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Man who killed pregnant wife and father-in-law sentenced to life in prison

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:14 GMT

Years after a family tragedy, a convicted killer learned his fate after he took the lives of his pregnant wife and father-in-law.Cassandritz Blanc was given three life sentences, Wednesday afternoon. In court, Blanc apologized to the victims’ family.. “I will sincerely like to apologize to the victims and the victim’s family,” he said.Blanc was accused of killing his wife Martine Bernard, who was six months pregnant, his unborn son, who was supposed to be named after him, and his father-in-law, 68-year-old Roosevelt Bernard.The incident took place on June 4, 2018, when, police said, Blanc shot and killed his wife after, he said, she disrespected him. Blanc then kept her body in the apartment the two shared for about a week.He then attempted to dismember her body, but when that became difficult, Blanc disposed her body in a nearby dumpster. Days later, Blanc killed Roosevelt by shooting him in the back of the neck. He then attempted to burn his body in an all...

Three people in custody as Lynn police investigate reported armed robbery

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:14 GMT

Officials said they detained three juvenile suspects after responding to a reported armed robbery in Lynn Tuesday afternoon.Two teen males told police they were approached by a group of males around 3 p.m. on Fayette Street. One of the teens was assaulted with a machete and sustained a non-life threatening injury to his back The group of perpetrators also took his backpack.The teenager told 7News he was the victim of the crime. He said he was walking home from school when a group of people approached him, shoved and stabbed him with a machete. A neighbor pulled over to help.“There’s a whole bunch of kids having a commotion. I pull over, I said hey you guy okay. He’s holding his back,” neighbor John Tom said. “He was like, ‘No, I was just jumped and stabbed with a machete and they stole my bag.’”A short time later, officials said, three juvenile males were apprehended in connection to the robbery. Around 3 p.m., there were multiple police cruisers as well as officers searching f...

Officials address Boston EMS staffing shortages as median response time, demand increases

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:14 GMT

When seconds count during a medical emergency, residents around the city rely on Boston EMS to respond as soon as possible. However, there are big concerns about a staffing shortage.The Boston City Council discussed the issue Tuesday with first responders.“We’re supposed to get 150,000 more people, that’s the project growth in the city of Boston and so this hearing was to ask the question, ‘Are the city services that we’re providing good enough?’” said Gabriela Coletta, a Boston city councilor.A troubling incident last May in Charlestown led in part to this hearing. A woman was suffering an apparent stroke, and her niece called 911 for help. Boston Fire got there in about three minutes to administer aid, but they had trouble securing an ambulance to respond.“It was anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour before it got there,” said Kelli Gillen Forbes, who called 911 for her aunt. “I actually had my aunt’s son-in-law walk from the Garden, and he got there before there was any ambul...

Staying Hazy, Hot and Humid

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:14 GMT

The heat and humidity are back for more and don’t expect relief in the short term. With the heat and humidity, feels like temperatures will climb back into the upper 90s for the rest of the week and the heat advisory has now been extended to include Friday as well.Tomorrow will be the hottest of the bunch with most of us away from the coastline climbing to the 90s and feels like temperatures closer to 100°. The coast line will again be cooler, but still plenty warm with temperatures in the 80s.So where’s the relief?! Well, distance-wise it isn’t that far away… time-wise is a different story. There’s a cold front moving the Great Lakes now but as it gets closer to the northeast and New England will almost become stationary and keep the true relief away until next week. As it slowly presses into New England, it will drop our temperatures each day through the weekend and increase our rain chances each day. With just a few showers or a storm Saturday, a few...

Delta drafts Tom Brady as adviser

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:14 GMT

ATLANTA   — Delta Air Lines says it’s bringing former star quarterback Tom Brady on board as a “long-term strategic adviser.”Brady is a seven-time Super Bowl winner for the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.“Bringing a leader like Tom onto the Delta team furthers our mission to connect the world while accelerating our drive to continuously improve for our colleagues, customers and communities,”Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a news release announcing the partnership.Delta did not disclose how much it is paying Brady and declined to disclose other terms.Delta said Brady will play a role in marketing and help the Atlanta-based airline develop training and teamwork tools for its more than 90,000 employees. He will also appear on a series of Bastian’s “Gaining Altitude” video interviews to discuss topics including overcoming adversity.Brady said he and NFL teammates flew on Delta many times, “even celebrating Super Bowl wins...

Long COVID research: A pre-pandemic common cold coronavirus infection could explain why some patients develop long COVID

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:14 GMT

A pre-pandemic common cold coronavirus infection may help set the stage for long COVID, according to Boston researchers who have been looking to explain why some patients end up facing the long-lasting, debilitating symptoms.The researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital teamed up with experts in immunology and virology to look for clues about long COVID in blood samples from patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases.The team found that among these patients, those who developed long COVID were more likely to have expanded, pro-inflammatory antibodies specific to a coronavirus that causes the common cold.A person’s viral history, especially prior infection and expansion of antibodies against a pre-pandemic coronavirus, could prime the immune system for developing long COVID, according to the researchers.“Our study offers evidence and explanation for why some of our patients may be experiencing the persistent and wide-ranging s...

Interior Department cancels remaining leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:14 GMT

By BECKY BOHRER (Associated Press)JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Interior Department on Wednesday canceled the remaining seven oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge that were part of a sale held in the waning days of the Trump administration, angering state political leaders including Alaska’s Republican governor, who threatened to sue.Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said that with her decision to cancel the remaining leases “no one will have rights to drill for oil in one of the most sensitive landscapes on earth.” However, a 2017 law mandates another lease sale by late 2024. Administration officials said they intend to comply with the law.Haaland called climate change “the crisis of our lifetime, and we cannot ignore the disproportionate impacts being felt in the Arctic.” She defended the Biden’s administration’s record in addressing the changing climate.Wednesday’s announcement comes months after ...

An unholy mess

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:14 GMT

Grade: C minusShot in France using a real abandoned church, “The Nun II” has its Catholic credentials in order, and once again gives us a demonic nun bearing a weird resemblance to rock star Alice Cooper. The Catholic element is what gives these films some semblance of verisimilitude.Written by Ian Goldberg and Richard Naing of “The Autopsy of Jane Doe” and Akela Cooper of “MEGAN” fame, based on characters created by Gary Dauberman (“Annabelle Comes Home”) and the horror and action film phenomenon James Wan (“The Conjuring”), “The Nun II” is a sequel to “The Nun” (2018) and the ninth installment in “The Conjuring” universe.Now, I like nun movies as much as anyone (one of my favorites is Ken Russell’s still shocking 1971 horrorshow “The Devils”), and I bring a Catholic parochial school background to these films. Like its predecessor, “The Nun II,”  which is in essence a remake of the wildly successful (in spite of terrible reviews and audience scores) first film, borrows ...

Another person dies after being found unresponsive at Fulton County Jail in Atlanta

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:14 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — A 24-year-old man died at an Atlanta hospital after being found unresponsive at a jail that is already being investigated by federal authorities for potential civil rights violations.A Fulton County Jail officer found Shawndre Delmore during a routine check just before 8:30 p.m. Aug. 31, the county sheriff’s office said in a news release Wednesday. Jail staff attempted to revive Delmore until medical staff arrived, and he was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he died Sept. 3, the release says.Delmore is the sixth person to die in Fulton County custody since the end of July. He was arrested April 1 by Atlanta police and was being held on $2,500 bond on a second-degree burglary charge. Atlanta police will investigate his death, and the county medical examiner will do an autopsy, the sheriff’s office said.The U.S. Department of Justice in July opened a civil rights investigation into jail conditions in the county, citing violence, filthy conditions and ...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appoints Moms for Liberty co-founder to state Commission on Ethics

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:14 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed a co-founder of Moms for Liberty, a “parental rights” group that has sought to take over school boards in multiple states, to the Florida Commission on Ethics on Wednesday.Tina Descovich was named to the nine-member, Tallahassee-based commission, which investigates alleged breaches of public trust by elected and appointed officials, as well as state employees.Descovich was previously elected to the School Board of Brevard County in 2016 and served as president of the Florida Coalition of School Board Members. Moms for Liberty started with Descovich and two other Florida women fighting COVID-19 restrictions in 2021. It has quickly ascended as a national player in Republican politics, helped along the way by the group’s political training and close relationships with high-profile GOP groups and lawmakers.The group’s support for school choice and the “fundamental rights of parents” to direct their children’s education has ...