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Mass. House passes bill requiring employers to give time off for voting on Election Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:50 GMT

The House passed legislation Thursday that requires employers to provide their workers “sufficient time” off to vote in person on Election Day in state or municipal elections, an effort to expand a roughly 100-year-old state law that covers some of the Massachusetts’ oldest industries.In a rare December movement, Beacon Hill representatives quickly moved the bill out of the House’s budget writing committee, where it had sat for a month and half, and onto the floor where it passed on a voice vote during a sparsely attended informal session.“The legislation that was advanced by the House today will help to guarantee that every Massachusetts voter has time to vote on Election Day, regardless of the constraints of their job, a critical step towards ensuring that every eligible voter has the chance to make their voice heard at the ballot box,” House Speaker Ron Mariano said in a statement.The proposal was originally sponsored by Rep. John Lawn, a Watertown Democrat, and Sen. Brenda...

An emboldened, confident Putin says there will be no peace in Ukraine until Russia’s goals are met

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:50 GMT

By HARRIET MORRIS (Associated Press)MOSCOW (AP) — Emboldened by battlefield gains and flagging Western support for Ukraine, a relaxed and confident President Vladimir Putin said Thursday there would be no peace until Russia achieves its goals, which he says remain unchanged after nearly two years of fighting.It was Putin’s first formal news conference that Western media were allowed to attend since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. The highly choreographed session, which lasted over four hours and included questions from ordinary Russians about things like the price of eggs and leaky gymnasium roofs, was more about spectacle than scrutiny.But while using the show as an opportunity to reinforce his authority ahead of an election in March that he is all but certain to win, Putin also gave a few rare details on what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine. He said that a steady influx of volunteers means there is no need for...

‘Uniquely horrible choice:’ Few US adults want a Biden-Trump rematch in 2024, an AP-NORC poll shows

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:50 GMT

By SEUNG MIN KIM and LINLEY SANDERS (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s the presidential election no one is really jazzed about. Relatively few Americans are excited about a potential rematch of the 2020 election between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump, although more Republicans would be satisfied to have Trump as their nominee than Democrats would be with Biden as their standard-bearer, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That palpable apathy from voters comes even as both Biden and Trump are facing relatively few obstacles in their paths to lock down their respective parties’ nominations next year. Biden has amassed broad support from Democratic officials as a handful of mostly token primary challengers have struggled to spark momentum. And despite 91 indictments across four criminal cases — including some centered on his attempts to overturn his electoral loss to Biden in 2020 — Trump&#...

Female soccer fans in Iran allowed into Tehran stadium for men’s game. FIFA head praises progress

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:50 GMT

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Female soccer fans in Iran claimed a small win Thursday in their long campaign to be allowed into stadiums to watch men’s games after decades of exclusion.A photograph was posted on social media by the campaign group Open Stadiums of three female fans inside the Azadi Stadium in Tehran for the game between city rivals Persepolis and Esteghlal. Up to 3,000 tickets were set to be made available for women.“Historical day for women’s rights activists and the fight for equal access to public spaces will continue,” the activist group posted.FIFA president Gianni Infantino later cited his own role in the campaign and his meeting with state president Ebrahim Raisi in September.“Thanks to the ongoing dialogue between FIFA and the Islamic Republic of Iran Football Federation, progress is being made,” Infantino wrote in a post on his Instagram account.The FIFA leader said he and Raisi had discussed in New York three months ago “the development of women’s football in the cou...

Explaining Quebec’s new French requirement for out-of-province university students

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:50 GMT

MONTREAL — Not only is Quebec hiking annual tuition for out-of-province students at McGill and Concordia universities to $12,000, the government will also require that 80 per cent of them graduate with an intermediate knowledge of spoken French. The new French standard takes effect in the 2025-26 academic year and also applies to students at Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke, Que.According to the province’s “scale of proficiency in French,” the Level 5 oral knowledge demanded by Quebec means the person “understands the essentials of conversations on everyday topics.”Here are examples from a Quebec government document of the kind of French skills out-of-province students will need by the time they graduate.Be able to understand:— Information from a neighbour about activities planned for a neighbourhood party.— A description in a TV news report of the effects of a flood.— A colleague’s story about an overseas trip.— A friend’s explanatio...

A top Justice Department official who spearheaded abortion access efforts will leave in February

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Justice Department official who spearheaded legal work on access to abortion as part of a broad set of responsibilities will leave her job in February, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday.Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, the third-highest ranking official, also played key roles in efforts to address violent crime and gun violence as well as leading the Reproductive Rights Task Force after Roe v. Wade was overturned, Garland said in a statement. The Justice Department has defended access to the abortion pill mifepristone, sued over an abortion ban in Idaho and weighed in on an Alabama court case to underline its support for women’s ability to cross state lines to get abortions. “Vanita’s commitment to the pursuit of justice, and her relentless focus on bringing people together to find common ground, has made her an incredibly effective leader in dealing with some of the most complex challenges facing the American people,” Garland said....

Tim Hortons, Telus reinstate support for Hockey Canada following scandal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:50 GMT

TORONTO — Two sponsors who previously pulled support for Hockey Canada, when it was embroiled in scandal last year, say they are backing the organization once more.Fast food chain Tim Hortons and telecommunications firm Telus Corp. say they have reinstated their support for Hockey Canada which they withdrew when the organization was accused of mishandling sexual assault complaints.Tims spokesperson Michael Oliveira says the chain made it clear it would only reinstate funding for Canada’s men’s teams when they regained the confidence of Canadians.He says Tims reinstated its support because it appears Hockey Canada has made substantial progress toward that goal under new leadership.Telus spokesperson Saara Rahikka says the telecommunications giant decided to back the organization again because it wanted to support changes that make the sport safe and inclusive for all on and off the ice.The renewed support from Tims and Telus comes ahead of the men’s world junior hockey champion...

Older Americans to pay less for some drug treatments as drugmakers penalized for big price jumps

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of older Americans could pay less for some of their outpatient drug treatments beginning early next year, the Biden administration announced Thursday.The White House unveiled a list of 48 drugs — some of them injectables used to treat cancer — whose prices increased faster than the rate of inflation this year. Under a new law, drugmakers will have to pay rebates to the federal government because of those price increases. The money will be used to lower the price Medicare enrollees pay on the drugs early next year.This is the first time drugmakers will have to pay the penalties for outpatient drug treatments under the Inflation Reduction Act, passed by Congress last year. The rebates will translate into a wide range of savings — from as little as $1 to as much as $2,700 — on the drugs that the White House estimates are used every year by 750,000 older Americans.The rebates are “an important tool to discourage excessive price increases and prote...

Premier League to have its first female referee when Rebecca Welch handles game on Dec. 23

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:50 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Rebecca Welch will become the first female referee in the Premier League when she takes charge of the match between Fulham and Burnley on Dec. 23, the competition said Thursday.Welch has already worked as the fourth official in the Premier League, for the match between Fulham and Manchester United on Nov. 4, and she was the first woman to referee matches in the second-tier Championship and FA Cup.Welch has been a referee since 2010, initially balancing the role with her job in the National Health Service before becoming a full-time match official.Other countries have been using female referees for years. In Germany, Bibiana Steinhaus was the first woman to referee a Bundesliga game, in 2017. Steinhaus is married to Howard Webb, who is the current chief refereeing officer of the top refereeing body in England.French referee Stéphanie Frappart became the first woman to take charge of a men’s World Cup game when she handled Germany vs. Costa Rica in November last year, ha...

Raja the elephant, a big draw at the St. Louis Zoo, is moving to Columbus to breed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:24:50 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Raja the elephant has been one of the biggest attractions — literally and figuratively — at the St. Louis Zoo for decades. Now, he’s moving away.The zoo announced Thursday that the male Asian elephant born at the zoo nearly 31 years ago will be relocated to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio, probably in about a year. The hope is that he’ll bond with four females in Columbus, breed, and mentor a young male there.Raja was the first elephant ever born at the St. Louis Zoo, and the 10,000-pound animals’ birthday on Dec. 27 is a big deal each year, complete with treats, songs and lots of visitors signing an oversized birthday card.“This news is bittersweet for all of us,” Michael Macek, director of the St. Louis Zoo, said in a statement. “We know Raja is dear to his fans and to the Zoo family and he’ll be missed here, but we know this is for the best for Raja and the survival of this species.”The World Wildlife Fund says Asian elephants are en...