Latest news with #Blanchard
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mom dies from her injuries days after her 5-year-old was killed by a ‘drunk driver' that slammed into their car
A mother has died from her injuries days after her 5-year-old daughter was killed by a drunk driver who slammed into their car, according to local officials. On May 24, a Massachusetts family got into a fatal crash that left a young girl, Krisha Patel, dead and her mother and brother injured. The mother, Minaben Patel, 38, has now died as well. Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey and Franklin Police Chief Thomas Lynch said in a joint statement Tuesday, per Boston 25 News, that officials are 'saddened by the loss to Minaben's family and we extend our heartfelt condolences.' The father, who was driving the family car, told authorities that the family was on the way to celebrate his son's 14th birthday when he 'saw a truck driving in his lane,' WCVB reported, citing a police report. 'He tried to avoid being hit by the truck by turning left into the opposite lane of travel, but they ended up colliding anyway,' the police report said. The district attorney said in a previous press release that James Blanchard, the driver of the pickup truck that collided with the Patels' car, was arrested and charged with 'motor vehicle homicide while driving negligently and under the influence of alcohol,' among other charges. A not guilty plea has been entered on Blanchard's behalf, per WCVB. Prosecutor Christopher Meade claimed that on the day of the crash, Blanchard said he had two beers at his landscaping job, and when he left, he opened a 1.75-liter bottle of vodka, started drinking out of it and drove home, according to reports. Meade claimed that police found another 1.75-liter bottle of vodka in Blanchard's truck that Blanchard told authorities was 'from the night before,' the local outlet reported. WCVB reported that authorities said Blanchard had a blood alcohol level of .189 - more than double the .08 legal driving limit. The town of Medway — which is a 10-minute drive north of Franklin, where the crash occurred — paid tribute to Minaben Patel in a Facebook post on Tuesday. 'Minaben was a devoted mother, a loving wife, and a dear friend to many,' the town said, adding, 'Together, we remember and celebrate a life marked by love, kindness, and quiet strength.' The Patel family had an obituary published for little Krisha on May 31, which read, in part: "Our hearts are broken as we say goodbye to such a precious little soul. In her short time with us, she filled the world with laughter, wonder, and love. Her smile could brighten the darkest day, and her kind heart touched everyone she met.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Mother of 5-year-old girl killed in Franklin crash by accused drunk driver has also died, DA says
A vigil is planned for the mother of a 5-year-old girl killed in a crash by an accused drunk driver in Franklin over Memorial Day weekend who has also died. Minaben Patel, 38, of Franklin, has died days after the May 24 crash that killed her daughter, Krisha Patel, 5, according to the district attorney and a Facebook post by the SAFE Coalition on Tuesday afternoon. 'The Norfolk District Attorney's Office and the Franklin Police Department are saddened by the loss to Minaben's family and we extend our heartfelt condolences,' Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey and Franklin Police Chief Thomas Lynch said in a statement Tuesday. A vigil for Minaben Patel is planned for 6 p.m. Thursday at the crash site on Grove Street in Franklin, The SAFE Coalition, a Franklin-based nonprofit group, said in its Facebook post. Another vigil was held for her daughter, Krisha Patel, at the site last Wednesday. 'We would like to share, through the families wishes, that Minaben Patel, mother of sweet Krisha, has passed away,' the SAFE Coalition said in its post. 'Minaben's family is again deeply thankful for all the love and support shared over the last week,' the group said. 'They invite the community to honor this amazing Mother, Wife, Family Member and friend this Thursday for a service of remembrance.' The driver accused in the fatal crash, James Blanchard, 21, of Franklin, was ordered held on $250,000 cash bail following his arraignment on May 27. A not guilty plea was entered on Blanchard's behalf. He is charged with motor vehicle homicide while driving negligently and under the influence of alcohol, three counts of driving under the influence of alcohol and causing serious bodily injury, negligent driving, driving a motor vehicle with an open container of alcohol, and marked lanes violation, according to Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey. It was immediately unclear Tuesday if Blanchard would face additional charges in the case. Boston 25 has reached out to Morrissey's office for comment. During his arraignment, prosecutor Christopher Meade said Blanchard told police he had two beers while at a landscaping job on Saturday, May 24 after working that morning at his job as a mechanic. When he left his landscaping job, he opened a 1.75 liter bottle of Tito's vodka. He began drinking straight out of the bottle and drove home in his truck, Meade said during the arraignment in Wrentham District Court. Investigators later found a second, empty 1.75 liter bottle of Tito's in his truck that Blanchard told police was 'from the night before,' Meade said. While driving home around 6:22 p.m. Saturday, May 24, Blanchard crashed into a Honda Accord carrying a family of four on Grove Street in Franklin, Meade said. They were going to Blackstone for a family birthday party. The 5-year-old girl died following the crash, Meade said. Her mother and brother were taken to a local hospital in critical condition. The brother's condition was not known on Tuesday. Her father, the driver of the Honda, was treated and released. Defense attorney Timothy Flaherty had asked the court during Blanchard's arraignment to impose a lesser amount of $10,000 cash bail, with conditions for his release to include electronic monitoring and that he enter an alcohol rehabilitation center. 'It's probably the right place for this young man at this time,' Flaherty said during the arraignment. 'It's a significant case but significant penalties. But I can tell the court that this young man is not a risk of flight.' An autopsy will be performed to determine a cause of Minaben Patel's death, the district attorney said. Meanwhile, services were held for Krisha Patel on May 31, according to the girl's obituary. 'Our hearts are broken as we say goodbye to such a precious little soul. In her short time with us, she filled the world with laughter, wonder, and love,' her obituary states. 'Her smile could brighten the darkest day, and her kind heart touched everyone she met.' 'Though her time here was far too brief, her spirit will forever live on in the hearts of all who loved her,' her obituary states. 'We will carry her memory with us always - like a beautiful, shining star in the sky. May she rest peacefully, wrapped in love and light.' The crash remains under investigation by Franklin Police, the Norfolk District Attorney's Office and the Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Toronto Star
3 days ago
- Business
- Toronto Star
Who is Marc-André Blanchard? PM Mark Carney's new chief of staff comes from the worlds of law, diplomacy
As his new government enters its fifth week, Prime Minister Mark Carney continued to build out his inner circle Sunday, naming diplomat and lawyer Marc-André Blanchard as his chief of staff starting in July. In a statement posted to the social media platform X, Carney called Blanchard 'one of Canada's most accomplished builders, legal experts, executives, public servants, and diplomats.' Here's everything you need to know about the prime minister's new top aide. What is Blanchard's educational and professional background? Much like the prime minister he will serve, Blanchard graduated from some of the world's most elite universities; he holds degrees from the London School of Economics, Université de Montréal and Columbia University. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW A lawyer by trade, Blanchard, 59, spent six years as the chair and CEO of McCarthy Tétrault, a business law firm based in Toronto. He most recently served as the executive vice-president for CDPQ Global, a Quebec-based investment firm. He is still a member of the Quebec bar, according to the body's directory, where his area of law is listed as 'international.' Does he have experience in government? Yes, Blanchard served as Canada's ambassador to the United Nations from 2016 to 2020. The announcement of his ascension to the post received little fanfare at the time, seeing as it was made the same day as David MacNaughton's appointment to be Canada's ambassador to the United States. The UN post has a history of being held by prominent Canadian political figures; former Ontario premier Bob Rae succeeded Blanchard in the job, and Stephen Lewis and longtime Jean Chrétien cabinet minister Allan Rock have also represented Canada at the UN. Federal Politics Former UN ambassador Marc-André Blanchard named chief of staff to Mark Carney Elissa Mendes In addition, Blanchard sat on Canada's North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Council alongside one-time opposition leader Rona Ambrose and Stephen Harper-era cabinet minister James Moore, among others. How are other public officials and politicians reacting to the news? Lisa Raitt, a three-term Conservative MP who once served as Canada's labour minister, said on X that she is a 'BIG fan of this appointment,' thanking Blanchard for 'coming back once again to serve Canada.' Ambrose, likewise, called the appointment an 'excellent choice.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Meanwhile, former Liberal MP and transport minister Omar Alghabra called it a 'well-deserved appointment,' while longtime Liberal party fixture Penny Collenette said that Blanchard and Carney form 'a powerful duo' that puts Canada 'in supreme hands.' Who else was considered for the role? The Star previously reported that former Trudeau senior adviser Mathieu Bouchard, who also served as chief of staff to the heritage minister, was in conversations for the position. The Globe and Mail reported that Trudeau aide and adviser Gerald Butts declined to take the job after being approached. Who are other notable chiefs of staff? Federal Politics Carney government recognizes 'there's no time to waste' on new housing, Olivia Chow says Mayor Olivia Chow says she is refreshed by the urgency with which the Mark Carney government is tackling the housing crisis. Federal Politics Carney government recognizes 'there's no time to waste' on new housing, Olivia Chow says Mayor Olivia Chow says she is refreshed by the urgency with which the Mark Carney government is tackling the housing crisis. Though perhaps not as glamorous and recognizable as the White House chief of staff in the U.S., a number of notable names have served in the position, including now-Senator Percy Downe and longtime Quebec City mayor Jean Pelletier. Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's chief of staff, Katie Telford, for instance, was seen as one of the most important figures in the Liberal government. In describing her influence on the government's strategy and operations, the Star's Susan Delacourt observed in 2023 that no chief of staff had travelled with a prime minister as much as she had during the 10 years she spent in the role. Carney's outgoing chief of staff, Marco Mendicino, served three terms in the House of Commons representing Eglinton-Lawrence and had two different cabinet appointments in the Trudeau government. The Star recently reported that Mendicino is considering a run for mayor of Toronto in next year's mayoral election. With files from The Canadian Press. Politics Headlines Newsletter Get the latest news and unmatched insights in your inbox every evening Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. Please enter a valid email address. Sign Up Yes, I'd also like to receive customized content suggestions and promotional messages from the Star. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Politics Headlines Newsletter You're signed up! You'll start getting Politics Headlines in your inbox soon. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page.
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Business Standard
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Stanley Fischer, who shaped global macroeconomic policy, dies at 81
By Laurence Arnold and Alisa Odenheimer Stanley Fischer, a professor and practitioner of macroeconomics who helped guide central banks in two countries, Israel and the US, and mentored a younger generation of economic decision-makers, has died. He was 81. He died on Saturday, the Bank of Israel said in a statement, expressing condolences. Fischer, known as Stan, served as vice chairman of the US Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2017 following eight years as governor of the Bank of Israel, adding to a resume that included time at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, spells at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, and a stint as vice chairman of New York-based Citigroup Inc. The roster of MIT students he taught and advised included Ben S. Bernanke, who would go on to become Fed chair and called Fischer his mentor; Mario Draghi, a future European Central Bank president and prime minister of Italy; Lawrence Summers, who would serve as US Treasury secretary under Bill Clinton; Greg Mankiw, who would lead President George W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers; Kazuo Ueda, named Bank of Japan governor in 2023; and IMF chief economists, including Olivier Blanchard, Ken Rogoff and Maurice Obstfeld. Countless other college undergraduates were introduced to the dismal science by Macroeconomics, the textbook Fischer wrote in 1978 with his MIT colleague, Rudi Dornbusch. The 13th edition of the book was published in 2018. 'It is hard to think of any other macroeconomist alive who has had as much direct and indirect influence, through his own research, his students, and his policy decisions, on macroeconomic policy around the world,' Blanchard wrote of Fischer in 2023. Fischer and Blanchard co-authored Lectures on Macroeconomics, published in 1989. Dispatched on several occasions to extinguish economic emergencies around the world, Fischer drew academic lessons from his first-hand experience with countries in crisis. The pattern began in 1983, when George Shultz, then the US secretary of state, invited Fischer to serve on a joint US-Israeli team of experts helping Israel reverse a prolonged period of weak growth, triple-digit inflation and falling foreign exchange reserves. Their work resulted, in 1985, in an economic stabilization program combining a large reduction in government subsidies with the fixing of the exchange rate, a tightening of monetary policy, and wage and price controls — followed, crucially, by the US supplying a $1.5 billion two-year aid package. That was a prelude to Fischer's tenure as the No. 2 official at the IMF, the lender of last resort to countries in economic peril. Starting in 1994, Fischer traveled the globe to help resolve interrelated financial crises in Mexico, Russia, Brazil, Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea. His role meant he often overshadowed his boss, IMF Managing Director Michel Camdessus. But years later, Fischer credited Camdessus with keeping a sense of calm following the collapse of the Mexican peso in 1994, the first IMF crisis Fischer faced. Emergency Loans 'I thought Western civilization as we knew it was coming to an end,' but Camdessus 'had seen this particular play before,' Fischer recalled. The IMF provided about $250 billion in emergency loans during Fischer's seven years as first deputy managing director, ending in 2001. To accept Israel's 2005 offer to head its central bank, Fischer, an American citizen since 1976, added Israeli citizenship. He conducted business in Hebrew, with an accent that indicated his upbringing in southern Africa. Under his leadership, Israel's central bank was the first to cut rates in 2008 at the start of the global economic crisis, and the first to raise rates the following year in response to signs of financial recovery. In 2011, responding to a global downturn, the bank embarked on a series of rate cuts that pushed the benchmark from 3.25% to a record low 0.1% in 2015. Major changes enacted by Fischer during his eight-year tenure included shifting responsibility for the monthly interest-rate decision from the governor alone to a six-member Monetary Committee, including three outside academics. 'It is testament to Stan's skillful handling of Israel's economy that it is one of the very few advanced economies whose output increased every year through the crisis period,' former Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said in 2013. President Barack Obama appointed Fischer as vice chairman of the Fed Board of Governors under Janet Yellen. Fischer announced his retirement in 2017, a year before his four-year term was to end. He joined BlackRock Inc. as an adviser in 2019. Africa Upbringing Fischer was born on Oct. 15, 1943, in Mazabuka, a town in Zambia, the nation then known as Northern Rhodesia. His family was part of a close-knit community of Jews who had emigrated to southern Africa. His Latvian-born father, Philip, ran a general store. His mother, Ann, had been born in Cape Town, the daughter of Lithuanian immigrants, according to a Financial Times profile. At 13, the family moved to Zimbabwe, then called Southern Rhodesia, where Stanley became active in the Habonim, a Zionist youth group, along with Rhoda Keet, his future wife. In the early 1960s, he spent six months on a kibbutz on Israel's Mediterranean coastal plain, where he combined learning Hebrew with picking and planting bananas. He was introduced to economics through a course in his senior year in high school and moved to the UK to study at the London School of Economics, earning a bachelor's degree in 1965 and a master's in 1966. He chose MIT for his doctorate work so that he could study under future Nobel laureate economists Paul Samuelson and Robert Solow. He said he may have been drawn to macroeconomics 'because I was interested in big questions.' 'I had this image of the world as we knew it having nearly collapsed in the 1930s, and that these guys' — the macroeconomists — 'had saved it,' he said in a 2005 interview with Blanchard. He earned his Ph.D. in economics in 1969, worked as an assistant professor at the University of Chicago, then returned to MIT in 1973 as an associate professor. The first course he taught was monetary economics, alongside Samuelson. He became a full professor in 1977. Bernanke, who earned his Ph.D. from MIT in 1979, traced his interest in monetary policy to a conversation he had with Fischer — 'then a rising academic star' — in the late 1970s. He said Fischer handed him a copy of A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960 (1963), by Milton Friedman and Anna J. Schwartz, with the encouragement, 'Read this. It may bore you to death. But if it excites you, you might consider monetary economics.' Bernanke credited Fischer with popularizing the principle that while the Fed pursues goals set by the president and Congress, it has policy independence — freedom to use its tools as it sees fit to achieve those goals. As chief economist of World Bank from 1988 to 1990, Fischer visited China and India and became, he later said, 'gripped by the problem of development.' After Fischer left the IMF in 2001, he joined Citigroup Inc. as a vice chairman and drew on his experience to lead the bank's country risk committee. Fischer declared himself a candidate for the top role at the IMF in 2011, following the resignation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn. At 67, however, he was over the IMF's age limit of 65 for managing directors, meaning he would have needed a change in rules. The job went to Christine Lagarde. In 2013, Fischer was thought to be a possible candidate to succeed Bernanke at the helm of the Fed. Obama instead chose Yellen, with Fischer as her deputy. 'In a just world, Stan would have served at some point as Fed chairman or managing director of the IMF,' Summers wrote in 2017. 'Fate is fickle and it did not happen. But Stan through his teaching, writing, advising and leading has had as much influence on global money as anyone in the last generation. Hundreds of millions of people have lived better because of his efforts.' ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Montreal Gazette
3 days ago
- Business
- Montreal Gazette
Carney names Quebecer, former UN ambassador as chief of staff
Canadian Politics TORONTO — Prime Minister Mark Carney has named Canada's former ambassador to the United Nations as his chief of staff. Carney announced on Sunday that Marc-André Blanchard would begin his post in July, taking over from Marco Mendicino, the former Liberal cabinet minister who had been doing the job on an interim basis. 'Marc-André has a long and distinguished career as one of Canada's most accomplished builders, legal experts, executives, public servants, and diplomats serving as Canada's ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations,' Carney wrote on X. Blanchard currently serves as an executive at CDPQ Global, a Quebec-based investment firm responsible for managing pension funds and insurance plans. The prominent Quebec lawyer served as Canada's ambassador to the United Nations from 2016 until 2020. In 2017, Blanchard was named as a member of the government's council struck on the new North American Free Trade Agreement, which was renegotiated by Canada, the U.S., and Mexico, during Trump's first term in office. In his post on X, Carney confirmed that Mendicino would remain his interim chief of staff into 'early summer.' He said Mendicino would be in the job as the Liberal government prepared to introduce its first legislation of the new session of Parliament and host G7 leaders when they meet in Alberta later this month, including U.S. President Donald Trump. Carney has named growing Canada's economy in the face of the president's trade war by knocking down interprovincial trade barriers and fast-tracking approvals for new energy and infrastructure projects as his top priorities. His government is also set to table a bill addressing Canada-U.S. border security, which has been another irritant of Trump's. Carney announced Blanchard as his chief of staff as he was set to meet with energy leaders in Calgary on Sunday and then travel to Saskatoon, where he will spend Monday meeting with the premiers for a First Ministers' Meeting. From Nova Scotia's 'Wind West' to Alberta's pipeline dream, here are the national projects premiers are pitching Carney Chief of staff is the highest-ranking official in the Prime Minister's Office and is responsible for shepherding the government's agenda. In terms of other changes, former Liberal justice minister David Lametti will become Carney's principal secretary, according to a government source familiar with the matter, speaking on the condition of background. Tom Pitfield, a former Trudeau operative who worked on past Liberal election campaigns, had been in the role on an interim basis. Lametti and Carney have known each other for decades, with the pair attending and playing hockey together at the University of Oxford. Since winning the April 28 federal election, Carney has been working to staff up his office. So far, the first twelve chiefs of staff have been named for various ministers. He won the election on a mandate of standing up to Trump's trade war and growing the Canadian economy, promising to deliver on an ambitious agenda and get the government to move at a pace not seen in the past.
