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Londonderry, NH HS suspends cheer program amid allegations of toxic culture, bullying

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:37 GMT

The Londonderry, New Hampshire High School cheerleading program has been suspended after allegations surfaced of a toxic and pervasive culture of bullying, harassment, and discrimination, according to a letter sent to families.School administrators discussed the allegations with the school board in a non-public session on Saturday, the letter says, and voted unanimously to suspend the program immediately. The suspension will remain in effect until at least Sept. 25, when the board with re-evaluate the program’s standing.The letter says the allegations “encompass the entire cheerleading program, including the coaching staff, student athletes, and parents.”“Participation in extracurricular activities is a privilege, and we hold student-athletes in Londonderry to high standards. The District attempts to offer as many extra curriculars as it can to satisfy the various needs and interests of a diverse student population. However, fundamentally, extra-curricular ac...

Flood Watch Up… Watching Lee

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:37 GMT

It’s a pattern that does not want to give up. The humid and unstable air mass that was in place over the weekend, producing showers and storms, with localized flooding rains, is still with us today. Scattered showers this morning become heavier storms this afternoon. Those midday/afternoon storms will be capable of producing a quick 1-3″ of rain, allowing for localized street/poor drainage flooding again. A Flood Watch is up because of that potential. Scattered showers are still with us tomorrow, although not as numerous as what we’ll see today. Another round of storms are likely Wednesday midday/afternoon, out ahead of a cold front, with localized downpours and strong winds the main concern. It’ll be behind that front that we finally get lower humidity and drier air in here. Thursday and Friday look nice, however, our attention will then be on Hurricane Lee. Lee this morning is well south of Bermuda with max sustained winds of 120mph. It’s moving north...

Orioles reset: Félix Bautista playing catch was ‘strange,’ a doctor says. Here’s what it might mean.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:37 GMT

Twice last week, injured Orioles closer Félix Bautista played catch. But an expert on elbow injuries said that does little to clarify the state of the ulnar collateral ligament in the All-Star’s right arm.In the more than two weeks since placing Bautista on the 15-day injured list a day after he exited a strike from closing out a victory, the Orioles haven’t gotten more specific than general manager Mike Elias’ initial announcement that Bautista has “some degree” of injury to his UCL. Bautista throwing on the field before Friday’s game at Fenway Park was the first tinge of an update on his status, with manager Brandon Hyde urging that nothing be read into Bautista’s capability of throwing.“I wouldn’t put any emphasis, positive or negative,” said Hyde, who acknowledged that Bautista also played catch days earlier in Anaheim.Dr. Mohit N. Gilotra, a University of Maryland Medical Center orthopedic surgeon who treats shoul...

Lucas: A tale of two gun charge cases

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:37 GMT

If anyone deserves the Jack Jones treatment it is Dean Tran.Remember him? He is the former Fitchburg Republican state senator who was indicted by then-Attorney General Maura Healey, now governor, on a questionable gun charge. Tran has pleaded not guilty.Jones, of course, is the 25-year-old, $4.4 million New England Patriot cornerback who walked last week after Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden dropped all serious gun charges against him,In Tran’s case, Healey, running for governor in 2022, drudged up a three-and-a-half-year-old disputed gun theft case against him.Tran at the time was running against Democrat U.S. Rep Lori Trahan of Westford, a Healey supporter, in the Lowell centered 3rd Congressional District.The indictment, the only such indictment Healey sought in the eight years she was attorney general, came after Trahan endorsed Healey in the Democrat gubernatorial primary for governor.Trahan not only twice contributed $1,000 to Healey but raised an additional $30,...

9/11 nightmare never ends for cancer victims, families

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:37 GMT

The 9/11 attacks keep destroying lives even today.Cancer linked to the toxic emissions at Ground Zero, the Pentagon and Shanksville “sicken 1,000 people a month,” said attorney Dan Hansen, who has clients from New England to New Jersey.Retired FBI agent Tom O’Connor said he just buried a former colleague who died too young after getting ill from sifting through evidence from the terror attacks 22 years ago.Loved ones of the nearly 3,000 9/11 victims are battling Saudi Arabia in court over the Kingdom’s alleged involvement in bankrolling some of the 19 hijackers who pulled off the nightmare that never ends.And, the military tribunal of five terrorists linked to planning the attacks drag on in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, where pleas deals are being pitched.“It’s literally like (Osama) bin Laden is reaching up from the grave and pulling people down,” said O’Connor, a former Northampton police officer who is now head of charities for the FBI Age...

Business confidence steady through August as recession fears dwindle

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:37 GMT

With the U.S. and State economies growing despite nearly a dozen Federal Reserve driven interest rate hikes, employers are reporting they feel somewhat optimistic about the future, according to a survey conducted by the Associated Industries of Massachusetts.Labor markets are still presenting challenges to employers, but economic signs that central bank Chairman Jerome Powell may have successfully steered the U.S. away from a recession and toward a so-called soft landing were large enough to overshadow any hiring woes, the Association’s most recent Business Confidence Index showed.The Index fell 0.1-point from July to August to 52.4% confidence, but remained in an optimistic range. Employer economic enthusiasm has spent most of the year hovering around the 50% mark between pessimistic and optimistic, but confidence is buoyed by months of relatively strong job numbers, according to the Association.“US employers added 3.1 million jobs over the past 12 months, including 187,000 in Augu...

Call of duty: Remembering 9/11 means everything that came after, too

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:37 GMT

As the lone veteran on our news staff, it wasn’t terribly surprising when an editor asked me to write a column for 9/11, but this is not about the heroism at Ground Zero, the Pentagon or on Flight 93.It’s about the decision to withdraw from America’s longest war.The War on Terror that dropped veterans like me in Iraq and Afghanistan is what 9/11 means to so many of us today. We carry those memories with us into our lives and we will never forget that duty.Remember SeptemberWhen the Twin Towers fell, for a very brief time, the country came together in a way that hadn’t been seen since World War II.Following commanders-in-chief probably dreamt about seeing the job approval numbers that former President George W. Bush garnered for his handling of the tragic loss of nearly 3,000 American lives to terrorism. Upwards of 88% of voters approved of the 43rd president’s work, up from 35% in just three weeks, according to Pew Research.A majority of U.S. voters — Pew says in October...

FBI won’t release records on reports of 5th 9/11 plane targeted

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:37 GMT

The FBI won’t divulge if suicidal al-Qaeda terrorists intended to hijack a fifth jet on 9/11.In response to a public records request from the Herald, the agency said, “The material you requested is located in an investigative file which is exempt from disclosure … (and) release of the information could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings.”What “proceedings?” The agency does not say.Sources and previous reporting suggest hijackers were thwarted — turned away or failed somehow — at JFK Airport in New York on Sept. 11, 2001.A military tribunal is dragging on at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, where this case could be linked to the five terrorists charged with plotting the 9/11 attacks — including the mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. No trail date has been set as plea deals are discussed.Twenty-two years ago today 19 al-Qaeda hijackers — 15 of them Saudi nationals — hijacked and crashed four jets, killing nearly ...

France, Bangladesh sign deal to provide loans, satellite technology during Macron’s visit to Dhaka

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:37 GMT

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron witnessed the signature of a deal Monday to facilitate loans to Bangladesh aimed at infrastructure development, as well as a letter of intent to provide the South Asian country with an earth observation satellite system.This came during Macron’s two-day visit to Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, where he met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, to bolster bilateral relations between the two countries.Bangladesh’s Economic Relations Division signed the agreement with the French Development Agency.A letter of intent was also signed to provide Bangladesh with an earth observation satellite system through cooperation between Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited, or BSCL, and Airbus Defense and Space SAS, France.Macron and Hasina witnessed the deals signed at the prime minister’s office. Details remained unclear, with Bangladesh authorities saying they are still ironing out the details.“The satellite that we will buy will travel th...

Greece’s shipping minister resigns a week after a passenger pushed off a ferry ramp drowns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:37 GMT

Greece’s shipping minister resigned Monday over the death of a man who was pushed off a ferry ramp by a crew member after arriving late.A Greek prosecutor brought criminal charges against the captain of the island ferry and three crew members over the encounter that resulted in the Sept. 5 drowning of Andonis Kargiotis, 36. One crew member faces a charge of homicide with possible intent. Amateur video posted online showed the passenger running onto the Blue Horizon ferry’s loading ramp as the ship had cast off its moorings and was about to leave. He tried to push past two crew members and then was pushed off the ramp when he tried again. “No one can imagine that Greek sailors, violating the age-old rules for the protection of human life at sea, pushed and abandoned an unfortunate young man,” Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy Miltiadis Varvitsiotis wrote in an online post after submitting his resignation.Political opponents had accused Varvitsiotis, 54, of initially dow...