Le Journal

FOXBORO — A lot of experts picked the Houston Texans to upset the New England Patriots in Sunday’s AFC Divisional Round matchup at Gillette Stadium. This confidence in the Texans largely stemmed from their defense, which ranked as one of the NFL’s best in the regular season and dominated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Wild Card Round. The players on the New England Patriots defense heard all the praise for the Texans defense this week, and it motivated them to show everyone that they, too, have an elite unit. And after another dominant playoff performance in a 28-16 win, the Patriots defense shouldn’t have too many doubters left. “Definitely. It fueled the whole defense,” Patriots defensive tackle Milton Williams said postgame when asked about all the talk surrounding the Texans defense. “Ain’t nobody been talking about our defense all year. We’ll see what they got to say today.” The Patriots defense put on a masterclass against the Texans. This group intercepted Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud four times in the first half, including a pick-6 by Marcus Jones that snatched momentum away from Houston at a time when New England’s offense was really struggling. Veteran cornerback Carlton Davis intercepted Stroud twice. “They had a really good D-line and they were good on the back end,” Stroud said postgame. “You know, the pick-6, he made a heck of a play. I tried to make a play and had a guy open, but he hit my arm and made a great play.” The Patriots finished with five takeaways (four interceptions and one fumble), sacked Stroud three times, pressured him consistently and stuffed the run. Houston racked up just 241 yards of total offense and managed only two field goals in the second half. The Texans ran for a measly 48 yards on 22 carries (2.2 per attempt). The Patriots defense forced 22 plays of zero or negative yards in the first half, which, according to ESPN Insights, is the most by any team in a playoff first half since 2000. Stroud could have actually finished with more interceptions, as the Patriots defensive backs blanketed his wide receivers all game and gave him almost no margin for error. “Every week, we try to come in and dominate, knowing they do have a great defense over there,” Williams said. “But in our mind, it was our defense vs. their defense to see who could make more plays and (force) more turnovers, stopping the run, getting the ball back to our offense and letting them go make a play.” Through two playoff games, the Patriots defense has allowed only one touchdown, forced six turnovers, sacked the opposing quarterback nine times and tallied 66 quarterback pressures. After struggling to prevent teams from scoring touchdowns in the red zone for much of the regular season, the Chargers and Texans combined to score only one TD in six red zone trips over the last two weeks. New England’s bend-but-don’t-break red zone defense has been an encouraging development for this team of late. More Patriots coverage New England Patriots 23 hours ago Patriots-Texans recap: Pats ride dominant defense to AFC title game berth Patriots Postgame Live 16 hours ago Perry: Pats' win over Texans a huge ‘program victory' for Vrabel New England Patriots 16 hours ago Patriots-Broncos Tale of the Tape: Keys to victory, prediction and more The Patriots are also blitzing at a much higher rate in the playoffs (44 percent) than the regular season (28 percent), per ESPN Insights. Opposing quarterbacks are completing just 38 percent of their passes for 3.4 yards per attempt with one touchdown and two interceptions when New England’s defense has blitzed in the playoffs. “They’re playing well together. I feel like they’re complementing each other, and our turnovers are created by more than one guy,” Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said of his defense. “There’s some great efforts. But it’s somebody…

Monday marks one month since the deadline for the Justice Department to release all of its files related to Jeffrey Epstein, but only a fraction of the records have been made public. The delays have frustrated Epstein’s victims and brought warnings of repercussions from the co-authors of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif. Massie claimed in a statement to NBC News on Friday that “Attorney General Bondi is making illegal redactions and withholding key documents that would implicate associates of Epstein.” In a separate statement Friday, Khanna said “DOJ’s refusal to follow the law” is “an obstruction of justice.” “They also need to release the FBI witness interviews which name other men, so the public can know who was involved. That is why Massie and I are bringing inherent contempt against Bondi and requested a special master to oversee this process,” he said. “The survivors and the public demand transparency and justice,” Khanna said. The Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment on the releases and the lawmakers’ claims. It said in a court filing last week that it had “made substantial progress and remains focused on releasing materials under the Act promptly while protecting victim privacy.” “Compliance with the Act is a substantial undertaking, principally because, for a substantial number of documents, careful, manual review is necessary to ensure that victim-identifying information is redacted before materials are released,” the filing said. Jeffrey Epstein Jan 13 House GOP seeks to hold Bill Clinton in contempt for skipping Epstein deposition Jeffrey Epstein Jan 7 House committee votes to issue more subpoenas related to Jeffrey Epstein Jeffrey Epstein Jan 6 More than 2 million Epstein files still to be released, DOJ says in court filing Victims have complained that the Justice Department is protecting the wrong people. In a letter to the Justice Department’s inspector general last week, a group of Epstein survivors and relatives of victims complained that the redactions to date had been “selective.” “These failures have caused renewed harm to survivors and undermined trust in the institutions responsible for safeguarding sensitive information,” the group said in its letter. “In multiple instances, names of individuals alleged to have participated in or facilitated abuse appear to have been redacted, while identifying details of survivors were left visible. In some cases, survivors’ names, contextual identifiers, or other information sufficient to identify them publicly were not adequately protected,” they added. They also complained, as have Khanna and Massie, that the Justice Department has not complied with another part of the law, which requires it to explain its redactions. “Without it, there is no authoritative accounting of what records exist, what has been withheld, or why, making effective oversight and judicial review far more difficult,” an attorney for the congressmen argued in a filing. The Justice Department has not commented on the request for the inspector general to step in. On Friday, lawyers for the Justice Department challenged Massie and Khanna’s request for a special master to oversee the release of the materials in a court filing, arguing the pair do not have legal standing to make the request. President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law on Nov. 19. The law gave the attorney general 30 days to “make publicly available in a searchable and downloadable format all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in the possession of the Department of Justice” involving Epstein, “including all investigations, prosecutions, or custodial matters.” On Dec. 19, the day the files were due to be made public, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche…

Bruce Springsteen lambasted the federal crackdown on immigrants during a performance Saturday, as he dedicated a song to the memory of Renee Nicole Good, who was killed by an ICE officer in Minneapolis. Springsteen characterized federal law enforcement participating in the Trump administration’s crackdown as “heavily armed, masked federal troops invading an American city, using Gestapo tactics against their fellow citizens.” Springsteen was performing at Light of Day Winterfest at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, New Jersey, Saturday night when he dedicated his 1978 song “The Promised Land” to Good’s memory, according to cellphone video from the performance shared by NJ.com. In the video, Springsteen said he wrote the song “as an ode to American possibility,” and added that the United States’ ideals and values are “being tested as it has never been in modern times.” He told the crowd he hoped his message would reach President Donald Trump. “If you believe you don’t deserve to be murdered for exercising your American right to protest, then send a message to this president. And as the mayor of that city has said: ‘ICE should get the f— out of Minneapolis,” Springsteen told a supportive home state crowd, echoing the words of Mayor Jacob Frey. Good was behind the wheel of an SUV in a residential street when she was fatally shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jonathan Ross. Ross was near the front, driver’s side corner of Good’s vehicle when it began pulling away and he fired three rounds, killing the mother of three and setting off a firestorm of criticism. Cellphone video of the shooting showed Good turning the steering wheel away from Ross as she began to drive. Federal officials said the shooting was a defensive action in the face of a potentially deadly weapon, the SUV, moving in the officer’s direction. Ross walked away from the scene unassisted, video showed, but Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said he was later treated and released from a hospital after being struck by the vehicle. A DHS official told NBC News that Ross suffered internal bleeding, but did not elaborate on his injuries. Noem said shortly after the shooting that what Good had done was “domestic terrorism,” and Trump, without offering any evidence to support the claim, called Good and her partner “professional agitators.” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Frey, both Democrats, have been at odds with federal officials who have justified Good’s shooting. They have also questioned why the FBI has cut out local authorities from the investigation into the shooting. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson responded to Springsteen’s criticism in a statement first published by The New York Times. “Unfortunately for Bruce, no one cares about his bad political opinions,” Jackson said. “And if he actually believed in ‘the power of the law,’ he would understand that criminal illegal aliens should be deported, that impeding federal law enforcement operations is a crime, and that officers have a right to act in self defense if an individual is using their car as a deadly weapon.” The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday. Donald Trump May 20, 2025 ‘Dried out prune'? ‘Corrupt' and ‘incompetent'? Springsteen vs. Trump feud gets messy Music & Musicians May 21, 2025 Bruce Springsteen releases politically charged live EP, fueling Trump feud Music & Musicians May 16, 2025 Bruce Springsteen opens U.K. tour by calling Trump ‘unfit' for office Springsteen followed U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., podcaster Joe Rogan and others in comparing current ICE tactics to those of the Gestapo. The Gestapo was the secret police force of Nazi Germany that helped round up Jews and send them to their deaths at concentration camps. They were characterized by cruelty, torture and an accountability-free reign. Good’s death came amid a federal immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota that has…

This week’s Hometown MVP takes us to Boston for a prep school that is just exploding with talent in the sport of basketball — and this program has a superstar that has a really bright future. West Medford native Quinn Costello is a six-foot-10 senior and the number 1 overall boys recruit in the state of Massachusetts. He’s the 20th ranked player in the country according to rivals. He’s committed to the University of Michigan. “I’ve gotten so much better,” Costello said. “I’ve improved so much day by day. This is my third year here now. I’ve improved drastically every year I’ve been here.” “Quinn’s made it easy because he just shows up,” Head Coach Jackson Johnson said. “He’s never missed a lift in the morning. He’s on the court every day. He’s consistent.” This is all happening at the Newman School — a small private school in the Back Bay where they really weren’t known for basketball. “I came and visited Newman and I saw what it could be,” former legendary coach John Caroll said, who came from Northfield Mount Hermon. He’s now Director of Basketball at Newman. “This is our fourth year,” he said. “Yeah, we thought it would take five years and really it took three,” Carroll said. “The success we’ve had at Newman is hugely apart because of him,” Johnson said. “I’ve just worked hard and listened to his mentorship. So he’s amazing.” And this team has been amazing, with a state championship last year, now looking for a national championship this year. And they have the division one talent. How about this roster? “My name is Lucas Merlo and I’m committed to the University of Illinois.” “I’m Trey Graham, I’m going to Boston College.” “I’m Louis O’Keeffe and I’m committed at Princeton University.” “I’m Timmy Bolin and I’m committed to Brown.” “My name’s Atticus Richmond and I’m going to University of Columbia.” “Chase Jeremiah, University of Pennsylvania.” It’s one of the top programs in the country, and they just continue to build in Boston. “We strive to be the best academic and basketball school in the country,” Johnson said. “And we’re in the best city in the world for that.”

The MBTA has temporarily suspended Orange Line service along a busy stretch of the subway line over a medical emergency. Orange Line trains will be suspended between Back Bay and North Station due to the medical situation at Downtown Crossing, the T said shortly after 11 a.m. It wasn’t made clear how long the service impact will last. The T referred riders to the Green Line for substitute service.