Free Republic

LAWRENCE, Mass. — Lawrence Mayor Brian DePeña has been arrested on wire fraud and money laundering charges. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Massachusetts, DePeña allegedly obtained more than $1.5 million in COVID small-business loans and used the money for personal and political expenses. DePeña, 61, is charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. According to federal prosecutors, DePena used the money to pay personal tax debts, fund his mayoral campaign and pay off more than $880,000 in high-interest mortgages on properties he owned in Lawrence. The charges center on Economic Injury Disaster...

A federal judge on Thursday dismissed the Trump administration’s lawsuit that accused Harvard University of letting antisemitism run unchecked, a major defeat in the federal government’s monthslong battle with the Ivy League institution. District Court Judge Richard Stearns, a Clinton appointee, said the Trump administration failed to prove “an ongoing violation of Title VI” by Harvard University. This comes after the Trump administration sued Harvard University back in March, accusing the school of failing to address antisemitism and discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students. The administration’s complaint focused mainly on incidents that took place during the 2023-24 school year, Stearns...

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has signed H.5595, which would legalize abortions up to birth. The radical bill that allows abortions up until birth even on healthy unborn babies. Democrats fast tracked the measure to bypass the full committee process so the full body could pass the bill before the legislature adjourned. The bill passed the overwhelmingly Democrat House on July 22 by a vote of 119-33. Under current state law, abortions are allowed up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, although weak exceptions essentially allow it up to birth. Abortions after that point are permitted only when the mother’s life or...

A former Boston-based U.S. Postal Service inspector has pleaded guilty to charges related to stealing at least $340,000 from scam victims, the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Friday. Scott Kelley, 52, of Pembroke, pleaded guilty in federal court to five counts each of wire fraud, mail fraud, filing false tax returns and mail theft by a postal officer; 23 counts of money laundering and one count of structuring to evade reporting requirements. Kelley worked at the Boston Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the law enforcement arm of the U.S. Postal Service, federal prosecutors said. In 2015, he...

Massachusetts Democrats recently sponsored a Senate bill creating a “permanent” government commission “on the status of people who practice Islam,” which would communicate with the government on how legislation affects Muslims and recommend Muslims for government positions. The Senate committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight reported the bill, No. 2134 “favorably” and referred it to the Joint Committee on Rules, which referred it to the committee on Senate Ways and Means. That committee consists of a majority of democrats. The commission proposed by the bill would accomplish eight different tasks, including serving as a liaison between the Muslim American...

eBay has agreed to pay $55.7 million in a settlement with a Massachusetts couple that was the victim of a bizarre harassment and cyberstalking campaign orchestrated by former employees of the company. Ina and David Steiner, who run the trade publication ECommerceBytes from their home in Natick, started receiving online threats and upsetting deliveries to their home in 2019, including a bloody pig mask, live spiders and a book on surviving the death of a spouse. Pornographic magazines addressed to David Steiner were purposefully sent to their neighbors, and their home was listed on Craigslist as a nightly destination for...

Massachusetts lawmakers are taking steps toward prioritizing the hiring of American Muslims for state government positions under a permanent so-called Muslim commission. The group would help recommend Americans who practice Islam to appointed government positions in the New England state at the same time the Trump administration is moving to dismantle such diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs nationwide — teeing-up a standoff between local leaders and the president. A proposed bill would create a panel of 11 Muslims appointed by Democratic Gov. Maura Healey and other state officials to represent the Islamic faith on issues such as business, economy,...

Sen. Ed Markey’s campaign released an ad this week meant to tout his progressive support. Instead, the ad — which featured quick cuts of his top endorsers, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), along with Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts) — only highlighted the progressive left’s gerontocracy problem that has dogged the Markey campaign for months. Markey is 80 and, after 53 years in elected office, is running for reelection to another six-year term, while Sanders, 84, and Warren, 77, are currently serving terms through 2030. The Democratic gerontocracy issue is well documented. There was Joe Biden’s forced departure...

The Democrat-controlled Massachusetts House passed legislation Wednesday that loosens restrictions on abortions that can be performed after 24 weeks of gestation, with supporters saying the policy change will enable more residents with serious complications to remain in Massachusetts rather than needing to travel out of state to seek care. The bill scraps the four types of exemptions currently outlined in statute for life-threatening situations for the mother or fetus, instead giving deference to doctors' professional judgment. The House passed the bill on a 119-33 vote, with all Republicans who voted casting their votes against the bill. Democrats who rejected the...

There’s a battle to shape the Democratic Party this fall, and two top Senate Democrats are taking different paths in their bids to put their mark on the process. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., endorsed Abdul El-Sayed in the duel for the Democratic Senate nomination in Michigan. It’s a break from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who is backing Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich. The diverging endorsements are emblematic of the fight going on behind the scenes and publicly in the Democratic Party as the old guard fights to stand its ground, while a progressive surge threatens to completely overtake the...

There’s not a whole lot of information yet, but a corpse was found Saturday at a Boston-area property owned by Conan Harris, husband to Squad Member Rep. Ayanna Pressley (MA-7). The couple does not live in the house but rents it out to tenants.Here’s what we know:Police spokesperson James Moccia told CBS News Boston officers were called to 25 Malta Street in Boston's Mattapan neighborhood at 1:52 p.m. "for a report to investigate a person."When they arrived, they found the person deceased, Moccia said.Moccia did not have any further details and said the homicide unit is handling the investigation. A...

A company where the husband of Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., is a partner was selected for a nearly $2 billion deal to build a new courthouse in Springfield, Massachusetts — a decision now being challenged in court by rejected bidders who allege conflicts of interest tainted the process. Conan Harris, who has been married to the Massachusetts Democrat for more than a decade, is a partner with John Barros in CoJo Real Estate, which is part of the Liberty Junction team selected in early July for the 40-year courthouse lease, according to the lawsuit. The plaintiffs allege Barros’ role as...

Boston police are investigating the discovery Saturday of a dead body that was found at a property that is owned by the husband of Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts. Police spokesperson James Moccia told CBS News Boston officers were called to 25 Malta Street in Boston's Mattapan neighborhood at 1:52 p.m. "for a report to investigate a person." When they arrived, they found the person deceased, Moccia said. Moccia did not have any further details and said the homicide unit is handling the investigation. A Boston police cruiser was seen outside the home Saturday evening and it was sealed off...

After dedicating 15 years to shining a light on systemic racism and spreading the mission of racial justice in Franklin County, the grassroots organization Racial Justice Rising came to a close at the end of June. “It was a very difficult decision,” said Teegrey Iannuzzi, a co-founder of the organization. “It feels like a natural ending.” In the email announcing the closure, Iannuzzi wrote that the volunteer organization lacked the “people power” to continue. Over the phone, she explained that the group’s volunteer base started dwindling after the COVID-19 pandemic, when online opportunities for anti-racism work expanded. Although the murder...

WASHINGTON (VINnews) – Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent disclosed publicly for the first time Thursday that he was the target of an alleged assassination plot just hours after being sworn into office. Speaking at a State Department ministerial on political terrorism, Bessent said he was the subject of an alleged assassination attempt “two hours after being sworn into my job,” adding that the case demonstrates that politically motivated violence remains a real threat. Federal prosecutors have charged Ryan Michael English, 24, of Massachusetts, in connection with the alleged plot. According to the Justice Department, English traveled to the U.S. Capitol on...

WILLIAMSBURG — A Burgy resident and his children are having a towering problem trying to sleep at night, saying the hourly, around-the-clock chimes that emanate from the Haydenville Congregational Church bell are disruptive for his family. “It’s really loud. In the daytime it doesn’t seem it because of all the noise, but at nighttime, laying in bed, it’s like jarring — jarring,” High Street resident Mike Ambs told the Select Board on Tuesday. He said he is a light sleeper and that his four children have also been awakened by the bell. Ambs is asking the board to direct the...

SPRING BROOK TWP. — In the wake of a fiery Schuylkill County crash that killed a Pennsylvania state trooper this month, U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-Pa.) reiterated his support for a proposed law aimed at preventing people in the country illegally from obtaining commercial driver’s licenses. Michael Bon, 33, of Brockton, Massachusetts, faces felony vehicular homicide and other charges after his tractor-trailer veered off Interstate 81 early on July 1 and caused the crash that killed Trooper Michael Pahira. Pahira, a 20-year state police veteran, was conducting a routine commercial inspection in Cass Twp. Bon, who was issued a CDL...

A truck driver with no legal right to be in the country, let alone behind the wheel of an 18-wheeler, killed Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael E. Pahira Jr. Wednesday morning while he was doing his job. Pahira, 44, had served with the Pennsylvania State Police since 2007, most recently as a motor carrier enforcement inspector. He was inspecting a semi-truck on Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County when another truck ran off the road, slammed into his patrol car and the vehicle he was checking, then struck him directly. Both trucks erupted in flames. Pahira died at a local hospital a...

A photographer in Boston, Massachusetts, got a sneak peak of the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular drone show during a rehearsal on Friday, July 3. Boston-based photographer @betterfoodbetterphoto was on the Charles River Esplanade when he captured footage of drones making the shape of a man holding a musket. The Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular took place on Saturday evening and saw a revolutionary-themed drone show during a performance of the 1812 Overture and a fireworks display choreographed to music by the orchestra. According to reports, Massachusetts State Police evacuated viewing areas around the Charles River Esplanade ahead of the show because...

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