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Pan-Mass Challenge donates record $72M

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:42 GMT

The Pan-Mass Challenge handed over a record $72 million to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute on Sunday, moving the pioneering cross-state bicycle ride within sight of $1 billion raised.The summertime ride to the tip of Cape Cod is the largest single-event athletic fundraiser in the world, raising $972 million for cancer care since 1980. It is the largest single contributor to Dana-Farber and its Jimmy Fund.A total of 6,500 participants cycled up to 211 miles across the state for the 44th PMC in August.PMC donates 100% of every rider-raised dollar directly to Dana-Farber to fund lifesaving cancer research, treatment and patient care. The organization is Dana-Farber’s single largest contributor, accounting for more than 60% of the annual revenue at the Jimmy Fund.Last year, the PMC raised $69 million.

Hanover girls outlast Weston in shootout

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:42 GMT

HANOVER — When a program wins a championship, there’s always that looming question about repeating.Hanover is two wins away achieving that goal.Senior captain Eva Kelliher sniped a pair of goals, including the game-ending tally in penalty kicks (3-1), as third-seeded Hanover advanced to the Div. 3 Final Four with a 3-2 shootout victory over No. 11 Weston.“It’s definitely a high-stake game,” Kelliher said afterward. “It’s playoffs, there’s nothing after this. It’s kind of it. But we’ve definitely had big wins throughout the season, and I think those definitely helped us get to this point.”While both schools had opportunities scattered throughout the opening half, Weston (12-4-5) found itself struggling to get clean shots on net. Meanwhile, Hanover (20-0-1) capitalized in transition to open play, as a shot by the Hawks struck the right post. However, the ball ricocheted right to the foot of Kelliher, who buried the rebound to provide her group a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute.Then, the ...

Mike Preston’s report card: Position-by-position grades for Ravens’ 33-31 loss to Browns | COMMENTARY

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:42 GMT

Here’s how the Ravens (7-3) graded out at each position after a 33-31 loss to the Cleveland Browns (6-3) in Sunday’s Week 10 game at M&T Bank Stadium.QuarterbackLamar Jackson had his moments of success, especially on those short to intermediate throws such as the 40-yard touchdown pass to Odell Beckham Jr. in the third quarter. But when he gets rattled, Jackson often commits a turnover, just as he did in the closing seconds of the first half with his first interception. His weakness this season, as it has been throughout his career, is his inability to connect on deep passes. Jackson also didn’t see the field very well most of the game. His fourth-quarter pick-six was unacceptable. Grade: DRunning backsUndrafted rookie Keaton Mitchell rushed for 34 yards on three carries, including a 39-yard touchdown run on the Ravens’ first possession, and he also had a 32-yard catch that set up a field goal. But he disappeared after that, totaling one carry in the seco...

Retailers eye inflation as holiday shopping season nears

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:42 GMT

With the holiday shopping season quickly approaching, inflation and interest rates have caused Massachusetts consumers to be more cautious with their spending so far this year, according to Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts.Hurst admitted that 2023 has been a bit of a struggle for retailers across the state, especially following a few solid years of growth post the coronavirus-plagued 2020. While many members have reported overall increases, he said, inflation rates have skewed the numbers slightly.“That typically translates into similar numbers of transitions versus the prior year,” Hurst told the Herald. “The overall sales may be up a little bit, but it’s because the prices are up.”Statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor indicate that the average rate of inflation in the Boston area has increased by 0.7% over the past two months and 2.6% since last year. Interest rates in Massachusetts continue to hover around 7.5%, with national averages for a 30...

Flurries possible Monday night, warming follows

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:42 GMT

Cold overnight Monday will bring a chance of flurries to regions outside of Boston, but for the most part the weather will slowly trend warmer through the week, according to forecasters with the National Weather Service.Cold temperatures Sunday into Monday will send the mercury into the teens inland from the coast and into the 20s in Boston, Kyle Pederson, a NWS meteorologist told the Herald, and those low temperatures will make Monday morning’s commute a brisk one.“It’s going to make tomorrow stay a little bit of a chillier day, with highs only reaching 44 in Boston,” Pederson said. “But we’re going to have a slow warm up, it looks like, throughout the rest of the week.”It will not be as cold as the previous night Monday into Tuesday, though clouds rolling in on a very light breeze bring a slight chance of precipitation — 15% or less, Pederson said — that, when combined with forecasted lows just below freezing, could mean a flurry or two for towns outside of Boston.Before you break...

March in support of Israeli hostages postponed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:42 GMT

Organizers say the advice of authorities and an adjacent rally for the rights of Palestinian civilians caught in the middle of a war between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas were enough to cancel a planned march of Jewish groups through Boston Sunday.A column of empty baby strollers and wheelchairs symbolizing over 240 kidnapped Israelis had been scheduled to roll along the city’s Freedom Trail, in an event apparently organized by the The Anti-Defamation League, Jewish Community Relations Council and Hostages and Missing Families Forum. It will instead take place some other unspecified time, according to an auto-reply from the event’s contact email.“Because of heightened security concerns and expected pro-Palestinian rally downtown tomorrow, we have been advised by multiple authorities to postpone the Stroller March. We very much appreciate everyone’s support,” the group wrote, asking followers to “stay tuned” for updates on a future event.A rally organiz...

Fighting rages near main Gaza hospital 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:42 GMT

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Health officials and people trapped inside Gaza’s largest hospital rejected Israel’s claims that it was helping babies and others evacuate Sunday, saying fighting continued just outside the facility where incubators lay idle with no electricity and critical supplies were running out.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed urgent international calls for a cease-fire unless it includes the release of all the nearly 240 hostages captured by Hamas in the Oct. 7 rampage that triggered the war.A day after Netanyahu said Israel was bringing its “full force” with the aim of ending Hamas’ 16-year rule in Gaza, residents reported heavy airstrikes and shelling, including around Shifa Hospital. Israel, without providing evidence, has accused Hamas of concealing a command post inside and under the compound, allegations denied by Hamas and hospital staff.“They are outside, not far from the gates,” said Ahmed al-Boursh, a ...

Two shot in drive-by shooting: police

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:42 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Two people were sent to the hospital after a drive-by shooting in the Rolando neighborhood Saturday night, authorities said.According to the San Diego Police Department, a group of people were gathered on the 4500 block of Virginia Avenue shortly before 10:45 p.m. when an unknown car drove by. Someone in the car reportedly fired several rounds at the group. New ALDI grocery store opening in North County A 35-year old man was shot in the stomach and a 35 year old woman was shot in the back, police said. Both victims were transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The suspect was described by SDPD as a black man wearing black clothing. He was last seen traveling northbound on Virginia Avenue. There is no description of the vehicle at this time. San Diego Police Gang Detectives are investigating the shooting. Anyone with information related to the incident is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

Pro-Palestinian protesters gather in Downtown Chicago while pro-Israel protestors rally in Northbrook

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:42 GMT

CHICAGO — Pro-Palestinian protestors took to the streets in downtown Chicago on Sunday while pro-Israel supporters rallied in Northbrook, as the crisis in the Middle East enters its sixth week.The conflict began in early October when Hamas launched an attack on civilians in southern Israel. According to the Associated Press, 1,400 people were killed in the attack, and over 200 were taken hostage.  Netanyahu rejects growing calls for a cease-fire as Israel battles Hamas outside main Gaza hospital Since the attack, the Israeli government has retaliated in search of Hamas fighters in Gaza, leaving thousands dead. “We are affected directly by what’s happening," Hatem Abudayyeh, the National Chair of the United States Palestinian Community Network and Spokesperson for the Chicago Coalition Justice for Palestine, said. Abudayyeh said the the rising death toll in Gaza is devastating as nearly half of those killed are children. "11,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel in the l...

Bethel will open Division III football playoffs at Whitewater; St. John’s left out of 32-team field

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:42 GMT

Sunday’s announcement for the 2023 NCAA Division III football playoffs field was not kind to the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.MIAC champion Bethel (8-2) drew as tough a first-round opponent as there is in Wisconsin-Whitewater (9-1), a perennial powerhouse program that won six national championships over an eight-year span from 2007 to 2014 and has reached the championship game nine times since 2005 — the last time in 2019.The Royals and Warhawks play at noon Saturday in Whitewater, Wis.Perhaps most disappointing for the MIAC was the exclusion of St. John’s (8-2) from the playoff field. A deciding factor might have been the Johnnies’ 56-28 loss at Whitewater on Sept. 9. Whitewater ended up claiming one of just five at-large bids into the 32-team field. St. John’s spent the bulk of the regular season ranked among the top Division III teams in the nation.Two other area teams made the field and will face off in the first round when Minnesota-Morr...