Rep. Ayanna Pressley statement on testing positive for COVID-19

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) issued the following statement after receiving a positive COVID-19 test result:

“After experiencing COVID-like symptoms, this morning I received a positive, breakthrough COVID-19 test result. Thankfully, my symptoms are relatively mild, and I am grateful to be fully vaccinated and boosted. I am currently isolating and following all health protocols in order to mitigate further spread and keep my loved ones and community safe.

“Vaccines save lives. With this unprecedented pandemic continuing to rage, I am deeply grateful for the scientists, researchers, and frontline healthcare workers who have worked tirelessly to develop vaccines that are safe and effective, and ensure that our communities are protected. I encourage everyone to do their part by getting vaccinated, boosted and masking up. I wish everyone a safe and happy new year and look forward to continuing to fight for the robust relief our communities in the Massachusetts 7th need and deserve.”

Boston Celtics legend Sam Jones dies at 88

Boston Celtics legend Sam Jones has died at the age of 88, the team confirmed to the Associated Press. Jones had been hospitalized in Florida. The team held a moment of silence before Friday's game against the Phoenix Suns in honor of Jones.

Jones was a key figure in Boston's dynasty in the 1960s, winning 10 NBA championships in total as a member of the Celtics. Only Bill Russell, with 11, won more. Jones made five All-Star teams and averaged 17.7 points per game across 12 seasons in the league. Called "Mr. Clutch" during his career, Jones hit a number of game-winning shots during his career and consistently raised his scoring in the postseason.

Jones was the No. 8 overall pick in the 1957 NBA Draft after a decorated career at North Carolina Central. He was thereafter inducted into both the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame and NAIA Basketball Hall of Fame before eventually earning enshrinement in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984. He was part of the NBA's 25th, 50th and 75th anniversary teams. Jones coached briefly after his retirement, including as an assistant for one season with the New Orleans Jazz.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver issued the following statement today regarding the passing of Sam Jones

45th Black Heritage Stamp series honors sculptor Edmonia Lewis

The 45th stamp in the USPS Black Heritage series honors sculptor Edmonia Lewis (circa 1844-1907). As the first African American and Native American sculptor to achieve international recognition, Lewis challenged social barriers and assumptions about artists in mid-19th century America.

The stamp art is a casein-on-wood portrait of Lewis, based on a photograph taken in Boston between 1864 and 1871. Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamp with original art by Alex Bostic.

The stamp's first day of issue will be January 26, 2022 where it will be unveiled during a ceremony at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. The stamp can be purchased at the postal service's online store and at post offices.

The stamp will be sold in panes of 20 and can be purchased at the USPS site here: Edmonia Lewis Stamp

Candace Parker voted AP Female Athlete of Year

Candace Parker, 35, helped the Chicago Sky win the franchise's first WNBA championship and capped off 2021 by being named The Associated Press' Female Athlete of the Year for a second time.

The 13 years since her first AP athlete of the year honors ties Parker with Babe Didrikson Zaharias for the longest time between winning in the 80-year history of the award. The award was voted on by a panel of sports editors. Parker received 11 first-place votes, edging out swimmer Katie Ledecky and gymnast Simone Biles.

Parker is the only WNBA player to win the AP Female Athlete of the Year award.

Parker was named the AP award winner her rookie year with the Sparks in 2008, when she was honored as the WNBA's MVP and top rookie. She also guided the Sparks to the championship in 2016 and is one of 14 players to have won a college, WNBA and Olympic title. She played college ball at Tennessee, where she won two titles.

Amanda Gorman releases New Year's Poem

In collaboration with Instagram, Amanda Gorman on Wednesday released her new, New Year’s-based poem titled “New Day’s Lyric,” in which she reflects on the year 2021 and looks ahead to 2022. Wach video of her reciting her poem and read the transcript below:

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Transcript of New Day's Lyric

“New Day’s Lyric”

May this be the day
We come together.
Mourning, we come to mend,
Withered, we come to weather,
Torn, we come to tend,
Battered, we come to better.
Tethered by this year of yearning,
We are learning
That though we weren’t ready for this,
We have been readied by it.
We steadily vow that no matter
How we are weighed down,
We must always pave a way forward.

This hope is our door, our portal.
if we never get back to normal,
Someday we can venture beyond it,
To leave the known and take the first steps.
So let us not return to what was normal,
But reach toward what is next.

What was cursed, we will cure.
What was plagued, we will prove pure.
Where we tend to argue, we will try to agree,
Those fortunes we forswore, now the future we foresee,
Where we weren’t aware, we’re now awake;
Those moments we missed
Are now these moments we make,
The moments we meet,
And our hearts, once all together beaten,
Now all together beat.

Come, look up with kindness yet,
For even solace can be sourced from sorrow.
We remember, not just for the sake of yesterday,
But to take on tomorrow.

We heed this old spirit,
In a new day’s lyric,
In our hearts, we hear it:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
Be bold, sang Time this year,
Be bold, sang Time,
For when you honor yesterday,
Tomorrow ye will find.
Know what we’ve fought
Need not be forgot nor for none.
It defines us, binds us as one,
Come over, join this day just begun.
For wherever we come together,
We will forever overcome.