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Classes resume at West Newbury school after refrigerant leak causes ‘strange odor,’ sends multiple students to hospital

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:25:26 GMT

Classes will resume Tuesday at a West Newbury school after a refrigerant leak in the HVAC system caused a “strange odor” on Monday, forcing the school to evacuate and sending multiple students to the hospital. West Newbury Police and Fire Chief Michael Dwyer said an initial call came in around 9:40 a.m. reporting a strange smell coming from a science lab in the middle school area of the Pentucket Middle-High School. Four students were transported to area hospitals after they started feeling dizzy and nauseous, according to Dwyer. About 39 others were checked out at the scene and released to their parents. Dwyer said all students impacted by this incident are expected to be okay.At one point, the situation was considered a hazardous materials incident, prompting a large emergency response. Prior to Tuesday’s reopening, officials say the HVAC unit was shut off and the middle school area of the building was vented to disperse the odor.The school is now working to repa...

Battenfeld: Prominent Massachusetts conservative throws weight behind DeSantis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:25:26 GMT

An influential Massachusetts Republican businessman is bucking former President Donald Trump and throwing his weight behind Ron DeSantis — a much-needed boost for the Florida governor’s sputtering campaign.The Herald has learned that Rick Green, the online auto parts magnate and founder of Mass Fiscal Alliance, is endorsing DeSantis, making him the first prominent conservative figure to break with the Trump wing of the party and back the Florida governor.“The country’s ready for the next generation and I think Gov. DeSantis is it,” Green, of Lowell, said in an interview with the Herald. “I think Gov. DeSantis’s accomplishments in Florida provide a vision for the next generation.”Green, who could provide important financial backing for DeSantis in Massachusetts, said he has no problem with Trump but believes the Florida governor is better positioned to take the nomination and defeat Joe Biden in 2024.DeSantis has struggled to win endorsements...

Bone fragment in hacksaw key clue against accused wife killer Brian Walshe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:25:26 GMT

A “small bone fragment” found when police took apart a hacksaw purchased by accused killer Brian Walshe could be enough to convict him of slaying his wife if there is a DNA match, experts tell the Herald.What part of the body the bone came from and if it contains any traces of marrow could be the so-called smoking gun in a murder case that has no body, former FBI agents and a forensic specialist say.“If there’s a positive DNA match, that would be enough for a lot of juries,” said retired FBI supervisory special agent Todd Hulsey. “You don’t need a body. But, you can never predict what a jury will do.”The discovery of a tainted hacksaw is part of a trove of evidence listed in court documents now being released in the case.Those documents also state Brian Walshe, the Cohasset man accused of dismembering his wife in the first hours of the New Year, confirmed Ana Walshe was having an affair, the Herald has reported.The entry for the hacksa...

Massachusetts High Tech Council slams tax rebate rewrite

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:25:26 GMT

The influential Massachusetts High Tech Council is warning lawmakers that altering the tax rebate law is unconstitutional and should not be adopted.The House has already headed down that road, but a memo authored at the request of the council says it’s a legal dead end.The House’s over $56 billion spending plan for fiscal 2024 includes a provision that would change Chapter 62F of the General Laws, a previously unremarkable portion of the state’s tax codes which last year unexpectedly sent nearly $3 billion in excess tax takings back to residents.Passed in 1986 through a ballot measure, changing the law via the Legislature would circumvent the expressed will of voters, according to the High Tech Council.“The proposed change to Chapter 62F would not only alter a law that was approved by the voters, but it would also violate the state’s Constitution with a tax credit formula not authorized by the current flat-tax requirement. Given this concern, any tax reform bill which reaches ...

How does the Patriots’ depth chart look post-NFL Draft?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:25:26 GMT

The Patriots infused their roster with much needed juice during the NFL Draft, adding mostly elite athletes with their 12 picks who more often than not addressed serious needs.Come summer, the position competition in training camp should be the fiercest it’s been since 2019. Here’s how the Pats’ roster breaks down near the end of spring:QuarterbacksMac Jones, Bailey Zappe, Trace McSorley, Malik CunninghamUntil further notice, Jones will start and Zappe should be his primary backup for a second straight season. McSorley offers a mobile option off the bench, and could be a practice-squad candidate come the regular season. Cunningham is reportedly open to a position change, and after running a 4.5 at the NFL Combine — among other elite testing numbers — he could be athletic enough to make the switch.Running backsRhamondre Stevenson, James Robinson, Ty Montgomery, Pierre Strong, Kevin Harris, J.J. TaylorOne of the most straightforward positions on the roster. Stevenson...

Orioles minor league report: Jackson Holliday excels in first week with High-A Aberdeen

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:25:26 GMT

Jackson Holliday didn’t waste much time getting adjusted to a new level.The 19-year-old prospect was promoted early last week from Low-A Delmarva to Aberdeen, becoming one of the youngest players at High-A. In his first week with the IronBirds, he showed that age is just a number.It took Holliday, the Orioles’ top prospect still in the minor leagues, just two games to get a feel for High-A pitching. He went 0-for-7 with three strikeouts and three walks in his first two contests before breaking out with a triple and a home run in his third. He then singled in each of his next two games to extend his on-base streak to begin the season to 18 completed games.Holliday, the son of former star outfielder Matt Holliday, did a little bit of everything in his first week in High-A. In addition to his homer and triple, the 2022 No. 1 overall pick also stole a base, walked four times, played 38 error-free innings at shortstop and turned four double plays.He went 4-for-17 at the plate...

Kevin Sabet and Teresa Haley: Allowing NBA players to promote pot would be dangerous to young fans’ health

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:25:26 GMT

NBA stars are known for their highflying feats on the court. Now, they might just be high.Reports have suggested the new tentative contract between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association might do the unthinkable: The deal may allow players to use marijuana and THC products during the season without being penalized. It may even permit players to promote and invest in companies selling the drug, which is stronger and more dangerous than ever.That’s right. They might really send the message to their young players and millions of kids who admire basketball players, whose brains are still developing, that getting high is OK.Let’s be clear: Today’s highly potent marijuana is anything but “recreational,” as the U.S. surgeon general and every major medical association in the nation have said for years. Still, the NBA and its players may now give THC drug products their imprimatur. Any suggestion that the league would indirectly promote drug use...

What was the worst loss in Boston sports history?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:25:26 GMT

This sports-loving city has seen the best of times and the worst.But how low is Sunday’s Game 7 loss by the Bruins when compared to other defeats? The 2022-23 Bruins made history in the regular season winning 65 games. They were chasing the Stanley Cup. Now? Were all crying in our beer.How does this loss rank among other ignominious losses? Take the Herald poll RIGHT HERE and we’ll circle back later this week with the results and your comments:Bruins fall to Panthers (2023):The team had a wild opening round secured, until with 59 seconds left to go the Panthers tied it up sending the game into OT. That’s where Carter Verhaege scored at 8:35 of overtime to lift Floridians to a shocking 4-3 victory.Patriots vs. Giants (Super Bowl XLII, 2008):This one still hurts. With a perfect season on the line, the Patriots let history slip away with a stunning 17-14 defeat. David Tyree made an improbable helmet catch and the Giants sent the Patriots into history with an 18-1 mark...

Prominent Palestinian hunger striker dies in Israeli custody

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:25:26 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — A high-profile Palestinian prisoner died in Israeli custody on Tuesday after a nearly three-month-long hunger strike, Israel’s prison service announced, at a time of already soaring tensions between Israel and the Palestinians.Khader Adnan, a leader in the militant Islamic Jihad group, had begun staging protracted hunger strikes more than a decade ago, introducing a new form of protests against Israel’s mass detentions of Palestinians without charges or trials. On Tuesday, the 45-year-old became the first long-term hunger striker to die in Israeli custody. Palestinians called for a general strike in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and protests were expected later in the day. Palestinian militants fired a volley of rockets from Gaza toward empty fields in Israel. Islamic Jihad said in a statement that “our fight continues and will not stop.” Adnan’s death comes as Israel is led by its most right-wing government ever. Prisons and Palestinian prisoners ar...

Climate talks see pushes for global renewable energy target

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:25:26 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Germany called Tuesday for governments around the world to work on setting an ambitious target for renewable energy that would “ring in the end of the fossil fuel age” and help prevent dangerous global warming.Speaking at the start of a two-day meeting in Berlin attended by dozens of top climate envoys, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock noted that the world needs to sharply cut greenhouse gas emissions in order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).“But we also know that not all countries are prepared to do so,” she said. “That is why I want to open the debate (…) on whether we should and can reach a target on renewables at the next climate conference.”Baerbock’s proposal flips the script on a previous push to set a deadline for phasing out all fossil fuels, which faced stiff resistance from major oil and gas exporting nations. They instead back the idea of capturing planet-warming emissions as a way to reducing gre...