by former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in next year’s election.“No deal, no wheels!” workers chanted as Biden arrived at a General Motors parts distribution warehouse, one of several facilities that has been targeted in a widening strike now in its 12th day. “No pay, no parts!”Despite concerns that a prolonged strike could undermine the economy, particularly in the crucial battleground state of Michigan, the Democratic president encouraged workers to keep fighting for better wages at a time when car compani...

Man accused of killing estranged girlfriend in Chelsea arraigned on murder charge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:59 GMT

A 65-year-old man accused in connection with the deadly stabbing of a 59-year-old woman earlier this year was arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court Tuesday on charges including first degree murder. Angel Alvarez was arrested after prosecutors said he stabbed his estranged girlfriend, Margarita Morehead, in her Chelsea apartment on May 8. Later speaking in court, prosecutors said Alvarez confessed to officers when he turned himself in one day after the alleged murder.Alvarez was previously arraigned in Chelsea District Court in May. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf and he was ordered held without bail.The Suffolk County District Attorney’s office in a statement this week said Alvarez dated Morehead for several years and lived with her “off and on” in her apartment. “Throughout their relationship, he exhibited jealousy and hostility toward Morehead and frequently accused her of infidelity,” the DA’s office said.The DA’s office said Morehead obtained a restraining order a...

Suspect wanted for 2022 Weymouth HS student shooting death arraigned after his arrest in Puerto Rico

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:59 GMT

A suspect wanted in connection with the shooting death of a 17-year-old Weymouth High School student appeared in court on Tuesday, days after being taken into custody in Puerto Rico and returning to Massachusetts.Appearing in Norfolk District Court on Tuesday, Keniel Diaz-Romero was the last co-defendant wanted for the 2022 shooting death of Nathan Paul, according to the Norfolk District Attorney’s office.He and another suspect, Jaivon Harris, were originally indicted on murder and larceny charges three months after Paul was fatally shot in Quincy on Feb. 15, 2022. While Harris was arrested and arraigned that year, authorities found Diaz-Romero had left the state, leading to an investigation that resulted in Quincy and Massachusetts State Police travelling to Puerto Rico to take the suspect into custody.During his arraignment on Tuesday, Diaz-Romero pleaded not guilty to the charges he now faces and was ordered to be held without bail.

Hingham man accused of fatal crash at Derby Street shopping plaza held in jail

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:59 GMT

The man accused of killing one person and seriously injuring 22 others when he drove his SUV through a storefront window at an outdoor shopping center in Hingham is being held in jail, months after being freed.Bradley Rein, 54, of Hingham, failed to charge his GPS monitoring bracelet over the weekend, violating his probation, according to prosecutors. Plymouth Superior Court Judge Diane Freniere on Tuesday revoked his bail for 60 days, according to Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz.The Commonwealth also requested Rein be held.Just days before last Thanksgiving, Rein is accused of smashing his SUV through an Apple store at the Derby Street shopping plaza in Hingham. In April, he pleaded not guilty in Brockton Superior Court to charges of second-degree murder and 22 counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in connection with the Nov. 21 crash.Kevin Bradley, 65, of Wayne, N.J., who was doing construction work at the store, died when he was struck by Rein’s 2019 To...

Ticker: Lottery reports record high profits; JPMorgan to pay $75M on Epstein claims;

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:59 GMT

The Massachusetts Lottery did even better financially last fiscal year than it initially thought.Executive Director Mark William Bracken said Tuesday that the final net profit for fiscal year 2023 was roughly $1.194 billion, an increase of $18 million over the pre-audit estimate of $1.176 billion announced in July.“While we knew we had a record, we did even better than the record that we thought we had,” Bracken said during a Lottery Commission meeting. “Great job for the team and for our players.”On top of setting a record, last year’s profit was also enough to beat the projected $1 billion in net profit that Treasurer Deborah Goldberg and Lottery officials told state lawmakers they could expect the Lottery to generate for local aid to cities and towns.JPMorgan to pay $75M on Epstein claimsJPMorgan Chase agreed Tuesday to pay $75 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands to settle claims that the bank enabled the sex trafficking acts committed by financier Je...

Las Vegas hospitality workers could go on strike as union holds authorization vote

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:59 GMT

Associated PressLAS VEGAS (AP) — Tens of thousands of hospitality workers who keep the iconic casinos and hotels of Las Vegas humming were set to vote Tuesday on whether to authorize a strike amid ongoing contract negotiations.There’s been increased labor organizing in recent years across multiple industries — from strikes to work stoppages — and Tuesday’s vote will take place on the same day President Joe Biden joined United Auto Workers strikers on a picket line in Michigan. The Culinary Workers Union, a political powerhouse in Nevada, hasn’t gone on strike in more than three decades. Results of the vote are expected to be released Tuesday night after a second round of votes are cast in the evening. Some 53,000 housekeepers, cocktail and food servers, porters, cooks and bartenders in Las Vegas are taking part.The union is seeking better pay, benefits and working conditions as it bargains with the top employers on the Las Vegas Strip, including M...

Toronto man arrested on child porn charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:59 GMT

Toronto police have arrested a 34-year-old man after he allegedly uploaded a large quantity of child pornography online.Police executed a search warrant at a residence in the Pape and Cosburn avenues area on Tuesday, September 24, arresting Nathan Sand.Police allege Sand not only uploaded the content, but was also in possession of child pornography.He’s been charged with two counts of possess child phonography and one count of access child pornography.More to come

Dozens dead in gas station explosion as Nagorno-Karabakh residents flee to Armenia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:59 GMT

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — An explosion at a crowded gas station in Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region left scores of people dead and injured as thousands of ethnic Armenians rushed to flee into neighboring Armenia, the separatist territory’s authorities said Tuesday. Some 28,000 people — about 23% of the region’s population — have fled across the border since Azerbaijan defeated separatists who have governed the breakaway region for about 30 years in a swift military operation last week, according to Armenia’s government. Residents of Nagorno-Karabakh scrambled to flee as soon as Azerbaijan lifted a 10-month blockade on the region’s only road to Armenia. That blockade had caused severe shortages of food, medicine and fuel. While Azerbaijan has pledged to respect the rights of Armenians, many residents feared reprisals.“I think we’re going to see the vast majority of people in Karabakh leaving for Armenia,” said Thomas de Waal, a senior fellow at the Car...

House Speaker Anthony Rota resigns over honouring man who fought for Nazis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:59 GMT

OTTAWA — House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota has resigned after he invited a man who fought for the Nazis to attend Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s address to Parliament last week.Senior Canadian politicians have called the move an international embarrassment, while Russia is using the controversy to advance propaganda that seeks to legitimize its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.  “This House is above any of us. Therefore, I must step down as your Speaker,” Rota, who was first elected to the role in December 2019, told the House of Commons ahead of question period on Tuesday.All sides had called for Rota to resign after he invited and recognized in the House a Ukraine military veteran now living in Canada who had served in a Nazi unit during the Second World War.Government House leader Karina Gould said Tuesday that members of Parliament had lost confidence in Rota, the Liberal MP for the northern Ontario riding of Nipissing-Timiskaming. During his resigna...

Florida to seek death penalty against man accused of murdering Lyft driver

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:59 GMT

OKEECHOBEE, Fla. (AP) — Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty against a Florida man accused of murdering a Lyft driver whose car he allegedly stole in an attempt to escape another killing. Okeechobee County prosecutors recently filed a court notice saying they will seek a death sentence against Mathew Flores, who is charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery for the Jan. 30 slaying of 74-year-old Gary Levin. They cited several aggravating circumstances, including that the killing happened while the suspect was fleeing another felony — a robbery — and that it was done in a “cold, calculated and premeditated manner.”Flores, 36, was indicted earlier this month for Levin’s shooting death. Flores, who is jailed without bond, is set to be arraigned next week in Okeechobee County. No attorney is listed for him in the Levin case in court records. Flores has pleaded not guilty to a first-degree murder charge for allegedly shooting Jose Carlos Martinez, 43, on Jan. 24...