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Boston Mayor Wu offers discounted bike passes ahead of MBTA Red Line shutdown

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:00 GMT

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu pushed Bluebikes as an alternative travel option for residents during this month’s Red Line shutdown, when rolling out a new initiative that cuts the cost of those annual bike-share memberships by more than 50%.Under the new program, the majority of residents who sign up for a Boston Bike Pass will be charged $60 for an annual Bluebikes membership, a 53% reduction over the regular $129 rate.The discount is only available to residents who have not had an annual Bluebikes membership for the past three years. That requirement doesn’t extend, however, to income-eligible residents, who will see their annual membership drop from $50 to $5 if they sign up for the city’s new bike pass, Wu’s office said.“We are incredibly excited to make this more accessible for all of our residents,” Wu said at a Thursday press conference outside City Hall. “We know there’s tremendous hunger and appetite to get out there and find faster, more convenient ways to get around.”Related A...

Rudolph Isley, founding member of Isley Brothers and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member, dies at 84

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:00 GMT

By The Associated PressRudolph Isley, a founding member of the Isley Brothers who helped perform such raw rhythm and blues classics as “Shout” and “Twist and Shout” and the funky hits “That Lady” and “It’s Your Thing,” has died at age 84.“There are no words to express my feelings and the love I have for my brother. Our family will miss him. But I know he’s in a better place,” Ronald Isley said in a statement released Thursday by an Isley Brothers publicist. Further details were not immediately available.A Cincinnati native, Rudolph Isley began singing in church with brothers Ronald and O’Kelly (another sibling, Vernon, died at age 13) and was still in his teens when they broke through in the late 1950s with “Shout,” a secularized gospel rave that was later immortalized during the toga party scene in “Animal House.” The Isleys scored again in the early 1960s with the equally spirited “Twist and Shout,” which the Beatles liked so much they used it as the closing song on their debut al...

US is moving quickly to boost Israel’s military

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:00 GMT

Within hours of the horrific attack by Hamas, the U.S. began moving warships and aircraft to the region to be ready to provide Israel with whatever it needed to respond.A second U.S. carrier strike group departs from Norfolk, Virginia, on Friday. Scores of aircraft are heading to U.S. military bases around the Middle East. Special operations forces are now assisting Israel’s military in planning and intelligence. The first shipment of additional munitions has already arrived.More is expected, soon. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will arrive in Israel Friday to meet with Israeli leaders to discuss what else the U.S. can provide.For now, the buildup reflects U.S. concern that the deadly fighting between Hamas and Israel could escalate into a more dangerous regional conflict. So the primary mission for those ships and warplanes is to establish a force presence that deters Hezbollah, Iran or others from taking advantage of the situation.Meanwhile, nearly a week after Hamas militan...

Department of Justice awards Massachusetts $118M+ in public safety grants

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:00 GMT

Massachusetts has been awarded a nearly $120 million slice of a U.S. Department of Justice’s $4.4 billion public safety grant program that aims to, among other initiatives, reduce crimes and expand public access to justice system service.“Protecting the people of Massachusetts is my highest priority, and the best way to accomplish that goal is to forge close working relationships with our state and local partners. Federal resources like this are invaluable in the support they provide for comprehensive public safety solutions and resources specific to the unique needs of Massachusetts communities,” said Acting U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua Levy. “By investing in state and local programs, we aim to empower victims, enhance officer safety, strengthen public trust in law enforcement, and ultimately create safer communities across Massachusetts.”Courtesy / DOJActing U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy. (Courtesy / DOJ)There were a total of 3,700 grants distributed by the DOJ’s Office of J...

Patriots-Raiders injury report: S Kyle Dugger added to list of 16 injured players Thursday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:00 GMT

The Patriots added safety Kyle Dugger to their injury report Thursday with a new foot injury.Dugger was listed as limited after Thursday’s non-padded practice. He did not appear for a previously scheduled press conference after practice. The veteran safety became the 16th player listed on the Patriots’ injury report, a season high.Wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Demario Douglas were among those 16, as they continue to sit out with concussions.In Las Vegas, the Raiders upgraded wide receivers Davante Adams (shoulder) and Jakobi Meyers (wrist) after their practice. Both teams’ complete injury reports are below.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots downplay Jalen Mills’ tweet about reduced playing time New England Patriots | Two Patriots wide receivers trending toward missing Sunday’s game at Las Vegas New England Patriots | Inside Mac Jones’ Patriots downfall from promising rookie to lost Q...

DHS visited Woburn emergency shelter, held private meeting with service providers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:00 GMT

A federal team sent to Massachusetts to take stock of an influx of migrants met with at least one mayor whose city plays host to an emergency shelter and held a closed-door meeting with local providers where the idea of a week-long work permit workshop was floated, according to officials involved in the events.Both meetings were part of a two-day visit by the Department of Homeland Security to better understand Massachusetts’ emergency shelter system and the state’s ability to deal with an influx of migrants. It came after more than two months of repeated calls for federal help from Gov. Maura Healey.The Department of Homeland Security team met with Woburn Mayor Scott Galvin and the city’s police chief Tuesday afternoon at a local Comfort Inn that is hosting about 25 migrant families. More than 6,900 migrant and homeless families are temporarily living in emergency shelters throughout Massachusetts, including at many hotels and motels.“It was a bit of a letdown,” Galvin said o...

Patriots downplay Jalen Mills’ tweet about reduced playing time

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:00 GMT

FOXBORO — It apparently took a tweet from ESPN’s Mike Reiss for Patriots safety Jalen Mills to notice his defensive snaps were dwindling.Mills quote tweeted “10 snaps damn” to Reiss’s tweet of a screenshot of the Patriots’ defensive snap counts from Sunday’s 34-0 loss to the Saints.10 snaps damn. https://t.co/Yb1rhn09Oy— Jalen Mills (@greengoblin) October 11, 2023The veteran defensive back has played just 81 snaps in five games this season. He was on the field for 468 snaps in 10 games in 2022 and played 240 snaps through his first five games last season.Mills, along with most of the team’s defensive backs, did not appear during the Patriots’ open locker room session Thursday.He has the support of his teammates.“I’ve been there,” defensive captain Lawrence Guy said Thursday. “I’ve been there, 2019 … Miami game, I had 14 snaps I think. The next game, I had like nine snaps. Next game, I had 10 snaps. I’ve been in that f...

2024 officially begins: DeSantis, Burgum file New Hampshire primary paperwork

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:00 GMT

CONCORD, N.H. — The 2024 election cycle has officially begun, now that there are at least two major Republican candidates officially vying for the party nod in the first-in-the-nation primary.Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, arguably the second-most-popular conservative in the country, was just a few hours behind North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum in meeting with New Hampshire’s Secretary of State on Thursday to declare he would seek the Republican nomination in 2024.“Now is the time for leadership,” DeSantis said when signing, surrounded by press and supporters.“Live free or die,” he added to his signature, quoting the New Hampshire State motto.DeSantis is currently polling in second place nationally behind former President Donald Trump, a position he has maintained for months despite a slowly slipping lead in the Granite State and elsewhere. In a theoretical matchup against President Biden, the likely Democratic nominee, the former Navy JAG officer polls a few points behind or even.The Sunsh...

Bigfoot in Colorado? The ‘ever-elusive creature’ may have been caught on camera

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:00 GMT

By Jacob Factor, Denver PostIs Bigfoot in Colorado?A Wyoming couple thinks so after spotting what they believe to be the “ever-elusive creature” while they were riding the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in southwest Colorado over the weekend.Shannon and Stetson Parker were looking for elk during their Sunday train ride through the San Juan Mountains on the way to Durango from Silverton when Stetson saw what he thought could be Bigfoot.“We were looking for elk in the mountains and my husband sees something moving and then can’t really explain it. So he’s like, ‘Bigfoot!’” Shannon told The New York Post. “It was at least 6, 7 feet or taller. It matched the sage in the mountains so much that he’s like camouflaged when crouching down.”Shannon said in a Facebook post that she scrambled to take photos of the beast, while a man sitting next to Stetson took a video of the creature that has now gone viral on social media.“Y’all, out of the hundreds of people on the train, thre...

Fentanyl lab discovered in Mexicali; 7 arrested

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO (Border Report) -- An anonymous phone call is said to have led investigators to a fentanyl lab in the Mexican border city of Mexicali, about 120 miles east of Tijuana.Officers discovered what they call a "full working fentanyl lab where other synthetic drugs were being stored." Mexico denies producing fentanyl; Texas Republicans baffled The Baja California Attorney General's office says officers responded to a call about several men walking around carrying long weapons. And as they responded, they were shot at by a group of men sitting in two separate vehicles.Federal Mexican agents discover 20,000 fentanyl pills in Tijuana last week. (Courtesy: Baja California Office of Public Safety)Investigators say the officers exchanged fire with the suspects, and that with the aid of Mexican National Guard troops, they were able to take seven men into custody without any injuries. Mexican president to US: Fentanyl is your problem An AR-15 and an AK-47 were two of the weapons seiz...