A pedestrian riding an electric scooter in Worcester, Massachusetts, was hit by a car nearly two weeks ago, police said Wednesday, asking for the public’s help in finding the driver of that vehicle.
The crash happened around 3:10 a.m. on…
Massachusetts
Storms to bring heavy rain, flash flooding in localized areas across New England
Showers and storms become more numerous across New England Wednesday, though we have plenty of dry parts of the day, too.
The concern with these storms will be from heavy rainfall leading to flash flooding in localized areas. The atmosphere is…
Stoughton’s Frederick ‘Flips’ Richard goes for gold in men’s gymnastics all-around competition
Fresh off winning a bronze medal in Monday’s men’s gymnastics team final, Stoughton, Massachusetts, native Frederick “Flips” Richard will go for gold in Wednesday’s men’s gymnastics all-around competition.
The competition gets underway in Paris at 11:30 a.m. ET, and you can watch it here.
The charismatic 20-year-old has become one of the U.S. biggest stars at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The president and founder of “Frederick Flips” doesn’t just see himself as just an athlete. He’s a CEO. An influencer. A YouTuber. A budding visionary who counts Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan among his heroes.
“I’m not trying to copy things and follow paths that have been made,” Richard told the Associated Press earlier this year. “I’m always like ‘What am I going to do the next 10 years? How do I create this path that’s never been done, this career? It doesn’t exist.’”
Men’s gymnastics has been largely an afterthought in the U.S. for decades, often operating in the shadows of a women’s program that regularly churns out gold medalists who reach “first name only” status within the sport.
Richard is only too aware that this kind of status doesn’t exist for American men. He’s trying to change that one performance, one viral social media post, one television appearance at a time.
“One of my goals is to have someone walk down the street one day and you ask them to name a male gymnast and they actually name a male gymnast,” he said.
Which brings the University of Michigan junior to his name.
Fred? Frederick? He’s bounced between preferences for a while before settling on both depending on the setting. Sure “Fred” works in the U.S. but “Frederick Richard” — a nod to his French heritage — carries a little more sophistication internationally.
If you want to build a brand, after all, you’ve got to know your audience.
Richard took a significant step in getting his name — whichever one you settle on — out when he earned bronze in the all-around at the 2023 world championships, the first by an American man at a major international meet in 13 years. It was a massive step for a men’s program that’s been running in place for the better part of a decade.
Richard has no intention of becoming one of those influencers who become only loosely affiliated with what made them influential in the first place.
He only truly feels at home when he’s in the gym with chalk on his hands, tinkering with a routine or a skill or diving into videos of the men he’s now competing against in Paris.
He knows a medal of any color would be huge for the U.S. program. But why settle for simply getting on the podium? Why not focus on getting to the top even knowing that defending Olympic champion Daiki Hashimoto of Japan will arrive in Paris as a heavy favorite to repeat?
Richard is not programmed to aim lower. If he was, maybe he would have bailed on all those weekend practices and gone to a party instead. Maybe he would have let frequently being the only Black athlete at a meet filled with predominantly white competitors get to him.
It never did. Partly because he says he always felt accepted. Partly because he understood the opportunity in front of him if he could just stick with it.
“Kids look up to these big names,” he said. “But I wasn’t seeing anybody who was Black like me, dominating on the world stage (in men’s gymnastics). … I wanted to be that person. I wanted the gyms to fill up with Black kids. That’s still one of my big goals. That’s why I do this too.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Person seriously injured in Boston shooting
A person was seriously injured after being shot in Boston on Wednesday, according to authorities.
The incident happened just after 8 a.m. on Fernboro Street, Boston police said.
The victim was taken to the hospital with life-threatening in…
Emanuel Lopes, Weymouth double-killer, to be sentenced
Emanuel Lopes will be sentenced on Wednesday for murdering a police sergeant and an elderly woman in Weymouth, Massachusetts, in 2018.
Lopes was supposed to be sentenced on March 19, 2024, but that date was pushed back to July 31. His attorney requested the delay, saying he needed more time to develop evidence before making an argument about parole eligibility.
His sentencing will begin at 10 a.m.
Lopes’ first prosecution ended in a mistrial last July, when a jury could not decide whether Lopes should be convicted due to his history of mental illness.
He attacked Weymouth Police Sgt. Michael Chesna with a rock while being arrested for driving erratically and vandalizing a home. During a struggle with the police sergeant, Lopes took Chesna’s gun and shot him eight times in the chest and head. He then shot Vera Adams, a 77-year-old who was nearby in her home’s sunroom.
A second trial with a jury from a different county began in January 2024. He was found guilty a month later.
Unsettled day ahead in New England with showers, downpours and thunderstorms
Heat takes a bit of a break Wednesday. Humidity will not. Clouds will be more numerous, along with a shower/downpour threat from start to finish.
While these downpours don’t seem to be filled with thunder and lightning, there’s alw…
