Datasets:

Kevinger

/

hub-report-dataset

like 0

66adbaf7c98df2cb9eb2d5364ab7157d

Opinion | The DeSantis Campaign Is Revealing What Republican Voters Really Want

If Ron DeSantis surprises in Iowa and beyond, if he recovers from his long polling swoon and wins the Republican nomination, it will represent the triumph of a simple, intuitive, but possibly mistaken idea: That voters should be taken at their word about what they actually want from their leaders. It was always clear, going into 2024, that a large minority of the Republican primary electorate would vote for Donald Trump no matter what — including, in the event of his untimely passing, for the former president’s reanimated corpse or his A.I. simulation. A smaller bloc strongly preferred a pre-Trump and un-Trump-like Republican; this has become the Nikki Haley constituency. This left a crucial middle bloc, maybe 40 percent of the party in my own guesstimation, that was Trump-friendly but also seemingly persuadable and open to another choice. These were those Republicans who mostly hadn’t voted for Trump in the early primaries in 2016, who had regarded him as the lesser of two evils during his tilt with Hillary Clinton, but who had gradually become more authentically favorable toward him over the course of his presidency — because of the judges he appointed, because of the strength of the economy, because they reacted against the hysteria of his liberal opponents, or just because of the alchemy of partisan identification. I talked to a lot of these kind of Republicans between 2016 and 2020 — not a perfectly representative sample, probably weighted too heavily toward Uber drivers and Catholic lawyer dads, but still enough to recognize a set of familiar refrains. These voters liked Trump’s policies more than his personality. They didn’t like some of his tweets and insults, so they mostly just tuned them out. They thought that he had the measure of liberals in a way that prior Republicans had not, that his take-no-prisoners style was suited to the scale of liberal media bias and progressive cultural hegemony. But they acknowledged that he didn’t always seem entirely in charge of his own administration, fully competent in the day-to-day running of the government.

1d7f47c5ca0a5f982aea8064335ce342

Musks Bombshell Warning to Advertisers, and Other Summit Highlights

But over a 90-minute conversation, Musk touched on much more, including what drives him, his fears about artificial intelligence and more. “Don’t advertise.” Musk accused advertisers of trying to “blackmail” him over his remarks. (Bob Iger, Disney’s C.E.O., had said earlier that being associated with X and Musk was “not a positive” for his company.) After directing expletives at those businesses, Musk then cheekily added, “Hi, Bob, if you’re in the audience.” Linda Yaccarino, X’s C.E.O. whom Musk hired to win back advertisers (and who was at the summit), later posted a more conciliatory message. “Do you want the best car, or do you not want the best car?” Whether people love Musk or hate him, the mogul boasted about the capabilities of Tesla vehicles and SpaceX rockets. “A philosophy of curiosity.” Pressed on what drives him, Musk turned contemplative, speaking at length about a difficult childhood and how he has grappled with an existential crisis he first felt at age 12. His answer: Ensure humanity reaches the stars and settles other planets, hence his work at SpaceX. “If you’re a single-planet civilization,” he said, “something will happen to that planet, and you will die.” “I’m quite concerned that there’s some dangerous element of A.I. that they’ve discovered.” Asked about the recent leadership shake-up at OpenAI, which he co-founded before leaving in 2019, Musk said that he was worried about the speed at which it had been pushing innovation. He predicted that the technology could reach the point of problem-solving like the human brain — so-called artificial general intelligence — in less than three years. (Jensen Huang, the C.E.O. of the A.I. chipmaker Nvidia, reckoned that milestone would take at least a decade.) “I think I would not vote for [President] Biden.” Musk, who has turned politically conservative in recent years, criticized the president for snubbing Tesla in the company’s green-energy initiatives, despite its leadership in electric vehicles. The billionaire also said that liberals tended to embrace censorship now, anathema to the self-described free speech “absolutist.” But when asked if he would then vote for Donald Trump, Biden’s likely Republican opponent, Musk demurred, saying only, “this is definitely a difficult choice.” Watch the whole interview, and all the others, here… and read the full coverage here. Image HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING Henry Kissinger dies at 100. One of America’s most powerful diplomats in recent memory, he helped reshape the world order during the Cold War, including by normalizing U.S. relations with China, brokering détente with the Soviet Union and negotiating the end of the Vietnam War. Kissinger was alternately lauded for his accomplishments and castigated for an approach that abandoned American values when deemed necessary. The U.A.W. unveils its plan to organize nonunionized automakers. The United Automobile Workers union said it was courting potential union recruits at more than a dozen companies, including Tesla, Toyota and Volkswagen, which together employ more than 150,000 workers. Separately, G.M. will cut spending at its Cruise subsidiary after pausing operations there amid concerns about the safety of its autonomous vehicles. Disney adds two directors as activist investors circle. James Gorman, the outgoing C.E.O. of Morgan Stanley, and Jeremy Darroch, the former head of the British media company Sky, are joining the Disney board ahead of an expected fight with the financier Nelson Peltz. Disney said that Gorman would help with C.E.O. succession planning, a concern of Peltz’s.

ac078ec1efce613f2cbff552f21a76cc

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.

95893c42614df5b28d7a404c337caa59

Boston man arrested in connection with Worcester Caribbean Festival shooting

A second man was arrested in connection with a shooting in August at the end of the Worcester Caribbean Festival, which sent two people to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Worcester police announced Tuesday. In a statement on Facebook, Worcester police said Chequan Griswold, 24, of Boston, was arrested on Dec. 29 in Boston and charged with armed assault with intent to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (firearm), assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (firearm), carrying a firearm without an FID/LTC, carrying a loaded firearm without an LTC, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and discharging a firearm in with 500 feet of a dwelling. Read more: Worcester Caribbean American Carnival joyful celebration of culture prior to nearby shooting The shooting happened on Aug. 27 near Institute Park, where the sound of gunshots ended the festival an hour early. Police previously said they believed the shooting stemmed from a dispute on Boynton Street near the intersection of Salisbury Street outside of Institute Park, but that the two victims were bystanders and not involved in the dispute. The victims, a 15-year-old and a 23-year-old, were shot in close proximity to the event and taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. A few weeks later, Worcester police announced the arrest of Omar Molina on Sept. 13. He was charged with armed assault with intent to murder, carrying a loaded firearm without an LTC (second or subsequent offense), and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling. Prosecutors during his arrangement said Molina fired a gun four times in response to a shot fired at him. Molina pled not guilty. “We were so excited to see everyone out there, everyone celebrating with us,” Worcester Caribbean American Carnival Association President Jennifer Gaskin told MassLive in August. “And we just wish that it could have concluded on a better note, but we will continue to work with the city and our community to address what occurred and hopefully put measures in place to better support the community to prevent future acts of violence.”

d8e3f229133aaf18898cf9d3da764595

17-year-old female ejected from rollover crash in Hingham

A 17-year-old female was ejected from her car during a rollover crash Wednesday night, Hingham police said. Hingham police went to the crash on George Washington Boulevard in front of the Hingham District Courthouse just after 8 p.m. on Wednesday, according to a press release from the Hingham Police Department. Police said the driver of a 2010 Hyundai Sonata was lying on the road when they arrived and the car was overturned. An investigation found the driver was heading northbound when she swerved into southbound lanes, over the sidewalk, off the road and into a large rock and trees, police said. Read more: Seven people hospitalized in serious rollover crash in Berlin Wednesday night The car proceeded to roll over and land in the southbound lanes. There were no passengers and no other cars were involved, police said. The driver was sent to South Shore Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Police said the unidentified teen wasn’t wearing a seat belt and it had been latched behind the driver’s seat to potentially avoid the seat belt warning system, police said. She was issued a citation for negligent operation, marked lanes violation, speeding and seat belt violation, according to police.

0768870b7410875e1a6dd0bedbbc8bc6

Opinion | Trump Dreams of Economic Disaster

Indeed, housing advocates say the Somerville City Council’s vote last month makes it the first city in the region to fully legalize Boston’s famous stacked housing type, which define dense neighborhoods across the region’s inner ring of suburbs. And yet their ubiquity hides a baffling fact: a new triple-decker hasn’t been fully legal to build in the city — or across much of Greater Boston — in decades, following widespread bans of their construction. Now, prodded by a state law aimed at addressing Massachusetts’ housing crisis, Somerville recently removed key restrictions on triple-deckers, changes officials hope will lead to construction of the beloved structures. Triple-deckers are a cornerstone of Somerville. From Winter Hill to Davis Square, you’ll find the three-story, three-unit homes sprinkled in between cozy two-families and traditional single-family houses everywhere. Advertisement “I love triple-deckers,” said Matthew McLaughlin, a Somerville city councilor who led the effort. “We’re allowing more housing, but we’re also allowing a historical structure, a culturally significant structure, to be built again.” While it is not clear how many new triple-deckers will sprout from the rules, if many at all, the vote represents an important moment for the region, which has had a complicated relationship with the structures ever since they were banned in most cities and towns in the early 1900s amid the anti-immigrant movement. Somerville’s changes are in line with a national trend in which cities and states are looking to encourage more moderate-density housing by relaxing zoning rules. The new rules are fairly straightforward: Any three-unit building is now legal citywide by right, without requiring special approval from city zoning boards, and some of the old rules that made them difficult to build are gone. The city technically re-legalized triple deckers during a zoning overhaul in 2019, but property owners could only build a triple-decker if it was next to an existing one, and if they made one of its three units income-restricted. A few city councilors at the time felt the restrictions, especially the ones requiring affordability, were important, said McLaughlin. Advertisement But since that rule passed, just three people pulled permits to build one of the structures. All three eventually backed away from the projects. A driving force behind the recent change, councilors said, was the state’s MBTA Communities law, which requires cities and towns to zone for more housing near transit. While suburbs like Newton and Milton have been embroiled in heated fights over whether, and how, to comply with the law, Somerville, an already densely populated city, saw relatively little controversy over its vote. The law’s end-of-year deadline to submit new zoning to the state was the extra push Somerville needed to get the new rules across the finish line, officials said. “We thought this approach just made sense,” said City Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen. “These new rules essentially just legalize what Somerville already looks like.” Some councilors expect property owners may take advantage of the rules to tack a third unit onto existing two-family buildings. Triple-deckers on Albion Street in Somerville. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff Not everyone supported the change. At city council meetings in recent months, some residents were concerned that the structures would eat up open space in the city or lead to overcrowding in already-dense neighborhoods. More than anything, critics were concerned about the council removing the affordability requirement. Somerville, a previously working class city, has transformed into one of the most expensive places to live in Massachusetts. The median rent for a one-bedroom apartment there is $2,500, according to Zillow. Advertisement Some residents thought allowing buildings without any affordable units would worsen the problem, with developers building only at expensive rates. But supporters of the change hope any new units, regardless of their price, will help boost the city’s housing supply and slow skyrocketing costs. “We certainly heard what some folks were saying, but we tried the affordability requirement, and they weren’t getting built,” said Ewen-Campen. “This was the best way to give the city a shot at building some triple-deckers again.” Somerville’s new rules could amount to something of an experiment, testing whether the structures can be resurrected as the beacon of affordability they once were. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, triple-deckers were built in abundance across the region. They represented a unique opportunity for working class families. The buildings were relatively dense and cheap to build, so families, often immigrant families, purchased the structures as multi-generational homes or to rent the other units for extra income. A view of a triple decker on Clarendon Ave. in Somerville. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff Eventually, state lawmakers passed the Tenement Act in 1912, a local option rule to ban the structures with roots in the anti-immigrant movement, and many cities and towns adopted it in quick succession. And in the decades to follow, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s, cities and towns tightened their zoning rules, and have been adding on layers ever since, making it all but impossible to build the triple-decker, said Jeff Byrnes, a member of the pro-housing group Somerville YIMBY (which stands for Yes In My Backyard). Advertisement The structures, though, have stood the test of time. In many neighborhoods, they are some of what housing advocates call the last “naturally occurring affordable housing,” which rent below market rates without government subsidies. Odds are the new three-story structures won’t be nearly as affordable as their older counterparts, Byrnes said, because construction costs have become exorbitant and market rents are sky high. But the units might rent for cheaper than single-family homes and some new-construction apartments and condominiums. “The idea is that we’re hoping to see more of these structures that so many people love,” said Byrnes. “They’re not going to be naturally affordable anymore, but it is going to mean more homes across the city, even if it is a modest number.” Andrew Brinker can be reached at andrew.brinker@globe.com. Follow him @andrewnbrinker.

74ef4bce62a5b495108ae55bf34cbc02

Edgar Allan Poe speakeasy combines chilling spirits, stories at Boston theater

An Edgar Allan Poe speakeasy is combining spirits and stories from the famous author for six days in Boston. Guests can step back in time and immerse themselves in the world of the Boston-born writer as the pop-up has showings from Tuesday, Nov. 28 until Sunday, Dec. 3. The experience combines cocktails inspired by Poe’s life and tales, like the pale blue eye tequila drink inspired by “The Tell-Tale Heart,” or the brandy milk punch that was said to be the author’s drink of choice. Guests sip on the spirits while watching dramatic reenactments of Poe’s most popular works including “The Black Cat” and “The Raven.” “The Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy is a chilling cocktail experience in Boston that brings four of his stories off the page and onto the stage as told through the Poe Historians while pairing them with four classic cocktails,” the event’s page reads. “Don’t miss your chance to bring Poe’s tales to life, one sip at a time.” The speakeasy is located at the Huntington Theatre, located at 264 Huntington Ave. The experience lasts between 75 and 90 minutes. Tickets are completely sold out.

e26399c8566d0c41bd03025d3e13a8f8

Bluetooth stack modifications to improve audio quality on headphones without AAC, aptX, or LDAC codecs

These artworks are connecting the Boston community From "MassQing" to a volunteer-run theater, local communities are brought together by art Share Copy Link Copy THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU THINK. I AM NOT EXPERIMENTING WITH FACE PAINT FOR BRAZILIAN CARNIVAL IN FACT, THIS ISN’T REALLY FACE PAINTING AT ALL. I DON’T TAKE REQUESTS. IT’S A NEW ART FORM CALLED MASKING, AS PERFORMED BY JAMAICA PLAIN ARTIST DANIEL CALLAHAN. I JUST START SEEING THINGS. THINK OF IT AS A CONVERSATION BETWEEN ARTIST AND SUBJECT. CALLAHAN INTERPRETS THROUGH BRUSHSTROKES TO REVEAL SOMETHING ABOUT WHO I AM. AT THIS MOMENT, I CAN TELL YOU EXACTLY HOW IT’S INFLUENCING YOUR YOUR MASK. WE’LL FIND OUT. YEAH, WE WILL FIND OUT BEFORE WE SEE HOW THIS ENDS UP, LET’S REWIND TO WHEN DANIEL CALLAHAN, THE HIP HOP ARTIST, WAS LIVING IN CALIFORNIA AND HAD A NOVEL IDEA FOR AN EVENT. ART WE WANTED TO THROW A BALL AND WE DIDN’T WANT TO DO THE VICTORIAN THING WHERE PEOPLE CAME WITH MASKS ON BECAUSE WE FELT LIKE THAT WAS HIDING PEOPLE. SO WE DECIDED WE WOULD PAINT ON PEOPLE’S FACES INSTEAD, DESIGNS WERE IMPROVISED TO CELEBRATE THE PARTICIPANTS DIVERSITY AND PERSONAL STORIES. AND SO IT BECAME THIS INCREDIBLE CULTURAL CELEBRATION THAT WE CALLED THE MASK BALL. AND THAT’S WHERE I KIND OF FELL INTO THE MASK WORK, WHICH WAS REALLY KIND OF CHANGED MY LIFE SINCE THEN. IT WAS ABOUT THIS TIME THAT CALLAHAN FOUND HIMSELF AT A LOW POINT. HIS MUSIC CAREER STALLED AND HE RETURNED HOME TO BOSTON, WHERE HE BEGAN A DAILY SELF MASKING RITUAL FOR INSPIRATION. WHAT DID THE MASKING PROCESS REVEAL ABOUT YOURSELF? THE BEAUTIFUL THING ABOUT MASKING IS IT ALLOWS YOU TO SEE YOURSELF IN A DIFFERENT WAY. YOU KNOW IT’S STILL YOU, BUT YOU LOOK DRASTICALLY DIFFERENT WHEN YOUR FACE IS COVERED WITH PAINT. AND SO IT ALLOWS YOU TO SEE DIFFERENT POSSIBLE REALITIES OF WHO YOU COULD BE AND WHAT HE SAW WAS THE POSSIBILITIES WERE LIMITLESS. AT FIRST. IT WAS A FORM OF SELF THERAPY, AND THEN IT REALLY BECAME A WAY FOR ME TO CONNECT WITH OTHER PEOPLE. CALLAHAN HAS NOW MASKED PEOPLE FROM AROUND THE WORLD ON TOP OF RUNNING LOCAL WORKSHOPS, WHERE HE TEACHES THE PROCESS AS THE ART OF TRANSFORMING FACES AND MINDS. IT’S A WAY OF US SEEING EACH OTHER AS WORKS OF ART, AS BEAUTIFUL AS SOMETHING TO BE CELEBRATED, AND THEN SEEING OURSELVES DEEPER IN A DEEPER WAYS. AND FINALLY SEE MY CHANCE TO SEE MYSELF TRANSFORMED THROUGH THE WORK OF THE MASKING PIONEER HIMSELF. ALL RIGHT. WHOA. THAT. THAT IS SO COOL. IS THIS THE FACE OF A CHRONICLE REPORTER READY TO TAKE ON HER NEXT CHALLENGE? YOU REALLY GET TO DETERMINE WHAT YOUR MASK MEANS AND IF THAT’S WHAT YOU SEE, THEN THAT’S WHAT IT IS. JAMAICA PLAIN IS ALSO HOME TO THE MORE TRADITIONAL MASKS OF COMEDY AND TRAGEDY, WHICH HAVE BEEN PLAYED OUT HERE FOR MORE THAN 140 YEARS. THE FOOTLIGHT CLUB IS THE OLDEST, CONTINUOUSLY OPERATING COMMUNITY THEATER IN AMERICA. WE’VE BEEN AROUND SINCE 1877. FOR CONTEXT. WELL, TODAY’S PATRONS ARE REMINDED TO SILENCE THEIR CELL PHONES. EARLY GUESTS HERE WERE DIRECTED TO REMOVE THEIR BONNETS. YES. SO THAT THE PERSON IN FRONT OF YOU COULD ACTUALLY SEE THE PERFORMERS UP ON THE STAGE. DOUG ELIZABETH BEAN IS THE CURRENT PRESIDENT OF THE CLUB, A POSITION THAT COMES WITH LOCAL PRESTIGE BUT NO PAY. WE ARE A 100% VOLUNTEER RUN ORGANIZATION. EVERYBODY FROM OUR ACTORS IS ON STAGE TO THE PEOPLE WHO DESIGN THE SETS, THE LIGHTS, THE PROPS. IT’S A LABOR OF LOVE FOR SURE, BECAUSE THE VOLUNTEERS ARE NOT PAID. TICKET SALES COMBINED WITH GENEROUS GRANTS AND DONATIONS, CAN SUPPORT WHAT REMAINS OF VITAL ARTIST OUTLET IN THIS COMMUNITY. THERE’S SUCH A NEED FOR NONPROFESSIONAL THEATER HERE IN OUR COMMUNITIES. WE HAVE TICKET PRICES ANYWHERE FROM 22 TO 28 AND WE HAVE REALLY QUALITY PERFORMANCES HERE. FOOTLIGHT ALUM HAVE HAD VERY SUCCESSFUL CAREERS AND ONE IN PARTICULAR IS STILL SINGING THEIR PRAISES. YOU PROBABLY KNOW A LITTLE PERSON NAMED JOEY MCINTYRE. HE HE DID THEATER HERE, AS DID HIS SISTER, CAROL GALLAGHER. SHE RUNS OUR RUNS AND STARS IN OUR HOLIDAY SHOW EVERY YEAR, WHICH SHOWS AUDITIONING REGULARLY. WHO KNOWS WHEN YOU’LL FIND THE NEXT NEW KID ON THE BLOCK. WE’RE REALLY EXCITED TO SEE WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT ON OUR STAGE. IT’S GREAT. AND LIZ BEAN, NOT JUST THE PRESIDENT OF THE FOOTLIGHT CLUB, BUT A PERFORMER THERE AS WELL. YEAH, SHE SHARES WITH US THAT DURING HER VERY FIRST AUDITION SHE FELL DOING THE CHARLESTON AND BROKE HER ARM IN TWO PLACES, BUT SHE STILL GOT THE PART. I THINK THE SAYING, THOUGH, IS REALLY BREAK A LEG, NOT BREAK AN ARM. BUT IT SHOWED HER COMMITMENT. THERE YOU GO. STILL AHEA GET LOCAL BREAKING NEWS ALERTS The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox. Your Email Address Submit Privacy Notice

16885a8e6995448144c834b5c23743b7

Im Often Wide Awake at 3 A.M. How Do I Get Back to Sleep?

It’s normal to wake up a few times during the night, as the brain cycles through various stages of deeper and lighter sleep. Older people also often have to get out of bed to use the bathroom one or two times during the night. Waking up at night is usually harmless. Most people have no trouble falling back asleep and may not even remember their nighttime awakenings the next morning. But if you frequently wake up in the middle of the night and find yourself struggling to fall back asleep, there could be an underlying problem. If this occurs at least three times a week over a period of at least three months, it could be chronic insomnia, said Dr. Kannan Ramar, a sleep medicine specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and former president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Two of the primary drivers of insomnia are stress and anxiety. If you wake up and look at the clock and then start worrying about having to be rested for work the next day, paying your bills or other life stresses, it could activate your sympathetic nervous system, which controls what’s known as the fight-or-flight response. Levels of adrenaline, the so-called stress hormone, will rise, increasing your heart rate and leading to a state of heightened arousal, making it particularly difficult to ease back into sleep. “You might ask yourself, ‘Is this the same time I woke up last night? Why does this always happen?’” Dr. Ramar said. “Those thoughts are not helpful in terms of falling back asleep.”

f09987d2a14a8a13da948924aaace59c

Boys Basketball Scoreboard: Angel Castillo, Athol hold off Frontier & more

The Athol boys basketball team defeated Frontier by just two points Thursday night to remain undefeated. Behind the 50-48 win, Athol moved to 5-0 on the season.

db0b5b9cc6e567e658210204cbbb7a2c

On separate Mass. and Cass issues, Boston City Council shows unity and division

Politics On separate Mass. and Cass issues, Boston City Council shows unity and division Councilors agreed that businesses near Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard should get a tax break but disagreed over an issue related to the street cleaning there. Members of the Boston City Council during a meeting earlier this year. Pat Greenhouse/Boston Globe During Wednesday’s Boston City Council meeting, Councilor Erin Murphy brought forth two items related to Mass. and Cass, the area surrounding the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard. The first was a push for a tax break for businesses there. The second was a call to examine whether street cleaning equipment used at Mass. and Cass should also be used in other parts of the city. They were met with very different responses from her fellow councilors. Various crises affecting residents intersect at Mass. and Cass, where those struggling with homelessness, substance use, and mental health regularly gather. Mayor Michelle Wu said last week that public safety had noticeably deteriorated there recently. In the days since, officials across the city have been vocal about the best ways to decrease crime and get people the help they need. Help for businesses Business owners in the neighborhood are being negatively impacted by the situation at Mass. and Cass, Murphy said. So she filed a hearing order Wednesday to discuss offering property tax abatements to business owners in the Newmarket Area, which contains Mass. and Cass. “We know that they’re struggling, through none of their own doing, and we’ve failed them in not providing a safe environment. Many have been adversely impacted by the deteriorating conditions of the neighborhood that aren’t accurately reflected in property tax valuation, including declining public safety, cleanliness, and quality of life over a number of years,” Murphy said. Advertisement: To deal with the conditions, 65 members of the Newmarket Business Association spent $3.9 million in security costs and incurred $1.9 million in damages just in 2021, according to the order. These costs have only risen since then, and business owners recently invested $500,000 in security, including the installation of closed-circuit television cameras. To help these businesses, the city could offer a property tax abatement to the ones feeling the most negative impacts. The abatement would be an effort to compensate for increased fees, costs of doing business, and “negatively impacted quality of life,” according to the order. This idea was met with wide support by Murphy’s colleagues. Eleven councilors signed onto the order. Only Councilor Frank Baker, who was absent, did not. “They’ve put up with enough, they deserve better,” Councilor Michael Flaherty said of the businesses near Mass. and Cass. “This city needs to partner with them, and I think a call for an abatement is fair, it’s reasonable, it would be a practical solution for this body to work with the administration to bring some much-needed tax relief to the folks that have endured more than anyone can ever imagine.” Collisions over street cleaning A few minutes later, Murphy spoke about another hearing order she filed. The street cleaning equipment being used on roadways near Mass. and Cass by the city and its contractors is also being used to clean streets in other neighborhoods like Back Bay, Downtown, and Chinatown, according to the order. Advertisement: This could potentially pose a health risk to residents, Murphy said. In the order, she called for using “specialized equipment, solely designated for this area,” because of the “hazardous and infectious” materials commonly found at Mass. and Cass. There was pushback from some of Murphy’s colleagues on this topic. The Boston Public Health Commission assessed the relative risks of spreading infectious diseases by public works vehicles as “low to negligible,” Councilor Gabriela Coletta said. She acknowledged that the direct use of needles poses a higher risk of spreading infectious disease across Boston, but said that the overall harm to the public purported in Murphy’s order should not cause alarm to residents. One of the streets singled out in Murphy’s order was Atkinson Street, where overdoses are a daily occurrence. A street sweeper has not gone down Atkinson Street in seven months, Coletta said. Instead, the city uses flusher trucks that spray a cleaning solution on the street. These are used in areas such as Faneuil Hall after horses are stationed there. In addition, Coletta said that street sweepers undergo high pressure washes after every use. “I don’t take issue with my colleague looking to elevate and call for accountability as it relates to the situation happening at Mass. and Cass,” Coletta said. “I do take issue with the framing, whether intentional or unintentional, that pushes a narrative where the public is made to feel fear, unwarranted fear, for their health without due diligence done by the people they should trust most.” Advertisement: Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune said she looked forward to learning more about the topic, but urged her fellow councilors to “avoid any sort of ‘us versus them’ mentality.” Louijeune, who is Haitian-American, said that the Haitian community was unfairly targeted during the HIV crisis in “dehumanizing” ways meant to keep them separate from others. “Any time we think about having to use separate things, or having to keep things differently because of a certain population that is already facing a lot of stigma, I just want to call that out,” she said. On Wednesday evening, Murphy released a statement firing back at her colleagues for being “willing to play politics with a public health issue.” She said hearing orders are simply used to get more information about specific issues and accused others of spinning it to earn points during election season. “There’s a reason that the Boston City Council gets called a ‘clown show‘ in the media,” Murphy said in her statement. “It’s because some members would prefer to stand in the Council Chamber and lob insults rather than trying to solve problems.”

4261578ad451d7853546893f7482453d

Caught on video: Sheep escape from manger at Boston church on Christmas Eve, police say

BOSTON — Two sheep were temporarily on the lam when they escaped from a Boston church on Christmas Eve during religious festivities, police said. The black and white sheep, who were not named, were participating in a live nativity scene being set up at St. Mary’s Church when they escaped around 3 p.m. Sunday on Boston Street, police said. One white sheep was caught on cell phone video galloping on a sidewalk near Fr. Songin Way. Caught on video: Sheep escape from manger at Boston church on Christmas Eve, police say (Cody Fitzgerald) The sheep could be seen in the video walking into traffic and then strolling right past a Boston Police cruiser. Sheep escape from manger at Boston church on Christmas Eve, police say Numerous police cruisers responded to the scene to corral the sheep. Several bystanders watched as the sheep tried to avoid police. Luckily, the pair were unharmed. Caught on video: Sheep escape from manger at Boston church on Christmas Eve, police say (Cody Fitzgerald) With the help of Boston officers, the sheep were returned to the church manger before Mass began, police said. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW ©2023 Cox Media Group

792ddda0555072b697ea3b0d617429a7

Popular restaurant chain bringing 4 locations to Massachusetts for 1st time

DEDHAM, Mass. — A popular restaurant chain that specializes in Korean food is opening four locations in Massachusetts for the first time. KPOT, known for all-you-can-eat Asian hot pot and Korean barbecue, is bringing restaurants to Dedham, Malden, Methuen, and West Springfield. The Dedham location is listed at 300 Providence Highway, which is the Dedham Mall. The Malden location is coming to 7 Highland Avenue, the former home of John Brewer’s Tavern. The Methuen restaurant is opening at The Loop Shopping Mall at 90 Pleasant Street. The West Springfield spot will welcome diners at 935 Riverdale Street. According to the eatery’s website, those four locations are “coming soon.” “KPOT is a unique, hands-on, all-you-can-eat experience that merges traditional Asian hot pot with Korean BBQ flavors,” a post on the chain’s website states. “KPOT is for both the food adventurers and the social eaters. It’s about tasting the global spices and seasonings all while feeling a sense of community.” KPOT currently operates dozens of locations across the United States. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW ©2023 Cox Media Group

0a8674f9b08f6e21dcd8768042e31b34

Part of Massachusetts could get up 6 inches of snow Monday

Higher elevations in the Berkshires could see up to 6 inches of snow Monday, according to the National Weather Service. The weather service issued a winter weather advisory predicting 2 to 6 inches of snow in Berkshire County early Monday morning. But by 8 a.m., a weather service meteorologist said temperatures in the valleys were just warm enough to turn most of the precipitation to rain. This means that cities like Pittsfield and North Adams will likely get less than a half inch of snow, but higher elevations in Berkshire County could still receive several inches, he said. Even so, the City of Pittsfield declared a snow emergency Sunday evening. Parking restrictions are in effect in the city from 7 a.m. Monday through 7 a.m. Wednesday, according to officials. Residents are asked to use off-street parking during the snow emergency. If off-street parking is not available, residents can park on the odd-numbered side of the street from 7 a.m. Monday to 7 a.m. Tuesday and on the even-numbered side of the street from 7 a.m. Tuesday to 7 a.m. Wednesday, officials said. Residents can also use the McKay Street parking garage, which will be open to the public free of charge during the snow emergency, for overnight parking. The city warned that vehicles found in violation of these restrictions may be towed at the owner’s expense. Additionally, it reminded residents that sidewalks and ramps abutting their property must be cleared of snow within a day of the storm’s end. Trash and recycling collection is not expected to be impacted by the weather, officials said.

afbeed4b714fcc49b76356edc91f5e53

Opinion | A Green Glacier Is Dismantling the Great Plains

One hundred and fifty years ago on Thursday, the novelist Willa Cather was born in her grandmother’s house in Virginia. Though she drew from her Southern childhood throughout her career, plucking memories like grapes from the vine, it was the swelling prairies of Nebraska — surreal in their expanse, in their commune with the sky, in the almost tidal energy underfoot — that conjured her most enduring works, the bluestem eternal that proved her muse. “The homesteads were few and far apart; here and there a windmill gaunt against the sky, a sod house crouching in a hollow,” she wrote in “O Pioneers!,” the first in her prairie trilogy. “But the great fact was the land itself, which seemed to overwhelm the little beginnings of human society that struggled in its somber wastes.” Like so many other certainties of the 20th century, however — American hegemony, ground water, Social Security, fossil fuels — Cather’s “great fact” is now in question. North America has already destroyed more than 60 percent of its native prairie. We’ve plowed the sod, left the topsoil to blow away, traded wildflowers for row crops, switch grass for suburbs, hay meadows for Home Depots. We’ve cleaved it apart with freeways, transmission lines, irrigation canals and oil pipelines. And now the Eastern redcedar tree is hungry for what’s left.

de146ed5506efdb7f527255ce8783506

Powerball: See the winning numbers in Saturdays $620 million drawing

It’s time to grab your tickets and check to see if you’re a big winner! The Powerball lottery jackpot continues to rise after one lucky winner in California won $1.73 billion in the October 11 drawing. Is this your lucky night? Here are Saturday’s winning lottery numbers: 09-14-17-18-53, Powerball: 06, Power Play: 3X Double Play Winning Numbers 20-37-39-40-43, Powerball: 01 The estimated Powerball jackpot is $620 million. The lump sum payment before taxes would be about $312 million. The Double Play is a feature that gives players in select locations another chance to match their Powerball numbers in a separate drawing. The Double Play drawing is held following the regular drawing and has a top cash prize of $10 million. Powerball is held in 45 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The Double Play add-on feature is available for purchase in 13 lottery jurisdictions, including Pennsylvania and Michigan. A $2 ticket gives you a one in 292.2 million chance at joining the hall of Powerball jackpot champions. The drawings are held at 10:59 p.m. Eastern, Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. The deadline to purchase tickets is 9:45 p.m.

c298171370f1ca91c8fa11d8f57455f0

Eli Lilly, riding a pharma hot streak, expects to double planned employment in Boston research center

But Daniel Skovronsky, Lilly’s chief scientific and medical officer, said in an interview that the 12-story, 334,000-square-foot laboratory and office building will ultimately accommodate 500 Lilly scientists and researchers. In February 2022, Lilly said that it would increase its modest Massachusetts workforce from 120 to 250 employees when it opened the $700 million Lilly Institute for Genetic Medicine along Fort Point Channel. The Indianapolis-based company said it would move 120 scientists from Kendall Square in Cambridge to the institute and add another 130. Eli Lilly and Co., which transformed itself from a stodgy underperformer into one of the world’s hottest pharmaceutical companies, said Wednesday that the genetic medicine research center it plans to open in Boston in August will eventually employ twice as many workers as originally estimated. Advertisement The firm has roughly 200 employees in Cambridge, who would move to the institute at 15 Necco St. With new hires over the next 10 months, the institute could have as many as 300 employees when it opens, eventually growing to 500. Skovronsky, speaking during a break at the 2023 STAT Summit in Boston, said it was a no-brainer to open a genetic medicine center in Massachusetts, which boasts one of the world’s most robust biotech hubs, including many firms that focus on gene-based treatments. “It’s incumbent on us to be where the scientists are,” said Skovronsky, who also serves as Lilly’s executive vice president. “We’re here in Boston for the talent for sure.” Michael DiFiore, an analyst for Evercore ISI, agreed. “They kind of need to be where the heat is, and that’s in Boston, where there’s so much academic and startup activity going on,” DiFiore said. “You almost can’t not have a presence there if you’re serious about next-generation technology platforms.” The institute will focus on developing RNA-based medicine, gene therapies, and other treatments that address the root cause of diseases. RNA drugs use ribonucleic acid found in cells to turn genes on and off in the treatment of disease. Gene therapies replace defective genes with healthy ones to help fight illnesses. Advertisement Messenger RNA coronavirus vaccines by Moderna and Pfizer have introduced genetic medicine to the public on a wide scale. But the Lilly institute doesn’t plan to work on vaccines. Rather, it will concentrate on drugs similar to those pioneered by Cambridge biotech Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, according to Skovronsky. In 2018, Alnylam won the first approval ever of a medicine that uses RNA interference, or RNAi, to “silence” disease-causing genes. The drug, called Onpattro, treated a rare inherited disease called hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis, or hATTR, which causes multiple serious symptoms, including nerve damage. Alnylam has since persuaded drug regulators to approve four additional RNAi drugs for rare diseases. The medicines, which have annual list prices of six figures per patient, work by silencing disease-causing genes in the liver. Lilly is running clinical trials of an RNAi drug delivered to the liver to treat a fatty particle in the blood called lipoprotein(a), Skovronsky said. High levels of that particle, also known as lp(a), can dramatically raise the risk of having a heart attack or stroke at an early age. Lilly also plans to run clinical trials next year of experimental medicines that deliver the same gene-silencing technology to the brain to treat Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, he said. “One of the things we’ve been working really hard on is making these kinds of technologies work in other organs,” Skovronsky said. “It’s really hard to get drugs into the brain, but I think we’ve been making good progress.” Advertisement In addition to housing Lilly employees, the new institute will include biotech space that other companies can use, modeled after Lilly’s Gateway Labs in San Francisco. The incubator will create opportunities for collaboration with Lilly scientists and could house an additional 150 workers, Lilly said. Few pharmaceutical firms have generated more excitement lately than Lilly. By the end of the year, the 147-year-old company is expected to win approval for both its Alzheimer’s treatment donanemab and its buzzy obesity drug tirzepatide, which it already markets as Mounjaro for diabetes. Like Biogen’s recently approved Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi, donanemab removes deposits of a sticky toxic protein in the brain called beta-amyloid that is a hallmark of the disease. The Food and Drug Administration approved it in July after clinical trials showed the medicine modestly slowed cognitive decline in people with early Alzheimer’s. Donanemab generated even more impressive results than Leqembi in a recently published study of patients with early Alzheimer’s symptoms, slowing the rate of cognitive decline by about 35 percent. Based on that, donanemab is widely expected to win FDA approval for people with mild impairment. Lilly has also stirred excitement for tirzepatide, one in a wave of new drugs that have led to weight loss in patients. When Mounjaro was prescribed for people with type 2 diabetes, it helped those who were also overweight or obese lose up to nearly 15.7 percent of their body weight. Estimates for the size of the global obesity market by the end of the decade have ranged from $50 billion to $100 billion. Advertisement Lilly now boasts a staggering market value of $575 billion, the most of any big pharma company. Jonathan Saltzman can be reached at jonathan.saltzman@globe.com.

9454b6584c7aa77ed90758e7dbb03ea8

The Bostonians Wish BC a Happy Holidays With Showcase

What separates a supper club from a pop-up, aficionados say, involves distinct markers: a venue that, if not at someone’s home, is an intimate space rather than a restaurant. Diners tend to pay for the meal before they arrive, which observers say makes the experience feel less transactional. The menu is fixed (though dietary requests can sometimes be taken into account) and tends to involve a unifying story or theme, often drawing on the chef’s background. And diners, solo or in groups, are heavily encouraged to socialize. To achieve this, some supper club hosts make use of name-tags and icebreakers like pre-dinner quizzes. Others hope shared tables, or a setting odd enough to be a conversation starter, will do the trick. Dining on a Tube car On a recent Saturday evening in East London, I sat with eight strangers in a repurposed 1970s Underground train carriage as part of the three-times-a-week Tube Train supper club. As we squeezed into the carriage’s seats, and waited for the first course to arrive, we exchanged introductions and cracked transport-related jokes. By the time the third course arrived — a Peruvian-Japanese dish of cured hake — two Swedish tourists to my right and a group from Kent to my left had covered Brexit, NATO and the city’s noisiest train lines. By the final course — a sponge cake soaked in amaretto — someone had ordered a round of Negronis for the table and the conversation had turned to sibling rivalries and bad dates. “You can get to meet all kinds of people you might not meet otherwise, and just sit there for hours and talk this and that,” said Karin Kragenskjold, a psychologist from Stockholm who brought her sister to the dinner after spotting it on social media. “I really, really liked it.” She paid £67 for the night’s dinner, though drinks were separately charged.

16dbeee05827547358d2ff3d474854f3

Massachusetts braces for nor'easter, up to a foot of snow, flash freeze, power outages: Will there be space savers in Boston?

The biggest winter storm in years is nearly on our doorstep. Bay Staters are making their final preparations for this weekend’s nor’easter, as the region braces for up to 12 inches of snow and possible power outages. A “Winter Storm Warning” has been issued for much of Massachusetts — the northeastern, central and western areas — from Saturday evening to Sunday night. “That’s where our confidence is pretty high for 6 to 12 inches of snow,” Kyle Pederson, meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s office, told the Herald after NWS Boston issued the warning on Friday. A “Winter Storm Watch” has been issued for the Boston to Providence corridor. “That’s where we have medium confidence in 6-plus inches,” Pederson said. “There’s a chance for rain mixing in there.” Forecasters are warning that travel will be hazardous from Saturday evening to Sunday night. Snow is expected to overspread the “Winter Storm Warning” region from west to east roughly between 5 and 9 p.m. on Saturday. The snow will become heavy and fall at 1 to 2 inches per hour for a time Saturday night. Conditions should deteriorate quickly. There may be a lull in the snow for a time early Sunday, but a second round of steady snow will redevelop later Sunday morning into Sunday afternoon. The snow should finally come to an end early Sunday evening. “Just take the time to prepare on Saturday, and hunker down if you can,” Pederson said. “Don’t travel if you don’t need to on Sunday.” When it comes to eastern Massachusetts, where meteorologists predict that heavier wet snow will fall, there will likely be a flash freeze Sunday afternoon. Temps in the lower to middle 30s early Sunday will quickly drop into the 20s Sunday afternoon, resulting in a flash freeze and difficult travel. “Wet roadways can freeze over,” Pederson said. “Travel will definitely be tough with the icy roads.” Wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph are expected in the interior, and 45 to 55 mph across Cape Cod and the Islands. Power outages will be more likely along the coast, and where the heavy, slushy, wet snow falls. “Farther north and west, the snow should be lighter and fluffy, so power outages should not be as big of an issue,” Pederson said. Eversource said the power company will have crews on standby this weekend to respond to any damage, and National Grid said they’re prepared for the winter storm. No snow emergency is planned for the city of Boston, so it will be typical parking rules — and not a space saver situation. “This has the potential to be a real storm for the city, but it does not look like it’s going be at the level of accumulation, at least as currently forecasted, where we would be concerned about having to close down streets or do a sort of blizzard-scale operation,” Jascha Franklin-Hodge, chief of streets for the city of Boston, said during a storm prep press conference on Friday. “Our goal will just be to keep on top of the storm as it is happening, to keep streets clear and passable,” he said, later adding. “When there is weather like this, we ask that people use caution if they’re going out, that they drive carefully. Even with a slushy storm, it can be slippery, and so we just want everybody to be safe as we go about our business with keeping the streets open.” Gov. Maura Healey on Friday was reminding residents to plan ahead and take care when traveling on the roads. It’s important that drivers clear snow and ice from their vehicles, and that motorists don’t crowd the plow or maintenance vehicles. “Recognizing that we’re no strangers to snowy winters, I’m asking Massachusetts residents to take steps to protect yourselves and your loved ones by making sure your homes stay safely heated and traveling on roads with extra care,” Healey said in a statement. “Please also take some time to check in on your neighbors to make sure everyone stays warm and safe.”

381b93c91ef01fe6da09c1ecc4a83f1f

Harvard student becomes 1st active-duty U.S. Air Force officer to win Miss America title

U.S. Air Force Second Lt. Madison Marsh has a new title: Miss America 2024. Marsh, a graduate student at Harvard University, is the first active-duty service member to win the national competition, CBS News reported, citing the the Air Force. Marsh, who was crowned Miss Colorado in 2023, graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2023 with a degree in physics, according to her official Miss Colorado biography. She represented the Rocky Mountain State in the national pageant on Sunday night, according to published reports. According to her biography, Marsh currently is a graduate intern at the Harvard Medical School, where where she’s studying how to utilize artificial intelligence to detect pancreatic cancer. It’s an effort that has family ties. In 2018, following her mother’s death from pancreatic cancer, Marsh founded the Whitney Marsh Foundation in her memory. The foundation has since raised more than a quarter-million dollars, according to her biography. Marsh, who was awarded a Truman Scholarship, is pursuing a master’s degree in public policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School, according to her biography. Last month, Marsh told fellow airmen at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada that she was " trying to make it a positive thing for the Air Force, for everyone,” CBS News reported In an interview with the Air Force Institute of Technology, Marsh called her Miss Colorado win “surreal.” The “Miss America organization that I’m a part of now is all focused on what you can provide for the community through your social impact, making sure that you have a stellar resume, that you’re good at public speaking, that you can connect with people and are empowered to lead in other ways that’s not just about you,” Marsh continued. “It’s an awesome experience to bring both sides of the favorite parts of my life together and hopefully make a difference for others to be able to realize that you don’t have to limit yourself,” Marsh said. “In the military, it’s an open space to really lead in the way that you want to lead - in and out of uniform. I felt like pageants, and specifically winning Miss Colorado, was a way to truly exemplify that and to set the tone to help make other people feel more comfortable finding what means most to them.”

8bbc87b71601f2a273cef92f588cb308

Jrue Holiday describes emotions seeing Bucks tribute video

It’s time to bundle up and get cozy. Forecasters are anticipating below-zero wind chills to sweep across Massachusetts this weekend due to a shot of Arctic air, with meteorologists warning of particularly harsh coldness in the Berkshires. The shot of modified Arctic air will settle over southern New England for the weekend, bringing frigid temperatures and low wind chills to Massachusetts. The lowest wind chills are forecast Saturday, the National Weather Service said. Saturday’s wind chills are expected to plummet to 2 degrees in Hyannis on Cape Cod, zero degrees in Boston, -3 degrees in Worcester and zero degrees in Springfield, according to the weather service. Sunday’s wind chills should dip to zero degrees in Hyannis, 1 degree in Boston, -5 degrees in Worcester and -1 degree in Springfield, the weather service said. A wind chill advisory is expected to go into effect across the eastern slopes of the Berkshires at 10 p.m. Saturday and last until 10 a.m. Sunday. Wind chills as low as 18 degrees below zero are forecast in the area, according to the weather service. Very cold wind chill temps across the region this morning and tomorrow morning. The cold will peak tomorrow morning near The Berkshires where wind chill temps below -15F are expected. A Wind Chill Advisory is in effect for Berkshire County and the east slopes of the Berkshires. pic.twitter.com/grY22aXEbV — NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) January 20, 2024 Read more: NOAA rocket to study weather in final stages before April liftoff “The cold wind chills could result in hypothermia if precautions are not taken,” the weather service said in its advisory. “Use caution while traveling outside. Wear appropriate clothing, a hat, and gloves.” The forecast is also calling for periodic bands of ocean-effect snow that could bring minor accumulations to the Outer Cape late Saturday afternoon through early Sunday. Western and Central Massachusetts may be hit with light snow showers as well. However, the likelihood of snowfall is still low, the weather service noted. “I’m not sold much snow develops this afternoon, but if we do get any snow showers they’d be light, powdery and not result in adverse impacts,” a weather service meteorologist said. Read more: Plum Island residents to rebuild after historically high tides hit New England Temperatures should then moderate through early next week to near or slightly above normal. Several waves of precipitation may roll through the region Wednesday into Friday, according to the weather service.

5f87f793bc6e81418b2e2a1f0e67a857

Massachusetts can solve a litter problem by adopting Connecticuts approach (Editorial)

A nickel for every returned “nip” bottle. That’s the gist of a program in the Constitution State yielding dividends for cities and towns and reducing litter. Connecticut’s “nickel-per-nip” program is worth implementing in Massachusetts. The two-year-old program has generated $8.9 million for municipalities that sell nips. Under that state’s law, passed in 2021, a nickel surcharge is added to the cost of each 50-milliliter nip when sold. During each subsequent April and October, each municipality gets the 5 cents back from the state for each bottle returned. In Hartford, for example, from Oct. 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023, the city sold 1.6 million nip bottles; this year, it got back $87,423, while taking in $295,607 in total since the law went into effect. The town of South Windsor is using its funding to help pay for recycling coordinators. Statewide, Connecticut sold 47.3 million nips, returning $2.4 million to cities and towns this year, and giving back $9 million since the program began. People involved hail it as a national model. Anyone who walks, runs or bikes in the commonwealth, or who performs litter patrol in their neighborhood, knows how pervasive discarded nip bottles are. To those throwing them away, we say: Come on. Have a heart. Their presence isn’t just an eyesore. A lot of these bottles will find their way to moving water, which will eventually put many in our oceans and on our beaches. About 68,000 nips are sold daily in the Bay State, with about 25 million sold annually, according to estimates in a CommonWealth Beacon report. Were the state to pass a mini-bottle bill to address the nip problem, it would mean more than a million dollars going back to Massachusetts’ cities and towns to boost recycling and sustainability efforts. It also would mean considerably cleaner roadsides. Bans on the bottles have been considered in Springfield, Chicopee and Ware, and already have been implemented in Chelsea, Falmouth, Mashpee, Nantucket, Newton and Wareham, according to Boston.com. Its report earlier this year noted that in Chelsea, alcohol-related arrests and hospitalizations plummeted after the city outlawed nips. The convenience of nips cannot be denied — especially for those who want to conceal their drinking — but that’s not enough to endure the blight they leave. It’s time to end the nip problem in Massachusetts. We ask legislators to follow Connecticut’s lead and advance a nickel-for-a-nip bill here, so we can reap the benefits of cleaner streets.

1b9d14a9b74178d87a07dedd610c7d49

The Collapse of Newspapers Puts Democracy in Peril - The New York Times

She might also have benefited from a bit of luck. When Congress invited her to a congressional hearing on antisemitism on Dec. 5 with her peers from Harvard, Penn and M.I.T., Dr. Shafik said she could not go. She told representatives that she had already planned to attend the COP28 climate conference in Dubai, where she introduced a panel about women leaders. The Congressional hearing did not go well. The University of Pennsylvania president lost her job and the Harvard president became mired in weeks of controversy. But instead of fighting for her job, Dr. Shafik was announcing a new initiative, called Values in Action, in which she called for informed debate, not “taunts and cruelty.” Still, she is walking a precarious path. Her call for compassion and respect, some students said, does not reflect what they say has been a repressive effort to rein in pro-Palestinian protesters that has gone farther than at other Ivy League universities: In November, Columbia’s administration made the extraordinary decision to suspend temporarily two pro-Palestinian student groups, Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace. “I just think the university is not identifying the proper threat,” said Deen Haleem, a third-year law student and a leader of Law Students for Palestine. “The current threat right now are the universities that are shutting down pro-Palestine speech.”

b86790e3e2d38f92dba87815af92c51f

Education is the best weapon': Suffolk DA launches effort to help residents avoid scams

District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced Sunday the launch of the Suffolk County Fraud Fighters – a multi-agency organization to help Boston, Chelsea, Revere and Winthrop residents spot scams and avoid schemes soliciting money. Hayden said the effort is in response to telephone scams earlier this year where callers claimed to be representatives of Hayden’s office and even prompted one elderly woman in Winthrop to pay out $35,000 in a bitcoin scam. NBC10 Boston Responds stepped into help a Boston woman recover her life savings. “We and our Fraud Fighters partners are committed to giving older adults and all other community members the information and awareness necessary to spot a scam before they fall victim to it,” said Hayden. “Education is the best weapon against getting fleeced by their ever-changing schemes.” Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters. According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, the Fraud Fighters will hold public presentations throughout the year for residents to stay informed on common tactics used by scammers. The first presentation is scheduled to place at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 14 at the Kroc Center in Roxbury. The holiday season is a popular time for shipping scams. Boston, Revere, Winthrop, and Chelsea police departments have partnered with the Fraud Fighters to provide educational resources. In addition, several units of Hayden’s office will be involved, as well as the U.S. Secret Service. “We’re going to reach as many people as possible as often as possible, because that’s exactly what the con artists are doing,” said Hayden. “Our goal is to update our presentation whenever they update their scams.”

c7a2eb5419f8fb15dff3459e81d18754

Israels Economy Expected to Shrink 2% as War Sidelines Workers

Projections for growth next year are lower than previously estimated but the ranges vary, with some analysts saying that the economy could grow by only .5 percent. The Bank of Israel has given probably the most optimistic projection of 2 percent, citing Israel’s quicker-than-expected recovery from previous wars and from the Covid-19 pandemic. “The wide range of projections that we are seeing comes from some of the different assumptions about how long and how intense the fighting will be,” said Karnit Flug, the vice president of research at the Israel Democracy Institute and a former governor of the Bank of Israel. As of Sunday, 191,666 people in Israel had filed for unemployment benefits since the war began on Oct. 7, with the vast majority saying they experienced a forced unpaid leave, according to the Taub Center. Some 360,000 reservists were authorized for duty in October, the largest mobilization since the Arab-Israeli war of 1973, also known as the Yom Kippur War, when 400,000 reservists were tapped to fight off a surprise attack from Egypt and Syria. The actual number of reservists called up for duty this time was between 200,000 and 300,000, according to an estimate from the Taub Center, of whom 139,000 were pulled out of the labor market. As a result, many Israelis had to drop their lives suddenly to go to war, leaving many employers in the lurch. And while the Israeli government has delivered some financial assistance to many affected individuals and companies, additional grants that were promised have been slow to arrive. Some reservists are self-employed and say that their own businesses are collapsing while they wait.

b0ad76dfcd017db33b1842c0a68ff86e

Democrats Fret That Bidens Power Players Are Not at His Campaign Base

With less than 10 months to go until the 2024 election, the nerve center of President Biden’s bid for a second term is stationed not at his campaign’s headquarters in Delaware but within feet of the Oval Office. The president and his chief strategist, Mike Donilon, have repeatedly discussed when to move him over to the campaign — perhaps after the 2022 midterm elections, then after the 2023 off-year elections and again at the end of 2023. Each time, no move happened after the president told aides he wanted to keep Mr. Donilon within walking distance. Anita Dunn, the longtime Democratic operative who stepped in to help revive Mr. Biden’s fledging operation four years ago, is devising the re-election message again, even as she oversees communications at the White House. Jen O’Malley Dillon, Mr. Biden’s deputy White House chief of staff and former campaign manager, is also splitting her day job with her role as one of the most powerful voices in the campaign. So far, almost none of the people in the president’s inner circle have left for campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Del., prompting some donors and strategists to worry that too much of Mr. Biden’s team remains cloistered inside the White House. Less than a year before Election Day, the president has a campaign with two distinct centers of gravity, advisers juggling two jobs at once, and months of internal debate about when to consolidate everyone in one place.

33216e59238a41d9d28e4302155c02da

Guns from South Carolina used in Massachusetts crimes, feds say

A man has been arrested for allegedly stabbing his mother to death at their home in Goffstown, New Hampshire, this week, prosecutors announced Friday. Thomas Humphrey, 47, is facing a charge of second-degree murder in the killing of his mother, 70-year-old Linda Tufts, at their home on Tuesday, according to the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office and state and local police. He's due in court in Manchester on Monday, officials said. It wasn't immediately clear if Humphrey had an attorney who could speak to the charge. Authorities didn't share more information about the killing. They'd previously announced that Tufts' death was considered a homicide. Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters. Linda Tufts' cause of death was multiple stab and incised wounds, and the manner of her death was homicide, officials announced Wednesday. New Hampshire State Police's major crime unit was still at Tufts' Joffre Street home on Wednesday, a day after the alleged stabbing, taking photos and collecting evidence. Goffstown police were initially called to the single-family residence around 2:20 p.m. Tuesday and found Tufts dead, as well as an active fire, officials have previously said. Officers extinguished the fire and conducted a safety check of the home, at which point they found Humphrey also inside. The 47-year-old was alive but injured, officials have said, and he was hospitalized for treatment for apparent self-inflicted knife wounds. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support. An autopsy performed Wednesday determined Tufts died from multiple stab and incised wounds, and her manner of death was homicide, officials said. Both Tufts and Humphrey lived in the Joffre Street home where they were found. Police in Goffstown, New Hampshire, say they found a woman dead inside of a home on Tuesday. They say her death is considered suspicious. Neighbors previously told NBC10 Boston that an older husband and wife live at the home, as well as their adult son who had just moved back in. "She was always joking and laughing. She was 71 years old. She was a sweet lady if you got to know her, talk to her," Chia Guy told NBC10 Boston. "They had their son there for a while, they kicked him out and then they just recently, you know she felt sorry for him so she had him come back in," Guy shared. He added that her husband, who was at work at the time of the killing, is heartbroken. "He's hanging in there as best as he can I just got off the phone with him," Guy said. Michelle Toto, who lives across the street, said the scene was chaotic. "All of a sudden, we saw some police cars come up. Cops running," Toto said. "We could hear them saying, you know, they're trying to get in. They had guns drawn." "This is not the type of street, dead end, we all know each other," she added. "Honestly it's extremely eerie, like goosebumps but like not the goosebumps." She said her husband told her someone else at the home had stab wounds. Get updates on what's happening in Massachusetts to your inbox. Sign up for our News Headlines newsletter. Another neighbor, who didn’t want to be identified, said, "My phone has been blowing up from friends and other neighbors just saying, 'My gosh, are you OK? Is everything OK?' It's nerve wracking. Of course, you don't usually see stuff like this happen on your home street." Toto said she hasn't had any issues with the family that lives at the home that had become the center of a police investigation: "Very nice people. I can't imagine, it's heart-wrenching."

8d61d1fc11d77abe1d32cb2c904d5999

Massachusetts shelter site at state transportation building closing, families transitioned to Quincy

An overnight shelter at the state’s transportation building in Boston shuttered its doors Friday, as officials transitioned local and migrant homeless families staying there to a college dorm in Quincy. The roughly three weeks families stayed in the building marked one of the first times Gov. Maura Healey turned to a state-owned building in downtown Boston to house those waiting for shelter placement. Operations at the transportation building will shift to Eastern Nazarene College, where the Healey administration previously said they contracted Australian-based AMI Expeditionary Healthcare to run a temporary shelter. A contract between the state and the organization obtained through a public records request authorizes up to $11.5 million in spending for two temporary shelter sites, the locations of which were redacted in the document provided to the Herald. Emergency Assistance Director Lt. Gen. Scott Rice said the Healey administration will also open an additional site in Revere where families with children and pregnant people applying for emergency shelter will undergo clinical and safety risk assessments. “We greatly appreciate the collaboration of MassDOT, MBTA, MEMA and other state agencies who stepped up to make sure families had a safe, warm place to stay,” Rice said in a statement Thursday afternoon. The temporary shelter in Quincy can house up to 57 families, and stays will not be limited to overnight as they were in the transportation building, a spokesperson for the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities said. The Eastern Nazarene College site first served as a temporary shelter before transitioning to a screening site for families applying for emergency assistance. The Healey administration also set up an intake center at the college that is run by Bay State Community Services. After emergency shelters in Massachusetts reached Healey’s self-imposed limit of 7,500 families, officials turned to the transportation building to temporarily house families and pregnant people overnight. A nearby YMCA offered day services for families staying at the state building. The contract to run temporary shelter services in between the Executive Office of Health and Human Services and Australian-based AMI Expeditionary Healthcare sets a max spending limit of $11.5 million. The agreement runs from June 26 through Dec. 29, with options to extend up to six more months. A spokesperson for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services said AMI Expeditionary Health “has not come close” to spending $11.5 million. The contract lays out two types of shelters, a full-service site with meals, security, transportation, and a limited location with only a fraction of the offerings. The full-service site can run an up to $1.7 million monthly tab, while the limited site can spend up to $196,000 a month, according to the contract. AMI Expeditionary Healthcare is required to provides shelter guests with services like regular housekeeping and cleaning services, laundry services, three meals a day, security, internet access, “specific transportation services,” furniture for rooms, and basic clinical services like health screenings. An AMI Expeditionary Healthcare official referred questions to the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. The Executive Office of Health and Human Services said state officials “negotiated extensively with AMI on costs, which are in line with cost projections from companies who are also able to rapidly expand shelter provider capacity and provide stand-up operations.” The spokesperson said in a statement, “AMI has considerable experience in this field and has worked with multiple federal agencies and international entities engaged in crisis response.”

708cc25742b66681c4b4b698e58399e6

The Voice: How far did the contestants with ties to Mass. make it this season?

Two contestants with ties to Massachusetts made their way to the 24th season of “The Voice,” but their time on the show was cut short from continuing on. Claudia B. and Taylor Deneen are both alums of Berklee College of Music. The two former Boston residents stepped in front of coaches John Legend, Gwen Stefani, Niall Horan and Reba McEntire in hopes for a shot to become the next winner of “The Voice.” On Monday, the competition will feature the remaining competitiors’ top five live performances. Claudia B. and Deneen both passed their blind audition in front of coaches, but have since been sent home. Here’s what their journey on the show looked like. THE VOICE -- "The Blind Auditions Part 7" Episode 2407 -- Pictured: Taylor Deneen -- (Photo by: Greg Gayne/NBC)Greg Gayne/NBC Deneen passed her audition of “Redbone” by Childish Gambino with heavy praise as she showed off her vocal range and soulful runs. She earned a chair turn from coaches Legend and Stefani. Remaining coaches Niall Horan and Reba McEntire said that even though they wanted to turn for Deneen, they could not due to their team being full. “They were so lucky that they were able to turn. Me and Reba are upset,” Horan said. “I would have turned around in a heartbeat,” McEntire added. “Your voice is incredible. Your range is astounding.” Ultimately, Deneen chose Legend as her coach, completing his team for season 24. “I just know it has to be fate, you know? If he turns around, I have to go with him,” Deneen told MassLive when recalling why she chose Legend. She then made her way to the battle rounds of the competition. In the battle rounds, coaches will pit two of their own team members against each other to sing the same song together. Deneen performed with fellow contestant AZÁN, singing “Do It” by Chloe x Halle. Having to pick the winner, Legend chose Deneen to move to the knockout rounds. “Taylor as a vocalist is just stunning,” Legend praised in an interview after the performance. Moving on to the knockout rounds, Deneen performed alongside contestants Mac Royals and Brandon Montel. She sang “Sweet Thing” by Rufus. The winner ended up being Royals, sending Montel home. However, Legend opted to use his save on Deneen, keeping her on his team. She was eventually eliminated during night three of the playoffs. In the playoffs, artists select their own songs to perform against the other artists on their team. But each competitor gets the stage to themselves. Claudia B. performs on "The Voice" on Monday, Nov. 12, 2023, on NBC during the knockout rounds.Tyler Golden/NBC Contestant Claudia B. was the other Berklee alum on the show. After giving an impressive blind audition performance to “Human Nature” by Michael Jackson, she received a turn from Legend, Horan and McEntire almost immediately. After her audition ended, the coaches wanted to know more about the artist’s musical background. She shared that she not only plays the keyboard, she also studied jazz music in school, gravitating to a pop R&B sound. Like Deneen, Claudia B. chose Legend as her coach. Her next appearance on the show was during the battle rounds. It was a neck and neck battle as Claudia B. and fellow contestant Mara Justine performed “Son of a Preacher Man” during their battle round, receiving praise from all four coaches. “You have a very strong identity through your voice. That’s something that you can’t really teach somebody and that makes us get to know who you are. You stand out,” Gwen Stefani told Claudia B. Ultimately, the choice of who moves on to the next round is the two contestants’ coach Legend. He selected Justine to continue. But when a contestant loses a battle round, it doesn’t always mean their time on the show is over. With the ability to steal Claudia B. by another coach, Horan instantly hit his buzzer. The contestant from then on would compete under Team Niall. “I love how pure Claudia’s voice is. There’s no way I’m letting Claudia go home. She’s going to fit right in on Team Niall,” Horan said after the show. She then moved on to the knockouts, up against contestants Huntley and Noah Spencer. She performed “Don’t Know Why” by Norah Jones. Huntley came out on top of the knockout but Horan used his Save on Claudia B., keeping her on Team Niall. She was eventually eliminated during the playoffs as well. “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 season finale will air on Tuesday, Dec. 19 as the winner is announced.

0a2c85ee2a2d464727db1276fe857b94

MA Flood Watch, High Wind Warning Issued For Next Winter Storm

Weather MA Flood Watch, High Wind Warning Issued For Next Winter Storm Much like Tuesday night, the storm late Friday night will bring heavy rain, high winds and coastal flooding concerns to Massachusetts. "Another widespread 1 to 2 inches of rain is expected Friday night into early Saturday. This may exacerbate current river and stream flooding and/or result in additional flooding." - National Weather Service Boston (Patch Graphic) MASSACHUSETTS — For the third time in a week a significant winter storm will zero in on Massachusetts this weekend with this one carrying with it a Flood Watch, High Wind Watch and concerns about coastal and river flooding from heavy rain and an astronomically high tide on Saturday morning. The storm is expected to arrive late Friday night around midnight with the chance of a brief period of snow north and west of Boston before the entire state turns to another drenching overnight rain. The National Weather Service is forecasting another inch or more of rain on top of early Wednesday morning's heavy rain and rapid snowmelt. "A widespread 2 to 4 inches of rain fell Tuesday Night into Wednesday morning combined with rapid snowmelt," the National Weather Service said on Thursday. "This resulted in numerous rivers and streams going into flood or expected to go into flood within 24 hours from the residual runoff. In addition, another widespread 1 to 2 inches of rain is expected Friday night into early Saturday. This may exacerbate current river and stream flooding and/or result in additional flooding." The Flood Watch is in place for all of eastern and central Massachusetts until 7 p.m. on Saturday with a continued flood warning in place for streams and rivers that remain at or close to flood stage on Thursday. Temperatures will rise throughout the night and hit a high of 57 degrees on Saturday morning before cooling as the storm departs. A Coastal Flood Watch has been issued for the Saturday morning high tide after roads and neighborhoods near Salisbury, Plum Island and Hampton Beach, NH flooded in the wake of the Tuesday night storm on Wednesday. "Minor coastal flooding occurs along Morrissey Boulevard in Boston," the National Weather Service said. "Coastal flooding is expected along the North Shore from Gloucester to Newburyport. Wave action will likely cause some washover onto coastal roads around the time of high tide. "Expect minor coastal flooding of some low-lying roadways. Minor coastal flooding occurs in Provincetown, in the vicinity of Race Point Road and Provincetown Airport. In Truro, backwater flooding occurs along the Pamet River." Winds are not forecast to be quite as damaging as early this week — with peak gusts of 65 miles per hour reported at Chatham and Dennis — but could approach 60 miles per hour on Cape Cod, 50 miles per hour on the North Shore and South Shore, and 40 miles per hour inland. A High Wind Watch has been issued from 1 a.m. on Saturday until 1 p.m. After a week of unseasonably warm temperatures, it will feel a lot more like winter on Sunday and Monday with sun before the next shot of substantial snow roars into the region on Tuesday.

ffac39361f14dcbef5f065228a648325

Some Americans will get their student loans canceled in February as Biden accelerates his new plan

Politics Some Americans will get their student loans canceled in February as Biden accelerates his new plan Loan cancellation was originally set to begin in July under the new SAVE repayment plan. President Joe Biden speaks on student loan debt forgiveness, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Oct. 4, 2023, in Washington. AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration will start canceling student loans for some borrowers starting in February as part of a new repayment plan that’s taking effect nearly six months ahead of schedule. Loan cancellation was originally set to begin in July under the new SAVE repayment plan, but it’s being accelerated to provide faster relief to borrowers, President Joe Biden said Friday. It’s part of an effort “to act as quickly as possible to give more borrowers breathing room” and move on from their student debt, the Democratic president said in a statement. Borrowers will be eligible for cancellation if they are enrolled in the new SAVE plan, if they originally borrowed $12,000 or less to attend college, and if they have made at least 10 years of payments. The Education Department said it didn’t immediately know how many borrowers will be eligible for cancellation in February. Advertisement: Biden announced the new repayment plan last year alongside a separate plan to cancel up to $20,000 in loans for millions of Americans. The Supreme Court struck down his plan for widespread forgiveness, but the repayment plan has so far escaped that level of legal scrutiny. Republicans in Congress tried unsuccessfully to block the new repayment plan through legislation and a resolution last year. The new plan offers far more generous terms than several other income-driven repayment plans that it’s meant to replace. Previous plans offered cancellation after 20 or 25 years of payments, while the new plan offers it in as little as 10. The new plan also lowers monthly payments for millions of borrowers. Those who took out more than $12,000 will be eligible for cancellation but on a longer timeline. For each $1,000 borrowed beyond $12,000, it adds an additional year of payments on top of 10 years. The maximum repayment period is capped at 20 years for those with only undergraduate loans and 25 years for those with any graduate school loans. The Biden administration says next month’s relief will particularly help Americans who attended community colleges, which generally cost less than four-year universities. The plan aims to place community college students “on a faster track to debt forgiveness than ever before,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said. Advertisement: Counterintuitively, those with smaller student loan balances tend to struggle more. It’s driven by millions of Americans who take out student loans but don’t finish degrees, leaving them with the downside of debt without the upside of a higher income. Republicans have railed against the new repayment plan, saying it helps wealthier Americans with college degrees at the expense of taxpayers who didn’t attend college. Some say it’s a backdoor attempt to make community college free, an idea that Biden campaigned on but that failed to win support in Congress. Starting next month, the Education Department says it will automatically wipe away balances for eligible borrowers enrolled in the SAVE plan. The department will email borrowers who might be eligible but have not enrolled. Some of the plan’s provisions took hold last summer — it prevents interest from snowballing as long as borrowers make monthly payments, and it makes more Americans eligible to get their monthly bill lowered to $0. Other parts are scheduled to take effect in July, including a change to limit borrowers’ payments to 5% of their discretionary income, down from 10% in previous income-driven repayment plans. The Biden administration is separately pursuing another plan for widespread cancellation. After the Supreme Court rejected Biden’s first plan, he asked the Education Department to try again under a different legal authority. The department has been working on a new proposal that would provide relief to targeted groups of borrowers. Advertisement:

ec70b2fdf3a80d8b82dd63c660d1b2c4

Why Bruins OT loss will haunt David Pastrnak

After the Bruins’ 4-3 overtime loss to the Coyotes on Tuesday, David Pastrnak was taking the defeat particularly hard. Pastrnak scored the first goal of the game and his 25th of the season. He cracked the Bruins’ top 10 career points list (tied with Ken Hodge at 674) in the process. It was a sniper’s goal that slipped through an almost impossible hole over Connor Ingram’s shoulder and under the crossbar. 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. But what he accomplished was outweighed by what he didn’t in his mind on Tuesday at Mullett Arena. In the 3-on-3 overtime, Pastrnak had a breakaway 12 seconds into overtime but couldn’t get his wrist shot high enough to beat Ingram. After Linus Ullmark was injured during the overtime, Pastrnak had another chance to end a tough night on a high note with another breakaway, but Ingram robbed him with 1:34 left. Nick Schmaltz scored 38 seconds later against Jeremy Swayman, who came in after sitting for three periods and most of overtime to send Boston out disappointed. “I’m definitely feeling a little guilty. I had two breakaways to end the game for our team,” Pastrnak said. “That will haunt me tonight. I won’t sleep.” He would like to have prevented Swayman from having to face a shot in those circumstances. “That’s hard for a goaltender to sit on the bench for three hours and come in with an unfortunate injury,” he said.

be3d7c9375668ac3c4ba3eeeadf37b32

4 takeaways as Celtics beat Hawks behind Jayson Tatum

The Celtics cruised to a 113-103 win over the Hawks on Sunday night at TD Garden behind 34 points from Jayson Tatum. The hosts were down a pair of starters with Jrue Holiday (ankle) and Kristaps Porzingis (calf) sidelined but managed to lock down defensively against a high-powered Hawks offense, limiting Atlanta to just 40.9 percent shooting from the field. Tatum led the way for Boston with 34 points and 9 rebounds while Jaylen Brown 21 points and 7 rebounds to keep the Celtics undefeated at TD Garden with a 7-0 record. Derrick White also added a double-double with 15 points and 11 assists while Trae Young had a team-high 33 points for the Hawks in the setback. The Celtics did not shoot well from the field (44 percent) and 3-point range (27 percent) in the win but won largely on the strength of their rebounding with a 58-43 edge on the glass that led to 17 second chance points. Boston improved to an NBA-best 13-4 record with the victory and will next host the Bulls on Tuesday night in their final in-season tournament game for pool play. Here are four takeaways from the Celtics win on Sunday night. $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. Dalano Banton gets a surprise start: With Boston down two starters, Joe Mazzulla got creative with his starting lineup look against the Hawks, turning to the rarely-used Banton. The move helped create some bench continuity with a second unit that has been performing well of late and also added some defensive versatility to the starting five thanks to Banton’s 6-foot-9 size. The 24-year-old didn’t make much of an impact in the first half but helped the hosts turn the game into a comfortable win with a couple of layups early in the second half and finished with eight points. More importantly, Boston’s bench rotation remained intact while allowing Brown and Tatum to carry more of the scoring load with the starters. Neemias Queta sparks a monster night on offensive glass for Boston: The two-way center hasn’t gotten many opportunities so far this season after a strong preseason campaign due to a foot injury. That changed on Sunday night with Kristaps Porzingis sidelined and Boston struggling on the offensive glass. Joe Mazzulla turned to the athletic big man for some energy and he delivered, piling up double-digit rebounds in his first 10 minutes of action including six on the offensive glass. His extra effort on the glass translated into more opportunities for the Celtics as Boston piled up 17 second chance points to help make up for a lackluster shooting night from beyond the arc. In a season where Mazzulla has not gotten much from his deep bench contributors, Queta rose to the occasion in a shorthanded frontcourt. The Celtics didn’t have anyone who could stick with Trae Young: This has been a problem for several years at the point but with Jrue Holiday sidelined and Boston’s bigs in drop coverage for much of the night, Young feasted from the perimeter, knocking down six 3s. Ultimately, Joe Mazzulla elected to switch later in the second half with his bigs rather than giving up uncontested looks coming around screens. Young cooled off enough for the Celtics to survive a late push from Atlanta but Boston clearly benefitted from a tough shooting night from Young’s supporting cast beyond Bogdan Bogdanovic. Celtics All-Stars have their way with Hawks defense: With Boston’s big name additions on the bench, the Celtics All-Stars got their chance to carry Boston’s offense yet again with minimal firepower around them. The duo was up to the task against a subpar Hawks defense for much of the evening with Tatum feasting on Hawks players in isolation spots for much of the night to score a game-high 34 points. He did pile up six turnovers but made up for it with smart attacks against weaker defenders and playing a savvy two-man game with Derrick White. Brown also excelled inside the arc against the Hawks’ defense and the extra attention both All-Stars drew opened up easy looks for the rest of the Celtics’ offense for much of the night.

6673961a0471705e1f775d9c39d832d1

Things are heating up between Bill Belichick and Atlanta Falcons

Things are heating up between Bill Belichick and the Atlanta Falcons. According to the NFL Network, Belichick will have his second interview with the Falcons this weekend after interviewing with Atlanta owner Arthur Blank on Monday. “Things are ramping up with the greatest coach of all time,” tweeted NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. This news comes a day after Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones announced he was keeping head coach Mike McCarthy. After the Cowboys were upset by Green Bay, in the wild-card round, there was speculation that Dallas could move on from McCarthy and set their sights on Belichick. However, Atlanta has long been Belichick’s rumored destination. The Athletic’s Diana Russini reported that the Falcons would have interest in the Patriots former head coach even before Belichick and Patriots owner Robert Kraft opted to mutually part ways. After Belichick’s final press conference in New England, his first head coaching interview happened five days later in Atlanta. BetMGM BET $5, GET $158! BONUS BETS CLAIM OFFER Promo code: MASS158 STATES: MA, KY, AZ, CO, IA, IL, IN, KS, LA, MD, MI, NJ, NY, OH, PA, TN, VA. Visit BetMGM.com for Terms and Conditions. 21 years of age or older to wager. MA Only. New Customer Offer. All promotions are subject to qualification and eligibility requirements. Rewards issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets. Bonus bets expire 7 days from issuance. In Partnership with MGM Springfield. Play it smart from the start with GameSense. GameSenseMA.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org. Although Belichick has been a rumored candidate for several playoff teams (Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles), it’s also been reported that the longtime coach might prefer to go to an up-and-coming team. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on Tuesday that “Belichick would likely target talented yet underachieving teams” and pointed out that the Falcons fit that description. Atlanta is looking for a new head coach after firing Arthur Smith after three straight 7-10 seasons. Blank, the Falcons owner, has interviewed and requested to interview a long list of coaching candidates. They range from up-and-coming coaches to experienced head coaches such as Belichick and Jim Harbaugh, who just won a National Championship at Michigan. Blank has interviewed Mike MacDonald (Ravens defensive coordinator), Brian Callahan (Bengals offensive coordinator), Steve Wilks (49ers defensive coordinator), Antonio Pierce (Raiders interim coach), Ejiro Evero (Panthers defensive coordinator), Anthony Weaver (Ravens assistant head coach, defensive line coach) and Harbaugh. Belichick, however, receiving a second interview is noteworthy. The Falcons have a solid young core with offensive pieces such as running back Bijan Robinson, tight end Kyle Pitts, and receiver Drake London. Their defense, led by Pro Bowl safety Jessie Bates III, finished the 2023 NFL season ranked 11th in scoring and 11th in total defense. In the event Belichick goes to Atlanta, the Falcons are scheduled to come to Gillette Stadium and take on the Patriots during the 2025 NFL season. It is also worth monitoring what would happen to the Patriots if Belichick landed with the Falcons. It is expected that multiple Patriots staffers would follow Belichick to his next destination.

eff75017ece440c3e1c974bd436e064e

Chinas Rising Debt Spurs Moodys to Lower Credit Outlook

The lowering of the credit outlook nonetheless marks an important milestone for China’s economy. Until recently, China had seemingly unlimited money to spend on the world’s largest bullet train network, a vast military buildup, subsidies to manufacturers and extensive overseas construction projects. Today China faces increasingly serious budget constraints, triggered mainly by a steep slide in the real estate sector. The construction of apartments, factories, office towers and other projects has been the country’s largest industry, accounting for 25 percent of economic output. Apartments are also the main investment for most households, accounting for three-fifths or more of their savings. While borrowing by China’s national government has been limited, local and regional governments and state-owned enterprises have borrowed heavily for the last 15 years. The money the local governments pulled in from lenders has generated high economic growth, but many of them are now in serious trouble. For China, the change in the credit outlook will have little direct effect on its finances. Unlike many countries, China relies very little on overseas borrowing. The national government mainly sells bonds to the country’s state-owned banks. The country’s regional and local governments and state-owned enterprises also sell bonds to them.

aaf48a74cec23df7c4e6298891c52aa2

Cardinal asks for peace and reflection in Christmas mass in Boston

Cardinal Sean O'Malley is sending a message calling for forgiveness and peace around the world amidst wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. Parishioners said it was a beautiful Christmas mass full of love and a time for reflection at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in the South End. "We celebrate Christmas when we make it a feast of love, of friendship, of reconciliation and of peace" the cardinal said during mass. "Peace on earth seems like a shattered dream in today's world with these terrible wars in the Ukraine and the holy land with the contentious political climate in our country and even polarization in the church" "In a world where there is still no room in the inn, we must commit ourselves to a compassionate response for the poor, the sick, the refugee, the prisoner, the stranger, the homeless" he added asking church members to be compassionate to those who are struggling. Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters. It was a message that made many parishioners reflect. "The meaning of Christmas and love itself and how we should all work together and get along" said Joe Haden, who visited from Kentucky. Towards the end of his homily, Cardinal O'Malley asked parishioners to forgive those who have wronged us and to ask pardon of someone we have wronged, reminding people that Christmas is always an invitation to start again.

d01e4217e6fe3996a0293b29610aa435

Opinion | The Anti-Democratic Quest to Save Democracy From Trump

Let’s consider a counterfactual. In the autumn of 2016, with American liberalism reeling from the election of Donald Trump, a shattered Hillary Clinton embraces the effort to pin all the blame on Vladimir Putin. She barnstorms the country arguing that the election was fundamentally illegitimate because of foreign interference. She endorses every attempt to prove that Russian disinformation warped the result. She touts conspiracy theories that supposedly prove that voting machines in Wisconsin were successfully hacked. She argues that her opponent should not be allowed to take office, that he’s a possible Manchurian candidate, a Russian cat’s paw. And she urges Democrats in Congress and Vice President Joe Biden to refuse to certify the election — suggesting that it could somehow be rerun or even that patriotic legislators could use their constitutional authority to make her, the popular-vote winner, president instead. Her crusade summons up a mass movement — youthful, multiracial and left wing. On Jan. 6, 2017, a crowd descends on the National Mall to demand that “Trump the traitor” be denied the White House. Clinton stirs them up with an angry speech, and protesters attack and overwhelm the Capitol Police and surge into the Capitol, where one is shot by a police officer and the rest mill around for a while and finally disperse. The election is still certified, and Trump becomes president two weeks later. But he is ineffective and unpopular, and it looks as though Clinton, who is still denying his legitimacy, will be the Democratic nominee again. At which point right-wing legal advocacy groups announce an effort to have her removed from primary ballots, following the guidance of originalist scholars who argue that under the 14th Amendment, she has betrayed her senatorial oath by fomenting insurrection and is ineligible to hold political office.

68b16a519a7e3d76a98f15e0773235e3

Massachusetts revenues plunge as spending soars

Beacon Hill’s growing financial headache got worse when the Healey administration reported that tax collections tumbled in November, putting the state’s revenue picture about $627 million below the projection for this point in the year. The Department of Revenue announced it collected $2.253 billion in taxes last month, which was $131 million or 5.5% less than in November 2022. It was also $274 million or 10.9% short of the benchmark figure the administration set for the month. Through the first five months of fiscal year 2024, Massachusetts has hauled in about $14.097 billion in taxes. That’s a slight increase of $146 million, or 1%, over the first five months of fiscal year 2023, but $627 million or 4.3% less than the estimates the Healey administration and Legislature used to craft this year’s record $56 billion budget. Tax collections have failed to hit benchmarks for five straight months, getting this state budget year off to a rocky beginning, and forcing the Healey administration to at least begin considering possible responses. “November collections decreased in non-withheld income, sales and use tax, corporate and business tax, and ‘all other’ tax in comparison to November 2022,” Revenue Commissioner Geoffrey Snyder said. “These decreases were partially offset by an increase in withholding. The decrease in non-withheld income tax was driven primarily by an unexpected increase in income tax refunds. The decrease in sales and use tax was mainly due to a decline in regular sales tax. The decrease in ‘all other’ tax is mostly attributable to a decrease in estate tax, which tends to fluctuate.” “We find ourselves at a precarious crossroads,” Senate Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues said Monday during a consensus revenue hearing for the upcoming budget year. “There are storm clouds gathering on the horizon. We’ve faced several months of collections that have fallen below benchmarks. The economy, while strong, is slowing and cooling off in face of high interest rates and other stresses.” The slowdown in tax collections could inflict pressure to reduce revenue expectations and rein in spending on Beacon Hill. State revenues including surtax collections need to increase 5.7% over the FY23 total to hit the FY24 benchmark, according to Doug Howgate, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. Five months in, the growth so far has been only a single percentage point, well below the necessary pace and significantly less than the 6.2% annual spending increase authorized in the state budget. Administration officials urged caution against extrapolating based on the numbers so far this fiscal year. November is typically responsible for about 6.5% of annual tax revenue, they said, putting it “among the smaller months for revenue collection because neither individual nor business taxpayers make significant estimated payments during the month.” Healey in August stamped her approval on a $56 billion budget for FY24, roughly 6.2% higher than the prior year’s spending plan. “Given the brief period covered in the report, November and year-to-date results should not be used as a predictor for the rest of the fiscal year,” DOR wrote in a press release about the latest data. The benchmarks used in Tuesday’s report also do not account for the impacts of a roughly $1 billion tax relief law Gov. Maura Healey signed in October. DOR said the changes in that measure will start affecting revenues in December 2023 or in January 2024. Most major tax collections are lagging below state projections. Income taxes, which are responsible for more than half of all tax revenues so far this year, are 2.8% below benchmark through November. Year-to-date sales and use tax collections are also 3.6% short of projections, corporate and business taxes are down 8.9%, and other types of collections are 10.9% less than expected. Analysts with the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation pointed out that robust hiring in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to slow, as is wage and salary growth, contributing to the sluggish withholding tax revenues. And when it comes to sales tax collections, which represented about a quarter of all tax revenues last year, “it appears that purchases of durable goods have cooled considerably in Massachusetts and nationally,” MTF wrote in an analysis published Monday. MTF and several other economic experts on Monday suggested officials reduce their forecast for tax collections this year by hundreds of millions of dollars, saying they expect the below-benchmark performance so far to continue. The administration sometimes adjusts its revenue forecasts upward or downward partway through the year, and governors also have the authority to trim spending through a maneuver colloquially known as “9C cuts.” The last such cuts took place in December 2016 under former Gov. Charlie Baker. House and Senate Democrats — mostly operating with the support of Healey, a Democrat, and Baker, a Republican — have overseen a spending blitz in recent years. Between fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2022, state spending from the general fund increased by 26.7 percent, significantly more than the 14.7 percent growth in the Boston area consumer price index over the same span, according to figures tracked by regional business groups. Healey in August stamped her approval on a $56 billion budget for FY24, roughly 6.2% higher than the prior year’s spending plan. “The large gap between spending and CPI increases, even over a period with exceptionally high inflation, suggests that state spending is not limited to increased costs for employee salaries or goods and services,” business leaders warned last month in a letter to state budget-writers. “Instead, it is expanding each year and often on a large scale. Worth noting, even when accounting for the rapid pace of increases in health care spending – a significant share of which is reimbursed by the federal government – state spending still substantially outpaced inflation. This approach is not sustainable and not responsible.”

a7fca0e4aadb7d2aef552178e9041452

Biden Commutes Drug Sentences for 11 and Expands Marijuana Pardons

President Biden said he would commute the sentences of 11 people who had been jailed for nonviolent drug offenses and pardon convictions for marijuana use and possession on federal lands as part of a broader effort by his administration to address racial disparities in drug sentencing. Each of the clemency recipients would have been eligible for shorter sentencing under current laws, Mr. Biden said in a statement on Friday. Their original sentences — characterized by the president as “disproportionately long” — ranged from decades to life in prison for attempting to distribute drugs, including cocaine and methamphetamine, according to a list published by the White House. Mr. Biden also said that he had pardoned more offenses involving possession of marijuana under federal law and D.C. law, which builds on his decision last year to pardon thousands of people who had been convicted of marijuana possession under federal law. The new pardons would apply to people found guilty of using or attempting to possess marijuana on federal lands, in addition to simple possession, according to a presidential proclamation issued on Friday. Such offenses are outnumbered by those at the state level, which Mr. Biden does not have the authority to pardon.

f325d65a5db82e29af145e8db1bf678a

Did Bill Belichick send a message to other NFL teams?

FOXBOROUGH – Bill Belichick wants to continue coaching. It remains to be seen if that’ll still be with the Patriots. On Monday, Belichick held what might be his final press conference as the head coach of the New England Patriots. One of the biggest takeaways is that Belichick made it seem like he’d be willing to give up his control as general manager to keep coaching in New England. That seemed like an obvious pitch from Belichick, who’s scheduled to meet with owner Robert Kraft this week. It could also be a pitch for other NFL teams. “I’m for whatever, collectively, we decide as an organization is the best thing to help our football team,” Belichick said. “And, I have multiple roles in that, and I rely on a lot of people to help me in those responsibilities. If somebody’s got to have the final say, I rely on a lot of other people to help. And, however that process is, I’m only part of it.” 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. With Belichick, the prevailing thought was wherever he coached next season, he would be the one to run the front office. That’s been the case in New England. Since coming to the Patriots in 2000, Belichick has been the general manager and head coach. As he noted, Belichick has had help from various directors of player personnel such as Scott Pioli, Nick Caserio, Dave Ziegler, and most recently, Matt Groh. Belichick has an NFL record six Super Bowl championships as a head coach. He’s considered the greatest head coach in NFL history. He’d be an easy sell for any NFL owner looking for an experienced coach. Over the last four seasons, however, Belichick’s personnel decisions have come back to haunt the Patriots. His roster has lacked elite offensive talent since Tom Brady left. His last All-Pro offensive player was guard Joe Thuney in 2019. His last true offensive Pro Bowl player (excluding Mac Jones, who made the team as an alternate) was Brady in 2018. His last Pro Bowl pass catcher was Rob Gronkowski in 2017. The Patriots last 1,000-yard receiver was Julian Edelman in 2019. The Patriots offense finished tied for last in the NFL in scoring (13.9 points per game) and ranked 30th in yards (276.2). “I think we have some things that we can build on,” Belichick said when asked about assembling the 2023 Patriots. “I think there are some things that we need to fix and change.” What the Patriots need to change is how they built their offense through the draft, free agency, and trades. Belichick’s job as the general manager could be one hang-up for a potential new owner. However, if Belichick is willing to go to another team and just be the head coach, it would possibly open more jobs. One seems to be the Atlanta Falcons. According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, “the Falcons are a team to watch if Belichick is available. They are interested, per sources.” Falcons owner Arthur Blank fired head coach Arthur Smith on Sunday night but kept general manager Terry Fontenot. Belichick could also be an option for a playoff contender who ends up looking for a new head coach. Options would include the Dallas Cowboys, whose owner, Jerry Jones, is also the general manager. Could Belichick be an option if Jones fires Mike McCarthy? The Philadelphia Eagles are in a similar situation. They’ve assembled a great roster under general manager Howie Roseman, but coming off a 14-3 season, they finished 11-6. Philadelphia finished the season 1-5 in their final six games. If they’re looking for a more experienced head coach than Nick Sirianni, Belichick would certainly fit the bill. On Monday, Belichick was asked if he would be interested in coaching for another NFL team. “I’m not going to get into a lot of hypothetical situations,” Belichick replied. The gravity of this situation isn’t lost on Patriots players. Several voiced their support for their head coach on Monday. It’s clear Belichick is still respected and judging by his defense’s performance this season, it’s obvious he’s still a good coach. The issue, however, has been Belichick the general manager. His willingness to do away with those responsibilities makes it possible he could return to New England, but also makes him an even better candidate for other NFL teams. “I’m going to do everything I can every day to do the best I can to help our football team,” Belichick said on Monday. “That’s what I’ve always done. It’s never been any different for me in my career. I learned that lesson from my dad growing up. You work for the team that you’re working for and do the best you can for it, until somebody tells you different. So, that’s not going to change.”

35d7638a0880b252d09a56bf09f3c679

Despite change-up with Toucher and Rich, The Sports Hub takes the top spot in fall Nielsen ratings

Scott Zolak (left), producer Mark Cappello, and play-by-play announcer Bob Socci in the booth for a Patriots game in 2021. JIM DAVIS/GLOBE STAFF The fall Nielsen Audio ratings period was an unusually turbulent one for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Original morning show co-host Rich Shertenlieb abruptly left the “Toucher and Rich” program on Nov. 9, with nearly a month remaining in the ratings book. Advertisement: It was the first time since February 2015, when Marc Bertrand replaced Andy Gresh on the station’s midday show, that one of the main hosts from a Sports Hub daytime program changed. But the Sports Hub’s long run of ratings success did not change. In the fall Nielsen Audio ratings, covering the period from Sept. 14 to Dec. 6, the Sports Hub finished first overall and across all of its weekday and weeknight programming in the men ages 25 to 54 demographic, its primary advertising target. Overall, the Sports Hub had a 16.3 share, well ahead of the runner-up, rock station WZLX (7.0). Rival sports radio station WEEI was seventh (4.4). Last fall, the Sports Hub earned a 19.6 share, while WEEI was second at 9.0. The breakdown this fall by day parts: Advertisement: Morning drive (6-10 a.m.): “Toucher and Rich” – or unofficially “Toucher and friends” after Shertenlieb left and before Rob “Hardy” Poole was confirmed as the new co-host beginning January 4 – took first with a 17.1 share. WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” was second with a 10.2, easily the station’s highest-rated show. Middays (10 a.m.-2 p.m.): The Sports Hub’s “Zolak and Bertrand” show was tops with a 16.7 share. WEEI’s “Gresh and Fauria” show tied for sixth with a 3.8 share. Afternoon drive (2-6 p.m.): “Felger and Massarotti” continued its long run of dominance for the Sports Hub, finishing the No. 1 spot with a 20.1 share. WEEI’s “Jones and Mego” tied for 12th with a 2.6. Evenings (6-11 p.m.): The Sports Hub, which has Bruins and some Celtics broadcasts along with a show hosted by Joe Murray at night, finished first (12.2). WEEI, which features “The Rich Keefe Show,’’ tied for 13th (2.8).

3801cf39cc38ec85140f2b6757fd7ebc

Top uncommitted prospect makes college choice at HoopHall Classic

Jaylen Brown headed to the locker room in the second quarter of the Celtics game against the Lakers on Christmas Day following a collision with LeBron James. The play occurred with 4:02 remaining in the frame as Boston had the ball while James was defending Brown. Amid James chasing Brown on the perimeter, James appeared to unintentionally knee Brown in the back. Both players were down on the court for several seconds while being attended to by trainers. Brown ultimately was subbed out of the game for Jrue Holiday and immediately headed to the locker room. The team ruled him as questionable to return with a lower back contusion and he came back into the game at the start of the third quarter. James briefly subbed out of the game with a knee injury but was back in the game just one minute later. Brown did not return to the game in the second quarter. Brown posted nine points along with a rebound and an assist in 13 minutes before suffering the injury. He had been in the midst of one of the best stretches of his career in December before suffering the back ailment, shooting over 52 percent from the field while posting 24.3 points per game over Boston’s past 10 games.

aa04fa3d49d2027f4e97508b7dc9fc06

Massachusetts ranked among the worst states in America to drive in

BOSTON — It will come as no surprise to those who endure the nightmarish commutes and rumble through the evergrowing potholes, but a new study has named Massachusetts among the “worst states to drive in.” The personal finance website WalletHub on Monday released its report on “2024′s Best & Worst States to Drive In,” after analyzing driving in 50 states across 31 key metrics including share of rush-hour traffic, auto repair shops per capita, average gas prices, auto maintenance costs, road quality, and car dealerships per capita. “When people think about the costs associated with owning a vehicle, things like regular maintenance, insurance and gas typically come to mind. What many people don’t realize is that traffic congestion can also be extremely costly because of the amount of time it wastes, which is why the best states for driving tend to be sparsely populated,” WalletHub Analyst Cassandra Happe said in a statement. “Factors like safety and the quality of roads are key, too.” The Bay State ranked well outside the best places for driving: Overall rank for Massachusetts: 45th 40th – Share of Rush-Hour Traffic Congestion – Share of Rush-Hour Traffic Congestion 15th – Auto-Repair Shops per Capita – Auto-Repair Shops per Capita 38th – Avg. Gas Prices – Avg. Gas Prices 49th – Auto-Maintenance Costs – Auto-Maintenance Costs 44th – Road Quality – Road Quality 17th – Car Dealerships per Capita Only California, West Virginia, Delaware, Washington, and Hawaii ranked behind Massachusetts. The worst states for driving ranked as follows: 41. Montana 42. Vermont 43. Rhode Island 44. Nevada 45. Massachusetts 46. California 47. West Virginia 48. Delaware 49. Washington 50. Hawaii Iowa was named the best state in America for drivers, followed by Georgia, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Alabama. For more on this study, click here. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW ©2024 Cox Media Group

b2bec1da7163483b3c83a25c7dac06ed

Another Soggy Sunday - Boston News, Weather, Sports

With more rain expected from Ophelia, a dying tropical system over Virginia, Sunday’s forecast looks to be soggy. Although there may be a brief break in the action early Sunday morning, showers will persist on and off throughout the day with periods of mist in between. Winds will also pick up slightly from what we dealt with today, with gusts up to 30 mph along the coastline. Inland gusts will be less frequent throughout the day and may exceed 20mph. The storm finally exits Monday afternoon, with a prolonged dry stretch setting up into early October.

b076998e7149889b036061362c1b06ae

Maine Cabin Masters Super Sweet Holiday Special: How to watch for free

It’s the holiday season and the Cabin Masters are in the spirit in a special holiday episode of “Maine Cabin Masters” airing on Monday, December 4 on the Magnolia Network. Season 10 will air a new episode at 9 p.m. EST on the Magnolia Network. Viewers looking to stream “Maine Cabin Masters” can do so by using Philo, FuboTV and DirecTV Stream. All three streaming services offer free trials for new users. Kennebec Cabin Company is the home of the popular cabin renovation show, located in Manchester, Maine. According to a description of the show from FuboTV, there’s no shortage of work for Maine-based builder Chase Morrill, whose specialty is renovating rustic cabins and camps all over the Pine Tree State. Working alongside his sister, brother-in-law and best friend, Morrill contracts with clients to save and transform rundown cabins buried deep in Maine’s remote woods. From century-old cottages to lakeside retreats in need of some major repairs, Chase and his team give these dilapidated properties the revivals they have needed for decades. In the holiday special, It’s the holiday season and the Cabin Masters are in the spirit. Ryan and Ashley plot a stealthy, secret gift for Chase, while the guys team up with a nonprofit and put their woodworking skills to the test to create gifts for a local toy drive. Here is a look at a sneak peek of the new season from Magnolia Network’s YouTube Channel: How can I watch “Maine Cabin Masters” without cable? Season 10 will air a new episode at 9 p.m. EST on the Magnolia Network. Viewers looking to stream “Maine Cabin Masters” can do so by using Philo, FuboTV and DirecTV Stream. All three streaming services offer free trials for new users. What is Philo? Philo is an over-the-top internet live TV streaming service that offers 60+ entertainment and lifestyle channels 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 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.

fdb3a61c9492b570370d27797cf182e7

Granite State of Mind: 5 things to know about the New Hampshire primary

Stop — It’s primary time. For the next week, the eyes of the nation’s political and chattering classes will be trained on New Hampshire, as this year’s crop of marquee Republican White House hopefuls — what’s left of of them ― and a handful of Democrats, descend on Massachusetts’ nearest northern neighbor for the first primary of the 2024 campaign cycle. The Jan. 23 contest, which comes on the heels of the frigid Iowa caucuses, will be make-or-break time for the GOP candidates looking to shake loose what appears to be former President Donald Trump’s chokehold on the Republican primary electorate. Meanwhile, supporters of President Joe Biden — notably including Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey — are trying to get Biden’s name onto the ballot as a write-in candidate. In an eyebrow-raising move, the nation’s 46th president took a pass on the Granite State’s plebiscite over a dispute whether New Hampshire or South Carolina should come first on the Democratic nominating calendar. With that in mind, here are five things to know about the New Hampshire primary. Why does New Hampshire go first? New Hampshire has kicked off the presidential primary calendar for more than a century, going first in 1920, after hosting its first primary in 1916, according to a history compiled by the League of Women Voters. And the grumbling about first-place status going to a state that is whiter and less representative than the nation as a whole, has continued pretty much unabated ever since. But the state’s small size and a populist political culture that prides itself on easy citizen access to elected officials has made it a logical stop for White House aspirants looking to build early momentum heading into such critical contests as the South Carolina primary in February, and the Super Tuesday primaries in March. Granite State voters also turn out in big numbers, as evidenced by the record-setting nearly 30% of registered voters who cast their ballots during the 2020 primary cycle, according to the League of Women Voters. It’s also a so-called “purple” state, which makes it prime territory among candidates looking to pick off support from independents and the opposing political party. Last year, Democrats tried to kick New Hampshire out of first place, as they attempted to move South Carolina to the front of the queue. True to their stubborn Yankee nature, Granite State political bosses weren’t having any of it. “The New Hampshire primary is democracy at its purest, as much as can be,” James B. Splaine, a former New Hampshire lawmaker who sponsored the 1975 vintage bill requiring the state’s top elections official to schedule New Hampshire’s primary at least seven days before another primary, told the Boston Globe in 2023. Who’s running? After cleaning up in Iowa on Monday night, Trump comes into New Hampshire as the prohibitive favorite in the primary pack. Trump held an average lead of 43.4% in the Granite State, with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley was in second place at 30.3%, according to polling site FiveThirtyEight. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who came in second in Iowa on Monday night, narrowly edging Haley 21.2% to 19.1%, is in a distant third place in New Hampshire, with an average of 5.8%, according to FiveThirtyEight. As of Tuesday, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who took less than 1% support in Iowa, remains in the GOP nominating pack. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who took 7.7% support in the Iowa caucus, suspended his campaign on Monday, throwing his support to Trump. And those are just the marquee names. In all, there are 24 Republican hopefuls on the New Hampshire GOP primary ballot, according to the League of Women Voters. On the Democratic side of the ledger, the party faithful will have their choice of 21 candidates, according to the League of Women Voters. That includes U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., and the author Marianne Williamson. Though his name is not officially on the ballot, Biden leads handily in most public polls ahead of the Jan. 23 election. What does the primary mean to Nikki Haley? Heading into New Hampshire, both DeSantis and Haley will be doing everything they can to eat into Trump’s substantial polling lead and his enduring popularity among GOP primary voters — despite two impeachments, as well as the four criminal indictments and the civil actions pending against him. For Haley, the New Hampshire primary is a crucial test, particularly after her poor finish in Iowa on Monday. Haley has the backing of Granite State Gov. Chris Sununu, who has been marshaling his own forces in an effort to elevate the former South Carolina governor, the New York Times reported. Haley, for her part, has tried to tie Biden and Trump together, painting them as the out-of-touch standard-bearers of another political generation. “The question before Americans is now very clear: Do you want more of the same or do you want a new generation of conservative leadership?” Haley asked a crowd in a speech after the Iowa caucus, according to the Times. Haley runs strongest among college graduates and men, the former of whom tend to stay away from Trump, while the latter tend to gravitate to the former president, ABC News reported. What does the primary mean to Ron DeSantis? DeSantis, meanwhile, has had trouble building support in New Hampshire, where he has tried to portray himself as both more accomplished and more Trumpian than the rest of the GOP pack — just without the Trumpian levels of drama, according to Spectrum News. But if DeSantis has one thing going for him, it could end up being his second-place finish in the Hawkeye State. That’s because the candidate who wins Iowa doesn’t always do as well in New Hampshire, as Politico reported Tuesday. Republican also-rans Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum and Ted Cruz each got the nod from Iowa voters during their respective White House bids, only to watch their candidacies collapse, the news organization reported. But is there room in the Republican primary field for a candidate who wants Trump’s popularity without all of Trump’s baggage? The short answer, according to NPR, is maybe not. And that’s where things could get problematic for DeSantis. “If Trump wins New Hampshire, he will be the first non-incumbent Republican to carry the first two states on the calendar since the caucuses gained prominence in the 1970s. Stopping him after that will become more difficult by the week,” Dan Balz wrote for the Washington Post on Tuesday. Who can vote in New Hampshire? According to the League of Women Voters, voters must cast ballots in the party where they’re registered: Republicans can only vote for Republicans, while Democrats can only vote in the Democratic primary. Voters who are undeclared can vote in either primary. And that’s a big deal because about 40% of New Hampshire voters are undeclared, according to the League of Women Voters, giving them an outsized say in the contest, and helping to set the tone for the primaries to come. “That’s really why candidates are trying to appeal in a broad way,” she said. “They’re not just appealing to R or D, they’re trying to capture these undeclared or independent voters,” Liz Liz Tentarelli, the president of New Hampshire league, said. And for new American citizens looking to participate, the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s Office has a dedicated voter guide, according to the New Hampshire Bulletin. How do you register and cast your ballot? You can either register to vote at the local town or city clerk’s office; at a local supervisors of the checklist meeting; at the polls on election day; or by mail using the absentee process if you are temporarily out of town or have a disability that prevents you from applying in person. Voters can contact their municipalities for registration deadlines, the Bulletin reported. On primary day, if you’re already registered to vote, at check-in, show the ballot clerk your photo ID and tell them your name and address. Once you receive a blank ballot, enter a voting booth to vote for the candidate(s) of your choice by completely filling in the oval, the Bulletin reported. Then, exit the booth and place your ballot in the ballot-counting device or hand it to the moderator to place in the ballot box, the online news organization reported.

a4942437402d5b10ad92e88cc0acfca6

Patriots offensive coordinator Bill OBrien still believes in Mac Jones

With Bailey Zappe taking over as the starter the past four games, Mac Jones has pretty much stepped aside and stepped out of the spotlight. With Zappe under center, the Patriots have won two of those four games including a 26-23 thriller over the Denver Broncos on Christmas Eve. And now that Jones has taken a backseat, offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien was asked Tuesday about his former starter. 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. O’Brien took the opportunity to praise Jones, who was benched during four games before ceding to Zappe. “I feel good about Mac Jones, I really do,” said O’Brien. “I think Mac Jones is a smart guy. He’s a very hard worker. He’s really done a good job in this situation here of being a good teammate.” At this point, it’s hard to say what will happen with Jones, who is in his third season with the Patriots after being taken 15th overall in the 2021 draft. After having a strong rookie campaign, he’s regressed in each of the past two seasons. In 11 games started this season, Jones threw 10 touchdown passes versus 12 picks. “Look, these are things that happen in the course of a lot of careers, right? You have some ups and downs,” O’Brien went on. “He’s approached it the right way. He’s working hard. I believe in Mac. So I think Mac’s going to be just fine.” 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.

e963056a682385d331a53583b2a92421

Police shot gun during hoax school shooting at St. Johns: Heres what happened

As Danvers police were sweeping a school during a swatting incident in May, a police officer’s gun went off when he was trying to holster his firearm in the school, officials said. The gunshot resulted “in increased response from area departments.” A newly released report states that Det. Christopher Gaffney, whose gun went off, tried to tell those outside the school that the gunshot was from him and that it was accidental. However, a fire-alarm made “radio transmissions difficult to send/receive from inside the building.” “A short time later, Detective Gaffney made contact with Lt. Sullivan. Lt. Sullivan was able to provide clarification through radio transmission that one shot had been discharged from the police. Lt. Sullivan also ensured that Detective Gaffney, nor any other officers/person was injured or in need of medical attention as a result of the discharge,” the report states. At around 1:45 p.m. on Monday, May 22, a call was made stating a person with a long gun intended to harm students at St. John’s Preparatory School in Danvers, which was later proved to be a hoax. The report specifically targeted Brother Benjamin Hall on the St. John’s Prep campus, according to the school. The campus went into a lockdown. Four officers arrived on campus less than two minutes after being dispatched, the town said. It included two school resource officers, a detective and a patrol officer. At 1:49 p.m., state police said an “immediate entry” was made. While clearing Benjamin Hall, the officers went to a first-floor men’s bathroom. Three of the officers went inside the bathroom, while one waited in the hallway. While in the bathroom, Det. Christopher Gaffney began to put his gun into its holster, according to the town. That’s when the gun went off, the town stated. There were no students or faculty in or near the bathroom when the gun was shot, officials said. None of the officers were hurt. But the gunshot did result “in increased response from area departments.” Massachusetts State Police were then called to the school as an additional response to the gunshot. According to the report, Gaffney told Chief James Lovell “that he was 100% confident that his finger was not on the trigger of the firearm and that it was extended along the side of the barrel.” “He believed that his radio possibly interfered with successfully holstering his firearm,” the report states, adding that Gaffney was not wearing a police uniform and that he had clipped his portable radio to his belt behind his holster. Some of the students who heard the gunshot fled. Massachusetts State Police said they ran from the school to nearby woods or nearby backyards. Some of those students hid in nearby homes. “We are also deeply indebted to the surrounding community and to our neighbors, who graciously welcomed students onto their property into their homes as Monday’s events unfolded,” the school said in a statement. Parents and guardians were informed of the incident by email and text at 2:01 p.m., the school said. Students, staff and faculty continued to shelter in place until state police cleared the buildings. An all-clear was declared at 2:09 p.m. and “campus was deemed safe with no immediate danger,” the school said. In a video from the school, Lovell states that it appears Gaffney’s finger “is positioned along the side of his firearm, consistent with his training.” “At 5 minutes 39 seconds, Detective Gaffney’s firearm discharges. This is apparent by his reaction as well as the reaction from the other officers,” the report states. Detective Gaffney’s firearm is pointed in a downward direction, consistent with an attempt to holster. Detective Gaffney’s left leg can be seen buckling inward in response to the discharge.” After the incident, Gaffney requested to shoot at the department range prior to returning to duty, Lovell said. “In addition to shooting approximately 100 rounds, Sgt. [Steve] Baldassare conducted numerous movement and holstering drills with Detective Gaffney. Sgt. Baldassare reported that Detective Gaffney had no issues successfully completing any of these drills and that he has no concerns related to Detective Gaffney’s ability to proficiently handle and/or deploy his firearm,” the report reads. Although the only gunshot was an accident, Head of School Ed Hardiman said it was all still “traumatic.” “We appreciate your patience, understand your concerns and anxiety and ask that you please pray for the law enforcement people that are here, pray for our students and our staff and pray for each other as we realize this is a challenging and traumatic experience for everyone to go through,” Hardiman previously said in a video.

7777333cef7cba1316b2cf9483b4fed0

I.R.S. to Begin Trial of Its Own Free Tax-Filing System

All those free options remain available, the I.R.S. said, and its test version will just be another option. But with the new direct file service, the I.R.S. aims to further streamline the filing process. In one possible scenario included in the agency’s report to Congress, the I.R.S. could fill out tax returns with information it already has, like data from W-2 wage statements. For the pilot, however, participants will have to enter their own financial information, the I.R.S. said. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 ordered the I.R.S. to study direct filing. In May, the agency submitted a report to Congress that found a majority of taxpayers would be interested in using a direct-file tool, and it began preparing for a pilot test. In the report, the I.R.S. estimated that the annual cost of a direct-file system could range from $64 million to $249 million, depending on the scope of the service. (A separate report from the Treasury Department’s inspector general for tax administration, however, said that the design of the surveys conducted in the earlier report might have “overstated” taxpayer interest and that the department couldn’t determine the “reasonableness” of the agency’s cost estimates.) The pilot system was built at the I.R.S. by a team of tax experts, product managers, software engineers, designers and data scientists, according to the agency. The I.R.S. said it was collaborating with special teams within the government that help agencies develop digital services. The I.R.S. says direct file will walk users through the steps of preparing a return, as commercial software does. The service will be “mobile friendly,” and available in English and Spanish. Users can get help from the agency via a live online chat function and will have the option to speak with a customer service representative on the phone if needed. In online summaries, the agency has said that to make sure the pilot works well, it will initially be opened to “a small group of taxpayers” during the 2024 filing season. As the season progresses, “more and more” eligible taxpayers will be able to use the service.

fc943623762b46768bfd3dcd0390c05f

Bruins Jim Montgomery explains why he sat Matt Poitras

BOSTON — Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said rookie Matt Poitras’ absence from the lineup for Thursday’s 3-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres at TD Garden was part of a calculated plan. Poitras wasn’t benched as much as he was rested for the game according to Montgomery, who said the Bruins are trying to manage the 19-year-old’s workload. 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 something we’ve been discussing. We’re trying to put him in situations to have a lot of success,” Montgomery said. “He’ll be back in the lineup on Saturday. This is an opportunity for him to build some stretngth and some rest into his program. “It’s a grind. It’s a tough league. This is the way we think he can help the Bruins the most and help his game the most,” Montgomery continued. “This has been in the works for a little while as we finish nine games in 16 days.” Montgomery said he didn’t think Poitras had hit a wall. “I don’t think he’s hit the wall. It’s a new season and he’s 19 years old,” he said. “In the hardest league, he’s playing really well for us. We’re trying to put him in situations where he has more juice.” Through 24 games, Poitras has five goals and six assists and his 11 points are seventh on the Bruins. But had just two points in his last six games and has struggled all season on faceoffs.

17d25c85cb1227f5c11e4ca32bc2d1b5

Irans New Missile Fleet: Part Deterrent, Part Sales Pitch

When Iran launched a barrage of airstrikes this week into Iraq, Syria and Pakistan, it was not just showing off the reach and sophistication of some of its newest missiles but also staking a claim: This is a new era in which Iran can flex its muscles at will and, as an added benefit, bolster its credentials as an important arms supplier. In at least one of the attacks — a strike that Tehran claimed targeted the Islamic State terrorist group in Idlib, Syria — Iran appeared to make use of one of its longest-range and most advanced missiles, the Kheibar Shekan. Both the range and the apparent accuracy seized the attention of national security officials in Europe and Israel, as well as outside experts who track Iran’s technological advances. The combination of its newest missiles and its fleet of drones, which Russia has been purchasing by the thousands for use in Ukraine, has helped Iran become the producer of some of the most sophisticated weaponry in the Middle East. And Tehran’s willingness to intervene — as a supplier to its proxy forces in the region and to Moscow — may well complicate American calculations as the Pentagon considers the question looming over the widening Middle East conflict: Could it lead to a direct conflict with Iran?

4ef8c1c23344ec6f11e960d0eac61927

Oregon Newspaper Stops Printing After Embezzlement Leaves It in Shambles

A weekly newspaper in Oregon abruptly stopped publishing and laid off all of its workers after an employee embezzled tens of thousands of dollars and left months of bills unpaid, its editor said. The newspaper, The Eugene Weekly, announced on Thursday that it would stop printing after it discovered financial problems, including money not being paid into employee retirement accounts and $70,000 of unpaid bills to the newspaper’s printer, Camilla Mortensen, the newspaper’s editor, said on Sunday. The entire 10-person newspaper staff was laid off three days before Christmas, though some workers, including Ms. Mortensen, were still volunteering to publish articles online. The Eugene Weekly, a free newspaper, was founded in 1982 and each week prints 30,000 copies, which can be found in bright red boxes in and around Eugene, one of the most populous cities in Oregon.

1dec946e5521e3590573032345cd7653

At Art Fraud Trial, Sothebys Is Pressed on Role in Sales to Russian Oligarch

This season — the first without Pizzolatto, though he retains an executive producer credit — can be seen as a photo negative of the first. It is chilly rather than steamy, shadowed rather than sunlit, tundra-dry instead of humid. Despite occasional flashbacks, it restricts itself to a single timeline. In the first season, women appeared mostly as beleaguered wives or prostitutes. Here the gaze and the detectives are defiantly female. Is this still “True Detective”? While Pizzolatto was not available for comment, López argues that it is. This season retains what she sees as the series’s essentials: two detectives, shrouded in secrets and enmeshed in a landscape that holds secrets of its own. The series, she believes, favors a kind of expressionism in which the inner lives of the characters explode into the environment. “The darkness around them comes from inside of them,” she said. That’s certainly true of this season, though the earth’s axis may want to have a word. And if López exchanges the first season’s meditation on male toxicity and identity for a consideration of female victimhood and agency, she also returns the series to its roots in cosmic horror, even calling back to the certain Season 1 symbols, like the spiral. Orsi sometimes doubted the wisdom of having handed a marquee franchise to someone with little television experience, but López’s choices and attitude reassured her. “Every step of the way, I was taken aback by how confident she consistently was about what we were asking of her,” Orsi said. That confidence also inspired Foster, who hadn’t done substantive television work since her breakthrough role in the 1976 film “Taxi Driver.”

952be5ea1efe02a652d1d2923388828f

Did that $4 N.H. thrift shop painting really sell for $191,000? Nope.

Local News Did that $4 N.H. thrift shop painting really sell for $191,000? Nope. "We’re crushed.” An illustration by N.C. Wyeth that was purchased at a New Hampshire thrift shop for $4. Press Bonhams To Tracy Donahue, the whole thing had felt like winning the lottery. And in a sense, she and her husband, Tom, had. Donahue’s lucky break has been well documented: She strolled into a Savers thrift store years ago, purchased a $4 painting that struck her fancy, and then discovered it was, in fact, a rare and valuable N.C. Wyeth illustration. When the painting sold at auction in September for $191,000, the Donahues, who live in a modest New Hampshire home and seldom have money for adventures, began mentally allocating how they would spend the windfall on bills and a trip to visit their son in Germany. Advertisement: But the person who bid on the painting never paid, a decision that Donahue called her “biggest disappointment ever.” The Donahues have since retaken possession of their painting from the auction house, Bonhams. All they have to show for their efforts is a new cardboard box, courtesy of the Bonhams shipping department. “Luckily we didn’t spend a dime beforehand,” Donahue said. “We maybe went out to dinner once or twice, which we wouldn’t have. So, it’s not like actually losing money. But it meant so much. “We’re crushed,” she added. “I’ve never gotten that close to, you know, hoping for something.” It is not clear to Tracy Donahue, 56, and Tom Donahue, 58, exactly how their fortunes turned from that heady day when the auctioneer opened the bidding at $150,000. Someone bid immediately; no additional bids followed, and the painting was sold to paddle 6073. (The buyers premium increased the price to $191,000.) Exactly how often buyers refuse to pay for art they have bid on is hard to quantify. But experts say that, while rare, it does happen. In one high-profile example, Alan Bond, an Australian industrialist and billionaire, struggled to pay for “Irises” — a famed Vincent van Gogh painting — after winning it at auction, and eventually sold the work to the J. Paul Getty Museum. Advertisement: Auction houses prescreen potential bidders on very high-value items, but do not typically have enough people to do so for all bidders on the many items they put up each week. Some number of sales do get canceled, experts say. And although a sale may legally be considered final when the hammer falls, it is not fully consummated until the auction house receives its payment. Only in extreme cases, when it makes financial sense, do auction houses sue over a failure to pay. In its online guide, Bonhams says potential buyers must register and provide a valid credit card or a photo identification before being approved to bid. Some winning bidders are required to upload a government-issued photo ID after an auction, before they can take possession of their purchase, the guide says. The Donahues said they were told by the auction house that the buyer had 35 days to pay. By mid-October, they were getting worried, and started calling Bonhams. They found the auction house to be frustratingly unresponsive at first, and disconcertingly flippant when someone did finally return their calls and emails. Tracy Donahue said she was eventually told that the buyer had declined to pay and that little could be done, in part because the buyer lived in Australia. Advertisement: Bonhams did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Since the painting did not sell, recently, Bonhams sent the Donahues a new, eight-page contract laying out the conditions for a private sale. Under this consignment agreement, the Donahues would receive no less than $132,750 for the work, assuming Bonhams could find a buyer. The Donahues said they found the terms unsatisfactory, so they went and picked up the item. They still have options, said Michael Plummer, a former auction house executive who advises on art transactions. They could put the Wyeth up for auction again or pursue a private sale. The best thing to do, he said, is to try to move forward. “They shouldn’t give up,” he said. The Donahues said they have always loved the work and its connection to Helen Hunt Jackson’s novel “Ramona.” The frontispiece illustration was part of a four-image set that Wyeth, father of painter Andrew Wyeth, contributed for a 1939 edition of the book. It shares its title with the book, and portrays the tension between the young protagonist and her foster mother. The Donahues said they may decide to hand the piece down as a family heirloom. “We didn’t have the money before, we don’t have it now,” Tracy Donahue said. But they acknowledged that they are still reeling a bit from their experience. They are unsure, they said, of exactly how to move forward or how much their thrift-store find is even really worth. “Right now,” Donahue said, “it’s worth $4 — and a cardboard box.” Advertisement: This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

73aa2856cda7bb4276337bcca36e8875

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.

d1d7e7d049c3880951802d5ee2195443

Chilly rain across New England on Sunday

In the short term, a weather system is moving in. On Sunday, there will be widespread chilly rain across the region starting in the morning and continuing through the afternoon. The heaviest rain will come right around lunch time. Even after the steady rain moves away in evening, there will still be light rain, drizzle, and fog, especially in central and eastern Massachusetts, until it dries up by Monday morning. Although there might be a brief mix or change to snow in the highest areas of Massachusetts, any snow accumulation is expected to be minimal. Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters. Monday will likely see a continuation of the mild air with temperatures in the upper 40s to low 50s, despite more clouds than sunshine and a chance of a few scattered showers. On the other side of these rain chances, winds shift to come in from the northwest and bring a blast of cold air by Tuesday. Lows dip to the upper 20s and low 30s. highs in the upper 30s and low 40s for much of next week. Towards the end of the week into the weekend, warmer air will return, ending the cooling trend. T here's a chance for more widespread precipitation on Friday night into Saturday due to a system moving in from the Great Lakes region. NBC10 First Alert Weather team will keep you updates as it approaches.

19675b3d8b05d1b56fcbc04648ad3a66

Eversource to give update on power restoration in Massachusetts Tuesday

Eversource Energy plans to update its customers on power restoration in Massachusetts Tuesday morning in the wake of Monday’s storm, which knocked out power to hundreds of thousand of people. President of Regional Electric Operations Craig Hallstrom is set to speak during a livestream at 11 a.m. that will be broadcast on the energy company’s Facebook page, according to the utility company. According to Eversource’s live power outage map, just under 46,000, or about 3.8%, of home and businesses served by the company in eastern Massachusetts were still without power by 9:45 a.m. Virtually none of Eversource’s customers in Western Massachusetts were affected by this time, according to the map. “We have hundreds of crews on the ground working, but with outages being so widespread, it will take some time,” Hallstrom said in a Monday press release. “We are bringing additional contract crews on to support our restoration effort, and our employees are committed to working around-the-clock until all of our customers affected by this storm have their power back.” National Grid said in an email to MassLive Tuesday morning that it would provide an update on power restoration via a press release later that morning. “We understand the frustrations around power outages across Massachusetts, especially as we approach a major holiday weekend,” the energy company wrote on social media Tuesday morning. “Additional crews are being allocated to the hardest-hit areas and are working around the clock to restore service to all of our customers as quickly and safely as conditions allow.” According to National Grid’s live power outage map, over 2,200 outages across Massachusetts were affecting over 73,000 customers as of 9:45 a.m. The energy company said in a press release Monday evening that it had already restored power to 127,000 customers. Power outages across Massachusetts reached a peak of over 285,000 customers affected Monday amid record-breaking high winds. By Tuesday morning, over 134,000 homes and businesses were still without power, forcing many schools in Plymouth and Norfolk County to close for the day. As of 9:45 a.m., just under 120,000 customers in Massachusetts were still without power, according to Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency’s live power outage map.

59e61bffc5684bf821f25543a09e13d6

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.

76d7131b9db18c6c85169233b8e0e15d

A Fifth Round of Hostages Released as Extended Truce Appears to Hold

Hamas released a group of 12 hostages on Tuesday, most of them Israelis or dual nationals but also including two Thai nationals, all of whom had been kidnapped during the Hamas-led Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel. It was the fifth group to be released since Friday, when a temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas went into effect. Here’s what we know about the Israeli hostages released on Tuesday. Clara Marman, 63; Mia Leimberg, 17; Gabriela Leimberg, 59 Clara Marman, Mia Leimberg and Gabriela Leimberg. Credit... Hostages and Missing Families Forum Ms. Marman, 63, a member of Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, was taken hostage on Oct. 7, along with her partner, Luis Norberto Har, and three visiting family members: a brother, Fernando Marman, 60; a sister, Gabriela Leimberg, 59; and Ms. Leimberg’s 17-year-old daughter, Mia Leimberg, a high school senior who lives in Jerusalem. Moshe Leimberg, Gabriela’s husband and Mia’s father, stayed home in Jerusalem that day because he had the flu. In a notice he posted on LinkedIn, Mr. Leimberg said that since Oct. 7, he had heard nothing from or about his wife and daughter. “Not a word, not a picture,” he wrote. “They just disappeared, leaving behind a few scattered personal effects, almost as if they never existed.” Their absence, he said, “has left a gaping hole.” Gabriela Leimberg is the manager of a day-care center for youth adults with autism. The organization, the Shekel Association, has pleaded for the family’s release. Mia Leimberg, who is known for her singing voice, has studied at the Jersualem High School of the Arts, and also worked at a bookshop, according to the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum. The family dog was taken with the family; on Tuesday, videos on local news outlets showed Mia carrying a dog as she approached the International Committee of the Red Cross vehicles. A banner hanging at Mia’s high school reads, “We’re waiting for you, Mia, to come back.” Mr. Har and Mr. Marman are still believed to remain in Gaza. Ditza Heiman, 84 Image Ditza Heiman Credit... Hostages and Missing Families Forum Ditza Heiman, 84, was one of the first members of Kibbutz Nir Oz and had spent her entire adult life at the kibbutz, her son, Gideon Heiman, said at a news conference held by the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum earlier this month. Ms. Heiman, who worked as a social worker, retired just before she turned 80, Mr. Heiman said. “She spent her whole life helping people and helping take care of people,” he said. Ms. Heiman requires anticoagulant medication and suffered from a pulmonary embolism in the past, Dr. Sharon Kleitman, the family physician of Kibbutz Nir Oz, said at the same news conference. “My mother is not a healthy woman, and she needs medicine,” Mr. Heiman said. When the family tried to call Ms. Heiman on the day of the attack, someone picked up and said, “It’s Hamas,” her daughter, Neta Heiman, said in a video posted by the forum. “When I envision my mother there, she’s taking care of everyone,” Ms. Heiman said in the video, adding: “That’s my mother. She’ll take care of everyone if she only can. If they only let her.” “My mother, and many of her friends on Kibbutz Nir Oz who were massacred, were people of peace,” Neta Heiman said in an opinion piece in the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, adding, “All that my mother and her friends wanted was to live in peace in the small Eden they had built there in the desert.” Tamar Metzger, 78 Image Tamar Metzger Credit... Hostages and Missing Families Forum Tamar Metzger, 78, was taken hostage along with her husband, Yoram Metzger, from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7, according to a report in the Times of Israel. The couple has three children and seven grandchildren. She had worked in the kibbutz nursery and ran the general store, but in recent years had been a full-time grandmother, spending a lot of time caring for her grandchildren, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. Tamar has limited mobility, according to the forum, and spends a lot of time on her balcony, reading, doing crossword puzzles and smoking cigarettes. Her husband is believed to remain in Gaza. Noralin Babadila, 60 Image Noralin Babadila Agojo. Credit... Hostages and Missing Families Forum Noralin Babadila, 60, was visiting friends at Kibbutz Nirim on Oct. 7, when terrorists attacked, killing her partner, Gideon Babani, and taking her hostage. The kibbutz was celebrating the anniversary of its founding that weekend. Ms. Babadila was born in the Philippines but lived in Yehud, a city in central Israel. She spoke with her brother by telephone in the early morning of Oct. 7 and told him that she was scared and that she might not return, according to a report in The Times of Israel. Ada Sagi, 75 Image Ada Sagi. Credit... Hostages and Missing Families Forum Ada Sagi, 75, a resident of Kibbutz Nir Oz, has taught Hebrew and Arabic, according to the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum. The child of Holocaust survivors from Poland, she moved to a kibbutz when she was 18, according to The Associated Press. She was getting ready for a planned a trip to London to visit her family and to celebrate her 75th birthday when she was kidnapped on Oct. 7. Meirav Tal, 53 Image Meirav Tal Credit... Hostages and Missing Families Forum Meirav Tal, 53, her boyfriend, Yair Yaakov, and his children, Or, 16, and Yagil, 12, were all taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7. Both Or and Yagil were released on Monday, the fourth day of the cease-fire, as part of a group of 11 freed Israeli hostages. Yair Yaakov is believed to remain in Gaza. Rimon Kirsht, 36 Image Rimon Kirscht. Credit... Hostages and Missing Families Forum Rimon Kirsht, 36, and her husband, Yagev Buchshtab, 34, were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nirim on Oct. 7. The couple married two years ago, according to the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum, and had five dogs and five cats, most of which had been abused before being adopted. Ms. Kirsht practices alternative medicine and reflexology, and volunteered at Maslan, a support center for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence in southern Israel. Ms. Kirsht loves growing plants, adopting and raising animals and listening to music, favoring Israeli bands, Guns N’Roses and U2, according to the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum. Ms. Kirsht was included in a hostage video released by Hamas in late October. Mr. Buchshtab is believed to remain in Gaza. Ofelia Adit Roitman, 77 Image Ophelia Roitman Credit... Hostages and Missing Families Forum Ofelia Roitman, 77, moved to Israel from Argentina in 1985, according to a Facebook post by the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum. She lived in Kibbutz Nir Oz and has nine grandchildren. Ms. Roitman was an educator who taught first and second grade students for twenty years, her daughter, Natalie Madmaon, said in a video posted by the Israeli public broadcaster, Kan. Her family lost contact with her on Oct. 7, Ms. Madmaon said in the video. She worked in education in the kibbutz for many years, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. Johnatan Reiss contributed reporting.

e3647b564895a0efd3ddefc16800059a

Gov. Maura Healey just signed a $3.1B year-end spending bill. Here are 3 things to know

The $3.1 billion year-end budget bill that Gov. Maura Healey signed Monday will – among other things –provide immediate financial relief to the commonwealth’s shelter system, and give pay increases to tens of thousands of unionized state employees. Here are three things to know. How will the new budget bill help unhoused families? The 2023 year-end spending bill will immediately infuse $250 million into the state’s emergency assistance program to help it run through the rest of the fiscal year. The bill would also require Healey to spend up to $50 million of the funds on an overflow site to house homeless families by Dec. 31. The influx of migrants entering the Bay State seeking a place to live has dried up the amount of space in the state’s shelter system. The crisis prompted Healey to restrict the number of people who could stay in the state’s shelter to 7,500 families, pushing those in need to a waitlist. State officials designated a few conference rooms in the state’s transportation building in Boston to serve as an overnight shelter space until an overflow site has been launched. Lt. Gen. Scott Rice, who leads the state’s response to the ongoing shelter crisis, has said that he and his team are locating an overflow site to house the hundreds of people stuck on the state waitlist. What else would the budget bill do? The bill provides nearly $400 million to fund pay increases in union contracts for tens of thousands of state employees, some of whom are police officers, teachers and/or transit workers. The bill also shells out $75 million for school districts impacted by special education tuition rate increases; $15 million in disaster relief aid for towns and cities harmed by storms and natural disasters in 2023, and $100 million in pension payments to remove any liability from the 2015 early retirement incentive program, according to the Massachusetts Senate’s office. What are people saying about the bill? The bill has been widely praised by advocates and lawmakers. Max Page, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, praised the activism from members of his group to get the bill signed. “Thousands of MTA members worked alongside colleagues from other unions making phone calls, sending emails, signing petitions, and showing up to events, both on their campuses and at the State House,” Page said. “The solidarity of public-sector workers was beautiful to behold. Legislators felt the heat for their inexcusable inaction.” Andrea Park, Director of Community Driven Advocacy at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, said that she was “relieved and grateful” that the bill was signed, MassLive reported. Park has been in contact with members of the Healey administration to understand their progress in locating an overflow site. Senate President Karen Spilka, D-Middlesex/Norfolk, also praised members of her chamber in getting the bill signed. “The Senate understands how much of an impact our work has on the residents of the Commonwealth—especially when pay raises for hard-working employees and funding for emergency shelter is on the line,” Spilka said in a statement. “I’m proud of the urgency the Senate has repeatedly shown in getting this bill to the governor’s desk, and I’d like to thank all of my colleagues in the Senate for getting this done, especially Senate Ways and Means Chair Rodrigues and Senate Minority Leader [Bruce] Tarr.”

f76699c9f3bb9ec40ce8c5d3e01fb740

A Palestinian Man Vanished Oct. 7. His Family Wants to Know Who Killed Him.

On a clear December morning, two Palestinian brothers stood on a mound in southern Israel that overlooked Gaza, watching smoke rise after Israeli airstrikes. It was a conflicted moment for the men, Abd Al-Mughani Abu Amar, 37, and Mahmood Abu Amar, 24. They live in East Jerusalem, and were thinking of their relatives in Hamas-controlled Gaza, whom they had not heard from in weeks. But the brothers had been drawn to the Gaza border for another reason: Their youngest brother, Soheib Abu Amar, a bus driver, was captured by Hamas on Oct. 7, taken after he drove Israeli partygoers to a music festival the night before. His brothers had come to retrace Mr. Abu Amar’s last known steps. Some two million Arabs live in Israel, roughly a fifth of the country’s population of more than nine million. Several were among the 1,200 people killed by Hamas on Oct 7.

a2c009867c314e7c3623f9113b0d3944

Hallmark Christmas Movies: How to watch premiere of My Norwegian Holiday

Are you even in the holiday spirit if you’re not watching cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies every night in December? This season, Hallmark has a handful of new films dropping, including “My Norwegian Holiday” on Friday, Dec. 1 at 8 p.m. ET. Fans looking to check it out can do so for free (Christmas came early?) by going to fuboTV and signing up for a free trial or by going over to Philo for their free trial. From Hallmark’s website: “JJ, grieving the loss of her grandmother and seeking dissertation inspiration, stumbles upon an unexpected holiday destiny. Meeting Henrik, a Norwegian from Bergen, their connection deepens when he discovers she has a troll figurine from his hometown. To explore the troll’s history and her grandmother’s ties, JJ agrees to join Henrik on a journey to Norway. In Bergen, they’re drawn into Henrik’s family Christmas and wedding traditions, with his sister’s wedding the day before Christmas Eve. JJ embarks on a holiday adventure, uncovering the troll’s origins and finding her own path to healing, love and family. Starring Rhiannon Fish and David Elsendoorn.” Hallmark is also promoting three other new Christmas movies this holiday season, in addition to “My Norwegian Holiday”: “A Not So Royal Christmas” staring Brooke D’Orsay and Will Kemp; “Christmas With a Kiss” starring Mishael Morgan, Ronnie Rowe Jr. and Jaime M Callica and “Magic in Mistletoe” starring Lyndie Greenwood and Paul Campbell.

5f5d627fd8a8df2b6f04a80736ea7fc8

DCR Traffic Advisory: Morrissey Blvd. rolling lane closure this week

Maureen Dahill is the editor of Caught in Southie and a lifelong resident of South Boston sometimes mistaken for a yuppie. Co-host of Caught Up, storyteller, lover of red wine and binge watching TV series. Mrs. Peter G. Follow her @MaureenCaught.

f185ed9bf16fb803e209126fb6d3f9ba

Air Force: 15 members of accused Mass. Airman Jack Teixeiras unit found at fault for leaks

The Air Force Inspector General said on Monday that members of Jack Teixeira’s unit didn’t take proper action after finding out about the Massachusetts airman’s alleged leak of classified government information and has disciplined 15 people as a result. In an announcement on Dec. 11, the Inspector General said that while its investigation found Teixeira to be solely responsible for the social media leak of information on Russia’s war in Ukraine, leadership members in the 102nd Intelligence Wing also were indirectly at fault for his actions. Read more: Jack Teixeira pleads not guilty to sharing classified documents Teixeira, 23, is accused of leaking top-secret military documents regarding the war in Ukraine to his internet friends over Discord, a communication platform popular amongst video gamers. Officials said he accessed Discord while employed at the Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod. He was arrested and charged with six counts willful retention and transmission of classified information relating to the national defense in April under the Espionage Act. Each count carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison. The Massachusetts man pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Worcester in June, and was denied release in September as he waits in jail for his next trial date. Because of these indirect factors, many people were removed from their positions, and other administrative actions were brought against unit members, the Air Force said. Some of these factors included Texeira’s commanders’ failure to review their areas of command, inconsistent guidance on reporting security incidents and a misunderstanding of the government’s “Need to Know” classified info concept, the investigation revealed. Additionally, a lack of supervision of night shift operations, poor administration of disciplinary actions, and not providing security clearance field investigation results all factored into Teixeira’s suspected crimes, the Air Force said. Leadership also did not properly inspect the conduct of the people they were in charge of — specifically, security was not prioritized because those in charge did not take “the required actions to accomplish security program responsibilities fully and effectively,” investigators found. Two of the 15 people who received disciplined by the Air National Guard, which began Sept. 7, were identified as Col. Sean Riley, a 102d commander, and Enrique Dovalo, a Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group commander for the 102d. Riley was relieved of his position, the Air Force said. Dovalo received administrative action for its concerns with the commander’s unit culture and compliance with policies and standards. Also permanently removed were commanders who were previously suspended from the 102d Intelligence Support Squadron, and the detachment overseeing administrative support for Airmen at the unit mobilized for duty under Title 10 of the U.S. criminal code, the Air Force said. The 102nd Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group had been taken off mission when allegations against Teixeira surfaced, and the group’s mission remains reassigned to other organizations within the Air Force. In addition to the disciplinary and administrative actions, the Air Force implemented department-wide security improvements, such as the members’ review of security procedure compliance, their attendance of security training, and a survey of security practices across the Air Force. The Air Force also implemented several reforms, including but not limited to, increased emphasis on cyber-hygiene, improving its procedures on “Need to Know” and classified access, improving security training content, and delivery and improving security training content and delivery. “Every Airman and Guardian is entrusted with the solemn duty to safeguard our nation’s classified defense information,” U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said in the statement. “When there is a breach of that sacred trust, for any reason, we will act in accordance with our laws and policies to hold responsible individuals accountable. Our national security demands leaders at every level protect critical assets, ensuring they do not fall into the hands of those who would do the United States or our allies and partners harm,” Kendall said.

054a3d3be2cd8c9de47ddfeb4763f5a5

Suspect in fatal Boston shooting appears in court wearing GPS from previous case

A Dorchester man facing a murder charge appeared in court Tuesday in connection with a fatal shooting that happened in Boston during Labor Day weekend wearing a GPS monitoring device from a previous case.Xavier Rivas, 22, of Boston, was shot Saturday shortly after 11:40 p.m. near the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Old Road in Dorchester. He was transported by Boston Emergency Medical Services to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.Police arrested Mikai Thomson, 21, Sunday afternoon in the city's Roxbury neighborhood. Police said Thomson had a warrant for his arrest dating back to Aug. 21 for various firearms charges and the assault and battery of a police officer.Thomson was charged with murder, assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon and other charges in connection with the homicide of Rivas. He was held without bail.Boston residents who find themselves in need of emotional support are encouraged to call the Boston Neighborhood Trauma Team, which provides free and private support 24/7 at 617-431-0125. A Dorchester man facing a murder charge appeared in court Tuesday in connection with a fatal shooting that happened in Boston during Labor Day weekend wearing a GPS monitoring device from a previous case. Xavier Rivas, 22, of Boston, was shot Saturday shortly after 11:40 p.m. near the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Old Road in Dorchester. He was transported by Boston Emergency Medical Services to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Advertisement Police arrested Mikai Thomson, 21, Sunday afternoon in the city's Roxbury neighborhood. Police said Thomson had a warrant for his arrest dating back to Aug. 21 for various firearms charges and the assault and battery of a police officer. Thomson was charged with murder, assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon and other charges in connection with the homicide of Rivas. He was held without bail. Boston residents who find themselves in need of emotional support are encouraged to call the Boston Neighborhood Trauma Team, which provides free and private support 24/7 at 617-431-0125.

c760ea81a5853277d73e0ad1db22c44d

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.

e134de8bf655a02f53c07e53b1cda408

Sale closed in Brookline: $5.3 million for a four-bedroom home

A spacious house built in 1947 located at 111 Jordan Road in Brookline has a new owner. The 3,182-square-foot property was sold on Dec. 15, 2023 for $5,300,000, or $1,666 per square foot. The property features four bedrooms, four bathrooms, an attached garage, and one parking space. The unit sits on a 0.4-acre lot. Additional houses have recently been sold close by:

cfdbada9a64fdc716a2abb250f8f41b3

State closes overflow shelter. Homeless migrant families moving to Quincy

QUINCY − Homeless migrant families housed in downtown Boston are being moved to Eastern Nazarene College, according to officials. The overflow shelter at the state transportation building, which opened at 10 Park Plaza in mid-November after the state capped its emergency family shelter system at 7,500 families, has housed up to 25 families in conference rooms where they slept on cots, as reported by WCVB. Gov. Maura Healey's administration announced that the overnight shelter at 10 Park Plaza would close Friday and families will be transferred to the shelter at Eastern Nazarene College. At the Eastern Nazarene shelter, which opened in July, families can stay throughout the day rather than being limited to evenings and overnight hours, which was the case at the transportation building. The scale and nature of operations at Eastern Nazarene will not change, said Chris Walker, chief of staff to Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch, in a phone interview with The Patriot Ledger. "(There will be) no major change in the operation from how that facility has been running since day one," Walker said. "It's still temporary, it's still for high-priority folks. (There is) no alteration in the overall operation at ENC." Eastern Nazarene Vice President of Academic Affairs Bill McCoy also said there will be no dramatic changes. "The operational structure of our Family Welcome Center and temporary shelter ... has remained largely unchanged," he said in a statement. "Over the past four-plus months of the shelter's operations, we have seen the population ebb and flow due to a variety of factors. ... There have been times when the shelter has been near or at capacity, but the operation has proven well able to manage those shifts over time." Eastern Nazarene will now serve as overflow shelter for families on waiting list Kevin Connor, press secretary for the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, said Eastern Nazarene hosts one of two family welcome centers in the state which have provided services to newly arriving families for the past several months. “(Eastern Nazarene) also had capacity for short-term stays for families who came to the welcome center, received services, but weren’t immediately placed into shelter because there are logistical challenges to placing people immediately.” More recently, the temporary shelter at Eastern Nazarene has served “high-priority” families on the state’s waitlist for placement in its emergency shelter system. Now, Connor said, Eastern Nazarene will “provide shelter to other families who are on the waitlist as well.” The state groups families into four categories of prioritization for placement, Connor said. Criteria for the highest prioritization group include vulnerability to domestic violence, health issues and the presence of very young children, ages 0 to 3. How long a family remains on the waiting list depends on its priority level and how quickly families currently in the shelter system can transition to permanent housing, Connor said. The temporary shelter and family welcome center at Eastern Nazarene The shelter at Eastern Nazarene, which can house up to 58 families, provides two distinct but related services. Operated by Bay State Community Services, the family welcome center provides families with a health screening and needs assessment, connecting them with other service providers. A temporary family emergency shelter run by AMI Expeditionary Healthcare, provides food, basic medical care and transportation while the families are on campus. In September, Secretary of Housing and Human Services Kathleen Walsh told a large group of Quincy residents assembled in a school auditorium that most families only remain on campus for five to seven days. With shelter system maxed out, families are staying in emergency rooms and at Logan Airport In a Thursday press briefing, Secretary of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities Ed Augusts said that migrant families continue to arrive in Boston, though at a slightly slower pace than this summer and fall. "In terms of demand, it's going down a tiny bit," he said. "We haven't seen a drastic drop off." With state's shelter system overwhelmed, families have had to find other options. "A lot of families have been staying, sometimes at Logan, sometimes in some emergency rooms, but we've tried to create these overflow opportunities," Augustus said. "We're going to continue to work on that now that we have some additional dollars to do that with the supplemental funding. We're looking to expand those opportunities so that people aren't out on the street." Augustus was referring to $250 million for the emergency shelter system included in a long-stalled supplemental budget bill signed by Healey on Dec. 4. Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Patriot Ledger subscription. Here is our latest offer.

6418b8b2c4bcdeee9838b2e48b6e3a4d

School Committee election disputes continue between Gosselin and Gunther

WESTFIELD - Jeffrey Gosselin, who ran unsuccessfully for the Westfield School Committee in the Nov. 7 Municipal Election, filed a suit against the Westfield Democratic City Committee on Dec. 26, 2023 in Superior Court in Springfield. In the lawsuit, Gosselin charged the democratic committee and its chair Jeffrey Gunther with not following its bylaws when he was denied financial assistance for his campaign following a request for support that he said he made during the Sept. 14 and Oct. 12 meetings. Gunther also ran for the School Committee, and was elected.

66264be3629a834bb4b64f91ca51c29d

Logan Clegg, accused of murder

A former second-grade teacher from Milford appeared in federal court in Worcester on Monday, where he pleaded guilty to possessing child sex abuse videos, acting United States Attorney Joshua Levy’s office said. Vincent Kiejzo, 36, pleaded guilty today to one count of possession of child pornography, Levy’s office said in a statement. Read more: Sutton magician Scott Jameson pleads guilty to child porn charges A search of Kiejzo’s home in September 2020 resulted in the findings of a USB drive connected to Kiejzo’s bedroom television, Levy’s office said. The USB drive contained links to websites with videos depicting children being sexually exploited, along with over 6,000 images of child sex abuse, including pictures involving infants. The charging statute provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Kiejzo was arrested and charged that same month before he was indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2020. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Timothy Hillman scheduled Kiejzo’s sentencing for April 4, 2024.

b133e215dd9fba8b2ba7b05268116bea

Gender wage gap in Boston shrinks, while racial gap grows

“Doing that math, it was like, ‘Whoa,’ ” said Kim Borman, executive director of the council. “I did it six times to make sure.” The gender wage gap in Greater Boston narrowed by 9 cents in the past two years, according to a new report by the Boston Women’s Workforce Council — shrinking for the first time since the council started studying payroll data in 2016 . For every dollar men earn, women make 79 cents, up from 70 cents in 2021. The drop appears to be driven by an increase in women advancing into highly paid leadership roles, Borman noted, and by a 6 percent average salary increase for women overall, while men’s average salary declined. Advertisement The math wasn’t as positive when it came to the racial wage gap, however. That pay divide increased by 3 cents since 2021, with employees of color earning 73 cents on the dollar compared to white workers. Black and Latina women fare the worst, making less than half what white men do. Get Trendlines A business newsletter from Globe Columnist Larry Edelman covering the trends shaping business and the economy in Boston and beyond. Enter Email Sign Up The pandemic likely played into the wage discrepancies, workplace analysts note. Federal funding enabled many women to continue working or take new jobs, and worker shortages in health care, which has a roughly 80 percent female workforce, led to strong wage increases for women. The ability to work remotely may also play into women’s abilities to take higher-paying jobs, while the new state law mandating paid family and medical leave is allowing greater flexibility to care for family members. Meanwhile, communities of color continue to feel the impact of COVID, with increased health problems and caregiving demands hurting the ability to work. This has likely compounded the divide created by the prevalence of people of color in lower-paid jobs and a lower share getting promoted into management. “Most times when you look at efforts that go toward DE&I . . . it’s white women and Asian women who have benefited,” said Beth Chandler, BWWC council member and executive director of YW Boston, a nonprofit that promotes equity and is one of more than 250 local employers that have signed the BWWC’s 100% Talent Compact to take action on wage gaps. “It’s Black and Latina women and Indigenous women who have not.” Advertisement White and Asian women in the Boston area earned just over $100,000 a year on average at the 103 companies analyzed in the report, while women of other races earned between $58,000 and $79,000. Massachusetts has a number of laws dedicated to pay equity, but its 27-cent gender pay gap is the 22nd highest in the country, according to the National Partnership for Women & Families, which, unlike the BWWC report, includes part-time workers and relies on census data. Vermont, on the other hand, has the lowest pay gap of any state, at 15 cents. The state’s small size and largely white workforce may play into this, said Cary Brown, executive director of the Vermont Commission on Women, but Brown noted that the state has passed pay equity laws, strengthened protections against sexual harassment and discrimination, and is investing in child care — “probably the single thing that most impacts women’s ability to make as much money as men,” she said. Unlike other wage gap reports, the Boston Women’s Workforce Council uses payroll data from employers, rather than relying on census surveys. The salaries of more than 165,000 workers were analyzed to find the raw wage gap as of last December, without adjusting for type of job, experience, or education. Research shows that even when those factors are accounted for, though, men are still paid more than women. Advertisement Most of the current earnings gap is between men and women in the same occupation and largely emerges after the birth of the first child, according to research by Harvard economist Claudia Goldin, who just won the Nobel Prize for her work on the issue. Women in dual-career heterosexual couples are more likely than men to forgo demanding, higher-paying jobs to be more available at home, she found. And women who take high-level jobs end up burning the candle at both ends. Over half of women in senior management take care of most of their family’s household duties and child care, according to management consulting firm McKinsey & Co., compared to 13 percent of male senior managers. And the wage gap gets even wider at the top. In Boston, the “performance pay” gender wage gap, including bonuses and cash incentives, is especially vast at the executive level, jumping from a 25 cent gulf in base pay to 42 cents overall. Pay equity isn’t possible, Goldin has said, until there’s “couple’s equity.” The morning commute near South Station in Boston on Sept. 19. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff When it comes to advancement, the problem isn’t necessarily the glass ceiling, according to McKinsey, it’s the “broken rung” on the way there. For every 100 men promoted from entry level to manager, 87 women — and only 73 women of color — move up to management. Advertisement Employers examining their practices need to realize “this is hard, intensive work,” Borman said. Salaries should be continually analyzed and adjusted, if needed, and managers trained on how to better support employees. Everything from what job postings say and who gets interviewed to how promotions are granted must be scrutinized. David Sweeney, former chief financial officer for the City of Boston, instituted a number of changes to bolster inclusivity when he took over in 2020 as chief executive of the nonprofit now called the Longwood Collective, a Compact signer that provides planning, transportation, and other services in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area. Open positions are posted on specialized job boards where a diverse array of candidates, from working mothers to engineers of color, will see them. Workforce diversity is tracked, compensation consultants review all salaries regularly, and every employee gets a bonus when corporate goals are met. This has a cost, Sweeney said, and can be challenging in a tight labor market. “I don’t think most organizations are out actively discriminating against marginalized groups,” he said. “But changes don’t happen on their own. It takes a very proactive mentality to move the needle on these things.” The smallest gender wage gap in the BWWC study — 6 cents — is in the nonprofit sector, where the workforce is 71 percent female. But nonprofits also have a 44 cent racial wage gap, the largest of any industry studied. This racial divide stems from the fact that leaders of nonprofits tend to be white, while lower-paid employees serving clients are more often people of color, said Cambridge-based diversity consultant Su Joun. There’s also an assumption that because nonprofits often support disadvantaged communities, they must be “naturally inclusive” and don’t examine their practices as carefully as they should. Advertisement “Nonprofit leaders assume they’re immune to biases and microaggressions because of the good work they do,” she said. Hub International, the national insurance brokerage with 26 offices in New England, including 11 studied for the BWWC report, increased the raise pool this year by 60 percent across New England after analyzing its compensation structure. In one division, an average adjustment of 8.4 percent was made for more than half the team to alleviate wage gaps, said Mim Minichiello, chief performance and talent officer, and BWWC council member. One person got a 20 percent boost in pay. Compensation is much more structured than in the past, Minichiello said, which is especially important in a business where pay discrepancies can be inherited through acquisitions. But it takes constant supervision. “It’s still a dog fight,” she said. Katie Johnston can be reached at katie.johnston@globe.com. Follow her @ktkjohnston.

de96ae5235538022cce2d977b0f1dc72

Heavy rain causes messy commute, leaves thousands of Mass. residents without power

City officials once again gathered around one of the city’s mountainous salt piles to announce Boston is braced for any oncoming winter weather — and they urged residents to do their part. “Winter doesn’t stand a chance in Boston, because we are ready,” said Mayor Michelle Wu, flanked by a glittering salt pile and large snow plow in the Public Works Yard Wednesday. “And we know that last winter was particularly mild, and so I’m trying not to jinx it today here in front of the salt pile, but we will be prepared for anything.” The city has 44,000 tons of salt — upping last year by 4,000 tons — and 175 pieces of snow clearing apparatus with 800 more available for snow emergencies, Wu said. Following a notably mild winter last year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association forecasted a warmer-than-average winter for the New England region in their 2023-24 Winter Outlook release. In a report released in October, though, AccuWeather forecasted up to three times higher snowfall in the Boston region compared to last year. “But preparing for winter isn’t just about streets and public walkways,” Wu said. “It is also about keeping our residents warm and safe.” The city hosts a number of winter programs for residents, including energy and heating assistance to help get families through the winter. Families can apply to receive assistance with fuel costs, weatherization, system repairs and more through the city of Boston website. “We know that making it through the winter is very much a team effort, certainly within the city but also with our residents and businesses,” said Chief of Streets Jascha Franklin-Hodge. “And we need people to do their part and follow the rules that we’ve had for shoveling.” Residents are responsible for shoveling all sidewalks and curb ramps abutting their property within three hours after snowfall ends or the sun rises, Franklin Hodge said. Officials also reminded folks the city only allows residents to use “space savers” for parking spaces after an official snow emergency had been declared and up to 48 hours after the emergency has ended — except in the South End and Bay Village, which don’t allow the practice. People can also pitch in by calling 311 — or using the 311 app — for any snow or winter weather related concerns, like covered fire hydrants and handicap ramps, or questions, officials said. Speakers also encouraged seniors to call at any time, noting the city “stands ready to assist senior homeowners in need of any type of emergency repair.” Wu encouraged anyone concerned any elderly, unhoused, under-dressed or disoriented people out in winter weather to “please call 911 to make sure that they can get help and support right away.” The city has 1,030 emergency bed for homeless individuals, said Chief of Housing Sheila Dillon, and an additional 219 for individuals who need less populated facilities and more support because of mental health and substance abuse issues. As the migrant and shelter crisis grows, the city, state and nonprofit partners are adding beds and warming spaces, Dillon said, and “no one will be turned away.” Officials also called on residents to be safe by dressing with consideration for the weather and being careful and visible when traveling after dark during the early sunsets. “We know that getting through the winter here is a community effort,” said Wu. “And we have the strongest community here in Boston one that supports one another from helping shovel snow and dig out cars to checking on our neighbors.” The city has program application and details guides on subjects like parking, shoveling, losing power and more on boston.gov/winter.

47efad3effc8a634199e01ec1125b355

How to watch Press Your Luck new episode on Nov. 7 for free

A new episode of “Press Your Luck” will air on Tuesday, November 7 at 10 p.m. EST. Host Elizabeth Banks has returned for another high-stakes season as a new batch of contestants tries to avoid the WHAMMY and bring home a million bucks in the new season of “Press Your Luck.” Viewers looking to stream the new episode can do so for free by using FuboTV or DirecTV Stream. Both streaming services offer free trials. “Three contestants compete against one another in a game of wits and strategy, answering questions to earn spins on the Big Board,” FuboTV said in a description of the series. “The stakes get even higher when the contestants get the chance to use their spins to win cash and prizes while trying to avoid the WHAMMY, who could take all of their winnings and leave them with nothing,” it added. “The winning contestant moves on to the bonus round to face the WHAMMY in a final battle for the chance to win a fortune.” How can I watch the “Press Your Luck″ on ABC for free without cable? The new episode will air on Tuesday, November 7 at 10 p.m. EST. Viewers looking to stream the new episode can do so for free by using FuboTV or DirecTV Stream. Both streaming services offer free trials. 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.

b978280f0e0df1ed6ee0e7657edc1ae3

Bruins vs. Sabres: Free live stream, TV, how to watch NHL

It’s Connor Clifton’s return to Boston and Mason Lohrei’s return to the NHL on Thursday night at TD Garden. The Bruins host the Sabres at 7 p.m. at TD Garden The game is on NESN for subscribers. Fans can also stream Bruins games for free by signing up for a free trial of fuboTV. Boston Bruins vs. Columbus Blue Jackets How can I watch on TV? - The game will start at 7 p.m. EST from TD Garden. The game will air on TV via NESN in New England. Live stream: fuboTV | NESN Live | Sling | DirecTV - If you get NESN through your TV provider, you can use your cable login credentials to watch the game via streaming via NESN Live and the NESN App. Fans who do not have cable can watch the game via fuboTV, which has a free trial. 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 at Fanatics for jerseys, hats, polos, sneakers, shirts and more $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. Sports Betting Promos: 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. More NHL coverage via the Associated Press Buffalo Sabres (10-14-2, seventh in the Atlantic Division) vs. Boston Bruins (17-4-3, first in the Atlantic Division) Boston; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: The Boston Bruins host the Buffalo Sabres after Brad Marchand’s hat trick against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Bruins’ 3-1 win. Boston has a 17-4-3 record overall and a 7-2-2 record in Atlantic Division play. The Bruins have conceded 59 goals while scoring 80 for a +21 scoring differential. Buffalo is 3-3-0 against the Atlantic Division and 10-14-2 overall. The Sabres are 10-4-1 in games they score at least three goals. Thursday’s game is the second meeting between these teams this season. The Bruins won 5-2 in the previous meeting. Marchand led the Bruins with three goals. TOP PERFORMERS: Marchand has 11 goals and 12 assists for the Bruins. Charlie Coyle has four goals and four assists over the past 10 games. Casey Mittelstadt has six goals and 16 assists for the Sabres. Alex Tuch has four goals and three assists over the past 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Bruins: 6-3-1, averaging 3.5 goals, 6.3 assists, 4.5 penalties and 9.9 penalty minutes while giving up 2.9 goals per game. Sabres: 3-6-1, averaging 2.8 goals, 4.6 assists, 3.2 penalties and seven penalty minutes while giving up 3.7 goals per game. Sabres: Zemgus Girgensons: out (lower body), Jack Quinn: out (achilles), Alex Tuch: out (lower body), Jordan Greenway: out (upper-body).

d4fb5e5ef852f4791cbb35973a4b2625

Flooding to wreak havoc across Mass. on Wednesday, forecasters say

Travel will be dangerous in every part of Massachusetts on Wednesday morning as heavy rains mixed with snowmelt and high winds cause flooding and debris to overtake roadways, according to the National Weather Service on Tuesday. The entire state east of Berkshire County, save for the Cape and Islands, is under a flood watch as of Tuesday morning, which will remain in effect from the evening through Wednesday afternoon. Winds ranging from 30 to 40 mph with gusts up to 65 mph are also expected during the storm, and a high wind warning was issued for the coastline and some North Shore and southeastern counties. Forecasters cautioned that heavy rain may fall on a deep snowpack, which would lead to increased snowmelt. This would cause flows in rivers to increase quickly and reach “critical levels,” the weather service said. Snow is expected to start the storm off Tuesday afternoon in Western Massachusetts and give way to rain as temperatures warm “rapidly” from the 30s and 40s to the 40s and 50s, which will “obliterate the snowpack,” the weather service said. Though some areas that accumulated 12 to 18 inches over the weekend may have its snowpack act as a “sponge” to soak up the rainfall, according to forecasters, the majority of the winter landscape will melt into inches of icy water. Weather service meteorologist Alan Dunham explained that this will cause very poor roadway conditions with ponding and puddles on Wednesday during the morning commute. “The morning commute is going to be moderately to severely impacted because of all the water on the roads and over southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod and the islands with downed branches and whatnot,” Dunham said. “If you’ve got a snowpack that’s got an inch and a half of water in it and it all melts, plus you get 2 to 3 inches of rain... now you’re talking more than 5 inches of water going into the river basins. There’s a cumulative effect,” he explained. “The flood watch is for everywhere except for Cape Cod and the islands, and it’s a combination of the heavy rain, the snow melt and any clogged storm drains,” he added. Power outages are also anticipated for southeastern Massachusetts, where the high winds will be the strongest, along with Cape Cod and the islands and southeast Rhode Island, Dunham said. He said winds won’t be as strong further from the coastline due to the snowpack making for cooler air. The high wind warning goes into effect from 5 p.m. Tuesday until 1 p.m. Wednesday for parts of the North Shore and southeastern Massachusetts, including Essex, Bristol and Plymouth counties and the Cape and the Islands. Dunham said snow is predicted to accumulate on the front end of the storm in northern Worcester County between 2 and 3 inches and in the Berkshires with 3 and 4 inches, even 5 inches in some areas. The meteorologist said though this snow might absorb a little more of the rain, flooding may still ensue as the temperatures go up and the precipitation changes to rain.

ce8ca7b3421a95643e30a9e91f193d04

Dreaming of a white Christmas? You might try Alaska

For most Americans dreaming of a white Christmas, this year’s prospects aren’t good. Although parts of the Rockies and Midwest already have snow or could get a fresh dusting by Monday, other parts of the country that are normally coated in white this time of year are still sporting their drab late-fall look. “Some people will get their dream, their wish, and get a white Christmas right at the last minute,” said Judah Cohen, the director of seasonal forecasting at Verisk Atmospheric and Environmental Research. “But most of the country will have a brown Christmas.” Among the areas more accustomed to snowy Decembers is the Northeast, where a powerful storm blew in this week and dumped heavy rain on the region’s ski areas, wreaking havoc on the snowpack. “It didn’t wash out our trails. But it was crazy rain,” said Tom Day, the general manager of Gunstock Mountain Resort in Gilford, New Hampshire. He hiked the ski area Monday, when it was closed, as 3.5 inches (8.8 centimeters) of warm rain fell and the wind howled. “That’s a four-letter word, rain, in our business,” Day said. The snow cover across the U.S. is at near-record lows for this time of year, said Cohen, who doesn’t expect much change by Christmas Day. “There is a storm that is supposed to come out of the Rockies and head toward Canada, so it looks like some fresh snow in the western Plains, from Kansas to North Dakota,” he said, adding that snow could fall as far west as Denver and as far east as Minnesota. The National Weather Service also doesn’t foresee a white Christmas for much of the country. But on the bright side, “At least the weather is favorable for most people who have plans to travel this year,” the service wrote in its holiday forecast. So where should snow lovers turn? “The best chance for a white Christmas by far is in Alaska,” the service wrote. “Anchorage’s record snow depth on Christmas Day is 30 inches, which was set back in 1994, and this year’s snow depth could be close to the record.” Climate change is playing a role in diminishing Christmas snow, Cohen said, although he noted it remains a complicated picture, with extreme cold snaps and unusual weather events occurring. “Certainly, the globe is warming. Winters are getting shorter. Overall, they’re getting warmer,” Cohen said. “December, I’ve seen the strongest warming. So I feel like December really no longer qualifies as a winter month. The early-season skiing is becoming more and more challenging.” Despite the challenges, Northeastern snow lovers aren’t giving up. After closing for rain on Monday, Gunstock reopened Tuesday, while many other ski areas took a day or two longer to rebuild trails. Ryan Sloan, who drove five hours from New York through “intense” rain on Monday to go snowboarding, said Gunstock’s trails on Tuesday weren’t as washed out as he feared they would be. “The conditions are actually pretty good,” Sloan said. “When you get up to the top, the trails are pretty decent. There are some rocky spots, some icy spots, but overall, pretty good.” Extensive drainage systems allowed the resort to keep its trails intact, Day said. In Vermont, the rain caused ski areas to lose some of their natural snow and close some trails, said Bryan Rivard, a spokesperson for Ski Vermont. But he said cold nighttime temperatures forecast for late this week would help them recover. “Vermont ski areas have some of the most powerful and efficient snowmaking systems in the world, which allows them to stockpile and distribute snow quickly,” Rivard said in an email. In the Rockies, ski areas have been struggling to open lifts and trails on meager early-season snow. Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado, for instance, currently has about 30% of its terrain open, while Mammoth Mountain in California has 48 of its 176 trails open. And in Eagan, Minnesota, organizers called off the 2024 Minnesota Ice Festival, which had been scheduled to open Jan. 5. The event was going to feature an ice-skating rink, ice slide and a huge ice maze at the Minnesota Vikings’ headquarters, but the warm weather made it risky, Minnesota Ice CEO Robbie Harrell said in a statement. The good news for Northeast snow lovers is they might not need to wait long after Christmas for fresh powder. Cohen said the weather should get colder just before New Year’s Day and into the first week of January. “So, new year, hopefully new fortunes as far as snow goes here in the eastern U.S.,” Cohen said.

028dde407520599f0575c1dd6aa05218

Photos of flooding along Massachusetts coast on Jan. 13, 2024

Here's a look at some of the flooding along the Massachusetts coast 1 of 20 Boston A look at the flooding around a home in the area of Morrissey Boulevard in Boston, Massachusetts, on Jan. 13, 2024. 2 of 20 Boston A look at some of the flooding along Morrissey Boulevard in Boston, Massachusetts, on Jan. 13, 2024. 3 of 20 Boston A look at flooding along the Harborwalk near the New England Aquarium in Boston, Massachusetts, on Jan. 13, 2024. PHOTO: Lleyton Wing 4 of 20 Boston A look at flooding along the Harborwalk near the New England Aquarium in Boston, Massachusetts, on Jan. 13, 2024. PHOTO: Lleyton Wing 5 of 20 Boston A look at some street flooding by a waterfront property in Boston, Massachusetts, on Jan. 13, 2024. PHOTO: Peter Cheung 6 of 20 Martha's Vineyard A look at the flooding in downtown Vineyard Haven in Tisbury, Massachusetts, on the island of Martha's Vineyard on Jan. 13, 2024. PHOTO: gomv.com 7 of 20 Winthrop A look at the flooding on Shirley Street during high tide in Winthrop, Massachusetts, on Jan. 13, 2024. PHOTO: Gerry Wardwell 8 of 20 Hull Vehicles travel along a partially-flooded Nantasket Avenue in Hull, Massachusetts, on Jan. 13, 2024. Advertisement 9 of 20 Hull A man removes a plastic barrel that wound up in floodwaters on Park Avenue in Hull, Massachusetts, on Jan. 13, 2024. 10 of 20 Revere A look at the flooding in Revere, Massachusetts, on Jan. 13, 2024. 11 of 20 Revere A look at the flooding in Revere, Massachusetts, on Jan. 13, 2024. 12 of 20 Revere A look at the flooding in Revere, Massachusetts, on Jan. 13, 2024. 13 of 20 Hingham A look at the flooding on Meadow Road, near the intersection of Rockland Street, in Hingham, Massachusetts, on Jan. 13, 2024. 14 of 20 Salem Roadways in the Salem Willows Historic District in Salem, Massachusetts, were flooded on Jan. 13, 2024. PHOTO: Stanley Forman 15 of 20 Salem Roadways in the Salem Willows Historic District in Salem, Massachusetts, were flooded on Jan. 13, 2024. PHOTO: Stanley Forman 16 of 20 Salem A look at the flooding on Commercial Street in Salem, Massachusetts, on Jan. 13, 2024. PHOTO: Stanley Forman Advertisement 17 of 20 Salem A look at some of the flooded roadways in Salem, Massachusetts, on Jan. 13, 2024. PHOTO: Stanley Forman 18 of 20 Cohasset A look at some of the street flooding in Cohasset, Massachusetts, on Jan. 13, 2024. PHOTO: Cohasset Police Dept. 19 of 20 Duxbury A look at some of the flooding in the streets of Duxbury, Massachusetts, on Jan. 13, 2024. PHOTO: Duxbury Fire PIO

275a2d5d35e10530e3992dfe3e97b4ea

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.”

73bb2c742da4dbf1b42f36d84ea6849e

How Long Does It Take to Get Fit Again?

After just a few days of inactivity, the volume of blood plasma circulating in your body decreases, Dr. Coyle said, leading to a series of other cardiovascular changes. After 12 days, studies show that the total amount of blood the heart pumps every minute decreases, along with the amount of oxygenated blood available to muscles and other cells — measured as the VO2 max. If you return to the gym at this point, you will only notice slight differences in performance, Dr. Coyle said. Your heart rate may be a little faster and your breathing may be heavier as your body works harder to pump blood and oxygen to where they’re needed. Scientists have found that it is around the three-week mark that people experience the biggest changes in their ability to get through a workout, as energy produced by mitochondria for muscle cells drops off significantly. “That means that exercise will be more fatiguing,” Dr. Coyle said. Strength declines less rapidly than cardiovascular health. After eight weeks, inactivity finally starts to affect the size and strength of your muscles. For weight lifting or strength workouts, the maximum amount you are able to lift decreases, as does the number of repetitions you could manage, Dr. Coyle said. You are also more likely to experience muscle soreness a day or two after working out.

aac167ddc0934b13df6921fddabd2b6c

Boston shooting leaves woman with life-threatening injuries

CNN — A jury found actor Jonathan Majors guilty on two of four counts in the New York criminal case stemming from a domestic dispute with his former girlfriend. Majors was convicted on Monday of one count of reckless assault in the 3rd degree and a non-criminal charge of harassment as a violation. He was acquitted on of another assault charge and one count of aggravated harassment. The trial, which began on December 4, stems from a March 25th domestic dispute involving Majors - who plays a villain in the Marvel cinematic universe - and his former girlfriend, Grace Jabbari. Prosecutors alleged Majors “didn’t hesitate to use physical violence” against Jabbari in the March dispute when he grabbed Jabbari’s right hand, twisted her arm behind her back and then “struck a blow” to her head. Majors’ attorney reiterated his innocence during her closing argument, calling the accusations against him “fake” and alleging that Jabbari was the aggressor in the March dispute. This story is developing and will be updated.

d7c934bebf5f96a81b7fdc4834ad5238

Southampton crash shows how Eversource routes power around damage

SOUTHAMPTON — Power outages caused Tuesday night after a car hit a power pole on County Road illustrates how Eversource uses remote switching and remote circuit breakers — also called smart switches — that sense damage to the system and shut off power, so repairs can be made safely. On County Road in Southampton on Wednesday night after a car crashed into a utility pole, the remote devices shut power down to stop the flow of electricity, Eversource spokeswoman Priscilla Ress said today. About 3,000 customers lost power for about a minute. Then, Eversource system operators analyzed the damage, isolated the damaged area and restored as many customers as safely possible, even before crews arrived. Read more: Eversource builds ‘Rapid Pole’ fleet across New England to speed power restoration The system is designed in a loop scheme, allowing power to be rerouted, Ress said. Within another hour and a half, hundreds of other customers had the power restored as our crews arrived on the scene to further access the damage and make repairs. The remaining eight customers had power restored early this morning. The Southampton Police Department also reported that the road had been reopened this morning. Southampton police are not yet identifying the driver, said Chief Ian Illingsworth. Police arrived on the scene to find the car, the pole split in half and the downed wires, but no driver. There was blood, too, indicating an injury. A police dog and handler from neighboring Easthampton searched the woods, but no driver was found.

3247b984d61af4451c325a87273ae702

Opinion | What Worries Me About the Gaza War After My Trip to Arab States

I’ve been concerned from the start that Israel launched its invasion of Gaza to eradicate Hamas with no plan for what to do with the territory and its people in the wake of any victory. Having just spent a week in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates taking the pulse of this important corner of the Arab world, I am now even more worried. Let me summarize my concerns this way: Because Hamas built a vast tunnel network under Gaza, Israeli forces, in their quest to eliminate that vicious terrorist organization, are having to destroy huge numbers of structures. It’s the only way they can kill a lot of Hamas fighters and demilitarize Gaza without losing a lot of their own soldiers in the short window that Israel feels it has in the face of pressure from the U.S. and other allies to wind down the invasion. Israel was justified in hitting back at Hamas for breaking the cease-fire that existed on Oct. 7 and indiscriminately murdering, raping or maiming more than 1,200 people and kidnapping some 240 others in its path that day. Hamas plotted and executed a campaign of unspeakable barbarism that seemed designed to make Israel crazy and lash out without thinking about the morning after the morning after. And that is just what Israel did. But nine weeks later, we can now see the morning after the morning after. In pursuing its aims of dismantling Hamas’s military machine and wiping out its top leaders, Israel has killed and wounded thousands of innocent Gazan civilians. Hamas knew this would happen and did not care a whit. Israel must. It will inherit responsibility for a gigantic humanitarian disaster that will require a global coalition years to fix and manage. As The Times reported on Tuesday, “Satellite imagery shows that the fighting has resulted in heavy damage to almost every corner of Gaza City” — at least 6,000 buildings hammered, with about a third of them in ruins.

8bca811550bedca1f70e9920cb58e9a8

Patriots have new kicker on standby as Chad Ryland struggles (report)

New Mexico State (10-4) and Fresno State (8-4) will play in the New Mexico Bowl on Saturday at 5:45 p.m. New Mexico State QB Diego Pavia has completed 210 of 341 passes for 2,915 yards, 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He also leads his team in rushing yards (856) on 159 carries. He has run for five TDs. Fresno State QB Mikey Keene has completed 252 of 383 passes for 2,596 yards, 21 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Running back Malik Sherrod has carried 152 times for 876 yards and nine touchdowns. Who: New Mexico State vs. Fresno State (ESPN) When: Saturday, Dec. 16 — 5:45 p.m. ET Where: University Stadium, Albuquerque, N.M. Stream: fuboTV (free trial); or Sling; or DirecTV Stream 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. More coverage from the Associated Press New Mexico State is looking for its fifth bowl victory in program history. A win would give the Aggies its second 11-win season and first since 1960. Fresno State will be playing without head coach Jeff Tedford, who has temporarily stepped away from the team to address health concerns. Assistant head coach and linebackers coach Tim Skipper will lead the Bulldogs. FanDuel Sportsbook College Line: New Mexico State by 3½ Series record: Fresno State leads 18-1 WHAT’S AT STAKE In its sixth bowl game in program history, the Aggies are looking to improve to 5-0-1 in those games, winning four straight. A win would match the Aggies’ 1960 team with 11 wins, the only two times the program has reached the double-digit victory mark. With head coach Jeff Tedford temporarily away from the program with health issues, the Bulldogs are seeking a victory under assistant head coach and linebackers coach Tim Skipper. KEY MATCHUP The New Mexico State passing game, which averaged almost 225 yards game and less than one interception per game, against the Fresno State defense, which fifth in the nation in interceptions with 16 while being tied for seventh in the nation in turnover margin with a plus-10 margin. PLAYERS TO WATCH New Mexico State receiver Trent Hudson caught 36 passes, but 10 of those were for scores. Fresno State quarterback Mikey Keene threw for 2,596 yards with 21 TDs, and found four different receivers for at least 40 receptions each. FACTS & FIGURES The bowl game will serve as a preview to a regular season nonconference matchup already on the schedule for next season as New Mexico State will travel to Fresno for a game on Sept. 14, 2024. … The last time Fresno State played a USA was in the 2021 New Mexico Bowl against UTEP. … Aggies quarterback Diego Pavia was 14th in the country with 26 touchdown passes. … New Mexico State averaged nearly 203 yards rushing, 11th overall. The team has topped 170 yards for 17 consecutive games.

f8b7d989ca43452dfbd9ebbba764f6c7

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.

2d041d163c1f6c55594e3506844aef55

Police charge Quincy man with lighting a raccoon on fire, report says

A Quincy man was arrested after police say he tried to light a raccoon on fire, according to a report. Police arrived at the backyard of a home on Royal Street in Quincy on Dec. 30, according to NBC Boston. Police told the outlet that, upon arrival, they saw two people arguing and a raccoon in a cage that appeared to have burn injuries. Police got video of a 63-year-old Quincy man making a fire in a tin can, then placing the cage with the raccoon inside on top of the burning trash can, according to NBC Boston. The man was charged with animal cruelty and was arraigned on Tuesday, while the raccoon was taken to an animal hospital, where it survived, but the severity of the injuries was unknown, NBC Boston said.

7aab2cf505832f0e2fbf73aef363d18a

Ask Amy: Is it OK to read my teen daughters diary if she leaves it out?

Dear Amy: Six years ago, my two adult stepdaughters confronted us with their “concerns” that their mother and I knew that our 17-year-old son smoked marijuana. We did know about his pot use and clearly explained the steps we were already undertaking in getting him the help he had recently requested. Our stepdaughters immediately alerted DCFS. A conviction would have destroyed our professional careers and seriously damaged our family’s future. Agonizing months later, our case was dismissed, and the charges were characterized as unfounded. This betrayal led to familial estrangement from the stepdaughters. Our now 23-year-old son is doing well, and my wife understandably wants her offspring back in our lives. I have encouraged my wife to pursue reconciliation. I do not share this interest. (Independently, neither does our son). My wife is pressuring me to partake in the perilous voyage of reconciling with her daughters. I would prefer being keelhauled. Please share your reflections on this possible mission impossible. – Dismayed Dear Dismayed: Alerting DCFS set in motion a very serious set of circumstances for your family. From your narrative, this choice to “hotline” you seems extremely overblown; I wonder what else your stepdaughters might have seen or perceived that doesn’t fit into your narrative, and if your son was taking risks that are genuinely more alarming than that of a teenager smoking pot. The only way to find out about their motivations and to describe the impact on you and your family is to communicate with these women. People do sometimes issue false reports to DCFS in order to punish family members; this is a very serious issue in that it breaks apart families, and also absorbs time and resources that would better be used to investigate actual situations that involve at-risk children. I hope that in this case your adult stepdaughters were overreacting and naïve about the impact of their choice. It’s good that you are encouraging your wife to reconcile with her daughters; she should not force you to join her immediately, but I hope you would be open to a gradual thaw. Much of what happens next rests on the behavior of these women; obviously they owe you an apology and an understanding and sincere reckoning concerning the impact of what they set in motion. Dear Amy: My eldest daughter is 15. She is a sweet girl, has friends, and does pretty well in school. Her dad and I love and like her. She takes basic care of her clothes and her room, but about once a week I go into her room and basically straighten up. She knows I do this because – well, she sees the result when she gets home from band practice. My question concerns her diary. She usually leaves it peeking out from under her pillow, and sometimes on top of her bed. Lately I’ve been reading through her diary. I haven’t seen anything too alarming (or even very interesting), but I’m wondering if what I’m doing is wrong? My whole family reads your column and we talk about your questions and answers at the dinner table sometimes. I’m curious to know what you think about what I’m doing? – Wondering Mom Dear Mom: I think that what you’re doing is wrong. And so do you. How do I know? You answer this ethical question yourself when you ask: “… I’m wondering if what I’m doing is wrong?” If your teenage daughter told you she was eavesdropping on a friend or family member and asked, “I’m wondering if what I’m doing is wrong?” you would wisely answer: “If you are wondering enough to ask this question, then I think you already know the answer. Step back, reflect on your actions, and respect others’ privacy – just as you expect others to respect your own.” The only justification for reading your teen’s diary is if you have credible evidence or an obvious concern that the teen might hurt herself or someone else. Being curious about your daughter’s inner life is not a justification for prying. Dear Amy: “Unappreciated Tipper” wanted the wait staff to express appreciation for his generous tips. As one who was trained to be a waiter in five-star restaurants, I should point out that courtesy and privacy are key items in the training and that you should not look at the tip until the customer is out of the building, in order to avoid bias, good or bad, anytime they return. – May I Take Your Order Dear Order: Thank you for passing along your wisdom. (You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook.) ©2023 Amy Dickinson. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

65a71ec0d2388941a113ebfe6be883c0

Kristaps Porzingis explains picking Celtics over free agency, money

Red Paden, who as the self-proclaimed “king of the juke joint runners” spent four decades as the owner of Red’s, an unassuming music spot in downtown Clarksdale, Miss., and one of the last places in the United States to offer authentic Delta blues in its natural setting, died on Dec. 30 in Jackson, Miss. He was 67. His son, Orlando, said the death, in a hospital, was from complications of heart surgery. Juke joints, once commonplace across the Deep South, were the loam out of which blues music grew — a vast network of shacks, old shops and converted homes where traveling musicians would play a night for a share of the cover charge, then move on to the next gig. Red’s is the quintessential example: low-ceilinged and the size of a large garage, decorated with old music posters and lighted with neon signs and string bulbs (red, of course). There is no stage at Red’s, just a well-worn carpet, enough for a singer, a guitarist and maybe a drummer. A refrigerator holds beer, and when he felt like it Mr. Paden (pronounced PAY-den) would fire up the smoker on the sidewalk and cook a mess of ribs. Informality is key.

232eb02ab27435b1ed87f94a8c0f8024

Why Bruins forward ripped World Juniors referees

Team Canada found itself down a forward just 11 seconds into its game against Germany at the World Juniors on Sunday when Conor Geekie was ejected for an illegal hit. The brother of Bruins forward, Morgan Geekie, happened when Conor Geekie skated into Germany’s zone and laid a big hit on Samuel Schindler off the faceoff. He was given a five-minute major and game misconduct for the hit. And it was something Morgan Geekie didn’t agree with. The Bruins forward took to social media to voice his displeasure with the officiating. 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. “Didn’t realize they handed out penalties for hitting too hard,” Morgan Geekie posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. Germany scored on the power play to take a 1-0 lead thanks to a goal from Arizona Coyotes prospect Julian Lutz. The ejection left Team Canada shorthanded. Matthew Savoie is out with an undisclosed injury, while agger Firkus — who was added to the roster Saturday — didn’t dress for Sunday’s game. The results of Canada-Germany will help determine playoff seeding. Team USA locked up Group B after a 10-2 win over Slovakia on Sunday morning kept the Americans undefeated in the tournament.

7e231b908672e0a255b65adee093ada0

Flat Top Johnnys, a neighborhood favorite, reopens in Cambridge

“We’ve missed you!” the company wrote on social media this week, announcing its reopening in a “fresh space” at 238 Main St. “We’ve worked hard to get back and we think you’ll love the new space.” Flat Top Johnny’s, the “hip, sprawling pool hall with a retro vibe” that for decades appealed to those looking to kick back and enjoy billiards with friends, will reopen its doors in a new location beginning Friday, Jan. 5. CAMBRIDGE — After nearly three years without the clacking sound of pool balls, the dings of its pinball machines, and its pub-style food and cold beers on tap, a longtime staple of Kendall Square is making its triumphant return to the area. Advertisement The original Flat Top Johnny’s closed down three years ago, due to challenges brought on by the pandemic. Fans of the spot, which serves up burgers, sandwiches, nachos, beer, and cocktails, have been waiting patiently for its possible return ever since. Get Camberville & beyond A Boston Globe newsletter about Cambridge, Somerville, and communities beyond. Enter Email Sign Up John “Johnny” Adams, 61, the company’s owner and namesake, first opened the Cambridge staple 27 years ago. The original establishment was located at 1 Kendall Square, and remained there until its closure in August 2020. Adams said he’s excited to be back in the area, a place that he’s called home for decades. Flat Top Johnny’s new post sits only a few blocks down the street from its original location. “It’s an absolutely gorgeous new space,” Adams said. Adams grew up in the restaurant industry, and began his career working as a dishwasher at a Chinese food restaurant in Malden when he was 14. He went on to attend Suffolk University and worked other restaurant jobs throughout college. Later, he worked at Cambridge Brewing Company, where he and a coworker eventually came up with the idea to open their own place. Advertisement Inspiration for the restaurant’s name came from a nickname given to Adams by a friend, due to the hairstyle he sported at the time. In 2012, Adams and his business partner amicably split, he said, and Adams has run the business ever since. Friday’s reopening isn’t the first time Adams has prepared for a comeback. Prior to the pandemic, Flat Top Johnny’s was temporarily closed in 2015, after a ventilation system fire in the Kendall Square building where it was located caused extensive damage to the property. Four other businesses in the building were also damaged. Although Adams said the fire was frightening, he had an “amazing team of staff who alerted the fire department quickly.” “There was no question that we would rebuild,” Adams said. “There was no question at all.” After only a nine-month break, Johnny’s was back up and running. Adams has been a fixture not only to customers who have come in for a game of pool and a drink over the years, but also to the employees who stayed loyal to the business during both of its closures. That includes Kevin Conway, who started going to Flat Top Johnny’s as a customer long before he landed a job there as a bartender. (Conway jokingly asked for the job one night, and Adams took him up on the offer. The rest is history.) While Conway has been working at Little Donkey in Cambridge for the past six years, he always hoped that he would one day return to Johnny’s in some capacity. When Adams called him up two years ago to propose the idea of bringing back the company, Conway eagerly accepted the offer. Advertisement “I feel so incredibly supported,” said Conway. “I can’t say enough great things about John.” Flat Top Johnny's new location is at 238 Main St. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff Conway said the 2020 closure was extremely difficult for him. But he’s eager to begin again, and welcome back some familiar faces thanks to Adams’s devotion to their team. “The overwhelming majority of our new front of house staff are returning hires, and if that doesn’t speak volumes about the kind of guy John is, I don’t know what does,” Conway said. Conway said the reopening stages picked up during the past year, with Adams and Conway developing a concept menu while the building underwent heavy construction in June. “Johnny’s 3.0,” as Adams calls it, will host 10 pool tables, 10 pinball machines, and feature “standard pub fare.” In addition to the games and food, Johnny’s will have 20 craft beers, either on tap or in cans and bottles. Adams’ favorite item on the menu is the “Lilith Burger,” named after one of his daughters. He also says the Cambridge Brewing Company amber ale, which has been served at Johnny’s since 1993, is a must-order. Adams said one of his main hopes for the new establishment after so many challenges is to continue — and increase — the amount of collaboration he has with charity organizations, including Bikes Not Bombs and Best Buddies. Advertisement He also hopes the new location will live up to the “same vibe” of its previous location, with casual background music and a place for everyone to come together and have a good time. In its first two weeks, Johnny’s will be open Sunday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., and Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Dedicated customers were thrilled this week when they learned about the restaurant’s return, with many expressing their excitement on social media. For Sylvainson Gelin, the reopening is a homecoming of sorts. Gelin, a Cambridge native, made it a ritual to meet with friends at Johnny’s weekly over the years. Now, he’s eager to begin that tradition again. “I’m all about the pool culture, and I’m most excited to play on Johnny’s tables again,” Gelin said. Flat Top Johnny's, a pool hall, bar, and restaurant is reopening this Friday after it closed during the pandemic. Its new location is at 238 Main St. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff Alexa Coultoff can be reached at alexa.coultoff@globe.com. Follow her @alexacoultoff.

ea92781633cce3bef655d6e042590c88

Wus eloquent apology about the Stuart case can be the start of healing

Or maybe 400 years, to count another way. For this unhealed scar is as old as this town. How do you heal an open wound that’s been festering for 34 years? One way to start is where Mayor Michelle Wu did Wednesday, surrounded by victims of the Charles Stuart murder case as she attempted to address precisely those questions, and to atone. Prompted by the Globe’s re-investigation of the case — an undertaking produced in partnership with HBO — Wu issued something none of her predecessors had been able to muster: an eloquent, full-throated apology to Willie Bennett and Alan Swanson, the men wrongfully identified as suspects in the killing. Advertisement “What was done to you was unjust, unfair, racist, and wrong and this apology is long overdue,” Wu said to a packed room in City Hall, as Swanson and the Bennett family stood behind her. “To every Black resident — I am sorry not only for the abuse our city enacted, but for the beliefs and the bias that brought them to bear.” Get Nightmare in Mission Hill A limited-series newsletter about the untold story of the Charles and Carol Stuart case. Enter Email Sign Up The Stuart murder was one of the most notorious crimes in the city’s history. On Oct. 23, 1989, Charles Stuart called 911 to report a shooting. He claimed that — moments after he and his wife, Carol, left a birthing class at Brigham and Women’s Hospital — a Black man jumped into their car, forced them to drive to Mission Hill, and robbed and shot them. The Stuarts were white; Mission Hill was predominantly Black and brown. Carol Stuart died hours after the shooting, after giving birth to a son, Christopher, who survived a mere 17 days. Charles Stuart, badly wounded, survived. Police responded to the crime by laying siege to Mission Hill in a search for the made-up Black gunman. Among other outrages, they searched Black and brown men, many of them outside the Tobin Community Center — the heartbeat of the Mission Hill community. Advertisement By the time Stuart’s story unraveled the following January — culminating in his suicidal jump off the Tobin Bridge — thousands of Black residents had been subjected to terror and trauma that have never gone away. (The Globe has produced an eight-part series along with a nine-part podcast: “Murder In Boston” as well as collaborating on an HBO documentary with the same title. I was part of the reporting team and host the podcast.) The raw emotion this case still prompts ran throughout Wu’s announcement event Wednesday. Willie Bennett’s family and Alan Swanson stood behind her, vindicated at last. Speakers such as former city councilor Tito Jackson — himself searched and frisked as a teenager, at the height of the hysteria after the murder — choked back tears as they tried to capture what this moment meant to them. “Today is not about politics,” Jackson said. “It’s about righteousness, truth, and healing.” Wu deserves credit for confronting the issue head-on. Not least because this is a story Boston immediately did its level best to forget and diminish. The message from Boston’s civic leadership back then was basically, let’s move on. Mayor Raymond Flynn, elected as a racial healer, stopped talking about it as soon as possible. Easy for them. Impossible for Boston. Advertisement It shouldn’t be lost on any of us that the first elected mayor of color and the first Black police commissioner, Michael Cox, were apologizing for the sins of white predecessors from a generation ago. People then may have wanted to move on, but moving on has never been possible for the Bennetts, or for Swanson, or for many others whose stories have been largely ignored until now. Bennett’s family eventually received an insulting $12,500 settlement from the city, along with the barest of apologies from Flynn. Swanson didn’t even get that. “There is no world in which a piece of paper undoes the harm of this part of our history, but it is my hope that you will accept this letter of apology as a step toward accountability for the damage done by our City,” Wu said. “If nothing else, please take this as evidence of our ongoing determination to build the Boston our Black residents deserve.” But Wu’s gesture, however gracious, doesn’t answer the question that still hangs out there: What does justice look like now? Leslie Harris, who represented Swanson, said apologies are due from all of Boston, from City Hall to the Police Department to the media, including the Globe, that covered the case. He also called for reparations for the Bennetts and for Swanson. (Indeed, when I asked Alan Swanson what the day meant to him, he said: “I’m still broke.”) That plea was echoed by other speakers as well. Louis Elisa, NAACP president during the racial storm the Stuart murder unleashed, said real justice would mean addressing the ills that continue to plague Black Boston, starting with the public schools. Advertisement During our team’s two years of reporting for the recent series and podcast, we kept returning to the question of whether something like the Stuart case could happen today. And an uncomfortable truth is that Stuart’s lie was believed because people — white people — were conditioned to believe it. As Wu put it: “At every level and at every opportunity, those in power closed their eyes to the truth because the lie felt familiar. They saw the story they wanted to see.” Who’s to say that couldn’t happen now? But Wu’s apology told a different story Wednesday, a story of a city that’s changed. A Boston in which Michelle Wu can be mayor is not the Boston of 1989. But this is no time for congratulations. The hard work of reconciliation has barely begun. Adrian Walker is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at adrian.walker@globe.com. Follow him @Adrian_Walker.

f67dbc8cb49389229b32fc614e44e4f6

Bolton tractor-trailer crash shuts down I-495 in both directions

Local News 3 takeaways from the Globe’s investigation into the Kamal family of Dover Authorities say Rakesh Kamal killed his wife and daughter before turning a gun on himself. A new investigation by The Boston Globe uncovered details about the family before the murder-suicide. The entrance to the house on Wilson’s Way where Teena Kamal, her daughter Arianna Kamal, and husband Rakesh were found dead. Suzanne Kreiter/Boston Globe On Dec. 28, Arianna Kamal, Teena Kamal, and Rakesh “Rick” Kamal were found dead in their sprawling Dover estate. Authorities have called the incident a murder-suicide and said initial autopsy results point to Rick murdering his wife and daughter before taking his own life. When asked about the family in the immediate aftermath of the killings, Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey said police had received no warnings to presage the tragedy. “There’s been no police reports, there’s been no problems, no domestic issues, no nothing at that house or in the entire neighborhood that I’m aware of,” Morrissey said. Advertisement: Now, through investigative reporting by The Boston Globe, some light is being shed on the Kamal family and the circumstances that led to their deaths. Here are three takeaways from the Globe’s latest report. The full story can be found here. From left to right: Arianna Kamal, Teena Kamal, and Rakesh “Rick” Kamal. – Paula Swift Photography The family’s finances The Kamals lived in a massive house that included 21 rooms, a spa, a movie theater, and a pool. On Dec. 11, the company that developed the property and loaned the family the money to buy it received a court approval for their eviction. It was the culmination, according to the Globe’s reporting, of years of financial troubles that were carefully hidden by Rick from his family. The Kamals purchased the home in Feb. 2019 for $4 million, most of it borrowed. A $3.8 million mortgage taken from its builder was due in full in two years. By Feb. 2021, the Kamals were looking to restructure their mortgage. Their mortgage modification agreement with Wilsondale Associates indicated that they still owed $3.61 million plus more than $300,000 in unpaid interest and fines. In Sept. 2022, a petition for Chapter 13 bankruptcy was filed in Teena Kamal’s name. The case was closed in Dec. 2022 after she failed to file the necessary documents. That month, Wilsondale filed a foreclosure deed on the Kamals home. Advertisement: The Kamals were served an order telling them to vacate the house in late Dec. 2022, and were served with eviction proceedings in May 2023. By Dec. 2023, Metro South Housing Court had issued an “execution” to Wilsondale, allowing the company to enforce the Kamals’ eviction, according to a timeline established by the Globe. It is not clear if Wilsondale acted on the ruling. While all of this happened, Teena and 18-year-old Arianna were reportedly kept in the dark. “Teena had no clue that there were financial problems,” her brother, Sandeep Bedi, told the Globe. “She thought that they were rolling in money.” Teena had even begun buying furniture for a lavish second house that she believed the family was on the verge of buying. Rick had been in talks with a listing agent about buying a $16.5 million estate on Chickamauga Lake in Tennessee since Oct. 2022, according to the Globe. He had apparently provided bank statements proving his “ability to purchase” the waterfront property, and the family had toured the house last August. Then, according to the Globe, Rick told the listing agent that he was going on a business trip to China and would not be able to communicate via emails or text. They had come to a verbal agreement, but the contract the agent sent to Rick was never signed. Rick Kamal’s professional life Rick Kamal worked as a software developer and entrepreneur. He graduated from Boston College in 1987 and worked for Fidelity Investments in Boston alongside Teena, whom he wed by arranged marriage, according to the Globe. Advertisement: A former colleague at Fidelity, Jim Sholler, told the Globe that Rick was “one of the most intelligent developers” that he had ever worked with. In 2015, Rick moved to Harvard Business School Online, where he worked as chief technology officer. There, he mostly kept to himself but was known for showing off expensive taste. “We were all kind of just normal folks, and Rick would show up in his brand new Mercedes and had his name embroidered on his shirts,” John Furr, a former colleague, told the Globe. Furr and two other coworkers told the paper that it was understood in the office that Rick was “pushed out of his position for a transgression related to a competing business,” the Globe reported. Harvard declined to comment on why he left. Rick reportedly left Harvard in 2019, but Teena was still under the impression that he worked there as of last year, Bedi told the paper. Rick and Teena founded the start-up EduNova about ten years ago. The company was known for its “student success system” that apparently improved the grades of secondary school and college students. The Globe investigation found a number of discrepancies related to EduNova. Rick’s company biography described him as a graduated of MIT Sloan School of Management, but a spokesperson told the paper that Rick had only participated in some executive courses and received a certificate. Teena’s EduNova biography reportedly referred to her as a Harvard graduate, but the university said they had no record of her attendance. Bedi and his wife were listed on the staff page, but both said they were uninvolved. Advertisement: EduNova was officially dissolved by the state in 2021 for apparently failing to file annual reports. Its website was still active as of Aug. 2023, according to the Globe. Scarce clues about family life The Kamals were known as relatively private people. Before moving to Dover, the family lived in a five-bedroom in Marlborough. Neighbors there said the Kamals were polite but did not meaningfully engage with them. A woman who lived next to them for about 20 years told the Globe that she didn’t know the family had a daughter. Teena was a well-liked, incredibly active volunteer for the Red Cross. She was named to the the board of directors of its Massachusetts region in 2022, and was part of a group recognized for donating $10,000 or more annually, according to the Globe. Teena also was active at Milton Academy, where Arianna went to school. She was president of the Upper School Parents’ Association for two years. “Teena did it all,” Sarnia Etienne-Dupie, Teena’s vice president, told the Globe. “You name it, she was involved.” Arianna, meanwhile, was a young woman with a passion for music who began attending Middlebury College after Milton Academy. She performed in a choir at Middlebury, where she met her boyfriend. They read poetry together and shared song recommendations. A close friend of Arianna’s at Milton Academy recently told the Globe that “there was no indication from her recently that anything was wrong with her home life.” Advertisement: That friend added that Arianna was “finally finding her people” at Middlebury. “I think the last few months of her life were the happiest she had been since I knew her,” she told the paper.

e1455214e701f12acba7fe274198f8fa

Opinion | Want to Tax the Rich for Real? Pay Attention to This Supreme Court Case.

At the founding of the Republic, the Constitution gave Congress a broad power to “lay and collect taxes” of all kinds. The Constitution required only that taxes be “uniform” and that “direct taxes” — taxes like a head tax that it makes sense to apportion to the states by population — be apportioned by population, accounting for enslaved people according to the infamous three-fifths clause. There was no forbidden category of taxes, no rule that said “no taxes on income” or “no taxes on wealth.” What to tax and how much were questions for Congress. Direct taxes were those that could be apportioned by population without defeating their purpose — not an income tax or a wealth tax, because numbers of people “do not afford a just estimate or rule of wealth,” as the Supreme Court ruled in a 1796 case. The Supreme Court reaffirmed this original understanding, repeatedly and forcefully, for 100 years. In 1895 a single case upended this history and tradition. In Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan and Trust Company, a 5-to-4 majority struck down the income tax. The ostensible rationale was that an income tax was a direct tax — a tax that would have to be apportioned by population, which it could not be, since some states have more per capita income than others. Therefore, the income tax fell into a newly invented, Supreme Court-devised loophole, a tax that Congress cannot constitutionally enact at all. The backlash against the court was sustained and furious. Public outrage was fueled by the outrage of the court’s own dissenters. The Pollock majority had complained that the income tax unfairly singled out the rich, but the dissenters pointed out that it was the majority that was creating a special privileged class of rich people who were now constitutionally protected from tax. The court’s reckless new doctrine, declared Justice John Marshall Harlan, not only betrayed the original understanding of the tax power and a century of precedent; it also granted the wealthiest Americans “power and influence” that would leave ordinary citizens “subjected to the dominion of aggregated wealth.”

06aac45128d3e33117cd8e8128e3dd99

Opinion | Why This Could Be a Dangerous Year for the Iowa Caucuses

What if Mr. Trump cracks 50 percent? (I’m guessing he will but am hoping to be wrong.) If so, is the race basically over? What if he pulls only 45 percent? 40? If Nikki Haley squeaks past Ron DeSantis, should he drop out? What if she smokes him? Could any third-place showing count as a win for Ms. Haley? And my obsession: What degree of belly flop could persuade Vivek Ramaswamy to leave politics forever? The top contenders have approached the expectations game differently. Heading into the final stretch, Mr. DeSantis has been all sass and swagger, predicting total victory. “We’re going to win here in Iowa,” he assured Fox News shortly before Christmas. Bold strategy, but bluffing is perhaps his only hope. The guy has bet everything on the caucuses. If he goes down hard, and certainly if Ms. Haley bests him, you will hear the sound of pundits, political opponents and quite possibly the rest of his disgusted party pounding nails into the coffin of his candidacy. Even so, raising the bar leaves him even less wiggle room to recover from anything other than a first-place showing — which pretty much no one expects. Mr. Trump has been a bit cagier. He has been crowing about crushing it in the polling, pushing the expectations bar ever higher. “The poll numbers are scary because we’re leading by so much,” he bragged at a rally in Waterloo, Iowa, last month. But the man is no idiot. He has been hedging his boasts, telling Iowa fans he is a little nervous that he is so overwhelmingly popular that they might feel comfortable skipping the caucuses. “You got to show up,” he urged supporters at the Waterloo event. “Even if you think we’re going to win by a lot.” In case things go sideways, he has laid the groundwork for a quintessentially Trumpian message: I am such a huge winner that I (almost) lost! Ms. Haley is attempting a more complicated game plan. Her politics aren’t well suited for Iowa, where the G.O.P. is dominated by white evangelicals. She hasn’t spent as much time in the state as Mr. DeSantis or built a ground game anywhere nearly as elaborate. Instead, she has gone with a classic Iowa move: making clear that she expects to lose the race. That way, no one expects much from her, and even a lackluster showing can be brushed off or even spun as a win. Thus, we see her spreading the word that she is looking beyond Iowa to the broader playing field — at times perhaps a bit too aggressively, as when she quipped to a crowd in New Hampshire that their job was to “correct” Iowa’s vote.

83bee2375b9a8dd5c919da5b7856e865

This Melrose barbershop is the best in Greater Boston

Readers Say This Melrose barbershop is the best in Greater Boston "Great haircuts, great people, great vibes, great atmosphere. My barber is like a partner, I take it very serious." Looking through the window of Fades Away Barbershop in Melrose. Fades Away Barbershop Barbershops are an important center of community in Boston neighborhoods and towns across Greater Boston. They are a place where people can socialize and interact with familiar faces. For many non-native English speakers, the barbershop is also a community hub to connect with others who speak the same language. And in a region as diverse as Greater Boston, there are shops that cater to all hair types and styles. In response to our best barbershop reader callout, 76 readers shared their favorite barbershops in the Boston area with us. See the full list of barber shops, including the top five reader-recommended shops, where they’re located, and what readers had to say about them below. We also included a map so you know where to go if you’re looking to get a fresh cut, line up, or something more. Some responses have been lightly edited for clarity. “It’s a quintessential small town barbershop, where the barbers know every customer by name. The local Little League sponsor team has photos on the wall, along with the requisite Boston sports memorabilia going back many years. Owners Joe and Sam treat everyone like family. I’ve been going there for years, the place is great!” —Neil H., Needham 4. La Flamme Barber Shop (21 Dunster St., Cambridge) “It is close by my home, and it is a warm and welcoming environment. Every haircut I get it is exactly what I am looking for. It is easy to make an appointment at as well!” —Evan B., Woburn “The owner is down to earth and the classic, original and authentic culture of the shop. They have many collectibles and transitional barber decor.” —Jeff D., Melrose “The straight razor shaves is one of the most relaxing and rejuvenating 30-minutes you can possibly imagine. Then, there are the Fresh Cut Concerts! Yes Concerts in the barbershop!” —Scully W., Somerville “I have been taking my sons there since they were little kids, and the care that Anthony shows each of the customers that walk through the door, does not go unnoticed. My sons now make their own appts and choose to stick with him because he gives a great haircut and the conversation flows like old friends.” —Stacy W., Winchester 1. Fades Away Barbershop (36 W. Wyoming Ave., Melrose) “Great haircuts, great people, great vibes, great atmosphere. They are professional and friendly. I won’t go anywhere else. To me, my barber is like a partner, I take it very serious. 10/10.” —David F., Melrose “This place is amazing! The ambiance and atmosphere is great, the barbers are great at what they do, and the merchandise is super sick. Additionally, the Shop gives back to the local community a ton by sponsoring to the local teams, donating to just about every cause and charity, and always puts aside a budget to help out.” —Rich F., Melrose “Not only are they great barbers but they are great guys. They have a relaxed, friendly environment and always give a quality haircut. I don’t feel like I am going to a barbershop, but more like a friends house when I go get a haircut.” —Jason D., Wakefield The best barbershops in Greater Boston, according to readers

2efeb02b2ed06698fa76b1a20b8d3d3b

Service member reunites with military dog partner: 'It's been a blessing'

Log in to comment on videos and join in on the fun.

e7ac914cf8bd989133d6ba93473b8504

4 Takeaways from Bruins OT win over Blues

The Bruins played overtime for the fourth time on this road trip, but unlike the other three, they came out on top. Charlie McAvoy grabbed a loose puck at center ice and unloaded a wrist shot on the break-in that beat Jordan Binnington, 1:10 into the three-on-three to give the Bruins a 4-3 win over the Blues at the Enterprise Center. Boston (25-8-9) returns home to host New Jersey on Monday at 1 p.m. 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 goal was McAvoy’s second of the game. Brad Marchand had the other two for the Bruins who traded goals with the Blues throughout. Oskar Sundqvist scored with 5:13 left to tie the game and force overtime. It marked the second time this season that the Bruins had played four straight overtime games. Here are four takeaways from their losing-streak-snapping win: Add an illness to injuries — With the Bruins missing several players with injuries, their roster got even thinner on Saturday as Pavel Zacha wasn’t available with an illness. He joined Brandon Carlo, Matt Poitras and Linus Ullmark among the recently sidelined. Brad Marchand finally gets Point No. 900 — After appearing to get his 900th career point last week at Arizona before his assist was shifted to Morgan Geekie, Marchand officially joined the 900 club on Saturday. He reached the milestone on his first goal of the game but added another for good measure. Jim Montgomery’s first-period challenge was critical — the Enterprise Center was buzzing when the Blues appeared to take a 2-1 lead halfway through the first period. But the Bruins video staff correctly noted the Blues were offside and the goal was negated. The dodged bullet seemed to spark the Bruins, who allowed just one shot the rest of the period. Montgomery will coach in All-Star Weekend — The 3-on-3 All-Star game weekend no longer pits teams from each division. Instead, there’ll be a draft. But the coaches still come from each division’s leading team so Montgomery will go as the coach of the Atlantic Division-leading Bruins. All betting sites in MA will have promo codes for signing up. Don’t forget to check out BetMGM Massachusetts and DraftKings Massachusetts.

09f55a0701fc9ec08f0013a4e0a27576

Help! Its Almost 2024 and Travelers Keep Making the Same Mistakes.

Jennifer of Irvine, Calif., wrote in when her American Airlines-operated, British Airways-issued flight between Boston and New York was canceled, forcing her to take a $219 train to catch her connecting flight to Paris. At one point, American told her to go to British Airways; at another exchange, British Airways said to go to American. Spokeswomen for both British Airways and American confirmed to me that the issuer is responsible in such a case, and noted that Jennifer had received an $18 refund, the value their system applied to that leg of the four-leg, $1,159 itinerary. But she hadn’t even noticed — and when she saw it, was unsatisfied with the amount, which on a good day might get you from Boston to New York on a bus that stops in Hartford. (A spokeswoman for American Airlines noted that more than half the $1,159 was for taxes, which are not refundable.) Give yourself a time cushion Alex of Los Angeles wrote about the time he was to fly from Nairobi, Kenya, to Boston, with a nearly 18-hour layover in London, during which he scheduled business meetings. In Nairobi, Alex arrived at the airport only to find Kenya Airways had no record of his reservation, which was booked through Delta using the Chase Travel platform. Uh-oh, middlemen. But those companies reacted admirably to the error, booking him on a different route that got him to Boston only about an hour late. But he has repeatedly requested “compensatory ‘good will’ points for missing the meetings.” A spokeswoman from Chase said the flight was booked correctly on their end, but is still considering his request for compensation. (Neither of the two airlines responded to me.) I’d be just fine if they declined. Scheduling anything of even middling importance so tightly in today’s air travel environment is folly.

a41311aa75e167bba247cef1dd0e43a1

Mass. weather: Storm could bring 5 inches of rain to parts of Mass.

Western Massachusetts may get five inches of rain on Monday amid a storm that has brought high winds and heavy rainfall across the state, according to the National Weather Service. While temperatures across the state are expected to be warm, in the upper 50s and low 60s, the storm’s worst impacts are expected to occur Monday, the weather service said. Heavy rain may lead to flooding in Western Massachusetts and on the coast, and strong winds are expected to cause widespread power outages. [630 AM] A steady moderate to heavy rain this morning will transition to showers this afternoon. Street/highway flooding will continue along with strong to damaging winds. Strongest winds occur this morning into midday for #CapeCod & Islands. #MAwx #RIwx #CTwx pic.twitter.com/RK3SmJruqM — NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) December 18, 2023 Heavy rain and flooding By 7:30 a.m., some areas of western Massachusetts had already received over 2 inches of rain. National Weather Service Meteorologist Torry Dooley said a weather spotter in Westfield had recorded 2.25 inches, while a spotter in Williamsburg had recorded 2.8 inches. The western halves of Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden Counties and the eastern half of Berkshire County are expected to get the most rain, with up to five inches possible, according to the weather service. Springfield, Pittsfield and Great Barrington should all miss the heaviest rain, but will likely still see two to three inches, as will central Massachusetts west of I-95. East of I-95, the weather service predicts 1.5 to 2 inches of rain, except for the South Coast, Cape and Islands. The South Coast, Martha’s Vineyard and western Cape should see an inch to an inch and a half of rain, while Nantucket and the eastern Cape can expect a half inch to an inch. A flood watch is in effect until 7 p.m. Monday in Worcester and Springfield and until 5 a.m. Tuesday in Pittsfield. In these parts of the state, excessive runoff may cause rivers to flood, and creeks and streams may rise out of their banks, according to the weather service. Additional flooding may occur in urban areas with poor drainage. High winds and power outages According to the National Weather Service, by 6:30 a.m., a weather spotter in Goshen had recorded wind gusts of 63 mph. Meanwhile, in Norwood, wind gusts up to 56 mph had been recorded, and gusts around 52 mph were recorded in Taunton, New Bedford and Plymouth. A high wind warning is in effect in southeastern Middlesex, Suffolk and eastern Norfolk and Plymouth Counties until 7 p.m. Monday. Winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 60 mph are expected in these areas, according to the weather service. The weather service predicts the winds will blow down trees and power lines, causing widespread power outages. Travel will also be difficult, especially in vehicles that are high off the ground. Read more: Snow possible in Western and Central Massachusetts on Tuesday Peak winds are expected to occur between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday. The weather service advises those who must drive to drive with caution, and for residents to stay in the lower levels of their home and avoid windows. A wind advisory is also in effect in central Massachusetts until 7 p.m. Monday, and in western Massachusetts until 4 p.m. Monday. In these areas of the state, the weather service predicts 20 to 30 mph winds, with gusts up to 55 mph. Storm timeline The National Weather Service expects the storm’s worst impacts to continue into the early afternoon Monday, but that the heavy rain and high winds will taper off by the end of the afternoon. The National Weather Service expects Monday's storm to peak in the morning and taper off by the afternoon.National Weather Service Massachusetts will experience some scattered thunderstorms Tuesday, but they are not expected to be impactful, the weather service said. Areas of high elevation in the Worcester Hills and the Berkshires could experience light snow amid the rain. The rest of the week is expected to be clear and cool, according to the weather service.

39b45edcf8a90b52b881df9b27d79d8d

Why You Should Eat More Nuts and Seeds

This is Day 4 of Well’s Mediterranean Diet Week. Start at the beginning here. It’s time to add a bit more crunch to your diet, so let’s talk about nuts and seeds. These nutritional powerhouses are rich in essential vitamins and minerals, as well as protein and gut-healthy fiber. Just a handful of almonds, for instance, provides about six grams of protein and three grams of fiber, about the amount you’d get from eating an egg and three-quarters of a cup of blueberries. Nuts and seeds are also impressive sources of heart-healthy fats, which have been linked to improved cholesterol levels and protection from cardiovascular disease. One recent review of more than three dozen studies, for instance, found that people who ate a little more than a handful (or about one ounce) of nuts and seeds every day had a roughly 20 percent lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease than those who ate little to none.

a2b60d276d36f886da95fe59187f971e

Hey, What Happened to My Health Insurance? - The New York Times

In December of last year, before the unwinding process had begun, one of their aides got a call from her office while she was at the Wells’s house, saying that Ms. Wells’s coverage had been cut off and that the aide was not to bathe or care for Ms. Wells that day — if she did, the company might be forced to drop the family as clients. They lost Ms. Wells’s care for nearly a month; Mr. Wells had to miss doctor appointments for his heart and kidneys, including his monthly catheter replacement, because he didn’t have anyone to stay with Ms. Wells. It was so difficult to schedule new appointments that after a few months he had to go to an E.R. to get a new catheter. He was later told that Ms. Wells’s coverage loss was a mistake. But then it happened again in late June, after the unwinding process was underway. Once again, their aide got a call telling her she could no longer care for Ms. Wells, “just out of the clear blue sky,” Mr. Wells said. “I mean, I got upset.” So much so that he started having chest pains and difficulty breathing. Afraid he was having a heart attack, he ended up in an E.R. overnight, although it was more likely an anxiety attack. His sister went without coverage for a little over two weeks. The Arkansas Department of Human Services told him the coverage loss this time was the result of a computer glitch. Both times Mr. Wells and the aide tried to reinstate the coverage on their own, but it took reaching out to a Legal Aid lawyer who had direct channels to state officials to get it fixed, an inefficient process that isn’t available to most people. Mr. Wells now worries that Ms. Wells’s coverage could once again get cut off at any time. “It’s happened twice in less than a year, so yeah,” he said. He also knows their story is not unique. “There are more people out there just like Phyllis. They need this,” he said. State officials “don’t understand — maybe they don’t care — that they are actually hurting people, they’re impacting people’s lives.” Outrageously, most of the Medicaid losses we’ve seen since the unwinding began are not necessarily because people are ineligible but because they’re getting tripped up by how complicated it is to stay enrolled. First, they need to know that they have to recertify to keep their coverage, even though they haven’t had to do that for the past three years, and to compound the problem, many letters from state governments about the new requirement go to the wrong addresses. Then they have to understand the letters they receive, many of which are overly complex, and then they must gather the right documents and fill out the right forms. If they need any help or have any questions, call-center lines are often jammed. More than three-quarters of Arkansans who were kicked off Medicaid lost coverage because they didn’t make it through that process, not because they were found to be ineligible, a rate that is just higher than the 71 percent rate for all states that have reported data.