TOKYO (Reuters) -Tokyo Games organisers said they are investigating after a group of athletes were found drinking alcohol in the Olympic village this week, violating measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The athletes were caught drinking in a park in the athletes’ village on Friday night, Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto told a news conference, adding police were later present at the incident. Muto did not give details of the number of athletes involved or their nationalities. Organisers previously said athletes are permitted to drink alcohol only in their rooms and only if they are alone, as a precaution against COVID-19. Drinking and partying are normally features of life in the Olympic village, as athletes let off steam after years of gruelling training once their competitions end.

FRAMINGHAM — After two years of searching, OUT MetroWest has finally found its new home — and at a familiar venue. In September, the Framingham-based LGBTQ+ nonprofit is moving into the ātac: downtown arts + music building at 160 Hollis St. in Framingham. "We are really excited to put these roots down in Framingham and really be invested in the partnership with ātac and the larger Framingham and MetroWest area," she said. Formerly known as the Amazing Things Art Center, ātac was founded in 2005 and moved to its current home on Hollis Street in 2008. While OUT MetroWest moving in will cut much of atac's gallery space, Codianni said it's also helped change the space and how to use it.

During the offseason, head coach Bill Belichick stated that Newton was his starting quarterback, but he has also mentioned that camp brings a “clean slate” for all players competing, including quarterbacks. On Saturday morning, Belichick once again reiterated that Newton is the team’s starting quarterback while also making it seem as if that decision isn’t set in stone. When he was asked about the starting quarterback spot, Belichick said he’s looking for consistency and production. When he was asked if he has a time frame for when he wants to choose his starting quarterback, however, Belichick once again pointed to Newton. I mean, Cam’s our starting quarterback.

(Reuters) -The Olympics host city Tokyo, as well as Thailand and Malaysia, announced record COVID-19 infections on Saturday, mostly driven by the highly transmissible Delta variant of the disease. The government of New South Wales reported 210 new infections in Sydney and surrounding areas from the Delta variant outbreak. Olympics organisers reported 21 new COVID-19 cases related to the Games, bringing the total to 241 since July 1. Thailand also reported a daily record high of 18,912 new coronavirus infections, bringing its total cases to 597,287. COVID-19 infections have increased by 80% over the past four weeks in most regions of the world, WHO Director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday.

SUDBURY — If you're taking a walk through the playgrounds at Sudbury's elementary schools, keep an eye out for StoryWalk. Each of the town's four elementary school playgrounds is hosting a StoryWalk. First up was the Haynes Elementary School, where walkers could read "Ricky, the Rock Who Couldn't Roll," by Jason I. Miletsky, through Friday, July 30. Next is the Noyes Elementary School, followed by Nixon Elementary School and Loring Elementary School. StoryWalk was first created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed with help from Rachel Senechal, formerly of the Kellogg-Hubbard Library.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Fatima Galvez and Alberto Fernandez won Spain’s first gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday with victory in the final of the new trap mixed team event at the Asaka Shooting Range. Switzerland’s Nina Christen won the gold in the women’s rifle three-position event with an Olympic record score, just ahead of the Russian Olympic Committee’s Yulia Zykova in silver. Galvez missed five of her first eight targets in the gold medal match, including the first three in a row, and needed a timeout. Americans Madelynn Bernau and Brian Burrows won the bronze in a shoot-off victory over women’s trap champion Zuzana Rehak Stefecekova and fellow Slovak Erik Varga after both pairs had shot 42. A second U.S. team, which included women’s trap silver medallist Kayle Browning, failed to reach the medal rounds.

BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s factory activity expanded in July at the slowest pace in 17 months as higher raw material costs, equipment maintenance and extreme weather weighed on business activity, adding to concerns about a slowdown in the world’s second-biggest economy. An NBS official said in a statement the PMI’s sub-index for production slipped to 51.0 from 51.9 in June, pointing to equipment maintenance and extreme weather. A sub-index for raw material costs stood at 62.9 in July, compared with June’s 61.2, pointing to an increase in costs. High raw material prices have eaten into the profitability of industrial firms and deterred some Chinese exporters from taking on orders. However, manufacturers are grappling with new challenges including higher raw material prices, surging logistics costs and global supply chain bottlenecks, and the pace of gross domestic product growth is expected to moderate.

FRAMINGHAM — The vast majority of recent COVID-19 infections in Framingham are related to the delta coronavirus variant, said Alexandra DePalo, the city’s interim director of public health. Roughly 80% to 100% of COVID-19 infections in Framingham over the past two weeks are connected to the delta variant, DePalo said Thursday. But if "something unusual" occurs in regards to COVID-19 infections, DePalo said the city would consider implementing local mandates. Framingham COVID-19 reportIn Framingham, a key measurement of COVID-19 has more than doubled in the past week. The average daily number of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people over the most recent two-week period is 4.98.

HUDSON — Jocko, the Hudson police dog, will soon have new protection. The vest, which will be embroidered with “In memory of Daniel and Catherine Pope Sr.,” is expected to arrive within 10 weeks. A typical police dog vest costs between $1,744 and $2,283, police said in a press release. Vested Interest in K9s Inc., which was established in 2009, has donated more than 4,300 vests to police dogs nationwide. Box 9, East Taunton, MA 02718.

AdvertisementNEW DELHI,(Metro Rail News): Delhi-Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor will have a total of 14 stations including Gurugram for which a Detailed Project Report (DPR) is being prepared. For this purpose, the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) organised an environmental and social consultation meeting on Friday. “Under this project, a total of 14 stations are proposed from Delhi to Ahmedabad, of which Manesar is one. The total length of this project in the state of Haryana will be 78.22 km,” Sharma said. Meena said that although this project is in its initial stages, the high-speed rail corridor will get full cooperation from the district administration.

ASHLAND — The Police Department is leaving a regional jail diversion program it had formed with three nearby communities. The Holliston, Hopkinton and Sherborn police departments remain in the program, which is run in conjunction with Advocates Inc. of Framingham. "As our officers worked beside the Jail Diversion Program clinicians, we saw a paradigm shift in the way our department perceived and handled mental health crisis calls," Bennett said. As a direct result, we have had fewer mental health calls result in arrests and more specialized care administered to our community members." Although the town benefited from the Jail Diversion Program, Briggs said Ashland residents should not be worried about mental health services.

The report found that between June 2020 and June 2021, LGBTQ elected officials of color increased by 51% with Black LGBTQ elected officials growing at the fastest pace, up 75% from a year ago. By comparison, only 26 out Republican officials are currently serving, constituting 3% of all LGBTQ elected officials. That means that there are more out transgender elected officials than out LGBTQ Republican officials or out LGBTQ independent officials. In the time since then, LGBTQ elected officials increased by 121%, to 986, and LGBTQ elected officials of color increased by 201%, to 277. Black LGBTQ elected officials have increased 296% to 91 overall, while LGBTQ Latinx elected officials have increased 135%, to 120 in total.

Krum said Encore "simply cannot find enough dealers" or other workers and has been running dealer schools "almost non-stop." "Because of this labor crunch, reopening poker right now would necessitate the closure of other table games. "We know that table games provide more jobs than slot machines." Poker rooms are closed in Rhode Island and Maine but open in Connecticut and New Hampshire, he said. Three of seven poker rooms in New York are open, three of 10 in New Jersey are open, one of two in Delaware is open, seven of Pennsylvania's 11 poker rooms are operating, all four poker rooms in Maryland are operational, Florida has 25 of 27 poker rooms open, there are 37 open poker rooms out of 48 total in California, and Nevada has 28 of its 43 poker rooms open, Band said.

Instead, Adams is focused on sending the message that there’s no stigma tied to mental health challenges associated with drug addiction. “I want to highlight mental health, initiate conversation and have people interact with (the installation),” Adams said. If those taking a seat are struggling with addiction, Adams hopes they will be inspired to seek treatment. Latest numbers of opioid-related overdose deathsOpioid-related overdose deaths are on the rise in Massachusetts, according to the latest numbers from the state Department of Public Health. Additional numbers from the DPH include:Middlesex County - 299 opioid-related overdose deaths in 2020, compared to 303 in 2019.

Andy Toorock, a member of the Westborough Veterans Advisory Board, was attending a dedication ceremony in November 2019 at Framingham State University for Marine Capt. A Westborough High grad and Framingham State alum, Haskell was killed at age 32 in Beirut, Lebanon on Oct. 23, 1983. Haskell was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart, and Framingham State dedicated its veterans center for him. He left the service in 1973, attended drill instructor school and studied at Framingham State, where he graduated summa cum laude in 1976. “It was a pleasure to have a fellow Marine memorial placed where it should be.”