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Biden brings back $600M COVID test program

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:58 GMT

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it is providing $600 million in funding to produce new at-home COVID-19 tests and is restarting a website allowing Americans to again order up to four free tests per household — aiming to prevent possible shortages during a rise in coronavirus cases that has typically come during colder months.The Department of Health and Human Services says orders can be placed at COVIDTests.gov starting Sept. 25, and that no-cost tests will be delivered for free by the United States Postal Service.Twelve manufacturers that employ hundreds of people in seven states from California to Maryland have been awarded funding and will produce 200 million over-the-counter tests to replenish federal stockpiles for government use, in addition to producing enough tests to meet demand for tests ordered online, the department said.The new effort is meant to guard against supply chain issues that sparked some shortages of at-home COVID tests made over...

Some veterans discharged under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell can seek Massachusetts benefit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:58 GMT

Gov. Maura Healey appointed five members Wednesday to a review board created this year that is tasked with opening up a pathway to state-based veterans benefits for those who received an other than honorable discharge under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.The board, created in the fiscal 2023 state budget, will review veterans’ cases and recommend their eligibility for state-based benefits, a move Healey said marked a “historic milestone” in Massachusetts.“We need to make sure that all of our veterans and all of our LGBTQ veterans in particular, today are truly honored for their service by making sure that as we go forward, they receive the benefits that they earned and are earning by serving our country,” Healey said.The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy barred openly LGBTQ+ people from serving in the military. It was repealed in September 2011. More than 13,000 service members were separated under the policy from 1994-2011, according to Department of Defense data.Veterans in Massa...

Illegal immigrant who allegedly attempted to scam Westport couple doesn’t show up to court

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:58 GMT

The fact that an illegal immigrant failed to show up to court for allegedly trying to scam a Westport couple out of $6,000 should come “as no surprise” to anyone, according to Bristol District Attorney Thomas Quinn III.Hector Arias-Guzman, 28, of Boston, has been free since immediately posting a $4,000 cash bail that Fall River Judge Thomas Barrett set in August during an arraignment on attempted larceny and conspiracy charges.A pretrial hearing had been scheduled on Tuesday, but Arias-Guzman did not show up to Fall River District Court, said Quinn, who blasted Barrett for letting the illegal immigrant off too easy.The judge declined a request from Assistant District Attorney Nicole Cheney to hold the defendant in jail on $25,000 cash bail during the August arraignment, before he set it at $4,000.Customs and Border Protection apprehended Arias-Guzman in January for entering the United States illegally via the Del Rio area of Texas, authorities say.“The defendant’s failure to appear ...

Man gets life in prison for 2019 Cape Cod murder

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:58 GMT

A 36-year-old man was found guilty of the 2019 Cape Cod stabbing murder of Brendan Flynn, 28.A Barnstable Superior Court jury convicted Nicholas Galanto, 36, of second-degree murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault with a dangerous weapon. Galanto was sentenced to life in prison. He won’t be eligible for parole for at least 24 years, following the required imprisonment terms of four to four and a half years for the assault charge and at least 20 years for murder.On May 19, 2019, Barnstable Police responded to a 911 call for a stabbing at the Village Green Park in Hyannis a little after 10:30 p.m. There, a man told police that Galanto had swung a knife at him and at Brendan Flynn, according to the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s office. The man was able to defend himself, ward off Galanto and attempt to save Flynn’s life. Flynn would be pronounced dead that night at Cape Cod Hospital.

Freetown man charged with killing woman he lives with

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:58 GMT

A Freetown man has been charged with the murder of a woman he lives with.Matthew Lucas, 54, is accused of killing Heidi Chace, 44, who he lived with at 92 Chace Road in East Freetown. Police responded to the scene shortly after 4:20 a.m. Wednesday and found Chace’s body.Police located Lucas “hiding in a shed” on Burns Lane in Freetown about four hours later, according to the Bristol District Attorney’s office. Lucas made an initial appearance later in the day at Fall River District Court on a murder charge.

Chicago White Sox expected to add 3 new front office members: Josh Barfield, Brian Bannister and Gene Watson

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:58 GMT

Chicago White Sox manager Pedro Grifol lauded Josh Barfield’s presence, Brian Bannister’s creativity and Gene Watson’s wealth of knowledge.Grifol was asked about the three expected additions to the White Sox front office after Tuesday’s 4-3 loss to the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park.“I think (general manager) Chris (Getz) has assembled a really good team around him,” Grifol said.MLB.com was first to report Tuesday night that Barfield would be joining the Sox as an assistant general manager. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale was first to report Bannister’s role in pitching development and Watson in player personnel.Barfield, 40, is director of player development for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He played four major-league seasons (2006-09) as a second baseman for San Diego and Cleveland.“I met Josh not too long ago; he was extremely impressive,” Grifol said. “Great presence. Just a really good demeanor. A smart guy.R...

Boston man held without bail, charged with crushing Charlestown woman’s skull

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:58 GMT

A heavyset man shorter than 6 feet tall who likes to go by the name “Tank” also allegedly likes to beat women, according to Boston prosecutors.Terry “Tank” Robinson Jr., 33, of Boston, is being held without bail following a dangerousness hearing in Charlestown Wednesday.Robinson is charged with assault and battery causing serious bodily injury and armed assault to murder after he allegedly bludgeoned a woman with an unknown object causing her to bleed for days, according to the Suffolk District Attorney’s office. A portion of the woman’s skull had to be removed and she now wears a helmet to protect further injury to her brain.“This is a bizarre and concerning incident. It is miraculous that the victim is alive after suffering such a violent and traumatic injury without receiving immediate medical care,” Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden said in a Wednesday statement. I commend the first responders for recognizing the victim’s situation so quickly, and the Boston police for tracking down the p...

Google Maps directs man off collapsed bridge, lawsuit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:58 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. — The family of a North Carolina man who died after driving his car off a collapsed bridge while following Google Maps directions is suing the technology giant for negligence, claiming it had been informed of the collapse but failed to update its navigation system.Philip Paxson, a medical device salesman and father of two, drowned Sept. 30, 2022, after his Jeep Gladiator plunged into Snow Creek in Hickory, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Wake County Superior Court. Paxson was driving home from his daughter’s ninth birthday party through an unfamiliar neighborhood when Google Maps allegedly directed him to cross a bridge that had collapsed nine years prior and was never repaired.“Our girls ask how and why their daddy died, and I’m at a loss for words they can understand because, as an adult, I still can’t understand how those responsible for the GPS directions and the bridge could have acted with so little regard for human life,” his wife, Alicia Paxson, s...

Tobin Bridge’s future up in the air; MassDOT to study potential replacement

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:58 GMT

After years of repairs to the Tobin Bridge, MassDOT has started discussing whether the structure will be viable for future generations.The agency will be releasing a request for proposals on Friday “to procure a transportation planning and engineering consultant team to develop and evaluate options for the eventual replacement” of the bridge, according to acting Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt.Since opening in 1950, the 2-mile bridge has carried traffic over the Mystic River between Boston and Chelsea, and repair projects have become increasingly commonplace, some leading to lane closures.“Repairs are not a permanent solution,” Tibbits-Nutt told the MassDOT Board of Directors on Wednesday. “That’s (why) we are releasing the RFP for a planning and engineering team to do a study which is intended to help us think and gather perspective on the bridge’s future, while it’s still in good working order.”Wednesday’s board meeting marked Tibbits-Nutt’s first as acting secretary,...

First Bob Ross TV painting, completed in a half an hour, goes on sale for nearly $10 million

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:58 GMT

By MARK VANCLEAVE and SCOTT McFETRIDGE (Associated Press)MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — What would Bob Ross think?The artist who brought painting to the people, with works completed for PBS viewers in less than a half-hour with little more than a large bristle brush, putty knife and plenty of encouragement, certainly wouldn’t have envisioned one of his works going up for sale for nearly $10 million.But that’s the price a Minneapolis gallery is asking for “A Walk in the Woods,” the first of more than 400 paintings that Ross produced on-air for his TV series “The Joy of Painting.”“It is season one, episode one of what you would call the rookie card for Bob Ross,” Ryan Nelson, who owns the gallery, Modern Artifact, said of the work created in the show’s debut, which aired Jan. 11, 1983.Growing up in a small town, Nelson said he was introduced to art through Ross’ show and loves his paintings. He doesn’t expect a quick sale giv...