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Emergency crews locate body of worker killed in explosion at Newburyport chemical plant

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:35:57 GMT

One person was killed and several others were injured when a massive explosion tore through a chemical plant in Newburyport early Thursday morning, fire officials said.As an investigation continues, the family of the person who was killed is mourning and public officials have spoken out, noting a series of past safety incidents at the same facility. Firefighters from multiple communities responded to what grew to be a seven-alarm fire Thursday, after multiple reports of an explosion just before 1 a.m.Crews said an industrial-sized vat from inside the building was launched 30 feet because of the explosion and was found in the parking lot as crews arrived.Officials said four injured workers were taken to the hospital, where they were treated and released. One remained missing.In an update, officials said they located the missing worker’s body around 5:30 p.m.Surveillance video from nearby cameras captured the explosion, showing a massive, bright fireball that launched flames and...

Chicago White Sox miss some prime opportunities — going 1-for-16 with RISP — in a 7-3, 12-inning loss to the Minnesota Twins

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:35:57 GMT

Chicago White Sox third baseman Hanser Alberto got hit by a pitch on the right arm on a 1-2 count with the bases loaded in the 10th inning against the Minnesota Twins.But instead of the Sox celebrating a walk-off victory, the inning continued as umpires ruled Alberto swung and thus struck out.“Bro, I didn’t mean to swing,” Alberto said. “I knew it was a fastball (coming from reliever Brock Stewart) because after two sliders I said, ‘OK, maybe (a) fastball’s coming’ and I was ready. I meant to get away but I didn’t know how to get away. The ball got right on me. But it’s part of the game. It’s tough.“(The swing) was a reflex. (It) should be a hit by a pitch and win the ballgame right there. But it’s going to happen and it is what it is.”The Sox had ample opportunities to complete a three-game sweep Thursday. Instead, the Twins finally broke through with five runs in the 12th to take the finale of the three-...

Officials: Man killed 3, then self in rural Georgia town

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:35:57 GMT

By JEFF AMY and RUSS BYNUM (Associated Press)A man recorded by a security camera fatally shooting his manager Thursday at a fast food restaurant in rural south Georgia is also suspected of killing his mother and grandmother at their nearby homes before taking his own life, authorities said.Security video from a McDonald’s in Moultrie showed 26-year-old Kentavious White shoot the store manager after getting her to come to the door Thursday morning, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said. The footage then showed White step inside the restaurant and shoot himself.Police found the manager, identified as 41-year-old Amia Smith, and White both dead when they arrived, the GBI said in a news release Thursday evening. They also found two women related to White had been shot at neighboring homes less than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) away. Both women died — one after being taken to a hospital, the GBI said. All three of the slain women appeared to have been shot multiple times, Colq...

BC High knocks off No. 1 St. John’s Prep in a Catholic boys lacrosse showdown

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:35:57 GMT

DANVERS — For most, Thursday night’s matchup between BC High and St. John’s Prep was a litmus test. A temperature check as to which school might boast the top boys lacrosse team in Massachusetts.When all was said and done, BC High was able to snap a recent losing skid against one of its premier rivals. Patrick Maroney, Shane McDonnell and Nolan Hurley each registered a hat trick, as the Eagles defeated their Catholic Conference foes with an impressive 14-9 showing on the road.“I think it started from the beginning,” McDonnell said. “We got on them early. Whole team was going. Defense, middies, wings, attack, goalie most of all. I think we were just dominating from the beginning, and I’m very proud of this team.”It was the first victory over St. John’s Prep in seven tries for BC High, dating back to 2021. This included two losses in the Div. 1 state championship each of the previous two seasons.To the surprise of few, BC High came out of the gate looking to assert itself, as Cooper C...

3 takeaways from the Chicago Cubs’ 1-6 trip, including Jameson Taillon’s return and Miguel Amaya’s impressive debut

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:35:57 GMT

The one-run losses keep piling up for the Chicago Cubs.The Cubs are tied for the second-best run differential in the National League, but wasted scoring chances thwarted a 1-6 trip to Miami and Washington, where they suffered five one-run losses. Their 4-3 defeat to the Nationals on Thursday included one hit — on a ball lost in the sun — through seven innings against the struggling Patrick Corbin. An three-run rally in the eight inning to tie the game did not last long. Nationals outfielder Alex Call hit a walk-off home run on the first pitch right-hander Brad Boxberger threw in the bottom of the ninth to drop the Cubs to 15-16.“It’s going to happen during the course of the season,” Ian Happ said. “That’s obviously frustrating for everybody, but it’s part of it. I don’t think as an offense we’re pressing individually and just understanding that it’ll come, you just have to keep going about it.”The return to Wrig...

City, feds pump $6.2M to clear out homeless along Mass and Cass

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:35:57 GMT

Three days after banning the homeless from pitching tents at Mass and Cass, city leaders announced plans to spend roughly $6.2 million to address the squatting and drug activity that continues to fester there.The funds, part of a $16.5 million homelessness grant the city received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, will go toward housing 105 people from the area of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard. Partnering with the city in this effort will be Eliot Community Services.“A lot of the individuals at Mass Cass are not homeless; they’re there for services and other reasons,” Sheila Dillon, the city’s chief of housing, said after a Thursday press conference in downtown Boston. “But we do know who has no place to go at Mass Cass, and we will be targeting these resources to those individuals.”This targeted population represents roughly 28% of the 372 unhoused individuals that will benefit from the federal grant in Boston — a significant investment that...

Feeling nostalgic? 50 Cent bringing 20th anniversary tour to San Diego

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:35:57 GMT

CHULA VISTA, Calif. -- You can find 50 Cent at the North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre, not the club, this summer.The popular rapper will be performing some throwback hits on Aug. 31 at the Chula Vista venue, according to Live Nation Entertainment."The Final Lap Tour" celebrates the 20th anniversary of 50 Cent's iconic debut album "Get Rich or Die Tryin.'" 3 artists added to San Diego County Fair Concert Series lineup Fans will be showered with 50 Cent's chart-topping hits, as well as special guest appearances from Busta Rhymes, Jeremih and more artists to be announced, officials said.Other stops across North America and Europe include Toronto, Brooklyn, Atlanta, Houston, Amsterdam, Oslo, Paris and many more.Registration for the Verified Fan presale begins Sunday at 7:59 p.m. PT.Jackson has also found success as an entrepreneur, actor, director and executive producer.

American author Fatimah Asghar wins inaugural Carol Shields Prize

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:35:57 GMT

American author Fatimah Asghar has won the inaugural Carol Shields Prize for Fiction for their debut novel “When We Were Sisters.” The $150,000 award celebrates excellence in fiction by women and non-binary authors in Canada and the U.S., and is bankrolled by BMO.Asghar, whose pronouns are gender-neutral, also wrote the poetry collection “If They Come for Us” and is the writer and co-creator of the Emmy-nominated web series “Brown Girls.”They also win a residency at the Fogo Island Inn in Newfoundland and Labrador.The jurors said that Asghar’s book is “a tour de force, at once stirring and beautiful, breathtaking in its lyricism, and head-turning in its experimentations.”The other shortlisted authors, who will each receive $12,500, are Canadian Suzette Mayr for “The Sleeping Car Porter,” and Americans Daphne Palasi Andreades for “Brown Girls,” Talia Lakshmi Kolluri for “What We Fed to the Manticore&#...

Biden dispatching top aide to meet with Saudi crown prince

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:35:57 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is dispatching one his top advisers to Saudi Arabia to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of the oil-rich kingdom, later this week.White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Thursday he will travel to Saudi Arabia on Saturday for talks with Saudi officials and will also meet with his counterparts from the United Arab Emirates and India during his visit.Sullivan said he would “discuss new areas of cooperation between New Delhi and the Gulf, as well as the United States and the rest of the region.” India and UAE last year signed a comprehensive economic partnership aimed at improving ties between the two countries.Sullivan is expected to meet with the crown prince, who is often referred to by his initial MBS, during the visit, according to a person familiar with Sullivan’s travel plans who was not authorized to publicly discuss that element of them.Sullivan spoke by phone with MBS last month amid si...

GOP boycott in Oregon halts bills on guns, abortion and more

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:35:57 GMT

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Most Republican members of the Oregon Senate failed to show up for the second straight day Thursday, delaying action by the majority Democrats on bills on gun safety, abortion rights and gender-affirming health care.The stayaway prevented a quorum, with Senate President Rob Wagner calling for another try on Friday. Republican lawmakers have used walkouts in the past, but this time — if they continue to stay away — they’ll be testing a law approved overwhelmingly in a ballot measure last November that bans lawmakers with 10 unexcused absences from running for reelection.The boycott comes as several statehouses around the nation, including in Montana and Tennessee, have become battlegrounds between conservatives and liberals. Oregon has increasingly been divided between liberal population centers like Portland and Eugene and its mostly conservative rural areas.The leader of Senate Republicans, Sen. Tim Knopp, spoke on the phone Thursday with Democratic Gov. Tina Kot...