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House passes bill to avert government shutdown

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:10 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House voted Tuesday to prevent a government shutdown after new Republican Speaker Mike Johnson was forced to reach across the aisle to Democrats when hard-right conservatives revolted against his plan.The bipartisan tally, 336-95, showed Johnson’s willingness to leave his right-flank Republicans behind and work with Democrats to temporarily keep government running — the same political move that cost the last House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, his job just weeks ago.This time, Johnson of Louisiana appeared on track for a temporarily better outcome as the House approved the stopgap package to keep the government running into the new year. The Senate would act next, ahead of Friday’s shutdown deadline.“Making sure that government stays in operation is a matter of conscience for all of us. We owe that to the American people,” Johnson said earlier Tuesday at a news conference at the Capitol.But the new Republican leader face...

Cerullo: Why I voted for Brandon Hyde as AL Manager of the Year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:10 GMT

Tuesday night Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde was named American League Manager of the Year. The Orioles skipper beat out Texas’ Bruce Bochy and Tampa Bay’s Kevin Cash to earn the honor, receiving 27 first-place votes in the process.Mine included.This fall I was offered the privilege of voting for one of Major League Baseball’s premier awards for the first time, and I’m grateful to have been among the 30 media members who selected this year’s AL Manager of the Year. Unlike the AL MVP and Cy Young awards, who had obvious frontrunners, this was a competitive race and a compelling argument could be made for a number of candidates.Ultimately I landed on Hyde as my first-place pick, with Cash in second and Bochy in third.What set Hyde apart for me was how easy he made a very difficult job look. Two years ago Hyde led an Orioles team that lost 110 games. Last year’s club went 83-79. This year most people expected the Orioles to continue trending ...

Member of Massachusetts catalytic converter theft ring pleads guilty

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:10 GMT

A member of the catalytic converter theft crew operating out of western Massachusetts has pleaded guilty.Zachary Marshall, either 25 or 26, of Holyoke, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport stolen property in interstate commerce and interstate transportation of stolen property. U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin scheduled sentencing for Feb. 7, 2024.Marshall, was a part of the seven-member crew the feds say stole catalytic converters from nearly 500 vehicles across Massachusetts and New Hampshire from last year until their arrests on April 12, the culmination of “Operation Cut and Run,” a joint effort by federal law enforcement agencies, the Massachusetts State Police, and more than 70 local police departments in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut.Rafael “Robbin Hood” Davila, of Agawam, was the alleged leader of the whole operation that, in the words of then-FBI Boston Special Agent in Charge Joseph Bonavolonta, “robbed catalytic converters out of hun...

Lush, private Northern California estate is site for Xi-Biden meeting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:10 GMT

By JANIE HAR (Associated Press)SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — U.S. President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping will meet at a historic country house and museum with lavish gardens for one-on-one talks aimed at improving relations between the two superpowers. The two leaders will meet Wednesday at Filoli, a secluded estate along Northern California’s coastal range. It was built in 1917 as a private residence and later became a National Trust for Historic Preservation site. The estate is about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of San Francisco, where leaders are gathering for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ conference this week. The location for the meeting was disclosed by three senior administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a matter with security implications. Bonnie Glaser, managing director of the Indo-Pacific program at the German Marshall Fund, said the location likely has met Xi’s expectations for a private meeting ...

Mac Jones says he hasn’t been told if he’s still Patriots starting QB

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:10 GMT

In Mac Jones’ radio appearance Tuesday afternoon, a lack of information became news.Jones said on WEEI’s “Jones and Mego with Arcand” that he hasn’t been told he’ll continue to be the Patriots’ starting quarterback after being benched in Sunday’s loss to the Colts after an interception. Bailey Zappe took over for the Patriots’ final two-minute drill down 10-6 and tossed his own pick.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots captain reacts to Jack Jones release with disappointment New England Patriots | Kyed: 13 final thoughts on Patriots’ eventful experience in Germany New England Patriots | Bill Belichick breaks silence on Patriots’ decision to waive Jack Jones New England Patriots | Patriots-Colts film review: Why the Germany loss may not be rock bottom New England Patriots | Patriots release troubled CB Jack Jones, claim RB JaMychal Ha...

Derrick White’s value continues to go noticed by Celtics: ‘We’re lucky to have him’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:10 GMT

Jayson Tatum is well aware of Derrick White’s exclusion from ESPN’s Top 100 players list that was published before the season started. Safe to say he wasn’t pleased.“D-White’s a hell of a basketball player,” Tatum said after the Celtics’ win over the Knicks on Monday. “It’s a damn shame they left him off the Top 100 players. That’s why I never pay attention to (expletive) like that.”White’s performance in Monday night’s victory may not jump out on the box score, but the impact he made was noticeable to his teammates. White missed his first six shots of the game and was scoreless until the game was out of reach late in the fourth quarter, but he still made several winning plays.White’s scoring drought did not affect him as the Celtics were closing the game. The C’s led by 13 with under four minutes left when Jaylen Brown’s missed 3-pointer was rebounded by Jalen Brunson. As Brunson dribbled the ball up the floor, White snuck up from behind to poke the ball loose for...

Red Sox add two prospects to 40-man roster ahead of Rule 5 Draft

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:10 GMT

The Red Sox added two pitchers to their 40-man roster ahead of Tuesday’s 6 p.m. deadline, protecting the prospects from being exposed in the Rule 5 Draft.Right-handed pitchers Wikelman Gonzalez and Luis Perales were added to the roster. Both additions were widely expected, given that they represent Boston’s top two starting pitching prospects and would have almost certainly been poached by another club if left unprotected.The big surprise was who was left exposed.Left-hander Shane Drohan, considered a top candidate to be added to the 40-man, was surprisingly left unprotected. Not long ago Drohan looked to be Boston’s most MLB-ready starting pitching prospect, but his performance notably tailed off as the season went on.Gonzalez was recently named Red Sox Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year after posting a 3.96 ERA with 168 strikeouts over 111.1 innings between High-A Greenville and Double-A Portland. The 21-year-old from Venezuela got off to a rocky start tha...

Greater Boston Housing Report Card is in and it’s not good

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:10 GMT

A grim new report shows that Boston ranked dead last among the nation’s ten largest cities when it comes to available rental units as regional housing production has failed to keep pace with the lofty goals of policy makers.Released by the Boston Foundation on Tuesday, the newest Greater Boston Housing Report Card shows that housing construction has seriously fallen behind need projections laid out by the Metro Mayors Coalition in 2015. The Coalition of 15 large municipalities aimed to produce 185,000 housing units by 2030. So far, they’ve issued permits for less than half the units they would need to be on track with that goal.“Building Permit Survey data suggest that the coalition is behind the pace of housing production needed to achieve this shared goal, with a deficit of 43,262 units as of 2022,” the report reads, in part.The report also showed that Boston is last among the nation’s largest cities when it comes to rental availability and fourth when it comes to housing stock av...

Benet’s Gabriel Sularski has 10 offers from Division I programs, which include Illinois. Next: His varsity debut.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:10 GMT

Benet’s Gabriel Sularski knows it sounds absurd.The 6-foot-5 sophomore guard already has 10 offers from Division I programs, which include Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, Purdue, Tennessee and Wisconsin — all before he’s played a minute of varsity basketball.While some girls basketball players get offers during their freshmen year, it’s much rarer for boys as young as the 15-year-old Sularski to receive such attention.“Boys usually kind of get it later,” he said. “I’m really thankful and blessed for all the coaches who are looking and seeing what I can have.“We still have a lot of work to do. It was a really good summer, and I’m really thankful for everything that’s going on right now.”To put Sularski’s recruiting into perspective, even former Benet star Frank Kaminsky, who led Wisconsin to the national championship game in 2015 and played eight seasons in the NBA, didn’t have Big Ten o...

Boston Mayor Wu pitches rent control as way to combat ‘housing crisis’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:10 GMT

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu made another push for rent control Tuesday, telling state lawmakers that she views the controversial stabilization reform as one piece of a broader strategy to address the housing crisis.Wu submitted written testimony ahead of a Joint Committee on Housing session at the State House, where the mayor’s home rule petition for rent stabilization was among a number of similar proposals that were considered.Approved by the City Council last March and filed by state Rep. Samantha Montano, the bill would cap Boston’s year-over-year rent increases at 6% plus consumer price indexes, to a max of 10%.“Much like the rest of the Commonwealth, the city of Boston is in a severe housing crisis,” Wu wrote. “This would allow tenants to have reasonable expectations of the increases in their living expenses and allow them to plan accordingly.”According to statistics provided by the mayor, the majority of residents and families in the city are renters, and more than 50% are cost-...