Today's Top Headlines

Tuesday, September 8

Good morning Wypierdalaj,

Patriots fans are waking up to breaking news today that the team has agreed to a record-setting contract extension with star cornerback Christian Gonzalez. Other news we're following includes back-to-school in Boston, and the New Hampshire primaries. I'm Kaitlin McKinley Becker, and these are your headlines.

The New England Patriots and star cornerback Christian Gonzalez have reportedly agreed to terms on a record-setting four-year, $135 million contract extension — bringing an end to the situation that lingered for months, just in time for Wednesday night’s season opener.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported the breaking news from sources just before 1 a.m. Tuesday, less than 48 hours before the Pats kick off the regular season in Seattle in a Super Bowl rematch. Gonzalez did travel with the team and talks reportedly intensified Monday night.

The deal includes $102 million guaranteed, according to ESPN, making the 24-year-old Gonzalez the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL history.

How do we top the weather at the end of the holiday weekend? By extending if for a few more days. (The warm weather, that is. I’m not your boss.)

We expect 80s to continue through Thursday, with a blend of sun and clouds. Along the immediate coast, we will settle for upper 70s thanks to the sea breeze.

With weak weather systems dipping into the area, the clouds may get the upper hand at times, but we’re not expecting showers until Thursday. Even then, the front is feeble and doesn’t appear to generate much in the way of wet weather.

Summer is over and it’s back to school for kids in the Boston Public School district.

Pre-K and kindergarten students will start class on Thursday, but grades 1-12 will be back in the classrooms on Tuesday. Mayor Michelle Wu and Superintendent Mary Skipper are planning to greet students at Holland Elementary.

Skipper is highlighting some newer communication methods to get news, alerts and important information to families in the district. They’re using apps Parent Square and Zum, which helps families track bussing.

Two former Republican U.S. Senators eyeing a return to Washington will compete in New Hampshire’s state primary Tuesday for a seat they’ve both sought previously with mixed results. In the Democratic primary for the same U.S. Senate seat, a four-term congressman faces an increasingly competitive challenge on his left flank from a democratic socialist candidate.

Voters will also select nominees for U.S. House, governor and other state offices.

The race to replace retiring three-term Democratic U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is one of a handful across the country that could determine control of the U.S. Senate for the second half of President Donald Trump‘s final term. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to retake the chamber, and keeping New Hampshire in their column is a key part of that effort.

Community members in Brockton, Massachusetts, came together Monday after a tragedy overseas.

A bus crash this weekend in Cape Verde killed 25 people. Most of the victims were teenagers.

In Brockton — which has one of the highest concentrations of Cape Verdeans in the United States — people gathered for a vigil to pray for those who lost their lives.

A Brockton man was killed and seven other people were wounded when gunfire erupted during a house party in Taunton, Massachusetts, over the weekend.

Zirovick Depina, 22, died after being shot just after midnight on Sunday at a home on Weir Street.

All eight people who were shot were in their 20s, according to authorities. One of the surviving victims was reported in serious but stable condition.