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0business

Servicio de mascotas busca ayudar a los animales puertorriqueos

Vanessa Henriquez and Kassandra Perez launched a fundraising event at the View Street Tavern Sunday to raise money to feed abandoned dogs and cats on Puerto Rico. (Dave Canton /The Republican)Dave Canton

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3entertainment

Fun, Cheap, Free New England: What activities you can do this winter

BOSTON — Mark Ockerbloom sits down with Sarah Hill of “Fun, Cheap, Free New England” to discuss the activities available to families this winter. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW ©2023 Cox Media Group

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3entertainment

David Soul, a Star of the Hit Cop Show Starsky & Hutch, Dies at 80

David Soul, the doleful-eyed blond actor and singer who rose to fame portraying half of a cagey crime-fighting duo on the hit 1970s television show “Starsky & Hutch,” and who also scored a No. 1 hit single in 1977 with “Don’t Give Up on Us,” died on Thursday. He was 80. His death was confirmed in a statement by his wife, Helen Snell, who did not specify a cause or say where he died. Mr. Soul had been living in Britain since 1995 and became a British citizen in 2004. A Chicago-born son of a Lutheran minister, Mr. Soul had spent nearly a decade appearing on television shows like “Star Trek” and “I Dream of Jeannie,” and also had a regular role on the ABC western comedy series “Here Come the Brides,” before he won his career-defining role of Detective Ken Hutchinson, known as Hutch, also on ABC. The part would make him a regular presence in American living rooms, as well as a recognized heartthrob, from 1975 to 1979. As Hutch, Mr. Soul played the coolheaded Midwestern sidekick to Detective Dave Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser), a savvy Brooklynite given to wearing chunky cardigan sweaters. The two tooled around the fictional Southern California burgh of Bay City in a red Ford Gran Torino emblazoned with a giant Nike-esque swoosh running down each side as they cracked open cases with the help of their streetwise informant, Huggy Bear (Antonio Fargas).

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7weather

Boston weather: Strong winds, heavy rains sweep across area Monday

Around 11 a.m., the weather service reported that the rainy weather was slowly winding down, and the sun eventually emerged by Monday afternoon. Some light snow and rain showers persisted in Western Massachusetts along the Interstate 91 corridor, forecasters said. The majority of the weather-related warnings and watches issued for the three states have now been canceled . The storm system that bedeviled Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut during the Monday morning commute is fading and sunshine is expected to push through the dreary, gray skies around lunch time across the region, according to the National Weather Service. “Save for a few light snow/rain showers surrounding the I-91 Corridor, precipitation has ended for the day! Expect improving conditions with breaks of sunshine before sunset... one of the earliest of the year at 4:11pm in Boston,’' forecasters wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Advertisement “Latest satellite imagery showing breaks in the clouds across PA & NJ. That trend spreads east with breaks of sunshine this afternoon for all of MA, RI & CT.,” forecasters said. “Temps seasonable, in the 40s, however feeling cooler with a brisk northwest 15-25 mph.” Power outages escalated in Massachusetts mid-morning, rising to about 3,600 when earlier on Monday the number had been reduced to 1,600 by utility repair crews, according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. That number dropped to about 800 without power in the afternoon. Also in the state, a minor flood warning remained in effect for the Sudbury River in Framingham, Wayland and Concord. In Rhode Island, the minor flood warning is for the Pawtuxet River in Cranston with potential impacts in Kent and Providence counties, forecasters said. The warnings were issued after as much as 2.5 inches of rain fell in some places early Monday. Nearly 5 inches of rain was eventually reported in various locations in Massachusetts and Connecticut. According to the weather service, Lexington, Natick and Wrentham received more than 4 inches of rain and dozens more communities across the state were doused with more than 2-3 inches of rainfall during the storm. Newport and Coventry, Rhode Island saw about 4 inches. Advertisement According to PowerOutage.us, more than 20,000 customers were without power in the six New England states as of late Monday morning. Maine had the largest total, reporting around 13,000, followed by 7,000 outages in Vermont and 1,900 in Connecticut. Rhode Island and New Hampshire had the least share of outages. By 3 p.m., power was gradually being restored across New England and about 13,000 remained without power. The high wind warnings were also canceled after gusts of 57 miles an hour were recorded in Falmouth and 52 miles an hour in the town’s coastal Woods Hole neighborhood. The MBTA resumed ferry service, which was halted during the early morning, after 8 a.m. Commuter rail passengers north of Boston were facing delays between Haverhill and Lawrence due to signal problems caused by flooding, according to Keolis Commuter Services, the operator of the T’s commuter rail system. Also, a disabled train on the Green Line’s Cleveland Circle line triggered a delay during the morning commute, according to the T. John R. Ellement can be reached at john.ellement@globe.com. Follow him @JREbosglobe. Marianne Mizera can be reached at marianne.mizera@globe.com. Follow her @MareMizera.

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0business

EBNHC Launches New Behavioral Health Urgent Care Service The Boston Sun

Special to the Sun East Boston Neighborhood Health Center (EBNHC), the largest community-based primary care health system in Massachusetts, gathered with city, state and community leaders last week, to officially announce the opening of its new Behavioral Health Urgent Care Service (BHUCS). Part of the EBNHC’s integrated behavioral health program, the BHUCS provides same-day and urgent mental health services for children, adolescents, and adults, in East Boston and surrounding communities, transforming how community members — predominantly low-income immigrants — can access the high-quality behavioral health services they need and deserve. “Timely access to high-quality behavioral health services is a common challenge across the Commonwealth, especially for vulnerable families. I’m proud to say that EBNHC’s Behavioral Health Urgent Care Service addresses this growing need head on,” said EBNHC President and CEO, Greg Wilmot. “Our industry must offer innovative ways to close long-standing gaps in care. This expansion of our behavioral health program is a monumental step in the right direction as we strive to achieve health equity for our patients and neighbors.” The new service is innovative and different from other behavioral health urgent care options across the state as it is co-located with the state’s only community-based satellite emergency facility, operated by EBNHC. Additionally, the service is fully integrated within the health center and EBNHC’s larger behavioral health and recovery services program. This unparalleled care model allows patients in the community to be connected to a wide range of care services, seamlessly and immediately moving from the BHUCS to emergency medical care, primary care, additional behavioral health care, and other health and wellness programs available through the Center. Addressing health equity gaps, like disparities in access to behavioral health care for Black and Latinx communities, has long been a focus for EBNHC which was recently recognized by the Department of Health and Human Service’s Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) as a 2023 National Quality Leader and one of the nation’s leading health centers in reducing health disparities. To help put patients at ease, the new BHUCS suite features state-of-the-art behavioral health care design. A calming space, intentionally constructed to be safe and aesthetically pleasing for those struggling with a mental health or substance use disorder, the BHUCS provides access to immediate crisis evaluation, next-step planning, and support for all patients ages six and above. The BHUCS currently welcomes walk-ins five days a week and will move to seven-day a week access in early 2024. “We are in the midst of a behavioral health crisis that requires new ideas, more resources, and a strong investment to meet this demand,” said EBNHC Executive Vice President and COO, Ryan Boxill, PhD, MBA. “Since our soft-opening last month, we’ve already seen great demand for this service that will be especially vital for low-income and non-English speaking patients. Our highly trained, diverse, multi-disciplinary behavioral health team members are eager to welcome many first-time patients and are equipped to offer care in their native language.” Thanks to earmarked state funding advocated for by Massachusetts State Rep. Adrian Madaro, EBNHC has hired more than 20 diverse new staff, experienced in providing behavioral health care to adults, adolescents, and youth. “Behavioral health care providers are still seeing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which, for many children was a two-year hiatus from achieving key developmental, academic and social milestones,” said Michael Mancusi, MSW, LICSW, EBNHC Vice President and Chief Behavioral Health Officer. “This has had a deleterious effect on the mental health of our young people, and we realized a better model was needed to address community behavioral health — one with an immediately accessible entry point and a range of care to match our patients’ needs. That is why we created the BHUCS — to provide an urgent response to an urgent health care crisis.” Patients can now access the following services at the BHUCS, Monday-Friday, 9:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. (weekend hours will be available in 2024): • Same-day clinical triage, crisis evaluation, next step planning and support • On-site medical evaluation and necessary laboratory tests • Psychopharmacology evaluation and medication prescription • Crisis response and stabilization • Care navigation and care coordination • Enrollment in EBNHC primary care, based on availability EBNHC has also expanded mind/body offerings for patients, such as reiki, trauma-informed yoga, community peace circles and other community interventions to meet interest in non-traditional, indigenous, and culturally relevant healing methods.

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3entertainment

Renovating a Kitchen? Dont Forget the Most Crucial Thing: Light.

Our new audio app is home to “This American Life,” the award-winning program hosted by Ira Glass. New episodes debut in our app a day earlier than in the regular podcast feed, and we also have an archive of the show. The app includes a “Best of ‘This American Life’” section with some of our favorite bite-size clips, so you can enjoy the show even if you don’t have a lot of time.

91b918882b3301c22244fd1f141db067

2culture

Is This the Year of the Bunk Bed? Some Designers Think So.

All of a sudden, bunk beds seem to be everywhere: You see them in upscale beach and ski homes, as well as boutique hotels like Freehand, Moxy and Proper. And why not? Stacked sleeping spaces have always been an efficient use of space, whether you’re making room for a growing family or entertaining a large crowd. And now that they’re getting the designer treatment with thoughtful touches that make them feel almost luxurious, bunk rooms are more appealing than ever. “We’re pretty much doing a bunk room in every house we work on,” said Jenny Keenan, an interior designer in Mount Pleasant, S.C., who creates built-in bunk beds that are appealing to children and adults. “We try to make them elevated enough that adults can stay in them,” Ms. Keenan said. “We want them to be fun, but we also want to make sure different types of people feel comfortable in them.”

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0business

Five times Larry Summers has been in the midst of economic crisis

And on Tuesday, Summers was named to the board of OpenAI , the maker of ChatGPT, which Summers has said “could be the most important general purpose technology since the wheel or fire.” Global tumult during the Clinton years? Summers played crucial roles in the Treasury Department. Harvard’s effort to rethink itself for the 21st century? He was named president of the university. The 2008 financial crisis? He returned to the White House as President Obama’s top economic adviser. If a crisis is afoot, it is safe to assume economist Larry Summers is not far behind. His entry into the board is the latest development in a chaotic week for the Silicon Valley company, which ousted its chief executive and cofounder, Sam Altman, last Friday before reinstituting him Tuesday night. Altman returns alongside a new board, which includes Summers, Bret Taylor, a former co-CEO of software company Salesforce, and existing board member Adam D’Angelo. OpenAI announced the “initial board” members in a message posted to X, the social networking service formerly known as Twitter, noting that the company is “collaborating to figure out the details.” Advertisement It’s not the first time the famously prickly Summers has entered the crosshairs of a burgeoning tech firm — who could forget his portrayal in “The Social Network,” the cinematic retelling of Facebook’s rise, when he all but told the Winklevoss twins to stick their grievances with Mark Zuckerberg where the sun don’t shine? Summers also holds board seats at payments company Block and software firm Skillsoft. His arrival on the scene of the OpenAI quagmire offers a chance to look back at some of Summers’ most charged moments, from public servant to reigning scholar to, most recently, vocal private citizen. US Vice President Al Gore (right) congratulated Larry Summers (second from left) after being sworn in as the secretary of treasury beside his wife Vicki (second from right) and President Bill Clinton on July 2, 1999. JOYCE NALTCHAYAN/AFP via Getty Images Treasury secretary In 1993, after Bill Clinton was elected president, Summers made the move from the World Bank to the US Treasury Department, assisting with the response to international financial crises in Asia and Mexico. In 1999, he rose to the post of secretary, leading the department through the tail end of the Clinton years. Advertisement He played a key role in the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, which set up a barrier between commercial and investment banks. The legislation that replaced it, the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999, would “better enable American companies to compete in the new economy,” Summers argued. Some have contended that the rollback of Glass-Steagall ushered in an era of deregulation that set the stage for the 2008 financial crisis — a charge Summers has contested. Harvard University president Larry Summers shook hands with students after he announced his resignation on Feb. 21, 2006. Kamerman, David/ globe staff Harvard University In 2001, Harvard University called on Summers, a onetime professor, to become its 27th president. Summers brought with him visions for a campus in Allston, a renewed focus on undergraduate education, and ideas for how to use the internet to make Harvard a global force. But after five years — at the time the briefest tenure since the Civil War — Summers resigned after he drew intense ire for suggesting that “there are issues of intrinsic aptitude” to blame for the lack of female representation in the fields of science and engineering. He later apologized. Larry Summers, director of the White House's National Economic Council, listened to a question at the US-India Business Council meeting in Washington, D.C., on June 2, 2010. Bloomberg 2008 financial crisis Just two years after his departure from Harvard, Summers returned to the White House when he was tapped as Obama’s lead economic adviser. He was appointed amid a global meltdown of financial markets, burnishing his reputation as something of a “shadow economic minister,” as the New York Times put it. Advertisement Summers helped engineer the response to the 2008 financial crisis, which was fueled by the collapse of the housing bubble and led to mass unemployment and a broad reduction in consumer spending. He helped muscle a $787 billion stimulus bill through a divided Congress. In a 2019 post to his website, Summers addressed to a question regarding the response to the crisis: Did we do [the] right thing? “No. Then yes. Then no,” he wrote. Former Treasury secretary Larry Summers spoke during a financial and economic event at the London School of Economics on March 25, 2013. REUTERS Federal Reserve chair bid In 2013, Summers was a leading candidate for chair of the Federal Reserve. But Obama faced opposition from within his party on Summers’ potential nomination, with some progressive Democrats bristling at his “sometimes brusque demeanor and his role in deregulating markets,” the Globe reported. With Obama unable to champion his nomination, Summers eventually withdrew from consideration for the top job, which went to Janet Yellen (who now holds Summers’ old job as secretary of the Treasury). “I have reluctantly concluded that any possible confirmation process for me would be acrimonious and would not serve the interests of the Federal Reserve, the administration, or, ultimately, the interests of the nation’s ongoing economic recovery,” wrote Summers in a letter to Obama. Even without a formal return to public service, however, Summers remained vocal about economic policy. Advertisement In 2021, he sounded the alarm to President Biden on the potential for rampant inflation, warning that the stimulus meant to revive the economy post-COVID could spur rapid inflation. “The Fed’s idea used to be that it removed the punchbowl before the party got good,” he said. “Now, the Fed’s doctrine is that it will only remove the punchbowl after it sees some people staggering around drunk.” Larry Summers, president emeritus and professor at Harvard University, during a panel session on day three of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 19. Hollie Adams/Bloomberg Israel–Hamas war In October, Summers made waves when he said he was “sickened” by Harvard’s response — or lack thereof — when student groups blamed Israel for Hamas’s attack. Summers, who is Jewish, said he felt “disillusioned and alienated” by Harvard’s lack of response to the claims of the student groups. “The silence from Harvard’s leadership, so far, coupled with a vocal and widely reported student groups’ statement blaming Israel solely, has allowed Harvard to appear at best neutral toward acts of terror against the Jewish state of Israel,” he said. Soon after, Harvard president Claudine Gay released a statement condemning the Hamas attacks and noting that although she supported free expression, “no student group — not even 30 student groups — speaks for Harvard University or its leadership.” Material from Globe wire services was used in this report. Dana Gerber can be reached at dana.gerber@globe.com. Follow her @danagerber6.

54a6f508060bd462062e20fd8d86e70f

0business

Nuevos EMT obtenan ingresos mientras aprendan

nan

721ed7a86463561d94dde55e1a8ec45d

4politics

Boston Mayor Condemns Shooting at Parade

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is condemning a shooting that injured seven people during a parade Saturday morning. The mayor said it had absolutely nothing to do with what she called a treasured community event. The shooting happened around 7:45 a.m. during the Jouvert [[ zhu-vair ]] Parade, which is part of the city’s Caribbean-American Carnival. Police say the victims were taken to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries and two people are under arrest.

12a77640eb155bf21d6b092975fa84e2

6sports

A Referee Is Punched in the Face, and Turkish Soccer Feels the Blow

The punch landed only seconds after the referee Halil Umut Meler blew his whistle to end Monday night’s game in Turkey’s top soccer league. The first kick, and then the second, came after that, as the referee lay on the grass, desperately trying to protect his head with both hands. Within hours, the referee was in the hospital, the team president who threw the punch was under arrest and all matches in Turkey had been suspended indefinitely. The chaos erupted at the end of a match in Turkey’s top division, the Super Lig, between Ankaragucu and Caykur Rizespor in Ankara. The game had been a feisty affair, with two ejections and a dramatic finish: a last-minute goal by the visitors, Rizespor, that denied the home team a much-needed victory. And while the heated scene wasn’t necessarily unusual in a league known for its hothouse stadium atmospheres, the violence — and the reaction to it — definitely was. Within moments of the final whistle, and as players, fans and others entered the field, Mr. Meler was rushed by a group of angry Ankaragucu team officials, led by the club’s president, Faruk Koca. Approaching the referee from the sideline, Mr. Koca threw a punch that landed on the left side of the referee’s face, knocking him to the ground. Other men quickly surrounded him, aiming kicks to his body and head as he tried to protect himself.

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7weather

Heres which Massachusetts communities got the most snow on Jan. 16

A snowstorm brought over 3 inches of snow to many communities in Massachusetts on Tuesday, and some got as many as 4, according to the National Weather Service. The weather service reports that Fitchburg and communities surrounding it received the most snow, followed by Norfolk County, Essex County and northern Bristol County. Parts of Middlesex and Worcester counties and the I-91 corridor from Northampton north also saw a significant snow dump. The National Weather Service's snow totals map shows that the Fitchburg area received the most snow on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024.National Weather Service According to the weather service, Ashburnham took the cake on Tuesday, receiving 4.7 inches of snow by 8:40 p.m. Nearby Harvard, Lunenburg and Ashby weren’t far behind, with all getting at least 4.5 inches by the evening. Fitchburg, Cambridge and Newburyport all saw more than 4 inches of snow by the afternoon, according to the weather service. Additionally, Mansfield, Rehoboth, Ipswich, Rowley and Salem had all received at least 4 inches by that time. Massachusetts is expected to see more snow on Friday, but most communities are predicted to get less than an inch. The exception that day will likely be southeastern Massachusetts, the Cape and the islands, so people in Bristol, Plymouth and Barnstable counties should be ready to deal with more white stuff.

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1crime

Nikola founder Trevor Milton sentenced 4 years for misleading investors

Trevor Milton, the founder of electric truckmaker Nikola, has been sentenced Monday to four years in prison after a jury last year found him guilty of misleading investors about his company’s technology, according to reports. Milton, 41, was convicted in October 2022 on one count of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud, according to Reuters. The news agency reported that federal prosecutors in New York City said Milton duped investors by stating his company built its own truck from the "ground up" and developed its own batteries, despite knowing it was buying them instead, among other claims. Milton had made the statements on social media and in television and podcast interviews as the company was joining others in going public through special purpose acquisition vehicles, otherwise known as SPACs. CADILLAC UNVEILS NEW ALL-ELECTRIC VISTIQ SUV He then resigned from Nikola in 2020. Prosecutors last week urged U.S. District Judge Edgar Ramos to sentence Milton to around 11 years in prison, according to Reuters, which is about the same sentence disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes received for duping investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars on false promises that she had developed technology that would revolutionize health care. Stocks In This Article: NKLA $0.85 5.95% Milton’s attorneys told the judge in a filing in November that "[u]nlike Holmes, Trevor never put Nikola’s customers at risk, whereas Holmes touted and used blood-testing technology that she knew to be unreliable, thus putting human beings at medical risk," according to the Associated Press. UAW ACCUSES HONDA, HYUNDAI AND VOLKSWAGEN OF UNION-BUSTING "I did not intend to harm anyone and I did not commit those crimes levied against me," Milton reportedly said Monday during his sentencing hearing. After he learned of his sentence, Ramos told Milton, "As difficult as it may be for you or your family to hear, I believe the jury got it right," according to Reuters. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS In 2021, Nikola also agreed to pay $125 million to settle civil charges brought against the company by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the news agency added. FOX Business’ Breck Dumas contributed to this report.

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1crime

Bomb threat targets Marshalls store on Christmas Eve

A bomb threat called into a Marshalls location in Hingham on Christmas Eve forced the evacuation of multiple stores, authorities said. Police found no explosives during a search of the Marshalls. Officials asked anyone with information on the bomb threat to contact the Hingham Police Department. According to the department, a phone call to the Marshalls around 3 p.m. Sunday threatened that there was a bomb inside the store at 400 Lincoln St. Marshalls and four other adjoining businesses at the Lincoln Plaza shopping area were evacuated. The area was searched by local police and fire officials as well as a K-9 from a Massachusetts State Police bomb squad. Finding no threat, the stores reopened just after 4 p.m., Hingham police said. The incident is under investigation. Anyone with information on the threat was asked to contact Hingham Police Detective Scott Tracey at 781-741-1443 or to leave an anonymous tip on the department’s website.

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3entertainment

No, Thats Not Taylor Swift Peddling Le Creuset Cookware

Taylor Swift’s affinity for Le Creuset is real: Her collection of the cookware has been featured on a Tumblr account dedicated to the pop star’s home décor, in a thorough analysis of her kitchen published by Variety and in a Netflix documentary that was highlighted by Le Creuset’s Facebook page. What is not real: Ms. Swift’s endorsement of the company’s products, which have appeared in recent weeks in ads on Facebook and elsewhere featuring her face and voice. The ads are among the many celebrity-focused scams made far more convincing by artificial intelligence. Within a single week in October, the actor Tom Hanks, the journalist Gayle King and the YouTube personality MrBeast all said that A.I. versions of themselves had been used, without permission, for deceptive dental plan promotions, iPhone giveaway offers and other ads. In Ms. Swift’s case, experts said, artificial intelligence technology helped create a synthetic version of the singer’s voice, which was cobbled together with footage of her alongside clips showing Le Creuset Dutch ovens. In several ads, Ms. Swift’s cloned voice addressed “Swifties” — her fans — and said she was “thrilled” to be handing out free cookware sets. All people had to do was click on a button and answer a few questions before the end of the day.

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4politics

Ignore Trump? Democrats Now Want Him Plastered All Over the News.

When Donald J. Trump left the White House, Democrats didn’t want to hear another word from him. President Biden dismissed him as “the former guy.” A party-wide consensus held that he was best left ignored. Three years later, Mr. Biden’s re-election campaign and Democratic officials across the party’s spectrum have landed on a new solution to his political slump: More Trump. Criticizing the news media for giving Mr. Trump a platform is out. Quietly pining for major networks to again broadcast live coverage of Trump campaign rallies is in. Behind the improbable longing for the former president to gobble up political oxygen again is Democrats’ yearslong dependence on the Trump outrage machine. Since his ascent, Mr. Trump has been a one-man Democratic turnout operation, uniting an otherwise fractured opposition and fueling victories in three straight election cycles. Now, Democrats worry that the fever of Trump fatigue has passed, and that some voters are softening toward a man they once loathed. Many others may simply be paying little attention, as Mr. Trump’s share of the daily national conversation has diminished, despite the occasional interruption of campaign-trail pronouncements like his recent vow to “root out” political opponents like “vermin.”

c2cd5cabf2a863db5147785150e00956

4politics

How 'greener' steam could help Boston buildings cut climate-warming emissions

Buildings account for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions in Boston and Cambridge. Both cities have aggressive climate goals that require large building owners to gradually reduce emissions to net zero by 2050. One big challenge building owners face is to figure out how to cut their heating systems’ emissions, which account for roughly half of their carbon footprint. Many of these large buildings rely on older steam heat systems, which were originally developed to use the steam byproduct from electricity generated by burning coal, and later natural gas. Now, a natural gas power plant in Kendall Square is trying to make that steam greener. Vicinity Energy, the company that runs the plant, is installing an industrial-scale electric boiler to produce the steam. As more renewable energy is developed to power Massachusetts’ electrical grid, the steam’s carbon footprint will continue to lower. Eventually, “it'd be zero emissions, right? Because we're going to take in renewable power,” said Don Silvia, Vicinity Energy’s regional vice president of operations. The steam from Vicinity’s plant heats travels through 30 miles of pipe to heat more than 200 buildings — hospitals, biotechnology laboratories, museums, hotels and office space. “Part of the reason why we can do what we're doing is because we're not starting from scratch,” said Silvia. Greening the steam production could cut roughly 20% of the emissions from Boston’s largest buildings, according to a 2018 report commissioned by the city. “By getting the steam generation facilities to adopt these sort of solutions, we are significantly reducing Boston and Cambridge's emissions,” said Michael Gevelber, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Boston University. Vicinity Energy's Kendall Square power plant in Cambridge. (Jesse Costa/WBUR) Other buildings could benefit from the electric boiler technology, too. Massachusetts has at least 21 steam heating systems, according to the International District Energy Association. Those systems serve university communities, downtown areas and medical complexes such as the Longwood Medical area in Boston. But the cost may be a challenge. Experts say that transitioning to the electric boiler steam will be expensive for building owners. “Electricity costs 3 to 5 times more than natural gas,” Gevelber said. In addition, because the Massachusetts electrical grid is still mostly powered by fossil fuels, the electricity that powers the boiler is still generating emissions. For clients who want to buy net zero steam, Vicinity Energy will purchase local renewable energy credits — and that will cost more. “Each building owner really needs to understand their building and how they’re most cost effectively going to meet the declining emission limits,” Gevelber said. Improving building insulation can reduce how much heat a building uses, and installing electric heat pumps can help move away from fossil fuels. Experts say the solution can be a mix of options, including clean steam. One Vicinity Energy client that is looking into these options is the Massachusetts General Hospital campus in Boston. Steam accounts for 12% of the campus’ emissions. Vicinity Energy's Don Silvia stands where the newly acquired electric boiler will be installed at the Kendall plant in Cambridge. (Jesse Costa/WBUR) “Steam is not the only option available to us. Heating can be done with heat pumps very effectively,” said Jonathan Slutzman, Massachusetts General Hospital’s medical director for environmental sustainability. He said the hospital has not decided if they will buy the electric steam. So far, one building developer has signed up to buy steam generated by the electric boiler. The boiler has the capacity to produce about one-third of the steam the plant currently generates, said Vicinity Energy’s president Bill DiCroce. The company plans to generate steam through other clean sources in the future, such as an industrial-scale heat pump. Eventually, Vicinity Energy will phase out nearly all natural gas generation at the plant, but it may take several years. In the meantime, Silvia said other steam operators are starting to show interest in electric boilers. Recently, a representative from a Vicinity Energy plant in Philadelphia toured the Cambridge facility. “Everybody's coming and looking at what we're doing and figuring out how we're going to do it,” he said. With more cities passing legislation to lower carbon emissions, using electric boilers to serve steam heat systems could be a part of the solution.

275a2d5d35e10530e3992dfe3e97b4ea

6sports

Bill Belichick: Patriots tried to keep Malik Cunningham

FOXBOROUGH — The Patriots tried to keep Malik Cunningham in Foxborough, according to Bill Belichick. After New England spent the past eight months trying to convert Cunningham to wide receiver, the Ravens plucked the dual-threat quarterback off the Patriots practice squad on Tuesday. In his Wednesday morning press conference, Belichick said the Patriots wanted to keep Cunningham around, but he chose a fresh start in Baltimore instead. BET ANYTHING GET $250 BONUS ESPN BET CLAIM OFFER MASS 21+ and present in MA, NJ, PA, VA, MD, WV, TN, LA, KS, KY, CO, AZ, IL, IA, IN, OH, MI. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-Gambler. “They sold him on the opportunity,” Belichick said. “The offense. He and Lamar (Jackson). Certainly their offense suits Malik better than probably any other offense in the league does, as a quarterback.” There are a couple ways New England could have tried to keep Cunningham. The first is obvious — giving him more money — but they also could have opened a 53-man roster spot for him, and elected not to. Baltimore has always made sense as a landing spot for Cunningham given his skillset, but it’s interesting that the 3-10 Patriots wouldn’t give him a spot on their 53-man roster, while the 10-3 Ravens deemed him as worthy of one. In an interview with ESPN on Tuesday, Cunningham spoke fondly about his time in New England. “I wanted to thank Mr. (Robert) Kraft and Coach Belichick for giving me opportunity to play with the Patriots,” Cunningham told ESPN. “I learned a lot from them. I want to be a coach one day, so I would take notes from Coach Belichick because he’s one of the greatest of all time. I had great teammates in New England and built relationships that will last a lifetime. But I just feel like this is a good opportunity for me and I’m excited to be a Baltimore Raven.”

35b949220520343a70128af7c1ff19d9

0business

Truck Stops Upgrade to Recharge Electric Vehicles (and Their Drivers)

Planning a long road trip? Now you can nibble on crudités and shop for home furnishings at a roadside service plaza while you wait for your electric vehicle to recharge. The truck stops that keep Americans fueled, fed and refreshed along major highways are spending billions overhauling their stores to keep up with changing consumer behavior, particularly the growing popularity of electric vehicles. Along with the addition of charging stations, these travel centers are being redesigned to accommodate longer stays, with renovated restrooms and showers, quick-serve kitchens, full-service and fast-food restaurants, and dog parks. The changes continue to transform the modern truck stop, a slice of Americana that took off in the 1960s amid the expansion of the Interstate Highway System. Over the years, truck stops were often perceived as grimy — and occasionally seedy. But today, they are more akin to a mini-Walmart, filled with energy drinks, iced coffee, and healthy snacks like sliced fruit and veggies. Across the aisle, you’re likely to find purses and puzzles, as well as phone chargers and birdhouses.

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4politics

Trump Meets With Teamsters President as Union Weighs 2024 Endorsement

Sean M. O’Brien, the general president of the Teamsters union, sat down with former President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday at Mr. Trump’s seaside mansion, Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Fla. Kara Deniz, a spokeswoman for the union, said the meeting was simply one of a series of meetings the Teamsters plan to have with all the presidential candidates. But this particular meeting, which the union detailed in a lengthy post on social media that was accompanied by a picture of Mr. O’Brien and Mr. Trump, came at a remarkable moment. At a public hearing in November, Senator Markwayne Mullin, a staunchly pro-Trump Republican from Oklahoma, called Mr. O’Brien a “thug,” a “bully” and a coward, and challenged him to a fight. President Biden has called himself the most pro-union president in history, as have several leaders of organized labor, and the Teamsters endorsed his candidacy in 2020. In December, Mr. Biden issued an executive order mandating what are known as project labor agreements — which establish fixed work, wage and labor standards at construction sites — for all federal contracts exceeding $35 million. That order was a potential boon to the Teamsters union, which is likely to control transportation at many of those sites and would have to be brought into contract talks as funds from Mr. Biden’s signature domestic achievements start to flow.

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3entertainment

How to watch Oxygens Dateline: Secrets Uncovered for free (Jan. 17)

The Oxygen series “Dateline: Secrets Uncovered” airs this Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m. ET. Those without cable can watch the new episode in real-time for free through either FuboTV or DirecTV Stream, each of which offer a free trial to new users. In the new episode, “When Courtney Copeland is shot and killed, his mother investigates whether police detectives did enough to try to solve the case.” How can I watch Oxygen’s “Dateline: Secrets Uncovered” for free without cable? You can watch the new episode on FuboTV or on DirecTV Stream, each of which offer a free trial for new users. What is DirecTV Stream? The streaming platform offers a plethora of content including streaming the best of live and On Demand, starting with more than 75 live TV channels. What is FuboTV? FuboTV is an over-the-top internet live TV streaming service that offers more than 100 channels, such as sports, news, entertainment and local channels.

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6sports

Daily Girls Basketball Stats Leaders: Isabella Meadows leads region in three categories & more

Note: Stats Leaders is based on results sent to MassLive. If a player is missing, coaches should email sports@masslive.com. Take a look at Friday’s top girls basketball scorers below:

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6sports

Former Patriots captain says organization is to blame for Mac Jones

Devin McCourty has an interesting perspective when it comes to the Patriots quarterback situation. The longtime Patriots safety and captain was in New England during the glory days with Tom Brady. He also shared the field with Mac Jones for the first two years of his NFL career. With Jones being benched in favor of Bailey Zappe, McCourty also recognizes how the Patriots organization failed their young quarterback. Between three different offensive coordinators and a shaky receiver depth chart, McCourty told WEEI’s ‘The Greg Hill Show’ that the Patriots organization is to blame more for Jones’ struggles. “I mean, to me it’s a no-brainer. Everybody in the organization raved about the guy’s work ethic. How he’s there early, he’s there late,” McCourty said. “So, to me, it’s hard to just say, like, it’s his fault. I have no problem if someone in their opinion says, ‘Hey I just don’t think the guy’s that good. Yeah, he had a good rookie year, but I don’t think that he’s the guy that everyone made him out to be.’ I have no problem if that’s your opinion. “I don’t think, no matter how you feel about him, I don’t think you’d walk away from the situation and say, ‘hey, you know, this situation that they built around him was really good and he just didn’t get the job done.’ Like, to me, there’s no way, if you’re going to be factual, you got to look, there’s just no way.” $200 INSTANT BONUS DRAFTKINGS MASS CLAIM OFFER BET $5, GET $200 BONUS BET FANDUEL MASS CLAIM OFFER BET $50, GET $250 BONUS CAESARS MASS CLAIM OFFER $1,000 FIRST-BET BONUS BETMGM MASS CLAIM OFFER MA only. 21+. Gambling Problem? If you or a loved one is experiencing problems with gambling, please call 1-800-327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org for 24/7 support. LiveChat with a GameSense Advisor at GameSenseMA.com or call 1-800-GAM-1234 MA Gambling Helpline. MA only. 21+. Gambling Problem? If you or a loved one is experiencing problems with gambling, please call 1-800-327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org for 24/7 support. LiveChat with a GameSense Advisor at GameSenseMA.com or call 1-800-GAM-1234 MA Gambling Helpline. McCourty pointed at two big situations that hurt Jones’ development from his rookie season – the offensive coordinator situation and the team’s wide receiver depth chart. In his third NFL season, Jones is on his third offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in Bill O’Brien. After succeeding under Josh McDaniels in 2021, Belichick replaced the longtime offensive coordinator with Matt Patricia (offensive coordinator) and Joe Judge (quarterbacks coach) in 2022. Belichick also changed the Patriots offensive system. This year, Belichick brought O’Brien back, but once again, the Patriots offensive system changed and is still different from what Jones ran as a rookie. There’s also the receiver situation. Jones excelled in 2021 with Jakobi Meyers and Kendrick Bourne as his top two receivers. In 2022, Meyers remained the top receiver, but Bourne lost playing time and played fewer snaps than DeVante Parker, Nelson Agholor, and Tyquan Thornton. This offseason, the Patriots opted to not re-sign Jones’ security blanket, Meyers, in favor of JuJu Smith-Schuster, who’s been a disappointment. All of it added up to Jones regressing. “You have three different offensive coordinators in three years. They had different receivers, and I would say impact players kind of each year. All have been kind of moving parts,” McCourty said. “Seemed like he kind of built a connection with Jakobi Meyers, then Jakobi’s gone. So like it would be hard for me to just say, ‘Hey, like it’s all him.’ Like Kendrick Bourne, his rookie year goes out there has a kind of a career year. Then the next year, Kendrick Bourne doesn’t really play at all. I think it’s hard to say, ‘Hey, it’s all on Mac.’ “And again, I have no problem with the guys that watch and say, ‘Hey, I evaluated this quarterback, his arm strength, his mobility. Like if you want to come up with all of those metrics that you think makes a quarterback good and you think he doesn’t hit those certain criteria that you like in a quarterback, I get that. “But I think. overall, if you say, ‘Hey, which side do you see more at fault?’ To me, it’s no doubt the organization, what’s been put around him, for these straight three years.”

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2culture

Nurse's viral plea on living paycheck to paycheck highlights struggles in today's economy

Two people are dead as a result of an early morning single-car crash in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood, according to Massachusetts State Police. Boston police said officers responded to the intersection of Morrissey Boulevard and Old Colony Avenue around 3:15 a.m. for a report of a rollover car crash with injuries. State police wrote on social media just after 7 a.m. that two people had died as a result of the crash and that a third had life-threatening injuries. A fourth person in the vehicle suffered minor injuries. A portion of Morrissey Boulevard was closed Thursday morning as a result of the crash. Pictures of the crash shared to social media show the car still on its side. Authorities are still investigating the incident. No further information about the crash, including the identities of the victims, has been released. State police said they would release more information about the crash at a later time.

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3entertainment

78 FREE things to do in Boston this week: Nov 27 Dec 3, 2023 [11

Add to: 11/27/2023 07:00:00 12/03/2023 23:00:00 America/New_York 78 FREE things to do in Boston this week: Nov 27 – Dec 3, 2023 <p>Enjoy the last week of November 2023 to the fullest with our picks for 78 FREE things to do around Boston.</p><p><br></p><p>1) Boston Common Tree Lighting (Th) <a href="https://www.thebostoncale... Boston, Boston, MA false

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0business

Springfield y Holyoke obtienen una subvencin federal de $500,000 para conseguir empleos subempleados en trabajos que sostengan a la familia

8/14/2018 -This is David M. Cruise, President and Chief Executive Officer, Regional Employment Board of Hampden County. (Jim Kinney / The Republican) Staff-Shot

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3entertainment

The Voice: See all the four chair turn auditions on season 24

Season 24 of “The Voice” proved to have talent unlike past seasons as 20 hopeful contestants all earned four chair turns during blind auditions. Of the 56 contestants who made it through on the show, almost two dozen contestants had all four coaches fighting in hopes they’d be their coach this season. Four-chair auditions are always something to strive for in your audition, as the artist would have the most choice to pick to compete under coaches John Legend, Gwen Stefani, Niall Horan and Reba McEntire. See all of the special four-chair auditions of season 24 below. Team Legend Mara Justine Justine, 21 is a contestant who blew coaches away early in the season. She received a chair turn from each coach during her performance of Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” Legend was so impressed he asked Justine to sing with him in a duet of his song “All of Me.” She ended up joining his team right after. Ephraim Owens The next four-chair turn performance was Owens’ version of Labrinth’s “Beneath Your Beautiful.” Stee The singer from South Carolina won coaches over with his fun cover of “Sugar” by Maroon 5. One coach even blocked Horan from being able to coach Stee. Kaylee Shimizu The 17-year-old contestant quickly earned all four chairs with her performance of “Golden Slumbers” by the Beatles. Throughout her audition she hit quite a range of high and low notes, as coaches stood on their feet watching. Jarae Womack Womack performed Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black” during her four-chair audition. The contestant stood out for her soulful and emotional performance. Coaches praised calling her performance “insane.” Lila Forde This unique performance earned two chair turns almost immediately, as Forde played the keys in her audition to Blind Faith’s “Can’t Find My Way Home.” “You look so comfortable up there on that piano,” Horan praised after the audition. Willie Gomez This audition was sung entirely in Spanish, wowing coaches. Gomez performed Manuel Turizo’s “La Bachata” as coaches danced along. Horan and Legend both hit their button at the last second of his audition, ending with four-chair turns. Caleb Sasser Sasser gave an emotional rendition of Toni Braxton’s “Another Sad Love Song.” He consistently received praise on his cheerful and bright personality, adding to what impressed the coaches with his audition. Team Gwen Chechi Sarai This audition had the coaches’ jaws to the floor within the first few seconds, as Sarai hit whistle high notes. She quickly followed with four-chair turns at the start of her performance. She auditioned with Minnie Riperton’s “Lovin’ You.” Rudi The artist gave a powerful performance to Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me.” The 28-year-old impressed all coaches with a chair turn, but Legend was blocked by another coach from be Rudi’s coach. She walked on to the show under Stefani’s team. Jacquie Roar The country singer lit up the stage with her audition singing Gretchen Wilson’s “Here for the Party.” She earned four chair turns after belting impressive notes. Brandon Montel The 29-year-old performed a soulful and groovy cover of H.E.R.’s “Hard Place.” Once again, Legend was blocked from being a coach for this contestant. McEntire told the contestant he was “so special.” Team Niall Alexa Wildish Horan, Legend and McEntire all hit their buttons at the same time, as Stefani joined in later. Horan got emotional watching Wildish’s audition of “Songbird” by Fleetwood Mac. Laura Williams The young contestant kicked off her audition strong with her unique voice. She auditioned with Spencer Smith’s “Fingers Crossed.” The coaches praised her for her bright and vibrant energy. McEntire even called Williams a prodigy for her performance. Nini Iris Iris sang Outlaw’s “I See Red,” earning all four-chair turns before the first chorus of the song. “Which planet do you come from?” Horan joked to her after the stellar performance. The coach said he was going to fight hard for the contestant, as she later joined his team. Huntley After a powerful and raspy performance that earned contestant Huntley four chair turns at the same time by coaches, he was not the one who had the final say as to who his coach should be. After singing the Black Crowes’ “She Talks To Angels,” the contestant let his 6-year-old daughter choose his coach. Team Reba Jordan Rainer The country singer impressed all four coaches but especially McEntire as she auditioned with McEntrie’s song “Fancy.” Rainer told the coaches the song represents lyrically “what women do to survive.” Dylan Carter Carter’s performance was a tear-jerker as he auditioned with Whitney Houston’s “I Look to You.” McEntire teared up during her feedback to Carter. “That’s when you know you’ve got a great song and a great singer, when it touches your heart,” McEntire told him. Carter dedicated the song to his mom who died. Ruby Leigh This one performance went viral on multiple platforms as the show welcomed a singer who also yodels. Leigh auditioned with Patsy Montana’s “I Want To Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart.” Coaches were blown away with the yodeling, especially since she was 16. Mac Royals Royals performed John Mayer’s “Gravity.” All four coaches hit their button back to back, hoping to coach Royals. Royals said his grandmother would always watch “Reba,” so he chose McEntire as his coach. “The Voice” airs every Monday and Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST on NBC. For those without cable, it can also be streamed on platforms like Peacock and FuboTV. Both platforms offer a free trial for those interested in signing up for a membership. The finale will air on Tuesday, Dec. 19 as the winner of season 24 is announced.

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1crime

Bags of fake Adderall, Xanax pills laced with fentanyl and meth seized in bust

A total of 35 pounds of pills disguised as Adderall and Xanax tablets that actually contained fentanyl and methamphetamine were seized from a makeshift Whitman drug laboratory during a state police bust in late December, according to state police. Andrew Billings, 39, of Plymouth, was arrested during the bust on Dec. 21, 2023. He was arraigned at Plymouth District Court on charges of trafficking methamphetamine and fentanyl, along with the unlawful manufacture of a Class B drug. After months of investigating, the department said officers were able to link Billings to a property on Essex Street and executed a search warrant on that late December Thursday. Troopers found thousands of counterfeit prescription pills, large amounts of white powder, a pharmaceutical grade pill press and other drug paraphernalia at the property, state police said. There were six pounds of fake Adderall tablets that tested to be fentanyl taken from the scene, and 27 pounds of fake Xanax pills and loose powder that was tested to be methamphetamine, police said. A search warrant was also executed on Billings’ SUV, which found 145 grams of blue oxycodone pills, the department said. The Essex Street building had to be condemned after investigators secured the scene and evidence — during the bust, the property was “so badly contaminated with strewn drug material that troopers evacuated the address,” state police said. Inspectors from the United States Postal Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the five agencies within the W.E.B. Major Crimes and Drug Task Force, detectives from Plymouth, Whitman and State Police and other organizations assisted the Norfolk SPDU in the investigation.

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2culture

Beer Nut: Is beer fading?

Is beer fading? Over the past few weeks, I’ve written about both how beer fared in 2023 and some thoughts on what’s in store for 2024. While I remain cautiously optimistic overall, some clouds gathering on the horizon can still give me pause. One such specter was the focus of a recent story on Fox News Digital by Anders Hagstrom. The piece noted that Americans drank less beer in 2023 than any other year this century. No matter what the extenuating circumstances, that fact can’t be seen as a positive for beer fans. Of course, craft beer still only makes up a small percentage of the overall U.S. beer market. So part of the 2023 decline has to be blamed on the boycott against Bud Light. You might recall that the boycott was fueled by conservative reaction to Bud Light’s sponsorship agreement with transgender activist and social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney. The brand celebrated Muvaney’s year of identifying as a woman by featuring cans with the influencer’s face. The backlash caused Bud Light’s sales to drop 30% from 2022. But even a dent in one brand, despite how big it is, certainly can’t account for beer hitting a 23-year low. As a recent story in the Washington Examiner noted, a shift in the tastes of younger generations is also eroding beer sales. The story quoted a survey by data firm MRI-Simmons that showed that Generation Z is less likely to imbibe alcohol at all: They drank the lowest amount of alcohol among legal adults in the country, with just 58% respondents saying they had consumed alcohol in the past six months and just 56% of that group had drunk actual beer. It seems obvious that the legalization of marijuana in many states has also pilfered some market share from beer. Again, the younger generation seems to be gravitating toward weed over booze. And predictions from market analysts say sales will not level off anytime soon, certainly not in 2024. But everything is relative: Considering beer enjoyed more than a decade of extremely robust sales, it can probably take a hit. And the main indicator of beer’s flatlining was pointed out in a Slate article midway last year: Beer sales aren’t horrible; it just has lost market share to other types of alcohol. Last year was the first time beer came in second place for market share: Spirits edged out beer 42.9% to 41.2% as far as market share. So let’s not think the sky is falling (and it certainly seems like Skye Vodka isn’t falling), but instead let’s keep celebrating the Golden Age of Beer we live in, by raising a glass – of beer, of course.

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0business

Tesla Strike Is a Culture Clash: Swedish Labor vs. American Management

A guinea pig is a popular pet for many. However, concerns are growing on where they're sold in Boston. Lawmakers on Monday are putting that topic in the spotlight at City Hall. The goal is to ensure these animals are safe and being treated humanely, rather than just a commodity. The MSPCA and other animal welfare groups asked the City Council to build on an ordinance from 2016 that prevents selling dogs, cats or rabbits in pet stores unless those stores partner with a shelter or rescue. Since then, the MSPCA said Massachusetts animal shelters have been overwhelmed with guinea pigs, so adding them to the ordinance would help address overpopulation problems and the surrender of strays, allowing them to have a more streamlined process to get them into homes. Get New England news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NECN newsletters. The hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. It can be watched remotely on Zoom.

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1crime

Apology, Tears and Terror: A Former Hostage Recounts a 7-Week Ordeal

She and the surviving children — another daughter, Agam, 17, and two sons, Gal, 11, and Tal, 9 — were released in late November as part of the exchange of prisoners between Israel and Hamas that has since ceased. In an interview this week, she shared details about her ordeal. She said she and the children were held together, treated “respectfully” and not physically harmed. But she said that over the course of various moves during their captivity, she had met other hostages who were badly treated, including two women who said they were sexually abused. Mostly, they were held in a room in an apartment in Gaza, she said, with the windows closed except for a bit of fresh air in the early mornings. But the heavily armed captors also moved Ms. Goldstein-Almog and her children to different apartments, tunnels, a mosque, even a destroyed supermarket, she said. With the Israeli military pounding Gaza, each transfer was terrifying, and the men holding them, she said, didn’t always seem to know what to do. Describing one move, she said: “It was the middle of the night. Everything was dark. They started deliberating among themselves. I could see the helplessness on their faces.” “When we were out into the street, in total darkness, there was a shot above us,” she continued. “We were pressed against the wall, and I could see a laser pointer, as if we were being targeted from above.” And she was thinking: That’s our air force up there. “It was crazy,” she said, “this absurdity.”

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0business

Wine Press: Top 10 wines under $10 for 2023

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to buy great wine. That single line sums up one of the biggest reasons why I first wanted to write this weekly wine column. A little over 11 years later, I can’t thank the newspaper enough for agreeing to my suggestion and for allowing me to continue to write this labor of love each week. And one of my favorite wine columns I look forward to writing each year is this one about the top 10 wines under $10. But this annual article – and many other wine columns I write throughout the year – isn’t just about offering a few suggestions. It’s about hopefully changing people’s minds about wine in general. Wine doesn’t have to be a treat saved for special occasions. You can easily enjoy a great, affordable bottle of wine anytime. In fact, some really great wines don’t even come in a bottle. One of the wines on this year’s top 10 list comes in a box. Another wine on the list comes in a can. So without further ado, let’s get to this year’s top 10 wines under $10. Let me add that all of these wines were purchased within the past year in Massachusetts. A few of these wines might be familiar to regular readers as well. But there are many new ones on this year’s list, including this year’s number one wine for under $10. In years past, that top honor has covered a wide range of wines, including five French wines, two from Italy and one each from Spain, Portugal and Argentina. Nine of those 10 wines were red wines. The other one was a white wine. This year, a French white wine tops this year’s list, which also includes five red wines (two from France and one each from Argentina, Italy, Portugal), three more white wines (from New Zealand, California and Washington) and one Spanish sparkling wine. Let me add that I also included a link to my other top 10 columns in years past (along with my top choice each year) in case you’re looking for other affordable wine suggestions. Hope you enjoy and looking forward to sharing more great wines with you every week next year. 10) 2021 Chateau Roc De Segur ($10.99 at Table & Vine in West Springfield) (French, red wine) Let’s kick things off with a delicious red wine from France’s Bordeaux region. Made with a blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and merlot grapes, this wonderful wine has a soft, subtle, velvet-like flavor and aroma, including hints of blackberry, almonds and plums. This great wine proves there are many great bargains to be found in Bordeaux, which you can read more about in a few weeks as well. 9) 2021 Domaine Bousquet Malbec ($9.99 at Table & Vine) (Argentina, red wine) I wrote a few months ago about great wines from Argentina other than malbec. But there’s no denying that some of the best malbecs in the world come from this mountainous South American country. This particular wine comes from one of my favorite Argentinian wineries. Made with organic grapes, this hearty red wine has bold, vibrant flavors, including ripe blackberries and black pepper. A terrific red wine for a cold winter night. 8) Segura Viudas Brut Cava ($9.99 at Table & Vine) (Spain, sparkling wine) This is my go-to dry sparkling wine – because you never know when you’re going to have to pop open a bottle of bubbly, especially this time of year. (And if you’re looking for more sparkling wine suggestions, I wrote about a bunch of them a few weeks ago.) What I love about this affordable Cava (which is a type of sparkling wine that can only come from Spain) is its crisp, dry, refreshing, nutty finish. 7) 2022 Matua Sauvignon Blanc ($10.99 at Table & Vine) (New Zealand, white wine) New Zealand makes very distinct sauvignon blanc wines. The flavors are often crisp, slightly tart and have a flavor that can only be described as fresh cut grass. Not everyone loves such flavors. But if you’re a big fan like me, I think you’ll love this outstanding, affordable white wine. The refreshing flavors include grapefruit, green apple and yes, fresh-cut grass. 6) 2020 Mise Montepulciano ($24.99 for 3 liter box at Provisions in Northampton) (Italy, red wine) Box wines often get a bad rap. But it’s just a box. It doesn’t affect how a wine tastes. If anything, wine in a box tastes fresher longer. And when I tasted several box wines earlier this year, this superb wine from the Abruzzo region in central Italy was easily my favorite wine. Made with montepulciano grapes, this hearty, meaty wine’s a steal at roughly $6.25 a bottle. Its dry, flinty flavors include hints of cherry, toasted almonds and dark chocolate. 5) 2022 Seaglass Central Coast Sauvignon Blanc ($9.99 at Table & Vine) (California, white wine) I recently came across this easy-drinking white wine from California’s central coast. If you want something a little more mellow than a zesty New Zealand sauvignon blanc, give this outstanding wine a try. Flavors include hints of lemon, sea salt and just a dash of fresh-cut grass along with a slight tartness. Again, all these flavors are soft, subtle and delicate. 4) 2019 Ninety Plus Cellars French Fusion ($9.99 at Table & Vine) (French, Red Wine) Ninety Plus Cellars makes a wide range of delicious, affordable wines, which often cost less than $10 a bottle. I could have easily included three or four Ninety Plus Cellars’ wines on this list. But if I had to pick just one, this is my personal favorite. Made with a classic blend of grenache, syrah and mourvedre grapes (the holy trinity for many southern Rhone red wines), this enchanting red blend from France’s Languedoc region has wonderful, soft, rounded flavors, including plum, blackberry and toasted almonds. 3) 2018 Colossal Reserva Casa Santos Lima ($9.99 at Table & Vine) (Portugal, red wine) My favorite wine of the year in 2018 remains one of my favorite, affordable wines under $10. Made with a blend of syrah, touriga nacional, alicante bouschet and tinta roriz grapes, this charming, robust red wine bursts with flavors that last at least a minute after each sip. Those flavors include roasted blackberries and raspberries. Highly recommend. 2) House Wine Chardonnay ($4.99 for 375 ml can at Table & Vine) (Washington, white wine) Wine in a can has come a long way from the super sweet wine spritzers many of us remember from years ago. This particular one from Walla Walla, Washington was one of my favorite discoveries this past summer. Made with chardonnay grapes and featuring no-frills packaging, this refreshing white wine has a crisp, mineral-like finish with hints of lemon and sea salt. In a way, this chardonnay reminds me of ones from Macon in the southern part of Burgundy in France. An absolutely delicious wine that just happens to come in a can. 1) 2022 Le Petit Balthazar ($8.99 at Table & Vine) (French, white wine) And now, I’ve saved the best for last. In a recent tasting of wines under $10, this outstanding gem stood out like the North Star. Made with a blend of equal parts viognier and sauvignon blanc, this beautiful, delightful wine has a lot of character and personality without being overwhelming. Slightly tart and crisp, the flavors include hints of lemon, melon, sea salt and green apple. My wife and I kept returning to this wine throughout our tasting. And each time, this wine was my favorite one, hands down. Hope you enjoy this wine just as much too. Cheers! Wine Press by Ken Ross appears on Masslive.com every Monday and in The Republican’s Weekend section every Thursday. Related content: Top Five Wines Under $10 For 2013 2013 Top Wine – Herencia Altes Garnacha (Spanish red wine for $8.99) Top Five Wines Under $10 For 2014 2014 Top Wine – 2012 Chateau Pesquie “Le Paradou” Grenache (French red wine for $8.99) Top 10 Wines Under $10 For 2015 2015 Top Wine – 2011 L’Ameillaud vin de pays de Vaucluse (French red wine for $8.99) Top 10 Wines Under $10 for 2016 2016 Top Wine – 2014 Luccarelli Puglia Negroamaro (Italian red wine for $8.99) Top 10 Wines Under $10 for 2017 2017 Top Wine – 2013 Tortoise Creek “Le Charmel” Rhone Valley Costieres de Nimes (French red wine for $9.99) Top 10 Wines Under $10 for 2018 2018 Top Wine – 2015 Colossal Reserva Casa Santos Lima (Portuguese red wine for $8.99) Top 10 Wines Under $10 for 2019 2019 Top Wine – 2018 Domaine Felines Jourdan Picpoul de Pinet (French white wine for $10) Top 10 Wines Under $10 for 2020 2020 Top Wine – 2016 Ninety Plus Cellars French Fusion Lot 21 (French red wine for $10) Top 10 Wines Under $10 for 2021 2021 Top Wine – 2019 Zuccardi Serie A Malbec (Argentinian red wine for $9.99) Top 10 Wines Under $10 for 2022 2022 Top Wine – 2021 Le Salare Montepulciano D’Abruzzo (Italian red wine for $10)

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1crime

Springfield will survey residents, MGM visitors in effort to curb DUIs

SPRINGFIELD — The city plans to survey 600 people — half MGM Springfield patrons and half residents — over the next few months to learn about alcohol and driving behaviors. The surveys — in which participants will be rewarded with $15 grocery, Amazon or Dunkin’ gift cards — will inform the city’s Springfield Safe Ride Home drunk-driving mitigation efforts and will be funded by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s Community Mitigation Fund. “We may ask questions about how many alcoholic beverages do you consume on a visit to the casino,” said city Health and Human Services Commission Helen Caulton-Harris in an interview Thursday. “How do you transport yourself to the casino? Do you drive? Do you take public transportation? We may ask about risk levels associated with gambling.”

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4politics

Westfield boys basketball rally to beat Belchertown in overtime, 58-55

National News How the Supreme Court may rule on Trump’s presidential run The legal issues are novel and tangled, experts said, and the justices may be wary of knocking a leading presidential candidate off the ballot. WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court, battered by ethics scandals, a dip in public confidence and questions about its legitimacy, may soon have to confront a case as consequential and bruising as Bush v. Gore, the 2000 decision that handed the presidency to George W. Bush. Until 10 days ago, the justices had settled into a relatively routine term. Then the Colorado Supreme Court declared that former President Donald J. Trump was ineligible to hold office because he had engaged in an insurrection. On Thursday, relying on that court’s reasoning, an election official in Maine followed suit. An appeal of the Colorado ruling has reached the justices, and they will probably feel compelled to weigh in. But they will act in the shadow of two competing political realities. Advertisement: They will be reluctant to wrest from voters the power to assess Trump’s conduct, particularly given the certain backlash that would bring. Yet they will also be wary of giving Trump the electoral boost of an unqualified victory in the nation’s highest court. Chief Justice John Roberts will doubtless seek consensus or, at least, try to avoid a partisan split of the six Republican appointees against the three Democratic ones. He may want to explore the many paths the court could take to keep Trump on state ballots without addressing whether he had engaged in insurrection or even assuming that he had. Among them: The justices could rule that congressional action is needed before courts can intervene, that the constitutional provision at issue does not apply to the presidency or that Trump’s statements were protected by the First Amendment. “I expect the court to take advantage of one of the many available routes to avoid holding that Trump is an insurrectionist who, therefore, can’t be president again,” said Nicholas Stephanopoulos, a law professor at Harvard University. Such an outcome would certainly be a stinging loss for Trump’s opponents, who say the case against him is airtight. But the Supreme Court would be attracted to what it would present as a modest ruling that allows Trump to remain on the ballot. Advertisement: “This is a fraught political issue,” said Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame. “I think there will be an effort for the court to coalesce around a consensus position for a narrow, unanimous opinion. That probably means coalescing around a position where Trump stays on the ballot.” If there is a consensus among legal experts, it is that the Supreme Court must act. “For the sake of the country, we need resolution of this issue as soon as possible,” said Richard Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. “Republican primary voters deserve to know if the candidate they are considering supporting is eligible to run. Otherwise they waste their votes on an ineligible candidate and raise the risk of the party nominating an ineligible candidate in the general election.” Trump was disqualified in Colorado and Maine based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars officials who have taken an oath to support the Constitution from holding office if they then engage in an insurrection. Stephanopoulos said those determinations were legally sound. But he added that he was “highly skeptical” that the Supreme Court, which has a six-justice conservative supermajority, would agree. Advertisement: “I think Roberts very much doesn’t want the court disrupting a presidential election, especially based on a novel legal theory that doesn’t have years of support from conservative judges and academics,” Stephanopoulos said. “I also doubt that the court’s conservative justices want to start a civil war within the Republican Party by disqualifying the candidate whom most Republican voters support.” Tara Leigh Grove, a law professor at the University of Texas, said the court has no options that will enhance its prestige. “Although many members of the public would, of course, embrace a decision affirming the Colorado Supreme Court,” she said, “others would recoil at the decision. I don’t think there is any way for the Supreme Court to issue a decision on this issue that will clearly enhance its legitimacy with the public as a whole.” She proposed a general rule of thumb: “Whenever the Supreme Court considers a truly extraordinary constitutional case, it must confront at least two issues: first, what is the better answer to the legal question; and second, how confident are the justices in that answer.” “When it comes to cases that will have a massive impact on society,” she said, “one might assume that the confidence level has to be particularly high.” In her ruling Thursday, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows of Maine wrote that the facts about Trump’s conduct were “not in serious dispute.” “The record establishes that Trump, over the course of several months and culminating on Jan. 6, 2021, used a false narrative of election fraud to inflame his supporters and direct them to the Capitol to prevent certification of the 2020 election and the peaceful transfer of power,” she wrote, adding: “The weight of the evidence makes clear that Mr. Trump was aware of the tinder laid by his multimonth effort to delegitimize a democratic election, and then chose to light a match.” Advertisement: Like the Colorado Supreme Court, Bellows put her ruling on hold while appeals move forward. That means the U.S. Supreme Court has some breathing room. The Colorado case is already before the justices in the form of a petition seeking review filed by the state’s Republican Party, which urged the court to resolve the case by March 5, when many states, including Colorado and Maine, hold primaries. Otherwise, they said, voters “will face profound uncertainty and the electoral process will be irrevocably damaged.” The six voters who prevailed in the Colorado case asked the justices to move even faster, culminating in a decision on the merits by Feb. 11. Hasen said the ruling from Maine added to the need for prompt resolution. “The fact that a second state, at least for now, has ruled Trump ineligible for the ballot puts major pressure on the Supreme Court to intervene in the case and to say something about how to apply Section 3 to Trump,” he said. “The plaintiffs bringing these lawsuits are relentless, and they will keep trying to get Trump removed.” Agreeing to hear the case is one thing. Resolving it is another. As the Colorado Supreme Court recognized, there are at least eight discrete issues in the case, and the voters challenging Trump’s eligibility must prevail on all of them. “For Trump to win, he only needs to win on one issue,” Muller said. “There are many options at the court’s disposal.” On the other hand, leading conservative law professors who have examined the original meaning of Section 3, which was adopted after the Civil War, have recently concluded that it plainly applies to Trump and bars him from another term. Such originalist arguments generally resonate with the court’s most conservative members. Advertisement: But other considerations may prevail. “As much as the court may want to evade politics in its decisions, it’s unavoidable,” Muller said. “The best it can do right now is try to achieve consensus to avoid the appearance of partisanship.” This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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3entertainment

20 Acts in 60 Minutes

Our new audio app is home to “This American Life,” the award-winning program hosted by Ira Glass. New episodes debut in our app a day earlier than in the regular podcast feed, and we also have an archive of the show. The app includes a “Best of ‘This American Life’” section with some of our favorite bite-size clips, so you can enjoy the show even if you don’t have a lot of time.

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2culture

Wu announces free museum admission for BPS students and families

Twice a month, Boston Public School students and their families will be able to visit multiple museums and attractions without paying a dime. “Starting in February, on the first and second Sundays of each month, BPS students and their families will get free admission at the Museum of Fine Arts, the Institute of Contemporary Art, The Museum of Science, The Boston Children's Museum, the New England Aquarium, and the Franklin Park Zoo,” said Mayor Michelle Wu in her State of the City address on Tuesday. The announcement follows a trend of increased accessibility at Boston-area institutions. Last year the Harvard Art Museums announced free admission for all visitors year-round, joining other museums with free admission such as Fuller Craft Museum, the McMullen Museum at Boston College and the Mass Art Art Museum. Currently general admission costs a family of four (two adults and two teenagers) $74 at the Museum of Fine Arts, $63 at the Franklin Park Zoo and $136 at the New England Aquarium. Vikki N. Spruill, president and CEO of the New England Aquarium, is proud to partner in this program that she says will help inspire more young people. She wrote to WBUR in an email following the announcement, “We applaud Mayor Wu and her team for creating a program that prioritizes increased accessibility and inclusivity for students and families throughout Boston." "We are thrilled to partner with the city and our colleagues to bring free cultural experiences to BPS students and their families,” wrote Museum of Science president Tim Ritchie in an email. “One of our highest priorities as an institution is creating a learning space that is inclusive, equitable, and accessible for all. The beauty of scientific discovery should not be a privilege, but rather a birthright for every child in the city. We cannot wait to welcome even more BPS families through our doors and to help spark their lifelong love of science.” In her speech, Mayor Wu recounted the role that free museum admission played in her own life. Wu’s immigrant mother often didn’t have enough money to spend on things like museum admission. “But on this day, none of that matters, because itʼs a Tuesday—and on Tuesdays, the big art museum downtown has free admission,” she said in her speech. “So sheʼs there with her little girl, in a little pink stroller, staring up at a painting of a cliff full of wildflowers. And, in this moment, this mom with no money and no words in this language feels like the best mom on earth because she has given her daughter the world for a day.” Mayor Wu has continued to demonstrate a strong tie to the arts. She’s continued to play piano in adulthood and last year she joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra for a performance at Symphony Hall.

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0business

Sam Altman returns to OpenAI in a bizarre reversal of fortunes

1. How relevant is this ad to you? Video player was slow to load content Video content never loaded Ad froze or did not finish loading Video content did not start after ad Audio on ad was too loud Other issues

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4politics

Remains of 5 U.S. crew members killed in Air Force crash off Japanese coast found

U.S. and Japanese divers have discovered wreckage and remains of five crew members from a U.S. Air Force Osprey aircraft that crashed last week off southwestern Japan, the Air Force announced Monday. The CV-22 Osprey carrying eight American personnel crashed last Wednesday off Yakushima island during a training mission. The body of one victim was recovered and identified earlier. The Air Force Special Operations Command said two of the five newly located remains have been recovered but their identities have yet to be determined. The joint U.S.-Japanese search operation is still working to recover the remains of three other crew members from the wreckage, it said. The search is continuing for the two people who are still missing, it said. “The main priority is bringing the Airmen home and taking care of their family members. Support to, and the privacy of, the families and loved ones impacted by this incident remains AFSOC’s top priority,” it said in a statement. The U.S. military identified the one confirmed victim as Air Force Staff Sgt. Jacob Galliher, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on Saturday. Galliher, who was stationed in Japan, was a 2017 graduate of Taconic High School in Pittsfield, the city police department said in a statement Friday morning. He left behind his wife, 2-year-old and 7-week-old sons, and a loving family in Western Massachusetts. In a statement, Galliher’s family called him “an amazing father, son and brother dedicated to his family and friends.” “During this period of immense grief, we kindly ask for privacy and understanding as we navigate this unimaginable loss,” the family said. “Our thoughts and support are with the families of Jake’s fellow crew members who are dealing with this tragedy as well.” On Monday, divers from the Japanese navy and U.S. military spotted what appeared to be the front section of the Osprey, along with possibly five of the missing crew members, Japan’s NHK public television and other media reported. Japanese navy officials declined to confirm the reports, saying they could not release details without consent from the U.S. The U.S.-made Osprey is a hybrid aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter but can rotate its propellers forward and cruise much faster, like an airplane, during flight. Ospreys have had a number of crashes, including in Japan, where they are used at U.S. and Japanese military bases, and the latest accident rekindled safety concerns. Japan has suspended all flights of its own fleet of 14 Ospreys. Japanese officials say they have asked the U.S. military to resume Osprey flights only after ensuring their safety. The Pentagon said no such formal request has been made and that the U.S. military is continuing to fly 24 MV-22s, the Marine version of Ospreys, deployed on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa. On Sunday, pieces of wreckage that Japan’s coast guard and local fishing boats have collected were handed over to the U.S. military for examination, coast guard officials said. Japan’s military said debris it has collected would also be handed over to the U.S. Coast guard officials said the recovered pieces of wreckage include parts of the aircraft and an inflatable life raft but nothing related to the cause of the crash, such as an engine. Local witnesses reported seeing fire coming from one of the engines. Under the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement, Japanese authorities are not given the right to seize or investigate U.S. military property unless the U.S. decides otherwise. That means it will be practically impossible for Japan to independently investigate the cause of the accident. The agreement has often made Japanese investigations difficult in criminal cases involving American service members on Okinawa and elsewhere. It has been criticized as unequal by rights activists and others, including Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki, who has called for a revision.

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0business

SpaceX Makes Progress in 2nd Launch of Giant Moon and Mars Rocket

SpaceX, Elon Musk's spaceflight company, launched its Starship rocket from the coast of South Texas on Saturday, a mammoth vehicle that could alter the future of space transportation and help NASA return astronauts to the moon. Saturday’s flight of Starship, a powerful vehicle designed to carry NASA astronauts to the moon, was not a complete success. SpaceX did not achieve the test launch’s ultimate objective — a partial trip around the world ending in a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. But the test flight, the vehicle’s second, did show that the company had fixed key issues that arose during the earlier test operation in April. All 33 engines in the vehicle’s lower booster stage fired, and the rocket made it through stage separation — when the booster falls away and the six engines of the upper stage light up to carry the vehicle to space.

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6sports

Despite loss, Southwick wrestling showing major signs of improvement

SOUTHWICK – The Southwick wrestling team took a “L” in the win-loss column Wednesday night against Hampshire, a 42-36 loss, but there are a lot of underlying stats that show the Rams are winning in many other ways on the mat. First, Southwick’s Amadi Ezeugwu built an early 6-0 lead in a matchup of 120 pounders. Thirty seconds into the second period, he landed a pin.

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6sports

Patriots players remain grateful to Bill Belichick after tough season

BOSTON — The Bruins had to play the final two periods of their 5-3 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday without Pavel Zacha after he suffered an upper-body injury. That meant distributing his minutes among the other forwards — most taking on a larger role in his absence. Charlie Coyle logged 20:17 of ice time, Trent Frederic had 15:13 and Morgan Geekie played 17:31. All three players were more than up to the task when called upon because they know when someone of Zacha’s caliber goes down, it’s next man up. “If you got a good group, everyone’s gonna step up, everyone’s gonna play more minutes,” Geekie said after the game. “I’m just trying to go out there and do my job and fit in anywhere I can. We had guys playing all over the place tonight. That’s just how it’s gonna be some days. You gotta figure out ways to win in this league and that’s what we did tonight.” BET ANYTHING GET $250 BONUS ESPN BET CLAIM OFFER MASS 21+ and present in MA, NJ, PA, VA, MD, WV, TN, LA, KS, KY, CO, AZ, IL, IA, IN, OH, MI. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-Gambler. Coyle acknowledged Zacha is a “hard guy to replace.” He’s a top-line center averaging 18:50 of ice time. And when you lose someone after only one period of play, it’s up to the players to respond. That’s what the Bruins did, as well as take “a little more responsibly.” “You have to be on guard and bring more focus because the lines are going to be kind of shuffled around. You don’t really know who’s going with you,” Coyle said. “So you’ve gotta make sure when your name is called or if you’re going, there’s gonna be a lot of talking on the bench, a lot of talking on the ice. Everyone takes a little more ownership when someone goes down, especially someone of the caliber like Pavel Zacha. It’s a hard guy to replace, but we can do it throughout the lineup and I’d say we did a pretty good job for the most part.” It’s unclear when Zacha suffered his injury, or what the extent of it is. Coach Jim Montgomery didn’t have an update after the game and said he’d know more Monday. Zacha’s injury is just the latest for the Bruins. Derek Forbort was placed on long-term injured reserve with an undisclosed ailment, while Charlie McAvoy is day-to-day, though he’s made improvements and hasn’t been ruled out of Wednesday’s game against the New Jersey Devils.

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6sports

How to watch Lego Masters season 4 finale for free Dec. 14

The three remaining teams have 24 hours to create a massive build complete with storytelling creativity and technical aspects in the season finale of “Lego Masters” airing on Thursday, December 14 on FOX. The season finale of season 4 will air at 9 p.m. EST and will be broadcast on FOX. Viewers looking to stream the premiere can do so by using FuboTV and DirecTV Stream. Both streaming services offer free trials. According to a description of the show by FOX, in “Lego Masters,” teams of two LEGO® enthusiasts go head-to-head, with infinite possibilities and an unlimited supply of LEGO® bricks. “Throughout the competition, host Will Arnett and expert judges encourage the amateur builders, introduce incredible challenges and put the creations to the test,” according to FOX. The competing pairs who impress the judges the most progress to the next round. In the finale, the top teams face off for a cash prize, the ultimate LEGO trophy and the grand title of LEGO® MASTERS. In the season finale, the three remaining teams have 24 hours to create a massive build complete with storytelling, creativity and technical aspects to take home a $100,000 cash prize, the ultimate LEGO trophy and the title of LEGO Masters. Here is a look at season 4 from FOX’s YouTube channel: How can I watch “Lego Masters” without cable? The season finale of season 4 will air at 9 p.m. EST and will be broadcast on FOX. Viewers looking to stream the premiere can do so by using FuboTV and DirecTV Stream. Both streaming services offer free trials. What is DirecTV Stream? The streaming platform offers a plethora of content including streaming the best of live and On Demand, starting with more than 75 live TV channels. What is FuboTV? FuboTV is an over-the-top internet live TV streaming service that offers more than 100 channels, like sports, news, entertainment and local channels. It offers DVR storage space, and is designed for people who want to cut the cord, but don’t want to miss out on their favorite live TV and sports.

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3entertainment

Where to buy Madonna concert tickets to Boston shows on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9

Fans who were upset about Madonna postponing her late-summer Boston shows last year will be happy to know she’s returning to the Hub in less than a week. Madonna will perform at the TD Garden in Boston on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9, and plenty of tickets are on sale. Both shows start at 8:30 p.m. First night ticket prices are going for as low as $87 on StubHub and $83 on *VividSeats. Night two tickets start at $92 on StubHub and $85 on VividSeats. *New customers who purchase tickets through VividSeats can get $20 off a $200+ ticket order by using the promo code MassLive20 at checkout. NME reviewed her opening show in London and gave it five stars: “The whole thing is a thrilling reminder that Madonna isn’t just a pop star, but also a cultural force who genuinely changed the world by chafing against what society expects from women in the public eye.” Ticket prices listed above are as of Jan. 4 at 2 p.m. ET.

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3entertainment

How an Obscure Song Became an a Cappella Sensation

The arrangement marked one the first times that all 14 members of the Virginia Gentlemen had their own vocal part on a song, he said. They submitted their recording to Sharon, who liked it enough to put it on one of the first “Best Of College A Cappella” albums in the mid-1990s. From there, the record hit campuses and the arrangement began to spread the old-fashioned way: word of mouth. Other groups copied the arrangement by ear. A member of the Wesleyan Spirits who had performed a version in high school brought it to the Spirits. That arrangement made its way to the Vineyard Sound, a group based on Martha’s Vineyard. Similar arrangements were performed at the University of Rochester and Plymouth State. “This song is what made me fall in love with my group,” Michelle Shankar, who was part of the Dartmouth Dodecaphonics from 2008 to 2012, said. “They open almost every show with this piece. It’s high energy, super upbeat, at least the a cappella version of it is. And it just starts with this wall of sound — that really high belt that’s like, ‘Whoaaa!’, and that just became an iconic line.”

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4politics

Southwick awarded grants of over $287k over last several years for cybersecurity

SOUTHWICK – It’s a nightmare scenario for any municipality, large or small: employees arrive at work, power up their computers and when they try log in to the network server, they are denied access. In attempt to protect that situation from occurring, since 2015, the state has been awarding grants through the Community Compact IT program to provide funds to harden the network security of cities and towns, including Southwick, to minimize the risk. “It’s very important,” said Town Accountant Laura Fletcher about the $288,102 the town has received since the program was started by the Baker-Polito Administration.

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2culture

Robert M. Solow, Groundbreaking Economist and Nobelist, Dies at 99

The Red Sox face a deadline — and clarity — on another one of their rumored free agent targets later this week. And barring a last-minute surprise, Boston’s pursuit is expected to fall short. Boston is considered a “long shot” to sign Japanese left-hander Shōta Imanaga before his deadline to sign with a major league club Thursday (Jan. 11), according to a source with knowledge of discussions between the sides. It’s unclear exactly how aggressive the Red Sox have been with Imanaga, who is considered one of the top three free agent starters left on the market and must pick a new team by 5 p.m. ET on Thursday. But unless something changes in the coming days, the southpaw is expected to sign elsewhere. On Friday, The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier reported the Red Sox were “lurking in Imanaga’s free agency rather than as one of the most involved teams.” A source said earlier Monday that multiple teams remain interested in the mix for Imanaga. The Angels, Giants, Cubs and Mets have been linked to him, along with the Red Sox, for weeks. On Monday, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand pegged San Francisco — one of the teams that missed out on fellow top Japanese starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto this winter — as the favorite to sign Imanaga. It’s unclear if Imanaga has a preference to pitch on the west coast. BET ANYTHING GET $250 BONUS ESPN BET CLAIM OFFER MASS 21+ and present in MA, NJ, PA, VA, MD, WV, TN, LA, KS, KY, CO, AZ, IL, IA, IN, OH, MI. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-Gambler. Imanaga, 30, was posted by the Yokohama Bay Stars on Nov. 27, opening a 30-day window for teams to sign him. While the lefty is not expected to command a deal close to the 12-year, $325 million contract Yoshinobu Yamamoto received from the Dodgers late last month, he’s still considering an intriguing mid-rotation option who may get more than $100 million on the open market. MLBTradeRumors ranked Imanaga as the No. 10 free agent on this year’s market at the outset of the winter. The Red Sox, as MassLive’s Sean McAdam reported, heavily scouted Imanaga, who led Nippon Professional Baseball with 174 strikeouts in 2023. For a team that has yet to make major improvements to its starting rotation this winter (Boston signed Lucas Giolito while trading away Chris Sale), Imanaga was thought to be a logical fit. Speier previously reported that Boston was impressed with the left-hander’s pitch metrics despite the fact he’s undersized (5-foot-10) and has a fastball that usually sits in the 92-92 mph range. In November, McAdam spoke to a veteran scout who had watched Imanaga extensively in both the World Baseball Classic and NPB. “He’s an undersized lefty who can really throw strikes,” said the evaluator. “He has a plan out there on the mound. He’s not overpowering but I think his strike-throwing and feel to pitch are really his strengths. The (four-seamer) fastball plays. It’s got ride to it, and it’s also got some spin to it. He’s got the ability to got some swing-and-miss with it, even though it’s not overpowering. He can locate it, move it around the zone and keep it away from the barrel. “I would say his next best pitch would be his split-change. Hitters don’t see that over here as much, and he can throw it to both lefties and righties. After that he has a slider which he throws to lefties, and a curve. “I see him as a back of the rotation guy. He’s a strike-thrower, but when it comes down to just the quality of the pitches, that gives me a little pause. And the durability.”

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3entertainment

The 10 Best Books of 2023

Every year, starting in the spring, we spend months debating the most exceptional books that pass across our desks: the families we grow to love, the narrative nonfiction that carries us away, the fictional universes we can’t forget. It’s all toward one goal — deciding the best books of the year. Things can get heated. We spar, we persuade and (above all) we agonize until the very end, when we vote and arrive at 10 books — five fiction and five nonfiction. We dive more into the list in a special edition of our podcast. And in case you’d like even more variety, don’t miss our list of 100 Notable Books of 2023, or take a spin through this handy list, which features all the books we’ve christened the best throughout the years.

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4politics

Bangladesh Leader Headed to 4th Straight Term in Vote Marred by Crackdown

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh was headed toward a fourth consecutive term in office as voting ended on Sunday in a low-turnout election that had been marred by a widespread crackdown on the opposition. Security remained tight across the country of 170 million people as the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the main opposition, which has boycotted the election as unfair, pushed for a nationwide strike. The situation had remained tense in the days leading up to the vote, with episodes of violence — including arson on a train in Dhaka that killed four people, and the torching of more than a dozen polling stations — reported from across the country. Ms. Hasina, 76, who cast her vote in Dhaka, the capital, soon after polls opened at 8 a.m. local time, urged people to come out in large numbers. Early results showed her party with a clear majority. On the campaign trail, she had called for political stability and continuity, often by mentioning the country’s violent history of coups and counter-coups, including one that killed her father, Bangladesh’s founding leader, in the 1970s. She had highlighted her efforts to champion economic development, and her secular party’s resistance to the rise of Islamist militancy, as reasons the voters should give her another term.

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4politics

Protest group blocks streets in Boston near historic landmarks

SPRINGFIELD — Angered by an article published in an alternative African American paper, Black leaders joined together to call for an apology from the writer, describing his commentary as divisive and “an attack on the entire Black community.” “The ‘Worst’ Article I Ever Wrote” written by Frederick Hurst, the owner of the African American community paper Point of View, slammed at least 11 Black leaders — ranging from city councilors Melvin Edwards and Lavar Click-Bruce to state Rep. Bud L. Williams and Vietnam veteran and organizer Bernard McClusky — for their failure to support his son Justin Hurst when he ran for mayor this year. Most of those who were taken to task attended and spoke at a press conference on Thursday in City Hall. They did not mince words calling the piece “tasteless,” “disturbing,” “infantile” and “vitriolic.” Justin Hurst, who is a 10-year city councilor, finished second among five candidates in the preliminary race for mayor, but Mayor Domenic J. Sarno beat him in the general election in a vote of 12,077 to 8,945. In the article, Frederick Hurst called those who declined to endorse or otherwise support his son sycophants to white leaders, “Uncle Toms” and Black Judases. The article describes a “deep division between the Black masses” and calls out leaders who were “conspicuously absent” when Justin Hurst was campaigning against Sarno, who is white and the city’s longest-serving mayor. “We are calling for the publisher of this paper in his next month’s issue, or even prior to that, to issue a public apology, a retraction of this article,” said Archbishop Timothy Paul Baymon. “If he does not, we are prepared to boycott.” Specifically, Baymon said the group is ready to ask businesses to stop advertising in Point of View and churches to stop distributing the monthly paper. The Pastors’ Council of Greater Springfield is also trying to schedule a meeting with Frederick Hurst. When asked if he would apologize for the four-page commentary, Frederick Hurst said: “Just read my article. It is pretty clear.” He argued if he had to defend each article he wrote, he would do nothing else. “I’ve said everything I wanted to say in the article,” he said. “I’ve written hundreds of articles and I will write more.” While the more than two dozen people who attended Thursday’s event took umbrage with Frederick Hurst’s article, most did not speak ill of Justin Hurst, even though some said they did not support his candidacy for mayor. “I think Justin ran a good race, I really did. I thought he was qualified but he didn’t win it. When you don’t win you start attacking and I don’t think that’s right,” said Robert C. Jackson, a member of the Springfield Board of Police Commissioners, who is best known as Cee. In the article, Frederick Hurst included a list of people — Jackson, state Rep. Bud L. Williams, Jay Griffin and George Bruce, the father of City Councilor Lavar Click-Bruce — saying they “have long ago been compromised by money and the mere illusion of personal and political power and their obsessive love of white people.” He also complained that the city is a majority-minority city that continues to be dominated by a conglomerate of Irish and Italians who he suggests is a mafia. Justin Hurst said he feels his father’s article speaks for itself. “I encourage those interested in its contents to get a copy of the Point of View newspaper and read it for themselves. And once they finish, they should read it again to make sure they have a thorough understanding of it.” The Rev. Talbert Swan, long-term president of the Springfield regional chapter of the NAACP who is bishop of the Vermont Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the Church of God in Christ, which covers five eastern states, was harshly criticized in the article, with Frederick Hurst writing Swan was certainly not for the NAACP. “This article, this attack, this slander by Rick Hurst is an extension of the Hurst campaign,” Swan said, referring to the elder Hurst by his nickname. “It is an act of a senior man who is behaving like a petulant child because his son lost an election.” Since being named the head of the NAACP some years ago, Swan said it has been his practice to not endorse candidates because the organization is nonpartisan. “I don’t know what makes Rick or anyone else think that we are obligated to support a candidate simply because they are Black,” Swan said. He pointed out that there are plenty of people he would never support even though they are Black, such as Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, who represents South Carolina as a Republican. Swan called Hurst a “fine young man” who was worthy of support, but said his failure was in allowing campaign workers speaking on his behalf to “run amuck.” “This campaign tried relentlessly to bully me into an endorsement, but I think those of you who know me know I can’t be bullied,” he said. “As retribution for me not bowing down to the pressure I’ve been attacked relentlessly for 14 months.” Swan said the article went beyond criticizing him and City Councilor Malo Brown, who is a frequent target of the paper. It attacked the entire Black community as well as the Italian, Irish and Hispanic communities, he said. Swan said he was especially horrified with the portions of the article that likened Black people to slaves that “will never stop serving their master” and cannot think for themselves. Several also said the commentary that called Melvin Edwards, a 14-year councilor who is currently the board’s vice chairman, perennially white-loving was especially egregious since his wife of 28 years is white. “It saddens me so much because people work so hard to find excuses to treat each other bad,” Edwards said. Edwards said his family is a multitude of races. His first wife was Black and his second wife is Canadian and brought three children to their family, who he raised since their father died. Edwards said his six children and 15 grandchildren are a multitude of races, including some who are half-Hispanic, and he loves them all equally. “The constitution allows people to speak freely in this country, but it does not give you the right to speak without consequence,” Edwards said. He said it also allows everyone to vote for the candidate of their choice regardless of race. “Whether or not we would have all publicly endorsed Justin Hurst for mayor, he still would have lost,” Edwards said.

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2culture

In a Song of the Summer, Clues for January in Iowa

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email transcripts@nytimes.com with any questions. I’m not a big country music fan. But I am a political reporter. And this August, in the GOP primary, those two things collided — In the song, Aldean lists off behavior he associates with cities, like crime and disrespecting the flag and police officers. And then he warns people of the consequences if they, quote, “try that in a small town.” He sings, “got a gun that my granddad gave me. They say, one day, they’re going to round up. Well, that shit might fly in the city. Good luck. Try that in a small town.” The song quickly hit the country music charts. Then Aldean released the music video. (SINGING) You cross that line. It won’t take long for you to find out. I recommend you don’t try that in a small town. The video includes footage of violent protests and vandalism and was filmed in part at a courthouse in Tennessee, which was the scene of race riots in 1946 and where a Black man was lynched in 1927. In the video, images are projected on a building, some showing clips of protests, looting, and tense police encounters. One of the most popular country music hits of the summer is “Try That in a Small Town.” But the song has ignited controversy and faced backlash from fans, who say the lyrics encourage racism and violence. In the video, shots of Aldean singing alternate with newsreel of various crimes, violence, and rioting in cities. It also included images from racial justice protests during the summer of 2020. Many public figures, like Sheryl Crow, criticized the track and video, while Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, and others voiced their support for Aldean. The music video was just pulled from Country Music Television because of imagery that critics say has racist undertones and promotes violence. From “The New York Times” and the grandstand at the Iowa State Fair, I’m Astead Herndon. And this is “The Run-Up.” And after all the candidates had come and gone, we are going to the final concert, which will close out the fair, which is headlined by Jason Aldean. I saw that Jason Aldean will be closing out the week. And I knew that’s where I wanted to be. So my colleague Caitlin and I got tickets, not only to ask people about the song and its message but also to ask about Trump and the culture within the Republican Party that has rallied around them both. Republican primary candidates began playing it at their events. Donald Trump made the political connection directly, writing, “Support Jason all the way. MAGA.” And so this summer, as the Iowa State Fair was coming to an end, we are back in Des Moines, Iowa for the last day of the Iowa State Fair. But we’re here not really for the fair at all. Later, the video was quietly edited to remove some of that protest footage. But the lines had already been drawn. The song quickly gained popularity on the right. In fact, it became Aldean’s first single to top the Billboard Hot 100. Hey, how about I ask the questions? You can decide after we ask, huh? Do you want to chat maybe for 5, 10 minutes? My name’s Astead. This is Caitlin. We’re from “The New York Times.” We’re talking to people going to the Aldean concert today about country music and how they — why they like it, how it influences the way they think about politics, and things like that. You all have maybe 10 minutes to talk with us? Are you going to the concert? Are you sure? OK, well, thank you. Have a great day. Hey, how are you? My name is Astead. This is Caitlin. We’re with “The New York Times.” And we are here talking to people going to the — oh, go ahead. Do your thing. — Caitlin. We’re from “The New York Times.” We’re talking to people heading to the Aldean concert. All right, I think you’re walking away from us. OK. Hi. My name is Astead. This is Caitlin. We’re reporters with “The New York Times.” We’re here at the Aldean concert today. We’re talking to people who decided to come. And we’re specifically actually talking to people about the song and all of the stuff that’s been — I saw you all on the T-shirts. You have maybe 5, 10 minutes you want to chat? OK, hold on. Let’s try to talk to them. OK, so the bar — there’s two drinking areas. There’s one over here, and there’s one a little closer to the grandstand. But we can also look at people who have Aldean-esque clothing on. I’ve been reporting from Trump events since 2016. So I’m used to people being skeptical of talking to me. But this felt a little different. This felt like people saw me coming and thought, oh, that Black guy, with his fair media badge around his neck, is going to make me feel like a racist for liking this song. And honestly, I did want to ask about race because to me, that was part of what felt important about this story. We finally met one couple who was happy to talk, even though it meant their two little kids would be stuck listening. And thank you all for having [INAUDIBLE] while. You see that as what that speaks to? We’re here to throw the last punch. Thank you so much. I really appreciate your time. This was really helpful. — he can defend himself. So we won’t throw the first punch. But we’ll throw the last one. So he studied martial arts for five years. Now, I don’t agree with fighting in school. But however, if somebody throws that first punch — And so it’s not incompatible with things you want to teach your children or things, whatever, because you want them all to have those values? Right. So when people are like, oh, there’s some threat of looming — you’re saying, we’re only saying that because we see it as a protection of those values? And even if that value includes we fight back if someone comes here and messes with this, that is still a value you’re proud of? Right. It’s a song that seemingly to you all is about these values that hold these communities together? I want to make sure I have this right. Do you think of the song as a political song? Because he still puts faith, family, and country before anything else. And that’s what I’ve seen from him. That’s what I saw him prove in four years. Yeah. OK, so he went on his little rants on Twitter. But that just means he’s human. How do you think someone from there has come to represent these values that you’re talking about are so core and that aren’t represented in places like this? One thing about Trump that comes to my mind is he’s probably very much a big-city person. Yes. If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have appointed the people that he did to the Supreme Court. My lead candidates if Trump does make it to the ballot is either Trump or DeSantis, just because of their stance on the Constitution. They understand that sometimes some things need to change. But the core of that Constitution cannot change. So yeah, I am registered under one particular party. But I don’t completely identify with that party. Unfortunately, I haven’t found the ability to register as a constitutional conservative. So you’d either have to pick Libertarian. The last thing I would say was about politics itself. Is there anyone, when you look ahead to the next primary — we’ve been in Iowa, talking to folks who play such a huge role in that selection. Do you look at someone and say they represent those values when you look at the presidential options? And that’s what the song is trying to speak to? But what I hear somewhat is a sense of pride that the town would band together, and the town would do something about it. — citizens of that city. It wouldn’t fly in most small towns that I’ve ever been in. So if you were to try anything that they had on any of their clips, it wouldn’t be the police you’d be up against. It’d be all the rest of the — Do you think it could be a response to some of the protest movements we saw as recently as 2020? You’re saying that that was a tragic thing that happened there, but that’s not the same situation that we’re talking about now? I was a volunteer deputy — a reserve deputy back in Colorado. I know a lot of police officers. And they wouldn’t stand for it. I know most of my brothers in the military wouldn’t stand for it. I mean, that’s what we fought for. And the other thing you’re not taking into account is — so I know what the backstory is that they’re trying to push on that. There was a African American man who was lynched in front of the courthouse where Aldean shot his video. But look at the political landscape. That kind of lynching would never happen today in modern society. There would be way too much backlash, both on civil front, political front, and law enforcement standpoint. I hear you. I feel like I hear you saying it was much ado about nothing, you felt like. So all the clips he used were all news footage. He’s picked a broad range of news footage. The other comment about that courthouse, well, for one, Miley Cyrus used it in her movie from — for “Hannah Montana.” It is one of the most historical buildings in Tennessee. I listened to this song specifically because I was reading some of the stuff, the back and forth. What did you think about the kind of backlash that happened when this song came out? So I spent 10 years — my mom worked for the State Department. So I spent a lot of time in the DC metro area. My mom was born in service. I got to live in some of the biggest cities in the world. And it all comes down to most people in the big cities are they’re too busy climbing the ladder or chasing a buck. The idea that stop and smell the roses is a completely foreign concept. I’d much rather spend a night out by the lake in the bed of my pickup truck, staring at the stars than going bar hopping. What do you think it is that maybe the coast or people aren’t getting about maybe the heartland or country music and why it’s resonating so much? I love Aldean. He’s just a patriot. He loves America. And he’s just true country. Just loves his country, loves his family. And he stands for that. He stands for family, God, and country. Most of what — he’s just a good old boy that’s trying to make a living, trying to make sure everybody knows what — where we come from. This one was raised in a town of 12,000. It was the highest end of the population. What is it about his music specifically that’s resonated with you? But I wanted to know if everyone was just as comfortable with all parts of the song, like how it was resonating in the political moment or the lyrics that could be taken as a violent threat. So that was one answer we got from Aldean fans. This was a song about small-town values. And by that, they mean God, family, country. I lived in Minneapolis — or in Minnesota when all this stuff was going on. That government let them burn the town down. They didn’t support the police. I mean, that wouldn’t have happened years ago. And it wouldn’t have happened under Trump. I was listening to it today. Is there a specific lyric? Is there a thing that you actually [INAUDIBLE]? Well, I think that song — he’s telling it like it is. That’s what you think that song really speaks to? Yeah. This country has gone to hell in a handcart under Biden and everything and the Democrats. It’s time to take it back. Oh, are you talking about the “Try That in a Small Town“? His new song tells it like it is. What do you mean by that? I’ve been a long-time fan. And what he speaks is the truth. We’re going too. What made you want to go? Do you like — Hi. Thank you. We’re from “The New York Times.” We’re going to the Aldean concert today. And we’re talking to people about country music and what makes them excited about it and also how it shapes or maybe influences the way they think about politics. I saw your shirt. I was wondering if you maybe had 5, 10 minutes to chat with us? Are you going to the concert? Cool. Thank you so much. I really appreciate your time. I’m an Independent. So I’m open. I’m not a Republican or a Democrat. So I’m just going to pick the person that I resonate with the most and that holds values that — really, not even for me but for my children because honestly, we’re planning for the future in our politics. So what’s happening now is going to reflect on their lives in 10 years. And we’ve been here in Des Moines. Y’all play a hugely important role. Do you see anyone in national politics that reflects those small-town values that you say really you resonate with? So the other thing we’re talking to people about this week is the presidential primary coming up. We’ve been here — Yeah. And I believe — I guess I’m someone that’s like I’m not all or nothing. Some people are all or nothing. I’m not one of those people. Yeah. I guess I was saying that doesn’t feel to me fully the message of the song though, right? See — and I’m like on the fence on that because I want my children to be culturized and have diversity and to love other people. My modern life — love God, love people. And you can do that if someone doesn’t believe the same thing as you. There’s the other thing that happens in that song about the kind of looming or else threat to it. If you bring those liberal big-city values to this town, something bad might happen to you. Yeah, it’s speaking to the values of we stick together. We’re a community. And we stand for good morals. And I want my kids to see that. It’s something that you think the song is speaking to those kind of values? And I just think that our community binds together. It’s not something I ever grew up with. I didn’t ever have that safety, I guess. So that’s something that I feel that in my community now. We stick up for each other. Our police officers are incredible. They have been working with our family and made us feel safe in our community. And that’s something that I think is extremely important that — Well, my children had a traumatic event this week. We had a high-speed chase in our town. And he put a lot of people’s lives in danger, including my children. And what is it about the song that really you think speaks to that? Well, I married my husband. He’s from Southern Iowa. And I was raised kind of country anyways. We’re hunters. We fish and do all the country stuff. But I grew up in the city. So kind of just chose the country life for my kids. Yeah. Can you tell me how you kind of came to make that decision? Yes because I grew up in Des Moines. I went to a mega school here. And now I’m raising my kids the opposite way. Is that a shift for you, that moving to small town kind of helps? Yes, it says, “Try That in a Small Town.” So now I live in small-town Iowa. And I just have those beliefs now. How can you describe it to me for the audience? I just like it all. I like all music, really. So yeah. I guess I don’t have a preference. Do you trend to one side of that genre? Or do you just like it all? Maren Morris, Ludacris, and Sean Kingston. And we were here last night too. What other ones you go to? Is this your first day at the fair? Or you’ve been coming all week? As long as it’s how you feel, then that’s what we care. Can you tell us your name? It did, of course, happen under Trump, not Biden. You live in Centerville, Iowa. Have fun in the concert. Thank you for talking to us. Yeah, no problem. Can you just tell me your name? It’s not against — no, it’s not racial. It’s not anything like that. He’s just saying the truth. I’m the same way. If somebody was coming after my family, I’d kick their fucking ass. And that’s the way he’s saying it. You’re coming after our country or our town. We’re going to kick your ass. We got to go. My last question — some people say that song is a threat of violence or would say it’s [INAUDIBLE]. What would you say to that? He’s just expressing what a lot of people feel. We as Americans don’t get to express our views that much. Where are we going to do it? Maybe talking to you or something. Other than that, the politicians don’t listen. They do what they want to do. They don’t care about us. They don’t care about America. No. No problem. I hear what you’re saying. We talked to some people who talk about how culture and politics are like separate things. It seems kind of connected, though, at places like this that that song is speaking to a little political feeling you have. There are some good Republicans running against Trump. But I don’t think anybody can pull it together other than Trump. The only other two candidates I would maybe even support would be — let me think. It’s Tim. I guess I’m asking about Trump versus the other Republicans, maybe not even Biden. I get how you kind of feel about Biden. But there’s a lot of Republicans who are technically running right now. We were in Iowa as other people tried to pitch themselves. Because that’s what they’ve done. They’ve committed treason. Think about it. I want Trump back 100 percent. Biden is a complete loser, a complete [INAUDIBLE]. He’s corrupt. The whole government should be investigated. And I’m for the hanging or the firing squads for treason because — Now, how does that relate to the kind of politics? You mentioned Trump. Are you someone who wants him to come — are you someone who want — You’re going to get your ass handed to you. That’s what the song is saying, is if you bring that stuff here — They’re going to get their ass — I can guarantee you that. I come from a small-town region. And I’ve been in a lot of small towns. People there don’t buy into all this liberalism, the transgender stuff, and all this other crap that goes along with it. We need to get back to our roots. So I mean, I’m saying, that’s the other part of that song. The other thing that song really mentions is it’s a kind of promise that if you do try it in a small town that who knows what’s going to happen? And the Bible, everything else. It’s all about helping each other out and being true to your country. We’ve got away from that. Big time. It’s the good old, I’d say, country aspect of living, of helping your neighbors — red, white, and blue. I hear, in country, there seems to be some artists who really speak to that stuff, some artists who kind of go — what is it that you think is the connection between country music and conservative politics like Donald Trump? What binds them together? Many of his fans heard one too, a message that says they’re right to feel that mainstream culture is defined by liberals who live in big cities, who hold different values than they do, a rallying cry for conservatives to do something about it, no matter who it offends. It’s the same type of cultural grievance that’s the lifeblood of Donald Trump’s political message. But I still wondered if anyone saw what critics of the song saw, if they could see how Aldean’s words in this moment could still be read as divisive or even racist. There’s not one way of looking at this song, just like there’s not one way to look at Donald Trump’s political appeal. But in talking to people who attended the concert, it’s clear that it’s not just Aldean’s critics who heard a political message in “Try That in a Small Town.” This lady has a “Try That in a Small Town” shirt, but with a Black man. I’m kind of interested. That’s what I was thinking about when I spotted the couple among the crowd. The man was Black. The woman was white. And she was wearing a T-shirt that read “Try That in a Small Town.” You said, all right, option C, none of the above. Women should vote. But are our choices well? No. Our choice is not good. Look, and Trump has some good policies. His delivery is questionable. But he has good policies. I mean we always vote. But honestly, I absolutely, absolutely do not vote for Trump. I do not vote for Trump. Let me — I have one more question. If it’s Trump versus Biden again, do you all think you’re going to be people who are going to vote? Who would you vote for? And I went to his family reunion. I can tell you, I was absolutely welcomed with open arms. My grandmother fed people on Sundays. She did a cookout and invited the whole neighborhood over. If you’re hungry, come and get your plate. You know what I mean? So that’s just kind of how I grew up. So I mean, it is an issue. But where we’re from, I honestly believe that we take care of each other. The younger folks say, we love you. The older folks say, he’s Black. The younger folks say, we love you. I can see how you’re saying race — folks aren’t seeing color. But it also sounds like some folks are seeing color. But at the same time, I hear you saying that it has come up, right? I don’t give a shit. Where we’re from, we take care of each other, whether it’s you and me, and we’re Black or white, or we’re yellow or purple, or whatever. We met in prison. I was his counselor. And now we’re together. So we’re together regardless of all of that political bullshit. It could be nonracial. It could go just as true, like I said — a lot of people don’t realize that there’s a lot of African Americans in small towns. And our neighborhood is we ride horses. We mess with cattle. My grandfather raised paints — horses. So our small town was African American. I know country boys. I’m pretty much [INAUDIBLE] me. I do leather work and everything else. So [INAUDIBLE]. Like, what are you going to round up? I’m looking at it as far as like — OK, so I’m from a small town in Missouri. The majority of my neighborhood is African American. If we’re going to round up, it’s going to round up the guys. We’re going to go get this threat out of our neighborhood, you know what I mean, and whatever it is. I heard that part too. And that’s the part that actually jumped out to me. Where he says, we going to round up. You know what I mean? And that kind of took me back a little bit. But I also got to remember, hey, coming up and someone come to our neighborhood and was doing something that we didn’t like, they’re not consistent with our values, they had to go know. And I just don’t think that the “round up” part in the totality of the song stood, you know what I mean, as far as everything else I heard. Well. I didn’t understand the movement. And the threat is real and exists. When I was coming up, we had the fear of the KKK where I lived down in Missouri. But I just don’t get that vibe from him. But there is one line in the song that kind of gave me pause a little bit. It is coming after. And I think that the reason some people took on to that was saying, is this a response to that? And saying, these values are inconsistent with the message of that move. I’m saying, as a Black person, how did you hear those two things? I’m from a small town in Missouri, of 5,000 people. And someone comes down there doing stuff that — carjack an old lady. You’re not going to make it down the road. We all know each other. You know what I mean? So it ain’t like that you can just — like the song. In the city, everybody don’t really look out for each other like that. Taking care of each other. For me, I come from a small town. And I believe that we take care of each other. It has nothing to do with race. It has to do with we take care of each other. So don’t fuck with us. I mean, I guess I would say that it’s authentic. So we are a interracial couple who absolutely love each other and understand that, I mean, he’s not racist. He is talking about — One of the things we’ve been asking people about is, what is it about country that people really cling on to? I think saying, if you’re a ship to an alien from New York and you’re trying to tell them that this is actually something that deeply resonates, it just Aldean? Or is it the song specifically? How would you actually explain that? Well, thank you. I appreciate it. Can you just tell me a little about yourselves. What’s your name? Where are you from, things like that? You were trying to have the shirt also? Hey, how are y’all? My name’s Astead. This is Caitlin. We’re reporters with “The New York Times.” We’re talking to people headed to the Aldean concert about country music, about the show, and about how they see and view politics. Y’all maybe have 5, 10 minutes? I saw the shirt. After we’ve been outside the grandstand for a few hours, it was time to head to the concert. Aldean came on stage. And about a half hour into his show — I don’t know if you know this, but we released the first single off that album, called “Try That in a Small Town” [INAUDIBLE]. We got a brand-new album coming out for you guys in November, all right? Now, of course, you guys know how it is today. It’s once the media gets a hold of it, they can kind of make that narrative whatever they want it to be. But just so you guys hear from me, that’s what the song’s about. These two guys — — retired people acting like idiots when they don’t get their way, especially when it’s [INAUDIBLE]. Which is so weird. You put out a song like this that just kind of says most of us are just tired of the bullshit, right? We’re just tired of — After listening to a bunch of fans tell us their interpretation of the song, it was interesting to hear Aldean take it on directly. it’s not something I want to get used to ever. And if you get offended by this song, I don’t know what to tell you other than maybe you need to check your shit. Maybe you’re the problem. I don’t know. [CHEERING] To not turn on the TV every day and looking at what’s happening and being like, what in the hell is wrong with all these people? This is not right. This is just not — In some ways, Aldean sounds just like his fans. He’s not only shrugging off the blowback to the song. He’s thumbing his nose at it. And blaming the media for blowing it out of proportion. But unlike most of the people we talked to, who acknowledged the song’s relationship to the protests of 2020 or its political connection to Donald Trump, Aldean is more vague. It’s all a wink and a nod. I want to thank you, guys. Thank you, guys, for standing up for this song when it came out. Trust me. We were all over social media, watching everything that was going on. And the way everybody — you guys rallied around this song and video when they tried to make it something it wasn’t, was really, really cool to see. And from the bottom of our heart, we just want to say thank you all so much for that. And I’m very proud of the song. I’m proud of the message it says. I stand by the song. I stand by the video. And I want to thank you, guys, everybody. And all I’m saying is if you know, you know. So here you go. “Try That in a Small Town.” Now, with that being said, I can’t think of a better place to play this song but right here in Des Moines, Iowa, tonight. (SINGING) Got a gun that my granddad gave me. They say one day they’re gonna round up. That shit might fly in the city. And Aldean got a huge cheer when, as he sang, he grabbed an American flag from the audience and draped it over himself. So of course Republican voters seem to be rallying behind a candidate who is facing four criminal indictments, just like Aldean fans rally behind him and his message. Why did anyone expect anything else? By the way, we reached out to Aldean several times. But he said no to talking to us. Aldean’s speech, the flag, the chants. Being in this crowd at this concert, I can see why some Republican candidates have adopted this song for their campaigns. But I can also see why the overwhelming popularity of this song helps explain why this hasn’t been much of a Republican primary at all. God, family, country, even the threat of violence. The message of the song is the message of Donald Trump. After the song ended, the crowd broke out in a chant of “USA.” After “Try That in a Small Town” was over, we stayed for a couple more songs. Maybe you have 5, 10 minutes. Maybe you want to chat before we get out of here? We’ve been talking to so many Iowans who’ve been so nice to us. That’s the best thing. We can’t twist it, because you’re going to be talking right in it. It’ll be your words. There’s no way to twist it. Well, let’s start with your names and where you’re from in Iowa. As long as you don’t twist my words, I’ll do it. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. We’ve been here — this is my fourth day of the fair. And we went back outside to talk to one last group of people. astead w. herndon In there, I thought it was interesting. He drapes — he takes the flag as he’s singing the song. The USA chant breaks out after. rick Did you go in? astead w. herndon Yeah, we were in there for the concert. Why do you think it’s become not just that people think that the controversy is overblown? But it’s become a rallying cry. And it’s become a rallying cry about nationalism, the flag, and all those things specifically. What do you think makes people like you go buy this shirt and say, I want to support this? rick I think, honest to goodness — well, her shirt was sweaty. And she needed a new shirt. We believe — I believe that if we do not get somebody — and they may not be perfect. It could be Donald Trump, one of the most imperfect presidents that I know of, as far as his personal life. But we as conservatives, Christians, we have to get somebody besides the direction the country seems to be going. Or we’re not going to have a country. That’s how I feel. speaker 5 And also, bottom line, I think that this nation is absolutely not past the point of no return. I believe it’s worth saving. I think there’s so much more that is good about this nation than I hear a lot of hate thrown out there about sins of the past. But this nation is good. It is worth redeeming. And so I’m like, when I look at this, this idea of pulling together community and loving on this nation, I mean, you’ve got to start with love because you can’t hate people into doing better. You’ve got to love them — rick Ooh, that’s good. speaker 5 — into doing better. To me, this is like love on a community, love on a nation, love on the flag, all of it. rick I’ll take my own personal feelings. And so you take the videos of those people that are destroying, riots, George, all that. My reality is I want to reach those people and show them a better way. I don’t want to hate them or say, oh, you’re worthless because you’re this thug and you’re doing all this. I want to grab them, find them, help them. Everybody deserves grace. astead w. herndon But is that song a song of grace? rick I don’t know. Probably not. astead w. herndon It doesn’t feel to me like its fully a song of grace. rick So don’t take me wrong. I’m not sitting here thinking, well, that’s me. I’m going to — I’m just saying, for him and his freedom of speech — astead w. herndon I got you. rick — and the way that he wants to portray that, I don’t believe that his way — just like these people that say, I’m going to lock people up forever if they do this or do that. What if these — speaker 5 I want I say. I do want to say one thing, though, in regards to the song, that subject matter. I think really also there has to be a certain point where you’re — I’m going to hold the line. I’m going to stand up for what’s right. I’m going to do the right thing. That’s what I’m going to talk about. And I’m not going to just give in and let chaos ensue, whatever that might be and whatever situation that is. astead w. herndon Grace runs out. speaker 5 Well, I don’t know that it’s that grace runs out. But is it graceful to everybody to just let chaos ensue? I think at some point in time — rick That’s a good point. speaker 5 — you have to say, look, enough is enough. rick You can’t just keep letting all of this craziness happen and not stop it. speaker 5 And it doesn’t mean you have to hate people. But you have to say, hold up. Just because — maybe you’re hurting here, but you can’t just continue to hurt people because you’re hurting. speaker 6 It takes away everybody else’s rights. speaker 5 So you have to say, I’m sorry, you can’t keep doing that. astead w. herndon Yeah. You all mentioned — and I think it’s kind of built in some of the songs we hear here — and that’s the kind of looming threat to the country. What do you think is the looming threat to the country that makes you so nervous, that feels the sense of urgency for right now? rick All of the stuff behind the scenes that you see happening with agendas of getting people that are doing things that are so far from the values that I know are right and true and godly. The transgender issue and children. And I believe that those people that think that they have to become something else because either they’re not satisfied with who they are or what they are and they get this option offered to them, I don’t believe that’s the right offering. I think you got to get to it and solve the issues before it gets to that point. And it’s just become this crazy thing where even in our schools, in our little secluded rural town of rural Des Moines, Iowa, everything is kind of taking God and values out of all of the stuff that our country was founded on. astead w. herndon Are you someone then who thinks that the next nominee should be Trump? speaker 5 I would — I mean, that’s who I’m going to support. I mean, you know. speaker 6 And we caucus too. All of us caucus. I helped count the votes. astead w. herndon I’m curious. OK, my last question, and we can all leave, because we’ve let everyone walk by, is — speaker 5 Sorry. caitlin o'keefe No. Thank you. astead w. herndon No, this is great. I’m saying, outside of the result next year — who — Trump — let’s say Trump’s the nominee. He faces Biden. We don’t know how that’s going to end up. How do you think it’s going to be mood-wise, tone-wise? It does feel as if there’s these two sides who both think that the other side — rick I think if Trump wins, I believe that Trump may have learned some lessons about how to win friends and influence people. speaker 5 Dale Carnegie. rick And I think that things are going to be much better than they were the first time around. And if he does the right things and if he doesn’t just sit there and dwell on — oh, see, I told you so, or this and that — but he just gets down to business and does his job and appoints people and runs this country, I think our country will come out of inflation. I think the jobs will come back. I think the interest rates will come down. And I think, hopefully then, people will see, OK, maybe this way that these capitalists do things isn’t that bad. And again, I’m not putting it all in him. I’m not saying that if he does that, I think it’s going to be better even if Biden wins or whoever is going to run in Biden’s place if Biden doesn’t end up being able to run. speaker 5 Whatcha talkin’ about, Willis? rick I just think — I think the country is ready for a change. astead w. herndon You all maintain that optimism, that you think in this next year that a Trump can bring the country together? speaker 6 I definitely do because I think he’s been the underdog for so long. And now that people have seen how he’s been done wrong, I don’t care if you’re from wherever, when you know that someone’s been constantly berated and it’s been proven, I think that people are wanting to rally around him just because it’s his time. He deserves this. It was taken away from him. And he still did great things. So I think it’s more of that. rick I don’t know that he deserves it. I think that he’s a servant. I think he truly has decided — speaker 6 Oh, he does. rick Well, plus he probably wants to pardon himself. speaker 6 I don’t know. Let’s not go there. speaker 5 That’s a whole different subject matter. But optimism? Yes, I have optimism — rick I don’t know. I just forgive everybody. speaker 5 — for the — that better things are coming. I do believe that. I don’t know that it’s necessarily in the hands of any politician. I don’t think so. I think that if better things are going to come, it’s because our God, the God that’s over everything, whether you believe it or not, is the only one that can really make the difference. I think the people have to turn their hearts back to God. speaker 6 Yes. Oh, gosh, that’s so good! astead w. herndon Thank you all so much for your time. speaker 6 She’s so good! astead w. herndon

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3entertainment

For These TV Procedurals, the Formula Still Works

In “Ferrari,” Adam Driver looms like a colossus as Enzo Ferrari. Driver is tall and rangy, but he looks even bigger here — wider, too — partly because Enzo wears boxy suits with linebacker shoulders so broad they nearly scrape the edges of the frame. The most famous man in Italy aside from the Pope, Enzo makes blood-red racecars with sexy curves and supercharged engines. The Commendatore, as he’s called, looks more like a tank. He seems an ideal vehicle for Michael Mann, a filmmaker with his own line of beautiful obsessions. Set largely in 1957, the movie “Ferrari” focuses on an especially catastrophic year in Enzo’s convoluted life. He makes some of the most coveted cars in the world: There’s a king impatiently waiting in Enzo’s office not long after the story takes off. (That royal personage, who’s short, is anxious that, this time, his feet will reach the pedals easily.) All the world wants something from Ferrari, who in turn seems to care only about his racecars, ravishing red beasts that roar out of his factory near his home in Modena and into the world’s fastest, most lethally dangerous races, where records, machines and bodies are routinely broken. What makes those cars and Ferrari run permeates the movie, which opens with the young Enzo (Driver) behind the wheel, racing and all but flying. The jaunty, propulsive jazz on the soundtrack give the scene inviting charm (you’re ready to jump in Enzo’s car, too), as does the smile that spreads across his face. It’s one of the few times he cracks one. Soon after, the story downshifts to an older Commendatore, now gray and imperial and facing bankruptcy as he struggles both with work and two households with two very different women. One greets him on an especially angry morning by firing a gun at him, which does get his attention. Death stalks Enzo and this movie, which energetically gathers momentum even as Mann busily juggles the story’s numerous parts and warring dualisms. Written by Troy Kennedy Martin, the film is based on Brock Yates’s cleareyed 1991 biography “Enzo Ferrari: The Man, the Cars, the Races, the Machine,” if only in strategic part. (Martin also wrote the original, car-centric caper film “The Italian Job.”) While the book traces its subject (and brand) from cradle to beyond the grave, the movie condenses the auto maker’s life into a brief, emblematic period and a series of dramatic oppositions, including two sons, one living and one dead, as well as the road cars that Enzo sells and the racecars that are his life’s passion.

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6sports

Dolphins vs. Jets: Watch Week 12 NFL Black Friday game on Amazon Prime

After being named the replacement to the struggling Zach Wilson, veteran Tim Boyle will make his first start for the Jets on Friday afternoon in the NFL’s first-ever Black Friday game against the Dolphins. Miami (7-3) will look to continue its playoff push against the Jets (4-6). The Dolphins are a 9.5-point favorite and the over/under is set at 41 points, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The game won’t air on traditional TV. Fans looking to watch this week’s “Black Friday Football” game will have free access to it, even they you don’t have a Prime membership. Anyone with an Amazon account will be able to stream the game on Prime Video. Sign up for an Amazon account to watch the game for free on any device from anywhere. For full Amazon Prime access, you need to be an Amazon Prime Member to watch games on Prime Video, which offers a 30-day free trial for new users when they sign up. After the 30-day free trial ends, an Amazon Prime membership costs $14.99 per month or $139 per year. You can cancel at any time, including before the free trial ends. Who: Miami Dolphins @ New York Jets When: Friday, Nov. 24 -- 3 p.m. ET Where: MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ Stream: Prime Video with an Amazon Prime membership. Amazon Prime membership costs $14.99 per month or $139 per year and offers a 30-day free trial for new users. Tickets: StubHub and *VividSeats *New customers who purchase tickets through VividSeats can get $20 off a $200+ ticket order by using the promo code MassLive20 at checkout.* Sports Betting Promos: NFL fans can wager online on Massachusetts sports betting with enticing promo codes from top online sportsbooks. Use the FanDuel Massachusetts promo code and the DraftKings Massachusetts promo code for massive new user bonuses. RELATED CONTENT: FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Tim Boyle looks back at his first three NFL starts two years ago and sees a different quarterback. That version of himself wasn’t nearly as prepared — mentally or physically — as he believes he is now while heading into his first start with the New York Jets on Friday against the Miami Dolphins. “You’ve got to feel like you’re dangerous out there,” Boyle said Tuesday. “You can’t go into a play or a series thinking with any doubt. Confidence is critical going in there and feeling like I’m the guy and that I’m not going to miss. That’s kind of the focus. “But, yeah, confidence is everything playing quarterback.” The 29-year-old Boyle is stepping into the huddle in place of the benched Zach Wilson, who had started past nine games for the injured Aaron Rodgers. It’ll be the first significant playing time for Boyle since he started three games for Detroit during the 2021 season, which he started on injured reserve because of a broken right thumb. He went 0-3 in those games and his numbers were hardly eye-popping: 61 of 94 for 526 yards and three touchdowns with six interceptions. And Boyle’s struggles weren’t all just on the field. “I feel like my actual play on the field has changed since then,” Boyle said. “I came off my thumb injury and those three starts I had in Detroit, I didn’t really feel like myself. I felt like I was healthy enough to play, but truthfully, I really didn’t feel like I was confident, like that ‘dangerous’ feeling I was talking about earlier. “So, I’m just coming back to myself and believe in myself. The confidence is high right now, but I feel like I’m seeing it well, I’m throwing it well. And that’s ultimately what’s playing quarterback’s all about.” Wilson and the Jets struggled mightily this season after Rodgers went down just four snaps into his debut with New York. Coach Robert Saleh and his staff made some tweaks last week, but offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett’s unit still couldn’t do much in a 32-6 loss at Buffalo on Sunday. Wilson was pulled late in the third quarter and Boyle came in and went 7 of 14 for 33 yards and an interception. Saleh made the decision Monday to bench Wilson — and make him the No. 3 quarterback — this week, with Boyle the starter and Trevor Siemian his backup. “I don’t think I was scapegoated,” Wilson said. “Absolutely not. I mean, you’ve got to look at the situation. We’re not scoring touchdowns.” The Jets (4-6) have just nine on offense in 10 games. Their struggles on third down and in the red zone are on track to produce the worst efficiency ratings in NFL history. With the Jets trying to snap a three-game skid and remain in the AFC playoff hunt while Rodgers aims to return later this season, New York turns to Boyle to try to spark a stagnant offense. “One person is not going to change everything,” Saleh said. “It’s collective, it’s coaching, it’s the other 10 players on the football field. We all have to take part and try to find ways to get the offense to move. I’m excited for his opportunity, for him.” With a patchwork offensive line often providing little protection or time for the quarterback, Boyle thinks his quick release could help. “I think my priority this week is going to be getting the ball out on time, not trying to take sacks,” he said. “Just getting the ball in our playmakers’ hands and let them have fun with it and just keeping us on pace. I want to get down in the red zone and score some points.” Boyle’s football journey began with him helping Xavier High School in Middletown, Connecticut, win three championships. He went to UConn, where he started as a freshman but mostly struggled through three seasons with only one touchdown pass and 13 interceptions. Boyle transferred to Eastern Kentucky and started 11 games as a redshirt senior and led the Ohio Valley Conference in yards passing. He was then signed as an undrafted free agent in 2018 by Green Bay, where he was a teammate of Rodgers for three seasons and worked under Hackett for two. Boyle signed with Detroit in 2021 and split last season with the Lions and Chicago Bears before reuniting this year with Rodgers and Hackett in New York. “I felt like I’ve always had the ability to play in the NFL,” Boyle said. “My college career’s my college career. That’s in the past. I’m right where I should be right now. I believe in myself and other teams have believed in me, and that’s truthfully all that matters. “So, accountability is No. 1 at quarterback. And I didn’t play well in college, but here I am, Year 6 in the NFL.” NOTES: Siemian was signed to the active roster from the practice squad. ... CB Craig James was re-signed to the practice squad. ... The Jets held a walkthrough practice, but LT Mekhi Becton (ankle/knee), CB Michael Carter II (hamstring), and LB Samuel Eguavoen (hip) were listed as having not participated. The Associated Press contributed to this article

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6sports

With Pavel Zacha out, Bruins know its next man up

BOSTON — The Bruins had to play the final two periods of their 5-3 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday without Pavel Zacha after he suffered an upper-body injury. That meant distributing his minutes among the other forwards — most taking on a larger role in his absence. Charlie Coyle logged 20:17 of ice time, Trent Frederic had 15:13 and Morgan Geekie played 17:31. All three players were more than up to the task when called upon because they know when someone of Zacha’s caliber goes down, it’s next man up. “If you got a good group, everyone’s gonna step up, everyone’s gonna play more minutes,” Geekie said after the game. “I’m just trying to go out there and do my job and fit in anywhere I can. We had guys playing all over the place tonight. That’s just how it’s gonna be some days. You gotta figure out ways to win in this league and that’s what we did tonight.” BET ANYTHING GET $250 BONUS ESPN BET CLAIM OFFER MASS 21+ and present in MA, NJ, PA, VA, MD, WV, TN, LA, KS, KY, CO, AZ, IL, IA, IN, OH, MI. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-Gambler. Coyle acknowledged Zacha is a “hard guy to replace.” He’s a top-line center averaging 18:50 of ice time. And when you lose someone after only one period of play, it’s up to the players to respond. That’s what the Bruins did, as well as take “a little more responsibly.” “You have to be on guard and bring more focus because the lines are going to be kind of shuffled around. You don’t really know who’s going with you,” Coyle said. “So you’ve gotta make sure when your name is called or if you’re going, there’s gonna be a lot of talking on the bench, a lot of talking on the ice. Everyone takes a little more ownership when someone goes down, especially someone of the caliber like Pavel Zacha. It’s a hard guy to replace, but we can do it throughout the lineup and I’d say we did a pretty good job for the most part.” It’s unclear when Zacha suffered his injury, or what the extent of it is. Coach Jim Montgomery didn’t have an update after the game and said he’d know more Monday. Zacha’s injury is just the latest for the Bruins. Derek Forbort was placed on long-term injured reserve with an undisclosed ailment, while Charlie McAvoy is day-to-day, though he’s made improvements and hasn’t been ruled out of Wednesday’s game against the New Jersey Devils.

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6sports

Boys Basketball Scoreboard: Trio of players eclipse 20-point mark in Southwicks win & more

Southwick's Wyatt Baker takes it to the basket during Monday's game against Granby. (MARC ST.ONGE / THE WESTFIELD NEWS)

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4politics

Fears of violence on Mass. campuses are silencing many on Israel-Hamas war

As the Israel-Hamas war continues to play out in the Middle East, a fear of violence on college campuses in Massachusetts is leaving some hesitant to speak up about their beliefs. UMass Amherst history professor Jon Olsen said a recent incident where a UMass student was accused of punching a Jewish student during a vigil on campus left him worried that students were so affected by events across the world that they would be moved to physical violence.

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0business

Viral Christmas Trees are sold out, shop these highly rated fake trees instead

If you’re still in the market for a Christmas Tree this holiday season and the real ones are too much upkeep for you, these faux trees are on sale and look just like the real thing. The Balsam Fir LED Christmas Trees have been trending on social media, with the Pre-Lit LED Home Depot exclusive Grand Duchess Balsam Fir Artificial Christmas Tree going viral (it will be available here if it restocks). Due to its popularity, it’s already sold out at Home Depot. If you can’t wait for a restock, several very similar grand fir tree models are available now from the company Balsam Fir with free shipping. If you act fast, and there are more versatile size options to choose from. Balsam Hill features the widest selection of realistic Christmas trees on the market available in various sizes, foliage types, and setup options, according to their website. The trees are crafted with care to ensure years of enjoyment. Their Cyber Monday sale was extended and offers up to 50% off and free shipping. Here is a look at some of their most popular trees: Balsam Hill artificial Christmas Trees are on sale now (photo courtesy of Balsam Hill)Balsam Hill BH Balsam Fir® - On sale from $599 to $2,299. Comes in sizes 5.5′, 6.5′, 7.5′, 8′, 9′, 10′, 12′ with options of Unlit, Candlelight Clear LED - Easy Plug, Clear - Easy Plug and Clear LED Fairy - Easy Plug. Cosmopolitan named it “Best Splurge-Worthy Tree.” Classic Blue Spruce® - On sale from $199 to $1,899. Comes in sizes 4.5′, 5.5′, 6.5′, 7.5′, 9′, 10′, 12′ with options of Unlit, Candlelight Clear LED - Easy Plug, Clear - Easy Plug, Twinkly Light Show - Easy Plug and Color and Clear LED Easy Plug. BH Fraser Fir® Tree - On sale from $599 to $1949. Comes in sizes 5.5′, 6.5′, 7.5′, 9′, 10′, 12′ with options of Candlelight Clear LED - Easy Plug and Color and Clear LED Easy Plug. Silverado Slim® - On sale from $349 to $2,199. Comes in sizes 6, 7′, 8′, 9′, 10′, 12′ with options of Unlit, Candlelight Clear LED - Easy Plug, Twinkly Light Show - Easy Plug and Color and Clear LED Easy Plug. Here is a look at some other great options available at Home Depot:

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0business

F.A.A. Investigating Whether Boeing 737 Max 9 Conformed to Approved Design

The Federal Aviation Administration said on Thursday that it had opened an investigation into whether Boeing failed to ensure that its 737 Max 9 plane was safe and manufactured to match the design approved by the agency. The F.A.A. said the investigation stemmed from the loss of a fuselage panel of a Boeing 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines shortly after it took off on Friday from Portland, Ore., leaving a hole in the side of the passenger cabin. The plane returned to Portland for an emergency landing. “This incident should have never happened, and it cannot happen again,” the agency said. In a letter to Boeing dated Wednesday, the F.A.A. said that after the Portland incident, it was notified of additional issues with other Max 9 planes. The letter does not detail what other issues were reported to the agency. Alaska and United Airlines, which operate most of the Max 9s in use in the United States, said on Monday that they had discovered loose hardware on the panel when conducting preliminary inspections on their planes. The new investigation is the latest setback for Boeing, which is one of just two suppliers of large planes for most airlines. The company has struggled to regain the public’s trust after two crashes of 737 Max 8 jetliners, in Indonesia in 2018 and Ethiopia in 2019, killed a total of 346 people.

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3entertainment

How to watch the new episode of 1,000-Lb. Sisters on TLC, stream for free

A new episode of the hit TLC show “1,000-Lb. Sisters” will air on the network on Tuesday, Jan. 16 at 9 p.m. ET. The series is also available for streaming on platforms like Philo, FuboTV and DirecTV. All platforms offer a free trial for those interested in signing up for an account. The show follows the personal lives of Amy Slaton-Halterman and her sister Tammy Slaton — who both weigh in at over 1000 pounds between the both of them. Throughout the seasons, viewers are able to see both sisters attempts at weight loss and weight loss surgery. In Tuesday’s episode titled “Caleb surprises Tammy with a romantic dinner date, but it goes south when Tammy learns what’s on the menu; the Slatons attend a Zumba class together, but Amy’s lack of self-care leads to a meltdown that has the whole family feeling déjà vu.” How can I watch the premiere if I don’t have cable TV? Viewers can watch on streaming platforms like Philo and FuboTV. Both platforms offer a free trial for new users What is Philo? Philo is an over-the-top internet live TV streaming service that offers 60+ entertainment and lifestyle channels, like AMC, BET, MTV, Comedy Central and more, for the budget-friendly price of $25/month. What is FuboTV? FuboTV is an over-the-top internet live TV streaming service that offers more than 100 channels, such as sports, news, entertainment and local channels. What is DirecTV? The streaming platform offers a plethora of content including streaming the best of live and On Demand, starting with more than 75 live TV channels. DirecTV also offers a free trial for any package you sign up.

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1crime

Winthrop police lieutenant facing child rape charge placed on leave

Winthrop Police Lieutenant James Feeley has been placed on leave “pending the outcome of a criminal investigation,” Winthrop Police Chief Terence M. Delehanty said in a statement Wednesday. Feeley is facing charges of child rape and indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said in an email to MassLive. He will be arraigned in East Boston Division of Boston Municipal Court on Wednesday, the Clerk’s Office told MassLive. Feeley was promoted from sergeant to lieutenant in 2020 after holding the rank for three years. Before that, Feeley served as Patrolman for six years and Reserve Police Officer for eight years. According to his LinkedIn, Feeley has been with the department for 22 years. The investigation is being conducted by State Police Detectives assigned to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.

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6sports

Bucks vs. Pacers: Free live stream, TV, how to watch IST semifinals

PSG will look to stay atop the top spot in Ligue 1 play on Sunday when they face La Havre AC on the road. PSG currently holds a one point lead over OFC Nice in the standings through 13 contests while La Havre is all the way down in 8th place with just 16 points through 13 games. Paris Saint-Germain have won six consecutive games in league play and will look to improve the league-best mark on Sunday against a La Havre squad that is unbeaten in their last five matches. Fans can watch PSG for free by signing up for a free trial of fuboTV. How to watch Paris Saint-Germain vs. La Havre AC: What time does that match start? Can I watch it on TV? — Sunday’s match begins at 7:00 a.m EST. It will air on TV via beIN SPORTS. Live stream info: fuboTV | DirecTV | beIN SPORTS | Sling — If you have a cable subscription, you can use the login credentials from your TV provider to watch online via beIN SPORTS. If you don’t have cable, you can watch using fuboTV — which offers a free trial — or DirecTV Stream. Viewers can also use Sling with their World Sports add-on package. MORE PSG COVERAGE VIA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: GENEVA (AP) — A video review official has been removed from his Champions League game on Wednesday, one day after having a key role in a disputed decision to award Paris Saint-Germain a stoppage-time penalty for handball against Newcastle which contradicted UEFA’s own advice to referees. The VAR specialist from Poland, Tomasz Kwiatkowski, is no longer listed to work at the Real Sociedad-Salzburg game and has been replaced by a German match official. Marciniak refereed the Champions League final last season and the 2022 World Cup final with Kwiatkowski in his team. Marciniak initially allowed play to continue Tuesday but awarded the penalty after he was advised by his video assistant to review the incident on the pitchside monitor. However, a UEFA panel of storied coaches and former players said in April that “no handball offense should be called on a player if the ball is previously deflected from his own body, and, in particular, when the ball does not go towards the goal.” The advice to be given to match officials this season was detailed by the panel, chaired by UEFA Chief of Football Zvonimir Boban, in an April 25 statement headlined “UEFA Football Board urges more clarity on handball rule.” “The handball rule, for example, will always be disputed, but we can make it more consistent and aligned with the game’s true nature,” Boban, the former Croatia and AC Milan great, said in April. UEFA declined to comment Wednesday, in line with a policy not to discuss field of play decisions. The current laws of the game allow for handballs to be penalized even if the contact was not intentional and after a deflection if a defender’s arm is judged to be in an unnatural position. “But his hand is not in an unnatural position,” Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said after the game, “(his hands) are down by his side, but he is in a running motion.” The cross from Ousmane Dembélé that struck Livramento was also going backward — and not towards goal. The penalty decision in the PSG game directly affected the standings in the tightly fought Group F, as it kept PSG two points clear of Newcastle in the second qualifying place for the round of 16 behind group leader Borussia Dortmund. “I feel it is a poor decision and it’s hugely frustrating for us as you know how little time there is left in the game,” Howe said. “There is nothing we can do about it now.” Newcastle must now win its home game against last-place AC Milan on Dec. 13 and hope PSG fails to win at Dortmund. The second-place team advances to the Champions League round of 16 and the third-place team goes to the Europa League knockout playoffs.

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1crime

Maine shootings: Families explore lawsuits against agencies

“For my clients, money and compensation is the least of their concerns,” said Travis Brennan, an attorney with the Lewiston-based firm Berman & Simmons. “They want answers; they want accountability. They want to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.” If filed, the claims would be at least the fifth time in recent years that shooting victims have used the courts to hold the federal government accountable for such bloodshed. Families of those killed or injured in the Maine mass shooting are exploring potential litigation against the Army and other agencies for failing to take actions to disarm the assailant, an Army reservist, despite numerous reports he was delusional and fixated on violence. Advertisement Since 2021, the Justice Department has paid $360 million in settlements stemming from three mass shootings, which occurred in 2015, 2017, and 2018 and left a total of 92 people dead or wounded. And at least one other lawsuit is pending, which involves a single victim killed by a former Marine. After each of the shootings, the federal government pledged to improve its systems for protecting the public from potentially dangerous people. Yet despite numerous warnings that he was delusional and fixated on violence, Army reservist Robert R. Card II still had unfettered access to firearms on Oct. 25 when he shot 23 people in two separate locations in Lewiston. Just six weeks before the attacks, a fellow reservist reported, “Card said he has guns and is going to shoot up the drill center at Saco and other places,” referring to an Army facility in Maine. Card was found dead on Oct. 27 with a self-inflicted gunshot. Last week, Brennan’s firm sent 25 notices to local, state, and federal agencies, and the New York hospitals that treated Card, to “preserve all documents and information” relevant to the shootings. Advertisement Separately, the law firm of Gideon Asen, also based in Maine, has teamed up with two attorneys who won landmark victories in mass shooting cases: Jamal Alsaffar of Texas, in a case against the Air Force; and Josh Koskoff of Connecticut, against Remington, the manufacturer of the AR-15-style rifle used in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The attorneys held a Nov. 6 forum in Lewiston to discuss potential legal avenues for victims. Alsaffar said the Army’s handling of Card echoes the Air Force’s failures before a former airman shot 48 people at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, in 2017. A military court had sentenced the assailant to a year in confinement after he admitted to domestic assaults, then discharged him in 2014. Military investigations also determined he had committed numerous rapes and repeatedly threatened to shoot people — including military brass — court records show. Yet the military never reported the airman to the FBI for inclusion in its National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which is used to screen gun purchasers. As a result, he was able to repeatedly lie about his conviction on paperwork at gun stores to buy high-powered weapons, including those used in the shooting. In 2021, a federal judge found the Air Force “60 percent liable” for the massacre. The Air Force agreed to improve its reporting practices, and the Justice Department eventually settled on $144.5 million in damages. The same year, the Justice Department agreed to pay $88 million to resolve claims the FBI failed to complete a timely background check on a white supremacist when he bought the gun he used to attack congregants at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Carolina, murdering nine parishioners. Advertisement And in 2022, the Justice Department paid $127.5 million to settle lawsuits stemming from the Parkland, Fla., high school shooting, which came after the FBI failed to investigate a tip that the assailant “was going to slip into a school and start shooting the place up.” He shot 34 people, killing 17. In the fourth case, which is still pending and was filed in California federal court last year, the mother of 24-year-old Navy hospital officer Devon Rideout claims the military failed to report Rideout’s killer, a Marine, for inclusion in NICS after a military court committed him to a psychiatric facility and declared him unfit for duty. As a result, he was able to buy the gun that he used to kill her. Records released in the aftermath of the Lewiston attack revealed numerous instances between May 3 and Sept. 16 in which the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Department and the Army handled reports that Card was hearing voices, threatening to shoot people, and heavily armed. In July, after altercations with his fellow reservists at a training facility in New York, Card was involuntarily taken to a psychiatric hospital, where he spent 14 days, military spokespeople said. He was back home in Bowdoin, Maine, by Aug. 3. Advertisement The Army directed that while on military duty “he should not have a weapon, handle ammunition or participate in live-fire activity,” and declared him to be nondeployable, Army spokesperson Bryce Dubee said. But the Army and sheriff’s department took no apparent action to restrict his access to guns as a civilian. Dubee said the Army “is unaware of any actions that meet the requirements” to report Card to the FBI for entry into the NICS database. Instead, in a Sept. 16 phone call, Reserve unit commander Captain Jeremy Reamer advised a Sagadahoc sheriff’s sergeant, Aaron Skolfield, that it was “best to let Card have time to himself for a bit,” according to the sergeant’s report. Card’s family was tasked with coaxing him to give up his guns. The Army has repeatedly declined to provide more details on how it handled Card’s psychiatric issues, citing privacy laws and its own “ongoing investigation.” Asaffar said the Air Force did the same thing after the Sutherland Springs shooting. “We had to haul them into a courtroom over and over again to get them to turn over documents and to tell the truth. They were hiding documents, hiding evidence,” he said. The Lewiston families are also exploring claims against the manufacturer of any gun used in the attacks, information that has not yet been released. In 2022, Koskoff won the first successful case against a gun manufacturer on behalf of shooting victims since Congress enacted the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act in 2005, which granted the gun industry broad immunity from civil litigation. Advertisement In Koskoff’s case, Remington, maker of the AR-15-style rifle used in the Sandy Hook shooting, agreed to pay $73 million to the families of nine of the 26 people killed at the school — and to release troves of internal company documents. The families declined Remington’s earlier settlement offer, declaring, “No documents, no deal.” Earlier this month, Maine Governor Janet Mills announced an independent commission to evaluate if authorities could have done more to prevent the mass shooting, while Maine Senators Susan Collins and Angus King asked the Army inspector general to do the same. But Benjamin Gideon, of the law firm Gideon Asen, said people are growing impatient with the failure of elected representatives to take steps to stem the growing numbers of gun deaths. “The one area that seems like it has actual potential to force change is civil litigation,” he said. Sarah Ryley can be reached at sarah.ryley@globe.com. Follow her @MissRyley.

abbdad4542ca7ea00abdc77c79293f19

4politics

DHS and Mass. to host work authorization clinics for migrants in emergency shelters - Boston News, Weather, Sports

BOSTON (WHDH) - State officials next month plan to host a clinic to help migrants living in emergency shelters obtain work authorizations, and the White House said the federal-state joint effort is a sign that it is responding to the calls from Bay State Democrats for help from D.C. In a partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Gov. Maura Healey’s administration plans to host the work authorization clinic for migrants during the week of Nov. 13. Federal officials will be onsite to collect and process work authorization paperwork. The administration announced Monday morning that the state plans to organize appointments and provide transportation from shelter sites to the clinic, which will take place somewhere in Middlesex County. “We are glad that the Biden-Harris Administration is hosting this clinic with us, which will help process work authorizations as efficiently as possible. Many shelter residents want to work but face significant barriers to getting their work authorizations,” Gov. Healey said in a statement. “This clinic will be critical for building on the work that our administration has already been leading to connect more migrants with work opportunities, which will help them support their families and move out of emergency shelter into more stable housing options.” Paul Belham, owner of Bell’s Powder Coating in North Attleborough, recently told North TV that he is trying to hire as many of the migrants living in town as he can because finding labor is incredibly difficult. “I want to put 10 more on, but we’re waiting for the government to get the working papers. And that is the slowest process I’ve ever seen,” he said earlier in October. “And not only that, with Washington not having a speaker, they can’t vote on a bill to expedite these things. So they’re going to be sitting in hotels forever until Congress or whatever you want to call it in D.C. gets off their ass and fixes it, you know? I can’t blame the state because the state really has nothing to do with it.” The work authorization clinic is part of a multi-pronged initiative to move more families out of state shelters as the emergency assistance system nears the 7,500-family limit that Healey has set. After that point, which the governor said she expects to come around Nov. 1, unhoused families may not be guaranteed shelter in Massachusetts. On Friday, Lawyers for Civil Rights Boston filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of three families the organization said are “on the brink of homelessness.” The suit seeks an emergency court hearing and a temporary restraining order to stop the state from “undermining” its right-to-shelter law, the group said. Healey declared a state of emergency around the emergency assistance shelter system situation in August and announced Oct. 16 that the state’s system was reaching capacity. Since August, the governor has been calling on the Biden administration to expedite the work authorization process for new arrivals to the country and to help states like Massachusetts pay for the additional costs of sheltering the influx of people fleeing other countries. The Department of Homeland Security sent a team of experts to Massachusetts earlier in October to assess the migrant situation, but state officials including Healey have said they don’t expect the federal government will actually come to the rescue of Massachusetts. “I know the cavalry isn’t on the other side of the hill,” House Speaker Ron Mariano said this month. In a statement Monday morning, a White House official said the work authorization clinic in Massachusetts is a mark of “continued support” of Massachusetts. “The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to supporting local jurisdictions hosting recently arrived migrants and we will continue working with our partners in Massachusetts in the coming weeks and months,” Biden spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández said. “Just this month, President Biden submitted supplemental funding requests to Congress which address a series of national priorities, including grant funding for jurisdictions hosting migrants and funding for accelerating the processing of work permits for eligible migrants.” The White House said that United States Citizenship and Immigration Services will put additional personnel to work and make process improvements as part of an effort to decrease the median processing time for work authorization paperwork from 90 days to 30 days for applicants who made an appointment on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection mobile app and are, unlike asylum seekers, eligible for to work immediately. The feds said they will also strive to cut processing times for applications associated with Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan applicants to 30 days. The White House added that it will stay in close contact with Healey, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and their teams to coordinate on best practices and potentially more federal support in the coming weeks and months. (Copyright (c) 2023 State House News Service.

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4politics

Excerpts From Dr. Claudine Gays Work

Three years earlier, David Covin, then a professor at California State University, Sacramento, wrote about “the dismissal of four Black male children from the volleyball team of the Tiete Yacht Club in May, 1978, because of their color.” His paper, “Afrocentricity in O Movimento Negro Unificado,” appeared in the Journal of Black Studies. Dr. Gay’s paper does not attribute the passage about the athletes to Dr. Covin, who died this year, nor to a source whom Dr. Covin credited in his paper. Dr. Covin’s name does not appear in the suggested further reading at the end of the paper. In a statement Wednesday, Harvard said: “While Gay’s 1993 work in Origins journal was initially included in the scope of the independent review, the independent panel and the subcommittee of the Corporation considered the article outside its purview due to the age of the article and because articles included in that journal generally do not include citations or quotations.” George Reid Andrews Dr. Gay is also accused of copying language, with slight modifications, in her paper “Between Black and White” from a 1992 paper “Black Political Protest in São Paulo, 1888-1988” by the history professor George Reid Andrews in the Journal of Latin American Studies. The Andrews paper says that the “rhetoric and aspirations” of a younger generation of Afro-Brazilians with “one or more years of university study” seemed removed from those of poor slum dwellers. Dr. Gay’s paper uses the phrase “aspirations and rhetoric,” reversing the order of those words, and refers to one or more years of “university education” rather than “university study.”

ac078ec1efce613f2cbff552f21a76cc

7weather

Powerful Earthquake Strikes Eastern Philippines but Tsunami Fears Abate

A 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck the eastern parts of the Philippines on Saturday, leading to tsunami warnings across the region and as far as the southern part of Japan, nearly 2,000 miles away that were later lifted, the authorities said. After small tsunami waves were recorded, officials said that the threat had passed. The quake struck at about 10:37 p.m. local time in Mindanao, in the eastern part of the Philippines, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Property damage and power failures near the earthquake’s epicenter in Mindanao were reported, according to a Filipino television network. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

c8086faa82a1b93f8da07ba92199705e

4politics

What you need to know about the MBTA Green, Orange Line closures

Much of the MBTA’s Green Line, as well as one Orange Line station, closed Monday. Here’s a rundown of these service changes. Full Green Line closures From Nov. 27 to Dec. 3, Green Line service will be suspended on the B branch between North Station and Babcock Street, on the C and D branches between North Station and Kenmore, and on the E branch between North Station and Heath Street Station. On Dec. 4 and 5, these closures will extend to Lechmere. During the closures, shuttle buses will be available from Babcock Street to Copley on the B branch and from Kenmore to Copley on the C and D branches. From Copley, the MBTA suggests, riders can walk to Back Bay Station to access the rest of Boston. Additionally, B branch riders can take the 57 bus between Kenmore and Babcock streets. During the closure, the MBTA recommends that E branch riders use the 39 bus route, which begins at Heath Street and runs along Huntington Avenue to Back Bay Station. They can then travel to the rest of Boston from Back Bay via the Orange Line. The 39 and 57 bus routes, as well as the Commuter Rail between South Station, Back Bay and Landsdowne, will be free during the closures. According to the MBTA, the closures will allow repairs at Boylston, track reconstruction throughout the line, and will allow for the eventual removal of a speed restriction on Commonwealth Avenue in Allston. Other current closures From Nov. 27 to Dec. 16, Orange Line trains will bypass Haymarket Station to allow for more work to be done on the Government Center Garage demolition project. The MBTA advises riders who regularly use the station get on and off at State or North Station instead. From Nov. 27 to Dec. 10, trains on both Green Line Extension branches will stop running from approximately 8:45 p.m. through the end of the day. Shuttle buses will replace trains from North Station to Medford/Tufts, and on Dec. 4 and 5, they will replace trains from North Station to Lechmere all day. Read More: Springfield factory repairs MBTA rift with deliveries of Orange and Red line cars The MBTA recommends riders trying to get to Union Square take bus routes 86, 87, 91 or CT2. Upcoming closures The Commuter Rail’s Newburyport-Rockport Line will close from Dec. 2 to 10, with trains being replaced by shuttle buses. Additionally, there will be no service to River Works or Chelsea stations. The MBTA recommends riders who normally get on and off at Chelsea use the Silver Line 3 route to get to and from Boston. This closure will allow crews to install Automatic Train Control systems, the MBTA said. These are federally-mandated safety systems that send signals to trains about unsafe conditions and can automatically slow or stop a train if necessary. Shuttle buses will also replace Green Line D branch trains between Kenmore and Riverside stations all day from Dec. 11 to 20. According to the MBTA, this will allow them to remove speed restrictions on the branch. Riders can keep up-to-date with the latest MBTA service changes and closures by visiting mbta.com/alerts.

bb3569916af5cfd1a721206f92876e03

6sports

Under-inflated footballs in Patriots-Chiefs prompts strong social media reaction

When MassLive’s Mark Daniels reported that the “K-balls” used in Sunday’s Patriots-Chiefs game at Gillette Stadium, many had the same reaction: “Not again.” Sources told Daniels that the footballs were weighed at halftime after New England players alerted the officials. The balls came in at 11 PSI, rather than the usual 13.5. This comes nine years after the “Deflategate” scandal, which led to the Patriots losing two draft picks, being fined $1 million and losing Tom Brady to suspension for four games. Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, who missed his first field goal of the season in Kansas City’s ultimate Week 15 win, isn’t blaming the footballs for the miss. But once the report dropped, there was plenty reaction on social media. BET ANYTHING GET $250 BONUS ESPN BET CLAIM OFFER MASS 21+ and present in MA, NJ, PA, VA, MD, WV, TN, LA, KS, KY, CO, AZ, IL, IA, IN, OH, MI. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-Gambler. It’s more likely than not that Patrick Mahomes was generally aware that the balls were deflated — Sam Orelowitz (@samorelowitz) December 20, 2023 Remember when the NFL tried to convince the world that Tom Brady ran an elaborate scheme with 2 assistants to let approximately 1 psi of pressure out of footballs? That was fun — Fantasy Football & Betting (@ffgtakez) December 20, 2023 I swear, if the league comes out and blames this on a change in air pressure due to temperature… https://t.co/aO7bsXDOgv — Alex Barth (@RealAlexBarth) December 20, 2023 please i can’t do this again https://t.co/s4SOdawGVM — brianna pirre (@bsp_13) December 21, 2023 Watch everyone who still say the Patriots deflated footballs claim the only reason the kicking footballs were below standard was because of the weather 😂😂😂😂 — Sara Marshall (@smarshxo) December 21, 2023 Tom Brady expected to be suspended for the 2024 season https://t.co/Wuiw3xZc1g — Conor Commentary (@ConorCommentary) December 20, 2023 It’s more likely than not that Patrick Mahomes was at least generally aware of the possibile use of under-inflated footballs https://t.co/fv5Rif8AWQ — Marvin Crawford (@cramar51) December 21, 2023 At the end of the day, Butker’s miss didn’t impact the outcome of the game. Patriots kicker Chad Ryland also missed a field goal in the first half, but he has struggled a bit with field goals this season. The Chiefs now turn their attention to the Las Vegas Raiders, who they host on Christmas Day. While the Patriots take on the Denver Broncos on the road on Christmas Eve.

0d2b6a77ae344c977e1cc13a2381546f

5science

Mystery dog illness now in 14 states, including these four New England states

A mysterious and potentially deadly respiratory illness in dogs has spread to 14 states, according to a veterinary organization. The largest number of cases – 200 – are in Oregon, USA Today reported. The other 13 states – California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington – haven’t reported individual numbers. Dr. Rena Carlson , president of the American Veterinary Medical Association told USA Today the cause of the illness remains under investigation. Symptoms start with a cough that can last for weeks, runny eyes and sneezing. The most serious cases evolve into pneumonia. It can be deadly, most likely for dogs with weakened immune systems or underlying health issues, experts said. If a dog has a cough that won’t stop along with other respiratory symptoms, experts recommend contacting a veterinarian immediately. Advice for pet owners: Make sure all dogs are up-to-date on all their vaccines including canine influenza, Bordetella and parainfluenza. For event organizers: Dogs should have a health check 12-24 hours before the event. Have a DVM onsite checking dogs for health issues (mild nasal discharge, cough, elevated temperature, being off food). Consult with your veterinarian for dog-specific advice before attending any events where dogs are congregated. The Oregon Veterinary Medicine Association offers additional recommendations:

1e96248f3b1d21661e6b4cb4dc4bc3a2

6sports

Celtics injury report: 1 rotation player listed for Jazz game

The Celtics could be missing a key rotation player when they take on the Jazz at 7 p.m. Friday at TD Garden. Al Horford is listed as questionable on the injury report, though that’s due to rest. It’s no surprise the Celtics could look to stagger their rotation considering their upcoming schedule. The C’s have a back-to-back as they take on the Jazz on Friday then fly to Indiana to play the Pacers on Saturday. They also have five games over the next seven days as part of a hectic schedule. BET ANYTHING GET $250 BONUS ESPN BET CLAIM OFFER MASS 21+ and present in MA, NJ, PA, VA, MD, WV, TN, LA, KS, KY, CO, AZ, IL, IA, IN, OH, MI. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-Gambler. Horford, 37, hasn’t played in back-to-backs over the past couple seasons as the team looks to keep him fresh. But recently, the team has also been cautious with Kristaps Porzingis, who also hasn’t played in both games of a back-to-back. So considering the C’s also play Saturday, it’s not too surprising they could stagger their two big men in terms of which game they end up playing. Last week against the Raptors, the C’s were significantly shorthanded as they had either Horford nor Porzingis playing, among others. The Jazz come in with 16-19 record, led by former C’s assistant coach Will Hardy. They do have a strong rim protector in Walker Kessler, so it’ll be interesting to see how the Celtics take on Utah. Reserve big men Luke Kornet and Neemias Queta could also get some extra run if Horford sits out Friday.

6a3058f525ea41c636c7f60e9a62c36c

6sports

Former Bruins forward, Mass. native placed on waivers

The Colorado Avalanche placed Chris Wagner on waivers Wednesday. The former Boston Bruins forward and Walpole, Mass. native ruptured his Achilles in September 2023 and has been rehabbing from the injury for the past several months. Wagner’s been on injured reserve, and being placed on waivers suggests he’s been cleared and can report to the AHL. Wagner signed a one-year, two-way contract last July to return to the Avalanche team he spent the 2015-16 NHL season with. BET ANYTHING GET $250 BONUS ESPN BET CLAIM OFFER MASS 21+ and present in MA, NJ, PA, VA, MD, WV, TN, LA, KS, KY, CO, AZ, IL, IA, IN, OH, MI. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-Gambler. The 32-year-old spent five seasons with the Bruins, but struggled to carve out a full-time role for himself during his final two years in Boston. Wagner played one game in the 2021-22 and the 2022-23 seasons and spent a majority of those two years in Providence. Some of that was due to his contract and $1.35 million cap hit, while some of it was due to free agent signings pushing him out of the lineup. After playing in Boston’s regular-season finale in 2021-22, Wagner earned himself a spot on the postseason roster after registering 11 hits. He played in Game 3 of the first round against the Hurricanes before the Bruins were knocked out by Carolina. It’s unclear when Wagner will begin playing, but he was practicing this week with the Colorado Eagles.

e050b7fc293d868ec21623995713286c

6sports

Rob Gronkowski: Suspended Steelers safety made football play

Rob Gronkowski agrees with Tom Brady saying the NFL is “flat-out” wrong for suspending Pittsburgh Steelers safety Damontae Kazee for the remainder of the 2023 season for “repeated violations of playing rules intended to protect the health and safety of players.” Kazee was ejected from Sunday’s game for an illegal hit to the head of Indianapolis Colts receiver Michael Pittman. And while the league wants to make the game safer and eliminate dangerous hits, Kazee’s hit to Pittman had many wondering what else the safety could have done in that situation with Pittman flying through the air in order to catch the ball. Gronkowski was asked about the suspension on the “Up & Adams” show Wednesday and is of the belief Kazee shouldn’t have been suspended at all. BET ANYTHING GET $250 BONUS ESPN BET CLAIM OFFER MASS 21+ and present in MA, NJ, PA, VA, MD, WV, TN, LA, KS, KY, CO, AZ, IL, IA, IN, OH, MI. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-Gambler. “A suspension for the rest of the season, I think, is a little bit too much. I don’t even think he should have been suspended at all,” he said. “From the angle of it, the guy led with his shoulder. I mean, what else is he supposed to do? The guy’s laying out for a catch, how else are you supposed to attack the opposing guy that’s catching the ball as a defender? “That play was a football play,” Gronkowski continued. “There’s no other outcome that could have happened there. The defender made a play on how the defender should have made the play. He led with his shoulder, as well. He didn’t lead with his head. ... And on top of it, Gardner Minshew did throw a bad ball. ... So, Tom is right. And I would never argue with Tom on these situations because Tom is the best quarterback of all time. ... That was a clean hit. It was. What was wrong with it? What else could the defender have done?” Brady, who made his opinion known under SportsCenter’s Instagram comment section, called for better play from the quarterbacks so they don’t put their teammates in danger. “QBs needs to read coverages and throw the ball to the right places and defenders should aim for the right hitting areas,” Brady wrote. “Need better QB play!! It’s not OK QBs to get your WRs hit because of your bad decisions!” Brady’s been critical of the NFL this year, calling it “more like flag football” due to some penalties getting called now that wouldn’t have been called 10 years ago. Kazee — who’s been fined five times this season by the NFL — originally was suspended for the entire regular season and the playoffs, a decision he appealed. The appeals officer upheld the regular-season suspension Wednesday, but Kazee is now eligible to return for the postseason should the Steelers make it.

40a2f87947cbd9d4f09ab28e3f1ff575

1crime

Sunderland man dies after he was hit by car near UMass highway exit

A 33-year-old Sunderland man died after he was hit by a car on Route 116 in Hadley early Saturday morning, according to authorities. According to a press release from the office of Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan, the unidentified man was walking along the edge of the southbound side of the divided highway when he was hit by a car driven by an unidentified 29-year-old Deerfield woman. The man was hit near the highway’s exit headed to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, according to a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, from the state’s Department of Transportation, which also warned people just after 6:30 a.m. that multiple highway lanes were closed and suggested drivers find another route. Pedestrian crash with serious injuries in #Hadley on RT-116-NB, SB near the Umass Exit on SB side of RT116. Multiple lanes closed. Seek alternate route. — Mass. Transportation (@MassDOT) January 6, 2024 The driver called police herself. The Hadley police officers, State Police attached to Sullivan’s office and other emergency personnel responded to the scene, according to the release. The man was unresponsive when help arrived so emergency responders immediately began medical care, the release said. The man was taken to Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, where he died, the DA’s office said. The press release did not indicate if any criminal charges may be filed but said the Hadley Police Department, State Police attached to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, state troopers assigned to the Crime Scene Services Collision Analysis and Collision Analysis and Reconstruction sections and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner are investigating the circumstances of the crash, the DA’s office said.

f99d8b600ebaedbee8c63a385886bcdc

1crime

Inside the Three Days That Reframed Black Womens Health

This article is also a weekly newsletter. Sign up for Race/Related here. Four decades ago, nearly 2,000 Black women converged on Atlanta for a conference at Spelman College. As Dara Mathis recently reported for Headway, The New York Times’s initiative covering the world’s challenges through the lens of progress, this event was a milestone in the then-nascent movement. Black women were gathering en masse from across the U.S. to share with one another the experiences that affected their well-being. I spoke to some of the women who attended the event, to understand what drew them there, what they found and the impact the conference had on them. A few things stood out from our conversations. I was struck by how many aspects of their lives the attendees discussed openly for the first time. When she went to the conference, Brenda Smith had just graduated from Spelman and was studying at the Georgetown University Law Center. “I think that was probably one of the first places I heard about abortion,” Smith told me. “I think it was the first time that I heard open conversations about sexual violence, that people really talked about domestic violence. I think it was probably the first time that people acknowledged, or that I got the sense that people were open about, loving other women.” Nancy Anderson was a young doctor working at a county hospital in Atlanta at the time. “I had read a book called ‘This Bridge Called My Back,’” Anderson said. “That was where I realized that, ‘Ooh, there are people who are describing, really, what it’s like to be a Black woman.’ They had all kinds of points of view. I realized that I could find other people like that in Atlanta.” Reading the book, a collection of writings by women of color, helped begin a process of exploration that brought her to the event at Spelman. Thousands of similar discrete catalysts led women all over the country to organize buses and car pools and make their way to Georgia.

2c6f67c7cefe8c2dda0801eb1865c6be

0business

Servicio de mascotas busca ayudar a los animales puertorriqueos

Vanessa Henriquez and Kassandra Perez launched a fundraising event at the View Street Tavern Sunday to raise money to feed abandoned dogs and cats on Puerto Rico. (Dave Canton /The Republican)Dave Canton

38587f8a9b0e576ce78f029e287aa03d

6sports

Two-time Super Bowl champion discusses Malik Cunninghams work ethic

Malik Cunningham never got to tap into his full potential with the Patriots. The rookie quarterback/wide receiver was inactive for a handful of games, and the games he was active for he either didn’t play or saw minimal playing time. The Baltimore Ravens signed Cunningham off New England’s practice squad in December. The Louisville product was originally a quarterback. But scouts began to see that he could be used at wideout, as well. Deion Branch, the Patriots two-time Super Bowl champion and Louisville football’s director of player development, wasn’t surprised Cunningham was seen as a receiver, but respected that he wanted to remain at quarterback. On the latest episode of “Eye On Foxborough,” the Super Bowl XXXIX MVP joined MassLive’s Patriots columnist Karen Guregian to discuss Cunningham and his work ethic. BET ANYTHING GET $250 BONUS ESPN BET CLAIM OFFER MASS 21+ and present in MA, NJ, PA, VA, MD, WV, TN, LA, KS, KY, CO, AZ, IL, IA, IN, OH, MI. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-Gambler. “No, it didn’t surprise me because plenty scouts were already kind of hinting at that. My thing to these young men when I speak to them is, ‘Tell us who you are and believe in who you are, in the craft and the work that you put into,’” Branch said. “I presented it to Malik back in the past, I’ll say midseason like in October, and he said no, and I respected that. Some of those scouts were saying, ‘Deion, hey, it’d be great if you can kind of speak to him about this and that, and I did. But I also respect Malik’s wishes. And it reminds me of Lamar (Jackson). Everybody was pushing Lamar. ‘You need to run the 40, he needs to do this.’ Lamar was like, ‘no.’ So believe and trust in who you are. “But one thing (Cunningham) never said is that he will never do it. He just said, ‘No, I wanna play quarterback.’ And he did that,” Branch added. “And he tried and then unfortunately, I’m not saying that the Patriots gave up on him, because Baltimore may end up using him at that position and let him do his thing. I told him, ‘I know you’re a competitor and you want to play. What they’re saying right now is the best way you can get on the football field is to play receiver.’ So he’s a team player, and that’s what he did. And that’s what he tried to do at New England. And I know he’s very thankful that coach (Bill) Belichick gave him the opportunity.” Branch also revealed that he had a “brief conversation” with Belichick before the Patriots signed him as a rookie free agent. Cunningham has yet to see action with the Ravens, but he’ll get his first taste of postseason football as Baltimore looks to make a deep playoff run after winning the AFC North and clinching the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

18b7d28541323ebda99badbd5b6d417d

4politics

Opinion | The New Labor Playbook

As the Opinion video above explores, these are heady times for organized labor. Unions have recently scored big victories in the auto industry and Hollywood; an increasing number of health care workers are starting to organize; and the threat of a strike resulted in big gains for hospitality workers in Las Vegas. Elsewhere, baristas, nail salon and fast food workers, graduate students, warehouse and retail workers, tech employees, domestic workers and ride-share drivers have been mobilizing as unions enjoy levels of public support not seen since the 1960s. But it’s not all good news: The percentage of workers who belong to a union plunged to its lowest level on record in 2022. In this video, Jeff Seal, a video journalist and comedian, argues for the wider use of an industry mechanism known as a minimum standards council to strengthen the labor movement and empower workers.

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6sports

Jason Kelce retires: Where to buy his Eagles jersey, hoodies, shirts online

Following a season-ending playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Monday night, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce told teammates he is retiring after 13 NFL seasons. Kelce was in tears throughout the end of Philadelphia’s 32-9 loss to the Buccaneers in an NFC wild-card game on Monday night. In his time in the NFL for 13 seasons, The 36-year-old was a Super Bowl champion, had 156 straight starts and six All-Pro Team selections. Fans looking to celebrate Jason Kelce’s career can shop for Eagles jerseys, t-shirts and more online at Fanatics. Kelce also hosts a podcast, “New Heights,” with his brother Travis Kelce who plays for the Kansas City Chiefs. Jason could explain his decision as early as Wednesday when the next episode of the “New Heights” podcast drops. The brothers played each other last season in the Super Bowl which was won by the Chiefs. Jason also filmed a documentary with Prime Video of what he thought was his final year in the NFL. It is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video with a Prime subscription or for free with a free trial. Here is a look at what is available for Jason Kelce Eagles gear online at Fanatics: Philadelphia Eagles' Jason Kelce retires after 13 seasons. Fans can shop for his jersey and more online at Fanatics (photo courtesy of Fanatics)Fanatics Philadelphia Eagles' Jason Kelce retires after 13 seasons. Fans can shop for his jersey and more online at Fanatics (photo courtesy of Fanatics)Fanatics Philadelphia Eagles' Jason Kelce retires after 13 seasons. Fans can shop for his jersey and more online at Fanatics (photo courtesy of Fanatics)Fanatics Philadelphia Eagles' Jason Kelce retires after 13 seasons. Fans can shop for his jersey and more online at Fanatics (photo courtesy of Fanatics)Fanatics Philadelphia Eagles' Jason Kelce retires after 13 seasons. Fans can shop for his jersey and more online at Fanatics (photo courtesy of Fanatics)Fanatics Philadelphia Eagles' Jason Kelce retires after 13 seasons. Fans can shop for his jersey and more online at Fanatics (photo courtesy of Fanatics)Fanatics Philadelphia Eagles' Jason Kelce retires after 13 seasons. Fans can shop for his jersey and more online at Fanatics (photo courtesy of Fanatics)Fanatics Philadelphia Eagles' Jason Kelce retires after 13 seasons. Fans can shop for his jersey and more online at Fanatics (photo courtesy of Fanatics)Fanatics Philadelphia Eagles' Jason Kelce retires after 13 seasons. Fans can shop for his jersey and more online at Fanatics (photo courtesy of Fanatics)Fanatics Philadelphia Eagles' Jason Kelce retires after 13 seasons. Fans can shop for his jersey and more online at Fanatics (photo courtesy of Fanatics)Fanatics Philadelphia Eagles' Jason Kelce retires after 13 seasons. Fans can shop for his jersey and more online at Fanatics (photo courtesy of Fanatics)Fanatics Related content from The AP: PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jason Kelce stood on the sideline in tears as the final seconds ticked off in his likely final NFL game. Kelce embraced his long-time offensive line coach. He removed his helmet once the game ended — a Philadelphia Eagles loss that completed a harrowing season-ending collapse — and extended his hand to familiar faces in the stands. What Kelce knew then — what the gregarious center couldn’t bring himself to say when he declined to speak to the media in the aftermath of the defeat — was that his career was over. The 36-year-old Kelce was waivered on retirement over the last few seasons. Coach Nick Sirianni once added to Kelce’s mythology by shipping a keg of beer to the center’s home to entice him to return in 2022. He has been the heart of the Eagles, a hero on the Philadelphia sports scene, a Super Bowl champion. But after 13 seasons, 156 straight starts and six All-Pro Team selections, Kelce has told teammates he intends to retire, three people informed of the decision told The Associated Press. They spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Tuesday out of respect for Kelce’s decision, which he has not yet made public. “The goat!!!. Appreciate ya big time,” Eagles cornerback Darius Slay Jr. wrote on social media. Kelce could explain his decision as early as Wednesday, when the next episode of the “New Heights” podcast he co-hosts with his brother, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, was expected to drop. The brothers played each other last season in the Super Bowl that was won by the Chiefs. “I love him. Yeah, obviously we’re not there at that position yet, ready to talk about that, but he’s special and I love him,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said after a 32-9 loss to Tampa Bay. “He’s one of the most special guys I’ve been around. He’s always got a place here and always want him to play.” The burly, bushy-haired and bearded Kelce has been a stalwart of the offensive line since he was a sixth-round pick in the 2011 draft. He turned into an Iron Man after he missed most of the 2012 season with a partially torn MCL and torn ACL. Kelce’s credentials go far beyond football. He’s a podcast co-host. He was the subject of the “Kelce” documentary. Heck, Kelce was even named one of People magazine’s Sexiest Men for 2023, alongside Timothée Chalamet and Jamie Foxx. He’s a beloved Philly personality that has done everything from belting out holiday hits on a pair of Christmas albums and playing celebrity bartender on the beach. Kelce performed the national anthem at a 76ers game and partied with the Phanatic while he pounded a beer to a roaring ovation at a Phillies postseason game. But the moment that endeared him for life to the Philly faithful came at the Super Bowl parade in 2018 when he dressed as one of Philadelphia’s famed Mummers, and the ultimate underdog delivered a fiery, profane speech that whipped the crowd into a frenzy. “No one likes us! No one likes us! No one likes us! We don’t care,” Kelce exclaimed. “We’re from Philly! (Expletive) Philly. No one likes us! We don’t care!” Eagles QB Jalen Hurts called Kelce a legend. “He’s a legend in the city. Really in the league,” Hurts said. “I don’t want to do a disservice to him and the things he’s been able to do and overcome. His journey to where he is now didn’t come easy. It’s been a long, long time coming for him, and every year since I’ve been here it’s been, are you going to come back? But he knows how much I love and appreciate him. He knows how much I’ve learned from him. He’ll forever have a special place in my heart.” Kelce was part of Philadelphia’s core four of stars that have experienced droughts and championship runs, multiple coaches and one of the worst collapses in the city’s sports history. Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham are the lone holdovers from former coach Andy Reid’s last season with the Eagles in 2012. Lane Johnson completes the four veteran anchors and was a rookie in former coach Chip Kelly’s first season in 2013. They won a Super Bowl under former coach Doug Pederson and won just four games in 2020. They’ve played hurt and set records. They’ve also raised the standard on what it means to be an Eagles player. The Core Four is no more. Kelce is the first to call it quits. “The fact that he’s done it for so long so consistently at a very high level, man, it’s a special thing,” Sirianni said. ___ AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi in Tampa, Florida, contributed to this report. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

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4politics

In L.A. District Attorney Race, Rhetoric Shifts From Reform to Fear

Politics Trump transformed the Supreme Court. Now the justices could decide his political and legal future. With three Trump-appointed justices leading a conservative majority, the court is being thrust into the middle of two cases carrying enormous political implications just weeks before the first votes in the Iowa caucuses. Former President Donald Trump speaks during a commit to caucus rally, Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, in Waterloo, Iowa. AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump touts his transformation of the U.S. Supreme Court as one of his presidency’s greatest accomplishments. Now his legal and political future may lie in the hands of the court he pushed to the right. With three Trump-appointed justices leading a conservative majority, the court is being thrust into the middle of two cases carrying enormous political implications just weeks before the first votes in the Iowa caucuses. The outcomes of the legal fights could dictate whether the Republican presidential primary front-runner stands trial over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and whether he has a shot to retake to the White House next November. Advertisement: “The Supreme Court now is really in a sticky wicket, of historical proportions, of constitutional dimensions, to a degree that I don’t think we’ve ever really seen before,” said Steve Vladeck, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin. Trump’s lawyers plan to ask the Supreme Court to overturn a decision Tuesday barring him from Colorado’s ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which prohibits anyone who swore an oath to support the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection” against it from holding office. The Colorado Supreme Court ruling is the first time in history the provision has been used to try to prohibit someone from running for the presidency. “It’s a political mess the Supreme Court may have a hard time avoiding,” said Michael Gerhardt, a University of North Carolina law professor. It comes as the justices are separately weighing a request from special counsel Jack Smith to take up and rule quickly on whether Trump can be prosecuted on charges he plotted to overturn the 2020 election results. Prosecutors are hoping the justices will act swiftly to answer whether Trump is immune from prosecution in order to prevent delays that could push the trial — currently scheduled to begin on March 4 — until after next year’s presidential election. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the case. Advertisement: The three justices appointed by Trump — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — were among more than 230 federal judges installed under Trump as part of a GOP push to transform the ideological leanings of the bench. His impact on the high court has been seen in rulings rescinding the five-decade-old constitutional right to abortion, setting new standards for evaluating guns laws and striking down affirmative action in college admissions. “This is a court that is already a lightning rod in our contemporary political discourse. A court that is viewed quite skeptically by a large swath of the American electorate,” Vladeck said. But he added, “It’s also a court that has not bent over backwards for Trump.” For example, in January 2022, the high court rebuffed Trump’s attempt to withhold presidential documents sought by the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. The justices also allowed Trump’s tax returns to be handed over to a congressional committee after his refusal to release them touched off a yearslong legal fight. The Supreme Court was also thrust into the middle of a presidential election more than 20 years ago, in the razor-thin contest between Al Gore and George W. Bush. In 2000, the justices ruled 5-4 to stop a state court-ordered recount of the vote in Florida, a ruling that effectively settled the election in favor of Bush since neither candidate could muster an Electoral College majority without Florida. Advertisement: But that case came after the votes were cast. And in 2023, “the general political instability in the United States makes the situation now much more precarious,” wrote Rick Hasen, an election-law expert and professor at the UCLA School of Law, on the Election Law Blog. It’s far from certain that the Supreme Court will decide now to take up Trump’s immunity claims in the election interference case, which were rejected by the trial court judge in a ruling that declared the office of the president “does not confer a lifelong ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ pass.” Smith is asking the Supreme Court to bypass the federal appeals court in Washington, which has expedited its own review of the decision. So the Supreme Court may wait to get involved until after the appeals court judges hear the case. Trump’s lawyers urged the Supreme Court on Wednesday not to intervene before the appeals court rules, writing that the case “presents momentous, historic questions” that require careful consideration. The Colorado Supreme Court put its decision on hold until Jan. 4, or until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the case. Colorado officials say the issue must be settled by Jan. 5, the deadline for the state to print its presidential primary ballots. Mario Nicolais, one of the Colorado attorneys on the case, said the “Supreme Court can move just as fast as it wants, and if they want to hear this before Jan. 5 they can.” It’s possible the high court will try to dodge the issue and not decide the merits of the Colorado case. Gerhardt said the justices may say that the matter is left to the states or Congress. Section 3 of the 14th Amendment says: “Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House” undo the disqualification of someone found to have “engaged in insurrection.” Advertisement: “It would be like kicking the hornet’s nest for the court to get into the merits of this,” Gerhardt said. “It’s a political hot potato. And the court generally tries to avoid taking on sort of hot-button issues that are political by nature … And the easier route for the court is to just say ‘somebody else has got the responsibility, not us.’” But the Supreme Court may feel compelled to answer the issues at the heart of the case now. “There’ll be a lot of political instability if we go through a whole election season not knowing if one of two major candidates is disqualified from serving,” Hasen said. “It’s hard to fathom the kind of world we’re living in, where not only a serious candidate, but a leading candidate, of one of the political parties is in so much legal jeopardy.” Richer reported from Boston. Associated Press reporters Nicholas Riccardi and Brittany Peterson in Denver contributed.

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0business

The latest Boston affordable housing idea: Apartments above the public library

The redevelopment of one branch of the Boston Public Library will include a unique component: 119 income-restricted apartments above the library. The new West End branch of the BPL will include a two-floor library space, about 70% larger than the current library branch, 40 apartments for residents earning up to 30% of the area median income, 79 apartments for residents making up to 80% area median income, amenities for both residents and the public, a courtyard and a plaza shared with the neighboring Otis House museum. “As library leaders, we are charged to use all of our resources to serve the public,” said Boston Public Library President David Leonard in a statement. “I can think of no higher level of public service than to co-locate a public library and its critical offerings together with affordable housing.” Read more: Land taken from Boston homeowners in 1970s now being used to ease housing crisis The design of the new library at 151 Cambridge St. will be informed by a programming study performed by the Boston Public Library and the city’s Public Facilities Department in 2021, which identified needs like a teen space, updated outdoor space, learning lab and updated technology and audio-visual capabilities. As part of the planning process for the new library, the city held nine public meetings to gather information on what was needed in the community. That process led to the release of a request for proposals for the new mixed-use building at the location, which received eight applications. The proposal from the designated development team, Preservation of Affordable Housing and Caste Capital, was selected with input from several community groups, including the West End Civic Association, Beacon Hill Civic Association and Historic New England. “We applaud Mayor Wu’s innovative strategy to maximize city resources and return desperately needed affordable housing to the West End while forming an important cultural and civic anchor in the neighborhood,” said HNE President and CEO Vin Cipolla. The all-electric building will include apartments of varying sizes from studio to three-bedroom. The project is being developed through the city’s Housing with Public Assets program, which seeks to build affordable housing above municipal buildings like libraries, police stations, fire stations and parking lots to maximize the use of those locations. “The West End Library project will not only revitalize the West End and Beacon Hill neighborhoods but also leave a lasting impact on the entire Greater Boston community, said Patrick Kimble, Founder and Managing Partner of Caste Capital. “We aim to combat the pressing affordable housing crisis that impacts countless Boston residents from diverse backgrounds. This endeavor represents our unwavering commitment to creating a public asset that uplifts and empowers individuals from all walks of life.” The Boston Public Library is looking into similar projects to combine library branches with housing in other locations, including Upham’s Corner and Chinatown. For more information about the new West End library branch, visit the project page on the city website.

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4politics

Putin Quietly Signals He Is Open to a Cease-Fire in Ukraine

President Vladimir V. Putin’s confidence seems to know no bounds. Buoyed by Ukraine’s failed counteroffensive and flagging Western support, Mr. Putin says that Russia’s war goals have not changed. Addressing his generals on Tuesday, he boasted that Ukraine was so beleaguered that Russia’s invading troops were doing “what we want.” “We won’t give up what’s ours,” he pledged, adding dismissively, “If they want to negotiate, let them negotiate.” But in a recent push of back-channel diplomacy, Mr. Putin has been sending a different message: He is ready to make a deal. Mr. Putin has been signaling through intermediaries since at least September that he is open to a cease-fire that freezes the fighting along the current lines, far short of his ambitions to dominate Ukraine, two former senior Russian officials close to the Kremlin and American and international officials who have received the message from Mr. Putin’s envoys say.

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2culture

Italian History Club Presents a trip to Italy

Springfield - The Italian History Club is sponsoring a trip to Tuscany Italy, Lake Como, Florence, Milan, Venice and Verona, April 15 through 25, 2024. The trip is nine nights, eight breakfasts, three lunches and seven dinners. Featuring daily tours and tour guide. Bus leaves Springfield to Boston and return, fly to Italy on Lufthansa Airway from Boston to Italy and return. Cost of the trip is $3,950 per person (double), single is an additional $500. Deposit of $1,000, balance due, on Jan. 10. Minimum passengers 36. For further information or reservations, call Giuseppe at 413-262-6562, Regina at 413-785-5168 or Paula at 413-525-6030.

ab600865e76183c1e3501a1b43c66141

3entertainment

Live shows near me 2023: These pop music concerts struck a chord

This was a big year for large-scale concerts, with Taylor Swift’s career-spanning “Eras Tour” and Beyoncé's glittery “Renaissance World Tour” leading the charge through stadiums around the world. But other artists from all over the pop-music spectrum had impressive showings at these venues: Colombian fireball Karol G, who put on a dazzling show at Gillette Stadium; country bro Morgan Wallen, who filled Fenway Park for three nights; road stalwart Bruce Springsteen, who turned Foxborough into his hometown for two sets. And that’s just the largest venues in Greater Boston. With newer venues like Brighton’s cavernous yet homey Roadrunner and Somerville’s intimate upstairs club Crystal Ballroom, opportunities to get together and revel in music were plentiful. A couple of weeks ago, what’s become an annual ritual took hold of social media sites and group chats: The end-of-year data dumps offered by streaming services, who used their tracking of their users’ listening habits to formulate charts and pick out patterns to help them make sense of the year. Thanks to my listening being all over the place — I listen to music not only through multiple streamers, but via downloaded albums and tracks, pre-release packages of offerings I might be reviewing, and physical media — my wrap-ups are generally useless. But the glee with which people shared their top genres and metropolitan-area profiles and other factoids about their 2023 in music touched on a pattern I saw elsewhere this year. Advertisement The contrast between the sort of listening encouraged by streaming — alone, often through headphones that are cloaked by hair or hats — and these collective experiences, which concertgoers commemorate through the putting together and wearing of inventive outfits and, in the case of Swift’s sold-out retrospectives, swapping friendship bracelets that call back to specific songs and moments, feels stark. Get The Big To-Do Your guide to staying entertained, from live shows and outdoor fun to the newest in museums, movies, TV, books, dining, and more. Enter Email Sign Up On the one hand, listening patterns having so much potential for unpredictability has made following popular music more exciting than in years past, both as an observer and a listener; in 2023, a música mexicana song — “Ella Baila Sola,” the crisply catchy collaboration between genre titan Peso Pluma and California band Eslabon Armado — hit the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time, while artists like the Americana troubadour Zach Bryan and the Afrobeats crooner Tyla had left-field hits thanks to consumers’ voting with their play buttons, phenomena that might not have been as possible if radio and retail gatekeepers had as much of a hold over what music was “out there” as they once did. And my running playlist of songs I enjoyed from this year is currently at 243 tracks — 14-plus hours of music, beginning with K-pop group NewJeans’ shyly giddy “OMG” and winding up with the Melbourne outfit Gut Health’s spiky “Uh oh” — with more to come as I pore over my colleagues’ and friends’ year-end roundups. Advertisement Concertgoers cheer on Steve Lacy at the Stage at Suffolk Downs on the venue's opening night in June. Josh Reynolds for The Boston Globe But it can also be isolating for those looking to find community through shared musical interests — which is where the live shows can come in. The excitement engendered by a firing-on-all-cylinders concert (like the 10 on my list accompanying this piece) can unite a crowd, whether through jewelry exchanges or sing-alongs, whether in close quarters like Fenway’s Rockwood Music Hall or vast expanses like the just-opened Stage at Suffolk Downs. For those who might not have been familiar with an artist before hitting up a show of theirs, the live set can act as an advertisement — look at all these people getting so excited; that’s amping me up as well. In both cases, the collective spirit takes over. Advertisement It’s important to note that these concerts could be jaw-droppingly expensive for consumers even before ticket-agency fees came into play, although Swift and Beyoncé tried to lessen that financial pain by turning their shows into films with much lower ticket prices but a similar audience fervor. And on the flip side, per-unit streaming royalties are infinitesimal compared with the money that even those artists locked in the worst label deals could make from the selling of music, making it tougher for musicians who don’t operate in the business’ highest echelons. The economics of the music industry have always been broken, but this year, the seams holding things together seemed to be a little more obviously bursting. Which added to the overwhelming sense that 2023 was a hard year; even with my scattered listening habits, the fact that the Fabulous Thunderbirds’ wryly delivered snooze-button call “Why Get Up” topped my Spotify Wrapped charts spoke to a particular malaise caused by internal and external factors. Pop music can’t solve those problems, but finding solace in shared experiences can help ease the strain a little bit. Maura Johnston can be reached at maura@maura.com.

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2culture

Boston Globes art critic singles out displays that resonated in 2023

In a culture with an unquenchable urge to trend-hunt and categorize, the calendar might be the most arbitrary measure of all. So, I ’ m taking a pass on writing a year-end best-of list. Instead, let’s call it things that stick. What follows are five experiences still smouldering away in the back of my mind — good, best, neither — months after I first saw them. LESSONS OF THE HOUR, Wadsworth Atheneum The great American abolitionist Frederick Douglass was the most photographed person of his era, and not by coincidence. Douglass, a proto-scholar of image theory, knew that the rapid rise of photography in postbellum America could be a powerful tool to contend with American racism, and that if white Americans were to be moved to hold their Black counterparts as equal, they would first need to see them as such. “Lessons of the Hour” began that story by dramatic and affecting means: Isaac Julien’s stirring “Lessons of the Hour,” 2019, a lush, five-channel video portrayed the intensity and drama of Douglass’s oratory gifts, and his hunger for equality. Then, it moved from tell to show, with scores of 19th-century photo portraits of Black Americans, decked out in their best finery, who had taken Douglass’s exhortations to heart. In the constant deluge of imagery, both moving and still, that we live in today, Douglass appears eerily prescient. He urged Black Americans to take active authorship of how they were perceived — an agency that’s now a second-to-second strategy of a large chunk of the planet (under 40, at least) through the frame of social media, a self-curation machine he could never have conceived. The strategy he imagined in the service of high virtue — what else to call the quest for equality? — has been coopted by every manner of vice. There’s a metaphor here I don’t care to explore more deeply; it’s Wednesday night, I just watched 5 minutes of the Republican debate, and that’s as depressed as I want to get. More than anything, I wish Douglass were here — not to see how badly we’ve gone wrong, but to help us find a way out. Storage jar (detail), 1857. Dave (later recorded as David Drake), American, ca. 1801–1870s. Stony Bluff Manufactory (ca. 1848-67), Old Edgefield District, South Carolina. Collection of Greenville County Museum of Art. Eileen Travell/© Metropolitan Museum of Art/Collection of Greenville County Museum of Art HEAR ME NOW: THE BLACK POTTERS OF OLD EDGEFIELD, SOUTH CAROLINA, Museum of Fine Arts Boston Advertisement David Drake, or Dave the Potter, has become a posthumous art star in recent years for the masterful works he made — outsize ceramic food storage jars that none could match — and the story they embody. Born into enslavement, Drake worked at one of the ceramic factories in antebellum Old Edgefield, South Carolina, where jars were mass-produced and exported all over the South for household use. Drake, who could read and write despite its prohibition among enslaved people, emblazoned his works with aphoristic verse – unique transmissions of the enslaved experience that traveled along with the workaday objects he inscribed. As documents, the jars are remarkable primary-source accounts of a life lived in bondage; as art, they embody the spirit and soul of a man whose cruel circumstances couldn’t snuff his creativity and longing for human connection. “Hear Me Now” stays with me in its clear-eyed intent to craft lineage across generations broken by bondage, and to make that shattered story whole. Alongside Drake, and the countless anonymous makers in the exhibition, were renowned contemporary artists Simone Leigh and Theaster Gates, for whom ceramics, a medium forced on generations of Black makers for profit they would never share, is their chosen medium — one with the imprint of Black American cultural DNA. In many ways, their work is an extension of Drake’s — reclaiming a material and process from the depravity of enslavement, and wholly owning it for themselves. Advertisement A work by Henry Darger from the 2004 movie "In the Realms of the Unreal," directed by Jessica Yu. AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES, Portland Museum of Art Advertisement This show bothered me, but in the best way. Folk art, a catch-all of misfit otherness — things that make art museums uncomfortable — has been the subject of much reconsideration in recent years, making any show that dares to use the term as fascinating as it is haphazard. “American Perspectives” put those dynamics in high relief, a key art world debate unfolding in real time. It lumped artists like Henry Darger, the Chicago hospital custodian who crafted his epic pictorial saga of the Vivian Girls, heroes of an imagined child slave rebellion, alongside 19th-century handpainted pharmacy signs and carousel horses. Let’s be clear: The product of a deeply examined inner life is not equivalent to workaday craft, however masterful the latter. Herein lies the evolving debate: Darger, who died in 1973, is now collected by the Museum of Modern Art, among other tier-one institutions. So what was he — and others like him — doing in this show? “American Perspectives” put folk art’s work-in-progress definition right in front of our eyes. Advertisement Installation view, "Painted: Our Bodies, Hearts, and Village," Colby College Museum of Art. Works shown, left to right: Ernest Blumenschein, "Untitled (Mountain Wood Gatherers)," c. 1926; Virgil Ortiz, "Omtua," 2023; Tony Abeyta, "Citadel," 2021. Stephen Davis Phillips PAINTED: OUR BODIES, HEARTS, AND VILLAGE, Colby College Museum of Art I remain awestruck by this exhibition, not only for the specific conversations it provokes, but for the museum’s willingness to interrogate itself, and to find its own answers lacking. In a field where “landmark” gets tossed around too easily, this is the real deal. Colby had for years in its vaults a collection of paintings by Taos Society of Artists, a group of white painters from the urban east who, in the early part of the 20th century, relocated to New Mexico to cash in on the growing fad for western Native American images. Their pictures were accomplished, but tilt towards uncomfortable clichés of Indigenous people as a primitive, dying race. The past century has affirmed the opposite: Pueblo and Diné communities in the region have both preserved their artistic traditions and produced increasingly vital contemporary art. Artists like Virgil Ortiz and Michael Namingha are among many here to confront the mythmaking of white artists, a century ago, and speak for themselves. Colby could have left the TSA paintings gathering dust in storage. It did the opposite, and invited Indigenous curators to help it reconfigure a clear-eyed re-telling of its own history in the context of the future the museum intends to build. Note: The show continues until July 28. THE EMBRACE, Hank Willis Thomas Advertisement I walked alongside “The Embrace,” by now the city’s most prominent public work of art, from its beginnings; the day it was chosen from a field of five to memorialize Coretta Scott King and Martin Luther King Jr. in 2019, I wrote that it was jarring, in the best possible way. We’re used to memorials that ache with overwrought sincerity — figures with hands to hearts, stoic gazes fixed on a faraway horizon. The Embrace’s confounding tangle of arms and hands – an extraction of a moment between the couple when Martin was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964— rejects all convention. Instead, it emanates the complexity of mystery and, yes, confrontation. It invites viewers into their own contemplation, rather than spoon-feeding them what to think and feel. Looking back to when it arrived on Boston Common in January, you could have guessed some reactions would shade towards ridicule (a bit by Leslie Jones on The Daily Show, suggesting an intimate act, might have been the apex). And social media, which by its nature divorces an object from its scale, material, and context, reduces real experience to a snippet-sized meme. But for those of us who have been there – who have walked into those arms, who have navigated that knot of emotion, a relic of a tragic, complex time – know the experience itself is irreducible. Being with it, literally, is the only way to understand it, which to me makes all the sense in the world. “The Embrace,” in all its glory, is only and forever for Boston, as it should be. Murray Whyte can be reached at murray.whyte@globe.com. Follow him @TheMurrayWhyte.

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4politics

Defying Unrest, Israel Adopts Law Weakening Supreme Court

On a day of turbulence in the streets and in the halls of power alike, Israeli lawmakers on Monday enacted a major change in law to weaken the judiciary, capping a monthslong campaign by the right-wing governing coalition that is pitting Israelis against one another with rare ferocity. Throngs of protesters outside the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, and opposition lawmakers inside shouted that the change was a grievous blow to the rule of law, to the rights of citizens and to democracy itself. Coalition members countered that it was the judiciary that posed a threat to democracy, and said that they planned to take further steps to curb it. The fight over the law, which has prompted the most widespread demonstrations in the country’s history, reflects a deeper split between those who want a more explicitly Jewish and religious Israel, and those who want to preserve a more secular, pluralist society. The measure strips Israel’s Supreme Court of the power to overturn government actions and appointments it deems “unreasonable,” a practice that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing governing coalition says has effectively given the court veto power over the will of the majority. Still on the coalition’s agenda are plans to give the government more power over the selection of Supreme Court justices, among other changes.

a1e5ab601111b72c4110b7f7e726f73d

0business

New head of JCC has eye on expansion

With the help of chief development officer Jillian Kohl , Rabinoff-Goldman got to work. Many donors stepped up, led by three seven-figure gifts from developer Arthur Winn and his family, the Paul & Phyllis Fireman Charitable Foundation (cofounded by former Reebok CEO Paul Fireman ), and the Chleck Family Foundation . That was in the summer of 2022, and Rabinoff-Goldman was recruited from her administrative job at the Gann Academy to take over for the Newton-based organization following the retirement of longtime chief executive Mark Sokoll . One of the first items on her to-do list: raise $5 million to renovate and update the lobby areas of the JCC’s complex in Newton. Lily Rabinoff-Goldman had barely settled into her then-new job as CEO of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Boston when she had to start raising money. Such is the life of a nonprofit executive. Advertisement They pulled it off, and construction finally is set to begin this week on the 11,000-square-foot project. The remodeling of the 1980s-era lobby includes a new “J-Cafe” and teen lounge as well as new communal seating areas. Rabinoff-Goldman hopes contractor Elaine Construction Co. will have the bulk of the work done in time for a gala honoring former JCC chair Lou Grossman in April. The project represents the last phase of a series of upgrades to the facility that began in 2015 but were put on hold early in the COVID-19 pandemic. “It has felt really exciting that people wanted to be part of the next phase,” Rabinoff-Goldman said. “It gives people a sense of community. That’s the thing that we emerged from COVID wanting filled. ... Essentially, we are creating new ways to gather for informal and more formal programming within the building.” She also has had to help the JCC navigate a much larger project next door, the construction of a 174-unit senior living complex by 2Life Communities, a project that required the JCC to use its emergency back entrance as its main front gate. Advertisement Remodeling aside, it’s been “an amazing learning curve” getting up to speed on the organization and its various services, including its fitness center and summer camps, she said. The JCC employs about 450 people year-round (and many more in the summer), brings in about $26 million a year in revenue, and has about 2,500 members. “This is a JCC that’s not afraid to try new things,” Rabinoff-Goldman said. “This is a super-creative and innovative organization.” Jim Rooney, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s chief executive. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff Chamber chief has an eye on crime During her State of the City speech last Tuesday, Mayor Michelle Wu highlighted the drop in gun violence under her watch. But she didn’t mention another crime stat that Jim Rooney, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s chief executive, brought up two days later in a video address to chamber members, in which he conveyed “growing concerns” about personal safety in downtown Boston, among many of the issues he cited that the chamber will be watching in 2024. “Shootings are down,” Rooney noted, “but overall crime in the city increased 2 percent from the year before.” Rooney also cited a busted-up transit system and lack of affordable child care as obstacles to bringing more workers back downtown after the office towers emptied out early in the pandemic. In a subsequent interview, Rooney said he regularly hears from people who live or work downtown and feel it has become less safe since before the pandemic. Yes, Boston is safe when compared to many other cities of its size, Rooney said, but he doesn’t want civic leaders to be lulled into complacency. Rooney says he has expressed these concerns to Wu, and believes she takes them seriously. Advertisement “It’s tricky for a chamber president and for a mayor to say things out loud that might dissuade people from coming downtown,” Rooney said. “I don’t want to be the person painting the picture that downtown isn’t a safe place. It is. [But] I don’t want to be the Amityville sheriff either, [saying] ‘go in the water while the shark swims by.’” Marketing maven Colette Phillips, pictured on April 5, 2021. Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff With new book, Phillips highlights allies who promote diversity In 2014, marketing maven Colette Phillips did something unexpected for a Black woman known for highlighting people of color: She shone the spotlight on white guys instead. Phillips came up with a list of diversity supporters, dubbed “White Men Who Could Jump,” to highlight white executives who are working to make their companies more inclusive. Now, Phillips has taken it a big step further, by writing a book about the topic, called “The Includers.” She’s scheduled to talk about the book on Tuesday, its publication date, at the ‘Quin House, alongside one of her “includers,” Eastern Bank chief executive Bob Rivers. Other prominent local executives who get shout-outs in her book include State Street’s Ron O’Hanley, Liberty Mutual’s Tim Sweeney, and Tim Ryan at PwC. The book is jam-packed with strategies for improving an organization’s diversity, examples of how it’s done, and descriptions of the tangible benefits. Advertisement The book arrives at a time when corporate diversity efforts, known collectively as “DEI,” are under fire. The new wave of criticism — Phillips calls it “anti-woke rhetoric” — makes her book, published by BenBella Books, even more timely. “I got pushback from people of color: ‘You’re Miss Diversity in Boston, I can’t believe you’re going to honor all white men,’” Phillips said. “My contention is, you have to amplify and spotlight the white guys who get it ... so that others will emulate them.” North Carolina-based Honeywell has hired Interise to run its “StreetWise MBA” program for potential city contractors, to help diversify Honeywell’s Boston-area roster of suppliers as it proceeds with various upgrades to city buildings. Justin Sullivan/Getty Honeywell teams up to boost minority contracting While the city of Boston has been criticized for awarding relatively few city contracts to Black- or Latino-led businesses, a partnership between a giant industrial conglomerate and a Boston-based nonprofit is trying out a new approach to change that. North Carolina-based Honeywell has hired Interise to run the nonprofit’s “StreetWise MBA” program for potential city contractors, to help diversify Honeywell’s Boston-area roster of suppliers as it proceeds with various upgrades to city buildings. The StreetWise MBA program, usually taught over the course of a dozen or so classes, teaches management, procurement, and business development skills. “They want to bid on more city contracts, and retain the one they have when it comes up for renewal,” Interise chief executive Darrell Byers said, in reference to Honeywell. Representatives from 15 contractors are set to begin Interise classes at UMass Boston on Jan. 25. If this pilot program proves successful, Byers said, Honeywell may try it in other cities, and it could be a model for other Boston companies to replicate. He added: “We’re taking away that stigma that we can’t find minority businesses.” Advertisement In November, Kate Haranis left her role as a senior manager in corporate public relations at Boston Scientific to launch Haranis & Co., which aims to help local life sciences tell their unique stories. The Boston Globe/Boston Globe Haranis pursues a dream she didn’t know she had When she was young, Kate Haranis didn’t dream about becoming a med-tech PR consultant. But then, as she would be quick to point out, what kid does? However, as her career progressed, at PR shops Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications and Denterlein, and then as a senior manager in corporate public relations at Boston Scientific, Haranis realized she did have that dream, after all. In November, she left Boston Scientific to pursue it. She is launching Haranis & Co. to help local life sciences companies tell their unique stories. For now, she’ll work out of her Southborough home, which may or may not come in handy while raising two young children. Haranis got her start at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, with the help of Levi Garraway, now chief medical officer at Roche, and also learned from mentors such as Geri Denterlein and the late Larry Rasky. While Haranis doesn’t have an M.D. or Ph.D. after her name, she does have something important to offer the region’s med-tech cluster. “I’m not scientifically gifted [but] what I am good at is storytelling,” Haranis said. “Better storytelling isn’t just helpful to a company’s reputation and bottom line. It can actually make connections that accelerate innovation.” Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him @jonchesto.

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1crime

Its criminal behavior: Hundreds involved in a series of violent incidents across Boston

Only six hours later, at around 11, a similar scene played out downtown at the AMC Boston Common 19, as moviegoers spilled out onto the sidewalks after the theater was evacuated because of fighting. Police estimated 150 youths crowded the streets and nearby sidewalks, including, one officer wrote, “the same group of teenagers that just caused chaos at the South Bay mall.” One person stomped on top of a car, and others fought with officers, who at one point used pepper spray, according to a police report. The South Bay shopping center was in a state of chaos. Just after 5 p.m. Sunday night, a crowd nearing 400 young people devolved into multiple violent melees outside the AMC movie theater, Target, and Starbucks, forcing those stores to close early and swarms of police officers to respond from across the city. Several officers said they were assaulted. Advertisement Between the two incidents, police arrested 13 teenagers on charges including assault and battery on a police officer, disorderly conduct, and disturbing the peace in what police called an overwhelming burst of disorder. “This behavior is not kid behavior — it’s criminal behavior,” police Commissioner Michael Cox said during a Monday press conference. City leaders say the explosion of violence involving young people over the weekend underscores a critical need for more specific services and oversight targeting teenagers, such as more places for them to gather and greater efforts to enlist the help of parents and guardians to try to stem the disorder. In addition to the two large melees, eight people were shot at a neighborhood gathering at the city’s Caribbean festival, and a crowd of out-of-town youth disrupted the St. Anthony’s feast in the North End. Cox did not know whether police officially verified whether a group involved at the Boston Common was also involved at South Bay. But he called the youth violence in general “a disturbing trend to see continue.” Advertisement The brawl at South Bay was the latest incident of violence there in recent months in what police have called a shopping center “plagued with countless incidents of violence, property destruction, and other crimes at the hands of this ever-growing group of juveniles.” Downtown Crossing has experienced similar mayhem involving random attacks or violence against police officers. The incidents over the weekend, however, were unusually large in scope and featured numerous group attacks on officers, including one who was beaten while he was lying on the ground, according to police. “These actions should be seen as a wakeup call to the city and the state,” said Michael Kozu, executive director of Project R.I.G.H.T. in Grove Hall. “Everybody has to step up — they don’t have a choice.” Kozu, whose organization offers youth programming and outreach, said the young people involved “feel that they’re anonymous” and that they won’t face consequences. He said school personnel, law enforcement, and social service organizations need to coordinate to identify them and talk to them and their guardians. “We need to send a message that one, that these actions are unacceptable. Two, that we want to work with you and channel your energies in a more productive direction,” Kozu said, “And three, that continued pursuit of these actions will have consequences. It can work.” Emmett Folgert, a longtime youth outreach worker in Boston, said there needs to be a “public education campaign” aimed at parents, guardians, and other adults like coaches who hold influence over young people. Advertisement “Show the families the video and audio of what their kids are doing and saying,” he said. “They won’t like it, and I think they’ll do something about it.” The weekend’s most shocking incident occurred around 7:45 a.m., Saturday, when a blaze of gunfire on Talbot Avenue disrupted the annual J’ouvert celebration that’s part of the festival, injuring eight, one severely. Four people were ultimately arrested on weapons charges, but no one has been charged with the shooting. At the North End festival, police arrested six people Sunday night, Cox said, after “people not from the city” disrupted it with underage drinking and scuffled with officers. The South Bay incident began at 5 p.m., when, police said, officers responded to a call of a “disturbance”. Arriving officers needed backup from multiple other precincts and State Police to control the crowd. “As officers attempted to apprehend suspects, they were met with resistance by other juveniles, who began to assault officers,” the Boston Police Department wrote in a press release. Police arrested eight people, five boys and three girls, between 12 and 17 years old after the fracas. Police released them to guardians, as is typical for minors, though they plan to file charges in the juvenile justice system, according to the police report. The South Bay movie theater was one of two cinemas in Boston listed as taking part in “National Movie Night,” which featured $4 tickets. Advertisement The other theater was the Boston Common cinema, where police responded at around 11 that night to reports of a large fight outside. Police said a large group blocked “both vehicle and pedestrian traffic on streets in the surrounding area.” “Officers observed one juvenile jump on top of a car and began to stomp on the roof of the vehicle,” police wrote, saying officers tried to break up “multiple fights.” In one incident downtown, two people reported they were assaulted and robbed by “one of the groups” outside the Godfrey Hotel on Washington Street. A woman said she was “grabbed by her hair from behind and pulled to the ground and then surrounded and punched and kicked repeatedly while on the ground,” a police report said. The woman said her phone, credit card, and wallet were stolen, while her male companion was also attacked and robbed of about $20. Both victims declined medical attention, police said. AMC didn’t respond to a request for comment. Police reported officers were assaulted at both locations, including officers who were punched — one was reportedly placed in a chokehold. Cox said all the officers are at home recovering. He thanked his officers for their “restraint” and “professional behavior.” One 13-year-old boy and two aged 14, as well as two girls, ages 14 and 16, were arrested in the incident at the Common, police said. They were released after they were processed and were referred to the juvenile justice system, and in at least one instance police filed a complaint with state social service workers for neglect. Advertisement Cox made “a plea to parents” to talk to their children about the incidents. “Make sure you know where your kids are,” Cox said. “We are not babysitters.” City Councilor Frank Baker, whose district includes South Bay, said young people need “physical places to go” in the evenings for sports and arts, like the youth center he advocated for last year in Columbia Point. “I had the Little House when I was growing up, which saved me,” the councilor from Dorchester said, referring to a now-defunct program on East Cottage Street about a half mile south of South Bay. The mall is owned by the management company Edens, which did not respond to requests for comment on Monday. Baker said Edens has been working with officials. Isaac Yablo, Mayor Michelle Wu’s senior adviser for public safety, said the city and its partners have to get creative in offering evening programing that’s more appealing to teens. He said pop-ups with food, for example, could pull in kids who otherwise don’t want anything to do with the generally straight-laced city programming. “They need to be able to eat, kick it, get their energy out,” said Yablo. “We need to be innovative.” Sean Cotter can be reached at sean.cotter@globe.com.Follow him @cotterreporter. Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.

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3entertainment

How to watch Tyler Perrys Sistas season 7 new episode free Jan. 17

Season 7 of Tyler Perry’s “Sistas” continues on BET this Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT with a new episode. Those without cable can watch the show for free through either Philo, FuboTV or DirecTV Stream, each of which offer a free trial to new users. “‘Sistas’ follows a group of single Black women as they navigate the ups and downs of modern life, which includes careers, friendships, romances, and even social media,” FuboTV said in a description of the series, which is written, directed and executive produced by Tyler Perry. “The comedy-drama series features Andi Barnes, an ambitious divorce lawyer, Danni King, a funny and fearless airport employee, Karen Mott, a street-smart hair salon owner, and Sabrina Hollins, a smart and stylish bank teller,” FuboTV added. “The TV show takes viewers on a roller coaster ride of emotions and moments that epitomize ‘squad goals.’” Season 7, episode 3 is titled “Grand Openings And Closings” and in a description FuboTV said “Karen’s grand opening is full of surprises; Andi feels the pressure at work as her dealings with Gary may end her career.” How can I watch Tyler Perry’s “Sistas” without cable? Those without cable can watch the show for free through either Philo, FuboTV or DirecTV Stream, each of which offer a free trial to new users. What is Philo? Philo is an over-the-top internet live TV streaming service that offers 60+ entertainment and lifestyle channels, like AMC, BET, MTV, Comedy Central and more, for the budget-friendly price of $25/month. What is FuboTV? FuboTV is an over-the-top internet live TV streaming service that offers more than 100 channels, like sports, news, entertainment and local channels. It offers DVR storage space, and is designed for people who want to cut the cord, but don’t want to miss out on their favorite live TV and sports. What is DirecTV Stream? The streaming platform offers a plethora of content including streaming the best of live and On Demand, starting with more than 75 live TV channels.

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4politics

Vivek Ramaswamy suspends his 2024 Republican presidential bid and endorses rival Donald Trump

Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy suspended his bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination on Monday and endorsed former President Donald Trump after a disappointing finish in Iowa’s leadoff caucuses. Ramaswamy, a 38-year-old political novice who sought to replicate Trump’s rise as a bombastic, wealthy outsider, said, “As of this moment we are going to suspend this presidential campaign. There’s no path for me to be the next president absent things that we don’t want to see happen in this country.” During the campaign, he needled his opponents but praised Trump as “the best president of the 21st century.” He argued, though, that Republicans should opt for “fresh legs” and “take our America First agenda to the next level.” The approach, including his call for “revolution,” vaulted Ramaswamy into the mix of candidates vying to overtake Trump — or at least become a viable alternative. His decision to drop out, though, becomes the latest confirmation that the former president, even at 77 years old and under multiple criminal indictments, still dominates Republican politics and remains the overwhelming favorite to win the GOP nomination for the third consecutive time. Ramaswamy’s failure also affirms how difficult it is for any Republican other than Trump to push the bounds of party orthodoxy, as the first-time candidate found little political reward for positions such as his opposition to aid for Israel and Ukraine. The son of Indian immigrants, Ramaswamy entered politics at the highest level after making hundreds of millions of dollars at the intersection of hedge funds and pharmaceutical research, a career he charted and built while graduating from Harvard University and then Yale Law School. He brought to his campaign the same brash approach he used to coax money from investors even when the drugs he touted never made it to the market. __ By BILL BARROW Associated Press

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0business

Tesla recalls nearly all vehicles sold in US to fix system that monitors drivers using Autopilot

DETROIT (AP) — Tesla is recalling nearly all of the vehicles it sold in the U.S., more than 2 million across its model lineup, to fix a defective system that’s supposed to ensure drivers are paying attention when they use Autopilot. Documents posted Wednesday by U.S. safety regulators say the company will send out a software update to fix the problems. The recall comes after a two-year investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into a series of crashes that happened while the Autopilot partially automated driving system was in use. Some were deadly. The agency says its investigation found Autopilot’s method of ensuring that drivers are paying attention can be inadequate and can lead to foreseeable misuse of the system. The recall covers models Y, S, 3 and X produced between Oct. 5, 2012, and Dec. 7 of this year. The software update includes additional controls and alerts “to further encourage the driver to adhere to their continuous driving responsibility,” the documents said. The update was to be sent to certain affected vehicles on Tuesday, with the rest getting it at a later date, the documents said. Autopilot includes features called Autosteer and Traffic Aware Cruise Control, with Autosteer intended for use on limited access freeways when it’s not operating with a more sophisticated feature called Autosteer on City Streets. The software update apparently will limit where Autosteer can be used. “If the driver attempts to engage Autosteer when conditions are not met for engagement, the feature will alert the driver it is unavailable through visual and audible alerts, and Autosteer will not engage,” the recall documents said. Depending on a Tesla’s hardware, the added controls include “increasing prominence” of visual alerts, simplifying how Autosteer is turned on and off, additional checks on whether Autosteer is being used outside of controlled access roads and when approaching traffic control devices, “and eventual suspension from Autosteer use if the driver repeatedly fails to demonstrate continuous and sustained driving responsibility,” the documents say. Recall documents say that agency investigators met with Tesla starting in October to explain “tentative conclusions” about the fixing the monitoring system. Tesla, it said, did not concur with the agency’s analysis but agreed to the recall on Dec. 5 in an effort to resolve the investigation. Auto safety advocates for years have been calling for stronger regulation of the driver monitoring system, which mainly detects whether a driver’s hands are on the steering wheel. They have called for cameras to make sure a driver is paying attention, which are used by other automakers with similar systems. Autopilot can steer, accelerate and brake automatically in its lane, but is a driver-assist system and cannot drive itself despite its name. Independent tests have found that the monitoring system is easy to fool, so much that drivers have been caught while driving drunk or even sitting in the back seat. In its defect report filed with the safety agency, Tesla said Autopilot’s controls “may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse.” A message was left early Wednesday seeking further comment from the Austin, Texas, company. Tesla says on its website that Autopilot and a more sophisticated Full Self Driving system cannot drive autonomously and are meant to help drivers who have to be ready to intervene at all times. Full Self Driving is being tested by Tesla owners on public roads. In a statement posted Monday on X, formerly Twitter, Tesla said safety is stronger when Autopilot is engaged. NHTSA has dispatched investigators to 35 Tesla crashes since 2016 in which the agency suspects the vehicles were running on an automated system. At least 17 people have been killed. The investigations are part of a larger probe by the NHTSA into multiple instances of Teslas using Autopilot crashing into parked emergency vehicles that are tending to other crashes. NHTSA has become more aggressive in pursuing safety problems with Teslas in the past year, announcing multiple recalls and investigations, including a recall of Full Self Driving software. In May, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whose department includes NHTSA, said Tesla shouldn’t be calling the system Autopilot because it can’t drive itself. In its statement Wednesday, NHTSA said the Tesla investigation remains open “as we monitor the efficacy of Tesla’s remedies and continue to work with the automaker to ensure the highest level of safety.”

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0business

Hamed Aleaziz Joining Washington Bureau

We’re excited to announce that Hamed Aleaziz, until recently a superb reporter at The Los Angeles Times, is joining the Washington bureau to cover immigration and the Department of Homeland Security. At The Los Angeles Times, Hamed was a scoop machine. He broke news about the Biden administration forcing out the head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, about an accidental U.S. government leak of the personal information of thousands of ICE detainees seeking protection in the United States and a new effort to place migrant families on home curfews. He previously covered immigration at BuzzFeed News, where he broke stories on Biden and Trump policies, and was a Livingston Award finalist in 2021. Before joining BuzzFeed, he covered immigration, civil rights and breaking news at The San Francisco Chronicle. Hamed decided he wanted to be a journalist at the age of 10, when a feature story in The Oregonian documented his family’s immigration dilemma about having to return to Iran, where his older brother would not be able to get the critical medical care that he needed. The story sparked an outpouring of support and his parents later became U.S. citizens. Hamed spoke about the story and its impact on his life on NPR in 2020. Hamed graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in journalism. His first day in the bureau was Monday. Please welcome him! — Elisabeth and Yara

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1crime

New Bedford teen killed in Dartmouth car crash attended technical high school

Jacob Pothier, the 18-year-old New Bedford resident who was killed in a car crash in Dartmouth on Friday, was a student at Greater New Bedford Vocational Technical High School (GNBVT), according to the school’s superintendent. “The death of a person so young, no matter the circumstances, is a tragedy. It is the stark reminder of a life not realized,” GNBVT Superintendent said in a statement on Saturday. The school cancelled its varsity non-league hockey game against East Boston High School Saturday evening out of respect of Pothier’s family, according to the statement. Additionally, the school will have crisis councilors available this week, and those in need of support can call 508-998-4698. Read more: New Bedford teen dies after thrown from car in Dartmouth Friday On Jan. 5, the car Pothier was in crashed near the intersection of Gulf and Smith Neck Road in Dartmouth around 10:30 p.m., Dartmouth police said previously. Pothier and 44-year-old Dartmouth resident Kathleen Martins were thrown from the car. Both were taken to St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford, and Pothier was soon declared dead, police said previously. Martins suffered life-threatening injuries, and was still in critical condition on Sunday, Dartmouth police said. Dartmouth police are still investigating the crash, and put out a call for information on Facebook Sunday afternoon. They are looking for people who may have seen the car that crashed — a white 2022 Honda Accord — traveling in or near the town landing on the west side of the Padanaram Bridge before 10:30 p.m. Friday. Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call police at 508-910-1790.

0a2d30a705eb1c7e6158cbcfc1d5ecee

0business

Wolverines Get Protection in the Lower 48 States

Wolverines in the contiguous United States are threatened by climate change and habitat fragmentation and will be listed under the Endangered Species Act, the federal government announced Wednesday. The largest terrestrial member of the weasel family, wolverines are famously fierce for their size. While scientists say they never existed in large numbers south of Canada, only an estimated 300 remain, inhabiting areas of the Northern Rocky Mountains and Northern Cascades of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Washington and Oregon. “The wolverine’s adapted and has evolved in cold, snowy conditions,” said Jesse D’Elia, a biologist with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service who worked on the latest review of the species’ status. “As these conditions continue to change in the Western U.S., the outlook for wolverines is less secure than we found in our previous assessments.” In the last decade, federal officials have seesawed over whether American wolverines should be protected outside Alaska, where their populations remain healthy. Three years ago, under the Trump administration, they ruled that wolverines should not be. But a judge vacated that decision last year, requiring the Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider.

dbe6aeaec8326540c9821eb3282e4fda

0business

Uber cuts off Boston-based Drizly, the alcohol delivery app it bought three years ago

Uber cuts off Boston-based Drizly, the alcohol delivery app it bought three years ago Uber is shutting down Boston-based alcohol delivery app Drizly, the company confirmed, three years after acquiring the platform for $1.1 billion. Drizly will officially shut down at the end of March, Uber told The Associated Press. That means orders are open until then, Drizly said in details posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “We’ll be sure to let you know when it’s last call,” Drizly wrote in a post Monday. In a prepared statement, Uber’s senior vice president of delivery Pierre Dimitri Gore-Coty said that the company decided to close Drizly's business and “focus on our core Uber Eats strategy of helping consumers get almost anything — from food to groceries to alcohol — all on a single app.” Uber purchased Drizly in a cash-and-stock deal back in 2021. The subsidiary continued to operate as a standalone app, with its marketplace also integrated into the Uber Eats platform. Drizly currently delivers beer, wine and spirits in states where it’s legal, and partners with retailers across North America. Regulators accused the alcohol delivery app of security failures several years ago that exposed personal information of some 2.5 million customers. To resolve these allegations, Drizly later agreed to tighten security and limit data collection. Axios first reported on Uber's decision to shutter Drizly Monday. In a Tuesday email to The Associated Press, Uber said it plans to learn from Drizly's time in the industry as the company continues to grow its own “BevAlc” offerings, which are currently available in 35 U.S. states and 25 countries worldwide. The San Francisco company added that the majority of current Drizly customers also have Uber accounts.

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5science

Raw Oysters May Have Sickened 200 in Southern California, Officials Say

Gastrointestinal illnesses potentially linked to raw oysters sickened nearly 200 people, according to health officials in Southern California, who urged residents to take extra precautions with shellfish. The illnesses, recorded in Los Angeles County and San Diego, may be associated with oysters imported from a specific harvest in northwest Mexico. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said in a statement on Wednesday that there were “more than 150 suspected local cases of gastrointestinal illness linked to the consumption of raw oysters, likely caused by norovirus.” Officials there warned people to ask restaurants about where they sourced their oysters from, and to avoid eating oysters from Laguna De Guerrero Negro and Laguna Manuela in Baja California, Mexico, and from Bahia Salina in Sonora, Mexico. The department said it was still working to confirm the source of the illness.

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6sports

Bills vs. Steelers: Live stream, how to watch AFC Wild Card game

The Wild Card round continues Monday as the AFC East champion Bills begin their fifth straight playoff run with a date against the Steelers. Pittsburgh (10-7) will travel to western New York to visit Josh Allen and the Bills (11-6); kickoff is slated for 4:30 p.m. ET. The matchup was originally scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m., but the NFL announced the change Saturday due to severe weather forecast for the area. The Bills are 10-point favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, with the total set at 36.5 points. The game will air on CBS for those who have cable. Fans looking to watch this NFL game can do so for free by using FuboTV or DirecTV Stream, which both offer a free trial and RedZone. SlingTV has promotional offers available, and NFL+ airs all local market games. Through the end of 2023, fuboTV is also offering $20 off the first two months of subscription (in addition to the 7-day free trial). It can also be streamed on Paramount Plus. BET ANYTHING GET $250 BONUS ESPN BET CLAIM OFFER MASS 21+ and present in MA, NJ, PA, VA, MD, WV, TN, LA, KS, KY, CO, AZ, IL, IA, IN, OH, MI. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-Gambler. Who: Pittsburgh Steelers @ Buffalo Bills (CBS) When: Monday, Jan. 14 — 4:30 p.m. EST Where: Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, NY Stream: fuboTV (free trial + $20 off your first 2 months); or Sling; DirecTV Stream or NFL+ Tickets: StubHub and *VividSeats *New customers who purchase tickets through VividSeats can get $20 off a $200+ ticket order by using the promo code MassLive20 at checkout.* Gear: Shop around for jerseys, shirts, hats, hoodies and more at Fanatics.com Sports Betting Promos: NFL fans can wager online on Massachusetts sports betting with enticing promo codes from top online sportsbooks. Use the FanDuel Massachusetts promo code and the DraftKings Massachusetts promo code for massive new user bonuses. RELATED CONTENT: ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Let’s dispense with predictions, because enough people — Buffalo Bills fans included — already have been proven wrong by a team that has defied the odds and the eye test by earning a playoff berth, never mind the AFC’s No. 2 seed. All it takes for proof is the montage of national media naysayers spliced together in a 49-second video the team posted Monday on X, formerly known as Twitter, under the heading: “You know we keep receipts.” The clip features enough cold takes to fill a walk-in freezer at any of Buffalo’s renowned wing establishments. As things stand, Buffalo (11-6) appears just as capable of getting knocked out by Pittsburgh (10-7) on Monday in the opening round of the playoffs as it does winning the Super Bowl in Las Vegas next month. For everything that’s gone against them this season — injuries, turnovers, last-minute gaffes — the Bills are the hottest team entering the postseason. They’ve won five straight games, are one of three teams to win six of their last seven and are 5-1 against teams in the playoff field. On the downside, Buffalo did split games against the seven-win Jets and four-win Patriots. Rather than knock the Bills for their flaws and deficiencies on display through a maddening roller coaster of a season, it might be better perhaps to accept Josh Allen & Co. as a sum greater than their parts. “This team is special,” safety Micah Hyde said after Buffalo clinched its fourth consecutive AFC East title with a 21-14 season-ending win at Miami. “When our backs were against the wall at 6-6, we had a lot of talks and a lot of meetings to try to get that spark going. Somehow, some way, we found a way.” All of the ups and downs were evident in how the Bills rallied from a 14-7 fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Dolphins. Allen put aside a three-turnover outing to cap a eight-play, 74-yard drive with a go-ahead 5-yard touchdown pass to Dawson Knox. The quarterback finished the season leading the league with 44 touchdowns (29 passing/15 rushing) and ranking 32nd with 18 interceptions. An already depleted defense overcame losing linebacker Tyrel Dodson and cornerback Rasul Douglas to injuries by limiting Miami to three first downs in the second half, forcing four consecutive punts and ending the game with Taylor Rapp intercepting Tua Tagovailoa. And Buffalo’s special teams, which cost the Bills wins against the Jets and Denver this season, sparked the comeback with Deonte Harty setting a franchise record by returning a punt 96 yards for a touchdown. Harty was most recently remembered for a fumble at the Buffalo 27 that led to the Los Angeles Chargers going up 10-0 in the Bills’ eventual 24-22 win two weeks ago. A team that opened the season 2-6 in outings decided by seven points or fewer is now 6-6 in that category. Allen, meantime, was 3-5 through Week 10 in games in which he committed a turnover and is 5-1 since. Rather than get weighed down by their mistakes and shortcomings, the Bills have found ways to overcome them, which could well be the most valuable lesson for any team entering the postseason. “At the end of the day, this is fun, this is cool. I’d never say no to winning a division,” Allen said, before adding a dose of perspective. “But the only thing that it solidifies is a home game and one more game.” Allen was celebrating the victory at Miami in front of a large crowd of Bills fans when receiver Stefon Diggs came over, cupped his hand and whispered in the quarterback’s ear, saying, “Four more.” WHAT’S WORKING A defense that’s limited its past four opponents to go a combined 17 of 47 on third down, convert 64 first downs and gain an average of 259 yards per outing. WHAT NEEDS HELP Red-zone production. Buffalo came away with no points on three of five drives inside the Dolphins 20, with two TDs, two turnovers and the clock running out when Ty Johnson was stopped at the 1 on the final play before halftime. STOCK UP WR Khalil Shakir continues establishing himself as Buffalo’s No. 2 threat with six catches for a team-leading 105 yards. The second-year player has 20 catches for 353 yards in his past seven outings. STOCK DOWN RB James Cook had a catch go through his hands in the end zone on Buffalo’s final drive of the first half, which ended with no points. INJURIES Coach Sean McDermott had no updates on the players hurt against Miami: Douglas (knee), Dodson (shoulder), Johnson (concussion) and WR Gabe Davis (knee). KEY NUMBERS 4-5 — Bills’ playoff record under McDermott. NEXT STEPS Host the seventh-seeded Steelers on Monday. Buffalo is 3-1 in its past four meetings dating to 2019 and 12-17 overall. The Bills are 1-2 in the playoffs against Pittsburgh, with the Steelers winning the most recent meeting, 40-21, on Jan. 6, 1996.

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1crime

FAA to investigate green laser that illuminated Jetblue flight in Boston

Authorities are investigating an incident where two Jetblue flights were illuminated by a laser around on Thursday morning. The FAA says Jetblue flights 494 and 972 were illuminated by a a green laser at around 5:40 a.m. near Boston. No injuries were reported after the incidents. Pilots reported 9,500 laser strikes to the FAA in 2022. 278 pilots have reported injuries from lasers to the FAA since 2010. Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters. People who use those lasers face fines up to $11,000 per violation and $30,800 for multiple incidents.

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6sports

Tuskegee vs. Alabama State How to watch college football

This year marks the 99th Turkey Day Classic, featuring Tuskegee and Alabama State, two of the most storied football programs among HBCU (historically Black colleges and universities). The two schools recently signed an agreement to renew the rivalry for the next three seasons. Both schools are coming off losses in their conference finals, but this is a historic rivalry and usually a compelling matchup. Tuskegee is 39-32-1 all-time against Alabama State. Fans looking to watch this college football game can do so with ESPN+. ESPN+ plans are $9.99 a month or $12.99 a month if you bundle with Hulu and Disney+. Who: Tuskegee vs. Alabama State When: Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023, 3 p.m ET Where: Hornet Stadium, Montgomery, AL Stream: ESPN+. ESPN+ plans are $9.99 a month or $12.99 a month if you bundle with Hulu and Disney+. Tickets: StubHub and *VividSeats *New customers who purchase tickets through VividSeats can get $20 off a $200+ ticket order by using the promo code MassLive20 at checkout.* Gear: Shop around at Fanatics for jerseys, hats, polos, sneakers, shirts and more Sports Betting Promos: Football fans can wager online on Massachusetts sports betting with enticing promo codes from top online sportsbooks. Use the FanDuel Massachusetts promo code and the DraftKings Massachusetts promo code for massive new user bonuses. RELATED CONTENT: Tuskegee (7-3) and Alabama State (6-4) have split their last 10 meetings, though Alabama State has won the last three head-to-head matchups. The teams didn’t meet last season. ASU quarterback Damon Stewart is a player to watch. He threw for 372 yards and two touchdowns in a losing effort against Prairie View A&M recently. The Associated Press contributed to this article

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0business

Mass. State Lottery winner: $100,000 prize sold on Cape Cod

Two $100,000 winning lottery tickets were claimed in Massachusetts on Wednesday and one of those prizes was sold at a shop on Cape Cod. The $100,000 prize sold on the Cape was from the lottery’s scratch ticket game called “300X,” which costs $30 per ticket to play. That winning ticket was sold in Harwich Port from a store called Value Mart. The other $100,000 prize claimed on Dec. 27, was from the Massachusetts State Lottery’s scratch ticket game called “Millions.” The winning ticket was sold in Auburn from Kane Shell Foodmart. Overall, there were at least 667 lottery prizes worth $600 or more won or claimed in Massachusetts on Wednesday, including nine in Springfield and 19 in Worcester. The Massachusetts State Lottery releases a full list of all the winning tickets each day. The list only includes winning tickets worth more than $600. The two largest lottery prizes won in the state of Massachusetts so far in 2023 were $33 million and $31 million Mega Millions jackpot prizes. The tickets were each sold a week apart. The $33 million ticket for the Tuesday, Jan. 24 drawing was purchased from a Stop & Shop in Belchertown. The winner came forward to claim the prize on March 1 through the Skylark Group Trust. The $31 million Mega Millions jackpot ticket was won on Jan. 31. The winning ticket was bought in Woburn from a Gibbs gas station, and the winner claimed the prize on March 8 through S & L Trust.

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4politics

Vivek Ramaswamy ends presidential bid following Iowa caucuses

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has suspended his campaign and is throwing his support behind former President Trump after falling short at Monday's Iowa Caucuses, Fox News Digital has confirmed. Ramaswamy earned roughly 8% support among caucusgoers, trailing behind both Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley finishing at second and third each at roughly 20% while Trump shattered contested caucus records earning more than 50% of the vote. Ramaswamy, who entered the race in February of last year with virtually zero name recognition, outlasted several big-name Republicans including former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and former Vice President Mike Pence. TRUMP WINS IOWA, FOX NEWS DECISION DESK PREDICTS DESANTIS WILL TAKE SECOND PLACE A big focus of his campaign was restoring America's identity and his call to demolish the bureaucratic state by dramatically cutting the size of federal government. The 38-year-old also argued that Republicans needed to elect a candidate with "fresh legs" in an attempt to draw contrast between himself and 77-year-old Trump, who he had regularly declared the "greatest president" of his lifetime. While the Iowa caucuses didn't go his way, it wasn't because Ramaswamy didn't put the effort in. His campaign touted that he had completed the "Full Grassley" twice, meaning he had visited all of Iowa's 99 counties at least two times. And he held more campaign events than any other candidate running in the Hawkeye State. Ramaswamy, a multimillionaire, largely funded his own campaign. Even Trump himself appeared to be threatened by Ramaswamy in the late stages of the race, attacking him on Truth Social within days of the Iowa Caucuses. VIVEK RAMASWAMY WITHHOLDS ‘FRIENDLY FIRE’ AFTER TRUMP ATTACK: ‘I’M NOT GOING TO CRITICIZE HIM' The biotech entrepreneur began earning attention in conservative circles with the release of his 2021 book "Woke, Inc.," which put a spotlight on how identity politics and social justice movements have plagued corporations. But he started becoming a household name for his bombastic performances at the Republican debates, sparring with several of the establishment-friendly GOP candidates, especially Haley, who he had branded as "corrupt" on a notepad he held up in what quickly became a meme on social media. RAMASWAMY URGES SUPREME COURT TO OVERTURN COLORADO DECISION, FILES AMICUS BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF TRUMP Ramaswamy's rise in the polls throughout 2023 may be credited to his embrace of media appearances, rarely saying no to an invitation regardless of the size of the platform and how adversary the outlet, while other candidates were more cautious when it came to granting interviews. The young political outsider was widely praised for how he would engage with hostile attendees at campaign events who would confront him on issues like abortion, climate change and trans issues, often becoming viral moments with Ramaswamy being heralded as an effective communicator. He was also cheered on by the conservative base for his combative exchanges with members of the legacy media. Critics hit Ramaswamy for constantly defending Trump amid his legal woes and showering him with praise throughout his candidacy, so much so that Ramaswamy was accused of being a de facto Trump surrogate in the race. He faced accusations of being a flip-flopper on various issues like his views of Jan. 6. Ramaswamy was also heavily targeted by GOP rivals for his foreign policy positions during the debates. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Ramaswamy was frequently joined on the campaign trail by his surgeon wife Apoorva and their two young boys. He often spoke about how his Hindu faith was aligned with the values of Evangelical Christian voters in the state. While his White House aspirations were cut short in 2024, many believe Ramaswamy has a long future in conservative politics, with some thinking he will land a spot in Trump's cabinet and others predicting another presidential bid in the not too distant future.

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1crime

Police: Shoplifting suspect nearly ran over Kingston officer, sideswiped vehicle before fleeing scene - Boston News, Weather, Sports

KINGSTON, MASS. (WHDH) - A shoplifting suspect nearly ran over a Kingston plainclothes officer while fleeing the scene of a Lowe’s home improvement store on Friday, according to Kingston police. The plainclothes officer was at the Lowe’s home improvement store on William Gould Way when he allegedly spotted a robbery in progress. The officer drew his gun and attempted to apprehend the suspect, who allegedly resisted arrest and fled the scene in a white SUV. A Kingston police spokesperson told 7NEWs the officer drew his gun because the suspect allegedly threatened him with a weapon. While fleeing the scene, the suspect allegedly crashed into an uninvolved vehicle before nearly running over the officer. The officer was not injured during the incident. Kingston police say they believe they have identified the suspect and they have probable cause to charge them with felony charges of larceny and assault in connection with the incident. No arrests have been made at this time and the incident remains under investigation. No additional information was immediately available. This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates. (Copyright (c) 2023 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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4politics

House Passes Defense Bill, Clearing It for Biden

The House on Thursday overwhelmingly passed an $886 billion defense bill, clearing the measure for President Biden after pushing past a revolt from the far right over the exclusion of restrictions they had sought to abortion access, transgender care, and racial diversity and inclusion policies at the Pentagon. The 310-to-118 vote reflected the bipartisan nature of the bill, which earned the support of a majority of Democrats and Republicans despite the vocal opposition of hard-liners, who staged a last-ditch rebellion on the House floor to try to block its passage. Mr. Biden is expected to sign the measure into law, maintaining Washington’s six-decade streak of approving military policy legislation on an annual basis. This year’s defense bill authorizes a 5.2 percent pay increase for service members and civilian employees of the Pentagon. It also invests in a variety of measures to improve competition with Russia and China, including an expansion of regional partnerships in Europe and the Indo-Pacific, development of hypersonic weapons and upgrades to the nuclear arsenal. The bill sets up a submarine deal at the heart of a new security partnership with Britain and Australia known as AUKUS, and directs hundreds of millions of dollars toward sending weapons to Ukraine and Israel. It does not settle the greater question of whether Congress will approve tens of billions of dollars in emergency funds for the two countries’ war efforts as part of a $110.5 billion spending bill that has stalled in Congress, amid a dispute between Republicans and Democrats about attaching measures to crack down on migration across the U.S. border with Mexico.