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Springfield Central brings defense, ousts Brookline on road

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:25:32 GMT

BROOKLINE — Even with the 12th seed and a long layoff, defending state champion Springfield Central is still making noise in the Div. 1 bracket.In a loud and packed Schluntz Gymnasium, the Golden Eagles used a strong full court press and their size to take down No. 5 Brookline on the road 65-52 in the Division 1 second-round matchup.“Part of our scheme is that we want to play good defense,” said Springfield Central coach James Gee. “Open up the full-court defense and make teams make some bad decisions. We got in some foul trouble, so we had to pull back a little bit in the second half to play a little wiser.”Sophomore Angela Hector was a big part of fending off Brookline (17-5) in the fourth as she netted 10 of her team-high 24 points in the frame. She also gathered 17 rebounds, with 12 of those coming on the offensive end.From left, Brookline’s Talia Thompson, Faith Rothstein and Gigi McMahon go for a rebound against Springfield Central’s Julie Bahati. Brookline was ous...

Biden beats Trump in New Hampshire poll but most Dems want someone else

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:25:32 GMT

Most Democratic voters in New Hampshire want someone other than President Biden to run despite the fact he would beat former President Donald Trump in a second head-to-head presidential matchup, according to new polling.“In a hypothetical 2024 presidential matchup between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, Biden leads Trump 42% to 38%,” pollsters from Emerson College and 7 News WHDH found after sampling over 1,000 Granite State voters.Trump’s support in his own party has not suffered despite several ongoing investigations or the sense that some Republicans want to move on to new candidates amid a slowly broadening field. The 45th president, according to pollsters, would garner more than three times as much support as his closest theoretical rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, polling 58% to 17%, with New Hampshire’s Gov. Chris Sununu coming in third at 7% and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley at 6%.Former Vice President Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo showed 4% and 2% s...

Ang Catino, Spartans blank Peabody to reach Division 1 girls hockey semifinals

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:25:32 GMT

LYNN — As hard as it might be to believe, it had been a decade since the St. Mary’s girls hockey team had made it to the state semifinals.On Wednesday night at Connery Rink, the top-seeded Spartans finally got that monkey off their back, but it sure didn’t come easily.First-period goals from Tia Picardi and Jenna Champlain staked the Spartans to a 2-0 lead. Goaltender Ang Catino did the rest as she turned aside all 19 Peabody shots she faced to turn aside the upset bid from the No. 8 seeded Tanners.“It sure wasn’t pretty at times but we sure will take it,” St. Mary’s coach Frank Pagliuca said. “Peabody sure made it tough on us but our kids buckled down and got it done.”Peabody’s Hannah Gromyko tries to defend against Gabbi Oakes of St. Mary’s as she skates toward the net. St. Mary’s earned a 2-0 state tournament win. (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)The Tanners (18-5-0) held St. Mary’s (24-1-0) to only 14 shots but couldn’t take advantage of four power plays, thr...

‘Stand up and support each other:’ Healey joins coding girls for International Women’s Day

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:25:32 GMT

The first female governor of Massachusetts spent her first International Women’s Day learning a bit about binary code with young girls at the Curley K-8 School on Wednesday afternoon.“This is the best part of my week,” said Gov. Maura Healey. “This is Women’s History Month. Today is International Women’s Day, and we wanted to make a point of spending time with young girls.”The governor and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, along with a handful of local officials, piled into a brightly decorated classroom at the school with a group of 3rd through 5th grade girls participating in a Strong Women Strong Girls mentorship program Wednesday afternoon to mark the holiday and encourage some female empowerment.The politicians got to join in on a session learning about the Women Who Code founder — a non-profit helping girls advance in still male-dominated technology fields — and visualizing binary code with beads.Meanwhile, the girls got to chat with ...

Parents stunned after 'Teacher of the Year' arrest

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:25:32 GMT

NATIONAL CITY, Calif. -- Parents at Lincoln Acres Elementary School in National City are stunned after learning one of their most honored sixth-grade teachers, Jacqueline Ma, was arrested, suspected of inappropriate conduct with a child.Investigators have not detailed when the alleged abuse happened, but according to the  National City Police Department, it launched an investigation after a parent reported concerns that their 13-year-old child possibly had an inappropriate relationship with a former teacher.In an email and text message to parents, the National School District, made them aware that 34-year old Ma was taken into custody Tuesday morning on campus, away from students, after police say they found enough evidence to book her into jail on six felony counts, including lewd and lascivious acts and oral copulation with a child under 14. South Bay teacher suspected of ‘inappropriate relationship’ with ex-student arrested The superintendent released a statement whic...

Concert venue where 2 died in stampede has license denied

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:25:32 GMT

The license of a Rochester, New York, concert venue was revoked Wednesday while authorities investigate the circumstances of a stampede after a rap concert that left two women dead and injured several other concertgoers.“It is one step we can immediately take to ensure that the events of Sunday night are not repeated,” Police Chief David M. Smith said at a news conference. He said he denied the Main Street Armory’s application to renew its one-year entertainment license after the venue’s owner did not attend a scheduled meeting with police and other city officials.Rhondesia Belton, 33, of Buffalo and Brandy Miller, 35, of Rochester were fatally injured when audience members surged dangerously toward the exits following a Sunday evening performance by Memphis, Tennessee, rap stars GloRilla and Finesse2tymes. Police on Monday said the stampede may have been triggered by unfounded fears of gunfire. But police found no immediate evidence of gunshots.One woman remained hospit...

Friend warned police Americans feared missing in Mexico

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:25:32 GMT

LAKE CITY, S.C. (AP) — The frantic effort to rescue four Americans taken captive in Mexico in a kidnapping that left two of them dead came after a fifth person traveling with the group contacted police when they did not return to the U.S. side as expected.Cheryl Orange, who did not cross into Mexico with the others, told The Associated Press in a text message that her three friends were supposed to return within 15 minutes after dropping off their companion, Latavia McGee, for cosmetic surgery in the Mexican border city of Matamoros on Friday.Orange stayed behind at a motel in Brownsville, Texas, and said she grew concerned as the hours passed and she did not hear from the others.The five friends had driven a rented minivan from South Carolina on Thursday to the southern tip of Texas, according to a police report based on Orange’s account. Four of them left Friday morning around 8 a.m. to go to Mexico.Orange’s statements and the report offers the most detailed account so...

Japan revises GDP to nearly flat, showing fragile recovery

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:25:32 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s economy grew at an annual pace of 0.1% in October-December, in a downgrade from an earlier 0.6% increase, showing how the world’s third-largest economy was barely eking out growth.The Cabinet Office’s revised figure for seasonally adjusted gross domestic product, or GDP, for the last three months of 2022 showed growth on quarter was flat, down from an earlier estimate given in February at 0.2% growth.The annual rate shows what the growth would have been if the on-quarter rate continues for a year.Domestic demand shrank 0.3%, worse than the earlier release, showing a 0.2% decline, according to the data released Thursday. Public demand stood unchanged from the initial figure at plus 0.3%.The latest numbers underline Japan’s fragile recovery, although the easing of restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic has helped.Japan has struggled over a shortage of imported parts from China, and the rest of Asia, such as computer chips for the auto industry, as well a...

UN: Afghanistan is world’s most repressive country for women

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:25:32 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, the country has become the most repressive in the world for women and girls, deprived of virtually all their basic rights, the United Nations said in grim assessments on International Women’s Day.The U.N. Mission said in a statement Thursday that Afghanistan’s new rulers have shown an almost “singular focus on imposing rules that leave most women and girls effectively trapped in their homes.”Despite initial promises of a more moderate stance, the Taliban have imposed harsh measures since seizing power as U.S. and NATO forces were in the final weeks of their pullout from Afghanistan after two decades of war.Girls are banned from education beyond sixth grade and women are barred from working, studying, traveling without a male companion, and even going to parks or bath houses. Women must also cover themselves from head to toe and are barred from working at national and international non-governmental organizatio...

Officials to transfer animals, drop probe on Puerto Rico zoo

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:25:32 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Federal authorities said Wednesday they are dropping all investigations into Puerto Rico’s lone zoo where various species have died, saying the decision came after reaching an agreement with local officials to transfer the animals to sanctuaries on the U.S. mainland.The announcement angered many activists who have long fought to have the U.S. territory’s government held responsible for the deaths and ill health of animals reported for more than a decade at the Dr. Juan A. Rivero Zoo in the western town of Mayaguez.“We cannot change what happened in the past,” U.S. Attorney Stephen Muldrow said. “Animals died.” However, he stressed that going to court would only delay the transfer of the zoo’s remaining animals, which number some 300 and range from a tarantula to a lone elephant.“The wellbeing of the animals is the number one priority,” Muldrow said at a press conference.He added that violations at the zoo spanned “many years,” with “different administrat...