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Investors buying up homes in Massachusetts at red-hot pace: report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:20 GMT

An investor purchased one in every five homes sold between 2004 and 2018 across Greater Boston, a recent finding that housing advocates say is not surprising and one that confirms what they’ve seen anecdotally in their communities over the past decade.The Metropolitan Area Planning Council released a report this week, dubbed “Homes for Profit: Speculation and Investment in Greater Boston,” showing that investors accounted for 21% of total home sales in the region during the period.Roughly 87% of the transactions involved single-family homes and condominiums, with investor activity increasing from 16% of purchases in 2004 to 23% in 2018, the report found.The number of housing units being flipped over in less than two years came as a surprise to MAPC Executive Director Marc Draisen. Researchers found that large and institutional investors flipped nearly a quarter of single-family homes and a fifth of two-family homes that they purchased, compared to rates of just 8 and 9%, respectivel...

Push for professional soccer stadium in Everett dropped from Beacon Hill budget bill

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:20 GMT

A push to develop a soccer stadium in Everett stalled out on Beacon Hill Thursday after state lawmakers chopped a proposal from a multi-billion budget bill, putting ice on an idea that had drawn support from Robert Kraft.House lawmakers pushed for the proposal last year and the Senate included language connected to a professional soccer stadium in the city in a nearly $3.1 billion supplemental budget this session that has since become the subject of a procedural battle on Beacon Hill.But as Democratic negotiators announced a deal on the budget bill, it became clear that the soccer stadium language was dropped. House budget writer Rep. Aaron Michlewitz said lawmakers had a “lot of unanswered questions” about what environmental impacts a potential stadium could have on the city.“There was a lot of confusion coming from the environmental groups. Some said they supported it, some said they were against it. I think we still have a lot of things to iron out and flush out,” Michlewitz said...

Entertainment consultant killed by woman who stalked his film director friend, prosecutors say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:20 GMT

By STEFANIE DAZIO and CHRISTOPHER WEBER (Associated Press)LOS ANGELES (AP) — A high-profile entertainment marketing consultant was targeted by a woman who had been stalking and threatening a film director friend of his before she fatally shot him after her forcing her way inside his Los Angeles home, according to prosecutors and court records obtained Thursday.This week’s slaying of Michael Latt sent shockwaves through Hollywood as the suspect faces charges of murder and burglary. Latt, 33, had worked on projects with filmmakers including Ryan Coogler and Ava DuVernay, as well as rap artist Common.He was pronounced dead Monday at a hospital. Prosecutors allege that Jameelah Elena Michl, 36, knocked on his home’s door and forced herself inside once it was open. She had sought out Latt’s home “after she targeted him for being friends with a woman she had been stalking,” the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release T...

Las Vegas man accused of threats against Jewish U.S. senator and her family is indicted

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:20 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A federal grand jury has indicted a Las Vegas man arrested last month on suspicion of making antisemitic threats against U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen and her family, along with the family of another U.S. senator, according to court records.Rosen, a Democrat from Nevada, is Jewish and has maintained a vocal pro-Israel stance, including support for U.S. aid to Israel. Though the indictment doesn’t identify her specifically, Rosen’s office confirmed to The Associated Press the allegation that she and her family were targeted.John Miller, 43, is charged with one count of threatening a federal official and two counts of influencing, impeding or retaliating against a federal official by threatening a family member. Miller is also accused of threatening the family of another unnamed U.S. senator, according to court records.The public defender representing Miller did not return an email request for comment on Thursday. Miller allegedly made several threatening calls...

Peruvian rainforest defender from embattled Kichwa tribe shot dead in river attack

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:20 GMT

LIMA, Peru (AP) — A Kichwa tribal leader has been shot to death in an area of the Peruvian rainforest that’s seen high tensions between Indigenous people and illegal loggers.Quinto Inuma Alvarado was attacked as he was returning from presenting at a workshop for women environmental leaders in the San Martín region of the Amazon on Wednesday, his son, Kevin Arnol Inuma Mandruma, told The Associated Press in a phone interview. Peruvian police confirmed his death.“He was travelling in a boat,” when assailants blocked the river with a tree trunk, Kevin Inuma said. “There were many shots fired.”The boat carried six people, said Kevin Inuma, including his mother, brother, sister and uncles. Quinto Inuma was shot three times in the back and once in the head, and Kevin Inuma’s aunt was wounded too, he said.Kevin Inuma was not on the trip. He said his brother and mother recounted the attack to him.Quinto Inuma had received numerous death threats over illegal logging, said Kevin Inuma.The log...

City Council in Portland, Oregon, approves $2.6M for police body cameras

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:20 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The City Council in Portland, Oregon, approved $2.6 million for permanent police body cameras in a unanimous vote, a crucial step toward the city no longer being among the last major U.S. police agencies without the technology.All of the city’s roughly 800 uniformed officers who interact with the public will have body-worn cameras by the summer, after training and further negotiations with the police union, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Wednesday. But only around 300 patrol officers will be required to wear them routinely on their shifts, the news outlet reported. Roughly 500 other sworn members, including detectives and sergeants, will put on their cameras when they interact with the public, said police spokesperson Mike Benner.The City Council’s approval for the cameras came after a 60-day pilot program that lasted from August to October and equipped 150 officers with cameras. The vote makes the pilot program permanent.Among the 50 largest pol...

Young humpback whale leaps out of Seattle bay, dazzling onlookers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:20 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — A humpback whale visiting the waters off Seattle dazzled onlookers Thursday morning with several breaches in they bay just beyond the city’s downtown area.The whale has been spotted for the last three days swimming around Elliott Bay. But on Thursday, the whale breached for about 40 minutes, also performing several pectoral fin slaps and dives.Local whale watching groups have identified the young humpback as the calf of an adult female with the identification BCY0995, better known as “Smiley.”It’s not unusual for humpback whales to visit the waters off Seattle as they migrate along the West Coast.Smiley’s last calf, Chip, was fatally struck by a Washington state ferry in 2020, according to the Canadian group Vancouver Island Whale Watch. On Thursday, personnel from Soundwatch Boater Education Program shadowed the whale for most of its time in the bay to alert other vessels of it. Jeff Hogan, co-coordinator of the program’s Seattle branch, said he cou...

Myanmar’s military is losing ground against coordinated nationwide attacks, buoying opposition hopes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:20 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — A major offensive against Myanmar’s military-run government by an alliance of three militias of ethnic minorities in the northeast has been moving at lightning speed, inspiring resistance forces around the country to launch new attacks. With Myanmar’s military falling back on almost every front, hope is rising among opponents that this could be a turning point in the struggle to oust the army leaders who toppled democratically elected Aung San Suu Kyi almost three years ago.“The current operation is a great opportunity to change the political situation in Myanmar,” said Le Kyar Win, spokesperson for the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, or MNDAA, one of the three militias known as the Three Brotherhood Alliance that launched the offensive on Oct. 27.Caught by surprise by the attack dubbed Operation 1027, the military has lost more than 180 outposts and strongpoints, including four major bases and four economically important border crossings with China.Both si...

Montana’s first-in-the-nation ban on TikTok blocked by judge who says it’s unconstitutional

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:20 GMT

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana’s first-in-the-nation law banning the video-sharing app TikTok in the state was blocked Thursday, one month before it was set to take effect, by a federal judge who called the measure unconstitutional. The ruling delivered a temporary win for the social media company that has argued Montana’s Republican-controlled Legislature went “completely overboard” in trying to regulate the app. A final ruling will come at a later date after the legal challenge moves through the courts. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy said the ban “oversteps state power and infringes on the Constitutional right of users and businesses” while singling out the state for its fixation on purported Chinese influence. “Despite the state’s attempt to defend (the law) as a consumer protection bill, the current record leaves little doubt that Montana’s legislature and Attorney General were more interested in targeting China’s ostensible role in TikTok than with protecting...

Dave Chappelle makes appearance at Capitol

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:20 GMT

(The Hill) — Comedian Dave Chappelle was seen smiling for snapshots with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle while paying a visit to Capitol Hill on Thursday.The star met with Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands) while touching down at the Capitol.“Chapelle is interested in politics and his meeting with members delved into this interest along with a discussion of current events,” a Plaskett spokesperson confirmed. Trump spokesperson: DeSantis ‘so desperate for attention’ he’s debating ‘Grade A loser’ Gavin Newsom The comedian, who was criticized in 2021 for including potentially transphobic material in his Netflix special, “The Closer,” was also seen posing for photos with House members.Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) posted an image on X, formerly known as Twitter, of herself smiling broadly alongside Chappelle and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.).“Just three people who understand that there’s only two genders,” Boebert wrote with a smiling face emoji. Boebert’s offic...