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Volleyball tournament preview: Needham, Milford are the picks

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:00 GMT

Much of the excitement in boys volleyball this year circled around the idea of just how thin the line is that separates the contenders. A parity-ridden regular season has confirmed that and the Div. 1 state tournament field has the potential to wash away the chalk.But ironically enough, the primary team most coaches were excited to catch up to is still unbeaten.Contenders across both divisions flooded to play top-seeded Needham (22-0) in a rigorous regular season, but the Rockets have overcome them all to increase their win streak to 68 games.There’s no reason to believe they can’t go the distance for a third straight year, only twice allowing a team to get two set victories against it. Two-time All-Scholastic senior Raymond Weng is one of the most elite, versatile players in the state, and pairs with All-Scholastic outside hitter Ethan McCarron to lead a collection of standouts who thrive in their respective roles.No. 2 Lowell (19-1) is on a collision course to meet the Rockets in ...

Massachusetts State Police investigating ‘several suspicious fires’ in Blue Hills Reservation

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:00 GMT

State Police are investigating a recent string of “suspicious fires” in Blue Hills Reservation, as officials seek tips from the public about the intentionally set fires.There have been a number of burns in the park over the past few weeks amid very dry and windy conditions, according to the Friends of the Blue Hills. Under these dry and breezy weather conditions, fire becomes unpredictable and especially dangerous to firefighters.Massachusetts State Police are now trying to track down who’s setting these hazardous blazes in the reservation south of Boston.“State Police are investigating several suspicious fires in the area of the Blue Hills Reservation in recent weeks,” a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services said in a statement on Wednesday.“We encourage anyone with information on intentionally set fires, whether in the Blue Hills or elsewhere, to contact the State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit at 978-567...

Corporate Amazon workers protest company’s climate impact and return-to-office mandate in walkout

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:00 GMT

By ED KOMENDA (Associated Press)SEATTLE (AP) — Telling executives to “strive harder,” hundreds of corporate Amazon workers protested what they decried as the company’s lack of progress on climate goals and an inequitable return-to-office mandate during a lunchtime demonstration at its Seattle headquarters Wednesday.The protest came a week after Amazon’s annual shareholder meeting and a month after a policy took effect returning workers to the office three days per week. Previously, team leaders were allowed to determine how their charges worked.The employees chanted their disappointment with the pace of the company’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint — “Emissions climbing, time to act” — and urged Amazon to return authority to team leaders when it comes to work location. Wearing a black pirate hat and red coat, Church Hindley, a quality assurance engineer, said working from home allowed him to live a better, healthier ...

MSPCA seeks to place 2,500 dogs into adoptive homes by the fall amid national crisis

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:00 GMT

More than 100 dogs are up for adoption through MSPCA-Angell, and organization officials say they are seeking potential adopters who can immediately provide the pooches with forever homes.This is the beginning of an “ambitious” goal of placing 2,500 dogs into homes by the fall – a campaign spurred by what officials are describing as a crisis amid plummeting adoptions and overcrowded shelters.“For the MSPCA’s adoption campaign to be successful, the 142 dogs already bunking down in the organization’s adoption centers in Boston, Methuen, Salem, and Centerville on Cape Cod need to be placed in homes as soon as possible,” officials said in a release Wednesday.Mike Keiley, MSPCA’s director of adoption centers and programs, said the organization has taken in 10% more dogs so far this year compared to the first half of 2022 due to an increase in owner surrenders.The dogs currently at MSPCA are a mix of local surrenders and those brought here through transports, said Sara-Rose Brenner, senior...

Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout combine for 3 homers off Lance Lynn — totaling 1,345 feet— in the Chicago White Sox’s 12-5 loss

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:00 GMT

Mike Trout launched a 461-foot, two-run homer to left-center on Lance Lynn’s sixth pitch against the Los Angeles Angels.Two innings later, with Trout on first after getting hit by a pitch, Shohei Ohtani hit a 425-foot, two-run homer to center against the Chicago White Sox starter.Ohtani got to Lynn again the next inning with a 459-foot, two-run homer.Lynn and the Sox couldn’t slow the two superstars in a 12-5 loss in front of 17,015 on Wednesday at Guaranteed Rate Field.“You give up six runs on three swings, that just can’t happen,” Lynn said. “Especially the two guys that did it. Those are guys you can’t let beat you. And today I let them put it to where the (Sox) offense, it was too big of a hole for them.“I’ve got to be better. I’ve got to be more efficient. I’ve got to make better pitches and get some outs there.”Lynn allowed eight runs on eight hits in four innings as the Sox lost two of three in the series...

Arizona governor urging Biden to designate tribally proposed monument at Grand Canyon

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:00 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs is urging President Joe Biden to use the Antiquities Act to designate the tribally proposed Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument.In a letter dated Tuesday, Hobbs told Biden that she is committed to preserving cultural and natural treasures throughout Arizona and said the Grand Canyon is a “culturally sacred place stewarded by Indigenous Peoples for centuries.”Hobbs wrote that in addition to tribal voices, her office has “heard from people across the political spectrum including sporting groups, faith leaders, outdoor recreation businesses, conservation groups and others from a broad array of interests that support this monument designation.”Hobbs also said she “can think of no better use of the Antiquities Act than to protect our state’s namesake treasure.”She said the Arizona Game and Fish Department will retain its existing authority related to the management, control and regulation of fish and wildlife “so that this aut...

Federal Reserve likely to skip interest rate hike at next meeting in June, officials signal

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Leading Federal Reserve officials are sending out stronger signals that they will forego an interest rate increase at the central bank’s next meeting in June, though they indicate hikes could resume later this year. “Skipping a rate hike at a coming meeting would allow (Fed policymakers) to see more data before making decisions” about whether to further increase rates, said Fed Governor Philip Jefferson in a speech Wednesday. Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker made similar comments Wednesday.Jefferson has been nominated by President Joe Biden to be the Fed’s vice chair, though he has yet to be confirmed by the Senate. But his nomination places him close to the center of Fed policymaking. Including Jefferson, three top Fed officials have been united in support of the idea of skipping a rate hike in June, despite a slew of tough talk from other Fed policymakers and a disappointing inflation report last week. On May 19, Fed Chair Jerome Powell hinte...

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs says in lawsuit that spirits giant Diageo neglected his vodka and tequila brands

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:00 GMT

Rapper, producer and entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs sued Diageo Wednesday, saying the spirits company didn’t make promised investments in his vodka and tequila brands and treated them as inferior “urban” products.The lawsuit, filed with the New York Supreme Court in Manhattan, says Diageo North America starved Combs’ Ciroc vodka and DeLeon tequila brands of resources even as it showered attention on other celebrity brands. Diageo bought actor George Clooney’s Casamigos tequila brand for $1 billion in 2017, for example.Combs, who is Black, said Diageo leadership told him his race was one of the reasons it limited distribution to urban neighborhoods. He was also told that some Diageo leaders resented him for making too much money, according to the lawsuit.“Cloaking itself in the language of diversity and equality is good for Diageo’s business, but it is a lie,” the lawsuit said. “While Diageo may conspicuously include images of its Black partners in advertising materials and press re...

Former ‘Family Feud’ contestant Timothy Bliefnick guilty in wife’s slaying

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:00 GMT

QUINCY, Ill. (AP) — A jury Wednesday convicted a former contestant on the television game show “Family Feud” of first-degree murder and home invasion in the slaying of his estranged wife in western Illinois.Timothy Bliefnick, 40, was found guilty in the Feb. 23 shooting death of Rebecca Bliefnick.The Adams County Circuit Court jury in Quincy deliberated about four hours after Timothy Bliefnick did not testify and the defense did not call any evidence. Adams County sheriff’s deputies took Bliefnick into custody immediately after the verdict was read.Bliefnick is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 11The body of Rebecca Bliefnick, 41, was found by a family member inside her Quincy home after she failed to pick up her children from school. She had been shot multiple times. Timothy Bliefnick was arrested March 13, 12 days after his Quincy home was searched.The couple was separated and going through a divorce.In 2020, Timothy Bliefnick and some of his family members appeared on ABC̵...

Man shot in Scarborough, multiple suspects wanted

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:00 GMT

Toronto police are investigating after a man was shot in Scarborough, with multiple suspects seen fleeing the area.Officers received calls of shots fired around 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday in the Kingston Road and Morningside Avenue area.Police arrived and found one man suffering from a gunshot wound. His condition is unclear.Two male suspects were seen fleeing the area at the time of the shooting.The first was described as around 25 years old with a thin build, Black with an afro, and last seen wearing all black with a bandana.The second man is described as around five-foot-eight, 160 pounds, Black and about 25 years old. He was last observed wearing a light-coloured t-shirt with black pants.