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State auditor has no legal authority to audit Legislature, Campbell says to DiZoglio

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:29 GMT

The Massachusetts state auditor does not have the legal authority to audit the Legislature without consent, Attorney General Andrea Campbell ruled in a decision that strikes a blow to Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s attempt to open state lawmakers’ books.In a Thursday letter to DiZoglio, Campbell said the conclusion builds on advice given in 1994, when the attorney general’s office “expressed considerable doubt” that the auditor had the authority to audit the Legislature over its objection.The finding comes after DiZoglio asked Campbell to greenlight a lawsuit against the Legislature in an attempt to get the House and Senate to open up their finances and divulge details on internal proceeds in the face of fierce resistance from top legislative Democrats.Campbell said she believes in transparency as a cornerstone of good government.“But that transparency must be achieved through methods that are consistent with the law,” she said in a statement. “After a thorough review of the statutory tex...

Man found dead in Sharon, police suspect it’s a homicide

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:29 GMT

State and local police are on the scene of an apparent homicide in Sharon where a 62-year-old man was found dead, the DA reports.A relative discovered Brad Larson, age 62, in his home with obvious injury and alerted police, the DA reports this morning.“There will be obvious police activity in the area around that home through much of the day today,” Sharon Police Chief Stephen Coffey said Friday morning. “Neighbors should be assured that, given what we know at this time, there is no ongoing threat to the neighborhood or the town related to this incident.”An autopsy is set for today.“Investigators from the Massachusetts State Police Crime Scene Services Section responded last night to process the home for potential physical evidence,” District Attorney Michael Morrissey said. “There have been no arrests in this apparent homicide, and the investigation remains active today.”

‘Fall back’ this weekend and check your alarms: Fire Marshal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:29 GMT

You’ll sleep tight come Sunday as daylight savings time ends and we all gain an extra hour — especially if you check your smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms and change the batteries.That’s the advice from the state Fire Marshal’s office.“Working smoke and CO alarms are crucial home safety tools,” said State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine. “As we ‘fall back’ this weekend, be sure you have the best protection by putting fresh alkaline batteries in alarms that use them and replacing alarms that are out of date.”Hyannis Fire Chief Peter J. Burke, Jr, president of the Fire Chiefs Association of Massachusetts, stressed the alarms save lives.“Carbon monoxide is the leading cause of poisoning deaths in the United States, and heating equipment is the main source of carbon monoxide in the home,” Chief Burke said. “We can’t see, smell, or taste carbon monoxide. Working CO alarms are the only way to detect this invisible killer.”Smoke alarms should be replaced when they’r...

Brad Stevens’ basketball journey shaped by late Bob Knight: ‘He was bigger than life’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:29 GMT

Brad Stevens was in the building for one of Bob Knight’s most infamous moments.It was Feb. 23, 1985. Assembly Hall. Another meeting in the intense intrastate college basketball rivalry between the Purdue Boilermakers and Knight’s Indiana Hoosiers. Stevens, then eight years old, made the trip to Bloomington with his father Mark, like they typically did a few times per year.But this was anything but typical.The clip has been watched millions of times, nearly four decades later. Five minutes into the game, the contentious Knight drew a technical foul arguing a foul. Moments later, as Purdue’s Steve Reid stepped to the free throw line, Knight turned around, picked up a red plastic chair from the bench and hurled it across the court in an incredible and iconic scene.A young Stevens watched in amazement from several rows up.“My dad always jokes that when I was eight years old and I saw him throwing the chair, he looked over at me and I was cheering him on,” Stevens told the Herald in an e...

Live updates | Blinken urges aid for civilians as Israeli troops tighten encirclement of Gaza City

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:29 GMT

By The Associated PressU.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday to urge protections for civilians in the fighting with Hamas, as Israeli troops tightened their encirclement of Gaza City.Tensions escalated along the northern border with Lebanon ahead of a speech planned later Friday by Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Hamas ally. It is his first public speech since Hamas attacked Israel last month, stoking fears the conflict could become a regional one.Roughly 800 people — including hundreds of Palestinians with foreign passports and dozens of injured — have been allowed to leave the Gaza Strip via the Rafah crossing under an apparent agreement among the U.S., Egypt, Israel and Qatar, which mediates with Hamas.Israel has allowed more than 260 trucks carrying food and medicine through the crossing, but aid workers say it’s not nearly enough. Israeli authorities have refused to allo...

Unattended candle sparks apartment fire in Oceanside

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:29 GMT

OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- An unattended candle inside a North County apartment sparked an overnight fire, the Oceanside Fire Department (OFD) confirmed Friday morning. Fire crews responded to reports of a structure fire at Presidio Apartments on the 4400 block of Mission Avenue around 1:20 a.m. Victim, suspect identified in deadly downtown stabbing According to OPD, the fire originated on the second floor due to an unattended candle and was promptly detected by a functioning smoke alarm.Firefighters quickly responded to the affected area. No injuries were reported. However, OPD said the incident affected two apartments, displacing a total of six individuals and two dogs"This incident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of practicing candle safety and regularly checking your smoke detectors," OPD stated in a news release. "We are grateful that the installed smoke alarm detected the fire in its early stages, preventing a potentially disastrous outcome." Two SuperLotto Plus ti...

Leader of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group speaks out for the first time since Israel-Hamas war

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:29 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Celebratory gunshots rang out over Beirut as thousands packed into a square in the Lebanese capital’s southern suburbs on Friday to watch a televised speech by Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the militant Lebanese Hezbollah group. It was Nasrallah’s first public remarks since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, sparked by the Palestinian militants deadly Oct. 7 incursion into southern Israel.The speech came a day after the most significant escalation in clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli forces on the border since the war started and on the same day as a visit to Israel by the top U.S. diplomat. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to urge protections for civilians in the fighting with Hamas, as Israeli troops tightened their encirclement of Gaza City.In his lengthy remarks, Nasrallah praised the Hamas attack four weeks ago in which the militants attacked farming villages and military posts in southern Is...

AP Election Brief | What to expect in Colorado’s ballot measure election

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:29 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Colorado voters will decide two statewide ballot measures Tuesday that would affect their pocketbooks as well as state coffers.Proposition HH asks voters to allow the state to keep some amount of surplus tax revenue that the state constitution currently requires be refunded back to taxpayers. In exchange, the measure would lower property tax rates for 10 years. A portion of the funds the state retains would be spent on education and rental assistance. The proposal was introduced by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis and Democratic lawmakers.Proposition II would allow the state keep and spend $23.7 million in tax revenue that has already been collected from the sale of tobacco and nicotine products. It would maintain current tax rates on tobacco and nicotine products and direct the revenue to be spent on preschool programs.Both proposals involve Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights, which is an amendment added to the state constitution in 1992. The amendment requires the sta...

Car crashes through gate at South Carolina nuclear plant before pop-up barrier stops it

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:29 GMT

SENECA, S.C. (AP) — A driver tried to crash through the exit gates of a South Carolina nuclear plant Thursday night about an hour after security asked the same car to leave when it tried to enter, authorities said.A pop-up security barrier stopped the car with an Arkansas license plate at the Oconee Nuclear Station near Seneca around 8 p.m., Oconee County Sheriff’s spokesman Jimmy Watt said in a statement.The driver backed up and tried to drive down a dirt road as Duke Energy security tried to block him in. The driver tried to hit the guards, then drove through a fence and off the nuclear plant property, Watt said.He drove a short distance from the plant and shots were fired, although deputies haven’t determined who fired them, Watt said.The same car showed up an hour before trying to crash through the gate and the driver was asked to leave, deputies said.A bulletin was issued to police across the U.S. to look for a silver 2002 Toyota Camry with an Arkansas tag 380-VDR, ...

AP Election Brief | What to expect in Virginia’s election for control of the state legislature

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:29 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Although his name won’t appear on the ballot, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin looms large over Tuesday’s general election in Virginia. Republicans hope to gain full control of the state legislature and clear a path for the governor to enact his proposals on abortion, education, taxes and other key policy priorities. Democrats seek to maintain control of at least one chamber and possibly flip the other to continue to serve as a check against Youngkin’s agenda.In 2021, Republicans won a narrow 52-48 majority in the House of Delegates and swept every statewide constitutional office. Meanwhile, Democrats hold a slim 22-17 majority in the state Senate. An additional state Senate seat most recently held by a Republican is vacant.The governor has been active on the Virginia campaign trail. Since his election in 2021, his political action committee has spent $19 million on contributions to legislative candidates, local party committees and other campaign e...