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2culture

Mass. corrections officer Tom Cooke dies of cancer after 27 years of service

Correction Officer Tom Cooke, an employee of the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office, died this week of cancer, the office said. In a message on X, formerly known as Twitter, the sheriff’s office announced “with a heavy heart” that Cooke died “following a courageous battle with cancer.” “As we mourn his loss, we ask that you keep the Cooke family, his friends and colleagues in your thoughts and prayers,” the message continued. Cooke, 55, was born in Winchester and died on Dec. 16, according to his obituary. The day before, fellow officers with the Middlesex Sheriff’s office accompanied Cooke from the hospital to be with loved ones, according to a video posted to Facebook. Cooke worked for the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office for 27 years, and enjoyed boating, camping and sports. “A music-lover, Tom enjoyed playing the guitar and drums, and loved rocking out with his son to classic bands like Zeppelin and Sabbath,” his obituary read. A funeral will be held on Saturday, Dec. 23, his obituary said.

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4politics

Biden Hosts Angolas President, Seeking to Strengthen Africa Ties

President Biden hosted President João Lourenço of Angola at the White House on Thursday, promoting a major U.S. investment in the country as he tries to shore up his pledge to revitalize relations with African nations. The visit marked three decades of diplomatic relations between the countries, and the two leaders discussed cooperation on critical issues such as trade, energy, climate and a $1 billion U.S.-backed infrastructure project that would aid Angola’s economy. But it came as the administration has faced questions about the United States’ commitment to the continent as plans for a long-promised visit by Mr. Biden — originally expected this year — remain up in the air. Mr. Biden made the pledge nearly a year ago at a U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, during which he convened delegations of 49 nations for the first time in eight years. At the summit, Mr. Biden declared that the United States “is all in on Africa’s future,” and made a litany of promises for how it would demonstrate its commitment, including telling leaders that he was “looking forward to seeing many of you in your home countries.” On Thursday, Mr. Biden appeared to try to kick-start that commitment again at a critical time. The United States lags behind major countries like Russia and China in competing for influence on the continent, which has become an increasingly important sphere of global competition, with the fastest-growing, youngest population in the world.

4b5f009192269158470f6c71f89224aa

0business

Salad chain honeygrow offering Chicken Parmesan stir-fry for a limited time

Fancy a plate of stir-fry that features the flavors of Italy? Well, here’s your chance to crush that craving. The restaurant chain honeygrow has specialized in stir-fry, salads and honeybars since 2012, and now the Philadelphia-based company is offering its “Chicken Parm Stir-Fry” for a limited time this winter. The delicacy will be available at honeygrow’s 40 locations nationwide, including its Massachusetts stores, starting Tuesday, Jan. 16. Coated in house-made tomato basil sauce, the stir-fry consists of egg white noodles, roasted chicken, grape tomatoes, bell peppers, red onions, breadcrumbs, parsley and shaved parmesan. Salad chain honeygrow will feature Chicken Parm Stir-fry on its menu from Jan. 16 until March 19.Courtesy of honeygrow Justin Rosenberg, founder and CEO of honeygrow, said the idea for the saucy stir-fry came from his culinary team’s love for the classic Italian-American dish. “Our culinary team and I went back to the drawing board and thought a lot about the things we love to eat – chicken parm was a constant,” Rosenburg said. “The team did a great job in creating a nutritious twist on a beloved classic that brings together comfort and a wholesome meal.” The Chicken Parm Stir Fry is 684 calories per serving, and costs $12.53. The stir fry will be featured on honeygrow’s menus through March 19. The food chain has two locations in Massachusetts, one in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood and the other in Seaport and those interested in trying can order on DoorDash. More information about the Chicken Parm Stir-Fry can be found online.

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3entertainment

Andrea Bocelli calls off Boston concert on night of TD Garden show

Stories that will make you laugh, cry and question everything you thought you knew. Step into a portal where LGBTQ+ folks can live authentically, free from hate and where their contributions to art and culture are celebrated. Sign up for the QueerVerse newsletter today!

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6sports

Former Patriots OL believes team will have new quarterback in 2024

One big storyline the Patriots are facing in the offseason is what they’ll do at quarterback. It appears New England has moved on from Mac Jones and turned to Bailey Zappe as the starter for the remainder of 2023, but neither quarterback has given the organization reason to keep them as a starter. The 2024 NFL Draft features some quarterbacks that might be on New England’s radar, while free agency or trading for a new signal caller is also an option. On the latest episode of “Eye On Foxborough,” former Patriots offensive lineman Ross Tucker joined MassLive’s Karen Guregian and discussed whether New England will get a new quarterback for next season in the 2024 NFL Draft or in free agency. 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 will at least get a new quarterback. I don’t know that it’s necessarily that they would draft one. But they would at least get a new one,” Tucker said. “I think it depends, I would imagine on who else is available in free agency, who’s available via trade. Who’s the one making that decision, right? Because (Bill) Belichick typically has liked to use those type of high picks when he has them, historically, I feel like on D-linemen. Like a Richard Seymour, or a Ty Warren, or guys like that, and hope that he can get a quarterback with a second-round pick or a third-round pick. “But I guess that leads to probably another question, which is about what I think might happen with Bill,” he added. “But I do think that they’re gonna get a new quarterback. I’d be shocked if they didn’t. ... But if they have a top-two pick, I would imagine that they would use that on a quarterback.” At 3-11, the Patriots are in good position to receive a high draft pick. While it’s unclear which direction they’ll go, or who will be making the selection come April, it will certainly be interesting to see how it all plays out.

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2culture

The New York Apartment Where Kissinger Spent His First Years in America

The Eliot Hotel is one of Boston’s best boutique hotels. Located in the heart of the charming Back Bay neighborhood, The Eliot offers guests the perfect spot to relax and unwind while staying close to all the city attractions you want to enjoy. And the cherry on top? Your four-legged family members are welcome to join you. Keep reading to find out how to have the perfect dog-friendly staycation in Boston this winter. Why you should book a staycation at The Eliot Photograph: Courtesy Eliot Hotel The Eliot offers impeccable service, historic charm, and an award-winning restaurant right on site! The central location means you’re close to some of the best the city has to offer, from shopping on Newbury St to the Museum of Fine Arts there is plenty to do within walking distance. The Eliot may offer historic charm and timeless elegance but the hotel has recently made upgrades and renovations so the rooms are equipped with all the modern comforts you need and want! Bringing your dog to The Eliot Photograph: Courtesy Katie McAleer The Eliot welcomes your four-legged family members! They do not have a size limit so big or small your dog is welcome, but you must bring a crate to crate them if you plan to leave them alone in the room at all during your stay. The Eliot will provide a food and water bowl in the room and some welcome treats for your pup! Conveniently located, there is a dog park right across the street from the hotel or you can walk your dog along Comm Ave. Be sure to let the hotel know when you book that you’ll be bring a dog and ask about their special Puppy Love Package. Dining at The Eliot If you’re looking to have an amazing meal during your staycation but don’t want to leave your pup for too long we have great news, The Eliot has one of the best restaurants in Boston right on site. On the lobby level guests can grab a bite to eat at UNI. Owner and Executive Chef Ken Oringer, winner of the James Beard Award and the Food Channel's Iron Chef Competition, has put together a truly exquisite menu, the sashimi is a must try! Guest of the hotel also have access to a special room service menu for dinner or breakfast or can choose to enjoy a continental breakfast downstairs in the restaurant. Photograph: Courtesy Uni/Melissa Ostrow Uni Spoon A staycation with your dog at The Eliot is the perfect remedy for the winter blues, after all there is plenty to do in the city throughout the winter! Or plan a quick trip out of the city, check out one of our favorite weekend getaways from Boston.

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6sports

Wait, Josh Allens jersey has pockets? You can do that? | NickNacks

Here are some half-baked thoughts and knickknacks (AKA NickNacks) I came up with while watching the New England Patriots play the Buffalo Bills on New Year’s Eve: - I’ve seen the Patriots play in plenty of cold-weather games over the years. I don’t even bat an eye when I see a player with one of those hand-warmer pouches strapped around their waist, particularly quarterbacks. But I don’t know if I’ve ever noticed a player have pockets sewn into his jersey like Bills QB Josh Allen has (and has had for a least a couple of years). 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. - Allen could be seen tucking his hands right into slots sewn into the jersey right at his midsection, with what appears to be some warm lining inside the slots. It’s an unusual feature on a jersey. But apparently, they’ve been around for a long time. - As noted by Paul Lukas of UniWatch, it was once common for players to have pockets sewn right into their jerseys. In a piece he wrote for ESPN, Lukas notes that former Buccaneers equipment manager Frank Pupello introduced the idea of a removable hand warmer pouch back in the 80s. That pouch eventually gave way to the team-banded pouches we see many players wearing today. - As for the game itself, this game in Buffalo was chaos right out of the gate. Jalen Reagor popped off right away by taking the opening kickoff back 98 yards for a touchdown. It was the Patriots’ first kickoff return for a TD since 2018. - The play was also a mirror opposite of last year’s game in Buffalo, which opened with the Bills taking the game’s first kickoff back for a score. - Unfortunately for the Patriots, things went south quickly after that -- at least for Bailey Zappe the offense. - Zappe’s first pass attempt of the game was a quick throw to Mike Gesicki, which Bills DB Rasul Douglas saw coming from a mile away. After Douglas deflected it, Bills DL Ed Oliver came in for a brilliant diving interception. - On the ensuing drive, Douglas struck again, jumping a slant route to DeVante Parker for an easy interception. Zappe simply didn’t see Douglas jump the route. - Zappe’s disastrous start: 0-for-3 passing with two interceptions. - It wasn’t until the fourth drive of the game that Zappe finally completed a pass, hitting tight end Pharoah Brown out wide for a short gain. But that too turned into a turnover as Brown was stripped, with Buffalo recovering the fumble. - But Zappe wasn’t done with disastrous picks. In the second quarter, there was a clear miscommunication between him and Reagor. Zappe appeared to think Reagor was going to run a quick slant. Reagor looked to be running a deeper route. But the time Reagor turned to look for the ball, it had already been interception by -- once again -- Rasul Douglas. - Former Patriots running back James White was among those blaming Reagor. “That one is on the receiver! Have to run your (sight) adjust,” he wrote on social media. - Despite the offensive falling flat on its face, the Patriots stuck with Zappe. They also stuck around in this game, playing an impressively pesky game, especially after Zappe made it a 20-14 game after running it in from 17 yards out for his first rushing score. - There was some good news for New England. For as disastrous as the offense was, the defense did a heck of a job of limiting the damage. - For as bad a Zappe was, Allen wasn’t exactly lighting it up against a banged-up Patriots secondary. He started the game 0-for-6 passing. According to the CBS broadcast, that’s the longest he’s gone into a game without completing a pass. - The Patriots pass rush created some major problems for the Bills. Deatrich Wise recorded a big sack out of the gate. Meanwhile, rookie Keion White showed some impressive quickness to get into the backfield and prevent Allen from making magic. Then there was Mack Wilson, who’s continued to impress in his new role as an outside pass rusher. - Rookie cornerback Alex Austin got his first career interception against the team that drafted him earlier this year. The Patriots picked up Austin to provide some depth to their thinned-out secondary. So far, he’s stepped up with some big plays in extended playing time. - Things got a little worse along the offensive line. Rookie guard Atonio Mafi went down late in the second quarter, leading to rookie offensive lineman Jake Andrews playing his first NFL snaps. - Chad Ryland’s rocky rookie season continues. After a brilliant game-winner last week, Ryland hooked a 47-yarder before halftime. - Who brings a beach ball to a Bills game in late December? Apparently, someone did. You could see a beach ball flying up into the view of the camera. - To be fair, that’s better than other objects we’ve seen thrown around at Bills game.

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4politics

Minnesota Unveils New State Flag Design

Minnesota on Tuesday announced the winning design for its new state flag after a competition that was prompted by criticism that its current flag was offensive to Native Americans. The new design consists of a light blue right panel, representing the state’s many lakes, and navy blue left panel, resembling the shape of Minnesota, with an eight-pointed northern star. It is a vast departure from the current flag: a busy design with the state seal at its center depicting a pioneer beside a rifle and a Native American with a spear on horseback, which one lawmaker described as “a cluttered genocidal mess.” The winning flag proposal, submitted by Andrew Prekker of Luverne, was chosen from more than 2,600 submissions by a commission created by state legislation to redesign both the flag and the state seal. “It is my greatest hope that this new flag can finally represent our state and all its people properly,” Mr. Prekker, a 24-year-old artist and writer, said in a statement. “That every Minnesotan of every background — including the Indigenous communities and tribal nations who’ve been historically excluded — can look up at our flag with pride and honor, and see themselves within it.”

9a2b9c13cfccbf8a84edc77d47031289

4politics

How College-Educated Republicans Learned to Love Trump Again

Working-class voters delivered the Republican Party to Donald J. Trump. College-educated conservatives may ensure that he keeps it. Often overlooked in an increasingly blue-collar party, voters with a college degree remain at the heart of the lingering Republican cold war over abortion, foreign policy and cultural issues. These voters, who have long been more skeptical of Mr. Trump, have quietly powered his remarkable political recovery inside the party — a turnaround over the past year that has notably coincided with a cascade of 91 felony charges in four criminal cases. Even as Mr. Trump dominates Republican primary polls ahead of the Iowa caucuses on Monday, it was only a year ago that he trailed Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida in some surveys — a deficit due largely to the former president’s weakness among college-educated voters. Mr. DeSantis’s advisers viewed the party’s educational divide as a potential launching point to overtake Mr. Trump for the nomination.

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0business

SJC weighs Brookline tobacco bylaw

That means that at some point far into the future, literally no one would be allowed to buy tobacco in Brookline, regardless of his or her age. Currently, the legal age to purchase tobacco statewide is 21. Currently, no one born in the 21st century is allowed to buy tobacco in the Boston suburb of 60,000 people after Town Meeting voters adopted a first-in-the-nation bylaw in 2020. The rule went into effect about a year later, gradually prohibiting tobacco or e-cigarette sales to anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2000. During the depths of the pandemic, Brookline adopted a public health measure unlike any in the country. Massachusetts’ highest court could now determine whether it can stay. Advertisement The Brookline rule has been hailed as a novel effort to curb youth tobacco use by going far beyond setting a minimum age, effectively banning future generations from ever purchasing tobacco. New Zealand last year adopted a similar policy, but Brookline’s bylaw remains the only one of its kind in the United States, though it’s something other towns hope to emulate. “We need to do more than what we’ve been doing,” said Maureen Buzby, the tobacco inspection coordinator for several Massachusetts communities, including Melrose, Stoneham, and Wakefield, where officials are weighing restrictions similar to Brookline’s. “We’ve done a lot of policy, a lot of regulation, a lot of state law. Frankly, they’ve worked as Band-Aids.” But now, a ruling by the state’s Supreme Judicial Court could undo the attempt at a wider salve. The high court’s justices this month heard a challenge from a group of Brookline businesses, whose attorneys argue that Brookline’s bylaw is unconstitutional and conflicts with the 2018 state law that set the legal age at 21. A ban, even implemented gradually, could have wide ramifications for convenience stores, where tobacco products account for more than one-quarter of merchandise sales nationally, according to a Massachusetts trade group representing local retailers. The lawsuit has also drawn the support of some of the tobacco’s industry’s biggest players hoping to stop the policy before it gains steam. Advertisement Backing Brookline’s bylaw is the state of Massachusetts, which argued in a brief that the town is addressing “a legitimate health concern.” Governor Maura Healey approved Brookline’s rule when she was attorney general. A slew of other policymakers, from California lawmakers to those in Hawaii, have proposed their own bans. While the legal nuances could shift from state to state, the Massachusetts SJC ruling could provide an important barometer, including clearing others in Massachusetts to pursue their own restrictions or sending them back to the drawing board. “I would think [tobacco companies] may consider it a bit of a long shot, but a potentially mortal threat to their industry,” said Mark Gottlieb, executive director of the Public Health Advocacy Institute at Northeastern University’s School of Law, which is representing Brookline in the lawsuit. “What the SJC does in this case may not have any impact on whether a policy may withstand a legal challenge in other states,” he added. “But it certainly would show it’s possible, given the right legal environment, to implement a policy that is truly an end-game policy for tobacco sales.” Town hall on Washington Street in Brookline. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff It’s unclear when the SJC will issue its ruling. Technically, the high court will decide whether to uphold a lower court’s decision to dismiss the lawsuit, known as Six Brothers v. Brookline, where store owners argued Brookline’s tobacco ban undercuts the 2018 law and the intent of the Legislature to set a minimum age. Advertisement At the time, state policymakers noted the minimum age law would replace what had become a “confusing and bewildering patchwork” of rules across towns and cities, Patrick Tinsley, an attorney representing the Brookline retailers, said during the SJC hearing. Moreover, opponents of Brookline’s rule contend it violates equal protection guarantees in the state constitution. American Snuff Co. — a subsidiary of the tobacco giant American Reynolds — argued in a court brief that allowing someone born at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 31, 1999 to buy cigarettes but permanently barring someone born one second later is “discriminatory treatment [that] cannot pass constitutional muster.” A company spokesperson declined to comment further. “At what point do adults have the freedom to make their own choices about the products they consume?” said Peter Brennan, executive director of the New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association, a trade organization that represents 7,000 retailers. The Brookline rule, he said, is a “sneaky, end-around way” toward an outright ban. “It sets a moving goalpost.” At a hearing this month, justices on the SJC considered the law’s weighty ramifications. Justice Scott L. Kafker said, in effect, the bylaw would eventually raise the minimum age “to the point where it renders everybody too young to buy.” Advertisement “Very clever,” he mused. “I just don’t know if that’s legal.” Attorneys for Brookline argue the bylaw is “not a minimum,” but a ban, which is legal under the 2018 state law allowing towns or cities to pursue their own rule that “limits or prohibits the purchase of tobacco products.” Katharine Silbaugh, a Boston University law professor and one of the leading petitioners of Brookline’s bylaw, argued that nicotine and tobacco shouldn’t be regulated like alcohol or cannabis, which “whether we’re right or not, we believe at some age, they are safe enough to use.” “It doesn’t make sense to have an age restriction that seems to indicate that you have become old enough to smoke,” she said. “You’re never old enough to smoke.” Town data indicate that tobacco use among high schoolers has steadily plunged: In 2013, for example, 26 percent of high schoolers said they used tobacco at some point. In a 2023 survey, just 3 percent of Brookline high schoolers said they had used tobacco in the previous 30 days, while 9 percent said they had vaped; 19 percent said they vaped at some point in their lives. Still, health experts caution: It’s hard to draw a direct connection to the town’s new bylaw. “We’ll never be able to point to a direct link [to the bylaw],” said Sigalle Reiss, Brookline’s public health director. But, she said, the policy is both an attempt to reduce exposure and “institute change across a whole community.” “We’re not naïve. We know Brookline is not an island,” she said. “But we do feel like one community has to take that first step.” Advertisement Health officials in Melrose, Stoneham, and Wakefield — three communities clustered north of Boston — have held public hearings on their proposed regulation, which would ban the sale of tobacco or e-cigarette products to anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2004. But they’ve tabled any votes until after the SJC ruling, said Anthony Chui, the health director for all three communities. Should they, and perhaps others, adopt similar rules, proponents say that could eventually build momentum toward the adoption of a statewide law. But it often takes years for Beacon Hill to join such a groundswell. When the Legislature voted in 2018 to increase the legal age to buy tobacco from 18 to 21, half the state’s towns and cities, Boston included, had already done so, sometimes years earlier. Matt Stout can be reached at matt.stout@globe.com. Follow him @mattpstout.

85ba01cd7f2469968a88b7f6378bdf3a

6sports

Jayson Tatum says Celtics accomplished feat they wouldnt have last year

SPRINGFIELD – Darren Harris is confident in every decision he makes. Every time he takes a 3-pointer, he believes it’s going in. During his college basketball recruitment, he knew he wanted to go to Duke, so when they offered him a scholarship in Feb. 2022, he verbally committed a few months later early in his junior year. Harris, ranked as the No. 45 recruit in his class by ESPN, was the first player to commit to the Blue Devils in the Class of 2024. Harris’ confidence with the ball in his hands and off the court has helped push his high school, St. Paul VI in Virginia, to the No. 3 ranking in ESPN’s national boys basketball team rankings. His confidence has been an advantage for St. Paul VI, and he’s looking forward to having the same effect on the Blue Devils starting next year. “Duke was a dream school of mine growing up,” Harris said. “When they pushed for me to commit early it was hard to turn down. I was one of the first players they really pursued in my class. It felt like the timing was right. I knew where I wanted to go and where I wanted to be.” Despite losing to No. 5 ranked Christoher Columbus (FL), 70-61, on Monday at the Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Massachusetts, Harris chipped in 16 points on 6-of-19 shooting for St. Paul VI. Christopher Columbus’ lineup is headlined by brothers Cameron and Cayden Boozer, sons of former NBA player Carlos Boozer, and Jace and Jaxson Richardson, sons of former NBA player Jason Richardson. “Their team defense is really good,” Harris said about Christopher Columbus. “They move as one and they are really connected on the defensive side of the floor. They made us work, especially me. I was exhausted by the end of the game. They’re really physical.” The event in Springfield showcased a handful of Duke commits, including the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2024, Cooper Flagg. Harris and St. Paul VI landed in Springfield the night before their game, so Harris didn’t have the opportunity to watch some of his future teammates play, but he was excited to have the ability to play in the showcase. “This tournament is top-notch,” Harris said. “There’s a lot of good talent out here.” Harris is teammates with fellow Duke commit, Pat Ngongba, the No. 19 recruit in the Class of 2024 according to ESPN. When Harris became the first commit for Duke in the Class of 2024, he immediately got to work doing some additional recruiting for the Blue Devils. The senior regularly messaged other players whose play style he liked on social media, and even worked to get Ngongba to commit to the program. “There are certain guys whose game I like,” Harris said. “Our class is talented and versatile on both ends of the floor. I have no complaints with the class coming in, but as far as being the first one, yeah I was doing some texting. … Especially with Pat who I saw every day. Playing together at the next level will be a great opportunity.” Harris moves a lot without the ball, has a quick shot release and is lethal from beyond the arc. The senior watches all levels of basketball constantly when he’s not playing. With so much time watching the game under his belt, he’s absorbed player traits from some of the game’s best guards. “I watch a lot of Devin Booker,” Harris said. “Young Devin Booker in college, running off pin downs, mid range, elevating over everyone. Catch and shoot guys, Klay Thompson, JJ (Redick). I watch a lot of basketball, so it’s easy to add that into my game.”

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6sports

Why Lucas Giolito chose 1-year Red Sox deal after market wasnt crazy for him

Two winters ago, it likely wasn’t hard for Lucas Giolito to envision himself getting a massive deal in free agency in his first go-around on the open market. The then-White Sox ace had just received Cy Young votes for the third straight season and was coming off a strong 2021 season during which he posted a 3.53 ERA while striking out 201 batters in 31 starts. A down year in 2022 (4.90 ERA in 30 starts) was followed by a year of upheaval in 2023, when Giolito pitched for three different teams, had a series of disastrous starts and finished with a 4.88 ERA and 5.27 FIP across 184 ⅓ innings with the White Sox, Angels and Guardians. The second half of his year was particularly rough, as he struggled mightily after being dealt to Los Angeles, then claimed by Cleveland weeks later. The former All-Star allowed a league-leading 41 homers. He hit the open market as a depreciated asset, not as a top-of-the-line option alongside Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Aaron Nola and Blake Snell on a strong free agent market for starters. Instead of a long list of teams trying to sign him, Giolito found a limited market. His free agent experience ended Friday when he agreed to a one-year, $19 million deal with the Red Sox that includes a player option for 2025. “It wasn’t very many (teams interested),” said Giolito, who was also rumored to have had talks with the Mets. “I’ll say that. It wasn’t crazy. For me, I really was sold on the Red Sox philosophy, talking with (manager Alex Cora), talking with (pitching coach) Andrew Bailey, talking with (chief baseball officer) Craig (Breslow). That initial meeting really got me excited. A lot of my free agency process was tailored to working towards getting something done here.” Giolito, a 29-year-old Los Angeles native, didn’t choose the Red Sox because of past Fenway success (13.50 ERA in 2 starts) or his familiarity with the region, though he did note his parents now live in upstate New York, not too far from the Massachusetts border. He chose a pitching-needy Boston club because it expressed interest in signing him from the get-go, with pitching gurus Breslow and Bailey being entrusted to get him back on track after two disappointing seasons. 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. Giolito said the Red Sox were one of the first — if not the first — teams to reach out when free agency started. “That obviously meant a lot to me,” he said. “It’s my first time going through free agency. Obviously, there’s a lot of unknown coming off of last season. We had a really interesting, amazing Zoom call, like a pitch meeting, where I got to get a feel for the organization, got to meet some of the staff and I really liked everything I heard.” Before his recent struggles, it wouldn’t have been a stretch to envision Giolito setting himself up for a deal similar to or better than what Nola — who is 13 months older — received from the Phillies this year in the form of seven years and $172 million. But the reality of his market was much different. By the end, it made sense for Giolito to sign a short-term deal that provided some protection if he struggled once again. His somewhat convoluted deal with the Red Sox provided what he was looking for. “Because I’m coming off a down season and the year before that was a down season too, for me, committing to a big long-term deal at a value that I don’t necessarily see myself at or not really having interest from teams in that type of deal, it didn’t really make sense,” Giolito said. “What makes sense for me is going somewhere where I know I’m going to be comfortable and I know I’m going to get better.” Giolito’s contract — originally advertised as a two-year deal — is really a one-year pact that allows him to test the open market again, in search of a large payday, if he pitches well in 2024. According to multiple industry sources, Giolito is guaranteed $19 million on the deal, which could stretch three years and guarantee him $58 million in an unlikely scenario. Giolito will earn an $18 million base salary in 2024, then have a $19 million player option or $1 million buyout for 2025. His decision at the end of the season will be based on whether or not he expects to exceed that value on the open market. The deal, which also includes $1 million in incentives based on workload in each of the next two years (a $250,000 bonus at every 10-inning interval from 150 to 180 innings), has some protection built in for the Red Sox in the form of a conditional option for 2026. If Giolito throws 140+ innings in 2025 with the Red Sox, it’s a $14 million club option or $1.5 million buyout for 2026. If he fails to reach that 140-inning plateau, the option will become a $19 million mutual option (which are almost always declined) or $1.5 million buyout. Make no mistake about it. Giolito’s goal is to hit free agency once again next winter. To do so he’ll need to pitch like the old version of himself. “The structure of the contract is what it is so that I can do everything I can to help this team win games for a year or two years and then go back on the market again,” Giolito said. “I’m not a fan, at all, of my recent performances, so I’d like to do the more short-term option and really re-bolster what I know I can do in this league and then go from there.” Alongside Brayan Bello and any further additions the Red Sox make in the coming weeks, Giolito will anchor a new-look rotation after the surprising trade that sent Chris Sale to Atlanta over the weekend. One of the most durable pitchers in baseball since debuting in 2016, Giolito knows the Red Sox are counting on him to take the ball every five days. “What Craig (Breslow) was telling me is that he’s excited for me to bring stability in the rotation, throw innings, and then, the big bonus is going to be me getting back to having the good stuff I know I have and throwing really quality innings,” Giolito said.

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4politics

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.

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4politics

For Anti-Trump Republicans, It All Might Come Down to New Hampshire

With his usual bluntness, Chris Christie used a recent event in New Hampshire to lay out why he thought the state’s primary election was more important than the Iowa caucuses — and what he saw as its tremendous stakes. “It’s pretty clear that the caucus system is going to renominate the former president, but that’s not what happens here in New Hampshire,” Mr. Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, said at a diner in Amherst, N.H. “It seems to me that the people from the Live Free or Die State would be the last people who would want to nominate someone who’s going to be a dictator.” As former President Donald J. Trump’s stranglehold on Iowa Republicans shows no sign of lessening, New Hampshire has become the most critical state for Nikki Haley, Mr. Christie and the small, increasingly desperate contingent of the Republican Party that wants to cast aside Mr. Trump. It is the only state where polling shows Ms. Haley within striking distance of the former president, and the only place where Mr. Christie has gained any sort of foothold. While Iowa’s caucuses on Monday are likely to be a slugfest for second place, New Hampshire’s primary on Jan. 23 has an outside chance of serving up an upset victory for Ms. Haley.

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3entertainment

How to watch Sister Wives for free (Jan. 7)

A new episode of “Sister Wives” will air on TLC on Sunday, Jan. 7 at 10 p.m. ET. Those without cable can catch “Sister Wives” for free either on Philo, on FuboTV or on DirecTVStream, each of which offer a free trial to new users. The series follows the four wives Meri, Janelle, Robyn and Christine and their shared husband, Kody Brown, along with Kody and his wives’ combined 18 children, according to FuboTV. In the new episode, “after years of struggling in her plural marriage to Kody, Christine Brown has met the love of her life: David Woolley. After a year-long courtship, they are getting married! Set against the majestic red rocks of Moab, Utah, Christine gets the big traditional wedding she has always dreamed of having.” How do I watch “Sister Wives” if I don’t have cable? Viewers can stream the new episode on Philo, FuboTV and DirecTV Stream, which all offer a free trial for new users. What is Philo? Philo is an over-the-top internet live TV streaming service that offers 60+ entertainment and lifestyle channels, like AMC, BET, MTV, Comedy Central and more, for the budget-friendly price of $25/month. What is DirecTV Stream? The streaming platform offers a plethora of content including streaming the best of live and On Demand, starting with more than 75 live TV channels. What is FuboTV? FuboTV is an over-the-top internet live TV streaming service that offers more than 100 channels, such as sports, news, entertainment and local channels.

0768870b7410875e1a6dd0bedbbc8bc6

4politics

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.

8dedfaf1d1c25a1cc8abf56db13bb05a

1crime

DA: Man shot his girlfriend in her Marlborough home in apparent murder-suicide

A man forced his way into his girlfriend’s Marlborough home Wednesday morning and shot her before also shooting himself in an apparent murder-suicide, according to the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office. The DA’s office did not identify the man or woman, but said that the woman was 28 years old and that the man was 29. The two had been dating, and on Tuesday night, the man threatened his girlfriend at his home. She returned to her Rice Street home later that night, but around 10 a.m. the next morning, the man came to the home, forced his way in through a window, shot her and then shot himself, the DA’s office said. Police received a call about the shooting at 10:05 a.m. Wednesday. At the scene, they were met by two women who said their roommate had been shot, the DA’s office said. Police found the man and woman dead inside her home. Authorities are still investigating the shooting. They did not specify a motive for the killing.

8fbbfd70bd9749738523409a2d79fd91

2culture

Westfield library, childrens museum, playground impacted by budget cuts

WESTFIELD — The Westfield Athenaeum and Amelia Park Children’s Museum have had their earmarked funding halved as a result of Gov. Maura Healey’s recent 9C budget cuts, as have plans to rehabilitate the Cross Street Playground. The cuts, which total $375 million, come as a result of lower-than-expected state tax revenues. “It’s very disappointing that we are not going to be able to get the funds,” said Diane Chambers, the museum’s executive director. Amelia Park Children’s Museum Inc. was originally set to receive $10,000, and will now receive only $5,000.

1dbfc9701af0e910924f332fd22b33cd

1crime

Everett man arrested in connection with fatal East Boston stabbing

Police have made an arrest in connection to the fatal stabbing of a Medford man in East Boston last week, according to Boston police. Edwin Mendez Hernandez, 20, of Everett was arrested at approximately 8 a.m. Friday on 20 Hancock St. in Everett. At the time of his arrest, Hernandez was wanted on a warrant for the Dec. 15 killing of Wilfredo Landaverde Arevalo, 34, of Medford, police said in a statement. Hernandez will be arraigned in East Boston District Court.

953f96f8c16289e1dcfb1a5508528bf8

6sports

Celtics injury report: 2 starters listed for Timberwolves game

The Boston Red Sox look like they’re bowing out of the pursuit of Shohei Ohtani in free agency. According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the group of teams in the running to try and sign the reigning AL MVP has thinned out. Passan reports that the Red Sox, Rangers and Mets “were among the initial group of suitors, have turned their attention to other players.” ​​ Passan notes that it would be “foolish” to count out a high-revenue team like the Red Sox. But the report -- and Boston’s trend of balking at high-priced contracts -- casts doubt over the prospect of the Red Sox being a serious contender to land the lauded two-way star. According to Passan, the teams still in the running include the Dodgers, Cubs, Blue Jays and Angels. Ohtani, a two-time MVP as a dynamic hitter and starting pitcher, is easily the most sought-after talent on the market this offseason. After playing out his contract with the Angels, Ohtani could be in line for a historic payday this offseason. The Red Sox had been considered a “real threat” to sign Ohtani in recent weeks. Meanwhile, the two-way star is reportedly “intrigued” by Boston. However, the idea that the Red Sox could make the biggest splash of the offseason has now lost much of its steam. That doesn’t mean the Red Sox are out of the running for any big moves. Boston has been considered a strong candidate to sign Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the top starting pitcher remaining on the market.

d7c934bebf5f96a81b7fdc4834ad5238

5science

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.

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1crime

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."

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3entertainment

Springfield elections official says FBI called meeting just weeks after allegations of voter fraud

A Korean barbecue restaurant from Denver that made history by being the first of its kind to be featured on a popular Food Network series is setting up shop in Massachusetts next year. While Dae Gee Korean BBQ was founded in 2012, the restaurant gained national recognition when it was featured on Guy Fieri’s show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” in 2015. Fieri was impressed with Dae Gee’s all-you-can-eat buffet and dozens of scratch-made sides developed by chef and owner Joe Kim. Fast forward to 2023 and Kim is looking to capitalize on the ever-growing popularity of Korean culture by capitulating his restaurant into the bustling Boston food scene. “From the rising popularity of K-pop groups like BTS to the hit Netflix series ‘Squid Games,’ the world is falling in love with everything Korean. Even Korean cuisine is fast becoming an American staple,” Kim said. “Dae Gee is excited about our local expansion plans, and we look forward to bringing a different flavor, variety and overall dining experience to the Boston area.” Located at 83 Parkhurst Road in Chelmsford, the new 1,800-square-foot restaurant is set to begin construction in early January with a planned late-spring opening. It will be the first of as many as five restaurants the company hopes to open in the metro area via franchising over the next several years. “With a complexity of different flavors and cuisine largely comprised of proteins, vegetables, grains and assorted spices, Korean food is a great choice for the health-conscious and clean-eating consumer,” said Kim. “From generations of recipes passed down, Dae Gee leaves our customers well fed with culture, humor, and top-quality home recipe style Korean food.” Customers can order from a selection of meets like rib-eye beef and pork belly to brisket and short ribs. Dae Gee, which means “pig” in Korean, also offers fish and vegetarian options. The unlimited barbecue and entrees can be paired with a choice of eight sides including rice, fresh slaw, spicy sauce, kimchee, broccoli, radish and fish cakes. Dae Gee’s menu also features a selection of appetizers and the popular Korean rice dish bibimbap. Dae Gee also plans on adding 5-10 new restaurants nationwide over the next 12 months, with plans already underway in Indiana, New Jersey, South Dakota, Texas and even Mexico. More information about Dae Gee can be found on its website.

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5science

EEE found in more Mass. mosquitoes, risk levels raised

Eastern equine encephalitis virus found in more Massachusetts mosquitoes, raising levels Share Copy Link Copy WCVB NEWSCENTER 5 AT 530, OF COURSE, LABOR DAY MEANS SUMMER IS COMING TO A CLOSE. BUT ONE SUMMER PEST APPARENTLY IS JUST GETTING STARTED. AND WE’RE TALKING ABOUT MOSQUITOES. YEAH, THE STATE SAW ITS FIRST TWO HUMAN CASES OF WEST NILE VIRUS LAST WEEK AND TRIPLE E WAS DETECTED IN MOSQUITOES FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MASSACHUSETTS IN THREE YEARS. HERE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS IS DOCTOR BRIAN CHOW. AN INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST AT TUFTS MEDICAL CENTER. DR. CHOW, THANKS FOR BEING WITH US. THANKS FOR HAVING ME. ALL RIGHT. LET’S START WITH WEST NILE VIRUS. MUCH OF THE AREA IS NOW AT MODERATE RISK FOR WEST NILE. AND WE ARE HEADED INTO REALLY THE PEAK TIME FOR THIS VIRUS, WHICH IS EARLY FALL. WE’VE BEEN LIVING WITH IT FOR YEARS NOW. BUT WHAT DO YOU WANT FOLKS TO KNOW ABOUT IT? WEST NILE IS A POTENTIALLY SERIOUS DISEASE SPREAD BY MOSQUITOES, INCLUDING SEVERAL TYPES HERE IN MASSACHUSETTS. WHILE THERE’S NO VACCINE OR SPECIFIC TREATMENT, YOU CAN KEEP YOURSELF SAFE BY AVOIDING MOSQUITO BITES, BY WEARING AN EFFECTIVE MOSQUITO REPELLENT SUCH AS ONE CONTAINING OIL OF LEMON EUCALYPTUS OR DEET. OKAY, SO FOR MOST PEOPLE, SYMPTOMS OF WEST NILE, THEY’RE SIMILAR TO FLU. OF COURSE, THAT SOUNDS A LOT LIKE OTHER VIRUSES THAT WE’VE COME TO KNOW ALL TOO WELL, INCLUDING COVID. SO. SO ARE THERE OTHER SPECIFIC THINGS TO KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR TO KIND OF DETERMINE WHAT IT IS SO UNLIKE COVID OR COLD VIRUSES. WEST NILE VIRUS DOES NOT CAUSE RESPIRATORY SYMPTOMS LIKE COUGH OR RUNNY NOSE. A VERY SMALL NUMBER OF PEOPLE MAY DEVELOP SEVERE DISEASE LEADING TO LETHARGY, CONFUSION OR COMA. AND THOSE PEOPLE SHOULD BE BROUGHT TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM FOR EXPERT CARE. AND OF COURSE, ONE OTHER BIG REASON TO AVOID THOSE MOSQUITO BITES, TRIPLE E IS A CONCERN. SIX COMMUNITIES NOW SAW THEIR RISK LEVEL IN WORCESTER COUNTY RAISED LAST WEEK AFTER IT WAS DETECTED IN MOSQUITOES FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2020. AND WE ALL REMEMBER THAT AWFUL FALL OF 2019 WHEN SIX PEOPLE DIED. SO AGAIN, WHAT DO YOU WANT FOLKS TO KNOW ABOUT TRIPLE E? AND WHAT’S YOUR BEST ADVICE FOR AVOIDING MOSQUITOES? SO SO DEFINITELY AVOID MOSQUITOES TO AVOID AND YOU’LL BE ABLE TO AVOID TRIPLE E MOSQUITOES FEED IN THE EVENING AND NIGHT HOURS. SO IN ADDITION TO MOSQUITO SPRAY WEAR, LONG SLEEVED, LOOSE CLOTHING WHILE OUTSIDE ED AND WHEN YOU’RE ASLEEP, MAKE SURE YOUR WINDOW SCREENS ARE IN GOOD CONDITION OR USE AIR CONDITIONING. AND ONCE A WEEK, MAKE SURE YOUR HOME IS CLEAR OF ANY STANDING WATER WHERE MOSQUITOES CAN LAY EGGS SUCH AS IN BUCKETS OR FLOWERPOTS OR GARBAGE CANS. OKAY, DOCTOR CHOW, THANK Y GET LOCAL BREAKING NEWS ALERTS The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox. Your Email Address Submit Privacy Notice

a968fad6fc40206f97747178aea4ba5f

4politics

Hamas Says Commander of Its Northern Gaza Brigade Is Dead

Hamas, the armed group that controls Gaza, said on Sunday that one of its top commanders had been killed in its war with Israel there. The announcement from Hamas came on the third day of a four-day truce between Israel and Hamas to facilitate the release of hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. Israel has vowed it will continue its military campaign in the enclave after the truce is scheduled to end on Tuesday morning, with its primary goal being the destruction of Hamas. On Sunday morning the military wing of Hamas, the Qassam Brigades, issued a brief statement saying that Abu Anas al-Ghandour, who led the group’s fighters in northern Gaza, and three other commanders had been killed. It did not provide further details on when or where they had died. The Israeli military said earlier this month — before the truce began — that it had targeted Mr. al-Ghandour in a strike on Hamas’s underground infrastructure, but did not say at the time whether he was dead or alive. On Sunday, the Israeli military said in a statement that it had killed Mr. al-Ghandour “prior to the operational pause” in fighting, calling him a “leading figure in the planning and execution” of the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. The military also confirmed it had killed the three other commanders Hamas named in its statement — Aiman Siam, Wael Rajeb and Rafet Salman. A number of other Hamas officials and commanders are believed to have been killed since Israel launched a war in retaliation for the group’s Oct. 7 attacks, which killed an estimated 1,200 people in southern Israel and led to the abduction of roughly 240 hostages, according to Israeli authorities. Mr. al-Ghandour was the most senior commander that Hamas has confirmed dead since the group’s announcement last month that Ayman Nofal, a member of its General Military Council and the commander of the Central Brigade in the Qassam Brigades, had been killed. The State Department put Mr. al-Ghandour under U.S. sanctions in 2017, saying that he had been “involved in many terrorist operations” — including a 2006 attack that killed two Israeli soldiers and led to the kidnapping of another, Gilad Shalit. Mr. Shalit was released in October 2011 in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. One of those freed in the deal, Yahya Sinwar, eventually became Hamas’s leader in Gaza and, according to Israeli officials, a mastermind of the Oct. 7 attacks.

3940ae8d3004d019d5a1b4e2fede6e82

6sports

Saturdays high school football scores and highlights

Tabor bent but didn’t break. Having seen a 32-7 halftime lead cut to three, the Seawolves (3-0) took charge in the final quarter. Huge Djeumeni ripped off a 30-yard TD run for his fourth score, then Tim Bengston put the finishing touches on a 46-29 win over Rivers by sprinting 76 yards to paydirt. Elsewhere in the ISL, Qur’an McNeil ran for two scores and threw for two more as Milton Academy (2-1) defeated Thayer Academy, 27-20. … Brooks (1-2) defeated St. Mark’s, 20-6, behind Darnell Pierre’s 161 yards on the ground and a touchdown. … Jordan Summers returned a kick 93 yards for a score and also caught a TD pass as Belmont Hill (2-1) beat St. Sebastian’s, 36-23. Hudson Weidman threw for two scores and ran for two more as Pingree (3-0) defeated Canterbury 33-14 in the Evergreen League. Sidney Tildsley threw for 130 yards and three touchdowns, while adding 57 rushing yards and a fourth score as Shawsheen (5-0) defeated Greater Lowell 31-0 in the Commonwealth Athletic Conference. Davin True ran for three scores and caught a TD pass as Marshfield (3-2) beat Silver Lake 41-0 in the Patriot League. … Will McNamara caught eight passes for 171 yards and two scores, while adding eight tackles and a strip sack which resulted in a touchdown as Pembroke (2-3) defeated Quincy, 41-8. Henry Redgate had 157 all-purpose yards and a pair of touchdowns as Wellesley (2-3) defeated Framingham 26-7 in the Bay State Conference. Daniel Cordeiro ran for 236 yards and three touchdowns, while adding 45 receiving yards and a fourth score as St. John Paul outlasted Atlantis Charter/Westport in triple overtime, 46-40. In a nonleague matchup, Jack Spear tossed a pair of touchdowns and added one on the ground to lead Swampscott (3-1-1) past Northeast, 24-0. THURSDAY RESULTS Bourne 21, Monomoy 8 Canton 33, Oliver Ames 20 Chelmsford 24, Lowell 17 Franklin 28, Taunton 27 Hopkinton 21, Medfield 14 Mansfield 31, Sharon 14 Medford 20, Somerville 0 Methuen 38, North Andover 21 Natick 35, Newton North 21 Norwood 25, Holliston 24 Plymouth South 34, North Quincy 7 FRIDAY’S RESULTS Abington 21, Sandwich 2 Andover 50, Brockton 20 Archbishop Williams 21, Cathedral 18 Ashland 35, Westwood 15 Barnstable 14, Nauset 0 (forfeit) Bedford 49, Acton-Boxboro 0 Bellingham 21, Dedham 20 Belmont 36, Lexington 7 Bishop Feehan 70, Arlington Catholic 0 Blue Hills 20, Southeastern 14 BC High 24, Malden Catholic 14 Bridgewater-Raynham 14, Durfee 0 Brookline 28, Boston Latin 22 Cambridge 42, Boston English/New Mission 0 Cardinal Spellman 28, Bishop Fenwick 14 Central Catholic 35, Haverhill 0 Catholic Memorial 41, Xaverian 38 Carver 42, Cohasset 39 (ot) Concord-Carlisle 49, Newton South 35 Dartmouth 48, Falmouth 0 Dennis-Yarmouth 48, Nantucket 7 Dover-Sherborn 40, Medway 33 Dracut/Innovation 20, Chelsea 6 Duxbury 41, Plymouth North 13 Everett 48, Revere 6 Fairhaven 49, Case 6 Foxboro 31, Stoughton 7 Greater Lawrence 28, Lynn English 18 Greater New Bedford 49, Seekonk 0 Hanover 42, Scituate 28 Hingham 25, Whitman-Hanson 14 King Philip 52, Attleboro 0 KIPP 38, Lowell Catholic 28 Lawrence 20, New Bedford 19 Lincoln-Sudbury 27, Wayland 0 Lynn Classical 34, Malden 0 Lynnfield 42, Ipswich 0 Manchester-Essex 63, Lynn Tech 22 Marblehead 20, Masconomet 0 Mashpee 32, Martha’s Vineyard 8 Middleboro 21, East Bridgewater 6. Milford 33, North Attleboro 13 Milton 10, Needham 9 Newburyport 47, Hamilton-Wenham 20 North Reading 45, Triton 0 Norton 35, Millis 0 Norwood 25, Holliston 24 O’Bryant 18, East Boston 16 Old Colony 38, Holbrook/Avon 8 Old Rochester 21, Dighton-Rehoboth 7 Quabbin 20, Ayer-Shirley 14 (ot) Peabody 27, Leominster 14 Pentucket/Georgetown 21, Essex Tech 18 Randolph 20, Hull 9 Reading 35, Arlington 20 Rockland 23, Norwell 21 Roxbury Latin 12, Noble and Greenough 0 Roxbury Prep 14, Keefe Tech 2 Salem 55, Saugus 20 St. John’s Prep 35, St. John’s (Shrewsbury) 0 St. Mary’s (Lynn) 16, Bishop Stang 14 Somerset Berkley 56, Apponequet 46 South Shore 42, Cape Tech 6 Stoneham 44, Watertown 0 Walpole 31, Shrewsbury 6 Wareham 30, Upper Cape 0 West Bridgewater 40, Tri-County 12 Westford Academy 27, Waltham 16 Weston 38, Latin Academy 6 Weymouth 28, Braintree 14 Whittier 38, Nashoba Tech 30 Wilmington 29, Burlington 25 Winchester 17, Melrose 12 Winthrop 35, Gloucester 0 Woburn 36, Wakefield 3 SATURDAY’S GAMES Belmont Hill 36, St. Sebastian’s 23 Billerica 13, Tewksbury 6 Brooks 20, St. Mark’s 6 BB&N 43, Governor’s Academy 27 Danvers 28, Beverly 0 Diman 29, Bristol-Plymouth 8 Groton 27, Middlesex 9 Lawrence Academy 34, St. George’s 0 Marshfield 41, Silver Lake 0 Milton Academy 27, Thayer Academy 30 Pembroke 41, Quincy 8 Pingree 33, Canterbury 14 St. John Paul 46. Atlantis Charter/Westport 40 (3 ot) St. Paul’s 12, Dexter Southfield 9 Shawsheen 31, Greater Lowell 0 Swampscott 24, Northeast/Mystic Valley 0 Tabor 46, Rivers 29 Wellesley 26, Framingham 7 Worcester Academy 48, Austin Prep 2 BELMONT HILL 36, ST. SEBASTIAN’S 23 Belmont Hill (2-1) 13 10 6 7 – 36 St. Sebastian’s (2-1) 0 13 3 7 – 23 BH – Jordan Summers 18 pass from Rèis Little (kick failed) BH – Marcus Griffin 31 run (Nick Ascione kick) BH – Tommy Rupley 1 fumble return (Ascione kick) SS – George Kelly 2 run (run failed) SS – Tedy Frisoli 26 pass from Ty Ciongoli (Cooper Bolton kick) BH – Nick Ascione 32 field goal SS – Cooper Bolton 20 field goal BH – Jordan Summers 93 kick return (kick failed) BH – Marcus Griffin 2 run (Ascione kick) SS – Kaelan Chudzinski 2 pass from Ty Ciongoli (Bolton Kick) BILLERICA 13, TEWKSBURY 6 Billerica (5-0) 0 7 6 0 – 13 Tewksbury (4-1) 0 6 0 0 – 6 TE – Hunter Johnson 4 run (kick failed) BI – Steven Gentile 1 run (Michael Schein kick) BI – Gentile 1 run (kick failed) BROOKS 20, ST. MARK’S 6 Brooks (1-2) 7 6 0 7 – 20 St. Mark’s (0-3) 0 6 0 0 – 6 BR – Jack Sumner 9 pass from Henry Hebert (Jasper Johnson kick) SM – Ben Howard 47 pass from Henry Colon (kick failed) BR – Jagger Carreiro 1 pass from Hebert (kick failed) BR – Darnell Pierre 31 run (Johnson kick) BB&N 43, GOVERNOR’S ACADEMY 27 BB&N (2-1) 7 22 0 14 – 43 GOVERNOR’S (1-2) 7 14 0 6 – 27 GO – Nicholas Berglund 9 run (Hawk Stickney kick) BB – Brett Elliott 21 pass from Henry Machnik (Snoonian kick) GO – Hunter Kingsbury 21 pass from Berglund (Stickney kick) BB – Bo MacCormack 80 kickoff return (Snoonian kick) GO – Corey Aubuchon 30 pass from Berglund (Stickney kick) BB – MacCormack 22 run (MacCormack run) BB – MacCormack 6 run (Snoonian kick) GO – Aubuchon 18 pass from Berglund (conversion failed) BB – Machnik 1 run (Snoonian kick) BB – Sam Kelly 25 pass from Machnik (Snoonian kick) MARSHFIELD 41, SILVER LAKE 0 Silver Lake (0-5) 0 0 0 0 – 0 Marshfield (3-2) 14 27 0 0 – 41 MA – Tor Maas 4 run (Thomas Kelly kick) MA – Davin True 11 run (Kelly kick) MA – True 22 pass from Maas (kick failed) MA – True 9 run (Kelly kick) MA – Nic Cupples 13 run (Kelly kick) MA – True 2 run (Nick Drosopoulos kick) MILTON ACADEMY 27, THAYER ACADEMY 21 Milton Academy (2-1) 0 14 13 0 – 27 Thayer Academy (1-2) 0 8 0 12 – 20 MI – Qur’an McNeill 7 run (Jonah Selter kick) TH – Malachi Mcclean 3 pass from Arnaud Dugas (Angel Perez-Gonzalez pass from Dugas) MI – McNeill 11 run (Selter kick) MI – Kash Kelly 27 pass from McNeill (kick failed) MI – Kelly 21 pass from McNeill (Selter kick) TH – Nate Austin-Johnstone 45 run (conversion failed) TH – Perez-Gonzalez 11 pass from Dugas (conversion failed) PEMBROKE 41, QUINCY 8 Pembroke (2-3) 14 6 14 7 – 41 Quincy (2-3) 0 0 0 8 – 8 PE – Nick Carbone 32 fumble recovery (Ben Voelkl kick) PE – Will McNamara 54 pass from Owen Pace (Voelkl kick) PE – McNamara 70 pass from Pace (kick failed) PE – Will Johnson 12 run (Voelkl kick) PE – Johnson 21 run (Voelkl kick) QU – Gabe Rodrigues 47 run (Rodrigues rush) PE – Riece Dunton 51 run (Voelkl kick) ST. PAUL’S 12, DEXTER SOUTHFIELD 9 St. Paul’s (2-1) 0 6 6 0 – 12 Dexter (3-1) 7 0 0 2 – 9 DE – Santana Cardoso 4 fumble recovery (Luke Hoganson kick) SP – Teigan Pelletier 57 pass from Daniel Sullivan (kick failed) SP – Michael Seward 8 run (kick failed) DE – Safety SHAWSHEEN 31, GREATER LOWELL 0 Shawsheen (5-0) 7 14 7 3 – 31 Gr. Lowell (2-3) 0 0 0 0 – 0 ST – Ryan Copson 16 pass from Sidney Tildsley (Jared Bishop kick) ST – Tildsley 3 (Bishop kick) ST – Dyllon Pratt 37 pass from Tildsley (Bishop kick) ST – Pratt 29 pass from Tildsley (Bishop kick) ST – Bishop 37 field goal SWAMPSCOTT 24, NORTHEAST 0 Swampscott (3-1-1) 6 12 6 0 – 24 Northeast (1-4) 0 0 0 0 – 0 SW – Liam Keaney 9 pass from Jack Spear (rush failed) SW – Henry Beuttler 7 run (rush failed) SW – Jack Hazel 15 pass from Spear (rush failed) SW – Spear 30 run (rush failed) WELLESLEY 26, FRAMINGHAM 7 Framingham (3-2) 7 0 0 0 – 7 Wellesley (2-3) 20 0 6 0 – 26 WE – Henry Redgate 47 pass from Bobby Shanahan (Bronin Maccini kick) FR – Kick return (kick good) WE – Redgate 36 run (Maccini kick) WE – Robby Broggi 48 pass from Shanahan (kick failed) WE – Jake Broggi 49 interception return (kick failed) WEST BRIDGEWATER 40, TRI-COUNTY 12 Tri-County (3-2) 6 0 0 6 – 12 West Bridgewater (3-2) 6 27 7 0 – 40 TC – Matt Pinto 3 run (conversion failed) WB – Ty Holmes 12 run (conversion failed) WB – Christian Packard 14 run (Jacob Smith kick) WB – James Harris 5 run (Smith kick) WB – Harris 2 run (conversion failed) WB – Luke Destrampe 27 pass from Harris (Smith kick) WB – Packard 45 run (Smith kick) TC – Pinto 5 run (conversion failed)

82fd23e18210184885f5ec3263befaa6

7weather

How Texas Kept the Lights On in the Recent Deep Freeze

So far, they’ve been right. In areas of Texas where temperatures dipped the lowest, it has been frigid but sunny. Solar power performed well and, overall, provided a small share of total electricity generated. In Texas, winds die down in winter and aren’t expected to contribute as much to the energy mix as in the summer, energy experts say. On Monday, for instance, wind at its highest-performing level of the day was about 28 percent of the energy mix, compared with gas at about 48 percent. In the early morning hours, however, wind was barely more than 7 percent. “We still rely a lot on natural gas,” said David Spence, a professor of law and regulation at the University of Texas at Austin. Texas is a major oil and gas state, but is also a national leader in renewables. Two years ago, the state generated 26 percent of all wind-sourced electricity in the United States, leading the nation for the 17th year in a row, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Wind power first surpassed nuclear energy in Texas in 2014 and passed coal power in 2020. In 2022, Texas installed nearly as much new energy capacity from wind alone as California did for wind, solar and battery storage combined, said William Boyd, a professor of environmental law at the University of California, Los Angeles. Last year, solar made up 7 percent of the state grid’s power mix, up from nearly nothing five years before. “We can look at Texas as a red state that may have a lot of people in power who are climate deniers,” Mr. Boyd said. “But if you look at the state’s investments in clean energy, Texas dominates.”

b10d161eadeda8eaeac721760630d5f8

7weather

Six Dead and More Than 60 Injured After Severe Weather in Tennessee

Reed Arnold was watching TV on Saturday at his home in Clarksville, Tenn., when he saw a warning on his phone. He stepped outside and filmed the swiftly moving clouds and a looming tornado. Minutes later, the twister hit his neighborhood. “One second you are sitting in your house, and all of a sudden, all this carnage happens,” he said. A sober mood gripped Clarksville and other communities in Middle Tennessee on Sunday as crews searched for survivors and officials surveyed the damage from severe storms and tornadoes that killed at least six people in the region and injured more than 60. The storms and tornadoes, part of a broader stretch of severe weather that swept across the South on Saturday, left a swath of destruction that included parts of Clarksville, near the Kentucky border, where three people died, and communities around Nashville, where three others were killed.

d1d7e7d049c3880951802d5ee2195443

7weather

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.

0484ccf57e1f58e21b4dbfad6ae9ac49

6sports

Frank Ryan Dies at 87; Cerebral Quarterback Led Browns to 64 Title

In his 13-year N.F.L. career, Frank Ryan passed for 149 touchdowns, went to the Pro Bowl three times and took the Cleveland Browns to the 1964 N.F.L. championship, throwing three second-half touchdowns in that victory. It was the last time the city of Cleveland would have a major pro championship for 52 years, until June 2016, when the Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors to capture the N.B.A. title. Browns fans are still waiting for a Super Bowl win. But when Ryan died on Monday at 87, he was also remembered for his achievements beyond the football field. Six months after the Browns’ 27-0 championship victory over the Baltimore Colts, Ryan was awarded a doctorate in mathematics from Rice University in Houston, where he had been a second-string quarterback.

2fca7b05dd6b675cc8e658ddcd752ca7

4politics

New session, new local officials ring in 2024 for state senator (Letter)

HOLYOKE — In a historic 7-6 vote, Tessa R. Murphy-Romboletti will succeed outgoing City Council President Todd McGee as the first woman to hold the leadership post in Holyoke. Murphy-Romboletti beat longtime Councilor Kevin A. Jourdain for the president’s chair in a vote among her peers after an inauguration and swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday. “It is historic for Holyoke, for the first time ever a woman has been elected as the City Council president. It has been over 150 years, and there are seven women on the council. It is exciting,” said Councilor Patricia C. Devine, who joins this year’s panel. “We have an amazing City Council, and we are slowly beginning to look like the community we serve, but we still have more work to do,” Murphy-Romboletti told The Republican. The president is responsible for setting the tone for the entire body at large, Murphy-Romboletti noted. “The City Council president doesn’t debate, and you have to be OK with that to be an affective City Council president,” she said. Murphy-Romboletti said the newly elected City Council shows her that others are feeling empowered to make a difference and have put themselves out there as public officials. She said she will be thinking long-term about exercising impartiality and fairness. “I want to see the City Council come together to work and treat each other with respect and dignity,” she said.

fe794667cc15f558b4dc87a4153d4513

1crime

Dedham Total Wine employee assaulted at knifepoint by group in parking lot

A male employee of Total Wine & More in Dedham was assaulted by a group of people at knifepoint in the store’s parking lot Sunday evening, according to Dedham police. Dedham Police Chief Michael d’Entremont said the attack stemmed from an incident Saturday during which the employee denied service to a man at the Dedham mall store. On Sunday, about half a dozen people assaulted the employee in the store’s parking lot around 8 p.m., d’Entremont said. Two of the people were wielding knifes. Read more: Early morning Boston shooting leaves man with life-threatening injuries The group eventually fled, d’Entremont said. The employee was evaluated by paramedics at the scene, but declined further medical assistance. Police are still looking for suspects in the case. Total Wine & More did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday morning.

0dac6e384b4491022b717f80c6a10d18

6sports

Joe Mazzulla explains benching starters decision in Bucks blowout

As the Celtics’ deficit ballooned to a historic halftime deficit, there were some questions on what C’s coach Joe Mazzulla would do to start the second half. The C’s faced a 75-38 halftime deficit, which was its second-largest in franchise history. That’s when Mazzulla pulled the trigger to bench the starters to open the third quarter. Last season, that wasn’t necessarily the case as starters played deep in blowouts, whether it was a C’s lead or deficit. Mazzulla broke down his decision to bench the starters after the game. 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 tough,” Mazzulla said. “They want to play; they prepared. Again, it was my decision. It wasn’t theirs. At the end of the day, it’s my responsibility to do what’s best for them and the team. If I said, ‘Hey, you want to go out there?’ They’re going to do it. It was me. I told them and I felt like it was my responsibility to do it.” Mazzulla didn’t ring any alarm bells after the Celtics were blasted in the 135-102 loss to the Bucks. They’re still a league-best 29-9. While they lost a game to the second-place Bucks, they still have a three-game cushion in the standings. Most importantly, as Mazzulla says often, their intentions were still good and there weren’t any reasons to worried about the team’s habits, he said. The Celtics also finished up a five-games-in-seven-days stretch, so it was no surprise they were gassed. Add on top an overtime win over the Timberwolves a night before, it’s no surprise the C’s looked tired. Mazzulla said he thought it was in the best interest of the team as he also hoped Thursday’s loss could be a learning moment for his squad. All that’s left then is to turn the page to their next game, which is set for 7 p.m. Saturday against the Rockets at home. “Everything’s about the players,” Mazzulla said. “And so as you continue to listen to life from the player’s perspective and you look at the intentions and the character of your team, and a year of experience for myself. So I trust our character; I trust our team. You have to look at this and say, ‘OK, is this a one-off? Is this a trend? Is this something you have to be concerned about?’ When you look at stuff like that, the answer is no, no.”

c7b8ce25a100c9278fc93824e7cc1968

4politics

Biden Plans Speech Casting Election as a Fight for Democracy

President Biden is returning to the battleground state of Pennsylvania on Friday to try to define the 2024 presidential election as an urgent and intensifying fight for American democracy. Mr. Biden is expected to use a location near the famous Revolutionary War encampment of Valley Forge and the looming anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot to cast preserving democracy as a foundational issue to the 2024 campaign, according to a senior Biden aide who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the remarks. The address, which builds on previous speeches about safeguarding American institutions and combating political violence, represents a bet that many Americans remain shaken by the Jan. 6 attack and Donald J. Trump’s role in it. Leaning on a phrase used by America’s first president, George Washington, around the time he commanded troops at Valley Forge, Mr. Biden is expected to suggest that the 2024 election is a test of whether democracy is still a “sacred cause” in the nation, the aide said.

65b89d7125102ad7ffcde65c44ec1afc

2culture

Happy Days Got Us Unstuck in Time

Mention “Happy Days” to TV viewers of a certain age (raises hand) and the first thing they remember might be not an episode or a scene or a catchphrase but a lunchbox. I’m specifically thinking of a cool Thermos-brand one — featuring Henry Winkler as the show’s pop-phenom greaser, Arthur Fonzarelli, a.k.a. Fonzie, a.k.a. the Fonz — which luckier ’70s kids than I got to schlep their PBJs to school in and which is now in the collection of the Smithsonian. To remember “Happy Days” is to remember your youth, which was also the function of “Happy Days” when it premiered in 1974. Well, at least it sort of was. Ostensibly the show appealed to grown-ups who were young during its time period — roughly, the mid-50s to mid-60s, over 11 seasons. But some of its most ardent fans were the lunchbox-toters toddling down someone else’s memory lane. Now “Happy Days” is 50 years old. Or is it? Time gets fuzzy when you enter the “Happy Days”-verse. In some ways the series never ended; it was just handed down through the culture like a vintage varsity jacket. It was repurposed as a nostalgia object by the Spike Jonze video for Weezer’s 1994 single “Buddy Holly.” In 1998, “That ’70s Show” set its own reverie, like “Happy Days,” among a gang of teenage friends in Wisconsin. Last year, that series’s sequel, “That ’90s Show,” created a ’90s version of the ’70s version of the ’50s. If all this math is too much, all you need to know is that there are only ever two periods in pop-culture nostalgia. There is Then (simple, innocent, fun), and there is Now (scary, corrupt, confusing). Eventually, Now becomes another Now’s Then, and the cycle repeats. “Happy Days” was nostalgic because the teenagers weren’t smoking weed. “That ’70s Show” was nostalgic because the teenagers were smoking weed. We rock around the clock and around the calendar, returning ever again to the beginning.

a968fad6fc40206f97747178aea4ba5f

4politics

Newton teachers union votes to go on strike starting Friday

Hamas, the armed group that controls Gaza, said on Sunday that one of its top commanders had been killed in its war with Israel there. The announcement from Hamas came on the third day of a four-day truce between Israel and Hamas to facilitate the release of hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. Israel has vowed it will continue its military campaign in the enclave after the truce is scheduled to end on Tuesday morning, with its primary goal being the destruction of Hamas. On Sunday morning the military wing of Hamas, the Qassam Brigades, issued a brief statement saying that Abu Anas al-Ghandour, who led the group’s fighters in northern Gaza, and three other commanders had been killed. It did not provide further details on when or where they had died. The Israeli military said earlier this month — before the truce began — that it had targeted Mr. al-Ghandour in a strike on Hamas’s underground infrastructure, but did not say at the time whether he was dead or alive. On Sunday, the Israeli military said in a statement that it had killed Mr. al-Ghandour “prior to the operational pause” in fighting, calling him a “leading figure in the planning and execution” of the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. The military also confirmed it had killed the three other commanders Hamas named in its statement — Aiman Siam, Wael Rajeb and Rafet Salman. A number of other Hamas officials and commanders are believed to have been killed since Israel launched a war in retaliation for the group’s Oct. 7 attacks, which killed an estimated 1,200 people in southern Israel and led to the abduction of roughly 240 hostages, according to Israeli authorities. Mr. al-Ghandour was the most senior commander that Hamas has confirmed dead since the group’s announcement last month that Ayman Nofal, a member of its General Military Council and the commander of the Central Brigade in the Qassam Brigades, had been killed. The State Department put Mr. al-Ghandour under U.S. sanctions in 2017, saying that he had been “involved in many terrorist operations” — including a 2006 attack that killed two Israeli soldiers and led to the kidnapping of another, Gilad Shalit. Mr. Shalit was released in October 2011 in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. One of those freed in the deal, Yahya Sinwar, eventually became Hamas’s leader in Gaza and, according to Israeli officials, a mastermind of the Oct. 7 attacks.

94c55e3598174defc74dc8364e751715

1crime

Victims in Western MA plane crash identified

A 29-year-old man was killed in a shooting at a Lawrence nightclub just after midnight on Christmas Eve, according to police. Lawrence police responded to a report of shots fired at Energy Lounge on Broadway around 12:20 a.m. Sunday morning, police said in a press release. There, officers and paramedics found the victim with a gunshot wound. They treated him before taking him to Lawrence General Hospital where he was declared dead. Energy Lounge confirmed in a statement posted to its Instagram account that the shooting happened inside the nightclub. It said it is cooperating with investigators. “Energy Lounge deeply regrets the human loss, and we send our most sincere condolences to the victim’s relatives. We accompany them in their pain,” the nightclub wrote. No further information about the shooting, including the identity of the victim, has been released.

4b6fcc04bbeaa06d75356bd890b86fed

0business

Famous steakhouse chain opens first Massachusetts location

BOSTON — A world-famous steakhouse has opened its doors in Boston. STK offers brunch, lunch, and dinner, as well as happy hour featuring menu items like wagyu meatballs, truffle fries, and tacos. With locations in Los Angeles, Dubai, New York, London, Salt Lake City and Miami, STK has proved itself to be one of the best steakhouses in the world. The Boston location is located in the Back Bay on 222 Berkley Street. It will serve its world-famous prime-cut meats, seafood, sides, and creative cocktails. For more information and to make a reservation, visit the link here. 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

8f5076aca03ed8616c8115706aa8d232

4politics

Massachusetts Senate to review bill stripping Boston City Council of grant approval authority

An “embarrassing” vote by the Boston City Council has led to movement on Beacon Hill, where a bill that would strip the body of its authority to approve public safety grants was referred to a legislative committee for review. State Sen. Nick Collins, a Democrat from South Boston, introduced the bill at an informal Senate session Monday, saying that he filed for a change in state law, after the Boston City Council voted, 6-6, last week to block a $13.3 million counter-terrorism grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The vote was slammed by outgoing City Councilor Michael Flaherty, who described the Council’s action as “nonsensical and embarrassing.” Funding in the grant would go to not only Boston, but surrounding communities including Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Quincy, Revere, Somerville and Winthrop, which are all part of what’s known as the Metro Boston Homeland Security Region, according to the feds. The legislation was co-sponsored by state Sen. Ryan Fattman, a Republican from Sutton. It has garnered early support from the respective presidents of the Boston City Council and the city’s largest police union, but was criticized by Sen. Lydia Edwards, who used to sit on the Council. “The bill in front of us that we would like to move swiftly would no longer allow for such delay or blocking,” Collins said on the Senate floor. “This Legislature has had to reauthorize funds time and again for the City Council in Boston, (which) has thwarted resources for those purposes.” The Senate referred the bill to the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight, which Collins chairs, for further review. A Wu spokesperson said the mayor intends to refile the grant, which represents the region’s annual funding source in the new year after a new City Council is sworn. Seven votes are needed to pass it. “Many communities across this region over the weekend had to shut down synagogues because of bomb threats, the rise of antisemitism,” Collins said. “We were a launching pad for 9/11 and we remember all too well the pain of the marathon bombings in 2013.” While the bill was filed in direct response to the Boston City Council’s vote to block the counter-terrorism grant, the potential change in state law would impact all cities and towns. It would allow all public health and safety funding to be allocated to the intended cities and towns upon approval of the state Legislature and governor, thereby bypassing local bodies like the Boston City Council, as “no approval from the intended grant recipient shall be necessary.” “My initial thought is it’s way too broad,” said Edwards, an East Boston Democrat who departed the City Council in April 2022. “I think it may be like taking a hatchet to a scalpel job. “If the concern is about how federal funds are not given out to other cities and towns because of one city like Boston being fiduciary, then I think that there’s a way in which we could talk about that and think about different ways in which fiduciaries work locally,” Edwards added. “Maybe in general we shouldn’t have certain funds for regional purposes be allocated to only one city to hold.” Edwards said she would be happy to discuss potential changes along those lines, “but I’m not ready, nor do I think it’s fair to just automatically say certain topics are off local limits.” Before being elected to the state Senate, representing Revere, Winthrop and parts of Boston, Edwards spent four years on the Boston City Council. She said she was among the council members who voted down grant funding for the police department’s Boston Regional Intelligence Center, money earmarked by the state to improve technology to fight crime, gangs and terrorism. Her ‘no’ vote at the time was driven by a lack of information on what that particular grant funding would be used for, Edwards said. Those questions have since been answered, she said, pointing to the Council’s vote to approve four years’ worth of BRIC funding in October. “I think it’s overreach for anyone to take that authority away from local authorities,” Edwards said, saying that part of the Boston City Council’s function is “to hold these departments accountable.” Collins said he is “always open to discussion and debate, and there will be ample opportunity for that, but we can’t afford any further delay.” He would be open, for example, to paring down the language to make the change applicable only to the Boston City Council. “We all have to answer to our districts and I am more concerned about the families, children and elderly who could not attend their houses of worship this weekend due to terrorist threats amidst the rising tide of antisemitism, rather than protecting the perpetual political posturing taking place that serves only to put the public’s health and safety at risk,” Collins told the Herald. David B. Starr, a rabbi at Brookline’s Congregation Mishkan Tefila, said the rise in antisemitism, including this past weekend’s bomb threats, has been “pretty shocking” and “pretty scary” for Jewish people who have “felt very safe in America” since the end of World War II. “Psychologically, it’s hard,” Starr told the Herald. “Communally, it’s hard in terms of trying to figure out what to do.” While the proposed bill would take away local approval authority, it has the support of Council President Ed Flynn, who said that holding a formal vote on the counter-terrorism grant would be his “highest priority.” “We can no longer play politics with public safety issues and the lives of residents of Boston and Massachusetts,” Flynn told the Herald. “We can’t fail the residents once again.” It is also favored by the city’s largest police union, the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, headed by Larry Calderone, who said it was “irresponsible” for the Council to vote down $13 million in anti-terrorism funding for the region. “These monies are a necessity and a priority to keep the general public safe,” Calderone told the Herald. “And if it’s money coming from a grant through the federal government, then we should be accepting it.”

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0business

People in Business: Dec. 25, 2023

Conval, a global manufacturer of high-performance severe service valves in Enfield, Conn., recently announced the appointment of Mike Mikaelian as inside sales engineer. A resident of Florence, Mikaelian holds a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering from Western New England University in Springfield and earned a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification from Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island. He previously served as design engineer at Judd Wire in Turners Falls, senior sales engineer and production manager at Dipwell Techware in Northampton, route service representative at Quest Diagnostics in Marlborough and in various engineering and sales positions at BETE Fog Nozzle in Greenfield. ************************************************************* Market Mentors LLC, a marketing, advertising and public relations agency, announces the addition of two Enfield, Conn. residents to its account services team. Chelsea Shelander is as an account executive and Kaitlyn Smith is an account coordinator. Prior to joining Market Mentors, Shelander worked in public relations and brand management at BioSafe Systems and as a service and retention consultant for The Aspire Group at UConn Athletics. She earned her earned her Master of Business Administration degree at the University of Dayton in Ohio after receiving two Bachelor of Science degrees — one in business administration with a concentration in marketing and one in sports management — from Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania. Before coming to Market Mentors, Smith spent several years as an account manager for ADESA Boston as well as social media manager for the DiGrigoli Companies. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in media arts and analysis from Westfield State University. ************************************************************** HCC Foundation Inc., the nonprofit fundraising arm of Holyoke Community College, has added nine new members to its Board of Directors, including six alumni, and also voted in a new slate of officers. The new board members are: Jasarah Burgos of Springfield, program director of New North Citizens Council; Steven Clement ‘11, of West Springfield, a certified public accountant and former controller for ServiceNet; Kate Douglas, of South Hadley, president emerita of SUNY Corning Community College; Luindy Espinal ‘19, of Granby, senior accountant at Colony Hills Capital; Dean Gallagher, of Florence, retired; Johnnie McKnight ‘10, founder and president of Massachusetts Scholars With A Goal; Matt McMahon ‘06, of Franklin, senior technical advisor with Booz Allen; Ryan Rege ‘08, of Belchertown, director of vocational programs for Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School in Fitchburg; and Jim Shevlin ‘80, of Alpharetta, Georgia, division president of ESIS, a Chubb Company. The foundation board approved the appointment of the new directors at its annual meeting on Dec. 5 while also welcoming a new slate of officers. Susan Goldsmith, of Longmeadow, president of Marcus Printing in Holyoke, will serve as chair; Lynn Starr ‘95, of Southampton, executive vice president and chief information officer at bankESB as vice chair; and Tiffany Madru, of West Hartford, Conn., founder of Analytics Labs in Holyoke, as secretary. ************************************************************* Gov. Maura T. Healey has appointed Chicopee resident Shavon Prophet to serve on the Advisory Board for the Massachusetts Center for Employee Ownership for a four-year term. The 19 seat multi-stakeholder board will advise MassCEO and the MA Office of Business Development on policies to strengthen employee ownership. Prophet is the former program director of MassCEO and a “business advisor for the greater good” specializing in shared ownership models and impact investing. During her tenure at MassCEO, she was one of only two people of color in the United States in a role of its kind and helped to secure additional grant funding to offer expanded technical assistance and capital resources for Massachusetts worker cooperatives — The Gateway City Legacy Business Program and the Capital for Cooperatives Program. She has helped hundreds of business owners explore succession planning and employee-led buyouts, with a special focus in worker cooperatives. The MassCEO Advisory Board was established by the passage of the MassCEO Enabling Act in November 2022, which fortified the office as a permanent part of the state government. o Prophet now leads portfolio development for Obran Cooperative, the first and only cooperative conglomerate in the US, and also independently advises business owners and economic development professionals on employee ownership transitions. ************************************************************* The Boys & Girls Club of Chicopee selected its 2024 Executive Committee and welcomed two new members to its board. Michael Vogel, of Westfield Bank, will serve another year as president. Tracy Hebda, of iSolved Benefits Solutions will serve as vice president. Dr. Jacqueline Pleet will serve as clerk. Roberto Nieves, of CommonCapital, will serve as treasurer. Jason Levine, of Jason L. Levine Law, P.C. will serve as the at-large member. Welcomed at the meeting, to begin three-year terms on the board, were Julia Marrero of Bacon\Wilson, P.C and Ann Dargie Gladd, of Family Law of Western Massachusetts, P.C. They will be joining the following current members: Alayna Anderson — Bacon\Wilson, P.C.; Benjamin Garvey — HUB International New England LLC; Angela Gotay-Cheverez — Freedom Credit Union; Robert Houle — Unity Financial & Insurance Group; Sarah Mailhott; Malar Patel — Google; Danielle Rosario — PeoplesBank. ************************************************************ Monson Savings Bank recently announced the hiring of Michelle Beaudette as assistant vice president, residential operations officer. Beaudette resides in Charlton. Beaudette has 18 years of experience in banking and finance. She is a graduate of The New Seminary and holds a Financial Management Certification from the U.S. Army Reserve Command. Prior to joining Monson Savings Bank, she worked at Millbury National Bank.

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5science

Boston's newly re-opened archaeology lab connects the past with the present

The city of Boston has collected more than 1 million artifacts through its Archaeology Program over the past 40 years. Those artifacts — and the process of preserving them — is being done at Boston's newly re-opened Archaeology Lab. Radio Boston visited the lab to see some of the collection. City archaeologist Joe Bagley and Rev. Mariama White Hammond, Boston's chief of environment, energy and open space, joined us for the conversation. As part of the tour, Bagley and Hammond showed Radio Boston three artifacts pulled from the archives. They included a cowrie shell, a necklace, and the oldest artifact ever found to date in Boston. This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity. Interview Highlights On centering people and purpose in archeology: Cow bell from Boston Common, recovered by the city of Boston Archeologists in 1986. (Courtesy City of Boston Archeology Program) Joe Bagley: "We have a saying here that 'It's not about the stuff, it's about the story.' And archaeologists know a lot about what these things are and some of the story, but the story is really only completed when other people have a chance to actually look at it and interpret what we're finding. Because, to me, a ceramic shard can tell me about dates and locations of where trade was happening. But to a ceramicist, they could tell me about what kind of techniques are being used or what kind of technology went into actually firing those pot shirts. And even today, an artist could look at those same things and then turn them into new art. And so I think that what we're trying to do here is get everything to the point where we have completed what we can say about the story and it can now go out and so more people can add to that story." "These things come from places and the places are part of that story. It's not just a toothbrush. A toothbrush that was found at the factory where they're made has a totally different story than a toothbrush found in an outhouse at a brothel." On reckoning with the city's past with slavery: Mid-18th century chamber pot made at the Parker pottery in Charleston. Jack and Acton were potters enslaved by Grace Parker, owner of the pottery, and likely contributed to making this vessel. It was found during archeology ahead of Boston's Big Dig project in 1985 at the Three Cranes Tavern site next to the pottery. (Courtesy City of Boston Archeology Program) Rev. Mariama White Hammond: "We have an image of ourselves in Boston as abolitionists, but we have not had accurate understandings of how many enslaved people did live here and contributed to the building of this city ... The team spent lots of time ... to pull out the names of over 2,000 [enslaved residents.] Many of them who are named and some of whom are not ... I knew that there were enslaved people in the city, but I didn't know the extent of how many, nor did I really understand their contributions nor their names." "One of the things that they discovered is that there were two enslaved potters who were contributing to ceramics in Charlestown. And the question is, 'What was their story? And where did they come from?'" "One of the reasons we have you out here and wanted to do this is that more people need to know there is power in these artifacts. There is healing in these artifacts. There are tough conversations in these artifacts, but we need to have them. And I believe our city will be richer and better if more of us are leaning in and interacting with this material, even if sometimes it's hard." On the oldest artifact in the city's collection: A broken blade of a spear or knife that's believed to be between 5,500 and 7,500 years old. This is the oldest artifact found, to date, in the city. It was discovered in 1986 in Boston Common. (Courtesy City of Boston Archaeology Program) Joe Bagley: "If you looked at Boston's history as a hundred foot long timeline, 1630 happens in the last three feet. So the vast majority of the story that we know of the place we now call Boston happened before 1630. And so one of the things that we've been really trying to make sure is talked about and heard is, is the story of the native community in Boston. In working with the community, we've been asked to use the term 'creation' instead of artifact to keep the humanity of the person that made these things in the storytelling of it." "This is the base of a spear point or a knife of some kind. It broke probably around the time that it was made ... it became part of the ground and was found during the 1980s during a dig to build some lighting projects in the [Boston] Common ... this is between 5,500 and 7,500 years old. So that means that when this was being made, there were no pyramids in Egypt. There was no Stonehenge. But there were people in Boston living here. And on that 100-foot timeline of the human history of Boston, this is only halfway down. So we still have 5,000 years of history in Boston where we know people are here." On working with indigenous groups and the changing role of archeology: An 18th century cowrie shell found at 42-44 Shirley St. in Roxbury, across the street from the Shirley-Eustis Estate. (Courtesy City of Boston Archaeology Program) Joe Bagley: "Archaeology is an inherently colonial act. Archaeologists, especially back in the day, were like, 'I have every right to go wherever I want and to dig up whatever I'm interested in learning about, regardless of whether people think it should or shouldn't be dug up.' And we're really trying to go back to square one and fundamentally question archaeology: What is archaeology? What should archaeology be? "Now we have policies where we only dig if there's something going to happen to the site [and] we're working with the tribe to come up with a plan together ... my goal is to more or less make a new archaeology that says when you're doing archaeology of Native things, Native time periods, you're doing that with the Native community. Answering their questions and doing what they ultimately want done with those things if it means putting them right back. Okay. If that means turning them over to the tribe afterwards for curation. Great. But archaeology is now needing to become more of a technical service that can answer questions that communities who's stuff we're digging up actually have, and not just, I'm digging it up because I want to know the story."

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1crime

Burglars target four Beacon Hill businesses over the weekend

Crime Burglars target four Beacon Hill businesses over the weekend Security footage caught a suspect throwing a brick through one store's front window before ransacking it. Four businesses on Charles Street in Beacon Hill were targeted in break-ins or attempted break-ins over the weekend, according to incident reports shared with Boston.com by Boston Police. Security camera footage captured one of the break-ins, at Soodee, a clothing store located at 63A Charles St. According to police, the footage showed a man in black pants and a blue sweatshirt throwing a brick through the window, entering the store, and stealing the cash register late Saturday night. Officers who responded to Soodee on Sunday morning observed “possible drops of blood” near the cash register, according to their report. The owner inventoried the store and reported a box of rings of unknown value stolen, plus an estimated $600 from the cash register. Advertisement: Sunday morning, an employee reported a second burglary down the block at 96 Charles St., home to the clothing store Remy Creations. The employee told police she had found the store in disarray that morning, and reported an iPad stolen. Police noted in their report that a glass panel on the door had been shattered just below the doorknob. The third burglary, at a rental storage facility at 53 Charles St., triggered the business’s alarm system early Monday morning. Officers responded to the building and contacted the owner, who provided them with security footage of a white, male suspect wearing black pants, a gray hooded sweatshirt, and sneakers. The incident report notes that the suspect shattered a window in the door to force it open, and stole an Apple laptop and about $200 cash. The fourth burglary triggered an alarm early Monday morning around the same time as the third. Officers responded to the home goods store J. Grady Home at 133 Charles St., and found that a glass panel in the front door had been shattered, but the door was still locked. They were unable to immediately reach the owner. All four incidents are under investigation by Boston Police. No arrests have been made.

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0business

In market for pitching, Craig Breslow may have to part with top prospects

NASHVILLE — There’s plenty of pitching to be had this winter, which is a good thing for the Red Sox and more than half the teams in both leagues, all in search of it. But there are strings attached. If you want one of the elite free agents like Yoshinobu Yamamoto or Blake Snell, it’s going to cost well north of $200 million. If you want to trade for the handful of starters being made available on the trade market, many of those are short-term rentals, with most eligible for free agency a year from now. That doesn’t address Boston’s rotation problems for the long-term. Of course, there’s a third path: trade for younger starting pitchers with more seasons of control. But to acquire that, a team will have to give up one of its top three or so prospects, plus additional young talent — a steep cost. What to do? “That’s the conundrum, right?” acknowledged Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow on the first full day of the Winter Meetings. “Controllable starting pitching is coming at a premium this season. But the value of controllable pitching is you don’t have to dip into free agency every single year. “So as we talk about this level of consistency and quality that we’re trying to build here, control is a really important part of that.” Usually, when a team talks control, it’s talking about the ability to throw strikes and avoid walks. But not here: the control Breslow seeks is contractual control and the security that comes from knowing that a front-line pitcher is under team control for multiple seasons before reaching free agency. If the Red Sox were closer to being a playoff contender, there might be a case to be made to trade for, say, Corbin Burnes or Shane Bieber or Tyler Glasnow. They could rationalize giving up a good prospect and a young player off the major league roster for the chance to win it all in 2024. But because the Sox have finished last two years in a row and three times in the last four years and they are in need of several upgrades. And because the organization’s best starting pitching prospects — Wikelman Gonzalez and Luis Perales — are, at minimum, a year and a half away, the Red Sox would run the risk of needing more quality starting pitching a year from now if they didn’t successfully extend the short-term rental for which they traded. Meanwhile, the top starter at Triple A Worcester last year was lefty Shane Drohan, whom the team was willing to leave unprotected for Wednesday’s Rule 5 draft. “As we think about who the premium prospects in the organization are,” said Breslow, “it’s not a secret that most of them are on the position player side.” 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. (2 kB) https://saturdaytradition.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/GameSense-Icon-2.png espnbet.app.linkespnbet.app.link ESPN BET Explore our action packed sportsbook, loaded with exclusive odds boosts, custom offers and a suite of cutting-edge features. Fast load times, secure transactions and seamless navigation – ESPN BET serves up the ultimate online sports wagering experience. (20 kB) Indeed, when it comes to position player capital, the Red Sox are in much better shape. Shortstop Marcelo Mayer, outfielder Roman Anthony and catcher Kyle Teel are all Top 50 prospects through the industry. Each one is elite and could be ready to step in as everyday contributors as soon as the 2025 season. Would the Red Sox consider trading one of the three for a young quality starter they could control for three or more seasons? “Untouchable is a tough word, right?” said Breslow. “Because in reality, our goal is to win as many major league games as we possibly can. I think there are prospects who are going to contribute toward that, but if we have the opportunity to win more games by making them available in a trade, we need to consider that.” Breslow may be new to the job, but he’s already paying the price for the organization’s poor track record of developing homegrown starting pitching over the last 15 years. Brayan Bello has shown the potential to end that drought, but he qualifies as the only starter since Clay Buchholz to emerge as a No. 1 or No. 2 starter. On the free agent front, Snell comes with draft pick compensation attached thanks to a qualifying offer, which would seem to be eliminate him from consideration. Beyond the lefty and Yamamoto, the rest of the free agent market doesn’t qualify as elite, though Jordan Montgomery might come close. After that, there’s the trade market. And the Red Sox have apparently decided, if they have to deal for pitching, they might as well trade for someone who they’re going to control for three or more seasons. Seattle’s Logan Gilbert is one such option. Breslow again pointed out that the team has a number of back-end candidates in Tanner Houck, Garrett Whitlock and Kutter Crawford, all of whom he said have “starter upside.” But none of those three is likely to have the kind of front-of-the-rotation impact. To get that the Red Sox will have to pay a heavy price, and with the way the market’s shaking out, that’s likely to be not in the form of a big check, but rather, some really prized prospects.

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0business

See all homes sold in Suffolk County, Jan. 7 to Jan. 13

The following is a listing of all home transfers in Suffolk County reported from Jan. 7 to Jan. 13. There were 81 transactions posted during this time. During this period, the median sale for the area was a 1,708-square-foot home on Saratoga Street in East Boston that sold for $704,000. Boston 59 W. Cedar Street, Boston, $447,000, 490 square feet, $912 per square-foot, one bedroom and one bathroom.

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3entertainment

UMass choir, chorale join for Holiday Card to Amherst concert

It is Lindsay Pope’s second year at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where on Saturday, Dec. 2, as choral conductor she will be leading along with Stephen A. Paparo the annual Holiday Card to Amherst. “The concert is meant to be a more lighthearted and fun musical celebration of the holiday season. It features all levels of singing at UMass and is a great way for the chamber choir and chorale students and others to come together in presenting a Holiday Card to Amherst,” said Pope, director of Choral Studies. Presented by the UMass Amherst Department of Music and Dance, the popular event will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Frederick C. Tillis Performance Hall. The festive Holiday Card to Amherst showcases the talents of the UMass Chamber Choir and University Chorale, who will present a diverse program of works from the classical repertoire along with popular and traditional holiday carols. Many songs also celebrate the season of winter - darkness and light - and the solstice. This year the UMass Gospel Choir, conducted by music education major Maya Powe, has been invited to join the concert. Graduate conductor Mallory Coakley will also lead a portion of the program. “Gospel is a joyous tradition heard in many black churches across the country. The choir will add another flavor and additional energy to the show” Pope said, noting a gospel band has been hired to perform along with them. Also, the Chamber Choir and University Chorale will be accompanied on piano by graduate student Kathy Lyu. This year’s concert will include works such as Johannes Brahms’ “An die Heimat,” the Hebrew traditional, “Erev Shel Shoshanim,” and spirituals like “Children, Go Where I Send Thee” and Rev. Timothy Wright’s “Trouble Don’t Last Always.” The history of Amherst will be highlighted by the Chorale’s performance of selections from “Frostiana,” featuring music by Randall Thompson and poetry by Robert Frost. The piece was commissioned in 1958 for the 250th anniversary of the incorporation of the town of Amherst. “We do have a few carols and standards that we do each year involving congregational singing,” Pope said. In keeping with tradition, the audience will be invited to join in singing popular works including “Adeste Fidelis,” “The Twelve Days of Christmas” when audience members are invited onstage to sing the lyrics “five golden rings” and “Silent Night.” “More than 150 students will be performing throughout the evening who look forward to the special community concert each year. Many of the students invite their parents to the show,” Pope said, adding that is has dual meaning for them. “It also signals for these students that the winter break is near.” Tickets - priced at $15 for the general public, $5 for students, seniors and UMass Amherst employees, and free for UMass students - can be purchased at the Fine Arts Center Box Office, by phone at 413-545-2511, or online at fineartscenter.com/musicanddance. Free parking is available in nearby University Lot 71 off Massachusetts Avenue and lot 62 via Thatcher Way or Stockbridge Road. Visit maps.umass.edu for parking information.

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0business

How Andrew Ross Sorkin Gets Business and World Leaders to Open Up

Andrew Ross Sorkin and Listen and follow DealBook Summit Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music DealBook Summit includes conversations with business and policy leaders at the heart of today’s major stories, recorded live at the annual DealBook Summit event in New York City. Leaders are grappling with a critical moment, with wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, a U.S. presidential election and disruptive changes from artificial intelligence. That was the theme throughout the DealBook Summit, which featured conversations with heads of state, chief executives and others. Andrew Ross Sorkin of DealBook speaks with Lulu Garcia-Navarro, an audio host with The New York Times Magazine, about his takeaways from the event and how he prepares for his marathon of interviews with individuals shaping the world today.

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2culture

How Your Childs Online Mistake Can Ruin Your Digital Life

SPRINGFIELD– V.J. Edgecombe, the top uncommitted college basketball prospect in the country, committed to Baylor at halftime of the Montverde Academy-Prolific Prep game on Sunday night at the HoopHall Classic. Edgecombe is a consensus five-star recruit, ranked fifth in the class of 2024 by ESPN and sixth by 24/7. His final two schools were Baylor and Duke. Edgecombe joins Hillcrest Prep small forward Jason Asemota and Montverde Academy point guard Robert Wright III in Baylor’s 2024 class. A 6-foot-5 Bahamian combo guard with jump-out-of-the-gym athleticism, Edgecombe scored 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting with five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal to earn player of the game honors in a Long Island Lutheran loss against Christopher Columbus on Saturday afternoon. He plays once more at the HoopHall Classic, against Arizona Compass Prep on Monday at 3 p.m.

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6sports

4 takeaways as Celtics beat Bucks after holding off late rally

Jaylen Brown led seven different Celtics to finish in double figures, helping Boston beat the Bucks 119-116 in a battle of East contenders. Brown led Boston in points (26) and assists (8), helping the hosts build a double-digit lead in the first half that they were able to sustain for much of the night. Jayson Tatum added 23 points and 10 rebounds despite playing through illness while all three Celtics reserves finished in double digits. Damian Lillard had 27 points for the Bucks helping the visitors rally within three points in the final minute with a 20-6 run. However, it wasn’t enough as Giannis Antetokounmpo (7-of-20 FG) struggled through an off shooting night and Jayson Tatum hit three free throws in the final minute to help seal the win for the hosts. The win puts Boston alone atop the Eastern Conference with a 12-3 record, boosting their lead to two games in the standings over the Bucks. $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. The Celtics will return to action on Friday afternoon for a pivotal in-season tournament game against the Magic that may determine who advances from the group in pool play. Here are four takeaways from the Celtics’ win on Wednesday night: Jaylen Brown bounces back in a big way: After facing some deserved criticism for some ugly stretches against the Grizzlies and Hornets, the All-Star responded quite nicely against the Bucks on a big stage. Brown came out red hot, scoring eight of Boston’s first 10 points on a mix of 3s and attacks of the rhythm. From there, he turned into Boston’s best playmaker in the second quarter, tallying a team-high five assists in the first half while setting up a number of easy Kristaps Porzingis looks in their two-man game. Brown finished with a team-high 13 points in the first half and set the tone for the Celtics as they built a double-digit lead before intermission with a superb offensive performance. He led the team in both points and assists in the win. Celtics bench shines: This group was a little bit inconsistent to start the season but they have really found their stride in recent weeks. That improved effort was on full display against the Bucks as the second unit dominated offensively early, helping Boston build a double-digit lead against the Bucks in the second quarter. Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and Al Horford all hit multiple 3s before halftime and scored 25 points overall on 9-of-12 shooting from the field. That type of stellar play led to Joe Mazzulla riding that group longer than usual which kept the starters’ minutes down despite facing a premier opponent. Khris Middleton doesn’t look like a guy who can give Celtics nightmares anymore: The veteran wing has been on a minute limit for much of the season and still doesn’t look anything like himself. He failed to make a shot in the entire first half, scoring two points and was constantly blown by Celtics defenders in isolation situations. A big part of the Bucks blueprint this offseason with bringing in Lillard was having Middleton return to form as a viable third option. However, his performance against the Celtics firepower makes him look like a guy who could be on the back nine from a mobility and production standpoint. There’s a long way to go before the postseason but Middleton has a long way to go to get anywhere near the guy that haunted the Celtics endlessly in head-to-head matchups for years. Middleton finished with 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting Defense keeps Giannis and Lillard in check for much of the night: All eyes were on the Lillard vs. Holiday matchup in their first game as opponents since the offseason deals. While Holiday had a rough night offensively, scoring just three points, he spent plenty of time on Giannis and Lillard, helping a superb Boston team effort to keep the superstar duo in check. Giannis shot 35 percent from the field and while Lillard looked to be at far less than 100 percent (he was on the injury report with an oblique injury before the game), the Celtics threw plenty of bodies at both guys and made sure nothing came easy. There were plenty of uncharacteristic misses from both players but the Celtics did well to ensure neither guy got into a rhythm until it was too late for Milwaukee to rally.

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3entertainment

Special Forces: Worlds Toughest Test season finale: How to watch for free

The recruits are captured and taken into their final stage of selection in the season finale of “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test” airing on Monday, November 27 on FOX. The new season will air a new episode on Monday, November 20 at 9 p.m. EST on FOX. Viewers looking to stream the show can do so by using FuboTV and DirecTV. Both streaming services offer free trials for new users. According to a description of the show by FOX, “selection for the Special Forces is a test unlike any other. Celebrities from all genres take on -- and try to survive -- demanding training exercises led by directing staff agents, an elite team of ex-Special Forces operatives. In this unique series, the only way for these recruits to leave is to give up on their own accord, through failure or potential injury, or by force from the agents. Viewers see the recruits face the harshest of environments that simulate the highly classified selection process, pushing themselves in the ultimate test of their physical, mental and emotional resilience and revealing the celebrities’ deepest and truest character.” In the season finale, the recruits are captured and taken into their final stage of selection: 12 hours of military-grade interrogation; resistance and the will to survive are key, and only the strongest recruits pass the course. The final contestants still in the game are Erin Jackson, Nick Viall, Tyler Cameron, Tom Sandoval and JoJo Siwa. Here is a look at the new season so far from FOX on YouTube Channel: Season two will feature the following 14 celebrities: JoJo Siwa Savannah Chrisley Tom Sandoval Nick Viall Robert Horry Tara Reid Kelly Rizzo Jack Osbourne Erin Jackson Dez Bryant Brian Austin Green Bode Miller Tyler Cameron Blac Chyna How can I watch “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test ″ on FOX without cable? The new season will air a new episode on Monday, November 20 at 9 p.m. EST on FOX. Viewers looking to stream the show can do so by using FuboTV and DirecTV. Both streaming services offer free trials for new users. What is DirecTV Stream? The streaming platform offers a plethora of content including streaming the best of live and On Demand, starting with more than 75 live TV channels. What is FuboTV? FuboTV is an over-the-top internet live TV streaming service that offers more than 100 channels, such as sports, news, entertainment and local channels.

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2culture

Healthy sips for a healthier new year

Well that was a doozy of a holiday run, was it not? We sang, we ate, we gifted, we partied like it was the end of, well, 2023. And now it’s time to pivot to some post-holiday cleansing. Even if you’re not into the idea of doing a dry January and don’t particularly feel like jumping on the rollercoaster of drastic diet change. there are plenty of beverages out there that you can easily sip to boost your health — in many different ways. For example? Let’s start with chaga teas. You may not have heard of these yet, but they’ve been around for eons; people in Eastern Europe have been drinking them for centuries. It’s made from chaga mushrooms, which usually grow on the trunks of birch trees. Studies have found that they may help prevent cancer and slow tumor growth, can help balance our immune systems, slow inflammation, and possibly even help protect our livers. A great and yummy one to try is from Boom Chaga (boomchagadrinks.com). If better sleep health is on your new year agenda, then lattes may well be your solution. That sounds a little counterproductive, I know, but give Beam Dream sleep powder (shopbeam.com) a shot and you’ll understand what I mean. It’s basically a cup of healthy hot cocoa —made of 5 natural sleep-friendly ingredients (nano hemp, reishi mushrooms, magnesium, amino acid, and melatonin) — that you froth up with a mini blender stick (you can buy one with the Beam powder) and drink about 30 to 45 minutes before bed. Anyone who’s been following all of the chatter about the importance of gut health over the last few years will know the blast of good that kombucha can provide. And one of new favorites is Huney Jun Kombucha (huneyjun.com). Instead of sugar, it’s cultured using raw honey and green tea, then infused with adaptogenic super-herbs, mushrooms, and botanicals known to boost immunity and lower internal stress responses. I love their flavors, too — blends like jasmine-rose, pear-lime with nettle and lemon balm, and lavender-berry with elderberry — all of them unpasteurized and full of probiotics. Meanwhile, of all the superfoods out there to pop into a smoothie, seaweed is a total powerhouse. It’s an excellent source of iodine, which is terrific for thyroid hormones that help regulate your metabolism. And it contains bioactive compounds and soluble fiber that helps lower blood sugar and improves insulin sensitivity. Moreover, it’s packed with amino acid glutamine that helps reduce inflammation. So for tasty flavor, grab some wild blueberry and ginger kelp cubes from Atlantic Sea Farms (atlanticseafarms.com) and whizz them up in a blender with some juice, yogurt, and you’ll be one giant and tasty step closer to good health in the new year.

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3entertainment

The Glamorous Stranger Next Door Knew Everyone. And She Needed Help.

Shelby Hewitt, the 32-year-old old woman accused of posing as a student in Boston Public Schools last year, pleaded not guilty to nine indictments in Suffolk Superior Court Tuesday, where new details emerged around how she allegedly pretended to be a traumatized child with significant special educational and emotional needs. Hewitt is facing three counts of forgery, two counts of forgery at common law, one count of uttering, one count of identity fraud, one count of larceny over $1,200 and one count of making false claims to her employer. The indictment alleges that between Dec. 6, 2021 and Feb. 3, 2023, the social worker carried out an elaborate scheme to convince the Boston Public School system and the state that she was a child as young as 13 while working for the Department of Children and Families. “Obviously Ms. Hewitt is a young lady who’s got significant mental health challenges. That’s abundantly clear,” Hewitt’s attorney Timothy Flaherty said Tuesday. “What’s not abundantly clear, is how whatever happened was allowed to happen at the Boston Public School system for as long as it was.” Officials with the Boston Public School system declined to comment, but some parents are blaming Superintendent Mary Skipper and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters. “To hear that this grown woman who crosses three schools within the year sitting in the classroom with my daughter and a whole bunch of other kids – that’s very scary,” BPS mother Robin Williams said after the arraignment. “You’re a social worker. You’re supposed to be protecting children. Why are you doing this? What are you getting out of it?” Hewitt bought the domain name @masstate.us and used it to create two fake DCF workers with phony email addresses and phone numbers in December 2021. She then used an alias and the real identity of a child in state custody to enroll herself in the Walden Behavioral Treatment Center for an eating disorder and three different Boston Public Schools, where she received special education services. All while collecting her $54,000 salary from the state. “The defendant created multiple names and dates of birth for herself to propagate this intricate but false narrative of being an extremely traumatized child with significant special educational needs and emotional needs,” Assistant Suffolk District Attorney Ashley Polin said. “In reality, the defendant was a woman in her early 30s who had attended both college and graduate school and was employed as a social worker with the Department of Children and Families.” Hewitt was released on a $5,000 cash bail she had previously posted. She was also ordered to stay away from the stolen identity victim, any witnesses, all BPS employees, all schools including Boston Public Schools, the Walden Behavioral Health Center and children under the age of 18. Hewitt was also ordered not to engage in the practice of social work. Her case is set to go to trial in the fall.

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4politics

Three things to know about Boston Mayor Michelle Wus electeds of color party gaffe

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu made headlines this week for hosting a holiday party dedicated to elected officials of color. Attendees at the party included state Sen. Liz Miranda, D-2nd Suffolk, state Rep. Christopher Worrell, D-5th Suffolk, and Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden. The party has been a long tradition that the city has held, but an email gaffe cast a pall over the celebration for some. Here are three things to know about Wu’s “Electeds of Color Holiday Party” email mishap. So what did the email say? On Tuesday, Wu’s office was accidentally sent out an email to every member of City Council, inviting them to the “Electeds of Color Holiday Party,” according to NBC Boston, the media outlet that first broke the news. Fifteen minutes later, Wu’s office sent another email apologizing for the email, NBC Boston reported. The party was intended for elected officials of color, the mayor said. “I wanted to apologize for my previous email regarding a Holiday Party for tomorrow,” the follow-up message said, according to NBC Boston. “I did send that to everyone by accident, I apologize if my email may have offended or came across as so.” How did Mayor Wu explain her email gaffe? Wu was quick to explain the email gaffe, saying that the “Electeds of Color Holiday Party,” was a longstanding tradition and one of the many holiday celebrations the city throws each year, according to the Boston Globe. “There are many, many events that are private events for all different sorts of groups, so we’ve clarified that and look forward to seeing everyone at one of the dozens of other opportunities to celebrate the holidays together,” Wu told NBC Boston on Wednesday. “I think we all have been in a position at one point where an email went out and there was a mistake in the recipients, so there was truly just an honest mistake that happened in issuing the invitation,” the mayor added. Are people upset over the ‘Electeds of Color Holiday Party?’ Wu’s explanation didn’t stop some people from feeling frustrated over a private holiday dinner party. Howie Carr, a conservative columnist for the Boston Herald, described Wu’s “electeds of color” holiday party as the mayor celebrating a “non-white Christmas”. “What if the reverse had happened – what if a white mayor had held a whites-only party at a city-owned building, after specifically disinviting all the non-white members of the City Council?” Carr wrote. City Councilors Frank Baker and Sharon Durkan, who are both white, said they did not take any offense to Wu’s holiday party, the Boston Globe reported. “It’s a really busy season!” Durkan said in a statement to the Globe. “As a new elected official, I’ve been inundated with invites to holiday events. I’m not the least bit offended to not be included in this long-standing get together. What is new this season is how many elected officials of color represent our City and State. Let’s be clear, that’s an amazing thing and I hope attendees had a blast last night.” In a post, on X, the app formerly known as Twitter, City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo seemed to make fun of people’s outrage. “Never let facts get in the way of some manufactured outrage,” Ricardo wrote. “Electeds of Color has existed for over a decade and the holiday party is an annual tradition. Wait until someone tells them about the Congressional Black Caucus or MA Black and Latino Legislative Caucus. The horror!!”

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2culture

Words of Wisdom

There’s such fanfare about the end of the year and the beginning of a new one, but the difference is only a day. I find myself thinking about this a lot, how we invest the turning-over of a new year with such meaning, but it’s really just a Sunday into Monday, a transition we don’t dignify with ceremony the other 51 weeks. This week, it’s momentous. This week, we make a fuss. What sort of fuss are you making? A party, a gathering, a favorite meal for dinner? Maybe in bed by 10 with a good book, which is to say no fuss at all, thank you very much? You might, regardless of your plans, ask some people about the best advice they have received this year. People love giving advice, and when they’re sitting on something they think is especially effective, they’re excited to share it. Advice given on New Year’s takes on the air of a benediction, a strong first sentence with which to begin a new chapter. I asked a friend for the best advice she’d received and she told me to “Buy the dip,” to which I densely asked if she was referring to condiments or smokeless tobacco. She rolled her eyes then offered something more my speed: “‘No’ is a complete sentence,” which I have heard before, but it’s a solid maxim I was glad to hear again.

0c46f0b86607b83084ce0b7c393bff76

4politics

Ahead of possible vote, City Council drills down on details of police patrolmens contract

Dr. Claudine Gay, who made history as Harvard University’s first Black and second female president just about one year ago, resigned Tuesday afternoon. For some, like Ron Halber, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, the resignation meant a victory in a long-waged fight.

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4politics

Vinie Burrows, Acclaimed Actress Who Became an Activist, Dies at 99

But despite her success, Ms. Burrows said in a 1994 interview with the Rochester, N.Y., newspaper The Democrat and Chronicle, she was beginning to feel dissatisfied chasing roles that tended toward what she called the “dese, dem and dose” variety. She was also dissatisfied with the scant pay. “My babysitter — my little boy was 2 years old — I think made more money than I did,” she said of her experience in “The Blacks” in a 2020 interview with American Theatre magazine, “and I said, ‘I will never work so hard for anybody unless I am working for myself.’” Instead, Ms. Burrows took matters into her own hands as a solo artist. She received rave reviews for her 1968 Off Broadway show, “Walk Together Children,” which she described as “the Black scene in prose, poetry and song.” It drew from the writings of enslaved people, poets and contemporary activists to trace the African American experience. Ms. Burrows, the critic Clive Barnes wrote in a review in The New York Times, “wounds and hurts, giving some of Black America’s most excoriating literature the whiplash impetus of a relentless performance.” “Yet,” he added, “while angry, she is not bitter. She is all woman and all fundamental charm. She is a magnificent performer.”

44356671b2a5d0f8b92e1cdc9877830a

2culture

An urban vibe: These are the 10 best suburbs in Massachusetts, ranked

Looking for that urban vibe, but without the big-city prices, traffic and headaches that come with city life? Look no further. A new rankings list by the website StorageCafe runs down the 10 best suburbs that offer the best of city life, with the ease and proximity of suburbs. “One of the best things about Massachusetts is that moving to the suburbs doesn’t have to mean giving up on urban comfort,” StorageCafe’s Maria Gatea wrote. “You just need to know where to look. Some select, city-like suburbs in Massachusetts feature amenities and services comparable to those we can enjoy in a big city.” To reach those conclusions, StorageCafe analyzed 40 of the Bay State’s smaller cities and towns ― those with populations ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 people. Analysts considered such criteria as housing diversity and affordability, demographics, the business environment, health, education, public safety and transportation. The bottom line? “Burlington, Newton, and Wakefield emerge as the best suburbs in Massachusetts, skillfully combining the charm of suburbia with the convenience of city life.” “Somerville and Brookline are leading in house diversity, registering the highest share of apartments in their local housing stock,” and “Wilmington, Lynnfield and Dedham are top rated for the quality of their education,” according to the StorageCafe rankings. Burlington, in Middlesex County, tops the list because “this remarkable suburb manages to hold on to its historic charms while also stepping decisively into the 21st century,” Gates wrote. The community’s “business-related infrastructure is the best among the suburbs analyzed, with 50 businesses registered per 1,000 residents, as well as ample office and coworking space available. Looking at the residential front, there is construction activity, with almost eight building permits per 1,000 residents in 2022, and some housing diversity as well — about 28% of the housing units are apartments,” according to the website. Here’s a look at the rest of the communities: Newton: Ranked best for its health, transportation, business environment. Wakefield: Ranked best for its residential, health and education environment. Waltham: Ranked best for its business, transportation, and health environment. Woburn: Ranked best for its business, transportation, and health environment. Dedham: Ranked best for its amenities, education, and business environment. Brookline: Ranked best for its residential, transportation, and education environment. Norwood: Ranked best for its business, amenities and its population. Hudson: Ranked best for its education, health, and safety environments. Lynnfield: Ranked best for its education, residential, and business environments. “The best suburbs in Massachusetts for those who want to hold on to city-like living are all part of the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metropolitan area—hardly surprising considering that the huge metro area encompasses almost 5 million of the state’s 7 million residents,” Gates wrote.

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6sports

Tom Werner explains why he thinks Red Sox fans should go to Fenway Park in 2024

SPRINGFIELD — Red Sox chairman Tom Werner was asked a simple question Friday night before the team’s annual Winter Weekend event started at the MassMutual Center. If the team plans on lowering payroll and not truly going “full throttle” in pursuit of contention in 2024, then how is it comfortable asking fans to pay ticket prices that generally are the highest in baseball? His response was that the Fenway Park experience is about much more than how good the Red Sox are — an interesting thought considering how fans of visiting teams have seemed to take over the ballpark on multiple occasions in recent years. “First, we recognize the frustration that fans have,” Werner said. “We spend a lot of time trying to figure out ways to bring new fans into the park and have some tickets that are very affordable for students. We spend a lot of time talking about the experience of going to Fenway. We think our record is probably the most important thing, but there are other things that make going to Fenway a special place. And we’ve got to put a better product on the field and we know that.” It’s no secret that morale among Red Sox fans has plateaued after a second straight last-place finish and a disappointing offseason that began with Werner’s ill-fated “full throttle” declaration and has come to the point of the team significantly lowering expectations this week, with team president Sam Kennedy acknowledging Friday that the payroll would likely be lower than its 2023 mark of $225 million in 2024. A year after the well-documented booing of team officials at the Town Hall event that opened Winter Weekend in Springfield, that format was replaced and fans were not allowed to directly address Red Sox personnel Friday night. Kennedy and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow were met with some boos as they took the stage to join former closer Jonathan Papelbon on Friday night and a couple of loud jeers were heard from the crowd during the event. One fan screamed, “Add some pitching!” Another interrupted Breslow to call him “Chaim Bloom 2.0.” 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. Kennedy, as top Red Sox executives often do, chalked up fan sentiment to the passion of Red Sox fans in good times and bad. “We were standing in the lobby and a very nice woman asked if we could take pictures with her and her 10-year old son,” Kennedy said. “We smiled and took a picture. As she walked away, she whispered in my ear, saying, ‘Don’t worry, we don’t hate you as much as you think we do.’ And to me, that represents the fact that the anger, the frustration, the vitriol, especially on social media, I think is very different from the real world. “When you get out and talk to Red Sox fans people are angry and upset because we haven’t performed, and that’s what makes this the best market in all baseball. Our fans care deeply. They’re more passionate than any other fan base in all of baseball. Werner, acknowledging that questions about the team’s direction and decision to largely avoid impact additions instead of improving the outlook drastically for 2024, said he believed there were plenty of reasons for fans to be optimistic. “I want to say that the glass is more than half full,” he said. “When you look around our team, look at our infield. Triston Casas. We made a great trade, I think, for (Vaughn) Grissom. Hopefully, Trevor Story will be healthy. Raffy Devers at third. If (Jarren) Duran has a healthy year. I’m looking forward to Wilyer Abreu having 400 at bats. “There’s a lot to be excited about, and we admit that our pitching wasn’t strong last year, but I expect improvement. I expect the people who are on our team, and we have a young core, will be a step closer to being excellent.” Werner contended that the Red Sox brand hasn’t suffered despite the fan outrage. “All I can say is that it’s about where we are at the end of the season,” Werner said. “It’s not about where we are now. We hope and expect improvement. I think most fans get that we have an exciting young core, but we have to demonstrate it. “When I last looked, we won four World Series, which is more than any team in baseball since the year 2000,” Werner added. “I think our fans are frustrated. We’re frustrated, but I’m very proud of the Red Sox.”

ac2047614bd95e0f40bbb72f08db109f

4politics

Donald Trump firms up N.H. lead in new primary poll; Nikki Haley in second

Less than a week before Granite State voters head to the polls, New Hampshire appears to be Donald Trump’s to lose, according to a new poll. The former president takes 50% support in the Suffolk University/NBC10 Boston/Boston Globe tracking poll released Wednesday. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley trails in second place at just shy of 34%, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis finishes a distant third with 5.2%. The poll of 500 likely Republican voters comes as the second-tier candidates blanket New Hampshire in a search for every available vote. As was the case with Monday’s Iowa caucus, where Trump won handily, the new poll results underscores Trump’s hold on the GOP primary electorate. The canvass was conducted on Monday and Tuesday, with an overall margin of error of 4.4% Ninety percent of respondents of Trump’s backers said they’d be casting their ballot in favor of the twice-impeached former president, who also faces four criminal indictments, and other civil court actions, compared to the less than 5% who said they’d be voting against Haley. About 54% of Haley backers, meanwhile, said they’d be casting their vote for the former South Carolina governor, compared to the slightly more than 37% who said they’d be voting against Trump. Fifty-six percent of the poll’s respondents described themselves as either conservative or very conservative, putting them squarely in Trump’s wheelhouse, compared to the nearly 36% of respondents who described themselves as moderate. Nearly 30% of respondents said DeSantis, who has struggled to gain ground in the early going, would be their second choice, compared to 10% who said they’d choose Haley second, the poll showed.

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0business

Mykonos Greek Restaurant finds new home in Springfields TD Bank building

SPRINGFIELD — Call it a feta fete, proof that gyros — not unlike heroes — can make a comeback to save the day. Mykonos Greek Restaurant reopens in downtown Springfield’s TD Bank Center this week, nearly six months after the redevelopment of Eastfield Mall forced operators Christos and Kristin Hatzis to move.

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4politics

House Censures Jamaal Bowman for False Fire Alarm

I have no idea how I got to my office this morning. I mean, I do know: I walked to the tube station near my house, got on a train, transferred a few stops later to another one, got off near my office and then walked in, making the briefest of stops at a coffee shop to pick up a breakfast sandwich on the way. But that list of steps describes the limit of my knowledge. I have no idea who opened the tube station, or what it takes to keep it functioning. (Or, for that matter, why one of its turnstiles was stuck half open, bleeping a plaintive alarm about its situation to no one in particular.) I do not know how to drive a train, and certainly not how to maintain one. And I’m sure the people of London are very grateful that I have never had to consider how to dig a subway tunnel or lay a rail line. And yet if those things had not happened in the correct order, as designed by experts and carried out by professionals, the city would shut down. This week that shutdown nearly happened, in fact, because of a transport strike that was called off at the last moment. This is the magical thing about institutions: They exist so that complex processes can become automatic, so that large groups of people can collaborate without having to create new systems for doing so, and so people like me can rely on expertise without possessing that expertise even a tiny bit.

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4politics

Heres What We Know About the Israel-Hamas Deal

A deal between Israel and Hamas for a temporary cease-fire appeared to take effect on Friday. Here is a closer look at the agreement, mediated in part by Qatar, and how it is expected to play out. What’s in the deal? The agreement is for at least a four-day pause in hostilities. During that time, at least 50 women and children — from the roughly 240 people that Israeli officials say were abducted on Oct. 7 — were expected to be exchanged for 150 Palestinian women and minors imprisoned in Israeli jails. The deal also includes an increase in humanitarian aid for Gaza, but Qatar’s foreign ministry did not release details. Hamas said Thursday that 200 trucks carrying relief supplies and four fuel trucks would enter the territory each day during the four-day pause. Israeli officials did not immediately comment. Israel said its warplanes would not fly over southern Gaza for the duration of the cease-fire, and would not fly over the northern part of the territory for six hours each day. How is it being carried out? The pause had been scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. Gaza time (midnight Eastern) on Friday, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman, Majed al-Ansari said Thursday, which Hamas confirmed. Mr. al-Ansari said a first group of 13 hostages would then be released starting at 4 p.m., in exchange for an undisclosed number of Palestinian prisoners. In general, both Israel and Hamas have signaled that roughly 30 Palestinians will be exchanged for every 10 Israeli hostages. Each day of the pause, Israel and Hamas will receive lists of the hostages and prisoners to be released, with Qatar passing them between the two parties, according to Mr. al-Ansari. He said that the International Committee of the Red Cross would be designated to receive the hostages, though he gave no further detail on the group’s role or where the hostages would cross the border. The Israeli government has said that the hostages would be freed in four groups during the truce, each with at least 10 people. An Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity on Wednesday said hostages turned over by Hamas would be taken to hospitals, and the seriously injured transported by helicopter. Those under 12 will be met at the border by their families, the official said, while older hostages will meet their families at hospitals, where they will also be debriefed by security services. The official said the first Palestinians to be released from Israeli prisons will be allowed home only after the first tranche of Israeli hostages are freed. Who are the Palestinian prisoners? The Israeli government this week published a list of 300 names — all people 18 years old and younger or women — of Palestinian prisoners being considered for release. It was not immediately known who would be among the 150 to be released. All the names on the list were described as “security prisoners,” or people who had been arrested in connection with offenses against national security. The prisoners are accused of offenses including supporting terrorism, acts of violence and throwing stones. There are also several charges of attempted murder. Most of the prisoners on the list had not been convicted of the charges. There were 32 women and girls listed, including two 18-year-olds and a 15-year-old. Of the boys, 144 are 18 years old and 123 are between 14 and 17. Who are the hostages being freed? The Israeli prime minister’s office said it had received an initial list of names of the hostages who would be released and had contacted their families. It did not specify how many names were on that list. At least 36 children and teenagers, ranging in age from infancy to the final year of high school, are being held in Gaza, and little is known about their whereabouts or well-being. Some, but perhaps not all, of them are expected to be among the hostages released in the coming days. White House officials said on Tuesday that they expected the agreement to include the release of three Americans: two women and a toddler. What happens after the cease-fire? Israel has said that it will restart fighting after the truce ends and that it still intends to force Hamas from power in every part of Gaza. But some analysts say that it could prove difficult for Israel to regain momentum, particularly if Hamas dangles the possibility of further hostage deals — and if Israel’s partners push for a longer truce. Patrick Kingsley contributed reporting.

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3entertainment

What Makes Chicken and Rice Even Better? A Little Bite.

By now, I’ve learned that this layer of crunchy, golden rice that can form at the bottom of the pot is rightly prized across cultures, be it Persian tahdig, Korean nurungji or Spanish socarrat, to name just a few. Achieving the ideal layer of crisp rice is the kind of culinary feat that takes long practice — or, occasionally — dumb luck. Or you could use this simple hack: Spread cooked, oiled rice on a sheet pan and bake it at high heat. The large surface area of the sheet pan will dry the rice before it browns, making it especially crunchy, and the oven’s steady, indirect heat helps keep the rice from burning — a welcome relief for us multitasking cooks. For this technique, I particularly adore the textural contrast of short-grain rice, because while the plump, starchy grains get nicely crisp where they meet the bottom and edges of the pan, the top stays softer and chewy. But long-grain rice, which takes on a consistently crunchy texture, also works.

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3entertainment

Powerball: See the winning numbers in Wednesdays $700 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 Wednesday’s winning lottery numbers: 04-11-38-51-68, Powerball: 05, Power Play: 3X Double Play Winning Numbers 14-29-39-66-67, Powerball: 02 The estimated Powerball jackpot is $700 million. The lump sum payment before taxes would be about $352.3 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.

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2culture

Gen Z-ers might be taking their birthday celebrations too far. How saying Happy Birthday became a high-stakes game

A weekly newsletter for the chronically online and easily entertained. Honey dishes us savvy analysis on culture, entertainment and power to make you the group chat MVP. Subscribe today! Gen Z-ers might be taking their birthdays too far and it’s all playing out on TikTok. Many have been sharing their set of birthday rules on the social platform for months, ranging from a 7 shot minimum to no salads and water for dinner. Twenty-four year old Tiktok user and “The Corporate Baddie” Deandre Brown says that the birthday person should pay for the whole dinner. While twenty-five year old comedian and Tiktok user Daniela Mora wants you to know that on her day, “you are the step sisters with the weird noses” and she’s Cinderella. Regardless of where one stands on the topic, these birthday rules according to other creators are opening the door for larger conversations about social classes, friendship and how toxic social media can be. Blame it on social media When comparing how birthday parties of the past compare to today, 29-year-old comedian Jasmine Ellis, who posted their own Tiktoks discussing the topic, said that it used to be about just having fun and being in the moment. “It wasn’t about capturing the moment later to prove to people you had a good time. So many parties are about pictures these days that I kind of wish people would pay for a photographer, the same way they do for a wedding,” Ellis said, sharing that there should be a predetermined time for pictures so the rest of the event can be enjoyed fully. “The quest for content has made everything less fun and birthdays are just a symptom of that.” Birthday celebrations can turn from an intimate time to celebrate to an all-out brawl, as seen in social media influencer Victor Christian’s Tiktok where the group is arguing over splitting a $4,600 dinner bill. Other viral Tiktoks been criticized for the lack of consideration for the birthday guests. Tiktok user and Youtuber Janeé,” for example posted her birthday trip rules on April 8. “It’s my trip. It’s my birthday. We’re going to do everything that I want to do. I do not care about what you want to do. Come back on your own time,” they said. Other rules included not taking pictures for anyone else and not coming if you don’t have the money for a luxury experience. Comments ripped into her rules, with Tiktok user Isidora Obradovic stating, “so you’re paying then, right? Cause I know your friends are not expected to endure this on their own dime lmao.” A report from Forbes found that an estimated 4.9 billion people use social media platforms around the world in 2023. These platforms not only create a place for people to share these birthday ideas, but to also share their “perfect life,” according to a 2023 article from Psychology Today. Numerous Tiktok posts share how to get the best birthday post, like from Tiktok user Nicole Meso. However, constantly recording and posting your life rather than living in the moment can do more harm than good, according to a Medium post from data analyst Vanessa Dailey. Does classism and entitlement play a role? Twenty-seven year old wellness and lifestyle content creator Aley Arion, who also posted their own videos sharing their opinion on the topic, stated that the root of these controversial rules could be entitlement. “I think when you have the right friends and right people around you, it’s understood that you will be taken care of. But I think if people have been let down in the past or people haven’t necessarily shown up for them when it’s ‘their day,’ then they have these big rules and high expectations that make it hard to be let down on the day of,” Arion said. A YouGov survey conducted on Nov. 2022 found that 47% of those surveyed overall felt neutral about their birthday. But being let down on your birthday can lead to negative feelings surrounding the special day, or even birthday depression. Also known as the “birthday blues,” its symptoms include crying more than usual, a lack of interest in what you usually enjoy, and isolation. While posting on your birthday and getting the likes and recognition could provide some satisfaction, it is only temporary, according to a study by anthropologist Daniel Miller. Celebrating your big day has become more about getting recognition on social media rather than your loved ones, as seen with X user and reality TV star JeLaminah. “It seems like every year one of my family members on my dad’s side gets mad at me for not posting them on social media for their birthday. For the life of me can someone explain why people get mad about this?!? Especially when I pick up the phone and call you for ur bday,” they said in a Nov. 14 post. Social media is exposing these rules, for better or for worse, according to Arion. “I do think some of the people who are the big voices when it comes to conversations come from a particular economic class, where splitting the bill or taking care of the whole table is nothing to them because that’s just how they move economically. I think that’s just exposing the different class differences that do affect birthday culture,” Arion said. The highest paid influencers on Tiktok brought in $55.1 million collectively in 2021, according to a 2022 Forbes article. Seeing how others are having extravagant lifestyles on their birthday and beyond across social media platforms can bring up feelings of envy, according to a 2018 article from JSTOR. The unhealthy comparison of what one sees online to their peers and celebrities they admire can also lead to a lower self-esteem, depression and anxiety, according to a 2020 Nursing Times article. Social media and its influencers can set unrealistic expectations for their followers to try to replicate, which can make you feel like a failure, including on your birthday, a 2019 article from PennMedicine states. How to take the drama out of your birthday It remains to be seen if birthday culture will go back to what it used to be or evolve to be more social media centric. However, Ellis says the first place to start is with who you are surrounded by. “I think we’ve gotten to a point of over connectivity that makes everyone feel entitled to attend everyone’s everything. It feels like a failure if you throw a birthday party and you don’t have a lot of friends surrounding you…I’m OK with my birthday gatherings being small and intimate. I’m OK if my birthdays are just being celebrated between me and the friends,” Ellis said. Arion has her own set of rules she follows on her birthday to ensure a drama-free day. “A rule of mine is on the day that I was born, no one gets to touch that day,” Arion said, naming the COVID pandemic as a reason why her views on her birthday have changed. “If you’re having a party, send out little house rules that you’re expecting your guests to go in with …Remember that it is your day, but if you’re inviting people to be part of your day, just be courteous to that.”

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2culture

Sweetie, Ill Be Back at 2 A.M.

Brianna Michaud’s ’90s childhood was filled with sleepovers at friends’ houses. Her mother sometimes came inside the house and chatted with the parents for a few minutes, but sensitive topics like bodily autonomy, gun safety or technology use — except for the rule that she not watch anything rated PG-13 or higher — weren’t the kinds of things discussed. “It was a different time,” Ms. Michaud, now 35, said. It may come as no surprise that parents are experiencing more anxiety in general these days. There is an increased awareness of issues like sexual abuse and gun violence, said Christy Keating, a licensed parenting coach based in the Seattle area. Almost half of parents in the U.S. describe themselves as overprotective, according to Pew research published last year. And perhaps no scenario tests a parent’s vigilance more than the prospect of allowing their child to sleep at another family’s home. For some parents, one solution to this is the “sleepunder” — also called a “lateover” — where children come to play, but they don’t stay to sleep. Qarniz F. Armstrong, a mother of three children, ages 12, 14 and 20, has never allowed her children to spend a night away from her, even with other family members. She does, however, want her kids to have normal childhood experiences, so she has settled on letting them attend parties if she can bring them home at bedtime — even if that means 2 or 3 in the morning. Considering the alternative — saying no altogether — Ms. Armstrong, who is 43 and lives in Murrieta, Calif., feels this is “a good compromise.”

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4politics

DeSantis Adviser Continues Campaigns Sharp Attack on Haley

A top adviser to Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida on Friday accused Nikki Haley of “greed” as a candidate, saying that she’s trying to damage him to help former President Donald J. Trump in the Iowa caucuses. The comments from David Polyansky, Mr. DeSantis’s deputy campaign manager, came at an event hosted by Bloomberg News on Friday in downtown Des Moines, as the blizzard buffeting the city forced the campaign to cancel some events later in the day — though Mr. Polyansky said that Mr. DeSantis’s ground game was best equipped for the brutal weather barreling. He was joined by the campaign’s spokesman, Andrew Romeo, and its pollster, Ryan Tyson, but he did most of the talking. He said that Ms. Haley is running in Iowa to draw votes toward Mr. Trump and siphon them away from Mr. DeSantis. Mr. Polyansky also repeated Mr. DeSantis’s claim that Ms. Haley, the former South Carolina governor, is running to be Mr. Trump’s vice-presidential pick, and criticized her for not ruling out joining a Trump ticket.

dd47ea2b82fd7d522cd5545e1ae57ff7

2culture

The Border Where Different Rules Apply

James kept reading the form. “What will happen when you get there?” he asked. Tcherry looked up. He latched onto the words “when you get there” and took them as a promise. He asked James when they would be on land. James said the same thing he told everyone on the boat: that the decision was not up to him, that he was just doing his job. Tcherry was convinced James would send him and Claire and Beana to their mothers. He thought of the story his mother had told him about his father’s murder, his body in a ditch by the road, and of his last memory of Haiti, when he passed through a gang checkpoint on the way to the airport. “I saw bandits approaching toward us, and he had a gun pulled,” Tcherry told me. “My heart started beating fast, and I thought he was going to shoot.” He was overwhelmed with relief that he would never have to go back there. A boat came to bring someone to land. But it was not there to pick up Tcherry or the other children. A Coast Guard medical officer had reviewed the pregnant woman’s vitals and made a decision that because she “may go into labor at any moment,” she would be brought to a hospital in Palm Beach County accompanied by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Before she was taken away, Peterson said the woman told him she would not claim to be married to him after all. She didn’t want a stranger on her baby’s birth certificate. She offered to say she was his cousin. “I knew that being the cousin would not be enough,” Peterson recalls, “and I have to say that I lost hope.” The pregnant woman disappeared on a small boat toward land. Those left on the stern began to talk among themselves, asking why the baby, who had barely stopped crying, and the other children had been left aboard the cutter. They said they could not keep going like this, eating only small portions of scarcely cooked and saltless rice and beans, unable to bathe and forced to urinate and defecate in a toilet seat attached to a metal box with a tube off the side of the open deck. They decided they would rise in unison and protest, and they passed the word from one to the next. At around 9 p.m., dozens of people began to yell toward the bridge demanding interpreters, lawyers or just to know what would become of them. From the bow where he stood, James heard faint yelling, and then the voice of the officer in charge over the loudspeaker. “They’re starting an uprising on the fantail,” he said. “I need you back there.” Timothy James came from a conservative family in a conservative little town in the mountains of North Carolina. He and his wife held handguns aloft in their wedding photos, and his first job after dropping out of college was as a sheriff’s deputy at the jail. James joined the Coast Guard in 2015. “My main goal,” he told me, “was to chase down drug runners and catch migrants” — two groups that were more or less the same, as far as he understood. He’d been on the job no more than a few weeks before his expectations were upended. “I had no idea what I was talking about,” he told me. There was much less “running and gunning, catching bad guys” than he’d anticipated. Instead, the people he detained would tell him their stories, sometimes with the help of Google Translate on his phone, about violence and deprivation like he had never contemplated. People described what it was like to live on $12 a month. There were children and grandmothers who could have been his own, and young men not so unlike him. They were not trying to infiltrate the country as he’d thought. They were running because “they didn’t have another option,” he says.

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6sports

Alabama vs. Georgia: Live stream, how to watch SEC Championship game for free

No. 1 Georgia will try for 30 straight SEC wins when it hosts No. 8 Alabama on Saturday in the SEC Championship on Saturday in Atlanta. A win for the 12-0 Bulldogs would guarantee a spot in the College Football Playoffs. The Crimson Tide, meanwhile, desperately need a win in order to keep their CFP hopes alive. Both teams aew 8-0 in SEC play, so it’s sure to be a battle for the entire game. Here’s how to watch Alabama vs. Georgia: Fans looking to watch this college football game can do so for free on fuboTV, which offers a free trial (as well as RedZone, for you NFL fans) or on DirecTV Stream, which also offers a free trial. SlingTV has promotional offers available, as well. Through the end of 2023, fuboTV is also offering $20 off the first two months of subscription (in addition to the 7-day free trial). Who: Georgia Bulldogs vs. Alabama Crimson Tide When: Saturday, Dec. 2 at 4 p.m. EST Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia Stream: fuboTV (free trial + $20 off your first 2 months); 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. RELATED CONTENT: ATLANTA (AP) — The Southeastern Conference championship game will remain at Mercedes-Benz Stadium through at least 2031 under a contract extension announced Thursday. The SEC joined stadium operator AMB Sports and Entertainment and the Georgia World Congress Center Authority in announcing the agreement ahead of the 32nd annual title game Saturday, matching No. 1 Georgia — the two-time defending national champion — against No. 8 Alabama. The previous deal was set to expire after the 2026 game. Under the new agreement, the SEC also can exercise a five-year option that would keep the game at the 71,000-seat retractable roof stadium near downtown Atlanta through 2036. Atlanta began hosting the SEC championship in 1994 after the first two games were held at Birmingham’s Legion Field. The Georgia Dome was the site through 2016, when that stadium was replaced by the current facility built next door. “The SEC football championship game is one of the premier events in college sports and Mercedes-Benz Stadium is one of the finest sports facilities on the globe, making Atlanta the perfect venue for our annual title game,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement. Best known as home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and Major League Soccer’s Atlanta United, Mercedes-Benz Stadium hosts several college football games each year, including the Peach Bowl that is part of the College Football Playoff and Celebration Bowl for historically Black colleges. In addition, the stadium is set to stage the national championship game for the second time in 2025 as well as games at soccer’s World Cup in 2026. The Associated Press contributed to this article

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7weather

Mass. weather: Heres which Mass. communities have been impacted by Saturday rainfall

Another rainfall on Saturday has brought with it flooding across Massachusetts after two storms caused flooding through parts of the week. Boston, Provincetown and Dennis have or are forecasted to have moderate flooding, according to National Weather Service flood risk maps. Nantucket, Bridgewater, Dover, Saxonville, Maynard, Gloucester, Andover and Scituate have or are forecasted to have minor flooding, the map shows. Snow melt from Sunday’s nor’easter dropped as much as 18 inches on parts of Massachusetts, followed by a rainstorm earlier in the week that brought 2-3 inches of rain. With the flooding on Saturday, also comes road closures. In Cohasset, Atlantic Avenue, margin and Border Street are flooded and closed to traffic, according to the Cohasset Police. In Quincy, Rockland Street and Spring Street as well as the Squantum Causeway are closed temporarily due to flooding, according to police. Read more: Car crash on Route 129 in Billerica kills man “Several vehicles have become disabled attempting to pass through this area, we urge you not to drive through flowing, flooding waters you cannot determine the depth of,” Quincy Police wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. The Duxbury Fire Department posted on X that they had recalled off-duty firefighters and were dealing with “significant flooding in numerous parts of time.” The fire and police departments are reminding residents to not drive through the flooded roads. In Salisbury, Beach and Ferry Road are closed and Broadway is likely to be closed due to flooding, police said on X. Route 286 in Seabrook is also closed, the Salisbury Police said. While many communities are dispatching resources to deal with the flooding, the bulk of the heavy flooding is lifting in the North and East, according to the National Weather Service. However, larger rivers will continue to rise after the rain ends and swollen rivers will likely continue into Sunday and Monday, the weather service said. If your area is experiencing an outage, follow the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency’s outage map for all updates.

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0business

See all homes sold in Cape Cod, Dec. 17 to Dec. 23

The following is a listing of all home transfers in Cape Cod reported from Dec. 17 to Dec. 23. There were 1 transactions posted during this time. During this period, the median sale for the area was a 2,157-square-foot home on Stratford Ridge in Mashpee that sold for $325,000. Mashpee 50 Stratford Ridge, Mashpee, $325,000, 2,157 square feet, $151 per square-foot, two bedrooms and three bathrooms. Real Estate Newswire is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to generate analysis of data from Propmix, an aggregator of national real-estate data. See more Real Estate News

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3entertainment

Lee Sun-kyun, Parasite Actor, Found Dead at 48

Lee Sun-kyun, the award-winning South Korean actor who rose to international fame after starring in the Oscar-winning film “Parasite,” was found dead in Seoul on Wednesday. He was 48. Mr. Lee had recently been under police investigation on suspicion of illegal drug use, and he denied the accusations. The police said they were investigating the death as a suicide. The police found Mr. Lee’s body in a parked vehicle in central Seoul just before 11 a.m., said Jeon Yu-deung, the chief detective at Seongbuk police station, which is investigating his death. After Mr. Lee’s manager reported him missing earlier in the day, the police found his body using the location signal from his phone. Mr. Jeon said that Mr. Lee had also left what appeared to be a suicide note.

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1crime

This N.Y.U. Student Owns a $6 Million Crypto Mine. His Secret Is Out.

Jerry Yu has the trappings of what the Chinese call second-generation rich. He boasts a Connecticut prep-school education. He lives in a Manhattan condominium bought for $8 million from Jeffrey R. Immelt, the former General Electric chief executive. And he is the majority owner of a Bitcoin mine in Texas, acquired last year for more than $6 million. Mr. Yu, a 23-year-old student at New York University, has also become — quite unintentionally — a case study in how Chinese nationals can move money from China to the United States without drawing the attention of authorities in either country. The Texas facility, a large computing center, was not purchased with dollars. Instead, it was bought with cryptocurrency, which offers anonymity, with the transaction routed through an offshore exchange, preventing anyone from knowing the origin of the financing. Such secrecy allows Chinese investors to avoid the U.S. banking system, and the accompanying oversight of federal regulators, as well as sidestep Chinese restrictions on money leaving China. In a more traditional transaction, a bank receiving the funds would know where they were coming from and would be required by law to report any suspicious activity to the U.S. Treasury.

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2culture

Ask Amy: I think my daughter intentionally smashed her phone do I replace it?

A prosecutor, Michael Perez, said in his opening statement that Mr. Majors attacked Ms. Jabbari during a ride home in the early hours of March 25 after she saw on his phone a text from another woman. He slapped her face and grabbed her hand violently, Mr. Perez said, adding that the driver would testify that after she got out of the car, Mr. Majors threw her “like a football” back inside. Throughout their relationship, Mr. Majors had shown a need to maintain control, Mr. Perez told the jurors, and in March, he had shown “no hesitation” in using physical force against Ms. Jabbari. The altercation resulted in a fracture to Ms. Jabbari’s middle finger on her right hand, as well as pain and swelling in her arm and right ear, Mr. Perez said. Mr. Perez cast the assault as the natural finale of a relationship that became abusive shortly after it began, two years before the assault. He said that Mr. Majors and Ms. Jabbari met on the set of a Marvel film in 2021, and that they experienced a short-lived “honeymoon phase.” “Just months into the relationship, the evidence will show that the defendant’s true self emerged,” Mr. Perez said, telling jurors that Mr. Majors would yell at Ms. Jabbari and during one argument had thrown household items at the wall, shattering glass. Mr. Majors, wearing a dark suit with a gilded Bible and a large binder on the table before him, spent much of Mr. Perez’s argument facing the front of the courtroom, his face blank. A jury of three men and three women listened impassively. (Misdemeanor trials are typically heard by six jurors, rather than 12.)

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2culture

Ask Amy: My dad fed my son peanut butter because he doesnt believe in allergies

Dear Amy: My husband and I were thrilled recently to have the opportunity to leave town for one night. My parents offered to watch our 4-year-old son for the 24 hours we were gone. My folks live locally and have spent a lot of time with their grandson, but they’ve never done the overnight thing before. We left our folks very prepared with pre-made meals, and we were confident that everything would be fine. Just after we arrived at our destination (a four-hour drive) we got a call from my sister, who said that our son had been taken to the ER because of an allergic reaction to peanuts. My parents know about our son’s nut allergy. We do have peanut butter in the house, but after discovering this allergy a couple of years ago, we of course never give him peanuts in any form. Turns out that my dad decided to give him some peanut butter on a cracker “as a snack.” We raced home, and by then everybody was home. My sister was at our house with our son. He was fine and in bed. My parents had gone back to their house. I called them the next morning to hear what had happened and my dad told me he had given our son peanut butter. I would have been completely understanding if he had told me that they’d forgotten about the allergy, but he didn’t say that. He said basically that he “didn’t believe” in this allergy and he didn’t think this would be a big deal (I guess until our son’s throat closed and they raced him to the hospital). My husband and I are livid. We don’t like to use access to our child as a way to punish our folks, but given that they haven’t apologized, we decided to “take a break” from having our son spend time with them. This included not seeing them on Christmas. We don’t want to overreact or make everything worse, and we’re both wondering what you think. – Appalled Parents Dear Appalled: So far, your reaction to this emergency seems proportional. I wonder why your parents are stewing in their juice, rather than simply admitting to having made a mistake and showing relief that your son is OK. I assume they are embarrassed and prideful. And now they are behaving like children – hiding under their blanket, rather than admit their mistake. I suggest that you (their daughter) pay them a visit in order to clarify everything that happened. Give them the opportunity to take a step or two toward you. They really do need to demonstrate that they understand this risk and that they will never repeat their mistake. They should also apologize to you, your husband, and your son (“I’m so sorry – I didn’t mean to hurt you.”). I don’t think your folks are competent enough to be with him overnight, but I hope you can move on. Dear Amy: My wife and I recently went to a casual dinner party. We barely knew the hosts and we didn’t know any of the other guests (around 10). We introduced ourselves to the other guests and after we all ate, we gathered in little groups and were chatting. It was nice! That’s when the host suddenly pulled out a karaoke machine and fired it up. He and a couple of other people then started singing, very loudly, into an amplified mic that he was passing around. It was loud and very abrupt. No one could maintain any conversation. After the first song, I turned to my wife and whispered: “We have early workdays tomorrow, so maybe we should go.” She told me this was rude. We waited for two or three more songs and then said goodnight. I’m wondering if you think I was being rude? – Poorly Pitched Dear Pitched: Enforced karaoke in this context is my idea of social torture, so I guess the question is how long you must tolerate something you loathe in order to exit politely on a school night. I’d say that three choruses of “My Heart Will Go On” would do it. Dear Amy: Like “Already Grieving,” I went to a birthday party for someone who had terminal cancer. Leading up to the party was a mix of emotions but once it was underway, everyone had a good time. It’s important to live until you die and in my experience, people with terminal illnesses know and understand this better than anyone. Grateful: This is beautiful. Thank you. (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.

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2culture

Ask Amy: Is it fair to split the bill when everyone else drinks and you dont?

Dear Amy: How can I politely say no when friends are passing through town or vacationing here and ask if they can spend a couple of nights with us? I have never said no to anyone and have always been gracious to anyone staying in our home, but I find I really don’t enjoy it. I have extreme stress and anxiety days before they arrive, and also while they are here. My husband doesn’t understand my tirades over this. He welcomes anyone who wants to stay with us. I just don’t like people here with us 24 hours a day. I like my privacy at night to rest and read or watch television, and the last thing I want is to see faces at the breakfast table when I get up in the morning. I know this issue will be coming up soon again as one recent guest has already said he plans to be back in town early next year. Houseguests unsettle me, my lack of privacy is the issue, although I make sure they would never guess how I feel. I am tired of pretending it is fine that they are staying with us. How can I suggest that a hotel is a better choice when they ask to stay? I don’t want to offend anyone, but my mental health is more important to me than sharing my home with out-of-towners. How do I nicely say sorry, but no? – Not Saying No Dear Not Saying: Saying “no” firmly but kindly is an act of clarifying grace and, in your case, essential self-care. Your husband is the X-factor here, because he chooses not to recognize your extreme challenge, and then undermines you by being an automatic “yes” man. His behavior is supremely unfair to you, but if you are pretending that everything is OK during a visit, he may believe that you ultimately enjoy hosting. The first person you need to learn to say “no” to is the man you are sharing your home with. Your pre-visit “tirades” brought on by stress don’t seem to have impressed him. You could practice a “no” with these next self-invited guests: “You mentioned wanting to visit, but I’m finding it very hard to host lately, so hosting you in our home won’t be possible. I’ve found a number of nearby places you could look at to stay, and I’d be really happy to spend time with you during your time in town.” If you can’t bring yourself to either confront your husband about this or manage an emailed “no,” you will land with people at your breakfast table. Perhaps you should consider them to be essentially your husband’s guests. If so, you could either choose to stay elsewhere, or protect your privacy by spending as much time as possible alone, especially at both ends of the day. This is a change in your expected behavior, but – you must calmly and carefully take care of yourself. Dear Amy: My husband and I frequently go out for dinner with my brother and sister-in-law. Sometimes her sister and husband will join us. They are all drinkers, and we are not. (They usually have more than one drink). I don’t think it is fair that we pay for their alcohol every time we go out, but my husband and I both feel awkward asking for a separate check. I did ask once for them to buy their drinks before being seated, but that idea didn’t fly. Would love your thoughts on this sensitive issue. – Non-Drinker Dear Non-Drinker: This isn’t really that sensitive an issue, and you should not shy away from stating your own need and desire to go out, enjoy a meal, and pay for your meal separately. If the other two couples want to co-mingle their charges and split the cost down the middle, that’s up to them. You can ask the server directly: “Could you prepare a separate check for the two of us?” There is no need to dive into the awkwardness or explain this to the other diners. Your friends should accept your choice, resume ordering their meals, and not give it another thought. Dear Amy: “Exhausted Daughter” did not understand her mother’s life-long emotional distance. Thank you for suggesting that this daughter do some research about neurodivergence. I faced an analogous situation and receiving a diagnosis really helped everyone to understand that this behavior was not intended as a personal response. – Been There Dear Been There: I hope “Exhausted Daughter” can also receive some helpful insight. (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.

b4ea39ef7b521fe8f63f7cc00b5f28ca

0business

Southwick Select Board still developing criteria for choosing cannabis retailer

SOUTHWICK — Just how the Select Board will choose two prospective businesses to operate a recreational marijuana retail store in town was discussed again during the board’s meeting Monday night. “There are at least three interested parties,” Select Board member Doug Moglin said when he again opened a discussion on the criteria that would be used to choose a retailer. After Town Meeting approved the zoning bylaws needed to regulate cannabis retailers, Moglin said in an email that he was expecting prospective business to begin reaching out.

4261578ad451d7853546893f7482453d

2culture

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

381b93c91ef01fe6da09c1ecc4a83f1f

2culture

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.”

4dad3ad92c5934ed0dcbd286d5abb9cf

2culture

10 must-read books that reimagine sex and power in 2024

Sign up for Reckon’s latest newsletter dedicated to the fight for reproductive justice, a weekly repro rundown covering the good, the fair-to-middlin' and the ugly in repro news. Enter your email to subscribe to Reproductive Justice with Reckon. If one of your new year’s resolutions is to read more books, Reckon has you covered. Whether you’re looking for a way to introduce healthy sex discussions to your children, or learn more about the history of abortion in the U.S., here are 10 sex-positive books to add to your collection in 2024. “Vaginas and Periods 101: A Pop-Up Book” by Christian Hoeger and Kristin Lilla Talking to kids about reproductive anatomy can be intimidating, but experts say that teaching children the correct terms for their genitals prevents shame and promotes bodily autonomy and safety. This intro to vaginas and periods book is visually interesting, informative, and inclusive. It features a pop up vulva to provide a more realistic idea of anatomy, explaining that varying shapes and colors are normal. According to the 2023 State of the Period survey, 90% of teens think schools should normalize menstruation and 81% said they wanted more in-depth education about menstrual health. This book provides a platform to introduce these conversations and answer some basic questions even adults may have wrong. “The Book of Radical Answers: Real Questions from Real Kids Just Like You” by Sonya Renee Taylor Award-winning poet and activist Sonya Renee Taylor writes books that make seemingly big topics like puberty and gender approachable for young people, with Taylor’s idea of radical self love infiltrated through the messaging. This book includes questions asked by real kids between the ages of 10 and 14. Taylor approaches many of these questions using her own life stories to humanize the experience, and answer the questions as a friend, someone the reader knows, rather than an unapproachable health expert. “Red Moon Gang: An Inclusive Guide to Periods” by Tara Costello According to UNICEF, 1.8 billion people around the world menstruate monthly but menstrual health education in the United States is not sufficient. YouGov found that 48% of adults “were not very or not at all prepared” for their first period, in a March 2023 poll. In comes Red Moon Gang, which takes an inclusive guide into periods, hormonal fluctuations and what they mean, and how conditions like endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome can impact one’s cycle. This book goes beyond what is typically taught in schools, explaining how periods can be especially challenging to people experiencing homelessness, as well as people with disabilities. “My Mom Had an Abortion” by Beezus B. Murphy For those who love visuals, this short and sweet graphic novel tells a coming of age story of a protagonist learning about menstruation, her body and abortion as it affected her family. This narrative puts the topic of abortion in context of a real-life situation, making the reader – especially those who have not experienced abortion themselves – question their own preconceived notions about abortion. “You’re the Only One I’ve Told” by Dr. Meera Shah Chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic in New York, Dr. Meera Shah, compiled a collection of abortion stories told to her, humanizing the experience and illustrating the wide range of circumstances that contribute to one’s decision to have an abortion. Shah shared an excerpt in Teen Vogue that tells the experience of a genderqueer teen in the Bible belt that needs their dad’s permission to have the procedure due to abortion restrictions in theri state. “No Choice: The Destruction of Roe v. Wade and the Fight to Protect a Fundamental American Right” by Becca Andrews Reckon’s very own former reproductive justice reporter Becca Andrews gives an in-depth look at the fight for Roe and the landscape left behind once it was overturned. This is a great read for anyone looking to catch up with how the battle for abortion rights has gone down, or for those looking for insight into the history that got us here. “Countering Abortionsplaining: How People of Color Can Reclaim Our Stories and Right History” by Renee Bracey Sherman and Regine Mahone Abortion and midwifery bans are rooted in white supremacy, as the existence of Black and Indigenous midwives stood in the way of white men’s obstetrics and gynecology practices, and enslaved women using cotton root to induce miscarriages threatened future generations for slaveholders to force into labor, according to New Lines Magazine. Abortion restrictions continue to disproportionately impact people of color, with 42% of people receiving abortions in 2021 identifying as Black. Yet, many prominent media abortion portrayals and the reproductive justice movement itself have been accused of being white-washed by women of color. We spoke with author Renee Bracey Sherman in October about her take on Britney Spears and the importance of sharing abortion stories. Bracey Sherman coauthors this book with journalist Regine Mahone, attempting to provide the full picture of the reproductive justice narrative, providing a history of people of color’s experiences with and contributions to the abortion justice movement. Scheduled to release in October 2024 “DIY: The Wonderfully Weird Science and History of Masturbation” by Dr. Eric Sprankle Science says that masturbation is healthy and normal, yet like other aspects of human sexuality, it is surrounded by stigma and shame. Sprankle writes about the history of masturbation suppression, including doctors who run treatment programs for masturbation addiction and pastors who preach believe that masturbation creates mermaids. On sale March 19, 2024 “The Furies: Women, Vengeance and Justice” by Elizabeth Flock This book crosses borders and cultures to explore how power dynamics and gender impact women’s safety. Author Elizabeth Flock centers the stories of an Alabama women denied protection of the Stand-Your-Ground law after she killed a man she accused of raping her, a leader of an Indian gang that claims to avenge victims of domestic abuse, and a member of an all-women militia that’s battled ISIS in Syria. According to the book description, each of these women “chose to use lethal force to gain power, safety, and freedom when the institutions meant to protect them—government, police, courts—utterly failed to do so.” On sale January 9, 2024 “The Pregnancy Police: Conceiving Crime, Arresting Personhood” by Grace Howard Fetal personhood and pregnancy criminalization were major issues in 2023, but they aren’t a new phenomenon. Even before the overturning of Roe, people have been punished for the decisions they’ve made regarding their fetuses, with surveillance by healthcare workers contributing to cases against pregnant people. In this book, Howard analyzes thousands of arrest records documenting the history of pregnancy criminalization from eugenics to the present day. Scheduled to release in June 2024

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4politics

What to know about Mayor Wus Electeds of Color holiday party and why its caused such a stir

On Tuesday, an email went out from Wu’s office to the full City Council, inviting them to an annual “Electeds of Color Holiday Party” at the Parkman House, the city-owned mansion on Beacon Hill. The news about Boston Mayor Michelle Wu holding an “Electeds of Color Holiday Party” has stirred a good deal of controversy. Here’s what you need to know. But about 15 minutes later, a Wu administration staff member sent out a second message apologizing for the gaffe, according to copies of the emails obtained by NBC 10 Boston. “I wanted to apologize for my previous email regarding a Holiday Party for tomorrow,” the follow-up message said, according to copies of the emails obtained by NBC10 Boston. “I did send that to everyone by accident, I apologize if my email may have offended or came across as so.” Advertisement What happened next The mistake made headlines and generated criticism for the party’s exclusion of white elected officials, but Wu and others said the “Electeds of Color” party is a longstanding tradition and just one of multiple holiday celebrations the city throws. “There are many, many events that are private events for all different sorts of groups, and so we’ve clarified that and look forward to seeing everyone at one of the other dozens of opportunities to celebrate the holidays together,” Wu said in video from NBC 10. Wu called the email “just an honest mistake.” She also said her office had spoken to councilors to address the matter, according to video from WCVB-TV. “We’ve had individual conversations with everyone so people understand that it was truly just an honest mistake that went out in typing the email field, and I look forward to celebrating with everyone at the holiday parties that we will have besides this one,” she said. Wu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. Advertisement What has the reaction been? Councilor Frank Baker said the situation was “divisive” but also that he wasn’t offended to not be invited. “You don’t want me at a party, I’m not going to come to the party,” Baker told NBC10. Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune, in a separate NBC10 interview, disagreed. “It’s not at all divisive,” Louijeune told the station. “It’s creating spaces for people and communities and identities with shared experiences to come together.” Councilor Ricardo Arroyo addressed the controversy in a social media post that poked fun at Wu’s critics. “Never let facts get in the way of some manufactured outrage,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Electeds of Color has existed for over a decade and the holiday party is an annual tradition. Wait until someone tells them about the Congressional Black Caucus or MA Black and Latino Legislative Caucus. The horror!!” Councilor Sharon Durkan said in a statement to the Globe that she wasn’t bothered that she wasn’t invited. “It’s a really busy season!” Durkan said. “As a new elected official, I’ve been inundated with invites to holiday events. I’m not the least bit offended to not be included in this long-standing get together. What is new this season is how many elected officials of color represent our City and State. Let’s be clear, that’s an amazing thing and I hope attendees had a blast last night.” Reached by phone on Thursday, Baker, and councilors Liz Breadon, Julia Mejia, and Councilor Kendra Lara declined to comment. The other members of the council did not immediately respond to inquiries. Advertisement How Wu responded Asked for comment, Wu’s office said that no city funds were used to pay for the party and provided a recording of the mayor speaking to reporters outside the Parkman House before the party on Wednesday night. “I am honored to be a part of this group,” Wu said. “It is a longstanding affinity group that has grown in recent years here in Boston and Massachusetts. Think of the congressional black caucus or the Black and Latino ... legislative caucus at the State House. This is one that spans all levels of government and is a space for people to build coalitions and represent communities.” “There are many, many such coalitions that exist, and each one should have their own space to connect and build and do that work,” Wu continued. “And holiday season is a great time just to get together and enjoy each other’s company as well. I’m proud to host many, many of these across all different types of coalitions.” Wu posted a statement to Instagram late Thursday afternoon alongside a photograph from the party that showed her sitting at a table with about 16 other guests, saying that it had been her turn to host the celebration. “Last night was my turn to host the annual holiday dinner for Boston’s elected officials of color — a special moment to appreciate that our affinity group now includes leadership across city, state, county, and federal offices,” Wu said. Advertisement “Not too long ago in Boston, we didn’t need such a big table to fit electeds of color,” she continued. “But over my time as a City Councilor and now Mayor, following so many leaders who have paved the way, I’ve proudly watched this group grow and create space for mentorship and fellowship among many who are breaking down barriers while holding the weight of being the first or only. Throughout the year, we work to represent our communities with urgency and determination. And at the holidays, we take the time to celebrate and enjoy each other’s company!” What others say David Giannotti, public education and communications division chief of the Massachusetts Ethics Commission said he could not comment on specific matters or “confirm or deny whether the commission is reviewing any matters.” “Generally speaking, public resources, such as public facilities, may not be used for non-public purposes,” Giannotti said. Chris Sinacola, a spokesman for the Pioneer Institute, a conservative think tank, said officials there “cannot think of any legal rules that the party invitation would have violated.” Adam Hosein, a faculty member at The Ethics Institute at Northeastern University said he saw no issue with the party. “It’s perfectly acceptable for elected officials of color to get together to discuss their shared experiences and challenges,” said Hosein, who is an associate professor of philosophy, an affiliate law professor, and director of the Politics, Philosophy, and Economics Program at Northeastern. “The Mayor is part of a group like that, it was her turn to host the group’s holiday party, and she didn’t use public funds to support the event.” Advertisement “Parties are fun, but they can also be a chance for people to connect on a personal level and reflect on work they have been doing together,” said Hosein, who specializes in moral, political, and legal philosophy with a special interest in issues relating to race and gender. “It’s not bad manners to bring together the elected officials of color so that they can share in this way.” Tonya Alanez and Nick Stoico of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Jeremy C. Fox can be reached at jeremy.fox@globe.com. Follow him @jeremycfox.

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5science

Stefanik, whose aggressive questioning of Gay went viral, claimed credit for her exit.

Representative Elise Stefanik of New York, whose questions during a congressional hearing last month put Dr. Claudine Gay and two other prominent university administrators on the spot about antisemitism on their campuses, took a victory lap Tuesday afternoon after Dr. Gay announced her resignation as president of Harvard University. “TWO DOWN,” Ms. Stefanik crowed on social media, accented by three red siren emojis. Last month, the president of the University of Pennsylvania, M. Elizabeth Magill, resigned just four days after she testified before Congress and evaded Ms. Stefanik’s aggressive line of questioning about whether students who called for the genocide of Jews should be punished. The contentious exchanges between Ms. Stefanik and all three university presidents came at the tail end of a five-hour congressional hearing called by House Republicans on the rise of antisemitism on college campuses. The moment went viral, forcing the trio of presidents, including Sally Kornbluth of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to clarify their responses and leading to a period of intense scrutiny on all three. In Ms. Gay’s case, that prompted an examination of her past work that fueled plagiarism charges, ultimately causing her to step down on Tuesday.

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3entertainment

How to watch Celebrity Jeopardy! semifinal episode on Jan. 16 for free

“Celebrity Jeopardy!” continues on ABC with a new episode this Tuesday, Jan. 16 at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT — its third semifinal for the season. For those without cable who want to watch the new episode, they can do so for free through either FuboTV and DirecTV Stream. Both platforms offer a free trial for new users. You can also watch the series the next day on Hulu, which offers a free first month when you sign up, followed by payments as low as $7.99 per month thereafter. FuboTV said in a description of the third semifinal episode for the show’s second season that celebrity contestants are Rachel Dratch, Mo Rocca, and Heather McMahan. How can I watch “Celebrity Jeopardy!″ for free without cable? The new episode is available to watch through either FuboTV or DirecTV Stream. Both offer free trials to new users. You can also watch the series the next day on Hulu, which offers a free first month when you sign up, followed by payments as low as $7.99 per month thereafter. 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. DirecTV also offers a free trial for any package you sign up.

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3entertainment

Was a Scandal the Best Thing to Happen to Hasan Minhaj?

Finishing a story about a girl cheating on him in 11th grade, Hasan Minhaj turned to the audience at the Beacon Theater in Manhattan during the first of two shows on Friday night and said, “Don’t fact-check me.” The crowd came alive at this nod to the recent New Yorker article by Clare Malone exposing several of his onstage stories as fabrications. “I had to go head-to-head with one of the most dangerous organizations in the world,” he said, adding that he didn’t mean the U.S. military or the Israeli Defense Forces. “I am talking about a white woman with a keyboard.” Then he mocked the article as “water is wet” obvious before describing it as a sign of success. “I’ve made it: I got a real old scandal,” he said, adding, “A dorky scandal.” With regret in his voice, Minhaj said he didn’t molest a child or sleep with a porn star: “I got caught embellishing for dramatic effect.” Typical crisis management dictates you should move on, not fixate. But in our attention economy, where the most popular Netflix specials of the past year featured Chris Rock talking about the Slap and John Mulaney joking about going to rehab, comedians are wise to consider Rahm Emanuel’s famous political advice: Never let a good crisis go to waste. Minhaj split the difference. He did not linger on the story but dedicated a solid chunk of jokes to it that got one of the biggest responses of the night. There were moments when I even thought this scandal might be the best thing that ever happened to him.

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6sports

Red Sox look like theyre giving up on Shohei Ohtani (report)

In a tournament that featured more than 50 teams from throughout Massachusetts, two local wrestlers won their weight classes during Mahar’s Senators All-Girls Tournament. Samantha Bertini led Ludlow to a sixth-place finish on the day as she took first in the 107-pound weight class. Bertini won via fall in each of her four bouts, defeating wrestlers from Boston Latin, Leominster, Wellesley and Scituate en route to winning her weight class.

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3entertainment

Elton John Joins the EGOT Club. What Does That Mean?

Elton John became the 19th person to secure an EGOT — the playful acronym for winning an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony — when he won an Emmy on Monday night for “Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium.” The award was given for outstanding live variety special. John won a Tony for the score of “Aida” (2000) and Oscars for “Can You Feel the Love Tonight" in “The Lion King” (1995) and “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” in “Rocketman” (2020). He has won five Grammys, including for “That’s What Friends Are For” (1986), with Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick and Stevie Wonder. Eighteen other people have won EGOTs, including the “Frozen” songwriter Robert Lopez, the only person to do it twice. Before John, the most recent addition to the club was the actress Viola Davis, who earned a Grammy last year for the audiobook of her memoir. She is one of six women with an EGOT. So who has an EGOT, where did the acronym come from, and what does it really take to earn the accolade?

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6sports

How can Patriots avoid flag that triggered Chiefs meltdown? Its pretty simple

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

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4politics

Donald Trumps 2024 Campaign, in His Own Menacing Words

To house the evacuees of Grindavik, the Icelandic town where lava poured into some houses last week after a volcanic eruption, a former prime minister proposed building a new town from scratch. A politician said Airbnbs around the island nation should be restricted to make room for the residents. And a radio host suggested turning away asylum seekers to focus resources on helping “refugees” from Grindavik. “To evacuate 1 percent of the nation,” Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir said, “is a major challenge.” Grindavik, a fishing town in southwestern Iceland, is still under the threat of volcanic eruptions, and experts consider it uninhabitable in the near future. About 3,700 people lived there before the eruption, a significant number of residents for Iceland, whose total population is only 400,000. The authorities are scrambling to house the residents and contain their financial losses, and the issue is dominating the national debate. Residents of the town are living in hotel rooms, in summer cottages, in temporary rental apartments or are being hosted by family members.

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2culture

Dear Annie: My friend wont co-sign my daughters loan and now Im miffed

Dear Annie: My daughter recently and courageously moved across the country to the city her godmother lives in. I chose this friend to be her god mom based on what I thought was a beautiful bond the two had with each other. I adopted my daughter when she was in her late teens after a heck of a time in the foster care system. My friend gave my daughter a dear nickname early on and lavished praise on her to no end. Fast-forward 15 years later, and my daughter obtained a master’s degree, bought herself a new car, has great credit and is otherwise doing well. Because my daughter has no rental history, the management company at the apartment she applied to wanted a co-signer. My daughter decided to ask her godmother to co-sign for her, adding, “I have significant cash that I could give to you to hold until you could be removed as co-signer.” Her godmother replied, “No. I won’t be doing that. Welcome to adulting.” When my daughter shared this with me I was floored! I immediately told my daughter that I would co-sign myself, which, of course, I did. Annie, am I wrong to be offended to the point of no longer wanting contact with my “friend”? I am shocked and disgusted at how she treated my daughter. No reasoning, no discussion, no contact with me to ask me anything about it. A few weeks later, she sent my daughter a text as if nothing was wrong. I thought about talking to her about this but frankly can’t imagine what she could say to me that would make how she handled this OK. I feel like I don’t know who she is anymore. Am I being unreasonable cutting this “friend” off? — Godmother Goes Awry Dear Godmother Goes Awry: I would certainly talk to your friend before jumping to any conclusions. Everyone has a different parenting philosophy; clearly hers is “sink or swim.” Perhaps she thinks she is doing your daughter a service by forcing her to figure things out for herself. Or perhaps she doesn’t have the money. Another good guess is that, like many people, she has an inordinate fear of financial commitments. Their attitude is, “Anything to do with money, or signing a contract, forget about it.” This seems possible because your daughter offered to give her the cash as security, and she did not want any part of anything to do with this. Regardless of the explanation, it seems that your friend and your daughter have a unique relationship, and you should do all you can to keep it intact. More importantly, how does your daughter feel about her godmother’s response? If she is upset, you should encourage the two of them to have a conversation as well. If she’s not upset, then you should certainly let it go. Dear Annie: My son is getting married in a year. He has sent out save the dates to family and friends. He sent one to his cousin and his cousin’s fiancee. Two months later, the same cousin and fiancee sent out wedding invites for their own wedding (taking place two months before my son’s) and did not include my son’s fiancee. I spoke with my nephew to see what happened. He said it was a mistake but he would need to wait to see if others reply no before inviting my soon-to-be daughter-in-law. It is going to be a fairly large wedding, and I feel like my nephew should remedy the situation now and not later. At this point, if my son’s fiancee is not invited, then the rest of our immediate family, including myself, do not want to attend my nephew’s wedding. — Irritated Aunt Dear Irritated Aunt: Your nephew’s logic doesn’t make much sense. If it was a mistake that your son’s fiancee never got her invite, then it shouldn’t really matter how the other guests RSVP. I would speak to your son directly about the matter, and then have him reach out to his cousin and explain why it’s important for his fiancee to receive an invite sooner rather than later. “How Can I Forgive My Cheating Partner?” is out now! Annie Lane’s second anthology — featuring favorite columns on marriage, infidelity, communication and reconciliation — is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit http://www.creatorspublishing.com for more information. Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS.COM

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0business

Westfield officials say $80K renovation is making memorial park more open, accessible

WESTFIELD — Elizabeth Parker Memorial Park has been renovated over the past year and more work is coming this spring. Located across from Westfield Middle School on West Silver Street, in between Howard and Holland Streets, the park hosts the city’s war memorials, and hosts the Veterans Day and Memorial Day ceremonies.

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1crime

Investigation into Dedham stabbing that ended with 1 dead continues

Two people have been arrested days after a 22-year-old man was brazenly shot and killed inside a hibachi restaurant in Brockton, Massachusetts, officials announced Monday night. Citing an "around-the-clock investigation," Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz announced the arrests Monday night in connection with Joe Araujo's shooting death Friday night at Hibachi Sushi Supreme Buffet on Crescent Street. The men, whose names were not released, are scheduled to be arraigned in Brockton District Court on Tuesday. Officials didn't say what charges they are facing. BROCKTON SHOOTING UPDATE A non-stop investigation by @MassStatePolice @BrocktonPolice leads to 2 men under arrest tonight charged in connection with the brazen fatal shooting of a man inside a Brockton restaurant. The pair are scheduled to be arraigned in BDC tomorrow. — DA Tim Cruz (@PlymouthCtyDAO) January 16, 2024 Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters. Joe Araujo was 22 years old. He was inside the Hibachi Sushi Supreme Buffet on Friday night when a man wearing a ski mask walked in and opened fire, killing him. The entire thing was caught on surveillance video. Follow NBC10 Boston on... Instagram: instagram.com/nbc10boston TikTok: tiktok.com/@nbc10boston Facebook: facebook.com/NBC10Boston X: twitter.com/NBC10Boston Araujo's family told NBC10 Boston earlier Monday that they were searching for answers after their loved one was gunned down, leaving them shocked and heartbroken. The 22-year-old leaves behind two children. “It’s been like hell. Nothing could take this pain away,” his sister Andrea Monteiro said. As the family started to plan his funeral, they were left wondering who could do such a thing, vowing to find justice. "Who did this to my son?" Ana Inocencio said. "He has to pay. Sooner or later he has to pay." The entire incident was caught on surveillance video, which the district attorney’s office released on Saturday with a warning for graphic content. The video shows the brazen gunman walk right up to the victim's table, pull out a gun and shoot Araujo at point blank range before fleeing. There were families with children inside at the time, and the video shows their mad dash to safety. "This video just replays in my head over and over and over," Monteiro said, telling us she forced herself to watch the video of her younger brother's final moments one time. "Something that I can never get out my head. Ever." One person was shot dead in a restaurant in Brockton and investigators say it was a targeted attack. The district attorney's office had said they believed Araujo was targeted by the suspect who was wearing a mask at the time of the shooting. "I just don’t understand why," Vera Lopes said of the shooting that claimed her brother's life. "He was loved by many," Monteiro added. The grieving family was hoping someone would see the video and help them get justice. “I just want you to come forward, even if you don’t give a name, even if you drop a letter in one of our mailboxes, anything, any little hint, we’ll take it,” Monteiro said before the arrests were announced. "We're gonna get justice. We're gonna find who this person is. Even if we stay awake day and night and we don't get rest, we're gonna find the killer." A person is dead after a shooting inside a restaurant Friday evening. Police said Friday that officers responded to the Crescent Street restaurant around 7:25 p.m. and found one victim with life-threatening injuries. The man was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The victim was identified on Saturday as Araujo, of Brockton. The district attorney's office had said this was not a random act of violence. Witnesses told NBC10 Boston on Friday that a man with a mask walked in and opened fire on someone inside the restaurant. Araujo was the only person injured in the shooting. Police were seen outside the restaurant on Friday searching a vehicle with yellow crime scene tape wrapped around it, but so far no information has been released on its relevance. The sushi restaurant is located in a strip mall, right next to a furniture store, a Dollar Tree store and some other restaurants. People nearby say it's generally a safe area. "This plaza is super busy usually, and it's pretty safe," said Satish Patel, of Brockton Liquors. "I have never worried about it. Until like 10 o'clock at night it's pretty safe." An investigation is active and ongoing by state and local police.

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1crime

Reports: Bradley Rein, driver in Hingham Apple Store crash, in custody for GPS issue

The Hingham man accused of crashing a car through an Apple Store last November and killing a person in the crowd he ran over is being held pending a mental health evaluation after officials said he again did not charge his court-ordered GPS monitor, according to reports from multiple outlets. Bradley Rein, 53, was called to Plymouth District Court on Dec. 27, where prosecutors said the GPS device he’s required to wear died on Dec. 22, CBS Boston reported.

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3entertainment

Reggie Wells, Makeup Artist for Oprah Winfrey and Other Black Stars, Dies at 76

“Roll me up and smoke me when I die,” Willie Nelson sang from the stage of the Hollywood Bowl during his 90th birthday celebration in April. As usual, Mr. Nelson looked very much at ease. He was wearing a cowboy hat over a red bandanna, and his hair spilled down his back. His trusty guitar, a road-worn classical acoustic model named Trigger, hung from the red, white and blue strap around his neck. At his side was his longtime friend, the equally relaxed Snoop Dogg. The duet with Snoop was one of many high points for Mr. Nelson in 2023, when fans and colleagues expressed their appreciation for one of the great survivors of American cultural life. In February, he won the Grammy for best country album. Two months later, he was joined by Beck, Rosanne Cash, the Chicks, Gary Clark Jr., Sheryl Crow, Keith Richards and other artists for the two-night Hollywood Bowl concert. In November, shortly after his latest book, “Energy Follows Thought: The Stories Behind My Songs,” appeared in indie bookstores and Wal-Marts alike, Mr. Nelson was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. This month, CBS broadcast the Hollywood Bowl concert; and a four-part documentary retrospective, “Willie Nelson & Family,” started streaming on Paramount+.

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3entertainment

How to watch Love & Marriage: Huntsville Dec. 23 new episode for free

The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) series “Love & Marriage: Huntsville” continues on Saturday, Dec. 23 at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT with a new episode. Those without cable can watch the new episode for free through Philo, FuboTV or DirecTV Stream, each of which offer a free trial to new users. “Three high-powered African-American couples come together to help the thriving city of Huntsville, Ala., continue to grow in ‘Love & Marriage: Huntsville,’” FuboTV said in a description of the series. “The couples are longtime friends and avid socialites with very strong points of view,” it added. “They help the town grow with their real estate venture, the Comeback Group, as they strive to face the realities of love and marriage while striving for success.” The new episode is titled “Houston, We Have a Keke!″ according to FuboTV, which added in a description, “The Fletchers host a day of Team Building, but things take an unexpected turn when KeKe surprises the group; Martell finally addresses the Melody Rodgers Fans, and Tisha and Mel get on the same page; KeKe refuses to leave.” How can I watch “Love & Marriage: Huntsville” for free without cable? The new episode is available to watch on Philo, FuboTV or DirecTV Stream, each of which offer free trials to new users. What is Philo? Philo is an over-the-top internet live TV streaming service that offers 60+ entertainment and lifestyle channels, like AMC, BET, MTV, Comedy Central and more, for the budget-friendly price of $25/month. What is FuboTV? FuboTV is an over-the-top internet live TV streaming service that offers more than 100 channels, 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. DirecTV also offers a free trial for any package you sign up.

fa6def85511e1c3a7b2c63355bbc64ad

6sports

Jerod Mayo to interview current Patriots coach for major promotion (report)

The hype continues to build as we lead up to the 2024 Royal Rumble at Florida’s Tropicana Field on Jan. 27. Intercontinental Champion Gunther recently announced his involvement in the Royal Rumble match, when he reveled his participation on WWE RAW on Jan. 15, according to cultaholic.com. The site also lists confirmed matches that night, other than the Men’s Royal Rumble and Women’s Royal Rumble: Roman Reigns vs. LA Knight vs. Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles - Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Logan Paul vs. Kevin Owens - WWE United States Championship Tickets are starting at $137 per seat on VividSeats and $151 per seat on StubHub. Fans who can’t make it in person can sign up for Peacock. Ticket prices are as of Tuesday, Jan. 16. Cultaholic also revealed that CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Bobby Lashley will all be in the Royal Rumble. As or the women’s Royal Rumble, Bayley, Nia Jax, Becky Lynch, and Bianca Belair have all declared for that match. Check out highlights from last year’s Royal Rumble:

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0business

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.

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3entertainment

Saturday Night Live with Jacob Elordi, Rene Rapp: How to watch for free

Jacob Elordi will host the newest episode of “Saturday Night Live” on January 13 and Reneé Rapp will perform. The newest episode of “SNL” will be hosted by the Australian actor, Jacob Elordi and singer, songwriter and actress Reneé Rapp will perform. It will air at 11:30 p.m. EST on NBC. Viewers looking to stream the new episode can do so by using FuboTV or DirecTV Stream. Both streaming services offer free trials for new users. Here is a look at the new episode from Saturday Night Live’s YouTube Channel: How can I watch “Saturday Night Live” without cable? The newest episode of “SNL” will be hosted by the Australian actor, Jacob Elordi and singer, songwriter and actress Reneé Rapp will perform. It will air at 11:30 p.m. EST on NBC. Viewers looking to stream the new episode can do so by using FuboTV or DirecTV Stream. Both streaming services offer free trials for new users. 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. DirecTV also offers a free trial for any package you sign up.

ca11233eeadf27b1ffb0e615d117521b

6sports

Bills vs. Dolphins: Live stream, how to watch Week 18 NFL game

The Patriots looked as if they were going to send Sunday’s Week 12 game against the New York Giants to overtime. But rookie kicker Chad Ryland shanked what would have been the game-tying, 35-yard field goal to extend New England’s losing streak to four games. Now at 2-9 on the season, the Patriots essentially have their eyes on a top draft pick in 2024. It didn’t seem as if they could get any lower, but Sunday proved rock bottom has yet to be reached. While some fans were still frustrated that the Patriots couldn’t muster up a win, it seemed a majority of them were satisfied with Ryland’s missed kick so New England can get into better draft position. $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. I am buying a Chad Ryland jersey immediately Greatest miss in the history of the New England Patriots — Football (@BostonConnr) November 26, 2023 Chad Ryland understood the assignment — Rob (@rob_thibeault) November 26, 2023 Worse than losing by missing a 35-yard chip shot is playing as bad as we did, winning, and getting a lower draft pick. I’d rather go through the pains of a tank season and have something to show for it in the draft. — Mich (@mich1128) November 26, 2023 Chad Ryland: the only kicker who misses a lay-up field goal and immediately becomes a fan favorite. — Nick Godin (@FlyingOrr) November 26, 2023 CHAD RYLAND MY KING 🙏 THANK YOU — Kaley Brown (@kaley8711) November 26, 2023 CHAD RYLAND!!! BELICHICK PLAYING CHESS OVER CHECKERS GETTING RID OF FOLK — Matt Couture (@MattCouture5) November 26, 2023 Chad Ryland may have unintentionally been the Pats best pick in years. Key L — Brad Spielberger, Esq. (@PFF_Brad) November 26, 2023 Chad Ryland doing the lord’s work there tbh — BenchwarmerBran (@BenchwarmerBran) November 26, 2023 The Patriots are 2-9 for the first time since 1992 and finished 2-14 that year. The quarterback situation is a mess, Bill Belichick’s job security has been called into question week after week and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of hope that the 2023 will end positively with a winning season out of the question. It’s clear many fans are on to 2024 in hopes of obtaining a high draft pick, which will remain possible so long as the Patriots keep losing.

9fc683df1f9cd22c102ebca48340b062

6sports

Saint Marys 2023-24 winter sports season tips off

WESTFIELD – Two years ago, the St. Mary’s High School girls basketball team opened the season with 10 straight wins. Last year, the Saints put together a near perfect regular season before falling to No. 25 Prospect Hill in the Division 5 girls basketball state tournament preliminary round, 47-30, on the road in Medford at Saint Clement’s gym. Can St. Mary’s put together another hot start? Those answers will soon come to light.

d428c05041454b4cd7674fd073e45492

5science

A Pilates Routine You Can Do Anywhere in Under 10 Minutes

Pilates has been hugely popular for the last 10 years, and for good reason. But joining a studio with a professional instructor or buying home equipment is expensive, especially if you have never even tried the workouts. Fortunately, you can get many of the same benefits of studio-based Pilates at home with nothing more than a mat and your body. Pilates, created during World War I under the name Contrology, is a method of exercise that involves low-impact movements done in a slow and controlled way, often using a wheeled platform called a reformer. The exercises can ease low back pain, build muscle and strengthen your core, especially as you recover from pregnancy. A few small studies even suggest Pilates can help with cardiovascular health, though it’s best to do it alongside other workouts like weight lifting, running or walking, said Benjamin Gordon, a professor of applied physiology and kinesiology at the University of Florida. But you don’t have to go to a studio or buy a Pilates machine to try it out. Studies suggest it’s possible to do it with just a mat and still see some benefits such as better posture, strength and flexibility along with lower blood pressure and reduced arthritis pain.

57cf1f7f6345804c53a9beee5d2cdd2a

6sports

No. 5 Duke Beats No. 11 Boston College in 2OT to Win Fifth Straight

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