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Implementing immigrant license law will cost $28M under Healey plan

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:40:50 GMT

The governor’s budget predicts the state will spend $28 million implementing a new law that will allow illegal immigrants to obtain a license to drive.But the Registry of Motor Vehicles will need an infusion of cash to pull it off by July 1 start date, Gov. Maura Healey’s budget states.“In support of this new law, (the budget) adds $28 million in funding to expand service hours at select RMV locations, add new customer service representatives and road test examiners to support additional applicants, and bolster support staff to ensure records and credentials are properly vetted and processed,” a budget briefing released by Healey’s office reads, in part.The Work and Family Mobility Act, passed into law by the Legislature in early June of 2022 over the veto of former Gov. Charlie Baker, will allow immigrants who cannot demonstrate their legal status to nevertheless use documentation from their home country to apply for and receive driver’s license.Baker, after the law’s passage...

Magic drop close road game to Suns despite Markelle Fultz’s 25 points

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:40:50 GMT

The Orlando Magic cleaned up some of their defensive lapses Thursday against the Phoenix Suns after allowing 22 3-pointers in Tuesday’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs.But the improved defense from the Magic (28-42) and their fight to keep the game with the Suns (38-32) close weren’t enough, with Phoenix pulling out a 116-113 win at Footprint Center.The defeat was the Magic’s fifth loss in six games. The Suns ended their three-game losing streak.Markelle Fultz led the Magic with 25 points (tying a season-high), 9 assists, 7 rebounds and 2 steals in 34 minutes. Four other Magic players scored in double figures.Five Suns players scored in double figures, led by Devin Booker’s 19 points, including 16 in the second half.The Magic kept the game close but didn’t make the necessary plays down the stretch to take a late lead.They turned the ball over six times in the fourth and weren’t precise with their late-game offense. Four of those turnovers came in th...

China’s Xi to visit Putin amid Beijing’s bolder global role

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:40:50 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to visit Russia from Monday to Wednesday, an apparent show of support for Russian President Vladimir Putin amid sharpening East-West tensions over the war in Ukraine and the latest sign of Beijing’s emboldened diplomatic ambitions.Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine is expected to dominate Putin and Xi’s discussions. China has refused to condemn Moscow’s aggression and sought to project itself as neutral in the conflict even while Beijing declared last year that it had a “no-limits” friendship with Russia. Both China and Russia announced Xi’s trip to Moscow on Friday. The visit offers a diplomatic shot in the arm for Putin as Western leaders have sought to isolate him over the war, which is now in its 13th month. China’s refusal to condemn Russia while denouncing Western sanctions and accusing NATO and the United States of provoking Putin’s military action has irked Washington as it competes with Beijin...

State and US officials tout spending to plug ‘orphan wells’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:40:50 GMT

ATCHAFALAYA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, La. (AP) — Stacks of valves, networks of pipes and hulking, two-story-tall tanks litter parts of the swampy landscape of Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Basin, rusting relics of sites where oil wells were drilled in the 1970s, an unwanted legacy of the energy industry that has long helped drive the Louisiana economy.They are among an estimated 2 million unplugged U.S. “ orphan wells,” abandoned by the companies that drilled them. There are more than 4,500 such wells in Louisiana, according to the state Department of Natural Resources. The owners can’t be found, have gone out of business or otherwise can’t be made to pay in a state where there are decades-long political debates involving legislation and litigation over the environmental effects of oil and gas drilling.The Biden administration plans to tackle the problem nationally with $4.7 billion from the bipartisan infrastructure bill passed in late 2021. Administration officials joined their state co...

Former councillor Ana Bailão running for mayor of Toronto

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:40:50 GMT

Former Toronto city councillor Ana Bailão is running for mayor.The one-time deputy mayor took to twitter on Friday morning to confirm she will run in the upcoming byelection in June.“I’m in,” tweeted Bailão. “I’m running with a plan to fix our city’s services, build housing, and make life more affordable.”Her campaign tells CityNews, if elected, she would work to reverse cuts to the TTC and pay for it by uploading the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway to the province.“I’ve talked to hundreds of Torontonians over the past four weeks and they are all saying similar things — services in Toronto need to be fixed, housing is out of reach, and life is unaffordable,” says Bailão. “Residents are paying more, and they’re getting less.”“I want to make sure that services like the TTC are safe, reliable, clean, and convenient.”The former councillor for Ward 9 (Davenport) announce last spring...

Supreme Court remembering Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:40:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a champion for women’s rights whose death ahead of the 2020 election allowed the Supreme Court to become more conservative, will be remembered during ceremonies Friday at the high court.Ginsburg, who served as a justice for 27 years and was the Supreme Court’s second female member, will be remembered by some of the people who worked for her as law clerks, young lawyers who spend a year at the court working for a justice. The group includes Elizabeth Prelogar, the Biden administration’s solicitor general, its top Supreme Court lawyer, as well as several judges and professors.The ceremonies, technically a meeting of the Supreme Court Bar followed by a special session of the court, are a tradition at the high court following the death of a justice, a tradition dating back to 1822. The court will livestream the meeting on its website beginning at 1:45 p.m. EDT.Ginsburg’s death just over six weeks before the 2020 elec...

More than 150,000 catalytic converters were stolen in 2022 and the problem may be underreported, data suggests

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:40:50 GMT

(KTLA) - The rise in catalytic converter thefts in America has been a nuisance for law enforcement agencies and car owners for the past several years. Now new data from Carfax shows just how bad the problem has gotten.The vehicle data company, known for tracking repairs and accidents on vehicles across the country, looked at catalytic converter replacements from millions of service records to come up with an estimated number of thefts in 2022: 153,000 — a 2% increase from the year prior.The number is pretty alarming, and Carfax suggests the problem has been underreported in the past.Whereas most reports regarding the total number of catalytic converters look at only insurance claims, Carfax says its data scientists looked at all replacements, taking into account ones that were replaced due to deterioration, defectivity or recalls, and came up with the 153,000 figure. Thieves steal Oscar Mayer Wienermobile’s catalytic converter in Las Vegas Carfax said it believes theft numbers rep...

Santos refuses to quit, brazenly says 'truth still matters'

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:40:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Besieged Republican Rep. George Santos arrives on the House floor most days to deliver short speeches — celebrating women-owned small businesses, a special high school in his district or raising concern about various countries in crises.At other times he can be seen dashing through the halls of the U.S. Capitol as lawmakers do, from one meeting to the next. He once passed out doughnuts to the press corps staking out his office. Santos denies organizing alleged credit card scam, claims he did nothing ‘of criminal activity’ Far from being chastened by the widespread criticism, mockery and rejection that Santos has received after having admitted to fabricating many aspects of his life story, the newly elected congressman is breezily carrying on in Congress. He is refusing calls for his resignation all while rewriting the narrative in real time.For Santos, it’s an unusual up-is-down approach that would have been almost unthinkable in an earlier generation b...

Unseasonably cold through the weekend

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:40:50 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A wet and windy start to our St. Patrick's Day with scattered rain lingering in parts of the area this morning.Winds will gradually relax through the day as rain clears late morning. Our Friday afternoon will favor mostly to partly cloudy skies and chilly temperatures in the 50s.A Wind Advisory continues until12PM today as wind gusts near 45 mph will be possible, ushering in winter-like air.Wind Advisory in effect until 12PM today (Friday)Freezing temperatures are possible in the Hill Country Saturday morning, and as light rain showers return to Austin and eastern areas, wet snow could bring a light accumulation on grass and elevated surfaces in Fredericksburg and Blanco. Read the full details below: FIRST WARNING: Snow accumulation possible in the Hill Country Spring officially begins Monday, March 20 at 4:24 p.m. Central time.FIRST WARNING WEATHER: Stay up to date with your Central Texas forecast, sign up for our weather newsletter at kxan.com/newsletters Stay u...

Austin doctor raising awareness for multiple sclerosis on 150-mile bike ride

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:40:50 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- An Austin doctor is riding her bike on a 150-mile trek through Texas to raise awareness for multiple sclerosis, a disease that affects thousands of Texans, including the doctor herself. Multiple sclerosis, a disease of the central nervous system, impacts nearly 30,000 people in the state and one million people nationwide, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. A surprise diagnosisDr. Lisa Doggett lived a healthy lifestyle, provided patient care as a doctor, and was the mother of two young children when she was surprised by an MS diagnosis in 2009. "I didn't know if I'd be able to work, if I'd be able to raise my kids. If I'd be able to continue exercising. I'm a runner, a cyclist," Dr. Doggett explained. MS did not run in her family's medical history. Dr. Doggett lives with a certain type of the disease known as relapsing-remitting MS. This form of the disease has periods in which it attacks the nervous system, but also periods where the person is in ...