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MBTA to submit report detailing plan to address worker safety

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:52 GMT

The MBTA is set to submit a plan to federal regulators on Monday detailing ways it plans to address worker safety issues.They say a plan submitted by the MBTA earlier this month needs to be redone immediately because it includes fixes not scheduled to be complete until late this year, or next year. Federal officials say worker safety needs to be addressed within the next 60 days and longer-term actions can come later. If they can’t come up with a plan and comply with the federal requirements officials say they won’t allow workers onto the tracks.In a separate letter, federal authorities approve of the T’s restructuring plan to focus on train safety issues but write, “FTA remains concerned about the staffing levels within the Safety Department.”They say MBTA officials need to fast-track their efforts to staff it, and provide weekly updates to federal officials.Riders are waiting to see what it means for them.

Mostly unsettled work week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:52 GMT

A cool, unsettled pattern remains in place this week as a dip in the jet stream parks itself over New England. Temperatures are expected to range from the low 60s to low 70s, with average highs this time of year at 72 degrees. Scattered showers are expected Monday morning, but we will likely see some sunshine Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning, but it’ll be brief.Showers return Tuesday afternoon, even some thunder possible, as an upper-level low backs moves over the area. After several days of rain chances, conditions finally improve by the weekend.

After a ‘damper’ of a weekend in Massachusetts, summerlike weather should return next weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:52 GMT

After the first weekend of June was cool and raw, far from ideal for a beach trip, will next weekend feel more like summer?National Weather Service meteorologists are seeing encouraging signs that warmer temperatures and drier days will arrive in Massachusetts for the second weekend of June.But ahead of next weekend, the region will have a chance of rain showers each day, including at least one day with a chance for some thunderstorms. Temps should remain cooler than average during the workweek until a warm up toward the weekend.“While this weekend was obviously a damper, next weekend should look considerably better,” Andrew Loconto, meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Boston office, told the Herald on Sunday.The weather on Sunday felt more like mid-April than the first weekend of June, as temps remained stuck in the 50s along with periods of rain.The workweek should start off with a continuation of the weekend, with a lot of clouds but fewer rain showe...

New Hampshire murder-suicide suspect had lengthy criminal history: ‘We grieve for the family’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:52 GMT

The 42-year-old man accused of killing his toddler daughter and her mother before taking his own life over the weekend had a lengthy criminal history, according to New Hampshire court records.Jamie Bell allegedly shot to death his 18-month-old daughter Ariella Bell and her 35-year-old mother Nicole Hughes in Franklin on Saturday. He later took his own life, and his body was found on the banks of the Merrimack River.Bell is also accused of shooting Hughes’ 5-year-old daughter from another relationship. The girl’s injuries were non-life-threatening, and she was taken to a Massachusetts hospital.“I am reaching out regarding the tragedy that impacted our community yesterday,” the superintendent of Franklin Schools, Dan LeGallo, wrote to families on Sunday. “We grieve for the family and are grateful that the student involved is out of the hospital and recovering.”Police on Saturday at around noon were alerted by neighbors on Elkins Street that they had...

Jake Burger’s walk-off grand slam gives the Chicago White Sox a 6-2 win — and series sweep — vs. the Detroit Tigers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:52 GMT

Batting with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth inning of a tie game against the Detroit Tigers, Jake Burger just wanted to find a way to get a run home.He did — and more — hitting a game-ending grand slam to give the Chicago White Sox a 6-2 victory in front of 23,327 on Sunday at Guaranteed Rate Field.“Honestly, off the bat I didn’t think it was getting out,” Burger said. “I thought it was going to be off the wall, a single. But it went out and I’m still trying to come down from it a little bit.“First grand slam and first walk-off home run. Really exciting.”With the slam, the Sox completed a three-game sweep. Winners of four of five, they are 5½ games behind the first-place Minnesota Twins in the American League Central despite being nine games under .500 (26-35).“We needed that sweep,” Burger said. “We’ve got to keep getting results and putting it together.”Pitching led the way, as it d...

Aaron Judge dealing with sore toe, Nestor Cortes likely heading to IL

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:52 GMT

LOS ANGELES — It turned out Aaron Boone was right to think “oh no” when Aaron Judge barged through the Yankees’ bullpen at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, as the slugger banged his foot “pretty hard” on his eighth-inning door-busting catch.Boone specified that Judge hit his big toe on the concrete step that borders the bullpen and warning track in right field. Judge was “pretty sore” on Saturday night and Sunday morning, per Boone, but was moving around better Sunday afternoon.“I don’t know,” Boone said when asked if Judge will need a stint on the injured list. The manager then said, “Not at this point, but we’ll see how he is” over the next few days.“We’ll see,” Boone said when asked if Judge could come off the bench Sunday against the Dodgers.Judge said he felt fine after Saturday’s win, and he even joked, “I think the fence got most of it” after leaving a noticeable...

Josh Lester’s first major league hit fuels Orioles’ six-run inning in series-clinching 8-3 win over Giants

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:52 GMT

Josh Lester waited a long time for Sunday.Almost eight years to the day after he was drafted, Lester recorded his first major league hit, a bases-loaded single amid the Orioles’ six-run third inning that propelled them to an 8-3 victory and a road series win against the San Francisco Giants.Taken by the Detroit Tigers in the 13th round of the 2015 draft — three picks before Baltimore selected Cedric Mullins — Lester, 28, reached the majors last September but went 0-for-5 in two games as a Tiger. Signed as a minor league free agent this offseason, he impressed the Orioles in spring training with his ability to play the corner spots in both the infield and outfield and hit the ball consistently hard. After an impressive start for Triple-A Norfolk, with 14 home runs and an .888 OPS, Lester joined the Orioles (37-22) in San Francisco on Saturday.Manager Brandon Hyde cited the need for Lester’s left-handed bat ahead of a run of matchups with right-handed starters ...

Massachusetts pot shops closing in Worcester, Framingham, Northampton; a worker had died after packaging cannabis into pre-rolls

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:52 GMT

After the recreational marijuana market exploded in recent years across the Bay State, more pot shops will soon be shutting down around the region.Trulieve Cannabis Corp. recently announced that the marijuana giant will be winding down its operations in Massachusetts. The company’s dispensaries in Worcester, Framingham, and Northampton will close at the end of June, and Trulieve expects that it will cease all operations in the state by the end of the year.The cannabis behemoth made headlines last year when a worker who was packaging ground cannabis into pre-rolls at Trulieve’s cannabis processing facility in Holyoke suffered an asthma attack and later died in the hospital. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigated, and the company later settled with OSHA.Trulieve isn’t the first cannabis company to shut down pot shops in the state. Late last year, the Source became the first dispensary to close in Massachusetts. The store was located close to o...

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi calls on US audience to stand up for ‘modern India’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:52 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi pressed his criticism of the country’s leadership in a speech Sunday, calling for Indians in the U.S. and back home to stand up for democracy and the Indian constitution.Gandhi, a sharp critic of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was expelled from Parliament, accused Modi and his Bharativa Janata Party (BJP) of dividing the country and failing to focus on important issues such as unemployment and education.“To be nasty to people, to be arrogant, to be violent, these are not Indian values,” Gandhi, 52, told a crowd of about 700 at the Indian Overseas Congress USA event at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan. He spoke just after a minute of silence recognizing a massive train derailment in eastern India that killed 275 people and injured hundreds more. Gandhi has been on a three-city tour of the United States, including speaking engagements at Stanford University in California and the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.M...

Di Lorenzo becomes 1st Napoli player to lift Serie A trophy in 33 years; Ibrahimović retires

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:52 GMT

MILAN (AP) — As Giovanni Di Lorenzo became the first Napoli player to lift the Serie A trophy toward the sky since Diego Maradona, the stadium named after the Argentina great exploded into a sea of joy.Napoli had clinched its first Serie A title in 33 years with five rounds to spare but had to wait until the final day of the season to be presented with the trophy, in front of its own fans at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.Players danced joyously as they each took their turns lifting up the scudetto, while the song “We Are The Champions” was played.Di Lorenzo later led the team and the whole stadium in a rendition of “It’s us, it’s us, we are the champions of Italy.” That came during further celebrations that lasted around three hours after the trophy presentation, with performances by musicians along with speeches. At the beginning of the party there was a tribute to Maradona, and the crowd loudly chanted “Diego! Diego!”Napoli signed off from a stunning season with a 2-0 win over...