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Man who threw flagpole at police during Jan. 6 riot gets more than 6 years in prison

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:04:51 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Tennessee man who wrote on social media about wanting to “take over the Capitol building” before the Jan. 6, 2021 riot, where he threw a flagpole at a police officer’s head, was sentenced on Wednesday to more than six years in prison. Joseph Padilla, of Cleveland, Tennessee, was convicted in May of assault with a dangerous weapon, obstruction of Congress and other charges after a bench trial in Washington’s federal court. Padilla has been behind bars since his February 2021 arrest. U.S. District Judge John D. Bates, who found him guilty after the bench trial, ordered him this week to serve 6 1/2 years in prison. Prosecutors say Padilla, a former prison corrections officer, spent hours the day of the riot verbally and physically attacking police, who were trying to beat back the angry mob of Donald Trump supporters as lawmakers met in the Capitol to certify then-President-elect Joe Biden ‘s electoral victory. After other rioters attacked police w...

Federal judge again declares DACA is illegal; issue likely to be decided by Supreme Court

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:04:51 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday declared illegal a revised version of a federal policy that prevents the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen agreed with Texas and eight other states suing to stop the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program. The judge’s ruling was ultimately expected to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, sending the program’s fate before the high court for a third time.Hanen barred the government from approving any new applications, but left the program intact for existing recipients during the expected appeals process. Hanen said his order does not require the federal government to take any actions against DACA recipients.The states have argued the Obama administration didn’t have the authority to first create the program in 2012 because it circumvented Congress.In 2021, Hanen had declared the program illegal, ruling it had not been subject to public noti...

Into the Record Books

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:04:51 GMT

How hot was it on Wednesday? Hot enough for Miami to set a new record, Ft. Lauderdale to tied a record, and Key West to break a hot temperature milestone that had been in the books since the 1800’s! In Miami, the afternoon peaked at 96-degrees (marking the hottest day in September to this point). The previous record was 93º, which was where Ft. Lauderdale landed for the daily high mark. Meanwhile, Key West peaked at 94 and that made for the hottest reading (for the date) since all the way back in 1876! There’s no immediate relief from the hot weather but upcoming heat won’t reach the same level. There are a few changes in the offing, and they feature higher rain chances. It’ll be a gradual return to wetter conditions. The reason? It boils down to 3 things: weaker high pressure, an approaching front, and a developing low in the Gulf of Mexico. On the weather map, there’s currently a cold front moving off the Eastern Seaboard. It extends sout...

With Hurricane Lee, brace for at least a ‘moderate nor’easter’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:04:51 GMT

The unrelenting rain will soon be refueled by Hurricane Lee.The National Hurricane Center has issued a tropical storm watch for a large area of coastal New England, with Lee bringing a potential “life-threatening” storm surge to the region.At minimum, residents across Eastern Massachusetts should be treating Hurricane Lee like a “moderate nor’easter,” according to Matthew Belk, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in BostonSpeaking with the Herald Wednesday evening, Belk said sustained winds should arrive in Greater Boston Friday night into Saturday, with gusts hitting 40 to 50 miles per hour for areas around Boston.The further south you get, the stronger the winds will be, with gusts potentially reaching hurricane force across the Cape and Islands, Belk said, explaining it’s still “impossible” to know when effects from the hurricane will be felt and for how long they will impact the region.“Lee is a very large storm, and hurricanes are not points,” he said. “Even though...

Prosecution rests at Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:04:51 GMT

By PAUL J. WEBER and JAKE BLEIBERG (Associated Press)AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A woman who was expected to testify about an extramarital affair with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton made a sudden appearance Wednesday at his impeachment trial, but never took the stand as the prosecutors abruptly rested their case against the Republican.The affair is central to the historic proceedings and accusations that Paxton misused his power to help Austin real estate developer Nate Paul, who was under FBI investigation and employed the woman, Laura Olson. One of the 16 articles of impeachment against Paxton alleges that Paul’s hiring of Olson amounted to a bribe. Olson was called to take the stand Wednesday morning in the Texas Senate and waited outside the chamber. But her testimony was delayed for hours before Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is acting as the trial’s judge, said toward the end of the day that Olson would not testify after all. He provided no further explanation but sai...

Federal judge again declares that DACA is illegal with issue likely to be decided by Supreme Court

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:04:51 GMT

By JUAN A. LOZANO (Associated Press)HOUSTON (AP) — While a federal judge on Wednesday declared illegal a revised version of a federal policy that prevents the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, he declined to order an immediate end to the program and the protections it offers to recipients. U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen agreed with Texas and eight other states suing to stop the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program. The judge’s ruling was ultimately expected to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, sending the program’s fate before the high court for a third time.“While sympathetic to the predicament of DACA recipients and their families, this Court has expressed its concerns about the legality of the program for some time,” Hanen wrote in his 40-page ruling. “The solution for these deficiencies lies with the legislature, not the executive or judicial branches. Congress, for a...

MassDOT addresses toxic lead paint chips falling from Tobin Bridge in Chelsea

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:04:51 GMT

Environmental advocates in Chelsea say they are seeing less toxic lead paint chips fall to the ground from the Tobin Bridge due to mitigation efforts the Massachusetts Department of Transportation put into place after hearing calls for action.A temporary netting, installed in July, has been catching chips, and frequent vacuuming has collected the flakes that fall to the ground. Inspections are also being conducted weekly.These strategies are in place as MassDOT has its eyes on a much larger project that would clean the 2-mile bridge, which carries traffic over the Mystic River between Boston and Chelsea, and remove its decades-old paint with new coatings.The project, estimated to last up to four years and cost $127.9 million, would also repair more than 75-year-old bridge’s steel and concrete.MassDOT’s Capital Programs Committee on Wednesday approved moving the project to the agency’s Board of Directors, which is scheduled to meet next week.GreenRoots, a community-based environmenta...

Advocates push Massachusetts lawmakers to act on tax cuts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:04:51 GMT

A new report by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation points to huge post-pandemic jumps in state revenue before urging the Legislature to use the time left in the year to finally get their act together on tax cuts.A pair of tax reform bills were passed by either chamber long before lawmakers went home for their August recess, but the conference committee working to merge the differing proposals has yet to show any sign lawmakers are moving closer to a compromised piece of legislation.Last year, a move to cut taxes by then-Gov. Charlie Baker was stopped short in the same committee.According to the MTF, the waiting routine is getting kind of old.“Tax relief has been at the top of the Beacon Hill agenda for 20 months since Governor Baker kicked off discussions with his proposal in January of last year. In that time, the plan has been expanded and improved in light of increasing competitiveness and cost concerns that pose a real threat to the state’s economic outlook,” the group wrote...

Battenfeld: Boston voters resoundingly reject unethical behavior [+election chart]

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:04:51 GMT

Voters in Boston resoundingly rejected two scandal-scarred City Council candidates but not necessarily the super woke progressive policies they espoused.What the preliminary election showed was that voters will tolerate some extreme left positions but not repeated above-the-law behavior exhibited by defeated incumbents Kendra Lara and Ricardo Arroyo.Lara and Arroyo, both proudly progressive, made history Tuesday night as the first incumbents toppled in a city preliminary election in four decades – not an easy feat.But it was their personal behavior that sank them, not their devotion to bike lanes, a fossil fuel ban and racial equity.Boston, one of the bluest and most reliably liberal cities in the country, didn’t suddenly become un-woke overnight. This was not a realignment.This was also not a repudiation of liberal Mayor Michelle Wu – in fact she showed her endorsement power by helping Enrique Pepen win one of the two finalist slots in District 5.Pepen was the leading vote-getter i...

Former suburban Detroit prosecutor gets no additional jail time in sentence on corruption charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:04:51 GMT

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — A former Detroit-area prosecutor will serve no additional time behind bars after he was sentenced Wednesday on corruption charges that he embezzled more than $600,000 from drug and drunken driving forfeiture funds.A Michigan State Police investigation found former Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith used the funds to throw parties, buy gifts and install a personal home security system.Smith, 56, accepted a plea bargain from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel in which pleaded guilty to official misconduct, tampering with evidence and conspiracy to commit forgery while seven other counts against him were dropped. Smith apologized in court “for spending these drunk driving forfeiture funds as I did.” This sentence was ordered to be served concurrently with a 21-month federal sentence Smith already has served after pleading guilty to attempting to obstruct justice. Smith also was sentenced to four years of probation, a fine of $8,000, forfeiture of his pub...