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DA: Man and woman found dead in Millis likely died in murder-suicide

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:07:57 GMT

A man and woman found dead on a dirt road in Millis Sunday likely died in a murder-suicide, the Norfolk District Attorney’s office announced. Officials on Sunday said a Millis town worker notified authorities shortly after 9 a.m. after finding the bodies with apparent gunshot wounds on the remote road near the intersection of Route 115 and Route 27. In an update Wednesday, a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office said investigators received preliminary autopsy results showing the woman’s cause of death was found to be homicide. The man’s death was deemed a suicide. Authorities identified the woman as Tanaia Wilkinson, 25 and identified the man Michael Fischella, 32.In prior statements, officials said the pair were not from Massachusetts but “had recently been residing in Millis.” Wilkinson and Fischella, officials said, were well known to each other.While officials received preliminary results, a final autopsy report had not been signed as of Wednesday night.

Pedestrian struck, killed by commuter bus in Haverhill

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:07:57 GMT

A pedestrian died Wednesday after being hit by a commuter bus in Haverhill, officials said. A state Department of Transportation spokesperson in a statement said the crash happened around 8:40 a.m. on the grounds of Northern Essex Community College near a Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority bus stop. The victim, described as a male pedestrian, was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Multiple law enforcement agencies began investigating, with Haverhill police and state police working together on the investigation as of Wednesday afternoon.State Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt addressed the crash in a statement, saying “Our hearts break for the friends and family of the individual who was struck and killed today.”“There is a MA State Police investigation into how this happened, and it’s my promise to the community that the investigation will be thorough and the results transparent,” she said.No further information was imme...

Overnight shelter for homeless families opening at former courthouse in Cambridge

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:07:57 GMT

The Healey administration plans to open an overnight shelter Friday for homeless families at a nearly empty former courthouse in Cambridge after discussing the plan with Secretary of State William Galvin, an official confirmed to the Herald.The move comes as Gov. Maura Healey is less than two weeks away from a Dec. 31 deadline to set up one or multiple overflow shelter sites with $50 million in funding for families with children and pregnant people seeking emergency assistance from the state.Emergency Assistance Director Lt. Gen. Scott Rice said the decision was made in order to ensure families who are eligible for emergency assistance have a “warm and safe place to stay overnight until” a spot opens in the larger shelter system.“We’re grateful for the partnership of the City of Cambridge and provider AMI, and we encourage community organizations to reach out to us with any daytime programs and resources they are able to provide to families in need,” Rice said in a statement to the ...

Officer, security guard injured in Scarborough smash-and-grab robbery

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:07:57 GMT

Police are searching for two suspects following a brazen smash-and-grab robbery in Scarborough.Investigators say two suspects used hammers to smash display cases and grab products at a retail store at Scarborough Town Centre in the area of Progress Avenue and Borough Drive just after 7 p.m. on Wednesday. An off-duty police officer and security guard pursued the suspects but were “pepper sprayed” as they fled the scene in a small white sedan.The first suspect is described as a male with short hair. He was last seen wearing a blue medical mask, a black jacket and pants. The second suspect is described as a male in his early 20s with a slim build. He was last seen wearing black pants, white shoes and orange gloves.

Toronto opens new 24-hour respite centre but admits challenges remain when it comes to unhoused people

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:07:57 GMT

City of Toronto officials are providing more indoor space for people experiencing homelessness this winter, including a new 24-hour respite centre. Those on the front lines say it’s important to read between the lines and that the devil is in the details.In an update to its Winter Services Plan, the city confirmed the Better Living Centre on the grounds of Exhibition Place will serve as a 24-hour respite site until March 2024. Officials say while the facility is accepting upwards of 40 people a day through referrals only from Dec. 21 to Dec. 26, once fully operational, there will be space for 240 people.The City notes that many of the spaces will already be accounted for as it will refer people from existing outdoor locations but it will add what it calls “critical capacity” for January and February, considered the coldest months of the winter season.The 180 additional spaces opened in the shelter system this winter is an increase of 44 per cent over the last coupl...

Federal judge blocks California law that would have banned carrying firearms in most public places

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:07:57 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked a California law that would have banned carrying firearms in most public places, ruling that it violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and deprives people of their ability to defend themselves and their loved ones. The law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September was set to take effect Jan. 1. It would have banned people from carrying concealed guns in 26 places including public parks and playgrounds, churches, banks and zoos. It would apply whether the person has a permit to carry a concealed weapon or not. One exception would be for privately owned businesses that put up signs saying people are allowed to carry guns on their premises.U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney granted a preliminary injunction blocking the law, which he wrote was “sweeping, repugnant to the Second Amendment, and openly defiant of the Supreme Court.”The decision is a victory for the California Rifle and Pistol Associati...

Brampton man charged in $500K international fraud scheme targeting elderly victims

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:07:57 GMT

Police have arrested a 34-year-old Brampton man as part of a year-long international fraud scheme that targeted elderly victims across Canada.Police in Peel Region say between January 2020 and February 2022, a group of individuals operated a technical support scam that tricked victims into believing their personal computers were infected with a virus or malware using pop-up ads on computer screens or spam phone calls. The victims were put in contact with call centre agents who convinced them to give them remote access to their computers and pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for unnecessary repairs.Police say approximately 330 Canadians fell victim to the scheme which netted the fraudsters $500,000.Jayant Bhatia of Brampton has been charged with unauthorized use of a computer, fraud Over $5000, and possession of property obtained by crime.Police say the scheme used the following business names – A2Z Consultants Group Inc., QB Services, and SSS Consultants – and operate...

China emerged from ‘zero-COVID’ in 2023 to confront new challenges in a changed world

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:07:57 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China’s prospects for 2024 look uncertain, as a year that opened free of COVID-19 lockdowns winds down without the dreamed of robust recovery for the world’s No. 2 economy.The wars in Gaza and Ukraine are straining China’s ties with the West. A U.S.-China leaders’ summit helped get relations back on track, but also clearly defined the stark divide between the two global powers. To counter a U.S.-led world order, China is pushing alternative visions for global security and development whose prospects depend partly on restoring its own economic vitality.Pandemic-related restrictions ended, China still faces long-term, fundamental challenges: a falling birthrate and aging population — India surpassed it as the world’s largest country in April — and its rivalry with the United States over technology, Taiwan and control of the high seas. Another: to balance the ruling Communist Party’s tightening grip on myriad aspects of life with the flexibility needed to keep the econom...

Newly released video shows how police moved through UNLV campus in response to reports of shooting

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:07:57 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Officers shouted over blaring alarms and knocked down reports of additional gunfire while responding to what became a deadly shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, body camera footage released Wednesday showed. In one video, police officers moved hastily through the university’s business school on Dec. 6 amid a loud, piercing sound and called out for the alarm to be cut off. Commands were difficult to hear and, one officer noted, there was “blood everywhere” near a doorway on the fifth floor, the footage showed.The suspect, Anthony Polito, was killed in a shootout with police outside the building after fatally shooting three professors, police later said. Reports of gunfire after Polito’s death turned out to be the sounds of police trying to break down locked doors to clear classrooms, evacuate students and assess any remaining threats.The more than five hours of video made public Wednesday was the first of several releases by the Las Vegas Met...

UN is seeking to verify that Afghanistan’s Taliban are letting girls study at religious schools

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:07:57 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations is seeking to verify reports that Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers are allowing girls of all ages to study at Islamic religious schools that are traditionally boys-only, the U.N.’s top official in the country said Wednesday.U.N. special envoy Roza Otunbayeva told the U.N. Security Council and elaborated to reporters afterward that the United Nations is receiving “more and more anecdotal evidence” that girls can study at the schools, known as madrassas.“It is not entirely clear, however, what constitutes a madrassa, if there is a standardized curriculum that allows modern education subjects, and how many girls are able to study in madrassas,” she said.The Taliban have been globally condemned for banning girls and women from secondary school and university, and allowing girls to study only through the sixth grade.Taliban education authorities “continue to tell us that they are working on creating conditions to allow girls to return to school. But t...