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Texas AG Ken Paxton acquitted on 16 charges in state Senate impeachment trial

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:14 GMT

(CNN) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Saturday was acquitted in his state Senate impeachment trial, an outcome that laid bare the fierce divides within the Republican Party that controls all levers of government there.The outcome is a political victory for Paxton, a hardline conservative and close ally of former President Donald Trump. Paxton had cast the 16 articles of impeachment he faced, which stemmed from accusations of repeatedly abusing his office to help a donor, as political retribution.Paxton, who had been suspended without pay since the House impeached him in May, was reinstated in his role shortly after the vote when Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick certified the acquittal.“Today, the truth prevailed. The truth could not be buried by mudslinging politicians or their powerful benefactors. I’ve said many times: Seek the truth! And that is what was accomplished,” Paxton said in a statement shortly after the vote.Patrick – a fellow hardline conservative and staunch Paxton ally wh...

Lee makes landfall in Canada with winds of 70 mph, 1 man killed in Maine

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:14 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The National Hurricane Center downgraded Hurricane Lee to a post-tropical cyclone but millions of people remained under storm watches and warnings early Saturday as the storm still could produce hurricane-force winds, torrential rain and coastal flooding.Severe conditions were predicted as a possibility across portions of Massachusetts and Maine and hurricane conditions could hit the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, where the storm had been predicted to make landfall later Saturday.The storm was located about 230 miles (365 kilometers) southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and about 220 miles (355 kilometers) southeast of Eastport, Maine on Saturday morning.There were more than 11,000 power outages from Massachusetts to Maine early Saturday. The wind had picked up and rain moved into eastern Massachusetts.The hurricane center predicted hurricane-force winds extending more than 100 miles (161 kilometers) from Lee’s center with lesser but still ...

WATCH: Video shows moment Amtrak train slams into car in Andover

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:14 GMT

An investigation is underway after shocking video shows the moment an Amtrak train crashed into a vehicle on the tracks in Andover on Saturday.Video obtained by 7NEWS shows the collision at Pearson and Essex streets around 9:30 a.m.Amtrak confirmed the collision and noted there were no injuries to passengers or crew.Witnesses said the woman who was in the car that got stuck on the tracks was taken to the hospital as a precaution but was OK.The cause of the incident remains under investigation.This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

Police investigating head-on crash involving wrong-way driver in NH

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:14 GMT

State police are investigating a head-on crash in Hampton, New Hampshire on Friday night that left two people hospitalized, officials said.Troopers responding to a reported two-vehicle crash on Route 101 eastbound in the area of Interstate 95 interchange around 9:30 p.m. determined a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu heading the wrong way on Route 101 hit a 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage, according to New Hampshire State Police.The crash sent the Chevrolet into one of the other travel lanes and the Mitsubishi was found on the grass shoulder.The driver of the Chevrolet was taken to a nearby hospital as a precaution.The driver of the Mitsubishi had to be extricated from the vehicle and was taken by medical helicopter to a Boston hospital.The roadway was fully reopened around 1:45 a.m., state police said.The cause of the crash remains under investigation.Anyone with information is asked to contact Trooper Brighton at [email protected] or by calling New Hampshire State Police Headquarters Communi...

Republican presidential candidates court Iowa’s evangelicals in hopes of edge over Donald Trump

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:14 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa — Some of Donald Trump’s top rivals for the Republican presidential nomination will address a gathering of influential Iowa evangelical Christians on Saturday night, hoping to woo them away from the former president at an event he is skipping.Former Vice President Mike Pence planned to attend the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition’s annual banquet and town hall in Des Moines along with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Also on the schedule of speakers were Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor who served as Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, as well as Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and former Texas Rep. Will Hurd.Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican who has not endorsed a candidate, was attending, too.The crowd will largely consist of devout and well-connected social conservatives whose ranks are large enough to play a decisive role in Iowa’s first-in-the-nation Re...

Howie Carr: An en masse goodbye to Boston’s biggest hacks of today and yesterday

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:14 GMT

Is it too late now for Shannon O’Brien to save her latest hack job by finally showing us her tattoo the way she promised back in 2002?The state weed czar walked the plank Friday in a pre-Hurricane Lee news dump.Ironically, she got whacked a day after the guy who defeated her in that 2002 governor’s fight, Mitt Romney, cashed in his chips before his new voters in Utah could give him the same bum’s rush down the steps.All in all, it was a very bad week for the political protected classes in Boston. Seriously, who could have ever dreamed that Kendra Lara and Ricky Ricardo Arroyo would get fired before Chaim Bloom?You ask, what did all these pampered pukes have in common, other than a breathtaking sense of entitlement?They were all creations of the Boston Globe, Mitt perhaps less so than the others. But still, he always groveled before them, hoping to overcome his original sin of being a straight white male Republican who went to church on Sundays.That’s why Willard marched in those pho...

Cambridge City Council asked to oppose ‘Cop City’ in Atlanta, 1 thousand miles away

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:14 GMT

Though it may be a thousand miles away, Cambridge community members are calling on the City Council to oppose supporting the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center “or any similar facilities, in any way.”A policy order in front of the City Council would put it on record in opposition to the Cambridge Police Department sending trainees to, or participating in any collaborations with, the facility being built to primarily serve Atlanta public safety personnel.Several Cambridge community members, in emails to councilors and at a meeting last week, have voiced concerns over how the new facility, dubbed by critics as ‘Cop City,’ would lead to environmental harm and make officers trained there “more violent.”The $90 million center, being constructed on 85 acres in Atlanta’s South River Forest, has drawn wide criticism from environmental, racial and safety justice advocates.“Any officers sent to the proposed Cop City would be trained to be more violent, more militaristic...

Texas AG Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial is over. Here’s what led to his acquittal and what’s next

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:14 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The GOP-dominated Texas Senate acquitted fellow Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Saturday, putting him back in office and showing no political damage after a two-week impeachment trial on allegations of corruption. The impeachment charges centered on allegations that Paxton improperly used the powers of his office to protect Austin real estate developer Nate Paul, who was indicted in June on federal charges of making false statements to banks.The trial reached its final stages Friday after closing arguments from the bipartisan group of House managers prosecuting Paxton and the attorney general’s defense lawyers.“We discovered unprecedented abuse in the Texas attorney general’s office by Mr. Paxton,” said state Rep. Andrew Murr, a Republican. “He has betrayed us, and the people of Texas.”In a fiery defense, Paxton attorney Tony Buzbee insisted the House had not proved their case and called the impeachment a “political witch hunt.”“There is sh...

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli is going on leave to be with his wife for the birth of twins

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:14 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli spends most of his life around a bunch of Twins.His future is going to be a little different.Baldelli is going on paternity leave after Saturday’s game against the Chicago White Sox. His wife, Allie, is expecting twin boys in the coming days.“We’re excited. It’s twins, and we didn’t know what to expect and we didn’t know or even anticipate making it this far,” Rocco Baldelli said. “So we’ve made it basically to the end of kind of the term that they laid out for us, so that’s exciting and I think good for the babies. Allie’s still feeling pretty good, so I mean we’re lucky.”Rocco and Allie got married during the All-Star break in 2021. They welcomed a daughter, Louisa, on Sept. 6, 2021.After Sunday’s series finale against the White Sox, the AL Central-leading Twins visit Cincinnati for a three-game series and then begin a six-game homestand on Friday night against the Los Angel...

Atlantic storm Lee makes landfall in Canada with winds of 70 miles per hour, 1 man killed in Maine

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:14 GMT

BAR HARBOR, Maine (AP) — Storm Lee made landfall late Saturday afternoon in Nova Scotia, Canada, at near-hurricane strength, but not before it brought high winds, rough surf and torrential rains to a large swath of New England and Maritime Canada, toppling trees, swamping coastlines, cutting power to tens of thousands and claiming one life. With sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kph), the center of the post-tropical cyclone came ashore about 135 miles (215 kilometers) west of Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. That’s about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Eastport, Maine, U.S. weather officials said.The storm was expected to weaken as it moves into New Brunswick and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, forecasters said.In the United States, a tropical storm warning was in effect for a 230-mile (370-kilometer) stretch from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to the eastern end of Maine. That included Bar Harbor, the touristy gateway to Acadia National...