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Maine to convert inactive rail track to recreational trail near New Hampshire border

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:14 GMT

FRYEBURG, Maine (AP) — Maine is converting an inactive set of rail tracks into a new recreational trail that will run from the southern part of the state to close to the New Hampshire border.Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has signed a bill to create the new walking and biking trail, which will stretch 40 miles (64 kilometers) from Standish to Fryeburg along the Mountain Division Rail Line. The new trail is designed to eventually connect with Portland at its eastern edge and New Hampshire in the west.The cost to perform the work of removing the existing track and replacing it with an interim trail is estimated to be about $20.1 million, state records show. The bill directs the Maine Department of Transportation to do the work “subject to available funding resources, permitting and municipal agreements.”Members of an advisory council that recommended the conversion believe the trail “is the best use of the corridor and the benefits of public access to the trail will be a major economic d...

Wife of suspect in Long Island serial killings living ‘nightmare,’ battling cancer, her lawyer says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:14 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The wife of Rex Heuermann, the man charged with killing at least three women and burying their bodies on a remote coastal highway, is living in a “waking surreal nightmare,” her attorney said Friday, struggling to pay for cancer treatment while living in a house trashed by investigators.At a news conference on Long Island, attorneys for Heuermann’s estranged wife, Asa Ellerup, and his two adult children complained police left the home in shambles while searching for possible evidence.“Their valuables were shattered, their places were destroyed, the places they laid their heads no longer exists,” said Vess Mitev, an attorney who is also representing Heuermann’s 26-year-old daughter, Victoria, and 34-year-old stepson, Christopher Sheridan. “They’re going through a horrific emotional time that none of us can imagine.”Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney has said police followed standard procedure during their 12-day search of the house.Ellerup is ...

Framingham man facing DUI charge after crashing into Norfolk police cruiser

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:14 GMT

A Framingham man is facing criminal charges after police say he crashed into an occupied Norfolk police cruiser while driving under the influence of alcohol early Friday morning, official said.Jamont Dubose, 43, has been charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, and possessing an open alcohol containter in a motor vehicle, according to Norfolk Police Chief Timothy Heinz. Officers responding to a reported crash at the intersection of North and Needham streets around 1:35 a.m. assisted in treated Dubose at the scene and having him taken by ambulance to an area hospital to be treated for injuries sustained in the crash.The Norfolk Police sergeant who was in the vehicle at the time was taken to the hospital for evaluation.No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest derails.

Red Sox notebook: Alex Cora proud of Eduardo Rodriguez for declining trade

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:14 GMT

Eduardo Rodriguez hasn’t been a member of the Red Sox since 2021, but his longtime manager still has his back.The 30-year-old left-hander is currently having a career year, posting a 2.75 ERA and 1.046 WHIP across 17 starts for the Detroit Tigers. Opposing batters are hitting just .218 with a .594 OPS against him, and his home run and walk percentages are the best he’s put together in his eight seasons in the Majors.In the midst of this impressive campaign, Rodriguez made headlines at the beginning of the month when he vetoed a trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers, invoking the no-trade clause in his 5-year, $77 million contract.Going to Los Angeles would’ve reunited Rodriguez with several of his Red Sox teammates and put him on a guaranteed, almost-perennial contender. Entering the August 1 trade deadline, the Tigers were 47-59, third in the American League Central, with the fourth-worst record in the AL. The first-place Dodgers were 59-45, the second-best record in t...

Reaggravated rotator cuff strain could end Nestor Cortes’ season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:14 GMT

MIAMI — Saturday was supposed to serve as a homecoming for Nestor Cortes. Instead, he will watch his Yankees play the Marlins from the injured list.The Yankees shelved the Cuban native and Hialeah resident on Friday, a day before he was slated to make his first start in Miami as a big leaguer. Cortes is once again dealing with a left rotator cuff strain, which sidelined him from May 30 until Aug. 5.“I was really looking forward to pitching here for the first time,” Cortes said Friday. “It’s tough to swallow this right now.”Cortes returned last Saturday and pitched well against the Astros, allowing just one run over four innings while striking out eight. But he experienced irregular soreness during the days that followed, and he was unable to throw a bullpen on Thursday.“Definitely disappointing. Feeling for Nestor,” Aaron Boone said before the Yankees’ series-opener against the Marlins. “He put himself in a really good spot...

Maui County’s mayor calls fast-moving wildfire an ‘impossible situation.’ Follow live updates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:14 GMT

By REBECCA BOONE (Associated Press)Follow live updates about wildfires that have devastated parts of Maui in Hawaii this week, destroying a historic town and forcing evacuations. The National Weather Service said Hurricane Dora, which passed south of the island chain, was partly to blame for strong winds that initially drove the flames, knocking out power and grounding firefighting helicopters.Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen Jr. said Friday he couldn’t comment on a report by The Associated Press that the state’s emergency management records showed no indication that warning sirens sounded off before people were forced to flee. “I think this was an impossible situation,” Bissen told NBC’s Today show. “The fires came up so quickly and they spread so fast.” Meanwhile, the county said residents with identification and visitors with proof of hotel reservations could return to parts of Lahaina starting at noon Friday. They will not be allowed int...

Battenfeld: GOP assails Hunter Biden special counsel as attempt to ‘whitewash’ case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:14 GMT

The appointment of an independent counsel to investigate Hunter Biden could be yet another move by the Biden administration to keep the scandal from imperiling his presidency.Or it could be a move that signals a new aggressiveness by the Justice Department against Hunter Biden.But putting the same prosecutor, David Weiss, who arranged the much-criticized plea deal for Hunter Biden in charge of the independent probe smacks of an optical political maneuver which will also give Democrats cover to keep charging Donald Trump.Even the liberal New York Times called it “cosmetic gesture” at best.“This action by Biden’s DOJ cannot be used to obstruct congressional investigations or whitewash the Biden family corruption,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on X, previously known as Twitter.The move also insulates Weiss, from Biden’s home state of Delaware, from having to answer questions before Congress about his original plea deal with Hunter which was thrown out by a federal judge.Weiss is t...

Republicans blast Hunter Biden, lukewarm on special counsel probe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:14 GMT

A special counsel being named to probe the Hunter Biden mess had Republicans quickly calling out the DOJ — and former VP Mike Pence knocking the president’s son for his boozing and dealing ways.“To be honest, I can’t relate to what Joe Biden’s son was doing when he was Vice President.  When I was Vice President, my son was flying an F-35 for the Marine Corp defending this country,” Pence said in a campaign statement.Former President Donald Trump wasn’t as restrained.“Crooked Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, and the entire Biden Crime Family have been protected by the Justice Department for decades even though there is overwhelming evidence and credible testimony detailing their wrongdoing of lying to the American people and selling out the country to foreign enemies,” a Trump spokesman said Friday.Attorney General Merrick Garland announced earlier that he’s appointed a special counsel — David Weiss, the U.S. attorney in Delaware — ...

Brush fire near I-15 in Bonsall closes lanes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:14 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A brush fire broke out Friday afternoon near Interstate 15 in Bonsall, prompting the closure of several roads in the area.The fire started near southbound I-15 and Old Highway 395, North County Fire Protection said. Northbound I-15 lanes in the area were briefly closed. The state Route 76 onramp for southbound I-15 is closed. What caused the Maui wildfires? Old Highway 395 was also closed between state Route 76 and Lilac Road.By 3:30 p.m., the fire had been stopped at between three and five acres, fire officials said, adding that there was no damage to any structures in the area.

'A new window on stars': Rare two-faced star found at Palomar Observatory

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:14 GMT

SAN DIEGO – Astronomers have discovered a rare star at Palomar Observatory that could be the first documented instance of a long-standing theory about what happens to the core of a star as it burns out.The newfound celestial object is a rare kind of dwarf star, which are the scalding “corpses” of stars after they die, that appears to have two faces on its surface – one side is entirely made up of hydrogen, while the other is composed of helium.Named Janus after the two-faced Roman god of transition, researchers believe that the star could be the first discovery within a class of rare white dwarfs that could shed light on a theory about the evolution of the objects at large.“It’s something that has been predicted for a long time, but we’ve never actually seen a white dwarf going through this,” said Ilaria Caiazzo, a postdoctoral researcher at Caltech who studied the star for the last two years. “We might be seeing one (at) this moment.” This weekend’s Perseid meteor shower will pea...