Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Monday, December 23, 2013
Jared Skvirsky's Xmas party
Jared Skvirsky is going to Mary's Aunt's house in West Roxbury on Wednesday for Xmas.
Friday, December 20, 2013
Kevin Youkilis to play baseball in Japan
"Former Red Sox infielder Kevin Youkilis is headed to play baseball in Japan next year, according to ESPN.
Youkilis, 34, has agreed to a one-year deal with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, the report said, though it didn’t name the contract’s amount.
A fan favorite, he played eight full seasons for Boston earning three All-Star appearances, two World Series rings, a .287 average, and one gold glove."
Vials from recalled lot of HPV vaccine shipped to Mass.
"Massachusetts is among at least 40 states that received vials from a recalled lot of Gardasil vaccine, health officials announced late Friday, but they were unable to say how many health care providers may have received doses from this batch.
The vaccine is given to protect against human papillomavirus, or HPV, which can cause cervical cancer in women."
Target offers store discount, free credit monitoring
"NEW YORK — Target is offering a store discount and free credit monitoring after what’s being called the second-largest credit card breach in U.S. history.
The Minneapolis-based discounter also says it will offer 10 percent off for people who shop Saturday and Sunday. Target says it’s heard of ‘‘very few’’ reports of fraud since thieves stole the credit and debit card information of about 40 million shoppers. But the chain is continuing to reach out to customers.
Some potential fraud victims say they’re having trouble getting in touch with Target through its website and call centers. CEO Gregg Steinhafel apologized today and says the company is working hard to resolve the issues.
Target hasn’t disclosed exactly how the breach occurred but says it has fixed the problem."
Epilepsy drug blocks HIV in lab tests
"NEW YORK — Can an experimental drug developed to treat epilepsy block the AIDS virus? A preliminary lab study suggests it is possible, and researchers are eager to try it in people.
Scientists experimented with the drug after uncovering details of how they believe HIV cripples the immune system to bring on AIDS.
When tested in human tissues in the laboratory, the drug ‘‘works beautifully’’ to prevent HIV from destroying key cells of the immune system, said Dr. Warner Greene of the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco. Those results appear in a paper by Greene and others published online Thursday by the journal Nature."
Judge overturns Utah’s same-sex marriage ban
"SALT LAKE CITY — A federal judge struck down Utah’s same-sex marriage ban Friday in a decision that marks a drastic shift toward gay marriage in a conservative state where the Mormon church has long been against it.
The decision set off an immediate frenzy as the clerk in the state’s most populous county began issuing marriage licenses to gay couples while state officials took steps to appeal the ruling and halt the process."
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
R.I. man, 78, beaten in home invasion dies
"A 78-year-old man who was badly beaten while trying to defend a tenant during an armed home invasion in Providence has died of his injuries. The Providence Journal reported Tuesday that Delor Cabral died Sunday at Rhode Island Hospital. Cabral, a former sheriff, was critically injured last month when he tried to defend his tenant from gunmen who broke into the Ontario Street dwelling. Wilbert Richardson and Joel Valdez are being held at the Cranston jail on several charges in connection with Cabral’s beating. Police Commander Thomas Oates III said investigators are waiting for the medical examiner’s office to determine Cabral’s cause of death to see whether it will be ruled a homicide."
Menino, Walsh discuss transition
"Mayor-elect Martin J. Walsh promised today to help Mayor Thomas M. Menino negotiate a contract with the city’s police union if the City Council votes it down.
“I certainly will offer my services to Mayor Menino in the interim to sit down with both sides,”Walsh said at a news conference this afternoon. “We can certainly get to yes.”
He declined to offer the council advice on which way to vote. “I think the council’s going to make their decision. … I will accept whatever their decision is, whatever they vote.”"
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Red Sox fans come from far and wide to watch rally
"Parents hoisted children aloft. Just about everyone plucked out cellphones to chronicle the moment. The rolling Red Sox parade had arrived at City Hall Plaza, and the crowd roared, their cheers reaching a crescendo as slugger David Ortiz and bullpen ace Koji Uehara passed by.
“It was so worth coming in for,” said 29-year-old Liz Perkins of Seabrook, N.H. Her husband, Dennis, 34, attended the Sox championship parades in 2004 and 2007. But this was a first for their children, 7-year-old Makenna, whose long blond hair was streaked with Red Sox red, and son, 4-year-old Kason, who wore a Dustin Pedroia shirt."
Man sought in 21 convenience store robberies
"Police are seeking the public’s help in identifying a man believed to have robbed at least 21 convenience stores since February, brandishing a gun in many of the crimes.
Cambridge, Boston, Chelsea, Everett, and Lynn police are searching for a dark-skinned black man, about 5 feet 10 inches tall, with a thin mustache, Cambridge police said in a statement. In surveillance photos released by police, he can be seen wearing large sunglasses, with a coat or sweat shirt with its hood up or a baseball cap."
William Evans steps in as police commissioner
"Boston police Superintendent William Evans, a popular commander who ran the Boston Marathon and then responded to the bombings, will serve as acting commissioner of the department until a new mayor picks a permanent replacement.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino made the appointment Friday afternoon and said Evans would be commissioner effective immediately, replacing Edward F. Davis, who stepped down Friday."
Duck boat driver looks forward to third Sox parade
"Adiehard Red Sox fan, Colleen McKinnon did not want to jinx anything or to risk offending the baseball gods. But once the Sox took a commanding 6-0 lead in Game 6 Wednesday night, she began texting her boss from her seat in right field, staking her claim to work the victory parade."
Mass. fishermen eligible for federal disaster aid
"The US Small Business Administration has decided to provide federal disaster assistance to Massachusetts fishermen hard hit by reductions in catch limits and groundfish stocks. US Senator Edward J. Markey said Friday that the assistance will help fishermen keep their businesses afloat as they adjust to changing conditions that threaten commercial fishing communities across the state. In September, Governor Deval Patrick officially certified that Massachusetts fishermen who chase bottom-dwelling groundfish had suffered ‘‘substantial economic injury.’’ He cited the poor health of key fish stocks and this year’s devastating cuts in the allowed catch."
Fans line Boston streets for Red Sox parade
"Horns blared, confetti flew through the air, and throngs of jubilant and grateful Red Sox fans screamed and waved along the route today as the team’s World Series victory parade rolled through the streets.
The Olde Towne Team, whose improbable championship run lifted the spirits of a region rattled by the Boston Marathon bombings, boarded a caravan of amphibious duck boats for a 3.8-mile ride through city streets that ended with a splash — with the boats taking a victory lap in the Charles River."
Monday, October 28, 2013
Tufts Health Plan CEO no longer in running for Social Security post
"WASHINGTON -- As fitting as it may have been to have a Roosevelt oversee the Social Security Administration, Tufts Health Plan chief executive James Roosevelt Jr. has quietly pulled himself from consideration to run the program his grandfather, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, signed into law in 1935."
Love story spans Red Sox-Cardinals history
"Bob and Jean Hannon had their first date at Fenway Park. The tickets were $2.50 each, and even though the Red Sox were playing the St. Louis Cardinals in a World Series game, Bob was able to get bleacher seats at the gate.
He was 24, working for New England Telephone. She was 20 and had skipped classes at Emmanuel College to go to the game. “Wow, did you see that 4-6 double play?” she exclaimed.
Impressed with her baseball knowledge, Bob said he remembers thinking, “I’m going to marry that girl.”
At funeral, Colleen Ritzer’s passion for teaching recalled
"ANDOVER — With hundreds of students in the pews, beloved Danvers High School teacher Colleen Ritzer, who was allegedly murdered by a student last week, was mourned in a funeral Mass this morning at St. Augustine’s Church.
An estimated 1,000 people, including 400 students, attended the service, which began at about 10 a.m. after her casket was carried into the church by her cousins.
In a eulogy, one of her cousins, Gina McDaniel, described Ritzer’s passion for education as one of the hallmarks of the 24-year-old’s life."
UMaine opening autism institute
"A new institute is opening at the University of Maine’s Orono campus for educators and others who work with children with autism and post-secondary students seeking to work with such children. The Maine Autism Institute for Education and Research will open Jan. 1. Maine families will also be able to get services and resources through the institute to help them better understand autism. Institute staff plan to host professional development workshops and webinars, create road maps of the various services available from birth to adulthood, and provide family-to-family mentoring. It is a partnership of the Maine Department of Education and the university’s College of Education and Human Development."
Man convicted of murder in 2011 death of Revere group home worker
" Suffolk Superior Court jury today convicted Deshawn James Chappell of first-degree murder for killing Stephanie Moulton inside the Revere group home for the mentally ill where Chappell was a client and Moulton worked.
Related
Sentencing for Chappell is expected to take place this afternoon in Judge Jeffrey Locke’s courtroom. Chappell faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The murder occurred Jan. 20, 2011. Moulton, an aspiring nursing student who was engaged to be married, was months into her job as a social worker at a group home in Revere run by the North Suffolk Mental Health Association, a state contractor, the Globe has reported."
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Jose Iglesias’s error proves costly in Tigers’ loss
"It was by no means a routine play, but it was the kind you could essentially pencil Jose Iglesias in for.
There was one out in the seventh inning, and the Tigers were clinging to a 2-1 lead in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series on Saturday night. Jonny Gomes had already reached on a double. Xander Bogaerts had worked his second walk of the night, and Jacoby Ellsbury was at the plate.
When Ellsbury sent a ball skipping up the middle, Iglesias’s mind was already on turning the double play that would have gotten them out of the inning.
“He hit it pretty good,” Iglesias said. “So I thought I had the double play.”
From the dugout, Tigers manager Jim Leyland was picturing the same thing.
“I think we could have,” Leyland said. “It was hit pretty hard, but that’s part of the game. I have no problem with that. Probably could have turned that, even though Ellsbury runs good. I think we doubled him once this series.”
Bill Belichick disagrees with flag
"EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick said he didn't believe his team committed a penalty on a pivotal missed field goal attempt in Sunday's 30-27 overtime lossto the New York Jets.
Nick Folk's missed 56-yard field goal try was nullified due to an unsportsmanlike penalty call on defensive tackle Chris Jones for pushing a teammate in an attempt to block the kick.
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Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe/Getty ImagesBill Belichick argues with officials following a critical overtime penalty on the Patriots.
The officials ruled that Jones was a second-level defender that pushed teammate Will Svitek from behind, a violation of Rule 9, Section 1, Article 3 that states: "Team B players cannot push teammates on the line of scrimmage into the offensive formation."
Though Jones did appear to push Svitek, he was originally lined up on the line of scrimmage. The violation is said to occur only when the pushing player starts at the second level of the defense, which is what Belichick took exception to.
"You can't push on the second level," he said. "I didn't think we did that."
New York, given new life, ran the ball three times to set up Folk's game-winning 42-yard field goal.
Referee Jerome Boger explained his decision after the game.
A strange penalty helped the Jets beat the Patriots in OT Sunday. Is New York for real? What about New England?
"The call was that No. 94 [Jones] on the defense pushed his teammate into the formation," he said. "That is a rule change for 2013 that a teammate cannot push a teammate into the opponents' formation."
Patriots fall to Jets after critical penalty
"EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — As rookie teammate Chris Jones found himself pressed into his locker by a throng of media members asking about the critical penalty called on him in overtime, Patriots captain Matthew Slater was at his own stall just a few feet away.
“It’s not on him,” Slater said of Jones. “There were 20, 30 plays throughout the game that could have gone differently. You guys are asking Chris a lot of questions, but it’s not his fault. We lost this game as a team.”
The Patriots fell to their AFC East rivals, the Jets, Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium, 30-27, in OT. It was the second loss of the season for New England, and snapped a five-game win streak against New York.
The play in question, the one that led to Jones getting so many questions, came during Jets kicker Nick Folk’s game-winning 56-yard field-goal attempt.
Lined up behind Will Svitek, Jones can be seen on replay pushing Svitek forward at the snap and into the Jets’ Damon Harrison. A flag immediately went up into the air, and even though Folk’s long attempt was wide left, the infraction meant he’d get a second chance."
Marvin Lewis
"Marvin Ronald Lewis (born September 23, 1958) is the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League, a position he has held since January 14, 2003, making him the 2nd longest tenured head coach in the NFL behind New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. Previously, he was notable as the defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens, whose record-setting defense helped them win Super Bowl XXXV 34-7 over the New York Giants."
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Rajon Rondo: Why would I want out?
"Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo said that he is embracing the challenge of a rebuild and hopes to aid the team in that process.
Rondo, speaking to reporters Tuesday night at the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston after formally announcing he has joined the ANTA shoe brand, dispelled the notion that Boston's roster overhaul this past summer, which included trading away Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, might leave him yearning to join a contender rather than endure another rebuilding process.
"I love it here. The fans are great here," Rondo said, according to Comcast SportsNet. "And [president of basketball operations] Danny [Ainge] has been straightforward with me. This is my team. Why would I want to leave? Why would I want out?"
Rob Gronkowski: Still 'day-to-day'
:FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Amid reports that the New England Patriots are optimistic that Rob Gronkowski will make his season debut Sunday against the New Orleans Saints, the tight end reinforced on Thursday that his status remains day-to-day.
After all he's endured, Pats tight end Rob Gronkowski has the right to be cautious about his return, writes Ashley Fox.
"It's basically nothing new," he told reporters. "I mean, I'm just working hard every week, working hard out at practice, and nothing's changed, we're day by day, like we've been from the very beginning."
Asked what he and doctors need to see in order to know he is ready to return to the field, Gronkowski replied, "[I'm] really just taking it each day at a time and just trying to improve each day at a time. And that's all."
On Wednesday, quarterback Tom Brady said that he's not riding the emotional roller coaster attached to speculating on Gronkowski's return date.
"We've kind of talked about it a lot the last five weeks," Brady said. "If he's there, he's there. If he's not, he's not. We're going to try to go win anyway," he said.
Brady's comments came on the heels of remarks by coach Bill Belichick, who reiterated that Gronkowski's status is day-to-day but did not elaborate."
Obama, GOP escalate the rhetoric on shutdown
WASHINGTON — President Obama and House speaker John A. Boehner amped up their rhetoric Tuesday as the standoff over the shutdown and a potential default on the nation’s debt reached a new level of discord and uncertainty.
Even a temporary route to break the logjam — the possibility of raising the nation’s borrowing authority for a few weeks to stave off economic calamity and allow time for substantial negotiations — did not win any agreement, despite offering an opportunity for both sides to save face.
Obama and Boehner had a brief phone conversation Tuesday morning, then followed that up with dueling press conferences that revealed how deeply the two sides remain divided.
“If reasonable Republicans want to talk about these things again, I’m ready to head up to the Hill and try,” Obama said during a press conference. “I’ll even spring for dinner again.”
But, he added, “I’m not going to do it until the more extreme parts of the Republican Party stop forcing John Boehner to issue threats about our economy. We can’t make extortion routine as part of our democracy.”
The economic warning came Tuesday as stocks fell sharply and consumer confidence, as measured by Gallup, has fallen by more than it has in any week since the Lehman Brothers collapse of 2008, the beginning of the global economic crisis.
The Obama administration has warned that the nation faces default on its credit beginning Oct. 17. Republicans have pounded Obama for days for refusing to negotiate terms for an end to the dispute. Obama, in a press conference lasting more than hour, went to extraordinary lengths to explain to ordinary Americans why he believes “paying ransom’’ in exchange for raising the debt ceiling is “nonnegotiable.’’
Cantor calls White House meeting useful
"WASHINGTON — Urgent efforts to prevent an economy-tanking U.S. default rose and then retreated with astonishing speed Thursday, as House Republicans floated a compromise and the White House appeared amenable, only for Senate Democrats to declare it unacceptable.
‘‘Not going to happen,’’ declared Majority Leader Harry Reid, standing outside the White House after he and fellow Democrats met with President Barack Obama. The Republican plan would leave the 10-day-old partial government shutdown in place while raising the nation’s $16.7 trillion debt limit and setting up negotiations between the GOP and Obama over spending cuts and other issues.
Heartened by any hint of progress, Wall Street chose to accentuate the positive. After days of decline, the Dow Jones industrial average soared 323 points on hopes that the divided government was taking steps to avoid a default. Reid’s dismissive comments at the White House came at the end of the trading day."
Monday, September 23, 2013
Tom Brady, rookie WRs get results
"FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Tom Brady was at it again on Sunday, hollering at his rookie receivers on the sideline, unleashing pure, unfiltered, raw emotion.
After their underwhelming performance last week, New England Patriots rookiesKenbrell Thompkins and Aaron Dobsonundoubtedly could have used a hug, but instead their quarterback delivered a swift kick to their collective posteriors. The message was clear: We don't have time for this. Get up to speed. Learn your assignments.
Only this time, he was screaming his approval.
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Mark L. Baer/USA TODAY SportsTom Brady blowing another gasket? Actually he's fired up about a TD by Kenbrell Thompkins.
Now.
"I didn't mind it,'' Dobson said of the scolding Sunday, after he caught seven passes for 52 yards against the (still) winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers. "You've got to learn from it. We know mistakes are going to happen. Our job is to take something positive from it.''"
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