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Anti-war Russians face dilemma with Sunday’s mass Navalny protests

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:05 GMT

What to gift the man who is barred from receiving anything, and also is Vladimir Putin’s biggest political foe?How about a mass demonstration?That’s what supporters of Alexei Navalny are ginning up for the jailed Russian opposition leader’s 47th birthday on Sunday.From exile, they are calling Russians to action, both inside and outside the country.“Let’s show him on his birthday that he has not been forgotten,” Georgy Alburov, who works for Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), said in a YouTube video posted in mid-May. “Wherever you are, whichever country, go out to support Navalny.”Sunday marks the third birthday that Navalny will spend in prison since he was arrested after recovering from a poison attack, which his team says was carried out on Russian President Putin’s direct orders.“Putin wants Navalny to feel alone. Moreover, he wants every single one of us to feel that way,” Lyubov Sobol, another Navalny associate, said in the video calling for protests. The Navalny...

Compass Medical board president says closure was a ‘necessity’ after operations ‘collapsed’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:05 GMT

The need to shutter Compass Medical became clear at the end of May and facilities were closed out of “necessity” after plans to continue operations “collapsed,” the president of the Compass Medical board of directors said in an emailed statement on Saturday.Board President Dr. Bruce Weinstein did not offer any more details about what brought the Quincy-based company to its breaking point, which was suddenly made public earlier this week. In a brief response to Herald follow-up questions, Weinstein said specific details about what pushed Compass Medical over the edge were protected by “various” non-disclosure agreements.“Compass Medical’s closure became a necessity on Friday, (May 26) when our plan to continue operations collapsed,” Weinstein said. “Since that time, Compass has mobilized its limited remaining resources to stand up a website to assist patients locate their providers, to preserve the medical records and access to them after our closure, and to provide a plan to assure ...

Elite 100 to showcase baseball talent

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:05 GMT

Sometimes a high school baseball player just needs a chance. A little something extra to get noticed and further their playing career.So longtime coaches Dan Donato and Rick Forestiere joined forces to create the Elite 100, a program designed to help local high school baseball players get recognized. The inaugural event is scheduled to run at Brandeis on June 27-28 from 4-8 p.m.“We’ve always wanted to find a way to take care of the local kids and we don’t have anything like this around here,” said Donato, the head baseball coach at Dexter Southfield. “The goal is to provide a showcase where we have a mix of kids from the public, private and Catholic schools. I’ve reached out to a lot of local high school coaches and they are fully on board with this.”To take on an endeavor of this magnitude, it helps to have people with a little cachet; Donato and Forestiere fit the bill. Donato was a multi-sport athlete at Catholic Memorial who played hockey and baseball at Boston...

Arresting Phoenix Police officer in landmark Supreme Court case responsible for Miranda rights dies

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:05 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Retired Phoenix Police Capt. Carroll Cooley, the arresting officer in the landmark case partially responsible for the Supreme Court’s Miranda rights ruling that requires suspects be read their rights, has died, the department confirmed Friday. He was 87.Phoenix police said in a brief statement that Cooley died on May 29 after an unspecified illness. The location and exact cause of his death were not immediately available, nor was information about services or survivors.Cooley joined the Phoenix department in 1958 and retired two decades later.On March 13, 1963, Cooley arrested Ernesto Miranda in the kidnap and rape of an 18-year-old Phoenix woman. Miranda was eventually convicted based on his handwritten confession and sentenced to 20-30 years in prison.Miranda appealed, and the case eventually went up to the U.S. Supreme Court, which issued a 1966 ruling overturning the conviction, saying that suspects should be advised of their constitutional rights against se...

Red Sox notebook: OF Rob Refsnyder inks one-year contract extension

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:05 GMT

When Rob Refsnyder first arrived in Boston as a minor league free agent ahead of the 2022 season, the journeyman outfielder was unsure about his future in the game and was considering retirement.Now the 32-year-old’s future in Boston is secured.The Red Sox announced Saturday they have signed Refsnyder to a one-year contract extension through 2024 with a club option for 2025. Refsnyder will make $1.85 million in 2024 and $2 million should the club pick up his 2025 option, and he will have an opportunity to earn performance bonuses and escalators as well.Since his arrival in Boston, Refsnyder has emerged as a reliable and productive right-handed bat off the bench. Entering Saturday he was batting .284 with one home run and 17 RBI in 33 games, and he’s been an absolute menace against lefties, batting .365 with a .949 OPS so far this season.Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom also praised Refsnyder for his consistency, focus and contributions behind the scenes, all of...

Four key questions facing Brad Stevens, Celtics as big offseason begins

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:05 GMT

The juxtaposition wasn’t lost on Brad Stevens as he sat at a podium early Thursday afternoon at the Auerbach Center.Game 1 of the NBA Finals was roughly eight hours away. But instead of getting ready to head to TD Garden for it, the president of basketball operations was taking questions about a failed Celtics season.“We were 48 minutes away from doing our pregame shootaround press conference today in the Finals,” Stevens said. “So there was a lot that went right and we can’t lose sight of that. But we also are always going to be thinking about how to best move it forward and pursue what we’re all trying to pursue.”The typically mild-mannered Stevens, expectedly, wasn’t overreacting to a season that fell short of expectations. Certainly, a lot went right for the Celtics this season as they finished on the doorstep of the NBA Finals. But there is certainly work to be done this summer as the Celtics continue pursuing a championship.Will there be major changes for this team? Likely not...

Five Greek police officers in custody pending trial for assisting illegal migrant crossings

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:05 GMT

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Five police officers accused of cooperating with human traffickers to facilitate the entry of at least 100 migrants into Greece are being held in custody pending trial.The five officers had been testifying before an examining magistrate since Saturday morning at the border town of Orestiada, in northeastern Greece.Agents from the internal affairs division of the Greek police had been monitoring the five officers, who serve in a special border guard unit, since October 2022. They also listened into their phone conversations, whose transcripts run into over 2,000 pages. The officers had aroused suspicion by volunteering to patrol at certain times, together.Authorities say the offices facilitated at least 12 border crossings, collaborating with four traffickers of undetermined nationality who operated from Turkey.Authorities allege that the accused officers took a cut from the money the traffickers received from the migrants to take them across the border. W...

DeSantis signs Bible, Pence hops on motorcycle at ‘Roast and Ride’ rally in Iowa

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:05 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Amid plates of sliced pork, statement-making leather ensembles and piles of political T-shirts, eight Republican presidential hopefuls descended on Iowa on Saturday to pitch themselves to voters and, in Mike Pence’s case, hop on motorcycle.The former vice president and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis were among the White House contenders appearing at a rally at the state fairgrounds near Des Moines hosted by U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst. Her annual political event, the “Roast and Ride” — a combination barbecue-rally and motorcycle ride — kicks off a busy summer campaign season heading into the state’s first-in-the-nation caucuses early next year.Former President Donald Trump, the leading GOP presidential candidate, was notably absent after spending two days in the state this past week. He has largely avoided any events that have him sharing the stage with his 2024 rivals.DeSantis, with his wife, Casey, and three young kids in tow, chatted with voters, gave out ...

Death toll from Senegal protests rises to 15 as opposition supporters clash with police

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:05 GMT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The number of people killed in days of clashes between Senegalese police and supporters of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko has now risen to 15, including two security officers, the government said on Saturday. While Dakar was calmer on Saturday, clashes continued into the evening. In residential neighborhoods, protesters threw rocks at police, barricaded roads and set tires on fire. The army patrolled the streets as police fired tear gas at the demonstrators, inspecting and detaining people deemed to be causing trouble. Residents peered over the rooftops of buildings, both shielding for cover and watching the clashes.The clashes first broke out on Thursday, after Sonko was convicted of corrupting youth but acquitted on charges of raping a woman who worked at a massage parlor and making death threats against her. Sonko, who didn’t attend his trial in Dakar, was sentenced to two years in prison. His lawyer said a warrant hadn’t yet been issued for his arrest.Sonk...

Federal court reinstates death penalty order for Missouri inmate convicted of killing jailers

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:05 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A federal appeals court has vacated a stay of execution for a Missouri inmate who is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday for his role in the deaths of two jailers.Michael Tisius, 42, was sentenced to death after being convicted of killing Randolph County jailers Jason Acton and Leon Egley during a failed escape attempt.U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough issued the stay on Wednesday and ordered an evidentiary hearing after Tisius’ attorneys argued that a juror in his 2010 resentencing was illiterate, which is not allowed under state law.On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit said the lower court did not have jurisdiction to order the stay.Keith O’Connor, an attorney for Tisius, said his team will appeal the decision, the Kansas City Star reported. Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty and the Missouri NAACP have asked Republican Gov. Mike Parson to grant Tisius clemency, citing a history of abuse, that he was 19-years-old at the time o...