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A cut above the rest: Volunteers in Burlington mow lawns free of charge for those in need

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:52:10 GMT

A group of volunteers in Burlington have green thumbs and big hearts. The Burlington Lawn Mowers Dream Team has been providing free yard work for the past three years with the aim to help those who can’t do the work themselves, including the elderly, veterans, single parents and those with medical issues.Stew Pruslin is a volunteer with the program.“When someone really appreciates the work you do, that’s a good feeling, and you drive away feeling like you’ve made someone’s day better,” Pruslin said. “It’s a lot of fun, if you’re into doing yard work. You start with a lawn that doesn’t necessarily look like it’s in great shape. When you’re done, it looks so much better, and you know that you’ve made someone much happier with their property.”Jay Barnes started the group after he was inspired to make a difference just by stepping outside.“I was walking, and I see a lot of high grass,” Barnes said. “I’m saying, ‘Is there anything I can do in my community to make a diffe...

Southern rockhopper penguin chick joins colony on display at New England Aquarium

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:52:10 GMT

A southern rockhopper penguin chick is now on exhibit at the New England Aquarium. Born to parents Pebble II and Fuego in June, the female chick will be named in the coming weeks, the aquarium said. She received a clean bill of health after growing for two months off exhibit. She struggled to break through her shell in June, and aquarium staff said they intervened to ensure her survival.Now, she’ll be joining the colony of 13 rockhopper penguins, who are considered a vulnerable or threatened species. She is the tenth rockhopper penguin chick at the New England Aquarium.

Police: Revere man nearly cut head off his own dog before begging to be killed

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:52:10 GMT

A Revere man who prosecutors said harbored homicidal and suicidal ideations is facing animal cruelty charges for allegedly stabbing his dog at least five times, killing the animal.Revere police and firefighters rushed to a Lowell Street apartment just before 1 a.m. Aug. 30 for a medical aid call and allegedly found Don Algeni, 57, lying on his bed, covered in blood, and screaming that he wanted the police to kill him, according to the Suffolk DA’s office. He then passed out.Beside the bed, riddled with stab wounds and a gash so deep in its neck that it was almost decapitated, was Algeni’s dog.While the dog was the most visible sign of the violence that allegedly occurred in the home, prosecutors say that Algeni’s roommate described an ongoing problem and had just that night, about four hours earlier, banged on her bedroom door demanding to be let in and threatening to enter with his own key should she not open the door.“I’m going out and I’m not going out alone,” Algeni allegedly sa...

Mexico decriminalizes abortion, extending Latin American trend of widening access to procedure

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:52:10 GMT

By FABIOLA SÁNCHEZ and MEGAN JANETSKY (Associated Press)MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s Supreme Court threw out all federal criminal penalties for abortion Wednesday, ruling that national laws prohibiting the procedure are unconstitutional and violate women’s rights in a sweeping decision that extended Latin American’s trend of widening abortion access.The high court ordered that abortion be removed from the federal penal code, and a reproduction rights group said the decision would require the federal public health service and all federal health institutions to offer abortion to anyone who requests it.“No woman or pregnant person, nor any health worker, will be able to be punished for abortion,” the Information Group for Chosen Reproduction, known by its Spanish initials GIRE, said in a statement.Celebration soon spilled out on social media.“Today is a day of victory and justice for Mexican women!” Mexico’s National Institute f...

Felony convictions vacated for 4 Navy officers in sprawling ‘Fat Leonard’ bribery scandal

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:52:10 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The felony convictions of four Navy officers in one of the worst bribery cases in the maritime branch’s history were vacated due to prosecutorial misconduct Wednesday, the latest misstep in the government’s yearslong efforts in going after dozens of military officials tied to a defense contractor nicknamed Fat Leonard.U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino called the misconduct “outrageous” and agreed to allow the four men to plead guilty to a misdemeanor and pay a $100 fine each. The surprising turn of events occurred at a sentencing hearing in federal court in San Diego for the former officers.Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Ko, who was brought on after the officers were tried last year, admitted to “serious issues” with prosecutorial misconduct and asked the judge to vacate the men’s convictions. He said his office does not agree with all of the allegations of misconduct but some were true. “There were pretty obvi...

Nikki Haley’s ‘hard truth’ seems to be working with New Hampshire voters

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:52:10 GMT

MERRIMACK, N.H. — Nikki Haley’s repeated insistence she will treat Granite State voters like adults and tell them hard truths seems to be working.When the former U.N. Ambassador spoke in Hollis at the end of July, the small audience which assembled at a local winery to hear her stump speech seemed somewhat taken aback after she pleaded to honesty and told them, while pointing to trillions in unaccounted COVID-19 relief funds and the passage of 7,000 budgetary earmarks as examples, that Republicans were as responsible as their political counterparts when it comes to the nation’s massive debt.On Wednesday, when she told a much larger midday crowd gathered at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Merrimack that, regardless of how staunch their belief on the issue might be, no Republican president would ever gather enough support in the U.S. Senate to see — let alone sign — a nationwide abortion ban, instead of shock she received nods of agreement and applause.“I’m going to tell yo...

Editorial: William King for Boston City Council

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:52:10 GMT

Boston City Council President Ed Flynn said it best: ” the people of Boston deserve the highest standard of strong and ethical leadership.” That should go without saying, and yet the recent actions of councilors warranted such a statement.Perhaps no other city council race exemplifies this more than that of the District 6 seat, currently held by Kendra Lara.Councilor Lara made headlines this summer, for the wrong reasons. She crashed her car into a house on Centre Street in Jamaica Plain.Anyone can get in an accident, but not everyone gets behind the wheel of an unregistered car, without a valid license and reportedly speeds through a residential neighborhood with their son in the back seat.These are not just “concerns,” they are red flags.A week after the crash, which injured her son and caused damage to the home in JP, Lara issued a mea sorta culpa: “As an elected official, I’ve worked hard to center the dignity and humanity of my constituents. ...

Google reaches tentative settlement with all 50 states over alleged app store monopoly

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:52:10 GMT

By FRANK BAJAK (AP Technology Writer)All 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have reached an agreement in principle with Google to settle a lawsuit filed in 2021 over the tech giant’s alleged monopolistic control of app distribution for the software that runs most of the world’s cellphones.The agreement, cited in a court filing reached Tuesday, is subject to approval by the attorneys general and board of directors of Google’s parent company, execution of an agreement and court approval.Terms of the temporary pact bar the parties from disclosing its details for now, according to the Utah attorney general’s office, a lead plaintiff in the bipartisan. “No company is too big to play by the rules, including Google. We brought this lawsuit because it is illegal to use monopoly power to drive up prices,” New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, said in a statement. The bipartisan group “fought for a fair marketplace that en...

Felony convictions vacated for 4 Navy officers in sprawling 'Fat Leonard' bribery scandal

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:52:10 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The felony convictions of four Navy officers in one of the worst bribery cases in the maritime branch's history were vacated due to prosecutorial misconduct Wednesday, the latest misstep in the government's yearslong efforts in going after dozens of military officials tied to a defense contractor nicknamed Fat Leonard.U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino called the misconduct “outrageous” and agreed to allow the four men to plead guilty to a misdemeanor and pay a $100 fine each. The surprising turn of events occurred at a sentencing hearing in federal court in San Diego for the former officers.Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Ko, who was brought on after the officers were tried last year, admitted to “serious issues” with prosecutorial misconduct and asked the judge to vacate the men's convictions. He said his office does not agree with all of the allegations of misconduct but some were true. “There were pretty obviously serious issues that affect our ability to go for...

Las Jefas Market coming to Otay Ranch Town Center

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:52:10 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- An afternoon of live music, food, cultural performances and shopping is coming Otay Ranch Town Center to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month this weekend.From noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, the open-air shopping mall, located at 2015 Birch Rd. in Chula Vista, will be celebrating the occasion with family-friendly fun and a brand new marketplace.The Las Jefas Market, a pop-up market that has gained popularity throughout San Diego County in the last two years, will display with more than 40 different artisans, food vendors and creatives. First-ever Del Mar Wine & Food Festival set to take over parts of San Diego County Businesswoman Rocky Bello, the co-creator of Las Jefas Market, said she and her business partner were having difficulty getting into certain markets in the region, so they decided to start their own. Now, two years after their idea came to fruition, Bellos says "here we are supporting other Latina entrepreneurs and just giving back."On Saturday, visito...