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Opening statements heard in trial for Aurora officers in Elijah McClain's death

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:12 GMT

BRIGHTON, Colo. (AP) — The trial of two Aurora police officers opened Wednesday in the killing of Elijah McClain, a Black man put in a neck hold and injected with a powerful sedative whose 2019 death later became a rallying cry for nationwide protests and spurred police reform in Colorado.It's the first of several trials stemming from the death of McClain, and lawyers for the two sides are expected to paint contrasting pictures of the deadly struggle between the officers and the 23-year-old massage therapist. McClain was stopped by police in the city of Aurora while walking home from a convenience store carrying only a plastic bag and his phone. Man arrested in deadly double shooting on Welton Street One question jurors could be asked to decide is whether it was lawful for officers Randy Roedema and Jason Rosenblatt to detain and use force against McClain, who a 911 caller reported as suspicious. If prosecutors can convince jurors the stop was unjustified, that...

Playoff-chasing Rangers hit 4 homers in a 15-5 win over Red Sox after trailing 4-0 early

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:12 GMT

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — With all of their All-Stars back in the lineup, the Texas Rangers are starting to feel good again going into their most important stretch of the season.“This is more who we were,” manager Bruce Bochy said.Marcus Semien drove in three runs from the top of the order and scored for the AL-best 115th time, Jonah Heim and Mitch Garver hit back-to-back homers and the playoff-chasing Rangers beat the Boston Red Sox 15-5 on Wednesday. All-Star third baseman Josh Jung, in his third game back after missing six weeks with a fractured left thumb, and fellow rookie Evan Carter each added two-run homers.“Great at-bats up and down the lineup, guys hitting mistakes for homers and guys taking their walks,” said Heim, the switch-hitting All-Star catcher. “It’s encouraging to see, and just got to keep putting it together.”Texas (84-68) remained a half-game behind Houston for the AL West lead after the Astros (85-68) had a walk-off win over AL East-leading Baltimore to...

Rhode Island man sentenced to 7 years in prison for trafficking drugs from Arizona in children’s toys

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:12 GMT

These toys certainly weren’t for children.A Rhode Island man will spend seven years in the federal pen for his role in a plot to ship toys stuffed with fentanyl, meth and cocaine from Arizona to New England.U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani sentenced Nathan Boddie, 38, of Pawtucket, R.I., to seven years in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, a charge Boddie pleaded guilty to in May.Boddie, who wrote in a letter included as an attachment to his defense sentencing memo that he became addicted to opiates after suffering a severe snowboarding injury in 2008 and being prescribed Percocet, was involved in a drug trafficking operating that moved heavy amounts of narcotics from Arizona to parts of New England, including Rhode Island and Massachusetts.The operators of this drug train, which according to court records operated from at least April of l...

Former Tyngsboro daycare employee charged with distributing child pornography ordered held in federal prison

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:12 GMT

The Tyngsboro daycare center employee charged with making pornographic photographs of the children in her care who fought to be released to live with her parents in New Hampshire has been ordered to remain in federal custody.U.S. Massachusetts District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV enumerated four compelling reasons to ensure Lindsay Groves, of Hudson, N.H., stay in federal custody: First, that the Grove’s “position of trust, and her alleged use of that position to physically exploit (minor victims), this factor weighs strongly in favor of detention.”“Second, there is substantial … evidence that defendant orchestrated and participated in the sexual exploitation of children under her care as a teacher. That evidence includes her own admissions to police officers that she had taken photographs of her students’ genitals, instructed them to remove their clothes, and sent those photographs to her codefendant,” Saylor wrote in his Wednesday order.The third point is a rebuttal of t...

Crime Briefs: Former Tyngsboro daycare employee charged with distributing child pornography ordered held in federal prison

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:12 GMT

The Tyngsboro daycare center employee charged with making pornographic photographs of the children in her care who fought to be released to live with her parents in New Hampshire has been ordered to remain in federal custody.U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV listed four compelling reasons to ensure Lindsay Groves, of Hudson, N.H., stays in federal custody: First, that the Grove’s “position of trust, and her alleged use of that position to physically exploit (minor victims), this factor weighs strongly in favor of detention.”Second, evidence against her  “includes her own admissions to police officers that she had taken photographs of her students’ genitals, instructed them to remove their clothes, and sent those photographs to her codefendant,” Saylor wrote in his Wednesday order.The third point is a rebuttal of the defense’s true argument that Groves has no criminal history, which Saylor says “is a common trait of comparable cases … and therefore is not comp...

Irish delegation visits Boston, highlighting Ireland’s ‘deep ties’ to the city

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:12 GMT

The Irish delegation’s visit to Boston was recognized at the Wednesday City Council meeting, where the city’s “deep ties” to Ireland were discussed.City Council President Ed Flynn, as a sailor aboard the USS The Sullivans, previously visited Cork and Kerry and helped coordinate the Irish delegation’s visit to Boston.Heading the delegation of councilors, chief executives and staff were the mayors of Cork and Kerry counties, Frank O’Flynn and Jim Finucane, and their wives.“This delegation is visiting Boston to celebrate 300 years of Irish contributions to Boston and Massachusetts, to promote cultural, political, economic exchange,” Flynn said at the Council meeting. “We have deep ties to Ireland, and particularly to this area of Ireland, including Cork and Kerry.”Flynn, for example, said his grandparents originally hail from Cork, and noted that he shares a similar last name with the county’s current mayor.O’Flynn and Finucane both spoke affectionately about the shared history between...

Battenfeld: Healey on the national hot seat as migrant shelter crisis worsens

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:12 GMT

Gov. Maura Healey is on the hot seat dealing with a flood of migrant families into the state and if the shelter crisis worsens or explodes her national reputation could be at stake.With an estimated 22,000 homeless people – half of them migrants – including children, crowded into shelters, motels and even colleges, and communities in an uproar, the seemingly unflappable Healey is under pressure to keep Massachusetts from becoming another New York City disaster.The Democratic governor has been trying to use the crisis to raise her national profile but that could backfire if the Bay State becomes a poster child for migrant settlement gone wrong.In what should be a warning to the Healey administration, a small fire broke out at a motel housing migrants in Sutton. The motel occupants were evacuated and it could have been much worse.Even the Democratic Legislature is now raising questions about the real cost of housing tens of thousands of migrants and Healey’s transparency.The Healey ad...

Suspect in fatal shootings of 4 people in suburban Chicago dead after car crash in Oklahoma

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:12 GMT

By KEN KUSMER and COREY WILLIAMSA suspect in the shooting deaths of a suburban Chicago couple and their two children died in a fiery crash Wednesday in Oklahoma, police said.Nathaniel Huey Jr., 32, of Streamwood, Illinois, was suspected in the deaths of Alberto Rolon, Zoraida Bartolomei and their two children, ages 7 and 9, whose names have not been released. The victims were believed to have been shot between Saturday night and early Sunday in their home in Romeoville, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southwest of Chicago.There was a relationship between the victims and Huey, Romeoville Police Deputy Chief Chris Burne told reporters at a news conference, without elaborating. Burne further said investigators have developed a possible motive for the shootings without disclosing what it is.Huey tried to elude authorities after a digital license plate detector spotted the vehicle in Catoosa, Oklahoma, but he crashed the vehicle and it caught on fire, Burne said.“Officers on scene h...

Senate confirms chairman of joint chiefs as GOP senator still blocking hundreds of military nominees

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:12 GMT

By MARY CLARE JALONICK and TARA COPP (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Gen. CQ Brown as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, putting him in place to succeed Gen. Mark Milley when he retires at the end of the month. Brown’s confirmation on a 83-11 vote, months after President Joe Biden nominated him for the post, comes as Democrats try to maneuver around holds placed on hundreds of nominations by Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville over the Pentagon’s abortion policy. The Senate is also expected to confirm Gen. Randy George to be Army Chief of Staff and Gen. Eric Smith as commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps this week. Tuberville has been blocking the Senate from the routine process of approving military nominations in groups, frustrating Democrats who had said they would not go through the time-consuming process of bringing up individual nominations for a vote. More than 300 nominees are still stalled amid Tuberville’s ...

Federal appeals court reverses ruling that found Mississippi discriminated in mental health care

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:12 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A federal appeals court has overturned a lower court ruling that found Mississippi relies too much on institutionalizing people with mental health conditions rather than providing care in their communities.The decision came Wednesday from three judges on the conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. They wrote that the federal government, which sued Mississippi, failed to prove that the state discriminated against people with mental health conditions in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.The appeals court judges also wrote that a remedial order by U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves, which sought to make changes in Mississippi’s mental health system, “vastly exceeds the scope of claimed liability.”Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office argued that the appeals court should overturn the district judge’s ruling. Republican Fitch applauded the ruling Wednesday, saying federal agencies have used the threat of laws...