Northeast
What's next for Karen Read?
Karen Read turned and hugged her father and embraced her family after Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial.
The 44-year-old financial analyst accused of killing her Boston cop boyfriend, John O’Keefe, walked out of the Dedham, Massachusetts, courthouse a free woman after two years.
The jubilation on Read’s side of the courtroom was a stark contrast to O’Keefe’s mom’s tears, as family and friends rubbed her shoulders and tried to console her.
But the saga isn’t over. “The Commonwealth intends to re-try the case,” prosecutors said before a smiling Read and her lawyers were done speaking to her supporters and news outlets.
KAREN READ MURDER CASE ENDS WITH ‘DEEPLY DIVIDED’ JURY’S DECISION
Karen Read gets a long hug from her dad William before the jury breaks for lunch at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass., Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
The Massachusetts jury deliberated for nearly 26 hours and had been deadlocked for days.
They were “deeply divided” because of “deeply held convictions” and a “consensus is unattainable,” according to the first of two notes to the presiding judge on Monday.
Cannone issued a controversial dynamite charge (or Allen charge), which is a last-resort option to force jurors to go continue deliberations and try to reach a unanimous verdict.
KAREN READ TRIAL COULD SINK OTHER HIGH-PROFILE MURDERS, EXPERT WARNS: ‘HARD TO SEE HOW IT DOESN’T’
Karen Read smiles during a news conference in front of Norfolk Superior Court, Monday, July 1, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. A judge declared a mistrial Monday after jurors deadlocked in the case of Read, who was accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend by striking him with her SUV and leaving him in a snowstorm. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
The dynamite charge’s “effectiveness in breaking deadlocks and securing verdicts is well-documented,” according to a blog post by Texas-based law firm Varghese and Summersett.
But it’s not used in about two dozen states, as opponents argue “it can lead to verdicts that are not truly unanimous, as jurors may change their votes due to peer pressure rather than genuine conviction,” the firm said.
The result was the same. “Despite our commitment to the duty entrusted in us, we find ourselves deeply divided by fundamental differences in our opinions and state of mind,” the jury wrote in its final note to the judge.
Karen Read smiles as defense attorney David Yannetti speaks to reporters in front of Norfolk Superior Court, Monday, July 1, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. A judge declared a mistrial Monday after jurors deadlocked in the case of Read, who was accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend by striking him with her SUV and leaving him in a snowstorm. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Karen Read talks with her legal team at the Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass., Monday, July 1, 2024. This is their fifth day of deliberations in the murder trial for Read. Read is accused of backing her SUV into her Boston Police officer boyfriend, John O’Keefe, and leaving him to die in a blizzard in Canton, in 2022. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
Judge Beverly Cannone looks over the verdict slip the jurors have to fill out when they reach a verdict in Karen Read’s murder trial, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass. The defense has asked for some modifications. Read is charged with second-degree murder in the January 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
The jury sat for weeks during a trial that included 74 witnesses and nearly 700 pieces of evidence.
Prosecutors argued a shouting match turned deadly during a booze-infused fight in January 2022, when Read allegedly backed into O’Keefe with her SUV and left him to die during a nor’easter.
WATCH: DASHCAM FROM THE NIGHT JOHN O’KEEFE WAS FOUND DEAD
His body was found on the front lawn of an influential family with deep ties to law enforcement and prosecutors. Read claimed that the family framed her for O’Keefe’s death in an elaborate cover-up.
The deadlocked jury was as torn as the otherwise quiet Boston suburb of Canton. And the opposing jurors weren’t backing down.
“Despite our commitment to the duty entrusted in us, we find ourselves deeply divided by fundamental differences in our opinions and state of mind,” the jury said before Cannone declared a mistrial.
Since Read wasn’t found guilty or not guilty, here’s what could happen next, according to experts.
Flags, flowers and remembrances flank the headstone of John O’Keefe, a Boston police officer, at Blue Hill Cemetery, Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Braintree, Mass. A judge declared a mistrial Monday, July 1, 2024, after jurors deadlocked in the case of O’Keefe’s girlfriend, Karen Read, who was accused of killing him by striking him with her SUV and leaving him in a snowstorm. Prosecutors said in a statement that they intend to retry the case. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
Before the jury enters, Judge Beverly J. Cannone, right, speaks to the defense and prosecution during the Karen Read trial at the Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass., Monday, July 1, 2024. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
Option 1: The case is over, no more charges
Read beat the charges of second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter while driving under the influence and leaving the scene of a collision causing injury and death because the jury couldn’t come to a unanimous decision, not because they thought they believed she was innocent.
That puts the ball in the prosecutors’ hands.
They can choose to end the two-year saga now.
Karen Read, center, listens as Judge Beverly J. Cannone greets the jury at the start of the third day of deliberations in her murder trial, in Norfolk Superior Court on Thursday, June 27, 2024 in Dedham, Massachusetts. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
Prosecutor Adam Lally speaks in court during jury selection of the Karen Read trial at Norfolk County Superior Court on Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Dedham, Massachusetts. Read, 44, was accused of running into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV in the middle of a nor’easter and leaving him for dead after a night of heavy drinking. (David McGlynn/New York Post via AP, Pool)
Karen Read speaks with lawyers in court during jury selection at Norfolk County Superior Court on Thursday, April 18, 2024 in Dedham, Massachusetts. Read, 44, was accused of running into her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV in the middle of a nor’easter and leaving him for dead after a night of heavy drinking. (David McGlynn/New York Post via AP, Pool)
Option 2: New trial, new jury with same charges
The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office quickly fired off a statement that said it intends to retry the case.
And Read’s lawyer, Alan Jackson, said, “We will not stop fighting.”
That puts the two sides on another collision course, although experts pointed out pitfalls that could doom the DA’s office again.
WATCH: EXPERT REACTS TO PROCTOR’S TESTIMONY AND EXPLAINS ITS FAR-REACHING IMPACT
Daniel Medwed, Northeastern University professor of law and criminal justice, believes the prosecution needs to bring more evidence, if this is the route they choose.
“I think they might talk a big game in the immediate aftermath about retrying her,” Medwed told Northeastern Global News.
“But ultimately, unless new evidence emerges, I think it might be a tough hill to climb, and they might not pursue it.”
Supporters of Karen Read gather outside the courthouse in Dedham, MA on Friday, June 28, 2024. (Patriot Pics/Backgrid for Fox News Digital)
Supporters of Karen Read gather outside the courthouse in Dedham, MA on Friday, June 28, 2024. Read faced three charges in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend John O’Keefe in January 2022. (Patriot Pics/Backgrid for Fox News Digital)
There’s also added layers of complication, with investigations into Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor, whose sexist and vulgar texts may have destroyed the prosecution’s case, as well as an ongoing audit of potential misconduct in the Canton Police Department.
“You know that trooper’s testimony really blew up in the commonwealth’s face,” Suffolk Law professor Rosanna Cavallaro told NBC 10 Boston.
“If in fact he is suspended or any kind of consequence for his misconduct, then that’s going to make it really hard for the commonwealth to decide how to present their case.”
GO HERE FOR MORE TRUE CRIME FROM FOX NEWS DIGITAL
Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor testifies during Karen Read’s trial on Wednesday, June 12, 2024 in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
Option 3: New trial, new jury, new charges
A possible way around some of the potential pitfalls of retrying Read for murder is to file different charges, law expert Shira Diner told Fox News Digital.
Diner is a lecturer and clinical instructor at Boston University School of Law and the president of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
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Karen Read speaks with her lawyer as the jury deliberates in her murder trail, Wednesday June 26, 2024, at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
“(The prosecution) is entirely in control of the charges, so I think they could recharge in a different way,” she said.
What those charges could be remains to be seen, if this is the route the prosecution takes.
WATCH: DINER EXPLAINS HOW PROCTOR’S TESTIMONY COULD BLOW UP ANOTHER MURDER CASE
For now, the case is over. Read is free.
The two sides – along with their warring supporters – will retreat into their respective corners of the ring. The families will have to regroup.
The next court appearance is scheduled for July 22 for a conference.
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Rhode Island
Here’s your Rhode Island high school sports schedule for Super Saturday
Watch: Chariho softball beats North Kingstown to reach title game
Watch as Chariho softball beats North Kingstown to reach state title game.
Super Saturday has arrived.
Today is the busiest day of the 2026 RIIL spring sports schedule, with championships being play at Rhode Island College and Brown University. Baseball, softball, lacrosse, volleyball and track and field athletes will all be chasing gold.
It’s a lot of keep track of, so here’s a handy schedule of the day’s events to keep your head from spinning.
High School Schedule – June 6
⚾BASEBALL – State Championship Game 2
No. 1 Hendricken vs. No. 3 East Providence at Rhode Island College, 12 p.m.
⚾BASEBALL – D-II Championship Game 1
No. 2 West Warwick vs. No. 1 East Greenwich at Rhode Island College, 4 p.m.
🥎SOFTBALL – D-I Championship Game
No. 2 Chariho vs. No. 1 La Salle at Rhode Island College, 5:30 p.m.
🥎SOFTBALL – D-II Championship
No. 7 Ponaganset vs. No. 1 Lincoln at Rhode Island College, 7:30 p.m.
🥍BOYS LACROSSE – State Championship
No. 1 La Salle vs. No. 2 Moses Brown at Brown University, 11 a.m.
🥍BOYS LACROSSE – D-II Championship
No. 1 Westerly vs. No. 3 Portsmouth at Brown University, 1:30 p.m.
🥍BOYS LACROSSE – D-III Championship
No. 1 Mt. Hope vs. No. 3 Lincoln at Brown University, 4 p.m.
🥍BOYS LACROSSE – D-IV Championship
No. 1 Scituate vs. No. 2 Rogers at Brown University, 6 p.m.
🏃Track and Field
RIIL Boys State Championship Meet at Brown University, 11 a.m.
RIIL Girls State Championship Meet at Brown University, 11 a.m.
🏐BOYS VOLLEYBALL – State Championship
No. 1 La Salle vs. No. 2 Hendricken, 5 p.m.
🏐BOYS VOLLEYBALL – D-II Championship
No. 1 West Warwick vs. No. 2 Westerly at Rhode Island College, 2:30 p.m.
🏐BOYS VOLLEYBALL – D-III Championship
No. 1 Mt. Hope vs. No. 3 Exeter-West Greenwich, 12 p.m.
Vermont
South Burlington Planning Commission discusses data centers – VTDigger
This story by Liberty Darr was first published in The Other Paper on June 4, 2026.
As the conversation around digital data centers stirs strong emotions across the entire country, Vermont and some of its municipalities, including South Burlington, have hopped onto the conversation to get at least a bit of a handle on the rapidly evolving industry.
That’s at least the initial approach South Burlington is taking. The city’s planning commission has outlined some initial land use regulations related to the topic for a routine set of zoning amendments that are up for a public hearing later this month.
The topic of data centers is just one small subset in the planned amendments, according to Paul Conner, the city’s director of planning and zoning.
“This is fast moving, but we didn’t want to be caught on our heels,” Conner told the planning commission last month.
Data centers have become a buzzword around the nation and have faced significant backlash in some places, as proposals for the giant facilities pop up around the country. Opponents argue not only about the surging energy and water consumption associated with them, but also their propulsion of the artificial intelligence industry.
“We sort of joke in the office, there’s no such thing as a planning emergency, but you know, this is getting close to something,” senior city planner Kelsey Peterson told the commission. “There’s stuff in Massachusetts, stuff in New Hampshire, like there’s interest in the general New England area.”
Massive centers like those being proposed in places like Texas and Utah don’t seem to be on the horizon for Vermont yet, Kerrick Johnson, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Public Service, said in February testimony before the House Committee on Energy and Digital Infrastructure. He was commenting on H.727, an act relating to sustainable data center deployment.
In fact, Vermont is likely not the most ideal candidate for data center developers, who are looking for things like inexpensive energy, reliable grid performance and strong fiber network communications, along with an “expeditious, predictable permitting process,” Johnson said.
“Now, I’ll let you all decide how Vermont ranks in those categories,” he quipped.
According to a 2026 annual energy report from the Vermont Department of Public Service, the Northeast continues to have some of the highest electricity rates in the country, and Vermont prices have risen over the last two years more steadily than in some other northeastern states.
Johnson said the state currently has sufficient regulatory mechanisms to ensure protections for Vermont ratepayers but that they should be strengthened.
Massachusetts and Connecticut have passed legislation to incentivize data centers in the state to promote economic development.
And really, Johnson said, data centers of any size being built across the region could impact Vermonters in two ways: infrastructure costs of regional network service and wholesale power costs.
Vermont’s proposed legislation was vetoed by Gov. Phil Scott, who cited concerns over the possibility that the bill’s broader message extended far beyond just data centers and into areas the state depends on for many of its “best jobs.”
Like Johnson, Scott said the state already has substantial regulatory authority over the issue, through Act 250, Public Utility Commission oversight, environmental permitting requirements, energy siting rules and local zoning.
“The last thing Vermont should do is worsen our economic challenges by adding new and unnecessary regulatory systems,” he wrote.
Planning commissioners in South Burlington took a similar approach, noting that the definition of a data center is broad. While the proposal for amendments to the land use regulations now includes the city’s own definition of data centers, it also acknowledges data centers can exist in a variety of different ways and likely already do in the city and Chittenden County, for sectors such as the University of Vermont Medical Center or manufacturers.
In the proposed regulations, if a data center facility is 5,000 square feet or less, it wouldn’t fit the definition of a data center but instead would be considered “general commercial.”
The proposed regulations also differentiate between small- and large-scale facilities — above or below 20,000 square feet — and give different allowances for both. As the regulations stand now, small-scale facilities are permitted in only two zoning areas in the city: mixed industrial commercial and industrial.
Conner said the city will likely take a two-step approach to the conversation, with these initial amendments offering a stopgap until the city’s planning leaders and commissioners can further explore the topic. The city, he said, is not taking a firm stance yet.
Other municipalities have taken a completely different approach. According to reporting from the Valley News, voters in Royalton on Town Meeting Day approved a policy that would place a five-year moratorium on the construction of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency data centers.
The South Burlington Planning Commission will hold a public hearing for the slew of regulation amendments — which includes data center definitions — on June 23 at 7 p.m.
New York
How Tony Danza Spends a Day Playing a Villain and Frank Sinatra
Tony Danza is making up for lost time.
“One of the things I most regret about my life is that I didn’t take advantage of my youth,” said Mr. Danza, 75. “I had a great time, but nobody handed me an instrument and said, ‘Try this.’”
Now he is learning how to speak Spanish, play the piano and a cornet.
Mr. Danza, best known for his leading roles in the television series “Who’s the Boss?” and “Taxi,” has been entertainment’s jack-of-all-trades for decades. Yet he’s still striving to be the best singer, dancer and actor he can be.
“What I am is a guy with finite time who wants to get in as much as he can while he can,” he said.
Mr. Danza spent a Friday with The New York Times as he got ready for two performances, including a one-man show at Café Carlyle.
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