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Family of deceased who donated bodies to Harvard Medical School speaks out, says 350 families affected by body part thefts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:58 GMT

The family of a man who donated his body to Harvard Medical School is speaking out after getting mixed messages on whether their loved one was affected by a disturbing body parts trafficking ring.Nicholas Pichowicz worked as a sheriff’s deputy while his wife, Joan, was a police officer. When the two retired, the Plaistow, New Hampshire, couple drove their camper across the country and enjoyed warmer weather. They also made plans that when they died, they would donate their bodies to HMS for research and education.“That’s what they wanted, so we honored their wishes,” said daughter Paula Peltonovich.Nicholas passed away in 2019 while Joan passed earlier in 2023, but on Wednesday, the plan turned into a nightmare for their kids when they learned that from 2018 to 2022, the morgue manager at the school stole donated body parts and sold them.“I’m furious! I could say worse, but I’m furious,” Paula said. “To think that somebody might ...

Prudential Center skyline observatory ‘View Boston’ opens doors to visitors

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:58 GMT

A skyline staple is returning as a new attraction in Boston. View Boston in the Prudential Center officially opened its doors to the public Thursday morning.View Boston is the new, three-floor observatory that starts with the sights you can see from more than 700 feet over Boston, through 24-foot windows wrapping all around the building. Patrons can also eat some food and enjoy a drink from their cocktail bar.It also features immersive exhibits that show the city’s different neighborhoods and landmarks.Tickets can be bought on their website.

Off-duty firefighter, other good Samaritans help pull driver to safety after fiery crash in Beverly

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:58 GMT

Rescue crews said good Samaritans jumped in to help a driver Thursday after a fiery crash in Beverly. The crash happened Thursday morning on Route 128. In the aftermath of the incident, crews said one of the people who helped get the driver to safety was an off duty firefighter just days into his career with the Manchester-by-the-Sea Fire Department.“Right place right time to be able to help out,” said Manchester-by-the-Sea Probationary Firefighter Shane Stephenson7NEWS spoke with Stephenson, who downplayed his role jumping into action. Stephenson said he was on his way to work when he spotted flames shooting from a car that went off the road, got hung up on a guardrail and burst into flames. The driver was trapped inside and in trouble. “I think anybody else would have done the same thing,” Stephenson said of his response.In addition to Stephenson, two other good Samaritans scrambled to help. Stephenson has been an EMT for more than 10 years....

Ravens coach John Harbaugh sends message to absent running back: ‘I expected J.K. [Dobbins] to practice’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:58 GMT

The Ravens were second in the NFL in rushing last season with 2,720 yards, but they might have a reason to be at least a little concerned about their ground game going into this one.Starting running back J.K. Dobbins reported to the team’s mandatory three-day minicamp earlier this week, but the 2020 second-round pick did not participate in any of it. He also skipped three weeks of voluntary organized team activities before that.Following the final practice of the offseason Thursday, which Dobbins was also absent from, the message from coach John Harbaugh was clear.“I expected J.K. to practice,” he said. “It wasn’t in the cards apparently.”Though Dobbins was at the team’s facility in Owings Mills on Monday and even appeared in a promotional video put out by the team, he missed the first practice on Tuesday because of an apparent minor soft tissue injury. Then he didn’t participate in the next two practices, either.Harbaugh said he didn&...

Danilo Gallinari set to return to Celtics for 2023-24 season after exercising player option, per report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:58 GMT

Danilo Gallinari will be back for another season with the Celtics after the veteran forward opted into his $6.8 million player option on Thursday to return to Boston, according to a report from ESPN.The decision was not surprising after Gallinari missed the entire 2022-23 season due to a torn ACL in his left knee. Gallinari signed a two-year deal with the Celtics last July and was expected to be a big part of their plans before he suffered the injury while playing for Team Italy in a FIFA World Cup qualifying game in August.Gallinari had surgery in September and rehabbed with the Celtics all season while traveling with the team and serving as a veteran voice on the bench throughout the regular season and the playoffs. He was hopeful of a return during the playoffs as he ramped up his workload but while he was participating in full-court workouts when the Eastern Conference Finals began, he couldn’t get his conditioning up to speed in time and hadn’t yet been cleared for full contact...

Theme parks bounce back

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:58 GMT

ORLANDO, Fla. — Last year marked a return to normal for the theme park industry around the world with operators reporting revenues, and in some cases attendance, at par or above pre-pandemic levels, according to a new report.Globally, the theme park industry hit a peak in 2019, the year before the spread of the COVID-19 virus forced many parks and attractions to shut down temporarily and then reopen with restrictions on attendance.Many operators focused on improving visitor experiences through adapting app-based technologies and that paid off with revenues in 2022 that surpassed 2019 levels, even if attendance had not bounced back in the same way, according to the report released Wednesday by the Themed Entertainment Association and AECOM, the design and engineering firm.“The pandemic revealed a sophisticated consumer base that is willing to pay more for out of home entertainment and experiences. However, consumers also demand more in terms of comfort, ease, quality, and satis...

Why not buy? Red Sox flaws can be addressed ahead of trade deadline

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:58 GMT

The Red Sox aren’t in a good place.They’re 34-35 and have spent most of the season last in the AL East. They came into Thursday five games out of the final American League Wild Card spot and have three teams to jump ahead of them. Two of their best players are hurt and likely won’t be back until at least late July or August, and they do not have an everyday shortstop on their active roster.And yet beneath that unflattering picture, the Red Sox might not be as far from contention as they look.This year’s Red Sox team is flawed, but it is flawed in specific, fixable ways. The club has played a lot of close games, and how many of those tight losses might have gone the other way if the Red Sox had gotten consistent play at shortstop, or if the starting pitching hadn’t been so erratic the first month and a half. Or if the defense in general had been better.We might be having a completely different conversation, so don’t the Red Sox owe it to themselves...

Twitter is the worst major social media platform when it comes to LGBTQ+ safety, says GLAAD

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:58 GMT

By BARBARA ORTUTAY (AP Technology Writer)SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — All major social media platforms do poorly at protecting LGBTQ+ users from hate speech and harassment — especially those who are transgender, non-binary or gender non-conforming, the advocacy group GLAAD said Thursday. But Twitter is the worst. In its annual Social Media Safety Index, GLAAD gave Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Twitter low or failing scores, saying the platforms don’t do enough to keep their users safe. That said, most improved from a year ago. Twitter, which was acquired by Tesla CEO Elon Musk last October, was the only exception. GLAAD’s scorecard called it “the most dangerous platform for LGBTQ people” and the only one that saw its scores decline from last year — to 33% from 45% a year ago.Twitter‘s communications staff was eradicated after Musk took over the company and for months inquiries to the press office have been answered only with an auto...

Jury awards $25.6M to fired white Starbucks manager 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:58 GMT

CAMDEN, N.J. — Jurors in federal court have awarded $25.6 million to a former Starbucks regional manager who alleged that she and other white employees were unfairly punished after the high-profile arrests of two Black men at a Philadelphia location in 2018.Shannon Phillips won $600,000 in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages on Monday after a jury in New Jersey found that race was a determinative factor in Phillips’ firing, in violation of federal and state anti-discrimination.In April 2018, a Philadelphia store manager called police on two Black men who were sitting in the coffee shop without ordering anything. Phillips, then regional manager of operations in Philadelphia, southern New Jersey, and elsewhere, was not involved with arrests. However, she said she was ordered to put a white manager who also wasn’t involved on administrative leave for reasons she knew were false, according to her lawsuit.Phillips said she was fired less than a month late...

A new cannabis-friendly Las Vegas hotel navigates through Nevada’s rules

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:58 GMT

Richard N. Velotta and McKenna Ross | Las Vegas Review-Journal (TNS)LAS VEGAS — Two days before The Lexi Hotel on Sahara Avenue was scheduled to open to guests and a day before people were invited to an opening reception, Elevations Hotels and Resorts CEO Alex Rizk was nervous.Much of the old furniture that was used in the Artisan Hotel, the former name of the 64-room property, was sitting in the hotel’s parking lot and Rizk was promised a shipment of new furniture that day – though he wasn’t sure if it was going to arrive on time.But it did.The evening soiree went as planned and when the day came, people began checking into their rooms of what is billed as Las Vegas’ first cannabis-friendly lodging.“At some point, you’re forced to accept the fact that everything won’t be perfect for the first 60 to 90 days, but we’ll still do our best to open up with what we have,” Rizk said in an interview during a media preview of the hotel’s opening.Rizk said his new fixtures were ordered, bough...