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Wagner’s feud with Russian army escalates amid reports of not-so-friendly fire

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:28:09 GMT

The feud between the mercenaries of the Kremlin-connected Wagner Group and the ordinary Russian army appears to be escalating, amid reports of exchanges of friendly fire.Russian soldiers shot at Wagner paramilitaries near Bakhmut — the eastern Ukrainian town which has seen brutal attritional battles for territory — destroying a truck, the mercenary group claimed Sunday evening.In response, Wagner claimed to have detained the commander of the Russian army’s 72nd brigade, on Monday releasing a video of him appearing to confess to giving the order to fire on the mercenaries’ vehicle, claiming he did so while drunk because he personally disliked the group. The officer, who introduced himself as Lieutenant-Colonel Roman Gennadievich Venivitin, appeared to have been roughed up by his captors.The video came after Wagner released a statement, signed by a “commander” of the group, stating that he had received information that members of the official Russian army ...

State trooper rescues baby deer in Holyoke

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:28:09 GMT

A Massachusetts state trooper rescued a baby deer that was found in a busy roadway in Holyoke over the weekend.Trooper Timothy Martin stopped on his way home from work to assist motorists who were trying to corral the deer and keep it from being struck by traffic on I-91. The fawn was later returned to its mother.

No survivors found at VA plane crash site after US fighter jets attempted to intercept its unresponsive pilot

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:28:09 GMT

(CNN) — No survivors were found at the crash site of a plane whose pilot was unresponsive as it flew near the Washington, DC, area Sunday, prompting military fighter jets to attempt to intercept the aircraft before it ultimately crashed, authorities say.First responders reached the site Sunday evening, about four hours after state and local authorities launched a ground and air search for the crashed aircraft, Virginia State Police said.State police said they have suspended their search and will identify the plane’s passengers when the information becomes available.US F-16 fighter jets caused a sonic boom across the Washington, DC, region Sunday as they scrambled to reach the unresponsive aircraft, officials said.A US official said the F-16s did not shoot down the aircraft and that it is typical for the Federal Aviation Administration to call in jets if someone is flying unsafely.The pilot of the civilian aircraft was unresponsive as the F-16 fighter jets attempted to make cont...

Students to resume class elsewhere after falling concrete closes Somerville school for rest of school year

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:28:09 GMT

Some students in Somerville will be “going off to college” to end their school year after a piece of falling concrete prompted the closure of the Winter Hill Community Innovation School.The concrete, which fell outside school operating hours while the school was unoccupied, led to an inspection of the school that determined it was unsafe to have students return this school year. Now, the students will be wrapping up their classes beginning Thursday at several remote locations.Grades 1-8 will be at Tufts University; Pre-K and kindergarten will be at the Capuano Early Childhood Center; and AIM students will be at the Edgerly Education Center.Until school resumes, school officials say students can be dropped off for child care at the Founders Memorial Skating Rink between 7:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Commuter rail network ‘failing’ riders, group says

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:28:09 GMT

A scathing new report from transportation watchdog TransitMatters finds the state’s commuter rail system is in need of full-scale overhaul if Massachusetts hopes to meet self-imposed Net Zero carbon goals by 2050.The report, titled “Turning Vision into Reality: the Moment for Regional Rail is Now,” indicates the state is at a transit crossroads, faced with the choice of maintaining an outdated and ailing diesel fleet, or investing in the kind of regional transportation that actually works for residents.“The MBTA’s commuter rail system is failing the people it should serve,” the report reads, in part. “Riders from Gateway Cities like Haverhill and Fitchburg must pay high fares for trains that come hourly or worse.”“Environmental justice communities like Dorchester and Chelsea are exposed to dangerous black carbon emissions from diesel locomotives and are forced to contend with long bus trips because of commuter rail’s expense, low frequency, and unreliability. White collar workers wi...

Orioles reset: Like Buster Posey before him, Adley Rutschman showing value of having a two-way catcher

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:28:09 GMT

A historic franchise coming off down seasons called up a catcher with a boyish face and suddenly, everything changed.More than a decade after Buster Posey returned the San Francisco Giants to prominence, Adley Rutschman is having a similar impact in Baltimore. Since calling him up last May, the Orioles have transformed into one of baseball’s top teams after years as one of its worst.Rutschman has drawn comparisons to Posey since before he was drafted first overall in 2019, and they have only grown since he reached the majors. It’s perhaps unfair, given Posey’s 12-season career could land him in the Hall of Fame and featured numerous World Series championships, All-Star appearances and Silver Sluggers to go with a Gold Glove. Rutschman has yet to accomplish any of those, though he’s positioned to change that this season.But as Posey was to the Giants, Rutschman, 25, is a catcher who is vital to his team on both sides of the ball and is in many ways its centerp...

MBTA will add ‘head of stations’ job after mishaps

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:28:09 GMT

The MBTA’s new GM is creating a new “head of stations” job to oversee operations at the agency’s many train stops after a series of mishaps and equipment failures at the facilities.Phil Eng, just a few months into his job as chief of the beleaguered authority, said the need for the role was apparent to him based off of experience at other rail companies.“In past agencies I saw where a ‘head of stations’ is a single point of accountability, right? Somebody who is managing a team, obviously we have many stations across the system, but that team will be there to support this person in terms of the environment of our stations, the safety of our stations, and to bring together all the different functional groups that support addressing those in a more timely manner,” he said in remarks Sunday during WCVB’s “On the Record.”Eng’s declaration he would find someone to take the reins at the T’s several stations comes after one woman was nearly struck by a falling...

Lucas: Good to see renewed support for veterans on Beacon Hill

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:28:09 GMT

Massachusetts has not had a military veteran serve as governor in more than 30 years.That last veteran to serve as governor was U.S. Army veteran Michael S. Dukakis (1955-1957) who served as an enlisted man in Korea after the Korean War ended in 1953. He left the governor’s office in 1990.So it is of interest that Gov. Maura Healey, a non-veteran and a progressive, would take an interest in the well-being of Massachusetts men and women who served their country.Progressives as a rule tend to shun all things military.Dukakis, 89, who enlisted following graduation from Swarthmore College, was a 21-year-old radio operator on the DMZ, the armistice line that still separates the two Koreas.The Korean war, often referred to as “The Forgotten War”—lodged as it was between World War II and Vietnam– began on June 25, 1950, when the Communist North Korea, later abetted by Communist China, invaded South Korea, then a fledgling democracy and a U.S. ally and protectorate.It ended back where...

Russia claims Ukraine is launching major attacks; Kyiv accuses Moscow of misinformation

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:28:09 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Moscow officials claimed that Ukrainian forces were making a major effort to punch through Russian defensive lines in southeast Ukraine for a second day Monday. Kyiv authorities didn’t confirm the attacks and suggested the claim was a Russian misinformation ruse. Vladimir Rogov, a Moscow-installed official in southeast Ukraine’s partly-occupied Zaporizhzhia province, said fighting resumed there early Monday after Russian defenses beat back a Ukrainian advance the previous day.Rogov claimed that “the enemy threw an even bigger force into the attack than yesterday.” The new attempt to break through the front line was “more large-scale and organized,” he said, adding: “A battle is underway.”Rogov’s comments came after Moscow also claimed to have thwarted large Ukrainian attacks in the eastern Donetsk region, another of the four regions that President Vladimir Putin claimed as Russian territory last fall and partially controls.Russia’s Defense Mini...

Weekend drivers demand answers after DVP, Gardiner shut down longer than expected

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:28:09 GMT

Toronto drivers are demanding answers after the city’s two main thoroughfares into downtown were shut down longer than anticipated over the weekend.Both the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway were scheduled to be closed off for 14 hours on Sunday to make room for thousands of cyclists taking part in a charity bike ride, the Bike for Brain Health, which raises money and awareness to help defeat dementia.But several drivers who called in to the CityNews 680 traffic centre expressed dismay after the major routes remained closed hours after the scheduled reopening time at 4 p.m.. Some drivers even noted they were running out of gas as they were left stuck in traffic backlogs that they thought would be cleared up by the early evening.“There’s a lot of people running out of gas because it’s at a complete standstill,” says one caller to the traffic centre who says they were left stuck on westbound Lakeshore Boulevard near Jameson Avenue during the ...