MIAMI (AP) —

Former President Donald Trump gave a wave and a signature thumbs up to crowds outside the federal courthouse in downtown Miami after pleading not guilty to criminal charges. He then headed to a local Cuban restaurant where he warmly greeted waiting supporters in a camera-ready scene that resembled a campaign stop.

In the largely unseen moments on Tuesday — his attorney entering his plea, Trump sitting grim-faced with arms folded across his chest — the gravity of being the first former president charged with a federal crime was apparent.

In the seen moments, broadcast around the world in real time, there was a long motorcade, flag-waving supporters and a smaller number of anti-Trump protesters outside the courthouse.

Then the former president and 2024 candidate had a detour in mind, to a popular Cuban restaurant where he was all smiles, greeted by supporters, prayed over by a rabbi and shadowed by his personal aide, who also has been charged in the case.

Trump has long been adroit at creating his own portrait of events, and the restaurant stop was an effort at counter-programming as he campaigns again for president and maintains that he has been unfairly targeted by political rivals.

The international attention and screaming crowds were another sign of the extraordinary nature of the day’s events and the person at the center of it all. A defendant like no other, Trump was the first former president to appear before a federal judge on criminal charges. He also is leading the Republican field for the 2024 presidential nomination, holding his status as frontrunner even as he has faced other these and other legal troubles.

Hardly any of those gathered in Miami interacted with Trump, if they saw him at all through the window of his SUV. He arrived as part of a motorcade that entered the courthouse garage for his hearing on felony charges. The former president also left in the SUV with the windows rolled up before heading to Versailles, a restaurant, coffee shop and bakery that is a required stop for politicians visiting Miami. There, the crowd serenaded him with the “Happy Birthday” song, one day before the former president’s 77th birthday.

“Some birthday! We’ve got a government that’s out of control,” Trump said.

Trump has been making frequent stops at local restaurants during his campaign trips, in part to contrast his easy rapport with his supporters with his chief rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. But Tuesday’s stop was different, aimed at showcasing Trump’s continued support from GOP voters and to signal that he remains unbowed by the indictments.

He then headed to the airport for his flight back to New Jersey aboard his personal jet and was expected to deliver remarks later Tuesday night.

Outside the Miami courthouse earlier in the day, security was tight, with police vehicles blocking a palm tree-lined breezeway and public entrance to the building. A helicopter passed overhead at times, and officers circled the perimeter on bicycles.

The scene included what is now a staple of a Trump appearance or rally. People selling T-shirts with Trump’s face in a mock mugshot, with large letters reading “NOT GUILTY,” others hawking hats, but also, fitting for Miami, mangoes.

Some waved Trump 2024 flags, supporting his bid for president. Another man, who opposes Trump, dressed in black-and-white prison stripes and held a sign reading “LOCK HIM UP.” At times, people shouted past each other, and small groups of pro-Trump supporters and anti-Trump protesters squabbled, occasionally yelling obscenities at each other.

Domenic Santana, who showed up in the jailhouse uniform complete with handcuffs and a plastic ball and chain, said he “wanted to join the circus.”

Santana came to the U.S. as a child from Cuba and retired in Miami after decades operating an eatery in the New York area. The 61-year-old considers himself a political independent and says his mother and daughter voted for Trump.

“A fellow New Yorker can spot a rat a mile away,” he said. “Frankly, he should’ve been locked up ages ago.”

More typical, among the earliest arrivals outside the courthouse was the father-son duo of Florencio and Kevin Rodriguez, who came to the U.S. fifteen years ago as asylum seekers fleeing dictatorship in Cuba.

Wearing a shirt that read “Jesus is my savior, Trump is my president,” the younger Rodriguez, Kevin, said it was possible that Trump was guilty of illegally retaining classified documents.

But he questioned the fairness of the proceedings in light of what he said was prosecutors’ lax attitude toward President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — both of whom have also been accused of mishandling classified intelligence, though without any intention of hiding their actions.

“Even if he’s guilty, we will still support him,” Rodriguez said.

Among other Trump supporters in the crowd was Kari Lake, the failed GOP candidate for U.S. Senate from Arizona. Trump endorsed Lake last year, and she has been one of his most vocal allies.

Madelin Munilla, 67, who came to Miami a child when her parents fled Fidel Castro’s Cuba, carried a sign with a photo of Biden alongside leaders who had their opponents put in jail.

“This is what they do in Latin America,” she said.

Others came to counter the Trump supporters. Jack Kaplan, 68, drove two hours from Ft Pierce. Carrying a copy of the indictment affixed to a clipboard and a sign reading “Trump is Toast,” the retired car dealer said he’ll celebrate with a $1,400 bottle of Mouton Rothschild red wine if the former president is locked away.

“I’ve already got the bottle sitting in my wine cooler,” said Kaplan as a Trump supporter carrying a sign reading “Keep America Great” walked by. “I’m going to have a big party.”

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Associated Press reporters Michael Schneider in Orlando, Michael Balsamo in Miami and Jill Colvin in Bedminster, New Jersey contributed to this report.

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Burnett reported from Chicago.

DENVER (AP) — A shooting in downtown Denver amid fans celebrating the Nuggets’ first NBA championship win was likely sparked by a drug deal gone wrong, police said Tuesday. The violence left 10 people wounded, including one of two people arrested in connection with the shooting.

All of the injured — nine men, one woman — are expected to survive, including five or six people that police believe were bystanders not involved in the drug deal, Chief Ron Thomas said at a news conference. He said 20 rounds were fired at the scene, roughly a mile from Ball Arena where the Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat on Monday night.

A total of five handguns were found by investigators but testing still needs to be done to determine whether they were used at the shooting, the police chief said. A “significant quantity” of suspected fentanyl pills were also found at the scene, Commander Matt Clark said, along with cash.

Of the 10 people taken to the hospital, four underwent emergency surgery at the same time at Denver Health Medical Center. Five were still there on Tuesday afternoon, all in fair condition, said Dr. Eric Campion, a trauma surgeon.

The Nuggets’ win drew thousands of people downtown and the shooting happened as the celebration was winding down after midnight, authorities said. Still, hundreds of police officers were massed in the area when the gunfire broke out.

Scott D’Angelo was livestreaming the celebrations when he heard several loud pops one after another, sparking pandemonium as people dove for cover or jumped over cement barricades. Police in riot gear ducked and drew their guns while yelling for people to find shelter.

Crouching on the ground, the 58-year-old said his arms were shaking with nerves and he felt an asthma attack coming. He heard a female voice not a dozen feet (3 meters) away screaming in pain. Another victim lay just beyond the first, D’Angelo said, as officers rushed to provide care.

An overhead city surveillance video without audio released by police showed officers swarming toward the apparent scene of the shooting after gunshots were heard.

The firing stopped after roughly 20 seconds, D’Angelo said after consulting his footage, which he has handed over to investigators. As ambulances arrived, D’Angelo saw bullet casings only feet from where he’d dropped to the ground.

Authorities were still investigating how many people were involved in the shooting. Two men are being held on suspicion of being felons who are barred from having a firearm, said Clark, the police commander. Neither man had lawyers listed as representing them in court records yet.

One of the men ran from the scene despite being wounded and was arrested several blocks away with a handgun and fentanyl. The other was arrested in a car in a parking lot across the street from the shooting after police found a firearm hidden in its floorboards, Clark said. No one in the car was wounded, he said.

The gunfire broke out in downtown Denver’s LoDo district, which is known for its restaurants and nightlife. Yellow police tape had sealed off the area overnight Tuesday as investigators with flashlights scoured the scene, which was dotted with evidence markers and what appeared to be detritus left over from the celebrations, including an e-scooter and a green rental bike.

D’Angelo said he felt “kind of numb” after witnessing a mass shooting firsthand.

“To target somebody, and indiscriminately shoot innocent bystanders, even trying to think about it, it’s like — I have a huge emotional, a lot of feelings that I really can’t explain,” he said.

The shooting happened in the same area where fans celebrated the Colorado Avalanche hockey team winning the Stanley Cup last year without any serious problems. Thomas said police made similar preparations the Nuggets’ possible championship.

“What we couldn’t have planned for was a drug deal right in the middle of a celebration,” Thomas said.

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The story has been updated to correct that suspect was one of 10 people shot at scene, according to police.

MacDougall laced a tie-breaking three-run triple in the fourth to give the Tigers their first lead while Brady Morin fired 4.1 key innings of relief as Taunton earned a spot in the Div. 1 state title game in an 10-6 win over No. 6 St John’s Shrewsbury on Tuesday night at Holy Cross.

The defending champion Tigers (20-4) will make their third state final appearance in four years.

“Our guys just enjoy playing the game,” Taunton coach Blair Bourque said. “I don’t think anyone plays these games to win state championships. We play for our teammates, ourselves, our family, and our community. I’ve just incredibly proud of what these guys have accomplished so far.”

St. John’s held a tenuous 3-2 lead in the bottom of the third, but a MacDougall’s two-out RBI single to center evened the score.

One inning later, the Dayton signee who lifted Taunton to the state championship a year ago with a tie-breaking home run in the final versus Franklin, delivered again with the game-changing hit.

With the bases loaded, two outs, and a full count MacDougall, blasted a bases clearing triple to right to put Taunton in front 6-3. A wild pitch moments later brought home MacDougall to put the Tigers up 7-3.

“We had to battle back and our pitching staff did an amazing job,” MacDougall said. “We compete well. We just manage to get the job done and put up runs when we have to.”

Morin meanwhile was efficient in relief. The right hander escaped a jam in the third, held the Pioneers scoreless in the fourth and fifth, and allowing just a lone run in the sixth.

Ahead 8-4 in the bottom of the sixth, Taunton star Dawson Bryce put on the exclamation point launching a two-run blast to left to give the Tigers a 10-4 advantage.

“Ryan is a clutch player who has been hard on himself all year,” Bourque said. “He’s had some good games and some tough plays but it shows his tenacity.”

St. John’s jumped out of the gate as James Benestad blasted a leadoff home run on the second pitch of the game to put the Pioneers up 1-0. Later in the inning the visitors stretched their lead as Noah Basgaard connected on an RBI groundout before Brady Collins singled to make it 3-0 St. John’s.

“My body feels really good,” Suzuki said through an interpreter. “These past couple days I’ve just been dreaming. … I’ve been having those dreams of getting bullied. But I feel like I’m back.”

That also sounded like a perfect explanation for what has been ailing the Cubs, who returned from a 4-6 West Coast trip nine games under .500 after starting the season 12-7.

Maybe it all has been just a bad dream, and the Cubs suddenly will wake up against the division-leading Pirates, whom they play six times in their next nine games in home-and-away series.

The Cubs have been pushed around since their hot start, posting a .347 winning percentage (16-30) and threatening to fall into sellers at the trade deadline for the third straight season under President Jed Hoyer.

Can they punch back, or is this group destined to join the long list of Cubs teams that teased fans with a nice start only to show their true colors by the time the ivy bloomed?

Now is a good time to find out. Taking five of six from the Pirates would put them right back in the National League Central race, while losing both series could put them into a deep sleep and force Hoyer to consider moving players such as Marcus Stroman, Cody Bellinger, Drew Smyly and other veterans.

Only two months ago Hoyer said the Cubs were “on the front edge of where we want to be.” If this is the front edge, something is wrong.

“Our biggest thing, and I would think everyone would agree with this, is like, we have to continue building and finding our identity as a group because that’s going to pay us the biggest dividends,” shortstop Dansby Swanson told me Tuesday.

“Playing our version of baseball every day, no matter who we’re playing, is what we need. We did that in San Fran. We played well the first two days there. Slowly but surely we’re finding our rhythm.”

The Cubs had played 40% of their season already. Shouldn’t they have found their identity by now?

“For sure,” he said. “But when I say that it’s like continue to build on what winning baseball looks like and how we are cultivating that as a group, right? We’re slowly but surely starting to find that and understand roles and where guys are best suited. You’ve seen some of the differences in lineup changes and trying to get the right pieces in place because we’ve got a lot of really good players here.”

Manager David Ross used a set top of the lineup for most of the first two months, with Nico Hoerner, Swanson, Ian Happ and Suzuki, respectively, as his Nos. 1-4 hitters. Journeyman Mike Tauchman was back in the leadoff spot Tuesday, while Hoerner dropped to second, Happ to the cleanup spot and Swanson back down to the No. 5 hole.

Individually, Hoerner, Swanson, Suzuki and Happ have put up respectable numbers and been the least of Ross’ problems. But he had to try something new, and Swanson said he’s comfortable batting anywhere.

“If it jump-starts us one way or another,” he said.

Ross suggested this Pirates series was no different from any other, repeating his mantra from the last, oh, three years.

“We need to play our best brand of baseball,” he said, adding “not one game is more important to me than the next.”

Confirmed.

There was some good news to report Tuesday. Justin Steele, second to Stroman among National League ERA leaders, could return from the injured list during the weekend series against the Baltimore Orioles. And Bellinger, out since May 16 with a bruised left knee, was scheduled to begin his rehab stint Tuesday night at Triple-A Iowa, playing first base. While Bellinger’s Gold Glove-caliber defense in center was one of the reasons for the good start, Ross sounded as if he’s OK with leaving Tauchman in center and sticking Bellinger at first when he’s ready to return.

“Tauchman is swinging the bat really well and held down center field well,” Ross said. “Just trying to find the best lineup whenever Belli gets back. He’s pretty darn good at first base and has been. Having another option over the makes sense. … First-base production hasn’t been one of our strengths this year. Got to get somebody going over there.”

That means Matt Mervis, the highly touted prospect hitting .165 since his mid-May call-up, might be playing on borrowed time. Cubs first baseman — specifically Mervis, Trey Mancini and the recently released Eric Hosmer — are third worst among major-league teams with a combined .329 slugging percentage.

Except for a brief surge from Frank Schwindel in the final two months of 2021, the position has been a black hole since the Cubs dealt Anthony Rizzo to the New York Yankees two years ago. Ross called Mervis a young player “trying to find his way in the major leagues,” adding “the bats have been fine.”

In other moves Tuesday, the Cubs recalled Iowa infielder Miles Mastrobuoni, who hit .169 in his previous two stints, and selected the contract of Iowa left-hander Anthony Kay. Brandon Hughes was placed on the 15-day IL with left knee inflammation, and Jeremiah Estrada was optioned to Iowa. Nick Burdi, on the 15-day IL with appendicitis, was transferred to the 60-day IL to make room for Kay on the 40-man roster.

A lingering rainstorm prevented the Cubs-Pirates game from starting on time and delayed Suzuki’s return from whatever vague aliment kept him on the bench in San Francisco.

“I’m hoping I can get some good dreams in tonight,” Suzuki said.

After watching the nightmarish stretch of baseball since late April, Cubs fans could relate.

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1. Receiver Chase Claypool is dealing with “a few things” health-wise that are preventing him from practicing, Eberflus said.

Yes, you read that correctly. “A few things.” As in plural. Claypool has been off the practice field the past three weeks with what was originally described as an unspecified soft-tissue injury. Now, per Eberflus, there is more than one thing to keep an eye on. And Claypool’s missed practice time is significant as he tries to take a big leap forward in his first full season with the Bears, develop/ing timing and building rapport with quarterback Justin Fields.

“Training camp will be big,” Eberflus said.

Eberflus emphasized he still views Claypool’s injuries as minor.

“What’s great about this time of year is we have the luxury of him working with the trainers,” Eberflus said. “He’s not on a time crunch and we can get him fully healthy working into the summer because we have 40 days when we break from (minicamp) to get ready to report to training camp. So that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Claypool isn’t the only key Bears receiver working back from an injury setback. Darnell Mooney, who suffered a season-ending fibula fracture in November that required surgery, is still hoping to be back for training camp next month. But when Eberflus was pressed Tuesday to clarify whether Mooney has been cleared to do any on-field running he declined to answer directly.

“They have a progression for that, from working in the water to working on zero-gravity treadmills and all that stuff, and then working on grass. I’ll just tell you this: He’s on track with where he’s supposed to be.”

Eberflus also said linebacker Jack Sanborn is likely to be full-go for training camp as he completes his recovery from the ankle injury that ended his rookie season in Week 15. Eberflus said Sanborn will open camp as the Bears’ starter at strong side linebacker with fifth-round pick Noah Sewell also in the mix.

2. Guard Nate Davis downplayed his absence from the first two weeks of organized team activities.

Davis joined the Bears on a three-year, $30 million deal in March but chose to skip chunks of the offseason program, including a half-dozen OTA practices last month. Davis explained his decision as “normal routine for me.”

“At the same time,” he said, “I was in communication with the coaches, even with the players, staying in the playbook. I was also able to take care of some off-the-field stuff too. I’m here now. That’s what really matters.”

A lot will be expected of Davis on the interior of the offensive line, particularly as the offensive line attempts to enhance Fields’ comfort in the pocket. He said he is eager to see the line continue to jell through training camp and expressed his eagerness to continue developing under Bears offensive line coach Chris Morgan.

“He’ll get the best out of me,” Davis said.

3. Rookie cornerback Tyrique Stevenson has made a positive early impression.

Stevenson, whom the Bears traded up to draft in the second round in April, is on a fasttrack to being a Week 1 starter in a cornerback trio that also includes Jaylon Johnson outside and Kyler Gordon in the slot. Stevenson’s athleticism and work habits have quickly caught the attention of coaches, with Eberflus also praising his ball skills and instincts and noting that Stevenson has quickly become a player other defenders gravitate to.

“He’s a likable guy because he does love football and he is competitive,” Eberflus said. “So I think he fits well with Gordon and (Jaquan) Brisker and Eddie (Jackson) and all those guys who are really competitive and like to grind it and like to practice.”

Safety Eddie Jackson compared Stevenson’s quick emergence to that of Jaquan Brisker, who quickly seized a starting role as a rookie last season.

“It’s the mindset he’s coming out there with,” Jackson said. “Young guy? Don’t care. Years in the league? That don’t matter. He just wants to go out and ball.”

4. Add another testimonial to the Justin Fields-to-DJ Moore brochure at Halas Hall.

Fields and Moore continue to be on the same page and have been so productive in practices over the past month that not a day goes by where someone in the building doesn’t forecast a bright future for the duo.

Tuesday’s endorsement came from veteran defensive tackle Justin Jones.

“That (number) 1 to (number) 2 connection is going to be crazy this year,” Jones said. “I’m going to tell you that right now. I like what I see. DJ Moore is a great addition. … He is somebody who can get open, who can run every route on the route tree. He can beat man (coverage), press, any type of coverage you throw at him. Double teams, he’s running right by guys, hitting them with double moves.”

The potential for Fields and Moore to continue growing together is high and the internal expectations for what their production will be are growing.

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For the first half of Tuesday’s Division 2 state semifinal, heavy underdog East Longmeadow did just that, and were within shouting distance.

But after that, East Longmeadow found out what everyone who has played NDA already knows: running with the Cougars for 50 minutes is a different story.

NDA pulled away with a dominant second half in a 22-6 rout that was on running clock for most of the second half. The Cougars are now 24-0 and advance to the state final, where they hope to repeat as D2 state champs.

East Longmeadow’s season ends at 18-4.

“Absolutely, I think, especially this team, I think that was why it was a tougher first half for us,” said NDA’s Emma Connerty, who scored four goals. “They kept up. They were keeping up. That threw us off, because we like our fast breaks and pushing in transition. They were with us, and I think that kind of slowed us down. But, again, we just picked it up in the second half.”

It was a balanced attack for NDA, as Siobhan Colin and Jane Hilsabeck scored four goals. Alexa Kenney and Aubrey McMahon had three each, and Carolina Haggerty, Elizabeth Dillon, Taylor Watts, and Reilly Walsh all had one goal apiece.

NDA led most of the first half, but East Longmeadow hung around. The Spartans scored the final three goals of the opening frame, including one from Addy Jordan with nine seconds to go, as NDA only held an 8-5 edge.

But that was as close as the Spartans would get. NDA scored the next 13 goals before the Spartans answered, and it was well over from there.

“We knew that they were going to come out (strong). They were very strong on the draw, very good in transition. I felt like they capitalized on all our first-half mistakes. We got a little careless with the ball, just a little bit too eager with our decisions. They were on every single ground ball, finished every shot. We just needed to make sure we cleaned up our execution in the second half and did a better job finishing,” Notre Dame head coach Meredith McGinnis said.

MIAMI (AP) — Donald Trump became the first former president to face a judge on federal charges as he pleaded not guilty in a Miami courtroom Tuesday to dozens of felony counts accusing him of hoarding classified documents and refusing government demands to give them back.

The history-making court date, centered on charges that Trump mishandled government secrets that as commander-in-chief he was entrusted to protect, kickstarts a legal process that will unfold at the height of the 2024 presidential campaign and carry profound consequences not only for his political future but also for his own personal liberty.

Trump approached his arraignment with characteristic bravado, posting social media broadsides against the prosecution from inside his motorcade en route to the courthouse and insisting — as he has through years of legal woes — that he has done nothing wrong and was being persecuted for political purposes. But inside the courtroom, he sat silently, scowling and arms crossed, as a lawyer entered a not guilty plea on his behalf in a brief arraignment that ended without him having to surrender his passport or otherwise restrict his travel.

The arraignment, though largely procedural in nature, was the latest in an unprecedented reckoning this year for Trump, who faces charges in New York arising from hush money payments during his 2016 presidential campaign as well as ongoing investigations in Washington and Atlanta into efforts to undo the results of the 2020 race.

Always in campaign mode, he swiftly pivoted from the solemn courtroom to a festive restaurant, stopping on his way out of Miami at Versailles, an iconic Cuban spot in the city’s Little Havana neighborhood where supporters serenaded Trump, who turns 77 on Wednesday, with “Happy Birthday.” The back-to-back events highlight the tension for Trump in the months ahead as he balances the pageantry of campaigning with courtroom stops accompanying his status as a twice-indicted criminal defendant.

Yet the gravity of the moment was unmistakable.

Until last week, no former president had ever been charged by the Justice Department, let alone accused of mishandling top-secret information. The indictment unsealed last week charged Trump with 37 felony counts — many under the Espionage Act — that accuse him of illegally storing classified documents in his bedroom, bathroom, shower and other locations at Mar-a-Lago and trying to hide them from the Justice Department as investigators demanded them back. The charges carry a yearslong prison sentence in the event of a conviction.

Trump has relied on a familiar playbook of painting himself as a victim of political persecution. He attacked the Justice Department special counsel who filed the case as “a Trump hater,” pledging to remain in the race and scheduling a speech and fundraiser for Tuesday night at his Bedminster, New Jersey, club.

But Attorney General Merrick Garland, an appointee of President Joe Biden, sought to insulate the department from political attacks by handing ownership of the case last November to a special counsel, Jack Smith, who on Friday declared, “We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone.”

Smith attended Tuesday’s arraignment, sitting in the front row behind his team of prosecutors.

The court appearance unfolded against the backdrop of potential protests, with some high-profile backers using barbed rhetoric to voice support. Though city officials said they prepared for possible unrest, there were few signs of significant disruption.

Trump didn’t say a word during the court appearance, other than to occasionally turn and whisper to his attorneys who were seated on either side of him. He fiddled with a pen and clasped his hands on the table in front of him as the lawyers and the judge debated the conditions of his release.

While he was not required to surrender a passport — prosecutors said he was not considered a flight risk — the magistrate judge presiding over the arraignment directed Trump to not discuss the case with certain witnesses. That includes Walt Nauta, his valet who was indicted last week on charges that he moved boxes of documents at Trump’s direction and misled the FBI about it.

Nauta did not enter a plea Tuesday because he did not have a local lawyer with him.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche objected to the idea of imposing restrictions on the former president’s contact with possible witnesses, noting they include many people close to Trump, including staff and members of his protection detail.

“Many of the people he interacts with on a daily basis — including the men and women who protect him — are potential witnesses in this case,” Blanche said.

Trump, who has repeatedly insisted that he did nothing wrong, showed no emotion as he was led by law enforcement out of the courtroom through a side door.

Even for a man whose presidency and post-White House life have been defined by criminal investigations, the documents probe had long stood out both because of the volume of evidence that prosecutors had seemed to amass and the severity of the allegations.

A federal grand jury in Washington had heard testimony for months, but the Justice Department filed the case in Florida, where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort is located and where many of the alleged acts of obstruction occurred.

Though Trump appeared Tuesday before a federal magistrate, the case has been assigned to a District Court judge he appointed, Aileen Cannon, who ruled in his favor last year in a dispute over whether an outside special master could be appointed to review the seized classified documents. A federal appeals panel ultimately overturned her ruling.

It’s unclear what defenses Trump is likely to invoke as the case moves forward. Two of his lead lawyers announced their resignation the morning after his indictment, and the notes and recollections of another attorney, M. Evan Corcoran, are cited repeatedly throughout the 49-page charging document, suggesting prosecutors envision him as a potential key witness.

In the indictment the Justice Department unsealed Friday most of the charges — 31 or the 37 felony counts — against Trump relate to the willful retention of national defense information. Other charges include conspiracy to commit obstruction and false statements.

The indictment Friday accuses Trump of illegally retaining national security documents that he took with him from the White House to Mar-a-Lago after leaving office in January 2021. The documents he stored, prosecutors say, included material on nuclear programs, defense and weapons capabilities of the U.S. and foreign governments and a Pentagon “attack plan,” prosecutors say. He is accused of showing off some to people who didn’t have security clearances to view them.

Beyond that, according to the indictment, he repeatedly sought to obstruct government efforts to recover the documents, including by directing Nauta to move boxes and also suggesting to his own lawyer that he hide or destroy documents sought by a Justice Department subpoena.

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Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York and Terry Spencer, Kate Brumback, Curt Anderson and Joshua Goodman in Miami, contributed to this report.

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More on Donald Trump-related investigations: https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg promised Tuesday to help repair the East Coast’s main north-south highway as quickly as possible and said that the destruction of a section of I-95 will likely raise the cost of consumer goods because truckers must now travel longer routes.

Speaking near the site where an out-of-control tractor-trailer hauling gasoline flipped over on an Interstate 95 off-ramp and caught fire, Buttigieg said he expected that disruptions in trucking routes will put “upward pressure” on shipping costs along the East Coast.

Buttigieg toured the site and then, over the sounds of heavy machinery and demolition, told reporters that “every resource that is needed will be made available” to help Pennsylvania repair the bridge as quickly and safely as possible.

But the collapse is snarling traffic in Philadelphia as the summer travel season starts, upending hundreds of thousands of morning commutes, disrupting countless businesses and forcing trucking companies to find different routes.

Police say the driver perished in the accident, and the Philadelphia medical examiner on Tuesday night identified him as Nathan Moody. He was 53. The resulting fire caused the collapse of the northbound lanes of I-95. The southbound lanes were compromised by the heat from the fire, authorities say.

It could take weeks, at least, to replace the damaged and destroyed section.

Pennsylvania’s transportation secretary, Michael Carroll, said demolition work is continuing around the clock and that his agency will release a replacement plan Wednesday for the roughly 100-foot (30 meter) section of I-95.

Buttigieg said he had not seen any sort of estimate for what sort of cost increases consumers might be facing. But he said the trucking industry is working to make the most of alternative routes. He also suggested that the U.S. Department of Transportation is working with route-selecting software firms such as Google and Waze to optimize their products.

“At the end of the day, there’s no substitute for I-95 being up and running in full working condition,” Buttigieg said.

Of the 160,000 vehicles a day that travel that section, 8% are trucks and “obviously that is a lot of America’s GDP moving along that road every single day,” Buttigieg said.

Subodha Kumar, a professor of statistics, operations and data science at Temple University’s Fox School of Business, said it is impossible to calculate the scale of shipping delays and higher costs caused by detours without analyzing all the alternative trucking routes.

But, Kumar said, the added cost will not be small, and the impact will last for weeks or longer. It will affect commerce to Canada, and create cascading effects throughout the supply chain, he said.

“Any small disruption can multiply exponentially and can make the changes much bigger,” he said.

The effect will be immediate on perishable foods, he said.

For now, I-95 will be closed in both directions.

The elevated southbound portion of I-95 will have to be demolished, as well as the northbound side, officials say.

State police officials said the trucking company had contacted them about the accident and was cooperating, although they have declined to identify the company or say whether it was properly licensed for hauling gasoline.

Authorities say the driver was headed northbound on his way to deliver fuel to a convenience store a few miles (kilometers) away when the truck went down a curving off-ramp and out of control, landing on its side and rupturing the tank.

Rebuilding the stretch is likely to drag into July or August.

In California, a similar situation happened with a highway ramp in Oakland. It was replaced in 26 days, Joseph L. Schofer, a retired professor of civil and environmental engineering from Northwestern University, said.

In Atlanta, an elevated portion of Interstate 85 collapsed in a fire, shutting down the heavily traveled route through the heart of the city in March 2017. It took authorities there 43 days to replace the span, Schofer said.

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Associated Press video journalist Tassanee Vejpongsa in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

Luckily, her scintillating senior captain, Lil Hancock, had what her coach was looking for.

Hancock’s ground ball win off the final draw of the game helped the Wolverines seal a 10-9 win, to allow them the opportunity to play for a possible third girls lacrosse state title in a row.

Westwood improves to 22-3, while Franklin ends its season at 20-4.

When asked if she noticed who made that play, Spatola said, “I have no clue,” but acknowledged its importance.

“We needed that,” Spatola said. “It was about time.”

Hancock scored two goals in a balanced Westwood attack. Caroline Nozzolillo, Emilie DeMaio, and Charlotte DeMaio also scored twice, and Kella McGrail and Ava Connaughton each added a goal.

Westwood goalie Riley Harrington made 10 saves and was terrific in the first half, with eight.

But Franklin dominated in the draws in the second half, and worked its way back from an 8-1 deficit. Led by Katie Peterson, who was great on the draws and scored four goals, the Panthers had all the momentum.

Hancock secured the final draw though with a little over three minutes remaining, and Westwood survived.

“It was key,” said Hancock, who complimented Nozzilillo on the last possession. “We had to get it, or else they would have scored and made it a tie game. It could have gone into overtime. But we knew we could get it, and we all trusted each other and fought to the end.”

Ravens coach John Harbaugh said the entire roster reported for minicamp, and the team posted images of Dobbins in uniform on its website Monday. The fourth-year running back has expressed doubts about his long-term future with the Ravens, saying in a series of tweets that he’d like to stay in Baltimore for the rest of his career but “Idk tho sadly.”

When Harbaugh was asked about Dobbins before practice, he didn’t indicate anything was amiss. He talked about Dobbins’ potential in new offensive coordinator Todd Monken’s attack: “It’s going to be interesting how he fits in, because J.K. has a lot of dynamic ability — backfield, motion, wide plays, inside plays, as a receiver out of the backfield I think he’s got a lot of potential. I’m very excited about J.K. and how he’s going to fit in here.”

Dobbins, who did not participate in voluntary organized team activities, is entering the last year of his rookie contract. He played eight games last season, averaging an impressive 5.7 yards per carry, after returning from a knee injury that cost him the entire 2021 campaign. He expressed frustration after he did not get the ball in a crucial goal-line situation in the Ravens’ playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Dobbins and wide receiver Rashod Bateman, who observed from the sideline, were the most notable absences from a well-attended practice. Fullback Patrick Ricard and cornerback Damarion “Pepe” Williams were not in uniform but worked out on the side. Harbaugh did not specify Williams’ injury but said the 2022 third-round pick won’t participate in minicamp: “He tells me he’s going to be back for training camp. We’ll see.”

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What the senior attackman didn’t truly realize, however, was that he was on the verge of turning a career performance. Sawyer went on to register a game-high four goals, as the top-seeded Eagles clinched their third straight trip to the Div. 1 boys lacrosse championship with a convincing 14-5 rout of No. 5 Hingham at Weston High School.

“I didn’t get told, but I had a feeling I would play,” Sawyer said afterward. “I felt good coming into the game, and everything went well today.”

These two historic programs had already engaged in one barn-burner this spring on May 27, with St. John’s Prep (21-1) closing its regular season with a thrilling 12-9 win. Most envisioned a similar battle in the semifinals. For the first seven minutes, it certainly appeared that it would pan out as such. Harlan Graber sniped a goal 48 seconds into play to provide the Eagles a 1-0 edge, a score that would hold until later in the opening frame.

Hingham (20-3) made an emphasis to neutralize St. John’s Prep standout attackman Jimmy Ayers, and successfully did so for the most part. However, in doing so, the Harbormen began to surrender opportunities midway through the first quarter. Cam McCarthy found the net off a rebound with 4:48 to play in the frame for the Eagles. Jake Vana then added a pair of goals before Christian Esposito scored following a face-off win to close the stanza. Suddenly, St. John’s Prep was leading 5-1 at the end of the stanza.

Yet, even when the Harbormen managed to find ways to subtract those star players, someone else managed to step up for the Eagles.

Enter Sawyer. The senior proceeded to record a hat trick in the second quarter alone, the last of which came with 12.4 seconds left in the half as St. John’s Prep seized an 8-1 lead at the break.

“I actually was thinking this morning about last year when we went down (to Hingham) and jumped out on them,” chuckled St. John’s Prep lacrosse coach John Pynchon. “We did everything really well in the first half, and I think we were up 8-1. Then in the second game, it was much closer. I was like: ‘It would be really nice if we could flip those games this year, because we already did the close one.’ ”

While Hingham found somewhat of a spark from senior captain Joe Hennessey (two goals, assist), the Harbormen were simply unable to keep up with the Eagles’ high-octane attack. When all was said and done, eight different players scored for St. John’s Prep.

McCarthy, Vana and Lucas Verrier each finished with two goals apiece for the Eagles.

To this point in the postseason, St. John’s Prep has outscored its opposition at a whopping 57-9. Now, the Eagles will look to continue their dynastic run by winning the Div. 1 title for a third consecutive year this upcoming weekend.

When the game was over, the Eagles gathered for their traditional ‘Circle’ to celebrate their latest victory. It was then that Sawyer was awarded the ‘Chain’ for the second time this year, given to the player of the game.

“It’s my senior year,” said Sawyer. “This is what I live for. I want to win (it all) as a senior. I’m just trying to do that.”

The Mets’ first baseman was taking ground balls at Citi Field on Tuesday ahead of the team’s first game of the Subway Series. Alonso was hit on the left wrist with a pitch last week in Atlanta and went on the 10-day injured list with a contusion and a sprain. The league’s home run leader with 22 long balls is expected to be out for three to four weeks, but it sounds like he might be ahead of schedule.

“He’s progressing well. He’s starting to do some things,” manager Buck Showalter said Tuesday at Citi Field before the Mets hosted the Yankees. “We all know when he’s eligible [to come off the injured list]. We’ll see if we get there.”

Showalter said he doesn’t want to “handicap” it when it comes to looking at a date for his return. But it goes without saying that getting the team’s best hitter back would be a boon for a struggling club. The Mets rank toward the bottom half of the league in OPS (.715), slugging percentage (.369) and average with runners in scoring position (.244).

“I think we’re too far off from that,” Showalter said. “You’ve got a lot of bridges to cross to say going to happen. Not there yet. I think we’ll take this week and see how he feels as we go forward. But I talked to him a couple of days ago, talked to him again early this morning after he went to the doctor. So I knew he was going out and doing some things, but little by little, hopefully, we’ll get there sooner rather than later.”

As much as the Mets need Alonso back, they need quality starting pitching. Left-handed starter Jose Quintana is nearing a return from spring bone graft surgery and went out on a rehab assignment Tuesday with Low-A St. Lucie. Quintana will pitch two innings to start, with the aim being to pitch five before the Mets put him in the rotation.

The Mets want to exercise caution given the freak nature of his injury (lesion on left rib), but the club is encouraged by his progress.

The situation with right-hander Tylor Megill and left-hander David Peterson has become untenable. Peterson was demoted to Triple-A last month and still hasn’t found his stride. Megill has gone 1-2 with a 7.15 ERA over his last five starts. The team had considered shuffling the rotation to skip Megill this weekend when the Mets host the St. Louis Cardinals for three games, but Showalter refuted those plans and said he expects Megill to start to Friday.

“We’re still hoping that McGill and Pete kind of graduate to another level,” Showalter said.

Keeping Megill in that Friday spot would allow the Mets to give Saturday starter, right-hander Kodai Senga, an extra day off his next turn through the rotation. The Mets have favored extra rest for the Japanese rookie.

The Mets also received positive news about Triple-A shortstop Ronny Mauricio, who was thought to have a sprained ankle. An MRI showed only a bone bruise and he’s considered day-to-day. In this case, the Mets might have avoided the worst.

RED STORM STRIKE

St. John’s basketball coach Rick Pitino caught the first pitch Tuesday. Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, a four-time NBA All-Star guard and the son of Mets director of player relations Donovan Mitchell Sr., caught the throw from his former college coach. Mitchel played for the former Knicks coach at Louisville.

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No. 9 batter Bella Boyer rocked River View Field with a two-run homer in the fifth inning that gave the top-seeded Raiders a lead it never relinquished in a 4-2 win over the Tanners.

Central (23-1) advances to face either Taunton or King Philip at UMass Amherst this weekend for a state title.

“I’m just happy that I could get a hit like that for the team,” Boyer said.

One of those people not truly surprised that Boyer came up huge was Central coach Stacy Ciccolo.

“We have a lot of faith in Bella,” Ciccolo said. “We like having her in that spot so we can turn the order around.”

The Raiders were fortunate to be in a 2-2 tie as they left nine on base over the first four innings against Peabody’s Abby Bettencourt. Central also committed three errors and saw Logan Lomasney and Bettencourt homer in the first and third innings respectively to give the Tanners (22-2) a 2-1 lead.

Central (23-1) tied the game in the bottom of the fourth as Amelia Orelles led off with a walk. A ground out and a fly ball got pinch runner Jill Clements to third with two outs where Caitlin Milner singled to left to deadlock things.

Peabody threatened in the top of the fifth as Bettencourt scorched a double to left and stole third, setting up the game’s most controversial moment.

Lomasney hit a slow roller to first baseman Ava Perrotta, who stepped on the bag and fired home to get a sliding Bettencourt by inches. Peabody coach Tawny Palmieri vehemently argued the call but it was upheld.

That set the stage for Boyer’s dramatics. Perotta singled and was still at first with two outs when Boyer turned on the first pitch she saw and rocketed one well over the bullpen in left field for a 4-2 lead.

“Abby was doing a great job of keeping us off-balance and we didn’t do a great job of getting the hits we needed with people on,” Ciccolo said. “Once we finally settled down we were able to make the adjustments.”

Elizabeth Kearney came in for Julia Malowitz in the circle to begin the sixth and she slammed the door on Peabody in the final two innings to save the win.

Progress is the message and focus as they rebuild from the rubble of last season. Mac Jones has dusted himself enough off to believe Bill O’Brien’s system can and should inspire hope, if not belief, for the 2023 season. Life will be different in Foxboro when the Patriots have the ball.

But when they don’t? When Bill Belichick’s defense prowls the field, sneering and hunting from sideline to sideline? Forget hope.

It’s time to convert already.

Early signs are the next Patriots defense will be fast, deep and multiple. Violent, vicious and deceptive. This unit forced Jones and Bailey Zappe to pump the ball and hang in the pocket repeatedly during team drills this spring, including Tuesday’s minicamp practice.

Jones tossed two picks, while thumping safeties, freak man-cover cornerbacks and pass-rushers took turns flashing all across the field. Defense dominated every 11-on-11 period to the point players began impressing themselves.

“I’ve never been a part of something so fast like that,” said safety Jabrill Peppers, who individually runs a 4.4.

It may not be until early in the regular season that Jones and Co. find similar cohesion and give reason to celebrate. But the Patriots defense, a top-3 unit last year that Bill Belichick kept almost entirely intact and bolstered with high draft picks this offseason?

Get your popcorn ready.

Here are the rest of the Herald’s observations from practice:

Attendance

Returned: OT Trent Brown

Absent: WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, OL Mike Onwenu, DL Lawrence Guy, WR Tyquan Thornton, DL Keion White, DB Quandre Mosely, WR Kayshon Boutte

Limited: S Cody Davis

Non-contact jersey: LB Marte Mapu, OL Atonio Mafi

Dress code: Helmets and shorts

Notes: Trent Brown returned to practice, but departed for a lower field after positional drills. He was closer to being a non-participant than a full one. This, of course, hurt the Patriots’ offensive tackle depth. No other player absent Monday suited up Tuesday, while second-round rookie Keion White sat out practice after a minor injury scare the day before.

Play of the Day

DeVante Parker’s back-corner touchdown

DeAndre who?

Parker staked an early claim to keeping his starting “X” receiver job with a spectacular grab over Jonathan Jones in a 7-on-7 drill early in practice. Mac Jones floated a perfect 30-yard pass into the back left corner, Parker plucked it over Jones’ head and took care of the rest. One of the best contested-catch receivers in the game showed why he has that reputation Tuesday.

Player of the Day

CB Jack Jones

Back-to-back.

Jones wins this award for a second straight practice after snatching an interception for a second straight day. As one play dragged on during 7-on-7 work, he dropped off his assigned receiver to pick a deep Mac Jones pass intended for Hunter Henry on an out-and-up route. Jones also intercepted third-string quarterback Trace McSorley when his starting defense faced the Pats’ scout-team offense in an 11-on-11 period.

QB Corner

Note: The passing stats below were tallied during competitive 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 periods only. Stats in parentheses cover all of minicamp.

Mac Jones: 23/32, 2 INTs (39/50, 2 INTs)

Notes: Here’s the good: Jones was more aggressive, and successfully so, during initial 7-on-7 periods that included the play of the day. He maintained the same command he showed Tuesday. A few problems that cropped up in 11-on-11s — like busted screens — weren’t his fault.

The bad: His other interception was a pass Marcus Jones undercut before it could reach Kendrick Bourne on an in-breaking route during a 2-minute drill. As was the case Monday, it’s unclear how fast the second-string defense should have been playing during that drill.  Overall, though, Jones performed OK around a 3-of-7 dry spell in one full-team period against the starting defense. A decent day.

Studs

S Joshuah Bledsoe

Remember him? The little-used safety recorded a team-high two pass breakups in team drills, extending himself to bat down a Trace McSorley pass to the flat and blanketing tight end Anthony Firkser to deflect another pass from Bailey Zappe. Bledsoe will need more of these performances to make the team again.

OLB Matt Judon

The Pats’ best pass-rusher flexed on new left tackle Calvin Anderson by zipping right by him for the only non-coverage sack in team drills. Judon remains a certified problem.

Duds

WR Kendrick Bourne

Despite taking virtually all of the first-team reps, and the absences of JuJu Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thornton, Bourne failed to register a catch. Quarterbacks went 0-for-2 when targeting him, including Mac Jones’ second interception.

K Chad Ryland

Ryland slipped on his first field goal try and missed a 43-yarder at the end of practice, while incumbent Nick Folk nailed all of his kicks. It’s way too early to move Ryland off being the favorite to win the job, but the rookie surely wants that period back.

Offensive notes

• Top targets in competitive team drills: Hunter Henry 7, Devante Parker 7, Pierre Strong 7, Mike Gesicki 5, Rhamondre Stevenson 4, Anthony Firkser 4, Malik Cunningham 4
• Penalties: None
• The Patriots’ first-team offense again worked exclusively from two-tight end personnel: running back Rhamondre Stevenson, wideouts DeVante Parker and Kendrick Bourne and tight ends Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki.
• Mac Jones enjoyed a fast start, going 5-of-6 in an opening period of 7-on-7 work. Among the completions, he hit Parker for a back-corner touchdown on the Play of the Day and Henry on a corner route over Joshuah Bledsoe.
• After Jack Jones picked his first pass in the next drill, Jones finished 4-of-5, including a 30-plus-yard slot fade throw to Gesicki with Adrian Phillips in tight coverage. Perfect throw.
• Around Jones’ 7-on-7 periods, Bailey Zappe dealt with bouts of inaccuracy. He went a combined 6-of-11 to start practice, firing behind receivers and overthrowing third-string tight end Scotty Washington on an out route.
• Zappe reined himself in, however, for a rare period of 11-on-11 work with the starters. He relied entirely on flat throws and checkdowns and went 5-of-5, though he took a sack and whipped one pass that would have led Gesicki straight into obvious trouble on a screen.
• Overall, Zappe finished 13-of-21 and was more erratic than Jones. Again, there is a clear hierarchy in the quarterbacks room, and it shows Jones at the top.
• That said, in the only 11-on-11 period that pitted Jones’ starting offense against the top defense, he went 3-of-7 with a sack and one checkdown. He suffered from a busted screen, overthrow, batted pass at the line and Henry drop.
• In the backfield, Stevenson caught all four targets and took a couple hand-offs as the coaching staff mixed in some light work. Pierre Strong was frequently up next and recorded a team-high seven catches.
• Jones’ connections with his tight ends — one fostered partly due to a lack of receiver depth — is evident and strong. So far in minicamp, he’s completed 10 of 13 passes to Henry and gone 9-of-10 throwing at Gesicki.
• Nice bounce-back day for DeVante Parker, who caught five of his seven targets. He was in the vicinity of two pass breakups on Monday and zero Tuesday.

Sacks: Judon, Team
Absent: Smith-Schuster, Onwenu, Thornton, Guy, Keion White, Boutte, Mosely, Ju. Tavai
Trent Brown returned, was not a full participant.
OT depth is troubling. Starting OTs: Calvin Anderson and Conor McDermott. Backups: Riley Reiff and rookie Sidy Sow.

— Andrew Callahan (@_AndrewCallahan) June 13, 2023

• Bourne’s performance in training camp deserves extra attention. Not only because he went catch-less Tuesday despite eating up first-team reps, but two of his five grabs in Monday’s practice — when he also took a penalty lap — came on screens.
• Not to mention, if DeAndre Hopkins signs, Bourne could be on his way out due to a logjam at receiver and his team-friendly contract on its final year.
• None of the backup receivers have flashed enough to warrant consideration as a sleeper to make the final 53-man roster — yet.
• Trent Brown’s absence in team drills left Calvin Anderson starting at left tackle and Conor McDermott at right tackle. Their backups were Riley Reiff and fourth-round rookie Sidy Sow, respectively.
• That, of course, is a major concern given Brown’s inconsistent conditioning and spotty injury history. It’s been five years since Sow, a college guard, played offensive tackle in a game.
• Inside, fourth-round rookie Jake Andrews took the first reps in Mike Onwenu’s place at right guard. Andrews rotated with practice-squad alum Bill Murray, who converted from defensive line less than a year ago.
• Interestingly, Andrews also replaced starting center David Andrews halfway through Zappe’s lone 11-on-11 period with the starters. The younger Andrews currently projects as the team’s backup center, but the Patriots invite competition at every position, even at the expense of established veterans and captains.
• From left to right, the second-team offensive line: Reiff, Chasen Hines, James Ferentz, Bill Murray and Sow. Fifth-round rookie Atonio Mafi also took reps at left guard with the second team and a few first-team reps at right guard.
• During special teams periods, the quarterbacks threw to the side with the tight ends, including Washington. He’s a former wide receiver who bulked up almost 30 pounds to play his new position and appeared in one game last season, the Christmas Eve loss to Cincinnati.

Defensive notes

• Starting personnel used during 11-on-11 periods: defensive linemen Davon Godchaux, Deatrich Wise, Christian Barmore, Carl Davis and Daniel Ekuale; linebackers Matt Judon, Ja’Whaun Bentley, Josh Uche and Jahlani Tavai and defensive backs Kyle Dugger, Adrian Phillips, Jonathan Jones, Christian Gonzalez, Jack Jones, Jalen Mills, Marcus Jones and Jabrill Peppers.
• Interceptions: Kyle Dugger, Adrian Phillips
• Pass breakups: Joshuah Bledsoe 2, Christian Barmore
• Would-be sacks: Matt Judon, Team
• Penalties: Anfernee Jennings (offsides)

• Have another day, Jack Jones. He didn’t allow a completion in man coverage, per the Herald’s charting, as he continued to rotate with Jonathan Jones and Christian Gonzalez at outside cornerback.
• Gonzalez did not stand out for reasons good or bad. Overall, the first-round rookie has been a natural fit at minicamp.
• Jonathan Jones took a few reps at safety during 7-on-7 work, a position he’s moonlighted at before. Jones most notably played back deep during the Patriots’ last Super Bowl win over the Rams as a game-plan wrinkle.
• The plan to replace Devin McCourty appears to involve all available safeties, including possibly the eldest Jones. Kyle Dugger, Jabrill Peppers, Adrian Phillips and Jalen Mills all took turns rotating into deep-half coverage and/or a single-high spot as the free safety with the first-team defense in 11-on-11 work.
• That group did not include 2021 sixth-rounder Joshuah Bledsoe, who was the most productive of all defensive backs and started the second 7-on-7 period. Great day for him.
• Up front, the defensive line rapidly recognized most screens a day after Bill O’Brien dialed up a ton of misdirection. Deatrich Wise and Christian Barmore were among those fastest on the scene against running back and receiver screens.
• Josh Uche has had an unexpectedly quiet minicamp considering his raw talent, the non-padded setting and lack of starting-caliber offensive tackles across from him.
• Third-round rookie linebacker Marte Mapu took snaps with the first, second and third-team units. He bounced between linebacker and safety, and yet again earned high praise from veterans in their post-practice press conferences.
• The Patriots’ starting unit used far more personnel groupings with two linebackers in team drills. Interestingly, Mack Wilson — their fastest linebacker who was benched for most of the second half of last season — joined Ja’Whaun Bentley on those downs.
• Bentley, again, was a staple in the middle of Belichick’s defense for every drill and starting package.

Special teams

• Punt returners: Marcus Jones, Jabrill Peppers, Myles Bryant, Demario Douglas, Ed Lee
• Kick returners: Isaiah Bolden, Ed Lee

• Starting punt team: Bryce Baringer, Joe Cardona, Matthew Slater, Chris Board, Brenden Schooler, DaMarcus Mitchell, Jonathan Jones, Ja’Whaun Bentley, Mack Wilson, Jahlani Tavai, Jabrill Peppers
• Starting kickoff team: Chad Ryland, Matthew Slater, Chris Board, Brenden Schooler, DaMarcus Mitchell, Raleigh Webb, Jonathan Jones, Kyle Dugger, Jabrill Peppers, Jalen Mills, Mack Wilson
• Nick Folk out-performed rookie Chad Ryland during end-of-practice field goal attempts. Meanwhile, rookie Bryce Baringer seemed to at worst draw veteran Corliss Waitman and crushed a few balls that reached notably higher heights than Waitman’s.
• Seventh-round rookie Isaiah Bolden continues to see top reps on kickoff returns. He was the best kick returner in college football in 2021 at Jackson State, though the staff won’t know what it has with him until training camp or perhaps the preseason.
• Matthew Slater and Jonathan Jones repped as the starting gunners on punt team. Tre Nixon and Jourdan Heilig, an undrafted rookie who hardly played any defense in college at Appalachian State, were their backups.

Extra points

• Former Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman visited practice.
• Penn State head coach James Franklin attended his second straight practice and spoke briefly to the team after they huddled at the end.

Pastore fired rounds of 68 and 66 to reach 10-under at TPC Boston in Norton. In second place was amateur John Broderick. Broderick, playing out of Dedham Country & Polo Club, has been consistent, carding rounds of 68 and 68.

One shot back of Broderick in a four-way tie for third place at 7-under were Kyle Gallo of Berlin, Conn. (70-67), Brad Adamonis of Ponte Vedra, Fla. (68-69), Mike Van Sickle of Wexford, Pa. (71-66) and Nicholas Pandelena of Atkinson, N.H. (68-69).

The inaugural event was won in 1905 when the legendary Donald Ross was the winner at Vesper Country Club in Tyngsboro.

Hours later, Baltimore placed Mountcastle on the 10-day injured list with vertigo, the sensation that the environment around oneself is moving or spinning. About 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, Hyde said Mountcastle was set to go through a full pregame routine and be available off the bench, with hopes he could be in Wednesday’s lineup. The roster move, which is retroactive to Saturday, came just before the game’s 7:05 p.m. first pitch.

To fill Mountcastle’s place on the active roster, the Orioles selected the contract of Mark Kolozsvary, adding a third catcher to the roster. Baltimore designated right-handed pitcher Noah Denoyer — the organization’s No. 20 prospect according to Baseball America — to create a 40-man roster spot for Kolozsvary.

Mountcastle, 26, leads the Orioles with 11 home runs, though he hit only one in his past 15 games while batting .158 with a .459 OPS and 20 strikeouts in 65 plate appearances. In his past eight games, Mountcastle was 4-for-30 with no extra-base hits and 11 strikeouts. The IL stint comes at an unfortunate time for Mountcastle, who has dominated the Blue Jays. In 45 career games against Toronto, Mountcastle has slashed .306/.368/.613.

Kolozsvary hit .200/.238/.450 for the Cincinnati Reds last season in his first major league action. The Orioles claimed him on waivers in October and outrighted him off the 40-man roster the next month. Between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk, the 27-year-old was hitting .172 with a .549 OPS in 25 games, often spending time with the Orioles as a member of their taxi squad.

Signed as a free agent after going unselected in the 2019 draft, Denoyer, 25, was added to Baltimore’s 40-man roster in the offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 draft after he posted a 2.61 ERA and 35.4% strikeout rate for Bowie last year, working largely as a bulk reliever. In a similar role this season at Triple-A, he has a 5.04 ERA while walking 6.5 batters per nine innings, more than triple his rate from last season. The Orioles have a week to trade Denoyer or try to pass him through waivers.

This story will be updated.

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However, that doesn’t appear to be something the Yankees are considering, as Hal Steinbrenner said the club hasn’t discussed the possibility of demoting Volpe, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. The owner added that he told Volpe at the end of spring training that the Yankees weren’t just giving the 22-year-old a three-week audition when the team named him the starting shortstop.

“You can benefit from so many things in this game,” Aaron Boone added when asked if it was best for Volpe to experience growing pains in the majors. “Like there’s not the end-all answer. My feel and my belief in Anthony is that the cream is gonna rise to the top. I believe in his ability and the person, that he’s going to be an outstanding player in this game, and we’ve seen signs of that already all year. He’s had his fair share of struggles, but he’s also been in the middle of a lot of winning.”

Volpe has made positive contributions in his first 67 games, totaling nine home runs, 26 RBI and 14 stolen bases entering his first Subway Series on Tuesday. He’s yet to be caught running.

But Volpe’s 77 strikeouts easily led the Yankees, and he was slashing just .186/.260/.345. His already-poor numbers have been worse over his last 80 plate appearances: he’s slashing .122/.175/.257. Volpe has also been striking out more and walking less compared to earlier in the season, when his speed and knack for getting on-base alleviated some shortcomings.

Volpe has also had some bumps in the field. While he’s made spectacular plays throughout the season, he’s also booted routine ones with regularity. His seven errors led the team entering Tuesday.

Peraza, meanwhile, has been hitting .321/.396/.728 with 10 homers and 17 RBI over 19 games since returning to Triple-A on May 14. Still, Volpe’s job doesn’t currently appear to be in danger.

“When we made the decision to go with Anthony at the start of the season, it wasn’t that we thought he was just gonna light the world on fire right away,” Boone said. “We expected that there’d be some ups and downs. But one of the things we’re betting on is the person, too, and knowing that he’d able to handle some of the inevitable adversity, some of the inevitable challenges and adjustments that you got to make.”

Boone said that some of those adjustments include getting Volpe’s strikeouts down, as he had racked up 28 in his last 24 games entering Tuesday. He’s striking out 30.8% of the time this season — nearly matching what he did over a limited stint at Triple-A last year.

“There’s adjustments to be made,” Boone said. “I think we’re talking about the right things to get him on track and get him really going the way we feel like he’s capable of. That’s part of it. Mechanically, you can get a little bit out of sync. That can take you out of it for a little bit.”

While Boone acknowledged Volpe has some improvements to make at the plate, the manager hasn’t wavered when discussing his belief in the rookie with the media. Boone also said that he expresses that confidence to the player “every now and then,” but he tries not to send the wrong message by overdoing it.

“We believe in him a lot,” Boone said, adding that Volpe has been the same person through peaks and valleys. “And part of that is we’re gonna treat him like he’s one of our key guys. So I’ve gone about that a lot. There’s certain days you pick a spot, you have a little conversation, but at the same time, I probably do that on some level with even some of our most veteran guys.

“I truly believe he’s equipped for all this.”

BADER IN BOSTON

Boone said the “the hope” is to have Harrison Bader return against the Red Sox on Friday in Boston.

Bader, out since May 29 with a hamstring injury, went through a full workout on Tuesday at Citi Field. He will play in a rehab game at Somerset on Wednesday.

RORTVEDT HURT AGAIN

Ben Rortvedt, the Yankees’ oft-injured No. 3 catcher, has suffered another injury at Triple-A. He landed on the seven-day injured list with a bone bruise after getting hit by a pitch, per Boone.

The skipper’s understanding was that Rortvedt wouldn’t miss more than a week, but the only other catchers on the Yankees’ 40-man roster are major leaguers Jose Trevino and Kyle Higashioka.

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One year after receiving NL MVP votes, Lindor is hitting just .216 with an OPS+ of 96. However, he does have 12 home runs, which is tied for second on the team with Francisco Alvarez. He made a brutal error over the weekend in Pittsburgh in the first of a three-game series, the same day Gucci released their collaboration on a custom glove.

The timing wasn’t great, but just about everything this season has been off for the Mets. Heading into the start of the Subway Series on Tuesday, the Mets were 31-35, good enough for fourth place in the NL East. An underperforming club has been searching for answers for the last month, maybe even longer, which has been the most frustrating part.

“It’s been difficult in that sense of, there are days I can’t explain how we lost,” Lindor said. “There are other days when I can explain. Like, days when I had the chance to impact the game, but I didn’t do it.”

The Mets continue to find creative ways to lose, losing eight of their last nine coming into the week. Each loss seems to be more befuddling than the last.

“It’s a difficult stretch, not because we’re losing because of the lack of effort, or because we’re losing because of we’re not playing well,” Lindor said. “A lot of the games that we have lost we’ve been like, ‘What happened?’ And then, there’s been a lot of times where I don’t hit, where I don’t get it done.”

Lindor has experienced stretches like this in the past, but it’s much different now that he has a family. His 3-year-old daughter Kalina offers a mental break that he never fully understood until his wife, Katia, gave birth to her. Katia is due any day with baby No. 2.

“Going home to my girls, it changes everything,” Lindor said. “It’s almost like a safe haven. I’m at ease when I’m with them. It has been different to struggle with a family and struggle without a wife and a daughter.”

Katia is ready to give birth to baby No. 2 any day now. Lindor has consistently expressed awe and admiration for her and for all of the women in his life for various reasons. They might be mothers, but they’re also compassionate. They help the 29-year-old disconnect from baseball in a different way.

“I had my mom before,” he said. “Going home, my mom would make something to eat and we inherited would sit on the couch for hours and not say a word to each other. But it was quiet time.”

There is no quiet time with a 3-year-old child, but Lindor has found that quiet isn’t what he needs anymore. The frustration subsides with Kalina, and Lindor starts to see things a little clearer.

“Now, I’m running around chasing my daughter,” he said. “I don’t have that time on the couch.”

With Pete Alonso on the injured list and likely to miss the next three to fours weeks of play, Lindor has become an even more important leader. Manager Buck Showalter doesn’t want to blame any of the team’s leaders, but it’s clear some are feeling the heat.

The always-positive Alonso has let the positive slip at times as he, like the rest of the team, have struggled to find answers. Justin Verlander has been upset with his recent performance. Max Scherzer hasn’t admitted defeat, but seemed more determined than contrite.

“I think sometimes the hanging [the blame] on one phase or one person is a little unfair,” Showalter said. “[Verlander and Scherzer] only pitch every five or six days, people in the bullpen have to do a job behind them, we have to catch baseball we have to score runs. There are a lot of other factors in there, so it’s not that simple.

“Baseball is the epitome of a team sport.”

The Mets still believe in their leadership group, and the leaders believe in the team’s ability to play at a higher level.

“Every day, we’re one step closer to where we want to be,” Lindor said.

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In the first of three mandatory workouts, the Ravens looked very much like a team trying to learn a system implemented by new offensive coordinator Todd Monken.

Jackson was solid but could have been better, especially during the opening seven-on-seven period. As for Beckham, he practiced like a veteran who has been in the NFL since 2014 and was once considered one of the game’s top players.

He did very little.

Beckham participated in some individual drills but was held out of most of the team-oriented drills.

It was all planned, some of it by Beckham. First of all, Beckham is trying to rebound from a torn ACL that forced him to miss all of last season. Then there is the superstar status. A lot of them don’t participate in offseason team activities, regardless if they are under contract or the practices are mandatory.

“He’s going to be full go as far as health, but I expect us to ramp up,” coach John Harbaugh said. “It will be kind of see as you go.”

That’s logical. There is no sense putting him in danger for a minicamp practice. But there were some flashes of quickness and superb route running that once made Beckham one of the most dangerous receivers in the game.

As for Jackson, it’s going to take him a while to get used to running the offense after operating under former coordinator Greg Roman for nearly his entire NFL career. The Ravens have spent more time developing the passing game, and it’s apparent that Harbaugh wants the offense to work at a faster pace.

Also, on every passing play there is a quick option so that Jackson doesn’t have to hold the ball unless he chooses to do so.

This newfound freedom for Jackson to change plays at the line of scrimmage is a work in progress. Jackson has to be willing to put in more time in meetings and practices to earn that right, and that wasn’t always the case in the past.

Maybe that will change under Monken.

“Lamar has always prepared really hard, but it’s going to be a different type of preparation,” Harbaugh said. “There are going to be different things he’s going to be responsible for looking at. It will be a different lens he’s going to be looking through.”

Don’t fret over offense

I agree with Beckham that there is too much emphasis on learning a new offense. Beckham has been in this offense before as a receiver in Cleveland when Monken was the Browns’ offensive coordinator in 2019.

Football is football. A lot of the plays are the same as they were decades ago, except that each team has its own terminology and style. Winning football still comes down to blocking, tackling, passing and catching. It will never change.

“Conceptually, there are a lot of things where it might have been called this over there and it’s called this over here, so I’m just familiarizing myself with the offense, the playbook, everything,” Beckham said.

Actions speak louder

Harbaugh said this group of receivers might be the best in team history, but that’s nothing to brag about.

The Ravens have Beckham, Rashod Bateman, Nelson Agholor and rookie Zay Flowers, but the Ravens haven’t produced a deep, quality group of receivers since 1996, when they had Michael Jackson, Derrick Alexander and Jermaine Lewis.

Because of the team’s inability to draft a quality No. 1 wide receiver, the Ravens should dampen their enthusiasm about how good this group will become.

Let’s see it on the field first.

Standout plays

The best noncatch of the day belonged to Agholor, who broke cornerback Marlon Humphrey’s ankles on an inside move and left him a couple yards back at the line of scrimmage. Unfortunately, Jackson missed Agholor down the sideline.

The best catch of the day belonged to wide receiver Tylan Wallace, who snagged a one-hander on the right side of the field from backup quarterback Tyler Huntley for a 15-yard gain.

Rookie to watch

Rookie outside linebacker Malik Hamm, an undrafted free agent from Lafayette, continues to impress. The 6-foot-3, 246-pound Baltimore native and City graduate not only has strength and quickness, but a strong motor.

He refuses to stay blocked and has good pursuit. Finding more outside linebackers, especially for special teams, will be a concern for Harbaugh going into training camp.

Left guard intrigue

The Ravens like to rotate offensive linemen, especially on the interior, but rookie Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu, a sixth-round pick out of Oregon, took all the repetitions with the starting group at left guard.

He is expected to challenge third-year player Ben Cleveland for the starting left guard spot, but Cleveland is more of a power run blocker and the Ravens will need more speed and quickness in Monken’s offense.

Running back help needed?

The Ravens were without top running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards on Tuesday, as well as starting fullback Patrick Ricard.

Justice Hill was the top running back in practice and Ben Mason took most of Ricard’s repetitions. Dobbins — who sat out with a minor soft-tissue injury — and Edwards were solid last season while returning from major knee injuries, but Harbaugh might want to find some insurance on the waiver wire. There are plenty of veterans available this time of year.

Hill, though, has practiced well while breaking off several cutback runs.

Passing the torch

Veteran defensive tackle Calais Campbell played only three seasons in Baltimore before signing with the Atlanta Falcons earlier this offseason, but he made a long lasting impression with his teammates.

“He’s really loud, if you know what I’m saying,” said defensive tackle/end Justin Madubuike, who’s entering his fourth season. “He was the old vet, but he showed us a lot of great things, and I definitely want to pass that forward and just definitely be a leader by example.

“There’s a lot of young guys asking me questions. They like the way I work; they tell me that. So, I like to inform them about stuff that I was informed of by older guys. I’m just trying to pass it down, but also try to work hard and try to make sure that I’m leading by example and just doing the right things and just focusing on the little details more than anybody else.”

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The condition of these cars was described as “unacceptable” by one MBTA manager in a June 7 email to CRRC MA representatives, obtained by the Herald.

A separate email goes into more detail, stating that paint repairs had not been completed. Cars were submitted for inspection with “parts sanded down to bare metal.” Multiple connectors were also seen hanging on the underframes.

“It’s been 4.5 years and over 90 cars since CRRC started producing MBTA vehicles out of Springfield,” said Rick Staples, MBTA technical project manager, in a letter to Michael Wilson, CRRC MA production manager.

“It is clear that the condition of these cars is unacceptable for inspection request, yet CRRC requested the inspection. Why does this type of process failure continue to happen?”

Jacob Finch, a mechanical engineer who is working as an integrated member of the MBTA project team for this contract, per his LinkedIn page, wrote in a separate June 7 email that the two-car train set, married pair 47, had “quite a few issues that we should not be finding on final inspections.”

The unfinished paint jobs should have been caught from a production checklist employees are presumably using, Finch said, and the multiple connectors that were hanging indicated that “clearly nobody looked at that, or somebody did unauthorized work.”

The condition of this so-called married pair had been used as a benchmark of sorts for the MBTA, in terms of whether CRRC production is “getting the cars to acceptable condition prior to final inspection,” Finch wrote.

“By my analysis, MP49 was the worst condition car since MP27 (10-plus married pairs ago, February 2022), and MP47 is on track to be worse than MP49,” Finch wrote. “I would say CRRC is failing this test.”

Staples, in his letter, tasked CRRC with providing an explanation as to why it thought these particular train cars were ready for inspection, information on who checked the condition of the cars prior to the inspection request, and what corrective action will be taken to “ensure this clear failure in CRRC’s quality process does not continue.”

A spokesperson for CRRC MA did not respond to a request for comment.

The two letters are the latest example of the T’s dissatisfaction with its Chinese contractor, the low bidder in what eventually became a roughly $870.5 million agreement for 152 new Orange Line cars and 252 Red Line cars. The initial contract, awarded in 2014, was for $565.18 million.

“The emails demonstrate the MBTA’s ongoing commitment to hold the contractor accountable for the quality of its work,” T spokesperson Joe Pesaturo said. “The concerns raised in the emails were addressed before the cars were shipped.

“These cars are highly complex pieces of equipment, and the MBTA is paying close attention to every detail and communicating with the contractor that we will not accept cars that do not meet the highest standards in quality and performance.”

To date, 90 new Orange Line cars and 12 Red Line cars have been delivered. However, only 88 new Orange cars have been “conditionally accepted,” Pesaturo said.

Delivery of new cars was halted in July 2022 for seven months to address manufacturing-related issues identified by the MBTA, and only just resumed this past February.

New cars that have been delivered have been taken out of service several times, including for a battery explosion and braking and wiring failures.

At a virtual community meeting on summer service changes Monday night, MBTA  officials said the availability of new cars has impacted subway frequency on the Orange Line, where old cars have all been replaced.

Melissa Dullea, senior director of service planning, said service on the Orange Line has been “dominated by vehicle availability.” This differs from the other subway lines like the Red, which is most impacted by speed restrictions, she said.

Improved Orange Line frequency this summer will depend on the delivery of new train cars, Dullea said. The tentative plan is to increase the number of daily trains from 10 to 11 this summer, and possibly to 12 in the fall, she said.

“We’re still waiting to hear that, so that’s not confirmed,” Dullea said.

A published summer schedule for the Orange Line, however, shows decreased weekday frequency, with trains arriving every 10-12 minutes starting July 2. Today, peak trains are scheduled to arrive every 7-10 minutes and off-peak trains are supposed to come every 8-12 minutes.

Now the two everyday infielders are set to see their roles scaled back.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora indicated that Hernández will no longer serve as starting shortstop and will instead shift to a utility role, while Justin Turner will see more time at first base in place of Casas, who instead started at designated hitter Tuesday against the Colorado Rockies.

“We went with our best defensive alignment,” Cora said. “That’s something we recognized, obviously the roster is the roster and we have to play with it, but last night I told (bench coach Ramon Vazquez) this is where we’re going.”

Instead of playing shortstop, Hernández will now primarily play second base and center field and will occasionally come in as shortstop in late-game pinch hitter situations. Pablo Reyes will see more time at shortstop, but Cora also emphasized they do not see him as an everyday player either, so the club will most likely mix and match until Yu Chang is ready to return.

Cora also said they’re going to try and avoid using Christian Arroyo at shortstop, leaving the club with limited options with the current roster.

Hernández’s struggles have been well documented. Entering Tuesday he led MLB with 14 errors, 12 of which came on botched throws, and Monday he threw away a ball that would have ended the fourth inning but instead allowed Colorado to score its first run of the game.

Cora said Hernández’s struggles have been surprising and that his arm and mechanics are good, but he’s had a lot of trouble making certain routine plays.

“There are a few plays, especially to his right, where he gets it on time and he slows down and he throws it away. It’s always to his right,” Cora said. “The other ones, trying to turn a double play, all that stuff, that’s going to happen, but the routine ones, he’s having trouble.”

Though Casas drew praise for his defense upon being called up last September, he’s struggled making certain plays and couldn’t cleanly field a routine ground ball in the 10th inning on Monday, which resulted in the eventual game-winning run scoring. Casas leads American League first basemen with four errors, and Cora said there are certain fielding adjustments they would like to see.

“There are a few things he’s not doing,” Cora said. “We’re working with him on his pre-pitch, some things that we have to clean up, decisions on certain ground balls. We’ll keep working with him just like we’re working with Kiké.”

Cora said they have no plans to demote Casas to Triple-A and they will continue working with him at the big league level, but for now the priority needs to be winning games. He said the number one rule of baseball is if you play bad defense you won’t win games, so if the Red Sox hope to close the gap between themselves and their peers they have to take action or risk falling further behind.

“At the end of the day you get (only so many) opportunities to play the position, but you have to make adjustments,” Cora said. “Is it late? Maybe, maybe not. We’ve just got to move on.”

Story’s role a question

With no regular shortstop available on the active roster, the Red Sox could really use Trevor Story back. The two-time All-Star is still recovering from offseason elbow surgery, but on Monday Story said he believes he could be ready to return as a shortstop by August, and possibly by July as a designated hitter.

Story would be a huge help in either capacity, but working him back into the picture as a designated hitter would be much more complicated than it seems at first glance.

Roster-wise, Story serving as everyday DH would require either Turner or Casas to sit most days, and it might also limit the club’s ability to mix and match its outfielders. More importantly, Story would also presumably use up his minor league rehab assignment dates serving as a DH, which might complicate his ability to transition back to shortstop — where he’s really needed — once he is ready to return in that role.

Does that make a Story return as DH in July impossible? Not at all, but Cora said Tuesday that it wouldn’t be easy to pull off.

“With the roster right now it’s kind of hard to do that, but I’m not closing the door,” Cora said. “Like I said a few days ago, right now where we are roster wise that’s very difficult but you never know what could happen in the future.”

Schreiber taking steps

Red Sox right-hander John Schreiber (right teres major strain) threw off flat ground up to 85 feet on Tuesday and is feeling better, Cora said. The reliever has been out since May 15 and has a 2.12 ERA on the season in 18 appearances.

Cora also said lefty Joely Rodriguez (left shoulder inflammation) is expected to throw a bullpen in the coming days, and fellow lefty Richard Bleier (left shoulder inflammation) is still not playing catch. Shortstop Adalberto Mondesi (left ACL rehab) is shut down from baseball activities and is not close to a return.

With steady rain falling, Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus shifted practice indoors to get in good work in the passing game. It was one of a handful of really nice plays for the defense. When Jackson headed to the sideline with a large grin on his face, there were hand slaps from teammates to go around.

In a vacuum, that play is why general manager Ryan Poles decided to keep the 29-year-old Jackson, coming off an injury to his Lisfranc ligament in his left foot in November, with his contract set to pay him $13.1 million this season.

Jackson enjoyed a bounce-back season in 2022 with four interceptions, six pass deflections and two forced fumbles to go with 80 tackles. Without question, it was his best season since 2019, and as a more steady tackler for the new coaching staff, he was one of the few bright spots on defense.

A long offseason spent primarily at Halas Hall rehabbing from the injury suffered in a Week 12 loss to the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium paid off. Jackson was mostly in individual drills last week when he first got back on the field during OTAs and was a participant in full team drills during the first day of minicamp. His timeline for recovery was aided by the fact he did not require surgery, something he learned before the season concluded. He expressed gratitude for the help he received from the training staff.

“It was huge,” Jackson said. “That was the goal to get back in time for vet minicamp. Just to be out there with the guys and get that chemistry back. We have a lot of new faces, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

“It’s just a different feel out there right now, even for me when I got back and watched from the sideline, you just see the energy that the young guys even bring. Then (linebackers) Tremaine (Edmunds), T.J. (Edwards), those guys inside, they are a staple to our defense. Just continue to build off the momentum but the energy is high.”

As much as the new front office and coaching staff valued Jackson for becoming a playmaker in the middle of the field, his leadership was critical for a young roster that will be very young again. He was a sounding board for fellow safety Jaquan Brisker during his successful rookie season, and other rookies held Jackson in high regard. It was evident in the postgame locker room that Jaylon Jones and Elijah Hicks, players who could add depth to the secondary this season, were devastated last year when Jackson was injured simply backpedaling. They were following his lead on and off the field,and Jackson had hosted players at his home just days prior on Thanksgiving.

The Bears would like Jackson to help rookie cornerbacks Tyrique Stevenson and Terell Smith, among others, this season.

“He’s been a true pro,” Eberflus said. “He’s works his tail off. And it wasn’t easy. His love of football helped him to do it. It’s infectious for him the way he works and the experience he brings to the table for our entire secondary because we have a pretty young secondary now. He’s that one guy in there that has that experience and brings that know-how and what to do and how to do it to our room. We really love where Eddie is.”

Jackson had been down the injury road before, so he knew about the grind that would be involved in making it back. What he hadn’t experienced is a season as raw and distasteful as 2022 when the Bears stumbled to 3-14. Entering his seventh season, maybe there was a lesson in that.

“Especially right now, these years, we can’t waste them,” he said. “I feel like I go out there — I’ve got to lead the right way. I’ve got to lead by example. I’ve got to go out there and play the best ball that I can and and make plays.

“How I act, how I go out there, how I perform. I feel like we feed off that. We feed off one another. Just going out there and just doing my best. It’s huge. It’s Year 7 for me, so it’s not more years to waste. Every year I want to come out and improve and get better and better.”

If Jackson can continue to make plays in the post like he did on Day 1 of minicamp, he’ll be just the kind of leader the Bears need — one that leads first by his performance.

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Adrian Black of Taunton, appeared in Falmouth District Court Tuesday on charges of murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Prosecutors say that he stabbed Milteer Hendricks, 19, of Falmouth, on Saturday at the Gosnold Grove Apartments in Falmouth.

Falmouth Police officers responded to the East Falmouth Highway apartment complex at around 4:45 p.m. and found Hendricks bleeding from stab wounds. He was transported to Falmouth Hospital and then flown to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston where he was pronounced deceased the next morning.

A probable cause hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 16.

BPD looking for armed robbery suspect

The Boston Police Department is looking for the public’s help in locating a suspect for an armed robbery that occurred Friday in the 200-block of Columbia Road in Dorchester, which appears to be the address of a barber shop.

The department released images of the man and described him as taller than 6 feet, of stocky build and tattooed on his left hand. At the time of the alleged crime, he was wearing a black “Just Do It” hooded sweatshirt, a black facemask, black pants and Nike Air basketball shoes. They say he fled in a sedan with a Florida license plate.

Authorities say not to approach the suspect if you see him, but to call 911 immediately. The department asks that if you have any information regarding the suspect or incident to call detectives at 617-343-4275 or submit an anonymous tip via the CrimeStoppers tip line at 1-800-494-TIPS (8477) or by texting the word “TIP” to CRIME (27463).

Children burned at Longmeadow playground

Someone poured pool-cleaner acid on three of the slides at Bliss Park Playground on Sunday morning, which caused “burn-like” injuries to at least two children and local authorities want your help in tracking the culprit down.

“I let the kids go play. I didn’t notice that there was liquid to collect at the bottom of the slide. I just assumed it was rainwater,” Ashley Thielen, the mother of the two injured children, told Western Mass News in Springfield. “I didn’t really think much of it, and then, my baby, who is one, just started crying. That was when I knew this liquid that they were around wasn’t water.”

The Fire Department on Tuesday said that “all hazardous materials have been cleaned up and removed” from the park but that “the playground area will remain fenced off out of an abundance of caution.”

The investigation determined that the park’s pump room in the basement of the pool building had been broken into in what the Fire Department determined must have been “a great deal of effort,” as the perpetrator had climbed two fences, ripped the cover off a ventilation shaft and got in through there. Authorities believe whoever did it was probably also injured by the acid.

Longmeadow authorities ask that if anyone has any information to contact the local police department tip line at 413-565-4199.

Taylor suggested to Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren in a letter written Monday that the Bears build a new stadium on lakefront property in Waukegan, expanding the team’s footprint in Lake County.

Taylor said in her letter there are several locations with the necessary land to build a stadium and entertainment area with easy access to Interstate 94, U.S. Route 41 and public transportation. The Bears already train in Lake Forest, making Waukegan an excellent location for a stadium, she wrote.

“The City of Waukegan has multiple large parcels including lakefront property which could be developed into both the state of the art stadium and entertainment district the team has publicly expressed in building,” Taylor said in the letter.

Bears senior vice president for marketing and communications Scott Hagel said in an email Tuesday afternoon a June 2 statement issued by the team said, “It’s our responsibility to listen to other municipalities.” Waukegan is now one of them.

“That holds true today,” Hagel said, referring to the statement, indicating it is the team’s responsibility to listen to Waukegan officials.

The Bears acquired the former Arlington International Race for $197 million with plans to build a stadium and large development there. Naperville recently began discussions with the team to locate in that suburb, and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said he will make an effort to keep the team in the city.

While the Bears will continue with the current demolition work in Arlington Heights, the team said in its statement it is talking to other municipalities about possible locations because of recent developments with the Arlington Heights location.

“The property’s original assessment at five times the 2021 tax value, and the recent settlement with Churchill Downs for 2022 being three times higher, fails to reflect the property is not operational and not commercially viable in its current state,” the team said in the statement.

While the Bears continue to consider locations other than Chicago or Arlington Heights, Lake County Partners President and CEO Kevin Considine said Waukegan is a place worthy of consideration. Halas Hall, the team’s practice facility, is less than 15 miles away from the city’s lakefront.

“From what we see, there are a number of potential sites for a Bears stadium in the Chicago area and Waukegan is absolutely one of them,” Considine said. “We understand the Bears needs, and we have the ability to meet them. The Chicago Bears have been an important community partner in Lake County for a long time.”

Along with a history of training in Lake County since the first Halas Hall was built on the campus of Lake Forest College in 1978, Taylor said in her letter Waukegan can offer the team an opportunity to continue to play along Lake Michigan which the other suburbs bidding to host the stadium cannot.

“We believe that the Monsters of the Midway deserve the opportunity to continue the tradition of playing along the shores of Lake Michigan, with the market opportunity of having a year-round facility capable of hosting other major events, including the Super Bowl, the Final Four and other events of an international scale,” Taylor wrote in the letter.”

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Embrace Boston is hosting an inaugural Juneteenth concert that starts at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday on the Boston Common, where the nonprofit oversees its memorial honoring Martin Luther King Jr., and his wife, Coretta Scott King.

The 1.5-hour concert features the Embrace Choir and other city groups, setting “the celebratory tone for us as we honor the national holiday and historical importance of Juneteenth.”

The federal holiday commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans.

On Thursday, Embrace Boston is offering panels, keynotes, dancing and music centered around racial equity, healing, wellbeing, and joy at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, with registration beginning at 10 a.m.

Embrace Boston’s three-day celebration concludes Friday, culminating in a block party at Roxbury Community College. Grammy-nominated producer Just Blaze is headline the event, commemorating 50 years of hip hop.

The music-filled weekend continues Saturday, when the Boston Landmarks Orchestra hosts a free concert at the Salvation Army’s Kroc Community Center in Dorchester at 4 p.m. The show includes pieces from Scott Joplin, William Grant Still, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson and more.

Remembering those who endured slavery and seized freedom on Cambridge’s Brattle Street before the American Revolution will be the focus of a Sunday afternoon outdoor community gathering put on by the National Park Service at Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters.

The event, beginning at 4 p.m., will feature music, poetry, speeches and a screening of Descendant, an award-winning film that highlights the descendants of the survivors from the Clotida, the last-known slave ship to arrive in the U.S.

On Juneteenth, Monday, the Boston Juneteenth Committee is hosting its 13th annual Emancipation observance at the National Center of Afro American Artists, at 4 p.m. That follows a 12 p.m. flag-raising at the Dillaway-Thomas House on Roxbury Street and 1 p.m. parade to the NCAAA.

The Congregational Library & Archives celebrates the holiday by holding a three-day exhibition of the Sacred Ally Quilt Ministry at its Boston location, 14 Beacon St. The exhibit includes nearly a dozen quilts memorializing the final words of George Floyd.

Donald Trump made a first appearance in federal court in Miami on Tuesday facing 37 counts related to the mishandling and retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Here’s a look at the charges, the special counsel’s investigation and how Trump’s case differs from those of other politicians known to be in possession of classified documents:

WHAT HAPPENED IN COURT?

Trump’s lawyer entered a not-guilty plea for him, and the former president was released on his own recognizance without no bail. He will not have to surrender his passport or have his personal travel restricted.

He scowled at times during the 50-minute hearing, but was otherwise expressionless. He folded his arms, fiddled with a pen and crossed his fingers back and forth as he listened.

Trump leaned over to whisper to his attorneys before the hearing began but did not speak during the proceedings. He remained seated while his lawyer Todd Blanche stood up and entered the plea on his behalf. “We most certainly enter a plea of not guilty,” the lawyer told the judge.

Blanche objected to barring the former president from talking to witnesses, including his co-defendant, valet Walt Nauta, saying that they work for him and he needs to be able to communicate with them. After some back and forth, Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman said Trump cannot talk to them about the case except through his lawyers, but he can talk to them about their jobs.

Nauta was granted bond with the same conditions as Trump. He did not enter a plea because he does not have a local attorney. He will be arraigned June 27 before Chief Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres, but he does not have to be present.

Unlike Trump’s arraignment in New York, no photographs were taken because cameras aren’t allowed in federal court. There were, however, sketch artists, and theirs will be the only images from the actual courtroom appearance.

Security remained tight outside the building, but there were no signs of significant disruptions despite the presence of hundreds of protesters. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said on Fox News that there were no arrests or “major incidents.”

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

After the hearing, Trump was flying back to his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club. He planned to hold a fundraiser and give a speech later Tuesday night.

Before heading to the airport, Trump’s motorcade took a detour to Versailles Restaurant in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, where a small crowd of supporters awaited him. Posing for photos and saying “food for everyone,” Trump commented briefly on his case.

“I think it’s going great,” he said. “We have a rigged country. We have a country that’s corrupt.”

Several religious leaders at the restaurant prayed over him for a moment.

WHAT ARE THE CHARGES?

Trump faces 37 counts related to the mishandling of classified documents, including 31 counts under an Espionage Act statute pertaining to the willful retention of national defense information. The charges also include counts of obstructing justice and making false statements, among other crimes.

Trump is accused of keeping documents related to “nuclear weaponry in the United States” and the “nuclear capabilities of a foreign country,” along with documents from White House intelligence briefings, including some that detail the military capabilities of the U.S. and other countries, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors allege Trump showed off the documents to people who did not have security clearances to review them and later tried to conceal documents from his own lawyers as they sought to comply with federal demands to find and return documents.

The top charges carry penalties of up to 20 years in prison.

HOW DID THIS CASE COME ABOUT?

Officials with the National Archives and Records Administration reached out to representatives for Trump in spring 2021 when they realized that important material from his time in office was missing.

According to the Presidential Records Act, White House documents are considered property of the U.S. government and must be preserved.

A Trump representative told the National Archives in December 2021 that presidential records had been found at Mar-a-Lago. In January 2022, the National Archives retrieved 15 boxes of documents from Trump’s Florida home, later telling Justice Department officials that they contained “a lot” of classified material.

That May, the FBI and Justice Department issued a subpoena for remaining classified documents in Trump’s possession. Investigators who went to visit the property weeks later to collect the records were given roughly three dozen documents and a sworn statement from Trump’s lawyers attesting that the requested information had been returned.

But that assertion turned out to be false. With a search warrant, federal officials returned to Mar-a-Lago in August 2022 and seized more than 33 boxes and containers totaling 11,000 documents from a storage room and an office, including 100 classified documents.

In all, roughly 300 documents with classification markings — including some at the top secret level — have been recovered from Trump since he left office in January 2021.

DIDN’T PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN AND FORMER VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE HAVE CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS, TOO?

Yes, but the circumstances of their cases are vastly different from those involving Trump.

After classified documents were found at Biden’s think tank and Pence’s Indiana home, their lawyers notified authorities and quickly arranged for them to be handed over. They also authorized other searches by federal authorities to search for additional documents.

There is no indication either was aware of the existence of the records before they were found, and no evidence has so far emerged that Biden or Pence sought to conceal the discoveries. That’s important because the Justice Department historically looks for willfulness in deciding whether to bring criminal charges.

A special counsel was appointed earlier this year to probe how classified materials ended up at Biden’s Delaware home and former office. But even if the Justice Department were to find Biden’s case prosecutable on the evidence, its Office of Legal Counsel has concluded that a president is immune from prosecution during his time in office.

As for Pence, the Justice Department informed his legal team earlier this month that it would not be pursuing criminal charges against him over his handling of the documents.

WHAT ABOUT HILLARY CLINTON?

In claiming that Trump is the target of a politically motivated prosecution, some fellow Republicans have cited the Justice Department’s decision in 2016 not to bring charges against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Trump’s Democratic opponent in that year’s presidential race, over her handling of classified information.

Clinton relied on a private email system for the sake of convenience during her time as the Obama administration’s top diplomat. That decision came back to haunt her when, in 2015, the intelligence agencies’ internal watchdog alerted the FBI to the presence of potentially hundreds of emails containing classified information.

FBI investigators would ultimately conclude that Clinton sent and received emails containing classified information on that unclassified system, including information classified at the top secret level. Of the roughly 30,000 emails turned over by Clinton’s representatives, the FBI has said, 110 emails in 52 email chains were found to have classified information, including some top secret.

After a roughly yearlong inquiry, the FBI closed the investigation in July 2016, finding that Clinton did not intend to break the law. The bureau reopened the inquiry months later, 11 days before the presidential election, after discovering a new batch of emails. After reviewing those communications, the FBI again opted against recommending charges.

At the time, then-FBI Director James Comey condemned Clinton’s email practices as “extremely careless,” but noted that there was no evidence that Clinton had violated factors including efforts to obstruct justice, willful mishandling of classified documents and indications of disloyalty to the U.S.

DOES A FEDERAL INDICTMENT PREVENT TRUMP FROM RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT?

No. Neither the charges nor a conviction would prevent Trump from running for or winning the presidency in 2024.

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Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans passed a resolution that would repeal a Biden administration rule tightening federal regulations on stabilizing braces for firearms, an accessory that has been used in several mass shootings in the U.S. over the last decade.

The resolution passed 219-210 nearly on party lines and after a contentious floor debate where Republicans accused the administration of “executive overreach” and Democrats condemned a bill they said would “help kill people.” Two Democrats voted in support and two Republicans voted against it.

The resolution, which was introduced by Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., will now go to the Senate, which could take up the measure as soon as this week. Should it pass, President Joe Biden has promised a veto. Overriding a presidential veto would require two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate.

The new rule issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in January treats guns with the accessories like short-barreled rifles, a weapon that is like a sawed-off shotgun and has been heavily regulated since the 1930s.

The regulation, which went into effect June 1, was one of several steps Biden announced in 2021 after a man using a stabilizing brace killed 10 people at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado. A stabilizing brace was also used in a shooting in Dayton, Ohio, that left nine people dead in 2019 and most recently in a school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee.

Stabilizing braces transform a pistol into a weapon that’s powerful and easy to conceal, Attorney General Merrick Garland said when he announced the rule. Originally developed for disabled veterans, gun-control groups have said the accessories have became a loophole exploited by gunmakers to make weapons more deadly.

Since taking effect earlier this month, the rule requires anyone who has a gun with an arm-stabilizing brace to register the weapon with the federal government and pay a fee, or remove the brace from their weapons.

Republicans employed the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to undo recently enacted executive branch regulations, to try and nullify the new rule that they claim has turned millions of gun owners into felons.

“This rule doesn’t just infringe upon Americans’ Second Amendment liberties. It represents a dangerous government overreach by the administration,” Clyde said during debate Tuesday. “Congress maintains sole legislative authority, not government agencies, not the executive branch.”

Several lawsuits have been filed against the regulations by gun owners and state attorneys general. They say it violates Second Amendment protections by requiring millions of people to alter or register their weapons. In some cases, judges have recently agreed to temporarily block enforcement of the rule for the plaintiffs in a setback for the Biden administration.

House Democrats defended the rule on Tuesday, saying it could save lives.

“How many more mass shootings need to happen, how many more kids need to die before my Republican colleagues pull their heads out of the sand and realize that the NRA money is not worth the damage that’s been done to our country,” said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass.

The main sponsor for the measure, Clyde, is a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus and the owner of a gun store in his district in Georgia. His proposal to overturn the ATF rule first came to the House Judiciary Committee in late March for markup. But House Republicans postponed debate of the measure after a gunman used a weapon with a stabilizing brace to fatally shoot three children and three adults at an elementary school in Nashville, Tenn.

Last week, Clyde claimed GOP leadership had blocked his resolution from reaching the floor as retribution for his no vote on a bipartisan agreement to lift the debt ceiling, which leaders denied.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said he and Rep. Tom Emmer, the GOP’s chief vote-counter, had been working intensely to ensure enough support to pass the legislation in the narrowly divided House.

“We’ve been moving people every week on this bill,” Scalise said. “It has not been easy.”

The clinic is a refuge from the streets and an oasis of faith for those struggling. It’s also a place where women have access to a doctor, a nurse practitioner, a registered nurse and a therapist. The women can also come to take a shower, get fresh clothes and snacks and take a nap.

And a makeover Tuesday.

It might be only June and the Bears-Packers season opener Sept. 10 at Soldier Field might be nearly three months away, but Jones still fanned the rivalry’s flames Tuesday during mandatory minicamp at Halas Hall by calling Packers fans “s—–” and adding that “half of them don’t even know football.”

Jones’ barbs came in response to a question about the seemingly wide-open NFC North picture this year after the Packers traded quarterback Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets.

The sixth-year veteran said he wished Rodgers had played another season in Green Bay. (It probably should be noted that Jones played in just two of Rodgers’ 25 career victories against the Bears after the defensive lineman joined the Bears on a two-year contract in 2022.)

“We went up there and we played a pretty good game, but it got away from us at the end, obviously, and they won,” Jones said of the Packers’ 27-10 win in September. “But their fans are really (s—–). So yeah, I wanted to go back up there and I wanted to play them and I wanted to beat them and I wanted him to be there so he could see it. But the fact he is gone, I mean, it’s cool. I guess it’s better for him not to be here.

“But yeah, I’m ready to take it over. I mean, it’s a good time to be a Bears fan. I’m not even going to lie to you.”

Asked why Packers fans are so “s—–,” Jones called them “frickin’ obnoxious just yelling and all that other stuff about things that don’t even matter.”

“The game hasn’t even started yet, like what are we talking about here?” Jones, 26, said. “Whatever, bro. Half of them don’t even know football. It’s so weird to me. But I’m just ready to go back out there and play. And I want to go out there and I want to beat the hell out of them on their field and I want to hear the boos then. That’s what I look forward to.”

Jones isn’t the only player to trash talk in the rivalry. After all, Rodgers, claiming to see a Bears fan flipping him the double-bird in October 2021 at Soldier Field, yelled on the field to Bears fans, “I own you! All my (bleeping) life! I own you! I still own you!”

But the Bears haven’t had much substance to back up their insults directed at the Packers during the Rodgers era. Perhaps that will change with Rodgers gone and new quarterback Jordan Love at the helm.

Jones at least sounded optimistic about the Bears core despite a 3-14 season in 2022.

He noted the difficulty of playing through a year in which the Bears traded defensive stars Roquan Smith and Robert Quinn and had another star, Eddie Jackson, go down with a foot injury. He spoke highly of the potential of rookie defensive linemen Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens. And he said the 2023 team is “a whole different locker room than it was last year”

“We’ve got a lot more guys who are more team-oriented versus themselves,” Jones said. “When you’ve got a bunch of guys that are on one-year deals and they’re all worried about what they’re going to be next year, it’s kind of hard to build a tight group. But when you’ve got guys that are going to be here for three years, four years, two years, guys who really want to come in here and win, that’s when you really start cooking with fire because now you’ve got talented players and you’ve got guys that want to be here and want to play for the Bears. It’s going to be a good deal.”

Jones, who had 52 tackles, 12 tackles for a loss, seven quarterback hits and three sacks last season, spoke of that chemistry again when he was asked about the Bears potentially signing a veteran edge rusher to bolster the thinnest position group on the roster.

“Whoever they bring in here I hope that he fits the team chemistry and team camaraderie that we’re building here because that’s a very delicate type of thing that you don’t want to mess up,” he said. ”Because when your team is close, that’s kind of rare in the league. The biggest thing you try to build is like an actual team who care about each other. Being in this league, everybody’s worried about the money and about making plays and doing it for self. So if you get a bunch of guys who are doing it for each other, you’ve got a special group of guys. And we’ve got that here with the Bears.”

Of course, adding a defensive end who can help make sure Love doesn’t look like Rodgers probably would boost morale too. And help Jones back up the trash talk.

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The city was under a haze because of smoke carried down from wildfires burning in Canada.

“Insane, it was like orange outside,” starter Lucas Giolito told the Tribune on Friday.

The team’s scheduled game on Wednesday against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium was postponed because of what Major League Baseball called “clearly hazardous air quality.”

“It’s that warning, that reminder that ‘Hey, don’t take this for granted,’” Giolito said. “‘We keep going the way we’re going, we continue to piss Earth off, we’re going to feel the consequences.’ We felt those in New York. I pitched the first night (Tuesday). We could all tell it was tough and the next day we couldn’t even get a game in.

“Earth’s trying to remind us, ‘Hey, why don’t we take care a little bit better.’”

Giolito is doing his part to help.

He and fellow Sox starter Dylan Cease joined the Play For Trees Program in 2022 — a partnership between the global reforestation nonprofit One Tree Planted and Players for the Planet, which according to its website focuses on “positive change for our environment” — to help athletes make an impact by tying performance statistics to trees planted.

They wedged planting trees with strikeouts last season, each supporting the work of reforestation through One Tree Planted.

Chris Dickerson, the Players for the Planet co-founder, presented Giolito with the “Golden Shovel Award” during an on-field ceremony before Friday’s game against the Miami Marlins at Guaranteed Rate Field for his commitment to planting more than 30,000 trees — the most by an athlete in the program in 2022.

“He’s been such a huge piece of the new generation and the athletes that continue to come on and want to get involved,” Dickerson told the Tribune on Friday.

“The thing about Lucas, it’s putting his money where his mouth is. Walking the walk while talking the talk. Lucas has been the pinnacle of that in 2022.”

Dickerson said Giolito’s commitment of more than 30,000 trees planted in Northern California roughly represents an area three times the size of Guaranteed Rate Field.

Giolito and the Sox were in California on Tuesday, beginning a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.

Giolito said the honor “means a lot.”

“I lived in Northern California for a few offseasons over the last few years, I was out there when pretty much all NorCal was on fire, it was devastating for communities, especially devastating for wildlife population,” Giolito said. “To be able to kind of do my part with my platform, raising awareness, raising money, especially with the One Tree Planted, I love what they do.

“Being able to support them through Players for the Planet has been an amazing opportunity. I’m looking forward to doing more in the future, hopefully have a few Golden Shovels under my belt by the time I’m done playing.”

Through the partnership, Giolito has aided in bringing trees back to areas that need them.

“Trees are a huge part of life,” Giolito said. “They’re big parts of habitats, big parts of bringing oxygen and other things to the environment, stabilizing the environment. Planting trees is one of the simplest things you can do, but also one of the most impactful.

“(One Tree Planted) does a wonderful job organizing, providing different options, different areas of need. We take it from there, go out, try to get some strikeouts and keep planting them.”

Last offseason, Giolito participated in a beach cleanup project in the Dominican Republic with Players for the Planet. The group collected about two tons of marooned debris — nearly 3,000 pounds of which was plastic — during cleanups totaling almost three hours, first at Playa Montesinos and then Fuerte San Gil.

His involvement in environmental causes isn’t new. Giolito did some charity work for the environmental nonprofit Heal the Bay while in middle school in Southern California

“I’m going to continue to use my platform and the platform of Players for the Planet to spread that message of, ‘Do that little bit more to be more conscious of the waste we’re producing,’” Giolito said. “‘Be more conscious of how it could be affecting the environment, how it could be affecting our Earth.’

“Spreading that message, take one second and think, ‘Hey what’s one little thing I can maybe change to do my part to help a little bit.’ It starts there and then it can grow from there. If everybody does one little thing, it all adds up.”

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