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After eight months on the job, state’s Transportation Secretary to step down

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:14 GMT

After only months on the job, Transportation Secretary Gina Fiandaca plans to step down in two weeks and hand the role of the Healey administration’s top transportation official to a deputy, Gov. Maura Healey’s office announced Monday. A Healey spokesperson said Fiandaca, who started the job Jan. 30, will end her tenure on Sept. 11. Fiandaca will then continue to serve in an advisory role until the end of the year. Undersecretary for Transportation Monica Tibbits-Nutt will take over as acting transportation secretary. In statements, officials did not provide a reason for Fiandaca’s departure, the first from Healey’s Cabinet. Healey “wish[ed] her well in all of her future endeavors.” “She came to our administration with over four decades of experience in transportation and a proven track record of getting things done. She hit the ground running and has delivered on many of our key transportation priorities,” Healey said. “We are c...

Healey’s Transportation Secretary Gina Fiandaca out after less than a year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:14 GMT

The Healey Administration has announced its Secretary of Transportation will step down in the next two weeks.Gina Fiandaca, formerly the Boston City Parking Clerk, was tapped by Gov. Maura Healey to lead the Department of Transportation and oversee the beleaguered MBTA in December, ahead of Healey’s swearing in.“Transportation Secretary Gina Fiandaca will be stepping down from her position effective September 11, 2023 and will remain in an advising role through the end of the year to support a smooth transition,” Healey’s office said in a Monday release.Fiandaca makes an annual salary $181,722, according to state payroll records.Fiandaca came to the job after serving as Assistant City Manager in Austin, Texas. Though the governor did not offer a reason for her leaving, Fiandaca’s sudden departure comes following revelations in May that MassDOT had awarded a no-bid contract worth $900,000 to a personal associate of hers.The soon-to-be former Secretary of Transportation thanked ...

Officers assaulted at chaotic teen brawls Sunday, police say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:14 GMT

Police responding to a massive disturbance at the South Bay shopping center were assaulted by juveniles at the scene, while officers at a later incident at Downtown Crossing were jumped and one even choked amid the mayhem Sunday.In the early evening, police responded to an unruly group at South Bay about 4:52 p.m. near the movie theaters. As the disturbance grew and moved around the shopping area, police called in officers from districts across the city and state police in an effort to disperse the crowd.Officers originally responded to the area for a report of a fight. Upon arrival, and in response to police efforts to get the crowd to disperse, members of the crowd became “confrontational” and multiple teens assaulted police, according to BPD.In total, eight juveniles were arrested at South Bay. They include a 12-year-old-girl for assault, a 12-year-old boy for assault on a police officer and disorderly conduct; a 14-year-old girl and 14-year-old boy for assault on a police office...

Montreal police warn of rising number of sextortion cases targeting youth

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:14 GMT

Montreal police are warning young people to be careful online after the number of sextortion cases they’ve seen has risen dramatically.The force says its child sex exploitation unit has already received more than 100 complaints this year, compared to about 30 at the same time last year. Police say victims are most often young men between the ages of 14 and 17 who are contacted online by people posing as teen girls.The perpetrator builds the victim’s trust before asking for intimate photos or videos, only to threaten to publish the images or send them to family and friends if a payment isn’t sent.Police are suggesting that young people use a pseudonym online, and should not reveal their true age, hometown or interests.Officers are also warning people not to undress in front of a camera and to cease communication with the extorter and contact police if they are targeted. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 28, 2023. The Canadian Press

UK air traffic control says it has fixed a technical problem that sparked delays and cancellations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:14 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Thousands of air travelers faced delays on Monday after Britain’s air traffic control system was hit by a breakdown that slowed takeoffs and landings across the U.K. on one of the busiest travel days of the year.More than three hours after it reported the “technical issue,” flight control operator National Air Traffic Services said it had “identified and remedied” the problem and flights could begin to return to normal. But scores of flights were canceled, and Heathrow Airport said its schedules would be “significantly disrupted” for the rest of the day.NATS said the outage had hit its ability to process flight plans automatically, meaning the plans had to be input manually, a much slower process. It did not disclose the cause of the problem.The service said it had “applied traffic flow restrictions to maintain safety” but that U.K. airspace remained open.After fixing the problem, NATS said it was “working closely with airlines and airports to manage the fl...

Stock market today: Wall Street gains ahead of busy week of closely-watched economic reports

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:14 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose broadly in morning trading on Wall Street Monday as markets shift their attention from the Federal Reserve to more corporate and economic reports.The S&P 500 rose 0.4% to keep upward momentum from its first winning week since July. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 172 points, or 0.5% to 34,518 as of 11:19 a.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq rose 0.5%.Wall Street is wrapping up its latest round of earnings reports. Best Buy and Costco will report their results this week.3M jumped 4.2% following reports that the company had agreed to a $5.5 billion settlement over faulty earplugs, a lower figure than expected. Boston Scientific rose 4.7% after giving investors an encouraging update on a study for a heart device.Shares of Hawaiian Electric jumped 34% as the utility pushed back against accusations it is responsible for causing the wildfire that devastated the community of Lahaina. The company said power to the lines in the area of the fire had been cut off hour...

Police in Ohio fatally shot a pregnant shoplifting suspect

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:14 GMT

BLENDON, Ohio (AP) — Police in a Columbus suburb fatally shot a pregnant woman in an Ohio supermarket parking lot after she accelerated her car toward an officer, police officials said.Ta’Kiya Young, 21, of Columbus, died Thursday evening in Blendon.A supermarket employee told officers who were at the store on an unrelated matter that multiple people were fleeing from the store with stolen items, Blendon Police Chief John Belford said. That included Young who had allegedly taken multiple bottles of alcohol. One officer went to the driver’s side of Young’s car and told her to stop, Belford said, while the other officer moved in front of the vehicle.Young then put the car in gear and accelerated forward, Belford said, and the officer directly in the vehicle’s path fired one shot through the front windshield. Young’s car then traveled about 50 feet before coming to a stop on the sidewalk outside the store. She was pronounced dead a short time later. Young was due to g...

Trump and 18 others charged in the Georgia election case are scheduled to be arraigned on Sept. 6

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:14 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Former President Donald Trump and the 18 people indicted along with him in Georgia are scheduled to be arraigned next week on charges they participated in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election. All 19 defendants, including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, have been scheduled for arraignment on Sept. 6, when they may enter pleas as well, according to court records.A Trump spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a question about whether the former president intended to waive his appearance. The defendants met a Friday deadline to turn themselves in at the Fulton County Jail. Trump was booked Thursday evening — scowling at the camera in the first-ever mug shot of a former president.All but one of those charged had agreed to a bond amount and conditions with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis ahead of time, and they were free to go after booking.Willis, who used Georgia’s rack...

Coroner confirms names of Quebec children police say were murdered Saturday by father

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:14 GMT

NOTRE-DAME-DES-PRAIRIES, Que. — The Quebec coroner’s office has confirmed the identities of two children who police say were murdered on Saturday by their father, who then allegedly killed himself.A coroner’s spokesman says the victims were Antoine and Tristan Lamontagne, both three years old. The body of Ian Lamontagne, 46, was found with those of his two children at the scene in Notre-Dame-des-Prairies, Que., a town of about 10,000 people northeast of Montreal. Quebec provincial police declined to offer further details this morning and refused to comment on reports that Lamontagne had been arrested and released two days before the killings.The mayor of Notre-Dame-des-Prairies said in a statement that the tragedy has shaken the community and left behind unimaginable pain.Suzanne Dauphin says the killings show that mental health problems can strike anyone, and she’s encouraging people to take care of their loved ones if they show signs of psychological distress. Th...

TTC announces increased service schedule ahead of fall ridership surge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:14 GMT

The TTC has announced changes to its schedule in the fall with students getting ready to head back to class and more people expected to return to the office after Labour Day.Beginning on September 5, the TTC will be restoring 126 school trips for elementary and high school students and adding more vehicles to nine routes that serve colleges or universities.“This is the week where families are getting ready to get their kids back to school,” said Mayor Olivia Chow, making the announcement on Monday morning alongside TTC officials at Scarborough Town Centre. “A lot of people are now planning how long will it take for my kids to get to school.”“People rely on the TTC and they deserve a reliable, fast public transit system that works for them.”In addition to more frequent bus trips to help students, the transit agency says the following changes will be implemented on Sunday, September 3:Increase service based on ridership demand and added capacity on ...