A 13-year-old girl was killed in a pedestrian crash in Worcester, Massachusetts, on Friday afternoon.
Worcester police said they were dispatched to the 300 block of Belmont Street around 2:30 p.m. for a report of a pedestrian crash. When they …
Massachusetts
Biden’s performance at center of first presidential debate
From the outset of Thursday night’s presidential debate, it was clear President Joe Biden was struggling under the spotlight.
The commander-in-chief navigated through meandering sentences that often verged on incoherence.
Biden would find his footing as the evening went along but the damage was done, leaving Democrats across the country and in New England weighing next steps.
“I hope people will stay focused on the choice we have this November,” said New Hampshire Senator Jean Shaheen, “I think there will be discussions about what needs to happen next.”
“Joe Biden had a tough debate performance, it was tough to watch. I also saw Donald Trump stand up there and lie,” said Massachusetts Governor, Maura Healey.
Massachusetts State Rep. Michael Connolly (D – 26th Middlesex) wrote on X, “there is no way to defend President Biden’s atrocious performance last night. We have to figure out a way to stop Trump from winning the election.”
State Sen. Jason Lewis (D – 5th Middlesex) took a step further.
“It was really depressing, disheartening, infuriating,” Lewis said. “President Biden should step aside at this point, we should have an open Democratic Party convention in August and select a different nominee to represent us.”
NBC10 has reached out to multiple members of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation for reaction but have not received a response.
More on the first presidential debate
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Boston officer John O’Keefe was called a ‘patron saint’ by the girlfriend accused of killing him
John O’Keefe’s title was Boston police officer, but to those who loved him, he was Johnny, J-J or affectionately, the Godfather. His girlfriend once called him “the patron saint of Canton.”
That girlfriend, Karen Read, is now on trial, accused of killing O’Keefe in a case that has attracted national attention and called into question the integrity of a wide swath of Massachusetts’ law enforcement community and even some of O’Keefe’s friends.
Born and raised in suburban Braintree, O’Keefe graduated from Northeastern University and earned a master’s in criminal justice from the University of Massachusetts. He was 46 at the time of his death, and had been a Boston police officer for 16 years.
For much of that time, O’Keefe also had been raising his niece and nephew in Canton after his sister and her husband died just months apart. He also lost his best friend, fellow Boston Officer Pat Rogers, to suicide. Rogers’ girlfriend was pregnant at the time, and O’Keefe quickly stepped up to support her as well, acting as godfather to her son.
“He was the first person in my delivery room after I gave birth,” Laura Sullivan testified during the trial, describing O’Keefe as a “constant” presence in her son’s life.
“Every birthday, Christmas, he was always in contact. He was the first person in my delivery room after i gave birth. he was a constant,” she added.
Watch the Karen Read trial live on nbcboston.com, NECN, NBC Boston streaming platforms (including Roku, Peacock and Samsung TV) and NBC10 Boston’s YouTube page. Every night of the trial at 7 p.m., come back for analysis and more.
Email questions to canton.confidential@nbcuni.com.
Other witnesses described O’Keefe’s devotion to his niece and nephew, who called him J-J and were just 6 and 3 when he became their guardian.
O’Keefe’s sister-in-law, Erin, testified that she and her husband had been prepared to take in the children as well, but O’Keefe stepped up.
”We had kind of assumed because Johnny was out, you know, on the streets doing his job, that Paul and I would take the kids,” she said. “Johnny said he was going to do it.”
O’Keefe was known as a father figure to his family, and was also involved with his friends’ families.
“Him and my husband would always do the games. The kids use to call them my two dads. It was, they had a lot of fun together,” added Katherine Camerano.
O’Keefe’s younger brother, Paul, was the first witness called by the prosecution. Asked to name his siblings, he struggled to stay composed when naming his late sister and “my brother John.” Everyone called him Johnny, he said, “especially if you were family.”
Paul O’Keefe said he had planned to see his brother the day before he died, but they canceled because of a coming snowstorm. Their last communication was in a group text with family members. John O’Keefe was excited, he said, because their niece had been accepted to a private high school.
Former Norwell pediatrician charged with raping patients
A former pediatrician from Norwell, Massachusetts, has been indicted on charges of raping children who saw him as patients.
The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office said Friday that 68-year-old Richard Kauff had been indicted on ni…
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Canton Confidential: This podcast brings you every twist in the Karen Read case
The Karen Read murder trial has been among the most talked-about and polarizing cases in Greater Boston in recent memory — and our podcast, Canton Confidential, takes you through everything to know, day-by-day.
Canton Confidential brings you highlights from each day in court, expert analysis and in-depth details surrounding the death of John O’Keefe, charges against Read and the defense’s claims of a massive coverup that frames Read in the murder of her boyfriend in January 2022.
You can watch Canton Confidential daily at 7 p.m. on NBC10 Boston, as well as on our website and app. You can also listen to it in podcast form on our website, or anywhere you stream and download your podcasts.
As jury deliberations continue in the Read case, anticipation is growing as to what the verdict will be for 44-year-old, who is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating a vehicle under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.
The charges stem from the death of Boston police officer O’Keefe, whom Read was dating. He was found dead in the lawn of another Boston officer in Canton on a snowy morning, after a night of drinking at local bars with a group of people. Read was accused of backing into him with her Lexus SUV, but her team of lawyers have alleged a large-scale coverup by law enforcement, saying that someone else is responsible for O’Keefe’s killing.
Stay with NBC10 Boston’s Canton Confidential for the very latest as the case develops.
