Author: Alanna Durkin Richer
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TV celebrities and coaches charged in college bribery scheme
BOSTON • Fifty people, including Hollywood stars Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, were charged Tuesday in a scheme in which wealthy parents allegedly bribed college coaches and other insiders to get their children into some of the nation’s most selective schools. Federal authorities called it the biggest college admissions scam ever prosecuted by the U.S.…
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Woman begins jail sentence for texting suicide conviction
TAUNTON, Mass. • A Massachusetts woman who sent her suicidal boyfriend a barrage of text messages urging him to kill himself was jailed Monday on an involuntary manslaughter conviction nearly five years after he died in a truck filled with toxic gas. Michelle Carter was sentenced to 15 months in jail in 2017 for her…
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Official: Mafia hit man suspected in Whitey Bulger’s slaying
BOSTON • A Mafia hit man who is said to hate “rats” is under suspicion in the slaying of former Boston crime boss and longtime FBI informant James “Whitey” Bulger, who was found dead hours after he was transferred to a West Virginia prison, an ex-investigator briefed on the case said Wednesday. The former official…
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Assault weapons ban doesn’t violate 2nd Amendment, judge says
BOSTON — Assault weapons and large-capacity magazines are not protected by the Second Amendment, a federal judge said in a ruling Friday upholding Massachusetts’ ban on the weapons. U.S. District Judge William Young dismissed a lawsuit challenging the 20-year-old ban, saying assault weapons are military firearms that fall beyond the reach of the constitutional right…
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Blizzard warnings up for 3rd nor’easter hitting Northeast
BOSTON — A nor’easter that could bring blizzard conditions and nearly 2 feet of snow to some areas of New England quickly intensified Tuesday morning, covering highways with snow and knocking out power to tens of thousands. The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for the entire coast of Maine, New Hampshire and most…
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Man gets 28 years in plot to behead blogger
BOSTON — A man convicted of leading an Islamic State-inspired plot to behead a conservative blogger who upset Muslims when she organized a Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest was sentenced Tuesday to 28 years in prison. David Wright, who’s 28 years old, was sentenced by a judge in Boston’s federal courthouse two months after jurors found…
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Latest JFK files say no evidence found of CIA link to Oswald
WASHINGTON — Newly released government documents regarding John F. Kennedy’s assassination say allegations that Lee Harvey Oswald was connected to the CIA were “totally unfounded.” A 1975 CIA memo says a thorough search of agency records in and outside the United States was conducted to determine whether Oswald had been used by the agency or…
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JFK assassination papers set to be released Oct. 26. Will Trump intervene?
BOSTON — The anticipated release of thousands of never-seen government documents related to President John F. Kennedy’s assassination has scholars and armchair detectives buzzing. Now, they’re waiting to see whether President Donald Trump will block the release of files that could shed light on a tragedy that has stirred conspiracy theories for decades. The National…
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Appeals court: Board’s prayer practice is unconstitutional
RICHMOND, Va. — A federal appeals court says a North Carolina county commission’s practice of opening meetings with Christian prayers and inviting audience members to join is unconstitutional. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday upheld a lower court decision that said the prayers violated the Constitution’s ban on mixing church and state.…