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As public education push heats up on Beacon Hill, advocates eye ‘adequate’ funding

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

Sophia Garcia, a Boston-area student, worked full time, took a full course load to maintain financial aid, and pulled out a loan so she could attend a local private university during the Spring 2021 semester.Arriving on campus — she declined to say which institution — in January 2021 felt “like the moment my life will begin,” she told a group of rally-goers in front of the State House Wednesday afternoon.“The university doesn’t know what they did by accepting me. I’m running through all their resources like a tomb raider. Sorry to anybody behind me, because I’m taking it all,” said Garcia, a Revere-raised daughter of immigrants from Ecuador and Puerto Rico.But by the time April rolled around, Garcia said she did not recognize herself in the mirror. Days were turning into a blur. She was barely sleeping for more than two hours. And she was living off energy drinks and fruit snacks.Difficulties were arising at work and she started to fall behind on her classes all because ...

Patriots Hall of Fame inductee announced for 2023 class

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

Former Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel has been selected to the Patriots Hall of Fame by a fan vote, the team announced Wednesday.Vrabel will become the 34th member of the Patriots Hall of Fame. He was one of three finalists for this year’s honor, along with former head coach Bill Parcells and offensive guard Logan Mankins. Vrabel will be enshrined with former offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia at a later date and time to be determined.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Guregian: JuJu Smith-Schuster already loves being a Patriot New England Patriots | How does the Patriots’ depth chart look post-NFL Draft? New England Patriots | NFL Notes: Bill Belichick continues to march to the beat of a different drummer New England Patriots | Patriots reportedly sign athletic QB, new tight end after NFL Draft New England Patriots | Patriots target O-line, special teams on Day 3 of the NFL Draft Ov...

Ticker: Fed hikes key rate, hints pause ahead; CVS beats Q1 expectations, cuts outlook 

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

The Federal Reserve reinforced its fight against high inflation Wednesday by raising its key interest rate by a quarter-point to the highest level in 16 years.But the Fed also signaled that it may now pause the streak of 10 rate hikes that have made borrowing for consumers and businesses steadily more expensive.In a statement after its policy meeting, the Fed cut any reference to potential future rate hikes and instead said it will consider a range of factors in “determining the extent” that future hikes might be needed.The Fed’s rate increases since March 2022 have more than doubled mortgage rates, elevated the costs of auto loans, credit card borrowing and business loans and heightened the risk of a recession.Home sales have plunged as a result. The Fed’s latest move, which raised its benchmark rate to roughly 5.1%, could further increase borrowing costs.CVS beats Q1 expectations, cuts outlookCVS Health turned in a better-than-expected first quarter as reve...

Historic, spirited Blairsville offers an endless supply of Georgia’s mountain culture

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

BLAIRSVILLE, Ga. — Spring had come to the Blue Ridge Mountains. The rhododendron and mountain laurel were popping out in unreal shades of pink, and the massive hardwoods of birch and maple only recently bare-leafed in winter had begun their seasonal metamorphoses with emerald-green new growth. Somewhere in those forest-covered North Georgia mountains, slumbering bears were just waking from their hibernation.With drowsy bears foremost in mind, one of the first questions that my husband and I asked when we checked into Misty Mountain Inn and Cottages near the Blue Ridge town of Blairsville was if any of the ursine beasts lurked around.Bill Walsh, who owns the inn and cottages with his wife, Sarah, said that a few bears are sometimes seen around the property but they were small, with the further explanation, “They’re nothing like the larger bears in the higher elevations. You have nothing to worry about.”The view of the Blue Ridge Mountains from Brasstown Bald, Georgia’s highest mounta...

Amy Reichert announces bid for Fletcher's District Four seat

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Another candidate has thrown their hat into the race for Supervisor Nathan Fletcher's District Four seat, shortly after the Board of Supervisors voted to pursue a special election to fill the impending vacancy.Amy Reichert, who ran against Fletcher as a Republican in last year's election, announced that she would be seeking the seat again."I am excited to officially announce my candidacy for the County Board of Supervisors," she said in a press release. "I am committed to rebuilding the trust in our elected officials and strengthening our communities. It's time we give them the leadership they deserve."Reichert is the third candidate to launch a campaign for the District Four seat, following non-profit CEO, Janessa Goldbeck, and San Diego City Councilmember Monica Montgomery-Steppe.After Fletcher's resignation announcement, Reichert was considered a likely candidate for a special election. However, she told FOX 5 last month that she was waiting until the Board of Superv...

Vatican No 2 confirms Russia-Ukraine peace mission plans

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Holy See’s No. 2 official confirmed Wednesday the existence of a Vatican peace “mission” to try to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, days after Pope Francis raised eyebrows with an offhand revelation of a secret operation that was already underway.Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, expressed surprise that officials in both Russia and Ukraine claimed ignorance of the Vatican initiative when they were asked about Francis’ comments. Speaking on the sidelines of a book launch Wednesday, Parolin said that both capitals had been informed, Vatican News reported.“Based on my knowledge, they know, but you know how it is, in bureaucracies it could be that communications that are supposed to arrive don’t arrive,” Parolin was quoted as saying. “These are just my interpretations, but I know that both parties were informed.”Francis revealed the existence of a Vatican “mission” on Sunday night during a news conference en route home from a ...

Ancient Knights of Malta get their 1st non-aristocratic head

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

ROME (AP) — A Canadian lawyer who found his vocation caring for AIDS patients in Harlem was elected the grand master of the Knights of Malta on Wednesday, the first non-European and first non-aristocratic head of the ancient lay Catholic order that provides humanitarian aid around the world.John Dunlap, 66, was elected by an absolute majority of 99 voting members of a Knights body known as “the council complete of state.” He immediately informed Pope Francis of his election and was sworn in during a pomp-filled ceremony and procession Wednesday at the Knights’ magnificent villa on Rome’s Aventine hill.The election brings a hoped-for end to a tumultuous few years during which Francis intervened to remove a previous grand master as a result of a governance crisis. Francis then imposed a new set of constitutional reforms on the order, and appointed Dunlap as interim head, in ways that critics said threatened its sovereignty.The Knights of Malta is an ancient chivalric order and soverei...

Iowa Democrats’ plan: Hold 1st caucuses, report votes later

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Democrats are proposing a novel way to get around their demotion from the leadoff spot on the party’s presidential nominating calendar: They would still put on the first-in-the-nation caucuses but would be open to withholding the results until after other states have their contests.The creative approach is the latest effort by the Iowa Democratic Party to claw back the prized slot it held for nearly 50 years, until chaos during the state’s 2020 presidential caucuses led the Democratic National Committee to reorder the calendar.Iowa Democrats say the plan demonstrates their willingness to work with the DNC on its new voting calendar, which elevates South Carolina as the first voting state for 2024 and drops Iowa out of the top five voting states.“This flexibility is purposeful,” Iowa Democratic Chair Rita Hart said, describing the scenario of holding the caucuses first, with the option of reporting the results after other states report theirs. A spokesman...

New Mexico St player: ‘First it hurts, then it changes you’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

He came to New Mexico State to play basketball, maybe even live out a dream. On Wednesday, former Aggies basketball player Deuce Benjamin, flanked by his father and a former teammate, broke down as he shared the impact of his brief, troubling stay on the team.“First it hurts, then it changes you,” Benjamin said, while choking back tears that eventually would start flowing. “There’s a part of me that hasn’t been the same.”Benjamin and former Aggie Shak Odunewu held a news conference on the edge of NMSU’s campus in Las Cruces to discuss the lawsuit they filed alleging teammates ganged up and sexually assaulted them multiple times, while their coaches and others at the school didn’t act when confronted with the allegations.The players, their attorneys and Benjamin’s dad, William, an Aggie Hall of Famer who also is a plaintiff in the lawsuit, spent nearly an hour detailing the ways the university failed the students.“My child has been failed. My family has ...

Stock market today: Markets are mixed after Fed’s rate hike

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are mixed Wednesday after the Federal Reserve announced its latest hike to interest rates but hinted the end to them may be near. The S&P 500 was down 0.3% in late trading, and it drifted between modest gains and losses immediately after the Fed’s announcement. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 158 points, or 0.5%, at 33,526, as of 3:28 p.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was virtually flat. The move was widely expected, and it’s supposed to slow the economy further in hopes of getting inflation under control. The hope on Wall Street is that this is the final increase following the Fed’s fastest flurry in decades. The central bank gave a nod toward the possibility in its statement, where it dropped a reference saying it “anticipates that some additional policy firming may be appropriate.” “That’s a meaningful change,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said. But the Fed stopped short of declaring the end to rate hikes, which ...