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Prosecutors may be aiming for quick Trump trial by not naming alleged conspirators, experts say

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:57:13 GMT

By RICHARD LARDNER and ALAN SUDERMAN (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — By not naming or charging six alleged co-conspirators in the indictment this week of former President Donald Trump, federal prosecutors may be signaling their desire to expeditiously put the Republican presidential front-runner on trial for seeking to overturn the 2020 election.More defendants mean more defense lawyers, and more legal motions and more delays, according to legal scholars and former prosecutors. Such a large cast of defendants would make it extremely difficult for Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith to get Trump in front of a jury before the final stretch in the 2024 campaign, the experts said.“This keeps it pretty streamlined,” said Christopher Ott, a former federal prosecutor. “All of those motions by defendants affect all of the defendants, including Trump. It would slow things down. If you don’t name and charge them, you don’t have that trouble.&#...

‘I just want to be part of it.’ Over 550 people show up for 160 positions during Orioles’ job fair.

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:57:13 GMT

The job application bluntly said employees might need to “stand in a small area for 4-6 hours,” repeatedly climb stairs, or work “in all types of weather including heat, cold, rain” for extended periods.No matter. In this memorable Orioles season, more than 550 people heeded the Birds’ call and lined up at a Camden Yards job fair on Tuesday to become ticket takers, ushers and greeters.While some industries have struggled with labor shortages in the post-pandemic economy, the Orioles quickly knew they had the easiest of sells in a season that has defied lofty expectations and has fans dreaming of a lengthy postseason run.The Orioles, currently in first place in the American League East and eyeing the playoffs, invited people last month on social media to “come join us and be a part of the team” by attending an event during which applicants sat at tables near an upper concourse and filled out employment applications.The team, which normally at...

Massachusetts attorney general has still not released report on clergy sex abuse: ‘It’s really concerning’

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:57:13 GMT

A year after the Massachusetts attorney general’s office told advocates that a report on clergy sex abuse was nearly complete, the investigation has still not been published as activists push for the “disappearing report” to come to light.The advocates have been in the dark since last August, when then-AG Maura Healey’s office reportedly promised that the investigation into the Worcester, Springfield and Fall River dioceses had wrapped up — and that the report was about to cross the goal line.But Healey’s office never released the report before she became governor, and new AG Andrea Campbell’s office has not published the report.“It’s become this kind of disappearing report,” Terry McKiernan, president of Bishop Accountability, recently told the Herald.“These reports are incredibly important and validating for survivors,” he later added. “And when you sit down with survivors to talk about these terrible th...

Yankees Notebook: Domingo Germán out of rotation after agreeing to receive inpatient treatment for alcohol abuse

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:57:13 GMT

Shortly before the Yankees’ series finale against the Rays on Wednesday, pitchers weren’t quite sure what the rest of their weeks look like.Moments after manager Aaron Boone spoke to media, the team announced that Domingo Germán agreed to voluntarily submit to inpatient treatment for alcohol abuse. Germán, who would’ve been an option to take the mound in the upcoming series against the Astros, will now be placed on the restricted list for the time that he is away from the club.“It is critical that Domingo completely focuses on addressing his health and well-being. We will respect his privacy as he begins this process,” the Yankees wrote in a statement.When speaking to the media before the team announced news on Germán, Boone said “there’s a lot of things going on right now” with the pitching staff, though he didn’t specify. It’s now clear what the manager may have been alluding to.Luis Severino — fresh ...

Patriots training camp Day 8: Mac Jones shines again in Bill O’Brien’s offense, Marte Mapu flashes

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:57:13 GMT

FOXBORO — The Patriots’ best offensive training camp practice in almost two years was a big day built on small moments.Mac Jones hitting four different receivers in rhythm to open team drills. Bailey Zappe completing the longest pass of the summer. Overmatched, backup offensive linemen powering through difficult assignments, and through it all helping restoring a pulse to the Patriots’ once lifeless offense.But one play, which set off an extended end-zone celebration replete with dancing and shouting and more dancing, captured how lively the unit has become under Bill O’Brien.Dropped at the 5-yard line on his final snap of an 11-on-11 period, Jones studied the Patriots’ proud, prowling defense opposite him and called a new play. He gestured to JuJu Smith-Schuster split out wide right, flipped running back Kevin Harris from his left hip onto his right in a shotgun formation and looked left at Kendrick Bourne. Jones barked for the snap.He took a one-step drop a...

Rideshare drivers again battle over their positions, push for ballot question

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:57:13 GMT

For the second election cycle in a row some Massachusetts rideshare drivers are working to have the voters decide whether they can be legally classified as independent contractors or employees.Before Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell sit no less than nine versions of an initiative petition submitted by the group Flexibility and Benefits for Massachusetts Drivers, all of which advocates say aim to keep drivers independent and any one of which should meet the state’s legal requirements to be placed before voters on their 2024 ballots.“There are thousands of us, ten thousands of us, who just want to be able to keep our flexibility and independence while getting benefits that fit the way we work,” rideshare driver Charles Clemons Muhammad said. “We all know that, no matter what our opponents say, there is no way to get that kind of flexibility while being an employee. We know because we’ve been employees — many of us still are at other jobs. This ballot question will protect ou...

Red Sox crumble late, finish road trip with 6-3 loss to Mariners

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:57:13 GMT

This past week’s west coast swing didn’t get off to a good start, but for most of Wednesday it looked like the Red Sox were going to finish the trip on a high note.Then the bullpen ran out of steam and the club seemingly embraced all its bad habits at the worst possible time.The Red Sox came unglued in the late innings, allowing six unanswered runs from the sixth inning onwards to lose 6-3 to the Seattle Mariners. John Schreiber allowed four runs over an inning-plus of work, and a pair of defensive breakdowns helped the Mariners put the game away with a four-run bottom of the seventh.Boston finishes its road trip 2-4 and will now limp back to Boston to regroup ahead of a critical 10-game homestand set to begin Friday.Things started off as well as Boston could have hoped for. Jarren Duran put the Red Sox ahead with a two-run home run in the top of the third inning, and Masataka Yoshida added an RBI double in the fifth to make it 3-0.Kutter Crawford, meanwhile, enjoyed ano...

AG’s Office gets 42 initiative petitions filed by deadline – here is what’s proposed

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:57:13 GMT

The state Attorney General’s Office says that 18 groups have submitted 42 different initiative petitions for a proposed new law or constitutional amendment by this year’s deadline.The following petitions submissions were made in 2022 and were already certified by the Attorney General’s office as constitutionally compliant:Three versions of a law relative to the gas taxA law relative to zero-emission vehicles and zero-emission homeA law relative to non-ionizing radiation limitsA constitutional amendment for privacyThe following submissions, presented mostly as titled by petitioners, will be reviewed by Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and her staff for compliance with state law:A law to remove MCAS performance as a condition for High School graduationTwo further submissions for a law relative to the gas taxAn act to establish a non-partisan top five election systemAn act expanding opportunities for voter registrationA act prohibiting political spending by foreign-influenced entit...

Healey’s ‘Climate Czar’ broke ethics rules in leaving EPA, watchdog group alleges

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:57:13 GMT

The Healey Administration’s climate chief violated ethics rules at the EPA after she began the process of seeking a job with the state, according to an ethics complaint filed by a government watchdog group.In a letter dated Aug. 1 and sent to Environmental Protection Agency Inspector General Sean O’Donnell, a group called Protect the Public’s Trust said their investigation into the circumstances surrounding the departure of Melissa Hoffer from her position as EPA Principal Deputy General Counsel revealed the Bay State’s Climate Chief failed to follow the agency’s ethics rules for seeking work outside of the federal government.“Ms. Hoffer served as one the highest-ranking lawyers at EPA, yet she apparently failed to comply with routine ethics obligations when seeking employment with a non-federal entity. While certainly not the first instance PPT has identified at the EPA, the apparent ‘look-the-other-way’ approach to ethics violations under the current administrati...

Graves Light not in the town of Hull, judge rules, settling long-running land dispute

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:57:13 GMT

A decade after the sale of the long-abandoned Graves Light, a judge ruled it is not in — or subject to taxes from — the town of Hull.“It was basically a history lesson going back into the 1600s, with really old parchments and maps and things like that,” said Dave Waller, co-owner of Graves Light, also known as Graves Ledge. “(Judge Diane Rubin) walked through the evidence, and she really did make the right decision I think.”In a 50-page decision based on documents dating back to the 17th century and expert testimony, Judge Rubin said “Graves Ledge lies neither within the municipal land nor tide water boundaries of the Town of Hull.”The Land Court case kicked off in 2019, six years after Dave and Lynn Waller bought the lighthouse on the Boston Harbor ledge for a record-setting $933,888, when they received a tax bill for $3,461 from the town of Hull.The Wallers said previously the bill came as a surprise, since the deed said the property...