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XXXTentacion’s convicted killers sentenced to life in prison

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:23 GMT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Three men were given life sentences on Thursday for the 2018 killing of star rapper XXXTentacion, who was shot outside a South Florida motorcycle shop while being robbed of $50,000.Michael Boatwright, 28, Dedrick Williams, 26, and Trayvon Newsome, 24, were each convicted last month of first-degree murder and armed robbery by a jury following eight days of deliberations. Prosecutors had not sought the death penalty, so life in prison was the only sentence that Broward County Circuit Judge Michael Usan could impose for the first-degree murder convictions.During the month-long trial, prosecutors linked Boatwright, Williams and Newsome to the June 18, 2018, shooting outside Riva Motorsports in suburban Fort Lauderdale through extensive surveillance video taken inside and outside the store, plus cellphone videos the men took showing themselves flashing fistfuls of $100 bills hours after the slaying. Prosecutors also had the testimony of a fourth man, Ro...

Taiwan watches Ukraine as China threatens following presidential visit to California

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:23 GMT

Fresh from a meeting with the president of Taiwan, Bay State Rep. Seth Moulton says all eyes are on Ukraine as the world considers the implications of Russia’s invasion.“As that war sadly continues and evolves, the Taiwanese people are carefully calibrating what lessons they need to take from it,” Moulton, a member of the House Subcommittee on China,  told the Herald during a telephone interview Thursday.Moulton, speaking from a bus in San Francisco after a bipartisan congressional trip to California made alongside House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, said the Taiwanese government is uniquely aware of what Russia’s war against its fellow former Soviet state says of the future for their own continued independence amid Chinese territorial assertions over their island nation.The Salem Democrat visited Taiwan last October, not long after then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Sen. Ed Markey made their own much-criticized trips. Moulton said Thursday that Taiwan’s leadership hasn...

City makes ‘historic investment’ in doubling youth summer jobs program

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:23 GMT

The city is looking to get 7,000 teens employed over the summer, officials announced Thursday, the “largest ever investment in the summer jobs program.”“We’re proud to be offering 1,000 more jobs than we did last year and the most jobs that this program has ever created,” Mayor Michelle Wu said at an announcement event at the Mattapan Teen Center on Thursday morning. “That means more opportunities for our students and young people to explore their interests, build a network and develop the leadership skills that will carry our city into an even more equitable future.”In the last year, the city’s SuccessLink Youth Jobs program hit a record high, Wu said, placing 3,500 Boston teens in jobs over the summer. The 2022 program offered 6,000 spots, which will be bumped up to 7,000 for summer 2023.Wu said coming out of the pandemic, opening applications early and fine-tuning the process, they’re hopeful they will be able to fill the spot...

Report: Former Methuen police chief ran office like a mafia ‘Don’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:23 GMT

A new report commissioned by the City of Methuen describes former police Chief Joseph Solomon as a “‘Don’ of an organized crime family” and states he was a co-conspirator to get an unqualified former city council president a police detective job that defrauded the city out of $400,000.Sean Fountain, a former city firefighter and City Council president who the 203-page investigative report put out by the STIRM Group described as “Police Officer (Impersonating)” is the center of the document obtained by the Herald. The document was released March 27 and amended on Monday.“On 1 July 2016, Fountain was appointed an Intermittent Police Officer by the City of Methuen’s Police Chief Joseph Solomon. Fountain was the beneficiary of a level of preferential treatment that was so blatant that it was criminal,” the report states. “He was treated differently from the four intermittent officers hired when he was.”Solomon earned more than $300,000 a year while he was chief, according to multiple re...

California Assemblymember Akilah Weber launches bid for State Senate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:23 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Democratic State Assemblymember Dr. Akilah Weber announced a run for the State Senate on Thursday, looking to assume the District 39 seat being vacated by President pro Tempore Toni Atkins."My promise to voters is that I will always be their voice to create a stronger and healthier San Diego for all," Weber stated. "I am deeply grateful to Senator President pro Tempore Toni Atkins for her service in the State Legislature and I will do my best to build upon her legacy.”Weber is the second person to indicate an intention to run for the office -- the first being embattled County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher. Fletcher dropped out of the race upon announcing he would be checking into an inpatient treatment center for post-traumatic stress, trauma and alcohol abuse, days before allegations of sexual assault and battery were made against him in a lawsuit. Supervisors address Fletcher scandal in first meeting since resignation announcement Elected to the State Assembly in 2021,...

Suspect shot 2 hostages, killing 1, after wounding officer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:23 GMT

ROSEVILLE, Calif. (AP) — A man was arrested after he shot and killed one person and wounded two others, including a highway patrol officer, at a park Thursday in Northern California, authorities said. Multiple police agencies began to descend on Roseville, a city northeast of Sacramento, in the early afternoon. California Highway Patrol officers were serving a warrant to the suspect when he began shooting at them, Roseville Police Capt. Kelby Newton said. One CHP officer was struck by gunfire, he said. When police arrived, officers confronted the suspect, who was still carrying a gun and was seen running from officers at a city park, Newton said. The suspect took two hostages, then surrendered to officers on the scene.Both hostages were shot and one of them died, officials said. The condition of the surviving hostage wasn’t immediately known. The wounded officer was hospitalized in stable condition. The names of the victims were not disclosed. The violence occurred near baseba...

Latest TTC service cuts and changes will mean longer Line 1 subway wait times

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:23 GMT

TTC staff will be unveiling schedule changes that will see cuts and boosts to various routes, but a new Line 1 subway schedule will mean longer waits for commuters.A TTC spokesperson confirmed new Line 1 (the Yonge-University-Spadina subway line) frequency standards will be part of a broader suite of changes rolled out in the early part of May.Currently, trains are supposed to come every three minutes (that increases up to four minutes in midday and evening periods, and five minutes after 10 p.m.) on weekday morning and afternoon rush hours. However, under new frequency standards, trains could come up to every four minutes during rush hours, five to six minutes during midday and evening periods, and seven to eight minutes after 10 p.m. On Saturdays, trains between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. currently arrive every four to six minutes depending on the time of day (every seven minutes after 10 p.m.). The new standards would see most trains coming every seven to eight minutes depending on the t...

Police issue PSA after sex offender released into Mississauga community

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:23 GMT

Peel Regional Police have issued a public safety advisory about a sex offender being released into the community, believing the man is at a high risk of re-offending.Joseph Faulkner, 30, was released from prison last Sunday and is living in the Dundas Street West and Confederation Parkway area of Mississauga.Police said Faulkner is subject to several conditions, including not being in the presence of any children under the age of 16. He’s also bound by two probation orders, with end dates of August 1, 2023, and April 16, 2025.Investigators said that they’d be closely monitoring Faulkner and released this update to inform the public.“Members of the public are reminded that although Joseph Faulkner presents a safety risk to the public, he remains a Canadian citizen, and his rights are guaranteed under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” a Peel police spokesperson noted in a news release.Police are advising the public to use caution if they encounter Faulkner, ...

Koepka living large at Masters, leads with Rahm and Hovland

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:23 GMT

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka shared the lead Thursday in the Masters, and that’s about all they had in common.Not the way they started their rounds at Augusta National. Certainly not the tours they represent — Rahm a loyalist on the PGA Tour, Koepka a surprise defector to LIV Golf.All that mattered was the 7-under 65s on their cards, allowing them to join Viktor Hovland atop a leaderboard filled with red numbers and the ominous “weather warning” signs that figure to play a big role this week.A bad forecast has been talked about almost as much as how 18 players from Saudi-backed LIV Golf would perform amid the high-stakes pressure of a major over 72 holes with a cut.Koepka carried the flag, though he was more thrilled with having healthy legs and a bit of swagger that once led to his reputation as “Big Game Brooks.”“Once you feel good, everything changes,” Koepka said.Rahm opened with a four-putt double bogey, and on his way to the second tee thought of the fa...

660-mile rescue flight highlights Alaska’s unique challenges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:23 GMT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Air National Guard this week traveled nearly 660 miles (1,062 kilometers) to rescue a pregnant woman on a small island 2 miles (3 kilometers) from Russia, reflecting the challenges patients face in the nation’s largest state where the most remote areas have no roads and hospitals can be hundreds of miles away.There was no air strip for a fixed-wing aircraft, so the crews flew a twin-engine combat search and rescue helicopter from the Anchorage area to the island in the Bering Strait. A long-range search and rescue aircraft guided the helicopter through mountain passes and refueled it in the air several times during the 5-hour flight.Russian aircraft routinely fly near the Bering Strait, but Alaska Air National Guard Maj. Sara Warren, who was the on-duty rescue officer, said they took every measure to avoid any conflict, including staying on the U.S. side of the international date line.“There was absolutely no activity from them,” she said of...