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New England, eastern Canada hunker down as Hurricane Lee’s high winds, rains, waves approach

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:48:28 GMT

By DAVID SHARP and PATRICK WHITTLE (Associated Press)PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — New England harbors and fishing villages were being emptied of boats — and some were becoming ghost towns — as commercial fishermen and recreational boaters scrambled Friday to make final preparations for the arrival of Hurricane Lee, a storm threatening to bring tropical-storm-force winds across a swath hundreds of miles wide.Hundreds of out-of-state utility workers poured into Maine amid fears of widespread power outages because of a combination of heavy winds and rain-saturated soil in the nation’s most heavily wooded state.A tropical storm warning was in place from Maine to Massachusetts, but forecasters removed a hurricane watch for eastern Maine, as the storm with 20-foot (6-meter) ocean swells approached. Forecasters said there would be winds topping 40 mph (64 kph) across an area spanning more than 400 miles (643 kilometers) ahead of landfall Saturday afternoon.On Friday, ther...

Duxbury mother accused of strangling her 3 children indicted for their murder

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:48:28 GMT

The Duxbury mother accused of strangling her three children with exercise bands in January has been indicted for their murder.A Plymouth grand jury indicted Lindsay Clancy, 32, with three counts of murder and strangulation. Clancy is being held without bail and is currently a patient at a hospital being treated following what was reported as a suicide attempt following the dark night at 47 Summer St. in Duxbury on Jan. 24.The three children were found by first responders in the basement of the home after their father could be heard screaming upon locating them. Cora Clancy, 5, and Dawson Clancy, 3, were transported to Beth Israel Deaconness Hospital in Plymouth where they were pronounced dead that night.The baby, Callan Clancy, 8 months, was medflighted to Boston Children’s Hospital and would hold onto life for several days before also dying from his injuries.This is a developing story.

A fall financial cleanse could get your spending back on track

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:48:28 GMT

If summer is a season of spontaneity and indulgence, then fall offers a counterpoint: It’s a chance to get back on schedule, and back on budget.“Summer, with travel and no school, tends to be a really spendy time. The fall is a nice reset,” says Ashley Feinstein Gerstley, a certified financial planner and author of “The 30-Day Money Cleanse.”Gerstley says giving yourself a “money cleanse” offers a chance to carefully go over your spending and financial habits so you can make any necessary changes to end the year strong. With inflation and economic uncertainty in the background, that’s no easy task, but putting in the extra effort now can pay off.Here’s a step-by-step guide to a fall financial cleanse that could help get your budget on track for the rest of the year:Start with a look backNate Hoskin, a CFP and financial assistant at Brightside, a provider of financial wellness to employees, says the first step to a fall financial cleanse is to look backward, starting with your New Ye...

Tyler Childers' San Diego concert sells out in first hour, according to Ticketmaster

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:48:28 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Some Tyler Childers fans in San Diego may relate to his song "Purgatory" a little more as of Friday morning.That's because their chance to experience the sounds of Appalachia on the West Coast have dwindled. According to Ticketmaster, the concert sold out within the first hour of ticket sales. Viejas Arena, where the singer-songwriter will perform a mix of country, bluegrass and folk music, can accommodate as many as 13,500 guests. That means there are thousands of Southern California fans who will get to enjoy Childers' "Universal Sounds" on Friday, April 5, 2024. From Asian markets to beer fests, these events are happening in San Diego County this weekend There's still some hope, however, for those who couldn't get into the ticket queue fast enough during Friday morning's 9 a.m. hour. Resell tickets may become available from now until the concert date if some ticketholders can't attend. According to Ticketmaster, Tyler Childers "wants to give fans, not professional ...

Dominican Republic closes all borders with Haiti as tensions rise on island both countries share

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:48:28 GMT

DAJABON, Dominican Republic (AP) — The Dominican Republic shut all land, air and sea borders with Haiti on Friday in a dispute about construction of a canal on Haitian soil that taps into a shared river, as armed Dominican soldiers patrolled entry points and military planes roared overhead.Flights were canceled and border towns usually teeming with vendors and Haitians crossing daily to work in the Dominican Republic were subdued. Crowds of people on the Haitian side gathered under the shade of trees as they observed the scene on Friday. Nearby, a white flag fluttered in the breeze under a Haitian flag in a sign of peace.It was unclear how long the rare closure of the borders will last, with Dominican President Luis Abinader saying the measure will remain in place “as long as necessary.” The country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the canal project violates a 1929 treaty and “must be halted immediately before pursuing any other dialogue.”The diplomatic c...

A member of the secret panel studying Wisconsin Supreme Court justice’s impeachment backed her rival

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:48:28 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — One of the former Wisconsin Supreme Court justices tapped to investigate impeaching newly elected Justice Janet Protasiewicz for taking Democratic Party money accepted donations from the state Republican Party when he was on the court. The former justice, Republican David Prosser, gave $500 to the conservative candidate who lost to Protasiewicz, did not recuse from cases involving a law he helped pass as a lawmaker and was investigated after a physical altercation with a liberal justice.Prosser is one of three former justices tapped by the Republican Assembly speaker to investigate the criteria for taking the unprecedented step of impeaching a current justice. Speaker Robin Vos has floated impeachment because Protasiewicz accepted nearly $10 million from the Wisconsin Democratic Party and said during the campaign that heavily gerrymandered GOP-drawn legislative electoral maps were “unfair” and “rigged.”The impeachment threat comes after Protasiewicz’s win this s...

One American, two Russians blast off in Russian capsule to International Space Station

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:48:28 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — One American and two Russians blasted off Friday aboard a Russian spacecraft from a spaceport in Kazakhstan on a quick trip to the International Space Station.NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. O’Hara will spend six months at the station while Kononenko and Chub will spend a year there.The trio was supposed to fly to the space station last spring, but their original capsule was needed as a replacement for another crew. That crew — also two Russians and an American — will ride it home later this month. Their stay was extended from six months to a year when their Soyuz capsule developed a coolant leak while parked at the station.It’s the first spaceflight for O’Hara and Chub, while mission commander Kononenko is on his fifth trip to the orbiting outpost.The crew was due to arrive three hours later, joining seven station residents from U.S., Russia, Denmark and Japan.When they...

Texas AG Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial is almost over. This is what’s happened and what’s next

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:48:28 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The historic impeachment trial that could remove Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton from office over corruption allegations is now in the hands of a jury of 30 state senators, most of them Republicans like him.The impeachment charges center on allegations that Paxton improperly used the powers of his office to protect Austin real estate developer Nate Paul, who was indicted in June on federal charges of making false statements to banks.Senators began deliberations Friday after closing arguments from the bipartisan group of House managers prosecuting Paxton and the attorney general’s defense lawyers.“We discovered unprecedented abuse in the Texas attorney general’s office by Mr. Paxton,” said state Rep. Andrew Murr, a Republican. “He has betrayed us, and the people of Texas.”In a fiery defense, Paxton attorney Tony Buzbee insisted the House had not proved their case and called the impeachment a “political witch hunt.”“There is shame here, and the ...

Progressive Councilmember Freddie O’Connell wins Nashville mayor’s race

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:48:28 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Freddie O’Connell, a progressive member of Nashville’s metro council, has resoundingly won the race to become the next mayor of the Democratic-leaning city, according to unofficial results.Results from the Davidson County Election Commission show O’Connell defeated conservative candidate Alice Rolli in Thursday’s runoff election by a wide margin, with all precincts reporting. Candidates in the race do not run with party affiliations.Since 2015, O’Connell has served on the combined city-county government’s council, representing a district that covers downtown Nashville. He succeeds Mayor John Cooper, who decided not to seek reelection.O’Connell, whose campaign touted him as the “only truly progressive candidate running for mayor,” said he wants to make the city “more ’ville and less Vegas,” a reference to the “Nashvegas” moniker sometimes used to liken the huge boom in tourism in the city to Las Vegas. “Eve...

British neonatal nurse found guilty of murdering 7 babies launches bid to appeal her convictions

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:48:28 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A British neonatal nurse who was found guilty of murdering seven babies and the attempted murder of six others has launched a bid to appeal her convictions, officials said Friday. Lucy Letby, 33, was sentenced last month to life in prison with no chance of release. A jury at Manchester Crown Court had found her guilty of the seven murders between June 2015 and June 2016 at the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northwestern England.She was also found guilty of seven murder attempts involving six other babies there but was cleared of two additional charges of attempted murder. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on several other charges.Officials at the Court of Appeal said Friday they had received an application for permission to appeal against the convictions. Typically, applications for permission to appeal against a crown court decision are considered by a judge without a hearing. If the bid is refused, the guilty parties have the right to renew...