Twenty-five years after the Good Friday settlement introduced an finish to many years of violence between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Eire, Boston leaders say it serves as a mannequin for peace and bringing individuals collectively throughout instances of battle.
The Good Friday settlement was a historic political deal that ended “the Troubles,” practically 30 years of sectarian violence on the Irish island that claimed the lives of hundreds of individuals within the struggle over whether or not Northern Eire ought to stay in the UK or be a part of Eire. The settlement, which was signed on April 10, 1998, had vital impacts worldwide and in Boston.
“You notice simply how uncommon it’s to have a profitable peace interplay., to have peace get away and have the ability to be sustained for 25 years,” stated Invoice Walczak, who co-founded the Codman Sq. Well being Middle in Dorchester.
Following the settlement, the middle was chosen as a web site as a part of a global undertaking to convey collectively Catholic and Protestant leaders from the Irish island. Whereas on the middle, they labored on neighborhood programming for kids and different susceptible populations.
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Dorchester had undergone its personal expertise with rigidity amongst completely different racial and ethnic teams, and Walczak recalled that historical past made it an modern spot for Catholics and Protestants to work collectively.
“These things can work: Pulling individuals collectively. Getting individuals to see that we’re all people,” he stated. “We’re all people, all of us have the identical issues, now we have the identical points, the identical joys.”
Brian Kane, now the chief director of the MBTA Advisory Board, labored at Boston Faculty’s Irish Institute when the Good Friday settlement was signed —an institute created in 1997 to proceed the peace-building course of.
On April 10, 1998, Kane remembers he felt relieved.
“I want we did not need to continue learning the teachings of the Good Friday settlement right this moment, while you look all over the world and even right here with systemic racism and all types of stuff, there are nonetheless so many divisions in our society,” Kane stated.
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The day of the signing, Frank Costello was working within the Clinton administration. The previous staffer for Boston Mayor Ray Flynn now lives in Belfast in Northern Eire.
Costello stated, many years later, it’s nonetheless a reminder that peace can’t be taken without any consideration.
“That signing was not simply emotional, it was exhilarating and provoking,” he stated.
President Joe Biden will journey to Northern Eire on Tuesday to commemorate the twenty fifth anniversary of the peace accords.
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A huge fourth quarter by Camryn Tade helped the Army West Point Black Knights women’s basketball team rally from a deficit to defeat Boston U, 59-52, on Saturday in Boston.
The Black Knights (13-3, 5-1 Patriot) have won two straight games since they fell to Lehigh a weekend ago and dropped from the ranks of the undefeated teams in the league.
Now, Army is tied for first place with both Navy and Holy Cross at 5-1 going into next week’s games. Lehigh is a half-game back at 4-1.
The Black Knights started the fourth quarter down 46-38. Tade came to the rescue, as she scored 11 of her 18 points in the final 10 minutes.
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She got to work 40 seconds into the quarter with a 3-pointer that cut the lead to five points.
After several empty possessions, Tade struck again with another 3-pointer to push the Black Knights within two points, 46-44, with 7:30 left.
The Terriers remained in the lead as they and the Black Knights traded free throws before Army took the lead, thanks against to Tade. Her lay-up with 5:25 left put Army in the lead, 48-47.
From there, the Black Knights remained ahead. A Fiona Hastick lay-up pushed the lead to three points, followed by a 3-pointer by Tade with 3:32 left that made it 53-47 Army.
Boston (7-10, 1-5) never got any closer.
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The Terriers controlled the game in the first half, as they took a 10-9 lead after the first quarter and then pushed that lead to 25-15 at halftime. Army surged to 23 points in the third quarter, but Boston hung in there by scoring 21 points before the Black Knights outscored the Terriers, 21-6, in the final stanza.
Tade made four 3-pointers for the game, three of which came in the fourth quarter. She also had seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Trinity Hardy led Army with 21 points, along with eight rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal.
Reese Ericson hit some key free throws down the stretch, as she went 6-fot-6 from the line for the game and finished with nine points. She also had four assists.
Inés Monteagudo led Boston with 12 points, while Allison Schwertner added 11 points.
Next week is critical for Army’s Patriot League Tournament seeding as it will face Holy Cross on Wednesday and Navy on Sunday. The Black Knights already have a loss to Lehigh, so they can ill-afford a loss to either the Crusaders or their rivals, the Midshipmen.
A prominent Boston-area doctor accused in several lawsuits of sexually assaulting more than 200 former patients was indicted by a grand jury on rape charges.
Dr. Derrick Todd allegedly assaulted two women during examinations in December 2022 and June 2023 at the Charles River Medical Associates in Framingham, Mass., the Middlesex County District Attorney announced Thursday.
Todd, a rheumatologist, appeared in Middlesex Superior Court Friday after he handed himself over to police the previous night.
Dr. Derrick Todd is arraigned in Middlesex County Superior Court after he was indicted on rape charges on Jan. 17, 2025. AP
The two women had either a pelvic exam or pap smear with the doctor when the alleged assault occurred, NBC Boston reported.
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The patients alleged the exams went beyond “normal.”
One of the women endured enough pain for her to scream at Todd to stop but the doctor didn’t listen and continued the exam.
The second patient alleged she didn’t give Todd consent to perform the specific examination but the doctor went ahead despite the rejection, the outlet reported.
Todd pleaded not guilty to the two rape charges.
He was held on a $10,000 bail.
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Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital in Boston, where Todd worked for 14 years. Google Maps
A judge ordered Todd to surrender his passport, not have any contact with his alleged victims, and give up all medical licenses.
Claims of abuse from Todd date back to 2010 but only surfaced in 2023 after Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital received anonymous complaints.
Todd is the former chief of clinical rheumatology at the Boston hospital but resigned after 14 years in 2023 when two other physicians questioned the appropriateness of pelvis exams for his rheumatology patients, the Boston Globe reported.
Over 200 of Todd’s former patients accused him of performing unnecessary pelvic floor therapy, breast examinations, testicular examinations, and rectal examinations.
The accusers include over 200 women and several men between teenagers and 60-year-olds.
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Attorneys for 180 of the former patients say the two rape charges are just the start of the doctor’s legal battle.
“It’s just the beginning of the criminal case against Dr. Todd, but it does help validate the civil claims that Lubin & Meyer is pursuing on behalf of so many of his former patients,” Attorney William Thompson said. “Fundamentally, it’s about a doctor abusing his position. And taking advantage of patients who put their trust in him for his own personal sexual gratification.”
Over 200 of Todd’s former patients accused him of performing unnecessary pelvic floor therapy, breast examinations, testicular examinations, and rectal examinations. LinkedIn
Todd voluntarily ceased his medical practice in Massachusetts in September 2023.
The announcement was made in a letter to the Board of Registration in Medicine.
The class-action lawsuit against Todd also listed the hospital as a defendant for allegedly knowing about the abuse and failing to stop it.
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