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Being high on crack not grounds for new trial after Peabody double-murder: SJC

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:34 GMT

Being high on crack when he blasted a man in the face with a shotgun and stabbed a woman more than 20 times is not an acceptable excuse for a new trial, the state’s highest court ruled.“The jury convicted the defendant of murder in the first degree on the theory of premeditation as to both victims, and on the theory of extreme atrocity or cruelty,” SJC Associate Justice Dalila Argaez Wendlandt wrote in the ruling released Tuesday.The state Supreme Judicial Court ruled that Wes Doughty’s guilty verdict for the 2017 murder of Mark Greenlaw and Jennifer O’Connor inside a Peabody home used as a crack cocaine distribution hub stands.“We affirm the convictions and discern no reason to grant relief,” the SJC wrote.Doughty, Wendlandt stated, was a daily visitor to the house to both smoke cocaine and also take part in caring for the home’s disabled proprietor, David Moise, who required assistance both “eating and toileting.” Doughty was so close, she added, that he was known to c...

Cambridge to provide $500 cash payments to families facing poverty for 18 months

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:34 GMT

Thousands of Cambridge residents living at or below the poverty line will start receiving $500 in monthly payments this summer in an initiative that city officials say will help families build financial security.The program, dubbed ‘Rise Up Cambridge,’ is a vow that Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui made during a State of the City address last year, expanding on a pilot program that provided $500 in direct cash payments to 130 families for 18 months.“This program is meant to give families the stability they need and the opportunity to succeed, and most of all, give them hope for the future,” Siddiqui said during a news conference Tuesday. “We want Cambridge to be a city where all families feel supported, seen and trusted to make the best decisions for their kids.”City officials are investing $22 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds into the expanded initiative, which is expected to reach 2,000 families living at or below 250% of the federal poverty line.The only other qualification...

Sixers star Joel Embiid wins 2023 NBA MVP Award

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:34 GMT

Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid was announced as the winner of the 2023 MVP Award. The superstar beat out Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, achieving the first MVP award of his career.Embiid finished second for the honor last season, behind Jokic, who previously was the reigning two-time winner for the award. The former Jayhawks’ win marks the third straight year a center won the MVP award.The 29-year-old wrapped up his best season of his career, averaging 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. Embiid led the league in scoring and ranked seventh overall in rebounds per game. His 33.1 points per game and 54.8% shooting from the field were career-highs for the star. ()

New month, new look: Tim Anderson returning and Oscar Colás getting sent down are among 11 Chicago White Sox roster moves

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:34 GMT

The Chicago White Sox lineup took a step closer to full strength Tuesday with All-Star shortstop Tim Anderson back in the leadoff spot after returning from the injured list.That was one of 11 roster moves — including optioning rookie right fielder Oscar Colás to Triple-A Charlotte — as the Sox began the new month with a bit of a new look after going 8-21 in April.Anderson was slashing .298/.327/.404 with five doubles, four RBIs, five stolen bases and nine runs in 11 games when he sprained his left knee April 10 in Minnesota. The Sox placed him on the IL the next day.“I’m here and I’m ready to hopefully bring some positive energy back and continue to keep pushing,” Anderson said before Tuesday’s series opener against the Twins at Guaranteed Rate Field. “Definitely was doing everything I could to stay healthy. It was just one of those incidents. A guy ran into me.“Now, continue to keep pushing and continue to keep trying to st...

Bruins notebook: Linus Ullmark believes he was hurt, not injured

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:34 GMT

Linus Ullmark did not detail what his physical malady was in the playoffs, but maintained that the medical staff helped to make him ready to play from Games 1-6 against the Florida Panthers.But the likely Vezina Trophy winner knows what he was able to give his team in the post-season was not good enough.In typical Ullmark fashion, he was philosophical about the whole experience, and intentionally vague.“You know what, here’s the deal, we all go through things in life. We all go through things come playoff time. We all battle our different things, whether it’s mentally or it’s physically,” said Ullmark on Bruins’ breakup day at Warrior Ice Arena on Tuesday. “We all have our stuff. We all want to help the team out to the best of our capabilities. Yeah, it’s pretty evident that I didn’t play the way that I wanted to. I wasn’t as good as I wanted to be, and unfortunately at the worst time possible. That’s something I have to live with and ...

The Knicks-Heat rivalry produced enemies for life

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:34 GMT

The old Heat-Knicks rivalry, forged by Pat Riley’s betrayal, PJ Brown’s body slam and Jeff Van Gundy hanging on for dear life, can be best explained by Chris Childs, among the linchpins of those series in the 1990s.“I don’t think the current players truly understand the hatred,” Childs told the Daily News. “The fans need to speak up and talk about that. Because only the ex-players and the fans understand that we did not like each other. We didn’t go out to dinner. The only friends were Patrick [Ewing] and Alonzo [Mourning]. We didn’t shake hands before the game. We didn’t do none of that. Because we wanted to beat each other’s brains out.”Childs held particular disdain for former Heat point guard Tim Hardaway. That hasn’t changed.“I dislike him,” Childs said. “Still do.”The issue with Hardaway was two-fold, Childs explained. There were some fouls that breached protocol — “any ...

Karen Read case: Prosecutors say defense theories in John O’Keefe’s death a ‘fanciful’ ‘conspiracy’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:34 GMT

Prosecutors in the case of Karen Read, accused of running over her boyfriend with her SUV in Canton last year, call recently filed defense documents implicating others a “fanciful” “conspiracy” ahead of the next hearing.Read, 43, of Mansfield, is charged in Norfolk Superior Court with second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter while under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of a collision causing death in the Jan. 29, 2022, killing of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, 46, of Canton.Her defense attorneys filed motions they say “must reverse the trajectory of this case.” They requested cell phone data from the host of the party and a smaller motion last week seeking more physical evidence.The filings contained bombshell allegations that two others at the party in Canton where O’Keefe’s body was found the next morning conspired in the O’Keefe’s death: homeowner Brian Albert, a fellow member of the Boston Police; and Albert’s sis...

Judge rejects Zooey Zephyr bid to return to Montana House

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:34 GMT

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Rep. Zooey Zephyr, the transgender Montana lawmaker silenced after telling Republicans they would have blood on their hands for opposing gender-affirming health care for kids, was barred from returning to the statehouse House floor in a Tuesday court ruling that came just hours before the Legislature planned to wrap up its biennial session.District Court Judge Mike Menahan said it was outside his authority to overrule lawmakers and return Zephyr to the House floor. He cited the importance of preserving the Constitution’s separation of powers between the legislative, executive and judicial branches.“Plaintiffs’ requested relief would require this Court to interfere with legislative authority in a manner that exceeds this Court’s authority,” Menahan wrote in his ruling.Attorneys for the state of Montana had asked the judge to reject an emergency motion from Zephyr’s lawyers challenging her ouster. The first-term lawmaker was silenced two weeks ago for admonishing ...

NBA MVP: 76ers’ Embiid wins league’s top individual honor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:34 GMT

Philadelphia 76ers center and league scoring champion Joel Embiid earned his first NBA MVP trophy Tuesday night, topping two-time winner Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.The 29-year-old from Yaoundé, Cameroon, averaged 33.1 points to win his second straight scoring title, averaged 10.2 rebounds and tied a career high with 4.2 assists per game. Embiid played in 66 games, the second-highest total of his career, but again has been hit with injuries in the playoffs. Embiid has been sidelined with a sprained right knee that cost him one game of the playoff sweep against Brooklyn and the opening game of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Boston, which was won by Philadelphia on Monday night.Jokic finished runner-up and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks was third. Embiid received 73 first-place votes. Jokic received 15 first-place votes, and Antetokounmpo got 12.“It’s been a long time coming,” Embiid said. “A lot of hard work. I’ve been through a lot. I̵...

Myles Gray’s mother says conclusion of B.C. coroner’s inquest marks end of chapter

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:34 GMT

Margie Gray says the end of a coroner’s inquest into the death of her son has shown the public what she has known all along; that Vancouver police officers beat her son to death when he was vulnerable and needed help.Gray said the classification of her son Myles Gray’s death as homicide by the inquest jury brought her some relief, nearly eight years after he died.“People know the truth and that to me is a huge, huge piece,” she said in an interview on Tuesday from her home on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast.The coroner presiding over the two-week inquest, Larry Marzinzik, had advised the jury before deliberation began that homicide meant death due to injury intentionally inflicted by another person, but it’s a neutral term that doesn’t imply fault or blame.“We all know that’s what it was,” Gray said of the classification. “That came right from (the pathologist).”Dr. Matthew Orde, the forensic pathologist who p...