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Portugal’s president calls snap elections after PM resigns

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:25:53 GMT

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on Thursday announced he will dissolve the country’s parliament in December and hold early elections in March 2024. The announcement followed Prime Minister António Costa’s resignation Tuesday, hours after authorities raided his official residence and the country’s attorney general confirmed he was being investigated under a corruption probe.Rebelo de Sousa said parliament would be dissolved once lawmakers passed Portugal’s draft 2024 budget, which is expected to be approved at the end of the month.“The approval of the budget will allow us to meet the expectations of many Portuguese people and to monitor the implementation of the recovery and resilience plan,” he said.Although the Portuguese Constitution gives the president of the Republic the right to appoint a new prime minister without holding new elections, Rebelo de Sousa said it was key to have a head of government whose legitimacy is not in doubt.Instead, he said,...

Crews battle house fire in Cambridge

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:25:53 GMT

Emergency crews responded in Cambridge Thursday afternoon after a fire broke out in a building on Gore Street. While the fire had been largely knocked down as of around 5 p.m., crews remained on scene monitoring hotspots. The area was blocked off and authorities were asking community members to stay away. Neighbors speaking with 7NEWS said they watched as the fire spread, with some saying they were concerned the flames would jump to neighboring buildings. Neighbors continued, saying they were grateful for the emergency response. No further information was immediately available.This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

Andover educators vote to go on strike

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:25:53 GMT

Educators in Andover have voted to go on strike effective immediately, the Andover Education Association announced Thursday.The union in its statement said the vote followed more than nine months of bargaining with the Andover School Committee over a new contract.   School Committee Chair Tracey Spruce in a separate message to the community said the school committee had filed a petition with the state Department of Labor Relations “seeking to prevent the Andover Education Association (AEA) from engaging in an illegal strike.”The Andover Education Association in its statement said it is seeking raise pay for instructional aides and teachers, as well as protections for educator preparation time, longer lunch and recess periods for young students, access to paid family and medical leave “and greater educator voice in curriculum decisions.”“The town can easily afford the financial proposals we have put on the table,” the education association said. “The dynamics of bargai...

Crews respond to fire at auto shop in Bridgewater 

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:25:53 GMT

Emergency crews were on scene in Bridgewater Thursday after a fire broke out in a local auto shop. A drone was over the scene on Bedford Street near Route 18 Thursday afternoon, spotting heavy smoke coming out of the two-story commercial building.The West Bridgewater Fire Department in a post on Facebook said the fire response had grown to two alarms shortly before 2 p.m. The fire department shared photos of flames burning through the building roof while crews from multiple communities worked to pour water on the structure.“Defensive operations only at this time,” the fire department said. No further information was immediately available. This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

Demonstrators rallying for ceasefire in Gaza protest as Vice President Harris visits Boston for fundraiser

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:25:53 GMT

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside the Ritz-Carlton Boston on Thursday, hoping to send a message to Vice President Kamala Harris as she arrived in the city for an event and fundraiser.The protest grew raucous at times at Downtown Crossing, with two males arrested for trespassing and resisting arrest, according to the Boston Police Department, as demonstrators voiced their frustration with Harris and the White House.“She’s not hearing us – she’s not in Washington doing the work that we want her to do, which is end all US aid to Israel,” said Ximena Hasbach, a protest organizer. “Instead, she’s here meeting these wealthy donors and ignoring our calls for a ceasefire.”A much friendlier crowd for the Vice President could be found in Dorchester, where she spoke to union members at the Pipefitters Hall, praising their apprenticeship program and welcoming their support of the Biden administration.“Part of what the President ...

NBA confirms key missed call on final play of Celtics’ loss to 76ers

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:25:53 GMT

The Celtics should have had another chance to tie the game in their loss to the 76ers on Wednesday night.The NBA’s Last Two-Minute Report confirmed that 76ers star Joel Embiid stepped out of bounds with his right foot with about 4.5 seconds to go after he rebounded Kristaps Porzingis’ game-tying 3-point attempt, which would have given the Celtics possession again with another chance to tie the game. But the call was missed in real time and the clock ran out as the 76ers escaped with a 106-103 victory.https://x.com/steve_hewitt/status/1722731135602504086?s=20The Celtics had trailed by 14 with two minutes left before they went on a furious run. They went on a 10-0 run in one minute and trailed by three with 8.5 seconds left before the aforementioned final play, when Porzingis’ game-tying attempt grazed off the front of the rim.The Last Two-Minute Report revealed one other incorrect call. With 1:34 to go, Porzingis drew a three-point play on a foul from 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey that cu...

Robert De Niro’s company found liable in gender discrimination lawsuit filed by former assistant

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:25:53 GMT

By LARRY NEUMEISTER (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — A jury awarded more than $1.2 million to Robert De Niro’s former personal assistant Thursday, finding that a company he formed to look after his personal needs was liable for gender discrimination and retaliation after the former assistant accused the actor of subjecting her to a toxic work environment.While the jury found De Niro was not personally liable for the abuse, they said his company, Canal Productions, should make two payments of $632,142 to his longtime personal assistant, Graham Chase Robinson. De Niro, who spent three days at the two-week trial — including two on the witness stand — has been ensnared in dueling lawsuits with Robinson since she quit in April 2019. He was not in the courtroom when the verdict was read aloud on Thursday afternoon. Robinson, 41, testified that De Niro, 80, and his girlfriend, Tiffany Chen, teamed up against her to turn a job she once loved into a nightmare. She sm...

2 suspects sought after young person stabbed in North York

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:25:53 GMT

Police are searching for two male suspects after a youth was stabbed in North York.Police say they were called to the area of Sentinel and Hucknall roads just after 5 p.m. for reports someone was stabbed.When they arrived they discovered a young person suffering from serious but non-life threatening injuries.Investigators say they are looking for two suspects said to be wearing dark clothing.

Astronaut Frank Borman, commander of the first Apollo mission to the moon, has died at age 95

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:25:53 GMT

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Astronaut Frank Borman, who commanded Apollo 8’s historic Christmas 1968 flight that circled the moon 10 times and paved the way for the lunar landing the next year, has died. He was 95.Borman died Tuesday in Billings, Montana, according to NASA.Borman also led troubled Eastern Airlines in the 1970s and early ’80s after leaving the astronaut corps.But he was best known for his NASA duties. He and his crew, James Lovell and William Anders, were the first Apollo mission to fly to the moon — and to see Earth as a distant sphere in space.“Today we remember one of NASA’s best. Astronaut Frank Borman was a true American hero,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement Thursday. “His lifelong love for aviation and exploration was only surpassed by his love for his wife Susan.”Launched from Florida’s Cape Canaveral on Dec. 21, 1968, the Apollo 8 trio spent three days traveling to the moon, and maneuvered into lunar orbit on Christmas Eve. Af...

First-of-a-kind nuclear project is terminated in a blow to Biden’s clean energy agenda

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:25:53 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A project to build a first-of-a-kind small modular nuclear reactor power plant was terminated Wednesday, another blow to the Biden administration’s clean energy agenda following cancellations last week of two major offshore wind projects. Oregon-based NuScale Power has the only small modular nuclear reactor design certified for use in the United States. For its first project, the company was working with a group of Utah utilities to demonstrate a six-reactor plant at the Idaho National Laboratory, generating enough electricity to power more than 300,000 homes. The project was to come online starting in 2029 and was supposed to replace electricity from coal plants that are closing. When combined with wind and solar, the advanced nuclear technology was intended to help municipalities and public power utilities in several western states eliminate planet-warming greenhouse gas emission from the power sector.Instead, NuScale and the Utah utilities announced Wednes...