Today's Top Headlines

Friday, March 14

Karen Read‘s attempt to have a federal court intervene in her closely watched Massachusetts murder case before her upcoming retrial was denied on Thursday.

A federal judge denied her request to throw out two charges brought against her in the death of her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, because some of the jurors have come forward to say the group unanimously agreed to acquit Read on counts of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of an accident.

Judge Dennis Saylor’s 28-page denial backs Judge Beverly Cannone’s decision-making in declaring a mistrial last summer and denies that comments from jurors after the trial’s end count as a verdict, meaning, “as a matter of federal constitutional law, [Read] was not actually acquitted of any of the relevant offenses,” and retrying her does not amount to double jeopardy.

A piece of hot real estate has hit the Boston market — a parking space listed at $750,000.

“We were on a tour, and somebody told us that there was a parking spot going up for sale for $750,000, and I was like, ‘A parking spot?'” said Kentucky resident Chris Slaughter.

The sticker price on the spot gave locals and visitors like Slaughter sticker shock.

A city that’s no stranger to big events is preparing for another busy weekend, with the South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade set to take place Sunday. The Boston Marathon, Boston Common gatherings and the Pride Parade are soon to follow.

While those events bring a sense of excitement, the crowds are also creating concerns over staffing levels within the Boston Police Department.

“These staffing shortages present challenges to our planning and execution,” said Boston City Councilor-At-Large Erin Murphy.

Three former top executives for a Billerica, Massachusetts-based medical device company have pleaded guilty to federal charges for parts in concealing a malfunction in a lead testing device that gave inaccurately low results for tens of thousands patients, including children, prosecutors said.

Magellan Diagnostics‘ devices — LeadCare Ultra, LeadCare II and LeadCare Plus — test blood for lead levels and lead poisoning, but the three former executives misled customers and the Food and Drug Administration about a malfunction that affected devices that tested blood drawn from the arm, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Massachusetts. The FDA eventually found that LeadCare devices can’t accurately test blood drawn from the arm, leading to a recall and a warning to the public about the devices being used for that purpose.

Former CEO Amy Winslow, 53, of Needham Heights, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to a count of introducing misbranded medical devices into interstate commerce, prosecutors said. Former Chief Operating Officer Hossein Maleknia, 66, of Bonita Springs, Florida, pleaded guilty to two counts of introducing misbranded medical devices into interstate commerce, while former Director of Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs Reba Daoust, 68, of Amesbury, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to a count of making false statements. All three are due for sentencing this summer.

The City of Everett remains at odds after an investigation found that Mayor Carlo DeMaria was overpaid $180,000 — an error that the mayor insists was not his fault.

On Monday night, city councilors unanimously voted that they have no confidence in him.

While their vote has no legal effect, it’s a clear indication of where the city council’s head is at following the report from the Massachusetts Inspector General.

Economic fears are high after Wall Street suffered its steepest decline of the year

Now, questions are brewing as to what this could mean for Americans if the trend continues.

Concerns are growing that the ongoing tariff war between the U.S. and its allies – Canada, Mexico and China – is helping to tank the stock market.