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State Bureau Reports 200 Fraud Cases In First Quarter

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:59 GMT

A bureau charged with investigating public assistance fraud allegations identified fraud in 14 percent of the cases it examined between January and March. Examiners at the Bureau of Special Investigations uncovered more than $4 million worth of fraud over the three-month period, including $1.6 million in Medicaid fraud and $1.3 million in fraud connected to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Auditor Diana DiZoglio, whose office runs the bureau, informed legislators of the fiscal 2023 third quarter numbers in a May 23 letter that was posted last week to the Legislature’s website. The bureau identified fraud in 200 of the 1,407 cases it investigated. The bureau’s investigative authority extends to any assistance program administered by the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA), the Department of Children and Families (DCF), and the Division of Medical Assistance, which administers MassHealth (the state’s Medicaid program). The Department of E...

Mass. Regulators Join Call For DOJ To Probe Offshore Gaming Sites

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:59 GMT

For decades, Massachusetts tolerated various forms of illegal gaming. Now that the state is openly regulating, taxing and promoting casino gaming and sports wagering, regulators here have agreed to join calls on the U.S. Justice Department to crack down on illegal operators that are out there. Members of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Tuesday agreed to send a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland that is similar to one that regulators from Colorado, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey and Illinois sent on April 28. Officials in those states asked the department to protect Americans from illegal offshore sportsbooks and online casinos that they said do not invest in “responsible gaming” programs, contribute to the loss of state tax revenue, do not impose age verification requirements to protect minors, and lack controls to prevent money laundering and guarantee fair payouts to customers. The state gaming regulators said they also want to...

Sick workers tied to 40% of restaurant food poisoning outbreaks, CDC says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:59 GMT

Food workers who showed up while sick or contagious were linked to about 40% of restaurant food poisoning outbreaks with a known cause between 2017 and 2019, federal health officials said Tuesday.Norovirus and salmonella, germs that can cause severe illness, were the most common cause of 800 outbreaks, which encompassed 875 restaurants and were reported by 25 state and local health departments.Investigators with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called for better enforcement of “comprehensive food safety policies,” which emphasize basic measures like hand washing and keep sick workers off the job.Although 85% of restaurants said they had policies restricting staff from working while sick, only about 16% of the policies were detailed enough to require workers to notify managers and to stay home if they had any of the five key symptoms — including vomiting, diarrhea, and sore throat with fever.About 44% of managers told the CDC their restaurants provided paid sick leave t...

Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has dementia, The Carter Center says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:59 GMT

By BILL BARROW (Associated Press)ATLANTA (AP) — Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has dementia, her family announced Tuesday.Carter, now 95, remains at home with former President Jimmy Carter, who has been at home receiving hospice care since early this year.“She continues to live happily at home with her husband, enjoying spring in Plains and visits with loved ones,” the family said via The Carter Center, the global humanitarian organization the couple founded in 1982 after leaving the White House.Married nearly 77 years, the Carter are the longest-married first couple in U.S. history.The family noted in its statement that Rosalynn Carter has spent her long public life advocating for individuals and families affected by mental illness and for those in caregiving relationships with loved ones.“Mrs. Carter often noted that there are only four kinds of people in this world: those who have been caregivers; those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who ...

Saugus Police find woman’s body in Breakheart Reservation, Massachusetts State Police investigating

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:59 GMT

A woman’s body was found in the water on Breakheart Reservation in Saugus.Saugus Police officers located the woman shortly after 11 a.m., according to Massachusetts State Police spokesman David Procopio.“We have patrols, crime scene techs and detectives on scene. Nothing further is available at this time,” he said in a statement.The Saugus Police say their presence is one of assistance in the matter and that the State Police are the primary agency for more information.“We were assisting with an unattended death at Breakheart Reservation,” Assistant Saugus Police Chief Ron Giorgetti told the Herald.This is a developing story. 

Florida police search for 3 gunmen who wounded 9 at crowded beach on Memorial Day

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:59 GMT

By TERRY SPENCER (Associated Press)HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (AP) — Police launched a search Tuesday for three suspects they believe to be the gunmen who opened fire along a crowded Florida beachside promenade on Memorial Day, wounding nine people and sending others frantically running for cover. Hollywood police sought the public’s help in identifying the gunmen, who ran from the scene during the chaos of hundreds of people fleeing for their lives and diving for cover as shots hit bystanders. Two people involved in the altercation that led to the shooting have been arrested on firearms charges, police said. Five handguns have been recovered, with one of them reported stolen in the Miami area and another in Texas, they said. Police and witnesses said the shooting began as a group of people fought in front of a busy stretch of shops on the Hollywood Oceanfront Broadwalk about 7 p.m. Monday.The sound of gunshots sent witness Alvie Carlton Scott III ducking for cover behind a tree be...

Recipe: Enjoy a light salad like tabbouleh in warmer weather

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:59 GMT

By Esther Kennedy for the Times-StandardNow that we’re heading into summer, it’s the perfect time to switch from hearty soups to light, filling, healthy meals. Salads tend to have a bad rep for being just boring lettuces and veggies thrown together, but there are endless opportunities to showcase your favorite veggies and fruits.Rather than starting with a typical bed of lettuce and piling up all the delicious veggie toppings, use bulgur as the base for a delicious tabbouleh that is a Mediterranean staple. In my opinion, this dish can have many interpretations from wanting loads of veggies to how much dressing should be on the salad. This is mostly a vegetarian dish, but I’m sure the carnivores can add their favorite meats to this dish to make it unique.As much as I love hearty, stick-to-your ribs soups, pasta dishes and steak, I’m a sucker for a fresh salad. I’ve been craving Mediterranean food recently, so I made tabbouleh with just a slight personal touch. It’s easy to create, ma...

O’Toole says CSIS told him he was focus of Chinese misinformation, suppression effort

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:59 GMT

OTTAWA — Conservative MP Erin O’Toole says Canada’s spy agency has told him he was the target of Chinese interference intended to discredit him and promote false narratives about his policies while party leader. Rising in the House of Commons on a question of privilege Tuesday, O’Toole said the Canadian Security Intelligence Service briefing revealed a range of actions against him. They included Chinese Communist Party funding to create misinformation, the use of groups and the WeChat social media platform to amplify the mistruths and a campaign of voter suppression against him during the 2021 general election, he said.The former Conservative leader said the threats against him and members of his caucus were not flagged to him by the government or security agencies at the time. They were also not communicated to the Conservatives through the federal task force intended to help safeguard the integrity of the 2021 election, he added.O’Toole said the Liberal gov...

Canada will keep up with U.S., won’t cut corners on permitting reform, Wilkinson says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:59 GMT

WASHINGTON — Canada’s natural resources minister says he won’t be “cutting corners” when it comes to the environmental assessment process for energy projects. Jonathan Wilkinson says the government is focused on delivering a new permitting process before the end of the year. Industry experts say it’s more urgent than ever, now that the U.S. is poised to eliminate duplication and require shorter timelines for environmental assessments.The U.S. permitting reforms are part of the new Fiscal Responsibility Act, the result of efforts to end the political standoff over the debt ceiling. That controversy is still far from resolved, however: Congress is divided over the legislation, which aims to stave off a U.S. default before Monday. If passed, the bill would create a new agency to oversee the permitting process and require environmental reviews take no longer than two years.  This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2023.The Canadian Press

Drug policy advocate group Moms Stop the Harm wants meeting with Poilievre

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:59 GMT

OTTAWA — The co-founder of a network of mothers whose children died of drug overdoses says she wants to speak with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre about his opposition to prescribing a safer supply of opioids to those living with addiction.Leslie McBain of the group Moms Stop the Harm joined other advocates and Green Party MPs at a news conference today, where she said she wants to tell Poilievre that she believes the practice of offering drug alternatives saves lives.The Greens joined the Liberals, the NDP and the Bloc Québécois on Monday in voting against a Conservative motion that sought to condemn the Trudeau government’s approach to substance use and addiction.Poilievre had asked the House to reject what he views as the failed policy of federally funding the supply of pharmaceutical alternatives, such as hydromorphone, in place of certain illicit drugs to combat the opioids crisis.Drug policy experts and advocates argue such measures are needed to counter the poisone...