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Boston City Council preliminary turnout highest in Kendra Lara race

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:50 GMT

Roughly 42% of all votes cast by 3 p.m. Tuesday were in the closely-watched District 6 race, where the City Councilor Kendra Lara is trying to hold onto her seat in the wake of a late June car crash that left her facing several charges.The hotly-contested District 5 race is also drawing a lot of interest, with more than 26% of votes cast there, as the embattled incumbent Ricardo Arroyo vies for a third term against two candidates with dueling mayoral endorsements.As of late afternoon, 17,202 votes had been cast in the preliminary election between the four contested City Council districts: 3, 5, 6 and 7, according to data from the Elections Department.Today’s preliminary will determine which two candidates from each race move onto the Nov. 7 election. Polls close at 8 p.m.While voters are flocking to the polls in District 6, whether that high turnout bodes well for Lara or one or both of her challengers remains to be determined.William King, an information technology specialist, and ...

Ticker: FBI investigating MGM cybersecurity; Ultimate fighting on the stock exchange 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:50 GMT

Casino operator MGM Resorts International said Tuesday that resorts are open and an investigation is continuing after what it called a “cybersecurity issue” led to the shutdown of computer systems at company properties across the U.S.The FBI characterized the investigation as ongoing but Special Agent Mark Neria, spokesperson for the bureau in Las Vegas, said no additional information is available.Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts said the event started Sunday and that it shut down “certain systems” in efforts to protect data. It did not call it a cyberattack or specify which systems were affected.Reservations and casino floors in Las Vegas and states including Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York and Ohio were affected.Late Monday, the company posted a statement saying that “resorts, including dining, entertainment and gaming are currently operational.”“Bottom line, our customers are being served,” company sp...

Names of twin Sumatran tiger cubs born at Safari Park revealed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:50 GMT

SAN DIEGO — Say hello to Hutan and Puteri.The San Diego Zoo Safari Park announced Tuesday the names of a pair of Sumatran tiger cubs born at the park in July.The male cub was named Hutan (pronounced Hoo-taan), which means "forest" in Malay and the female cub was named Puteri (pronounced Poo-Tear-e), which means "princess," the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance said.The birth of the tigers cubs come at a time when the Sumatran tiger is critically endangered, with only an estimated 400 to 600 remaining on earth, according to zoo officials. VIDEO: Dolphins swim through bioluminescent waters in Orange County Hutan and Puteri were born on July 12 to first-time mother Diana and father Dumai, SDZWA said. The cubs are the first to be born at the Safari Park's Tull Family Tiger Trail habitat in seven years.The cubs are expected to remain in their den with Diana for several more weeks. You can find more information on Sumatran tiger conservation efforts here.According to zoo officials, the bi...

Massachusetts city got nearly 10 inches of rain in 6 hours, flooding homes and eroding dams

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:50 GMT

LEOMINSTER, Mass. (AP) — Heavy rainfall — nearly 10 inches in 6 hours — flooded parts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, with two communities declaring a state of emergency as water poured into homes and forced boat rescues of residents. Concern about a dam listed in poor condition led to more evacuations.Weather officials described the rainfall as a “200-year event.”More rain was in the forecast for Wednesday. Winds and flooding from Hurricane Lee were expected to affect Rhode Island, eastern Massachusetts, southeastern New Hampshire and central and coastal Maine during the weekend, forecasters said.Up to 300 people were evacuated by Tuesday morning in Leominster, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Boston, Mayor Dean Mazzarella said. That included residents of a high-rise apartment building and a nursing home. All schools were closed and two shelters were opened.Mazzarella said the city has not seen such widespread damage since a hurricane in 1936. He said most build...

Oklahoma City mayor unveils plan for $900M arena to keep NBA’s Thunder through 2050

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:50 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt unveiled a proposal Tuesday for a new $900 million downtown arena that would keep the NBA’s Thunder in the city through at least 2050 if approved by voters.The plan released released by city officials calls for the continuation of a 1% sales tax for six years, $70 million from an existing sales tax approved by voters in 2019 for upgrades to the current arena, and a $50 million contribution from the Thunder ownership group. The deal calls for at least $900 million to be spent constructing the new arena.According to a city press release, the proposal will be presented to the nine-member Oklahoma City Council on Sept. 26. A majority of the council would need to approve a call for a Dec. 12 citywide election, where voters would decide the plan’s fate.If approved, Holt says the Thunder will play in the new arena for at least 25 years. The goal is for the new arena to open in time for the 2029-2030 NBA season.“Perhaps the most impo...

Man wanted in sexual assault of girl, 14, in Brampton park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:50 GMT

A man is wanted for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in a Brampton park last weekend.Peel Regional Police said the girl was walking through Chinguacousy Park on Sept. 9 when a suspect allegedly followed and sexually assaulted the victim.The man is described as five-foot-five to five-foot-nine, Black, with a medium build and a thin goatee.He was last seen wearing a white hoodie, white shorts, black flip-flops with grey socks, with a large ring on one of his fingers.The investigation is ongoing.The suspect was last seen wearing a white hoodie, white shorts, black flip-flops with grey socks, with a large ring on one of his fingers. Photo: Peel Regional Police.

Hurricane Lee swirls through open waters on a path toward Atlantic Canada

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:50 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Lee whirled north of Puerto Rico on Tuesday as a very large Category 3 storm, with forecasters noting it would remain in open waters through this week while on a path toward Atlantic Canada.The storm was located about 535 miles (860 kilometers) south of Bermuda. It had winds of up to 115 mph (185 kph) and was moving west-northwest at 7 mph (11 kph).A tropical storm watch was issued for Bermuda, with Lee forecast to pass just west of the island late Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said. It noted that Lee was “a very large hurricane,” with hurricane-force winds extending up to 125 miles (205 kilometers) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds up to 240 miles (390 kilometers).By Sunday, Lee was forecast to weaken into a tropical storm and likely make landfall in Nova Scotia, Canada, according to AccuWeather.“A significant storm surge will occur along with the strongest winds and risk of property damage,” AccuWeather said in a ...

Mississippi school district named in desegregation lawsuit is allowed to shed federal supervision

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:50 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A majority-Black Mississippi school district received a judge’s approval Tuesday to shed federal supervision in a decades-old desegregation lawsuit that included a 2013 order to move away from harsh discipline that disproportionately affected Black students.U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate praised the Meridian Public School District for reducing the number of suspensions that led some students to drop out of school.“Meridian is no longer known for a school-to-prison pipeline,” the district’s superintendent, Amy Carter, told Wingate during a hearing in Jackson.The Justice Department announced in 2013 that it would enter a consent decree with the Meridian schools for the district to improve disciplinary practices. The department said at the time that its investigation found Black students “frequently received harsher disciplinary consequences, including longer suspensions, than white students for comparable misbehavior, even where the students were a...

Man declared dead is likely still alive, Quebec court reaffirms in appeal case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:50 GMT

MONTREAL — A missing man is “almost certainly alive” after he was pronounced dead more than five years ago, Quebec’s Court of Appeal reaffirmed in a recent decision.The ruling represents the latest turn in a bewildering series of cases in which the family of Hooshang Imanpoorsaid wrangled with an insurance company over evidence of his survival. The legal squabble has meant that the former Quebec resident, missing for over a decade, has been considered alive, then dead, then alive again within the span of a few years.Imanpoorsaid disappeared in 2008 after he said he would take a trip from Montreal to Toronto, according to court documents. But a police investigation revealed he had instead allegedly flown to Amsterdam. His disappearance led his family to discover he owed large sums of money to several lenders.“I’m sorry for creating so much stress for you guys,” Imanpoorsaid purportedly wrote in a cryptic email to his children the day after he left ...

Tickets to see Lionel Messi face Chicago Fire FC are in demand

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:50 GMT

CHICAGO — The biggest story in Major League Soccer in 2023 concerns the greatest player in the world joining its Miami franchise, and he's going to make a stop in Chicago.Lionel Messi's appearance at Soldier Field on Wednesday, October 4 with Inter Miami CF has already created plenty of buzz - and ticket sales - for Chicago Fire FC."You probably could not have scripted his arrival any better, right," said Fire president of business operations David Baldwin of Messi. "He's scored in most of the games, he's had some game-winning assists. It's been really exciting for the league as a whole."Especially for the Fire, who will play arguably their most anticipated regular season match in franchise history on October 4 as the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner for world player of the year comes to Chicago.Naturally, the sales for this match have been quite brisk as the club has opened the upper deck for the first time since returning to Soldier Field three years ago."We're tracking towards selli...