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Newburyport girls land Div. 3 lacrosse title

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:41 GMT

BURLINGTON – Newburyport’s girls had all they could handle in a back-and-forth lacrosse contest, but managed to outlast Norwell, pulling away late for a 13-10 victory in the Div. 3 state final and earning their first state championship since 2014.With the game tied at 9-9, Newburyport would net four unanswered; Olivia McDonald got her third goal of the day at the 18:35 mark to make it a one-goal lead. Junior Rita Cahalane scored minutes later on a nice cut in front to make it 11-9 with 10:33 to go.Junior Lily Pons would net her second just 34-seconds later, before senior captain Anna Affolter scored with 8:08 to go, making it 13-9 and giving Newburyport their biggest lead.“We’d been talking about finding a team’s breaking point and exploding from there,” said senior captain Isabella Rosa, who scored three goals. “We did such a great job to keep our energy with the back and forth today… I’m really proud of our team.”Norwell’s Caroline Burtch cut it to 13-10 with 7:05 remaining,...

Orioles overcome miscues in field, on base to beat Cubs, 6-3, avoid sweep

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:41 GMT

The Orioles have avoided being swept this season by frequently managing to capitalize on their opponents’ mistakes. On Sunday, they had to overcome their own to dodge a third straight loss to the Chicago Cubs.Baltimore bounced back from a series of self-inflicted wounds for a 6-3 victory in the series finale at Wrigley Field, defeating the Cubs to avoid what would’ve been the team’s first sweep in this season’s 23 series. Manager Brandon Hyde said before the game that the Orioles’ clubhouse features “a bunch of pros who don’t panic,” and his team showcased that in a game that featured lapses in the field and on the bases.The Orioles (44-27) entered the sixth inning trailing by a run largely thanks to two defensive miscues within one at-bat. After a shaky first, right-hander Dean Kremer retired nine straight Cubs, including two strikeouts to start the fourth, then induced two seemingly catchable balls off Cody Bellinger’s bat that...

Ticker: Musk says call to tax the rich won’t see action; State’s jobless rate dips below 3%

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:41 GMT

Elon Musk, the world’s richest-person and head of electric carmaker Tesla Inc., said President Joe Biden’s call for more taxes on super-wealthy Americans will only hurt lower-to-middle income groups.“I agree that we should make elaborate tax-avoidance schemes illegal, but acting upon that would upset a lot of donors, so we will see words, but no action,” he said in a tweet. “Those who will actually be forced to carry the burden of excess government spending are lower to middle income wage earners, as they cannot escape payroll tax.”Musk’s tweet came in response to one from Biden saying “It’s about time the super-wealthy start paying their fair share.”During his campaign rally in Philadelphia on Saturday, Biden asked union workers to support his reelection bid and called for new taxes on the wealthy and corporations.State’s jobless rate dips below 3%The Massachusetts unemployment rate dropped to 2.8 percent in May, nearly a full point below the national rate, as the labor market cont...

Cruising to Nome 

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:41 GMT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The cruise ship with about 1,000 passengers anchored off Nome is too big to squeeze into into the tundra city’s tiny port. Its well-heeled tourists had to shimmy into small boats for another ride to shore.It was 2016, and at the time, the cruise ship Serenity was the largest vessel ever to sail through the Northwest Passage.But as the Arctic sea ice relents under the pressures of global warming and opens shipping lanes across the top of the world, more tourists are venturing to Nome — a northwest Alaska destination known better for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and its 1898 gold rush than luxury travel.The problem remains: There’s no place to park the big boats. While smaller cruise ships are able to dock, officials say that of the dozen arriving this year, half will anchor offshore.That’s expected to change as a $600 million-plus expansion makes Nome, population 3,500, the nation’s first deep-water Arctic port. The expansion, expected ...

Strike ends in South Bay: MTS bus drivers to return to work

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:41 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- An ongoing bus drivers strike that has disrupted service for several weeks in South Bay has come to an end.The Board of Directors for the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) held a special meeting Thursday after weeks of negotiations. The board voted 8-6 to set a deadline for MTS contractor Transdev to end the labor dispute by June 23. They even offered an extra $1 million for the current contract in an effort to get services restored.Bus drivers met Transdev at the negotiating table on Friday to discuss their requests. Some of the things they are demanding include access to cleaner restrooms and an end to forced overtime work, among other things. MTS strike continues into 15th day, impacting South Bay routes On Sunday, Lee Fletcher from Teamster Local 683 confirmed to FOX 5 that 143 drivers voted to pass and 121 voted to reject the proposal. Based on the majority, South Bay MTS bus drivers will return to work on Monday, according to Fletcher.As for East Count...

Two survivors of a deadly shipwreck describe their ordeal to Greek authorities

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:41 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A Greek news website has published excerpts from the depositions of two survivors of Wednesday’s deadly shipwreck off southwestern Greece, in which more than 500 people are feared drowned after an overcrowded boat carrying as many as 750 migrants went down in international waters.Passengers on the ill-fated trawler had to subsist on meager supplies of food and water which ran out several hours before the disaster, two survivors have reportedly testified.News website kathimerini.gr, which is run by Greek newspaper Kathimerini, has published excerpts from the depositions of two survivors, 23-year-old Hassan, from Syria, and 24-year-old Rana, from Pakistan. The two men are referred to only by their first names.Hassan, who was traveling alone, recounted that, during the four-day voyage from Libya, they were given “minimal food and dirty water” which had run out by Tuesday morning, when the hungry and thirsty passengers started complaining.According to Hassan, among...

Sudan’s warring sides begin cease-fire ahead of conference to raise funds for humanitarian aid

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:41 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Sudan’s warring parties began another attempt at a cease-fire Sunday after more than two months of brutal fighting and ahead of an international conference to raise funds for humanitarian assistance.Residents in the capital, Khartoum, and its neighboring city of Omdurman reported “relative calm” in the first hours of the cease-fire Sunday morning, after fierce clashes were reported the previous day.Sudan descended into chaos after fighting erupted in mid-April between the military, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo.The three-day truce that began Sunday came ahead of a pledging conference the U.N. and other nations will hold Monday to raise funds to cover Sudan’s humanitarian needs.The U.N. says it received less than 16% of the $2.57 billion required to help those in need in Sudan in 2023. Another $470 million is needed to support refugees in the Horn of Africa region, it said.The Un...

Shawn Mendes makes surprise appearance at Toronto Ed Sheeran concert after year off

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:41 GMT

TORONTO — British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran gave his Canadian fans a homegrown surprise on Saturday when Shawn Mendes joined him on stage in Toronto.Nearly a year after Mendes cancelled a 70-plus date world tour to take care of his mental health, the Pickering, Ont.-raised performer jumped on stage at the Rogers Centre to accompany Sheeran on two songs.The pair performed Sheeran’s 2011 single “Lego House” before Mendes played an acoustic rendition of his own 2017 hit “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back.”It was Mendes’ first live public performance since July 2022 when he scrapped his major tour.It had dates set to run into the middle of this year covering North America, the United Kingdom and Europe, including two Toronto shows. At the time, Mendes said he felt he had to “take the time I’ve never taken personally to grow myself and come back stronger.”Mendes has been dropping hints of his planned return in recent weeks. Earlier this mo...

Sheriff: 22 injured,1 dead in shooting at Juneteenth celebration in Willowbrook Township

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:41 GMT

DUPAGE COUNTY, Ill. — At least 20 people were shot, one fatally, early Sunday morning during a celebration for Juneteenth in unincorporated Willowbrook Township, according to the DuPage County Sheriff's Office.A group of people were peacefully gathering around 12:30 a.m. near Route 83 and Honeysuckle Rose Lane when shots were fired. An unknown number of individuals fired shots from multiple weapons in the crowd, the sheriff's office said.According to Battalion Chief Joe Ostrander with the Tri-State Fire Protection District, 12 ambulances were brought to the scene. In total, 10 people were transported from the scene to area hospitals, with injuries ranging from graze wounds to more serious gunshot wounds.Some people self-transported to local hospitals. On Sunday afternoon, the sheriff's office said at least 22 people were injured and another was fatally wounded in the shooting. The identities and conditions of the victims have not been released yet.Investigators look over the scene o...

Divers recover person last seen going under water at lake in Northwest Indiana

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:41 GMT

HOBART, Ind. — Divers have recovered the body of a person who was last seen going under the water Sunday afternoon in Hobart.In a video posted to social media, Assistant Chief John Robinson said divers said they recovered the body around 2:49 p.m. Chicago boy, 7, dies after drowning in Lake Michigan The Hobart Police Department said a female was seen going under the water and witnesses haven't been able to find her.Robinson said several agencies responded to the scene to assist them. A helicopter from the Lake County Sheriff's Office was also called to help.The incident is under investigation by Indiana Conservation Officers with the Department of Natural Resources.