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Toxic mix: South Boston death was caused by cocaine and meth, medical examiner’s office says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:22 GMT

An accidental drug overdose killed the transgender person who died at a South Boston apartment complex where four children were removed in June, the state medical examiner’s office said.The cause of death was determined to be “acute intoxication due to the combined effects of cocaine and methamphetamine,” a spokesperson for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner told the Herald on Monday.The manner of death is listed as an accident.A city death certificate identifies the victim as Giovanni Murray, a 26-year-old man described in a Boston Police Department report as a “male to female transgender” person.The Suffolk District Attorney’s office is “conducting a standard death investigation” of what the medical examiner ruled to be a drug overdose, “as well as a fact-finding inquiry into other issues present in the incident,” a spokesperson for the DA Kevin Hayden told the Herald.The spokesperson declined to say what those “other issues” pertain to.The June 17 death at 381 Old Colony Av...

MASN’s Kevin Brown pulled from Orioles’ TV broadcasts after stating facts about team’s struggles in recent seasons

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:22 GMT

Kevin Brown, the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network’s lead play-by-player announcer for Orioles games, was removed from the club’s television broadcasts a day after listing off statistics about Baltimore’s poor play in recent seasons, according to sources with knowledge of the team’s decisions.Brown hasn’t been featured on MASN broadcasts for the past two weeks. The Orioles entered their July 23 game against the Tampa Bay Rays with a chance to win a series at Tropicana Field for the first time since 2017. With an accompanying graphic on the MASN broadcast, Brown pointed out that the Orioles were 0-15-1 in their previous 16 road series against the Rays, going 3-18 at Tropicana Field from 2020 to 2022. Brown listed the figures in praise of the current team, which holds the best record in the American League.The Orioles won the game to take a two-game lead over the Rays in the AL East, their first time leading the division that late in a season since 2016. They h...

Yankees place Carlos Rodón on injured list with hamstring strain

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:22 GMT

The Yankees rotation suffered another blow Monday, as the team placed Carlos Rodón on the 15-day injured list with a left hamstring strain.The left-handed pitcher departed during the third inning of Sunday’s game against the Houston Astros after suffering the injury. He allowed five runs in the game, which the Yankees ultimately lost, 9-7.The injury is the latest this season for Rodón, who missed the first three months with forearm and back ailments. The 30-year-old has struggled in the games he has played, pitching to a 1-4 record and 7.33 ERA in six starts.Rodón is in the first season of a six-year, $162 million contract with the Yankees. He made the All-Star team and finished within the top six in Cy Young Award voting in his previous two seasons with the White Sox and Giants, respectively.Following Sunday’s early exit, Rodón expressed confidence he would avoid the injured list.“In this moment, I feel pretty confident that I should be able to...

MTA board unanimously votes to back MCAS ballot question

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:22 GMT

The board of the Massachusetts Teacher Association has voted unanimously to back a ballot question eliminating the state’s MCAS exam graduation requirement, kicking off the next step in the prominent campaign.“The elected leadership of the MTA has made clear how educators feel about the high-stakes nature of the MCAS exams and the unjust use of them as a graduation requirement,” MTA President Max Page and Vice President Deb McCarthy said in a statement following Sunday’s vote.Two ballot initiative petitions ending the MCAS graduation requirement were filed by the Aug. 2 deadline. If approved by the Attorney General’s office, the petitions must receives about 75,000 signatures by mid-November to be put on the November 2024 ballot.McCarthy and other MTA members were among the signatures on the filed petitions. The union’s board of directors met Sunday to officially vote to support and approve the gathering of signatures for the ballot initiative.The...

Boston Acting Mayor Ed Flynn tours Mass and Cass: ‘It was worse than I expected’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:22 GMT

Ed Flynn started his week with boots on the ground at the intersection of Melnea Cass Boulevard and Massachusetts Avenue, making good on his pledge to address the squalid conditions there during his 10-day stint as Boston’s acting mayor.Flynn initiated the 90-minute tour, which was held at 6 a.m. on Monday, allowing him the opportunity to observe what the area looks like before the city has a chance to clean it up.He was joined by members of the Boston Police Department, including Larry Calderone, who heads the city’s largest police union.“I think it was important for me to see for myself the deteriorating conditions at Mass and Cass,” Flynn said, later adding, “It was worse than I expected.”He pointed to the “squalor” and “rampant drug abuse in public” he saw in the area long known for its open-air drug dealing and homeless encampments, adding that the mental health challenges of almost everyone he encountered there was not something he was expecting.“The mental health aspect of it...

Megan Thee Stallion describes daily suffering after Tory Lanez shooting during rapper’s sentencing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:22 GMT

By Andrew Dalton, Associated PressLOS ANGELES (AP) — Megan Thee Stallion said she has suffered daily since rapper Tory Lanezshot her in the feet three years ago in a written statement read during Lanez’s sentencing, which will stretch into Tuesday.“Since I was viciously shot by the defendant, I have not experienced a single day of peace,” Megan said in a statement read by Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Kathy Ta. “Slowly but surely, I’m healing and coming back, but I will never be the same.”The hip-hop star, who testified during the trial, said she struggled with whether she would appear to give the statement in person, but said she “simply could not bring myself to be in a room with Tory again.”She asked that her absence not be taken as a sign of indifference, and urged Judge David Herriford to issue a stiff sentence.The judge had been expected to sentence Lanez Monday at a hearing that often can take only a couple of hours, but Herriford had attorneys for t...

Family demands answers after girl, 14, found in Camp Pendleton barracks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:22 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The family of a 14-year-old girl who was discovered in the barracks on Camp Pendleton in June is demanding answers.The girl was reported missing on June 13, four days after running away from home, according to San Diego County Sheriff's Department. She was found on the Marine Corps base north of Oceanside on June 28.USMC officials say they questioned a Marine with the Combat Logistics Battalion 5, 1st Marine Logistics Group, but he was released to his command while the investigation continues. “My niece was trafficked and potentially purchased by a Marine at Camp Pendleton," the girl's aunt Cassandra alleged, speaking to reporters Monday. “She was raped by a Marine at Camp Pendleton. His identity is still unknown to the family.” Previously homeless teen reunites with police officer who changed his ‘whole course of life’ The family says it learned this week from Naval Criminal Investigative Service that the investigation into what happened only began a week ago.&n...

East County license plate-reading cameras result in stolen vehicle arrests

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:22 GMT

EL CAJON, Calif. -- License plate-reading cameras, or Flock Safety ALPR, helped El Cajon police in the arrest of two stolen vehicle suspects over a two-day span, authorities said.The street light surveillance cameras, which were on a brief test run last week and are expected to be fully deployed by the end of the month, alert authorities when a stolen vehicle or known wanted vehicle from a state or national crime database is detected, Lt. Keith MacArthur with the El Cajon Police Department said in a news release Monday.The first incident occurred Sunday when authorities received multiple alerts on the cameras about a stolen vehicle driving through the west end of El Cajon, according to police. Officers identified the vehicle as one taken on Aug. 2 from a San Diego neighborhood. Previously homeless teen reunites with police officer who changed his ‘whole course of life’ When the suspect attempted to drive away from police, the stolen car's tire blew out and crashed into a curb...

Gold Star families of troops killed in Kabul airport bombing speak out

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:22 GMT

ESCONDIDO, Calif. -- Several Gold Star families of U.S. troops killed in the 2021 Kabul airport bombing spoke at a public forum Monday in Escondido.Families representing six of the 13 servicemembers killed nearly two years ago in the suicide bombing at the airport during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan gave emotional testimony.“To say it's time to move on and there's nothing more to be said, as to the planning and the execution of how our country wrapped a two-decade war, is an insult to all of us," said Alicia Lopez, mother of Marine Cpl. Hunter Lopez. Family demands answers after girl, 14, found in Camp Pendleton barracks Families testified during a public forum at City Hall in Escondido, organized by Congressman Darrell Issa.“One of the questions, of course, is did they have to die?” Issa asked during the forum.Families expressed pain and anger over the U.S. evacuation and the bombing that killed 11 Marines -- many of those from Camp Pendleton -- along with a Navy sailor a...

Thousands of flight cancellations, 1.1 million lose power as strong storms hit eastern US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:22 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of U.S. flights were canceled or delayed, and more than 1.1 million homes and businesses lost power Monday as destructively strong storms, including potential tornadoes, hail and lightning, moved through the eastern U.S.Rain began falling in the Washington area shortly after 5 p.m., and the skies gradually turned an ominous dark gray, a precursor to the severe weather and mass power outages that were predicted. The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for the greater D.C. area, lasting until 9 p.m., as well as a flood warning extending through Tuesday morning. A special Weather Service statement warned, “There is a significant threat for damaging and locally destructive hurricane-force winds, along with the potential for large hail and tornadoes, even strong tornadoes.”The storms’ spread was massive, with tornado watches and warnings posted across 10 states from Tennessee to New York. The National Weather Service said more than 29.5 milli...