MassGOP leader: Trump indictment was ‘politically motivated’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:46:47 GMT

MassGOP leader: Trump indictment was ‘politically motivated’ MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale said the indictment of former President Donald Trump was “politically motivated,” and rather than hurt his campaign, will embolden him as he seeks the 2024 Republican nomination.Further, Carnevale said the charges against Trump, who was indicted by a Manhattan Grand Jury in the Stormy Daniels hush-money case, won’t change the minds of any Republican voters, as most already have a strong view about whether they support the former president or another candidate.“The charges stem back to what, at the time, was a misdemeanor offense for which the statute of limitations expired,” said Carnevale, who was a Trump delegate in 2016 and 2020. “So to have a DA in Manhattan kind of try to elevate these charges at this time seems politically motivated.“I’m hearing from a lot of grassroots Republicans that they want to rally around President Trump at this time. So, I think the effect of this prosecution and indictment is really going to have the unintended consequence ...

Mets Notes: Tylor Megill joins team in Miami after Justin Verlander’s injury

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:46:47 GMT

Mets Notes: Tylor Megill joins team in Miami after Justin Verlander’s injury MIAMI — Tylor Megill went from being the New York Mets’ Opening Day starter in 2022 to the Syracuse Mets’ Opening Day starter in 2023. Or so he thought, but things can change quickly in baseball and they sure did for the Mets this week.Triple-A Syracuse starts its season Friday night and Tony Dibrell is on the mound instead of Megill, who is in Miami with the Major League club. The Mets made the roster move official Friday placing right-hander Justin Verlander on the injured list with a low-grade teres major strain and recalled Megill.The right-hander will take Verlander’s Saturday start against the Miami Marlins and his start next week against the Marlins at the Citi Field opener.“A lot of emotions and whatnot, but things don’t change,” Megill said Friday at LoanDepot Park. “Come up here and compete. Do your best.”The Mets backdated the transaction to March 28, so Verlander would be in line to make his start the third time throu...

Red Sox notebook: Garrett Whitlock dominates in brief Triple-A Opening Day start

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:46:47 GMT

Red Sox notebook: Garrett Whitlock dominates in brief Triple-A Opening Day start WORCESTER –– It was Minor League Opening Day in Worcester on Friday afternoon, but the Triple-A WooSox game was more major than minor.Six of the nine hitters in Friday’s lineup have already made their major league debuts: Jarren Duran, Bobby Dalbec, Jorge Alfaro, Daniel Palka, Niko Goodrum and Greg Allen.Palka and Allen each had two-hit games, and each contributed a home run; Allen’s fourth-inning grand slam opened the floodgates. By game’s end, the WooSox had beaten the Syracuse Mets, 11-2, despite both teams collecting 10 hits.Garrett Whitlock headlined the show.A Rule 5 steal from the Yankees, Whitlock went four innings, and allowed one run (earned) on six hits, walked one, and struck out six. His velocity sat in the mid- 90s, but dropped a few mph lower as the outing went on.He’d thrown 63 pitches over four innings in his last outing in Florida, so the Red Sox were hoping for five on Friday. Pitch count, 75 to be exact (50 for strikes), limited him to fou...

Jazz coach Will Hardy cherishes experience, friendships from lone season with Celtics

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:46:47 GMT

Jazz coach Will Hardy cherishes experience, friendships from lone season with Celtics Will Hardy only spent one season in Boston as the Celtics’ top assistant coach, but he admitted how unusual his return to TD Garden on Friday night was.It was only about nine months ago that Hardy – who’s now a first-time head coach with the Jazz – was in the trenches with the Celtics in their run to the NBA Finals. Now, for the second time in the matter of two weeks, he found himself coaching against them.“I far much enjoy playing in this building when you’re wearing a Celtics uniform than the other way around,” Hardy said prior to Friday’s matchup. “Tonight’s going to be weird.”And not only because of the setting. Hardy took away many things from his short stint in Boston. Among them were the long-lasting relationships he made inside the Celtics organization and the coaching staff, especially Joe Mazzulla. After sharing the same bench together last season, the two found themselves coaching against each other as the two youngest head coaches in the NBA.Hardy acknowledged ther...

30 riders rescued from SeaWorld rollercoaster: SDFD

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:46:47 GMT

30 riders rescued from SeaWorld rollercoaster: SDFD SAN DIEGO -- First responders on Friday rescued 30 people from a rollercoaster that stopped working at SeaWorld San Diego, fire officials said.The incident occurred in the 500 block of Sea World Drive, where crews removed the riders and were clearing the scene as of 5:05 p.m., San Diego Fire-Rescue Department tweeted. Multi-vehicle crash delays traffic on I-805 SDFD confirmed there were no injuries.Check back for updates on this developing story.

Mourners gather for 1st Nashville school shooting funeral

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:46:47 GMT

Mourners gather for 1st Nashville school shooting funeral NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Family and friends of Evelyn Dieckhaus, one of three children who were killed in a school shooting in Nashville this week, remembered her Friday as a “shining light” and said farewell to a girl who loved art, music, animals and snuggling with her older sister on the couch.The funeral at the Woodmont Christian Church in Nashville’s Green Hills neighborhood was closed to the media. Before the service, the church’s senior minister, the Rev. Clay Stauffer, echoed what Evelyn’s family has shared about her.“She was a shining light. She was radiant,” Stauffer told The Associated Press. “I think our challenge is to take her light and keep spreading it to a world that has so much darkness and pain.”Evelyn’s was the first funeral held for the victims of Monday’s mass shooting at The Covenant School, where authorities say a 28-year-old former student killed six people before being shot and killed by police. The church is a couple of miles from th...

3 face charges in death of Alaska man after Facebook post

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:46:47 GMT

3 face charges in death of Alaska man after Facebook post JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Two men and a teenager have been indicted on murder, manslaughter and burglary charges in the death of a southeast Alaska man who one of them said was attacked because of a social media post, according to court documents.Moses Blanchard, 22; Blaise Dilts, 21; and Gonzalo Sanchez, 17, were indicted by a grand jury in Ketchikan on Thursday, the Alaska Department of Law announced Friday. They face charges in the death last week of 80-year-old Lincoln Peratrovich, of Klawock. Sanchez is being charged as an adult, department spokesperson Patty Sullivan said.An attorney for Blanchard and Dilts did not return a message seeking comment Friday. The state’s online court records system did not show an attorney for Sanchez.The Department of Law, citing the investigation, said comments on a Facebook post about Peratrovich appeared to encourage violence against him. According to an affidavit from Adam Hawkins, an investigator with the Alaska Bureau of Investigation, Alaska S...

Mississippi closer to more state police in mostly Black city

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:46:47 GMT

Mississippi closer to more state police in mostly Black city JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Tensions erupted Friday as the majority-white and Republican-controlled Mississippi House passed the final version of a bill to expand the territory of a state-run police department inside the capital city of Jackson, which is majority-Black and governed by Democrats.Supporters say the proposal is intended to increase safety in the city of nearly 150,000 residents, which has had more than 100 homicides each of the past three years. Opponents say the plan, which also would create a new court with an appointed judge, would stomp on local governance and create unequal systems of justice. About 83% of Jackson residents are Black — the largest percentage of Black residents of any major U.S. city.Officers from the state-run Capitol Police have been patrolling around state government buildings in and near downtown, while the Jackson Police Department patrols the entire city. Critics say Capitol Police are aggressive and expanding the territory could endanger lives.Dur...

GLAAD Media Awards honor Bad Bunny, Christina Aguilera

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:46:47 GMT

GLAAD Media Awards honor Bad Bunny, Christina Aguilera BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — The 34th GLAAD Media Awards featured a surprise Jennifer Coolidge appearance, honors for Bad Bunny and Christina Aguilera and, of course, jokes about Donald Trump’s indictment — the news of which broke just hours before Thursday’s show.Coolidge was greeted with a standing ovation as she opened the show at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. The star of “The White Lotus” was later surprised herself when her “Best in Show” co-star Jane Lynch appeared onstage beside her. The GLAAD Media Awards show, intended to honor “fair, accurate and inclusive representation of LGBTQ individuals and issues,” will land on Hulu on April 12. The host, comedian Margaret Cho, cheered the former president’s indictment.“What a wonderful way to celebrate that,” Cho said on the red carpet before the event. “I think it’s just so incredible. I never thought I would see it happen. I’m so glad, too. And I can’t wait to see how it goes ...

Israeli police fatally shoot man at Jerusalem’s holy site

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:46:47 GMT

Israeli police fatally shoot man at Jerusalem’s holy site JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli police shot and killed a man who allegedly tried to steal an officer’s weapons at a flashpoint Jerusalem site late Friday, police said.The police said the slain man was 26 years old and from an Arab village in southern Israel. Authorities said the incident in Jerusalem’s Old City happened when officers stopped the man for questioning outside Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which is the third holiest shrine in Islam.Footage shared widely on social media showed Israeli police deploying heavily in the alleys and gates leading to the compound after the shooting. Scuffles broke out between police and Palestinian vendors and worshipers who spend the night praying at the mosque during the holy month of Ramadan.More than 200,000 Palestinians had gathered earlier for Friday’s noon prayers at the compound and the ceremony ended without the usual frictions with Israeli police.The hilltop compound is revered also by Jews as the Temple Mount, and incidents in previo...