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Editorial: Retail theft costs billions, it’s time to get tough

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:10:11 GMT

It’s said that a smart man learns from his mistakes, but a wise man learns from the mistakes of others.Massachusetts has had ample opportunities to learn how not to handle crime from bellwether blue states, unfortunately, the lessons were lost, with costly results.As the Herald reported, Retailers Association of Massachusetts President Jon Hurst estimated that local businesses are losing about $2 billion a year to “organized criminal theft activity.”“A number of companies have reported the effect of this organized criminal theft activity on their bottom line,” Hurst added. “We’ve certainly seen more of this organized stealing, and this smash-and-grab.“Stores have actually closed,” he said. “You can only keep a store open for so long when you’re losing money on it.”The bigger picture is worse: a National Retail Federation survey last month showed retail loss is nearly a $100 billion problem around the country.“Criminal gangs prey on stores, going from New York City up the coast...

Dear Abby: BF puts marriage in the ‘maybe’ pile

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:10:11 GMT

Dear Abby: I’m 44, and I have been dating a wonderful man for the last year and a half. He’s 44 as well. He has a nice home and job and has 50/50 custody of his three children, who adore me. I’m good to them, and we all get along well, just like a family.The problem is, he goes back and forth about marriage. I have made it clear that, although I have no desire to pressure him, I do want to be married again one day. I said I’d rather be let go than led on. He said he isn’t sure, and some days he says he may never remarry.The last time we talked about it, he said it’s a “possibility,” but he didn’t want to be pressured — it has to be his idea. How long should I wait until I say enough is enough? I’m not getting any younger. — Fixed on MarriageDear Fixed: When was the last time you had this discussion? You have described a man who is comfortable with things just the way they are. A year and a half is a reasonable a...

Adam Duvall homers in third straight game, leads Red Sox past Astros 7-5 in 10 innings

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:10:11 GMT

For a moment, Adam Duvall could barely stand.The Red Sox slugger had just fouled a 99 mph sinker right off the top of his foot and needed a solid minute to gather himself. It wasn’t clear if Duvall would be able to continue, but with two men on and the game tied in the top of the 10th, the outfielder stepped back into the box and pulled the next pitch he saw 371 feet for the go-ahead three-run home run.Josh Winckowski closed things out for the 7-5 win over the Houston Astros, and though time will tell, it felt in the moment like Duvall may have saved the Red Sox season.“Honestly I don’t know how I hit it after what I did,” Duvall told NESN’s Jahmai Webster afterwards.Coming in the Red Sox had already squandered two games in the Wild Card since arriving in Houston and were facing the prospect of another devastating setback. Worse, closer Kenley Jansen left due to right hamstring tightness after recording one out in the bottom of the ninth, and if he̵...

Four killed at famous Southern California biker bar, including gunman

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:10:11 GMT

At least four people were killed and several more were injured Wednesday evening after shots rang out at a historic and popular Southern California biker bar.Among those killed was the suspected gunman, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.The shooting happened around 7:30 p.m. at Cook’s Corner in Trabuco Canyon in Orange County, according to authorities.Authorities responded after several people were shot at Cook's Corner, a biker bar in Trabuco Canyon on August 23, 2023. (KTLA)Dozens of first responders were called to the popular biker bar, which is located at 19152 Santiago Canyon Rd.Photos posted to social media showed a chaotic and bloody scene inside the historic bar.Around 9 p.m., Sheriff’s Department officials confirmed that four people were dead at the scene and six people were taken to the hospital, with five needing treatment for gunshot wounds.Officials said deputies fired on the suspect, who was struck and killed. No law enforcement officers were injured....

USD investigates alleged hazing involving football team

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:10:11 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The University of San Diego is investigating an alleged hazing incident between members of its football team during pre-season activities, school officials said.USD's football coaching staff learned about the incident on Friday, Lissette Martinez with the University of San Diego told FOX 5 in an email Wednesday."USD has a zero-tolerance policy on hazing and takes reports of inappropriate conduct and violations of the Student Code of Conduct with the utmost seriousness. Expectations of conduct were clearly articulated to players as part of their pre-season onboarding and training," Martinez said. All football activities were suspended by the school while the Department of Athletics and the Department of Public Safety conducted a preliminary investigation. Padres pitcher Robert Suárez ejected after sticky substance check No one was believed to be physically harmed from the alleged hazing, per the university. "Certain members of the team are facing disciplinary action in...

Gunfire at California biker bar kills 4 people, including the shooter, and wounds 5 more

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:10:11 GMT

TRABUCO CANYON, Calif. (AP) — Three people were killed and five others were wounded in a shooting Wednesday at a Southern California biker bar, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said. The shooter also died.The shooting occurred after 7 p.m. at Cook’s Corner in rural Trabuco Canyon in Orange County, a popular longtime watering hole for motorcycle riders and enthusiasts who gather for live music, open-mic nights or just a cold beer after a long ride.Authorities didn’t immediately share details on how the shooting unfolded or about the assailant. Four people, including the shooter, were pronounced dead on scene. Six others were taken to the hospital, five of them with gunshot wounds, the sheriff’s department posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.“Incident scene at Cooks Corner is static,” the department posted several hours after the shooting was first reported.Hours before the shooting, several patrons were stopping by Cook’s Corner for an afternoon...

Petroleum asphalt remains in Yellowstone River, even after cleanup from train derailment

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:10:11 GMT

REED POINT, Mont. (AP) — Two months after a railroad bridge collapse sent carloads of hazardous oil products plunging into Montana’s Yellowstone River, the cleanup workers are gone and a mess remains.Thick mats of tarry petroleum asphalt cover portions of sandbars. Oil-speckled rocks and bushes line the shore along with chunks of yellow sulfur, a component of crude. In the middle of the river downstream of the bridge, a tangle of steel juts out of the water from a ruptured railroad tank car that has not been removed.The railroad, Montana Rail Link, in conjunction with federal and state officials last week halted most cleanup work and stopped actively looking for more contaminated sites. They said dropping river levels that have been exposing more pollution also make it harder to safely operate the large power boats used by cleanup crews.Almost half the estimated 48,000 gallons (180,000 liters) of molten petroleum asphalt that spilled has not been recovered, officials said. That incl...

Trump set to surrender at Georgia jail on charges that he sought to overturn 2020 election

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:10:11 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Donald Trump is set to surrender Thursday to authorities in Georgia on charges that he schemed to overturn the 2020 election in that state, a booking process expected to yield a historic first: a mug shot of a former American president.Trump’s arrival follows a presidential debate featuring his leading rivals for the 2024 Republican nomination, a contest in which he remains the leading candidate despite accelerating legal troubles. His presence in the state, though likely brief, is expected to swipe the spotlight at least temporarily from his opponents in the aftermath of a debate in which other candidates sought to seize on Trump’s absence to elevate their own presidential prospects.The Fulton County prosecution is the fourth criminal case against Trump since March, when he became the first former president in U.S. history to be indicted. Since then, he’s faced federal charges in Florida and Washington and, this month, was indicted in Atlanta with 1...

World Cup plans in Okinawa unaffected by North Korean spy satellite launch attempt

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:10:11 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Plans for the start of the Basketball World Cup in Okinawa, Japan, were unaffected Thursday after a North Korean rocket launch prompted an alert ordering some residents to evacuate.Press conferences and practices for the eight teams that are beginning World Cup play in Okinawa went on as scheduled Thursday. The tournament begins Friday, also in the Philippines and Indonesia. There were no reports of damage.“It was a little scary,” Slovenia star Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks said Thursday when asked what it was like to experience the alert, which went out shortly before 4 a.m. local time.“I didn’t sleep much,” Doncic added.Along with Slovenia, the other nations playing group-stage World Cup games in Okinawa starting Friday are Finland, Germany, Australia, Japan, Cape Verde, Georgia and Venezuela.North Korea confirmed after the early morning launch Thursday that it was an unsuccessful second attempt to launch a spy satellite. Japanese officials s...

Cape Cod strands more dolphins than anywhere else. Now they’re getting their own hospital

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:10:11 GMT

When members of the marine mammal team from the International Fund for Animal Welfare rush to a Cape Cod beach to help a stranded dolphin or porpoise, they have no choice but to treat the endangered animal on site and then immediately release it.That is about to change.The organization, which protects animals worldwide, is opening a first-of-its-kind short-term dolphin hospital on Cape Cod this month that it hopes will not only improve survivability rates, but also enhance the research it has developed over 25 years.Stranded marine mammals are stressed, in shock and dehydrated, said Brian Sharp, director of the rescue team. Simply caring for them at the scene is often not enough. They need additional diagnostics, treatment and recovery time.“With this ICU for dolphins, we’ll be able to get them treatment that’s needed, then be able to release them quickly,” he said.While there are marine mammal rehabilitation centers that can take care of animals for months or even years, the ...