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Gospel Night brings spirit to Boston Pops

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Gospel Night brings spirit to Boston Pops


Long before Dennis L. Slaughter was the Boston Pops Orchestra Gospel Choir artistic director, he was a kid in Jackson, Mississippi transfixed by the magic of the piano.

“There was something so captivating about it,” Slaughter told the Herald. “I saw people putting their fingers on this instrument in random places and creating this beautiful sound. I wanted to know how they could do that because when I put my fingers on it it didn’t sound anything like that.”

Slaughter’s parents were smart enough to put their child in piano lessons. And smart enough to keep him in lessons when he became frustrated at the work it took for him to make those beautiful sounds — he credits his mother with not letting him give up. He eventually received an undergraduate degree in music from the University of Southern Mississippi (plus a master’s in education administration and policy studies from Boston University and a doctorate in law and policy from Northeastern).

The son, grandson, brother, nephew, and cousin of preachers, pastors, and church musicians, Slaughter succeeded in combining his faith and education in gospel music. He has been part of every Pops Gospel Night since its inception in 1993 and will lead the choir again June 8 at Symphony Hall, which will feature 10-time Grammy winning gospel powerhouse Take 6 (who also took part in 1993 debut concert).

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For Slaughter, the annual event is a unique showcase to highlight the music and message of gospel.

“What has made this concert a success over the years is that it gives us something very different from what we would normally see at my church on a Sunday morning,” he said. “I’m not going to see a conductor, an orchestra, and a choir on Sunday morning. And the fact that we have to work so diligently to bring all the elements together and make them sound cohesive is another thing that makes the program so successful.”

The event hosts gospel in an unexpected setting. But as Slaughter points out, gospel doesn’t need to adhere to expectations.

“The music we will sing on that night covers a range from traditional all the way to very contemporary,” he said. “When I hear a contemporary artist perform r&b or soul music, it doesn’t sound radically different artistically, stylistically than the gospel music that you will hear at this concert. The message though, that’s a 2000-year-old message, but it’s constantly being  put in a new set of clothes.”

Just as when he was a kid, Slaughter remains transfixed by music. He just knows that the music he directs now, the music of the Boston Pops Orchestra Gospel Choir, can’t be separated from the message. Slaughter says there will be no proselytizing from the stage, and yet the message remains.

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“It’s nice music, it’s beautiful music,” he said. “But it really can be instructive in your life. It can be meaningful in your life. It can be helpful in your life… My hope is that we get someone thinking about participating in a local church where they can experience all the beauty of God’s love, all the beauty of gospel music, whether it’s with a symphony orchestra or not.”

For tickets and details, visit bso.org

 

Pastor Smokie Norful performs a solo with the Boston Pops at last year’s Gospel Night. (Photo Robert Torres)



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Boston, MA

Red Sox face lengthy travel issues ahead of series vs. Mets

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Red Sox face lengthy travel issues ahead of series vs. Mets


Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox weren’t able to leave Chicago until approximately 3 p.m. ET for their 7:15 p.m. ET game Friday.

The Red Sox were stuck in Chicago for an extra 17 hours ahead of their game against the Mets. (Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)

No games have been played, but the Red Sox’s series against the New York Mets is already off to a rocky start.

That’s thanks to a series of travel issues that caused a 17-hour delay from the time Boston was supposed to depart Chicago to the time it actually took off. The Red Sox should have left Illinois at 9:45 p.m. Eastern Time Thursday night, landing in New York around midnight.

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Instead, the team took off at approximately 3 p.m. ET on Friday. They’ll land around 5 p.m., making it to New York just barely in time for their 7:15 p.m. game against the Mets.

The Boston Globe‘s Tim Healey and Alex Speier reported the delay, and their sources didn’t give any specific reason for the issues, just that Boston “encountered multiple plane issues in trying to continue to New York.”

As of 4 p.m. ET, the Red Sox-Mets game will continue as scheduled at 7:15 p.m. Friday. Sonny Gray is set to take the bump for Boston, which enters Friday an undefeated 6-0 on its recent road trip.

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Police investigating shooting in Downtown Crossing – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

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Police investigating shooting in Downtown Crossing – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News


BOSTON (WHDH) – Police are investigating a shooting in Downtown Crossing that occurred Thursday night.

Officials said the shooting occurred around 10:30 p.m. near Tremont and Temple Streets.

When officers arrived on scene, they found a man with a gunshot wound; he is expected to survive.

Police have not said if any arrests have been made.

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(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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Lawsuit: ICE detained East Boston father despite legal status

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Lawsuit: ICE detained East Boston father despite legal status


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Jose Pineda, 62, a Salvadoran immigrant who has legal status in the U.S., spent two days in a Burlington ICE facility under “cruel and inhumane conditions,” his attorneys say.

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent is seen in Park Ridge, Ill., Sept. 19, 2025. AP Photo/Erin Hooley, File

An East Boston father is suing ICE, alleging immigration agents unlawfully stopped, arrested, and detained him because of his race and national origin despite having his legal status, his lawyers said. 

Lawyers for Civil Rights filed the lawsuit Thursday on behalf of Jose Pineda, a 62-year-old Salvadoran immigrant who has lived in the U.S. for more than three decades and is authorized to remain and work through humanitarian relief, the nonprofit legal organization said in a press release. 

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The suit is seeking damages under the Federal Tort Claims Act, alleging false arrest, false imprisonment, assault, and severe emotional distress.

“I came to the United States to escape the civil war that devastated El Salvador. I worked hard, started a family, and built a life here,” said Pineda, who works as a landscaper and lives with his wife and 13-year-old daughter. “I never expected to feel that kind of fear again, much less in the United States.” 

According to the 30-page complaint, written by LCR senior attorneys Victoria Miranda and Mirian Albert, Pineda has been a recipient of Temporary Protected Status, which allows certain foreign nationals from designated countries to live and work legally in the U.S. 

Pineda also had a pending asylum petition and had been granted a T visa, which provides immigration protections to trafficking victims, the complaint states. 

“We will not stand idly by as ICE wreaks havoc on immigrant families. Through racial profiling, ICE agents are carrying out an unquestionably discriminatory agenda,” Miranda said in the release. “The law exists to protect people like Mr. Pineda, and it must be enforced against ICE.” 

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The lawsuit stems from a May 2025 encounter in Weymouth, where Pineda was driving a landscaping truck to a job site when agents in unmarked ICE vehicles surrounded him, according to the complaint.

“The aggressive nature of the questioning made it clear to Mr. Pineda that he was not being judged based on any evidence of unlawful conduct, but rather on his identity, race, ethnicity, and/or national origin,” Pineda’s attorneys wrote. 

The lawsuit alleges ICE officers then “forcibly” handcuffed and shackled Pineda before taking him to the agency’s field office in Burlington. 

Officers searched Pineda’s belongings during the stop and again at the field office, allegedly confiscating $600 in cash that he intended to use to pay his family’s rent. The money has not been returned, according to the complaint. 

Pineda spent two days in ICE custody under what the lawsuit describes as “cruel and inhumane conditions.” 

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“After what ICE did to me, and after everything my family has endured, I don’t know if I will ever truly feel safe again,” Pineda said. 

According to the complaint, he was held in severely overcrowded cells containing more than 40 people — at times as many as 60 — leaving little room to sit and forcing him to remain standing for much of his detention. Detainees also allegedly shared a single toilet and sink without soap or toilet paper and were not provided toothbrushes, clean clothes, or showers. 

Fluorescent lights remained on around the clock, making it difficult to sleep, while temperatures became “extremely cold” overnight and some detainees received only aluminum blanekts for warmth, the complaint states. 

Pineda was given only a two-minute phone call during his detention and received two bottles of water each day, along with “inadequate and limited” food and water, according to the complaint. 

“Mr. Pineda has suffered devastating and ongoing physical and emotional harm that has impacted all aspects of his life,” his attorneys wrote. “Mr. Pineda brings this action to seek accountability for these violent and traumatizing tortious acts of the ICE officers and to address the harms inflicted upon him.” 

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According to LCR, Pineda was released following advocacy by Centro Presente, a Massachusetts immigrant rights organization. 

After his release, ICE initiated removal proceedings against him depsite his humanitarian protections, the organization said. Those proceedings were ultimately dismissed. 

“ICE targeted Mr. Pineda based on nothing more than his perceived national origin and the nature of his work,” Albert said in the press release. “Our laws prohibit this kind of arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement. Through this lawsuit, we seek to hold the federal government accountable for the violence and harm inflicted on Mr. Pineda.”

ICE referred questions about the lawsuit to the Department of Homeland Security. DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday evening.

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