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House Speaker and Auditor clash over Legislature probe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:29 GMT

State Auditor Diana DiZoglio plans to continue with her audit of the Legislature, despite opposition from House Speaker Ron Mariano, who denounced the probe as unconstitutional and beyond the legal authority of her office.Armed with a legal opinion from counsel for the House of Representatives that concluded the state auditor “lacks any legal authority to conduct an audit of the General Court, or any branch thereof,” Mariano wrote a scathing letter to DiZoglio on Friday, denying her request for a meeting to begin the audit process.“That your office has the legal authority to conduct an audit of the General Court is a claim entirely without legal support or precedent, as it runs contrary to multiple, explicit provisions of the Massachusetts Constitution, and is wholly unnecessary as the public currently has full and ready access to the House’s financial information,” Mariano wrote.According to a letter sent to Mariano by House attorney James Kennedy on Thursday, DiZoglio’s interpreta...

Battenfeld: Karyn Polito the latest to cash in on public clout

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:29 GMT

It didn’t take long for Karyn Polito to become the latest former high-ranking Massachusetts public official to cash in on their clout.Three months after leaving office, the ex-lieutenant governor landed a lucrative gig on the board of environmental services and cleanup company Clean Harbors, which is heavily regulated by the state.Polito’s appointment comes just weeks after a fire broke out in several trailers full of chemicals at Clean Harbors’ facility in Braintree, spewing toxic materials into the neighborhood and outraging local residents, who were ordered to stay in their homes and close their windows.Polito, who is currently head of her family development company, is expected to be compensated handsomely for her post at Clean Harbors.In 2021, Clean Harbors board members earned between $300,000 and $235,000, according to SEC filings. Board members are given stock options in the company as part of their compensation.Clean Harbors’ chairman of the board and CEO Alan S. McKim earn...

Celtics’ Robert Williams discusses recent hamstring injury, potential bench role as playoffs near

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:29 GMT

This has not been the season Robert Williams envisioned. The Celtics center’s sudden knee surgery on the eve of training camp cost him the first 29 games of the season. A recent hamstring injury forced him out for eight. Williams has shown flashes of his irreplaceable ability, but hasn’t gained a consistent rhythm. But asked Friday how he’s viewed his season to date, he wasn’t quite in the mood for reflection yet.“Ask me at the end of the summer and I can answer that a little bit better,” Williams said with a smile.Williams certainly isn’t done with the story of his season yet. He’s back healthy, and though he’s missed 44 games, knows the most important games are ahead. His return in Tuesday’s win at Sacramento was a reminder of how dominant the Celtics can be when they’re whole, and why they’re such a championship threat. With Williams in and out of the lineup all year – as well as others – it’s been hard for the C’s to find that form consistently.Now is the time for the Celt...

Chula Vista police officers take students on a shopping spree

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:29 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Officers from the Chula Vista Police Department took a group of students on a shopping spree Friday.The outing is part of a program that fosters healthy relationships between the youth and law enforcement. As a result, a group of Chula Vista police officers turned into personal shoppers. 3 arrested at DUI checkpoint in Chula Vista “I’m telling her, just get whatever you want. Put it in the cart and we’ll figure which one you want later,” said Officer Tim Frando, who helped Alexa, a student athlete at Chula Vista High School, shop at DICK'S Sporting Goods.The company is giving back to the community by connecting young athletes with local police departments to build stronger relationships.Varsity basketball player Melissa McCoy from Chula Vista High School took some time to teach Police Chief Roxana Kennedy how to shoot in the middle of the store. McCoy is one of 10 student athletes having fun and shopping with a $150 gift card.“It’s exciting, we get an opportunity to s...

With eye on British Museum, Greece welcomes back ancient art

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:29 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece on Friday welcomed the return of ancient artifacts from the Acropolis, furthering a campaign to press the British Museum to hand back a collection of sculptures taken from the ancient site in Athens more than 200 years ago.Culture Minister Lina Mendoni led a ceremony Friday for the repatriation of three sculpture fragments — representing a horse and two male heads — from the Parthenon temple on the Acropolis which had been kept at the Vatican Museums.“Initiatives like these show the way, how the pieces of the Parthenon can be reunited, healing the wounds caused by barbaric hands so many years ago,” Mendoni said.“This takes us to the just and moral demand of the entire Greek people, and of this government and its prime minister, for the final return of all the sculptures of the Parthenon.” The fragments will be added to the collection at the Acropolis Museum, which opened in 2009 at the foot of the ancient site in the center of the Greek capital.Mendoni s...

DEA review gives short shrift to foreign corruption scandals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:29 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — After nearly two years and at least $1.4 million spent, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Friday released an external review of its overseas operations that gave short shrift to recent corruption scandals and offered a series of recommendations that critics dismissed as overly vague.Much of the 50-page report outlines the DEA’s sprawling, 69-country “foreign footprint,” while lauding its efforts to plug gaping holes in the oversight of undercover money laundering operations and special vetted units overseas.“The recommendations are so broad and lack the merit or value that would enhance the agency’s foreign operations,” said Mike Vigil, a former head of the DEA’s foreign operations. “What about doing away with the good ol’ boy system where they promote each other without being qualified?”The external probe was announced in 2021 following reporting by The Associated Press on the crimes of José Irizarry, a disgraced former DEA agent no...

Principal resigns after complaints on ‘David’ statue nudity

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:29 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida charter school principal has been forced to resign after a parent complained sixth graders were exposed to pornography during a lesson on Renaissance art that included Michelangelo’s “David” sculpture. The Tallahassee Democrat reported that the principal, Hope Carrasquilla, of Tallahassee Classical School resigned this week after an ultimatum from the school board’s chairman.One parent complained the material was pornographic and two other parents said they wanted to be notified of the lesson before it was given to their children, Carrasquilla said. The instruction also included Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam” painting and Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus.” “It saddens me that my time here had to end this way,” Carrasquilla told the paper. The “David” statue’s nudity has been part of a centuries-old debate about art pushing boundaries and the rules of censorship. In the 1500s, metal fig leaves covered the genitals of statues like Da...

Sophie Grégoire Trudeau introduces FLOTUS to curling during first lady’s visit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:29 GMT

OTTAWA — The first lady of the United States got a sweeping introduction to Canadian sports culture in Ottawa Friday as Sophie Grégoire Trudeau took Jill Biden to the curling rink for her first trip to Ottawa.President Joe Biden and his wife arrived in the capital Thursday evening for their first official visit to Canada since the president took office two years ago.While the president spent most of the day close to Parliament Hill in meetings with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, their wives visited the nearby 135 year-old Rideau Curling Club.The 20 or so curlers on the ice seemed oblivious at first as the two women greeted each other in the lounge with a warm embrace before stepping out to the chilly rink. The shouts of the tense curling matches quieted slightly as Grégoire Trudeau greeted the players.“You know, I love sports,” Grégoire Trudeau told the players from the side of the ice. “I love sports,” Biden agreed, which earned her a chuckle from the player...

S&P/TSX composite posts small gain Friday after morning losses, U.S. markets also up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:29 GMT

TORONTO — Markets in the U.S. and Canada posted small gains Friday after recovering from losses to start the day, marking the end of the second week of volatile trading over concerns about the banking sector and high interest rates.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 41.57 points at 19,501.49.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 132.28 points at 32,237.53.The S&P 500 index was up 22.27 points at 3,970.99,while the Nasdaq composite was up 36.56 points at 11,823.96.The Canadian dollar traded for 72.66 cents UScompared with 73.15 cents US on Thursday.The May crude contract was down 70 cents at US$69.26 per barrel and the May natural gas contract was up eight cents at US$2.36 per mmBTU.The April gold contract was down US$12.10 at US$1,983.80 an ounce and the May copper contract was down five cents at US$4.08 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 24, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

Wall Street ends higher, marking 2nd winning week in a row

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:29 GMT

NEW YORK — A late-afternoon turnaround on Wall Street left stocks higher Friday as the market shook off a weak start amid worries about banks on both sides of the Atlantic.The S&P 500 rose 0.6% after slipping for most of the morning. The benchmark index marked its second straight weekly gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%, while the Nasdaq composite ended 0.3% higher.The upbeat close to the week came as markets have been turbulent on worries that banks are weakening under the pressure of much higher interest rates. That’s led to rising concerns about a possible recession and heavy uncertainty about what the Federal Reserve and other central banks will do with interest rates going forward.“There are concerns out there about, obviously, a more severe bank crisis, both domestically and in Europe, and yet somehow markets are looking past that,” said Randy Frederick, managing director of trading & derivatives at Charles Schwab.On Friday, much of the focus was on Deut...