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Volunteers in Waltham give away hundreds of backpacks to families in need ahead of school year

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:44 GMT

Hundreds of backpacks and more were handed out to families in need as volunteers with the Salvation Army held a back-to-school distribution event in Waltham this week.The Salvation Army Massachusetts Division stuffed some 700 backpacks with classroom supplies ahead of the upcoming school year and gave them away on Monday. Aiming to help families in Waltham, Watertown, and Newton, organizers said it received a number of inquiries ahead of this year’s distribution, noting that a general need for assistance has been on the rise.“We have had phone calls after phone calls asking ‘will you have a backpack event? We need supplies for our children,'” said Lieutenant Nicole Fullop. “We know that the need has grown from last year – last year, we served 625. Prior to opening up at 10 o’clock, we had a line all the way down to the left of our building. Parents, children of all ages, here, ready and waiting.”“We are here to be that helping ha...

Medford police search for nighttime assault suspect after he allegedly cut off his GPS ankle monitor

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:44 GMT

Medford police are asking for the public’s help as officers search for an assault suspect who violated his probation and allegedly cut off his GPS monitoring device.The Medford Police Department said there is an outstanding warrant for the arrest of 18-year-old Nature Moncoeur of Somerville, who was being sought after cutting off his court-ordered GPS ankle monitor.Moncoeur was on probation after being arrested last month in connection with an assault that occurred on Royall Street, where police said a woman in her 20s was attacked while she was out for a walk on the night of July 2. According to Medford PD, a male suspect ran up to the victim and struck her several times after grabbing her from behind before fleeing. Moncoeur was taken into custody nearly a week later.During his arraignment afterwards, the prosecution also revealed that another person had come forward over the course of the investigation and told police she too had been followed by someone resembling Moncoeu...

Source: Patriots signing free-agent Ezekiel Elliott to 1-year contract

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:44 GMT

The Patriots are signing free-agent running back Ezekiel Elliott to a one-year contract worth up to $6 million, a source confirmed to the Boston Herald on Monday.Elliott took a visit with the Patriots late last month. Their depth has been tested behind starter Rhamondre Stevenson as Ty Montgomery and Pierre Strong have missed training camp practices.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Sources: Patriots expected to sign linebacker Carson Wells New England Patriots | Two theories on Patriots’ recent usage of rookie QB Malik Cunningham New England Patriots | Patriots extra points: JuJu Smith-Schuster excited by rookie receivers New England Patriots | Patriots veteran explains Marte Mapu’s ‘tough’ role in preseason game New England Patriots | Patriots training camp Day 19: Mac Jones sizzles until late INT, Malilk Cunningham back at QB Elliott joins Stevenson, Montgomery, Strong, Ke...

Trump rails at ‘very biased’ judge in election case

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:44 GMT

NEW YORK  — Donald Trump is assailing the federal judge overseeing the election conspiracy case against him, days after she warned him not to make inflammatory statements about the case.The former president made posts Monday on his social media network calling U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan “highly partisan” and ” VERY BIASED & UNFAIR!” because of her past comments in a separate case overseeing the sentencing of one of the defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.Chutkan in a hearing Friday imposed a protective order in the case limiting what evidence handed over by prosecutors the former president and his legal team can publicly disclose. She warned Trump’s lawyers that his defense should be mounted in the courtroom and “not on the internet.”Trump posted about the case online anyway, firing off about the judge.A spokesperson for special counsel Jack Smith declined to comment Monday.Prosecutors sought the prote...

Kansas police and a small newspaper are at the center of a 1st Amendment fight after a newsroom raid

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:44 GMT

By JOHN HANNA and MARGERY A. BECK (Associated Press)MARION, Kan. (AP) — A small newspaper and a police department in Kansas are at the center of a dispute over freedom of speech that is being watched around the country after police raided the office of the local newspaper and the home of its owner and publisher.Officials with the Marion Police Department confiscated computers and cellphones from the publisher and staff of the Marion County Record in the Friday raid, prompting press freedom watchdogs to condemn the actions of local authorities as a blatant violation of the U.S. Constitution’s protection for a free press. The police searches were apparently prompted by a complaint from a local restaurant owner, Kari Newell, who accused the newspaper of invading her privacy after it obtained copies of her driving record, which included a 2008 conviction for drunk driving. Newspaper publisher and co-owner Eric Meyer maintains that the newspaper’s aggressive coverage of...

New Mattel Adventure Park to feature Barbie beach house, Hot Wheels roller coasters

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:44 GMT

Mia Taylor | TravelPulse (TNS)The Mattel Adventure Park slated to open in Arizona next year will feature two Hot Wheels-themed roller coasters and — just in time to ride the Barbie-craze sweeping the country — a life-size Barbie beach house.There will also be attractions based on longtime kid-favorite Thomas & Friends, Masters of the Universe, Magic 8 Ball, Pictionary, and UNO at the nine-acre park, which will be located in Glendale, south of State Farm Stadium.The park is planning to operate year-round and its attractions will be located both outdoors and indoors in air-conditioned facilities (which is good news in a hot climate state like Arizona).“Mattel Adventure Park features a unique and strategic year-round indoor and outdoor design providing acres of air-conditioned space to ensure a cool guest experience all summer long here in the heat of Arizona,” Mark Cornell, president at Epic Resort Destinations, said in a statement. “Our attractions development t...

Sources: Patriots expected to sign linebacker Carson Wells

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:44 GMT

The Patriots are expected to sign free-agent linebacker Carson Wells, sources told the Boston Herald.Wells worked out for the Patriots in June. The team does not currently have an opening on their roster, so they’ll need to make a corresponding move.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Source: Patriots signing free-agent Ezekiel Elliott to 1-year contract New England Patriots | Two theories on Patriots’ recent usage of rookie QB Malik Cunningham New England Patriots | Patriots extra points: JuJu Smith-Schuster excited by rookie receivers New England Patriots | Patriots veteran explains Marte Mapu’s ‘tough’ role in preseason game New England Patriots | Patriots training camp Day 19: Mac Jones sizzles until late INT, Malilk Cunningham back at QB Wells most recently played for the XFL’s St. Louis BattleHawks. After going undrafted out of Colorado in 2022, Wells signed w...

Eckersley boyfriend sentenced in frigid baby abandonment

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:44 GMT

MANCHESTER, N.H. — A 45-year-old New Hampshire man will spend at least a year in jail for endangering the life of a newborn baby, after MLB Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley’s daughter gave birth in the woods last year during subfreezing temperatures.George Theberge was sentenced on Monday after pleading guilty to the misdemeanor child endangerment charge, having reached a deal with prosecutors, plus an additional six months behind bars for a probation violation stemming from his arrest in January and a drug charge.The baby boy was left alone in a tent for more than an hour on Dec. 26 as the temperature dipped to 15 degrees, authorities said.A police affidavit referred to Theberge as the boyfriend of the baby’s mother, Alexandra Eckersley, 26, who is accused of abandoning her son without heat or proper clothing. She pleaded not guilty to charges of assault, reckless conduct, and other counts, and was released on bail. She awaits trial next year.Eckersley’s lawy...

Ravens alum and ‘Blind Side’ inspiration Michael Oher tells his own story in new book

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:44 GMT

Abigail Gruskin | (TNS) Baltimore SunYou might think you know Ravens alum Michael Oher from “The Blind Side,” the 2009 Oscar-nominated film inspired by Oher’s battle through poverty and homelessness in his youth, before being recruited to play football at the University of Mississippi. It ends with an update: Oher had made it into the NFL.That movie, based on a book of the same name, “turned me into something so rare it almost doesn’t exist — a famous offensive lineman,” Oher remarks in his new book, “When Your Back’s Against the Wall,” written with author Don Yaeger and published Aug. 8 by Avery.But the cinematic tale didn’t get his story quite right. Oher, 37, “wasn’t a poor student” despite being behind in school, he writes in his latest book, and persevered in large part on his own.“Shedding light and giving hope to people who think that someone has to rescue them” is Oher’s goal, he told The Baltimore Sun in a recent phone interview. “You have every tool that you need to be suc...

Two theories on Patriots’ recent usage of rookie QB Malik Cunningham

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:44 GMT

FOXBORO — All it took was 15 snaps at the end of a preseason game, but Patriots fans have become enamored with undrafted rookie Malik Cunningham.It’s understandable. In a game in which Mac Jones saw zero action and the offense looked lifeless with Bailey Zappe and Trace McSorley under center thanks in large part to an ineffective offensive line, Cunningham added life in Thursday night’s loss to the Houston Texans. The Patriots were suddenly playing much faster as Cunningham led the offense on their only touchdown-scoring drive, going 3-of-4 for 19 yards as a passer and leading the team with 34 rushing yards and a touchdown on five attempts.After barely playing quarterback for most of the first two weeks of training camp as he continued a transition to wide receiver that started in the spring, Cunningham started taking more significant reps under center in the two practices proceeding Thursday night’s preseason opener against the Houston Texans.Related ArticlesNew England...