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Tag: Massachusetts

  • After Massachusetts cannabis worker died from asthma attack, state pushes marijuana industry to take extra safety steps – The Cannabist

    After Massachusetts cannabis worker died from asthma attack, state pushes marijuana industry to take extra safety steps – The Cannabist

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    After a Bay State cannabis worker suffered an asthma attack and died, the state Department of Public Health is pushing the local marijuana industry to take extra safety steps to prevent work-related asthma.

    A Trulieve Cannabis Corp. employee who was packaging ground cannabis into pre-rolls at the company’s Holyoke processing facility suffered an asthma attack and later died in the hospital last year. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigated, and the company later settled with OSHA.

    DPH and OSHA confirmed that the death of the 27-year-old production technician was the first known occupational asthma fatality in the U.S. cannabis workforce.

    Read the rest of this story on BostonHerald.com.

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  • Court Says Encore Boston Harbor Didn’t Shortchange or Mislead Customers

    Court Says Encore Boston Harbor Didn’t Shortchange or Mislead Customers

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    A Massachusetts consumer claimed that Encore Boston Harbor and its ownership group, Wynn Resorts, shortchanged its customers. However, the court sided with the casino.

    In a lawsuit filed in August 2019, Richard Schuster, who claims to be one of the casino’s first patrons, alleged that the property’s ticket redemption units had technical issues that didn’t properly disperse coins. Schuster also said that the coinless machines introduced shortly after the casino’s opening were unfair.

    The man alleged that Encore Boston Harbor shortchanged him on the 12 visits he made to the property, echoing other similar cases. Because of that, he accused the property of violating Massachusetts’ consumer protection laws and violating its contract.

    Wynn Says Schuster Was Fully Aware of How to Redeem His Tickets

    However, Wynn Resorts officials explained that the ticket redemption units dispense cash in the amount of the nearest whole dollar value. The coinless machines would then issue a ticket with the rest of the change that players can redeem at a cashier window.

    Schuster alleged that the coinless machines discourage consumers from seeking to redeem their change, allowing the casino to keep it. He himself would often throw away the tickets instead of redeeming them at a cashier window.

    Upon examining the facts, the court agreed that Wynn’s coinless machines did not breach any regulations. It also rejected Schuster’s claim that the machines were unethical. Judge Allison Burroughs noted that Schuster had all the information he needed to redeem his change, despite claiming that it should have been included on the tickets.

    Following the verdict, Schuster appealed the judge’s ruling to the First Court of Appeals. However, Wynn’s attorneys want the case dismissed, claiming that the consumer had not been subjected to any unfair or deceptive conduct.

    According to Wynn’s representatives, the plaintiff did not receive any misleading information and was, in fact, aware of how to redeem his tickets. The casino emphasized that Schuster ultimately chose to “do something with his TRU tickets other than what he was instructed to do.”

    The casino company added that its coinless TRU ticket machines are fully in line with Massachusetts’ standards.

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  • Ticker: Gas prices drop in Bay State; CCC names acting executive director – The Cannabist

    Ticker: Gas prices drop in Bay State; CCC names acting executive director – The Cannabist

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    Gas prices have dropped a nickel in the last week, hitting $3.64 in Massachusetts despite the war in Israel and the decision by OPEC countries earlier this year to ratchet down production. The price at the pump is a full 13 cents lower than just a month ago.

    “Domestic gasoline prices have continued their daily decline despite uncertainty and volatility gripping oil markets last week after the outbreak of war in Israel …” said AAA Northeast Senior Spokesperson Mark Schieldrop. “Meanwhile, domestic oil production reached an all-time high last week and demand remains tepid, which suggest further price drops at the pump in the weeks ahead.”

    Gas in Massachusetts is running about 4 cents higher than the national average, which came in at $3.60 per gallon in the most recent survey.

    Read the rest of this story on BostonHerald.com.

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    The Cannabist Network

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  • Probe into migrant flights from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard | 60 Minutes

    Probe into migrant flights from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard | 60 Minutes

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    Probe into migrant flights from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard | 60 Minutes – CBS News


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    Dozens of migrants were flown from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard last year. A sheriff investigating the flights claims it was more than just a political stunt; he believes it was a crime.

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  • Mass. faces calls for investment in medical marijuana research – NBC Boston – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

    Mass. faces calls for investment in medical marijuana research – NBC Boston – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

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    Ethos, a multi-state cannabis operator, wants to invest in medical marijuana research in Massachusetts, but there’s no place for it to go.

    The state has a license category for medical marijuana research facilities, but not a single entity has a state-approved operation up and running.

    Ethos CEO Gibran Washington, who already funds medical marijuana research in Pennsylvania at Thomas Jefferson University, says he’s just waiting for a similar opportunity here.

    “We would jump all over it to be a part of this kind of community,” Washington said. “This is the research capital of the world.”

    The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission has received eight marijuana research facility applications so far. One of them has reached the point of “provisionally approved,” but none are open yet.


    Cannabis Control Commission

    In Pennsylvania – since 2017 – and in other states, the medical research is well underway.

    “We need to be proactive and not reactive, and now’s the time,” said Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commissioner Kimberly Roy, who advocates for the medicinal benefits of marijuana.

    She says the fact the federal government still classifies marijuana as being as dangerous as heroin is the biggest challenge. Academic institutions that receive federal funding are reticent to embark on any research that might jeopardize that money.

    However, critics argue,…

    Original Author Link click here to read complete story..

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  • Biden creates New Deal-style American Climate Corps using executive power

    Biden creates New Deal-style American Climate Corps using executive power

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    Washington — After being thwarted by Congress, President Biden is using his executive authority to create a New Deal-style American Climate Corps that will serve as a major green jobs training program.

    In an announcement Wednesday, the White House said the program will employ more than 20,000 young adults who will build trails, plant trees, help install solar panels and do other work to boost conservation and help prevent catastrophic wildfires.

    The climate corps had been proposed in early versions of the sweeping climate law approved last year but was jettisoned amid strong opposition from Republicans and concerns about cost.

    Democrats and environmental advocacy groups never gave up on the plan and pushed Mr. Biden in recent weeks to issue an executive order authorizing what the White House now calls the American Climate Corps.

    “After years of demonstrating and fighting for a Climate Corps, we turned a generational rallying cry into a real jobs program that will put a new generation to work stopping the climate crisis,” said Varshini Prakash, executive director of the Sunrise Movement, an environmental group that has led the push for a climate corps.

    With the new corps “and the historic climate investments won by our broader movement, the path towards a Green New Deal is beginning to become visible,” Prakash said, referring to a comprehensive jobs-and-climate plan supported by many activists and some Democrats but ridiculed by Republicans as a socialist nightmare that would raise taxes and hamper the economy.

    Workers plant trees in open fields at Mount Tahoma High School, an area with only 11% tree cover, during a planting event with American Forests and the Tacoma Tree Foundation on Friday, April 14, 2023, in Tacoma, Washington.
    Workers plant trees in open fields at Mount Tahoma High School, an area with only 11% tree cover, during a planting event with American Forests and the Tacoma Tree Foundation on Friday, April 14, 2023, in Tacoma, Washington.

    Lindsey Wasson / AP


    Prakash, a frequent Biden critic, participated in a White House call on Tuesday promoting the new job corps, which comes as the president tries to strengthen his appeal to young voters in the 2024 campaign.

    The Sunrise Movement and other climate activists, including many young adults, were outraged this spring after Mr. Biden approved the huge Willow oil-drilling project in Alaska. Opponents say the project and others approved by Mr. Biden put his climate legacy at risk and are a breach of his 2020 campaign promise to stop new oil drilling on federal lands.

    Environmental activists welcome the move

    Those concerns were put aside, for now, as environmental activists hailed the new jobs program, which is modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps, created in the 1930s by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat, as part of the New Deal.

    “Young people nationwide are excited to see the launch of the American Climate Corps, a program which will put more than 20,000 young people on career pathways in the growing fields of clean energy, conservation and climate resilience,” said Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez, president of NextGen America, an organization that promotes education, registration and mobilization for voters age 18 to 35.

    “Young people are fighting for climate justice every day in their community, and now they have even more opportunity to continue this fight in their careers,” Ramirez said.

    More than 50 Democratic lawmakers, including Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, had also encouraged Biden to create a climate corps, saying in a letter on Monday that “the climate crisis demands a whole-of-government response at an unprecedented scale.”

    The lawmakers cited deadly heat waves in the Southwest and across the nation, as well as dangerous floods in New England and devastating wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui, among recent examples of climate-related disasters.

    What the American Climate Corps will do

    A federal climate corps will “prepare a whole generation of workers for good-paying union jobs in the clean economy” while helping to “fight climate change, build community resilience and support environmental justice,” the lawmakers wrote.

    The White House declined to say how much the program will cost or how it will be paid for, but Democrats proposed $10 billion for the climate corps in the climate bill before the provision was removed.

    Republicans have largely dismissed the climate corps as a do-gooder proposal that would waste money and could even take jobs away from other workers displaced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “We don’t need another FDR program, and the idea that this is going to help land management is a false idea as well,” Arkansas Rep. Bruce Westerman, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, said in 2021.

    Rep. Joe Neguse, a Colorado Democrat who has co-sponsored a climate corps bill, said it’s important to train the next generation of federal land managers, park rangers and other stewards of our natural resources. Neguse and other Democrats have said the program should pay “a living wage” while offering health care coverage and support for child care, housing, transportation and education.

    A key distinction between the original Civilian Conservation Corps and the new climate contingent is that, unlike the 1930s, the U.S. economy is not in an economic depression. The U.S. unemployment rate was 3.8% in August, low by historical measures.

    The new corps is also likely to be far more diverse than the largely white and male force created 90 years ago.

    White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi said the administration will work with at least six federal agencies to create the climate corps and will pair with at least 10 states. California, Colorado, Maine, Michigan and Washington have already begun similar programs, while five more are launching their own climate corps, Zaidi said: Arizona, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina and Utah.

    The initiative will provide job training and service opportunities to work on a wide range of projects that tackle climate change, including restoring coastal wetlands to protect communities from storm surges and flooding; deploying clean energy projects such as wind and solar power; managing forests to improve health and prevent catastrophic wildfires; and implementing energy efficient solutions to cut energy bills for consumers, the White House said.

    Creation of the climate corps comes as the Environmental Protection Agency launches a $4.6 billion grant competition for states, municipalities and tribes to cut climate pollution and advance environmental justice. The Climate Pollution Reduction Grants are funded by the 2022 climate law and are intended to drive community-driven solutions to slow climate change.

    The grants will help “communities so they can chart their own paths toward the clean energy future,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said Wednesday.

    The deadline for states and municipalities to apply is April 1, with grants expected in late 2024. The deadline for tribes and territories is May 1, with grants expected by early 2025.

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  • World War I-era plane flips over trying to land near museum in Massachusetts

    World War I-era plane flips over trying to land near museum in Massachusetts

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    A World War I-era plane flipped upside down onto its roof while trying to land near a military history museum in Massachusetts over the weekend, authorities said. The pilot was not injured.

    The Nieuport 28, a single-engine fighter aircraft flown during World War I, crashed at the end of the runway outside of the American Heritage Museum on Sunday, according to the Stow Fire Department. The museum is located about 30 miles west of Boston. 

    An initial investigation into the crash found that the plane’s front landing gear failed while its pilot, the only occupant, attempted to land at the museum’s airfield just after 11 a.m. on Sunday morning, the Stow Fire Department said in a post shared to Facebook. Their post included an image of the vintage aircraft turned over with its wheels up in a grassy field.

    Police Chief Michael Sallese and Fire Chief John Benoit report that the Stow Police and Fire Departments responded to a…

    Posted by Stow Fire Department on Sunday, September 17, 2023

    The pilot had removed himself from the plane before authorities arrived at the scene, Stow fire officials said. The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the crash.

    “The pilot did not report any injuries but was evaluated at the scene as a precaution,” the Facebook post said.

    The American Heritage Museum hosted a “World War I and Aviation Weekend” on Saturday and Sunday. The event series included flight demonstrations, history presentations and World War I reenactments, according to an online newsletter linked to the museum’s website. 

    “Featured aircraft this weekend include America’s oldest flying original warplane, the 1918 Nieuport 28 World War I fighter along with three other historic, one-of-a-kind aircraft from WWII,” the newsletter read in part.

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  • New England grapples with flooding, possible tornado ahead of Hurricane Lee’s arrival

    New England grapples with flooding, possible tornado ahead of Hurricane Lee’s arrival

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    The New England area this week has faced torrential rain, flooding, sinkholes and a possible tornado — all as residents prepare for the impending arrival of Hurricane Lee.

    Lee, now a Category 2 storm, continued to creep up along the Northeast coast on Thursday, spawning a hurricane watch from Stonington, Maine to the U.S.-Canadian border. Areas including Block Island, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket are also under a tropical storm watch while a storm surge warning has been issued for Cape Cod Bay and Nantucket.

    With wind speeds topping 100 mph, Hurricane Lee was churning some 265 miles southwest of Bermuda and about 795 miles south of Nantucket, according to the National Hurricane Center’s most recent update. It noted that “tropical storm conditions” are already impacting Bermuda while “dangerous surf and rip current conditions are affecting much of the east coast and the United States.”

    Though the storm is expected to weaken as it trudges northward, forecasters warned that winds could begin to buffet New England as early as Friday. Lee’s center is expected to pass close to the region’s southeast before ripping across or near Maine, and then moving over Atlantic Canada over the weekend as a “large and dangerous cyclone,” according to the National Hurricane Center.

    NOAA via AP

    Hurricane Lee looks poised to wallop New England later this week even as the region still deals with the impact of days of wild weather that produced torrential rain, flooding, sinkholes and a likely tornado.

    The hurricane’s arrival is only the latest weather woe for New England, where residents for the last two weeks have been drenched with rainfall levels more than 300% above normal, according to weather service data.

    The National Weather Service in Boston said radar data and videos showed an apparent tornado roaring through Rhode Island and Connecticut on Wednesday. Just 24 hours earlier, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey issued a state of emergency following the “catastrophic flash flooding and property damage” across two counties and several nearby communities. It came as certain regions experienced 10 inches of rainfall — unrelated to the hurricane — over the course of just six hours. She added that the state’s emergency management agency is watching the weather as well as the conditions of dams.

    Healey also urged residents to take flood warnings seriously and to stay off the roads when told.

    In Leominster, Mass., the rainfall resulted in several sinkholes, including one at a car dealership that swallowed several vehicles. What’s more, the soggy soil paired with Lee’s raging winds will also increase the likelihood of downed trees, which in turn could knock out essential power lines.

    “The ground is saturated,” Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella said. “It can’t take in anymore.”

    With News Wire Services

     

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    Jessica Schladebeck

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  • A man walked into an FBI office and admitted to killing a woman more than 4 decades ago in Boston, officials say | CNN

    A man walked into an FBI office and admitted to killing a woman more than 4 decades ago in Boston, officials say | CNN

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    CNN
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    Authorities say they were able to solve a Boston cold case from 44 years ago after an Oregon man walked into an FBI office and confessed to killing and raping a woman in 1979.

    John Michael Irmer, 68, was arraigned in a Boston courtroom Monday and charged with murdering 24-year-old Susan Marcia Rose on October 30, 1979, according to a news release from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.

    In August, Irmer walked into a Portland FBI field office where he revealed to agents he met a woman with red hair at a Boston skating rink around the time of Halloween in 1979 and killed her, the DA’s office said.

    Irmer said they walked into 285 Beacon Street, a building under renovation at the time, grabbed a hammer and hit the woman on the head, killing her. He told FBI agents he raped her after she had died, the news release said.

    After the admission, authorities were able to confirm Rose, who had red hair, was found murdered on Beacon Street, a historic thoroughfare near the heart of the city, the DA’s office said. Her cause of death was ruled to be multiple blunt injuries to the head with fractures of the skull and lacerations of the brain.

    The DA’s office said investigators were able to match a DNA sample from Irmer with samples collected from the murder scene.

    Another man was tried and found not guilty of Rose’s murder in 1981, the press release stated. No information was immediately available about the prior case.

    During Monday’s arraignment, Assistant District Attorney John Verner said that while Irmer was confessing to Rose’s murder, he also admitted to committing another murder in a southern state. Verner said authorities were looking into the admission.

    Additionally, Verner said Irmer told police he had served “about 30 years” in prison for another killing in California.

    Attorney Steven J. Sack, who represented Irmer in court Monday, said he doesn’t contest bail. He said Irmer came to court “without a fight to face these charges.”

    Irmer is in custody and is currently being held without bail.

    “Nearly 44 years after losing her at such a young age, the family and friends of Susan Marcia Rose will finally have some answers,” District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement. “This was a brutal, ice-blooded murder made worse by the fact that a person was charged and tried—and fortunately, found not guilty—while the real murderer remained silent until now. No matter how cold cases get resolved, it’s always the answers that are important for those who have lived with grief and loss and so many agonizing questions.”

    The Suffolk County’s Attorney Office told CNN they are not commenting on Irmer’s case at this time.

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  • The Dish: Farm-to-Table Fare

    The Dish: Farm-to-Table Fare

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    The Dish: Farm-to-Table Fare – CBS News


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    We check out one of the top farm-to-table destinations, the Berkshires in Massachusetts, for inspired recipes and fresh eats. Then in Colorado, we visit the urban restaurant Bramble & Hare, which grows nearly the entire menu from their 450-acre farm. Watch these stories and more on The Dish.

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  • Out-of-state residents seeking abortion care in Massachusetts jumped 37% after Roe v. Wade reversal

    Out-of-state residents seeking abortion care in Massachusetts jumped 37% after Roe v. Wade reversal

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    The amount of people traveling from their home states to Massachusetts to obtain abortion care jumped by over 37% in the four months after Roe v. Wade was reversed by the Supreme Court, according to an analysis by researchers based at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. 

    After Roe v. Wade was overturned because of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in 2022, over a dozen states have completely banned abortion. Others have placed strict restrictions on the procedure. Many states that have banned abortion are in the same region of the country, creating areas where it’s hard to access such care even by traveling across state lines. 

    Researchers wanted to “understand how many out-of-state travelers come to Massachusetts for abortion care, and how they cover the cost of care,” said co-author Elizabeth Janiak, a researcher and assistant professor in the division of family planning at the hospital’s department of obstetrics and gynecology, in the news release announcing the study. Brigham and Women’s Hospital is affiliated with Harvard University. 

    Boston Hospital Site of Actor Anthony Quinn''s Death
    A sign points the way to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

    Getty Images


    Researchers reviewed over 45,000 abortion care records from a four-year period before Roe v. Wade was overturned to determine what trends existed before the ruling. Using that data, they were able to estimate the expected number of abortions after Dobbs v. Jackson. Then, they compared the data collected in the four months after Roe was overturned to the expected number. 

    Researchers found a 6.2% increase in the total number of abortions during those four months. However, when they filtered the data by the state a patient lived in, there was a 37.5% increase in how many out-of-state residents were traveling to Massachusetts for abortion care. That resulted in about 45 additional abortions from out-of-state residents. 

    “We’ve always had abortion travelers from New England, but now we see that we have people coming from much farther away like Texas, Louisiana, Florida, or Georgia,” Janiak said in the news release. “… Because of the large historical dataset, we know that these are real changes and not chance fluctuations.” 

    The study also found an increase in the amount of out-of-state residents who received abortion funding from non-profits and charities that work to alleviate the cost of such care. 

    Before Dobbs v. Jackson, the proportion of out-of-state residents receiving funding was just 8%, but after the ruling, that number rose to 18%. In-state residents use of that funding increased from 2 to 3% in the same time period. Janiak said that the increase is likely due to the larger costs associated with interstate travel. None of the states bordering Massachusetts have abortion bans, making it likely that people are traveling from more than one state away to obtain care. 

    “In states like Massachusetts, we know the state government as well as advocates and healthcare providers are very invested in ensuring abortion access,” Janiak said. “We hope the data from this study serves as an example of how states across the country that share this commitment can monitor the trends in and needs of interstate travelers.”

    Kerry Breen


    Kerry Breen

    Kerry Breen is a news editor and reporter for CBS News. Her reporting focuses on current events, breaking news and substance use.

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  • What Angelina Saw

    What Angelina Saw

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    What Angelina Saw – CBS News


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    A young girl peeks out of her bedroom to see blood on the floor and her mother in distress. As an adult she looks back on a night that changed her life. “48 Hours” correspondent Peter Van Sant reports.

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  • These states are still sending out stimulus checks

    These states are still sending out stimulus checks

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    Stimulus checks were all the rage in 2020 as the pandemic destroyed millions of jobs and choked Americans’ ability to keep up with their household budgets. While most pandemic-era aid dried up years ago, some states are still dispatching stimulus-style payments. 

    In most cases, the payments come in the form of a property or income tax rebate. Places like New Mexico and Montana have been able to issue these rebates because their state budgets experienced a surplus after taking in billions of dollars in pandemic relief from the federal government. 

    Meanwhile, Montana saw a $1.9 billion surplus for fiscal year 2022 while New Mexico’s surplus has reached $3.6 billion, the Associated Press reported.

    Here are 5 states where residents may still get a stimulus check. 

    Idaho

    Idaho plans to send roughly 800,000 rebates totaling up to $500 million by the end of this year, according to an announcement made by state tax officials last October. The Special Session Rebate checks range from $300 for residents who file their state taxes individually to $600 for families that file jointly. Anyone who lived in the Gem State all year in 2020 and 2021 is eligible. 

    Residents who haven’t received their check yet can track the payment at tax.idaho.gov/rebate.


    Biden says “economy remains strong” after new consumer report shows slight inflation increase

    03:05

    Illinois

    About six million residents were slated to receive income and property tax rebates, the state announced last year. Those payments began flowing last September, CBS Chicago reported. But it will likely take months for everyone to receive their checks, according to state tax officials.

    The property tax rebate is $300 maximum. The income tax rebate is $50 for state residents who file as a single person, and up to $100 for couples who file jointly. Families with dependents can receive up to $300.

    Massachusetts

    Lawmakers in the Bay State said last year that roughly 3 million taxpayers would be issued about $2.9 billion in tax rebate dollars, CBS News Boston reported. The amount was roughly 13% of a resident’s 2021 state income.

    Residents began seeing their “Chapter 62F” payments in October and most taxpayers have received the funds by now. Anyone who hasn’t gotten their payment has until September 15 to file their 2021 state taxes in order to qualify. 

    Montana

    Montana homeowners will get up to $1,350 in property tax rebate checks over the next two years, Gov. Greg Gianforte said last month. 

    To qualify, a person must have lived in or owned a Montana residence for at least seven months last year and paid property taxes on that residence. Homeowners can begin applying for the rebates August 15 by visiting getmyrebate.mt.gov. Claims must be filed by October 1. 

    New Mexico

    About 26,000 low-income New Mexicans began receiving $500 or $1,000 “economic relief” payments last month, state officials said. The stimulus payments, all of which have been issued, were part of a $15 million effort to distribute state surplus funds, according to New Mexico’s Human Services Department. 

    The Land of Enchantment also sent separate income tax rebates of $500 or $1,000 to almost 1 million residents who filed a tax return in 2021. Those checks went out at the end of June, State officials said. Any state resident who hasn’t filed a 2021 tax return has until May 31, 2024 to do so in order to receive the rebate check. 

    Khristopher J. Brooks

    Khristopher J. Brooks is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering business, consumer and financial stories that range from economic inequality and housing issues to bankruptcies and the business of sports.

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  • Massachusetts passed a millionaire’s tax. Now, the revenue is paying for free public school lunches.

    Massachusetts passed a millionaire’s tax. Now, the revenue is paying for free public school lunches.

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    All Massachusetts public school students will now be entitled to free lunch


    All Massachusetts public school students will now be entitled to free lunch

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    Every kid in Massachusetts will get a free lunch, paid for by proceeds from a new state tax on millionaires.

    A new 4% tax on the state’s wealthiest residents will account for $1 billion of the state’s $56 billion fiscal budget for 2024, according to state documents. A portion of those funds will be used to provide all public-school students with free weekday meals, according to State House News Service.

    The new tax, which was approved by voters last year and went into effect in 2023, applies to Massachusetts residents with incomes over $1 million. The new tax adds an extra 4% on earnings above that threshold, making the state’s income tax rate one of the highest in the U.S. 

    Massachusetts’ millionaires tax comes as some other Democratic-run states are seeking to bolster their finances through proposed wealth taxes, with the goal of funding social programs such as free school lunches for children. Proponents of wealth taxes argue that the richest Americans have grown their wealth partly due to tax breaks that aren’t available to low- and middle-class families, and thus additional taxes on the rich are needed.

    With its new budget, which was signed into law by Gov. Maura Healy last week, Massachusetts is now the seventh state to provide free school lunches to kids since COVID-19 funding for free school meals expired.

    “[F]ree universal school meals will literally change lives, full stop,” said Rep. Jim McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts, in a statement earlier this month. “No child in Massachusetts will ever have to wonder how to get though the school day on an empty stomach.”

    Child care spending and bridges

    Of the wealth tax’s $1 billion in new revenue, about $524 million will be directed to education, including providing free school lunches as well as expanding child care access and financial aid for college students, according to the governor’s office. The rest of the millionaire’s tax will fund transportation initiatives, including work on bridges and mass transportation.

    The guarantee for free school lunches in Massachusetts comes at an opportune time for families with budgets stretched thin by inflation and as food insecurity is on the rise.

    Late last year, a Covid-19 pandemic-relief program that funded free breakfast and lunch for U.S. schoolchildren expired, renewing financial hardship and hunger concerns for many American families. Anti-hunger advocates have urged lawmakers to expand school meal programs, noting that research has shown that hunger can hurt a kid’s performance in school.

    A May study from the Greater Boston Food Bank found that 33% of Massachusetts households were food insecure in 2022. 

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  • Massachusetts Adopts Universal Free Meals For All Public School Kids

    Massachusetts Adopts Universal Free Meals For All Public School Kids

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    Massachusetts has joined a growing number of states in passing legislation to grant free meals to all public school kids.

    The new program was signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Maura Healey (D) as part of an overdue budget of nearly $56 billion, which also included spending on child care, workforce development, housing, public transit and other areas.

    From that budget, approximately $172 million in permanent funding will be put toward free school meals for students in kindergarten through high school.

    Rebecca Wood, who has an 11-year-old, told WBZ-TV in Boston that there were times in the past when she wasn’t sure if she could afford school lunch for her kid.

    “It’s awful,” Wood said. “She’d come home and say, ‘Mom, you have to give money to the cafeteria again.’ I didn’t want her to know we were struggling, and she had strangers telling her that we were.”

    Wood added that the high cost of housing and medical bills made it tougher to save money. But the new meals program will save families about $1,200 per student each year, according to state Senate President Karen Spilka.

    Massachusetts is now the eighth state to adopt a permanent universal meals program. The other states are California, Colorado, Minnesota, Maine, Vermont, Michigan and New Mexico.

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  • These states are still sending out stimulus checks

    These states are still sending out stimulus checks

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    Stimulus checks were all the rage in 2020 as the pandemic destroyed millions of jobs and choked Americans’ ability to keep up with their household budgets. While most pandemic-era aid dried up years ago, some states are still dispatching stimulus-style payments. 

    In most cases, the payments come in the form of a property or income tax rebate. Places like New Mexico and Montana have been able to issue these rebates because their state budgets experienced a surplus after taking in billions of dollars in pandemic relief from the federal government. Montana saw a $1.9 billion surplus for fiscal year 2022 while New Mexico’s surplus has reached $3.6 billion, the Associated Press reported.

    Here are 5 states where residents may still get a stimulus check. 

    Idaho

    Idaho plans to send roughly 800,000 rebates totaling up to $500 million by the end of this year, according to an announcement made by state tax officials last October. The Special Session Rebate checks range from $300 for residents who file their state taxes individually to $600 for families that file jointly. Anyone who lived in the Gem State all year in 2020 and 2021 is eligible. 

    Residents who haven’t received their check yet can track the payment at tax.idaho.gov/rebate.


    Biden says “economy remains strong” after new consumer report shows slight inflation increase

    03:05

    Illinois

    About six million residents were slated to receive income and property tax rebates, the state announced last year. Those payments began flowing last September, CBS Chicago reported. But it will likely take months for everyone to receive their checks, according to state tax officials.

    The property tax rebate is $300 maximum. The income tax rebate is $50 for state residents who file as a single person, and up to $100 for couples who file jointly. Families with dependents can receive up to $300.

    Massachusetts

    Lawmakers in the Bay State said last year that roughly 3 million taxpayers would be issued about $2.9 billion in tax rebate dollars, CBS News Boston reported. The amount was roughly 13% of a resident’s 2021 state income.

    Residents began seeing their “Chapter 62F” payments in October and most taxpayers have received the funds by now. Anyone who hasn’t gotten their payment has until September 15 to file their 2021 state taxes in order to qualify. 

    Montana

    Montana homeowners will get up to $1,350 in property tax rebate checks over the next two years, Gov. Greg Gianforte said last month. 

    To qualify, a person must have lived in or owned a Montana residence for at least seven months last year and paid property taxes on that residence. Homeowners can begin applying for the rebates August 15 by visiting getmyrebate.mt.gov. Claims must be filed by October 1. 

    New Mexico

    About 26,000 low-income New Mexicans began receiving $500 or $1,000 “economic relief” payments last month, state officials said. The stimulus payments, all of which have been issued, were part of a $15 million effort to distribute state surplus funds, according to New Mexico’s Human Services Department. 

    The Land of Enchantment also sent separate income tax rebates of $500 or $1,000 to almost 1 million residents who filed a tax return in 2021. Those checks went out at the end of June, State officials said. Any state resident who hasn’t filed a 2021 tax return has until May 31, 2024 to do so in order to receive the rebate check. 

    Khristopher J. Brooks

    Khristopher J. Brooks is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering business, consumer and financial stories that range from economic inequality and housing issues to bankruptcies and the business of sports.

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  • John Kerry Fast Facts | CNN Politics

    John Kerry Fast Facts | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    Here’s a look at the life of former Secretary of State John Kerry.

    Birth date: December 11, 1943

    Birth place: Aurora, Colorado

    Birth name: John Forbes Kerry

    Father: Richard Kerry, a Foreign Service officer

    Mother: Rosemary (Forbes) Kerry

    Marriages: Teresa Heinz (1995-present); Julia Thorne (1970-1988, divorced)

    Children: with Julia Thorne: Vanessa, 1976 and Alexandra, 1973

    Education: Yale University, B.A., 1966; Boston College, J.D., 1976

    Military Service: US Navy, 1966-1970, Lieutenant

    Religion: Roman Catholic

    Grew up overseas, having lived in Berlin before going to a Swiss boarding school at age 11.

    After his return from Vietnam, he became a leader of the group Vietnam Veterans Against the War.

    Kerry holds the record for the most miles of travel by a US secretary of state, having traveled more than 1.4 million miles when he left office in January 2017.

    Appeared in a cameo role on NBC’s “Cheers.” His last name is spelled incorrectly on the 1992 episode’s end credits, as “John Kerrey.”

    1966-1969 – Serves in the Navy in Vietnam as a gunboat officer on the Mekong Delta. Kerry is awarded the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts.

    1971 – Speaks to members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and makes headlines at a Washington, DC protest by disposing of his medals on the Capitol lawn. Later admits the medals belonged to someone else.

    1972 – Runs unsuccessfully for Congress, Massachusetts’ 5th District.

    1976 – Is admitted to the Massachusetts State Bar.

    1976-1979 – District attorney of Middlesex County, Massachusetts.

    1979-1982 – Partner in the law firm Kerry & Sragow in Boston.

    1982-1984 – Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts under Michael Dukakis.

    1984 – Is elected as a Democrat to the US Senate for Massachusetts.

    1990 – Wins a second term in the US Senate.

    1996 – Reelected to the Senate.

    November 5, 2002 – Is reelected to a fourth Senate term. He runs unopposed and is the first Massachusetts senator in 80 years with no major party opposition.

    February 12, 2003 – Has surgery to remove a cancerous tumor on his prostate gland. Kerry’s doctors announce the cancer had not spread and he will not have to have radiation treatments. He is released February 15.

    September 2, 2003 – Formally announces his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president. In Kerry’s announcement speech, he says President George W. Bush is taking America “in the wrong direction.”

    March 11, 2004 – CNN reports Kerry has received the exact number of Democratic delegates to assure his nomination as the candidate for president.

    July 6, 2004 – Kerry names Senator John Edwards (D-NC) as his vice presidential running mate.

    November 2, 2004 – Bush is reelected with 62,040,606 votes to Kerry’s 59,028,109. Kerry receives 252 Electoral College votes, and Bush gets 292.

    November 3, 2004 – Calls Bush to concede the White House race.

    November 1, 2006 – Apologizes after saying college students need to study hard or else they will “get stuck in Iraq.”

    January 24, 2007 – Announces he will not be running for president in the 2008 election and will run for a fifth Senate term instead.

    January 10, 2008 – Endorses Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential race, not former running mate Edwards.

    November 4, 2008 – Wins a fifth term in the US Senate.

    2009-2013 – Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

    June 4, 2009 – The IRS files a $820,000 lien against Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign over payroll taxes.

    August 2009 – Has hip surgery to address chronic pain.

    August 2011 – Kerry is selected as one of 12 members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, created to work out $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction after an initial round of more than $900 billion in spending cuts.

    December 21, 2012 – Is nominated to be secretary of state by President Obama.

    January 29, 2013 – Kerry is confirmed as the next secretary of state by the US Senate; the vote is 94-3.

    February 1, 2013 – Is sworn in as the 68th secretary of state.

    May 31, 2015 – Breaks his femur while riding his bike in Scionzier, France. Kerry is flown to a nearby hospital in Geneva, Switzerland, for examination.

    June 2, 2015 – After returning to the United States early for treatment of his leg injury, Kerry participates via phone in talks with European and Middle Eastern allies about ISIS. During the summit, Kerry declares the terrorist network is “no more a state than I am a helicopter.”

    June 12, 2015 – Kerry is discharged from the hospital after undergoing surgery. Leaning on crutches, he greets the media and ensures reporters that nuclear talks with Iran will proceed as scheduled.

    July 14, 2015 – The nuclear deal with Iran is finalized after numerous deadline extensions. Discussing the deal in Vienna, where the peace talks took place, Kerry says the agreement was long in the works because the United States and its allies made tough demands. “Believe me, had we been willing to settle for a lesser deal, we would have finished this negotiation a long time ago,” Kerry tells the media at a news conference.

    July 18, 2015 – During an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Kerry declares that he has no interest in launching a 2016 presidential campaign. “Zero. Absolutely none whatsoever,” Kerry says.

    August 14, 2015 – Kerry visits Havana, Cuba, to raise the flag above the US embassy as it reopens for the first time in 54 years.

    April 11, 2016 – Kerry becomes the first sitting US secretary of state to visit the Hiroshima memorial in Japan. Hiroshima was devastated when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city in August 1945.

    December 10, 2016 – French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault presents Kerry with the insignia of Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor at a ceremony in Paris.

    January 20, 2017 – Leaves office.

    March 1, 2017 – The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace announces that Kerry will be joining them as a visiting distinguished statesman.

    August 2017 – Serves as co-leader of the Carter Center’s mission of observers in Kenyan elections.

    October 4, 2017 – Is named chairman of the Bank of America Global Advisory Council.

    September 4, 2018 – His memoir, “Every Day Is Extra,” is published.

    December 1, 2019 – Launches World War Zero, a bipartisan initiative of world leaders and celebrities to combat the climate crisis.

    December 5, 2019 – Kerry endorses Joe Biden for president in the 2020 race, saying the former vice president has the character and leadership skills to beat President Donald Trump.

    November 23, 2020 – President-elect Biden appoints Kerry as his special presidential envoy for climate. Kerry will be a Cabinet-level official and will sit on the National Security Council (NSC), marking “the first time that the NSC will include an official dedicated to climate change,” according the Biden transition team.

    November 9, 2022 – Kerry announces a new, controversial plan to raise cash for climate action in the developing world. The plan has already attracted criticism due to the way it will be financed, with money raised in sales of carbon credits, which allow companies to pay for someone else to cut their planet-warming emissions, instead of cutting their own.

    November 18, 2022 – The State Department says Kerry has tested positive for Covid-19 at the United Nations’ COP27 climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, but is “working with his negotiations team and foreign counterparts by phone to ensure a successful outcome of COP27.”

    July 2023 – Kerry travels to Beijing for climate talks with his Chinese counterparts. In the meeting with China’s Premier Li Qiang, Kerry stresses the “need for China to decarbonize the power sector, cut methane emissions, and reduce deforestation,” a spokesperson for the US State Department says in a statement.

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  • Cape Cod boat crash leaves 1 dead and others injured, officials say | CNN

    Cape Cod boat crash leaves 1 dead and others injured, officials say | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A 17-year-old girl has died after a boat crashed into a jetty in Sesuit Harbor on Cape Cod Friday night, according to Massachusetts State Police.

    The teenager’s body was recovered from the water around 11:30 p.m. by the regional dive team with assistance from Dennis Fire-Rescue, according to a Saturday news release from the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office. Officials have not released the girl’s name “out of respect for the privacy of her family,” the release said.

    Six people, including the girl who sustained fatal injuries, were on the boat before it crashed around 9 p.m., according to the release. Other passengers were transported to Cape Cod Hospital for treatment, police said.

    The State Police Detective Unit for the Cape and Islands District is investigating the teen’s death alongside the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office, the Massachusetts Environmental Police, Dennis Police, and the State Police Crime Scene Services Section, according to the news release.

    Police said the Massachusetts State Police Marine Unit and the MSP Underwater Recovery Unit, along with Massachusetts Environmental Police marine assets, are conducting dive operations at the crash site to search for debris from the boat as part of the investigation.

    CNN has reached out to the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office, Dennis Police, and the United States Coast Guard for further information.

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  • Massachusetts Gov. Healey to get first chance to name a justice to state’s highest court

    Massachusetts Gov. Healey to get first chance to name a justice to state’s highest court

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    BOSTON (AP) — Gov. Maura Healey will get her first chance to nominate a judge to the state’s highest court after one of the seven justices announced Monday that she will step down in January.

    Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Justice Elspeth Cypher notified Healey that she will retire from the court on Jan. 12.

    Cypher was elevated to the court by former Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, who nominated all seven members of the current court. She has served on the high court since 2017.

    “I have served with wonderful, collaborative colleagues, and an outstanding staff, all committed to excellence in furtherance of the mission of ensuring fair, impartial, and timely justice for everyone who appears before the courts,” she said in a written statement.

    Cypher said she looked forward to pursuing her love of teaching at Boston College Law School in the spring semester of 2024. She was first appointed to the Massachusetts Appeals Court as an associate justice by former Republican Gov. Paul Cellucci in 2000.

    Healey, a Democrat, thanked Cypher for her service on the court and said she looks forward to naming her successor.

    “Obviously she has many more months to serve so we’ll undertake the appropriate process, and we’ll make announcements at the appropriate time,” Healey told reporters. “I’ll be looking for the very best person we can find to be the next justice.”

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  • Son of former Red Sox star George Scott accused of killing 8-year-old son

    Son of former Red Sox star George Scott accused of killing 8-year-old son

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    The son of a former Red Sox star and his 8-year-old son were found dead in a New Bedford home in an alleged murder-suicide, authorities said. 

    CBS Boston reported that police went to the home of George C. Scott III, 54, and his son Dante Hazard on Friday morning for a wellness check. The two who had been living in the home on Phillips Road were found dead inside, authorities said. The well-being check was requested by a relative who had not been able to get in touch with the father, the Bristol District Attorney said in a news statement.

    The District Attorney’s office said it appears the father, “killed the boy with a sharp object before taking his own life.” 

    Dante Hazard was the son of Lisa Hazard and George Scott III, authorities said. Hazard has been missing since 2019, and Scott is a person of interest in her disappearance, the Bristol District Attorney said in a news statement.

    Then 28-year-old Hazard was last seen on March 3, in New Bedford, authorities said. At the time she was living on South Main Street in Falls Street, and she was supposed to go to a drug rehabilitation center, the Bristol District Attorney said. 

    The investigation is active and ongoing the Bristol District Attorney said. 

    Cara Tabachnick

    Cara Tabachnick is a news editor for CBSNews.com. Contact her at cara.tabachnick@cbsinteractive.com

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