Trooper, driver taken to hospital after car rear-ends state police cruiser on I-93 in Londonderry, NH

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:47:04 GMT

Trooper, driver taken to hospital after car rear-ends state police cruiser on I-93 in Londonderry, NH A New Hampshire State Police trooper and a 36-year-old man from North Chelmsford were taken to a local hospital Wednesday after police said the North Chelmsford man’s car crashed into the trooper’s cruiser on I-93 in Londonderry. State police said emergency crews responded to the scene on I-93 north near Exit 4 shortly after 3:30 p.m. following a report of a crash involving a state police cruiser. Police said the trooper had been parked on the right shoulder of the road with his emergency blue lights activated while he “provided safety services at an active construction site.”The trooper was in the cruiser at the time of the crash, according to police. Police said the Hyundai Elantra driven by the North Chelmsford man was seen driving in the right breakdown lane before hitting the cruiser.State police said the trooper and the North Chelmsford man suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The crash remained under investigation as of Wednesday night. Anyone with...

Orioles celebration hosted by Downtown Partnership to go on Friday in Baltimore

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:47:04 GMT

Orioles celebration hosted by Downtown Partnership to go on Friday in Baltimore On Tuesday night in Texas, the Orioles finished out one of their most successful seasons in recent history — albeit not how the team or fans would have liked — with a 7-1 loss to the Rangers in Game 3 of the American League Division Series. On Friday in Baltimore, fans can come together one more time sporting orange and black, at an event hosted by the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore.The free event was initially planned to be a postseason rally but has now pivoted to a “celebration of a really special season,” a spokesperson for the Downtown Partnership said in an email to The Baltimore Sun.“I know that we’re all a little bit sad that [the season has] come to an end,” said Susan Brown, the nonprofit’s vice president of marketing and communications, in an interview Wednesday. “But we’re also really proud of what the O’s have accomplished this year.”From noon to 3 p.m. Friday, there will be beats fro...

Column: Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields feels like he’s ‘just playing ball’ after career-best starts, but growth is key

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:47:04 GMT

Column: Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields feels like he’s ‘just playing ball’ after career-best starts, but growth is key A long weekend coming off the most complete performance in Justin Fields’ three seasons gave the Chicago Bears quarterback an opportunity to reflect.The passing game in the last two games has looked, well, like a full-fledged attack and that’s not something we’ve seen with any regularity in these parts. Whether Fields reflected or not, he didn’t have anything revelatory to share about what those at Halas Hall have to hope is a breakthrough.“I think I’m just focused on continuing to get better each and every day,” Fields said. “The offense, as a whole, we’ve gotten better each and every week. Our main goal is to just do that.”It’s surely for the best Fields’ full attention is focused on the Minnesota Vikings now that he’s six days removed from completing 15 of 29 passes for 282 yards and four touchdowns in a 40-20 blowout of the Washington Commanders at FedEx Field. He gained another 57 yards r...

Fervent MIT pro-Israel community calls for support

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:47:04 GMT

Fervent MIT pro-Israel community calls for support MIT’s Jewish and Israeli communities shouted their devastation and anger in a rally Wednesday, calling for compassion and support as tensions over the Israel-Hamas war explodes across college campuses in the area.Cambridge, MA - October 11: A woman touches photos of kidnapped, missing or killed Israelis during a rally in support of Israel at MIT. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)Cambridge, MA - October 11: People react during a rally in support of Israel at MIT. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)Cambridge, MA - October 11: Liyam Chitayat, who was serving as an Israeli soldier two months ago, is wrapped in an Israeli flag after giving an emotional speech during a rally in support of Israel at MIT. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)Cambridge, MA - October 11: People react during emotional speeches at a rally in support of Israel at MIT. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)Cambridge, MA - October 11: Two Jewish men embrace during a rally in support of Israel at MIT. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)Cambridge, MA -...

Boston Police investigate ‘Nazis’ spray paint at the Palestinian Cultural Center for Peace following the Hamas attacks in Israel

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:47:04 GMT

Boston Police investigate ‘Nazis’ spray paint at the Palestinian Cultural Center for Peace following the Hamas attacks in Israel Boston Police have opened a hate crime investigation after someone spray painted the word “Nazis” on a sign for the Palestinian Cultural Center for Peace in Brighton following the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel.Police officers responding to the Islamic Seminary of Boston and the Palestinian Cultural Center for Peace on Wednesday also saw that “Nazi Scum” had been spray painted on a stairway — and another stairway had the phrase “Nazi Scum Get Out.”Boston-area groups and politicians are condemning the “Nazi” vandalism, calling it “unacceptable” and “reprehensible.”“The vile defacement of the Palestinian Cultural Center for Peace and Boston Islamic Seminary in an apparent #hatecrime yesterday is an affront to all who work towards peace and understanding,” the Anti-Defamation League New England chapter posted.“Just like antisemitic speech and actions are unacceptable, hate crimes against ...

Harvard’s campus full of Israeli ‘KIDNAPPED’ posters after Hamas attacks; student groups retract signatures from anti-Israel statement

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:47:04 GMT

Harvard’s campus full of Israeli ‘KIDNAPPED’ posters after Hamas attacks; student groups retract signatures from anti-Israel statement Students walking across Harvard University’s campus on Wednesday saw the faces of Israeli hostages who were kidnapped by Hamas following the terrorist group’s attack over the weekend.The “KIDNAPPED” posters were plastered across the Cambridge campus after dozens of Harvard student groups wrote a statement that blamed Israel for the Hamas attacks.“If you are walking today through the hallways and peaceful paths of @Harvard, look for the faces of babies, elderly Holocaust survivors, teenagers, and men and women who were brutally taken hostage by the inhumane Hamas terrorists,” Israel in Boston, the Consulate General of Israel to New England, posted on Wednesday.“Remember their names and speak up for them! #StandWithIsrael,” Israel in Boston added.Pro-Israel students at Harvard put up the posters in the wake of the anti-Israel statement, which sent shockwaves through the campus and around the region.Ambassador Meron Reuben, the Consulate ...

Chicago Cubs coaches Chris Young and Craig Driver won’t return to manager David Ross’ staff in 2024

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:47:04 GMT

Chicago Cubs coaches Chris Young and Craig Driver won’t return to manager David Ross’ staff in 2024 The Chicago Cubs are making changes to their coaching staff.While manager David Ross received support from Chairman Tom Ricketts and president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer to return in 2024, the Cubs have parted with bullpen coach Chris Young and game strategy/catching coach Craig Driver.Both joined the organization as part of Ross’ original staff for the 2020 season after two years with the Philadelphia Phillies.Driver spent his first two seasons with the Cubs as the first base/catching coach. He took over game strategy duties following Mike Borzello’s departure after the 2021 season. Rookie catcher Miguel Amaya credited Driver this season for helping improve his defense and pitch calling.The Cubs bullpen was a strength for a key stretch of the season once Julian Merryweather, Mark Leiter Jr. and Adbert Alzolay emerged as go-to high-leverage options. Each had been unproven in those roles, and all three finished with career highs in games. Merryweather and Leiter t...

Maple Leafs unveil new goal song at home opener

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:47:04 GMT

Maple Leafs unveil new goal song at home opener TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs have finally outgrown their blue-eyed-soul era.Believe your ears: After five full seasons of blasting Hall & Oates’ happy-go-lucky ’80s pop jam “You Make My Dreams (Come True),” the Leafs unveiled a brand-new goal song during Wednesday’s home opener at Scotiabank Arena.Noah Gregor triggered the needle drop on Steve Aoki’s dance remix of Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness,” filling the barn with a fresh new celebration anthem.The team will mix in various genres for its goal song throughout the 2023-24 season, digging in crates to freshen up celebrations against Original Six visitors, throwing it back with some old-school selections for Throwback Thursday home dates and picking more contemporary tunes for its Next Generation games.Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment conducted internal research, canvassed outside opinion from fans, and listened through hundreds of songs before...

Gaza is tiny and watched closely by Israel. But rescuing hostages there would be a daunting task

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:47:04 GMT

Gaza is tiny and watched closely by Israel. But rescuing hostages there would be a daunting task JERUSALEM (AP) — The Hamas-run Gaza Strip is a tiny enclave, measuring 25 miles long and no more than 7 miles wide, surveilled continually by Israel, surrounded by its guns. But rescuing — or even locating — more than 150 hostages hustled there by Palestinian militants who overran Israel’s southern border on Saturday will be a daunting task.Gaza’s densely populated terrain, its network of underground tunnels and the sheer numbers of men, women and children taken captive present Israel with the most complex hostage crisis that the country has ever faced.Mounting rescue operations in the midst of the massive Israeli bombardment of Gaza that followed the deadly Hamas rampage in southern Israel would only make an already difficult mission even more formidable.“The situation is unprecedented,” said Gershon Baskin, who helped to negotiate the 2011 release of Staff Sergeant Gilad Schalit after more than five years of Hamas captivity. “I think Hamas was surprised at the ease it was able to ...

Federal judge won’t block suspension of right to carry guns in some New Mexico parks, playgrounds

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:47:04 GMT

Federal judge won’t block suspension of right to carry guns in some New Mexico parks, playgrounds SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A federal judge cleared the way Wednesday for enforcement of a public health order that suspends the right to carry guns at public parks and playgrounds in New Mexico’s largest metro area.The order from U.S. District Judge David Urias rejects a request from gun rights advocates to block temporary firearms restrictions as legal challenges move forward.It marks a victory for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and her advocacy for temporary gun restrictions in response to recent shootings around the state that left children dead.The standoff is one of many in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year expanding gun rights, as leaders in politically liberal-leaning states explore new avenues for restrictions.In New Mexico, the attempted restrictions have ignited a furor of public protests, prompted Republican calls for the governor’s impeachment and exposed divisions among top Democratic officials.Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, continued to argue this week that...