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‘I couldn’t tell if they were kidding or not.’ 12-year-old wins contest to represent Boston in global LEGO competition. – The Boston Globe

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‘I couldn’t tell if they were kidding or not.’ 12-year-old wins contest to represent Boston in global LEGO competition. – The Boston Globe


Arlo, Boston’s newly crowned Mini Master Model Builder, spent about two months crafting a replica of the Tea Party scene for LEGO’s first global competition.

His creation, which features underwater and above-water scenes, will be sent to the LEGO House in Billund, Denmark, to vie against 27 other young regional winners from Shanghai to Arizona.

The Global Mini Master Model Builder will be announced in the fall.

“I‘m very excited,” Arlo said in a recent Zoom interview from his home in Dover, N.H., his shaggy blonde hair falling over his forehead. “This means a lot to me because I’ve been building LEGOs for a long time.”

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Arlo throws up a peace sign in front of his Boston Tea Party LEGO construction.Lindsay Humphreys

A sixth grader at Dover Middle School, Arlo started playing with LEGOs when he was a toddler and has completed more than 100 LEGO sets.

Still, he never considered entering a LEGO competition until a late February visit to the LEGO Discovery Center Boston in Somerville.

He had decided to make a hand out of LEGOs, not just any hand but “a celestial hand emerging from the depths of our ocean,” when an employee approached him.

Impressed by his work, the employee told Arlo he should enter the regional Boston Mini Master Model Builder contest.

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Arlo didn’t know what it was but accepted the challenge.

“So I was like, OK, yeah sure, I’ll enter into the tournament,” he recalled. “And I entered in, and I won.”

Kaleb Thome, the LEGO master builder at the Somerville LEGO center, said he saw Arlo’s hand depiction within a couple of weeks of the deadline for the Boston competition.

“He was one of the last ones to submit,” said Thome, 26. “I immediately knew this might be the one.”

The hand was a “very mature concept,” Thome said, but was “executed really well.” As artists know well, hands are a challenge to portray, Thome said.

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“It’s this hand coming up from the ocean,” Thome said. “I was like, dude, that’s a sick concept.”

Arlo and Kaleb Thome pose with his winning LEGO creation. Kaleb Thome

For Arlo, the hand was not a painstaking endeavor; it was simply another opportunity to “create anything,” the reason he was drawn to the building blocks in the first place.

“I think the fact that I could do anything,“ his imagination would allow, Arlo said, explaining his initial interest as a toddler.

When Thome, the judge for the Boston contest, selected Arlo on March 14 over some 50 other applicants across New England, Arlo was shocked.

“I couldn’t tell if they were kidding or not,” he said. “But I was definitely excited, no matter what.”

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The win made Arlo Boston’s Mini Master Model Builder and catapulted him into LEGO’s first global competition.

His work had just begun.

From late March to May 31, Arlo spent one to two days a week working in the Somerville LEGO facility on his greatest creation — the Boston Tea Party. His mom or dad would typically drive him down from New Hampshire around noon on Saturday, and Arlo would stay in his workshop until closing.

His Boston Tea Party includes sea creatures, a scene from Spongebob’s Bikini Bottom, and people throwing tea into the harbor. It’s about 10 inches by 20 inches (1 x 2 base plates in LEGO math) and even has a character named Arlo in a red shirt.

Arlo meticulously placed every piece, and Thome said its scale was “the most impressive thing.”

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“How much brick and plate he was able to put down,” Thome said. “He really set out some big expectations and goals for himself, and I think he achieved them.”

Besides size, the main rule for global competition is that the building represent the city or region the builder is from.

Arlo, a lover of history LEGO sets, jumped at the opportunity.

“The fact that sometimes they can be like small, little scenes cut into history,” Arlo said of historical LEGO sets. ”So you basically have your own history book without even having to read.”

Arlo said he spent a long time coming up his idea, deciding between Paul Revere’s ride and the Boston Tea Party, he eventually landed on the Harbor scene because of its size. Once he had the idea, he started and didn’t stop.

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“If I have an idea, I’m gonna just put it down,” Arlo said. “Once that’s done, I’ll just continue. So I’ll legitimately just build.”

His project will be sent to Denmark after June 30 for the LEGO masters to decide its fate. Until then, it will be on display in Somerville.

The honor of Boston’s Mini Master Builder has required some sacrifices. Arlo didn’t play lacrosse this spring to focus on the LEGO project and has been busy at school, with lot of homework in his favorite subject, science. But his mom, Lindsay Humphreys said it’s been worth it.

“It required the commitment, but knowing that it was such a big deal and probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, for sure, we were supportive of it,” Humphreys said.

Outside of LEGOs, Arlo enjoys video games and playing with his dog Bruno, a beagle and pug mix called a “puggle.”

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But LEGOs are his guiding passion.

He wants to be a LEGO master like Thome one day. His dream car, a Volkswagen bus, is from his favorite LEGO set.

Will he get the car one day?

“Maybe if he can get a job and work towards it,” Arlo’s mom said, drawing a grin from Arlo.


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Ava Berger can be reached at ava.berger@globe.com. Follow her @Ava_Berger_.





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Boston, MA

What we know about accused Memorial Drive gunman Tyler Brown

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What we know about accused Memorial Drive gunman Tyler Brown


Investigators identified Tyler Brown of Boston as the man who allegedly opened fire on Memorial Drive in Cambridge, Massachusetts, leaving two victims with life-threatening injuries.

Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said Brown fired 50 to 60 shots on the busy road shortly after 1 p.m. Monday.

Two male victims were hit in vehicles, Ryan said. They are in critical condition and fighting for their lives.

A Massachusetts State Police trooper and a civilian with a license to carry a firearm went toward the gunman and fired their weapons at him. Officers treated Brown at the scene, and he was brought to a Boston hospital, where he is in intensive care, according to the district attorney.

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This video shared with NBC10 Boston appears to show a man opening fire at cars on Memorial Drive in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Monday, May 11, 2026.

Authorities have, so far, shared limited information about the suspect.

“Mr. Brown is from Boston, and apparently was in the process of moving here. We understand that Mr. Brown was under the supervision of either the Massachusetts Probation Department or Department of Parole,” Ryan said.

She did not elaborate on why Brown may have been on probation or parole.

“We will address Mr. Brown’s criminal record, if any, at the arraignment,” she said.

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Ryan added that she did not know enough about Brown’s condition to say whether he would be arraigned in court or in a hospital bed. The timing was also not clear.

He will face two counts of armed assault with intent to murder and firearms charges, and “a variety of other charges as we unfold what took place, exactly, and we have a chance to speak to the many, many people who were out there,” Ryan said.



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Boston, MA

Portion of Storrow Drive, Soldiers Field Road will close nightly through August – The Boston Globe

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Portion of Storrow Drive, Soldiers Field Road will close nightly through August – The Boston Globe


An inbound stretch of Storrow Drive and Soldiers Field Road will be closed each night through August for tunnel repairs, officials announced.

Starting Monday, the closures will begin at 8 p.m. and last until 5 a.m., state officials said.

Road closures begin at North Harvard Street in Allston and stretch along the Charles River Esplanade to Mugar Way in Boston, near the Hatch Memorial Shell, officials said.

Traffic will be detoured into Cambridge over the Anderson Bridge, along Memorial Drive, and then be routed into Boston over the Longfellow Bridge.

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The closures will allow ongoing repairs to the Storrow Drive Tunnel in the Back Bay. The work is the first phase of a two-stage project to extend the lifespan of the tunnel, which carries roughly 50,000 drivers to and from downtown Boston daily.

The outbound portion of the tunnel and accompanying roadways will not be affected.

State transportation officials said changes to the work schedule will be made when necessary to minimize impacts during major local events at TD Garden, Fenway Park, or during the FIFA World Cup and 250th anniversary celebrations scheduled for this summer.

Additional changes may be made without notice due to weather.

Transportation officials have not specified when the closures will end.

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Bryan Hecht can be reached at bryan.hecht@globe.com. Follow him on Instagram @bhechtjournalism.





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Ole Miss softball to play Boston in NCAA tournament Lubbock Regional

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Ole Miss softball to play Boston in NCAA tournament Lubbock Regional


This story has been updated with new information

OXFORD — Ole Miss softball is back in the NCAA Tournament after making the Women’s College World Series a season ago.

The Rebels (34-24) will play Boston (46-13) on May 15 (1 p.m. CT, ESPNU) in the Lubbock Regional. Ole Miss is the No. 2 seed in the regional, and Boston is the No. 3.

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Texas Tech (52-6), the No. 11 overall seed and regional host, will face No. 4 Marist (37-19).

The Rebels went 6-18 in SEC play this season, and have a largely new-look roster from the team that made the WCWS last season.

Ole Miss beat South Carolina and Tennessee in the SEC Tournament to improve its seed.

Freshman Madi George has burst onto the scene in the SEC. The first-year infielder leads Ole Miss with a .385 batting average. She has a team-high 21 home runs and 58 RBIs.

Seniors Emilee Boyer (3.86 ERA), Kyra Aycock (3.97 ERA) and junior Lily Whitten (3.04 ERA) are the primary options in the circle for coach Jamie Trachsel.

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Trachsel is in her sixth season leading the Ole Miss program. She led the Rebels to their first WCWS appearance in program history in 2025.

What to know about Boston, Texas Tech and Marist in Lubbock Regional

Boston entered the Patriot League Tournament as the top seed and the Terriers delivered. Boston beat No. 2 Colgate 12-1, becoming the second team in Patriot League history to four-peat as conference champions. Boston is on a 12-game winning streak. Kylie Doherty leads the team with a .396 batting average and 26 home runs.

Texas Tech made the 2025 WCWS championship series, losing to Texas in three games.

Texas Tech lost just three Big 12 games this season but lost in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. The Red Raiders are a strong threat to get to the WCWS again. There are four Texas Tech batters hitting over .400. Star pitcher NiJaree Canady leads the Red Raiders with a 1.24 ERA. She has 209 strikeouts.

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Marist plays in the MAAC and won the conference tournament. Marist split a two-game series against South Carolina early in the season. Ava Metzger (12-3, 2.51 ERA) and Peyton Pusey (.404 batting average) lead the team.

Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_



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