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No classes at St. John’s Prep day after swatting scare

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:00:23 GMT

Classes are canceled at St. John’s Preparatory School in Danvers on Tuesday, one day after authorities say an officer’s firearm accidentally went off while police were responding to what turned out to be a “swatting” hoax call.Police said they initially received a call around 2 p.m. reporting a man with a gun in the Catholic, all-boys school. The campus with more than a thousand students went into lockdown. And while police said officers were able to quickly determine that there didn’t seem to be a threat or active shooter, the accidental shot in the school’s Benjamin Hall added a layer to the situation.“It was terrifying,” one student told 7NEWS. “We just looked out the window and saw everyone running out the building.”“A lot of kids were having panic attacks,” another student said. “It’s completely reasonable.”Officials said several additional people called 911 after the officer’s gun fired, prompting a massive tactical response from the Massachusetts State Police and depart...

New search for vanished British toddler Madeleine McCann will focus on land, not water

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:00:23 GMT

(CNN) — Police investigating the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann will carry out a new search in Portugal based on a recent tip, German authorities told CNN on Monday.The new search will take place near the Arade reservoir near the Portugese city of Silves, around 50 kilometers from the resort area where McCann disappeared in 2007, according to CNN affiliate CNN Portugal.The investigation is expected to begin Tuesday and take place for a maximum of two days, CNN Portugal also reported, adding that British and German police will observe the search by Portuguese police.Authorities will focus on land rather than water, sources also told CNN affiliate CNN Portugal.“This time, the searches will not be carried out in the water,” CNN Portugal reported. “Inspectors will look for objects that may be of interest for the investigation or rule out hypothesis.”Madeleine McCann was three years old when she vanished from her bedroom on May 3, 2007 during a family ho...

Lots Of Dry Times

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:00:23 GMT

Sure, it was a bit of a cool breeze out there yesterday, especially at the coast, but the overall day turned out nice with highs near 60 at the coast, mid 60s for MetroWest and near 70 deep inland. Today, we’ll step it up another notch from those levels, despite the chilly start this morning as temps kick off the day in the 30s and 40s. A bit of smoke and haze will be in the sky to mix with a few afternoon cumulus clouds today, but enough sun still gets through to push temps in the upper 60s to low 70s inland. Along the immediate coast, it’ll be cooler again with an onshore breeze and temps near 60. Tomorrow looks mild with highs in the 70s to near 80. Although with a south wind, it’ll be cooler across Cape Cod and Cape Ann as temps there run in the 60s. Most of the day is dry, but between 5-9pm, I expect some scattered showers and storms to rumble on through. The best chance for a thunderstorm will be around 5pm across northern Worcester County and Southwestern NH...

Pot cafe pilot program scrapped, regulators green light statewide approach

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:00:23 GMT

The state’s cannabis board is giving pot cafes the green light.The regulators tasked with creating the rules around “social consumption sites” have scrapped a pilot program that would have tested out weed cafes in a dozen locations and will dive right into licensing and regulation.Voters approved adult use of marijuana in Massachusetts in 2016 and many have been legally partaking since the first adult-use pot shop opened late in 2018.Along with allowing adults to purchase and smoke marijuana at home, the law also calls on the state to come up with rules to allow Amsterdam-style pot cafes to open and adults to spark up at the counter.The Cannabis Control Commission on Monday voted to move forward with the process by eliminating a planned pilot program that would have allowed 12 selected municipalities to open pot cafes while regulators gauged how well the idea worked.The problem, according to Commissioner Bruce Stebbins, was that starting small when the whole state requir...

Editorial: Rachael Rollins betrayed taxpayers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:00:23 GMT

Rachael Rollins has earned nearly $1.3 million from taxpayers and that’s a conservative estimate.Both the Massachusetts Comptroller’s Office and Herald payroll records list Rollins as collecting checks as Suffolk District Attorney, Massport legal counsel and a contract worker for the state Housing Finance Agency.She resigned last week as U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts, where she earned $183,500. She avoided any disciplinary action from the Department of Justice if she left promptly. The DOJ pointed to pension rules that state if, like Rollins, you leave before becoming eligible for retirement, “you can ask that your retirement contributions be returned to you in a lump sum payment.”Seems like her best option.The DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) leaves no doubt Rollins was headed for trouble. The 93 U.S. Attorneys in the nation are held to lofty expectations making last week’s blockbuster dual reports on how Rachael Rollins did bu...

Battenfeld: Boston redistricting showcases bickering city council at its worst

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:00:23 GMT

The battle over redistricting in Boston – which comes to a head this week – is a referendum on the beleaguered and frequently bickering city council, which has split into councilors’ competing petty political fiefdoms.City Council President Ed Flynn has lost control of the institution he’s supposed to lead and caves to the slightest political pressure he’s put under.The district and at-large councilors pretty much run the council the way they want to. Flynn wasn’t even aware that one of his colleagues in charge of redistricting actually redrew Flynn’s own district.That may be why there are rumors that some of the city’s power brokers – frustrated at the power some of the far left councilors are wielding – are getting together to fund a super PAC that would help elect more conservative city councilors.Even Mayor Michelle Wu seems to have lost some of her control over her political subordinates. Her redistricting proposal was summarily rejected by the council, which in past years has ...

He coached Miami Heat’s Max Strus and other pros in Orland Park, now Dave Pygon wants to motivate everyone with new book

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:00:23 GMT

One tear meant more to Dave Pygon than if he were to receive a million favorable reviews on Amazon.His mother, 79-year-old Norma Pygon of Alsip, got a chance to read Dave’s debut effort as an author, “Win the 16,” a motivational book which was released in early May.The premise of the book is to help readers make the most out of the 16 waking hours that most people get.Norma is one of the inspirations for his career — and for the book. She even received her own chapter.“She raised three kids on her own,” Pygon said. “She worked during the day and went to school at night to get her college degree. That was highly motivating.“Watching that and living that and seeing that was highly inspiring.”So, Dave anxiously waited for his mother’s reaction to his book.Would she like it? Would she hate it? Would she criticize it?It turns out she overwhelmingly approved, much to Dave’s relief.“She had a tear in her eye,” he...

As neo-Nazis make their presence known in Mass., new report suggests tools to fight back

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:00:23 GMT

A new report from the Anti-Defamation League released Tuesday outlines what the organization says are critical steps officials in Massachusetts can take to combat a startling rise in white nationalist and neo-Nazi activity and hate crimes over the past two years.Antisemitic incidents skyrocketed, white supremacists held more events, hate group propaganda efforts increased, and a local neo-Nazi group is growing rapidly from a Massachusetts-based infestation to a regional organization, the ADL said in its “Hate in the Bay State” report.But Beacon Hill legislators have several tools before them this legislative session the ADL said can be utilized to fight back against a troubling trend residents have witnessed all across the state.That includes passing bills creating civil remedies for targets of online hate, holding social media companies accountable for moderating hate on their platforms, and strengthening hate crime reporting among law enforcement.Extremists have targeted Massachus...

Stung by election defeat, Greek opposition forced to pass on chance to form government

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:00:23 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s opposition leader received — and summarily rejected — an invitation Tuesday to form the country’s next government, two days after a general election produced no majority in parliament and is widely expected to trigger a new vote next month.Alexis Tsipras’ left-wing Syriza party suffered a major defeat at the polls Sunday, but was next in line to receive the mandate and had already indicated he would be obliged to reject it.Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ center-right New Democracy won the election and swiftly ruled out the option of seeking a coalition. He would benefit, and likely gain outright victory, from a second vote that would introduce a change in the electoral system that favors the winning party.The 55-year-old Mitsotakis won just over 40% of the vote Sunday, hammering his main opponent by 20 points. He promised to continue pro-business reforms, tough policies to combat illegal migration, and high defense spending as Greece recovers from ...

Pope’s Ukraine peace envoy blasts war as a ‘pandemic’ that affects everyone

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:00:23 GMT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis’ peace envoy for Ukraine, a veteran of the Catholic Church’s conflict-mediation efforts, blasted war as a “pandemic” on Tuesday and said all Christians are called to be peacemakers.In his first public comments since being named Ukraine envoy, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi called for the creation of a culture of peace to respond to the “deep anxiety, sometimes unexpressed, often unheard, of peoples who need peace.” The Vatican on Saturday confirmed that Francis had tasked Zuppi with a mission “to help ease tensions in the conflict in Ukraine, in the never-ending hope by the Holy Father, that this can initiate paths of peace.” No further details were released, with the Vatican saying that they were still under study.Zuppi, 67, is the archbishop of Bologna, president of the Italian bishops’ conference and a veteran of the Catholic Church’s peace mediation initiatives through his longtime affiliation with the Sant’Egidio Community. Through the Rome-based charity, ...