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Springfield International girls win Div. 5 basketball title

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:02 GMT

LOWELL – With a strong defensive effort and some clutch free throw shooting from an unlikely source, the No. 2 Springfield International girls defeated top-seeded Millis 42-34 at Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell Sunday afternoon to win the first Div. 5 state title in program history.“That’s our goal,” said Bulldogs coach Tyrone Reid. “We don’t care about how many we score. There was a point in time we didn’t know if (the score) was going to get into the twenties. That’s our style of game. As long as we have more points than you, then we are going to play defense end to end. We are going to make you earn every basket you get and that’s what we did.”With a 36-26 advantage midway through the fourth, SI (21-4) was unable to hold off Millis (16-9) as the Mohawks went on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 36-34 over a two and a half minute span. Millis had a chance to tie it, but junior captain Alicia Mitchell swatted away that chance.“I was a little nervous, but I just had to block out the s...

Massachusetts weather forecast: Springlike feel for 1st week of spring, elevated fire weather concerns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:02 GMT

In one of the biggest shockers in Boston weather recorded history, the first week of spring is actually going to feel like spring.After a chilly day on Sunday for Southie’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, temperatures are expected to rise this week as the calendar flips from winter to spring. Meanwhile, officials are warning about elevated fire weather concerns in certain parts of the state.“We should be above normal for the week ahead,” Bill Simpson, meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Boston office, told the Herald on Sunday.The normal high for Boston this time of year is 46 degrees, and Monday’s forecasted high for the city is in the low 50s amid mostly sunny conditions.Temps on Tuesday should climb even higher into the mid-50s, with mostly sunny conditions again.Wednesday’s high temps will dip back to the low 50s, as clouds move in. Some rain showers starting in the late afternoon are possible.The rain showers should stick around o...

Canton wins Div. 2 state boys hockey title

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:02 GMT

Canton arrived at this game a year ago, only to fall short of the grand prize.This time, the third-seeded Bulldogs got the job done.Canton (22-4) rallied from an early deficit to beat No. 8 Hopkinton, 4-1, to win the Div. 2 boys hockey state championship. It was the third title in five years for the Hockomock League power.“These guys put a lot of pressure on themselves,” Canton coach Brian Shulman said. “They come from a town where they’ve been in the stands watching some kids older than them on the ice, raising that trophy. That’s their dream.”The Bulldogs posted four different goal scorers and were led by senior defenseman James Young with four assists and sophomore goalie Colin Davis with 16 saves. Despite the loss, Hopkinton senior goalie Jack Lang finished with a remarkable 29 saves.“It feels amazing. Seeing everyone out there, we were not going to let what happened last year happen again,” said senior forward AJ Thomas on the euphoric win. “After they scored the first one, we ...

NWS warns of potential for damaging wind gusts, heavy rain in San Diego this week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:02 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Another bout of blustery weather is expected in San Diego County this week, according to the National Weather Service.Satellite imagery Sunday morning showed a thick blanket of clouds covering Southern California. Weather officials say widespread rain showers are likely into the evening as a weak disturbance arrives. Westbound SR-78 closure extended to next week Meanwhile, NWS says gusty winds are developing over the mountains and deserts. Southerly winds along the coast will turn westerly by Monday morning and weather officials predict a few showers to accompany the wind the shift.Though precipitation is expected to be light Monday morning, NWS says the roads may be wet for morning commuters. Rain showers will continue east into the mountains during the day with drying over the coast and valleys. Those showers are expected to dissipate into Monday evening.Come Tuesday, the blustery conditions are expected to arise. NWS says a strong storm system will take shape, rel...

Biden calls Israel’s Netanyahu with judicial plan ‘concern’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:02 GMT

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden spoke Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “express concern” over his government’s planned overhaul of the country’s judicial system that has sparked widespread protests across Israel and to encourage compromise.The White House said Biden reiterated U.S. concerns about the measure to roll back the judiciary’s insulation from the country’s political system, in a call a senior administration official described as candid and constructive. There was no immediate indication that Netanyahu was shying away from the action, after rejecting a compromise last week offered by the country’s figurehead president.Netanyahu said Sunday the legal changes would be carried out responsibly while protecting the basic rights of all Israelis. His government — the country’s most right-wing ever — says the overhaul is meant to correct an imbalance that has given the courts too much power and prevented lawmakers from carrying out the voting pub...

Fear, grief follow deadly quake on Ecuador’s southwest coast

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:02 GMT

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Some affectionally call Machala the “Banana Capital of the World.” This port community on Ecuador’s Pacific coast is home to about a quarter million people and normally bustles with commercial activity. But not this weekend, not after the deadly quake.Grief hung in the air on Sunday, a day after a powerful temblor rocked this city, toppling homes and buildings along the coast and as far off as the Ecuadorian higlands and even parts of Peru. Rubble covered some streets of Machala. Neighbors held simple funerals to bury the dead. A pier was no more. And a day after the quake that killed nine residents alone along this hard-hit coast, many in Machala were feeling anguished and uneasy.“The city is quiet, fear and mourning are felt,” resident Luis Becerra said. “You feel the pain, the drama, wherever you go. Everyone is alert, with great fear in case there is a replica.”The 6.8 magnitude The quake, which the U.S. Geological Survey measured at magni...

UBS to buy Credit Suisse for nearly $3.25B to calm turmoil

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:02 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — Banking giant UBS is buying troubled rival Credit Suisse for almost $3.25 billion, in a deal orchestrated by regulators in an effort to avoid further market-shaking turmoil in the global banking system.Swiss authorities pushed for UBS to take over its smaller rival after a plan for Credit Suisse to borrow up to 50 billion francs ($54 billion) failed to reassure investors and the bank’s customers. Shares of Credit Suisse and other banks sold off this week after the failure of two banks in the U.S. sparked concerns about other potentially shaky institutions in the global financial system.Credit Suisse is among the 30 financial institutions known as globally systemically important banks, and authorities worried about the fallout if it were to fail.The deal was “one of great breadth for the stability of international finance,” said Swiss President Alain Berset as he announced the deal Sunday night. “An uncontrolled collapse of Credit Suisse would lead to incalc...

Boston celebrates at a chilly St. Patrick’s Day parade

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:02 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Boston held its St. Patrick’s Day parade on Sunday, an event Mayor Michelle Wu called one of the biggest events of the year for the city and a day for bringing people together.Boston is home to one of the country’s largest Irish enclaves, and the parade typically draws about 1 million people.The Democratic mayor said during a broadcast of the event that she was happy for sunny skies despite cold temperatures and blustery winds, adding, “we can handle it here in Boston.”The temperature was 36 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) when the procession stepped off in South Boston on Sunday afternoon. Cheering spectators decked out in green lined the route. Some held up large Irish flags that whipped in the wind. Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey said she was thrilled to take part and celebrate the immigrant community and recognize veterans and current service members.Last year the parade returned after a two-year hiatus during the pandemic. Parade organizers deci...

Source: Lawyer invited to testify before Trump grand jury

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:02 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A lawyer who previously advised Michael Cohen, the key government witness in the hush money payment investigation into Donald Trump, has been invited to appear Monday before a Manhattan grand jury that is considering potential charges against the former president, according to a person familiar with the matter.Robert Costello had advised Cohen before the two had a falling out, and is prepared to offer testimony to the grand jury attacking the credibility of Cohen’s statements, according to the person, who insisted on anonymity to discuss secret legal proceedings.Costello had contacted a lawyer for Trump saying that he had information that contradicted Cohen’s current statements and that could be exculpatory for Trump, the person said. The lawyer brought it to the attention of the district attorney’s office, which last week subpoenaed Costello’s law firm for records and invited him to provide testimony on Monday afternoon.The Manhattan district attorney’s offi...

Doc: Man who struck Chicago police officer tried to escape interview through ceiling

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:02 GMT

CHICAGO — A man who was charged after hitting a police officer with a car Friday on DuSable Lake Shore Drive tried to escape a police interview through a ceiling tile, according to a court document.Tajze Mullins, 23, faces multiple felonies of aggravated assault of peace officer, escape and a misdemeanor of obstructing identification. He is being held without bail.Police say Mullins was arrested in the 7100 block of South Lafayette Avenue and was identified as the man who minutes earlier struck a police officer with his vehicle near the 1100 block of South DuSable Lake Shore Drive.According to police, the officer broke his leg but is in good condition. Multiple injured in shooting inside South Side Restaurant According to a court document, authorities said another officer fired one shot and it struck a Lyft driver's vehicle. No one was injured.Mullins was placed into custody and charged after a police helicopter tracked him leaving the scene.Once he was placed in an interview room...