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City of Boston ‘Family and Friends’ protocol aimed at connecting those at Mass. & Cass with loved ones before clean-up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:27 GMT

The City of Boston’s new Family and Friends protocol is aiming to get people in touch with loved ones who might be living on the street at Mass. Avenue and & Melnea Cass Boulevard as officials prepare to clear out encampments from the area again on Monday.The program connects people living in the homeless encampment with loved ones — but only if both parties consent.The City is asking those who live at the encampment to voluntarily remove their tents by Monday due to sanitation and safety issues. This program is geared toward getting them help they need.For more information visit: https://www.boston.gov/departments/mayors-office/mass-and-cass-friends-and-family-protocol or call 617-982-4785.

Fire crews responding to large house fire in Medford

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:27 GMT

Fire crews from several communities are battling a multi-alarm blaze that broke out in a building in Medford on Sunday.Firefighters could be seen working on the building at Prescott and Allston streets as heavy flames and a large plume of black smoke shot up into the air.Area residents are being told to avoid the area.No additional information was immediately available.This is a breaking news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Haitian family struggles to find a place to stay in Boston as asylum-seekers sleep in hospital lobby

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:27 GMT

(CNN) — Fleeing what she called the “dire condition” of life in Haiti, Dieuvena came to the US, hoping “she can at least get on her feet, find a job, and take care of her family.”For Dieuvena, 28, that family includes her husband Banel, 28, and their son Mateo Sebastien, 4. She also has a 10-year-old daughter who lives in the Dominican Republic with the child’s father.As she only speaks Haitian Creole and limited Spanish, Dieuvena spoke with CNN through Dr. Geralde Gabeau, the executive director for the Immigrant Family Services Institute. She asked to be referred to only by her first name, fearing she might be penalized by the US immigration system.Passing from Haiti through Central America, the family arrived at the US-Mexico border where they attended a CBP One appointment, the process through which US Customs and Border Protection grants humanitarian parole. The family of three attended the appointment as a group with five other Hait...

Knicks can’t take advantage of Jimmy Butler’s injury in Game 1 loss

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:27 GMT

There was the game lying on the court. Maybe the series. Jimmy Butler, the one player without a fathomable replacement, writhing in pain. Grabbing his foot.At that moment, Erik Spoelstra was caught on camera uttering what the Miami Heat supporters, however many few stuck around after LeBron James left, were all thinking.“F—,” the coach mouthed.There were about five minutes remaining Sunday when Butler sprained his ankle, and surely the Heat were in trouble with a slim lead.Except the opposite happened. The Knicks became the shell-shocked side. At home and facing an inferior roster, they folded like a blueberry crepe in a 108-101 Game 1 defeat.“Just wasn’t making shots,” Mitchell Robinson said.Butler didn’t sub out after turning his ankle while driving to the hoop on defender Josh Hart. He emerged from the timeout clearly under physical distress, hobbling around the court.But the Knicks never took advantage. Instead, they were outscored, 11-3...

Obi Toppin not surprised he was benched down the stretch of Game 1 defeat

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:27 GMT

New York’s offense was frozen down the stretch of Game 1, unable to overcome the avalanche of missed shots.But the one player who was hitting his 3-pointers, Obi Toppin, never left the bench.“Not at all,” Toppin said when asked if he was surprised about not playing in the final 10 minutes. “No.”Toppin produced an encouraging performance in his first playoff start Sunday, finishing with 18 points and eight boards as the replacement for the injured Julius Randle. Still, coach Tom Thibodeau subbed out Toppin with 9:38 remaining and left himself open to second-guessing as the Knicks failed to close in a 108-101 defeat.Instead, the Knicks used Josh Hart (0-for-4 on 3-pointers Sunday) and RJ Barrett (1-for-5) in the forward positions. The Knicks managed just three points during a five-minute stretch in the third quarter, all while Jimmy Butler — who Hart was assigned to guard — was barely moving because of an ankle sprain.Toppin shot 4-of-11 on tr...

Div. 3 relays: McElhinney keys win for Billerica girls

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:27 GMT

EASTON — Anna McElhinney was cold and wet from the pelting rain and raw conditions at Sunday’s Div. 3 State Relay Championships. But by meet’s end, the Billerica distance ace’s smile was big and bright.McElhinney put together a big day on the track with mile splits of 5:12 and 5:19 in the dreary conditions to anchor the Indians to wins in both the distance medley (12:58.10) and 4xMile (21:53.52). Billerica never took its foot off the gas on the way to capturing the team title with a whopping 82 points. Masconomet was a distant second but still put up an impressive 56.13 points.“We definitely knew we had a good chance,” said McElhinney, who finished second in the 2-mile at All-States during the winter. We have a wide variety of talent on the team. We didn’t lose anyone from indoors and we gained some athletes.”Billerica head coach Scott Arsenault knows just how much talent he has on the roster.“All the way around we had point scorers in...

Division 2 track relays: C-C girls overcome weather, field

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:27 GMT

SUDBURY — It was a cold and rainy Sunday at Lincoln-Sudbury’s Leary Field but that didn’t matter to the Concord-Carlisle girls’ track team.Persevering through some trying conditions, the Patriots used consistency up and down their roster to outlast Central Catholic to claim the girls’ team title. Wellesley was third and Woburn was fourth.“We were just focused on each individual relay and it wasn’t until the 4 x 200 that we saw that things were really coming together and knew we were in a good spot,” Concord-Carlisle coach Hanna Bruno said.The Raiders had led the competition for most of the day on Sunday but couldn’t match the Patriots consistency on both the track and in the field.The Patriots won the javelin relay and followed that up with a win in the high jump relay, led by Stephanie DiRocco. Central was third in the high jump relay and added a second in the triple jump relay, led by a 35-3 3/4 leap from Anya Neira.The Raiders also started well on the track but the Patriots sprin...

Study: Parents’ touch, quiet help babies born to opioid users 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:27 GMT

Babies born to opioid users had shorter hospital stays and needed less medication when their care emphasized parent involvement, skin-to-skin contact and a quiet environment, researchers reported Sunday.Newborns were ready to go home about a week earlier compared to those getting standard care. Fewer received opioid medications to reduce withdrawal symptoms such as tremors and hard-to-soothe crying, about 20% compared to 52% of the standard-care babies.Babies born to opioid users, including mothers in treatment with medications such as methadone, can develop withdrawal symptoms after exposure in the womb.Typically, hospitals use a scoring system to decide which babies need medicine to ease withdrawal, which means treatment in newborn intensive care units.“The mom is sitting there anxiously waiting for the score,” said the study’s lead author Dr. Leslie Young of the University of Vermont’s children’s hospital. “This would be really stressful for fa...

Biden, Marcos to meet as tensions grow with China

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:27 GMT

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is set to host President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines for White House talks Monday as concerns grow about the Chinese navy’s harassment of Philippine vessels in the South China Sea.Marcos’ visit to Washington comes after the U.S. and Philippines last week completed their largest war drills ever and as the two countries’ air forces on Monday will hold their first joint fighter jet training in the Philippines since 1990. The Philippines this year agreed to give the U.S. access to four more bases on the islands as the U.S. looks to deter China’s increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan and in the disputed South China Sea.Meanwhile, China has angered the Philippines by repeatedly harassing its navy and coast guard patrols and chasing away fishermen in waters close to Philippine shores but which Beijing claims as its own.Before departing for Washington on Sunday, Macros said he was “determined to forge an ever...

Kyle Lowry stuns Knicks in Game 1: ‘As a basketball player, you want to play at The Mecca’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:27 GMT

Kevin Love had four important words for his teammate Kyle Lowry, whose play down the stretch of the fourth quarter with an injured Jimmy Butler propelled the Miami Heat to a stunning Game 1 victory over the Knicks on Sunday.“You’re a smart motherf—–,” Love said to Lowry. “That last four minutes, he knew what he needed to do.”With Butler planted in the corner relegated to a floor-spacing role from the 5:05 mark through the final buzzer, the Heat turned to Lowry, the former NBA champion alongside Kawhi Leonard leading the 2019 Toronto Raptors to a Finals victory over the Golden State Warriors.The star guard delivered, a reminder just how loaded the Heat can be if the 37-year-old six-time All-Star turns back the clock like he did in Game 1.“He’s a winner. An absolute winner,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after the game. “And when you need him most, that’s when he’s gonna show up.”Lowry stuffed the sta...