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Ticker: Stocks end 2023 up 20% for the year; StonehamBank’s education link; Magnetic ball recall

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:00 GMT

The S&P 500 closed out 2023 with a gain of more than 24% and the Dow finished near a record high, as easing inflation, a resilient economy and the prospect of lower interest rates buoyed investors, particularly in the last two months of the year.StonehamBank’s education linkStonehamBank is offering free financial literacy education program to students and residents in Essex, Middlesex and Suffolk counties.Students at 11 schools and the surrounding communities have free access to Banzai. Through the Banzai online courses, individuals try out managing a budget, saving for a goal,and dealing with unexpected financial pitfalls. Teachers are able to easily monitor and gradestudent progress remotely. Other resources, which include articles, calculators, andpersonalized coaching sessions, explaining everything from the basics of filing your taxes tohow health insurance works. These resources are available atstonehambank.teachbanzai.com/wellness.Teachers interested in using Banzai...

Massachusetts gets more than $4 million for new lobster fishing gear to protect right whales, other measures

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:00 GMT

The feds are shellin’ out millions of dollars to the Bay State for new lobster fishing gear in the hopes of protecting North Atlantic right whales.The Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Marine Fisheries on Friday announced that it will receive more than $4.6 million from a congressional appropriation to boost DMF’s conservation program for the endangered North Atlantic right whale.DMF will use part of this funding from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to provide new lobster fishing gear that’s designed to protect right whales.Massachusetts near-shore waters host up to 80% of the total population of North Atlantic right whales in late winter and early spring — as the whales migrate north and feed in the nutrient-rich waters of Cape Cod Bay and Massachusetts Bay. The two greatest threats for the endangered species are entanglements in fishing gear and vessel strikes, according to advocates.“We have a special respo...

Lucas: Echoes of Trump in Albania

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:00 GMT

He is the country’s former controversial president who is running to lead his country again.But the man he is running against wants to put him in prison before he can get a chance to do so.No, we are not talking about President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.Instead, we are talking about Albania, where, in imitation of the U.S., Prime Minister Edi Rama and the reigning Socialist political establishment want to keep Sali Berisha, the Donald Trump of the Balkans, from returning to power, and will do anything to stop him.Rather than face Berisha, a former president and prime minister, in an upcoming election, Rama, with the help of the Biden administration, is seeking to wreck him — including keeping him off the ballot — the way Biden is doing to Trump.Last week, to the jeers of Berisha’s minority Democrat Party in the Parliament, Rama’s majority Socialist voted to strip Berisha of his parliamentary and legal immunity after he was charged with corruption.The move pav...

Top 10 local Boston Herald stories of 2023, as chosen by readers [+links]

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:00 GMT

The Herald looks back today at the local stories readers made the top-performing of the year based on pageviews. Why start with local news? Because we agree, 617 is engraved in our souls.We’ve carved off political news for another roundup, but these stories below are the ones you hit on most because they touch your lives. Sharks on the Cape, smoke from wildfires, betrayal by a Red Sox veteran, and the erosion of a once-great Harvard University are the local stories you wanted to read.The Herald will never quit reporting on what’s local and we’ll give it to you without the spin. As our billboard once stated: If you want it sugar-coated, buy a donut. All tips welcome to [email protected].) Tim Wakefield, wife, both battling cancer after Curt Schilling leaks sad news. This story from late September, written days before Tim’s death, was easily the top local story of the year. It’s about wanting to die with dignity and the betrayal we face even in ...

Which airline has been the most reliable in 2023?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:00 GMT

By JT Genter | NerdWalletAlthough U.S. airlines this year hadn’t experienced the kinds of mass cancellations and operational breakdowns that plagued the industry in 2022, carriers continued to struggle. Part of that is due to a record number of people flying. According to data from the Transportation Security Administration, 2023 has seen some of the highest-ever single-day numbers of people passing through airport security checkpoints.NerdWallet reviewed data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics about on-time percentages, cancellation rates, flight diversions, mishandled baggage, tarmac delays and involuntary denied boardings to determine the most reliable — and least reliable — domestic airlines in the U.S. in 2023.Here’s a look at performance in each category of the data.On-time percentageOn-time percentage is the headline statistic for airline performance, since whether a flight is late, and by how much, affects every passenger on the flight. The BTS defines ...

Patriots-Bills injury report: Ezekiel Elliott among 5 Patriots cleared for Sunday

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:00 GMT

The Patriots cleared five injured players to play Friday and listed nine others as questionable for this weekend’s game at Buffalo.Running back Ezekiel Elliott, left tackle Trent Brown, linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley, wide receiver Kayshon Boutte and safety Jalen Mills are all available to play after missing at least portions of practice this week. Mills cleared concussion protocol after missing entire practices Wednesday and Thursday.Only wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster has been ruled out.In Buffalo, the Bills listed four players as questionable. Both teams’ complete injury reports are below.PATRIOTSOutWR JuJu Smith-Schuster, AnkleQuestionableS Kyle Dugger, IllnessS Jabrill Peppers, HamstringDL Christian Barmore, KneeDB Myles Bryant, ChestTE Hunter Henry, KneeLB Anfernee Jennings, KneeCB Jonathan Jones, KneeSpT Matthew Slater, HamstringCB Shaun Wade, HipBUFFALORelated ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots extra points: What Bill Belichick has seen from...

Election 2024: What to know about state supreme court races

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:00 GMT

By Christine Fernando and Andrew DeMillo, Associated PressCHICAGO (AP) — The 2024 elections will be dominated by the presidential contest and the battle for control of Congress, but another series of races is shaping up to be just as consequential.Crucial battles over abortion, gerrymandering, voting rights and other issues will take center stage in next year’s elections for state supreme court seats — 80 of them in 33 states.The races have emerged as some of the most hotly contested and costliest contests on the ballot since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion. The decision shifted the abortion debate to states, creating a “new era” in state supreme court elections, said Douglas Keith, senior counsel in the judiciary program at the Brennan Center for Justice, which tracks spending in judicial races.“We have seen attention on state supreme court elections like never before and money in these races like never before,” Kei...

Lack of snow and cold puts damper on some Quebec winter activities

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:00 GMT

MONTREAL — A lack of snow is playing havoc with some of Quebec’s traditional winter activities, but there’s hope that Mother Nature will provide a much needed blast in the coming weeks to change that.Southern Quebec was hit with its first major snowstorm of the season in early December, only to watch rainy, warm weather wash away the more than 30 centimetres that fell. With it went plans to open ice rinks in Montreal and across a large number of Quebec municipalities. On Friday, there were about half a dozen outdoor rinks open in Montreal, all of them refrigerated. Montreal would normally have about 200 outdoor ice rinks open at this time of year.“We don’t have the criteria to open ice rinks,” said Philippe Sabourin, a spokesman for the City of Montreal.Outdoor rinks require at least 10 centimetres of snow on top of grass, and three consecutive days of temperatures not rising above -5 C; ice rinks on a concrete or an asphalt base also need three days of...

Federal agency orders recall of hazardous magnetic-ball kits sold at Walmart.com

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal agency on Friday recalled toys sold at Walmart.com containing powerful magnetic balls that could pose a hazard to children if swallowed. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said the balls, which are 5 millimeters (0.2 inches) in diameter, exceed federal standards for magnetic strength and could clump together to block parts of the digestive system when ingested.The commission said no injuries had been reported from use of this particular product, called the Relax 5mm Science Kit. It contained 216 small, multicolored magnetic balls with what the CPSC called a “strong magnetic flux.” The agency said that ingested magnets could attach to each other or other metal objects, potentially leading to perforations, twisting and/or blockage of the intestines, infection, blood poisoning and death.The CPSC estimates that 2,400 magnet ingestions were treated in hospital emergency rooms between 2017 and 2021 and said the agency is aware of seven deaths related to ...

West Virginia starts distributing funds from the settlement of opioid lawsuits

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:26:00 GMT

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia is issuing the first checks from a fund established by the settlement of opioid lawsuits in the state, which has by far the nation’s highest drug overdose death rate.The Kanawha County Commission said Thursday it received a $2.9 million check and plans to discuss how it will be spent at its next meeting on Jan. 11. Last week the Mercer County Commission received $1.9 million.The distribution is part of a memorandum of understanding that was previously adopted by state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and counsel for West Virginia cities and counties. According to the agreement, the board in charge of around $1 billion in funds will distribute just under three-fourths of the settlement money, and a fourth will go directly to local communities and 3% will remain in trust.Morrisey told the Kanawha County Commission that his office and the state auditor’s office have formed a partnership to ensure that the settlement funds are used properly....