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United Way Miami, Amazon team up to distribute over 2,000 meal kits to low-income families, vets

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:50 GMT

There was a special delivery for South Florida families in need.United Way Miami and Amazon have teamed up to give out more than 2,000 meal kits to low-income families and veterans.Parents and children received their donations at 27 locations, including Ethel Beckford Elementary School in Southwest Miami-Dade on Wednesday.Each box contains Thanksgiving essentials like stuffing, green beans, cornbread and cranberry sauce, as well as a $20 Publix gift card to purchase a turkey, ham or chicken.

UN Security Council adopts resolution for ‘humanitarian pauses’ in Gaza

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:50 GMT

The U.N. Security Council approved a resolution Wednesday calling for “urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip,” marking the first time a resolution on the issue has passed since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7.The 15-member body passed the resolution, which had been introduced by Malta, by a margin of 12 votes to zero after four earlier resolutions failed to pass. The U.S., U.K. and Russia abstained.The U.S. and U.K. reportedly abstained because the resolution didn’t explicitly condemn Hamas, while Russia abstained because it didn’t mention a cease-fire, the country’s ambassador said. Instead, it called for humanitarian pauses “for a sufficient number of days” to allow aid to reach civilians and for “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups, especially children.”Over the last 40 days, Israel’s airstrikes and ground operations in ...

Somerville installs new camera technology to crack down on parking problems

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:50 GMT

The city of Somerville is receiving some tech support in the form of new camera sticks designed to crack down on parking problems. The devices can catch drivers who double park and block traffic. On Wednesday, 7NEWS got a closer look at how the technology works. “In general it’s hard,” said McKinnon’s Meat Market Manager Rigo Aleman. “For everyone.”Aleman has been working at McKinnon’s Meat Market for 15 years. He said he sees a lot of double parking on Elm Street near the meat market.“There’s a lot of traffic and it’s hard to walk for the people, pretty much, when they try to cross the street,” he said.“It can be dangerous if they don’t pay attention,” he continued. City officials noticed in recent years that cars parked in a bus lane, in a crosswalk or in front of a fire hydrant in the Elm Street area.  So, they tried a new strategy last year to minimize the parking problem, installing their new solar powered safety sticks. The sticks have a camera i...

Bill would ban Native-American mascots at public schools 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:50 GMT

The 23 schools in Massachusetts that use an image of an indigenous person as their school mascot would have to start looking for new names and logos under a bill that advocates are hoping will get passed this session.After years of contentious debate over Native American mascots in school districts, some indigenous activists say it’s time to take the decision out of local hands.“Unfortunately, today, the remaining schools with native mascots are stubbornly attached to controlling our native identities, which they’re using against our permission,” said Rhonda Anderson, a Iñupiaq – Athabascan Native American and western Massachusetts representative on the state Commission on Indian Affairs.The Rep. Brandy Fluker Oakley and Sen. Joanne Comerford bill would require that the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education bar Massachusetts public schools from using an athletic team or school mascot name that represents or is associated with Native Americans, or ...

Boston City Council weighing voting rights for immigrants with ‘legal status’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:50 GMT

The Boston City Council is considering a measure that would grant immigrants with “legal status” but without full citizenship the right to vote in local elections.Councilor Kendra Lara, a proponent, put forward a hearing order Wednesday on the matter, which drew support from several of her colleagues, but was met with legal concerns from Councilor-at-Large Michael Flaherty.According to Lara’s proposed home rule petition, immigrants with “legal status” constitute more than 28% of the city population, pay on average $2.3 billion in taxes annually, and hold roughly $6 billion in “collective spending power.”“They’re not able to participate in the electoral process, in what I believe is a violation of one of our foundational American principles,” Lara said. “By moving this home rule petition forward, Boston can begin the process of making good on our promise to build a city that is for everyone.”Councilor Ricardo Arroyo said the measure could provide a boost to the low voter turnout numb...

Boston City Council passes trafficking ordinance to target gun violence

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:50 GMT

The City Council passed an ordinance Wednesday that requires police to submit an annual report on gun trafficking data, a measure aimed at cutting down on the “150-200 shootings” that occur each year in Boston.The ordinance, effective immediately after passage, gives the Boston Police Department three months to “conduct a study on reducing the flow of firearms into the city” and submit a report on that data to the City Council, mayor and the Boston Public Health Commission, the legislation states.Related ArticlesPolitics | Boston Mayor Wu pitches rent control as way to combat ‘housing crisis’ Politics | Boston City Council to weigh ordinance that would track gun trafficking Politics | Wu downplays reported Mass and Cass spillover spike Politics | Boston City Council president claim prompts backlash Politics | Greater Boston Food Bank passes 1,200 turkeys along ‘human chain’ to kick off...

Heavily armed Haitian gang surrounds hospital in capital and traps people inside

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:50 GMT

By EVENS SANON (Associated Press)PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A heavily armed gang surrounded a hospital in Haiti on Wednesday, trapping women, children and newborns inside until police rescued them, according to the director of the medical center, who pleaded for help via social media.The Fontaine Hospital Center in the capital of Port-au-Prince is considered an oasis and a lifeline in a community overrun by gangs that have unleashed increasingly violent attacks against each other and residents. People who live in the capital’s sprawling Cite Soleil slum are routinely raped, beaten and killed.The hospital founder and director, Jose Ulysse, told The Associated Press that gangs were torching homes around the hospital and preventing people inside from leaving. He said it appeared that none of the gang members entered the hospital.Ulysse said members of Haiti’s National Police force responded to his call for help and arrived with three armored trucks to evacuate 40 ch...

4 men charged, loaded handgun seized from stolen vehicle in Mississauga

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:50 GMT

Four men are facing several firearm-related charges after police seized a loaded handgun from an alleged stolen vehicle in Mississauga. Peel Regional Police officers were in the Erin Mills Parkway and North Sheridan Way area just after 7:30 a.m. on Monday, November 13, investigating a stolen vehicle.Authorities executed a search warrant at an accommodation facility in that area and seized an illegal 45-calibre semi-automatic handgun and ammunition. Four men were arrested at the scene. No injuries were reported. Related: 17 stolen vehicles recovered from Burlington warehouse, 2 men arrested On Wednesday, they were identified as Sufiyan Naqvi, Guled Abdullahi, Ediris Moallin, and Waheeb Ahmed – all 22 years old and from Mississauga. The four accused face similar offences, including two counts each of possession of property obtained by crime, possession of break-in instruments, possession of a prohibited firearm with ammunition and the knowledge of unauthorized p...

Quincy Jones, Jennifer Hudson and Chance the Rapper co-owners of historic Chicago theater

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:50 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Iconic music producer Quincy Jones and entertainers Jennifer Hudson and Chance the Rapper are now co-owners of the historic Ramova Theatre on Chicago’s South Side.Their ownership was announced Wednesday, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.The Ramova has been closed for nearly four decades. Developer and co-owner Tyler Nevius bought the property and an adjacent lot from the city in 2017 for $1, the newspaper reported.Jones, Hudson and Chance the Rapper, whose real name is Chancelor Bennett, are Chicago natives.“My mother always taught us to take care of home first, so to support the rehabilitation of this extraordinary theater with such a rich history in Chicago means more to me than one could imagine,” Hudson said.Bennett says “Chicago will always be part” of who he is.“I joined the team at Ramova to give back to the city that’s given me so much and to provide a stage to showcase the incredible talent Chicago has to offer,” he said.The Ramova opened ...

Gerrit Cole a unanimous winner of his 1st AL Cy Young Award. Blake Snell takes NL prize

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:50 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Gerrit Cole was a unanimous winner of his first American League Cy Young Award on Wednesday, and Blake Snell took the National League honor in becoming the seventh hurler to earn baseball’s top pitching prize in both leagues.After coming close several times before, Cole finally finished on top following an outstanding season for the New York Yankees. The ace right-hander received all 30 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.Minnesota Twins right-hander Sonny Gray was the runner-up with 20 second-place votes, and Kevin Gausman of the Toronto Blue Jays finished third.Cole went 15-4 with an AL-low 2.63 ERA and 222 strikeouts in 209 innings, leading the league in innings, as well. He became the sixth Yankees pitcher to win a Cy Young and first since Roger Clemens in 2001.The six-time All-Star twice came in second in Cy Young voting and finished in the top five three other times.Snell was the NL winner after leading the majors in E...