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Massachusetts Republicans take victory lap after senate win in Central Mass.

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:32 GMT

While Republicans nationally spent Wednesday dissecting what went wrong with their local election efforts, the MassGOP was quick to take a small but well earned victory lap.On Tuesday, State Rep. Peter Durant won the special election for the seat vacated by former state Sen. Anne Gobi and managed to flip the Worcester-Hampshire district from blue to red, increasing the number of Republicans in the Bay State’s Democrat-dominated senate from three to four.“I am honored by the overwhelming support we received from so many people. This is a great win for the taxpayers of Massachusetts. I am going to work around the clock to make a positive difference and be their common sense voice in the Senate,” Durant said in a statement shared by the state party.Durant won after securing 11,905 votes to state Rep. Jonathan Zlotnik’s 10,067. His victory stands out after an election night that generally did not go well for conservatives in other states — Republicans lost the state house in Virgi...

It’s peak season for deer crashes in Massachusetts: Where were the most deer collisions last fall?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:32 GMT

It’s peak season for deer crashes in the Bay State, as more deer suddenly dart across roads this time of year and inevitably slam into vehicles.The most deer collisions in Massachusetts happen between the months of October and December, according to AAA Northeast, and November is consistently the top month for deer crashes that are reported to the Massachusetts Environmental Police.“Deer crashes can occur quickly and in unexpected locations,” said Mark Schieldrop, AAA Northeast’s senior spokesperson.Crashes were recorded last fall on roads with speed limits as low as 15 mph and as high as 65 mph.“Drivers need to be especially vigilant this time of year,” Schieldrop added.Last year, deer crashes between the months of October and December jumped to 1,806 — the highest number on record since at least 2002, according to a AAA Northeast analysis of crash data available from the state’s IMPACT crash portal. That’s equivalent to one dee...

Mass General Brigham strikes tech deal with Best Buy Health for Home Hospital program

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:32 GMT

Mass General Brigham has struck a technology deal with Best Buy Health to boost the health care giant’s Home Hospital program.The partnership between Mass General Brigham and Best Buy Health will help deliver acute-care services to patients in their homes, according to MGB.This new collab will allow MGB to keep growing its Home Hospital program for patients at home — which includes 24/7 remote vital sign monitoring, multiple visits from clinicians every day, and telehealth technology.As MGB transitions more patient care to the home, that will relieve some of the capacity burden at its hospitals.“At Mass General Brigham, we are building the integrated healthcare system of the future across the entire continuum of patient care needs,” Heather O’Sullivan, president of Healthcare at Home at Mass General Brigham, said in a statement.“As a recognized leader of Home Hospital services, we understand that consumers are increasingly choosing the comfort of ...

Robert De Niro attends closing arguments in civil trial over claims by ex-VP, personal assistant

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:32 GMT

By LARRY NEUMEISTER (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — Robert De Niro looked on Wednesday as a lawyer for a woman who worked for him for over a decade urged a jury in closing arguments to award her millions of dollars for emotional distress and reputational harm because the actor discriminated and retaliated against her.Attorney Brent Hannafan argued on Graham Chase Robinson’s behalf in Manhattan federal court after De Niro’s lawyer, Richard Schoenstein, told jurors that Robinson was a disloyal employee who stole $85,000 worth of airline miles and owes De Niro damages.“This is a civil rights trial,” Hannafan said. “Your verdict will have meaning when you return it, again, not just for Ms. Robinson, but for all civil rights litigants.”He urged jurors to award Robinson “significant damages” of at least seven figures and “possibly up to eight figures,” a request consistent with her $12 million claim asserting gender discr...

Battenfeld: GOP election win shows migrant crisis a potent political issue

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:32 GMT

The surprise state Senate win for Republicans shows the political potency of the state’s ongoing struggle to deal with the vexing issue of migrants pouring into Massachusetts.GOP Rep. Peter Durant heavily emphasized the migrant crisis and called for overturning the state’s right to shelter law in his campaign.The message appeared to resonate with voters as Durant did well in central Massachusetts towns and even in the cities of Gardner and Worcester, which are dominated by Democrats.Top Democrats should take heed of the results of the special Senate election unless they want to get surprised next November, too.Gov. Maura Healey’s inability to deal with the influx of migrants could come back to haunt her party at the voting booth. Durant’s victory secured a rare seat in the Senate for Republicans.He succeeds Anne Gobi, a Democrat who left the Legislature earlier this year to serve as the director of rural affairs in the Healey administration.It isn’t often that a Republican steals a ...

Craig Breslow says multiple teams interested in Alex Verdugo

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:32 GMT

The likelihood that Alex Verdugo already played his last game in a Red Sox uniform increased significantly on Wednesday, when Craig Breslow told reporters that the club is getting calls about the right-fielder.All signs already pointed to Verdugo, who is in his final year of club control, departing this offseason. The team hasn’t engaged with him on extension talks, and that’s unlikely to change, a source told the Herald.The Red Sox have already begun paring down their outfield. They didn’t extend a qualifying offer to Adam Duvall before this week’s deadline. Aside from Masataka Yoshida, to whom they committed five years and $90 million to last December, the Red Sox can take the younger, club-controlled route with Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, to name a few, and and allocate resources towards greater areas of need.At the beginning of spring training last February, Verdugo approached ownership and top executives, made it clear that he wanted to...

A breakdown of Boston City Council election results

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:32 GMT

With 100% of the votes counted, four new faces will join the Boston City Council, and all four progressive candidates endorsed by Mayor Michelle Wu won their respective races.The results, which include complete reports from all city precincts, solidify the less official victory declarations that were made by candidates Tuesday night, including in the closely watched races for at-large and Districts 5 and 6.In those three races, the Wu-backed candidates, Henry Santana, Enrique Pepén and Benjamin Weber were elected, respectively, while Sharon Durkan, who was also endorsed by the mayor, was re-elected to a District 8 seat she first won in a July special election.In District 3, a moderate candidate backed by former Mayor Marty Walsh, John FitzGerald, was elected to a seat that opened up when the longtime conservative-leaning Councilor Frank Baker chose to seek re-election.The four — or five if Durkan’s relatively new tenure is counted — new faces on the Council were joined by the three ...

Peabody home’s roof collapses in 3-alarm fire

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:32 GMT

Fire struck a large home in Peabody leading to the collapse of its roof and firefighters stuck battling the blaze nearly all day.Peabody Fire Chief John Dowling told the Herald he had only just returned from the scene at around 4 p.m. but that fire crews remained at the scene where they had been working the fire since the initial calls came in at 10:38 a.m.The house fire at 4 Wheatland St. would initially cause three alarms to be struck as the fire, which witnesses say appeared to have started in the exterior before moving into the interior of the balloon-frame home, raged and eventually caused the roof to collapse, Dowling said.Three residents were inside when the fire started but Dowling said they all had escaped without incident. No firefighters were injured during the day’s work to his knowledge.Property records show that the 4,752 square foot home was initially constructed in 1919 and has eight beds and five baths. It was last sold in 2017.Photo by Glenn S. Preston/MediaNews Gr...

Vatican says it’s permissible for transgender Catholics to be baptized

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:32 GMT

In the United States, the national conference of Catholic bishops rejects the concept of gender transition, leaving many transgender Catholics feeling excluded. On Wednesday, the Vatican made public a sharply contrasting statement, saying it’s permissible, under certain circumstances, for trans Catholics to be baptized and serve as godparents.“It is a major step for trans inclusion … it is big and good news,” said Francis DeBernardo, executive director of Maryland-based New Ways Ministry, which advocates for greater LGBTQ acceptance in the church.The document was signed Oct. 21 by Pope Francis and Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, who heads the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. It was posted Wednesday on that office’s website.If it did not cause scandal or “disorientation” among other Catholics, a transgender person “may receive baptism under the same conditions as other faithful,” the document said.Similarly, the document said trans adults — even if they had ...

Michigan couple back from Gaza, recall fear and desperation of being trapped amid war

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:32 GMT

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — A Detroit-area couple trapped in Gaza like hundreds of other U.S. citizens described the roar of bombs and the fear of not making it home after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.Unable to leave, Zakaria and Laila Alarayshi hunkered down.“I was crying,” Zakaria Alarayshi, 62, told reporters Wednesday at the Arab American Civil Rights League offices in Dearborn, Michigan. “Everyone was scared. Bombs everywhere. When I go to sleep, we cannot sleep. Maybe I’ll sleep in a chair for 30 minutes a day.”He feared the bombs eventually would find them.“If I’m going to die, OK, I don’t care. Die, die,” he said. The Alarayshis were among the U.S. residents who were able to evacuate from Gaza following the Oct. 7 Hamas militant group surprise attack on southern Israel and the subsequent Israeli bombing campaign and ground invasion. Some 500 to 600 U.S. citizens had been trapped in Gaza since the start of the war, according to the White House. President ...