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‘An impossible void in our lives’: Family of child killed at Andover crosswalk releases statement describing tragedy, recounts daughter’s life

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:27 GMT

The family of a 5-year-old girl who was struck and killed while using a crosswalk in Andover on Tuesday is sharing details on the child’s life, her passions and hobbies, and the “impossible void” that has been left following her loss.The family of Sidney Mae Olson released a statement on Thursday afternoon that recounted what led up to what they are calling a pedestrian collision. In the statement, the Olsons described how their family was walking to an art class on Main Street at the time, and how Sidney and another family member were using the crosswalk on Elm Street when the tragedy occurred.Describing the 5 year old as bright-eyed and energetic, with springy curls, a love for nature and Taylor Swift songs, the family requested privacy as they continue to mourn the loss of Sidney.The update came as a memorial for the child continued to grow in size at the intersection of Main and Elm streets. No charges have been filed against the driver involved in the crash, a...

Colleagues honor memory of fallen trooper with ‘Burpees for Bucci’ along East Coast

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:27 GMT

State troopers who graduated with fallen Massachusetts State Police Trooper Tamar Bucci are honoring her memory by embracing her love of fitness and doing ‘Burpees for Bucci’ along the East Coast.Bucci, 34, died in a traffic crash in Stoneham last year when a tanker truck hit her cruiser as she pulled over to help a motorist in a disabled vehicle on Interstate 93 north. On Thursday, classmates of her graduating state trooper class gathered at Gillette Stadium to kick off ‘Burpees for Bucci,’ a multi-state journey to complete service projects on their way to Washington, D.C. They’ll be doing burpees in each state they pass through.“It’s tough – it’s never easy to lose any colleague or trooper ever,” said Patrick McNamara, President of the State Police Association of Massachusetts. “This is just a really emotional event for all of us.” Bucci was the 22nd trooper in the department&...

Boston bus stops double as digital libraries under new pilot program

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:27 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Bus stops in Boston are beginning to double as digital libraries under a new pilot program being rolled out across the city.Riders at 20 bus stops can now dip into free digital content by using a QR code to browse and borrow audiobooks, eBooks, e-newspapers and e-magazines for all ages, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said Thursday.Library cards are not required and readers don’t need to download an app. The program, which runs through the end of August, features blue slip-proof decals on sidewalks at the bus stops.Wu said the initiative “builds on our efforts to make public transportation more enjoyable, while also connecting our residents to the resources the Boston Public Library already offers.”Riders will be able to enjoy offerings primarily in English and Spanish with a focus on items that are easy to read on the go, including poetry, short stories and short audiobooks, as well as a selection of bestsellers and titles for children and teens.The newspaper and magazine co...

Dolly Parton’s star-studded debut rock album to feature McCartney, Lizzo, Miley, Elton and many more

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:27 GMT

For her very first entry into rock ‘n’ roll music, Dolly Parton pulled out all the stops, thumbing through her rhinestone-studded Rolodex for collaborators.The 77-year-old country music icon, who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last year, announced the lineup for her upcoming album, “Rockstar.”Boasting a whopping 30-tracks, the opus is set to be released Nov. 17. The album will feature superstar collaborations on new versions of popular songs — many with the artists who originally made them hits.Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr reunite for Parton’s take on their 1970 Beatles classic “Let It Be” with special guests Peter Frampton and Mick Fleetwood.Meanwhile, Sting joins the diva on a new version of the Police’s “Every Breath You Take.”Parton and her famous goddaughter, Miley Cyrus, team up for a cover of Miley’s hit ballad “Wrecking Ball.” The pair previously duetted on 2017′s “Rainbowland,” which was banned from a Wisconsin first grade spring concert in March over ...

EPA: New pollution limits proposed for US coal, gas power plants reflect ‘urgency’ of climate crisis

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:27 GMT

By MATTHEW DALY (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration proposed new limits Thursday on greenhouse gas emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants, its most ambitious effort yet to roll back planet-warming pollution from the nation’s second-largest contributor to climate change.A rule announced by the Environmental Protection Agency could force power plants to capture smokestack emissions using a technology that has long been promised but is not used widely in the United States.“This administration is committed to meeting the urgency of the climate crisis and taking the necessary actions required,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said.The new rule would “significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants, protecting health and protecting our planet,” Regan said. The plan would not only “improve air quality nationwide, but it will bring substantial health benefits to communities all acro...

Perfect brunch cocktails to celebrate moms on Mother’s Day

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:27 GMT

So far this year we have cleared four of the five hurdles of the annual Spring Cocktail Steeplechase — Mardi Gras, Easter, Cinco de Mayo and the Kentucky Derby. If we’ve made it this far, we can probably knuckle down and make it over the last one: Mother’s Day.When Anna Jarvis first conceived of a day to honor her mother in 1908, she was thinking of a pretty solemn affair, specifically surrounding a special Methodist Sunday church service. Jarvis was pretty adamant that the day should be rendered as “a singular possessive, for each family to honor its own mother, not a plural possessive commemorating all mothers in the world.” She made the establishment of just such a day her life’s work, succeeding on a national level in 1914, when President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May a national holiday celebrating mothers (plural).Jarvis had by then already famously said that “her” Mother’s Day was a day to honor “the person who has done more for you than anyone in the worl...

Army officially designates Fort Moore, dropping Confederate name Benning

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:27 GMT

FORT MOORE, Ga. (AP) — The Army’s training hub in Georgia was renamed Fort Moore during a ceremony Thursday, replacing the name of a Confederate officer that had adorned the base for more than a century with that of a decorated Vietnam War commander and his wife.The name change for the post formerly known as Fort Benning had been in the making for more than a year, since an independent commission recommended in May 2022 renaming nine of its bases commemorating Confederate officers.Soldiers and dignitaries attended a ceremony Thursday unveiling the new sign that will stand outside the base headquarters. The post commander, Maj. Gen. Curtis Buzzard, welcomed attendees for the first time to Fort Moore, named in honor of the late Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and his wife, Julia Moore. Located just outside Columbus, the Georgia base trains soldiers to fight in the infantry, to serve in tank crews and is home to the elite Army Ranger School. Roughly 70,000 soldiers and civilian workers are st...

Turkish candidate drops out in boost to Erdogan’s main challenger

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:27 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A candidate in Turkey’s presidential election announced his withdrawal from the race Thursday, a move that’s likely to benefit President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main challenger.The candidate who pulled out, Muharrem Ince, is the leader of the center-left Homeland Party. He was one of four contenders running in Sunday’s presidential election. Turkey holds a parliamentary election the same day. Ince had faced criticism for potentially ciphering support from the six-party Nation Alliance, which has united behind the candidacy of opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, and thereby forcing the presidential contest into a second-round.“I am withdrawing from the race,” Ince told reporters in front of his party’s headquarters, following weeks of resisting calls to step down. “I am doing this for my country.” Erdogan, who has led Turkey as prime minister and president since 2003, is facing the most challenging election of his 20-year rule. Pol...

New York attorney general sues manufacturer over magazine lock used in Buffalo store massacre

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:27 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s attorney general sued a gun accessory manufacturer Thursday for selling a lock that can be easily removed to attach high-capacity magazines, which are illegal in the state.The white gunman who massacred 10 Black shoppers and workers in a Buffalo supermarket last year carried out the attack with a semiautomatic rifle he purchased legally, but then modified so he could load it with illegal high-capacity ammunition magazines, as previously reported. New York law bans the possession of magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. “We lost 10 innocent lives because a hate-fueled individual was able to make an AR-15 even deadlier through a simple change at home,” Attorney General Letitia James, an elected Democrat, said in a statement. “We cannot undo the devastating harm that was done, but this lawsuit against Mean Arms is part of our ongoing effort to pursue justice for the ten innocent lives that were unjustly taken.”Email messages seeking...

Trump turned his liabilities into laugh lines at CNN town hall, underscoring GOP rivals’ challenge

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:27 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The Republicans in the audience laughed when former President Donald Trump mocked a woman who accused him of rape. They cheered when he defended his role during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. And they applauded again after he said he was “honored” to “terminate Roe v. Wade.”Trump’s defiant performance at the CNN town hall on Wednesday may ultimately hurt his standing with key groups of voters in next fall’s general election, especially women, suburbanites and independents. But the reaction of those who attended also demonstrated his extraordinary grip on the conservative voters who will soon decide the fight for the GOP presidential nomination.The magnitude of the challenge ahead for Trump’s Republican rivals was clear as the former president repeatedly turned his greatest political liabilities into jokes and applause lines for the GOP base. On Thursday, a day after the town hall, Trump’s Republican critics conceded they don’t kn...