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Crisis grows in Berlin as court warns 2023 supplementary budget is ‘problematic’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:50:37 GMT

BERLIN — Germany’s ruling coalition risks further crisis after the country’s federal audit court warned on Monday evening that its supplementary budget for 2023 is “extremely problematic under constitutional law.”The court’s statement comes ahead of Tuesday’s key parliamentary budget committee hearing.Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government was forced to propose the supplementary budget last month after a bombshell ruling by the country’s constitutional court blew a €60 billion hole in its finances. That court ruling limited the government’s ability to draw from special funds outside the regular budget that were created to circumvent the country’s constitutional debt brake. The latter restricts the federal deficit to 0.35 percent of GDP, except in times of emergency. The decision means that about €40 billion that has already been used this year for energy price subsidies, and which was financed through such ...

Boston woman killed in shark attack in Bahamas

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:50:37 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A female tourist from Boston was killed Monday by a shark while paddleboarding in the Bahamas, police told reporters.The victim, who was not identified, was attacked less than a mile off the western end of New Providence island, where the capital, Nassau, is located. She was paddleboarding with a man who was not injured, according to Police Sgt. Desiree Ferguson.“We extend our heartfelt condolences…for this most unfortunate situation,” she said.Police said a lifeguard rescued both people with a boat upon seeing what was happening, but the woman suffered serious injuries to the right side of her body and was declared dead at the scene despite CPR efforts.It was not immediately clear what type of shark attacked the woman. A police superintendent did not immediately respond to a message requesting comment.Gavin Naylor, director of the International Shark Attack File in Florida, said in an interview that there have been a couple of shark-related fatalit...

Lieutenant general visits Bishop Feehan High in Attleboro via helicopter ahead of upcoming Army-Navy game

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:50:37 GMT

Army Lt. Gen. Jon Braga made quite the entrance Monday, arriving via military helicopter as he visited his former high school in Attleboro ahead of this weekend’s Army-Navy game at Gillette Stadium. Braga serves as the commanding general of the U.S. Army Special Operations. He graduated from Bishop Feehan High School in 1987 and spoke to 7NEWS while visiting his alma mater. “It’s a great feeling to come back here,” Braga said. “I’m just fortunate to have gone here and it helped shape who I was as a person.” “That carried on and I think about it often,” he continued. Braga, 54, delivered a similar message to students at Bishop Feehan as he spoke to them about service, sacrifice and patriotism. “Live a life of selfless service,” he said, summarizing his message. “It’s a rewarding one. It could be in the military. It could be outside the military, but make a difference in other people’s lives.”This visit was extra special for Braga as his classmate, Tim Sullivan, now ser...

Boston police looking to ID suspects behind random attacks, robbery in Mission Hill area

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:50:37 GMT

The Boston Police Department is requesting the public’s help as it works to identify a group of suspects behind multiple random attacks in the city’s Mission Hill neighborhood.Sharing images of several individuals on the department’s website, authorities said the suspects were involved in a reported aggravated assault and unarmed robbery that happened on Friday, Dec. 1.Boston PD said the group attacked several people at random in the area of Mission Hill and also stole a cellphone off of a victim.As police continue to investigate the incidents, they provided the following descriptions:Suspect 1 – Light skinned Male, wearing a blue/maroon Nike hooded jacket, white hoodie underneath, light colored pants with dark “S” on right leg red “M” on left, and white sneakersSuspect 2 – Short light skinned male, with dark curly hair, wearing a dark hoodie, and light jeansSuspect 3 – Light skinned male, wearing a gray hoodie, black pants with rips, and white sn...

In-school barbershop offers free haircuts for students at Lowell middle school

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:50:37 GMT

An exclusive barbershop in Lowell is the new buzz in town. But if you want a seat at the chair, you will have to be a student at Sullivan Middle School. Hidden behind a door in the halls of the school, Husky Kutz, is a one-of-a-kind shop named after the Sullivan School’s mascots by its students. “A haircut can create a lot of positivity outside of even just school,” said local barber Joseph L’Heureux in a recent interview. “…And confidence leads to success.” L’Heureux, the co-owner of The Shoppe LLC, is volunteering his time every week to get kids looking fresh for the unbeatable price of $0.“It feels fresh and like you’re new,” said one student after receiving a haircut. The idea for the program came from Sullivan Community School Manager Gayl Hurley. The new program was made possible after the Sullivan School received a grant. “Part of the grant is to transform spaces within the school building and I said, ‘Wouldn’t this be neat to have a barbershop ...

More than $950,000 raised for Palestinian student paralyzed after being shot in Vermont

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:50:37 GMT

More than $950,000 has been raised for the recovery of one of the three college students of Palestinian descent who was shot in Vermont and is currently paralyzed from the chest down, according to a GoFundMe page set up by his family.One of the bullets that hit Hisham Awartani on Nov. 25 is lodged in his spine, his family said.“Hisham’s first thoughts were for his friends, then for his parents who were thousands of miles away. He has demonstrated remarkable courage, resilience and fortitude – even a sense of humor – even as the reality of his paralysis sets in,” the fundraising page, which was set up on Saturday, states.Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad are childhood friends who graduated from a private Quaker school in the West Bank and now attend colleges in the eastern U.S. The 20-year-olds were visiting Awartani’s relatives in Burlington for the Thanksgiving break. They were walking to the house of Hisham’s grandmother for d...

Under Fire, CCC’s Suspended Chairwoman Appeals To Court Over Meeting Rules

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:50:37 GMT

The long-running drama unfolding between suspended Cannabis Control Commission Chairwoman Shannon O’Brien and Treasurer Deborah Goldberg will go before a judge Monday afternoon as O’Brien asks the court to dictate the ground rules Goldberg would have to follow to formally remove O’Brien from her job.When she suspended O’Brien from the position of CCC chair in September, Goldberg issued a statement saying she did so based on “[s]everal serious allegations” that were made by an unnamed commissioner and CCC staff about O’Brien’s behavior. Goldberg further detailed those allegations in an Oct. 4 letter to O’Brien, which became public Friday when the suspended chair included as an exhibit in a court filing.“The investigator’s report details conduct you acknowledged or volunteered to the investigator that is shocking, deeply disappointing, and unacceptable, especially from an individual charged with leading a Commonwealth a...

Holiday books 2023: 50 books that make great gifts from hip hop histories to Christmas ghost stories

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:50:37 GMT

Christopher Borrelli | Chicago Tribune (TNS)Stephen Nissenbaum, in his terrific 1997 history of the holiday season, “The Battle for Christmas,” goes briefly in search of the very first advertisement for Christmas presents — the Yuletide Patient Zero, if you will — and finds an ad urging Americans to buy a good book at the holidays. The year that advertisement ran: 1806, in New England. Within 50 years, this newspaper was running holiday ads for scarves and silk dresses, but a chunk of its Christmas ads were still for books — velvet-covered Bibles, illustrated travelogues of Italy and more. I like to imagine 19th century Americans knew what wise 21st century Americans know: Books are a perfect gift to wrap if you don’t know how to wrap gifts.That or they understood early on that books were easier to tailor than silk dresses. What follows are the best new books for giving this holiday, organized by the type of people you have on your list. Just remember: Think cleverly designed books....

Patriots-Steelers projected injury report: Rhamondre Stevenson, two receivers out Monday

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:50:37 GMT

The Patriots and Steelers will meet Thursday night in Pittsburgh for an 8:15 p.m. kickoff.In the meantime, both teams released a projected injury report Monday, when neither team practiced.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Bill Belichick reacts surprisingly positively to Bailey Zappe’s performance after Patriots shutout loss New England Patriots | Bill Belichick leaves door open for Matthew Judon’s return to Patriots practice New England Patriots | Patriots defender sounds off on offense, losing streak: ‘It’s f—ing frustrating’ New England Patriots | Callahan: How much worse can the boring Patriots get? New England Patriots | Source: Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson to undergo MRI to confirm ankle sprain Had the Patriots taken the field, running back Rhamondre Stevenson (ankle) would have been out with receivers Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte, per the team. Left tack...

Boston woman killed by a shark while paddleboarding in the Bahamas: Reports

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:50:37 GMT

A Boston woman was killed by a shark while paddleboarding in the Bahamas on Monday, according to police.The woman was paddleboarding at the Sandals resort, about three-quarters of a mile from shore when she was bitten by a shark, police said at a press conference. She was paddleboarding with a male relative.After she was bitten by the shark, a lifeguard went out in a rescue boat and retrieved both the woman and her male relative.“CPR was administered to the victim; however, she suffered serious injuries to the right side of her body, including the right hip region and also her right upper limb,” a Royal Bahamas Police Force officer said from the scene.Emergency medical services responded and “thoroughly assessed” the victim.“They declared that she showed no vital signs of life,” the police representative said.Related ArticlesLocal News | A shark barrier along Cape Cod was reportedly successful in deterring great white sharks Local ...