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Woburn school community mourning after 17-year-old student killed in crash involving dirt bike in Wareham

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:40 GMT

Authorities have identified the man and 17-year-old boy who were killed in a crash involving a dirt bike in Wareham late Saturday night.Officers responding to multiple 911 calls reporting a crash between a dirt bike and a motor vehicle in the area of 121 Marion Road found two people unresponsive in the roadway suffering from apparent serious injuries, according to a statement issued by the Plymouth District Attorney’s Office.The victims, later identified as Robert Stocker, 17, of Woburn, and Brady Petrucci, 20, of Raynham, were taken to Tobey Hospital, where they were pronounced dead.Stalker was a student at Northeast Metro Tech. In a statement, Woburn Metro Tech and Woburn Public Schools said, “We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of a beloved student at Northeast Metro Tech. This tragedy has affected all of us in Woburn and the surrounding communities. Our hearts are with the victims’ families, and all those impacted by this tragic event.”Grief cou...

Boston eateries receive financial boost from Greg Hill Foundation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:40 GMT

A recent delivery of thousands of dollars in grants will help 19 local restaurants boost staffing and equipment and continue their recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, owners tell the Herald.“This is a great opportunity for us,” Reunion BBQ co-owner Joel Morales told the Herald. “My wife and I opened this up around September of 2022, but we did not invest in any marketing or public relations because we didn’t have the money for it.”Reunion BBQ, located in the South End, is one of several restaurants in Boston that received money from the Greg Hill Foundation’s Restaurant Strong Fund.The foundation, established in 2010, has awarded more than $25 million in funds to families and those in need. The foundation’s Restaurant Strong Fund, established in 2020, has done the same to help local businesses across the nation recover from the financial hardships brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.This year, a total of 19 Boston restaurants received a cumulative $200,000 in funds. Morales e...

Marijuana emergency department visits for children, teens have spiked since the pandemic started: CDC

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:40 GMT

Marijuana emergency department visits for children, teens and young adults have spiked since the start of the pandemic more than three years ago, according to new data from the CDC.This reported jump in cannabis-involved hospital admissions comes after a pre-2019 increase in youth emergency department visits, as pot legalization expanded across the country.Then during the pandemic, the marijuana hospital visits among young people went even higher. The CDC said this week that large spikes in hospital visit rates were reported among children 10 years old and younger, and kids ages 11 to 14.“These increases might stem from multiple factors, such as increased use as a coping mechanism for pandemic-related stressors, use of highly concentrated THC products, increased availability of cannabis in states with legal marketplaces, and increased unintentional ingestions associated with packaging that is appealing or confusing to youths,” the CDC wrote in its report.“To protec...

Russia halts wartime deal allowing Ukraine to ship grain. It’s a blow to global food security

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:40 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Russia halted an unprecedented wartime deal on Monday that allows grain to flow from Ukraine to countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where hunger is a growing threat and high food prices have pushed more people into poverty.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced Russia would suspend the Black Sea Grain Initiative until its demands to get its own agricultural shipments to the world are met — even though the country has been shipping record amounts of wheat and its fertilizers also have been flowing.“When the part of the Black Sea deal related to Russia is implemented, Russia will immediately return to the implementation of the deal,” Peskov said. Russia has complained that restrictions on shipping and insurance have hampered its exports of food and fertilizer — also critical to the global food chain.It’s the end of a breakthrough accord that the United Nations and Turkey brokered last summer to allow food to leave the Black Sea region after Russia invaded it...

Israel’s governing coalition presses ahead with plan to overhaul courts ahead of expected protests

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:40 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s governing coalition pushed ahead on Monday with its contentious plan to overhaul the country’s judiciary, despite growing opposition from within the country’s military and a wave of mass protests expected this week.A parliamentary committee was preparing a bill that would limit judicial oversight on some government decisions, legislation that has sparked intensifying criticism from military reservists in elite units, including the air force and cyberwarfare.Many have warned they will not show up for duty if the overhaul moves ahead. Reservists, who make up the backbone of the country’s mostly compulsory military, played a key role in prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pause the overhaul plan earlier this year. In response to the legislation, which is expected to go before a final parliamentary vote early next week, a large protest movement is expected to stage a “day of disruption” on Tuesday. These days of mass pr...

An apartment building collapses in Cairo, killing at least 7, according to Egypt’s state media

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:40 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — An apartment building collapsed Monday in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, leaving at least seven people dead, state-run media said, as rescuers at the scene searched through the rubble.Building collapses are common in Egypt, where shoddy construction and a lack of maintenance are widespread in shantytowns, poor city neighborhoods and rural areas.The state-run MENA news agency reported that rescue teams recovered at least seven bodies from under the rubble of a four-story building in Cairo’s neighborhood of Hadaeq el-Qubbah.Four survivors were also recovered and taken to hospital and authorities evacuated a neighboring apartment building, MENA said.Police forces cordoned off the area as rescue teams were combing the rubble in search for possible survivors, according to local reports.It was not immediately clear what caused the building to collapse.The government has tried to crack down on illegal building in recent years after decades of lax enforcement. Authorities are a...

Schools and stock market are closed as Typhoon Talim sweeps south of Hong Kong

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:40 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Schools and the stock market were closed in Hong Kong on Monday as Typhoon Talim swept south of the city. As the financial hub braced for rainy and windy weather, more than 100 people sought refuge at temporary shelters. Some government and ferry services were halted and various events were postponed. The city’s airport authority said 16 flights were canceled.The Hong Kong Observatory raised a No. 8 typhoon signal, the third-highest warning under the city’s weather system, early Monday. It was the first warning of its kind issued this year.As Talim — with maximum sustained winds of 140 kilometers (87 miles) per hour — gradually moved away from Hong Kong in the afternoon, the observatory downgraded its warning for the city. China’s National Meteorological Center forecast the typhoon would make landfall in neighboring Guangdong province and Hainan province on Monday night before entering the Gulf of Tonkin and striking land again in the Guangxi region on T...

Accused Russian intelligence officer pleads not guilty to US smuggling charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:40 GMT

An alleged Russian intelligence officer pleaded not guilty on Friday (14 July) to US charges of smuggling US-origin electronics and ammunition to Russia to help its war against Ukraine.Vadim Konoschenok, who was extradited on Thursday (13 July) from Estonia, entered the plea at a hearing in federal court in Brooklyn.US Magistrate Judge Ramon Reyes ordered Konoschenok detained pending trial, after prosecutors called him a flight risk."No matter where you are in the world, if you violate US export controls or evade US sanctions, we will not rest until you face justice," Breon Peace, the US Attorney in Brooklyn, said in a statement.Sabrina Shroff, a US-based lawyer for Konoschenok, declined to comment.The Russian embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.Konoschenok, 48, was detained by Estonian authorities in October 2022 while trying to cross into Russia carrying 35 types of semiconductors and electronic components, some of which were subject to U.S. export contr...

Word Game: July 17, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:40 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — PALATE (PALATE: PAL-et: The roof of the mouth; an intellectual taste or liking.)Average mark 13 wordsTime limit 30 minutesCan you find 17 or more words in PALATE? The list will be published tomorrow.SATURDAY’S WORD — UNTOWARD undo unto tarn taro toad torn tour toward town trod tuna tundra turn onward outdraw outdrawn outran outward wand want ward warn wart wont word worn wound adorn around aunt auto radon rant road roan rotund rotunda round rout runt darn dart daunt dawn donut dour down drat draw drawn drownTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible.4. Prope...

Ask Amy: It turns out my kind and loving wife is a mean drunk

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:40 GMT

Dear Amy: I have been happily married for 17 years to a kind and loving woman. It is a second marriage for us both. We are retired and living in an upscale over-55 community.Related ArticlesAdvice | Ask Amy: I worked hard for my degree, and my mother-in-law turned it into a joke Advice | Ask Amy: It was a great party, but it will be awkward when we next see these people Advice | Ask Amy: Should I let it go, or tell my co-workers how annoyed I am? Advice | Ask Amy: I want to tell them I’m not an irredeemable pothead Advice | Ask Amy: What if grandma finds out where I’ve sent the kids? Over the past few months my wife has begun drinking to excess every evening. When drunk she gets very mean. She criticizes me and dredges up any past mistakes in my life.For instance, when my first wife and I divorced, I made a substantial financial sacrifice in order to continue to live near my daughter. My wife...