Today's News Headline

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The levees, floodwalls and floodgates that protect New Orleans held up against  Hurricane Ida’s fury , passing their toughest test since the federal government spent billions of dollars to upgrade a system that catastrophically failed when Hurricane Katrina struck 16 years ago. But strengthening the flood protection system in New Orleans couldn’t spare some neighboring communities from Ida’s destructive storm surge. Many residents of LaPlace, a western suburb where work only recently began on a long-awaited levee project, had to be rescued from rising floodwaters. Marcie Jacob Hebert evacuated before Ida, but she has no doubt that the storm flooded her LaPlace home based on what she has seen and heard from neighbors. Her house didn’t flood  in 2005 during Katrina , but it took on nearly 2 feet (60 centimeters) of water during Hurricane Isaac in 2012. “We haven’t had these problems until everybody else’s levees worked,” said Hebert, 46. “It may not be...

More than 100 school districts across Massachusetts are holding free COVID-19 vaccine clinics for students just days before school starts, in an effort to boost numbers and walk back the state’s mask mandate for their classrooms If 80 percent of eligible students are vaccinated by Oct. 1, school districts can end the mask mandates for middle and high schoolers. Officials said the greater amount of vaccinated students, the less likely the virus will spread in schools. “The more people in that classroom, the more vaccinated … the safer it will be and more promising school will continue to be in person,” said Dr. Christin Price, who was running a Jamaica Plain clinic. “In some cases its parents and kids who are coming to get vaccinated which in some respects is a bonus that if you have a program like this, if you can get the kids interested maybe they can get the parents to come get vaccinated as well,” said Gov. Charlie Baker at an Everett clinic. Clinics are offering school supplies...

Demonstrators at the State House on Monday called for state lawmakers to help their relatives who are still in Afghanistan as the U.S. pulls out troops. Zabih Ullah Ibrahimi said he was visiting family in Afghanistan and had to negotiate with the Taliban to get out. Ibrahimi said it took his family more than a week to get to the U.S. and described a frightening ordeal. “It was a huge fear for me because it’s more important than my life, it’s my kids, my wife, because they were with me so I needed to get them out first,” Ibrahimi said. “My kids were crying at all the checkpoints when they were seeing the Taliban because they had an understanding that the Talibans is something different and it is, so the fear was there.” from Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News Source: https://ift.tt/3gOm1jx

This content collected from Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News. Police are asking for the public’s help to identify a car involved in a homicide investigation after a fatal shooting in Mattapan earlier in the month. Officers responding to a report of a person shot in the area of 12 Woodbole St. around 12:30 a.m. Aug. 22 found a male victim suffering from a gunshot wound, according to police. The man was taken to the hospital, where he died of his wounds. Anyone with information about the shooting or the car is asked to call police at 617-343-4470. Bangla Zoom is most popular bangladeshi website. We are working with bengali news , english news headlines, bangla blog tips, bangla health tips , entertainmnet and more bangla helpful tips. from Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News Source: https://whdh.com/news/police-ask-publics-help-to-identify-car-of-interest-in-mattapan-fatal-shooting/

This content collected from Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News. PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Sen. Angus King said that his breakthrough case of COVID-19 produced symptoms that were double the worst head cold he’d ever experienced, and he credited the vaccine for keeping him out of the hospital. The 77-year-old independent said he hopes his rough-and-tumble experience in which he received an infusion to help fight the virus will help others who might be on the fence about getting the vaccine. “I’m convinced the vaccine saved my life,” he told The Associated Press. King, who’s resting at home, said he’s feeling fine now. He has no idea whether he got the virus in Washington or at home in Maine. He was one of several senators who tested positive for the virus around the same time. His symptoms started with a runny nose and headache, he said, and he was feeling bad enough to get tested the following day. He tested positive on Aug. 19, and began isolating at home in Maine. The sympto...

This content collected from Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News. HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — More than 1,500 long-term, unemployed Connecticut residents who recently found jobs are being awarded $1,000 bonuses under the first round of the Back to Work CT program, an initiative funded with federal COVID-19 relief funds. Approximately $10 million has been allocated for the program, which will provide bonus payments for up to 10,000 eligible applicants through Dec. 31. “Many workers who were displaced during the early months in the pandemic and faced long-term unemployment are now transitioning back into the workforce and starting to rebuild,” Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday in a written statement. “This one-time bonus payment will help some of those workers pay for the critical things they need to get back to work, including childcare.” To be eligible for the program, applicants must obtain and maintain a full-time job for eight consecutive weeks between May 30 and Dec. 31. Applicants m...

This content collected from Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News. RUTLAND, Vt. (AP) — An invasive pest considered to be a threat to a variety agricultural crops and hardwood trees was found in an out-of-state shipment to Vermont, officials said Monday. The Vermont Agency of Agriculture was alerted on Aug. 19 that a live spotted lanternfly was captured on a shipment delivered in Rutland, the agency said. The insects found were either killed or captured, the agency said. No other evidence of spotted lanternflies was discovered by responding Agriculture Agency or Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation staff, officials said. “We will take all the steps necessary to determine how large a problem this might be, but what’s more important is that people keep their eyes open for this invasive and destructive insect, and let us know immediately if you find any,” Cary Giguere, the state director of plant health and agriculture resource management said in a written statement Native ...

Police are asking for the public’s help to identify a car involved in a homicide investigation after a fatal shooting in Mattapan earlier in the month. Officers responding to a report of a person shot in the area of 12 Woodbole St. around 12:30 a.m. Aug. 22 found a male victim suffering from a gunshot wound, according to police. The man was taken to the hospital, where he died of his wounds. Anyone with information about the shooting or the car is asked to call police at 617-343-4470. from Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News Source: https://ift.tt/2WHOpgi

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Sen. Angus King said that his breakthrough case of COVID-19 produced symptoms that were double the worst head cold he’d ever experienced, and he credited the vaccine for keeping him out of the hospital. The 77-year-old independent said he hopes his rough-and-tumble experience in which he received an infusion to help fight the virus will help others who might be on the fence about getting the vaccine. “I’m convinced the vaccine saved my life,” he told The Associated Press. King, who’s resting at home, said he’s feeling fine now. He has no idea whether he got the virus in Washington or at home in Maine. He was one of several senators who tested positive for the virus around the same time. His symptoms started with a runny nose and headache, he said, and he was feeling bad enough to get tested the following day. He tested positive on Aug. 19, and began isolating at home in Maine. The symptoms were worrisome. He said he had extreme sinus congestion and kept coug...

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — More than 1,500 long-term, unemployed Connecticut residents who recently found jobs are being awarded $1,000 bonuses under the first round of the Back to Work CT program, an initiative funded with federal COVID-19 relief funds. Approximately $10 million has been allocated for the program, which will provide bonus payments for up to 10,000 eligible applicants through Dec. 31. “Many workers who were displaced during the early months in the pandemic and faced long-term unemployment are now transitioning back into the workforce and starting to rebuild,” Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday in a written statement. “This one-time bonus payment will help some of those workers pay for the critical things they need to get back to work, including childcare.” To be eligible for the program, applicants must obtain and maintain a full-time job for eight consecutive weeks between May 30 and Dec. 31. Applicants must complete and submit an application electronically to the Department ...

RUTLAND, Vt. (AP) — An invasive pest considered to be a threat to a variety agricultural crops and hardwood trees was found in an out-of-state shipment to Vermont, officials said Monday. The Vermont Agency of Agriculture was alerted on Aug. 19 that a live spotted lanternfly was captured on a shipment delivered in Rutland, the agency said. The insects found were either killed or captured, the agency said. No other evidence of spotted lanternflies was discovered by responding Agriculture Agency or Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation staff, officials said. “We will take all the steps necessary to determine how large a problem this might be, but what’s more important is that people keep their eyes open for this invasive and destructive insect, and let us know immediately if you find any,” Cary Giguere, the state director of plant health and agriculture resource management said in a written statement Native to China,  the colorful 1-inch (2.5-centimeter) insect  has gre...

This content collected from Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News. CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and state and health care officials met with their counterparts in Kentucky on Monday to hear about the state’s most recent surge of COVID-19 cases and how they are handling it. “Like New Hampshire, Kentucky is a rural state with small cities,” Sununu said in a news release. “Today, I joined New Hampshire state officials in visiting Kentucky to help inform our decision making in the weeks and months ahead to see how they are handling their COVID surge, how hospitals are managing through this crisis, and to hear what tools they have found to be effective in battling this most recent wave virus.” Sununu and staff were visiting Frankfort Regional Medical Center and the University of Louisville Hospital. Sununu also met with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and staff. In answer to a question asked by the New Hampshire Democratic Party, a spokesperson for Sununu said the...

This content collected from Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News. WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite a few high-profile conservation success stories – like the dramatic  comeback  of bald eagle populations in North America – birds of prey are in decline worldwide. A new analysis of data from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and BirdLife International found that 30% of 557 raptor species worldwide are considered near threatened, vulnerable or endangered or critically endangered. Eighteen species are critically endangered, including the  Philippine eagle,  the  hooded vulture  and the  Annobon scops owl , the researchers found. Other species are in danger of becoming locally extinct in specific regions, meaning they may no longer play critical roles as top predators in those ecosystems, said Gerardo Ceballos, a bird scientist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and co-author of the study published Monday in the journal Pr...

This content collected from Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News. PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Providence police on Monday released the names of two victims shot and killed within 20 minutes of each other over the weekend in what were apparently unconnected homicides. Daniel Zairis, 24, of Providence, was shot at about 2 a.m. Saturday as he left a nightclub, Maj. David Lapatin said. “He had come out, he appears to be walking by a man who took out a weapon and shot him several times,” Lapatin said. Zairis was taken by friends to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. About 20 minutes later, police responded to a Cumberland Farms convenience store where they found Andrei Bonilla, 23, of Providence, in his car suffering from a gunshot wound. Bonilla had been sitting in a car with a woman nearby when the woman’s former boyfriend showed up and opened fire, Lapatin said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have identified the suspect, a 22-year-old man, who remains on the ...

This content collected from Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News. WORCESTER, Mass (AP) — Massachusetts Port Authority has announced that American Airlines will return to service at Worcester Regional Airport (ORH) in the fall after the pandemic suspended operations last year due to a decline in passengers and decreasing revenues. Following JetBlue and Delta Airlines, American is the third airlines to return to the regional airport, which has excited Worcester County Sheriff and Massachusetts Port Authority Board Chairperson Lew Evangelidis, the  Telegram & Gazette reported. “Having more service to more destinations allows passengers to choose a flight that works best for them,” he said. When American fully returns to Worcester Regional Airport in the fall, the airline will offer a daily nonstop flight to Philadelphia International Airport. Tickets are on sale beginning Monday. “The investments we have made over the years at ORH are paying dividends,” U.S. Rep. James P...

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and state and health care officials met with their counterparts in Kentucky on Monday to hear about the state’s most recent surge of COVID-19 cases and how they are handling it. “Like New Hampshire, Kentucky is a rural state with small cities,” Sununu said in a news release. “Today, I joined New Hampshire state officials in visiting Kentucky to help inform our decision making in the weeks and months ahead to see how they are handling their COVID surge, how hospitals are managing through this crisis, and to hear what tools they have found to be effective in battling this most recent wave virus.” Sununu and staff were visiting Frankfort Regional Medical Center and the University of Louisville Hospital. Sununu also met with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and staff. In answer to a question asked by the New Hampshire Democratic Party, a spokesperson for Sununu said the trip was scheduled last week. On Friday, Beshear said more than half o...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite a few high-profile conservation success stories – like the dramatic  comeback  of bald eagle populations in North America – birds of prey are in decline worldwide. A new analysis of data from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and BirdLife International found that 30% of 557 raptor species worldwide are considered near threatened, vulnerable or endangered or critically endangered. Eighteen species are critically endangered, including the  Philippine eagle,  the  hooded vulture  and the  Annobon scops owl , the researchers found. Other species are in danger of becoming locally extinct in specific regions, meaning they may no longer play critical roles as top predators in those ecosystems, said Gerardo Ceballos, a bird scientist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and co-author of the study published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “The golden eagle is the...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Providence police on Monday released the names of two victims shot and killed within 20 minutes of each other over the weekend in what were apparently unconnected homicides. Daniel Zairis, 24, of Providence, was shot at about 2 a.m. Saturday as he left a nightclub, Maj. David Lapatin said. “He had come out, he appears to be walking by a man who took out a weapon and shot him several times,” Lapatin said. Zairis was taken by friends to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. About 20 minutes later, police responded to a Cumberland Farms convenience store where they found Andrei Bonilla, 23, of Providence, in his car suffering from a gunshot wound. Bonilla had been sitting in a car with a woman nearby when the woman’s former boyfriend showed up and opened fire, Lapatin said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have identified the suspect, a 22-year-old man, who remains on the loose. It appears both victims were targeted, Lapatin said. There have...

WORCESTER, Mass (AP) — Massachusetts Port Authority has announced that American Airlines will return to service at Worcester Regional Airport (ORH) in the fall after the pandemic suspended operations last year due to a decline in passengers and decreasing revenues. Following JetBlue and Delta Airlines, American is the third airlines to return to the regional airport, which has excited Worcester County Sheriff and Massachusetts Port Authority Board Chairperson Lew Evangelidis, the  Telegram & Gazette reported. “Having more service to more destinations allows passengers to choose a flight that works best for them,” he said. When American fully returns to Worcester Regional Airport in the fall, the airline will offer a daily nonstop flight to Philadelphia International Airport. Tickets are on sale beginning Monday. “The investments we have made over the years at ORH are paying dividends,” U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern of Worcester said. “This is great news that American is bring...

(WHDH) — Video captured the moment the Coast Guard medevac a fisherman who had been having a medical emergency off the coast of Cape Cod on Sunday. The Coast Guard First District watchstanders received a report from the 65-foot fishing vessel Direction of a crewmember who was experiencing diabetic-related conditions and needed assistance, according to the Coast Guard. A Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew launched and safely hoisted the fisherman. He was transferred to EMS in Barnstable before being taken to Cape Cod Hospital. His current condition has not been released. from Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News Source: https://ift.tt/38suHYd

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — An FBI agent and a local police officer were justified in the fatal shooting of a man who shot at them during a federal-local task force operation in Hartford in January, a prosecutor concluded Monday. FBI Special Agent Frederick Reeder and New Britain Detective Christopher Kiely fired in self-defense at Benicio Vasquez, who fired one shot at them but missed while trying to flee on foot after crashing into police vehicles and nearly running over an officer, New Haven State’s Attorney Patrick Griffin said in his report. Griffin noted that none of the officers on the task force was wearing a body camera, and he recommended task force members wear them in all future operations. Reeder fired seven times and Kiely two times, Griffin said. Vasquez, 34, who had survived being wounded in two previous, unrelated shootings, was shot five times and later pronounced dead at a hospital, according to the report. Autopsy results showed he had alcohol and THC from marijuana i...

Two women are facing charges after they fled from officers before abandoning a stolen vehicle in a yard in Dartmouth on Sunday. An officer conducted a Registry of Motor Vehicles query on a passing 2002 Mercury Mountainer around 7:10 p.m. and learned that it was stolen, according to Dartmouth police. The officer, along with his field training officer, attempted to stop the vehicle but it allegedly fled from them. The officers terminated the attempted stop as to not further jeopardize the safety of the public and instead began to check the surrounding area for the car, police said. A short time later, a resident on John Alden Court called Dartmouth Police Communications to let them know that a vehicle had been abandoned in their yard and that two people had fled into the woods, police added. Several officers, including a K-9, searched the area and found Jamie Donovan, 34, of New Bedford, and Misty Baker, 28, of East Falmouth hiding in the woods, according to police. They were both ...

Authorities have identified the man who was fatally shot in Dorchester on Saturday night. Officers responding to a reported shooting in the area of 11 Erie St. around 6:30 p.m. found Shamel Winston Atkins, 31, of Dorchester, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound, according to Boston police. He was later pronounced dead. Anyone with information is asked to call Boston Police Homicide Detectives at 617-343-4470. from Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News Source: https://ift.tt/3Bol8pN

This content collected from Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News. SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — Twice, Jackson Surma walked to the plate with runners in scoring position in the biggest game of his young life. Both times he delivered. Jackson drove in four runs and Ethan Van Belle struck out eight as Michigan beat Ohio 5-2 on Sunday in the championship game of the Little League World Series. “The first one, I knew I had runners on second and third,” Jackson said. “There weren’t two outs, so I needed just something in play. He threw me a curveball, I sat on it and drove it to left. The second one, he threw me a high fastball and I went up there and got it.” The team from Taylor North Little League delivered the first LLWS title for the state of Michigan since 1959 when Hamtramck National Little League won it all. “We’re just excited we’re mentioned with them,” manager Rick Thorning said. “To be in that group and say that a team from Michigan won the LLWS, it still doesn’t soun...

This content collected from Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News. NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Hurricane Ida blasted ashore Sunday as one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the U.S., blowing off roofs and reversing the flow of the Mississippi River as it rushed from the Louisiana coast toward New Orleans and one of the nation’s most important industrial corridors. The Category 4 storm hit on the same date Hurricane Katrina ravaged Louisiana and Mississippi 16 years earlier, coming ashore about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of where Category 3 Katrina first struck land. Ida’s 150-mph (230 kph) winds tied it for the fifth-strongest hurricane to ever hit the mainland U.S. The rising ocean swamped the barrier island of Grand Isle as landfall came just to the west at Port Fourchon. Ida made a second landfall about two hours later near Galliano. The hurricane was churning through the far southern Louisiana wetlands, with the more than 2 million people living in and around New Orleans and ...

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Schools around the state looking to upgrade aging ventilation systems to improve air quality and help fight the airborne spread of COVID-19 may find themselves short on funds, even with federal pandemic aid. The Connecticut Mirror  reports  a state policy restricts aid for heating, air conditioning and air quality control projects. The policy could be reviewed again by legislators, but likely not before the 2022 General Assembly session in February. “There are some districts that haven’t touched their schools in 40 years,” said Kostantinos Diamantis, the state’s budget director who also has overseen the state’s school construction program for the past six years. “The local level needs to belly up to the bar. The cities have an obligation to maintain those buildings.” Connecticut reimburses communities for between 10% and 71% of new construction and large renovation projects designed to last 20 years or longer, the Mirror reported. But the cost of smal...

This content collected from Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News. HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Schools around the state looking to upgrade aging ventilation systems to improve air quality and help fight the airborne spread of COVID-19 may find themselves short on funds, even with federal pandemic aid. The Connecticut Mirror  reports  a state policy restricts aid for heating, air conditioning and air quality control projects. The policy could be reviewed again by legislators, but likely not before the 2022 General Assembly session in February. “There are some districts that haven’t touched their schools in 40 years,” said Kostantinos Diamantis, the state’s budget director who also has overseen the state’s school construction program for the past six years. “The local level needs to belly up to the bar. The cities have an obligation to maintain those buildings.” Connecticut reimburses communities for between 10% and 71% of new construction and large renovation projects design...

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana hospitals are already packed with patients from the latest coronavirus surge and are challenged by Hurricane Ida, which slammed ashore Sunday as one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the United States. “Once again we find ourselves dealing with a natural disaster in the midst of a pandemic,” said Jennifer Avegno, the top health official for New Orleans. The storm struck as hospitals and their intensive care units are filled with patients from the fourth surge of the COVID-19 pandemic, sparked by the highly contagious delta variant and low vaccination rates across Louisiana. Daily tallies of new cases in Louisiana went from a few hundred a day through much of the spring and early summer to thousands a day by late July. Statewide, hospitalizations had peaked at around 2,000 or fewer in three previous surges. But that number peaked at more than 3,000 in August. Gov. John Bel Edwards said Sunday more than 2,400 COVID-19 patients are in Louisiana hospi...

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Six months after Congress approved spending tens of billions of dollars to bail out renters facing eviction, South Carolina was just reaching its first tenants. All nine of them. Like most states, it had plenty of money to distribute — $272 million. But it had handed out just over $36,000 by June. The pace has since intensified, but South Carolina still has only distributed $15.5 million in rent and utility payments as of Aug. 20, or about 6% of its funds. “People are strangling on the red tape,” said Sandy Gillis, executive director of the Hilton Head Deep Well Project, which stopped referring tenants to the program and started paying overdue rent through its own private funds instead. The struggles in South Carolina are emblematic of a program launched at the beginning of the year with the promise of solving the pandemic eviction crisis, only to fall victim in many states to bureaucratic hurdles, political inertia and unclear guidance at the federal level. T...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States has the capacity to evacuate the approximately 300 U.S. citizens remaining in Afghanistan who want to leave before President Joe Biden’s Tuesday deadline, senior Biden administration officials said Sunday, as  another U.S. drone strike against suspected Islamic State militants  underscored the grave threat in the war’s final days. “This is the most dangerous time in an already extraordinarily dangerous mission these last couple of days,” America’s top diplomat, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said not long before confirmation of that airstrike in Kabul, the capital. The evacuation flow of Americans kept pace even as a new State Department security alert, issued hours before the military action, instructed people to leave the airport area immediately “due to a specific, credible threat.” Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan said that for those U.S. citizens seeking immediately to leave Afghanistan by the looming deadline, “w...

NORWICH, Vt. (AP) — Farmers and their crews from around Vermont are ready to battle in the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont’s sixth annual Farmer Olympics. The event will be held on Tuesday at Honeyfield Farm in Norwich. Teams will compete in skills ranging from physical, to cerebral to ridiculous, organizers said. Among the past events were the zuccini relay, squash shot put and blindfolded seeding. Awards will go to the best-performing teams. “The Farmer Olympics are all about joy, celebration, and connection and this year, after the challenges farmers faced over the last 18 months, this event is really needed,” said Zea Luce, NOFA-VT’s events & engagement coordinator. Farms can register teams through  NOFA-VT. from Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News Source: https://ift.tt/3ysOZva

This content collected from Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News. NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana hospitals are already packed with patients from the latest coronavirus surge and are challenged by Hurricane Ida, which slammed ashore Sunday as one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the United States. “Once again we find ourselves dealing with a natural disaster in the midst of a pandemic,” said Jennifer Avegno, the top health official for New Orleans. The storm struck as hospitals and their intensive care units are filled with patients from the fourth surge of the COVID-19 pandemic, sparked by the highly contagious delta variant and low vaccination rates across Louisiana. Daily tallies of new cases in Louisiana went from a few hundred a day through much of the spring and early summer to thousands a day by late July. Statewide, hospitalizations had peaked at around 2,000 or fewer in three previous surges. But that number peaked at more than 3,000 in August. Gov. John Bel Edwa...

This content collected from Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News. COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Six months after Congress approved spending tens of billions of dollars to bail out renters facing eviction, South Carolina was just reaching its first tenants. All nine of them. Like most states, it had plenty of money to distribute — $272 million. But it had handed out just over $36,000 by June. The pace has since intensified, but South Carolina still has only distributed $15.5 million in rent and utility payments as of Aug. 20, or about 6% of its funds. “People are strangling on the red tape,” said Sandy Gillis, executive director of the Hilton Head Deep Well Project, which stopped referring tenants to the program and started paying overdue rent through its own private funds instead. The struggles in South Carolina are emblematic of a program launched at the beginning of the year with the promise of solving the pandemic eviction crisis, only to fall victim in many states to bureaucratic ...