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Mass. Jobless Rate Sinks To Record Low 2.6 Percent

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

The Massachusetts economy continues to hum along in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic’s disruption, a trend that business leaders and analysts say could forecast more inflationary pressure on the horizon.With employers across the state still struggling to fill open positions, labor officials reported Friday that the statewide unemployment rate ticked downward one-fifth of a percentage point to 2.6 percent in June — the lowest single-month rate since at least 1976.The new record low is a preliminary estimate, and officials might revise the unemployment rate upward when they release the next batch of data in August. Some experts also caution against reading too much into the difference between a 2.6 percent unemployment rate and the previous record of 2.7 percent set each month between July and November 2000.But the broader trend — nearly a year and a half with unemployment at or below 4 percent — still represents a significant turnaround since the public healt...

Biden picks female admiral to lead Navy. She’d be first woman on Joint Chiefs of Staff

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

By LOLITA C. BALDOR (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has chosen Adm. Lisa Franchetti to lead the Navy, an unprecedented choice that, if she is confirmed, will make her the first woman to be a Pentagon service chief and the first female member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.Biden’s decision goes against the recommendation of his Pentagon chief. But Franchetti, the current vice chief of operations for the Navy, has broad command and executive experience and was considered by insiders to be the top choice for the job. In a statement Friday, Biden noted the historical significance of her selection and said “throughout her career, Admiral Franchetti has demonstrated extensive expertise in both the operational and policy arenas.”Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recommended that Biden select Adm. Samuel Paparo, the current commander of the Navy’s Pacific Fleet, several U.S. officials said last month. But instead, Biden is nominating Paparo t...

Significant flooding reported in Massachusetts, a tornado ‘can’t be ruled out’ with more severe storms possible

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

Significant street flooding has been reported in western Massachusetts today, as more heavy rain hammers the region.Less than a week after a tornado touched down in the Bay State, there’s also a slight chance for another isolated tornado today, according to the National Weather Service.Around 2:45 p.m., significant flooding was reported out in Conway and Greenfield, with more heavy rain over the area in western Massachusetts.U.S. Route 5 was closed between Childs Cross Road in Deerfield to Cheapside Bridge in Greenfield due to flooding, as motorists were told to avoid the area.“Several reports of inundation in basements, with significant street flooding,” the National Weather Service’s Boston office tweeted. “Worsening flash flooding is likely as more storms move into the same area.”The highest local risk for scattered severe storms is in western Massachusetts.“Latest update for the risk of severe thunderstorms, primarily this afternoon,R...

San Diego watch parties for 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is underway and Team USA is set to make their world stage debut Friday.San Diego Wave defender Naomi Girma and forward Alex Morgan will be competing for the red, white and blue with their tournament first match starting at 6 p.m. against Vietnam. For those looking to root on the home team at they battle on the turf at Eden Park stadium in New Zealand, there are watch parties around San Diego County where fans are sure to gather. 5 San Diego Wave FC players kick off 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Here's a breakdown of watch parties in the region for the starter match, along with Team USA's remaining scheduled matches in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.Friday, July 20: USA vs. Vietam at 6 p.m.-- Novo Brazil Brewing in Otay Ranch: SD Wave is kicking off World Cup action by hosting a doubleheader watch party at this South Bay brewery. The event will start at 6 p.m. PT with the USA’s first World Cup match and will continue with the Wave’s UKG C...

East County man dies in sheriff's custody

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A man from East County died in sheriff's custody Thursday, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. SDSO says deputies located 53-year-old Timothy Aaron Carlton unresponsive in his San Diego Central Jail cell. Two stabbed in Hillcrest; woman arrested Jail medical staff provided aid -- including CPR, Naloxone and an AED device -- until paramedics with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department arrived.Around 7:30 p.m., the department's homicide investigators were notified that Carlton -- a resident of El Cajon -- was pronounced deceased, despite those efforts.Carlton was arrested by the El Cajon Police Department for an outstanding felony warrant on May 2, 2023, authorities confirmed. The Citizen's Law Enforcement Review Board was notified of this incident and the Sheriff's Homicide Unit will conduct an investigation into the matter, SDSO said.The cause and manner of death will be determined by the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office.

More money for Montreal supervised drug-use sites amid rise in addiction

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

MONTREAL — Quebec is boosting funding for supervised consumption sites in Montreal in an effort to prevent overdoses as the city grapples with homelessness and a rise in suspected drug-related deaths.The province is dedicating an additional $1.5 million for services targeted to drug users, including $1.2 million that will go to four organizations in Montreal’s downtown, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and Village neighbourhoods.Lionel Carmant, Quebec junior health minister, said the funding is necessary, but he acknowledged that more needs to be done to support unhoused people and those with substance abuse issues.“Magic-wand solutions don’t exist,” he told reporters Friday. “Homelessness is a chronic problem,” and addressing it, he added, “is a long-term process.”Safe consumption sites are places where people can bring their own drugs to use in the presence of trained staff.Carmant made the funding announcement alongside representatives from Sp...

Wildfire crews fight wildfire with fire to protect, secure Cranbrook, B.C. airport

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

VICTORIA — The forest and brush around the international airport at Cranbrook, B.C., has been scorched in an all-out effort to protect the vital transportation link from an encroaching wildfire, airport manager Tristen Chernove said Friday.Wildfire crews were at the Canadian Rockies International Airport in southeastern B.C. overnight Friday monitoring the fires that were purposely lit as a guard from the out-of-control St. Mary’s River fire, he said.Chernove said the controlled burns did their job and are adding to previous wildfire mitigation measures taken by airport officials.“Last night there were some further ignitions done very close to the airport, which visually can look pretty dramatic, but it was all under control,” he said. “The airport itself, while we are in the midst of a lot of smoke, as far as fuel load around us, we are actually quite protected.”He said flights were arriving and departing Friday, but heavy smoke has resulted in some ca...

B.C. port union to recommend settlement agreement to its members

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

VANCOUVER — The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada says it will hold a meeting Tuesday to recommend the terms of a tentative agreement to its membership. The development may end the labour dispute between the union and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association, which shut down the province’s port facilities for 13 days earlier this month.Union president Rob Ashton says in a written statement that members will take the 8 a.m. shift off Tuesday for the meeting where the deal will be presented.News of a possible agreement broke late yesterday as the union’s Local 502 said on its website that the union would hold an “emergency contract caucus” today to decide whether to ratify the deal and send it to full-membership vote.The two sides have been negotiating a new collective agreement since March but reached an impasse despite the aid of a federal mediator that triggering the strike from July 1 to July 13.The job action by about 7,400 work...

Death toll from an explosion and collapse of a Paris building in June climbs to 3

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

PARIS (AP) — A woman in her 70s who worked at a design school has died as the result of an explosion in central Paris a month ago that sent a historic building crumbling down and ignited a huge fire in the Left Bank neighborhood, bringing the death toll to three, officials said Friday.One body was found in the rubble six days after the June 21 blast, and a 59-year-old insurance agency worker later died in the hospital. A third critically injured person died on Thursday, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.The third victim was a woman born in 1946, the prosecutor’s office said. She had worked at the Paris American Academy, a school in the collapsed building that specializes in design and arts, according to Florence Berthout, mayor of the city’s 5th district.The blast, not far from the Luxembourg Gardens, left six people critically injured and more than 50 with lighter injuries or in psychological shock, according to the Paris prosecutor.A manslaughter investigation is underway, ...

Gunmen riding on a motorcycle open fire, killing worker for the World Food Program in Yemen

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Gunmen shot and killed the head of one of the World Food Program’s offices in southwestern Yemen on Friday, the humanitarian organization said. No militant group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement, WFP said that Moayad Hameidi, a Jordanian, was shot by gunmen in the city of Taiz not long after he arrived in the country to assume the role as head of its office in that city. It added he died shortly after reaching a hospital. Hameidi was shot by two armed assailants on a motorbike, according to a statement issued by a local security committee on Friday. No further information was given.Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, also known by its acronym AQAP and believed to be one of the more dangerous branches of the al-Qaida terror network, is active in several regions in Yemen. Years of the country’s civil war have allowed the militants to maintain a presence in several areas around Yemen. The war began in 2014, when the Iran-b...