Driscoll fills in for Wu at research bureau, while Mariano jokes about RFK Jr.
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Wu recently said in a social media post that she decided not to attend the lunch, a tradition for the sitting mayor, because of her concern that the business-backed research bureau has been acting as a 'political action committee to lower corporate taxes.' (Wu was referring to their difference in opinion about how commercial real estate should be taxed.)
Instead, Wu ended up around the time of the lunch at Boston Latin School, where she met with actor Ayo Edebiri, a BPS alum and star of the TV show 'The Bear.'
Mayoral challenger Josh Kraft, who attended the research bureau event, highlighted Wu's absence with an email he sent out that morning accusing his opponent of shutting out a nonpartisan organization over a policy disagreement.
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House Speaker Ron Mariano, meanwhile, wasn't about to miss his own annual speaking engagement that morning with another business group, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, even though he was fighting a cold. He joked about that while speaking at the Fairmont Copley Plaza hotel, by referring to US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and some of his controversial stances.
'You'll have to forgive me. I've had a cold for a week but I'm on direct orders from Secretary Kennedy of Health and Human Services to attend as many crowded events as possible,' Mariano said to much laughter. 'We're trying to achieve herd immunity.'
This is an installment of our weekly Bold Types column about the movers and shakers on Boston's business scene.
Jon Chesto can be reached at

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Politico
4 hours ago
- Politico
No chill in Boston over LA ICE protests
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At one point, Newsom goaded the president to arrest him; Trump said Monday that's an option that's not off the table. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has taken a similarly combative stance in response to recent ICE operations in Boston and beyond. The first-term Democrat struck a particularly tender nerve when she described ICE agents as 'secret police,' pointing to the video where Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk was seized by agents wearing masks. Asked Monday about the protests in Los Angeles, Wu held her ground: 'It's important to speak the truth, and I support the calls to make sure that we are calling out when unconstitutional behavior is happening,' Wu told reporters after a budget signing event. 'There are actions taking place that are retaliatory, that are targeting specific communities and cities, and it's important not to get bullied out of saying what we see with our own eyes.' Some local officials have been wary of Wu's war of words with ICE, out of concern the Trump administration could retaliate against the city. But for the most part, Wu has been earning praise from other electeds for her refusal to back down. 'We're already a target,' Boston City Councilor Julia Mejia told Playbook at Monday's rally. 'This is an opportunity to unite our unions, our immigrant community. And so while it sucks, what is happening in LA, I also want to see it as an opportunity to motivate people.' GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Drop me a line: kgarrity@ TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey speaks at the inaugural Victim Services Conference at 10:20 a.m. in Norwood and participates in a fireside chat at the Boston Globe Tech Summit at 4 p.m. in Boston. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll speaks at a topping-off ceremony at 11 a.m. in Boston, participates in a fireside chat at 'Make It in Mass 2025' at noon in Cambridge, chairs a meeting of the Local Government Advisory Commission at 1 p.m. and attends the Benjamin Banneker Charter Public School's annual STEAMS Exposition at 1:30 p.m. in Cambridge. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speaks at the Henderson Upper School at 9:45 a.m. in Dorchester, gives an update on the city's lawsuits against the federal administration at 11 a.m. and speaks at a flag raising ceremony for Caribbean Heritage Month at 12:15 p.m. FROM THE DELEGATION BY THE NUMBERS — Congressional Democrats have been warning that the president's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' will dump thousands from their current healthcare plans. And Sen. Elizabeth Warren's office has some new data on what it will mean for Massachusetts residents. 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In 2023, Gov. Maura Healey said she was setting a first ever goal for the state to spend $18 million annually on contracts with lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender-owned businesses. According to the report, agencies were asked to spend 0.3% of their discretionary budgets with LGBT businesses in fiscal year 2024, which actually bumped the total goal to $22.8 million. But in fiscal year 2024, state agencies only spent $9 million with these companies.' FROM THE HUB BUDGET SEASON — After a contentious veto process last year, Boston passed its budget this year without much fanfare. The mayor signed the $4.8 billion budget Monday, approving the $9 million in changes the council unanimously passed earlier this month. 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Khudaynazar acknowledged she told responding officers she worked for City Hall's police accountability office, but she said they took her comments out of context.' — Boston's Mass and Cass 'remains an open-air drug market' with residents begging for police crackdown by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: 'Residents impacted by Mass and Cass spillover say the area 'remains an open-air drug market' two years after the mayor rolled out a plan to clean up the troubled intersection and are begging for more police enforcement to quell the lawlessness.' WHAT'S ON CAMPBELL'S DOCKET — AGs sue ATF over 'machine gun' conversions by Christian M. Wade, The Eagle-Tribune: 'Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell is among a group of Democrats challenging the Trump administration's decision to drop federal restrictions on machine gun conversions and return thousands of previously seized devices. 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The soccer stadium is set to be the new home of the Revolution, which currently shares use of Gillette Stadium with the Patriots. The 2015 federal court filing lists Josh Kraft as second in line at Kraft Soccer Group LLC, behind his father, Robert Kraft. That creates a potential conflict of interest for the mayoral candidate who has said he would recuse himself from any negotiations related to a potential Everett stadium.' DAY IN COURT — Newton Judge Shelley Joseph denies helping defendant evade ICE in 2018 by Shelley Murphy and Dan Glaun, The Boston Globe: 'Lawyers for Judge Shelley Joseph, who is facing a disciplinary hearing for allegedly helping a defendant evade immigration authorities in a Newton courtroom in 2018, argued Monday she has become a figure of misleading 'local lore' amid the polarizing debate over immigration, without a fair opportunity to defend herself.' — Chief Justice Kimberly Budd wants to repair trust in courts by Jennifer Smith, CommonWealth Beacon. 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Fall River wants Mass. to help with the cost by Emily Scherny, The Herald News HEARD 'ROUND THE BUBBLAH HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to former state Sen. Adam Hinds, James Rockas and David Ball, president and founder of Ball Consulting Group. Happy belated to Raj Goyle and CommonWealth Beacon's Gintautas Dumcius who celebrated Monday, and to Joey Perry of state Rep. Thomas Moakley's office, who celebrated Saturday.


New York Post
17 hours ago
- New York Post
Disney paying additional $438.7M to buy out NBCUniversal's Hulu stake
Walt Disney said Monday it has completed its purchase of Hulu, agreeing to pay NBCUniversal an additional $438.7 million for its stake in the streaming service. The transaction gives Disney complete ownership of Hulu, clearing the way for a deeper integration with the Disney+ streaming service, and ESPN's coming direct-to-consumer offering, CEO Bob Iger said in a statement. The transaction gives Disney complete ownership of Hulu, clearing the way for a deeper integration with the Disney+ streaming service, and ESPN's coming direct-to-consumer offering, CEO Bob Iger said. Getty Images Advertisement Comcast agreed to sell Disney its 33% stake in Hulu in 2019, after the Burbank entertainment conglomerate acquired a majority stake the streaming service as part of its $71 billion takeover of 21st Century Fox's entertainment assets. The agreement established a $27.5 billion floor valuation for Hulu, and set a process for arriving at a fair-market value that involved a third party appraisal that arrived at a final valuation. Comcast agreed to sell Disney its 33% stake in Hulu in 2019. The agreement established a $27.5 billion floor valuation for Hulu NurPhoto via Getty Images Advertisement Hulu, which boasts popular original titles such as 'The Bear' and 'Only Murders in the Building,' had 54.7 million subscribers at the end of Disney's second quarter. 'Hulu was a great start for us in streaming that generated nearly $10 billion in proceeds for Comcast and created an important audience for NBCUniversal's world-class content,' Comcast said in a statement.
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Yahoo
DHS fires back at Democrats for 'beyond the pale' rhetoric as ICE agents face wave of violent threats
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is continuing to call on Democrats to tone down the rhetoric against Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as riots not only persisted in Los Angeles Sunday night, but agents continue to face threats of doxxing and violence. The department has taken issue with not only California leaders but also House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. "The violent targeting of law enforcement in Los Angeles by lawless rioters is despicable and Mayor Bass and Governor Newsom must call for it to end," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a Saturday statement. "The men and women of ICE put their lives on the line to protect and defend the lives of American citizens." Acting Ice Director Calls Mayor Wu's Neo-nazi Comparison 'Disgusting' Amid Increase In Agent Assaults "Make no mistake, Democrat politicians like Hakeem Jeffries, Mayor Wu of Boston, Tim Walz, and Mayor Bass of Los Angeles are contributing to the surge in assaults of our ICE officers through their repeated vilification and demonization of ICE," McLaughlin stated. "From comparisons to the modern-day Nazi Gestapo to glorifying rioters, the violent rhetoric of these sanctuary politicians is beyond the pale. This violence against ICE must end." The department says there's been a 413% increase in assaults against ICE agents, which comes as the riots in Los Angeles are centered against the presence of the agency in the city. Wu and Jeffries recently faced criticism for their comments on ICE agents masking while conducting sweeps to conceal their identity for safety reasons."Every single ICE agent who is engaged in this aggressive overreach and are trying to hide their identities from the American people will be unsuccessful in doing that," Jeffries said on Capitol Hill. Read On The Fox News App "This is America. This is not the Soviet Union," he added, saying identification is needed to comply with the law and have proper "transparency." "We're not behind the Iron Curtain. This is not the 1930s. And every single one of them, no matter what it takes, no matter how long it takes, will of course be identified." Wu was slammed for comments where she drew a tie between ICE and neo-Nazi group Nationalist Social Club-131 for the masking decision, which DHS called "sickening," according to the Boston Herald. Federal Officials Slam Democrats For 'Dangerous' Rhetoric As Ice Agents Face Violent Mobs In La, Nyc "I don't know of any police department that routinely wears masks," Wu said. "We know that there are other groups that routinely wear masks. NSC-131 routinely wears masks." Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2024, also controversially drew a comparison to the Nazis in May. Click Here For More Immigration Coverage "I'm gonna start with the flashing red light — Donald Trump's modern-day Gestapo is scooping folks up off the streets," Walz claimed at a University of Minnesota law school commencement speech. "They're in unmarked vans, wearing masks, being shipped off to foreign torture dungeons. No chance to mount a defense. Not even a chance to kiss a loved one goodbye. Just grabbed up by masked agents, shoved into those vans, and disappeared." In California, the anti-ICE riots triggered an order from President Donald Trump to deploy to the National Guard, which Newsom is expected to take legal action against. Newsom repeatedly has said that the Trump administration has instigated the situation "to manufacture chaos and violence," and has said that those who are committing "violent acts" will face legal repercussions and are playing into the president's hands. Ice Official Puts Politicians On Blast, Demanding They 'Stop Putting My People In Danger' "Continued chaotic federal sweeps, across California, to meet an arbitrary arrest quota are as reckless as they are cruel," Newsom stated Friday. "Donald Trump's chaos is eroding trust, tearing families apart, and undermining the workers and industries that power America's economy." Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called on residents not to "engage in violence and chaos" and to not "give the administration what they want," Sunday in an X post, but faced scrutiny for Friday comments saying that "these tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city." When Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom's office about DHS' comments, they sent a link to a post in which Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons credited Newsom for complying with ICE detainers for those already behind bars. Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Wu, Bass, Walz and Jeffries and did not receive article source: DHS fires back at Democrats for 'beyond the pale' rhetoric as ICE agents face wave of violent threats