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She blazed a trail for women’s ice hockey in South Florida. Now Karen Ota-O’Brien is a finalist for NHL’s ‘Community Hero Award’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

A South Florida athlete has been blazing a trail for women’s ice hockey for decades. She’s still heating up the rink, and she is in today’s 7 Spotlight. Here’s Karen Hensel.The Florida Panthers are giving South Florida a serious case of playoff hockey fever.Karen Ota-O’Brien, Florida Women’s Hockey League co-founder: “I think we could be a good mojo for the Florida Panthers.”Good mojo, or at least good luck.Which makes sense, since the Lucky Pucks Hockey Club has some recent championship experience of its own.Karen Ota-O’Brien: “Well, we swept for Florida, for novice, rec, all three divisions, and we went to U.S. Nationals in Tampa. And we won for Nationals.”Karen Ota-O’Brien is credited with putting women’s hockey on the map here, co-founding the Florida Women’s Hockey League back in 2002.Emily Latham, Lucky Pucks: “She’s everything. If you know hockey in Florida, you know Karen. If you ...

2-year-old airlifted to hospital after possible near drowning in Bay Harbor Islands

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

Rescue crews have airlifted a 2-year-old boy to the hospital after what officials described as a near drowning in Bay Harbor Islands.. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue crews responded to the scene, located along the 1000 block of West Bay Harbor Drive in Bay Harbor Islands, at around 4:35 p.m., Friday.The child was found in a body of water, but it’s unclear if it was a pool, a canal or somewhere else.The boy is being airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center. His condition is unknown at this time. Please check back on WSVN.com and 7News for more details on this breaking story.

‘Truly a team effort’: BSO deputies who helped free boy pinned underneath SUV describe rescue

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

First responders described the tense moments when they came to the rescue of a young bicyclist who became pinned underneath an SUV after he was struck in a North Lauderdale neighborhood.Newly released body camera video captured Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies from North Lauderdale working to lift the Ford SUV, Thursday afternoon.Investigators said the 8-year-old boy was run over while riding his bicycle home from Broadview Elementary School.“When he was underneath the vehicle, it was a scream, like, you could tell that he’s in pain,” said BSO Sgt. Dimitri French. “He’s almost like being tortured; he’s underneath a running vehicle, so you can just imagine — the exhaust is running, the temperatures are very high, it was a very hot day yesterday — so he’s sandwiched in between the asphalt and a hot car.”Cellphone video captured neighbors attempting to free the child.“A huge crowd, cars everywhere, people screamin...

Inmate pleads guilty in connection with 2013 escape attempt at Mass. Eye and Ear

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

A 47-year-old Salem man pleaded guilty on Friday to multiple charges linked to a violent 2013 incident where prosecutors said he tried to escape Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary while in the custody Middlesex County Sherriff’s Deputies, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced. Raymond Wallace had been taken to the hospital on July 31, 2013 after suffering an injury at the Middlesex Jail in Cambridge, officials said. Once at Mass. Eye and Ear, officials said he grabbed for a deputy’s gun. Officials said one deputy was shot in the leg during the struggle. A second deputy shot Wallace in the chest. The deputy who was shot survived the incident.Wallace then faced assault and battery, firearms and escape charges. He was sentenced following his plea and won’t be eligible for parole until at least March 2027, according to the DA. Hayden reacted to Friday’s sentence in a statement, saying “The brave actions of these two deputies during a violent ...

Sunny and warmer weekend

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

7Weather – It’s back! The sun has made its return. Clouds have been clearing out this afternoon, making way for partly sunny to sunny skies. It’s a preview of what’s in store for the weekend- more sunshine and warmer temperatures. Look at the 70s ahead for us.Overnight, we’ll be mainly clear with light wind. That’ll cool us off to the 40s by tomorrow morning. High pressure will be around us tomorrow supporting mostly sunshine and a northwest wind. The northwest wind will push all the way to the coastline, preventing a sea breeze from developing. Temperatures will reach near 70°/low 70s. The Cape and Islands will stay the coolest in the 60s with a southwest wind coming off the cooler ocean water.More of the same on Sunday. Dry, highs in the low 70s and a northwest breeze. It’ll be a great morning to join us on Boston Common for the Walk for Hunger. Next week is quite the opposite of this past week! The only wrinkle in the forecast is a mornin...

‘Safeguards’ needed if lotto goes online, Attorney General Campbell says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

The state’s top lawyer said her office will not stand in the way of moving lottery sales online but only if proper “safeguards” are put in place to prevent problem gambling, especially among young kids.House leaders and Gov. Maura Healey have thrown their support behind an online lottery proposal attached to the fiscal 2024 budget, arguing the rise of digital sports betting puts the state’s 50-year-old lotto at a disadvantage. The idea still has a long way to go, including by surviving upcoming Senate budget deliberations.Attorney General Andrea Campbell said she is not opposed to an online lottery considering anyone can place sports wagers on their phones. But she had a caveat.“Until the online lottery conversations is explicit about what those safeguards will be, because we want to be preventative and proactive in preventing a public health crisis, we have work still to do,” Campbell said during an appearance on GBH radio.Campbell said her concerns about online lottery stem from t...

Revolution midfielder Latif Blessing happy his family is in place

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

With the weight of the world off his shoulders, New England Revolution midfielder Latif Blessing can put the fortunes of the team on his back.Blessing returns to the lineup after missing the last two MLS matches when the first-place Revolution (6-1-3) begin a three-game road swing on Saturday night (7:30) against Toronto FC (2-2-6) at BMO Field. The Revolution are riding a seven-game unbeaten streak (4-0-3) and are 2-0-1 on the road this season.Blessing spent the past two weeks in his native Ghana completing the paperwork to bring his wife Khloe and 10-month-old daughter Reign to the United States. The young family has been reunited and relocated to their new home.“He is getting better,” said Revolution head coach Bruce Arena. “His family is happy, he is happy, so mission accomplished there and now he has got to get back and focus on his profession, which he is doing.“So, we think in a short period of time Latif will be back and full speed.”Blessing’s mission to be reunited with his...

Red Sox notebook: Kutter Crawford placed on injured list with hamstring strain

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

Less than 24 hours after Alex Cora said, “There’s a good chance he doesn’t have to go,” the Red Sox placed Kutter Crawford on the 15-day injured list.The 27-year-old right-hander left Wednesday’s game with a left hamstring strain, but the Red Sox hoped he’d be able to avoid an official IL stint.While the move is retroactive to May 4, it leaves the Red Sox without one of their most effective long relievers for a significant stretch. Crawford began the season in the rotation, but found success in a bullpen role. After two starts, he made five relief appearances totaling 16.2 innings. He’s held opponents to two earned runs (both homers) on eight hits, 12 strikeouts, and one walk. Each of his four April appearances was at least two innings.According to a source, Crawford’s injury is “mild,” but the Red Sox want to be careful with him and not rush him back. While an IL stint takes him away for a minimum of 15 days, it also affords the...

Poll: Registered nurses say hospital care in Mass. has gotten worse over last two years

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

Nearly nine in 10 registered nurses in Massachusetts say the overall quality of the healthcare system has degraded over the past two years and inadequate staffing at hospitals is one of the biggest challenges they face, according to a new survey released Friday.A poll of 531 registered nurses in the state commissioned by the Massachusetts Nurses Association and carried out by Beacon Research also found that three-quarters of surveyed nurses say they are caring for too many patients at one time and do not have enough time to provide each patient with the care and attention they need.Patients often require more resources and time because they may have delayed seeking care during the pandemic, said Katie Murphy, an ICU registered nurse at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and president of the Massachusetts Nurses Association.“The lack of nurses at the bedside is felt even more acutely because the patients need more of our time,” Murphy told the Herald. “We’re just not finding the resources ...

Healey doubles down on tax relief after April tax revenues plummeted

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:37:11 GMT

Gov. Maura Healey doubled down on her tax relief proposal Friday afternoon, two days after the state reported a massive drop in April tax revenues.Speaking to reporters inside the State House, Healey said tax relief is “not only affordable, but it’s essential.” The Democratic governor announced earlier this year a $742 million tax package that reduces the short-term capital gains tax from 12% to 5%, among other things.But after the Department of Revenue reported tax collections came in $1.5 billion below projections, progressives have slammed Healey’s plan and another proposal from the House as benefiting the “ultra-wealthy.”The administration put together their fiscal 2024 budget proposal and tax relief package “knowing that there was likely to be some drop in revenue,” Healey said Friday.“We’ve seen a drop and I just want folks to know we’ve accounted for that,” Healey said. “And it remains the case that our tax relief package that we propose, we stand by. We think it’s real...