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Eliminating tax cap law among 70-plus amendments to Senate’s $586M tax relief plan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:34 GMT

A Marlborough Democrat wants to repeal the state tax cap law that sent billions in reimbursement checks to residents last year, filing the idea as one of the 70-plus amendments to the Senate’s tax relief proposal scheduled for debate later this week.Sen. Jamie Eldridge said he wants to scrap the voter-passed tax cap law known as Chapter 62F because it creates a layer of unpredictability with state spending. The law required state officials to send nearly $3 billion back to taxpayers in 2022, which threw last year’s tax relief talks out the window.“I don’t think it really serves sound public policy,” Eldridge told the Herald. “I didn’t hear from anyone about ‘this made a big difference in my life to get this tax rebate’. So I do think that it’s important to have this discussion to repeal it and make sure that we’re not worried about it being triggered in the future.”Eldridge filed the repeal amendment to Senate Democrats’ $586 million tax relief plan the...

Quick Fix: Seared Tuna with Gazpacho Sauce features perfect flavor match

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:34 GMT

Linda Gassenheimer | Tribune News Service (TNS)I was surprised by a light and refreshing sauce served at a local restaurant. They used gazpacho, a fresh tomato mixture usually served as a cold soup. I decided to use this style of sauce over a seared tuna steak. The flavorful sauce and tender tuna were a perfect match. A slice of garlicky toast with the dish was perfect for sopping up extra sauce.Ahi tuna is best for this recipe. It is also known as yellowfin. Although any tuna can be used for the recipe, ask for sushi-grade ahi for best results, if available.Helpful Hints:— You can use any type of rice.— If you don’t have a blender or food processor, just mix the sauce ingredients well together. The sauce will be chunky but still delicious.Countdown:— Microwave rice and set aside.— Make sauce.— Toast bread.— Sear tuna.Shopping List:To buy: 3/4 pound tuna steaks, 1 package microwaveable brown rice, 1 small bottle reduced-sodium tomato juice, 1 cucumber, whole wheat baguette and olive...

Trump’s court appearance live updates: Former president booked at federal courthouse in Miami

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:34 GMT

Former President Donald Trump is appearing in federal court in downtown Miami on Tuesday afternoon for his first appearance in a historic criminal case against him.Trump has been charged with 37 felony counts. The Justice Department said he hoarded top-secret government documents, boastfully displayed them to visitors and tried to hide them from investigators who demanded them back.Please check back for updates throughout the day.2:57 p.m. | ‘Man for the people’Rose Rodriguez, 58, said her parents came to the U.S. from Cuba, and she believes if Trump doesn’t win the 2024 election, communism will come to the U.S. “I know what communism is,” she said.”Rodriguez said attended Tuesday’s gathering – it wasn’t her first pro-Trump event – to prove he has a support system.“He’s a man for the people,” she said2:51 p.m. | Vendors on handVendors were outside the Federal Courthouse. One, was emblematic of Miami, selling tubs of sliced fresh fruit.The kind of merchandise often seen around Trump ...

Trump arrives at Miami court to face charges in secret documents case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:34 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Former President Donald Trump arrived Tuesday at the federal courthouse in Miami to surrender to authorities ahead of a historic court appearance on charges that he illegally hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.He was expected to face a magistrate judge, kickstarting a legal process that will unfold at the height of the 2024 presidential campaign and carry profound consequences not only for his political future but more urgently for his own personal liberty.Four black SUVs entered the garage beneath the Miami courthouse, followed by police officers, ahead of his scheduled 3 p.m. appearance. Security remained tight outside the building but there were no signs of significant disruptions. Once inside, he was formally booked, though he was not expected to have a mugshot taken.Trump approached his arraignment with characteristic bravado, posting social media broadsides against the prosecution from inside his motorcade and insisting as h...

Trump supporters cheer wildly as he arrives at Miami courthouse, while others protest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:34 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Supporters of former President Donald Trump honked their horns and screamed wildly as the former president arrived at the courthouse in downtown Miami to make his first appearance on criminal charges that he improperly held on to classified documents. Hundreds of journalists from around the world were also on hand at the federal courthouse, as were anti-Trump protestors. Among the crowd, some waved signs and flags, with the two factions at times shouting over one another. Journalists from China, the UK, Australia, France, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Germany and Switzerland were among the hundreds of reporters who have converged on the courthouse — some having spent several days camped out in the muggy heat.Those gathered outside did not interact with Trump, who rode in an SUV as part of a motorcade that entered the courthouse garage for his hearing on felony charges. Still, some sang “Happy Birthday” to Trump, who will turn 77 on Wednesday. The international attentio...

Eric Trump accompanies father to federal courthouse | Live updates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:34 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Follow along for live updates on former President Donald Trump, who is making his first court appearance Tuesday after being indicted on 37 charges related to the mishandling classified documents. The indictment marks the first time in U.S. history that a former president faces criminal charges by the federal government he once oversaw. ___TRUMP RODE TO COURT WITH HIS SON ERICTrump rode to court with his son Eric, who accompanied the motorcade from the former president’s Doral resort to the federal courthouse in Miami.CNN aired footage of Trump walking to a line of SUVs with his son by his side while someone yelled, “Let’s go Trump!”The former president could be seen stopping and waving at supporters, as well as chatting with staff members. Eric Trump appeared to clap his father on the back just before he climbed in a vehicle.As he rode to court, Trump posted on his social media site that the case against him was a “witch hunt.”Later, outside the courthouse Trump lawyer...

Ontario to have $22.6B in ‘excess funds’ to be used on programs or debt, FAO says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:34 GMT

TORONTO — Ontario’s budget watchdog says a look at the province’s spending plan shows there will be $22.6 billion in “excess funds” over the next few years.The Financial Accountability Office says through to 2025-26 the government’s spending plan is $5.6 billion higher each year on average than the FAO’s projections.The $22.6 billion represents money that isn’t needed to fund existing or announced programs, so it could go toward new programs, enhancing existing programs, offset any new financial pressures that materialize or pay down the province’s net debt.If the government goes entirely for the latter option, the FAO says Ontario’s debt burden would decline for an “unprecedented” seven consecutive years and result in a net debt-to-GDP ratio of 31.8 per cent by 2027-28, the lowest since 2008-09.The FAO estimates that the health sector represents about $4.4 billion in excess funds, but most of the rest are likely cont...

Putin says he might try to seize nearby territory in Ukraine to prevent cross-border strikes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:34 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested Tuesday that he could order his troops to try to seize more land in Ukraine to protect bordering Russian territory and asserted that Ukrainian forces had suffered “catastrophic” losses in a new counteroffensive.In some of his most detailed remarks about the war in months, the Russian leader also said he was not contemplating a new troop mobilization, as many Russians have feared, but did not rule it out. And he reiterated Russia’s claim that Ukraine was responsible for blowing up a Dnieper River dam that caused vast flooding on both sides of the front line last week in the country’s south.Putin’s comments at an open meeting with military journalists and bloggers followed Kyiv’s claims that Ukrainian troops had captured a handful of villages in the early stages of the counteroffensive. The meeting, which lasted more than two hours, came after Russian missile strikes in central Ukraine killed at least 11...

York police looking for suspect in sexual assault investigation in Richmond Hill

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:34 GMT

York police’s Special Victims Unit Sexual Assault Section is asking the public’s help to identify a suspect following a sexual assault in Richmond Hill.On June 10 at approximately 3:45 p.m. a 10-year-old female victim was inside a mall in the area of Yonge Street and Carville Road.While inside a store, an unknown man approached her, engaged in conversation and touched her in a sexual manner.The victim got away from the man and reported the incident to police.The suspect is described as a male with a tan complexion, approximately 40-55 years old, approximately 5’5” with a medium build, has short black hair, glasses, a strong accent and was wearing a black V-neck short sleeve shirt, dark pants, and white shoes.A vehicle description that the suspect left in was also described: a newer model Hyundai Kona that is dark grey with a sunroof.

Fox News shouldn’t air in Canada despite Tucker Carlson ouster, LGBTQ group argues

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:34 GMT

TORONTO — An advocacy group that wants the CRTC to ban Fox News says the network’s “abusive content” extends beyond its divisive personalities such as recently fired host Tucker Carlson.Fox News should be banned from Canadian airwaves because it has “repeatedly and regularly” violated broadcasting standards with content that subjects many groups to hate, Egale Canada is arguing in its formal submission to Canada’s broadcasting regulator. The LGBTQ rights group is dismissing Fox’s argument that the application to remove its news network from Canadian cable TV packages is “moot” in the wake of prime-time host Tucker Carlson’s ousting in late April. Egale’s reply submission to the CRTC this week follows thousands of comments, including those from Fox News, that the commission received after seeking public input on the matter.Egale wrote an open letter to the regulator in early April, asking it to consult the public on the removal of Fox News from the list of non-Canad...