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Ticker: Study finds casino had ‘limited impact’ on crime; Moderna tops 1Q forecasts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:19 GMT

The region around Encore Boston Harbor in Everett has not experienced a sizable increase in crime attributable to the casino, according to research presented to gaming regulators Thursday.Consultants for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission studied crime data for Chelsea, Malden, Melrose, Saugus, Lynn and the casino’s hometown of Everett over a period of nearly four years from Sept. 30, 2018 to July 2, 2022.They found that while offense rates fluctuated, the trends indicate the casino “has limited impact on crime in the region.”Noah Fritz, the principal investigator at consultant Justice Research Associates, told commissioners on Thursday that the data pointed to a significant increase in crime rates after Encore shut its doors to minimize COVID-19 risks and before the casino reopened, suggesting the hub for legal gambling “wasn’t the primary effect of criminal activity.”Moderna tops 1Q forecastsSales of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine plunged in the fi...

Murderous ex-Boston English High School dean gets 18 years on federal racketeering charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:19 GMT

The ganged-up former dean of Boston English High School who shot a 17-year-old student who was dealing weed for him in the school but refused to join the Almighty Latin Kings and Queens gang was sentenced to more than 18 years in federal prison for racketeering.“I just feel, like, he tried to kill me for the simple fact that I, you know, didn’t want to become a gang member, and I didn’t want to follow those — the track of what he was doing, so he thought that it was just better off to kill me because I knew too much,” victim Luis Angel Rodriguez said in his deposition, describing the night on March 5, 2015.That’s the night Shaun “Rev” Harrison, now 63, pulled out a Ruger pistol and shot a .380 caliber bullet into the back of Rodriguez’s head outside a Sunoco gas station on Massachusetts Avenue after a conversation about slumping marijuana sales.Harrison had left Rodriguez for dead. Thankfully, as U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin wrote in August, the bullet had mi...

Giants’ Dexter Lawrence lands four-year, $90 million contract extension: sources

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:19 GMT

Now the Giants just have to get Saquon Barkley done.Stud defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence is back in the fold after agreeing on Thursday to a four-year, $90 million contract extension with $60 million guaranteed, according to sources.Lawrence, 25, was staying away from the team to begin their offseason program due to his contract situation. The resolution will bring one of the Giants’ best players back in the building to prepare for Brian Daboll’s second season as head coach.The $22.5 million annual average on Lawrence’s new contract is tied for third among NFL defensive tackles with Washington’s Daron Payne. Only the L.A. Rams’ Aaron Donald ($31.6 million) and the Titans’ Jeffrey Simmons ($23.5 million) are making more.Lawrence is coming off a second-team All-Pro 2022 season and deserved to get paid as the game-wrecker he became for the Giants in Wink Martindale’s first season as defensive coordinator.Now Giants GM Joe Schoen has to figure ...

Anheuser-Busch downplays Bud Light controversy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:19 GMT

ST. LOUIS — Anheuser-Busch is now telling customers and investors that a recent marketing controversy is just a tempest in a pint glass.In a letter to wholesalers that was forwarded to local bars and restaurants around Missouri, the brewery addressed the backlash to a marketing campaign featuring transgender social-media influencer Dylan Mulvaney, which led to a steep decline in Bud Light sales over the last month.“This was one single can given to one social media influencer,” the letter states. “It was not made for production or sale to the general public. This can is not a formal campaign or advertisement.”Anheuser-Busch InBev CEO Michel Doukeris repeated the stance on Thursday in a call with investors.“This was one can, one influencer, one post and not a campaign,” he said.Mulvaney, 26, posted a video on TikTok showing a can of Bud Light with her face on it that was given to her to celebrate her 365th day of girlhood. The video also showed her ...

What series of San Diego-area earthquakes mean for 'big one' likelihood

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:19 GMT

SAN DIEGO – After a series of small earthquakes rattled the eastern San Diego region last weekend, many residents might be asking themselves why there were so many shocks all of a sudden or if something bigger is on the horizon.Experts say that the back-to-back shocks are something that residents should be aware of, but not all too concerned about for forecasting the future likelihood of a major earthquake.The earthquakes that hit the region last week are part of what scientists call a “swarm,” which is a series of dozens of smaller earthquakes within a span of a couple days up to several weeks. Where will the next ‘big one’ be in California? Seismologists name faults of top concern In the last week, there were a few different areas nearby San Diego that had a swarm event, according to the U.S. Geological Survey: Ocotillo Wells in San Diego County and the two Imperial County towns, Niland and Heber. Niland is located just south of the Salton Sea and the tail of the San Andrea...

Two Niagara Ice Dogs players banned, GM suspended 2 years as part of OHL sanctions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:19 GMT

The Ontario Hockey League announced Thursday that two players on the Niagara IceDogs, including team captain Landon Cato, have been kicked out of the league, and the team’s general manager has been suspended for two years for violating league policies.The sanctions were handed down after findings from an independent third-party investigation.The OHL has announced sanctions against the Niagara IceDogs Hockey Club resulting from breaches of the League's Maltreatment, Bullying and Harassment Protection and Prevention Policy as well as the OHL Code of Conduct.— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) May 4, 2023The OHL had received allegations that “certain Niagara IceDog players” had violated the OHL’s maltreatment, bullying and harassment prevention policy and its code of conduct.The investigation found Cato and goaltender Joshua Rosenzweig participated in “serious” violations of both policies, “including but not limited to physical maltr...

Colorado man stunned while handcuffed sues sheriff’s office

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:19 GMT

DENVER (AP) — A man who says he was repeatedly stunned with a Taser while handcuffed, including once in the face, is suing a Colorado sheriff’s department, alleging excessive force by two deputies and also a failure by leaders to train and discipline their employees. Kenneth Espinoza was arrested Nov. 29, 2022, after he stopped to wait when Deputy Mikhail Noel of the Las Animas County Sheriff’s Office pulled over his son, whom he had been following to a car appointment. According to the lawsuit filed in federal court this week, Lt. Henry Trujillo and then Noel ordered Espinoza to leave, saying he should not be near a traffic stop. After initially refusing, Espinoza then started to drive away but Noel pointed his handgun and ordered him to stop.The suit alleges that Noel used a Taser to stun Espinoza directly on his body while he was in his truck, calling them “drive stuns.” Body camera video then shows Espinoza being pulled from the truck, handcuffed and squeezed into the back...

Former California college student arrested in 3 stabbings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:19 GMT

DAVIS, Calif. (AP) — A 21-year-old who was a student at the University of California, Davis, until last week was arrested for allegedly committing three recent stabbings, including two that were fatal, city police said. Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel said Thursday that Carlos Dominguez was taken into custody Wednesday after 15 people called in reports of a person who matched the description of the suspect in a local park. Pytel says that Dominguez had a large knife in his backpack. He was wearing the same clothes described by witnesses who saw the third stabbing.Pytel says police believe Dominguez is responsible for all three stabbings. It wasn’t immediately clear if Dominguez had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.NBC affiliate KCRA-TV in Sacramento, California, reported it captured aerial footage of police Wednesday afternoon speaking with a person near a downtown park where the second victim, a 20-year-old student at the University of California, Davis, was killed.O...

Nathalie Stutzmann, contralto now conductor, to debut at Met

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:19 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — While singing on the world’s great stages, Nathalie Stutzmann thought about blond lager.“In Europe it’s very common to have the conductor getting a beer right backstage. I was so thirsty when I came offstage after a performance, I was always dreaming: It would be nice to be a conductor and get them,” she said with a laugh.Minutes after a successful New York Philharmonic podium debut in February, Stutzmann had a beer in hand even before reaching her dressing room.“That’s the best beer ever, the one you get as a conductor right after the performance,” she said.Stutzmann gave up a quarter-century career as a contralto to become a conductor. She took over as music director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra last fall and makes her Metropolitan Opera debut in a new production of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” on Friday night, a day before her 58th birthday. On July 28 she becomes only the second woman to conduct at the Richard Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, Germany.“She deals perso...

ACLU sues amid Missouri GOP spat over abortion measure cost

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:19 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri ACLU on Thursday sued statewide officials for stonewalling a constitutional amendment to restore abortion rights as the attorney general pushes for a price tag on the proposal that is 1 million times higher than what the state auditor has estimated. At issue is a power struggle between two Republican statewide officials — Attorney General Andrew Bailey and Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick — that has delayed supporters from collecting required voter signatures on the ballot measure. The proposed constitutional amendment would protect abortion rights and pregnant women, as well as access to birth control. Currently, most abortions are outlawed in the state. There are exceptions for medical emergencies, but not for cases of rape or incest.Because Bailey, a gubernatorial appointee who took office in January, disagrees with Fitzpatrick’s cost estimate and won’t give what has traditionally been considered perfunctory approval, Republican Secret...