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Foundation Outlines “Scary Part” Of MBTA Turnaround

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:48:48 GMT

The financial and policy analysts at the Mass. Taxpayers Foundation have mapped out how “the path to a safe and reliable transit system just got a lot longer” thanks to a ballooning price tag for bringing the MBTA’s infrastructure into a state of good repair.The MBTA updated its state of good repair measurement last month — using a slightly different calculation than resulted in the 2019 estimate of about $10 billion, as MTF explains in the brief it published Wednesday — to show that it would now cost $24.5 billion to fix all MBTA assets that are not in a state of good repair, which is almost two-thirds of them.And that figure includes only the cost of addressing current problems, not “needed investments in modernization, electrifications, accessibility, climate resiliency or expanded services” including those that the T included in a 2021 framework unconstrained by available funding, MTF said.In order to make those inves...

Bailey Zappe’s personal goal to finish Patriots season is an obvious one

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:48:48 GMT

FOXBORO — A concerning trend has developed over Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe’s last two starts when he’s come out of halftime looking like a completely different quarterback.He’s been 31-of-40 for 337 yards with four touchdown passes in the first half of his last two starts and just 11-of-19 for 83 yards with two interceptions in the second halves of those games.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Bill Belichick explains why Patriots claimed new QB Nathan Rourke New England Patriots | Patriots place J.C. Jackson on non-football illness list, sign running back New England Patriots | What to know about Patriots new quarterback Nathan Rourke New England Patriots | Patriots up-and-coming assistant has head coaching aspirations New England Patriots | Can Mac Jones regain Patriots’ starting QB job? Bill O’Brien weighs in Zappe realizes it too. And playing better in t...

How the Fed affected your savings account in ’23 and what’s next

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:48:48 GMT

By Margarette Burnette | NerdWalletIn a year that saw the federal funds rate reach its highest level in more than two decades, high-yield savings accounts are earning some of the best rates we’ve seen in a while. This means savvy savers are ending 2023 on a high note.But the Fed has recently hit pause on rate increases. The target range has remained between 5.25% and 5.50% since July. The many savings account rate hikes we saw earlier in the year have leveled off accordingly.So where will savings rates go in 2024?Before making predictions, it’s worth taking a moment to understand what the Fed rate is, why it sometimes changes, and what effect those changes have on your savings account. Once you understand that, you can take steps to maximize your own bank moves, regardless of what the Fed announces.A look back: The Fed rate and how it affects youThe federal funds rate is the interest rate that banks charge each other to borrow money to meet regulatory requirements. The Fed can use r...

Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony to take part in Red Sox Rookie Development Program

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:48:48 GMT

The Red Sox announced Wednesday that 11 players, including top prospects Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony, will take part in this offseason’s Rookie Development Program.The five-day program, which will take place at Fenway Park starting Jan. 15, aims to help young players adjust to life in the big leagues on and off the field. In addition to Mayer and Anthony, the participants will include catchers Kyle Teel and Nathan Hickey, infielders Chase Meidroth and Nick Yorke, and pitchers Isaiah Campbell, Richard Fitts, Wikelman Gonzalez, Luis Perales and Justin Slaten.Following the program, all of the participants except Campbell are also expected to head down the Mass Pike for Red Sox Winter Weekend, which will be held Jan. 19-20 in Springfield.All of this year’s group could conceivably play a role in the majors for the Red Sox this season. Mayer and Anthony are both Top 20 prospects according to Baseball America, and along with first-round catcher Kyle Teel project as possible...

Health officials push to get schoolchildren vaccinated as more US parents opt out

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:48:48 GMT

By DEVI SHASTRI (AP Health Writer)When Idaho had a rare measles outbreak a few months ago, health officials scrambled to keep it from spreading. In the end, 10 people, all in one family, were infected, all unvaccinated.This time, the state was lucky, said the region’s medical director Dr. Perry Jansen. The family quickly quarantined and the children were already taught at home. The outbreak could have been worse if the kids were in public school, given the state’s low vaccination rates, he said.In Idaho last year, parents opted out of state-required vaccines for 12% of kids entering kindergarten, the highest rate in the nation.“We tend to forget that diseases like measles and polio used to kill people,” said Jansen, medical director of the Southwest District Health Department, which handled the outbreak in September.All states require children to have certain routine vaccines to go to public school, and often private school and day care, to prevent outbreaks...

Separatist leader in Pakistan appears before cameras and says he has surrendered with 70 followers

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:48:48 GMT

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — The leader of the main insurgent group in southwestern Pakistan appeared before cameras on Wednesday to say he has surrendered to authorities with some 70 of his followers and is giving up his yearslong fight for independence. Sarfraz Bungulzai, who was previously known by his nom de guerre as Mureed Baluch, told reporters in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, that he feels remorse for the deadly attacks he and his Baluch National Army carried out against Pakistani security forces. The group, also known by its acronym as BNA, has been banned by the government in Islamabad.The development is a significant boost for Pakistan’s government, which has battled militants and insurgents of various groups across the country. Earlier this year, Pakistan top intelligence agency arrested another prominent BNA member — Gulzar Imam, also known by the name Shambay, the group’s founder.Speaking at a government-organized news conference, Bungulzai declared that he d...

Men who died in Oregon small plane crash were Afghan Air Force pilots who resettled as refugees

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:48:48 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Three men who died in a small plane crash in Oregon were Afghan Air Force pilots who fought with the American military and came to the U.S. as refugees after Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in 2021, according to groups that helped with their resettlement.Salem for Refugees said it resettled Mohammad Hussain Musawi, 35, Mohammad Bashir Safdari, 35, and Ali Jan Ferdawsi, 29, in the Salem area last spring. The nonprofit provides financial aid to newly arrived refugees and helps them find housing and employment, among other support services. It said it was devastated by their deaths.“In 2022, they sought refuge and new beginnings in Oregon, where their kindness, skills, and determination quickly touched the lives of those around them,” the group said on a GoFundMe page it created to help cover funeral expenses and support the pilots’ families.The men lost their lives Saturday when a small plane that was piloted by Musawi and carrying Safdari and Ferdawsi as i...

Indictment against high-ranking Hezbollah figure says he helped plan deadly 1994 Argentina bombing

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:48:48 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A high-ranking member of Hezbollah’s Islamic Jihad Organization was charged with terrorism offenses, including the bombing of a building in Argentina in 1994 that killed 85 people, in an indictment unsealed Wednesday in Manhattan federal court.Samuel Salman El Reda, 58, who remains at large and is believed to be in Lebanon, was described by federal authorities as the leader of terrorist activity carried out by Hezbollah since at least 1993.From 1993 to 2015, he conspired to support terrorists in Lebanon, Argentina, Panama, Thailand and elsewhere, the indictment said as it listed six aliases for El Reda, including “Salman Ramal,” “Sulayman Rammal,” “Salman Raouf Salman” and “Hajj.”He faces conspiracy charges and a count alleging he provided material support to a terrorist organization.Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen said in a release that El Reda nearly three decades ago “helped plan and execute the heinous attack on a Buenos Aires Jewish community c...

Ryan Gosling reimagines his ‘Barbie’ power ballad ‘I’m Just Ken’ for Christmas, shares new EP

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:48:48 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — She’s Barbie. He’s just Ken. And now, it’s Christmas.On Wednesday, Ryan Gosling — the Ken to Margot Robbie’s “Barbie” in the film — released the “I’m Just Ken” EP alongside collaborators Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt. It features the original Grammy-nominated, ‘80s-style power ballad from the movie, also titled “I’m Just Ken,” as well as three remixes: the stripped down “I’m Just Ken (In My Feelings Acoustic),” the dance floor ready “I’m Just Ken (Purple Disco Machine Remix),” and the festive “I’m Just Ken (Merry Kristmas Barbie).”The later was released with a n official music video, where Gosling, Wyatt and Ronson are seen working on the holiday remix of the song in a studio drenched in Christmas lights with an impressive live band, bantering with one another. At one point, a goofy Gosling puts on a pair of sunglasses to get into character, telling Ronson he’s doing so because “the world can have Ken’s voice but only Ba...

Florida suspect shoots at deputies before standoff at home which he set on fire, authorities say

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:48:48 GMT

DELTONA, Fla. (AP) — A deputy in Florida was grazed by a bullet Wednesday during a gunfight with a suspect who fled after being suspected of shoplifting cigarettes and then took part in an hours-long standoff before he was taken into custody, authorities said.The deputy who was shot at had non-life-threatening injuries, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release on social media.The suspect was taken into custody Wednesday morning following about a four-hour standoff during which he set fire to his house in Deltona, Florida, located about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Orlando, authorities said.A worker at a convenience store called deputies after witnessing the suspect stealing cigarettes. The suspect drove at deputies arriving at the store and then attempted to flee but was hindered by stop sticks a deputy had deployed. The suspect was able to drive to his home on a deflated tire, followed by deputies who commanded him to get out of his truck. When deputies a...