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Brockton students go back to school as community demands answers about $14M budget deficit

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:41:54 GMT

Students in Brockton are heading back to class Wednesday as community members and parents demand answers about a $14 million budget deficit that prompted officials to unanimously approved an independent external audit and investigation into the shortfall.Brockton Superintendent of Schools Mike Thomas said last week he takes responsibility for the deficit, which is going to impact schools, admitting he spent too much money on staffing, safety, and transportation.“I made decisions I needed to make and you have to make them fast sometimes to keep people safe,” Thomas told 7NEWS. “And, again, that caused the overspending.”“I’m guilty of keeping too many staff members, doing what I thought was right to help kids recover from COVID and provide them the support that they needed and support our staff,” Thomas added.Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan announced the deficit last week after a four-hour closed-door meeting with school committee members. “I am extremely dismayed, collectively we’re a...

Tropical Storm Lee forecast to strengthen into hurricane as it churns in Atlantic toward Caribbean

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:41:54 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Tropical Storm Lee churned through the open waters of the Atlantic on Wednesday and was expected to soon become a hurricane as it approached the Caribbean.The storm was located about 1,265 miles (2,040 kilometers) east-southeast of the northern Leeward Islands. It had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 kph) and was moving west-northwest at 14 mph (22 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center.It was not forecast to make landfall, but it is projected to pass just northeast of the British Virgin Islands, which is still recovering from hurricanes Maria and Irma that hit in September 2017.Lee is expected to become a hurricane later Wednesday and develop into a major hurricane in a couple of days.“Lee continues to strengthen at a quick pace,” the center said, noting the storm is moving over very warm waters and a moist environment.Lee is the 12th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.The National Ocean and A...

Crash snaps light pole in Somerville

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:41:54 GMT

Police responded to a crash in Somerville overnight that snapped a light pole in the city’s shopping and dining district.Police and fire crews responding to the Assembly Row crash found a red sedan with significant front end damage and a damaged light pole.The cause of the crash remains under investigation.No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

The Rolling Stones are set to unveil their new album at an event in London

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:41:54 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A rock’n’roll juggernaut was descending Wednesday on London’s Hackney district, where The Rolling Stones are set to unveil their new album, “Hackney Diamonds.”Hard-core fans were already lining up Wednesday morning outside the Hackney Empire, where Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood will be interviewed onstage by “The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon in a livestreamed event at 2:30 p.m. (1330 GMT; 9:30 a.m. EDT).Inside the ornate former Edwardian musical hall where Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel once performed, Jagger, 80, Richards, 79 and Wood, 76 are due to give details of the Stones’ first studio album of new songs since “A Bigger Bang” in 2005.The band released a set of blues covers, “Blue & Lonesome,” in 2016.The album is the first since drummer Charlie Watts died in in 2021, and is due to include some contributions he recorded before his death.Announcement of the new material follows a cryptic teaser campaign, in which the band’s iconi...

Callahan: Matt Patricia knows the Patriots better than any ex-coach ever — and they don’t care

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:41:54 GMT

The Eagles won’t need a secret weapon Sunday to beat the Patriots.Their weapons are known, and they are dangerous: Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert. Oh, and don’t forget the defensive line that averaged more than a sack per quarter last season and has since added two first-round picks.If, however, the Eagles did require a secret weapon, his name might be senior defensive assistant Matt Patricia.Stop laughing.Patricia’s knowledge of the Patriots’ football operations is deeper and more detailed than any other coach to face them in the Bill Belichick era. No ex-assistant has returned to face Belichick with coordinator experience on offense and defense, not to mention his year as a Senior Football Adviser. However disastrous last season was  — and it was a football hellscape of ugly penalties and hideous turnovers  — Patricia still knows the Pats’ playbooks and personnel intimately.Patricia learned at Belichick’s knee for 16 y...

Eight MBTA employees fired for sleeping, not paying attention at work

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:41:54 GMT

Eight of the 10 MBTA employees suspended for sleeping or failing to pay proper attention during work hours over the past year and a half were ultimately fired by the agency, records show.The terminated employees included five bus drivers, a train operator, bus inspector and electrical worker, who were “recommended for discharge” after serving suspensions that lasted either 40 or 70 days.Two bus drivers were allowed to return to work, with additional safety training, after serving either a three- or 10-day suspension. An 11th employee, also listed as a bus driver, was issued an infraction notice, but was not suspended, records show.The data was provided to the Herald after a public records request for “MBTA employees found failing to comply with the attention to duty rule and/or sleeping during work hours,” from Jan. 1, 2022 to July 23, 2023.“The image that frontline employees present to our customers is a critical element in maintaining the public’s trust,” an MBTA spokesperson said...

Patriots outlook: NFL sources expecting franchise to finish in middle of the pack

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:41:54 GMT

Coming off the third-worst season of Bill Belichick’s 23-year tenure as head coach, the Patriots did surprisingly little this offseason to significantly upgrade their roster.That might not matter as Belichick and the team try to improve upon last season’s 8-9 finish because the team’s biggest weakness wasn’t so much in personnel as it was coaching. With Matt Patricia and Joe Judge leading the offense, the system was predictable and simplistic.Quarterback Mac Jones — coached by Judge and running plays called by Patricia — saw a dramatic decline from his rookie season (when offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was still on board in 2021) in nearly every statistical category. Patricia’s offensive line gave up a higher pressure rate despite quarterbacks attempting a lower average depth of target than in 2021.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots QB Mac Jones reveals that Tom Brady has helped ‘mentor’ him New England Patriots | Patri...

Blinken visits Kyiv in show of support for Ukraine’s counteroffensive

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:41:54 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Ukraine’s capital Wednesday for an unannounced visit hours after Russia launched a missile attack on the city, in a trip intended to show confidence in Kyiv’s forces amid a grinding counteroffensive.Blinken’s trip aimed to assess Ukraine’s 3-month-old counteroffensive and signal continued U.S. support as some Western allies are expressing worries about Ukraine’s progress driving out Russian forces after 18 months of war, according to U.S. officials.After arriving in Kyiv, Blinken laid a wreath at the city’s Berkovetske cemetery to commemorate members of the Ukrainian armed forces who lost their lives defending the country.“We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs, not only to succeed in the counteroffensive but has what it needs for the long-term, to make sure that it has a strong deterrent,” Blinken said during the visit. “We’re also determined to continue to work with our partners as the...

Armenia will hold exercises with the US in a period of tensions with Russia

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:41:54 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Armenia announced Wednesday that its forces will hold military exercises this month with the United States as tensions rose with longtime ally Russia. Armenia’s Defense Ministry said the exercises that begin Monday are aimed at preparing units for international peacekeeping operations. It did not say how many troops would take part or specify activities in the exercises. “As regards the exercise, certainly, the news raises alarm, especially in today’s circumstances,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said after the announcement. Landlocked Armenia has close military ties with Russia, including hosting a Russian military base and participating in the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization alliance. However, Armenia has become increasingly disillusioned with Russia since the 2020 war with Azerbaijan. The armistice that ended the war called for a Russian peacekeeping force to ensure passage on the road leading from Armenia to the Nagorno-Karabakh...

Pakistan shuts key border crossing with Afghanistan after guards exchange fire

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:41:54 GMT

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani authorities closed a key border crossing with landlocked Afghanistan on Wednesday shortly after border guards from the two sides exchanged fire, officials and residents said, in a sign of increasing tensions between the two neighbors.There were no reports of casualties, and it was not immediately known why the border guards from the two sides exchanged fire, said Nasrullah Khan, an official in Torkham, a town in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.He said Pakistani government and military officials were in contact with their Afghan counterparts to defuse tensions. Abdul Mateen Qani, the Afghan Taliban-appointed spokesman for the Interior Ministry, confirmed the clash between Afghan and Pakistani forces. He said officials from both sides were attempting to find out what caused the clash and ways to prevent such incidents in the future.Pakistani authorities said dozens of trucks carrying perishable items, including vegetables and fruits, we...