Category: Boston, Massachusetts Local News

(CNN) — Meta has removed the Facebook and Instagram accounts of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Khamenei’s Facebook and Instagram accounts are no longer available. According to Meta, the accounts have been disabled, which means they are permanently removed.

“We have removed these accounts for repeatedly violating our Dangerous Organizations & Individuals policy,” a Meta spokesperson told CNN.

The policy does not allow organizations or individuals that proclaim a violent mission or are engaged in violence to have a presence on Meta. This includes those who glorify, support, or represent terrorist organizations designated by the US government.

Iran has long been accused of arming Hamas, designated by the US State Department as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). In 2021, the US State Department said that the group receives funding, weapons, and training from Iran. Iran is also believed to have armed and trained the Houthis in Yemen, which were re-designated as an FTO by President Biden last month.

“There was enormous pressure on Meta to put a stop to Khamenei’s promotion of these organizations listed as dangerous organizations and individuals since October 7,” said Mahsa Alimardani, a digital rights researcher at Article 19, a human rights NGO.

“It is a shame he wasn’t taken down sooner for harmful content against his own people,” she added.

Meta did not give a specific reason as to why Khamenei’s account fell under the Dangerous Organizations and Individuals Policy.

Khamenei’s main Instagram account had over 5 million followers before its removal.

This week, Microsoft revealed that Iranian “government-aligned actors” launched a series of cyber-attacks since October 2023, “intended to help the Hamas cause and weaken Israel and its political allies and business partners.”

Tehran has officially denied any involvement in the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

“Many of Iran’s immediate operations after October 7 were hasty and chaotic – indicating it had little or no coordination with Hamas – but it nevertheless has achieved growing success,” Microsoft said in a blogpost on Tuesday.

There were 11 Iranian cyber-enabled influence operations in October 2023 alone, compared to one operation every other month in 2021.

In early December 2023, Iranian-aligned hackers interrupted some streaming television services in the UAE, Canada, and the UK, and replaced them with a deepfake news video featuring an apparently AI-generated news anchor that claimed to show images of Palestinians injured and killed from Israeli military operations.

“We expect the threat posed by Iran’s cyber and influence operations will grow as the conflict persists,” the Microsoft Threat Intelligence report said.

“Increased brazenness of Iranian and Iran-affiliated actors coupled with burgeoning collaboration among them portends a growing threat ahead of the US elections in November,” Microsoft said.

(Copyright (c) 2023 CNN. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

The odds currently aren’t on the Patriots’ side when it comes to USC’s Caleb Williams or UNC’s Drake Maye falling to them with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Of course, New England could still pick up another intriguing QB prospect in LSU product and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels. 

But if you ask former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, New England can’t take any risks with such a coveted draft pick. As such, the future Hall-of-Famer thinks the Patriots should opt for the player with the highest floor in this draft class in Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.

“I think if they don’t go with a quarterback — if Drake Maye or Caleb Williams is already taken off the board — I think a for-sure pick, a for-sure lock that won’t be a bust, that’s going to do big things right from the beginning is Marvin Harrison Jr. at the wide receiver position,” Gronkowski said while promoting his upcoming “Kick of Destiny 2” Super Bowl commercial. 

Gronkowski is far from the only ex-Patriot to tab Harrison Jr. as New England’s ideal pick at No. 3 overall. Last month, both James White and Ty Law said that Harrison Jr. gives New England a dynamic playmaker. 

“If he’s still there, I’m getting Marvin Harrison Jr.,” Law said on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” in January. “Everybody says quarterback. I’m telling you, you might be able to go out there and find a Dak Prescott [selected in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft.]

“I’m gonna leave Tom Brady off the table because that’s a unicorn, (pick) 199, but if you go out there and get a serviceable quarterback that won’t turn the ball over and you get Marvin Harrison Jr., he’s gonna help whatever quarterback you have. I promise you that. That’s one of those picks that would be hard to pass up.”

A franchise QB might offer the quickest route for New England to climb back up the standings. But Harrison Jr. might be the best WR prospect to come out of the collegiate ranks in years.

The 6-foot-4, 205-pound receiver torched defenses throughout his time with the Buckeyes — reeling in 144 catches for 2,474 yards and 29 touchdowns in his last two seasons.

Gronkowski, who noted that Patriots director of player personnel Matt Groh stressed the need for “explosive players” during last year’s draft, said that Harrison Jr. fits that label. 

“So if you want those players, take Marvin Harrison Jr. He’s an explosive player,” Gronkowski said. “And his dad went to Syracuse, and I was a Syracuse fan growing up so that’s a connection right there.”

A Belmont middle school fell victim to a “small bottle of fart spray” Thursday morning, an apparent email to families from school officials said. 

Chenery Upper Elementary School interim principal Barbara O’Brien and assistant principal Ryan Holland sent an email to parents informing them they detected a “strong odor” in the sixth-grade hallways. The smell turned out to be “fart spray,” the email read. 

“We have taken steps to dissipate the odor and we gave students and staff the option to relocate to another area of the building if needed,” the email says. “We just want to assure you that all students are safe and engaged in learning activities.”

School nurses were informed of the incident and teachers “will be following up” with students.

A description of a “fart spray” product listed on Amazon said “victims” of the prank product would “be left gasping and running for fresh-smelling air” and that the product should be used indoors for the “ultimate prank.”

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – The Springfield Museums is celebrating the groundbreaking efforts of the Latinx Community in the city of firsts through their new exhibit.

Starting Thursday, people can explore the history of Springfield’s vibrant Latinx community
from its early roots in the 1940s to the present day. The images on exhibit feature the work of photographer Ed Cohen and as well as Latino community members.

Since 1975, Cohen has covered the region’s cultural, social, and political life. This exhibition was organized by the Mi Museo Committee of the Springfield Museums, formed to share Latino arts, history, and culture with the wider community.

“I think everybody who comes into a museum these days wants to see themselves in some way, reflected in that museum experience. You know, you want this to be a place where everyone feels welcome, and everybody feels that they have a voice,” said Maggie Humberston, Curator of Library and Archives at Springfield Museum.

Cohen says that the pride expressed through the Latino community’s music, dance, art and spoken word is clearly evident as members willingly share their culture with the entire western Massachusetts community.

The exhibit will be up until April 14th so be sure to stop on by to get a closer look.

Washington (CNN) — The White House counsel’s office has concluded its review of special counsel Robert Hur’s report on the possible mishandling of classified documents connected to President Joe Biden, declining to assert any executive privilege in the report.

The report will now be submitted to Congress.

“We notified the Justice Department at approximately 9:00 this morning that our privilege review has concluded,” said Ian Sams, spokesman for the White House Counsel’s Office, in a statement Thursday. “In keeping with his commitment to cooperation and transparency throughout this investigation, the President declined to assert privilege over any portion of the report.”

In a letter to Congress on Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the report would be submitted to Congress once the White House counsel’s review was complete.

“As I have made clear regarding each Special Counsel who has served since I have taken office, I am committed to making as much of the Special Counsel’s report public as possible,” Garland wrote in his letter to members of the judiciary committees.

Hur was appointed special counsel in January 2023 to oversee the probe into Biden’s alleged mishandling of classified documents. Privileged documents were found at Biden’s former office at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, DC, and at his Wilmington, Delaware, home.

In the first instance, the documents were discovered by Biden attorneys who were clearing out his office at the Penn Biden Center in November 2022. The White House Counsel’s Office notified the National Archives of the documents, and the Archives took possession of them the next morning.

Last January, the FBI searched Biden’s home in Wilmington and found six additional documents with classified markings. While the search was voluntary, it was an extraordinary instance of the FBI searching the home of a sitting president.

The discovery of classified materials is both embarrassing and politically inconvenient for the president, who previously criticized former President Donald Trump for his own handling of classified documents.

But there are distinct differences between the two cases: the FBI searched Biden’s home with his permission, while the agency had to obtain a search warrant to search Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in August 2022.

Nobody has been charged with a crime in relation to the discovery of Biden’s classified documents, while a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Trump and an aide with several crimes related to their alleged mishandling of documents found at Trump’s estate. Both Trump and the aide, Walt Nauta, have pleaded not guilty.

Biden participated in a voluntary interview with Hur last year, and sources told CNN in October that it appeared unlikely that charges would be filed related to his case.

(Copyright (c) 2023 CNN. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)