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Crime Briefs: Convicted Mattapan sex trafficker pleads guilty to witness intimidation

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:27 GMT

The feds say a convicted sex trafficker from Mattapan tried to get a woman he exposed himself to detained by immigration enforcement so she couldn’t testify against him.Mark Pinnock, 32, of Mattapan, pleaded guilty to one count of witness intimidation on Wednesday in federal court in Boston. He could be sentenced up to 20 years in prison for the charge. His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 5.“Let the cleaning lady know” she would be arrested by ICE if she were to go to court, Pinnock wrote to the security officer of a Brockton condo building last November, days before she was set to testify against him.The message was sent over an encrypted platform on a phone handed to the guard by a co-conspirator, who the feds say Pinnock directed to the location to intimidate the witness on his behalf.Pinnock was convicted to eight years in prison for sex trafficking in 2014 and had only recently been let out on probation for that when he got a job as an Amazon delivery driver. While delivering ...

MCAS failures and impacts heard at length by education committee

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:27 GMT

Teacher after teacher, parent after parent, and student after student told a joint committee of the Legislature that it’s time to end the use of a standardized test when determining whether Bay State students graduate at the end of high school.Through nearly four hours of testimony given while the Joint Committee on Education considers bills on accountability, assessments, and governance, lawmakers heard repeatedly on Wednesday that the state’s use of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, or MCAS, does little more than demonstrate how well off a student’s district is while only capturing a tiny snapshot of a student’s academic potential.“I believe in academic assessment of students. I believe standardized assessments are part of necessary overall evaluation so that we can see comparisons across students and districts and schools and states, and we can measure student growth in actual and relative terms,” Sen. Joanne Commerford said.“What I do not believe in,...

A new Alzheimer’s monoclonal antibody treatment shows promising results: ‘Hopefully more effective approach’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:27 GMT

A new Alzheimer’s disease monoclonal antibody treatment that takes aim at a new target for the progressive disease has shown promising results, according to Boston researchers.The Mass General Brigham treatment strategy mimics a genetic mutation that’s resistant to the neurodegenerative disease. In the study, the treatment was reportedly effective at reducing abnormal tau proteins associated with Alzheimer’s.The research team from Mass Eye and Ear and Massachusetts General Hospital developed this monoclonal antibody treatment as a follow-up to their work when they identified a genetic variant in the APOE Christchurch gene that provides extreme resistance against Alzheimer’s.To turn those gene findings into a potential treatment, the researchers have now developed antibodies that could target interactions between APOE and proteins.They found that one antibody, called 7C11, could lead to resistance to Alzheimer’s. Their therapy, tested in mice, resulted i...

Mattapan nightclub Macumba Latina ordered closed for lapse of judgment on night of shooting

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:27 GMT

The Boston Licensing Board says owners at a Mattapan nightclub had a serious lapse of judgment the night a double shooting occurred last month, ordering them to remain closed until it reviews a security and operations plan.The board received the plan outlining security measures Macumba Latina will implement after the Sept. 4 shooting, which left two patrons with non-life threatening injuries, just 10 minutes before its meeting Wednesday, Chairwoman Kathleen Joyce said.Macumba Latina will also be receiving a written warning and be scheduled to appear at the board’s violation hearing on Oct. 24.Club owners Max Fernandes and John Lopes, during a Tuesday hearing, highlighted how they’ve fired two bouncers for letting the alleged shooter – Regan Feliz, 29, of Jamaica Plain – in through a locked backdoor that night.The bouncers had only been on the job for about a year, with one manning the backdoor and the other, stationed by a bathroom, providing backup whenever needed, Fernandes said.O...

A $19,000 lectern for Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders sparks call for legislative audit

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:27 GMT

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Sarah Huckabee Sanders rose to national prominence in part during her time at the lectern as White House press secretary, but the purchase of a $19,000 lectern for the Arkansas governor is undergoing scrutiny and prompting claims that records about it have been altered. A legislative panel next week will take up a lawmaker’s request for an audit to review the purchase of the lectern, which was bought in June for $19,029.25 with a state credit card. The Arkansas Republican Party reimbursed the state last month for the wood-paneled and blue lectern, which the state received in August. “From my experience, where we’re at with this particular thing is we need to allow legislative audit go in,” Republican Sen. Jimmy Hickey, who requested the audit, said. “Everyone knows them, they do their work, they’re very thorough and then they produce a detailed report that comes to the Legislature through an open committee.”Questions about the lectern, its ...

California workers will get five sick days instead of three under law signed by Gov. Newsom

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:27 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Workers in California will soon receive a minimum of five days of paid sick leave annually, instead of three, under a new law Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Wednesday.The law, which takes effect in January, also increases the amount of sick leave workers can carry over into the following year. Newsom said it demonstrates that prioritizing the health and well-being of workers “is of the utmost importance for California’s future.”“Too many folks are still having to choose between skipping a day’s pay and taking care of themselves or their family members when they get sick,” Newsom said in a statement announcing his action.It was one of more than a dozen bills the Democratic governor signed Wednesday. He has until mid-October to act on all the legislation sent to him this year. He can sign, veto or let bills become law without his signature.Beyond preventing workers from choosing between taking a day off or getting paid, proponents of the sick day legislation ...

Dashcam video shows wheel striking transport truck on QEW highway

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:27 GMT

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) released footage of a loose wheel striking a transport truck on the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) on Wednesday.OPP Highway Safety Division shared the video on X.In it, dashcam footage from the truck shows it driving on QEW near Gilmore Road with a vehicle ahead. Moments later, a wheel is seen at high speeds hitting the truck, with the vehicle ahead swerving to dodge it.“Wheel separated from a passenger vehicle and struck a transport truck travelling in the opposite direction,” OPP wrote on X.OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt praised the quick reaction by the driver ahead.“Unfortunately, the truck did get clipped on the passenger side,” Sgt. Schmidt said.No injuries were reported, but photos shared by the OPP show the truck badly dented from the impact of the wheel.It’s unclear what led to the incident.Wheel separated from a passenger vehicle and struck a transport truck travelling in the opposite direction. No injuries. #QEW/Gilmore Rd....

Pennsylvania could go after lottery winnings, tax returns of turnpike toll scofflaws

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:27 GMT

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s state Senate unanimously approved legislation Wednesday that would authorize the Department of Revenue to go after the lottery winnings and income tax returns of turnpike toll scofflaws. The bill now goes to the House of Representatives. The Associated Press reported in 2021 that an internal study by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission said that more than $104 million in tolls went uncollected over a 12-month period on the roadway. That amount grew to $155 million over a subsequent 12-month period ending in 2022, or 10% of what had been expected, an audit found. Under the bill, the Department of Revenue could divert money from someone’s lottery prize of more than $2,500 or their income tax return, as long as the money was not first subject to other claims such as unpaid state taxes, child support or court-ordered restitution for crimes. The department also can impose a $20 fee for every case where it intercepts money. Losses had bee...

‘The world has changed’: Thousands mourn at funeral for B.C. Mountie Rick O’Brien, 51

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:27 GMT

LANGLEY, B.C. — The Mountie killed in Coquitlam, B.C., less than two weeks ago has been remembered as a funny and loyal friend, a loving father and an officer who enjoyed connecting with young people.Thousands filled the event centre in Langley, B.C., Wednesday for the regimental funeral of Const. Rick O’Brien, the 10th police officer to be killed in Canada since September of last year.Those gathered included hundreds of RCMP officers dressed in red serge, their senior officers, representatives from multiple police services, firefighters, military and politicians, including B.C. Premier David Eby. Friend and co-worker Cpl. Pete Westra said O’Brien’s death was senseless and devastating.“It will be felt by his family, friends, the entire Ridge Meadows detachment, the RCMP and the countless lives that he touched,” he said.“The world has changed with this loss. We can’t say enough, but we want to say, ‘Well done, Rick. We love you.'”...

Aggravated assault charges filed in case of motorcyclist seen smashing in back of woman’s car

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:27 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A man accused of being the motorcyclist seen smashing in the back of a woman’s car while her two young children were inside near Philadelphia’s City Hall and then waving a gun at her after she confronted him has been charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault.Prosecutors said 26-year-old Cody Heron is also charged with reckless endangerment and possession of an instrument of crime in connection with the incident. Officials said they were seeking high bail in the case. There was no attorney listed for Heron yet, and the district attorney’s office said it didn’t know whether he had one. A telephone listing for him could not be found Wednesday. A viral video from Sunday night showed a group of ATV, motorcycle and dirt bike riders surrounding 23-year-old Nikki Bullock’s sedan. A motorcyclist wearing a helmet is seen leaving his bike to jump on the back of the sedan, shattering the window. What appears to be a handgun drops from h...