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Gov. Healey adding $62M to tuition grant program at UMass, state schools

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

A third of all UMass students will qualify for free tuition paid for by the new income surtax on the state’s highest earners, under a plan the Healey administration rolled out Wednesday to spend an expansion of state financial aid.The governor announced that $62 million in new program funding included in the fiscal year 2024 budget she signed this summer will go toward expanding the MASSGrant Plus program, which her administration says will benefit approximately 25,000 students attending the state’s community colleges, state universities and the University of Massachusetts.The MASSGrant Plus expansion will cover the full cost of tuition and fees for Pell Grant-eligible students, including the federal government-determined expected family contribution, and an additional allowance of up to $1,200 for books and supplies. It does not cover housing costs.Most Pell Grant recipients typically come from families with an annual income of $40,000 or less, or have otherwise difficu...

As Ravens RB Keaton Mitchell eyes a bigger role, the rookie holds on to a simple thought: ‘I can’t get caught’

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

Just two weeks ago, Keaton Mitchell’s NFL career was more possibility than reality.Yes, the Ravens rookie running back had tantalized fans with Ferrari-grade acceleration during training camp and had made the team as an undrafted free agent. But he started the season on injured reserve and had touched the ball exactly once going into the Ravens’ Nov. 5 game against the Seattle Seahawks.Nine carries and 138 yards later, his name was on the lips of every fantasy football owner in the country. If anything, Mitchell seemed more untouchable a week later against the Cleveland Browns, running away from the best defense in football to put the Ravens up 14-0 in the first quarter. He looked like a video game character whose speed had accidentally been set 25% higher than everyone else’s.“I can’t call it; you’ve got to see it,” quarterback Lamar Jackson said, grasping for words to capture Mitchell’s burst. “Every time he touches the ball, i...

Fuel tanker rolls over in crash, Route 3 shut down in Billerica

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

A gasoline tanker carrying thousands of gallons of fuel has rolled over in a multi-vehicle crash on U.S. Route 3 northbound in Billerica near the exit for Treble Cove Road, closing traffic in both directions.“Expect delays and seek alt route,” the Massachusetts Department of Transportation tweeted.The Massachusetts State Police said the truck is leaking fuel onto the roadway from the top of the tank and that a hazmat and environmental response is ongoing.The crash was reported at 9:56 a.m. Wednesday, according to a tweet from the Billerica Police DepartmentThe crash occurred near Exit 76, according to MassDOT, which added that northbound traffic would be detoured at that exit and that southbound traffic would be detoured at Exit 79.State Police tweeted at 10:15 a.m. that troopers and firefighters were at the scene of the crash involving the tanker “carrying several thousand gallons of fuel.”This is a developing story.

Lebanon releases man suspected of killing Irish UN peacekeeper on bail

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

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s military tribunal released a man accused of killing an Irish United Nations peacekeeper almost a year ago on bail, security and judicial officials said Wednesday. The development comes as UNIFIL, the U.N.’s peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, monitors ongoing clashes along the border between Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops. Lebanon’s military tribunal in June charged Mohamad Ayyad and four others with the killing of Pvt. Seán Rooney, 24, of Newtown Cunningham, Ireland, following a half-year probe. Rooney was killed on Dec. 14, 2022. Ayyad was detained in December 2022.The four others facing charges — Ali Khalifeh, Ali Salman, Hussein Salman, and Mustafa Salman — remain at large. All five are allegedly linked with Hezbollah. Hezbollah has repeatedly denied any role in the killing. Hezbollah representatives did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said he was aware of reports about Ayyad’s release due ...

Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas signals her interest in NATO’s top job

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

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has signaled her interest in becoming the next secretary general of NATO when the top job at the Western military alliance falls vacant next year. Kallas, who has led the small Baltic nation as its first female head of government since January 2021, was attending the Politico Defence Summit in Washington late Tuesday. When asked whether she would like to be considered for the top post at NATO, she replied simply, “Yes.”Her ruling Reform Party made no immediate comment Wednesday, but a spokesperson noted that Kallas would be seeking another term as the chair of the center-right political party at its congress in the capital, Tallinn, on Saturday. NATO’s current chief Jens Stoltenberg is due to step down in October 2024 after 10 years in the post.Kallas, a 46-year-old lawyer, has been one of the most vocal European backers of Ukraine and a fierce critic of Russia within the European Union and NATO.Among other things, s...

Dutch court orders company to compensate 5 Iranian victims of Iraqi mustard gas attacks in the 1980s

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

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A Dutch court on Wednesday ruled that a company must pay compensation to five Iranian victims of chemical weapons attacks by Iraq in the 1980s after the company did not show up in court to defend itself against civil claims it supplied raw materials for poison gas.The court in The Hague cleared a second company of liability in the same case, ruling that the company was not aware when it sold chemicals to the government of Saddam Hussein that they would be used to make mustard gas.The five Iranians were left permanently injured after three Iraqi mustard gas attacks in 1984 and 1986 during the Iran-Iraq war, the court said in a statement. They argued that the two companies “knew or should have known” that thionyl chloride sold to Iraq would be used to make mustard gas.The court upheld the claim against Forafina Beleggingen I B.V., formerly known as KBS Holland, after the company did not appear. The amount of compensation was not immediately determined.Law...

Judge denies Rep. Greene’s restitution request for $65,000 home security fence

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

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — A federal judge rejected Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s request to have an upstate New York man convicted of sending her threatening voicemails pay $65,000 for her Georgia home’s security fence.Joseph Morelli pleaded guilty in February to threatening the Republican member of Congress in several calls in 2022 to her Washington, D.C., office. He was sentenced to three months in prison in August. The Endicott, New York, resident said “I’m gonna harm you” in one voicemail and threatened to “pay someone 500 bucks to take a baseball bat and crack your skull,” in another, prosecutors said.Greene sought restitution of $65,257 for the construction of the fence and $1,375 for reconfiguring existing security cameras at her Georgia home. Lawyers for the government argued that Greene’s security expenses stemmed from the threats, according to court papers.U.S. District Judge Brenda Kay Sannes denied the request in a ruling Tuesday. The judge wrote that feder...

Sweden appeals the acquittal of a Russian-born businessman who was accused of spying for Moscow

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

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden’s prosecution authority on Wednesday appealed a ruling that acquitted a Russian-born Swedish businessman who had been accused of collecting information for Russia’s military intelligence service for almost a decade.On Oct. 26, the Stockholm District Court said advanced technology had been acquired and delivered to Russia but that Sergey Skvortsov’s activities were “not aimed at obtaining information concerning Sweden or the United States that may constitute espionage.”“The man has been a procurement agent for Russian military intelligence in Sweden for almost 10 years,” prosecutor Henrik Olin said in a statement. “Both the district court and I have found that behavior proven. I think there is room for the legislation on illegal intelligence activities to be interpreted a little more extensively than the rather cautious district court reached in its ruling.”Skvortsov was arrested in November with his wife in Nacka, outside Stockholm. He denie...

Parkland gas stations roll out Aeroplan loyalty program

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

MONTREAL — Aeroplan members can now earn points at a slew of Parkland Corp.’s gas stations.The loyalty program run by Air Canada has been rolled out at more than 1,100 Ultramar, Chevron, Pioneer, Fas Gas, On the Run and Marché Express locations.Members will earn points on some fuel, convenience store and Parkland gift card purchases.Those that link their Aeroplan accounts with Parkland’s Journie rewards program will see even more opportunities to earn points and other benefits.Aeroplan has been working to bolster its offerings in recent months as more loyalty programs crop up or beef up their discounts and opportunities to earn points.Aeroplan’s partners include Starbucks, Uber, LCBO, Avis, TD Bank Group, American Express and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 15, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:AC, TSX:PKI)The Canadian Press

NATO to buy 6 more ‘eyes in the sky’ planes to update its surveillance capability

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

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO announced Wednesday it has opted to buy six new E-7A Wedgetail surveillance planes built by U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing as the 31-nation military alliance looks to update its eyes in the sky in coming years.NATO’s fleet of 14 Airborne Warning and Control System, or AWACS, aircraft are outdated and expensive to maintain. But their large fuselage-mounted radar domes can detect aircraft hundreds of miles away and they remain useful to monitor Russia’s war on Ukraine from NATO’s eastern flank.NATO said that production of the six new Wedgetails — a militarized version of the Boeing 737 jetliner — will begin “in coming years,” with the first planes expected to be ready for duty by 2031. No cost was provided for the planes, but based on U.S. and U.K. contract information the price could hit $5 billion.NATO’s contract with Boeing — one of the military organization’s biggest ever purchases — is set to be signed next year.“Surveillance and control aircraft are cruci...