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Meet of Champions: Cambridge’s Aoife Shovlin repeats as Div. 1 champion

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:39 GMT

DEVENS — Halfway through the cross country season it looked as though Cambridge’s Aoife Shovlin may not regain her strength for strong showings in the championship race.Shovlin proved any naysayers wrong with a big smile across the finish line in the Div. 1 race at Saturday’s Meet of Champions.Racing in chilly conditions on the challenging course, Shovlin assumed the lead early and turned it into a runaway. Shovlin was never challenged as she danced across the finish line in 18 minutes, 6.29 seconds to easily defend her title. Oliver Ames’ Katie Sobieraj was a distant second to Shovlin in 18:29.21 and Westfield’s Megan Moran grabbed the bronze in 18:29.69.Shovlin was far more aggressive this go around than last year.“I wanted to run from the front and see just how fast I could go,” she said. “This definitely boosted my confidence. A year ago I tried to stay at the front and wanted to outkick people.”There was probably no happier winner...

Natick takes home another Div. 1 girls soccer title

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:39 GMT

WALPOLE – For the second time in three seasons, Natick is taking home the Div. 1 girls soccer state title.It took a few timely saves as well as a pair of first-half tallies and that was more than enough as top-seeded Natick shut out No. 2 Bishop Feehan 2-0 at Walpole High on Saturday.“It’s been great,” said Redhawks coach Dave Wainwright about the second state title in three seasons. “Of course, we accomplished it in 2021 and some of these kids were on that team. Once they got a taste of it, success bred success for these guys and they were hungry to go back and get another one. It’s been a compilation of these kids throughout their careers.”After 20 minutes of neutral play, Natick (21-1-1) got on the board first as junior Megan Mela crossed a pass right inside of the box. Junior Kira Henderson put it into the net as the Redhawks led 1-0 in the 21st minute.“We’ve been waiting for (Henderson) to get a goal,” said senior captain Kaiylyn LeBrun about the tally. “We’ve been talking abou...

MBTA says Commuter Rail ridership hit pre-pandemic peak of 90%

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:39 GMT

The MBTA said Commuter Rail ridership reached a pre-pandemic peak of more than 90% in October, a boost largely driven by Halloween travel to Salem and a diversion on the Red Line that led many riders to seek alternative transportation.Figures released Friday by the T show that ridership hit 90% on Oct. 2 and steadily increased each week, reaching 94.8% by Oct. 23.The Oct. 23 number represents a roughly 10% boost from about the same time in September, and a 12% increase from the beginning of that month, T officials said.“Seeing ridership on Commuter Rail return and grow consistently to reach this milestone demonstrates that safe, reliable and more frequent service can bring riders back to mass transportation,” MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng said in a statement.“We look forward to continuing to build upon this success to identify new ways to improve service, get more people out of cars, and protect our environment by reducing our carbon footprint.”Three factors drove the increase in...

Holy Cross trounces Georgetown for fifth straight Patriot League championship

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:39 GMT

WORCESTER – Holy Cross earned a share of an unprecedented fifth straight Patriot League championship with a 31-10 FCS Rivalry Weekend victory over Georgetown on Saturday at Fitton Field.The Crusaders finished at 7-4 overall and 5-1 in the league to capture their 11th title in program history, but the win over Georgetown more importantly secured an automatic berth to the FCS playoffs.Lafayette finished 8-2 and 5-1 with a win over Lehigh to clinch their share of the crown. The Leopards beat Holy Cross 38-35 during the regular season and were awarded the PL’s guaranteed berth through the first tiebreaker.“To win our final game at Fitton Field was a huge accomplishment for this program,” said fifth-year linebacker Jacob Dobbs. “Five in a row is extremely hard and nobody has ever done it in Patriot League history so we are a part of history.“It is not the way we wanted it. But at the end of the day, we are going to be grateful for these kinds of moments in life.”Holy Cross entered the ga...

New England Aquarium researchers report lots of whale activity off Maine coast

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:39 GMT

North Atlantic right whales have been on the move along the East Coast, with recent sightings of a mother and calf feeding in the Gulf of Maine.The New England Aquarium aerial survey team from the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life has seen a high level of whale activity off the coast of Maine this fall.Aquarium aerial observers were flying over Wilkinson Basin last week when they spotted right whale “Pediddle” and her 10-month-old calf skim feeding. The calf, first spotted in the southeastern U.S. calving grounds in January, is the ninth documented calf of Pediddle — a female that’s at least 45 years old.A few hours later, the team saw a third right whale, “Mohawk,” about 35 miles southeast of Portland. The 49-year-old male was feeding among a group of basking sharks.Other research groups have detected the wide-ranging presence of right whales in Gulf of Maine waters over the past month, including a second mother-calf pair and multiple acoustic detec...

Police surround South Bay home as armed man barricades inside

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:39 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Authorities are surrounding a residence on the 2100 block of Clairton Place in the Nestor neighborhood, police confirmed to FOX 5 Saturday afternoon.There is reportedly a man inside a home who allegedly pointed a gun at a family member, explained the San Diego Police Department. At this time, the family member has made it out of the residence safely, authorities said.Police have set up a perimeter in an effort to get the suspect out of the home. No weapons have been recovered at this time.This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

CSI San Diego: What it takes to be a criminalist in America's Finest City

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:39 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The crime scene investigation efforts seen in documentary-style favorites like "Forensic Files" and "20/20" shows clue-by-clue how criminalists piece together evidence. From bloodstain pattern analysis to witness statements and breakthroughs with DNA identification, applying forensic science principles to perform a detailed probe of physical evidence is an important job.Here in America's Finest City, the Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) Section is the only field unit in the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department Crime Laboratory that works hand in hand with investigators on the front line. Cheers: Two San Diego restaurants among top 100 in US, says OpenTable Criminalists, along with Forensic Evidence Technicians, are called to crime scenes to examine physical evidence in an effort to determine what may have occurred and in what order. They then document the conditions of a scene with what they deem an "accurate depiction of the locations and relationships of evidence it...

Top general worries about maintaining Pacific fleet on current budget ‘trajectory’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:39 GMT

HALIFAX — Canada’s top soldier says the military’s ability to keep funding a “persistent presence” of warships in the western Pacific is facing challenges on the current budget.Gen. Wayne Eyre was speaking during the Halifax International Security Forum Saturday during a panel discussion focused on China’s emergence as a military superpower. The chief of defence staff said Canada currently has three frigates operating in the region on joint naval exercises with Japan and the United States.He noted, however, that those ships are reaching the end of their 30-year lifespan.Eyre said while Canada is committed to keeping ships operating in the area, sustaining the frigates is “going to be a challenge … as we balance resources around the world.”He added the Halifax-class frigates are in what he called desperate need of maintenance.“If we take a look at the trajectory of our maintenance funding over the next few years, we’re going...

Kansas school forced 8-year-old Native American boy to cut his hair, ACLU says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:39 GMT

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas grade school forced an 8-year-old Native American boy to cut off his hair after he grew it out for cultural reasons, the American Civil Liberties Union said. In a letter sent Friday, the ACLU demanded that the Girard School District rescind a policy at the elementary school that bars long hair for boys, alleging it violates state and federal laws.The boy, who is member of the Wyandotte Nation, attended an annual tribal gathering geared toward children over the summer. He saw many men with long hair and was inspired to adopt the common cultural practice of cutting hair only when mourning the loss of a loved one, according to the ACLU.But in August, school officials told him that he needed to cut his hair to comply with the dress code, the ACLU said. His mother went to the school in September and explained that he grew out his hair for cultural reasons and offered to show documentation of his tribal affiliation. The ACLU said she was told there were no ex...

Investigators identify ‘person of interest’ in Los Angeles freeway arson fire

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:39 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Investigators on Saturday identified a “person of interest” in the Los Angeles arson fire last week that closed a central freeway for days, snarling traffic as repair crews work around the clock to fix it.The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire, and the State Fire Marshal released two photos in a “crime alert notification” posted to social media and said it was seeking the public’s help to identify the person. The individual was described as a man 30 to 35 years old, about 6 feet (1.83 meters) tall and weighing between 170 pounds (77 kilograms) and 190 pounds (86 kilograms). Details about how he was identified were not immediately released.The photographs show him wearing blue shorts, a black hooded sweatshirt, a green scarf and a brace on the right knee. The individual is carrying a backpack and “appears to have visible burn injuries” on the left leg, the bulletin states.Representatives for the mayor, the governor and the stat...