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Maine bars Trump from ballot as US Supreme Court weighs states' authority

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:20:50 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s Democratic secretary of state on Thursday removed former President Donald Trump from the state’s presidential primary ballot under the Constitution’s insurrection clause, becoming the first election official to take action unilaterally as the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to decide whether Trump remains eligible to return to the White House.The decision by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows follows a ruling earlier this month by the Colorado Supreme Court that booted Trump from the ballot there under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. That decision has been stayed until the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether Trump is barred by the Civil War-era provision, which prohibits those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office. Donald Trump currently slated to appear on Colorado ballots The Trump campaign said it would appeal Bellows' decision to Maine's state courts, and Bellows suspended her ruling until that court system rules on the case. In the end, ...

Marshall Fire survivors still waiting for Xcel Energy to turn power back on

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:20:50 GMT

BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — At the top of Spring Drive off South Boulder Road, a majestic view of Boulder and the Flatirons remains obscured by construction vehicles.The view is what drew Roger and Naomi Salaman to build a home here in the 1950s — a home they remained at until two years ago, when the Marshall Fire destroyed everything. Local governments sue Xcel Energy over Marshall Fire "My brother said, 'OK, you have 10 minutes to get out, get in the car,' and they went, said Nancy Brace, their daughter. "And they took the car and the clothes on their back just like so many other people did. At least they got out with their lives."Brace said her parents purchased a pre-fabricated home from Minnesota and shipped it here in May. But the home, now sitting on a finished foundation, remains unfinished inside.That's because according to Brace, Xcel Energy still has not connected power to the home, and they need that power to finish construction."They had to rework how the...

Barry Goudreau revisits Boston & beyond

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:20:50 GMT

If you saw the band Boston in its ‘70s heyday you’ll know they had two killer guitarists, not just one. The one that you can still see up close at a club gig is Barry Goudreau.Goudreau left the superstar band in 1980, and in recent years he’s arguably been the most visible member of Boston’s classic lineup. He led two recording bands, RTZ and Orion the Hunter, and worked extensively with fellow Boston alums Brad Delp and Sib Hashian (both now deceased). There’ll be plenty of Boston in the set when his current band the Engine Room plays City Winery on Saturday. But the band has two albums worth of solid original songs to draw from as well. And they also do some cover tunes, including a couple (from Joe Walsh’s original band the James Gang) that Boston did in the very early days.“We’ve had a good time making music with Engine Room- – The first record we did was more looking back at my blues roots, and the second was more of a rock record,” he said this week. “The influences you ...

Sigaud: Union revival not on table, despite ’23 wins

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:20:50 GMT

There’s no denying that unions notched impressive victories this year, including substantial increases in compensation for auto workers, actors, screenwriters, airline pilots and delivery drivers. Regarding work days lost, union strikes in 2023 were the largest in 40 years — big enough to affect the overall job market.But it would be premature to declare a resurgence of the U.S. labor movement or to argue that most workers would have benefitted from one.The historical trendline is unmistakable: In 2022, one in 10 U.S. workers belonged to a union, down from one in seven in 1996 and one in five in 1983, when the first comparable data were collected. The decline of union membership has been remarkably steady over the last four decades.Moreover, the latest data show that unionization is increasingly concentrated in the government sector, especially local services like K-12 education and public safety. Only 6% of private-sector workers are union members.Another sign that unions are a wan...

Chicago Bulls’ Lonzo Ball expected to start running in January: ‘The pain that he was experiencing has been eliminated’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:20:50 GMT

Lonzo Ball is expected to begin running again in January as the next step of his nearly two-year-long recovery process from a knee injury.Ball returned to Chicago last week to meet with Bulls staff and outline a plan for the next steps of his recovery after undergoing a rare cartilage transplant in March.The Bulls received a $10.2 million disabled player exception for Ball in July and do not anticipate he will return to the court in a game until the 2024-25 season. But coach Billy Donovan said the team has been bolstered by Ball’s response to his third knee procedure.Ball has been able to progress with weight and mobility training and stationary shooting while recovering in Los Angeles over the past six months. Most importantly, Donovan said Ball is pain-free at this point in his recovery after suffering chronic pain in everyday activities for the first year after the injury.If Ball does not experience pain when he returns to running in January, he will be closer to a return t...

The 5 Best Rock Albums of the year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:20:50 GMT

This year the annual calls of “rock is dead” and “the album is dead” seem a bit muted. Sure, there will always be bozos claiming “Pet Sounds” was the last great LP. But the indie press, a big chunk of the mainstream, and many Grammy voters disagree. Here are the five best rock — yup, take a wide view of rock — 2023.“Guts,” Olivia RodrigoOlivia Rodrigo has great ears. She came up on her parents’ Weezer albums, has a Tori Amos obsession, and knows the coolest guitar tones (check out Smashing Pumpkins nod in “Pretty Isn’t Pretty”). But her voice is better. She outgrew Disney at 17. On “Guts,” made when she was 19, Rodrigo has outgrown pop. Not pop hooks (she’s a hook maestro) but pop pleasantries. She can do authentic rage and sardonic rants at once, scream like Joan Jett, strip it bare like Adele. The album opens with: “I’m a perfect all-American bitch/With perfect all-American lips/And perfect all-American hips/I know my place/I know my place and this is it.” It closes with: “W...

The 10 Best Films of 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:20:50 GMT

Last January, “M3GAN” and “Cocaine Bear” were unleashed upon an unsuspecting world. In February, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” was a Marvel wake up call. Trouble ahead.The brilliant action-movie “John Wick: Chapter 4” rescued us from the fangs of “Renfield.” Modern day master of unease Ari Aster and his leading man Joaquin Phoenix faltered with “Beau Is Afraid,” although the film is a wonder.  In May, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” proved that Marvel fatigue was avoided if your writer-director was James Gunn. Netflix’s “The Mother” proved that people like watching Jennifer Lopez kick ass. The Disney magic disappeared with “The Little Mermaid,” the latest attempt to make a live-action version of a beloved Disney classic with Halle Bailey as Ariel. “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” were not just two of the best animated films of the year, they were two of the best. Warner Bros. June release “The Flash” has becom...

Lueken: When students leave, the funding stays

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:20:50 GMT

With 10 states enacting universal or near-universal school choice programs since the pandemic, it’s no surprise many are wondering how public schools will be impacted in the future.A chief concern perpetually levied against these programs, which allow families to receive a portion of their child’s per-pupil funding for K-12 education to access schools and other educational services outside the public system, is that they “drain” resources from public schools when students leave.But a look at the data show this criticism defies fiscal sense. In fact, public schools are actually better off when choice policies enter the picture.Choice programs lead to smaller class sizes, better fits between teachers and students, and better matches between students and their learning environment. This translates into more manageable classrooms for teachers and better learning environments for students.Academic research also shows public schools, and outcomes for students who remain in them, improve a...

Pipes: How Obamacare tax credits spike premiums

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:20:50 GMT

For the health insurance industry, Obamacare open enrollment, which started last month, is the most wonderful time of the year. Millions of Americans are signing up for plans on the exchanges. Each click of the “submit” button adds a fistful more dollars to insurers’ bottom line.Open enrollment comes complete with tax credits for lower-income enrollees. They’re supposed to make monthly premiums more affordable. But their biggest effect is the risk-free enrichment of insurance companies.The pursuit of profit in a competitive market is the driver of economic growth and innovation. But when government dictates the specifications for the product that can be sold — in this case, the details of insurance coverage — and then effectively guarantees a profit for compliance, the result isn’t competition and better service but entrenched rent-seekers protecting their turf from competitors. The bigger the subsidies for “premiums,” the greate...

Editorial: New Year’s resolutions for the Boston City Council

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:20:50 GMT

Michelle Wu’s administration announced Wednesday that there will be a “strong” police presence at this weekend’s annual First Night festivities.It’s what you do when you want to keep the city safe.Thank goodness that move didn’t need City Council approval.This year the council has honed dysfunction to a fine art. And while a new council will be sworn in within days, the slate isn’t totally fresh. There are new faces mixed among the incumbents, progressive councilors amid the moderate and more conservative. There is a chance for more division, as well as for unity. Time will tell.But to start things off on the right foot, we have a few resolutions that the council should heed for 2024.Remember who you work forThat would be the residents of Boston, not special interest groups, not an agenda. If this ideal had been adhered to, it’s unlikely the council would have whiffed on a $13M counter-terrorism grant.The vote was deadlocked, and the possibility of losi...