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Matt Stone/Boston Herald/TNS

Judge scolds all lawyers in Karen Read wrongful death suit over ex-Trooper Michael Proctor info leak

Current News / News & Features /

BOSTON — A judge called in all the attorneys involved in the wrongful death suit against Karen Read to scold them over leaked impounded information on former State Police Trooper Michael Proctor.

Plymouth County Superior Court Judge Mark Gildea held a hearing Wednesday afternoon and ordered all the lawyers involved to submit certifications ...Read more

Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

US decides against renewing USMCA, shifting to rolling talks

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WASHINGTON — The United States won’t renew its trade deal with Canada and Mexico, choosing instead to conduct annual reviews of the pact in a decision that risks adding uncertainty for companies producing goods across North America.

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, will remain in force for another decade provided no one country ...Read more

News briefs

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Trump takes first flight on $400 million Air Force One jet gifted by Qatar

President Donald Trump on Wednesday took his first trip on his new luxe Air Force One, a retrofitted Boeing 747 worth an estimated $400 million transferred for free from the oil-rich Middle East nation of Qatar.

“I’m excited about the first flight,” he told ...Read more

Nancy Lane/Boston Herald/TNS

Boston trending away from safest major city to crime-ridden Chicago 'garbage,' police union leader says

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BOSTON — Mayor Michelle Wu has touted Boston as the “safest major city” in America for two years, but the city’s largest police union says the recent spate of violence and attack on cops has it trending more toward Chicago’s lawlessness.

“Safest city in America? Not so much,” the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association posted on ...Read more

Barry Williams/New York Daily News/TNS

Rapes still up in NYC as murder, shootings, other major crimes fall

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NEW YORK — Murders and shootings in the city continue to drop, but rapes are still up halfway through the year, according to statistics.

The NYPD said its continued push to encourage more victims to report what happened to them, coupled with an expanded definition of what constitutes rape, has fueled the increase — up 6% this year through ...Read more

Nancy Lane/Boston Herald/TNS

Massachusetts town manager shoots down 'online trolls' over American flag 'misinformation'

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BOSTON — A town manager is shooting down “online trolls” who he says are posting misinformation that his Cape Cod community has banned American flags ahead of the Fourth of July.

Provincetown Town Manager Alex Morse has found himself caught in the middle of a rift between the North Shore town of Newbury and Plum Island residents over a ...Read more

Craig Kohlruss/Fresno Bee/TNS

To push back on Pride month, Fresno County adopted 'Traditional' family month

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While the LGBTQ+ community and allies celebrated June as Pride month across much of the country, one community in Central California was living in a different reality.

Following a 3-2 vote on June 16 by its Board of Supervisors, Fresno County recognized June as "Traditional Nuclear Family Month," declaring that the nuclear family unit is "God's...Read more

Barry Williams/New York Daily News/TNS

Mamdani expands cooling centers, pool hours, outreach to help NYC cope with heat

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NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani urged New Yorkers to stay out of the heat in the coming days as temperatures are expected to rise into the 100s.

Feels-like temperatures could rise as high as 112 degrees in the coming days, the mayor said, and the city is under an extreme heat warning until 9 p.m. on Friday.

The city has taken a slate of ...Read more

Hannah Babiak/Dreamstime/TNS

Texas makes the Bible required reading in public schools. Is Florida next?

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MIAMI — After the Texas Board of Education approved Bible passages as required reading for public school students last week, Florida education officials indicated the state could be open to similar policies.

Florida often adopts conservative policies on the heels of the Lone Star State, and the state’s Department of Education indicated it ...Read more

E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Before retirement, Snelling promotes Chief of Detectives Ursitti to first deputy superintendent

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CHICAGO — One day before announcing his retirement, Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling on Tuesday promoted Antoinette Ursitti, chief of detectives for the Chicago Police Department, to first deputy superintendent.

“During her time as the Chief of the Bureau of Detectives, she has led efforts to strengthen investigations as CPD ...Read more

Ethan Hyman/The News & Observer/TNS

NC House and Senate vote for budget, with support and dissent from both parties

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North Carolina lawmakers took key votes on the long-awaited $34 billion budget Wednesday. Both the House and Senate gave tentative approval to the major spending plan, with final votes set for Thursday.

The bill passed the Senate on a bipartisan 36-13 vote with several Democrats in favor, but two Republicans against it.

In the House, debate ...Read more

ANTHONY GALAVIZ/The Fresno Bee/TNS

California homicide rate hit record low in 2025 as violent crime continues to fall

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The homicide rate last year in California dropped to its lowest level on record as overall violent crimes showed a continued decline, keeping the state well below its peak in violence reached more than 30 years ago.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said transparent and accurate statewide crime data released each year...Read more

Photo by Brielle Aguayo/Miami Herald/Photo by Brielle Aguayo

Hispanic cops file suit against Miami Gardens for racial discrimination

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MIAMI — Almost a year after telling Miami Gardens they would file a class-action whistleblower lawsuit, five Hispanic male police officers have made good on their promise and are suing the city for alleged racial discrimination.

In their lawsuit filed Sunday, the five Miami Gardens police officers, Juan Gonzalez, Christian Vega, Francisco ...Read more

Veronica Egui Brito/El Nuevo Herald/TNS

South Florida Venezuelans urge US to stop 'being complicit' with Caracas regime

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MIAMI — Venezuelan Americans in South Florida urged the Trump administration on Wednesday to intensify efforts to remove the Venezuelan regime from power, arguing that the recent earthquake has made the need for a democratic transition even more urgent.

The disaster, which struck Venezuela’s central and coastal regions with twin quakes ...Read more

Alex Wong/Getty Images North America/TNS

Ex-CIA Director Brennan alleges 'vindictive' DOJ criminal probe

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WASHINGTON — Former CIA Director John Brennan sued the Trump administration, asking a federal judge to ensure government records are preserved in case he’s criminally indicted so he can seek to prove the charges are “vindictive.”

“President Trump has been condemning and calling for Director Brennan’s prosecution for years,” ...Read more

Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/ZUMA Press/TNS

States at heart of the Revolution plan 250th events sans Trump

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Donald Trump may have taken over events in Washington around the nation’s 250th birthday, but the president is far removed from most activities in the states that have been part of America from the beginning — the 13 original colonies stretching from New Hampshire to Georgia.

Among the thousands of events planned in those states to ...Read more

A large rock glacier fills a valley in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Google Earth: Google, Airbus, Landsat, Copernicus

You’ve never heard of these glaciers, but they’re becoming critical climate havens as America’s iconic mountain glaciers and their water fade

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If you have ever hiked in the high peaks of Colorado, the Wasatch Range in Utah or the Tetons in Wyoming, you’ve almost certainly seen a rock glacier, perhaps without even knowing it.

Rock glaciers are slow-moving masses of rock debris and ice that flow downhill the same way that glaciers do, but they are covered by a thick layer of...Read more

Elizabeth Flores/Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

Minnesota closes unit that examined potential wrongful convictions

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MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota’s Conviction Review Unit, the statewide agency that reviewed potential wrongful convictions, has closed, Attorney General Keith Ellison told board members in a letter Wednesday.

Ellison said he chose to wind down the CRU due to budgetary constraints.

“I am very proud of the work our CRU has done, work which has ...Read more

Chris Leach/Lexington Herald-Leader/TNS

Gov. Andy Beshear expects federal request for Kentucky flood relief to be a 'slam dunk'

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear toured flood damage in two Kentucky communities Wednesday, and said he believes the request for financial relief from the federal government to victims to be a “slam dunk.”

Beshear made stops in Cumberland County and Madison County to get a better understanding of how much damage there was from the ...Read more

Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News/TNS

Texas Gov. Abbott says data centers should be barred from 'rural neighborhoods'

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said AI data centers must be prohibited from being built in rural neighborhoods.

Speaking Tuesday at a campaign event in Bullard, Texas, Abbott said he has already made it clear that data centers wanting to build in Texas need to bring their own money, power, and water.

“We must prohibit them from building AI data ...Read more