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Family members of victims killed in Waltham crash speak out, describe devastation and pain of loss

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:26 GMT

Family members of a police officer and utility worker killed in a fatal hit-and-run in Waltham described the lives of the two men lost and the important roles they played in their families.Waltham Police Officer Paul Tracey, 58, and National Grid worker Roderick Jackson, 36, were both killed when Peter Simon of Woodsville, New Hampshire allegedly crashed a pickup truck into a work crew on Totten Pond Road on Wednesday.Two other National Grid workers were injured when the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office said the 54-year-old crashed his truck and then fled on foot. He later led police on a pursuit when he stole an officer’s cruiser after allegedly pulling a knife on them.Simon was later arrested and arraigned in Waltham District Court on Thursday, where numerous police officers as well as the family members of Jackson were in the courtroom, along with several National Grid employees.During a news conference outside of court, relatives of both victims spoke out, with the fam...

Neighbors describe scene in Waltham as new details emerge about deadly crash, police pursuit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:26 GMT

People living in Waltham described a chaotic scene Wednesday night as authorities rushed to respond to a multi-vehicle crash that left a police officer and a utility worker dead while injuring two other utility workers. As a 54-year-old New Hampshire man accused in connection with the crash appeared in court, documents on Thursday also revealed new details about the crash and a subsequent chase involving a stolen police cruiser.“It was traumatizing,” area resident Johanna Rodriguez told 7NEWS. “I can’t get that scene out of my head.” Wednesday’s events happened around 4 p.m. beginning on Totten Pond Road in Waltham. There, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said, Peter Simon of Woodsville, New Hampshire allegedly first collided with another vehicle while trying to complete a U-turn. Ryan said Simon next drove further down Totten Pond Road, hitting a Waltham police officer and a National Grid worker at a roadside worksite. Ryan said Simon allegedly continued ...

Centenarian survivors of Pearl Harbor attack return to honor those who perished 82 years ago

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:26 GMT

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — Ira “Ike” Schab had just showered, put on a clean sailor’s uniform and closed his locker aboard the USS Dobbin when he heard a call for a fire rescue party.He went topside to see the USS Utah capsizing and Japanese planes in the air. He scurried back below deck to grab boxes of ammunition and joined a daisy chain of sailors feeding shells to an anti-aircraft gun up above. He remembers being only 140 pounds (63.50 kilograms) as a 21-year-old, but somehow finding the strength to lift boxes weighing almost twice that.“We were pretty startled. Startled and scared to death,” Schab, now 103, said. “We didn’t know what to expect and we knew that if anything happened to us, that would be it.”Eighty-two years later, Schab returned to Pearl Harbor Thursday on the anniversary of the attack to remember the more than 2,300 servicemen killed. He was one of five survivors at a ceremony commemorating the assault that propelled the United States into World War II. S...

Congress launches investigation into Harvard, MIT, UPenn after ‘unacceptable’ testimony about antisemitism; rabbi resigns from Harvard committee

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:26 GMT

A Congressional committee has launched an investigation into Harvard University, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania after their campus leaders gave “unacceptable” testimony about antisemitism at a House hearing this week.The Republican-led House Committee on Education and the Workforce has announced that it’s opening a formal investigation into the learning environments, policies, and disciplinary procedures at the three elite universities.The presidents of Harvard, MIT and UPenn refused to characterize protesters’ calls for the genocide of Jews as a breach of the student code of conduct. Jewish and Israeli students have been threatened and assaulted on campuses since the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks.Following Tuesday’s explosive Congressional hearing, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce will now be seeking documents and disciplinary records from the three schools.“The testimony we received earlier this week from Presidents Gay, ...

The top 10 best (and worst!) movies of 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:26 GMT

Michael Phillips | Chicago TribuneSo many good and even great films this year! It’s nice to use an unironic exclamation point for the movie year that was, amid a year soaked in political dread and menace, in America and beyond.The Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild strikes fought back against the studios and streaming giants, gaining some meaningful financial ground and some roadblocks, at least, to de-accelerate the artificial intelligence encroachments in an industry barely, chaotically recognizable from a few years ago.The summer of 2023 drew audiences as if COVID wasn’t a thing anymore. Millions responded to the weirdest, simplest, happiest ad hoc marketing coup of recent movie times: Barbenheimer! The “barb” half was based on a toy, the “enheimer” half told the story of the man behind the weapon that stripped our planet of any future certainty. Both were verifiable and remarkable eyefuls. And “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” ended up making nearly $2.5 billion as a doub...

7 must-read nonfiction graphic novels

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:26 GMT

Comparing something to a comic book isn’t usually meant as praise, but comics, animation and graphic novels can do things other art forms can’t.I remember watching a roundtable discussion with some former writers for “The Simpsons,” and one of them commented that since it cost the same to draw 50 helicopters as it does to draw Homer on the couch, the writing staff could let their imaginations go wild in a way they couldn’t in other types of TV or film.That kind of creative freedom is also evident in nonfiction graphic novels we’re focusing on this week (and there’s one fiction book included, too, for those who like their stories made-up). Not only will you find a range of visual styles – some books explode with color and imagery, others stick with clean black & white lines – but the stories unfold in distinctive ways as well.I’ve been gathering graphic novels to share as we approach the holidays and end of the year. Maybe you need gift ideas for older comics fans, or just want t...

Ticker: MBTA expanding fare discounts; Meta rolls out end-to-end encryption

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:26 GMT

Agency staffers are developing the details of a low-income fare program that would expand reduced fare options for certain groups, including students, young adults, seniors and people with disabilities.The pending policy could reach between 50,000-60,000 riders over the first five years, said Steven Povich, the MBTA’s senior director of fare policy and analytics.Estimates show that there are roughly 60,000 adults ages 26 to 64 who have incomes under 200% of the federal poverty level but have no reduced MBTA fare benefits, Povich said. Slashing their fares in half could translate into $720 in annual savings for daily bus and subway riders, and $1,908 for certain commuter rail riders.“This is really significant savings for our riders across our network, whether you’re a frequent or infrequent rider, whether you’re on the bus and subway network, or the commuter rail,” Povich said. “The annual savings are really material.”Meta rolls out end-to-e...

Best TV of 2023: In a tumultuous year for Hollywood, standouts include Chicago-set ‘The Bear’ and Netflix’s ‘The Diplomat’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:26 GMT

Nina Metz | Chicago Tribune (TNS)We close the book on a year that saw Hollywood weather a writers and actors strike, resulting in almost no work for nearly six months. Tough times for anyone who makes a living in TV.But it also functioned as an overdue course correction. Streamers have been loathe to admit they’re churning out more shows than audiences can keep up with — and providing inadequate budgets to market them all — and the 2023 work stoppage was an excuse to cut back on things instead. How convenient.The strikes hit TV networks the hardest. Broadcasters resorted to an unsatisfying mix of reruns and reality. But weekly episodic TV was already in a diminished state, and this is ironic considering older seasons of these very shows, from “NCIS“ to “Grey’s Anatomy,“ are among the most popular on streaming platforms. Only NBC managed to premiere new shows in the fall (completed before the strike and held back just in case) with “The Irrational“ and “Found.” Though mediocre, at le...

Massachusetts AG files lawsuit against neo-Nazi group NSC-131

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:26 GMT

Massachusetts’ attorney general has filed suit against prominent New England neo-Nazi group the Nationalist Social Club, also known as NSC-131, alleging the group’s activities have violated state civil rights laws and interfered with public safety.“NSC-131 has engaged in a concerted campaign to target and terrorize people across Massachusetts and interfere with their rights. Our complaint is the first step in holding this neo-Nazi group and its leaders accountable for their unlawful actions against members of our community,” Attorney General Andrea Campbell said in a statement Thursday. “My office will continue to do all it can to protect our residents’ and visitors’ civil rights and public safety.”The suit filed Thursday in Suffolk Superior Court targets the organization itself as well as two of its leaders, Christopher Hood and Liam McNeil. It cites what the AG’s office calls “an escalating series of unlawful and discriminatory incidents” between July 2022 and January of this year...

No promise of funding additional parking by Ford government in Ontario Place development document

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:26 GMT

New details coming to light about what the Ford government is promising private companies when it comes to parking at a redeveloped Ontario Place.While the Ford government has not disclosed any details of its long-term lease with Therme, the Austria-based company which was given a 95-year lease to build and operate a water park and private spa at Ontario Place, Ontario’s acting auditor general said Wednesday the deal binds them to provide a number of dedicated parking spaces for the spa between 2028 and 2030 or face a financial penalty.CityNews has obtained the 2019 Call For Development (CFD) for Ontario Place, which sets out the parameters companies needed to consider when making an application to develop the waterfront theme park. The document shows that while the Ford government is obligated to provide 1,200 parking spaces to LiveNation for its Budweiser Stage, there is no mention of building additional parking, let alone a 2,100-car underground parking garage.“Partic...