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Former prosecutor Gary Zerola found not guilty of rape charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:01:51 GMT

Gary Zerola, a former state prosecutor, was found not guilty of rape charges Friday, and the jury returned a quick verdict after hearing the accusations alleging that Zerola attacked a woman in 2016.Zerola, 51, was previously acquitted in a separate sexual assault allegations in 2008 and is also accused of raping a woman in 2021.After the trial, Zerola thanked the jury and his lawyers.“I’m just thankful the jury kept an open mind, listened to all the facts,” he said. “They’re the best lawyers in the United States of America because they believed in me from day one and never once doubted my innocence.”The Suffolk County DA also released a statement, which included thanking the survivor who came forward.“We are not afraid to prosecute the toughest cases and we always respect the jury’s verdict,  no matter how disappointing,” the office’s Chief of Communication James Borghesani released in a statement. “There is still a pending 2021 case against this defendant with similar allegat...

Pickleball players take part in fundraising tournament in South Boston for Franciscan Children’s Hospital

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:01:51 GMT

Some friendly competition took place in South Boston Thursday as pickleball players took part in a fundraising tournament to raise money for a local children’s hospital. The event took place at PKL, with all proceeds benefiting the work of Franciscan Children’s Hospital.“We’re here to celebrate the mission of Franciscan Children’s,” said Franciscan Children’s President and CEO Joseph Mitchell.The event was inspired by the Boston Wiffle Ball Challenge, which supported the hospital and the Travis Roy foundation for more than a decade. Roy was a Boston University hockey player who became an advocate for spinal cord injury survivors after he was paralyzed during his first college game in 1995. After his passing and 2020 and the closing of his foundation, organizers this week said the pickleball fundraiser is a new way to honor Roy’s work while helping patients at Franciscan Children’s. The father of one patient said his son helped out with the...

Former VP Mike Pence reacts to Trump indictment during campaign stops in NH

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:01:51 GMT

Former Vice President Mike Pence was in New Hampshire Friday where he shared his reaction in the immediate aftermath of a federal indictment against former President Donald Trump. Less than 24 hours after Trump said he had been indicted and on the same day that the indictment was unsealed, Pence expressed deep skepticism of the Special Prosecutor Jack Smith’s move to bring the federal charges against a former president for the first time. He called the day a “sad day in America.” “Well, look, no one knows the facts,” he separately said when asked if he believes the indictment is political.“It’s not just a sad day, it’s a troubling day for millions of Americans,” Pence said. “And it invites a divisiveness in this country that can only be answered with facts.” Pence made multiple campaign stops in New Hampshire on Friday in his first visit to the state since he launched his own presidential campaign on Wednesday. In comments, he went on to say no one is above ...

Donald Trump stored, showed off and refused to return classified documents, indictment says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:01:51 GMT

By ERIC TUCKER, JILL COLVIN, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and LINDSAY WHITEHURST (Associated Press)MIAMI (AP) — Donald Trump improperly stored in his Florida estate sensitive documents on nuclear capabilities, repeatedly enlisted aides and lawyers to help him hide records demanded by investigators and cavalierly showed off a Pentagon “plan of attack” and classified map, according to a sweeping felony indictment that paints a damning portrait of the former president’s treatment of national security information.The conduct alleged in the historic indictment — the first federal case against a former president — cuts to the heart of any president’s responsibility to safeguard the government’s most valuable secrets. Prosecutors say the documents he stowed, refused to return and in some cases showed to visitors risked jeopardizing not only relations with foreign nations but also the safety of troops and confidential sources.“Our laws that prot...

Red Sox notebook: Troubling Chris Sale update headlines slew of roster moves

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:01:51 GMT

NEW YORK — Before kicking off their first Rivalry series of the season on Friday night, the Red Sox announced a slew of roster moves.Throughout the week, Adam Duvall’s return from the injured list was the eagerly-anticipated update; the veteran outfielder was off to a scorching start to the season before fracturing his wrist in mid-April.But while Duvall has, indeed, been reinstated and is in the lineup for Friday night, the announcement included much bigger, bad news: Chris Sale has been transferred from the 15-day to 60-day injured list.The 34-year-old southpaw last pitched on June 1. After looking dominant in the early frames, his velocity and command took a sharp turn. When Alex Cora came out to the mound to take him out after 3 ⅔ innings, it was clear something was wrong.Sale’s diagnosis was left-shoulder inflammation. The latest from the team is that imaging indicated a stress reaction in his scapula (shoulder blade bone). While the injury doesn’t currently r...

Mets place Pete Alonso on injured list after new tests reveal bone bruise, sprain of left wrist

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:01:51 GMT

PITTSBURGH — The freefalling Mets are facing the possibility of being without their best hitter for 3-4 weeks. The extra imaging on Pete Alonso’s left wrist showed a bone bruise and a sprain, forcing the club to place him on the injured list Friday.It’s a huge blow for a team that has lost six straight and done so in brutal fashion. Alonso leads the Mets and MLB with 22 home runs and the lineup is lacking in power outside of Alonso, Francisco Alvarez and Francisco Lindor.The first baseman was hit on the left wrist with a 97 mph fastball from Atlanta Braves’ right-gander Charlie Morton on Saturday night at Truist Park. The injury came in the first inning and X-rays came back negative, but the club still felt it best to send him to New York to undergo more imaging and get examined by team doctors.The Mets called up infielder Luis Guillorme from Triple-A Syracuse to take his spot on the roster. The club also made a move to get a fresh arm in the bullpen, designa...

Celtics’ Grant Williams has successful hand surgery, expected to make full recovery before training camp

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:01:51 GMT

Celtics forward Grant Williams had successful surgery on his left hand on Friday, the team announced.Williams’ surgery repaired a tear of the radial collateral ligament of the third metacarpo-phalangeal joint on his left hand. The Celtics said the forward is expected to make a full return to basketball activities in 6-8 weeks, which would put him in line to return in late July or early August. He’ll make a full recovery before training camp begins in late September.According to a report Friday from ESPN, Williams suffered the injury in March and played through it as the Celtics advanced to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.Williams, who also suffered an elbow injury at one point this season, had an underwhelming fourth season despite finishing with career bests of 8.1 points and 4.6 rebounds in 25.9 minutes per game, as he fell out of Joe Mazzulla’s rotation during the second half of the season. His playing time was uncertain throughout the Celtics’ playoff run, but he pushed ...

Revolution look to end winless streak against Inter Miami

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:01:51 GMT

The New England Revolution will look to end their five-game winless streak against the team that started the slide.The Revolution haven’t won since beating Toronto FC on the road on May 3. The current winless streak that cost them first place in the MLS Eastern Conference began with a 2-1 setback at Inter-Miami on May 13 and was followed with a blowout 3-0 loss at Philadelphia.The Revolution have recorded three straight draws over a stretch of three games in eight days that ended with a scoreless tie against New York City FC at Yankee Stadium on June 3.“Hopefully we will be a little bit more rested,” said Revolution head coach Bruce Arena. “Last week was a difficult week and hopefully we will have advantage playing at home.“There’s probably only a couple of teams that have only lost three games, so it’s not the end of the world. Getting points on the road at Atlanta and New York is not bad.”The fourth-place Revolution (7-3-6) begin a three-game homestand on Saturday night (7:30) aga...

Key moments in Trump indictment: Showing off classified material, storing documents in a bathroom

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:01:51 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department detailed stunning allegations against former President Donald Trump in a criminal indictment unsealed Friday, including allegations he stored classified documents in a bathroom and shower at his Florida club, flaunted the documents to people without security clearances and at times tried to conceal material from his own lawyers as well as investigators. In the indictment, prosecutors spell out the types of classified material the Republican presidential candidate is accused of keeping at his Florida beach club after he left office in 2021, along with where he is said to have kept them and what he did with them. A look at key moments as described in the indictment:FLAUNTING DOCUMENTSIn July 2021 at Trump’s Bedminster, New Jersey, golf course, the former president showed a writer, a publisher and two of his staff members — none of whom had a security clearance — a “plan of attack” that had been prepared by the Defense Department and a sen...

Texas court dismisses GOP donor’s defamation lawsuit against Beto O’Rourke

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:01:51 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas appeals court on Friday dismissed a billionaire’s defamation lawsuit against Democrat Beto O’Rouke that was brought after O’Rourke criticized a $1 million campaign contribution to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. The ruling by the Third Court of Appeals in Austin comes more than a year after O’Rourke repeatedly made critical remarks about the donation during a failed run for governor, at one point saying that it “looks like a bribe to me.” The contribution came from Kelcy Warren, chairman of pipeline company Energy Transfer, which reported about $2.4 billion in earnings related to the catastrophic February 2021 winter storm that sent natural gas prices soaring in Texas. Warren, a major Republican donor, accused O’Rourke of trying to humiliate him and discourage other Abbott supporters from making campaign donations. In the court’s opinion, Chief Justice Darlene Byrne wrote that a reasonable person would view O’Rourke...