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Biden touts dividends of peace in Belfast, even as tensions persist

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:38:51 GMT

(CNN) — When President Joe Biden spoke here Wednesday to mark a quarter-century of the Good Friday Agreement, it wasn’t from the seat of the Northern Ireland Assembly — currently suspended over a Brexit trade dispute — but from a new university campus downtown.The choice of venue for Biden’s sole public event in Belfast was a symbolic one. While decades of violence between Nationalists and Unionists has been mostly left to another era, the peace is fragile and the politics are broken — making Biden’s speech to students as much about the future of this region as its bloody past.Biden’s optimistic speech did not paper over tensions that persist 25 years after the Good Friday Agreement was signed. He made a direct call for the parties in Northern Ireland to return to the power-sharing government — between those who want to remain part of the United Kingdom and those who favor a united Ireland — that was a centra...

Feds bust major catalytic converter theft operation

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:38:51 GMT

Seven men were arrested this morning in western Massachusetts and charged with being members of a crew responsible for stealing catalytic converters from more than 470 vehicles, causing $2,000,000 in losses for vehicle owners.“Today, ‘Operation Cut and Run’ culminated with the arrests of seven individuals from western Massachusetts who are accused of conspiring with each other to steal, sell and transport hundreds of catalytic converters across state lines that once belonged to unsuspecting drivers in Massachusetts and New Hampshire,” said Joe Bonavolonta, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston field office, at a press conference in the federal court in Boston Wednesday morning.Those arrested this morning include Rafael “Robbin Hood” Davila, 35, of Feeding Hills, who authorities at the press conference identified as the leader of the operation; Zachary Marshall, 26, of Holyoke; and Springfield residents Jose “Goldy” Torres, who also goes by “Goldy Tech,” 37; Nicolas Davila,...

House $56B budget would make lottery mobile, fund free school lunches

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:38:51 GMT

The House spending plan for next year is not terribly different from the one offered by the governor at the end of February, coming in about $160,000 higher and including plans to move the state’s lottery online and provide free school lunches permanently.“The $56 billion budget that will be released from the House Ways and Means Committee today and laid before the House later this month will allow the Commonwealth’s economy to grow and remain competitive,” House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz said.Coming in at $56.2 billion, the House’s version of the budget will go before the lower chamber in the next couple of weeks before moving on to the Senate and eventually the governor.The bill includes provisions which would see every student in the state fed at school for free, provide unlimited free phone calls to state prisoners, and make lottery purchases available via mobile platforms.“In the world now, with mobile sports betting being so popular, we feel it’s time for our...

Earn a bank bonus or interest last year? Don’t forget to pay taxes on it

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:38:51 GMT

With tax season in full swing, you may be consolidating the various charitable donation receipts, deductions and W-2 forms that you’ll submit to the Internal Revenue Service. But if you received any bank sign-up bonuses or earned interest on your bank balance, you may owe additional taxes you might not have planned for.Interest rates on bank accounts, such as high-yield savings accounts, were high in 2022 due to ongoing rate increases made by the Federal Reserve. Bank sign-up bonuses and promotions have also been high, often $100 or more. The IRS sees bonuses and interest as additional income, which means the government has to take its cut.What’s the Tax Rate for Bank Interest and Bonuses?Interest from savings accounts is taxed at the same rate as your income, which is in the range of 10%-37% in the United States in 2023. If you’ve earned interest, your bank may send you a 1099-INT tax form. These forms are issued by businesses that offer interest, such as banks, and they let ...

An emerging threat: Drug mix of xylazine, fentanyl

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:38:51 GMT

By GEOFF MULVIHILL (Associated Press)The U.S. has named a veterinary tranquilizer as an “emerging threat” when it’s mixed with the powerful opioid fentanyl, clearing the way for more efforts to stop the spread of xylazine.The Office of National Drug Control Policy announced the designation Wednesday, the first time the office has used it since the category for fast-growing drug dangers was created in 2019.Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the drug policy office, said xylazine (pronounced ZAI’-luh-zeen) has become increasingly common in all regions of the country.It was detected in about 800 drug deaths in the U.S. in 2020 — most of them in the Northeast. By 2021, it was present in more than 3,000 fatalities —with the most in the South — according to a report last year from the Drug Enforcement Administration.“We cannot ignore what we’re seeing,” Gupta said. “We must act and act now.”Xylazine was approved for veterinary use in 1971. Sometimes known as “tranq,” it’s been showing up in supp...

New Scottish leader will challenge UK over gender law veto

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:38:51 GMT

LONDON (AP) — New Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf said Wednesday he will follow through with his predecessor’s plan to challenge the British government over its decision to block a law that makes it easier for people in Scotland to change their gender on official documents. “A legal challenge is now our only means of defending our Parliament’s democracy from the Westminster veto,” Yousaf said. “If unchallenged, it sends a signal that the U.K. Government can veto any legislation they disagree with, at a whim.”Former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s vow to defend the legislation was left in question after her abrupt resignation created a bitter battle last month to replace her as leader of the Scottish National Party. Yousaf, a close Sturgeon ally, was pitted against two rivals who opposed the gender bill. Yousaf did not commit to challenging the veto in court when asked Tuesday, saying he was considering legal advice.Passage of the bill in December was hailed by transgender righ...

US, UK aim sanctions at Russian oligarchs’ finance networks

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:38:51 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and Britain announced new sanctions Wednesday aimed at Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Roman Abramovich, targeting the financial networks of two of Moscow’s wealthiest businessmen who are close allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin.Usmanov has been subject to U.S. and European Union sanctions since shortly after the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine last year. Abramovich, who amassed a fortune in Russia’s oil and aluminum industries following the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union, was forced to sell the Chelsea football club after he was cited last year.U.S. officials said the new designations, which were coordinated with the British government, aim to reinforce existing penalties and further disrupt Russia’s importation of critical technologies used in its war against Ukraine. The departments of State and Treasury announced sanctions on 120 entities and individuals, across more than 20 countries and jurisdictions, connected to R...

Interest rate hold could add heat to real estate markets: mortgage experts

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:38:51 GMT

TORONTO — Mortgage experts expect the Bank of Canada’s decision to hold its key interest rate to add heat to the country’s real estate markets.They say the second consecutive hold since rates started climbing in March 2022 will likely give buyers and sellers more confidence to make a purchase soon.Victor Tran of mortgage rate comparison website Ratesdotca says he thinks the overnight rate’s hold at 4.5 per cent will send a strong signal to buyers and sellers that rates have hit their peak, which would prompt more sales.Leah Zlatkin of rival rates comparison site LowestRates.ca foresees the housing market heating up in densely populated regions such as Vancouver and the Greater Toronto Area.Their predictions come after buyers have sat on the sidelines of most markets for months, even as prices dropped, because rising interest rates are making borrowing more costly.However, when some real estate boards, like Toronto and Vancouver, reported March sales figures recentl...

MLB teams extend beer sales after pitch clock shortens games

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:38:51 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Thanks to the pitch clock, the action is moving much faster at Major League Baseball games. It also means a little less time for fans to enjoy a frosty adult beverage.To combat that time crunch, at least four teams — the Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins and Milwaukee Brewers — have extended alcohol sales through the eighth inning this season. Others, like the Miami Marlins and New York Mets, still have seventh-inning cutoffs, but haven’t ruled out changes.“Totally makes sense to me,” said Tom Lienhardt, who was sipping on a beer Tuesday night before the Brewers-Diamondbacks game at Chase Field. “Since the games are shorter, you’ve got to adjust.”Teams historically have stopped selling alcohol after the seventh.At least one team, the Baltimore Orioles, already sold alcohol through the eighth inning, or until 3 1/2 hours after first pitch, whichever came first. MLB games have been considerably shorter this season, largely thanks to a series of ...

Conservatives ask Twitter to label CBC accounts as ‘government-funded’ media

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:38:51 GMT

OTTAWA — The Opposition Conservatives are asking Twitter to apply a “government-funded” label on accounts associated with the CBC, even as other broadcasters decry the tag for not making clear their editorial independence. On Tuesday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre tweeted a copy of a letter addressed to the company that made that request.In the letter, Poilievre asked that the label be applied to CBC’s English “news-related” accounts. But he did not mention Radio-Canada, the broadcaster’s French-language arm.The “government-funded” label appears above every tweet from accounts that are tagged with the description. Twitter added the descriptor to BBC and National Public Radio accounts last week after initially labelling them as “state-affiliated” —a term usually reserved for government-run propaganda outlets in countries such as Russia and China. The social-media giant currently defines “government-funded”...