BOSTON — Saturday's Massachusetts Republican caucuses could prove crucial to who emerges at July's Republican National Convention to claim the party's presidential nomination.
With New York billionaire Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, the senator from Texas, counting and courting every last delegate across the country, the selection of 27 convention delegates from Massachusetts (three each from the nine congressional districts) could be critical. Cruz has been working furiously to make sure Trump fails to hit the magic number of 1,237 delegates needed to secure the nomination, while Trump has recently added senior aides with experience rounding up delegates to help ensure that he does just that.
PARIS (AP) — The bomb maker for attacks on Paris and Brussels had a previous career as a jailer for the Islamic State group, a lawyer for one of his hostages said Friday.
Belgian authorities say Najim Laachraoui, a 24-year-old Belgian, built the explosive belts used in the assaults on both European capitals and blew himself up at Brussels Airport on March 22. He was also one of several jihadis who held some hostages captured in Syria, according to Marie-Laure Ingouf, who represents former French captives Pierre Torres and Nicolas Henin, both journalists.
