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White House releasing $3.7B in home heating aid. See if you’re eligible

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:03 GMT

By Niels Lesniewski, CQ-Roll CallWASHINGTON — The White House on Tuesday announced the release of roughly $3.7 billion in funding to help lower-income households afford their home heating costs.The funding, according to a senior administration official, represents 90% of the allocated funding for the program known as the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program for fiscal 2024, with the balance being held back in case there is a budgetary adjustment in the final full-year appropriation for the program, which is run by the Department of Health and Human Services.“We’ve got news because the president worked so hard to get a bipartisan infrastructure law passed,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said on a call with reporters. “We know that in the next several weeks — we’re beginning to figure out how people need to be able to stay warm.”Six million families were reliant on LIHEAP for heating or cooling last year, the secretary said. The funding largely comes from regular appropriations th...

Trump’s remark outside court draws judge’s notice as Cohen returns to the stand in the fraud trial

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:03 GMT

By JENNIFER PELTZ and JAKE OFFENHARTZ (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Cohen returned to the witness stand Wednesday in his ex-boss Donald Trump’s civil business fraud trial as the former president’s defense team tried to undermine the credibility and question the motives of his onetime personal attorney turned adversary.Outside the courtroom, Trump’s commentary led the judge to weigh whether Trump had violated a limited gag order imposed earlier in the case.With Trump at the defense table, his lawyer Alina Habba confronted Cohen with comments he had made praising Trump, before turning on him when Cohen’s legal problems started in 2018.Habba tried to suggest that Cohen had angled unsuccessfully for a job in Trump’s White House — Cohen insisted he never sought one — and asked whether he had “significant animosity” toward Trump.“Do I have animosity toward him? Yes I do,” Cohen replied.“You have made a career out of publicly attacking President Tr...

Patriots receive encouraging news at Wednesday practice before Dolphins game

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:03 GMT

FOXBORO — The Patriots returned pass rusher Josh Uche to the practice field Wednesday after he missed every practice last week and Sunday’s win over the Bills.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Mac Jones discloses ‘word of the week’ for Patriots after big win over Bills New England Patriots | Bill Belichick divulges Patriots’ future plans for Malik Cunningham New England Patriots | How Patriots could fill open spot on 53-man roster created by Malik Cunningham cut New England Patriots | Patriots and Revs join to help kids kick cancer New England Patriots | Patriots release backup QB, DL Trey Flowers on Tuesday Uche (knee) had appeared in every game before sitting out last weekend. He has two sacks, six tackles and three QB hits on the season.Rookie defensive lineman Keion White was the only player missing at Wednesday’s practice. White continues to recover from a co...

Craig Breslow leaves Chicago Cubs front office to be the Boston Red Sox president of baseball operations

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:03 GMT

It was only a matter of time before another organization hired Chicago Cubs executive Craig Breslow for a top front-office position.The Boston Red Sox have tabbed Breslow, 43, to become their new president of baseball operations, according to multiple reports in Boston. Breslow replaces Chaim Bloom, whom the Red Sox fired last month.The Cubs hired Breslow in January 2019 as director of strategic initiatives for baseball operations, and he worked his way up to assistant general manager and vice president of pitching as a trusted voice in president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer’s inner circle.Under Breslow’s oversight of adjustments to the pitching infrastructure, the Cubs saw gains in velocity and homegrown arms during his five seasons in the organization.The Cubs’ struggles to develop homegrown arms contributed to their inability to build off their 2016 World Series title. This season represented another important step forward on that front.Left-hander Justin St...

MGM Springfield hit with $6.8M wage, tip violation settlement

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:03 GMT

More than 2,000 workers impacted by wage and hour violations at MGM Springfield will be compensated for the casino’s wrongdoings that included failing to pay overtime, among others, according to the state Attorney General’s Office.AG Andrea Campbell announced Wednesday that her office has reached a $6.8 million settlement with MGM Springfield in the form of restitution and penalties for wage and hour violations.Investigators found, following a multi-year investigation, MGM Springfield failed to pay minimum wage to tipped employees, pay overtime wages, make timely payments of wages and provide paid earned sick time.Casino management is also at fault for unlawful tip retention, officials say.“We take our compliance obligations seriously and have made proactive updates since 2019 to address this issue,” Dara Cohen, director of regional corporate communications for MGM Resorts International, said in an email to the Herald. “We will continue to invest in training and regular ...

Questions you aren’t asking (but should) during open enrollment

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:03 GMT

By Kate Ashford | NerdWalletOpen enrollment is no one’s idea of a good time, but health coverage is a crucial part of your financial health. Whether you’re getting insurance through an employer or the Affordable Care Act marketplace, it’s important to ask the right questions before you choose a health plan for 2024.“Open enrollment is a great time to do a personal health audit,” says certified public accountant Charlene Rhinehart, a personal finance editor at drug savings site GoodRx. “Understanding your current and anticipated health care needs will help you decide which plan is the best fit.”Here’s how to weigh your options.Are your doctors in network?Plan networks change from year to year. If you love your doctor or specialist, make sure they’re still in the network of the plan you’re considering for 2024.You should also consider whether you want the option to go out of the network — which you can usually do in a preferred provider organization, or PPO, plan, although it will cos...

UN warns Gaza blockade could force it to sharply cut relief missions as Israeli bombings rise

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:03 GMT

By NAJIB JOBAIN, SAMY MAGDY and RAVI NESSMAN (Associated Press)RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The U.N. warned on Wednesday that it is on the verge of running out of fuel in the Gaza Strip, forcing it to sharply curtail relief efforts in the territory blockaded and devastated by Israeli airstrikes since Hamas terrorists launched an attack on Israel more than two weeks ago.The warning came as hospitals in Gaza struggled to treat masses of wounded with dwindling resources. The U.N.’s top official faced backlash from Israel after saying the Hamas massacre of Israelis on Oct. 7 that sparked the fighting did not “take place in a vacuum.”Health officials said the death toll was soaring as Israeli jets pounded Gaza overnight into Wednesday.The territory’s Health Ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, said more than 750 people were killed over the past 24 hours. The Associated Press could not independently verify the death toll, and it was not known if the count included any terrorists. Hamas has...

House elects Mike Johnson as Speaker, ending GOP chaos

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:03 GMT

The House elected Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) to be the 56th Speaker on Wednesday, capping off a chaotic three weeks that paralyzed the lower chamber in a stunning fashion.In finally coalescing around a new leader, House Republicans hope that Johnson can lead them through a series of legislative and political landmines in the weeks and months to come.Johnson, who was in his second term as vice chairman of the House Republican Conference, won the Speaker's gavel in a 220-209 vote over Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), officially cementing himself as successor to former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) following McCarthy's unprecedented removal earlier this month.Johnson’s ascension marks the end of a nasty and tumultuous period for the House GOP conference, which witnessed McCarthy’s ouster, cycled through four Speaker nominees and saw tensions reach a boiling point before settling on Johnson as their next leader.“Democracy is messy sometimes,” Johnson told reporters following...

US Judge Biggers, who ruled on funding for Black universities in Mississippi, dies at 88

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:03 GMT

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Funeral services were being held Wednesday for longtime U.S. District Judge Neal Brooks Biggers Jr. of Mississippi, who issued significant rulings about prayer in public schools and funding of historically Black universities.Biggers died Oct. 15 at his home in Oxford. He was 88.Services were being held in Corinth, according to the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.Biggers was a Corinth native and served in the Navy before earning his law degree. He was elected as prosecuting attorney in Alcorn County, where Corinth is located; and as district attorney for part of northeast Mississippi. He was later elected as a state circuit judge.In 1984, President Ronald Reagan nominated Biggers to serve as a federal judge for the Northern District of Mississippi.Two of the biggest cases Biggers handled as a federal judge involved racial disparities in state university funding and prayer in school.In the 1970s racial disparities case, Black plaintiffs argued that Mississippi...

Drought reveals cracks in Canada-U.S. Columbia River Treaty as B.C. lake dries up

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:03 GMT

Victoria Youmans says she hasn’t seen Arrow Lakes Reservoir looking so low in more than 20 years.The resident of Nakusp on the shores of the reservoir in British Columbia’s southern Interior says she’s seen thousands of dead fish on the shore, and the receding waterline means boat access has been cut to waterfront properties. Instead of lapping waters, some homes now face an expanse of sucking quicksand.Drought is part of reason. But so too is the Columbia River Treaty with the United States that obligates B.C. to direct water from the reservoir across the border at American behest.The grim scenes described by Youmans illustrate the stakes in ongoing talks between Canadian and U.S. negotiators to modernize the 62-year-old treaty, as the increased risk of extreme weather weighs on both sides. Part of the treaty that gives the United States direct control over a portion of the water in Arrow Lakes Reservoir and two other B.C. dams is set to expire in September 2024.&...