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‘The children are our future’: Santa, Mrs. Claus help Miami firefighters hand out presents ahead of Christmas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:57 GMT

A group of South Florida firefighters took on the gift of giving for the holidays. Several children took home a special surprise, just in time for Christmas.Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus came to town Wednesday riding on a vintage Miami fire truck. They came bearing gifts for excited boys and girls. “We’re very proud and humbled to be able to do this every year to help the community,” said City of Miami Fire Lt. Esteban Lora.For over 70 years, the City of Miami Fire Rescue Department and the Miami Firefighters Benevolent Association hand out toys for over 600 children.And Santa is a rock star.“Especially these times, with the economy and the way things are, it’s very needed,” said Lora. “One, for a lot of these kids, for a lot of these kids, this is the only gift they’ll ever receive for Christmas.”7News cameras captured Santa handing out gifts in a classroom.“Go get your toy! I got you this present a little early,” said ...

Plan to relocate migrant families currently living in hotel rooms in Massachusetts draws mixed reactions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:57 GMT

A change of plans is underway in the state response to the shelter crisis in Massachusetts as some migrant families currently living in hotels are set to move into different hotels by the end of the month.With a total of 10 current shelter locations scheduled to close, the plan has drawn mixed reactions.Some migrant parents and children have been living in hotel rooms since coming to Massachusetts. The arrangement, though, was never meant to be permanent and on Wednesday, the state’s emergency assistance director said it is time to relocate families.“We are now in a position where we can transition some of these sites into new, larger sites to facilitate better coordination and delivery of wraparound services,” said Emergency Assistance Director General Scott Rice.One advocacy group told 7NEWS the current plan is to move roughly 250 families from their current shelter spots in Woburn, Arlington and Billerica by the end of December. The state has bought out entire hotels that mi...

DA: Dorchester man indicted for murder of 19-year-old in Roxbury last summer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:57 GMT

A Dorchester man has been indicted for shooting 19-year-old Tywon Meek near a Roxbury playground last July.“To call the violent death of a 19-year-old a tragedy is somehow insufficient to the horror and loss that the reality entails,” Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden said in a statement. “There is no closure or finality to the grief and anguish being felt by Tywon’s family and friends. There are only memories of his far-too-short life and the pursuit of justice for his far-too-early death.”A Suffolk County Grand Jury on Wednesday indicted Anthony Ramos, 28, of Dorchester, for Meek’s murder. Ramos, who was arrested on a related firearms charge last week and is in custody, will be arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court at a later date on charges of first-degree murder, possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition and carrying a loaded firearm.Boston Police responded to 5 Leyland St. a little before midnight on July 6. There, Meek was pronounced dead after having suffered multiple gunshot wou...

College football signings: Xaverian star Henry Hasselbeck commits to UCLA

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:57 GMT

Go west, young quarterback.Xaverian quarterback Henry Hasselbeck made if official Wednesday morning when he announced he will attend UCLA. The 6-foot-3, 175-pounder comes off a banner season in which he completed 120-of-183 passes for 1,349 yards and 19 touchdowns, while adding 735 rushing yards and 11 more scores, in leading the Hawks to the Div. 1 state title.“I really connected with the school and the coaching staff,” Hasselbeck said. “Coach (Chip) Kelly is an amazing man and the players talk so highly of him. The connections I made with coach and his staff was amazing and the offense they run is incredible.”The recruitment ended a whirlwind ride for Hasselbeck, who inititally committed to Maryland on a lacrosse scholaship, then decommitted to accept a football scholarship to Michigan State last June. When the school went through a period of turmoil, Hasselbeck declared in early December he was reopening his recruitment.“It was a unique situation and I have tremendous respect for...

From the Archives: An ultimate betrayal in Boston

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:57 GMT

The Stuart case remains, as the Herald first reported, “A Terrible night!”But not just for the murder of a pregnant Carol DiMaiti Stuart by her husband, Charles “Chuck” Stuart, but for his evil scheme to blame it all on a random black man.Boston was still healing from the busing crisis and this killer husband preyed on that racial unrest all to move on from his wife and collect her $82,000 life insurance policy.HBO is airing a series on the case — “Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage & Reckoning” — where the Herald is shown for our coverage and pivot to the story of a murderous husband and a city needing to heal all over again.Here are clips from the 1989 slaying and fallout:BOSTON_HERALD_October_24_1989__p1BOSTON_HERALD_January_5_1990__p1BOSTON_HERALD_January_5_1990__p10BOSTON_HERALD_January_5_1990__p7BOSTON_HERALD_January_5_1990__p7BOSTON_HERALD_January_5_1990__p6The Stuart case from Jan. 5, 1990. (Herald archives) 

Jermaine Wiggins coaching career at Brockton High ends after one season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:57 GMT

The Jermaine Wiggins Era at Brockton High lasted less than a year.In the spring, Brockton hired Wiggins to replace Peter Colombo as the football coach. After one season, Wiggins is out.This fall, in Wiggins’ only season, the Boxers went 3-8, which included a 1-5 start. The Boxers did not beat a team with a winning record, and lost in blowout fashion to Barnstable, Andover and Pinkerton Academy of Derry, N.H.Word began to leak out last week that Wiggins had stepped down. Reached late last week by text, Wiggins denied the rumors. Wednesday afternoon, Brockton athletic director Kevin Karo said all inquiries regarding Wiggins were being handled by the school’s communication department, who didn’t respond to an email request for comment.The Brockton Enterprise reported that Kelsey Lynch, the assistant director of Marketing and Communications, confirmed that Wiggins had indeed resigned.A local schoolboy star at East Boston High School, Wiggins played his college football...

Texas begins flying migrants from US-Mexico border to Chicago, with 1st plane carrying 120 people

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:57 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas began flying migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border to Chicago on Wednesday, a week after the city took a tougher stance on the buses that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has been sending north since last year.The first flight of 120 migrants arrived in the afternoon, according to Abbott’s office. The governor directed state officials to begin busing migrants to Democratic-led cities starting in April 2022. Over 80,000 migrants have since been relocated through the effort as part of the governor’s multi-pronged border security mission, known as Operation Lone Star, including 23,000 to Chicago. Chicago’s city council voted last week to toughen penalties on bus operators that don’t unload passengers at a designated arrival location or fill out city paperwork. The city has said operators began trying to drop people off in neighboring cities to avoid penalties including fines, towing or impoundment.Concerns have arisen about the living ...

Suspect located in kidnapping of 13-year-old girl from Imperial County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:57 GMT

SAN DIEGO — The suspect in the kidnapping of a 13-year-old girl from Imperial County was taken into custody, officials with FBI San Diego confirmed in a statement posted to the social media site X Wednesday.The FBI's announcement that Lorenzo Guerrero, 43, was located comes one day after authorities found Raine Gonzales, prompting the cancelation of the Amber Alert connected to the case.Gonzales had been missing since Dec. 10, when she was last seen with Guerrero near the intersection of I Street and 18th Street in Brawley, officials said. The relationship between the two remains unclear at this time.About a week later, on Sunday, authorities offered up a $10,000 reward for any information regarding the whereabouts of Gonzales and Guerrero.California Highway Patrol issued an Amber Alert issued Thursday afternoon for a 13-year-old girl who was last seen in Imperial County. (California Highway Patrol)In their statement Wednesday, FBI officials said Gonzales was located safely with the...

A Kansas City-area man has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges over aviation exports to Russia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:57 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas City-area man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to federal criminal charges accusing him of conspiring with a business partner to illegally export aviation-related technology to Russia, even after its invasion of Ukraine. Douglas Edward Robertson’s plea to 26 criminal counts came a day after his business partner, Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky, pleaded guilty to two of those charges and agreed to the U.S. government’s seizure of $500,000 of assets, most of them held by their company, KanRus Trading Co.Prosecutors have alleged that KanRus supplied aircraft electronics to Russian companies and offered repair services for equipment used in Russian-manufactured aircraft. Buyanovksy, 60, was the company’s founder and president, and Robertson, 56, was its vice president. Their arrests in March came as the U.S. ramped up sanctions and financial penalties on Russia since its invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Along with thousands of sanctions on ...

US senator’s son faces new charges in crash that killed North Dakota sheriff’s deputy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:57 GMT

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer’s 42-year-old son is facing additional charges in connection with the pursuit and crash that killed a North Dakota sheriff’s deputy this month.Ian Cramer, who is in jail, is now also accused of theft, criminal mischief and reckless endangerment for allegedly taking a family vehicle and driving through a closed garage door of a Bismarck hospital’s ambulance bay. The new charges were filed Tuesday.He was previously charged in Mercer County with homicide, reckless endangerment, preventing arrest and drug possession, among other counts, in connection with the Dec. 6 pursuit and crash. A state district court judge set a $500,000 cash bond on those charges, and Cramer is set for a Feb. 7 preliminary hearing on them.Cramer’s attorney did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment on the new charges. He has not entered any pleas yet.Charging documents say Ian Cramer’s mother was taking him to the poli...