• Judge denies request from Nancy Kerrigan's brother to go back to jail

    Bizuayehu Tesfaye / AP, file

    Mark Kerrigan sits in court during his trial at Middlesex District Court in Woburn, Mass., on May 18, 2011.

    By The Associated Press

    Updated 11:27 a.m. ET: A Massachusetts judge has denied a request by the brother of Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan that he be sent back to jail to finish his sentence on an assault and battery conviction in connection with the death of their 70-year-old father.

    Mark Kerrigan was released early from a county jail on July 27. He was serving 2 1/2 years following his May 2011 conviction.

    His lawyers told Middlesex Superior Court Judge Kathe Tuttman the terms of his probation were too expensive and time consuming. Kerrigan's probation conditions included alcohol counseling, anger management classes and mental health counseling.

    He is not accused of violating probation but had asked to return to jail to serve the remaining four months of his sentence.

    "It is not up to Mr. Kerrigan to decide that he wants to serve a sentence rather than serve probation," Tuttman said after denying Kerrigan's request.

    She said he could talk to the district attorney about any financial issues and return to court if nothing can be worked out. 

    May 17, 2011: Former Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan continues to support her brother, who is accused of murdering their father. NBC's Mara Schiavocampo reports.

    Before the hearing, Middlesex District Attorney's office spokeswoman Jessica Venezia Pastore said prosecutors expected Tuttman would determine "whether it is in the best interests of the community for Kerrigan to be returned to jail and then subsequently released without supervision or to be ordered to comply with the conditions of probation that the sentencing judge imposed."

    Kerrigan was joined by his family during the 20-minute hearing, but his sister was not present.

    Kerrigan's trial lawyer, Janice Bassil, did not return a phone call or an email seeking comment. A Kerrigan family spokeswoman could not be reached.

    October 2010: Nancy Kerrigan stands up for those who can't

    Heart failure
    Prosecutors said Kerrigan caused his father's death while in a drunken rage at the family's home in Stoneham, north of Boston, on Jan. 24, 2010. They said he put his hands around 70-year-old Daniel Kerrigan's neck with such force that he broke cartilage in his larynx and triggered heart failure.

    Jan. 26, 2010: Police say skater Nancy Kerrigan's father died after an altercation with her brother at the family's Massachusetts home. The brother, Daniel Kerrigan, has been charged with assault. NBC's Jeff Rossen reports.

    Mark Kerrigan was acquitted of involuntary manslaughter. He received the maximum prison sentence on the assault and battery charge despite tearful pleas for leniency from relatives including his younger sister, Nancy, who won a bronze medal at the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, France, and a silver at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.

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  • Bad neighbors for Team USA? Occupy protesters face eviction from park near training base

    Alastair Jamieson / msnbc.com

    Jim L., left, and other members of the Occupy Mile End protest group at their camp in east London on Thursday.

    By Alastair Jamieson, msnbc.com

    LONDON -- An eviction notice has been served on dozens of Occupy protesters who have set up camp in a park next to Team USA's Olympic track and field training base.

    About 50 demonstrators are occupying Mile End Park – two miles from the main London 2012 site and next door to a sports stadium where American athletes will prepare for events in July.

    The park is also visible from the priority traffic lanes that will be used to whisk VIPs and other participants from central London to the Olympic Village, which is located to the east of the U.K. capital.

    The protesters say they are part of the anti-capitalist Occupy movement, which has seen sit-ins and clashes with police in cities including New York, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and Oakland.

    An Occupy London camp was forcibly removed from the grounds of St Paul's Cathedral by police at the end of February, resulting in 20 arrests.

    Local authorities have now secured a court order to close down Occupy Mile End, which began five weeks ago and includes about a dozen tents, a campfire and makeshift toilet facilities.

    Police evict Occupy London protesters from camp

    Tower Hamlets Borough Council applied for the order following complaints from local residents. The manager of a nearby nature reserve also accused camp members of damaging important trees by taking branches for firewood, according to a report in the East London Advertiser newspaper.


    One of the protesters, who gave his name as Jim L., told msnbc.com the group had agreed to leave the site voluntarily on Sunday.

    "This is one of Britain's poorest boroughs and we don't want to take council resources away from things like schools and hospitals so we have agreed to vacate the site without costing the council a penny," he said.

    Mark Taylor, spokesman for the Mile End Residents' Association, said locals were "looking forward" to a "constructive and companionable relationship with Team USA."

    He said: "We are very pleased that the council has secured a possession order to reclaim the park for its intended purpose. It's very sad that trees had to be pulled down for firewood and children's activities disrupted before the council acted."

    Slideshow: When the Olympics is your neighbor

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    A diverse community in East London will welcome the world to Britain for the 2012 Olympic Games. Meet residents and hear how they feel about having a huge, world stage in their backyard.

    Launch slideshow

    Council officials insisted that nobody from the United States Olympic Committee, Team USA or the London 2012 organizers had expressed concern about the Occupy protest on their doorstep.

    A spokesman for the council told msnbc.com: "The USA track and field team will be training at Mile End Stadium during the Olympic Games. They have funded extensive improvements to the stadium, and will be providing a variety of community benefits including free coaching sessions and opportunities to watch the team training.

    Olympic housing crunch: London landlords evict tenants to gouge tourists

    "We are working with the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) on security issues, understandably these issues are sensitive and therefore we are not able to comment in detail, but we do not anticipate that these will impact on the local community."

    The council said it would go to the High Court to have the protesters moved if they did not leave the site, which is owned by a private trust on behalf of the council for use as a public park.

    Brits revel in gloom ahead of London Olympics, but don't believe the gripe

    Jim L. said the Occupy camp would move to a new, unidentified, site on Sunday. He added that there was little chance of protests targeting the Olympic Games.

    "It would be impossible because of the security, in my own view," he said. "We're not against the Olympics as everybody likes a bit of sport, but I believe it is just one big advertising event for the benefit of corporate sponsors."

    At London Olympics, dogs have sniffed out a key anti-terror role

    He said the camp location had been chosen to highlight the issue of poverty in Tower Hamlets and not because of the proximity to Team USA's stadium.

    Slideshow: Venues for 2012 London Olympic Games

    Oda / Getty Images

    From Wimbledon to Wembley Stadium to The Dome, a look at the venues for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

    Launch slideshow

    "There are huge problems here -- lack of affordable housing, unemployment and poverty," he said. "This is not so much a protest as a process, which is why we've come here – to listen to people and gather support. There isn’t much point in trying to occupy private land in order to disrupt the institutions of capitalism.”

    American competitors at the Games will have several bases across London for different sports. Other sites include the University of East London campuses in Docklands and Stratford.

    Langdon School, in the nearby Poplar area, will be home to the Canadian Olympic team.

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  • Kevin Pearce rides again, thanks to family

    By Kevin Tibbles, NBC News correspondent

    LUDLOW, VT. – The first time I met Kevin Pearce he was flying high. It was the run-up to the Vancouver Olympics and this young kid from Vermont was poised to take the podium on snowboarding's half pipe for the U.S. Olympic team.

    He was a good looking, quiet young man who seemed to have his head screwed on straight. One of the most memorable things he told me was that his strong family bonds helped him keep his feet on the ground in spite of all the publicity and promotion that comes with being a world-class athlete.

    Then things went terribly wrong.

    During a training run on Dec. 31, 2009 in Park City, Utah Kevin missed a new maneuver called the “Double Cork” – he slammed his head into the side of the icy course and was left in critical condition. The impact was so severe he even cracked his helmet.

    Suffering from traumatic brain injury, doctors placed Kevin in a medically induced coma so his brain could heal. After about a month in critical care, he was moved to Craig Hospital in Denver, a world renowned rehabilitation center that specializes in treating traumatic brain injuries. He suffered severe memory loss, impaired vision and had to learn to walk again.
     
    Today Kevin, 24 years old, says he doesn't remember anything about the accident.

    "From what I hear, I never will remember what happened that day; and that's alright with me," he said during a recent interview back home in Vermont. “I don't think my brain lets me remember it because it doesn't want to remember it.”

    But Kevin has always been a determined young man. From day one, he focused all his resources on recovery. And his family was there by his side every step of the way. 

    Kevin Pearce and his parents on how happy they are with Kevin's recovery. 

    "What he's done in the last two years, I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't be inspired by it,” said his father, Simon Pearce, a noted Irish-American glass artist and entrepreneur. "It's pretty easy to support somebody who is really positive and upbeat and determined.”

    Kevin’s three older brothers, Andrew, Adam, and David, who has Down syndrome, have also been vital to his recovery.

    David, who used to be his workout partner before the accident, has been by his side throughout his recovery. “It's been so special for me to be with David and get to learn from David. I feel like I used to teach him so much and after this injury he's been there and teaching me so much,” Kevin said.

    Adam – who is also a snowboarder – even quit his job after Kevin’s accident, not only to help with his rehabilitation in Denver, but to make sure it was “fun and enjoyable.”  

    Kevin’s mom, Pia Pearce, said the support of his brothers is a testament to the strength of family.

    “They really rallied I think to support Kevin in an amazing way, but I think Kevin would do it for his brothers, too,” said Pia. “That's exactly what feels important to us as parents.”

    For Kevin, it’s “indescribable” how important his family has been in helping him recover. 

    “They've kind of been there behind me for this entire time. No one's ever kind of left me on my own,” he said. 

    The Pearces invited NBC to meet up with Kevin two years after his accident, for a reunion of sorts at Okemo Mountain in Vermont earlier this week. Kevin was going to strap on his board and head down the slopes alongside the rest of his family.

    (However, this wasn’t his first time back on the slopes since the accident; that happened to the cheers of friends and fans in Breckenridge, Colo. just last month on Dec. 13).

    Needless to say, he ripped it.  (See the video above).

    Did he ever worry that he would never board again?

    "No," he said. “I knew the whole time I was in the hospital. That was the main focus; to get back up here and riding again."

    See Kevin Tibbles report on Kevin Pearce after his accident during the the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games on Feb.15, 2010.

    He knows the dangers of snowboarding and acknowledges that he will probably never compete on the Olympic level again.  “Snowboarding is at this level, it's kind of gone to a crazy place, and I don't think I can get back to it in a safe enough way to make it worth it… It's just not really a possibility or an option to hit my head again.”

    For the meantime, he is just happy to be on the road to recovery.

    “After seeing what kind of condition… I could be in after such a traumatic injury, to be here doing so well and just having such a good time and loving life so much,” he said. “I feel so lucky.”

    Related links:
    PhotoBlog: Snowboarder Kevin Pearce hits the slopes two years after devastating accident
    Olympic dreams lost, but Pearce stays strong

  • London Olympics stand by BP

    Sebastian Coe, chairman of the organizing committee for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, says BP is a "partner to stay" despite the Gulf oil spill, The Associated Press reports.

    BP has been a top-tier sponsor of the London Olympics since 2008 in a deal valued at about $58 million — powerful incentive for what are being touted as the greenest games ever.