Butler, whose late-game interception clinched New England’s fourth Super Bowl in 2015, was reportedly observed blocking a lane of traffic in a stopped car in Providence around 3:30 a.m. on March 16. An officer, according to court documents cited by CBS News, noticed “a strong odor of alcoholic beverage” coming from Butler’s breath when speaking with him.

The former defensive back was also reportedly “sweating profusely” with “slurred and delayed speech” and “severely bloodshot watery eyes.” Butler allegedly told police he was “coming from a studio in Providence where he was making music,” according to reports.

Asked by the officer if he had been drinking, Butler reportedly told the patrolman “just take me to jail.” The Texas native allegedly refused to take field sobriety tests and a breathalyzer back at the police station following his arrest, according to reports.

Butler’s attorney, John Harwood alleged that the ex-Patriot’s “Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and 14th Amendment” rights were breached. He was allegedly charged with stopping at a prohibited intersection and refusing a chemical test.

Butler announced his retirement six days before his arrest.

“I am retired,” Butler said, via NFL reporter Aaron Wilson. “I did the best I can do. Walking away from the game feeling comfortable. Everybody can do more, but I’m satisfied with my career. It’s time to move on and transition.”

Butler entered the league as an undrafted rookie in 2014. He hadn’t appeared in an NFL game since 2020, but attempted comebacks with the Cardinals and Patriots in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Aside from his game-saving, goal-line interception at the end of Super Bowl XLIX, Butler was notably benched during a Super Bowl LII loss to the Eagles.

Jessie Williams, 34, was also convicted of armed robbery, armed assault in a dwelling, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury and unlawful firearm possession in connection with the murder of Joseph Puopolo Jr. in Stoneham more than a decade ago.

Williams’ conviction results from a retrial after a previous conviction was overturned by the Supreme Judicial Court in 2021. Officials said a deliberating juror was improperly replaced with an alternate by the former trial judge during deliberations.

Puopolo, 27 when he died, had served in Afghanistan until 2011. Williams and his cousin Eugene Tate went to the Stoneham residence trying to purchase marijuana in July 2013 but then attempted to rob Puopolo and another individual who, prosecutors previously stated arranged the drug deal. Williams and Tate both fired their weapons during the ensuing struggle, resulting in Puopolo’s death and the other individual being seriously injured, according to officials.

Upon arrival to the Micah Pond Way residence, police said Puopolo had sustained gunshot wounds to the chest and forearm. He was transferred to Lahey Clinic where he was pronounced dead. Puopolo’s father told the Herald in 2013 his son had recently taken the exam to qualify for the state police.

“He’s a hero to his family, he’s a hero to his friends, and most importantly, he’s a hero to our country,” Puopolo’s sister, Dominica, said following his death. “He died a hero in all of our eyes.”

“Joseph Puopolo, Jr. was the victim of a senseless, violent robbery that was driven by greed,” Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said in a statement. “The defendant in this case came to meet his victims armed and prepared use violence if he met resistance.”

Tate, of Malden, was ultimately convicted of first-degree murder, armed robbery, armed assault in a dwelling and unlawful possession of a firearm in November 2015. He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole later that month.

Williams is scheduled to be sentenced on the new conviction at Middlesex Superior Court on Monday at 2 p.m.

“This case exemplifies our commitment to the families of victims even when a decade may have passed and court rulings require us to revisit a case,” Ryan said.

Preliminary information revealed the child was hit by a car at the intersection of Congress and Sleeper streets, near the Boston Children’s Museum after 5 p.m. The girl, who was with family when the incident occurred, was taken to Mass General by EMS where she died, according to police.

“We want to thank members of the community who came down and provided assistance to the victim and the family,” Boston Police Superintendent Lenita Cullinane said following the incident.

No arrests have been made and no charges have been filed, police said. The driver did remain at the scene and “was in the process of being interviewed,” according to Cullinane.  Police said the investigation into the tragic accident remains ongoing.

Caution taped lined the intersection as police vehicles remained at the scene of the incident, according to video from the scene.

The man, police said, was a 68-year-old Lynn resident operating a Toyota Camry, which was a taxi. A preliminary investigation by state troopers indicated the man was traveling westbound from Logan Airport with a 24-year-old female passenger from Cambridge on the way back to her home.

Police believe the man lost control of the taxi near the Weeks Footbridge, which veered off the road and hit a tree on the shoulder.

Police, Boston Fire and EMS officials responded to the incident around 10:30 p.m. Saturday night. The first responding trooper performed CPR on the man before EMS took over and provided emergency care, officials said. The man was transported to Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The woman was transported to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. No immediate update on the passenger’s condition was provided.

An investigation into the incident remains ongoing.

The lawsuit was filed by Keches Law Group, representing the victim, last week in Massachusetts U.S. District Court.

The female victim, identified as “I.W.” in the complaint, was allegedly in an abusive relationship for three years and trafficked in hotels owned by Choice Hotels — and forced to engage in sex with strangers daily, the complaint reads.

“The hotel industry has long been aware of sex trafficking occurring on their properties and have chosen to profit off the venture rather than put in place reasonable measures to protect individuals and the community,” Keches attorney Michael Glennon said in a statement.

The woman’s life allegedly became controlled by the traffickers, who she claimed forced her onto Choice Hotels properties where she was “repeatedly raped” and “under the threat and infliction of physical and psychological abuse,” according to the complaint.

She was allegedly subjected to verbal and physical abuse at the Rodeway Inn on multiple occasions, claiming no members of the hotel staff probed into the matter or called law enforcement.

She had also allegedly asked front desk employees for new room keys to prevent her trafficker from re-entering the room. Upon his return to the room, the trafficker allegedly “openly and obviously broke in through a ground floor window,” an incident she claims the hotel did not intervene, according to the complaint.

The complaint states that the woman was sexually abused more than 50 times at the Indianapolis Rodeway Inn outside of her alleged sexual exploitation in Brockton.

The complaint also states that Choice should have known the trafficking was occurring from “consistent red flags” that allegedly include signs of illegal drug use, an unusually large amount of condoms in the trash, large number of male visitors entering and exiting the room, and paying and extending for stays in cash, among others.

A media relations representative from Choice told the Herald they do not comment on ongoing litigation, but outlined several ways company employees are instructed to address these types of alleged instances.

“Choice Hotels condemns human trafficking in all forms, and we are committed to helping our franchised hotels create a safe environment for their staff and guests,” the representative said in an email. “Among other initiatives, we provide free trainings and resources so hotel owners can educate themselves and their staff on how to spot and respond to situations such as human trafficking.”

International Labour Organization statistics estimate that the sex trafficking industry pulls in around $99 billion every year.

The Saturday afternoon game against the Atlanta Braves is part of the MLB’s ‘Spring Breakout’ series, running through March 14-17. The games will highlight each franchise’s top prospects which, for the Red Sox, includes Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel.

How to watch Boston Red Sox v. Atlanta Braves:

The game will be live-streamed on Saturday at 1:05 p.m. for free on the Boston Herald’s website. The game will take place at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Fla.

The Red Sox Spring Breakout roster includes 21 of the organization’s top 30 prospects according to MLB Pipeline. Here is the complete roster:

Pitchers
Wikelman Gonzalez, RHP (No. 7); Richard Fitts, LHP (No. 12); David Sandlin, RHP (No. 16); Hunter Dobbins, RHP (No. 27); Angel Bastardo, RHP (No. 28); Isaac Coffey, RHP; Luis Guerrero, RHP; Zach Penrod, LHP; Dalton Rogers, LHP; Christopher Troye, RHP

Catchers
Kyle Teel, C (No. 3); Nathan Hickey, C (No. 18); Brooks Brannon, C (No. 23); Johanfran Garcia, C (No. 25)

Infielders
Marcelo Mayer, SS (No. 1); Nick Yorke, 2B (No. 8); Yoeilin Cespedes, SS (No. 9); Nazzan Zanetello, SS (No. 10); Chase Meidroth, INF (No. 19); Antonio Anderson, 3B (No. 20); Blaze Jordan, 1B/3B (No. 21); Eddinson Paulino, INF (No. 24)

Outfielders
Roman Anthony, OF (No. 2); Ceddanne Rafaela, OF/SS (No. 4); Miguel Bleis, OF (No. 5); Allan Castro, OF (No. 14); Kristian Campbell, OF

The two-week-long event started more than 25 years ago and is presented by Meet Boston in partnership with the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism. Formerly dubbed the city’s Restaurant Week, the event provides patrons to sample a wide variety of food throughout the city with prix fixe menus.

“During Dine Out Boston, our signature culinary program, we encourage visitors and residents to both go with their favorites or try something new as they enjoy specially priced menus of spectacular food across Greater Boston,” Meet Boston President and CEO Martha J. Sheridan said in a statement.

Participating eateries will select price points of $22, $27, $32 or $36 for their lunch menus and $36, $41, $46 or $55 for dinner menus during the two-week culinary showcase. Meet Boston Executive Vice President Hilina Ajakaiye said previous iterations of the event had over 180 restaurants and more businesses are signing up before the kickoff next Sunday.

Ajakaiye said the event is a great way to celebrate restaurants that may not see some of the same foot traffic as others and to promote their businesses to patrons that do not live in Boston. She touted the surplus of dining choices for people to choose from, encouraging patrons to sample a little bit of everything.

“This is truly an incredible kind of busy time for us in the city of Boston,” Ajakaiye told the Herald. “I think that we’ll have a significant amount of both residents and visitors that are going to be able to go to different restaurants because the price is right and some curated menus that normally wouldn’t be available.”

Ajakaiye said Dine Out Boston has seen a large uptick in restaurant openings throughout the city post-COVID, a trend she hopes will continue going forward. After braving the coronavirus pandemic and its related challenges that plagued the industry, Forcella restaurant owner Nino Trotta said he was excited to show residents and visitors alike why they should come dine in the North End.

“It’s a great opportunity for us, especially in a slow month,” Trotta told the Herald. “When people come to the North End they expect great food and service. We hope everyone comes to Boston and enjoys the event.”

Trotta touted the freshly-made pasta Forcella has offered since opening in 2018. He also recommended customers try the carbonara and chicken parmesan, two of the restaurant’s best-selling dishes.

Forcella, and all the other participating eateries, will donate $100 gift certificates to the Dine Out Boston auction, where they’ll be up for bid, Ajakaiye said. All of the proceeds will be go to the Boston Preservation Alliance, an independent, nonprofit that brings people together to influence the city’s future and honor its history.

“The restaurants and Meet Boston are very intentional about this charitable component,” she said. “We’re really able to uplift, not just the restaurants, but also deserving nonprofits on an annual basis.”

A full list of participating restaurants, auction information, overnight packages and more details on the two-week long event can be found online at meetboston.com.

Images of the gray, silver, or dark-colored sedan were captured from civilian dashboard camera footage just before 10 p.m. on the night of the incident, police said. The sedan, believed to be a Hyundai Sonata with some cosmetic alterations, had reportedly been operating erratically and at a high speed.

The Norfolk DA has released this video as they seek the public’s help to identify a car they believe was involved in a deadly shooting on Interstate 95 in Foxboro earlier this month. pic.twitter.com/I01jUq8x5v

— Boston Herald (@bostonherald) February 27, 2024

Shots were fired by either the driver or occupant of the sedan into a black Mercedes driven by North Attleboro resident Justin R. Parker, police said. The Mercedes swerved into a Lexus SUV driven by a family and was crashed off of the road, though all members of the Lexus survived.

Officials said that Parker’s car veered left and hit the center guard rail on the highway after hitting the Lexus just south of Exit 17. Parker was transported to Sturdy Memorial Hospital for the gunshot wound but did not survive.

Police ask anyone with information on the sedan’s owner or current location to call 781-327-9801.

Data from the city of Boston’s annual payroll report listed 66 employees in the mayor’s office in 2023, a decrease from 75 in 2022. The highest number of department employees reported in the analysis was 80 in 2021.

The 18 department employees earning at least $100,000 in total gross pay for the year increased from the 15 in 2022. The lowest number of such employees was 10 in 2021. Last year also saw the highest average gross employee pay, $83,030.31, over the years examined. The average gross pay for the 80 employees in 2021 was slightly less than $49,000.

According to the 2023 records, the bottom line figure for the Mayor’s office was $5.48 million.

Paul Craney, a spokesman for Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance questioned how vital the increased $100,000 annual earners are to serve the city of Boston.

“How many six-figure salaried ‘advisors,’ ‘deputies,’ and ‘special assistants’ does one mayor need,” Craney told the Herald. “Taxpayers are more than generous to give taxes to pay for important services and infrastructure needs but for the city of Boston, their taxpayers are starting to see a significant pattern of paying for their mayor’s political posse with generous salaried positions.”

A city spokesperson told the Herald that Wu’s office “has completed compensation analyses across more areas of the City workforce than before in order to fill key vacancies and ensure City compensation keeps up with the cost of living increases” over the past two years.

“Mayor’s office staff support areas of work across City government including early childhood, climate, and community safety,” the spokesperson continued.

According to the data, former Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s total gross pay in 2019 and 2020 was $199,000. When Wu first took office in 2021, her annual salary was $111,475. That figure climbed to $206,692 in 2022 and $207,000 in 2023, according to the figures.

The mayor’s salary is set through legislation by the city council each year.

Wu’s Chief of Operations, Dion Irish, ranks second in 2023 total pay with $187,500, followed by Chief Communications Officer Jessicah Pierre, Chief of Staff Tiffany Chu and Policy & Planning Chief Michael B. Firestone who each made $170,384, according to the data. Other members of the $100,000 earners club include deputy chiefs, several special assistants, three advisors, a strategy director and a technologist.

Boston University Associate Professor of Social Sciences and author Thomas Whalen said he thought the payroll would be higher, but admitted the salaries alone are not enough to accurately assess the payroll.

“It’s encouraging,” he said, “that it seems as if our mayor is not robbing the city blind. It seems well in line that Mayor Wu, at least from an administrative standpoint, seems to have things in line and competent.”

Whalen said a bigger concern of his is the city’s tax revenue from long-term leases signed in a pre-COVID world that are up for renewal soon.

“A lot of those companies now are not going to renew those leases and it is going to be a tremendous hit on the city’s revenue,” he said. “I wonder if, moving forward, the mayor’s office is going to be forced to do some austerity moves for that.”

Craney suggested a direct benefit to taxpayers’ pockets by eliminating several of the higher-paying positions and providing Bostonians with a “broad-based tax relief.”

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Shawnee Hollis, 39, of North Brookfield was with a group of three friends each operating their own individual snowmobiles on Primary Trail 109 in Milan late afternoon Friday when she hit a tree while trying to navigate a downhill turn, according to officials. The snowmobile she operated hit a tree approximately 13 feet off the right side of Primary Trail 109, officials said.

Fish and game officials were aided by first responders from the Berlin Police Department, Berlin EMS, Berlin Fire, Milan Fire and Rescue and Milan and Drummer Ambulance.

Multiple attempts were made to have an emergency aircraft transport  Hollis to a nearby hospital, but officials said “many circumstances” prevented that from happening. She was ultimately transported to Androscoggin Valley Hospital before being transferred to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.

She was reported dead around 1:45 a.m. on Saturday, officials said.

Shantelle Sutkus, 49, of Weare was also injured from a snowmobile crash late Saturday, department officials reported. Sutkus was traveling on Corridor Trail 12 in Cambridge with a group of people when they met a dog sled team traveling in the opposite direction, officials said.

Sutkus was unable to safely slow down her snowmobile and, in an attempt to avoid hitting anyone, she slid the vehicle sideways which threw her off of the sled, officials said. Her riding companions assessed her injuries and contacted 911 for emergency assistance.

The Errol Fire Department rescue Utility Terrain Vehicle transported Sutkus down the trail where an ambulance transported her to Androscoggin Valley Hospital.

Department officials also reported three hikers rescued over the weekend, including a Portsmouth man hiking Mount Washington, officials said.

Cole Matthes, 22, fell in a ravine and called 911 for help at 11:50 a.m. Saturday, officials said. Poor reception prevented some of the information from being relayed to officials, but a variety of search and rescue teams used GPS coordinates from the call to find him.

Assistance from the Cog Railway allowed two trains, one with a snow blower on the front, to clear a path up the mountain. Matthes called later, informing officials he’d made it to the Lake in the Clouds Hut in the emergency shelter below the building.

The first group of rescuers trekked through winds north of 90 mph, a wind-chill of -52 degrees and met Matthes at the emergency shelter at 6:17 p.m. He had to be stripped of his frozen and wet clothes, ultimately leaving the hut more than three hours later.

Matthes was treated for hypothermia and frostbite at the Cog Railway base station just before 11 p.m. Multiple recommendations were made for Matthes to go to the hospital, but he refused treatment and was brought back to his vehicle at 11:38 p.m., officials said.

“Matthes called for a rescue after making all these poor choices, and putting himself in a situation that placed 11 other lives in danger in order to save his,” department officials said in a statement. “Even though the rescuers complete these heroic tasks with humility and passion there is still never ending concern as to why inexperienced solo hikers continue to push on.”

Officials also rescued Elisabeth Campbell, 26, of Somerville.

Campbell, hiking on the Welch-Dickey Trail in Waterville Valley, was found more than a mile away from the trailhead Saturday afternoon. Campbell suffered a “serious lower leg injury” and was secured in a litter to be carried down the trail, officials said.

She was taken to Speare Memorial Hospital in Plymouth by a hiking companion for additional treatment.

Police responded to 911 calls from a home on Bodwell Road in Salem around 1:45 p.m. on Saturday. There, police said they found the deceased bodies of Jennifer L. Barrett, 47, and Charles W. Molinari, 41.

Police said both Barrett and Molinari resided in the home. Autopsies are scheduled to take place tomorrow to determine the cause of death. Police said the investigation is ongoing.

Investigators also believe to have all of the involved parties involved, according to officials, who also said there is no public threat.

The Herald’s new “Automotive” and “Real Estate” sections can be accessed through the “All Sections” tab on the top right of the homepage. Once the drop-down menu appears, click the arrow next to the “News” tab and another drop-down menu will appear, with the two new section pages listed below.

Our “Automotive” section includes advice columns on vehicles, product reviews and general news in the automotive industry. The “Real Estate” section is a comprehensive overview of market trends on a local and national level, tips for buying or selling homes and featured homes for sale.

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A WalletHub survey of almost 200 people nationwide showed 46% of Americans believe their Valentine’s Day plans will be impacted due to inflation. Nearly a quarter of surveyed Americans said they do not expect their Valentine to spend any money on a gift this year.

Joe Bornstein, owner of Olympia Flower Store in Boston, said prices for flowers will always go up around the holidays due to the supply and demand, along with product being shipped in from outside of the United States. Despite the holiday price hike, people come in ready to spend the money to treat their special someone.

“People are willing to pay a bit more because of the holiday,” he told the Herald. “Everything just goes up, between the price of the flowers and the freight… everything comes out of the country pretty much these days.”

Jay Zagorsky, a Boston University associate professor of Markets, Public Policy and Law, said Columbia and Ecuador are the two main providers of roses for the U.S., which shipped in approximately 2.8B cut roses last year.

The cost of a dozen roses in a supermarket setting jumped from a little over $10 in 2011 and cost roughly two dollars more in 2023, according to USDA figures. Every link in the international supply chain, Zagorsky said, is more stressed around the holiday, and causes prices to jump even higher.

Bornstein said a major part of holiday sales, is the holiday itself. So long as they have the right flowers in stock, he said, a custom bouquet of flowers can be done that day, though the classic dozen red roses is usually the favorite.

Yianni Tsaousidis, owner of Stapleton Floral, said they anticipate having hundreds of in-store transactions on Wednesday. Tsaousidis said their deadline for a custom arrangement would be the day before due to the hectic atmosphere that the holiday brings.

Payroll increases and the overall price hike in costs of goods has impacted business, though sales numbers around the holiday have been on par with previous years. Certain holidays, like Valentine’s Day, bring consistent business to the store, he said.

“People don’t skip Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day,” he said. “But the cost of goods has really gone up and it’s certainly getting tougher and tougher out there.”

Both Bornstein and Tsaousidis said their stores have been busy leading up to the holiday, a sentiment shared by Paula Barth, the owner of Beacon Hill Chocolates, and Maribel Cruz, a manager at Truffles Fine Confections located in Copley Place.

Cruz said business has improved significantly since the coronavirus-plagued 2020, but admitted inflation rates have been a noticeable factor in sales.

“It’s gotten better since COVID, but I will say that December was a little bit of a dip,” she said. “But we’re looking forward to a great holiday season.”

Despite also having an array of sweet selections for patrons to choose from, Barth said her customers have made it clear what they or their loved ones want every February.

“I always used to try and go off the beaten path and do something different for Valentine’s but over the years, they just want the red velvet hearts,” she said.

Barth said last year was a record year for sales and despite lower inflation rates this year, they will not match those numbers. Barth, who is approaching her 18th Valentine’s Day in business, said it is a trend that tends to happen in election years.

“I don’t know if that really equates with anything, but I’ve been doing this for a lot of years and it always seems we’re a bit off in an election year,” she said. “But we’re still very busy and I do see some hope even though we’re down from last year.”

The agency’s seven-day outlook for Boston shows little to no chance of rain until Saturday and temperatures with highs hovering around the high 30s to low 40s. Sunshine and clear skies kick off the week with a high of 39 degrees on Monday, with clouds entering during the evening and a low of 25 degrees.

Tuesday and Wednesday bring more of the same: sunny weather during the days with highs ranging from 36-39 degrees and nights with lows around 26 degrees. Tuesday night will be partly cloudy while Wednesday is mostly clear.

Thursday is projected to be sunny with highs in the mid 40s, with lows hovering around 32 degrees that night. Those highs continue into Friday, with a high near 49 degrees followed by a cloudy evening and a low around 39 degrees.

Though Saturday’s projections include a 30% chance of rain, the forecast also calls for some sun and highs near 54 degrees. NWS meteorologist Rob Megnia said those late-week highs are the only exception to a week filled with seasonable and non-impactful weather.

“It will be a bit drier and warmer than it is for the beginning of February,” Megnia said. “If you’ve experienced New England winters before, you know that no specific weeks are colder or warmer than others. Right now, we’re in an inactive period of inclement weather for the next week.”

Daytime winds throughout the week will be coming from the north and ranging between 9-13 mph in the first half of the week and from 6-14 mph during the back half of the week and projecting to hit that peak 14 mph on Saturday.

Alexander Giannakakis, 37, was indicted in Boston in 2019 for making false statements in a matter involving domestic terrorism; falsifying, concealing and covering up a material fact in a matter involving domestic terrorism by trick, scheme and device; concealing records in a federal investigation; tampering with documents and objects; and tampering with an official proceeding.

The four fires occurred in 2019, with two at an Arlington Chabad Center, one at a Needham Chabad Center and one at a Jewish-affiliated business in Chelsea.

Giannakakis was arrested by Swedish authorities in a Stockholm suburb once the indictment was returned, officials said. The U.S. had planned to seek Giannakakis’ extradition to face charges in Boston, according to information from the office of  Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy.

Giannakakis’ younger brother was the main suspect in the investigation into the fires in February 2020, but remained in a coma until his death later that year, officials said. Officials found out Giannakakis had left the U.S. with his younger brother’s electronic devices and papers and brought them to Sweden.

After returning to the U.S. in 2020 with his brother’s electronics, he was asked about his brother’s connection to the fires and if the family had a storage unit. Giannakakis allegedly informed investigators his parents had a nearby storage facility before he later admitted he maintained and controlled access to the storage unit, officials said.

Giannakakis had visited the storage unit and a second storage unit at the same facility, which contained t-shirts with the a swastika on the front, a black backpack containing a bottle of cyanide and a notebook with his brother’s name on it with a swastika drawn inside, the night before he spoke with investigators.

Following Giannakakis’ arrest in Sweden, officials learned he unlawfully possessed a firearm and other weapons in Sweden. He was ultimately convicted of those charges and served time in a Swedish prison, officials said. The Supreme Court of Sweden approved the United States’ request for extradition, which was granted by the Government of Sweden on Dec. 21.

Giannakakis arrived at Logan Airport on Friday and is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston Monday afternoon, officials said.

Police said patrols responded to a shooting on Route 95 southbound around 10 p.m. Saturday night. Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey said the driver of a dark-colored or possibly black sedan traveling southbound fired multiple rounds into a black Mercedes.

The Mercedes, being driven by Justin R. Parker. reportedly swerved into a Lexus SUV, causing it to crash into the woods of the highway, officials said. The family reportedly inside of the Lexus did not suffer life-threatening injuries, police said.

The Mercedes allegedly swerved again and struck the center guard rail before stopping on the highway. Parker was found by troopers and was pronounced deceased upon his arrival at Sturdy Memorial Hospital, police said.

“We are asking anyone who may have seen any part of this incident, or who may have seen one or more dark-colored sedans operating erratically or at a high rate of speed on Rte. 95 before or after the area of Exit 17 to call 781-327-9801 and speak with State Police assigned to the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office,” Morrissey said. “Anyone with information or suspicion as to possible involved vehicles or parties should contact investigators as soon as possible.”

The ongoing investigation includes efforts from the state police department’s Detective Unit for Norfolk County and the department’s Crime Scene Services Section. Both entities have responded to the scene, officials said.

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A poll from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research polled more than 1,000 adults in mid-December. What they found was that almost 70% of taxpayers feel their local property taxes are too steep and 6 out of 10 feel they pay too much in state sales tax.

The poll also showed that about a quarter of taxpayers believe they receive a good value from paying either a federal income, state sales or local property tax, with about 33% saying it is a poor value in each case. Results showed that just 20% of surveyed taxpayers are “extremely” educated on how taxes are calculated, and most U.S. adults feel either their federal income or local property tax is “unfair.”

Trust in how tax dollars are spent by either the federal government or local school districts is an issue among U.S. adults, according to the survey. Around 16% of polled taxpayers express strong confidence in their local school districts, just 6% share the same sentiment towards the federal government.

Some taxpayers in a dozen states, including Massachusetts and New Hampshire, will be able to use a new and free tax filing service launched by the IRS called Direct File. The program, announced in October, will be rolled out in phases and is expected to be more widely available in mid-March.

Eligible taxpayers can file if they report a W-2 wage income, an SSA-1099 Social Security and RRB-1099 railroad retirement income, a 1099-G unemployment compensation a 1099-INT interest income of $1,500 or less, earned income tax credit, child tax credit, credit for other dependents, standard deduction, student loan interest or educator expenses.

The pilot is not an option for taxpayers with other types of incomes including business or gig economy income, or those who itemize deductions and claim other credits.

Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren had advocated for a way to electronically file taxes for free and lauded the Biden Administration for launching the pilot.

“We look forward to supporting the IRS’s efforts to develop and expand the Direct File pilot, setting us on a path where millions of Americans will no longer have to worry about giant tax prep companies sharing their private data with Big Tech firms and ripping them off for services that should be free,” Warren said in October.

“As our transformation efforts take hold, taxpayers will continue to see marked improvement in IRS operations in the upcoming filing season,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a statement earlier this month.

IRS officials said they are anticipating more than 128.7 million individual tax returns to be filed by the April 15 deadline. Massachusetts and Maine have an April 17 deadline to file a return or request an extension with October 15 being the deadline for extension filers.

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Police exchanged gunfire with the man at a Wilbraham residence on Old Carriage Drive and requested assistance from the state police around 8:40 p.m. on Saturday, officials said. The officer who suffered a gunshot wound was transported to a hospital with serious injuries, but was reported to be in stable condition Sunday morning.

State troopers and officers established a perimeter around the residence and put up a roadblock to isolate the residential road. Troopers from the department’s Crisis Negotiation Unit established an open phone line into the home before sending in an armored vehicle with a battering ram to break a ground-level window and access to the residence.

The department’s Drone Unit sent in an aerial vehicle with video feed that showed the man inside a front breezeway with gunshot injuries, officials said. Troopers then entered the home and placed the man into custody, recovering a handgun and ammunition next to the man.

A pair of occupants were inside the Old Carriage Drive home when the man barricaded himself inside. They were rescued by the department’s STOP Team after escaping onto the roof of the adjoined garage, police said.

No other information on the officer and man were immediately available. Police continue to investigate the incident.

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Identities of the three passengers killed in the crash were released on Monday. Indian Orchard resident William Hampton, 68, Southwick’s Fredrika Ballard, 53 and Woodstock, CT resident Chad Davidson, 29, were all aboard the twin-engine Beechcraft 55 Baron that crashed within the Leyden Wildlife Management Area on Sunday, officials said.

Ballard was the owner of Fly Lugu Flight School in Westfield and Hampton was a Fly Lugu flight instructor, according to officials. Davidson was a student pilot, police said.

The plane, owned by the Fly Lugu Flight School, departed from Barned Airport in Westfield almost an hour and a half before the plane was located, according to officials. Troopers on the scene confirmed that the three individuals killed were the plane’s only occupants.

The three victims were removed from the wreck by firefighters and transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Officials said the National Transportation Safety Board, Greenfield Police and the Northwest District Attorney’s Office are continuing to investigate the incident, with the NTSB leading the charge.

An NTSB representative said preliminary information on the incident is that the plane crashed under unknown circumstances near Leyden Wildlife Management Area. The NTSB investigator is expected to arrive at the scene Monday when the aircraft will be examined.

Information that will be gathered in the NTSB’s investigation includes fight track data, maintenance records, air traffic control communication records, possible surveillance video, witness statements, 72-hour background on the pilot and pilot’s license.

The three-day event kicks off Friday, May 24 with headliners Ed Sheeran and Leon Bridges. Country singer Tyler Childers will headline Saturday’s performances with The Killers, Hozier and Megan Thee Stallion wrapping up the event on Sunday.

The British singer-songwriter Sheeran is no stranger to performing in New England after his record-setting concert at Gillette Stadium in July. Sheeran sang in front of more than 71,000 fans during the summer, the stadium’s single-concert attendance record that had stood since U2’s concert in 2009.

Childers, a Kentucky native, brings his neotraditional country, folk and bluegrass music mixture to Massachusetts as the event’s first country headliner. Childers’ breakout album Purgatory launched him into the new-age country music scene in 2017.

The Killers are familiar with Boston Calling, headlining the Friday night acts in 2018. Potential rain and cold temperatures didn’t deter music fans from showing out to witness the band perform a set kicked off by arguably their biggest hit, “Mr. Brightside.”

The band also brought up a Cohasset High School student, Nick Evans, to play drums during their performance of “For Reasons Unknown.” Evans admitted in follow-up interviews that he kept track of the band inviting people on stage to perform the song with them and made it a goal to be the one selected during the festival.

This year’s iteration also features a smattering of local talent, including Dorchester hip-hop artist Kei and America’s Got Talent alum Kieran Rhodes, who attends Berklee College of Music in Boston.

FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT OF 2024 I’M ON NECKS ALL YEAR! super excited to rock out on the @bostoncalling stage in my hometown this year!

YALL DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS! be sure to grab your tickets, i have some big surprises in store for you guys — this is just the beginning pic.twitter.com/GN1mVHVlzu

— kei (@keiweifruit) January 9, 2024

Other Massachusetts talents include Boston folk-rock band The Wolff Sisters, indie hip-hop artist Billy Dean Thomas, Boston indie dream rock band Paper Lady and more.

Other notable performances include Classic TAB, a jam band featuring Phish founder Trey Anastasio, Young The Giant, Luke Hemmings and Lovejoy.

Presale tickets for the event are available now. General admission for the full three days start at $360, with general admission plus starting at $599, VIP tickets going for $1,099 and Platinum going for $2,799. General admission tickets for one day start at $175, with general admission plus costing $299, VIP for $449 and Platinum for $1,299.

A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman told the Herald that the two-engine Beechcraft Baron 55 crashed around 12:30 p.m. on Sunday and said there were three people on board.

The Massachusetts State Police Department did not identify the three people on the plane, which crashed near Country Club Road Greenfield. The state police described the crash scene as on the side of a wooded mountain near the Geeenfield/Leyden line.

The FAA spokesperson said the administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident, with the NTSB leading the charge.

An NTSB representative said preliminary information on the incident is that the plane crashed under unknown circumstances near Leyden Wildlife Management Area. The NTSB investigator is expected to arrive at the scene Monday when the aircraft will be examined.

Information that will be gathered in the NTSB’s investigation includes fight track data, maintenance records, air traffic control communication records, possible surveillance video, witness statements, 72-hour background on the pilot and pilot’s license.

The spokesperson said the identification of passengers on board will be handled by local authorities and that the NTSB has no role in the release of the identities.

The Bay State is coming off one of the slowest years in real estate in “quite some time,” Wallick told the Herald. November, specifically, saw the slowest pace of sales of existing homes since August 2010, according to data from the association.

The 3,238 single-family sales in November, the most up-to-date statistics, were a decrease of more than 11% from the prior year, and the 1,317 condominium sales were a 9% decrease since November 2022.

The median sales price for single-family homes listed at $605,000, a 10% increase since last year, and condominiums increasing by 4%, listed at $515,000. Just under 5,000 single-family homes and 2,500 condominiums were listed for sale in November, a whopping 29% and 26% decrease from 2022, respectively.

“I would say that we’re seeing this on a national level as well, not just here in Massachusetts,” Wallick said. “While there was certainly still opportunity and plenty of buyer demand, the biggest thing in 2023 was that lack of inventory.”

Massachusetts, Wallick said, is facing unique challenges due to the overall housing shortage. The association, she said, has been focused on advocacy efforts to find more opportunities to create more housing in areas such as Boston.

Wallick said the overwhelming reaction from realtors and industry employees has been that 2023 was a market unlike others they’ve experienced.

“It has certainly been a bit of a challenge and I do think that realtors are living through these challenges as well,” she said. “They’re all trying to help their clients find the right properties.”

Multiple Listing Service and Redfin statistics revealed that more than 362,000 homes were sold nationwide during November, a year-over-year decrease of 6%. The median sales price of those homes was just over $408,000, an increase of almost 4% since 2022.

The 30-year-fixed mortgage rates have declined slightly from the 7.8% rate at the end of October to just over 6.6% as of Jan. 4, according to statistics.

The Federal Reserve held interest rates unchanged for a third consecutive time in mid-December, with indications of cuts coming in 2024.

“While mortgage rates aren’t directly tied to the Fed rate, it is certainly our key indicator that when the Fed cuts that rate, we tend to see mortgage rates follow in the months after,” Wallick said.

If the rates are cut, she said, it would hopefully encourage sellers who have been thinking about moving on to become more prepared to sell and get some much-needed inventory back on the market.

“Even with where the interest rates have been, there is still such a high level of demand that there’s still a really healthy amount of buyers out there,” she said. “The most important thing for both buyers and sellers looking to be active in the market this year is to be prepared.”

The potential rate cuts and it being an election year, she said, could bring some unforeseen variables into the equation. Despite the encouraging news for those in the thick of a murky housing market, Wallick said not much may change this year.

“We think we’re just going to continue to experience a similar market to what we experienced in 2023,” she said.

The app is headlined by a more robust, personalized experience to keep up with the news that matters most to you. Here is an overview of what was fixed and a brief navigation guide.

If you already had our mobile app downloaded before the update, you will not have to re-download anything, though you may have to go into the app store to update if it was not automatically done. If you have not downloaded the app yet, search “Boston Herald” in the Apple App Store or Google Play.

When you open the app and log in for the first time, you will be prompted to select your favorite news topics to follow along on the News Tab. Your choices will reflect on the “Your News” tab on the app and will be a curated feed of articles related to your interests.

Personalized news feeds can be modified at any time. Subscribers can save articles to read later by tapping on the bookmark icon under the article’s title.

The Herald recommends subscribers turn on push alerts to be notified of breaking news and featured content published daily. The electronic edition of the daily paper for subscribers is also available on the app, along with a home page that updates constantly to reflect the Herald’s website.

Herald games such as crosswords and sudokus are available in the “Fun and Games” subsection of the “Entertainment” section.

The Herald remains committed to maintaining the integrity and high standards we have for our daily print papers, but is excited to continue expanding our digital presence on the web, social media platforms and with our new and improved app.

We are consistently looking to enhance the digital experience for all subscribers and readers are encouraged to send questions, comments and concerns to rpelaez@bostonherald.com.

The two-day expo running from March 2-3 at the Park Plaza Hotel is anticipating more than 4,000 attendees and over 100 wineries represented. While the expo has more than 20 years of existence, Scalzi took the organizational reins in 2018.

Before Scalzi took over, the expo would feature around 400 vendors and roughly 12,000 attendees. With recent modifications to heighten the event’s exclusivity, Scalzi believes it will enhance the overall quality of the expo.

“We hit that 4,000 attendee projection last year, so we know that there was an audience here in Boston,” he told the Herald. “We know that even though the expo had a little pause, this affluent and knowledgeable wine community is still here.”

Modifications include splitting the two-day events into multiple sessions to ensure a safer environment, a more optimal tasting space for attendees and to deter attendees from drinking straight through the day. The changes, he said, have led to a positive reception from both attendees and vendors who are excited to have true members of the wine community participate in this regional showcase.

The expo’s presence, even under the modified format, Scalzi said, remains one of the largest in the entire region. That reputation is a selling point to those seeking to promote their products in a large-scale setting and others looking to add to a collection of wines.

“We have some national brands that participate at the expo so if they want to market in Boston this year and have a big New England presence, there is no other wine event in the area that you can go to and see this many producers at the same time,” Scalzi said.

While the coronavirus pandemic forced the entire hospitality industry to change course, Scalzi said there was a silver lining in terms of planning an event for whenever governmental restrictions were lifted.

“We were shooting for a much bigger event prior to COVID and the pandemic definitely changed the landscape of our program,” Scalzi said. “Now, we’re absolutely fine with just 4,000 people coming to the event.”

Though the event is catered to a knowledgeable wine community, restauranteurs and retail liquor store owners, Scalzi encouraged others to take part and enhance their wine-tasting experience.

“Overall, this event is about finding something new and networking with like-minded individuals,” he said. “I would say to come and try all your favorite wines and find something new.”

The expo will feature five tasting class events including Intro to Wine Tasting, Wines of the Piedmont, Belle Glos Pinot Noir, Uncorking Bordeau and For The Love of Sake. Each class lasts from 90-120 minutes with tickets costing $65 each.