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Beverly Fire Department donates fire truck to help first responders in Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:25 GMT

The Beverly Fire Department sent support to Ukraine this week, donating one of its firetrucks to help first responders within Ukraine as the war in their country rages on. Massachusetts Fire Engine Six began its journey on Monday. Beyond Beverly, several other Massachusetts fire departments are also donating equipment. Beverly’s fire chief said its truck was used within Massachusetts for about 20 years. Now, he said he hopes it will help people in Ukraine. “For me, it was a real fitting way for it to go out,” Chief Peter O’Connor said. O’Connor said trucks often get sold at auction. “[T]hey might sit in a parking lot and just rust away,” O’Connor said. O’Connor said this alternate option marked a chance to see Beverly’s truck continue to help beyond its serviceable life in town. The fire truck is being shipped to Ukraine by a non-profit group. 

MBTA ferry service suspended Tuesday due to nor’easter, shuttle buses to replace Mattapan Line trolleys 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:25 GMT

Expected winter weather on Tuesday will cause disruptions for various MBTA transit options, with ferry service suspended and shuttle buses running in place of trolleys on the Mattapan Line. The MBTA announced winter weather disruptions on Monday. High winds and the direction of wind gusts are to blame for suspended ferry service, officials said. Wind and the potential for damage to 75-year-old trolleys running on the Mattapan Line, meanwhile, are to blame for disruptions there, according to the T. The T said bus routes are expected to remain unchanged, though buses may switch to snow routes if conditions worsen. Non-passenger trains will run on MBTA tracks to help keep them clear and to monitor overhead wires. Commuter Rail lines and RIDE service will operate as usual. The T said it will have emergency crews on standby for problems with rails, power systems, switches or flooding as winter weather moves through.The T is planning to have increased staffing in addit...

Jets re-sign kicker Greg Zuerlein: sources

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:25 GMT

After a solid season with the team, Gang Green has retained their kicker from last year.The Jets have re-signed Greg Zuerlein, according to a source. Terms of the deal were not disclosed as ESPN was the first to report Zuerlein’s deal.The Jets signed Zuerlein to compete with Eddy Pineiro during training camp last summer. Zuerlein converted 30-of-37 field goal attempts in 2022, which includes a Jets franchise record 60-yarder. He also made 28-of-29 extra points.Zuerlein provided stability to the Jets’ kicking situation after the team previously had seven kickers in three seasons. Throughout his 11-year career, Zuerlein has had a lot of success.After leading the NFL in scoring in 2017, Zuerlein was a first-team All-Pro and a Pro Bowl selection with the Rams. Then in 2020, Zuerlein signed a three-year contract with the Cowboys. However, after an erratic two seasons in Dallas Zuerlein was released by the Cowboys last offseason. ()

Ty Tabales’ heroics lift Worcester North past Newton North

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:25 GMT

TAUNTON — Newton North’s run to a Division 1 state title game appearance was valiant but in the end no match for Ty Tabales.With Newton North and Worcester North tied at 46 with four minutes to play, Tabales hit two crucial three-pointers as part of a 15-5 run that sent the Polar Bears to a 64-57 win over the No. 7 Tigers in the Division 1 state semifinals on Monday night at Taunton High School.Worcester North will play in the Division 1 state final against North Andover or Needham.“Our defense was the difference. These guys know how to defend the whole game and the whole way,” Worcester North coach Al Pettway said. “(Tabales) came up big for us too when we needed it.”The two sides were tied at 42 as the game entered the fourth quarter and remained even at 46 with just over five minutes remaining.That is when Tabales made his presence felt. The sophomore guard buried a triple, and then moments later drilled another off dribble penetration from Tahlan Pettway to put Worcester North u...

Unbeaten Andover girls rally past Wachusett

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:25 GMT

WOBURN — It took everything that the Andover girls basketball team had in the tank and more to remain undefeated.Trailing No. 4 Wachusett by seven points early in the third quarter, it didn’t look promising for the top seed in D1. But a stout defensive effort along with the duo of Anna Foley and Amelia Hanscom, the Golden Warriors found a way to get the job done in a 61-57 win over the Mountaineers.Andover (25-0) moves on to face No. 2 Bishop Feehan at the Tsongas Center in Lowell for the state title.“We have been in so many of these battles. This just adds another one to the list,” Andover coach Alan Hibino said. “Credit to Wachusett. They are an elite program and it took everything we had.”Wachusett (21-3) had a 10-point lead late in the first half before Andover went on a three-point barrage in the final moments of the half to get back in the game.Hanscom, who had 12 of her 16 points in the third quarter, cut the lead to four before Logan Baker’s three gave the Mountaineers a 36-...

President Biden heads to Democratic National Committee event in North County

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:25 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- President Joe Biden continues to make stops in the San Diego area Monday after meeting with British and Australian Prime Ministers to discuss the countries’ partnership and defense issues.FOX 5 captured video of Biden arriving via helicopter in Del Mar around 6:15 p.m. The president is headed to Rancho Santa Fe next for a Democratic National Committee meeting, according to White House officials.During a joint press conference Monday, leaders announced a historic deal that would modernize Australia’s naval fleet by equipping the country with nuclear-powered attack submarines through AUKUS (Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States) as China’s military influence has become a growing concern for world leaders. The plan features the three countries to roll out a phased approach to introduce these submarines with nuclear propulsion technology to the Australian military.The president's itinerary included previous stops at North Island Naval Air Station in Coronado, ...

Flood problems grow as new storm moves into California

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:25 GMT

WATSONVILLE, Calif. (AP) — Crews rushed to repair a levee break on a storm-swollen river in California’s central coast as yet another atmospheric river arrived Monday with the potential to wallop the state’s swamped farmland and agricultural communities. The Pajaro River’s first levee rupture grew to at least 400 feet (120 meters) since it failed late Friday, officials said. More than 8,500 people were forced to evacuate, and about 50 people had to be rescued as the water rose that night.Still, some stayed behind in Pajaro, an unincorporated community that’s known for its strawberry crops and is now mostly flooded. The largely Latino farmworker community there is already struggling to find food with so many roads and businesses closed in the storm’s aftermath.“Some people have nowhere to go and maybe that’s why there’s still people around,” resident Jorbelit Rincon said Monday. “Pretty much they don’t know where to go and don’t have money to...

North Korea launches 2 missiles to sea as allies hold drills

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:25 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea test-fired two short-range ballistic missiles Tuesday in another show of force after the U.S. and South Korea began military drills that Pyongyang views as an invasion rehearsal, its neighbors said.The missiles were launched from the southwestern coastal town of Jangyon and flew across North Korea before landing in the sea off that country’s east coast, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. It also said the South Korean military had boosted its surveillance posture and maintained readiness in close coordination with the United States.Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters that officials were still gathering details of the North Korean launches and there has been no immediate reports of damage in Japanese waters.Pyongyang could further escalate its weapons tests over the coming days in a tit-for-tat response to the allies’ military drills, which are planned to run until March 23. Last week North Korean leader Kim ...

California court rules for Uber, Lyft in ride-hailing case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:25 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — App-based ride hailing and delivery companies like Uber and Lyft can continue to treat their California drivers as independent contractors, a state appeals court ruled Monday, allowing the tech giants to bypass other state laws requiring worker protections and benefits.The ruling mostly upholds a voter-approved law, called Proposition 22, that said drivers for companies like Uber and Lyft are independent contractors and are not entitled to benefits like paid sick leave and unemployment insurance. A lower court ruling in 2021 had said Proposition 22 was illegal, but Monday’s ruling reversed that decision.“Today’s ruling is a victory for app-based workers and the millions of Californians who voted for Prop 22,” said Tony West, Uber’s chief legal officer. ”We’re pleased that the court respected the will of the people.”The ruling is a defeat for labor unions and their allies in the state Legislature who passed a law in 2019 requiring companies like ...

Haley wants entitlement program changes for younger people

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:25 GMT

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is proposing changes to entitlement programs for younger generations, opening the door to potential cuts to Social Security and Medicare if elected.At a campaign rally Monday night in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Haley promised not to touch the benefits of older people who retired with certain guarantees of a financial future.“We’re not taking it from seniors,” Haley said. “We’re not taking it to anyone who’s been promised anything. My parents are in their 80s. I don’t want anybody touching theirs.”But Haley, making her first campaign stop in South Carolina since launching her campaign last month, said her children, both of whom are in their 20s, are part of the generation for whom the benefits should be altered.“Those are the ones we tell the rules have changed — anyone new coming in this system,” said Haley, a former South Carolina governor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. “That’s how you do entitle...