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House approves $654M tax relief package

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:15:41 GMT

The Massachusetts House overwhelmingly approved a $654 million tax relief package for the 2024 fiscal year Thursday.The bill, which passed on a 150-3 vote, is aimed at helping seniors, renters, businesses and wealthier homeowners while rewriting the law that sent about $3 billion back to taxpayers last year, according to Massachusetts House Speaker Ronald Mariano.The measure, which would result in $1.1 billion in savings for taxpayers in the 2026 fiscal year, would raise the state’s estate tax threshold from $1 million to $2 million.Massachusetts is one of just 12 states with an estate tax. Democratic Gov. Maura Healey, who released her own $742 million tax relief package in February, would eliminate the tax for estates valued up to $3 million.The House proposal would also make changes to the 1986 law designed to limit state tax revenue growth and return any excess to taxpayers. The law triggered nearly $3 billion in refunds last year.The credit is applied to the personal inco...

Lobbying firm for Arlington Heights area school districts likely to be impacted by Bears redevelopment says ‘we’re still talking’ to the team

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:15:41 GMT

A lobbying firm hired by a trio of school districts that tax the former Arlington International Racecourse site the Chicago Bears recently purchased has begun providing updates on the firm’s work, telling Palatine Community Consolidated School District 15 officials Wednesday night there’s nothing substantial to report — right now.“So far, we haven’t had any conversations that have resulted in an agreement, but we’re still talking to the Bears and we’re trying to set up a more formal meeting with the Bears,” John Dunn, of the Philadelphia-based Cozen and O’Connor law firm, told board members as part of a legislative update during the meeting.Lobbyists for the Chicago Bears and the one for a trio of school districts that pull funding from the former horse racing venue have met informally about Senate Bill 1350, a massive property tax incentive bill that could divert billions in tax dollars away from school districts to encourage th...

Massachusetts Air National Guardsman tied to leaking Pentagon secret documents has been arrested

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:15:41 GMT

A 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard who has been tied to leaking top secret U.S. documents about the Ukraine war has been arrested, according to Attorney General Merrick Garland.Jack Teixeira has been identified as the leader of a Discord group, a social media platform, where the highly classified military documents were posted online.Federal agents on Thursday were seen taking him into custody at a North Dighton home.The FBI wait outside the home on Maple Street of a 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard in connection with the disclosure of highly classified military documents on the Ukraine war on Thursday in Dighton, MA. (Matt Stone/Boston Herald) April 13, 2023“FBI agents took Teixeira into custody earlier this afternoon without incident,” Garland said from the Pentagon, adding that Teixeira will have an initial appearance in Massachusetts U.S. District Court.The Department of Justice investigation is into alleged “...

California State Capitol reopens after being temporarily evacuated

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:15:41 GMT

(KTXL) — The California State Capitol building was temporarily evacuated Thursday morning due to 'credible threats' from a suspect connected to two shootings in the Sacramento area that occurred the previous day and who is still at large, according to Roseville Police and the California Highway Patrol.The evacuation lasted a little over an hour, and legislators and their staffers could enter the building again around 10:30 a.m.“The California Highway Patrol has notified the Senate of a threat they consider to be credible involving the Capitol,” says a letter sent to state senators and senate staff. During the evacuation, legislators and staff were asked to remain home and work remotely. Senators and staffers already at the Capitol were asked to remain in place. What we know about the shooting at Mahany Park in Roseville While the Capitol was evacuated, the grounds around the building appeared relatively calm, with people moving about normally, a FOX40 News team observed. The ...

Suspected US intelligence leaker arrested in Massachusetts

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:15:41 GMT

Jack Teixeira, an airman in the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was arrested Thursday in Massachusetts in connection with the leak of classified documents shared in a group he managed on a website popular with gamers.Teixeira oversaw Thug Shaker Central, a group on Discord where more than 100 classified documents on topics ranging from Ukraine to intelligence gleaned from spying on allies first appeared.Teixeira’s arrest comes after The New York Times reported last week that documents dealing with intelligence on Ukraine’s battle with Russia from as far back as February had been percolating on the site before spreading to other social media platforms.Teixeira, 21, enlisted in the 102nd Intelligence Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard and in July was promoted to Airman First Class.Attorney General Merrick Garland confirmed the arrest in a brief public statement, indicating Teixeira could face charges under the Espionage Act.“Today the Justice Department arrested Jack ...

ALDI to open first El Cajon location

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:15:41 GMT

EL CAJON, Calif. — Popular grocery store chain ALDI will soon be opening their newest location in San Diego County.The new store will be located at 123 Fletcher Parkway and will be the first ALDI to open in El Cajon.ALDI's El Cajon location will open to customers on April 27 at 8 a.m., according to a news release. The store will operate daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.To celebrate the opening of the new East County store, the first 100 customers will receive a gift card as part of the ALDI Golden Ticket program, the news release said. NOAA issues El Niño watch: Here’s where and when we will feel the impact ALDI has over a dozen locations in San Diego County, including the upcoming El Cajon store. You can find the nearest ALDI store to you here.“Our stores are designed to make grocery shopping smarter, faster and easier, and we’ve been voted the price leader for six years running,” said a quote attributed to Tom Cindel, Moreno Valley regional vice president for ALDI. “We’re excited...

Actor Drake Bell found safe after being declared missing

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:15:41 GMT

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Jared “Drake” Bell, an actor best known as a star of the Nickelodeon television show “Drake & Josh,” was found safe on Thursday, hours after authorities in Florida said he was “missing and endangered.”Bell was in touch with police officers and wasn’t in danger, Daytona Beach Police Department spokesperson Carrie McCallister said in an email, without providing further details.“At this time we can confirm law enforcement officials are in contact and Mr. Bell is safe,” McCallister said.McCallister referred requests for further details to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Orlando, which didn’t respond to an emailed message.Hours earlier, the police department put out a statement declaring Bell “missing and endangered” and asked the public for help in locating him.Before being found mid-day Thursday, Bell was last seen Wednesday night near a Daytona Beach high school.Representatives for the 36-year-old actor did not immediately r...

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau falls short of committing to keep RCMP depot in Regina

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:15:41 GMT

REGINA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the RCMP Depot in Regina a “Canadian institution” Thursday but fell short of committing to keeping the Mountie training facility open.“I think we all recognize there have to be changes in how we move forward to ensure communities are safe, to make sure that police have the tools and abilities to do the work everyone expects of them,” Trudeau said during a stop in Saskatchewan’s capital.The Mass Casualty Commission’s final report into the 2020 Nova Scotia shooting rampage that left 22 people dead recommended the RCMP phase out the Depot model of training. The recommendation has been criticized by politicians in Saskatchewan, as the training facility is part of the province’s history and serves as an economic driver for the city. Trudeau said his government will continue to look closely at the recommendations and take things “one step at a time.”The prime minister did not meet with Saskatchewan Pre...

Brittney Griner makes appearance at Rev. Al Sharpton event

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:15:41 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner made a surprise appearance Thursday at a women’s empowerment luncheon held during the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network event in New York City.Griner, who this week announced that she would write a book about her nearly 10-month detainment in Russia, thanked those gathered at the luncheon for the advocacy that contributed to her release in last December.“Everyone in this room that came together, that sent up every prayer, it reached me while I was there,” Griner, 32, told a packed hotel banquet hall in midtown Manhattan.“I want to continue to fight to bring home every American detained overseas,” she said.For months during her detainment, Sharpton, Black clergy and racial justice activists across the U.S. pushed U. S. officials to secure the basketball star’s release. She was freed in December in exchange for the notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.Sharpton presented Griner with an award, saluting the strength she exhibite...

Police: After shootings, man threatened California Capitol

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:15:41 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The suspect who made “credible threats” against California’s Capitol on Thursday shot a gun from his vehicle while driving through two Sacramento suburbs on Wednesday night, lodging bullets in the wall of a hospital but injuring no one, authorities said.The suspect remains on the loose, the California Highway Patrol said just before noon.The threat forced California’s Assembly to cancel its Thursday session. Senators evacuated to work in a new location. The Capitol is open to the public.The two prior shootings were in Roseville and Citrus Heights, two cities northeast of Sacramento. The Roseville Police Department said in a statement it received a call late Wednesday about someone shooting a gun from a vehicle while driving through Citrus Heights and, later, a suspect shooting toward a hospital in Roseville from the parking lot. Two bullets were lodged in the exterior of the building, the department said.“At this time, we believe this suspect ma...