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SNAP scam victims set to receive reimbursements

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:01 GMT

Massachusetts is reimbursing some victims of SNAP scams. The state-funded one-time replacement will cover funds lost from skimming, phishing or similar electronic fraud from April through September 2022, the Department of Transitional Assistance announced Thursday.The reimbursements will begin May 12, and victims should expect a text message or email from the state, according to their website. DTA said recipients should change pin numbers frequently or set up direct deposit to be protected against scams. DTA staff members will not ask for a pin number.“SNAP is the first line of defense against hunger and supports our local grocery stores and farmers,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Kate Walsh. “Our state is a leader in providing households with replacement SNAP benefits not covered by the federal government and will continue to prioritize food security in Massachusetts through initiatives like this.”

Researchers seek help finding missing whale tags believed to be somewhere along Massachusetts coast

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:01 GMT

NOAA researchers in Massachusetts asked for the public’s help this week in efforts to find a pair of missing devices used to study whales. The orange whale tags are about six inches long and look like toy bugs, with suction cup feet and antennae, officials with the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary said.Stellwagen Bank supervisor Captain Peter DeCola told 7NEWS the tags are sophisticated systems, similar to a phone, that track whale movements. “When the whale goes underwater, it’s really hard to tell what’s going on,” DeCola said. “It gives us a picture of that and we can take the data from the tags and recreate that.”Researchers drop the tags from a drone. The tags’ suction cups then stick to the whale, usually only staying on for one to two days before they fall off and float to shore. “We only have a few out at a time and then we recover and download the data and reuse them,” DeCola said.Researchers believe the tags are somewhere along the Massachusetts shorelin...

Debt limit fight: Biden meeting with Congress leaders put off until next week; staff talks proceed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:01 GMT

By LISA MASCARO and ZEKE MILLER (AP Congressional Correspondent)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s meeting Friday with congressional leaders on the debt limit crisis was abruptly postponed to next week, with staff-level talks making progress and expected to continue through the weekend, the White House and congressional aides said Thursday.The White House said staff would continue to hold discussions, and the delay was billed as a sign of positive exchanges between Republican leaders, Democratic counterparts and Biden.The sudden shift jolted the high-stakes talks but did not appear to be a signal of a breakdown as the president and Congress urgently search for a budget deal to resolve the government’s borrowing crisis, those familiar with the situation said. Washington is staring down a June 1 deadline to raise the debt limit to allow continued borrowing to cover already accrued bills or risk the nation’s first modern-day default, which would rock the U....

Yankees Notebook: Another bullpen move brings Ryan Weber back

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:01 GMT

Another day, another new reliever.The Yankees signed Ryan Weber to a major league contract and selected him to the active roster before Thursday’s series opener against the Rays. The team cleared space on its 40-man roster by moving Jonathan Loaisiga to the 60-day injured list.Loaisiga recently underwent surgery to remove a bone spur in his elbow and isn’t expected back until at least August.While Loaisiga is known for pumping gas, Weber’s fastball velocity ranks in the sixth percentile, per Baseball Savant.“Not overpowering, but just has a really good feel to pitch,” Boone said of Weber. “Kind of got that slot and sinks the ball and can spin it. Change speeds on it. It’s kind of fun watching him. You don’t see a lot of guys like him anymore.”Weber, a journeyman right-hander, made a strong impression on Boone last season when he recorded a 0.84 ERA over 10.2 major league innings for the Yankees. Weber has struggled as a starter a...

18 years after Natalee Holloway’s disappearance, Peru to extradite key suspect to US

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:01 GMT

By REGINA GARCIA CANO and FRANKLIN BRICENO (Associated Press)LIMA, Peru (AP) — The chief suspect in the unsolved 2005 disappearance of American student Natalee Holloway is poised to face charges linked to the young woman’s vanishing for the first time after the government of Peru authorized his extradition to the United States.Neither U.S. nor Peruvian authorities on Thursday would say when they might transfer custody of Dutch citizen Joran van der Sloot. A day earlier the Peruvian Embassy in Washington announced the decision to extradite him to face trial on extortion and wire fraud charges, each of which carries lengthy sentences.Van der Sloot is in a maximum-security prison in the Andes serving a 28-year sentence for the murder of a Peruvian woman.Holloway, who lived in suburban Birmingham, Alabama, was 18 when she was last seen during a trip with classmates to the Caribbean island of Aruba. She vanished after a night with friends at a nightclub, leaving a mystery tha...

Boston’s Linus Ullmark named Vezina Award finalist

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:01 GMT

Linus Ullmark said on break-up day that he will be haunted with how he performed in the playoffs. But however comforting it may or not be, the Bruins’ goalie is in line for a consolation prize.Ullmark was named one of the three finalists for the Vezina Award given to the NHL’s top goalie on Thursday as voted on by the league’s general managers. The other two finalists are Ilya Sorokin of the New York Islanders and Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck, the 2020 winner and former UMass Lowell star.While some observers tried to make the case for other goalies in the last few weeks of the season, Ullmark should be considered the clear front-runner. He won what it is known as the goalie triple crown, leading the league in save percentage (.938), goals against average (1.89), and was tied with the Colorado Avalanche’s Alexander Georgiev in wins (40) while playing 13 fewer games than the Avs’ netminder. Ullmark posted a dominant 40-6-1 record.That level of excel...

Havasupai Tribe marks spiritual homecoming with return to onetime farmland in Grand Canyon

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:01 GMT

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. (AP) — Carletta Tilousi hit the trail as the sun rose, the light revealing a grouping of cottonwood and ash trees deep in the Grand Canyon. Birds soared above and reptiles scampered across the rocks as the canyon walls grew taller and taller behind her. This was home, yet she rarely had been there over the years.“I can’t believe how far I’ve come, it’s amazing,” she said about halfway through the 4.5-mile hike over steep, rocky terrain. “I can’t believe my ancestors used to do this all the time.”Tilousi’s journey marked a pivotal moment in the Havasupai Tribe’s relationship with the U.S. government nearly a century after the last tribal member was forcibly removed from what’s now Grand Canyon National Park — one of the biggest tourist draws in the world. They recently partnered on events marking the rededication of a popular campground in the inner canyon from Indian Garden to Havasupai Gardens or “Ha’...

Ex-Kansas legislator convicted of COVID relief fraud sentenced to more than 2 years in US prison

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:01 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A former Kansas lawmaker who was convicted of 12 felonies for lying on applications for federal COVID-19 relief was sentenced Thursday to two years and three months in prison, according to online court records.An attorney for former Republican state Rep. Michael Capps argued for probation in court documents, citing Capps’ Air Force service in a combat zone. But prosecutors asked for a sentence of four years and three months in prison, arguing in court documents that he “continues to show neither remorse nor contrition” over stealing nearly $500,000 in funds meant to help businesses remain afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.In addition to the prison time, U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren sentenced Capps to two years of supervised release, and he ordered him to pay more than a half-million dollars in restitution and the forfeiture of illegal proceeds, The Wichita Eagle reported. A jury convicted the 45-year-old former lawmaker in December of four counts o...

With Missouri ban on gender-affirming care likely, Kansas City Council approves sanctuary status

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:01 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Officials in Missouri’s largest city approved a resolution Thursday to declare it a sanctuary for people seeking or providing gender-affirming care, defying state lawmakers who voted a day earlier to ban such care for minors and restrict it for some adults.Democratic Mayor Quinton Lucas praised the 12 to 1 vote, saying the city is committed to being a “welcoming, inclusive, and safe place for everyone, including our transgender and LGBTQ+ community.”Kansas City’s new, sanctuary status sets it apart as a Democratic-leaning city in a state with a Republican governor and GOP-controlled Legislature. Similar actions have been taken in cities that oppose state actions to restrict rights for transgender people, as in Austin, Texas. GOP Gov. Mike Parson is expected to sign into law the ban on gender-affirming care, joining at least 16 other states that have enacted similar laws restricting or banning such care for minors. The resolution also comes as a judge co...

US ambassador accuses South Africa of providing weapons, ammo to Russia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:01 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The U. S. ambassador to South Africa accused the country Thursday of providing weapons and ammunition to Russia for its war in Ukraine via a cargo ship linked to a sanctioned company that docked secretly at a naval base near the city of Cape Town in December.South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said an investigation into the visit by a Russian vessel named Lady R to his nation’s main naval base was already underway behind the scenes with the help of U.S. intelligence services before Ambassador Reuben Brigety went public at a news conference in the South African capital, Pretoria, that the cargo was weapons and ammunition.Brigety said the U.S. was certain that military equipment was loaded onto the Lady R at the Simon’s Town naval base between Dec. 6 and Dec. 8 and then transported to Russia. He said it brought into question South Africa’s supposed neutral stance on the war in Ukraine and its calls for the conflict to end.“The arming of the Rus...