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Judge rules Andover teachers union will face fines for each day strike continues

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:27 GMT

An Essex Superior Court judge ruled Monday that the Andover Education Association will face large fines for each day the illegal teachers strike continues as negotiators failed to reach a deal for the fourth day and classes remained canceled.News of the ruling came after striking teachers in Andover made their voices heard , interrupting a planned school committee news conference on the same day that the Andover Public Schools asked a judge to order teachers back to work. The ruling means the union will face a $50,000 fine for Monday and that figure will increase $10,000 a day for each day the strike carries on.Members of the Andover Education Association voted on Friday to authorize a strike after months of negotiations with the Andover School Committee over a new contract. Schools closed on Friday due to the strike and closed again Monday as the strike continued. “What do we want?” said Andover teacher Frank McCall on Monday. “We want a fair contract.”Shortly before 12 p...

Bill Belichick says status of every player will be looked at during 2-8 Patriots’ bye week

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:27 GMT

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — This has been a season full of resets for the New England Patriots.Training camp brought the first chance to put a dismal 2022 campaign behind them.A win over the Jets in Week 3 was also supposed to serve as a restart following an 0-2 start.Hopes of yet another mulligan came after a Week 7 win over Buffalo that stopped a 1-5 start.But Sunday’s 10-6 loss to Indianapolis in Germany not only gave New England its second three-game losing streak of the season, it also is the clearest sign yet that this team’s issues may not be fixable at this point.The back-footed, severely underthrown interception that Mac Jones tossed in the red zone late in the fourth quarter didn’t just rob his team of a chance to take the lead.It also brought a season’s worth of futility by the third-year quarterback to an international audience, raising questions about who will have the starting job when the Patriots emerge from this week’s bye.“We’ll look at everything,...

Ravens LT Ronnie Stanley, CB Marlon Humphrey absent from practice Monday after suffering injuries vs. Browns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:27 GMT

Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley and cornerback Marlon Humphrey did not participate in practice Monday after suffering injuries in the team’s 33-31 loss to the Cleveland Browns.Humphrey was listed with a calf injury and Stanley with a knee injury on the simulated injury report the Ravens released because they were conducting a walk-through instead of a full practice ahead of their Thursday night game with the Cincinnati Bengals.Coach John Harbaugh was scheduled to speak with reporters later Monday afternoon.Rookie linebacker Trenton Simpson (concussion) was the only other nonparticipant while outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy (groin) and safety Daryl Worley (hamstring) were listed as limited.Right tackle Morgan Moses, who has missed the past two games with a shoulder injury, was listed as a full participant, while guard Kevin Zeitler, who hurt his knee during the Browns game, did not appear on the injury report.Meanwhile, three key Bengals starters — wide receiver Tee Hig...

Column: Craig Counsell’s strong first impression shows why the Chicago Cubs made the right call

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:27 GMT

If there were any questions as to whether the Chicago Cubs got it right, they were answered Monday morning at Craig Counsell’s introduction as the 56th manager in franchise history.Counsell admitted that he was a little “scared” and “uncomfortable” sitting at the table in his new job, that he wasn’t totally up to snuff on the Cubs roster and that he underestimated the angry reaction of Wisconsinites to his defection to the Milwaukee Brewers’ archrival.Counsell said he would take things slowly at first after the whirlwind courtship that led him to becoming the highest-paid manager in baseball history, but he was clearly excited about the challenge of living up to the expectations that go hand-in-hand with the record payday.“My hope is that the pressure to win in Chicago is just the pressure to win in Chicago,” he said. “I don’t need any more than that. That’s what it is. That’s what it should be. We should ...

Chicago Bears want to see Justin Fields do full-team work in practice before deciding on status vs. Detroit Lions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:27 GMT

Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus said Justin Fields’ throws “look good” as the quarterback works his way back from a dislocated right thumb.But whether Fields is healthy enough and ready to return Sunday against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field is something the Bears must monitor in practice this week.The Bears returned to Halas Hall from their mini-bye Monday for a short practice that included individual work in helmets, a special teams period and an offensive and defensive walk-through. Fields participated in the practice.But Eberflus said the Bears want to see how Fields looks in full-team work before determining whether he can play for the first time since Oct. 15. The Bears will hold a full practice Wednesday.“Once we see him in the game of football in terms of going against the scout team and taking snaps and playing full speed, then we’ll make a determination,” Eberflus told reporters after practice. “But it’s not there today.&#...

Lawmakers to weigh $250M shelter aid 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:27 GMT

With two days left before lawmakers depart for a seven-week break and shelter-seeking families now being placed on a waitlist, House and Senate Democrats disagree on how prescriptive their crisis response should be.Senate Democrats indicated Monday they favor putting another $250 million toward soaring shelter costs, the same amount that featured in a spending bill the House approved last week, but the plan they rolled out Monday instead gives the Healey administration more leeway to continue dictating the state’s approach.The Senate’s supplemental budget requires some of the quarter-billion dollars for shelters to be spent, without specifying any minimum amounts, on wraparound supports for affected families and reimbursements to school districts that have enrolled children who recently arrived in Massachusetts. It also allows — but does not order — the administration to put funding toward temporary shelter sites.That’s a contrast from the House bill, w...

Gov. Healey taps new boss for MassDOT, MBTA

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:27 GMT

It’s official: Gov. Maura Healey has appointed Monica Tibbits-Nutt as secretary of transportation, removing the acting title from a position she’s held for two months.Healey made the announcement Monday, saying that Tibbits-Nutt is a “proven leader who has done important work at MassDOT over the past year” as her administration has worked to make the state’s public transportation system “more reliable, safe and accessible.”Related ArticlesPolitics | MBTA slow zone repair plan will require sporadic closures through 2024 Politics | Eng lays out plan to eliminate MBTA slow zones by end of 2024 Politics | MBTA being run by ‘adults’ at long last, advisory board head says Politics | Battenfeld: Maura Healey dodges blame for repeated MBTA failures Politics | MBTA boss cites new ‘spirit of partnership” with Chinese train maker The governor initially appointed Tibbits-Nutt as undersecretar...

Paul Pelosi testifies in trial against man accused of attacking him with a hammer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:27 GMT

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ (Associated Press)SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Paul Pelosi recounted publicly for the first time Monday what happened the night he was attacked by a man in the San Francisco home he shares with former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, recalling how shocking it was to see a man standing at his bedroom door, then how the man whacked him in the head with a hammer.“It was tremendous shock to recognize that somebody had broken into the house and looking at him and looking at the hammer and the ties, I recognized that I was in serious danger, so I tried to stay as calm as possible,” Pelosi told jurors as he testified in the trial of David DePape.Prosecutors say DePape bludgeoned Paul Pelosi in the early hours of Oct. 28, 2022, just days before that year’s midterm elections, and that he had zip ties with him. DePape has pleaded not guilty to attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official with i...

Arson likely caused fire that damaged vital artery of Los Angeles freeway, governor says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:27 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Arson likely caused a massive weekend fire that has indefinitely closed a vital section of a freeway in Los Angeles, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday. The columns of Interstate 10 were charred and chipped, guardrails along the deck were left twisted and blackened, and crews shored up the most damaged section for the safety of workers clearing the debris. It’s still unclear what structural damage, if any, the blaze caused to the freeway. Newsom did not say whether there were any suspects or persons of interest.Engineers were assessing the situation Monday. The freeway is used by 300,000 vehicles daily and the closure is expected to be felt well beyond the city, including possibly slowing the transport of goods from the twin ports of LA and Long Beach, federal officials have said. The ports are among the nation’s largest and handle more than half the goods coming into the U.S. President Joe Biden had been briefed on the fire that erupted Saturday.Los Angeles...

Jill Biden hosts tea for female faith leaders and others, including South Carolina prayer partner

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:27 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jill Biden hosted a White House listening session on Monday with about 60 female faith leaders, community leaders and others, including the South Carolina pastor’s wife whom she credits with helping restore her faith in God after the Bidens’ son Beau died of cancer in 2015. The first lady said she sought Robin Jackson’s help assembling the group “so that I could learn what’s on your minds, and what’s on your hearts.”Jackson’s husband is pastor of Brookland Baptist Church in West Columbia, where the women met when Joe Biden visited in 2019 as he campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination. South Carolina is the state that helped set Joe Biden on the path to becoming the nominee in 2020, a feat he hopes to replicate next year as a candidate for reelection. Jill Biden discussed her faith journey during a visit to the church in 2021.But in the Blue Room of the White House on Monday, after the women were treated to a T...