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Lewandowski nets 2, Barcelona goes 15 points clear of Madrid

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:11:35 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Robert Lewandowski scored twice in Barcelona’s 4-0 win at last-place Elche on Saturday as the Catalan club opened up a 15-point lead atop the standings in pursuit of its first Spanish league title in four years. Lewandowski opened the scoring in the 20th minute and added Barcelona’s third goal in the 66th to take his league-leading tally to 17 goals in his first season in Spain.Ansu Fati doubled the lead in the 56th and Ferran Torres rounded off one of Barcelona’s most comfortable victories of the campaign in the 70th.Barcelona picked right up where it left off before last week’s international break when it beat Madrid 2-1 in the league to deal what is looking like a decisive blow to its rival’s title defense.Second-place Madrid plays Real Valladolid on Sunday. Barcelona will try to beat Madrid again on Wednesday in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal match. Barcelona won the first leg 1-0 in the capital.Saturday’s game was ...

Just 13% of Denver voters have cast a ballot so far

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:11:35 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Turnout is lower than normal for Denver's municipal election, when voters will decide on their first new mayor in 12 years.Just about 13% of active Denver voters had cast a ballot by Friday evening, according to a release from the Clerk and Recorder's Office. City elections data show the number lags behind participation levels at this point in the last three elections. Wind gusts reach 90 mph near Denver: See list of Friday’s top speeds Still, the city said that's not necessarily an indicator of overall turnout."Voters across Colorado tend to return their ballots on the final days preceding theelection, and the trend holds for Denver voters, especially since the pandemic," the release reads.What affects voter turnout in Denver?The city said the topics and candidates can have an impact on voter turnout, pointing to the 2019 election where voters decriminalized psilocybin. Denver saw an "unusually high turnout for a local election" that cycle.In this election, voter...

Police investigating Chelsea hit-and-run that left pedestrian seriously injured

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:11:35 GMT

Authorities are investigating a hit-and-run crash in Chelsea on Friday night that left a pedestrian seriously injured.Officers responded to a reported hit-and-run pedestrian crash in the area of 1010 Broadway around 8:30 p.m.The 59-year-old man from Revere was found unresponsive and taken to a Boston Hospital in serious condition.Police say they believe they have located the vehicle involved but no charges have been announced.Anyone with information is urged to call Chelsea police at 617-466-4800This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Pastrnak’s 14th career hat trick lifts Bruins by Pens, 4-3

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:11:35 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — David Pastrnak finished off his 14th career hat trick with a blast by Tristan Jarry with 2:26 remaining to lift the Boston Bruins to a 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.The Bruins’ 59th win of the season moved them within three games of the NHL’s all-time victory mark set by Detroit in 1996 and tied by Tampa Bay in 2019. Boston has six games remaining.Pastrnak’s three goals gave him 56 on the season and pushed him across the 100-point plateau for the first time in his nine-year career. Charlie McAvoy scored his seventh goal for the Bruins. Jeremy Swayman stopped 21 shots as Boston won for the ninth time in 10 games.Bryan Rust scored twice for Pittsburgh, his first multigoal game since Feb. 1, 2022, against Washington. Jake Guentzel’s 35th of the season with 7:30 left in regulation tied the game. Jarry stopped 31 shots but couldn’t get a handle Pastrnak’s one-timer from the slot in the final minutes.The Bruins wrapp...

Area girls find prom dresses of their dreams at 19th annual ‘Belle of the Ball’ boutique day in Boston

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:11:35 GMT

Hundreds of area girls attended the 19th annual Belle of the Ball boutique day at the Hynes Convention Center on Saturday, an event that helps local families in need find the perfect donated prom dress this season.As of one New England’s largest prom dress drives, Caring Partners’ Belle of the Ball ensures that any high school girl who needs a prom dress an have one. The one-day event is the culmination of the region’s longest-running prom dress drive, which ran Feb. 6 through March 26 and accepted dresses at any one of more than 70 Jordan’s Furniture, Enterprise Bank, or Anton’s Cleaners locations.After trying on dresses, girls participating in Saturday’s event got to strut their stuff and collect accessories to complete the look.

MBTA makes progress on lifting Blue Line speed restrictions

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:11:35 GMT

The MBTA is slowly making progress on lifting speed restrictions on the Blue Line, but has not made much headway on speeding up the rest of the subway system.As of Saturday, 56% of the Blue Line was speed-restricted, representing an improvement over the 77% rate from the previous week. Seventeen slow zones are in place, covering 6.9 miles of track, which amounts to roughly three fewer restricted miles than before, MBTA data show.Despite the progress, the Blue Line still remains the most speed-restricted line, in terms of the percentage of track impacted, a vast difference from February, when there were only two restrictions in place, covering 1,046 feet of track.“MBTA crews have been working throughout the rapid transit system in recent weeks, including four nights of track improvement work this week on the Orange Line north of North Station,” an MBTA spokesperson said.“While the MBTA is pleased to have reduced the percentage of Blue Line track with speed restrictions, the T is also...

Massachusetts households set to receive state-funded SNAP supplements this week

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:11:35 GMT

More than half of a million Massachusetts households are set to receive state-funded supplements for food assistance on Friday, the first of three allotments over the next couple of months.The state benefits, expected to be received by more than 630,000 residents, come after Gov. Maura Healey signed her $388.7 million supplemental budget earlier this week. The second and third allotments are scheduled to be delivered May 2 and June 2.Healey and state food providers are calling the $130 million in benefits an “offramp” from the extra money residents had been receiving during the pandemic via the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.The COVID-era subsidies resulted in an average bump of $151 to a participating household’s normal monthly benefit of $335, according to the state Department of Transitional Assistance.Congress late last year disconnected the SNAP program from other pandemic relief plans, and February was the last month families received the extra federal money...

‘It’s not a race:’ Magic make case for Paolo Banchero to win Rookie of the Year

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:11:35 GMT

Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley isn’t on social media and limits his exposure to external narratives.With that, he said he wasn’t aware that some prominent media members, including former Magic player and 15-year NBA vet JJ Redick, were making arguments that Oklahoma City Thunder wing Jalen Williams was making a push for the Rookie of the Year award.So when this was brought to Mosley’s attention, he was — respectfully — surprised.And had no problem making his case for Magic forward Paolo Banchero, who has been significantly favored to win the award for most of the season.“With all due respect, it’s not a race in my opinion,” Mosley told the Orlando Sentinel ahead of Friday’s 116-109 road win over the Washington Wizards. “[Banchero] has impacted winning. His ability to help us get to the free throw line [is] huge. Our paint touches have been huge. We talked about the tough month he had shooting — his ability to bounc...

Fairhaven officials threaten to cut recently hired firefighters, fire union says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:11:35 GMT

Fire union leaders across Massachusetts are raising the alarm over what they say is a reluctance from municipal officials to adequately fund their departments, risking the safety of firefighters and the communities they serve.Smoke is building in Fairhaven as the fire union in the small South Coast town claims leaders there are threatening to lay off two recently hired firefighters if an upcoming proposition 2.5 override fails.Residents will be asked to vote on a budget that includes funding for the addition of four firefighters to an understaffed fire department, but union President Kevin Gonsalves told the Herald there’s more behind the request than the community knows.Gonsalves and other union representatives, in a release last week, said town officials agreed in January to the hiring of four additional firefighters, without raising concerns about funding.The four selected candidates have accepted the jobs and are in the process of being onboarded, Gonsalves said. Two of the posi...

Arizona governor must appear in court on pause of executions

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:11:35 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has been ordered to appear in court Thursday in her efforts to halt pending executions.Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Frank Moskowitz said late Friday that Hobbs and Ryan Thornell, the state’s prison director, must show up to explain why the court shouldn’t issue an order against them on the grounds they are violating the constitutional rights of victims entitled to prompt justice.The afternoon court appearance is scheduled the same day convicted murderer Aaron Gunches had been set to die. The Arizona Supreme Court in recent days concluded state law didn’t require Hobbs to proceed with the planned execution, even though it wasn’t officially called off. An email requesting a response from the governor’s office was not immediately answered.At the same time, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel H. Mitchell has asked the court to extend the execution warrant for Gunches by 25 days. Gunches had been set to die by leth...