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3M tried to hide payments for China officials’ vacation, shopping sprees, SEC says

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:32:30 GMT

3M Co. will pay more than $6.5 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission allegations that it tried to hide payments to send Chinese government officials on overseas vacations and shopping sprees.The SEC claimed that 3M’s China subsidiary spent $1 million to send officials from state-owned health care facilities and their spouses to U.S. and Australian cities. The company paid for about 24 trips — which were ostensibly to attend educational events — between 2014 and 2017, according to the order.Employees of the Chinese unit sent “alternate itineraries” using private WeChat accounts or hand-delivered them to the officials, the SEC said Friday. They also asked the travelers “to keep the agenda hidden, and falsified internal compliance documents that affirmatively denied and/or omitted mention of the Tourism Activities that were planned as part of the overseas trip,” according to the complaint.3M-China employees tracked whether the travel junkets benefited their bottom line, ...

Questions linger after 2 women were shot at Guaranteed Rate Field during White Sox game

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:32:30 GMT

A shooting injured two women in the outfield seating area at Guaranteed Rate Field during Friday night’s White Sox game, Chicago police reported.A police spokesperson on social media said late Friday that the department would soon provide information on a “shooting incident,” and a news release was made available early Saturday.“This evening during the Chicago White Sox vs. Oakland Athletics game at Guaranteed Rate Field, a 42-year-old female victim sustained one gunshot wound to the leg. A 26-year-old female victim also sustained a graze wound to the abdomen,” the statement read. “The 42-year-old female was transported to University of Chicago Medical Center where she is listed in fair condition. The 26-year-old female refused medical attention.”Wounded spectators and witnesses were seated in Section 161, in the left outfield, either within or near the stadium’s bleacher section, according to a police report.The 42-year-old female was...

As Urban Outfitters sales struggle, the company is focusing on Anthropologie and Free People

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:32:30 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — Retailer Urban Outfitters saw sales decrease 12.6% year over year in the second quarter, according to the company’s recent quarterly report. While Urban Outfitters brand sales decreased, the total company URBN sales increased by 7.5% during that time. The company plans to boost investments in the Anthropologie and Free People groups, which are seeing growth.“There is still much work to be done to right the Urban ship,” chief executive officer at URBN, Richard A. Hayne, said in an earnings call Tuesday. “That work is underway but could take longer than we originally expected.”URBN, which opened its first store in West Philadelphia in 1970, is currently based at the Navy Yard in South Philadelphia. Brands in the URBN portfolio include Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, Terrain, Nuuly, and the company’s restaurant group known as Menus & Venues.There are at least six Urban Outfitter stores in Greater Boston, according to the company’s website, includi...

Howie Carr: Donald Trump’s mugshot a great addition to history of distinctive booking photos

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:32:30 GMT

Mugshots are like anything else — some people just instinctively know how to do ‘em right, others not so much.President Trump took a beautiful, perfect mugshot in Atlanta the other night.It got me to thinking about other memorable mugshots. I’ve been collecting them for decades, from all over New England.To commemorate POTUS’ instantly iconic shot, here are a few of my favorites, some of which impart lessons for anyone who might someday have the misfortune of being lugged.Gennaro Angiulo and Whitey BulgerThe bigger the hat, the bigger the hood. These are the two preeminent Boston mobsters of the late 20th century, in their early years — Gennaro “Jerry” Angiulo and Whitey Bulger.Jimmy FlemmiJimmy “the Bear” Flemmi could have been posing for one of those “This is your mind on drugs!” posters when this 1979 prison mugshot was taken. He was the brother of Stevie Flemmi. The Bear died at MCI-Norfolk a few months later — of a drug overdose.Myer Sherman and Francis McPartlandNever let ‘em ...

8 people shot during Boston’s J’ouvert celebrations; Boston police arrest two

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:32:30 GMT

Boston police arrested two suspects connected to a brazen Saturday morning shooting in Dorchester that left eight people with non-life threatening injuries, authorities said.Officers responded to multiple gunshots in the area of 10 Talbot Ave. at 7:43 a.m. just as people were celebrating the J’ouvert parade, which happens before the Caribbean Carnival later in the day, Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said. The shooting was not related to the parade, according to police, who said they recovered multiple weapons.Officers stationed at the parade rushed toward the gunfire and started applying tourniquets to the wounded, Cox said. The investigation into the shooting is in its early stages, Cox said, but police believe two groups may have had some form of “altercation.”“I just want to say to any bad actors who want to potentially come to any large gathering or crowd to do harm, that we have many, many officers out here and we will absolutely do all we can to make sure that yo...

US Marine killed in jet crash near MCAS Miramar identified

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:32:30 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A U.S. Marine who was killed in a jet crash near Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Thursday has been identified. Maj. Andrew ‘Simple Jack’ Mettler -- who was assigned to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing's Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron -- was piloting the F/A-18 Hornet that went down in a remote area east of Interstate 15.That information was confirmed by 1st Lt. Hudson Sadler with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing in Cherry Point, North Carolina. 7 San Diego-area companies ranked among ‘best employers’ in US: Forbes Mettler's squadron was participating in Service Level Training Exercise 5-23 at the time of the incident, U.S. Marine Corps officials confirmed. “I am deeply saddened to share the loss of Maj. Andrew ‘Simple Jack’ Mettler, a fellow Marine aviator who was honing his craft as a Hornet pilot and leader in his squadron, the Fighting Bengals," said 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW) Commanding General Maj. Gen. Scott Benedict. "I had the great honor of flying i...

Evacuated Hay River mayor says town in better shape than feared the night before

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:32:30 GMT

A town in the Northwest Territories recently evacuated due to a raging wildfire emerged “in much better condition” than anyone could have imagined only a day earlier when high winds and hot temperatures propelled the blaze close to its boundaries and forced fire crews and other non-essential workers to retreat, the community’s mayor said Saturday.In a statement posted online, Hay River Mayor Kandis Jameson said she and her dogs, along with soldiers and many fire support services workers, left her community on a Hercules transport aircraft bound for Edmonton on Friday night.Jameson said the departure took place under “grim circumstances,” but upon waking Saturday morning she said she found the town came through in much better condition than anyone expected.“Fire crews from over a dozen other communities with our own Hay River Fire Department completed drills day after day when time permitted to be ready for last night and the days to come,” J...

Community support fuels B.C. wildfire fight as residents come to grips with losses

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:32:30 GMT

The fire chief of Wilson’s Landing on the shores of Lake Okanagan says the wildfire moving down the mountain toward his community made an “unearthly” howling sound as it stirred up winds to become a “self-feeding beast.”Paul Zydowicz says his team had been monitoring the blaze and helping residents of nearby Traders Cove reduce fire risks around their homes, but once the flames crested the mountain and began burning downslope, they knew it was a “done deal.”He says the firefighters waited in Traders Cove until the “ember showers” started around 7 p.m. last Thursday, “and then it just exploded.”Zydowicz says he’s among 13 of 24 members of the Wilson’s Landing Fire Department who had lost their own homes by the time the blaze subsided.He says he and his wife plan to rebuild on their property and most of his crew members have expressed similar desires, although some may choose to leave the community that fluc...

Louisiana refinery fire mostly contained but residents worry about air quality

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:32:30 GMT

GARYVILLE, La. (AP) — Crews were still working to suppress flare-ups Saturday as a fire at a Louisiana oil refinery burned for a second day along the banks of the Mississippi River, while residents worried about health effects from the fumes and black smoke.Tests have so far found “non-detectable air quality impacts” from Friday’s massive fire, Marathon Patroleum said in a emailed statement Saturday. The state Department of Environmental Quality and a third-party contractor were conducing the tests.The company said two people were injured and 10 others evaluated for heat stress. The fire damaged two giant storage tanks for naphtha, a component in the production of gasoline and jet fuels.On Friday, orange flames belched a column of thick smoke over the facility in Garyville, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of New Orleans, forcing residents of the mostly rural area to evacuate within a 2-mile (3-kilometer) radius. “You look outside your house and the sky is black,” Hila...

A fire at a fueling station in Romania causes 2 explosions, killing at least 1 and injuring dozens

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:32:30 GMT

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A fire at a fueling station in Romania caused an explosion that killed at least one person and injured at least eight others Saturday, prompting an evacuation of the immediate area, authorities said. A second explosion at the station injured at least 26 firefighters, emergency officials said.The explosions happened at a fueling station that provides liquefied petroleum gas, a fuel used in household appliances and as a gasoline and diesel alternative in some vehicles. They took place in the town of Crevedia, around 30 kilometers (18 miles) northwest of Romania’s capital, Bucharest. Romania’s health minister, Alexandru Rafila, confirmed to local media that one person had died. Several burn victims had been transported to hospitals in Bucharest for treatment, at least one of whom suffered extensive injuries, he said. Romanian emergency rescue service SMURD said in a press release that a second explosion took place shortly after the first one. The h...