Boston, MA
Boston Dynamics wishes you a merry terrifying robot Christmas in new video
Boston Dynamics, the advanced robotics company known for displaying its machines engaged in mildly terrifying dance routines, is back at it again for the holidays. This year, the company released a brief video clip that shows its four-legged “Spot” robot tiptoeing across an icy, winter-themed warehouse floor with Christmas music softly playing in the background. The scene then cuts to its new, more slender Atlas humanoid robot draped in a Santa Claus outfit, white beard and all. A low-humming mechanical sound can be heard moments before Atlas suddenly hurls itself into the sky for a backflip. It sticks the landing perfectly. Happy Holidays y’all.
“Wishing you a holiday season full of light and laughter as we flip over into the new year!” Boston Dynamics wrote in a X post accompanying the video.
[ Boston Dynamics gives Spot bot a furry makeover]
This video marks one of the first notable examples of the newer Atlas model engaged in the kind of acrobatics its older cousin, now referred to as “Hydraulic Atas” was known for. The older model, which weighed around 200 pounds, stunned viewers over the years as it pulled off backflips, performed parkour moves, and chucked heavy objects over its head like an Olympian. That model was officially retired earlier this year and replaced with a much smaller, all electric version geared more toward commercial applications like warehouse work. The company recently released a video of the new and improved Atlas autonomously grabbing and moving engine covers between supply containers in a mock manufacturing center. And because it’s Boston Dynamics, they later repeated the same trial only with Atas nestled in a hot dog costume.
[ Researchers tortured robots to test the limits of human empathy ]
Atlas isn’t the only robot getting festive makeovers. Earlier this year, Boston Dynamics outfitted its Spot quadruped with a custom-made, Muppet-like dog costume. Furry spot, which the company named “Sparkles” then engaged in a brief dog-inspired dance routine made possible by Choreographer, a dance-dedicated system. Sparkles can be seen wiggling its body, jumping up and down in imagined excitement and even raising its “paw.” The demonstration builds off of previous viral video showing Boston Dynamics fleet or robots dancing in unison to “Do you Love Me” by the Contours.
Videos like these invariably received mixed reactions from viewers. While some marvel at the advanced engineering feats needed to make these performances possible, others are left with an unsettling feeling of just how far these robots have progressed.
Boston, MA
Power outages in Massachusetts affecting tens of thousands amid stormy weather
Stormy weather caused power outages for tens of thousands of customers in Massachusetts, as well as over 200 cancellations and delays at Boston’s Logan Airport today.
According to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency’s outage map, about 65,000 customers were without power as of 3 p.m., down from 81,000 outages around noon. Some of the hardest hit communities were Foxboro, Wrentham, Pepperell, West Brookfield, Franklin and Holliston.
Wrentham police said drivers should expect delays as many streets are blocked by fallen trees. Police shared video of a downed wire sparking across one road.
High winds brought down trees and wires on roads across the state, according to damage reports from Skywarn weather spotters. One report said the wind blew scaffolding off a building on Heath Street in Boston.
Massachusetts Weather Radar
There was a high wind warning for much of eastern, northeastern and southeastern Massachusetts. The Blue Hill Observatory in Milton reported a wind gust of 79 mph on Friday just after noon.
Other communities reporting high wind gusts included Attleboro (65 mph), Wareham (62 mph), North Dighton (61 mph) and Wrentham (60 mph).
Heavy downpours and possible thunderstorms that could cause localized street flooding were expected to continue through mid-afternoon. The rain should move offshore by 5 p.m.
Logan Airport delays and cancellations
According to FlightAware, there were 110 total cancellations at Logan Airport, and 211 total delays. JetBlue was hit hardest, with 23 cancellations and 55 delays.
“Due to wind, Boston Logan may see delays and cancellations,” the airport’s website said. “Please check with your airline before coming to the airport.”
Boston, MA
Red Sox’s Veteran Leader Gets Alarming Projection For Upcoming Season
Somehow, in the midst of all the injuries the Boston Red Sox dealt with last season, shortstop Trevor Story stayed healthy.
Story played 163 games in his first three years as a Red Sox, then played 157 this past year. He led the team in home runs, RBIs, and stolen bases. His defense tailed off in September, but he was also leading the charge on offense by the time the Sox got to the playoffs.
Entering his age-33 season, Story has been vehemently endorsed as the starting shortstop by the Red Sox organization, specifically chief baseball officer Craig Breslow. Are the Red Sox counting too heavily on the veteran repeating his production from a year ago?
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Story coming back to earth this season?
On Thursday, MLB.com published a “snapshot” of the Red Sox’s Fangraphs projections for this season, and the No. 1 thing that stood out from the list was Story and the Boston shortstop group being projected for 2.0 WAR, which ranked 27th out of the 30 teams in baseball.
“This projection and ranking might be a bit surprising, considering that Trevor Story had a resurgent 2025 season with a .741 OPS, 25 home runs, and 31 stolen bases and finished with 3.0 WAR,18th-best among shortstops,” wrote MLB.com’s Brent Maguire.
“Projection systems, however, are notoriously conservative and are looking beyond just the previous season. Story was oft-injured and unproductive during his first three years with the Red Sox before 2025 and with him entering his age-33 season, there are still some questions about his production in 2026.”
Certainly, one projection does not mean Story is doomed to have a bad year, and if anything, he might have a better defensive season if he stays healthy, because he’ll be better conditioned for those final weeks of the year.
However, this underscores the need for the Red Sox to land another big bat, and ideally, two. The odds that Story leads the team in all of those offensive categories again feel slim, and even if he does, that likely means Boston’s offense was fairly pedestrian.
More MLB: Red Sox’s Former No. 5 Prospect Breaks Silence On ‘Surprise’ Trade
Boston, MA
Person of interest in Brown University shooting identified, sources say
Authorities have identified a person of interest in the Brown University mass shooting, three senior law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation told NBC News.
This comes after days of intense investigation and a manhunt for a gunman who opened fire inside the Barus and Holley engineering building on the Providence, Rhode Island, campus on Saturday. Two students were killed and nine other people injured.
Another person of interest was previously taken into custody, but that person was eventually released when investigators ruled them out as a suspect.
Michael Tabman, a retired FBI special agent in charge, joined NBC10 Boston on Thursday to discuss the possible connection being investigated between the shooting death of an MIT professor in Brookline, Massachusetts, and last weekend’s mass shooting on the Brown University campus.
Investigators released a series of surveillance videos and images of a person of interest, asking the public for help with the search.
The shooting has raised questions about safety and security on Brown’s campus and concerns about misinformation and AI-generated images circulated online due to the high-profile nature of the case.
Investigators are looking into whether the Brown shooting may be linked to the killing of an MIT professor at his Brookline, Massachusetts, home this week.
This is a breaking story. Check back for updates.
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