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Earthquake rattles Queens, may have caused Roosevelt Island explosions

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:19:08 GMT

Thomas Tracy | New York Daily News (TNS)NEW YORK — An earthquake rattled parts of Queens Tuesday morning and may have sparked a series of underground explosions reported on Roosevelt Island, city officials said.“The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reports that a 1.7 magnitude earthquake has occurred near Astoria, Queens,” Notify NYC reported. “The earthquake has reportedly been felt in the New York City area, but there are no reports of injuries or damage in New York City at this time.”Residents of both Manhattan and Queens reported hearing multiple explosions just before 6 a.m. centered on Main St. in Roosevelt Island  just south of the Roosevelt Island Bridge to Queens. Callers reported that at least one building near the explosion shook, an FDNY spokesman said.Firefighters arrived and found no flames and no one injured. The explosion, which may be electrical, appeared to have occurred underground.The FDNY handed the job over to Con Edison, which was investigating. Resident...

Matt Poitras returning to Bruins earlier than expected after Canada eliminated

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:19:08 GMT

Canada’s pain should be the Bruins’ gain.Team Canada was upset by Czechia in quarterfinals of the World Junior Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden on Tuesday morning, 3-2, on a deflected goal with 11 seconds left in the third period, knocking Canada out. That means 19-year-old rookie Matt Poitras will be released from Team Canada sooner than expected. UMass goalie Michael Hrabel (28 saves) was the hero for the Czechs.Coach Jim Montgomery told reporters in Columbus that he suspects Poitras will return to Boston sometime on Wednesday. The B’s, who play the Blue Jackets on Tuesday night, play on Thursday at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins but that would seem like quick of a turnaround. Saturday’s game at the Garden against the Tampa Bay Lightning is a more reasonable target date for a return.“How soon he plays, again, that’s up for discussion because it just happened,” said Montgomery.Poitras had two goals and two assists in five games in the tourname...

Red Sox claim right-hander off waivers from Kansas City Royals

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:19:08 GMT

The Red Sox further bolstered their pitching depth on Tuesday, claiming right-hander Max Castillo off waivers from the Kansas City Royals.The 24-year-old Castillo has appeared in 21 big league games, including seven with the Royals in 2023, and has posted a 5.43 career ERA over those outings. Last season he also made 22 appearances (21 starts) at Triple-A, posting a 4.58 ERA over 116 innings pitched.Currently Castillo is playing winter ball in Venezuela, and as of Tuesday afternoon he has gone 5-0 with a 2.72 ERA in 49.2 innings for Cardenales de Lara.Originally signed as an international free agent by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2015, Castillo debuted for the Blue Jays in 2022 before heading to Kansas City as part of the Whit Merrifield trade. With Boston he projects as a depth arm who will have a chance to compete for a spot at the back end of the bullpen and who could move back and forth between the majors and Triple-A as needed.Boston’s 40-man roster is now at 40.

Michael Cohen can’t hold Donald Trump liable for retaliatory imprisonment, appeals court says

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:19:08 GMT

By LARRY NEUMEISTER (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Cohen can’t hold his former boss, ex-president Donald Trump, liable because he was jailed for what he claimed was retaliation for writing a tell-all memoir, an appeals court said Tuesday.The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said in an order that it would not revive a lawsuit that a lower-court judge had tossed out because the law did not seem to provide a damages remedy for most claims that someone was jailed in retaliation for their criticisms of a president.A three-judge panel concluded Cohen already obtained relief by getting a judge to order his release from imprisonment to home confinement several weeks after he was abruptly put behind bars when the government claimed he violated severe restrictions on his public communications. It said the law did not provide an outlet for more relief than that.Cohen served over a year of a three-year sentence in federal prison after pleading guilty in 2018...

Democrat Dylan Fernandes raises $83K in bid for Plymouth and Barnstable Senate seat

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:19:08 GMT

Falmouth Democrat Rep. Dylan Fernandes said Tuesday he raised a whopping $83,664 in December, the first month of his campaign for a South Shore and Cape Cod Senate seat where the incumbent is not running for reelection.Fernandes said he received the cash from 350 donors in four weeks after he announced his bid for the Plymouth and Barnstable District, which Sen. Susan Moran, a Democrat, said she will not seek reelection to as she pursues an elected county post.Fernandes said he is “deeply humbled” by the support he received.“It shows early support for our campaign to bring new energy and experienced leadership to make our communities a more affordable and vibrant place to live,” he said in a statement.Details of Fernandes’ December fundraising haul were not immediately available on the state’s campaign finance website.The fourth-term state representative drew the endorsement of Gov. Maura Healey last month, who touted Fernandes as a politician focused on affordable...

Man shot in back in Little Italy

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:19:08 GMT

SAN DIEGO — A man was shot in the back early Tuesday morning in Little Italy, according to San Diego police.Around 2:30 a.m., SDPD received a report of the shooting near the intersection of W Grape Street and W State Street.Upon arrival at the scene, officers found the victim awake and breathing. According to SDPD, he was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of his injuries, which are not considered to be life-threatening. One injured after stabbing in Gaslamp Quarter The suspect is believed to have fled the scene. No description has been gathered by authorities.The circumstances that led to the shooting are under investigation. SDPD told FOX 5 that investigators believed this incident could have stemmed from another one a few weeks ago, although it remains unclear at this time.Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact SDPD or to remain anonymous, Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

Proposed merger of New Mexico, Connecticut energy companies ends; deal valued at more than $4.3B

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:19:08 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Officials with New Mexico’s largest electric utility said Tuesday that a proposed multibillion-dollar merger with a U.S. subsidiary of global energy giant Iberdrola has ended.Under the proposal, Connecticut-based Avangrid would have acquired PNM Resources and its two utilities — Public Service Co. of New Mexico and Texas New Mexico Power.The all-cash transaction was valued at more than $4.3 billion and would have opened the door for Iberdrola and Avangrid in a state where more wind and solar power could be generated and exported to larger markets.“We are greatly disappointed with Avangrid’s decision to terminate the merger agreement and its proposed benefits to our customers and communities,” PNM president and CEO Pat Vincent-Collawn said in a statement.PNM officials previously said the proposed multimillion-dollar merger with Avangrid would have helped create jobs, serve utility customers and boost energy efficiency projects in New Mexico.They said being ba...

North Carolina presidential primary candidates have been finalized; a Trump challenge is on appeal

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:19:08 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s election board finalized on Tuesday the candidates for the state’s March 5 presidential primaries, leaving President Joe Biden as the lone Democrat for the job on ballots and former President Donald Trump among the Republican competitors. The five-member State Board of Elections voted unanimously to stick with the candidate lists provided by the state’s Democratic, Republican and Libertarian parties last month. The board had given initial approval to those names at its Dec. 19 meeting, when members also agreed to reconvene Tuesday to consider additional names before ballots are printed.Board officials said that five additional people had unsuccessfully asked to join the presidential primaries. They included U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, author Marianne Williamson and media personality Cenk Uygur for the Democrats and Jill Stein for the Green Party. A board attorney said Tuesday it was unclear which primary another person, Luis Lavin...

Business group urges Ottawa to start charm offensive on trade ahead of U.S. election

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:19:08 GMT

OTTAWA — The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is calling on Ottawa to conduct another NAFTA-style charm offensive to defend Canada’s trade interests in the U.S. ahead of November’s presidential election.The group represents businesses of various sizes across Canada, and says now is the time for a co-ordinated outreach campaign by the federal, provincial and municipal governments to protect cross-border trade.That campaign would involve private businesses and aim to convince Americans that Canada is a boon to the U.S. economy, ahead of the scheduled review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement in 2026.The chamber says that Washington has been treating its relationship with Canada as transactional, and it argues the looming election will only encourage politicians to propose more protectionist policies that would sideline Canada.When former president Donald Trump threatened to end the NAFTA agreement that had governed U.S. trade with Canada and Mexico since 1994, Ottawa...

Calgary home sales outpace long-term trends in 2023 as migration fuels demand

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:19:08 GMT

CALGARY — The Calgary Real Estate Board says the city saw 1,366 home sales in December, a 13.8 per cent increase compared with the same month a year earlier as the number of homes that changed hands in 2023 outpaced long-term trends and activity prior to the pandemic.There were 1,248 newly listed units last month, up 21 per cent compared with December 2022, but the board says housing demand remained relatively high thanks to strong migration levels as inventory declined 2.5 per cent.CREB chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie says supply levels were low compared to demand throughout 2023, resulting in stronger than expected price growth.The unadjusted home benchmark price at the end of the year stood at $570,100, down around $2,600 from the previous month, but 10.4 per cent higher than December 2022.The board says the detached market saw the most significant decline in sales activity in 2023 at nearly 20 per cent.Apartment-style properties were the only type to report an annual sales gain,...