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Boston City Council approves $3.4 million for BRIC, police intelligence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:57 GMT

The City Council voted to approve $3.4 million in grant funding for the Boston Regional Intelligence Center, after a lengthy discussion that determined the need for public safety outweighs past harms created by the entity’s gang database.The body’s 7-5 vote on Wednesday releases four years worth of funding to the intelligence arm of the city’s police department, money that has been earmarked by the state since fiscal year 2020, but had been held up by the City Council.“At the end of the day, BRIC helps solve crimes, particularly violent crime, homicides,” City Councilor Michael Flaherty said. “BRIC brings justice and some solace, a little bit of peace and a little bit of closure to those that have had a loved one killed in the streets of Boston.”The funding will go toward improving technology aimed at fighting crime, gangs and terrorism. It will allow the intelligence center to hire eight additional analysts, four of which will “monitor active events and communicate in real time,” M...

Mansfield police successfully deescalate violent threat

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:57 GMT

Mansfield Police successfully resolved a stressful situation in which a local man allegedly armed with a gun was holed up in an area hotel and threatening to harm himself.The man’s mother called the police a little before 4 p.m. Tuesday to report that her son “was under the influence and armed” at an address matching that of the local Fairfield Inn and Suites, 50 Reservoir St., and “threatening to harm himself or law enforcement if anyone tried to intervene,” according to the Mansfield Police Department.MPD called in help from the Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council, which has a Crisis Negotiators Team and a mental health clinician, the agency said. Negotiators worked for four hours until the male in question “agreed to accept help and was peacefully transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.”

Bruins make cuts, but questions remain

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:57 GMT

The Bruins continued to pare down their training camp roster, but some key roster battles are still to be officially determined.The B’s placed Jayson Megna on waivers for the purpose of assignment while Trevor Kuntar, Marc McLaughlin and Georgii Merkulov were assigned to Providence.But there are still so many questions.Matt Poitras, 19, is still with the big club, which is not a surprise given his performance thus far, which included the game-tying goal in the B’s 5-4 preseason loss to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. If he doesn’t make the big club, the teenager would have to be sent back to his junior club in Guelph. But as of now it would be a stunner if the B’s didn’t at least utilize the nine-game window before they have to make a final decision on him.If the highly skilled Poitras can prove that he’s ready for the physical grind of the NHL, that could create a fairly major ripple effect up and down the lineup. It would seem useless not to...

Software upgrade let to rail outage affecting thousands of commuters: CN

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:57 GMT

The massive outage on Canadian National Railway Co. lines that delayed thousands of Toronto-area commuters during the evening rush hour Tuesday can be traced to a software upgrade, the company says.“At this time, our teams have determined that this was caused by an internal systems upgrade, which affected CN’s ability to connect to the internet,” CN spokesman Jonathan Abecassis said in an interview.“There’s no indication of a cybersecurity incident whatsoever. At no time was the safety of the public compromised, and at no time was data impacted.”The digital blackout “made it impossible for CN to connect to the internet,” he clarified. It also barred regional transport authority Metrolinx and its GO Transit trains from connecting to CN servers — essential to digital communications that direct locomotives where to move — Abecassis said. GO Transit trains run partly on CN-owned tracks.Partial connectivity was restored at about...

Complainant at Nygard trial says shame, fear for career prevented her coming forward

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:57 GMT

A woman who has accused Peter Nygard of sexual assault told jurors at his Toronto trial on Wednesday that fear, shame, and concern that the fashion mogul could derail her career prevented her from coming forward for years following the alleged attack. Nygard, the founder of a now-defunct international women’s clothing company, has been accused of using his position in the fashion industry to lure women and girls.The 82-year-old has pleaded not guilty to five counts of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement in alleged incidents ranging from the 1980s to mid-2000s.The Crown has said that all five complainants in the case are expected to allege that they were taken to Nygard’s Toronto headquarters under pretences ranging from tours to job interviews, with all encounters ending in a top-floor bedroom suite, where they were sexually assaulted.Jurors heard that the first complainant, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, met Nygard for a Rolling Stone...

Montreal transit special constables poised to receive pepper-gel weapon

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:57 GMT

Montreal’s transit authority is poised to equip its security officers with cayenne pepper gel, a weapon it says is more appropriate than batons to use on people in crisis.The Société de transport de Montréal, or STM, plans to deploy the gel among its special constables this December, pending approval from its board at a meeting Wednesday evening. STM special constables do not carry firearms.“When confronted with people in crisis, the human mentality demands that we try to de-escalate, but if these efforts fail, this approach must continue by seeking to control the person while avoiding causing further injury or being injured despite the aggression suffered,” the STM said in an email statement.“Using cayenne pepper in gel form is … less aggressive and causes fewer injuries than using a telescopic baton.”As well, the gel aerosol is less volatile than tradition sprays, says the STM, and therefore less likely to contaminate areas beyond the target.The measu...

Black, Indigenous advocates reflect on historic elections in Canada

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:57 GMT

Black and Indigenous advocates and leaders are reflecting on the impact two historic elections will have across Canada.On Tuesday, Federal Parliament elected Greg Fergus as Speaker of the House, making him the first Black Canadian in the role.Fergus has been a Liberal MP for Hull-Aylmer since 2015 and has been a Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board and to the Minister of Health. He also founded and co-chaired the Parliamentary Black Caucus for six years.Velma Morgan with Black Vote Canada was in Ottawa for the historic announcement along with a cohort of around 20 young people as a part of their civic leadershipand public policy program for Black Canadian youth.“I [said] to them, ‘You’re not going to know or understand the moment right now, but a week from now, a year from now, 10 years from now, you’re going to be [like] ‘I witnessed history, I witnessed the first Black Speaker of the House of Commons for Canada.’ So it ...

Italy identifies 20 foreign tourists who perished in fiery crash from overpass on Venetian mainland

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:57 GMT

VENICE, Italy (AP) — Venetian mainlanders stopped in dismay Wednesday to pay respects to the 21 people, all but one foreign tourists, who were killed when an all-electric shuttle bus crashed through an overpass guardrail and fence, plunging more than 10 meters (30 feet) to the ground.The raised road opposite a major train station is one of the borough of Mestre’s most frequently traveled, without second thoughts. But they now stopped to inspect the aging guardrail and rusted fence — both of which the bus sliced through in a moment during Tuesday rush-hour traffic. The bus was just a year old, and the 40-year-old driver with an untarnished record had just started his shift shuttling tourists from Piazzale Roma, at the edge of Venice’s famed canals, to a four-star campground on the mainland offering bargain accommodation. The driver, Alberto Rizzotto, was among the dead.A video showed the city-owned bus disappear from the frame, as another larger bus traveling behind it continue...

Movie Review: ‘The Exorcist: Believer’ doesn’t desecrate the original but it won’t compel you

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:57 GMT

There may be no holier ground in horror than “The Exorcist.” As endlessly as William Friedkin’s 1973 film has been ripped off and resurrected, its power remains unalloyed, its place in movie history consecrated.Why is it that, after we’ve seen seen so many heads twist around, “The Exorcist” can still turn heads? Much, surely, is owed to its patient, restrained approach, icy atmospheres and and evocative, uncluttered imagery — all conjured in the dawning dread of post-1960s America.But the possession of young Regan MacNeil still haunts, I think, for its absolute belief in good and evil. It’s a supernatural movie that treats the supernatural as straightforwardly natural. The devil is as real and present as all those concrete steps.There were flop sequels that followed and plenty of spinoffs that failed to grip. But now, just two months after the death of Friedkin and a few months shy of the original’s 50th anniversary, comes a sequel from director David G...

Music Review: On ‘Come June,’ Mitch Rowland, collaborator to Harry Styles, makes a pretty folk debut

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:20:57 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — He might not be immediately recognizable to the masses, but multi-instrumentalist Mitch Rowland is a household name to a certain cohort of music obsessives: Harry Styles fans. The Grammy Award-winner (credited for Album of the Year, which Styles took home at the 2023 ceremony for his 2022 record “Harry’s House”; Rowland co-wrote “Music for a Sushi Restaurant” and “Keep Driving”) will release his debut album on Friday, titled “Come June,” via Giant Music/Erskine Records. The former is owned by the Azoff Company, the latter, by Styles. Rowland is Styles’ first signee, but do not expect scatting, or funky bass, or some of the particularities of his boss’ recent oeuvre (though an acoustic Rowland track like “When It All Falls Down,” is easily comparable to Styles’ “Matilda.”) On “Come June,” Rowland demonstrates a deep understanding of a kind of indie folk sound, from the Laurel Canyon-esque opener “Bluebells” to the propulsive “Illusionist,” w...