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South Shore communities face significant power outages after storm

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:50:35 GMT

The storm that battered southern New England Monday hit South Shore communities particularly hard, knocking out power to nearly all of Scituate and forcing local officials to close schools Tuesday. Ninety-nine percent of Scituate energy customers were in the dark as of around 5 p.m., according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. Seventy-six percent of Norwell was without power. In Duxbury, nearly 80% of customers were impacted by outages. Within Scituate, National Grid trucks were spotted around town as the sun set. While crews were assembling to restore power, local officials warned the restoration could take up to 72 hours.“Residents are strongly advised to avoid road travel to facilitate cleanup efforts by the Town of Scituate and National Grid crews working overnight,” Scituate officials said near 5:15 p.m. “National Grid will perform damage assessments during the night, and restoration efforts will commence once it is deemed safe.”Storm conditions w...

Will Zach LaVine be traded? What about DeMar DeRozan or Alex Caruso? Latest Chicago Bulls news about the NBA trade deadline.

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:50:35 GMT

The NBA trade deadline is fast approaching — and the Chicago Bulls will be sellers.Free-agency rules prohibit players from being traded until Dec. 15 or three months after the date of their contract signing, whichever comes later. Because of this latter clause, some players will not be available until January.It looks most realistic to expect the Bulls to execute a trade around the Feb. 8 deadline. That would give executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas enough time to leverage a variety of trade options.Here’s what to know about the Bulls, including the likeliest players to be traded — and where they might land.What are the Bulls saying?The three-plus years since Karnišovas took over the executive vice president role in April 2020 have been riddled with more frustration than success. The Bulls have made the playoffs once in his tenure. None of his draft selections has made a meaningful impact. And Karnišovas’ f...

Georgia election workers ask for court order barring Rudy Giuliani from repeating lies about them

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:50:35 GMT

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Two former Georgia election workers who won a $148 million defamation judgment against Rudy Giuliani asked Monday for a court order barring him from continuing to repeat the lies he spread about them following the 2020 election.The new lawsuit points to comments the former New York City mayor made during and after the damages trial last week, repeating the baseless conspiracy theories about Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss. Those statements “make clear that he intends to persist in his campaign of targeted defamation and harassment. It must stop,” attorneys for the mother and daughter wrote in court documents.A spokesman for Giuliani did not immediately return a message seeking comment.Giuliani has previously acknowledged in court documents that he made public comments falsely claiming Freeman and Moss committed ballot fraud as he fought to keep fellow Republican Donald Trump in the White Ho...

Div. 1-2 girls basketball preview: Fresh faces ready to make mark

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:50:35 GMT

Coming off a Div. 1 state title run as well as a perfect season, Andover is looking to get back to the D1 state championship for the third straight season.It will be a tough task as five seniors, including four starters, graduated with stars Anna Foley (Quinnipiac) and Amelia Hanscom (Colby) being much of the scoring for the Golden Warriors. Senior captains Michaela Buckley and Ella Vidoni return as the most experienced of the group as the latter played well defensively in the state title along with a clutch 11 points.Also, in the MVC, North Andover returns starters in senior captain Janie Papell (UMass Amherst commit for lacrosse) and junior Sydney Rogers. They also return seniors Maria Benvenuto, Avery Brown and Alex Clifford as well as junior Mehan Daley to go along with two sophomores and four freshmen.Central Catholic may be without top scorer Shea Montague with a torn ACL, but juniors Kerri Finneran and Aniela Kwo along with seniors Sam Guertin and Abby Yfantopulos are ready t...

Marvel, Disney drop actor Jonathan Majors after he’s convicted of assaulting his former girlfriend

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:50:35 GMT

By JENNIFER PELTZ. JAKE COYLE and JAKE OFFENHARTZ (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — Jonathan Majors was convicted Monday of assaulting his former girlfriend after a two-week trial that he hoped would restore his status as an emerging Hollywood star, but did just the opposite with Marvel Studios and the Walt Disney Co. dropping him immediately after his conviction. A Manhattan jury found Majors, 34, guilty of one misdemeanor assault charge and one harassment violation. He was acquitted of a different assault charge and of aggravated harassment.Majors, who was asked to stand and face the jurors as the verdict was read, showed no immediate reaction, looking slightly downward. He declined to comment as he left the courthouse. Marvel and Disney immediately dropped Majors from all upcoming projects following the conviction, said a person close to the studio who was granted anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter.Majors had earlier planned to be a...

Heavy December rainfall across Quebec leads to flooding fears, evacuations

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:50:35 GMT

QUEBEC — Heavy rain across Quebec has officials monitoring rising water levels in the provincial capital region and ordering evacuations in some areas.Quebec City police say about 20 homes were evacuated in the city’s northeast corner, near Lac des Petites Îles.Media reports said about 200 residences were evacuated near the Montmorency River north of Quebec City in Ste-Brigitte-de-Laval.Joshua Ménard-Suarez, spokesman for Quebec’s civil service office, couldn’t confirm the total number of people forced from their homes but said the majority of the evacuations were ordered as a preventive measure.He said water levels should reach their peak Monday evening and begin to descend as quickly as they rose.Environment Canada says up to 80 millimetres of rain was expected in some regions of the province.Roughly 68 millimetres had fallen in Montreal by 10 a.m., which was already a record for a single day of rainfall in December.Meteorologist Michèle Fleury says the previous ...

Liberal group appeals ruling letting Trump stay on ballot to Michigan Supreme Court

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:50:35 GMT

A liberal group on Monday appealed a ruling keeping former President Donald Trump on the ballot to the Michigan Supreme Court, setting up the latest in a series of state high court showdowns over whether a rarely used constitutional clause prohibiting those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office bars him from a return to the presidency.Free Speech For the People appealed last week’s ruling by the state court of appeals that the Republican Party can place whomever they want on the ballot for its presidential primary, regardless of whether they’re qualified for the office or not.The move potentially places the future of Trump’s candidacy before yet another state supreme court. The Minnesota Supreme Court already kept Trump on the ballot, likewise saying the courts can’t strike candidates from the primary ballot and inviting the plaintiffs to try again in the general election. The Colorado Supreme Court is due to rule on an appeal of a Denver judge...

Air Jordans made for Spike Lee and donated to Oregon shelter auctioned for nearly $51,000

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:50:35 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Watching a countdown of the auction’s final minutes on Monday, Erin Holcomb couldn’t believe it: the sale price kept jumping for the rare, gold Nike Air Jordan 3s that were anonymously dropped in the donation chute of the Oregon shelter where she works in Portland.“In the last five minutes it went up and up, and every time we saw that number increase, there were tears and people clapping,” Holcomb, director of staff ministries at the Portland Rescue Mission, told The Associated Press.The sneakers, one of just a few custom pairs that had been made for filmmaker Spike Lee, ultimately sold for $50,800 — more than double the high end of the predicted sale price. All proceeds will benefit the Portland Rescue Mission, which has served people struggling with homelessness, hunger and addiction since 1949.“We couldn’t believe it,” Holcomb said. “The generosity of this moment has been a huge celebration for our whole organization.”Some two dozen people,...

Ottawa youth accused in alleged terror plot now also facing explosives charges

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:50:35 GMT

OTTAWA — An Ottawa youth facing terrorism charges for an alleged plot against the Jewish community is now also accused of having explosives in his possession.The youth, who cannot be identified, was arrested Friday and charged with facilitating and knowingly instructing someone to carry out a terrorist activity. He appeared in court by video conference from within the Ottawa courthouse today, where the Crown introduced three additional charges.The court would not provide the details of the charges on Monday, but a source close to the case says the youth is now also charged with possessing explosives as recently as Friday.The source says the court information indicates the explosives were acetone and an oxidizer, and that the youth is accused of intending to use them to endanger life. The information provided by the source shows the terrorism-related allegations date back to Oct. 24 and that the alleged terrorist activity was directed “against Jewish persons.”This report ...

Audit finds Tennessee prisons severely understaffed, officers worried about safety

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:50:35 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee prisons are severely understaffed, with a vacancy rate at one prison of 61%, leading to unsafe conditions for both inmates and guards, a state audit of the prison system found. The audit by the state comptroller’s office also found a shortage of such prisoner services as therapy, substance abuse treatment, education and re-entry assistance. It also found problems safeguarding against sexual assault that included housing potential predators with potential victims, as well as a shortage of medical and behavioral health staff. Some problems have surfaced repeatedly, including in audits from 2017 and 2020.Auditors surveyed correctional officers at prisons operated by both the Tennessee Department of Correction and private contractor CoreCivic about how the staffing affects them. “(W)e have no help and really if you get assaulted, you’re going to get assaulted until the inmates get tired of beating you because there are really no (correctional offi...