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Court ruling raises questions about breathalyzer tests in tens of thousands of Mass. OUI cases 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:30 GMT

Tens of thousands of drivers who plead guilty or who were convicted of being drunk behind the wheel are getting a second chance thanks to a decision from Massachusetts’ highest court that has thrown breathalyzer tests into question. The ruling comes after one woman decided to keep fighting her case after she was stopped at a sobriety checkpoint in Beverly roughly 10 years ago. The woman’s attorney, Murat Erkan spoke with 7NEWS, saying his client took a breathalyzer test. “Not only did the machine say she failed, it said that she failed quite spectacularly,” Erkan said. “That caused her to doubt herself — ‘I mean the machine says I did it.’”Erkan said he advised the woman to plead guilty, which she did. Years later, though, they learned the breath machines were not routinely calibrated, raising questions about their accuracy. Erkan and his client decided to appeal the 2013 drunk driving case.“She understood how the public was harmed and the public trust...

Few showers Thursday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:30 GMT

7Weather- It’s been another day of sunshine blended with clouds and highs in the 50s. We’ll continue to have a lot of clouds around this evening. Tomorrow brings a few showers. Friday is our pick of the next few! Then we’ll have more shower chances this weekend.Heading to the city to cheer on the Bruins? You’ll want a thicker jacket as the wind coming off the cool ocean water will make it feel chilly. While we’re on the topic of sports, you’ll likely want to do the same for the Celtics game tomorrow. Tomorrow morning, we’ll wake up to a lot of clouds and morning low temperatures near 40°/low 40s. We’ll continue to see mainly clouds throughout the day with scattered showers. It won’t be a steady shield of rain that moves in, but at times you might have to dodge some rain drops. Afternoon temperatures rebound to the mid 50s again. Highs along the coast stay near 50°.By this time of the week, you might be thinking “is it Frida...

Everett students get visit, ‘ultimate recess’ experience with New England Patriots players

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:30 GMT

Some students in Everett had a recess they likely won’t forget after the New England Patriots stopped by Lafayette School on Wednesday morning.Several Patriots players were on hand as the team continued to give back to the community this week, stopping by the school to help kids stay fueled.The team, along with the New England Dairy Council, awarded the school $10,000 to buy new sports equipment and meal carts to increase access to school breakfast.The message throughout the day: eat well and stay active.“When your a kid, if you can make your mind up about things that are good for you and are correct, then it’s not as big of a struggle as you get older and you’re like ‘Man, I need to lose a bunch of weight’ or ‘Man I need to do this,’ – you’ve been doing this your whole life,” said Patriots guard Cole Strange.The excitement started with a school-wide assembly, featuring speakers that included Josh Kraft, President of ...

Crews respond to truck fire in Southboro

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:30 GMT

Crews responded to a truck fire in Southboro Wednesday that sent smoke billowing into the sky near the Southborough/Ashland line. SKY7-HD was over the scene shortly before 4 p.m. in the area of Oak Hill Road and Walnut Drive, where firefighters could be seen dousing the damaged truck. Police said no one was hurt in this incident.Southboro police said Oak Hill Road was closed as of around 3:30 p.m. as a result of this fire.

Column: History is repeating itself for the Chicago White Sox — as usual — with a 7-18 start

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:30 GMT

The Chicago White Sox were off to a pathetic start, so bad the general manager began searching for a new manager as the current one squirmed in the dugout.‘’We`re 7-17, I can’t worry about feelings,” the general manager said, adding that if the manager got fired “the players will fire him.”“They have not responded to him,” he said. “It’s the same old story. It’s not always the manager’s fault. But I don’t know of any other way to go. You don’t get rid of the players. The club is 7-17. That’s the bottom line.”The general manager was Ken “Hawk” Harrelson, who had played pool at a suite at the Palmer House Hotel until 3 a.m. the previous morning. His pool partner was former New York Yankees broadcaster Billy Martin, whom Harrelson wanted to hire to replace manager Tony La Russa. It was as unseemly as it sounds. Even La Russa detractors couldn’t believe White Sox Chairman Je...

Pat Leonard: Aaron Rodgers’ Jets arrival felt big because it was, now he has to handle New York

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:30 GMT

Aaron Rodgers received two standing ovations from Jets employees on Wednesday:Once when he stepped onstage as a soundtracked video montage welcomed the longtime Packers great to Florham Park. A second time when Jets owner Woody Johnson said he was “delighted” to have the “future Hall of Famer,” then asked for a second one.“I’d just like to have a round of applause right there,” Johnson said.The red carpet was rolled out. Rodgers received his flowers. Wednesday felt big, and that’s because it was.“When he walks in the building,” offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said of Rodgers, “everything changes.”Head coach Robert Saleh said seeing the four-time MVP hold up his No. 8 Jets jersey was different.“If you would have told me two years ago Aaron Rodgers would be your quarterback, I would have laughed in your face,” Saleh said. “We’re relevant in the NFL now, but what we do with that is o...

Yankees’ bats break out to salvage series finale vs. Twins in 12-6 win

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:30 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS — The Yankees only scored two runs in Tuesday’s loss to the Twins, yet Aaron Boone viewed the evening as a step forward amid his team’s offensive drought.A Minnesota error made one of those runs possible, but Boone came away pleased with the Yankees’ approach and aggression. On Wednesday morning, the manager hoped the previous night would serve as a stepping stone as the Yankees sought to hang the “crooked numbers” that Boone desperately craved.“When you’re going through a stretch where we haven’t swung the bats great, we gotta build on things like that,” Boone said before the Yanks’ series finale against the Twins. Hours later, the Yankees beat Minnesota, 12-6, after scoring five runs in the second inning and six in the fourth.The Yankees had some help to begin the second inning, as a Gleyber Torres hustle double turned into a man on third after a Twins throwing error. Torres then scored when ex-Yankee Jo...

Ime Udoka shows remorse, accountability for actions that led to Celtics exit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:30 GMT

Ime Udoka spoke publicly on Wednesday for the first time since he was suspended by the Celtics in September, and showed remorse and accountability for the actions that led to his dismissal from Boston.Udoka – who was being introduced as the new head coach of the Houston Rockets – was issued a season-long suspension by the Celtics after committing violations of team policies, reportedly for having an improper intimate relationship with a female member of the organization. The Celtics ultimately cut ties with him in February, when they made Joe Mazzulla their full-time head coach, which allowed Udoka to explore new opportunities.Udoka did not reveal any details about what led to his exit with the Celtics, but was apologetic and remorseful about what happened. The coach was joined by Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta and general manager Rafael Stone, who explained how they did their due diligence and got approval from the league before hiring Udoka.Below is a Q-and-A transcript of select q...

Ticker: Amazon axes ‘Halo’ fitness devices; Fox to hand over docs in 2nd lawsuit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:30 GMT

Amazon is winding down its health-focused Halo devices and membership as the tech giant continues to cut costs.The company told customers on Wednesday that it will issue refunds to anyone who purchased Amazon Halo devices in the past year. Refunds will also be issued to customers who have unused prepaid Halo subscriptions fees.Amazon introduced its Halo line in 2020 with the launch of a fitness-tracking wristband that worked alongside a subscription service and smartphone app. Since then, it has expanded the line to offer more wearables and a bedside device that tracks sleeping patterns.“While we are proud of what we built, we recently made the difficult decision to stop supporting Amazon Halo effective July 31, 2023,” the company said in a blog post.Amazon has also shuttered its hybrid virtual, in-home care service Amazon Care, the video calling device Amazon Glow and scaled back its Scout delivery program.Fox to hand over docs in 2nd lawsuitFox News agreed Wednesday to...

The pandemic brought a man closer to his neighbors — and inspired his album of songs about each of them

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:02:30 GMT

Darcel Rockett | Chicago TribuneWhen the world was isolating in pandemic bubbles, Alex Hardaway was channeling his inner Bob McGrath — the late “Sesame Street” character who sang the “People in Your Neighborhood” song.Hardaway began a marathon music project — his first solo album, called “Be My Neighborhood,” where he wrote a song for each of his neighbors in his 15-unit Andersonville apartment building. The album debuted Thursday.During the height of the pandemic, Hardaway, a longtime employee at Chicago’s Oiistar Japanese restaurant, had started doing maintenance work around the building to chip some money off his rent. That led him to meet all his fellow tenants. The 33-year-old graduate of The Theatre School at DePaul University said a lot of his musical material comes from real life interactions.“All the songs are kind of about me and my relationship with these people and my own psyche,” Hardaway said. “If you listen … you’ll hear that it’s a lot of second guessing ...