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Tampa-area teen who won National Spelling Bee comes home to warm welcome

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:38:06 GMT

It was a warm welcome home for the Tampa-area teen who won the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Dev Shah, a 14-year-old from Largo, Florida, was greeted at the Tampa International Airport on Wednesday by family and friends.He was able to correctly spell the winning word at last week’s competition. It was psammophile, defined as a living organism that thrives in the sand.Shah earned a trophy after his big national win and took home the $50,000 prize.The teen also nailed at the 95th Scripps National Spelling Bee in Maryland.Shah said he was proud to represent his state.“One thing for sure: I do want more Floridians to win the spelling bee. I’m the first in, like, 25 years, so I hope that changes, and I’ll gladly help that change,” said Shah. Shah, a student at Morgan Fitzgerald Middle School in Pinellas Park, has been competing in spelling bees since the third grade and is an inspiration to his fellow students.

Federal investigators remove evidence from house in Hanson

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:38:06 GMT

Federal investigators, Massachusetts State Police and the Animal Rescue League searched a home in Hanson Wednesday morning. They removed evidence and searched the home for more than six hours.Neighbors around the home on East Washington Street said they were left confused and concerned  as officials only announced that there was no threat to the public in a brief statement. No other information was released by late Wednesday afternoon.https://twitter.com/HansonMAPolice/status/1666510904232407040?s=20Special agents sported bullet-proof vests marked with USDA-OIG, which stands for the United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General. They removed items and loaded boxes into a truck in the driveway.The federal officers were joined by the Animal Rescue League Police and state troopers to canvas the area all morning.By late Wednesday afternoon, the state and federal agencies were gone, but the reason for the search was still not announced.

School bus van seen flipped on side in Fitchburg

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:38:06 GMT

A school bus van was seen flipped on its site in Fitchburg Wednesday, with visible damage on its windshield. SKY7-HD was over the scene Wednesday afternoon.There was no word as of around 6 p.m. Wednesday on whether any students were inside the van at the time of the crash or if anyone was hurt.

New England Patriots donate van, supplies to organization fighting homelessness

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:38:06 GMT

The New England Patriots Foundation donated a new van to the Pine Street Inn – an organization that helps people experiencing homelessness.“To the great Patriots, the players, the team… we are so lucky in this city and state to have the Patriots,” Pine Street Inn President Lyndia Downie said. “I can’t even tell you how grateful we are for that.”Patriots players Terez Hall, Ty Montgomery and Chris Board were among the volunteers Wednesday who helped pack the van with food and other essential items for those in need. “Ty, Terez and Chris, thank you for being here and not at practice…we appreciate that! Don’t know about the team,” Downie said.

Battenfeld: Many questions linger about Mayor Michelle Wu’s explanation of accident

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:38:06 GMT

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is all for police accountability – except when she’s sitting in the passenger seat of a police cruiser that runs a red light and crashes into another vehicle.Wu repeatedly declined to say why the blue police lights and siren were on in her city police SUV as she was bombarded with questions about Tuesday’s accident which shook her up and injured the driver and child who were in the other SUV.“As with any kind of departmental or city vehicle that is involved in a crash there is a review that happens,” Wu said as she entered an event in Charlestown.Wu did add one tidbit – that “it was not an emergency yesterday where we were headed. It’s an incident that is under review and I have full faith in the team and their professionalism.”But the incident report released on Wednesday morning didn’t even name Wu, listing her instead as a “passenger who is known to the Commonwealth.”It was a case study in non-accountability and evasion – something you’d expect from an ol...

Ex-Trump aide testifies before federal grand jury in Florida investigation of Mar-a-Lago documents

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:38:06 GMT

By ERIC TUCKER (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — A former top aide to Donald Trump appeared Wednesday in federal court in Miami for testimony to a grand jury investigating potential classified-document mishandling and obstruction at the ex-president’s Palm Beach property, according to a person familiar with the matter.Taylor Budowich, who had served as a spokesman for Trump after his presidency and now runs a pro-Trump super PAC, confirmed his appearance on Twitter, writing: “Today, in what can only be described as a bogus and deeply troubling effort to use the power of government to ‘get’ Trump, I fulfilled a legal obligation to testify in front a federal grand jury and I answered every question honestly.”The Florida grand jury is separate from a panel that had been meeting for months in Washington as a part of a Justice Department special counsel investigation into Trump over the retention of hundreds of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and ...

Does a N95 mask work against smoke?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:38:06 GMT

Smoke that’s been blown southward from hundreds of Canadian wildfires are causing hazardous air-quality conditions across the eastern United States. With all the nasty air particles floating around, experts say you should wear a mask if you do venture out.Just like with the coronavirus, the stronger the mask, the better, although any face covering is better than none, said Ramón Tallaj, a doctor who leads SOMOS Community Care, a nonprofit health network based in New York.People wear masks as they wait for the tramway to Roosevelt Island as smoke from Canadian wildfires casts a haze over the area on June 7, 2023 in New York City. Air pollution alerts were issued across the United States due to smoke from wildfires that have been burning in Canada for weeks. (Photo by Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)Dr. Jennifer Logan, a pediatric pulmonologist with Lehigh Valley Health Network in Pennsylvania, told The Morning Call that wearing most masks will not help protect against smoke inhala...

Boston-based drug ring is busted by the feds, allegedly trafficked fentanyl and crack cocaine from Massachusetts to New Hampshire

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:38:06 GMT

A Boston-based drug trafficking ring that’s accused of flooding New Hampshire with fentanyl and crack cocaine has been busted by the feds, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has announced.More than 20 suspects have been charged in connection with an organized drug trafficking ring operating out of Boston and Manchester, N.H.Those 22 defendants includes the alleged Dorchester ringleader Juan Ramon Soto Baez, aka “Ricky,” aka “Nicolas Lopez Rosado.” The 53-year-old man is in custody, along with 11 of the defendants on conspiracy to distribute controlled substance charges.The drug trafficking ring is accused of supplying the Manchester-area with fentanyl and crack cocaine for at least the past four years. These individuals allegedly trafficked large quantities of fentanyl and crack cocaine from Massachusetts to New Hampshire.“This operation has dealt a crippling blow to a Boston-based drug trafficking organization led by Juan Ramon Soto Baez that is ac...

BMX star Pat Casey dies in crash at Ramona motocross track

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:38:06 GMT

RAMONA, Calif. — Officials have identified the man who died Tuesday at a motocross track in Ramona.Patrick "Pat" Michael Casey, 29, died after he lost control of the motocross bike he was riding and was ejected from the vehicle, the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office said.The incident happened around 2:45 p.m. at Slayground Motocross Park, which is owned by Axell Hodges, a three-time gold medal winner in X Games Moto X competition. Man stabbed during fight outside Ocean Beach bar According to authorities, Casey crashed his motorcycle while performing a jump on the park ramps. Bystanders called 911 after the crash and paramedics were dispatched to the track. Medics found Casey pulseless and apneic. Despite life-saving measures, he was not able to be resuscitated and was pronounced dead at the scene."We are deeply saddened by Pat Casey's passing and our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, children, parents and siblings," X Games said in a post on Instagram. "A true lege...

Bidens to host Juneteenth concert at White House

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:38:06 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will host a Juneteenth concert next week in a “celebration of community, culture and music,” the White House announced Wednesday.The concert, to be held June 13, will be on the South Lawn of the White House. During the event, the White House says it will “uplift American art forms that sing to the soul of the American experience” as part of Black Music Month.Artists that will be featured include Tony Award winner Audra McDonald, singer and talk show host Jennifer Hudson, and Cliff “Method Man” Smith, a member of the legendary hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan.Juneteenth marks when the last enslaved people in the United States learned they were free — which occurred June 19, 1885, when Union soldiers told enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, news of their freedom. It became a federal holiday in 2021.“This is a day of profound weight and profound power, a day in which we remember the moral stain, the terrible toll that sla...