AM Briefing: Teachers Union Deal; Funeral For Slain Springfield Cop; Celts Trounced

Happy Friday. Top local stories and what we're watching today:

-- The state’s largest teachers union and an education advocacy group have reached a compromise deal, in which the union has agreed to give up some teacher seniority rights and the group has agreed to drop a ballot initiative that called for more sweeping changes.

-- Slain Springfield cop Kevin Ambrose will be laid to rest today. [Springfield Republican]

-- Taunton residents will cast ballots tomorrow in a citywide referendum on a casino proposed by the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe.

-- Police issued an arrest warrant for a Salem man in connection to the fatal shooting of a former U.S. Army sniper outside a Boston club in April.

-- Howie Winter, the former leader of the Winter Hill Gang and the predecessor of reputed mobster James "Whitey" Bulger, was arrested on extortion charges. [Boston Herald]

-- A new study from the state finds that 42 percent of Massachusetts high school students who drive admit they text while behind the wheel. [Boston Globe]

Sports:

-- The Heat blew out the Celtics in Boston, forcing a series-ending Game 7 on Saturday.

-- Clay Buchholz shut out the Orioles in the Red Sox' 7-0 win.