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Battenfeld: Struggling pot industry dashing hopes of cashed-in politicians

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:29 GMT

The cratering of the cannabis industry in Massachusetts could also dash the financial hopes of a plethora of politicians who cashed in on the business after recreational pot was legalized and retail stores opened five years ago.Lawmakers, politically-connected lobbyists and the public probably never imagined the industry would be in a financial and public health crisis just a few years later, with stores shuttering and ER visits from pot use skyrocketing.The agency overseeing marijuana, meanwhile, is already desperately trying to loosen regulations to make it easier for stores to open. It’s like the Alcohol and Beverage Control Commission going easy on liquor stores.The chairwoman of the Cannabis Control Commission – the former state Treasurer who cashed in on the business herself – imploded at a recent meeting and declared a “crisis” – alarming her fellow commissioners.So we end up with a troubled industry, plummeting prices, pols cashing in, a public health issue, kids in the ER, ...

Home Showcase: Spread out, get comfy in Weston

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:29 GMT

It’s already hard enough to find the right home, pack, and make it to the moving van in one piece. A turnkey property is, therefore, a welcome bookend to the semi-contained chaos that is moving.Located at 139 Hickory Road in Weston, this 5-bedroom custom Colonial boasts over 7,000 square feet of luxury living space in one of Weston’s most prestigious neighborhoods.Modern and bright with clean lines and impeccable styling, the home stands out from the pack with high-end design choices and an emphasis on natural light. The heart of the house, the kitchen, is a chef’s dream, featuring an impressive island, individual refrigerator and freezer units, and abundant custom cabinetry.Flowing from the kitchen space, the restful family room is what laid-back elegance is all about with a gas fireplace and sleek built-ins, creating a space that’s both warm and functional.Just off the kitchen, a sun-drenched casual dining area, surrounded by expansive windows, offers a perfect s...

Former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed, whose son was killed in crash with Princess Diana, dies at 94

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:29 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Mohamed Al Fayed, former owner of the famed Harrods department store in London whose son was killed in a car crash with Princess Diana, has died, his family said. He was 94.Al Fayed, a self-made Egyptian businessman who was also a former owner of Fulham Football Club, was devastated by the death of son Dodi Fayed in the car crash in Paris with Princess Diana 26 years ago. He spent the rest of his life mourning the loss and fighting the British Establishment he blamed for their deaths.“Mrs Mohamed Al Fayed, her children and grandchildren wish to confirm that her beloved husband, their father and their grandfather, Mohamed, has passed away peacefully of old age on Wednesday August 30, 2023,″ his family said in a statement released by the Fulham club. “He enjoyed a long and fulfilled retirement surrounded by his loved ones.″Al Fayed was convinced that Dodi and Diana had been killed in a conspiracy masterminded by Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. He mainta...

Agreement reached to relinquish drilling lease on land in Montana that’s sacred to Native Americans

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:29 GMT

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A Louisiana company will relinquish the last remaining oil and gas lease on land near Montana’s Glacier National Park that’s sacred to Native Americans under a legal agreement announced Friday that would resolve a decades-long dispute.The 10-square-mile (25-square-kilometer) oil and gas lease in the mountainous Badger-Two Medicine area of northwestern Montana was issued in 1982 but has not been developed. It’s on the site of the creation story for the Blackfoot tribes of southern Canada and Montana’s Blackfeet Nation. Tribal members bitterly opposed drilling.Lease owner Solenex LLC will be compensated an undisclosed amount under the agreement, according to attorneys who were involved in the negotiations.The Wyss Foundation, a charitable group founded by Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss, provided money for the deal, according to Tim Preso, attorney for a group of tribal and conservation groups. The agreement was not made public.The Solenex lease had ...

Texas man pleads guilty to threatening Georgia public officials after 2020 election

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:29 GMT

A Texas man has pleaded guilty to threatening Georgia officials following the 2020 election, the U.S. Justice Department announced Friday.Chad Stark, 55, of Leander, Texas, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of communicating interstate threats after he was accused of posting threatening messages on Craigslist about killing government officials in Georgia. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.Prosecutors did not name the officials who were threatened in federal court documents.Stark’s arrest was the first by the Justice Department’s new Election Threats Task Force amid a rising tide of violent threats against people who count and secure the vote. The threats come after Former President Donald Trump made repeated unproven claims that election fraud cost him the 2020 presidential election, leading some supporters to target election officials and workers.“All across this country our fellow citizens and neighbors, including many retirees, choose to s...

Ahead of big sports weekend, dispute with Disney leaves millions of cable subscribers in the dark

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:29 GMT

A company representing nearly 15 million cable subscribers and The Walt Disney Co. blamed each other Friday for a dispute that has cut off Disney-owned stations to viewers on the eve of a big sports weekend for U.S. Open tennis and college football fans.The dispute between Disney and Charter Communications Inc. resulted in ESPN, ABC, FX, National Geographic and Disney-branded stations going abruptly dark on Thursday night for Charter’s Spectrum TV subscribers. ABC-TV was also cut in seven markets, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.Both the cable company and Disney said the other side rejected short-term extensions that would have kept Spectrum subscribers’ access to the networks.Disputes that result in such service disruptions are not uncommon. This one feels bigger, both because of the number of networks and customers involved and how the companies are grappling with a rapidly changing business environment.The plug was pulled Thursday while ESPN was carrying a...

An explosion in Ecuador is seen as gangs asserting power after inmates take hostages

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:29 GMT

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Criminal groups in Ecuador used explosives Friday to damage a bridge, authorities said, demonstrating their grip on the South American country where prison inmates took dozens of law enforcement officers hostage less than two days earlier. Government officials described the violent acts as the work of criminal groups with members in prisons responding to efforts by authorities to regain control of several large correctional facilities by relocating inmates, seizing weapons and other steps. Four car bombs and three explosive devices went off across the country in less than 48 hours. The latest explosion with dynamite happened early Friday on a bridge linking two cities in the coastal province of El Oro, National Police commander Luis García told The Associated Press.Hours earlier, a domestic gas tank with wads of dynamite attached exploded under a different bridge in Napo province of Napo, located within Ecuador’s portion of the Amazon rainforest.During th...

Parenting advice YouTuber Ruby Franke charged with aggravated child abuse of 2 children

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:29 GMT

A Utah woman who gave online parenting advice via a once-popular YouTube channel was charged Friday with six felony counts of aggravated child abuse after two of her children were found abused and malnourished, authorities said.Ruby Franke, whose now-defunct channel “8 Passengers” chronicled her family life, was arrested Wednesday night in the southern Utah city of Ivins. She was taken into custody at the home of Jodi Hildebrandt, who owns a counseling business that she says teaches people to improve their lives by being honest, responsible and humble. Hildebrandt was also arrested Wednesday and faces the same six abuse charges.Franke appears in YouTube videos with Hildebrandt that were posted online by Hildebrandt’s counseling business, ConneXions Classroom.Prosecutors allege Franke and Hildebrandt either caused or allowed someone to torture Franke’s 12-year-old son and injure her 10-year-old daughter. Both children were starved and harmed emotionally, prosecutors said. Both women ...

Another Canadian who served in Afghanistan files discrimination lawsuit against feds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:29 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal government is asking a judge to combine two separate lawsuits, after another Afghan Canadian alleged Canada discriminated against Afghan refugees by treating them differently than they did Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion.A former Canadian language and culture adviser who served NATO in Afghanistan filed a lawsuit at the end of July alleging the government has not allowed his family in Afghanistan to seek refuge in Canada.That followed a case filed in May by two other former language and culture advisers who served in the Canadian military. They similarly accuse the government of insisting their families don’t qualify for programs bringing Afghan refugees to Canada.They all accuse the government of offering advantages to Ukrainians that were not offered to Afghans hoping to escape the Taliban takeover in 2021.Canada allowed an unlimited number of Ukrainians and their family members to come to Canada on an emergency visa for three years to work and s...

Drug task force in Northwest Indiana seizes more than 138 pounds of marijuana products

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:29 GMT

HOBART, Ind. — Authorities with the Lake County Drug Task Force seized more than 138 pounds of marijuana products, guns and drugs during a search warrant Friday morning.Around 7 a.m. Friday, officers served the warrant in the 500 block of South Lawrence Street in Hobart after receiving a tip on the Tip411 mobile app. 2 teens charged 6 months after 13-year-old boy shot, killed outside Gary church They seized nearly $50,000 of cash, 3 pistols, 3 rifles, about 50 pounds of marijuana, 5 pounds of pre-rolled marijuana products, 38 pounds of edibles, 45 pounds of concentrated THC wax, half a pound of mushrooms and 1,010 THC vape cartridge, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office.A 20-year-old man was arrested and charges haven't been filed yet by prosecutors.