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Federal team sent to ‘assess’ migrant situation to visit Boston Tuesday, Wednesday

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Federal team sent to ‘assess’ migrant situation to visit Boston Tuesday, Wednesday


A Department of Homeland Security team tasked with “assessing” the migrant situation in Massachusetts plans to visit Boston Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the Healey administration.

The trip comes as migrant arrivals have surged in Massachusetts, pushing an emergency shelter system already overburdened with the number of local homeless families into crisis mode. Skyrocketing housing costs and long processing periods for work authorizations have slowed both local families and migrants’ ability to exit temporary housing.

The Biden administration said last week it was sending a Homeland Security team to “assess  the current migrant situation and identify ways to improve efficiencies and maximize our support for communities that are addressing the needs of migrants.”

“We look forward to having the DHS team visit Boston this week to better understand the challenges the city and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are facing, and to make response recommendations as to how we continue to work together,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a Monday letter to Gov. Maura Healey.

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A spokesperson for Healey said the administration “welcomes” the opportunity to show the assessment team “the extremely difficult situation we are facing and discuss badly-needed support.”

“Congress needs to act on President Biden’s $4 billion supplemental request which would make available some funding for cities and states. We will continue to advocate for more funding in addition to that and changes to the work authorization process,” spokesperson Karissa Hand said in a statement.

In a statement to the Herald, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the agency is coordinating with Boston and state officials “to identify ways we can continue to maximize our support for communities that are addressing the needs of migrants while enforcing tough consequences against those without a legal basis to remain in the country.”

“We will continue to offer best practices and guidance to interior cities as they work to integrate eligible noncitizens into the American workforce, and to manage our nation’s broken immigration system in a safe, orderly, and humane way until Congress acts to fix it,” the spokesperson said while pointing to $2.8 million the Biden administration has shuttled to Boston.

For the past two months since declaring a state of emergency in response to the crowded emergency shelter system, Healey has called on the federal government to provide more funding to deal with migrant arrivals and make it easier for them to obtain work authorizations.

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After meeting in person with Mayorkas at the State House over the summer, Healey penned a letter last month asking for two regulatory changes that would allow migrants to work once they’re granted immigration status by the federal government and use their application as a provisional employment authorization document.

In the Monday letter, Mayorkas said the feds have taken “several concrete steps” to quickly hand out work authorizations.

He said employment authorization applications were fast tracked for people who have been paroled into the United States following a CBP One appointment, as well as those paroled from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

“(U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is working to decrease media processing time for (employment authorization document) applications for these individuals to 30 days,” Mayorkas wrote.

Officials have also sent over 1 million notifications to people paroled into the U.S. to raise awareness about their eligibility to apply for a work authorization. And Mayorkas also pointed to a recent move by the Biden administration to extend temporary protected status for Venezuelans.

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“This administration has overseen the largest expansion of lawful pathways to the United States in decades,” Mayorkas wrote.



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Boston, MA

Miami Heat And Boston Celtics Game 5 Injury Reports

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Miami Heat And Boston Celtics Game 5 Injury Reports


On Wednesday evening, the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics will play Game 5 of their first-round playoff series in Massachusetts.

For the game, both teams have announced their injury reports (updated as of 4:30 Eastern Time).

The Heat have ruled out Jimmy Butler, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Josh Richardson and Terry Rozier.

Haywood Highsmith and Duncan Robinson are both listed as available.

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Meanwhile, the Celtics will be without 2018 NBA All-Star Kristaps Porzingis, and no one else is on their injury report for the game.

The Celtics have a 3-1 in the lead, so they can end the series with a victory on Wednesday.

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Most recently, they beat the Heat (in Game 4) by a score of 102-88.

Derrick White led the way with 38 points, four rebounds, three assists and three blocks while shooting 15/26 from the field and 8/15 from the three-point range in 41 minutes of playing time.

The Heat are the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference and had a 46-36 record.

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They have made the NBA Finals in two of the previous four seasons, and are coming off a year where they beat the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals (in seven games).

As for the Celtics, they are the first seed in the Eastern Conference with a 64-18 record.

If the Heat stay alive, Game 6 will be on Friday evening in Miami, Florida.

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Whoever wins the series will advance to the second to face off against either the Orlando Magic or the Cleveland Cavaliers.



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To-go cocktails are now permanently legal in Massachusetts

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To-go cocktails are now permanently legal in Massachusetts


Governor signs bill making to-go cocktails legal in Massachusetts

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Governor signs bill making to-go cocktails legal in Massachusetts

00:28

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BOSTON – You can once again grab a cocktail to go in Massachusetts. Gov. Maura Healey has signed a supplemental bill that makes to-go cocktails a permanent fixture at restaurants in the state. 

Customers can buy up to 64 ounces of a mixed cocktail alongside a food purchase. The drinks must be kept in a sealed container and transported in the trunk of a car or a place “that is not considered the passenger area,” legislation says

Pandemic-era legislation becomes permanent

Cocktails to go were first legalized in Massachusetts in 2020, months after the COVID pandemic began, but only on a temporary basis. A temporary measure allowing their sale had expired on April 1.

“Massachusetts consumers, restaurants and bars can all toast to the fact that cocktails to-go are here to stay,” Andy Deloney of the  Distilled Spirits Council of the United States said in a statement. “During the pandemic, cocktails to-go were a critical source of revenue for many businesses, and now, the increased convenience and stability they offer is permanent.”

There are 27 states that have made to-go cocktails permanent, including Rhode Island, Connecticut and Maine. 

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The Maxey Game, T-Wolves Fans, Underrated NFL Teams, and a Boston Sports Check-In With Sean Fennessey, Nate Tice, and Bill’s Dad

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The Maxey Game, T-Wolves Fans, Underrated NFL Teams, and a Boston Sports Check-In With Sean Fennessey, Nate Tice, and Bill’s Dad


The Ringer’s Bill Simmons is joined by Sean Fennessey to discuss the way Tyrese Maxey and the 76ers pulled out an incredible Game 5 win over the Knicks and where that game ranks among the most improbable playoff losses in NBA history (2:36). Then Bill is joined by Nate Tice of The Athletic and Yahoo Sports to discuss Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves (27:41), why he was so high on Drake Maye, and post-draft underrated NFL teams (42:00). Finally, Bill is joined by his dad for a Boston sports check-in, mostly focused on the Celtics and the Patriots (1:18:16).

Host: Bill Simmons
Guests: Sean Fennessey, Nate Tice, and Bill’s Dad
Producer: Kyle Crichton

Subscribe: Spotify / Apple Podcasts / Stitcher / RSS



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