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Healey Order Aims To Protect Abortion Pill Access

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:54 GMT

After a federal judge in Texas suspended FDA approval of abortion pill mifepristone, Gov. Maura Healey issued an executive order on Monday that is meant to clarify that a state law passed last year to protect abortion access from out-of-state prosecution extends to the pills as well. The governor’s office also announced that the University of Massachusetts Amherst ordered 15,000 doses of mifepristone last week, to arrive in the Bay State this week, to stockpile in event of a shortage. The university will distribute the mifepristone pills to providers. Healey’s announcement outside the State House comes after Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk invalidated the Federal Drug Administration’s authorization of the abortion pill on Friday. The pill had been legally on the market for 23 years. A federal judge in Washington issued a conflicting ruling later that day, saying the FDA should do nothing to restrict access to the drug. “With this stockpiled supply of mifepristone, ou...

DeMar DeRozan prepares for a homecoming in the Chicago Bulls play-in game: ‘I will never be a villain in Toronto’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:54 GMT

DeMar DeRozan knows exactly what to expect when he boards the flight for Wednesday’s play-in game against the Toronto Raptors.It took five years for DeRozan to draw a postseason game against his former team. As the Chicago Bulls open the single-elimination play-in tournament at Scotiabank Arena, DeRozan feels prepared for everything the homecoming could bring.“The irony of it, just the whole thing — it’s always a full-circle moment going back,” DeRozan said. “It’s going to be interesting.”After the Raptors drafted him with the No. 9 pick in 2009, DeRozan grew into an elite NBA player over nine seasons in Toronto.And while other players have complained about living in Canada, DeRozan embraced the city and its fans throughout his years in Toronto.“That was home for me,” DeRozan said. “That was everything for me. The way they embraced me and everything, even if I tried to, there’s nothing I could ever possibly say ...

Jury to decide $1B Maine power line dispute

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:54 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine — The battle over a $1 billion green energy transmission line that won all regulatory approvals only to be rebuked by Maine residents in a retroactive referendum is going to a jury.In a rare move, a jury of nine is being asked to decide a complicated constitutional matter — whether developers have a vested right to complete the 145-mile project, which would supply Canadian hydropower to the New England power grid.The constitutionality of the statewide referendum on the project depends on the jury’s decision on the narrow vested-rights issue.“We’re not aware of a similar instance in which the fate of a large energy asset rests in the hands of a jury. This is an unusual circumstance,” Timothy Fox, vice president of Clear View Partners, an energy research firm in Washington, D.C., said before the trial began in a packed courtroom Monday.Attorneys for groups opposed to the project suggested to jurors on Monday that developers rushed construction w...

Dave Hyde: Heat, Panthers still have the chance to be the teams they think they are

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:54 GMT

We start the postseason for the Miami Heat with a play-in game Tuesday, stare at the playoff situation for the Florida Panthers, and there’s one thing both teams share beyond unimpressive regular seasons that offered little hope all winter:They write their story from here.They don’t have to be two teams that leave the stage pretending they are better than they actually are. They still have a chance to be those teams over the next week or two.Anyone who thinks they don’t have it in them doesn’t remember the ride the Heat took to within one shot of the NBA Finals last year or hasn’t watched the manner the Panthers have clawed back into contention over the past few weeks.So, just who are these Heat and Panthers?There’s another question before answering that for the Heat: Who are half the teams in the NBA playoffs? The regular season used to show us. But the regular season is broken, with players skipping games and too many teams not caring, right to ...

Jackie Robinson was a game-changer on and off the field: ‘His activism is probably something that is underappreciated’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:54 GMT

“A Life Is Not Important Except In The Impact It Has On Other Lives.” — Jackie Roosevelt Robinson’s HeadstoneMy grandmother took me to Mets games during the summer of 1964 when I was 10 years old.Walking down the stairs from the elevated No. 7 train, I noticed a tall Black man with white hair signing autographs.My grandmother smiled and I asked who was that man?“That’s Mr. Jackie Robinson,” said the long-time Brooklyn Dodgers fan sporting one of her brightest smiles.I was puzzled and asked, “Who’s Mr. Jackie Robinson?”She told me he was the first “colored man” (her words) to play pro baseball.I thought Nana was losing it. Baseball has been around forever. Was Mr. Jackie Robinson 200 years old?No, she said, colored men weren’t allowed to play baseball until 1947.“Why not?” I queried, really confused.“Because he was colored,” she said.“But that doesn’t make any sense,” said the naïve little boy.“Exactly,” she replied.As we walked away from Mr. Jackie Robinson, he was still...

Grand jury charges mother of Virginia 6-year-old who shot teacher; prosecutors look to further investigate security issues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:54 GMT

Peter Dujardin | Daily PressNEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A Newport News grand jury on Monday indicted the mother of the 6-year-old boy who shot his first grade teacher at Richneck Elementary School three months ago.Deja Nicole Taylor, 25, of Newport News — whose son shot 25-year-old teacher Abby Zwerner during class on Jan. 6 — was charged with felony child neglect and a misdemeanor count of recklessly leaving a firearm so as to endanger a child.Newport News prosecutors have also asked a Circuit Court judge to impanel a “special grand jury” to “continue the investigation into any security issues that may have contributed to this shooting.” This could include looking at Richneck administrators, the school system and anyone else.Such a probe could take months — and could lead to more indictments.“Their investigation will continue as long as necessary to determine whether others are criminally responsible for the shooting of January 6,” the Newport News commonwealth’s attorney’s office wrote in...

Stocks end mixed on Wall Street amid rate hike expectations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:54 GMT

By STAN CHOE (AP Business Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks were mixed Monday in their first trading after a report heightened speculation the Federal Reserve may tap the brakes a little harder on financial markets and the economy. The S&P 500 rose 4.09 points, or 0.1%, to 4,109.11. It did not trade on Friday, when data showing a resilient U.S. jobs market heightened expectations the Fed would hike interest rates again at its next meeting. Big Tech stocks fell more than the rest of the market, which helped drag the Nasdaq composite down 3.60, or less than 0.1%, to 12,084.36. It was down as much as 1.4% earlier in the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was steadier, and it rose 101.23, or 0.3%, to 33,586.52. Higher rates tend to hit tech and other high-growth stocks the hardest, and Apple and Microsoft were the two heaviest drags on the S&P 500. Apple fell 1.6%, and Microsoft slipped 0.8.%. Tesla also dipped 0.3% after paring a sharper, early loss. The company cut pric...

‘The Little Mermaid’ live-action remake to feature modified lyrics ‘because people have gotten very sensitive’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:54 GMT

Karu F. Daniels | (TNS) New York Daily NewsDisney’s anticipated live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid” will not only have a more diverse cast, the soundtrack will have updated lyrics.According to composer Alan Menken, who created the music for the original 1989 movie, the new film will feature lyrics to include consent.The beloved songs “Kiss the Girl” and “Poor Unfortunate Souls” will be edited to reflect the cultural shift of modern times.“There are some lyric changes in ‘Kiss the Girl’ because people have gotten very sensitive about the idea that [Prince Eric] would, in any way, force himself on [Ariel],” the Oscar winner said in a recent Vanity Fair interview.During the original “Kiss the Girl” scene, Prince Eric is encouraged to kiss Ariel, who has no voice at the time.Meanwhile, “Poor Unfortunate Souls” has a line in which Ursula says: “The men up there don’t like a lot of blabber, they think a girl who gossips is a bore, yet on land, it’s much preferred for ladies not to ...

Sox place Duvall on IL with fractured wrist, Dalbec recalled

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:54 GMT

The Red Sox could be without their hottest hitter for a while.Outfielder Adam Duvall is headed for the injured list with a fractured left wrist, the Red Sox said Monday afternoon, and infielder Bobby Dalbec is being recalled to fill his spot on the active roster.Alex Cora told reporters in St. Petersburg that Duvall suffered a distal radius fracture and his timetable is unknown, though typically most fractures require at least four to six weeks of recovery time. Duvall was back in Boston undergoing testing Monday and the club is still trying to determine if he’ll require surgery.Duvall suffered the injury in the ninth inning of Sunday’s 4-1 win over Detroit, landing awkwardly on his left wrist while trying to make a diving catch. Duvall previously underwent season-ending surgery on the same wrist last season to repair a torn tendon sheath, which cost him the last two months of the year.With Duvall sidelined the Red Sox will likely rely more heavily on reserve outfielders...

From buried grottos to mysterious orbs, could this Northern California property become a Catholic shrine?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:54 GMT

Brut Farris moved into a cottage among the towering redwoods overlooking the Boulder Creek deep in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Northern California about 15 years ago because it was scenic — not sacred.It didn’t hurt that there was plenty of space for him and his friends to shoot their bows and park their Harleys.So when he stumbled upon a toppled-over statue of the Virgin Mary in a stone enclosure while helping extend the driveway to the edge of a hillside, he didn’t think much  about chucking it into a sinkhole with other debris.Cora Evans, who died 56 years ago, has been declared a “Servant of God” by The Catholic Church, the first step on the path to sainthood. (Courtesy of family)He had no idea back then that the property’s previous owner, the late Cora Evans who died here in 1957, was a candidate for sainthood in the Catholic Church. He hadn’t heard the stories that she was considered a mystic and fell into deep trances and wrote thousands of pages about walks with God. He didn...