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Retailers eye inflation as holiday shopping season nears

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:39 GMT

With the holiday shopping season quickly approaching, inflation and interest rates have caused Massachusetts consumers to be more cautious with their spending so far this year, according to Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts.Hurst admitted that 2023 has been a bit of a struggle for retailers across the state, especially following a few solid years of growth post the coronavirus-plagued 2020. While many members have reported overall increases, he said, inflation rates have skewed the numbers slightly.“That typically translates into similar numbers of transitions versus the prior year,” Hurst told the Herald. “The overall sales may be up a little bit, but it’s because the prices are up.”Statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor indicate that the average rate of inflation in the Boston area has increased by 0.7% over the past two months and 2.6% since last year. Interest rates in Massachusetts continue to hover around 7.5%, with national averages for a 30...

Flurries possible Monday night, warming follows

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:39 GMT

Cold overnight Monday will bring a chance of flurries to regions outside of Boston, but for the most part the weather will slowly trend warmer through the week, according to forecasters with the National Weather Service.Cold temperatures Sunday into Monday will send the mercury into the teens inland from the coast and into the 20s in Boston, Kyle Pederson, a NWS meteorologist told the Herald, and those low temperatures will make Monday morning’s commute a brisk one.“It’s going to make tomorrow stay a little bit of a chillier day, with highs only reaching 44 in Boston,” Pederson said. “But we’re going to have a slow warm up, it looks like, throughout the rest of the week.”It will not be as cold as the previous night Monday into Tuesday, though clouds rolling in on a very light breeze bring a slight chance of precipitation — 15% or less, Pederson said — that, when combined with forecasted lows just below freezing, could mean a flurry or two for towns outside of Boston.Before you break...

March in support of Israeli hostages postponed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:39 GMT

Organizers say the advice of authorities and an adjacent rally for the rights of Palestinian civilians caught in the middle of a war between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas were enough to cancel a planned march of Jewish groups through Boston Sunday.A column of empty baby strollers and wheelchairs symbolizing over 240 kidnapped Israelis had been scheduled to roll along the city’s Freedom Trail, in an event apparently organized by the The Anti-Defamation League, Jewish Community Relations Council and Hostages and Missing Families Forum. It will instead take place some other unspecified time, according to an auto-reply from the event’s contact email.“Because of heightened security concerns and expected pro-Palestinian rally downtown tomorrow, we have been advised by multiple authorities to postpone the Stroller March. We very much appreciate everyone’s support,” the group wrote, asking followers to “stay tuned” for updates on a future event.A rally organiz...

Fighting rages near main Gaza hospital 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:39 GMT

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Health officials and people trapped inside Gaza’s largest hospital rejected Israel’s claims that it was helping babies and others evacuate Sunday, saying fighting continued just outside the facility where incubators lay idle with no electricity and critical supplies were running out.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed urgent international calls for a cease-fire unless it includes the release of all the nearly 240 hostages captured by Hamas in the Oct. 7 rampage that triggered the war.A day after Netanyahu said Israel was bringing its “full force” with the aim of ending Hamas’ 16-year rule in Gaza, residents reported heavy airstrikes and shelling, including around Shifa Hospital. Israel, without providing evidence, has accused Hamas of concealing a command post inside and under the compound, allegations denied by Hamas and hospital staff.“They are outside, not far from the gates,” said Ahmed al-Boursh, a ...

Two shot in drive-by shooting: police

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:39 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Two people were sent to the hospital after a drive-by shooting in the Rolando neighborhood Saturday night, authorities said.According to the San Diego Police Department, a group of people were gathered on the 4500 block of Virginia Avenue shortly before 10:45 p.m. when an unknown car drove by. Someone in the car reportedly fired several rounds at the group. New ALDI grocery store opening in North County A 35-year old man was shot in the stomach and a 35 year old woman was shot in the back, police said. Both victims were transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The suspect was described by SDPD as a black man wearing black clothing. He was last seen traveling northbound on Virginia Avenue. There is no description of the vehicle at this time. San Diego Police Gang Detectives are investigating the shooting. Anyone with information related to the incident is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

Pro-Palestinian protesters gather in Downtown Chicago while pro-Israel protestors rally in Northbrook

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:39 GMT

CHICAGO — Pro-Palestinian protestors took to the streets in downtown Chicago on Sunday while pro-Israel supporters rallied in Northbrook, as the crisis in the Middle East enters its sixth week.The conflict began in early October when Hamas launched an attack on civilians in southern Israel. According to the Associated Press, 1,400 people were killed in the attack, and over 200 were taken hostage.  Netanyahu rejects growing calls for a cease-fire as Israel battles Hamas outside main Gaza hospital Since the attack, the Israeli government has retaliated in search of Hamas fighters in Gaza, leaving thousands dead. “We are affected directly by what’s happening," Hatem Abudayyeh, the National Chair of the United States Palestinian Community Network and Spokesperson for the Chicago Coalition Justice for Palestine, said. Abudayyeh said the the rising death toll in Gaza is devastating as nearly half of those killed are children. "11,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel in the l...

Bethel will open Division III football playoffs at Whitewater; St. John’s left out of 32-team field

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:39 GMT

Sunday’s announcement for the 2023 NCAA Division III football playoffs field was not kind to the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.MIAC champion Bethel (8-2) drew as tough a first-round opponent as there is in Wisconsin-Whitewater (9-1), a perennial powerhouse program that won six national championships over an eight-year span from 2007 to 2014 and has reached the championship game nine times since 2005 — the last time in 2019.The Royals and Warhawks play at noon Saturday in Whitewater, Wis.Perhaps most disappointing for the MIAC was the exclusion of St. John’s (8-2) from the playoff field. A deciding factor might have been the Johnnies’ 56-28 loss at Whitewater on Sept. 9. Whitewater ended up claiming one of just five at-large bids into the 32-team field. St. John’s spent the bulk of the regular season ranked among the top Division III teams in the nation.Two other area teams made the field and will face off in the first round when Minnesota-Morr...

Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson has big day battling through rib injury: ‘That guy’s a fighter’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:39 GMT

Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson was slow, at times, to get up and even slipped into the blue medical tent at one point during the first half. It was clear that Hockenson, who was limited in practice throughout the week because of a rib injury, was in a world of pain.Which made Hockenson’s big day all the more impressive, as he helped lead the Vikings to a 27-19 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium.“That guy’s a fighter,” quarterback Josh Dobbs said.Hockenson was Dobbs’ favorite target Sunday. He caught 10 passes for 128 yards and scored a touchdown in the first half alone, and in doing so, he became only the second tight end since 1978 to have at least 10 catches, 100 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown in a single half, per Elias Sports Bureau.“To be honest with you, I kind of blacked out,” Hockenson said. “It was just one of those things where you’re just playing, you’re focused on every play, the ball keeps coming to you, and I was k...

Mayor Bass, city Leaders update the public on fire that indefinitely closed 10 Freeway

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:39 GMT

Officials with the Los Angeles Unified School District, the Department of Transportation, Metro and the L.A. Fire Department update the public on the massive fire that has indefinitely closed the 10 Freeway in downtown L.A. Officials want to prepare the public for significant delays in the coming days weeks as all lanes within a two mile stretch of the I-10 downtown are closed until further notice. Watch live and stay with KTLA for additional updates.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass hold press conference to discuss 10 Freeway fire response, updates

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:26:39 GMT

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass are holding a press conference to provide updates regarding the fire that destroyed part of the 10 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles.The blaze was first reported around 12:30 a.m. Saturday morning in a storage yard near East 14th and Alameda streets. Flames quickly spread to a neighboring storage yard and eventually engulfed the freeway overpass above.The fire was so hot that it melted some of the freeway's steel guardrails and concrete pillars, fire officials said. It eventually spread to eight acres before being contained.No homes were affected by the flames, as the area is largely industrial, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said. Abatement company beginning remediation process at historic Tustin hangar Gov. Newsom declared a local state of emergency was declared on Saturday, and on Sunday, it was announced that the freeway would remain closed until further notice. Mayor Bass noted that the structural damage sustained by the f...