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Karen Read case: Judge will not recuse herself in case of alleged murder of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:48 GMT

The Karen Read murder trial has gained national attention, and it showed in a full-blown rally in support of the defendant held on the Norfolk Superior Court steps ahead of a 2 p.m. motions hearing Tuesday afternoon.Read is accused of running over her boyfriend of two years, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, in the early hours of Jan. 29, 2022.At the top of a stack of defense motions — which remained impounded ahead of the hearing, with the clerk citing personal information contained within them that the judge would need to clear before public consumption — was a motion to have Judge Beverly Cannone recuse herself from the case.Cannone denied the motion after a brief recess to review the matter after arguments.“Your honor, there has been an undeniable erosion of the public’s confidence” in the court’s ability to impartially oversee this case, defense attorney Alan Jackson said during the hearing.“It is not an indictment of this court...

Orioles center fielder Aaron Hicks placed on 10-day injured list with left hamstring strain

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:48 GMT

The Orioles are already down one center fielder. After Monday night, they are down another.Aaron Hicks was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain Tuesday after exiting Monday night’s 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Outfielder Ryan McKenna was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk in a corresponding move.Hicks dove for a line drive hit by Johan Rojas in the third inning, threw the ball back to the infield and sat for a moment before training staff members came out to evaluate him. He eventually left the game with what the team called a left hamstring injury and was replaced in center field by rookie Colton Cowser.Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said Monday the injury could be a strain or a cramp, but he did not know until Hicks had the chance to be evaluated Tuesday.Hicks ran to his right on the liner and fully stretched out to make a spectacular catch. Rojas was ruled out, although replay later showed the ball popped out of Hicks’ glove.Entering Tue...

Hunter Biden will plead guilty to federal tax charges Wednesday. Here’s what you need to know

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:48 GMT

By Emily Bloch, The Philadelphia InquirerHunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, is expected in court Wednesday to plead guilty to federal tax charges.It will mark the end of a yearslong investigation into Biden’s taxes and foreign business dealings that has been spotlighted throughout his father’s presidency. It’s also the first time the Justice Department has brought charges against a sitting president’s child.Biden, 53, is expected to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax offenses as part of a plea deal.The plea agreement in federal court in Delaware will make the investigation “resolved,” Biden’s attorney Chris Clark said in a statement.As part of the deal, federal prosecutors will decline to pursue a felony gun charge, allowing Biden to avoid potential jail time.With the investigation unfolding in the public eye, the president and his second son became the center of scrutiny in political circles, particularly right-wing Republicans.Here’s what you need to know:How did we ge...

Boston suspends liquor license of North End restaurant owned by alleged shooter

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:48 GMT

The Boston Licensing Board voted to suspend the liquor license for Monica’s Trattoria, effectively shutting down the North End restaurant until management is officially transferred from its current owner, who is facing an attempted murder charge.Board Chair Kathleen Joyce said the panel was within its purview to suspend the restaurant’s liquor license, based on the owner Patrick Mendoza’s failure to appear at an informational hearing held last Thursday to assess his “character and fitness” as the manager of record and licensee.Mendoza, 54, is facing charges in connection with a shooting that occurred at a North End bakery on July 12, and allegedly evaded police for more than a week before he was arrested at a Cape Cod treatment facility last Friday.“We need to know as a regulatory body at any given time who is in charge of a licensed premises,” Joyce said at a Tuesday board meeting, later adding, “I have serious concerns about the person who’s still listed as the manager of record a...

Ohio voters will decide on abortion access in November ballot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:48 GMT

By JULIE CARR SMYTH (Associated Presss)COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio voters will have the opportunity this fall to decide whether to guarantee access to abortion in the state, setting up a volatile fight rife with emotional messaging and competing factual claims.State officials said Tuesday that a ballot measure to change the state constitution had enough signatures. It would establish “a fundamental right to reproductive freedom” with “reasonable limits.” In language similar to a constitutional amendment that Michigan voters approved last November, it would require restrictions imposed past a fetus’ viability outside the womb, which is typically around the 24th week of pregnancy and was the standard under Roe v. Wade, to be based on evidence of patient health and safety benefits.“Every person deserves respect, dignity, and the right to make reproductive health care decisions, including those related to their own pregnancy, miscarriage care, an...

Trevor Reed, Marine veteran freed from Russia in 2022, is injured while fighting in Ukraine, US says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:48 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former U.S. Marine who was released from Russia in a prisoner swap last year has been injured while fighting in Ukraine, the State Department said Tuesday.Trevor Reed was wounded several weeks ago, according to a person familiar with the situation who was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. He has been taken to Germany for medical care, said State Department spokesman Vedant Patel.U.S. officials said little about Reed’s injury or presence in Ukraine beyond noting that his activities weren’t on behalf of the U.S. government. But Reed’s decision to take up arms during Russia’s war with Ukraine potentially complicates U.S. efforts to win the release of two other Americans still detained by Moscow, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and corporate security executive Paul Whelan. His fighting also risked a potentially dire scenario if he’d been captured and re...

Cabinet shuffle expected Wednesday as ministers announce they won’t seek re-election

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:48 GMT

OTTAWA — With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expected to shuffle his cabinet as early as Wednesday,a string of Liberal ministers have confirmed they will not run in the next federal election. Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, Public Services and Procurement Minister Helena Jaczek and Mental Health and Addictions Minister Carolyn Bennett all announced this week that they will not seek re-election. A government source with knowledge of the matter said the cabinet shuffle would happen as soon as Wednesday. They were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about it publicly.Trudeau spent Monday and Tuesday holding private meetings in the capital, while several other ministers cancelled public events — both signs of an impending shake-up.Appearances by Housing Minister Ahmed Hussen, Treasury Board President Mona Fortier and Official Languages Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor were dropped early this week. The last time Trudeau shuffled h...

S&P/TSX composite ticks lower Tuesday on mixed trading, U.S. markets rise

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:48 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index ticked lower Tuesday amid mixed trading results, while U.S. markets moved higher. The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 30.59 points at 20,551.53.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 26.83 points at 35,438.07.The S&P 500 index was up 12.82 points at 4,567.46, while the Nasdaq composite was up 85.69 points at 14,144.56.In the U.S., earnings season is top of mind for investors as the second-quarter reports roll in, said Ashish Utarid, assistant vice-president of investment strategy at IG Wealth Management. The majority of companies that have reported so far have beat the lowered expectations for the second quarter, said Utarid. “Cost discipline in the first half of the year has been rewarding companies today, even as sales are lower than estimates. This results in an earnings beat, because the bar was set so low,” he said. “They revised guidance lower last quarter, they expected a recession … the market is basic...

Suspects burned getaway vehicle shortly after Brampton homicide: police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:48 GMT

Peel Regional Police are searching for a group of suspects in a Brampton homicide, with investigators locating the getaway vehicle burned one day after the targeted shooting.Investigators were called to St. Roch Catholic School, located at 200 Valley Way Drive in Brampton, around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 22, for reports of a shooting.Officers located a man who had been shot and was without vital signs. The victim was rushed to a trauma centre and was later pronounced dead.The victim was identified as 30-year-old Anthony Putzu of Toronto.In an update, investigators said they identified the suspect vehicle involved in the homicide as a 2023 Black Nissan Murano with the Ontario licence plate CYJS 166 with damage to the driver’s side.Police said the vehicle was burned in the 8th Line and Britannia Road area in Milton on the morning of July 23.Authorities said there are three suspects believed to be associated with the vehicle, adding that between July 22 at 9:30 p.m. and July 2...

Banc of California to buy troubled PacWest Bancorp, which came close to failing earlier this year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:48 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The Banc of California has agreed to buy PacWest Bancorp in an all-stock transaction, bringing an end to months of speculation about whether PacWest could survive on its own after the failures of three other regional banks this spring. The deal announced Tuesday got help from Warburg Pincus and Centerbridge Partners, two large private equity firms, which are investing $400 million to help shore up and restructure the balance sheet of the combined bank. Centerbridge Partners has a long history as an investor in distressed companies, The deal is a bit of good news for PacWest, the parent of Pacific Western Bank, and its shareholders. The company’s stock has fallen by nearly two-thirds this year on fear that PacWest could be the next bank to fail after the earlier failures of Silicon Valley Bank, First Republic and Signature Bank. Based on Tuesday’s closing prices, PacWest shareholders will receive Banc of California shares valued at $9.60. A year ago the sh...