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Stumped for a dad or grad gift? Tech to the rescue. Here are four suggestions.

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:57:20 GMT

It’s that time of year. College students are graduating, and your calendar has filled up with party invitations hosted by proud parents. Don’t show up empty-handed.Meanwhile, Father’s Day isn’t too far off. Do you know what you’ll get him?Tech gear tends to go over well, and I have four gadget suggestions that dads and grads are sure to like.Studio Buds +How about earbuds? Sure, you could go with Apple’s AirPods, but consider the just-released Studio Buds + earbuds. These are good for just about anyone.They come from Beats by Dre, which is owned by Apple, so the iPhone compatibility is there. The buds also are Android-friendly, and therefore good for those who prefer Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy phones.You’re sure to make a splash by getting the retro-looking translucent-gray variations of the Studio Buds +, but the black and beige versions are nice, too.Choose the $169.99 Studio Buds + over the $179 AirPods for features such as active noise cancellation (to block out ambient nois...

NFL great Tom Brady says he is retired for good: ‘I’m certain I’m not playing again’

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:57:20 GMT

Just in case you needed to hear it again, Tom Brady says he is retired for good.Brady called it a career — for a second time — on Feb. 1, 2023 and doesn’t expect to touch the playing field ever again.“I’m certain I’m not playing again,” Brady told Sports Illustrated Thursday as rumors have swirled about a possible comeback. “So, I’ve tried to make that clear and I hate to continue to profess that because I’ve already told people that lots of times, but I’m looking forward to my broadcasting job at Fox next year, I’m looking forward to the opportunity ahead with the Raiders and we’re in the process of that along with the other different things that I’m a part of professionally and in my personal life — just spending as much time with my kids as I can.”The 45-year-old agreed to a 10-year, $375 million broadcasting deal with Fox in May 2022 that was supposed to kick into place immediately af...

Brad Stevens views Jaylen Brown in Celtics’ future as extension talks loom: ‘He’s a big part of us’

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:57:20 GMT

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens can’t speak about contracts publicly yet but he made one thing clear on Thursday at the Auerbach Center: He wants Jaylen Brown to stay in Boston.Brown earned an All-NBA second team selection this season, which means that beginning on July 1, the Celtics have the opportunity to lock in their star to a five-year supermax extension worth about $295 million, which would start in the 2024-25 season. Asked if he would offer that extension, Stevens couldn’t answer directly but expressed his commitment to the two-time All-Star who he once coached.“I’ve had nothing but great conversations with Jaylen, but we can’t talk about all that stuff,” Stevens said. “I’m not allowed to talk about A, the contract details, let alone the extension because it’s not of that time right now. His window is between July 1 and October or whatever it is. But I can say without a doubt, we want Jaylen to be here and he’s a big par...

Somerville woman charged with assaulting her own mother, who was found dead in suspect’s apartment

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:57:20 GMT

A Somerville woman is facing charges of assaulting her 73-year-old mother, who was found dead inside the suspect’s apartment.April Monroe, 48, of Somerville, was arraigned in Somerville District Court Thursday on charges of strangulation and assault and battery on a person over 60 causing serious bodily injury. The Middlesex District Attorney’s office says that the matter is still under investigation and additional charges are possible.The evening of May 28, the husband of the alleged victim, Gail Gasperini, 73, of East Boston, called police to report that his wife had gone to visit her daughter in Somerville but had never returned home. Police went to the apartment and found Gasperini dead, and purportedly with injuries indicating assault.The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner took possession of Gasperini’s body and has yet to make a ruling on the cause and manner of death, according to a statement by the Middlesex DA.This is a developing story.

State looking into sudden closure of Compass Medical facilities

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:57:20 GMT

The sudden closure of a group of medical centers based out of Quincy is turning heads at top levels of state government, with the Healey administration saying they are “concerned” by Compass Medical’s decision to shutter all of its facilities in Massachusetts.Compass Medical, which has 450 employees in the state, announced an “imminent plan” to close all of its facilities in a statement posted to its website Wednesday that left many scratching their heads. It comes after the company lost a lawsuit to a Dallas-based physicians group, costing them millions.At an unrelated press conference inside the State House Thursday, Gov. Maura Healey said anytime someone’s access to health care is interfered with, “that’s troubling.”“It’s very concerning and distressing, and I think I appreciate the real distress that causes for patients out there affected by this,” Healey told reporters. “We are working closely with our secretary of Health and Human Services, who has already reached out to...

Tourists warned about thieves on motorcycles racing through Tijuana

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:57:20 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Baja California's Attorney General Iván Carpio Sánchez is warning residents and tourists to be on the lookout for gangs on motorcycles who have been robbing people and businesses along busy streets and tourist destinations in Tijuana.During a news conference with reporters this week, Carpio Sánchez stated the thieves are using the same "modus operandi" and it's become apparent it's the same group of robbers.In recent weeks, he says restaurants frequented by visitors, shops and businesses have been robbed with the suspects riding away in their motorcycles. The thieves are also said to be robbing people who are simply walking along busy streets and intersections."We have a lot of developing information where the suspects spot someone with expensive watches and other items, then follow them until they pounce on their victims," said Carpio Sánchez.The attorney general said recently, a suspect tried to rob a bank and flee on a motorcycle only to be stopped by a police office...

White House imposing sanctions as Sudan’s warring sides fail to abide by cease-fire deal

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:57:20 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House announced Thursday that it will impose sanctions against key defense companies and people who “perpetuate violence” in Sudan as the warring sides failed to abide by a cease-fire agreement in the northeastern African nation.New visa restrictions apply to officials from the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces and leaders from the former government led by Omar al-Bashir who are “responsible for, or complicit in, undermining Sudan’s democratic transition,” according to the State Department.President Joe Biden on May 4 laid the groundwork for the penalties when he issued an executive order that expanded U.S. authorities to respond to the violence and help bring an end to the conflict.“These measures are intended to hold accountable those responsible for undermining the peace, security, and stability of Sudan,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement.The Treasury Department said in a statement tha...

Russian bombardment of Ukrainian capital kills at least 3, including child

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:57:20 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a pre-dawn missile barrage at the Ukrainian capital Thursday, killing three people, including a 9-year-old and her mother, and damaging apartment buildings, schools and a children’s hospital, officials said. It was the highest toll from a single attack on Kyiv over the past month.A 33-year-old woman died as she and others waited to enter a locked air raid shelter, which left the group at the mercy of falling missile fragments, according to her husband. Officials ordered an investigation.The latest attack, using what Ukrainian officials said were short-range, ground-launched Iskander missiles, coincided with events scheduled in Kyiv to celebrate International Children’s Day. Those events were canceled.Ukrainian air defenses shot down all 10 cruise and ballistic missiles, but falling debris caused damage and wounded 16 people, authorities said.Russia has kept up a steady barrage on the capital and other parts of the country in recent weeks as Kyiv ...

Stock market today: Wall Street rises with hopes for pause to rate hikes

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:57:20 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is rising Thursday with hopes that the Federal Reserve may soon take it easier on its hikes to interest rates. The S&P 500 was 0.9% higher in afternoon trading after a suite of reports painted a split U.S. economy. The job market remains remarkably solid, but manufacturing is weakening and shoppers of all kinds are feeling more pressure. Altogether, investors saw the data pushing the Fed to refrain from hiking rates at its next meeting in two weeks, which would be the first time that’s happened in more than a year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 170 points, or 0.5%, at 33,073, as 1:38 p.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite was leading the market with a 1.2% gain. It’s full of technology companies and other high-growth stocks that tend to benefit most from lower rates.One positive for the market came late Wednesday when the House of Representatives approved a deal to prevent a possibly catastrophic default on the U.S. government’s...

Man sentenced to life in killing of mother of 2 New Mexico State Police officers

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:57:20 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A Mexican national convicted of the 2019 slaying of the mother of two New Mexico State Police officers in a case that drew national attentione has been sentenced to life in prison.Luis Talamantes-Romero also received an additional prison term of 26 1/2 years on Wednesday for eight other felony convictions in the death of Jacqueline Vigil.He declined to address the court before his sentencing.Talamantes-Romero, 35, was convicted in April of first-degree murder along with aggravated burglary, attempted armed robbery, tampering with evidence, conspiracy and other charges.Authorities said Vigil, 55, was killed outside her northwest Albuquerque home in an attempted burglary in November 2019. She was shot in her driveway as she prepared to leave for a gym.The case went unsolved for months, drawing the attention of then-President Donald Trump as he pushed his tough-on-crime agenda. Vigil’s family also traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with Trump.Prosecutors sai...