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Wheelchair pioneers Esther Vergeer, Rick Draney to be inducted into Tennis Hall of Fame

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:44:23 GMT

Esther Vergeer had few role models in wheelchair tennis and limited opportunities when she took up the sport.Those aren’t problems any more, and she’s a big reason why.“That was also what I liked about my career, is that I know I was the one that pioneered. I was the one that could explore it all. And I was the one that needed to figure out what the pathway was,” Vergeer said in a telephone interview as she prepared for her induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. “That was also the fun part.”Vergeer will be added to the Newport, Rhode Island, shrine on Saturday along with American Rick Draney, who won 12 singles titles and six in doubles before the Grand Slam era of wheelchair tennis. Draney has been credited with bringing quad tennis — a classification that accounts for impairment in the arms as well — to the Paralympics and other top tournaments.A 21-time Grand Slam singles champion and seven-time Paralympic gold medalist, Vergeer began her career in an e...

Raiders rookie defensive linemen Wilson, Young placed on injured lists

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:44:23 GMT

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — The Las Vegas Raiders will be without talented rookie defensive linemen Tyree Wilson and Byron Young at the beginning of training camp because of injuries.A defensive end who was taken seventh overall from Texas Tech, Wilson was placed on the non-football injury list. He injured his foot last season with the Red Raiders and was held out of organized team activities.Young, a defensive tackle taken in the third round from Alabama, was placed on the physically unable to perform list with an unspecified injury.The Raiders open training camp Wednesday.___AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFLSource

Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon shatters women’s mile record for third world mark

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:44:23 GMT

MONACO (AP) — Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon broke the women’s mile record by nearly five seconds on Friday at the Monaco Diamond League for her third world mark of the past two months.The 29-year-old finished in 4 minutes, 7.64 seconds to break the record of 4:12.33 set by Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan in 2019, also at Monaco. Kipyegon broke the world records in both the 1500m and 5000m last month in Florence and Paris.“It was a blessing to do this with these ladies,” Kipyegon said, according to a release on the event’s web site. “I can see that they are all happy for me and it is so emotional. It is a blessing. It just does not happen every time you run. I have to say thanks God for this. “I really enjoyed the race. I came for that, I wanted to chase the world record and thanks god, it was amazing.”Ireland’s Ciera Mageean was second in 4:14.8.“When I started this season, my goal was to just break the 1500 WR. It was still in my head and in my mind,” Kipyegon said. “Thank...

Larimer County deputy involved in traffic stop that lead to death, found not criminally responsible

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:44:23 GMT

LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) -- A Larimer County deputy has been cleared of any criminal responsibility after a traffic stop that turned deadly in February.Brent Thompson was pulled over on Interstate 25 on Feb. 18 for expired plates. Deputies said he gave a false name which prompted them to ask him to step out of the vehicle. He stood at the back for some time before attempting to flee. He began to run toward the interstate, but one of the deputies on scene, Lorenzo Lujan, deployed his Taser which hit Thompson. Shortly after, a vehicle ran over and killed him. Suspect hit, killed by car during traffic stop on I-25 Friday, 8th Judicial District Attorney George McLaughin concluded his investigation and released a 34-page letter with great detail on why and how he came to find Lujan not criminally responsible for Thompson's death, even though it states he used poor judgment in deploying his Taser."I've tried to be strong for everybody and I have my ups and downs. I love my boy and ...

Woman rescued at State Street T station after leg gets stuck near platform

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:44:23 GMT

A woman was rescued Friday after her leg got stuck near the platform at the MBTA’s State Street station in Boston, officials said. The incident happened Friday afternoon. Video from the scene showed the woman surrounded by firefighters at one point as crews worked to get her free. The woman, firefighters said, was in pain and hurt but is expected to be OK. Crews said they did not need to use any tools to free the woman. A 7NEWS camera later captured the moment the woman was taken away from the station and loaded into an ambulance to be taken to a hospital. Asked about this incident, the MBTA in a statement said a passenger “stepped in the gap between the open train door and the platform” while the train was already stopped at the station.“The train did not move before the person was removed and taken to Tufts Medical Center to be evaluated,” the T said. While State Street station had reopened as of around 6 p.m., there were lingering delays for Orange L...

Massachusetts wildlife officials receive $773,000 to help prevent pandemics, respond to zoonotic disease outbreaks

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:44:23 GMT

State wildlife officials have received nearly $800,000 to get ahead of wildlife disease outbreaks before they cross the barrier from animals to humans and become pandemics.The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) was recently awarded $773,300 in Zoonotic Disease Initiative grant funds from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.The $773,300 will be used over a three-year period to develop a wildlife health and public outreach program for Massachusetts — and to research wildlife diseases, and prevent their spread within the Northeast.Zoonotic diseases can be transmitted between wildlife and humans. This federal funding is intended to help regions respond to wildlife disease outbreaks before they become pandemics.“Recent disease issues like Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in birds and white-nose syndrome in bats have highlighted the need for building capacity within MassWildlife and other groups in the region to respond quickly using the latest sci...

Just in time for Shark Week, Cape Cod shark researchers tag first great whites of the season

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:44:23 GMT

A few days before the start of Shark Week, the region’s top great white shark expert has successfully tagged the first sharks of the season.Greg Skomal, an accomplished marine biologist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, was out tagging apex predators along Cape Cod on Thursday.The first shark that Skomal tagged was swimming about a mile north of a popular Truro beach on the Outer Cape.“Let the shark tagging commence!” the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy tweeted on Friday. “Yesterday, @GregSkomal of the @MassDMF working with the AWSC, tagged 2 sharks!“This video shows the first shark tagged of the day (and season)!” the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy added. “It was a 10 foot white shark that was tagged about a mile north of Head of the Meadow beach.”Let the shark tagging commence! Yesterday, @GregSkomal of the @MassDMF working with the AWSC, tagged 2 sharks! This video shows the first shark tagged of the day(and se...

Battenfeld: Group opposed to Mayor Michelle Wu and ultra liberal pols fizzles amid controversy

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:44:23 GMT

A fundraiser planned for a Michelle Wu opposition group has erupted into controversy and fizzled, with Boston politicians now scrambling to run away from the effort.What began as a birthday party for former Boston Mayor Ray Flynn, then a fundraiser for his son, City Council President Ed Flynn, then a gathering to “Save Our City” from leftist politicians is now back to being a fundraiser for Ed Flynn.The gathering planned at PR mogul George Regan’s house on Cape Cod was at one time supposed to launch the emerging “Save Our City” group – billed as an effort to “save the City of Boston from the negative impacts of the ultra-progressive policies that dominate the current City Council and current administration at Boston City Hall.”The list of attendees included Flynn, Councilor Erin Murphy, Councilor Frank Baker, Councilor Michael Flaherty and council candidates Bridget Nee Walsh and John Fitzgerald.But after questions emerged about the legality of the group and its opposition to Wu, an...

Celtics’ Jaylen Brown focuses on the kids of Boston with Dorchester court project

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:44:23 GMT

Celtics star Jaylen Brown says he is all about the kids and bettering the Boston community.On Friday, a large crowd greeted Brown at Dorchester’s Fenelon Street Playground, where the Celtics forward is spearheading a court redesign in partnership with Northeastern University junior Kaiya Santos and the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.Brown has stayed busy this summer, just returning from a trip to Spain, as he remains in negotiations for a contract extension. If the Celtics offer him $304 million over the next five years, and he accepts the super-max, he’d have the richest contract in NBA history.But none of that really mattered to Brown on Friday. Kids sporting Celtics jerseys excitedly met their idol and posed with him for selfies.“It’s always about the next generation,” Brown said. “I know as an athlete sometimes you’re removed from these spaces, they put you in these areas where you forget about the communities where you come from. Since I’ve been here, I’ve been refusing...

RMV hired 52 employees after driver’s license law took effect on July 1

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:44:23 GMT

The Registry of Motor Vehicles has hired 52 employees since the start of the month when a new law took effect allowing people without lawful proof of presence in the United States to seek out standard driver’s licenses.New hires have been placed at service center locations across the state just as roughly 100,000 requests for learner’s permits appointments have come in since July 1, an agency spokesperson said this week.Officials at the registry said they expected some 280,000 people to apply for a driver’s license within the first four years of the law, with the biggest demand in the first six months. The Healey administration set aside $28 million to pay for the implementation of the law.Registrar of Motor Vehicles Colleen Ogilvie previously said the RMV wanted to hire more than 200 new employees in anticipation of the law. Most of those people would be frontline service center workers who handle most of the license application work.The RMV is in the process of hiring 21 employees...