Northeast
American teacher jailed in Russia is wrongfully detained, State Department formally says
The State Department announced that an American teacher arrested at a Russian airport on drug charges more than three years ago has been designated as wrongfully detained by the U.S. government.
Marc Fogel, a history teacher from Pennsylvania, is serving a 14-year prison sentence after his arrest in August 2021 at a Russian airport for being in possession of drugs, which his family and supporters said were medically prescribed marijuana.
Fogel was left out of a massive prisoner swap in August that freed multiple Americans, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and corporate security executive Paul Whelan.
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Lisa Hyland, left, and other family members of Marc Fogel, who has been detained in Russia since August 2021, rally outside the White House for his release, July 15, 2023, in Washington. (AP)
After the prisoner exchange, which also freed a dozen German nationals, lawyers for Fogel’s family again pushed for the Biden administration to work toward securing his freedom, including by designating him as wrongfully detained.
The State Department considers several factors when choosing whether to designate an American jailed in a foreign country as wrongfully detained, such as whether there is credible information that the person is innocent or if they are being held primarily to influence U.S. policy or secure concessions from the U.S. government.
“The United States has been working to secure Marc Fogel’s release for some time,” the State Department said in a statement. “We have long called for his humanitarian release and tried to include him in the August 1 deal, but were unable to. The Secretary determined Marc is wrongfully detained in October.”
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined that Marc Fogel is wrongfully detained in October, according to the State Department. (Photos courtesy Ellen Keelan and Lisa Hyland)
Designating someone as wrongfully detained traditionally moves supervision of their case to the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs’s office, which is within the State Department and focuses on negotiating for the release of hostages and other Americans classified as being wrongfully detained in foreign countries.
Fogel’s wife, Jane, and his sons, Ethan and Sam, said in a statement they were grateful that the State Department “has finally acknowledged what we have known all along — that our husband and father, Marc Fogel, has and continues to be wrongfully detained.”
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The exterior of the State Department complex is seen on March 14, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
“Now that we have the full force of the U.S. government behind us, we must do everything in our power to bring Marc home as quickly and safely as possible,” the family continued.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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(WJAR) — A child has died after a tree fell on a playground outside an elementary school in Melrose.
NBC Boston reported that another child and an adult were also injured in the incident at Winthrop Elementary School on Monday.
A child has died after a tree fell on a playground outside an elementary school in Melrose. (WBTS)
It appeared that the tree fell from behind the playground.
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Counselors were available at the school to support students and staff on Tuesday, NBC Boston reported.
Protests and rallies:
📅 Wednesday (May 6)
New Hampshire Peace Action: Vigil for Permanent Ceasefire Now! (Dover, 2 p.m.)
New Hampshire Peace Action: Ceasefire Now! (Hanover, 4-5 p.m.)
603Forward: North Country Power Hour (Gorham, 6 p.m.)
📅 Thursday (May 7)
New Hampshire Peace Action: Ceasefire Vigil (Concord, 12-1:30 p.m.)
American Friends Service Committee: Meeting for Worship with Attention to Peace (Virtually, 7:30 p.m.)
Brookline Democrats: Gerrymandering in NH (Brookline Historical Society, 6:30 p.m.)
📅 Friday (May 8)
American Friends Service Committee: Action Hour for Palestine (Virtual, 12 p.m.)
Indivisible: Nashua Bridge Brigade (Nashua, 2-4 p.m.)
New Hampshire Public Radio: By Degrees Climate Summit Community Resilience (Manchester, 12 p.m.)
Rochester Dems: Dance for Democracy (Rochester Performing & Arts Center, 6 p.m.)
📅 Saturday (May 9)
NH Peace Action: Standing against authoritarian actions (Kingston, 11 a.m.- 2 p.m.)
New Hampshire Democratic Party: Pro-Democracy Weekly Visibility (Derry, 12 p.m)
📅 Sunday (May 10)
Occupy Seacoast: Civil Rights Sunday (Portsmouth, 12-4 p.m.)
First Unitarian Universalist Society of Exeter: Bridge Brigade (Exeter, 5-5:30 p.m.)
Have an event to add? Email Lily Jackson, lily@couriernewsroom.com with details (please send details at least one week before the event).
Make Mother’s Day memorable with these 6 activities in New Hampshire
Well I’ll be dammed.
Wild video captured a beaver attacking a small child while he was fishing in a New Jersey lake — after earlier pouncing on other unsuspecting visitors.
The unidentified 8-year-old boy was with his family at Lake Henry in the Continental Soldiers Park complex in Mahwah around 6 p.m. Sunday “when the beaver exited the lake and charged him,” police told News 12 New Jersey.
“The child began to run away but tripped. The animal bit the child in the upper thigh and continued to attack him,” Mahwah police said.
Cellphone footage shared on Facebook shows the boy’s relatives trying to get the child out of the water and away from the beaver — just for the furious animal to give chase.
One of the relatives kicked the animal as a pet dog also joined the fray, before someone managed to fling the wild attacker back into the water.
The boy was transported to a local hospital by EMS crews for treatment. The extent of his injuries isn’t known.
Police later learned the same beaver had attacked other park guests earlier in the day. It was unclear how many or how serious their injuries were, beyond news that they also needed treatment.
Animal control officers responded and reported that the animal went on the attack because of an illness. It was captured and sent for testing,
Police have urged anyone who encountered the animal to contact them at 201-529-1000, Ext. 210.
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