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Son of former Mass. Governor Charlie Baker cuts deal in OUI case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:34 GMT

The son of former Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has cut a deal after he was arrested for operating under the influence in Lynnfield earlier this month. Andrew “AJ” Baker was arrested by state police on Route 128 on May 13. In court on May 15, prosecutors said Baker told police he was driving home from Salem, where he had been golfing and drinking. Peabody police officers who responded said they saw signs Baker was intoxicated. According to a police report, a breathalyzer also showed Baker’s blood alcohol content was .15 — nearly twice the legal limit in Massachusetts.Dashcam video from another driver separately showed what state police said was Baker, 29, on the road in his car. The car was seen hitting a curb and nearly going off the road. At one point, the car also swerved into oncoming traffic. Under the terms of the deal approved by prosecutors and a judge on Tuesday, Baker will receive one year of probation. He will also lose his license for 45 days and be...

Supermodel Chanel Iman and NFL player Davon Godchaux get engaged in Italy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:34 GMT

Supermodel Chanel Iman and New England Patriots player Davon Godchaux announced their engagement Tuesday.The couple shared several snaps from a picturesque trip to Italy that culminated in Godchaux getting down on one knee.“The blessings keep pouring, grateful for this new chapter and soon to be married and a forever to go,” Iman wrote in her Instagram post.The former Victoria’s Secret angel, 32, and the veteran NFL defensive lineman, 28, went public with their relationship in April 2022. Earlier this month, the duo announced they’re expecting their first child together.Iman said she thought the trip to Italy was simply to celebrate their baby. But Godchaux had something else planned.“First of all, I can’t even lie I was nervous ahh hell,” he wrote on Instagram. “I never thought I would be getting down on one knee but LOVE will make you do some amazing things in life! Chanel I love you so much and I wouldn’t have rather spend thi...

Jet skier who was missing after boat collision on Massachusetts river is found dead: Mass State Police

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:34 GMT

The jet skier who collided with a boat on the Connecticut River over the weekend was found dead on Tuesday, according to Massachusetts State Police.Carlos Lopez was located in the river, a short distance from the Easthampton site where he collided with a boat on Sunday evening.Massachusetts Environmental Police officers were using an underwater “Remotely Operated Vehicle” during the search for Lopez, and they saw an area of interest in the river.“Troopers from the Massachusetts State Police Underwater Recovery Team dove onto the area observed by the ROV and located Mr. Lopez’s body,” a State Police spokesperson said in a statement.The divers recovered his body at a depth of about 15 feet — an estimated 150 feet from the shore.The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner took custody of the dead body. The collision remains under investigation by the State Police Detective Unit for Hampshire and Franklin counties.Related ArticlesCrime & Public Safet...

AI-powered humanoid works the crowd at tech show

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:34 GMT

LONDON — Ameca can speak French, Chinese or dozens of other languages, instantly compose a poem or sketch a cat on request. Ask for a smile, and you’ll get a clenched grin on her rubbery blue face.Ameca is a humanoid robot powered by generative artificial intelligence that gives it the ability to respond to questions and commands and interact with people. It’s one of hundreds of robots on display this week at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation, or ICRA, in London, where visitors got a glimpse at the future.The event is sort of the Olympics of the robot world, where student teams compete in a host of challenges including robot cooking and autonomous driving contests, academics present their research and startups show off their latest technology.It comes as scientists and tech industry leaders, including executives at Microsoft and Google, warned Tuesday about the perils of artificial intelligence to mankind, saying “mitigating the risk of extinc...

Feds reject ‘insufficient’ MBTA track safety plan, cites ‘immediate risk’ to workers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:34 GMT

Federal officials rejected a corrective action plan submitted by the MBTA, saying that the “immediate risk” to worker safety on subway tracks demands more urgency.In a letter to MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng, the Federal Transit Administration described the agency’s work plan, intended to address right-of-way violations that led to five near-misses and left one employee seriously injured over a one-month period, as “insufficient.”“MBTA’s submitted work plan includes efforts to develop a long-term plan to strengthen protections for workers and contractors on the rail transit system, including items with completion dates into late 2023 and into 2024,” FTA Associate Administrator Joe DeLorenzo wrote earlier this month.“Given the immediate risk to worker safety on the ROW, FTA requires direct and focused actions.”The FTA ordered the MBTA to resubmit the work plan by June 5, with revisions that would address and implement right-of-way safety processes and procedures within 60 days, th...

Iowa apartment collapse leaves residents missing, rubble too dangerous to search

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:34 GMT

By SCOTT McFETRIDGE and HANNAH FINGERHUT (Associated Press)DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Five residents of a six-story apartment building that partially collapsed in eastern Iowa remained unaccounted for Tuesday, and authorities feared at least two of them might be stuck inside rubble that was too dangerous to search.The three other missing residents are not believed to have been in the building when it started collapsing Sunday afternoon, said state Rep. Monica Kurth. Mayor Mike Matson confirmed at a news conference that not all the residents were accounted for. A group of protesters held signs and chanted near the building Tuesday morning, arguing the city was moving too quickly toward demolishing the 116-year-old brick and steel structure. Built as a hotel, it had more recently been used as apartments, and tenants had been allowed to remain even as bricks began falling from the building.After the partial collapse, the city had announced plans to begin demolishing the unstable rem...

South Carolina gas station owner makes 1st court appearance on murder charge in teen’s death

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:34 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina gas station owner accused of chasing a 14-year-old boy from his store and fatally shooting him in the back made his first court appearance Tuesday on a murder charge in the death.Rick Chow thought the boy had shoplifted four bottles of water Sunday night from his Xpress Mart Shell station in Columbia, authorities said. But Cyrus Carmack-Belton put the bottles back in the cooler and was off the store’s property and running away when he was killed, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said.A gun was found near the teen’s body and Chow’s son, who also was involved in the chase, told his father that Carmack-Belton was armed after the youth fell as he ran, according to the sheriff. But Lott said there was no evidence the boy ever pointed the weapon at Chow or his son.Chow, who had a concealed weapons permit, was charged after an autopsy showed the middle school student was shot in the back and deputies spoke to witnesses and reviewed ...

‘It’s just chaos.’ Halifax man learns home gone as officials warn of wildfire danger

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:34 GMT

HALIFAX — For the second time in the past seven years, Danny Osborne has fled his home because of a wildfire.In May 2016, he escaped the devastating fires in Fort McMurray, Alta., which forced the evacuation of 90,000 people and destroyed 2,400 homes and businesses. And his Alberta home survived the disaster.But on Tuesday, Osborne learned the Halifax-area wildfire that has been burning out of control since Sunday had gutted his new residence in Nova Scotia.He was among a group from the Yankeetown subdivision northwest of Halifax who were led by RCMP to their properties to retrieve pets after the wildfire swept through.“It’s gone,” the 45-year-old construction worker said after he returned from seeing what was left of his home. “It is completely flattened.”Osborne recalled how when he left his house after an evacuation was ordered, he saw black, churning smoke in his rear-view mirror and felt the same “gut-wrenching” emotions he endured during the...

North Korea launches rocket likely connected to military spy satellite, South Korea says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:34 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s military says North Korea has launched a purported space-launch vehicle after announcing a plan to put its first military spy satellite into orbit.The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff on Wednesday did not immediately provide further flight details. Following the launch, officials in South Korea’s capital of Seoul sent alerts over public speakers and smartphones for residents to prepare for evacuation, but there were no immediate reports of damages or disruption. Japan’s coast guard said Monday that North Korea informed it of a plan to launch a satellite between May 31 and June 11.A satellite launch by North Korea is a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban the country from using ballistic technology because it’s regarded as a cover for missile tests.The Associated Press

New US aid package for Ukraine will total about $300 million and include munitions for drones

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:34 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. military aid package for Ukraine that is expected to be announced this week will total up to $300 million and will include additional munitions for drones, U.S. officials said Tuesday. The drone ammunition comes after new attacks by unmanned aircraft targeted Moscow. There has been no suggestion that U.S.-made drones or munitions were used in the recent attacks on Moscow, and U.S. officials have repeatedly said that Ukraine has agreed not to use any American-provided weapons for attacks on Russian soil. The Kremlin blamed Kyiv for Tuesday’s attack, but Ukrainian officials had no direct comment.But the new aid package comes at a tense moment in the war. The latest drone attack on Moscow follows Russia’s seizure of the eastern Ukrainian city Bakhmut after a nine-month battle that killed tens of thousands of people. Ukraine is also showing signs that its long-awaited spring counteroffensive may already be underway.The Russian Defense Ministry said f...