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Gun reform bill jammed on Beacon Hill

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:24 GMT

A top House Democrat behind major gun reform legislation said the bill is still locked up in an inter-branch procedural dispute even as House Speaker Ronald Mariano said last week he wants his chamber to pass the bill by the end of the month.Judiciary Committee Co-Chair Rep. Michael Day said he has “no idea” when his omnibus firearms bill will make it to the House floor for a vote. The legislation tackles unregistered ghost guns, illegal firearms, gun violence, and responds to a U.S. Supreme Court decision on licenses to carry publicly.Day said he has not had any discussions with Senate leaders “at this stage” to resolve a procedural back-and-forth over what legislative committee will take possession of the bill for a public hearing.The House tried to send it to the Judiciary Committee while the Senate instead wanted the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee, chaired by Democrats Rep. Carlos González and Sen. Walter Timilty, to review the proposal.“It’s a dispute betwe...

New Hampshire Gov. Sununu announces he will not seek a fifth term

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:24 GMT

New Hampshire’s four-term Republican governor will not seek re-election, he announced Wednesday.In a letter to supporters and in social media postings, Gov. Chris Sununu said that though he has enjoyed the work, it’s time to pass the torch to someone else.“After much consideration, I have decided not to run for another term as Governor in 2024,” Sununu wrote. “Be assured we will keep working and that the Granite State will continue to be our priority for the next 18 months.”“Public service should never be a career, and the time is right for another Republican to lead our great state. This was no easy decision as I truly love serving as Governor. I could not be more proud of our record and it’s thanks to your support that we’ve accomplished so much,” he continued.News that New Hampshire’s 82nd governor would not seek a further two-year term was met with both praise for the work he’s done and thinly veiled hints at others’ ambitions.“I’m grateful to Governor Sununu f...

Orioles’ Cedric Mullins returns to injured list with right groin strain: ‘Waiting to turn that corner’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:24 GMT

Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins seemed to be finally returning to himself when he pulled up going into third base on a foul ball Saturday. It turns out that injury will keep from even returning to the field for at least another week.Mullins was put on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with a right adductor groin strain, the same injury that cost him 20 games earlier this season. The Orioles and Mullins had been classifying the latest ailment as right quadriceps tightness and said it was unrelated to the groin strain, with Mullins saying Tuesday that he hoped to return to Baltimore’s lineup sometime this week.“It’s just kind of his upper leg, and so groin, quad,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Felt it in his quad, originally. The soreness is moving around in that upper leg area. It’s a lower-body injury that we just want to take a little bit more time with and be careful with. It was progressing, has been progressing. It’s just not progres...

Start of Orioles-Dodgers game Wednesday delayed 41 minutes as grounds crew works on wet field

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:24 GMT

Despite the sun shining above Camden Yards on Wednesday afternoon, the Orioles’ series finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers was delayed 41 minutes as the team’s grounds crew tended to a rain-soaked infield.Storms Tuesday night and Wednesday morning left the infield wet after the tarp was not placed on it overnight. The Orioles announced the delay about 50 minutes before the scheduled 1:05 p.m. first pitch without giving an official reason.“The grounds crew had to do a lot of work on the infield. Yes, it’s unfortunate that the tarp was not placed on last night — we had a surprise storm — but this grounds crew did pretty amazing work to make this only a 40-minute delay to get this field in playable condition,” MASN play-by-play broadcaster Kevin Brown said during the first inning. “They were nonstop for hours today.”Both teams’ managers, Baltimore’s Brandon Hyde and Los Angeles’ Dave Roberts, conferred with the ...

Teamsters, UPS to resume negotiations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:24 GMT

NEW YORK — The Teamsters said Wednesday they will resume contract negotiations with UPS next week, marking an end to a stalemate that began two weeks ago when both sides walked away from talks while blaming each other.The union, which represents 340,000 UPS workers, credited the picketing and rallies it’s been holding across the country for getting the delivery company back to the negotiating table before the current contract expires on July 31.It said UPS reached out to resume negotiations.In a prepared statement, the company confirmed negations will resume next week and said it was pleased to go back and “resolve the few remaining open issues.”Before contract talks broke down, both sides had reached tentative agreements on several issues, including installing air conditioning in more trucks and getting rid of a two-tier wage system for drivers who work weekends and earn less money. A sticking point in negotiations has been wage increases for part-time workers, wh...

Stolen vehicle suspect carjacks 2 vehicles during pursuit in San Fernando Valley

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:24 GMT

A man who is wanted for stealing a vehicle has carjacked two cars during a dangerous pursuit in the San Fernando Valley. The Los Angeles Police Department began tracking the suspect after learning he was wanted for stealing a van in the Ventura County area around 8 a.m., officials said. At some point, two LAPD officers were taken to a hospital in connection with the chase, though police did not have any details on how they were injured. By 1:33 p.m. the driver had abandoned the van, was seen running into a Chevron gas station in Porter Ranch and got into a BMW sedan that was stopped filling up. The driver then took off and was able to evade authorities that had surrounded him at the station, aerial video showed. The passenger of the parked vehicle was able to safely get out of the car, video showed. The suspect was then speeding on surface streets, where he ran red lights and drove on the wrong side of the road. Around 1:45 p.m., the driver was seen pulling into another gas station ...

Gunman who shot Fargo officers had 1,800 rounds, multiple guns, grenade in car, officials say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:24 GMT

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — The man who shot Fargo police officers — one fatally — last week had 1,800 rounds, multiple guns and a homemade hand grenade in his vehicle, officials said Wednesday.Mohamad Barakat, 37, opened fire on officers responding to a traffic wreck Friday before being fatally shot by Officer Zach Robinson. Officer Jake Wallin was killed, and Officers Andrew Dotas and Tyler Hawes were hospitalized with critical injuries.“When you look at the amount of ammunition this shooter had in his car, he was planning on more mayhem in our community,” Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney said at a news conference Wednesday.North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley described Barakat’s attack as “completely unprovoked.” Police and fire officials were responding to a routine traffic accident on a busy street that afternoon when the gunman began firing multiple rounds at them, according to Zibolski.“It’s clear to us that our police officers were ambushed in this attack,” the mayor said.Firefigh...

Suspected gas explosion in Johannesburg rips open roads and flips cars during rush hour, injuring 9

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:24 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A suspected underground gas explosion during Johannesburg’s evening rush hour ripped open roads and flipped more than 20 cars in South Africa’s biggest city Wednesday, injuring at least nine people, authorities said.The nine were sent to the hospital with injuries that authorities said were not life threatening. Other people were evacuated from the area due to fears of a second explosion or that multi-story buildings in a downtown section of the city that has become rundown in places might collapse.“Buildings are in danger of collapsing,” Panyaza Lesufi, the premier of Gauteng province, where Johannesburg is located, said. “The damage is extensive.”Authorities estimated that an area covering five city blocks was damaged. Lesufi said he counted 23 overturned vehicles. Huge cracks and holes appeared in the middle of roads, some so big that vehicles slid down into them.Lesufi said that while gas was suspected as the cause of the explosion on downtown Johannesb...

Texas women denied abortions give emotional accounts in court, ask judge to clarify law

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:24 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — For the first time since Roe v. Wade was overturned, Texas women who were denied abortions described in court Wednesday how they were unable to end their pregnancies despite serious risks to their health or carried babies they knew would not survive. Their testimony was often emotional, and at one point, the judge called a recess after one woman whose child died shortly after being born was overcome while recounting the catastrophic end to her pregnancy. The women are believed to be the first in the U.S. who have sued over being denied an abortion since Roe was overturned last year. Their challenge in Texas does not seek to repeal the state’s ban but to force more clarity on when exceptions are allowed under the law, which is one of the most restrictive in the U.S.Samantha Casiano testified she was halfway through her pregnancy when she found out during an appointment that her daughter had a rare diagnosis of anencephaly, where much of the skull and brain ...

Tesla’s Q2 income jumps 20%, although shares stayed flat amid concerns about profits

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:24 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Elon Musk’s big bet that Tesla price cuts could boost sales and profits amid increasing competition and poor economic sentiment appears to be yielding mixed results. The company beat analyst expectations for net income in the April-June quarter, although its shares barely budged.The Austin, Texas, maker of electric vehicles, solar panels and batteries reported net income of $2.7 billion in the quarter, a 20% increase from a year ago. Earnings per share also rose 20% to 78 cents when measured via generally accepted accounting principles.Analysts, however, tend to focus on Tesla’s own measurement of profit, which excludes stock-based compensation expense. By that measure, Tesla’s net income zoomed to $3.15 billion, or 91 cents a share, sharply exceeding analyst estimates of 80 cents per share according to FactSet.Tesla shares were flat at roughly $292 after the earnings report, up a smidgeon from their close at $291.26.Total revenue rose 47% to $...