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Jury foreperson speaks out after mistrial declared in trial of man accused of killing Weymouth police officer, bystander

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:06 GMT

The foreperson of a hung jury is now speaking out after a judge declared a mistrial in the case of a man accused of killing two people, including a Weymouth police officer, in 2018.The deadlocked jury informed the Dedham judge on Monday that they could not come to a decision in the case, in which Emmanuel Lopes faced several charges related to the deaths of Sgt. Michael Chesna and another victim, 77-year-old Vera Adams.Lopes, prosecutors said, allegedly murdered Chesna before turning a gun on Adams.“I didn’t have nightmares about it, but I did lose sleep,” said jury Foreperson Cindy Lavoie.Lavoie, who is about to turn 60, runs the Southwick Zoo in Mendon along with her mother and her siblings. She said, when the jury first got the case, they were about evenly split. Within a couple of days, though, Lavoie said all jurors except one agreed on a guilty verdict for the 25-year-old Lopes. The lone holdout would not be swayed. She agreed with the defense theory that Lopes was h...

Hostage freed after hourslong standoff at Las Vegas Strip resort room, police say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:06 GMT

By KEN RITTER and BEATRICE DUPUY (Associated Press)LAS VEGAS (AP) — A man was arrested and a woman described as his hostage was released unharmed Tuesday after an hourslong standoff in a room at the Caesars Palace resort on the Las Vegas Strip, police said.No injuries were reported and police did not immediately say if the man in custody had been armed in a high-rise tower of the iconic Las Vegas Boulevard property. Furniture, cushions and other objects fell from a 21st floor window, frightening guests in a swimming pool area below.“The suspect has been taken into custody. The female is currently with officers,” the department said in messages posted mid-afternoon Tuesday. Officer Aden OcampoGomez said the woman did not appear to be injured.Las Vegas police Capt. Stephen Connell said the standoff began about 9:15 a.m. with a report from hotel security that a man and woman were arguing and that the man pulled the woman into a room “by force.”Police SWAT ...

Mayor Wu: Boston City Council tainted by Arroyo, Lara indiscretions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:06 GMT

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said the charges leveled against City Councilors Ricardo Arroyo and Kendra Lara have hurt the Council’s credibility, but stopped short of calling for their resignation.Wu said she plans to leave their fate to the voters, who will go to the polls Sept. 12 for the city’s preliminary election.“All of us are on the ballot,” Wu said Tuesday on GBH’s Boston Public Radio. “That is the highest form of accountability for all elected officials.”Arroyo, who represents District 5, is facing three challengers. Lara, who represents District 6, has two opponents. The preliminary will determine which two candidates from each race will move onto the general election in November.Wu was responding to questions about whether offenses committed by Arroyo and Lara would taint the credibility of any vote taken by the City Council on a new police contract, which is currently in arbitration after the city and its largest police union reached an impasse in negotiations.“To be honest,...

Humans’ impact on the earth began a new epoch in the 1950s called the Anthropocene, scientists say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:06 GMT

By SETH BORENSTEIN (AP Science Writer)From climate change to species loss and pollution, humans have etched their impact on the Earth with such strength and permanence since the middle of the 20th century that a special team of scientists says a new geologic epoch began then.Called the Anthropocene — and derived from the Greek terms for “human” and “new” — this epoch started sometime between 1950 and 1954, according to the scientists. While there is evidence worldwide that captures the impact of burning fossil fuels, detonating nuclear weapons and dumping fertilizers and plastics on land and in waterways, the scientists are proposing a small but deep lake outside of Toronto, Canada — Crawford Lake — to place a historic marker.“It’s quite clear that the scale of change has intensified unbelievably and that has to be human impact,” said University of Leicester geologist Colin Waters, who chaired the Anthropocene Working...

Revolution All-Star midfielder Carles Gil excited to face Atlanta United

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:06 GMT

FOXBORO – New England Revolution midfielder Carles Gil returned to the practice pitch Monday after an eventful weekend.Last Friday Gil was added to the 2023 MLS All-Star Team that will engage Arsenal FC of the English Premier League on July 19 at Audi Field in Washington D.C. Gil is the fourth Revolution player to be selected to three straight All-Star rosters and joins keeper Djordje Petrovic on the 2023 squad.“I think everybody wants to be there because that means you are doing good things,” said Gil. “To play with good players in the league, play against Arsenal, I think it will be fun.”That uplifting news was followed by a downer on Saturday. Gil was suspended one game for yellow card accumulation and missed the Revolution’s controversial 2-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls at Red Bulls Arena in Harrison, N.J. The setback snapped the Revs’ seven-game unbeaten streak.“It’s hard, obviously, when you’re playing all the games and then miss a game,” said Gil. “The way that happened wa...

Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten released from prison a half-century after grisly killings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:06 GMT

By CHRISTOPHER WEBER (Associated Press)LOS ANGELES (AP) — Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten, a former homecoming princess who at 19 helped carry out the shocking killings of a wealthy Los Angeles couple at the direction of the violent and manipulative cult leader, walked out of a California prison Tuesday after serving more than 50 years of a life sentence. Van Houten, now 73 years old, “was released to parole supervision,” the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement. She left the California Institution for Women in Corona, east of Los Angeles, in the early morning hours and was driven to transitional housing, her attorney Nancy Tetreault said.“She’s still trying to get used to the idea that this real,” Tetreault told The Associated Press.Days earlier Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he would not fight a state appeals court ruling that Van Houten should be granted parole. He said it was unlikely the state Sup...

Amazon union is sued by organizers and former leaders seeking a new election for union officers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:06 GMT

By HALELUYA HADERO (Associated Press)New York (AP) — A group including former leaders of the fledgling union that organized an Amazon warehouse in New York is suing the union, accusing it of violating its own constitution and asking the court to force an election for union officers. The complaint, filed Monday in U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of New York, comes as the upstart Amazon Labor Union – the only certified group representing Amazon workers – struggles to recapture the momentum that led to its surprise victory last year following a series of setbacks. Since that win, the group has lost union elections at two other Amazon facilities and abandoned efforts at a third warehouse in California. Some prominent members have resigned quietly or left in protest over internal strife and disagreements. Media reports have also recounted a physical fight between union president Chris Smalls and a former member of the group. Another prominent leader, Derrick...

A book about Cape Cod sharks and Greg Skomal’s career tracking them is now out

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:06 GMT

The region’s top expert on great white sharks takes a deep dive into the apex predators returning to Cape Cod and New England beaches — and his career tracking them — in a new book released on Tuesday.“Chasing Shadows” by shark researcher Greg Skomal, written with science author Ret Talbot, is the story of Skomal’s life tracking and tagging white sharks. The book explores the species’ resurgence along the Cape and the fascinating conservation success story.After great whites disappeared from the Cape decades ago because of the decimated seal population, the federal government put in protections that led to an explosion of seals. As a result, the sharks started to return to hunt seals.Skomal told the Herald that his first “wake-up call” to the fact that great white sharks were coming back to New England and spending time close to shore was in 2004 when a female shark named “Gretel” was trapped in a lagoon across from M...

French kiss off: Ticketmaster halts Taylor Swift ticket sales in France 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:06 GMT

NEW YORK — The trouble between Ticketmaster and Taylor Swift’s”Eras” tour isn’t over — with the latest snafu impacting fans hoping to score tickets in France.On Tuesday, after some fans reported issues with accessing Ticketmaster’s site, sales for six of Swift’s upcoming shows in Paris and Lyon were abruptly postponed. An explanation wasn’t immediately clear, but in posts on Ticketmaster’s French Twitter several hours after the pause began, the ticket seller cited a problem with a third-party provider.Ticketmaster directed The Associated Press to the Twitter statement. In the posts, Ticketmaster maintained that tickets to the France shows are still available and that the provider was “working to resolve this matter as soon as possible.”The company added that any codes that were not used for ticket purchases on Tuesday will remain valid — and that impacted fans “will be notified directly of the new on-sale date and tim...

‘Patchwork’ of parking rules makes it tough to park in Boston, councilor says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:06 GMT

A mixed bag of parking regulations in Boston and staffing shortages in the city’s parking enforcement division have created exasperating experiences for residents who need to leave their cars on city streets, city councilors said.Frustrations aired at a City Council meeting on digitizing parking rules come as a top Boston transportation official said the Wu administration plans to issue new draft regulations for the city’s transportation department within the year, is in the process of auditing thousands of residential parking permits, and hopes to create a digital map of parking signs by next June.East Boston City Councilor Gabriela Coletta said East Boston, Charlestown, and the North End are extremely dense and experiencing “exponential growth.” That leads to tough parking situations for many residents, she said.“I know this is something that is felt across Boston,” Coletta said. “Anecdotally, on-street parking regulations in my district are almost like an ad hoc patchwork of regu...