Category: Boston, Massachusetts Local News

Lucas Giolito had a good 2025 for the Red Sox, and as a result elected to opt-out of his deal in Boston in search of a new opportunity elsewhere.

However, as spring training games commence for 2026, the middle-rotation pitcher remains unsigned. That comes as a shock to Boston’s current ace pitcher, Garrett Crochet.

At one point in 2025, Crochet and Giolito were a two-headed monster guiding the Red Sox to their postseason berth. And for Giolito, whose first season in Boston was derailed by injury, 2025 provided a resurgence in the lineup.

“It’s insane. It just doesn’t make a ton of sense,” Crochet said of his former teammate’s free agent status.

Giolito had a mutual option for 2026 with the Red Sox, which he was able to trigger based on total innings pitched in 2025. He determined his value would be greater than the $19 million he was on the books for in 2026, so opted to test the waters of free agency. That decision hasn’t panned out so far.

“It’s at the point where … ‘what even is his price range’, because for the value he’s providing, I would say he’s outplaying his deal,” Crochet said. “If you look at the one year for $18 million, I’d say he outplayed that. … When you’re looking at the ceiling and the floor, there’s not a huge difference there. There’s not a lot of pedigree and a lot of recent success.”

The Red Sox, however, don’t seem to be a likely landing spot for Giolito at this point in time. Since Giolito opted out of his deal, Boston wound up adding two prominent starters in Sonny Gray and Ranger Suarez . It now has one of the best projected starting rotations in the MLB.

Crochet will be the focal point of that rotation, while young pitchers Payton Tolle and Connelly Early will each use spring training to earn a spot at the bottom of the rotation, or as an extra arm in the bullpen in 2026.

NEW YORK (AP) — Lawyers for imprisoned British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell are fighting the requested release of 90,000 pages related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and Maxwell, saying a law used to force the public release of millions of documents is unconstitutional.

The lawyers filed papers late Friday in Manhattan federal court to try to block the release of documents from a since-settled civil defamation lawsuit brought a decade ago by the late Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre against Maxwell. The Justice Department recently asked a judge to lift secrecy requirements on the files.

Maxwell’s attorneys said the Justice Department obtained the documents — otherwise subject to secrecy orders — improperly during its criminal probe of Maxwell. They said the documents include transcripts of over 30 depositions and private information regarding financial and sexual matters related to Maxwell and others.

Some records from the year-long exchange of evidence in the lawsuit battle were already released publicly in response to a federal appeals court order.

Maxwell’s lawyers say a law Congress passed in December to force the release of millions of Epstein-related documents violates the Constitution’s separation of powers doctrine.

“Congress cannot, by statute, strip this Court of the power or relieve it of the responsibility to protect its files from misuse. To do so violates the separation of powers,” wrote the lawyers, Laura Menninger and Jeffrey Pagliuca about the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

“Under the Constitution’s separation of powers, neither Congress nor the Executive Branch may intrude on the judicial power. That power includes the power to definitively and finally resolve cases and disputes,” the lawyers added.

The release of Epstein-related documents from criminal probes that began weeks ago has resulted in new revelations about Epstein’s decades-long sexual abuse of women and teenage girls. Some victims have complained that their names and personal information were revealed in documents while the names of their abusers were blacked out.

Members of Congress have complained that only about half of existing documents, many with redactions, have been made public even as Justice Department officials have said everything has been released, except for some files that can’t be made public until a judge gives the go-ahead.

Giuffre said Epstein had trafficked her to other men, including the former Prince Andrew, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. She sued Mountbatten-Windsor in 2021, claiming that they had sex when she was 17.

He denied her claims and the two settled the lawsuit in 2022. Days ago, he was arrested and held in custody for nearly 11 hours on suspicion of misconduct in having shared confidential trade information with Epstein.

In a memoir published after she killed herself last year, Giuffre wrote that prosecutors told her they didn’t include her in the sex trafficking prosecution of Maxwell because they didn’t want her allegations to distract the jury.

Maxwell, 64, was convicted in December 2021 and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Epstein took his own life in a federal lockup in August 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell was moved from a federal prison in Florida to a low-security prison camp in Texas last summer after she participated in two days of interviews with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

Two weeks ago, she declined to answer questions from House Oversight Committee lawmakers in a deposition conducted in a a video call to her federal prison camp, though she indicated through a statement from her lawyer that she was “prepared to speak fully and honestly” if granted clemency.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

(Copyright (c) 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

The Celtics added some fuel to the speculation that Jayson Tatum’s return from his Achilles tear is imminent on Saturday.

In a post made to the Celtics’ Instagram account, the team shared a photo scroll of 10 pictures of Tatum recently getting a workout in with the team. While the majority of the images were solo shots of Tatum, one of the pictures showed the Celtics’ star getting defended by big man Luka Garza.

That image would seem to be the first indication that Tatum is at least practicing with his Celtics teammates again. If that’s the case, Tatum’s return could be imminent as scrimmaging with teammates is typically one of the final steps a player goes through before returning from a long-term injury.

While the Celtics posted the photoscroll on Saturday, the images of Tatum appeared to have come from their workout on Wednesday. The team worked out at the University of San Francisco’s basketball facilities on Wednesday prior to facing the Golden State Warriors on Thursday.

“Celtics posted 10 pics from this Wednesday workout day in SF on Instagram, and none had Tatum even in the background,” Boston Globe Celtics beat reporter Adam Himmelsbach noted in a social media post. “Feels notable that a Tatum practice collage from that day comes out days later.”

Tatum had begun taking part in 5-on-5 scrimmages with coaches earlier in February. He also practiced with the Celtics’ G League affiliate, the Maine Celtics, on Feb. 10.

Tatum told reporters that his practice with the Maine Celtics shouldn’t be taken as a sign of whether he’s returning this season or not, adding that “it was the next step.” He told ESPN during All-Star Weekend that he’s in a “good spot” with his rehab, though.

“It’s been tough. It’s been a roller coaster,” Tatum added in his comments to ESPN. “There’s been different phases of doubt, sadness, times where I didn’t think I was going to come back and play. I can honestly say right now that I’m proud of myself that I’ve made it this far, that I’ve stuck with it every single day.”

There have been other developments that have led to increased speculation that Tatum might return in the next couple of weeks, too. Tatum and NBC released a teaser trailer for an upcoming documentary series that will detail his road to returning to the court. The NBA and NBC also recently decided to flex the Celtics’ home matchup against the 76ers on March 1 onto “Sunday Night Basketball,” with some wondering if that will be Tatum’s return game.

Prior to the season, Tatum had said that he would like to make his return in front of a home crowd. When the Celtics’ current West Coast trip comes to an end on Wednesday, they’ll play four of their next five games at home. Ten of their 15 games from Feb. 27 through March 27 will also take place at TD Garden.

Still, the Celtics haven’t announced if Tatum will return this season. Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has said on multiple occasions that Tatum won’t return until he’s 110 percent ready. The team also never gave a formal timetable for Tatum’s potential return.

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Boston will cover the cost of keeping three MBTA bus routes fare-free through the end of June, temporarily extending a four-year pilot program that was due to run out of funding this month, The Boston Globe reported.

Routes 23, 28, and 29 — which run through Mattapan, Dorchester, and Roxbury — have been free since March 2022, when Mayor Michelle Wu launched the initiative using $8 million in federal pandemic relief funds. Wu extended the program for another two years in February 2024, again using federal COVID-19 money to reimburse the MBTA about $340,000 per month through early March.

City officials told the Globe that not all of the previously allocated federal funds have been spent, leaving enough to continue the pilot through June. However, what’s next for the program remains unclear. Wu’s office told the outlet Friday that officials are “discussing the long-term future of the program with the MBTA.”

In a statement announcing the extension, the city said the neighborhoods served by routes 23, 28, and 29 are “key to Boston’s equitable reopening and recovery.”

The three routes connect Mattapan and Ashmont with key Orange Line stations. Route 23 runs along Washington Street through Dorchester to Ruggles, while Route 28 travels via Blue Hill Avenue to Ruggles as well. Route 29 connects Mattapan to Jackson Square.

MBTA General Manager Phil Eng told the Globe the agency has been “pleased to be able to support the City of Boston’s program,” but he did not indicate whether the T would help fund it beyond June.

Wu had previously expressed hope that the pilot’s success would encourage the cash-strapped T to expand fare-free service. 

Speaking to reporters Friday, Wu said she has discussed potential funding sources with Gov. Maura Healey’s administration but did not say whether the city plans to include money for the program in its next budget.

“Free bus service is the best capitalist investment that you could make, because every transaction that is being made on that bus plugs directly back into our economy,” Wu said. “We’ll have to see how to make everything fit [in the city’s next budget], and whether there’s a way to come to some shared arrangement that recognizes how valuable the service has been for the MBTA overall.”

Morgan Rousseau is a freelance writer for Boston.com, where she reports on a variety of local and regional news.

A New Hampshire man who fraudulently obtained more than $1 million in COVID-19 relief funds and used much of the money to buy a golf course has been sentenced to federal prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Hampshire announced.

Michael Kirouac, 38, of Pembroke, was sentenced Wednesday to 15 months in prison and one year of supervised release after pleading guilty in October to one count of wire fraud, prosecutors said.

Federal investigators said Kirouac secured more than $1 million in Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) through the federal CARES Act. The loans were meant to help small businesses cover payroll and other necessary expenses during the early months of the pandemic.

Instead, authorities said, Kirouac used roughly $600,000 of the funds to help purchase the Angus Lea Golf Course in Hillsborough after he was unable to get private financing.

“The defendant stole over a million dollars from taxpayers amidst one of the worst health and economic crises in a century,” U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan said in a statement. “This office will continue to vigilantly investigate and prosecute those who defraud pandemic relief programs.”

According to court documents, Kirouac owned or controlled four companies: HK Manchester, HK Loudon, HK Hudson, and HK Pelham. Prosecutors said he certified that the EIDL funds would be used as working capital and not for personal expenses or business relocation.

Beginning in 2021, while attempting to buy the golf course, Kirouac obtained EIDL funds on behalf of HK Manchester and HK Loudon and put a large portion of the money toward the purchase, prosecutors said. He also misused funds tied to HK Pelham.

Kirouac also received a $260,500 EIDL loan for HK Hudson even though he had already agreed to sell the company to a third party, authorities said. He didn’t disclose the pending sale to the Small Business Administration when applying for the loan.

“Today’s sentencing of Michael Kirouac demonstrates IRS-CI’s continued commitment to prosecuting all those who took advantage of the CARES Act for their own undue self-enrichment,” said Thomas Demeo, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office. “Kirouac defrauded a federal program designed to help those most in need at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic with the intent of misappropriating these funds to purchase a golf course, while others, who were truly in need, struggled.”

ROCHESTER, MASS. (WHDH) – An 11-year-old girl from Rochester died Thursday in Utah following an avalanche near a ski resort, according to Michael S. Nelson, Superintendent of Schools for the Old Rochester Regional School District. Officials said she was on vacation with her family.

Brighton Ski Patrol and Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue responded to an avalanche near Brighton Ski Resort at approximately 12:49 p.m., according to the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

As soon as the snow gave way, the girl’s family and about 20 people in the area rushed to search for her before first responders arrived. Police said the girl’s brother used an app to locate her.

The girl was taken to a local hospital in critical condition and later pronounced dead.

Police said the location where the avalanche occurred was out of bounds of the ski resort.

In a statement, Nelson wrote, “This is devastating news for our school community. We offer our sincere condolences to the student’s family, friends, classmates, and teachers during this unimaginable time. Our focus at this time is on supporting those who are grieving and we ask that the family’s privacy be respected. The school system is offering ongoing counseling and support services for students and staff across the school community.”

The Unified Police Department, U.S. Forrest Service, and Utah Avalanche Center are investigating.

(Copyright (c) 2025 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

BOSTON (AP) — It looks like pure play: a harbor seal gleefully chasing a rubber duck. But for Reggae at the New England Aquarium in Boston, the toy is part of a training routine meant to keep him learning.

When the 33-year-old Atlantic harbor seal plays fetch with the rubber duck in his habitat built to mimic the region’s rocky shore, he’s practicing memory, problem-solving and focus — skills trainers say are essential to keeping animals in human care mentally and physically engaged.

The routine recently drew attention on social media after the aquarium posted video of Reggae tightly hugging the duck while floating on his belly. In another moment, he sits on a rock with the duck tucked under his flipper, appearing to pat its head.

Rebekah Miller, the aquarium’s manager of the pinniped area overseeing the Atlantic harbor seals and California sea lions, said enrichment is central to the seals’ daily lives.

“He can use his great vision to look around the habitat, find these new items, and he can also use his other senses to kind of explore,” she said. “It’s a great way to challenge our animals. We want to create challenges for them and really allow them to use those problem-solving skills that they have.”

The sessions are designed not just to stimulate the seals cognitively but to strengthen relationships with trainers, with even physical play — manipulating objects with their front flippers or moving a toy through the water — becoming part of that challenge.

On a recent morning, trainer Liz Wait stood at the edge of the exhibit with a silver bucket of fish clipped to her waist, tossing small rewards as Reggae followed cues.

“Target!” she called, pointing to one duck. Reggae swam over and nudged it with his nose. She repeated the cue with another duck.

“Hold it!” she said, placing a rubber duck on his white belly. Reggae lifted his flippers to wrap them around it.

“Are you having fun with your ducks?” she asked as he climbed onto a rock, resting his chin atop one of the toys.

“You want to say, ‘Bye, everybody?’” Wait asked, waving her hand. Reggae hoisted his right flipper in response and returned a salute from his trainer. “Good, Bubba.”

Miller said Reggae appears to be unfazed by all the attention.

“We describe his personality as very mellow. He’s a very easygoing guy, he goes with the flow and he loves attention from people,” she said.

One family waved as Reggae swam toward the glass to retrieve a duck that Wait tossed near them.

“You never expect a seal to hug a rubber ducky,” said 13-year-old Tom Smith of Boston, who was visiting with his mother and younger brother during school vacation week.

The aquarium’s Atlantic harbor seals are among its most recognizable residents, living in a 42,000-gallon outdoor exhibit on the front plaza. The current seals were born at the aquarium to parents that were themselves longtime residents.

Many trace their lineage to Hoover, a harbor seal born in 1971 who was raised by a Maine fisherman after he lost his mother. When it became too expensive for the fisherman’s family to feed him, Hoover was brought to the aquarium, where he later gained national attention for mimicking phrases such as “hello there” and “get out of here” in a gruff New England accent.

Today, seals at the aquarium often live beyond the roughly 25-year lifespan typical in the wild. Several have surpassed 30 and even 40 years, longevity the institution attributes to veterinary care, structured training and daily enrichment.

Duxbury mother Lindsay Clancy sat stoically Friday as she appeared in court in-person for the first time since allegedly killing her three children in 2023. 

Dressed in black and using a wheelchair, Clancy addressed the court only once during the brief hearing, exchanging a murmured “good afternoon” with Plymouth Superior Court Judge William Sullivan.

Lawyers on both sides hashed out some logistics in anticipation of Clancy’s July 20 murder trial, discussing pending motions, the status of discovery, and prosecution experts’ upcoming evaluation of Clancy. The defendant herself was unexpressive throughout the hearing and mostly stared straight ahead. 

Clancy, 35, faces three counts each of murder and strangulation in the deaths of 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan Clancy. Prosecutors say she strangled her three children at home in Duxbury on Jan. 24, 2023, then tried unsuccessfully to kill herself, leaving her paralyzed. 

Clancy’s defense team has argued she was heavily medicated and battling postpartum mental illness following the birth of her third child. In a civil lawsuit filed last month, Clancy accused her mental health care providers of failing to diagnose her bipolar disorder and prescribing a revolving door of pharmaceuticals that triggered a psychotic break. 

According to the complaint, Clancy had been experiencing auditory hallucinations for weeks leading up to the killings. When her husband left to pick up dinner on Jan. 24, she claims a commanding voice told her, “This is your last chance. Kill the children so you can kill yourself. THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE. YOU HAVE TO KILL THE KIDS SO YOU CAN KILL YOURSELF.”

In a dissociative “dream-like state,” Clancy allegedly strangled her children while telling them, “Go to God, baby.” 

Clancy, who remains committed at the state-run Tewksbury Hospital, appeared at her previous court hearings remotely.

Her attorney, Kevin Reddington, has indicated she plans to pursue an insanity defense. In a motion filed Thursday, he requested a bifurcated trial that would split the July proceedings into two separate phases. The first would focus on whether prosecutors are able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Clancy is guilty, and to what degree. The second phase would consider whether prosecutors can prove Clancy was in her right mind at the time of the killings.

Sullivan will take up the request March 2.

Clancy’s parents joined Reddington as he spoke to reporters outside the courthouse following the hearing.

“She’s a loving mother. She always has been,” said Clancy’s mother, Paula Musgrove, per video from MassLive. “I can’t say anymore.”

Clancy’s father, Mike Musgrove, added: “We love our daughter very much, and we’re here just to support her any way we possibly can. That’s it.”

Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran held annual military drills with Russia on Thursday as a second American aircraft carrier drew closer to the Middle East, with both the United States and Iran signaling they are prepared for war if talks on Tehran’s nuclear program fizzle out.

President Donald Trump said Thursday he believes 10 to 15 days is “enough time” for Iran to reach a deal. But the talks have been deadlocked for years, and Iran has refused to discuss wider U.S. and Israeli demands that it scale back its missile program and sever ties to armed groups. Indirect talks held in recent weeks made little visible progress, and one or both sides could be buying time for final war preparations.

Iran’s theocracy is more vulnerable than ever following 12 days of Israeli and U.S. strikes on its nuclear sites and military last year, as well as mass protests in January that were violently suppressed.

In a letter to the U.N. Security Council on Thursday, Amir Saeid Iravani, the Iranian ambassador to the U.N., said that while Iran does not seek “tension or war and will not initiate a war,” any U.S. aggression will be responded to “decisively and proportionately.”

“In such circumstances, all bases, facilities, and assets of the hostile force in the region would constitute legitimate targets in the context of Iran’s defensive response,” Iravani said.

Earlier this week, Iran conducted a drill that involved live-fire in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow opening of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil passes.

Tensions are also rising inside Iran, as mourners hold ceremonies honoring slain protesters 40 days after their killing by security forces. Some gatherings have seen anti-government chants despite threats from authorities.

Trump again threatens Iran

The movements of additional American warships and airplanes, with the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier near the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea, don’t guarantee a U.S. strike on Iran — but they bolster Trump’s ability to carry out one should he choose to do so.

He has so far held off on striking Iran after setting red lines over the killing of peaceful protesters and mass executions, while reengaging in nuclear talks that were disrupted by the war in June.

Iran has agreed to draw up a written proposal to address U.S. concerns raised during this week’s indirect nuclear talks in Geneva, according to a senior U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The official said top national security officials gathered Wednesday to discuss Iran, and were briefed that the “full forces” needed to carry out potential military action are expected to be in place by mid-March. The official did not provide a timeline for when Iran is expected to deliver its written response.

“It’s proven to be, over the years, not easy to make a meaningful deal with Iran, and we have to make a meaningful deal. Otherwise, bad things happen,” Trump said Thursday.

With the U.S. military presence in the region mounting, one senior regional government official said he has stressed to Iranian officials in private conversations that Trump has proven that his rhetoric should be taken at face value and that he’s serious about his threat to carry out a strike if Iran doesn’t offer adequate concessions.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss delicate diplomatic conversations, said he has advised the Iranians to look to how Trump has dealt with other international issues and draw lessons on how it should move forward.

The official added that he’s made to case to the Trump administration it could draw concessions from Iran in the near-term if it focuses on nuclear issues and leaves the push on Tehran to scale back its ballistic missile program and support for proxy group for later.

The official also said that Trump ordering a limited strike aimed at pressuring Iran could backfire and lead to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei withdrawing Iran from the talks.

Growing international concern

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk urged his nation’s citizens to immediately leave Iran as “within a few, a dozen, or even a few dozen hours, the possibility of evacuation will be out of the question.” He did not elaborate, and the Polish Embassy in Tehran did not appear to be drawing down its staff.

The German military said that it had moved “a mid-two digit number of non-mission critical personnel” out of a base in northern Iraq because of the current situation in the region and in line with its partners’ actions. It said that some troops remain to help keep the multinational camp running in Irbil, where they train Iraqi forces.

“This week, another 50 U.S. combat aircraft — F-35s, F-22s, and F-16s — were ordered to the region, supplementing the hundreds deployed to bases in the Arab Gulf states,” the New York-based Soufan Center think tank wrote. “The deployments reinforce Trump’s threat — restated on a nearly daily basis — to proceed with a major air and missile campaign on the regime if talks fail.”

Iran holds drill with Russia

Iranian forces and Russian sailors conducted the annual drills in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean aimed at “upgrading operational coordination as well as exchange of military experiences,” Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported.

Footage released by Iran showed members of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s naval special forces board a vessel in the exercise. Those forces are believed to have been used in the past to seize vessels in key international waterways.

Iran also issued a rocket-fire warning to pilots in the region, suggesting it planned to launch anti-ship missiles in the exercise.

Meanwhile, tracking data showed the Ford off the coast of Morocco in the Atlantic Ocean midday Wednesday, meaning the carrier could transit through Gibraltar and potentially station in the eastern Mediterranean with its supporting guided-missile destroyers.

It would likely take more than a week for the Ford to be off the coast of Iran.

Netanyahu warns Iran

Israel is making its own preparations for possible Iranian missile strikes in response to any U.S. action.

“We are prepared for any scenario,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday, adding that if Iran attacks Israel, “they will experience a response they cannot even imagine.”

Netanyahu, who met with Trump last week, has long pushed for tougher U.S. action against Iran and says any deal should not only end its nuclear program but curb its missile arsenal and force it to cut ties with militant groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.

Iran has said the current talks should only focus on its nuclear program, and that it hasn’t been enriching uranium since the U.S. and Israeli strikes last summer. Trump said at the time that the strikes had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear sites, but the exact damage is unknown as Tehran has barred international inspectors.

Iran has always insisted its nuclear program is peaceful. The U.S. and others suspect it is aimed at eventually developing weapons. Israel is widely believed to have nuclear weapons but has neither confirmed nor denied that.

(Copyright (c) 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)