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Weston sweeps past Medfield, captures Div. 3 state volleyball title

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:28:29 GMT

WORCESTER – Players talked about winning the Weston girls volleyball program’s first state title when Eileen Leblanc took over as head coach three years ago.Friday night at Worcester State, they finally made it a reality.Sophomore setter Riley Huml dished 33 assists, balancing the attack to help the third-seeded Wildcats (20-5) take the year’s rubber-match against No. 1 Medfield, 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 26-24), in the Div. 3 state final.Overcoming slow starts in the first couple sets was part of the job, but Fielding Mayhugh (15 kills), Nevaeh Yancey (12 kills, two aces) and Eleanor Wilkins (eight kills) proved reliable options to build big runs in each set. The Warriors (23-2) put up a scare at the end to nearly extend the match to at least one more set, but Weston’s composure carried out its three-year mission.Seeing that goal fulfilled, while the program has since expanded from one team to three, brought Leblanc to tears.“It’s all them,” Leblanc said. “I am privileged to be their guid...

Scituate continues late-season rise, defeat Grafton in a Div. 4 state semifinal

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:28:29 GMT

MANSFIELD — After watching his group open the season 0-2, Herb Devine was still optimistic. While some folks were counting Scituate out before league play, the football coach was holding out hope things could still quickly turn around.Just weeks later, the Sailors are back in a spot they found themselves just two short years ago – one win away from the pinnacle.Senior quarterback Jackson Belsan completed 14-of-18 passes for 189 yards and two total touchdowns (one rushing), while junior running back Willy Robinson added 46 yards rushing and a score as the seventh-seeded Sailors returned to the Div. 4 Super Bowl for the first time since 2021 with a hard-fought 20-10 victory over No. 6 Grafton.The Sailors (8-3) were determined to prove they belonged in the Div. 4 Super Bowl conversation, and they opened action with a long drive. Facing fourth-and-long, Belsan decided to flick a prayer toward the end zone. It was answered in the form of Sam Allard, who hauled in a miraculous and c...

Big second quarter propels Walpole past Milford in Div. 3 state semifinal

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:28:29 GMT

BRIDGEWATER – No. 4 Walpole ran away in the second quarter to advance to the Division 3 Super Bowl with a 45-35 barnburner victory over top-ranked Milford at Bridgewater-Raynham High School.The win puts the Timberwolves (8-3) into their 10th Super Bowl with a chance to win their eighth title.  Noah Mackenzie had clutch throws throughout and had a four-touchdown game under center for the Timberwolves. Jamal Abdal-Khallaq had seven catches for 213 yards.Brendan Kearns added two sacks and two interceptions, his last coming with 1:20 left to secure the 10-point victory.“We are going to Gillette,” said Kearns when asked about the second pick when he chucked the football into the sky in celebration. “We got off to a rough start this season, but we knew we had the skill players. We were lacking on the line a little, but we gelled together, it’s just unreal.”Milford (9-2) made its first series look easy as a Nick Araujo 29-run finished a 74-yard, six-play drive for the Hawks. But Walpole ra...

Celtics not ‘best version,’ but find a way to escape with victory over Raptors

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:28:29 GMT

As the clock ran out, Jayson Tatum dribbled the ball across midcourt with a look of relief on his face.This was a game the Celtics easily could have lost, and probably would have last season. After taking a commanding lead, they let it go. Their offense suddenly went missing. They played ugly basketball. They found themselves in a dog fight with the Raptors, and trailed with less than two minutes to go.But in what’s becoming an early-season theme, the Celtics figured out a way. With the game tied in the final minute, Jrue Holiday found Derrick White in the corner, and like he has time and again in crunch time, he delivered. White’s 3-pointer with 28 seconds to go was the difference as the Celtics escaped with a 108-105 victory over the Raptors.“I loved our character today,” Kristaps Porzingis told NBC Sports Boston. “It wasn’t our best game and nobody was like, hot and going, but I saw some big plays.”It certainly wasn’t pretty. The Celtics had a 16-point lead after a dominant secon...

New Hampshire shooter kills security guard before being fatally shot at psychiatric hospital

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:28:29 GMT

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A shooter killed a security guard in the lobby of New Hampshire’s state psychiatric hospital on Friday before being fatally shot by a state trooper, officials said.The shooting happened around 3:30 p.m. at New Hampshire Hospital and was contained to the front lobby of the 185-bed facility, State Police Col. Mark Hall said at a news conference. He said CPR was performed on the victim, who later died at Concord Hospital.Authorities identified the victim Friday night as Bradley Haas, 63, a state Department of Safety security officer who was working at the front lobby entrance.Haas lived in Franklin, a small town about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from Concord. He worked as a police officer for 28 years and rose to become police chief, according to a statement from the state attorney general's office.All patients at the psychiatric hospital were safe, and the state trooper who killed the shooter was not wounded, according to authorities.“Investigators with the New Hamps...

Taiwan envoy says he’s hopeful Biden-Xi meeting will reduce tensions in the Asia-Pacific region

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:28:29 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The 92-year-old businessman who represented Taiwan at this week’s summit of Asia-Pacific leaders in San Francisco expressed hope Friday that the meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping should help to reduce tensions between the two superpowers and in the region. Morris Chang, the founder of the microchip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, also suggested the meeting could help to promote economic stability and reliable supply chains.“You don’t have to be a leader to know that if there is no peace, there is no supply chain to start with,” Chang said at a news conference at the close of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.Chang said the Biden-Xi meeting was a “good” one, pointing to their agreement to resume high-level military communications.“It should help reduce the tensions between the U.S. and China, and it should increase stability of Taiwan Strait,” Chang said. Taiwan, a self-governed island of 23 m...

Taiwan’s opposition parties fail to agree on a joint candidate for January’s presidential election

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:28:29 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s two main opposition parties have failed to agree on a joint candidate for president, once again throwing into doubt their ability to unseat the ruling party in January’s election.The Nationalist Party and the Taiwan People’s Party were expected to announce an agreed-upon candidate Saturday at a news conference. Instead, they announced they need further consultations after a disagreement over how to use polling data to make the selection.With the candidates for both parties trailing in the polls, they had agreed three days ago to form a joint ticket with one candidate for president and the other for vice president. The decision on who would get the presidential nod — Hou Yu-ih of the Nationalist Party or Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People’s Party — was to be based on a combination of public polls and internal party polls.The failure to agree on a joint candidate leaves current Vice President William Lai of the Democratic Progressive Party ...

Woman charged with impaired driving after vehicle hit by GO train in Scarborough

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:28:29 GMT

A woman is in custody for impaired driving after she allegedly left her vehicle on the railway tracks in Scarborough, where it was struck by a GO train.Toronto police were called to the area of Morningside Avenue and Gardentree Street near Guildwood GO Station at around 8 p.m. on Friday to investigate a crash.Authorities said a train struck a vehicle, though no injuries were reported.A driver was located near the area by responding officers. In an update, police said a woman in her 40s was arrested for impaired driving.The crash affected the Lakeshore East line. The police investigation east of Guildwood GO is still ongoing. One track has now opened to allow trains to travel through at reduced speeds in both directions.— Lakeshore East Train (@GOtransitLE) November 18, 2023

Paul Lisnek on Mayor Johnson's budget, Rep. George Santos and more

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:28:29 GMT

WGN Political Analyst Paul Lisnek joined WGN Evening News to discuss several big stories from the week.The topics include the latest on a Colorado judge's decision to keep Trump on the state's primary ballot, Mayor Johnson's recently passed budget, the ongoing migrant crisis and more. Read more: Latest Chicago news headlinesTune in on Sundays for WGN-TV Political Report with Paul Lisnek.

Sunny, warm, dry November to retain those characteristics this weekend

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 05:28:29 GMT

Autumn storm to brush the area with light rain, wind early next week followed by the season’s chilliest air to date, including coldest Thanksgiving in 9 years!NOVEMBER TEMPERATURE/PRECIPITATION UPDATESNOVEMBER, 2023 has been sunny, warm and dry thus far through the first 17 daysSUNSHINE: Sunshine has been abundant, running well above normal at 72% vs normal of 45%TEMPERATURES: Opening 17 days averaging 49.0º which is 5.7º above normal and good enough to rank 17th warmest of the past 153 years since 1871.PRECIPITATION: It's been quite dry!! The first 17 days have logged only 0.10" of precipitation compared to the typical 1.42", which is just 7% normal to date.Predicted high of 35 degrees would make this the coldest Thanksgiving in 9 years since a 27 degree high in 2014!!U.S. SNOW COVER SITTING AT JUST 4%Ten percent of the 40.6% U.S. snow pack on November 17 a year ago6-10 AND 8-14 DAY TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION OUTLOOKValid November 23 to December 1, 2023MILD WEEKEND INTO EARLY NE...