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Summer-like week ahead

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:10 GMT

Temperatures will be on the rise as a ridge of high pressure builds in this week. Highs are expected to be well above average, ranging from the mid 60s to mid 80s along with plenty of sunshine!Monday will be the coolest day of the work week with temperatures expected in the 60s for most of the area. However, by Tuesday temperatures climb into the 70s and will continue to rise, reaching 80s by the end of the week. Record highs are likely on Friday for both Boston and Worcester, with forecast high temperatures likely to reach the mid 80s. The unseasonably warm, dry weather does bring some concerns to the region however. With the dry weather tree pollen will be high to severe, and wild fire/brush fire risk will increase with the rising temperatures.

Ravens, Odell Beckham Jr. agree to 1-year deal, adding much-needed help at wide receiver

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:10 GMT

The Ravens have their wide receiver.Free agent Odell Beckham Jr. agreed to a one-year deal with Baltimore, the team announced on Sunday. The deal is valued at $15 million, with $13.835 million of that coming in the form of a signing bonus and $1.165 million in base salary, and he could make up to $3 million more in incentives, according to multiple reports.Beckham, 30, missed all of last season and hasn’t played since suffering a torn ACL with the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl 56 in February 2022, but his addition is easily the biggest move of the Ravens’ offseason and gives them an immediate and much-needed jolt to a receiving corps that ranked last in the NFL in receiving yards by a wide margin over the past three years combined.While there are questions about Beckham’s health following what was the second torn ACL of his career, when healthy he has proved to be one of the league’s better receivers. In his last healthy season in 2021, Beckham received a 76...

Baltimore Ravens win Odell Beckham Jr. sweepstakes, Jets lose out on WR

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:10 GMT

Throughout the offseason, the Jets targeted wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., with the hopes of him playing with Aaron Rodgers once that trade is completed.After Sunday’s news, that won’t happen as Beckham agreed to a contract with another AFC team instead.According to reports by NFL Network and ESPN, Beckham has agreed to a one-year, $18 million deal with the Ravens. $15 million of Beckham’s contract is guaranteed.Beckham was scheduled to visit with the Jets on Monday as he was expected to fly to New Jersey late Sunday night. He was going to take a physical and chat with the Jets coaching staff about what they envisioned his role to be.With the Jets meeting on the horizon, the Ravens felt pressured to get a deal done immediately. That’s likely why Baltimore upped the ante and guaranteed Beckham $15 million.Now Beckham will play in Baltimore with Lamar Jackson instead. The Giants were also interested in signing Beckham before he chose the Ravens.The rumored in...

Russian attacks continue amid Easter pleas for peace

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:10 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine — Weekend shelling by Russian forces killed at least seven civilians, Ukrainian officials reported Sunday as Pope Francis and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby used their traditional Easter messages to highlight the war in Ukraine and other conflicts around the world.While Russia continued to concentrate on seizing all of Ukraine’s industrial east, two other provinces – Kharkiv in the northeast and Zaporizhzhia in the southeast – came under missile, rocket and artillery fire, the Ukrainian military reported. The governor of the Kherson region, Oleksandr Prokudin, said two communities there were hit by bombs from warplanes late Sunday, but he did not immediately report any casualties.Kharkiv governor Oleh Syniehubov said two men died Sunday in shelling in Kupiansk, a city that Russia held before Ukrainian forces regained control of almost all of the province.The city remained under attack later Sunday as Russian forces targeted residential areas with mul...

Chicago White Sox get a strong start from Michael Kopech — and some brief fireworks — in a 1-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:10 GMT

There wasn’t much offense Sunday at PNC Park.But there were some brief fireworks in the form of a dust-up in the sixth inning of the Chicago White Sox’s 1-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates in front of 10,571.Pirates runner Oneil Cruz and Sox catcher Seby Zavala collided at home plate. Cruz was out on the fielder’s choice and remained on the ground while trainers checked on him as the Pirates and Sox exchanged words.“It was a baseball play,” Zavala said. “I wasn’t too happy with how late the slide was. I was just talking to (Carlos) Santana about it. He didn’t like what I said, he said something I didn’t like. That’s what happened. I think in a couple of days everybody will forget about it.“Didn’t want anybody to get hurt, didn’t want it to escalate that far. It escalated and can’t really do anything about it.”The benches and bullpens emptied, but there were no ejections.“Bottom line is we ...

Massachusetts, get ready for 80 degrees, a ‘good chance’ for record-high temps

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:10 GMT

Jumping from mild spring to summer warmth in just a few days? That seems to be about par for the course in New England.The National Weather Service is forecasting that temperatures will drastically climb this week, with summerlike record-high temps in the 80s possible ahead of the weekend.“It will be getting pretty warm this week,” Bill Simpson, meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Boston office, told the Herald on Sunday. “Definitely above average.”In addition to the warming temps, the mid-April week should also be dry. The bone dry and warmer conditions will raise fire weather concerns, but they will be particularly elevated with breezy conditions that are expected on Tuesday and Wednesday.The workweek should start off mild in the low 60s amid mostly sunny conditions on Monday. Then temps should rise into the low 70s on Tuesday, with similar weather on Wednesday.The real warm-up looks to be Thursday into Friday, with record-high temps possi...

Pope urges Easter prayers for Ukrainian, Russian people 

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:10 GMT

VATICAN CITY — In an Easter message highlighting hope, Pope Francis on Sunday invoked prayers for both the Ukrainian and Russian people, praised nations which welcome refugees and called on Israelis and Palestinians wracked by the latest surge in deadly violence to forge a “climate of trust.”Francis, along with dozens of prelates and tens of thousands of faithful, celebrated Easter Mass in a flower-adorned St. Peter’s Square, affirming the Christian belief that Jesus rose from the dead days after his crucifixion.The 86-year-old pontiff topped the celebration with a traditional speech about troubled places in the world. Encouraging “trust among individuals, peoples and nations,” Francis said Easter’s joy “illumines the darkness and gloom in which, all too often, our world finds itself enveloped.”The pope’s Easter message is known by its Latin name, “Urbi et Orbi,” which means “to the city and the world.”Sin...

Magic drop season finale to Heat, wind up with 6th-best draft lottery odds

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:10 GMT

With multiple regular-rotation players sitting out or playing limited minutes on the final day of the regular season, the Orlando Magic fell 123-110 at the Miami Heat on Sunday to finish 34-48.After being eliminated from contending for a spot in the play-in tournament with their Tuesday loss to Cleveland, the Magic shifted their focus to trying out different rotations to close out the season.Orlando started with the lineup of Markelle Fultz (7 points in 11 minutes), Jalen Suggs (8 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists in 15 minutes), Caleb Houstan, Franz Wagner (10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in 15 minutes) and Wendell Carter Jr. for the first time, with most of the starting lineup playing 16 or fewer minutes.Houstan scored a career-high 21 points on 6-of-14 shooting (5 of 11 on 3-pointers).Kevon Harris had a career-high 22 points (7-of-12 shooting, 4-of-7 on 3s) and 8 rebounds off the bench. Chuma Okeke had 14 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds in 33 minutes.“Whoever...

Cambridge firefighters battle massive fire at church on Easter

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:10 GMT

Cambridge firefighters were battling a heavy blaze at a church on Easter, according to officials.The Cambridge Fire Department had ordered a 6th alarm Sunday evening for the massive fire at Faith Lutheran Church located on Broadway near Prospect Street.Heavy fire was reported, and heavy smoke could be seen pouring out of the church’s steeple.Firefighters were ordered out of the building due to the unsafe conditions, so it was an all-exterior effort to extinguish the blaze. A “collapse zone” was established.The church had an Easter service Sunday morning, and it was reportedly vacant when the fire spread during the late afternoon.“My heart goes out to the congregation and staff at the Faith Lutheran Church,” State Rep. Mike Connolly tweeted, along with a video of the fire. “Just this morning they celebrated Easter. Praying that no one gets hurt. Thank you to @CambridgeMAFire and to all of the first responders working to put down this five-alarm fir...

Jon Rahm rallies to win the Masters as Spanish stars align

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:10 GMT

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Jon Rahm turned the longest day into his sweetest victory, starting Sunday with a four-shot deficit in the morning chill and finishing in fading sunlight as the fourth Spaniard to become a Masters champion.Rahm closed with a 3-under 69 to pull away from mistake-prone Brooks Koepka. He won by four shots over Koepka and 52-year-old Phil Mickelson, who turned in a tournament-best 65. He is the oldest runner-up in Masters history.It was Mickelson who declared Rahm would be among golf’s biggest stars even before the Spaniard turned pro in 2016. Rahm now has a green jacket to go along with his U.S. Open title he won in 2021 at Torrey Pines.Rahm made up two shots on Koepka over the final 12 holes of the rain-delayed third round and started the final round two shots behind. He seized on Koepka’s collapse and then surged so far ahead that Mickelson’s amazing closing round — the best final round ever at Augusta National for the three-time Masters champion...