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2 Boston-area breweries plan to merge to create Tasty Liquid Alliance

Dorchester Brewing, founded in 2016, plans to merge with fellow Boston-area brewery Aeronaut Brewing, which began in 2014, with locations in Somerville and Everett. In a post on Instagram on Thursday, Dorchester Brewing announced the merger, saying Aeronaut was a “likeminded local brand.” “This partnership will usher in a new era of innovation in the local craft beer scene,” the post read. A press release from Dorchester Brewing said the new parent company will be called Tasty Liquid Alliance. Matthew Malloy, CEO of Dorchester Brewing, who will be CEO of the combined company, said in the release that polling resources and expertise was going to put the company in the best position in the industry. “We feel the industry is beginning to consolidate and we want to be at the forefront of this landscape shift and work hand-in-hand with other growing breweries as we look to the future while keeping diversity, experimentation and open cultures intact.” Malloy said Tasty Liquid Alliance would be looking to add other breweries or beverage makers into their company in the future. Read more: DA identifies man and woman found dead on dirt road off Massachusetts highway The Instagram post continued that both beer brands are staying as is and functioning independently, but under one parent company, “allowing us to make things even better,” the post said. “For you, our customers, nothing really changes on your end,” the post said. “You get to continue enjoying all your favorite beers from both DBC and Earonaut at each of our local taprooms and throughout the local beer scene.” Auronaut’s production for larger batches will be moving to Dorchester Brewing’s location in Dorchester and the Aeronaut staff will keep brewing small batch beers in Somerville. The Everett Cannery taproom will continue to operate into 2024, the post read. “We are beyond excited about this partnership and look forward to what the future brings,” the post read. The merger is expected to take place near the end of September in 2024. Along with producing their own beer brands, the two breweries will provide contract brewing services for 20 regional and national brands.

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Harry's Cheese and Cold Cuts in Downtown Boston Is Closing

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Walgreens pushes Boston store closure to Jan. 31

The announcement came after fierce community opposition and a day after the Globe first reported on the upcoming closure, as well as community concerns about the gaps in access to health care and everyday items. Customers of the 416 Warren St. Walgreens in Roxbury will have two more weeks to pick up prescriptions or stock up on health care essentials. The drugstore, which was originally slated to close on Monday, instead will close on Jan. 31, city officials said. This story was produced by the Globe’s Money, Power, and Inequality team, which covers the racial wealth gap in Greater Boston. You can sign up for the newsletter here . Advertisement “This additional time is going to allow us to work with community members, and make sure folks are set up properly,” said Segun Idowu, the city’s chief of economic opportunity and inclusion. This way, “they won’t experience any interruptions getting their medication.” Get Money, Power, Inequality A weekly newsletter connecting you with news about the racial wealth gap in Greater Boston, along with solutions being proposed to bridge the gap. Enter Email Sign Up In the meantime, the city is working to help residents find alternative ways to receive medication, like online prescription fills or home delivery, Idowu said. “We cannot tell a private company not to close their doors,” he said. “But we can work with our state colleagues, hospitals, and these companies to ... come up with a contingency plan.” While the city can’t reverse the company’s decision, Idowu said the issue does present the city with an opportunity to create a standard, where companies must give an earlier, publicized notice of a closing. “A lot of these decisions are not made in those two weeks before they close,” Idowu said. “When it comes to a pharmacy and people’s life-saving medications, [customers] need a little bit more time to figure this out.” However, Idowu said the situation also underscores the dire conditions of the retail pharmacy industry, where shrinking profits are forcing companies to leave communities that rely on these businesses the most. Advertisement “This isn’t just a Walgreens issue, this is happening across the retail pharmacy market,” Idowu said. “Our goal is to figure out what to do to address the issues in the industry overall.” The neighborhood surrounding the Warren Street store is nearly half Black, and one-third Hispanic, according to census data. Residents age 65 and over make up 15 percent of the population. Almost a third of families live below the poverty line. Residents, activists, and community leaders have vigorously objected to the store’s closing. A protest Saturday drew more than 30 people. Members of the Communities of Color for Health Equity and Prophetic Resistance Boston delivered a letter on Tuesday to the company’s district office in Marlborough. A second protest denouncing the upcoming closure is scheduled for Friday in the drugstore’s parking lot at 4 p.m. The closest pharmacy to the soon-to-close Walgreens is a CVS in Grove Hall, a 15-minute walk, according to city records. There are also four other retail pharmacies that are about 20 minutes away by foot. Two other Walgreens are at least a 40-minute walk. Statewide, Walgreens owns 224 of the 1,100 retail pharmacies in Massachusetts. Since 2022, 58 pharmacies have closed in Massachusetts, one-third being Walgreens stores. Tiana Woodard is a Report for America corps member covering Black neighborhoods. She can be reached at tiana.woodard@globe.com. Follow her @tianarochon.

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These are smart investments in tomorrows young adults (Editorial)

As she led visitors through the new headquarters of Girls Inc. in Holyoke, Emma Pirnie couldn’t help comparing it to the cramped space she got to know at the nonprofit’s former home. “Back at the old building, there weren’t any windows,” she said. Let there be light. New vistas are opening not only for Girls Inc., but for the Boys and Girls Club of Chicopee. This is what investing in young people looks like. Both organizations provide services often mentioned when people wonder how young people today can be hopeful. That’s come up in Springfield, where people not yet out of their second decade have become ensnared in street crime and gun violence. Girls Inc. exists to help girls aged 5 to 18 do well in school, stay healthy and develop habits of resilience. As a major renovation continues at its new 480 Hampden St. home, aided by a recent $2 million allocation by Congress, the organization shows young women they are valued members of a rising generation. One whose talents will not go to waste. In Chicopee, hammers have been swinging as well at the Boys and Girls Club. With help from a newly launched capital campaign, the club will erect a 4,500-square-foot teen center on its Meadow Street grounds, starting in the spring of 2024. Jason Reed, the club’s executive director, says the new center will be used, in part, to help young members explore careers in the trades – and to think seriously about their work lives to come. And using $150,000 from a Community Development Block Grant, the club will rebuild a popular basketball court and add a half-court space, so more young people can play. These projects, including a safer parking lot, will ensure that a vital community resource keeps up with what people need it to be. It isn’t long before the teens who gain so much from organizations like Girls Inc. and the Boys and Girls Club are members of another club: adulthood. The years they spend learning and letting off steam with these groups prepares them to be responsible and giving grownups. We like the slogan on a sign outside Girls Inc.’s new space: “Her Future. Our Future.”

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business

Inside the News Industrys Uneasy Negotiations With OpenAI

For months, some of the biggest players in the U.S. media industry have been in confidential talks with OpenAI on a tricky issue: the price and terms of licensing their content to the artificial intelligence company. The curtain on those negotiations was pulled back this week when The New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement, alleging that the companies used its content without permission to build artificial intelligence products. The Times said that before suing, it had been talking with the companies for months about a deal. And it was not alone. Other news organizations — including Gannett, the largest U.S. newspaper company; News Corp, the owner of The Wall Street Journal; and IAC, the digital colossus behind The Daily Beast and the magazine publisher Dotdash Meredith — have been in talks with OpenAI, said three people familiar with the negotiations, who requested anonymity to discuss the confidential talks. The News/Media Alliance, which represents more than 2,200 news organizations in North America, has also been talking with OpenAI about coming up with a framework for a deal that would suit its members, a person familiar with the talks said.

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business

11 Charts That Explain the Year in Business, Technology and the Economy

It has been a confusing year for the economy and markets. At the start of 2023, economists largely predicted a global recession, and Wall Street was bearish on stocks, with many analysts expecting the S&P 500 to finish the year just a touch higher than where it started. Fast-forward 12 months: No recession (yet) and the S&P 500 is tantalizingly close to a record high. Here are 11 charts that help explain how we got here. Inflation and its ripple effects Central bankers around the world continued an aggressive campaign of interest rate increases in 2023, raising policy rates in an effort to tame the highest inflation in generations.

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Vitamin Sea Brewing set to open 2nd brewery and taproom in Mass.

Vitamin Sea Brewing, a popular brewing company in Massachusetts, is set to open its second brewery and taproom in the Bay State. The brewery will be opening a second location in Plymouth. The new spot will feature a brewery and taproom located in downtown Plymouth, “offering locals and visitors alike a unique beer experience in a beautiful coastal setting,” the business announced in a Facebook post Thursday. The company opened its first production brewery and taproom in Weymouth in 2019. Less than two months later, it was voted the best brewery in New England, winning the people’s-choice bracket competition organized by Boston Magazine. “Get ready, Plymouth! Vitamin Sea Brewing is coming soon to satisfy your thirst for exceptional craft beer,” the company’s post said. “Stay tuned for more details, and get ready to dive into a sea of flavor and excitement!” South Shore Things. We are thrilled to announce that Vitamin Sea Brewing is bringing its craft beer expertise to the... Posted by Vitamin Sea Brewing on Thursday, January 18, 2024 A wide variety of crafted beers — from “refreshing IPAs and hop-forward ales to smooth stouts, crisp lagers and cocktail-inspired seltzers” — will be offered at the new location, the business said. On the food menu will be paninis, including gluten-free and vegan options. The taproom is also expected to offer “a warm and inviting atmosphere where you can relax, socialize, and enjoy our exceptional beers,” according to the company’s post. There will be an event space as well for corporate gatherings, milestone celebrations and social get-togethers, the post noted. “With flexible layout options, state-of-the-art facilities, our team of experienced event coordinators can bring your vision to life,” the business’s post said. Vitamin Sea Brewing noted it is also committed to partnering with local organizations and participating in community events “that make Plymouth an even better place to live, work, and play.”

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business

Corporate America Has Dodged the Damage of High Rates. For Now.

“If we say that the cost of their borrowing to do those things is now a little bit higher than it was two years ago,” Ms. Sheth said, more corporate leaders could decide: “Maybe I’ll hire less people. Maybe I won’t set up that factory. Maybe I’ll cut production by 10 percent. I might close down a factory. I might fire people.” Small businesses have a different set of problems. Some of this potential effect is already evident elsewhere, among the vast majority of companies that do not fund themselves through the machinations of selling bonds or loans to investors in corporate credit markets. These companies — the small, private enterprises that are responsible for roughly half the private-sector employment in the country — are already having to pay much more for debt. They fund their operations using cash from sales, business credit cards and private loans — all of which are generally more expensive options for financing payrolls and operations. Small and medium-size companies with good credit ratings were paying 4 percent for a line of credit from their bankers a couple of years ago, according to the National Federation of Independent Business, a trade group. Now, they’re paying 10 percent interest on short-term loans. Hiring within these firms has slowed, and their credit card balances are higher than they were before the pandemic, even as spending has slowed. “This suggests to us that more small businesses are not paying the full balance and are using credit cards as a source of financing,” analysts at Bank of America said, adding that it points to “financial stress for certain firms,” though it is not yet a widespread problem.

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Is Boston Properties, Inc. (BXP) Stock Over or Undervalued?

Wednesday, August 23, 2023 01:41 PM | InvestorsObserver Analysts InvestorsObserver gives Boston Properties, Inc. (BXP) a weak valuation score of 9 from its analysis. The proprietary scoring system considers the underlying health of a company by analyzing its stock price, earnings, and growth rate. BXP currently holds a better value than 9% of stocks based on these metrics. Long term investors focused on buying-and-holding should find the valuation ranking system most relevant when making investment decisions. See Full BXP Report BXP gets a 9 Valuation Rank today. Find out what this means to you and get the rest of the rankings on BXP! Metrics Analysis Summary

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Business Monday ETC: Nov. 27, 2023

Girls Inc. of the Valley is looking to the community for support as it launches its 2023 Giving Tuesday fundraiser. All donations from Giving Tuesday, the global day of giving, will help Girls Inc. of the Valley continue to offer programs to youth in the Valley at no cost to their families. In addition to raising funds on Giving Tuesday, Girls Inc. participants will be giving back to their community. Members of the Girls Inc. Teen Center will be distributing menstrual hygiene kits at the program center and throughout Holyoke on Giving Tuesday, Nov. 28, as part of their ongoing Project Red initiative. The online Giving Tuesday fundraising page can be found here. Donations will be accepted through Sunday, Dec. 31. **************************************************************** The Polish National Credit Union announced a donation of $25,000 to the Chicopee Boys and Girls Club. These funds will support the construction of the club’s Teen Center. The Teen Center will be built across from the Chicopee Boys and Girls Club’s main building located at 664 Meadow St., Chicopee. The project is anticipated to be ready by late spring 2024. ****************************************************************** LiftTruck Parts & Service Inc., a local, family-owned business, has launched a “Fill a Forklift” fundraiser to benefit Head Start in the eastern and western parts of Massachusetts, Head Start Brockton and HCS Head Start (Holyoke, Chicopee, Springfield) Head Start. LiftTruck will be collecting monetary donations at their Brockton and West Springfield locations and accepting donations online through December. LiftTruck Brockton is located at 140 Manley St., Brockton, and LiftTruck West Springfield is at 20 Parkside St, West Springfield. ************************************************************** The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation announced the launch of a new grant program, Supporting Health Coverage Enrollment Efforts, that will support organizations statewide that help eligible people secure and maintain MassHealth (Medicaid) or other insurance coverage. The foundation awarded a total of $600,000 to 10 community-based organizations across the state. The grant program prioritizes community-based organizations that primarily serve people who have been socially, economically, culturally or racially marginalized and areas of the state that are in need of stronger enrollment support. Two Western Massachusetts organizations received grants: Ecu-Health Care, a nonprofit based in North Adams, which will provide outreach, education and application enrollment assistance to uninsured and underinsured individuals across Northern Berkshire County. Hilltown Community Health Centers, located in Western Massachusetts, which reach some of the most rural areas of the commonwealth and will focus on unhoused individuals, immigrant populations, senior citizens and families needing assistance. ************************************************************* Canna Provisions was voted by the Lee Chamber of Commerce as Corporate Citizen of the Year for 2023. It is the first time the nearly 100-year-old chamber has voted for a cannabis company for the award. The award recognizes a local corporate citizen whose generosity in charitable giving impacts the region being served. ********************************************************* Atlas Chiropractic of Holyoke recently presented a check for over $8,000 to Jennie Adamczyk of Providence Ministries at Atlas Chiropractic’s office on Dwight Street. For the past 11 years Atlas Chiropractic, Dr James McCann, staff and his practice members have donated cash (and food — previously) for the needy as part of its Annual Patient Appreciation Event, where all practice members are treated in exchange for a cash donation or previously canned goods and non-perishable food items. Patients voluntarily make an appointment during the month-long event. In exchange for their donation, members receive chiropractic adjustments. First-time patients were provided with a consultation and exam, including any necessary X-rays, and neurological scans for $99 (not the usual $220). This money was also to be donated in full to Kate’s Kitchen. Last year, Atlas practice members donated $4,151. *********************************************************** North Brookfield Savings Bank was named among the top banks in the United States by The Institute for Extraordinary Banking. The bank was recognized with the Institute’s Banky Award for its commitment to strong community banking. ******************************************************** On Nov. 20, Marcotte Ford became the first Ford dealership in Massachusetts to complete the installation of electric vehicle charging stations on its campus. Marcotte Ford invested over $1 million for the installation, which includes two level-2 electric vehicle charging stations and two level-3 electric vehicle charging stations. In attendance for a ribbon-cutting ceremony were Holyoke Mayor Joshua A. Garcia, Holyoke Chamber President Jordan Hart, Holyoke Planning and Economic Development Department, Holyoke City Council members, regional Ford representatives, Holyoke Gas and Electric, JM Electrical and ChargePoint. Marcotte Ford is located at 1025 Main St., Holyoke.

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New head of JCC has eye on expansion

With the help of chief development officer Jillian Kohl , Rabinoff-Goldman got to work. Many donors stepped up, led by three seven-figure gifts from developer Arthur Winn and his family, the Paul & Phyllis Fireman Charitable Foundation (cofounded by former Reebok CEO Paul Fireman ), and the Chleck Family Foundation . That was in the summer of 2022, and Rabinoff-Goldman was recruited from her administrative job at the Gann Academy to take over for the Newton-based organization following the retirement of longtime chief executive Mark Sokoll . One of the first items on her to-do list: raise $5 million to renovate and update the lobby areas of the JCC’s complex in Newton. Lily Rabinoff-Goldman had barely settled into her then-new job as CEO of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Boston when she had to start raising money. Such is the life of a nonprofit executive. Advertisement They pulled it off, and construction finally is set to begin this week on the 11,000-square-foot project. The remodeling of the 1980s-era lobby includes a new “J-Cafe” and teen lounge as well as new communal seating areas. Rabinoff-Goldman hopes contractor Elaine Construction Co. will have the bulk of the work done in time for a gala honoring former JCC chair Lou Grossman in April. The project represents the last phase of a series of upgrades to the facility that began in 2015 but were put on hold early in the COVID-19 pandemic. “It has felt really exciting that people wanted to be part of the next phase,” Rabinoff-Goldman said. “It gives people a sense of community. That’s the thing that we emerged from COVID wanting filled. ... Essentially, we are creating new ways to gather for informal and more formal programming within the building.” She also has had to help the JCC navigate a much larger project next door, the construction of a 174-unit senior living complex by 2Life Communities, a project that required the JCC to use its emergency back entrance as its main front gate. Advertisement Remodeling aside, it’s been “an amazing learning curve” getting up to speed on the organization and its various services, including its fitness center and summer camps, she said. The JCC employs about 450 people year-round (and many more in the summer), brings in about $26 million a year in revenue, and has about 2,500 members. “This is a JCC that’s not afraid to try new things,” Rabinoff-Goldman said. “This is a super-creative and innovative organization.” Jim Rooney, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s chief executive. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff Chamber chief has an eye on crime During her State of the City speech last Tuesday, Mayor Michelle Wu highlighted the drop in gun violence under her watch. But she didn’t mention another crime stat that Jim Rooney, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s chief executive, brought up two days later in a video address to chamber members, in which he conveyed “growing concerns” about personal safety in downtown Boston, among many of the issues he cited that the chamber will be watching in 2024. “Shootings are down,” Rooney noted, “but overall crime in the city increased 2 percent from the year before.” Rooney also cited a busted-up transit system and lack of affordable child care as obstacles to bringing more workers back downtown after the office towers emptied out early in the pandemic. In a subsequent interview, Rooney said he regularly hears from people who live or work downtown and feel it has become less safe since before the pandemic. Yes, Boston is safe when compared to many other cities of its size, Rooney said, but he doesn’t want civic leaders to be lulled into complacency. Rooney says he has expressed these concerns to Wu, and believes she takes them seriously. Advertisement “It’s tricky for a chamber president and for a mayor to say things out loud that might dissuade people from coming downtown,” Rooney said. “I don’t want to be the person painting the picture that downtown isn’t a safe place. It is. [But] I don’t want to be the Amityville sheriff either, [saying] ‘go in the water while the shark swims by.’” Marketing maven Colette Phillips, pictured on April 5, 2021. Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff With new book, Phillips highlights allies who promote diversity In 2014, marketing maven Colette Phillips did something unexpected for a Black woman known for highlighting people of color: She shone the spotlight on white guys instead. Phillips came up with a list of diversity supporters, dubbed “White Men Who Could Jump,” to highlight white executives who are working to make their companies more inclusive. Now, Phillips has taken it a big step further, by writing a book about the topic, called “The Includers.” She’s scheduled to talk about the book on Tuesday, its publication date, at the ‘Quin House, alongside one of her “includers,” Eastern Bank chief executive Bob Rivers. Other prominent local executives who get shout-outs in her book include State Street’s Ron O’Hanley, Liberty Mutual’s Tim Sweeney, and Tim Ryan at PwC. The book is jam-packed with strategies for improving an organization’s diversity, examples of how it’s done, and descriptions of the tangible benefits. Advertisement The book arrives at a time when corporate diversity efforts, known collectively as “DEI,” are under fire. The new wave of criticism — Phillips calls it “anti-woke rhetoric” — makes her book, published by BenBella Books, even more timely. “I got pushback from people of color: ‘You’re Miss Diversity in Boston, I can’t believe you’re going to honor all white men,’” Phillips said. “My contention is, you have to amplify and spotlight the white guys who get it ... so that others will emulate them.” North Carolina-based Honeywell has hired Interise to run its “StreetWise MBA” program for potential city contractors, to help diversify Honeywell’s Boston-area roster of suppliers as it proceeds with various upgrades to city buildings. Justin Sullivan/Getty Honeywell teams up to boost minority contracting While the city of Boston has been criticized for awarding relatively few city contracts to Black- or Latino-led businesses, a partnership between a giant industrial conglomerate and a Boston-based nonprofit is trying out a new approach to change that. North Carolina-based Honeywell has hired Interise to run the nonprofit’s “StreetWise MBA” program for potential city contractors, to help diversify Honeywell’s Boston-area roster of suppliers as it proceeds with various upgrades to city buildings. The StreetWise MBA program, usually taught over the course of a dozen or so classes, teaches management, procurement, and business development skills. “They want to bid on more city contracts, and retain the one they have when it comes up for renewal,” Interise chief executive Darrell Byers said, in reference to Honeywell. Representatives from 15 contractors are set to begin Interise classes at UMass Boston on Jan. 25. If this pilot program proves successful, Byers said, Honeywell may try it in other cities, and it could be a model for other Boston companies to replicate. He added: “We’re taking away that stigma that we can’t find minority businesses.” Advertisement In November, Kate Haranis left her role as a senior manager in corporate public relations at Boston Scientific to launch Haranis & Co., which aims to help local life sciences tell their unique stories. The Boston Globe/Boston Globe Haranis pursues a dream she didn’t know she had When she was young, Kate Haranis didn’t dream about becoming a med-tech PR consultant. But then, as she would be quick to point out, what kid does? However, as her career progressed, at PR shops Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications and Denterlein, and then as a senior manager in corporate public relations at Boston Scientific, Haranis realized she did have that dream, after all. In November, she left Boston Scientific to pursue it. She is launching Haranis & Co. to help local life sciences companies tell their unique stories. For now, she’ll work out of her Southborough home, which may or may not come in handy while raising two young children. Haranis got her start at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, with the help of Levi Garraway, now chief medical officer at Roche, and also learned from mentors such as Geri Denterlein and the late Larry Rasky. While Haranis doesn’t have an M.D. or Ph.D. after her name, she does have something important to offer the region’s med-tech cluster. “I’m not scientifically gifted [but] what I am good at is storytelling,” Haranis said. “Better storytelling isn’t just helpful to a company’s reputation and bottom line. It can actually make connections that accelerate innovation.” Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him @jonchesto.

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JBI Interiors, maker of furnishings for restaurants, hospitals, schools, closing Chicopee plant

CHICOPEE — JBI Interiors, a maker of furniture and cabinetry for hotels, offices, hospitals and, especially the fast-food industry, will close its Chicopee plant early next year and lay off 39 employees. The company told the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development earlier this month that the layoffs will begin Feb. 24 and end April 12 although it is possible that one or more employees will remain employed for a limited time up to 90 days to wrap up production and close the plant. The Labor Department shared the paperwork this week.

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Hasbro to Cut 1,100 Jobs as Weak Toy Sales Persist

Hasbro, the toymaker behind popular brands like Peppa Pig, Transformers and Magic: The Gathering, said on Monday that it would eliminate roughly 1,110 jobs, or nearly 17 percent of its work force, as the company continued to grapple with weak sales. Hasbro’s chief executive, Chris Cocks, said in a memo to staff on Monday that “the market headwinds we anticipated have proven to be stronger and more persistent than planned.” The layoffs, announced during the critical holiday shopping season, follow a reduction of 800 jobs at the company earlier this year; the toymaker said it expected a majority of the latest cuts to take place over the next six months, with the remainder over the next year. “We anticipated the first three quarters to be challenging, particularly in toys, where the market is coming off historic, pandemic-driven highs,” Mr. Cocks said in the memo. “While we have made some important progress across our organization, the headwinds we saw through the first nine months of the year have continued into Holiday and are likely to persist into 2024.”

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business

Boston-based Wayfair lays off 13% more of its workforce

Local News Boston-based Wayfair lays off 13% more of its workforce Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah said the company “went overboard in hiring” during the COVID-19 pandemic. Boston-based online furniture retailer Wayfair laid off 13 percent of its workforce on Friday, marking the third round of layoffs since 2022. Wayfair co-founder and CEO Niraj Shah published an open letter to employees announcing the dismissal of 1,650 workers, citing a period of overhiring during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The natural question is to ask ‘Why?’ I think the reality is that we went overboard in hiring during a strong economic period and veered away from our core principles, and while we have come quite far back to them, we are not quite there,” Shah wrote in the letter. Advertisement: A little over a month ago, Shah said the company was “back to winning” but urged Wayfair employees to work harder. “Working long hours, being responsive, blending work and life, is not anything to shy away from. There is not a lot of history of laziness being rewarded with success,” Shah wrote in a Dec. 13 email to employees. The company’s annual sales soared from $9 billion to $18 billion in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the nation and Americans turned to online retailers for merchandise that improved their quality of life at home. Shah said that the surge in business prompted leaders to grow the team, but the windfall eventually fizzled out. “By mid-2022, it was clear we were in a bust period,” Shah wrote in Friday’s letter. He also referenced two previous rounds of layoffs and restructuring since 2022. He said those changes were “difficult emotionally” but the staff reductions have increased company efficiency. Wayfair reported a $564 million loss for the first nine months of 2023. In its most recent quarter, the company documented a net loss of $163 million. Friday’s layoffs, which are reported to save the retailer about $280 million, prompted the company’s stock price to increase by 15 percent in pre-market trading. Advertisement: Shah said the company is giving severance and other resources to laid-off employees.

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Business Monday ETC: Dec. 11, 2023

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has presented Mercy Medical Center’s Family Life Center in Springfield with the 2023 Breastfeeding Achievement Award. Mercy Medical Center is one of 19 hospitals recognized for the maternity care practice of “providing routine newborn exams, procedures and care in the mother’s room.” The award recipients were announced recently at the Breastfeeding in The Bay State Conference. Mercy’s Family Life Center offers breastfeeding support before delivery, during the hospital stay, and after discharge to encourage, teach and support families who choose to breastfeed. Earlier this year, Mercy’s Family Life Center was also recognized by the National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program as a “Bronze Safe Sleep Hospital” for its commitment to best practices and education on infant safe sleep. ******************************************************************** The Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield has announced its December 2023 Networking Crawl and January 2024 Leadership Luncheon with speaker Meghan Rothschild. Springfield YPS concentrates its efforts on business and career development, networking, social & cultural involvement and community activism. To learn more, visit https://www.springfieldyps.com/. Upcoming events include: — SantaCon YPS Networking Crawl in downtown Springfield on Thursday, Dec. 14, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., starting at 350 Grill, located at 350 Worthington St. — Leadership Luncheon: From Underestimated to Bossed Up with Meghan Rothschild on Tuesday, Jan. 9, from noon to 1 p.m., at Springfield Public Library (East Forest Park Branch), 136 Surrey Rd. Springfield YPS is an organization built to exchange ideas, share common interests and cultivate its membership to serve as the Pioneer Valley’s leaders of tomorrow. ******************************************************************* Monson Savings Bank recently donated $1,000 to HomeFront Strong, formerly known as the Brookfield Institute, in support of its annual Shaped by Service Art Show. HomeFront Strong’s Shaped by Service Art Show, hosted by Workshop13 at its Artworks Gallery, highlights the healing power of art for many of our service members, veterans, and their families. The artwork of service members, veterans, and their family members were displayed at Artworks Gallery in Ware during the Artists Reception on Veterans Day weekend. To learn more about HomeFront Strong, visit https://brookfieldinstitute.org/

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Business Monday ETC: Dec. 4, 2023

Springfield Technical Community College brought home awards from the District 1 conference of the National Council for Marketing & Public Relations held in Boston Nov. 2-4. The STCC department won four “Medallion Awards” for outstanding work in the categories of Digital Advertisement (one silver), Social Media (two bronze) and Writing (one bronze).

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business

Ligotti, Redeker and McGranaghan of Boston City Group, Inc. handle sale of 18-unit multifamily portfolio for $4.5 million

Plymouth, MA An 18-unit multifamily portfolio comprised of four buildings on 18-22 Forest Ave. Court, and 40 Bourne St., was sold on November 7, 2023, for $4.5 million Caroline Ligotti, Linda Redeker and Emily McGranaghan of Boston City Group, Inc. at Coldwell Banker Commercial worked with the seller and procured the buyer. The portfolio was comprised of some 18,240 s/f and a mixture of two-, three- and four-bedroom units. The three Forest Ave. Court buildings are situated side by side at the end of a cul-de-sac, and 40 Bourne St. features six 2-story townhomes overlooking the reservoir and hiking trails. Each building has parking and is located within walking distance to schools and retail services. Built in the early 1900s, all buildings are situated close to the water, with some units featuring water views from the upper floors. The buildings were all 100% leased at the time of closing with stable, long-term tenants and many significant opportunities to add value with renovations and potential expansion.

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Southwick business is ready to install towns 1st electric vehicle chargers

SOUTHWICK — After two and a half years of planning, Valvoline Express Care will soon offer two charging station for electric vehicles. “We’re in the oil changing business, so it might seem counterintuitive to install EV charging stations,” said Ken Scharmann, who owns the business at 657 College Highway with his brother Jeff.

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Blue Wall offers a dozen flavorful food concepts in trendy space at UMass

Powerball held its first drawing of the year shortly after midnight on Monday — New Year’s Day. The drawing consisted of five finalists — one of whom is from New England — who were invited to travel to New York City to take part live on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest. The five finalists were: Finton Wallace of Rhode Island Maire Kelly Joyce of New York Lora-Lee Casady of Idaho Tracy Lacobie-Goeddel of Georgia Pamela Bradshaw of North Carolina Finton Wallace, an 81-year-old Navy veteran who worked as a banker for more than 30 years from Newport, was the New Englander. But he lost out in the drawing to Bradshaw, who lives in Clinton. “I’m so blessed, Bradshaw said after winning the drawing during the live broadcast. “I’m so blessed.” That was the second time in a row that a North Carolina resident won Powerball’s year-opening $1 million drawing, according to the North Carolina Education Lottery. The drawing involves North Carolina and 22 other state lotteries. The five finalists won VIP trips to New York City. Bradshaw told the North Carolina Education Lottery that the trip was the first time she flew on a plane, went to New York City and saw the Statue of Liberty. “I cried on the plane ride and I cried at the Statue of Liberty,” she told the lottery. “It’s just been so incredible.” Bradshaw told the lottery that she plans to spend her prize money on buying her own home. “I would love to have my own home that is mine and that I feel safe in. I can have my own house and fix it up pretty and clean and feel safe. Not anything fancy or big, just a little cottage or something with one or two bedrooms,” she said. Powerball’s next drawing will be Monday night with a New Year’s Day drawing. The jackpot is $810 million. The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million.

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This new steakhouse that just opened in Boston is now taking reservations

Boston, meat your newest steakhouse. STK Steakhouse is now taking reservations at its new Boston restaurant that is located at 222 Berkley St. in Back Bay, the restaurant chain said on Facebook Tuesday. This is the first Massachusetts location for the steakhouse chain, which boasts “a dynamic, fine dining experience with the superior quality of a traditional steakhouse,” STK’s website reads. “STK distinguishes itself by emphasizing the social experience and taking a vibe-driven approach to fine dining,” the website continues. “Every venue has a DJ to create an infectious, high-energy atmosphere and the sleek environment is designed to encourage guests to interact and mingle. Ultimately, STK aims to define the modern dining experience complete with incredible food, world-class service and the perfect ambiance.” The STK Boston menu features a raw bar, shellfish platters, entrees and — of course — plenty of steaks. That includes the Ribeye filet, a Dry-Aged Porterhouse and Tomahawk, as well as Australian Flat Iron. Those looking to combine land and sea can indulge in a Surf & Turf platter of a 6-ounce filet with either lobster tail or three grilled prawns. Finish your meal with a dessert like the Bag O’Donuts or the chocolate cake. STK Boston also serves lunch and weekend brunch and has a Happy Hour, Night Out and Pre-Theater menus. More information, including hours and how to make a reservation, can be found online.

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Apple Watch models again on sale after court lifts patent dispute sales halt

Two higher-end models of the Apple Watch can go on sale again after a federal court temporarily lifted a sales halt ordered by the International Trade Commission over a patent dispute. The ITC, a federal agency, ordered the halt in October to block Apple from using specific technologies underpinning a blood-oxygen measurement system in its Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches. Apple has been embroiled in an intellectual property dispute with the medical technology company Masimo over those technologies. Apple cut off online sales of the watches in the U.S. last week just days from the Christmas holiday to comply with the ITC ruling. The court’s action will allow sales of the two Apple Watch models pending its decision on whether to also permit sales as it weighs Apple’s appeal. The two watch models will be available at Apple’s online store by noon Pacific Time on Thursday, according to the company. They returned to some Apple stores Wednesday, with wider availability expected by Saturday. This isn’t the first patent roadblock the Apple Watch has run into as the company morphs its watches into health-management devices. Last year, the ITC ruled that Apple had infringed on the wearable EKG technology of AliveCor — a decision the Biden administration declined to overturn. That dispute hasn’t directly affected Apple Watch sales yet because another regulatory body had ruled that AliveCor’s technology isn’t patentable. The legal tussle on that issue is still ongoing. The patent headaches facing Apple as it tries to infuse more medical technology into its watch models make it increasingly likely the company will either have to start working out licensing deals or simply acquiring startups specializing in the field, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives predicted.

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Multi family sells for $5.6 million in Springfield

A multi-unit house located at 250 Union Street in Springfield has a new owner. The 55,280-square-foot property, built in 1940, was sold on Nov. 28, 2023, for $5,600,000, or $101 per square foot. This is a three-story house. There is a lone fireplace indoors. Real Estate Newswire is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to generate analysis of data from Propmix, an aggregator of national real-estate data. See more Real Estate News

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OpenAI Staff Threatens Exodus, Jeopardizing Companys Future

Mr. Sutskever did not respond to a request for comment. In addition to Mr. Altman, several key OpenAI employees have already joined Microsoft’s new A.I. subsidiary. This includes Greg Brockman, the OpenAI president who quit the start-up in solidarity after Mr. Altman was ousted. Early Monday morning in a post to X, Mr. Brockman said that he and Mr. Altman would also be joined at Microsoft by three OpenAI researchers: Jakub Pachocki, Szymon Sidor and Aleksander Madry. Mr. Pachocki led the development of GPT-4, the technology that underpins OpenAI’s popular chatbot, ChatGPT. He has long worked closely with Mr. Brockman, an engineer who helped found OpenAI in 2015 alongside Mr. Altman and has been deeply involved in almost all aspects of the company’s operations from its earliest days. OpenAI staff was in upheaval in the hours after the board announced Mr. Altman’s ouster, two OpenAI employees told The New York Times. Employees were privately sharing morbid jokes and memes about the power struggles from the HBO show “Succession,” the two said. Many used private group messaging chats and video calls to plan their next steps — and to commiserate with one another. And Mr. Shear’s challenge in winning their loyalty as chief executive quickly became evident. Most OpenAI employees skipped an all-hands video call Sunday night meant to introduce them to Mr. Shear, and some reacted to a message announcing the meeting with vulgar emojis, according to a person familiar with the matter. OpenAI still retains a partnership with Microsoft. Mr. Nadella, Microsoft’s chief executive, said in an early Monday post to X that Microsoft would continue to work with the start-up to sell a wide range of products and services based on GPT-4 and other OpenAI technologies.

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Downtown Worcesters Fallon Health to move its corporate HQ in late 2024

Fallon Health plans on moving into a new corporate headquarters, still near downtown Worcester, close to the end of 2024, according to a statement released Monday. After 45 years since it was founded, Fallon Health plans to move to 1 Mercantile St. and will “provide the leading healthcare services organization with the space and resources it needs to accommodate its evolving workforce, support further business expansion in government-sponsored health insurance programs and stay true to its roots in the local community,” the statement read. The insurance company’s location on 1 Chestnut Place was previously purchased by California-based Hertz Investment Group in 2015 for $14 million, according to property records. This location was originally built in 1990 and was most recently assessed for $17.4 million, MassLive reported in March 2023 According to the company’s statement, moving to 1 Mercantile Place “will deliver a modern, collaborative workplace that will retain and attract Fallon Health employees and serve as a hub of innovation to serve its growing membership in programs that include Medicare and Medicaid.” Read more: Work begins on project to turn Worcester Boys Club into affordable housing The move is also designed to help promote its brand while in proximity to the Fallon Health Pavilion at the DCU Center and Polar Park, the statement read. This focus on community was echoed by Chief Human Resources Officer Jill Green Lebow in the same statement, emphasizing that many of the 1,300 employees with Fallon Health live and work in Worcester County. 1 Mercantile St. is located within CitySquare, a $565 million project intended to include 365 housing units, 168 hotel rooms and 550 parking spaces, according to the city website. A parking structure, hotels, restaurants and other commercial and retail spaces surround the area. “Fallon Health’s move to CitySquare comes at a critical moment for downtown and demonstrates their commitment to the city of Worcester and the local economy,” City Manager Eric Batista said in the statement. “The vitality of a neighborhood is built on a range of uses, including residential, commercial and cultural. We are thrilled to have a business that has dedicated more than 45 years to the city anchor and immerse itself in downtown Worcester.”

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business

Chipotle is coming to Medfield, Medway and both stores will have drive-thrus

Burrito fans in Norfolk County will be jumping for joy once Chipotle dawns two new locations in the area this month. The new Chipotle stores are coming to Medfield and Medway. After ordering ahead on the Chipotle app, guests can pick up their food at either location at the drive-thru. Guests won’t be able to order in the drive-thru. The Medway Chipotle, which will be located at 67B Main St., will open Friday, Dec. 22. The Medfield Chipotle, located at 250 Main St. will be opening later this month. Both will be open daily from 10:45 a.m. to 10 p.m. Guests can indulge in all of Chipotle’s classic offerings like the Carne Asada that is available for a limited time. Both the Medway location and Medfield location are hiring as well. More information about career opportunities can be found online.

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business

My fitness business closed, but it did not fail (Guest Commentary)

In May of 2013 I stood proudly in the entrance of my business to cut the ribbon for its grand opening. Along with me were my proud mother and father, then-girlfriend, former Mayor Dan Knapik and state Sen. Don Humason on the big day for Dynamic Fitness. I will keep the picture of that day for as long as I live, as it was the start of something very special. I’m no geezer at 38, but at 27 I was a missile of energy and brought that towards my training. I hustled most of my clients from my previous place of employment with the promise I would provide a better and more private place for training. I was quite fortunate to be given the opportunity to inherit a retiring trainer’s (Anette Grace) clients, as well. By the summer of 2013, I was off to a great start. I offered 45-minute training sessions on a pay-as-you-go system. I trusted in my skill set and didn’t make anyone sign contracts of financial commitment.

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business

Davis Closes $73M Deal For One Of Boston Areas Largest Development Sites

An aerial view of the 100-acre ExxonMobil site in Everett that The Davis Cos. purchased. In a highly anticipated deal, a 100-acre fuel tank farm has sold to a real estate firm with plans for a massive redevelopment along Everett's waterfront. The Davis Cos. purchased a former ExxonMobil site for $72.5M, according to public records. The property is one of the biggest pieces of developable land near Boston, and Davis previously said it was interested in building a major mixed-use project. “We have been attracted to the tremendous potential of this site for quite some time,” Davis Chief Development Officer Michael Cantalupa said in a statement. “The size and configuration of the tank farm parcels can accommodate a wide mix of uses, including critically needed housing, clean energy uses, advanced research facilities, and high-tech manufacturing.” Davis had backed out of an agreement to acquire the Exxon site in September 2022, a lawsuit from Conservation Law Foundation against Exxon revealed at the time. The suit claimed the gas company's practices on the site led to pollution risks exacerbated by climate change. But Davis later resumed talks to acquire the site, and the CLF suit was settled along with the acquisition closing, the foundation announced Tuesday. As part of the settlement, CLF said it has obtained an “enforceable prohibition on the property” that won't allow it to be used to store fossil fuels. “Closure of the facility will protect the community and eliminate a major pollution threat to Boston Harbor and its tributaries,” CLF President Brad Campbell said in a statement. “Forever prohibiting a similar facility on the site further reduces fossil fuel’s chokehold on Everett and the broader region’s energy system, landscape, and economy.” As part of the acquisition, the site will need to go through an estimated $100M in remediation and cleanup, which could take up to four years to complete, the Boston Globe reported. Davis applied to the Massachusetts Brownfields Covenant Not to Sue program, which would protect the firm from any lawsuits brought by neighboring communities due to potential pollution from the site. The acquisition marks a step closer to the resurgence of Everett's waterfront from an industrial port into a mixed-use hub. The city's Commercial Triangle has already begun to be reshaped, with thousands of housing units set to deliver, but its waterfront hasn't seen the same fate — until recently. In October, Wynn Resorts won city approval to move forward with the expansion of its Encore Boston Harbor casino and hotel. In August, Boston-based V10 Development proposed a 591-unit residential development along the Malden River in Everett. “Now, with the possibility of a full-scale redevelopment of the site, we are excited to discuss ways to transform this parcel into a community asset from its presently decrepit state,” Everett Planning Director Matt Lattanzi wrote in an email to Bisnow last month.

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business

5 ways retailers try to get you to spend more this holiday season

SNOWBALLS. HO HO! IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR FOR RETAILERS. BUT CAN BE A TOUGH TIME FOR SAVVY SHOPPERS. TIP NUMBER ONE, DON’T FALL FOR FAKE SALES WHERE THEY TAKE A PRICE, THEY CROSS IT OUT. THEY IDENTIFY IT AS A LIST OR A REGULAR PRICE, AND THEY PRETEND TO DISCOUNT OFF OF IT. BUT THEY RARELY, IF EVER, CHARGE THAT ORIGINAL PRICE. KEVIN BRASLER RUNS CONSUMERS CHECKBOOK, A NONPROFIT CONSUMER WATCHDOG, AND SAYS COLES IS ESPECIALLY DESERVES A LUMP OF COAL FOR DOING THIS. IT MAKES YOU THINK, OH, I’D BETTER BUY THIS NOW BECAUSE IT’S A GREAT DEAL IS GOING TO GO AWAY. TAKE A LOOK AT THE LANGUAGE AROUND SALE PRICING IN THE FINE PRINT ON COLES WEBSITE. QUOTE, THE REGULAR OR ORIGINAL PRICE OF AN ITEM IS THE FORMER OR FUTURE OFFERED PRICE FOR THE ITEM OR A COMPARABLE ITEM BY COLES OR ANOTHER RETAILER. IT’S ABSOLUTELY ABSURD. I MEAN, COLES DOESN’T HAVE A TIME MACHINE. IT CAN’T KNOW THAT IT’S COMPETITORS MIGHT CHARGE THAT LIST PRICE AT SOME POINT IN TIME, BUT HERE’S THE LINE THAT REALLY MATTERS. QUOTE, ACTUAL SALES MAY NOT HAVE BEEN MADE AT THE REGULAR OR ORIGINAL PRICES. ON TO TIP TWO. SEARCH RESULTS ARE DOMINATED BY ADS MORE THAN EVER BEFORE. AMAZON, JUST IN THE LAST YEAR OR SO, HAS QUADRUPLED THE AMOUNT OF AD REVENUE IT’S GETTING. IT HASN’T BEEN UNCOMMON TO FIND A SPONSORED PRODUCT OR TWO, BUT NOW CONSUMERS CHECKBOOK SAYS THERE CAN BE ROWS OF PAID PRODUCT PLACEMENTS. WE’RE JUST OVERWHELMED NOW ON AMAZON AND MANY OTHER RETAILER SITES BY PRODUCTS WHERE THERE’S BEEN EXTRA MONEY PUT BEHIND THAT PRODUCT TO PUT IT IN FRONT OF US, AS OPPOSED TO THAT BEING THE BEST THING THAT THEY HAVE FOR SALE. TIP THREE WATCH OUT FOR PRICE LINEUPS MANIPULATED TO PUSH YOU TOWARD A MORE EXPENSIVE CHOICE. MOST RETAILERS KNOW THAT THAT PEOPLE GRAVITATE TOWARD THE ITEM IN THE MIDDLE RIGHT CONSUMERS CHECKBOOK POINTS TO APPLE WATCHES THE COMPANY SHOWING A LINEUP WITH A BIG RANGE OF PRICES FROM $250 TO 1250, WHICH MIGHT NUDGE SHOPPERS TOWARD THE MIDDLE AND THE $400 MODEL INSTEAD OF THE CHEAPEST VERSION. IT MAKES IT THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, OH, WELL, AT LEAST I’M NOT OVERPAYING HERE. THIS ITEM HAS SOME VALUE BECAUSE AT LEAST IT’S IN THE MIDDLE. HERE’S TIP FOUR DON’T BELIEVE SCARCITY WARNINGS, WHICH IS WHEN A COMPANY TELLS YOU IT ONLY HAS A FEW ITEMS LEFT. ONE EXCEPTION TO THIS IS AIRLINE SEATS. BUT CONSUMERS CHECKBOOK SAYS ELSEWHERE LIKE ON HOTEL WEBSITES OR AMAZON IT’S LARGELY BOGUS. WE TRACKED PRICING FOR MONTHS AT VARIOUS HOTEL WEBSITES, THIRD PARTY BOOKING SITES AND USUALLY WHEN WE ENCOUNTER THESE SCARCITY WARNINGS, THEY WEREN’T TRUE. FINALLY, TIP FIVE DON’T BE TOO LOYAL TO LOYALTY PROGRAMS. IN OTHER WORDS, DON’T SPEND EXTRA MONEY TO STICK WITH A CERTAIN COMPANY JUST TO EARN POINTS OR MILES BECAUSE YOU MIGHT FIND YOURSELF LEFT OUT IN THE COLD. AND FOR MOST RETAILERS, THESE POINTS ARE WORTH ABOUT 1%. AND AT MOST THEY’RE WORTH ABOUT 5%. ALL RIGHT. NOW, GOING BACK TO THAT FIRST TIP, WE REACHED OUT TO KOHL’S FOR COMMENT, BUT THE COMPANY DID NOT RESPOND. AND I’VE PUT A LINK TO MANY MORE TIPS FROM CONSUMERS CHECKBOOK IN THIS STORY ON OUR WEBSITE, WCVB DOT COM. AND IF YOU’VE GOT A CONSUMER STORY FOR ME, SEND ME AN EMAIL Advertisement 5 ways retailers try to get you to spend more this holiday season Share Copy Link Copy Ready or not, the holiday shopping season gets in full swing this week, and retailers certainly are ready to get you to part with your money. You might not realize it, but they've got a list longer than Santa's of sneaky ways they get you to spend more. Thanks to Consumers' Checkbook, here are five to watch out for before your spending snowballs.Tip number one: don't fall for fake sales.That’s "where they take a price. They cross it out. They identify it as a 'list' or 'regular' price, and they pretend to discount off of it. But, they rarely if ever charge that original price," said Kevin Brasler, executive editor of Boston Consumers' Checkbook. "It makes you think, 'Oh, I better buy this now because this great deal is going to go away.'"Brasler says Kohl's especially deserves a lump of coal for doing this. He points to the fine print around sale pricing on Kohl's website. It says "the 'Regular' or 'Original' price of an item is the former or future offered price for the item or a comparable item by Kohl's or another retailer. Actual sales may not have been made at the 'Regular' or 'Original' prices.""It's absolutely absurd," Brasler said. "Kohl's doesn't have a time machine. It can't know that its competitors might charge that list price at some point in time."NewsCenter 5 reached out to Kohl's for comment, but the company did not respond.Tip two: expect that your search results will be dominated by ads, more than ever before."Amazon just in the last year or so has quadrupled the amount of ad revenue it's getting," Brasler said. "We're just overwhelmed now on Amazon and many other retailers' sites by-products where there's been extra money put behind that product to put it in front of us, as opposed to that being the best thing that they have for sale."In the past few years, it hasn't been uncommon to find a sponsored product or two, but now, Consumers' Checkbook says there can be rows and rows of product placement.Tip three: watch out for price lineups that are manipulated to push you toward a more expensive choice."Most retailers know that people gravitate toward the item in the middle, right?" said Brasler.Consumers' Checkbook uses the Apple Watch as a prime example of this. The company shows a lineup of watches with a big range of prices: from $249 to $1249. Brasler said that's designed to nudge shoppers toward the middle, the $399 model instead of the cheapest version."It makes you think that, 'Well, at least I'm not overpaying here. This item has some value because at least it's in the middle," he said.Tip four: don't believe scarcity warnings, which is when a company tells you it only has a few items left.One exception to this is airline seats. But elsewhere - like at hotels or retailers’ websites: "It's largely bogus," Brasler said. "We tracked pricing for months at various hotel websites, at third-party booking sites, and usually when we encounter these scarcity warnings, they weren't true."Finally, tip five: don't be too loyal to loyalty programs.In other words, don't spend hundreds of extra dollars to stick with a certain company just to earn points or miles because those rewards certainly aren't worth that much."For most retailers, these points are worth about one percent, and at most, they're worth about five percent," Brasler said. To check out some additional tips from Consumers' Checkbook, visit their website here.

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Keezers, oldest second-hand clothing store in America, opens Springfield location

SPRINGFIELD — There is a Chinese proverb about crossing the river by feeling the stones. And it’s what wife-and-husband team Wenting Jia and Nels Frye say they are doing as they open and refine the Springfield branch of Keezer’s Classic Clothing, the oldest second-hand fashion store in America with its roots going back to 1895. Take a step. Survey the next step. Take another step. And the first big step was for Jia to partner with Dick Robasson — owner of the two Keezer’s locations in Cambridge — to bring the concept to Springfield. “Springfield has space,” she said. “Springfield has space that’s affordable. Springfield has space that’s affordable and near the highway.” Frye added: “We could never do something like this in Boston.” The store, which opened three weeks ago, sits in a former bank office on the first floor of the MassLive Building at 1350 Main St. It is the first store to open in the incubator of new downtown businesses called 1350 Market overseen by Latino Economic Development Corporation. MassLive owns the naming rights to the building where some of its offices are located. Evan C. Plotkin, president and CEO of real estate company NAI Plotkin and a partner in the Masslive Building, said he’s been told by those “hipper” than himself that the clothes are trendy. “We need other retail downtown,” he said. ”I think the vintage clothing store is a really great start. I’m excited about that.” The next step is to refine the concept, building on Keezer’s long history of used and vintage menswear to add women’s clothing, upcycled goods and Jia’s own brand, J.W. Frye, which is a line of decorative objects made of recycled plastics. “There is so little competition it’s hard for me to do market research,” said Jia, who ran vintage clothing stores in Shanghai before coming to America. Keezer’s Springfield location is open from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Robasson — who took over Keezer’s five years ago and moved it from its longtime location near Harvard University — said Jia started as a frequent shopper who helped him sell clothing via a livestream video when the store was closed during the pandemic. Jia and Frye moved to Springfield (Frye grew up in Western Massachusetts) and hatched the idea to locate in Springfield. “It was a good opportunity to expand a little bit,” said Robasson, himself a Haitian immigrant to the United States who worked as a tailor. “So I did visit Springfield a couple of times,” he said. Jia said she visited cities across New England and Pennsylvania looking at revitalized downtowns and business opportunities. “One thing I noticed is that they all had a vintage or upcycled clothing shop, often coupled with an art gallery,” she said. At the Springfield Keezer’s, Jia has coupled used clothing from Keezer’s Cambridge inventory with vintage clothing from her own collection, goods made by local artisans including local makers of goat milk soap and Chef Wayne Hooker’s Big Mamou hot sauce and seasoning. “Someone came in looking for Chef Wayne’s seasoning because they heard it was here,” Jia said. “It’s hot. I tell people if they taste it, and if they regret it, don’t come here and complain!” J.W. Frye recycles plastic into art objects, like vases and display jars, using 3D-printing technology. There are also T-shirts made from recycled plastics. Jia displayed a box of plastic bottle caps, material donated by customers to be made into new products at a factory in New Hampshire. She wants to key into the trend of used clothing and recycled and upcycled goods sold together as a themed retail experience. “That’s the new department store,” she said. “You see that all over Northern Europe.” At Keezer’s, a $1,100 blazer might sell for $120. “Keezer’s has the largest reservoir of used clothing in New England,” Frye said. “It’s an extensive library.” The threads are culled, Robasson said, from shoppers who come in to sell pieces from their collections or from buying whole wardrobes from estates or as people downsize and jettison dressy clothes. “There are never two items exactly the same,” Robasson said. “I might have something in Springfield I don’t have anywhere else.” He said he’s trying to branch into vintage clothes. That is, items that might be older and display a distinctive style. “Of course now we are trying to open a women’s section also,” Robasson said.

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business

Steve Coyle obituary: development chief who brought out the best in Boston dies at 78

“When there’s one pound of bacon and 28 hands, you become a pragmatist,” he once told the Globe. “The ideologues starve.” As the 10th born of 14 children in his Irish Catholic family, Mr. Coyle knew from when he first started to walk that spirit of compromise and an occasional well-placed elbow were essential to getting anything done. While running the Boston Redevelopment Authority in the 1980s and early ‘90s, Steve Coyle brought more than just legal and technical savvy to the job of helping shape the city’s skyline. Mr. Coyle, who counted among his greatest accomplishments the redevelopment of the Charlestown Navy Yard and finding the site, near Faneuil Hall, for the New England Holocaust Memorial, was 78 when he collapsed and died Dec. 18 in his Vienna, Va., home. Advertisement “The key to succeeding in Boston is appreciating the city,” he told the Globe in 2014. “At the end of the day, you are working for the city — the city that was, the city that is, and the city that you are helping to create.” Get Today's Headlines The day's top stories delivered every morning. Enter Email Sign Up During his 30s, Mr. Coyle served in President Carter’s administration as deputy undersecretary in the Department of Health and Human Services and as executive assistant to HHS Secretary Patricia Roberts Harris. Then Mr. Coyle moved his family to California, where he received a degree from Stanford Law School, though he never practiced. He was in California, working for renowned architect John Carl Warnecke, when Mayor Raymond L. Flynn asked him to be director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority. Mr. Coyle said no, then reconsidered and accepted after Flynn flew out to personally persuade him. “Steve was very special,” Flynn said of Mr. Coyle’s approach to approving, rejecting, or fine-tuning development proposals. “It wasn’t about him,” Flynn said. “It was about making things better — bringing out the best in people and bringing out the best in Boston.” Advertisement During planning for the Central Artery/Tunnel Project — the Big Dig — Mr. Coyle was an early champion for what became a signature part of Boston. While officials considered what to do with the space left open above ground once the highway was buried below, Mr. Coyle commissioned different approaches and settled on supporting keeping much of the land as a string of parks. Along with aesthetic considerations and public enjoyment, he knew the air rights for that land would have been very attractive to developers. He wanted to direct their attention elsewhere, toward initiating development in neighborhoods such as Roxbury and Charlestown. “Steve Coyle really called the shots on what later became the Kennedy Greenway,” said Frederick P. Salvucci, who was state secretary of transportation in the second administration of Governor Michael S. Dukakis. Mr. Coyle also pushed a concept known as parcel-to-parcel linkage. The term meant that a developer who wanted to build at a choice downtown location would also have to build in an economically disadvantaged neighborhood. The process was complicated enough politically that some projects came to full fruition years later, long after Mr. Coyle left the BRA and Boston. “Steve was a one-of-a-kind, unique individual. He had a passion for getting things done that other people thought weren’t possible,” said Ron Homer, former chief executive of Boston Bank of Commerce, a successor to Boston’s first Black-owned bank. Advertisement “He was not only interested in social justice,” said Homer, who is now chief strategist, US impact investing, for RBC Global Asset Management, “he was interested in economic development and the idea that you could marry the two and maybe make more money than you would if you had not incorporated those goals.” Born in Waltham on Sept. 28, 1945, Stephen Francis Coyle got an early start proving the impossible could be possible. Entering the world a couple of months premature, he was rushed to an incubator and a priest was summoned to offer last rites before his parents had time to give him a name. “A Protestant doctor named him Stephen, a Jewish nurse named him Frank, and the priest changed it to Francis,” said Mr. Coyle’s daughter, Elena Coyle, a lawyer who lives in Chappaqua, N.Y. Mr. Coyle’s mother was Margaret Flaherty Coyle and his father was William Coyle, an inventor who became ill and unable to work when Stephen was entering his teens. At 13, he got a job operating a factory press and also was a caddy. He graduated from St. Mary’s High in Waltham and was offered a scholarship at the College of the Holy Cross. “I was going to be the first male in my family’s history to go to college,” he told the Globe in 1986. “I’m sure in the Old Country, back before Cromwell, they all went. But in that intervening 400 years or so, nobody had.” Advertisement Unimpressed with Holy Cross, he left immediately, catching a bus to New York City and bumming around in a leather jacket and toting a knapsack of books — " ‘1,000 Years of Irish Poetry,’ the Philadelphia Scriptures version of the Bible, the collected poems of William Butler Yeats,” he recalled. Eventually returning home, he made such an impression while auditing classes at Brandeis University that a professor asked him to apply as a student. Mr. Coyle financed his education colorfully: washing dishes in the cafeteria, working as a night watchman, and running numbers in Revere. “That’s where I developed this extraordinary facility to calculate figures in my head,” he said. “It wasn’t from the nuns.” Upon graduating from Brandeis, he served as Waltham’s youngest city councilor and directed the housing authorities in Waltham and Dedham. He received a master’s from the Harvard Kennedy School and headed to Washington in 1977 to his Health and Human Services positions. In 1970, he married Maria Lynn Chaffee, who had been Miss Massachusetts in 1967. They met when she worked on his first City Council campaign, and she became an attorney, too. “He was so head over heels in love with my mother,” Elena said. “I think she knocked his socks off.” After his 1984 to 1992 tenure at the Boston Redevelopment Authority, Mr. Coyle became chief executive of the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust, where he helped oversee some $14 billion in projects that included nearly 100,000 housing units. Advertisement “Steve’s stewardship of the organization helped the HIT become what it is today,” the organization said in a statement, adding that “he was the kindest of souls who touched countless lives and careers.” In addition to his wife, Maria, and daughter Elena, Mr. Coyle leaves another daughter, Lisa of Baltimore; a son, William of Vienna, Va.; three brothers, Brian of Meredith, N.H., Michael of Morehead City, N.C., and David of Vernon, Conn.; two sisters, Peggy Shanks of Simsbury, Conn., and Mary of Beavercreek, Ohio; and five grandchildren. Steve and Maria Coyle. Coyle Family A funeral Mass will be said at 10:30 a.m. Thursday in St. Mary Church in Waltham, where Mr. Coyle had served as an altar boy and where he and Maria married. Though his resume and intellect could have brought him much higher paying jobs, Mr. Coyle preferred positions that provided greater opportunities to improve lives. “He never cared about money,” Elena said. “He wanted to help people. He wanted to make a difference.” Larger than life at home and at work, she said, “he was like this great magician who through sheer force of will could bring the most beautiful and marvelous things into existence.” Bryan Marquard can be reached at bryan.marquard@globe.com.

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crime

Education is the best weapon': Suffolk DA launches effort to help residents avoid scams

District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced Sunday the launch of the Suffolk County Fraud Fighters – a multi-agency organization to help Boston, Chelsea, Revere and Winthrop residents spot scams and avoid schemes soliciting money. Hayden said the effort is in response to telephone scams earlier this year where callers claimed to be representatives of Hayden’s office and even prompted one elderly woman in Winthrop to pay out $35,000 in a bitcoin scam. NBC10 Boston Responds stepped into help a Boston woman recover her life savings. “We and our Fraud Fighters partners are committed to giving older adults and all other community members the information and awareness necessary to spot a scam before they fall victim to it,” said Hayden. “Education is the best weapon against getting fleeced by their ever-changing schemes.” Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters. According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, the Fraud Fighters will hold public presentations throughout the year for residents to stay informed on common tactics used by scammers. The first presentation is scheduled to place at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 14 at the Kroc Center in Roxbury. The holiday season is a popular time for shipping scams. Boston, Revere, Winthrop, and Chelsea police departments have partnered with the Fraud Fighters to provide educational resources. In addition, several units of Hayden’s office will be involved, as well as the U.S. Secret Service. “We’re going to reach as many people as possible as often as possible, because that’s exactly what the con artists are doing,” said Hayden. “Our goal is to update our presentation whenever they update their scams.”

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crime

3 hurt in house fire in Wales; officials looking for cause

WALES — State police and local fire officials are investigating a blaze on Strafford Holland Road in Wales that injured two residents and their neighbor this morning. At 8 a.m., the Wales Fire Department responded to 88 Stafford Holland Road, where firefighters were met by heavy, wind-driven fire at the front of the home. The two-alarm fire was extinguished at about 11 a.m., fire officials said. Two senior adults escaped the fire, one with the assistance of a neighbor, according to Wales Fire Chief John Croke, who issued a statement through the state’s Department of Fire Services. Emergency responders took the residents, both with serious injuries, to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. The neighbor was treated, as well, with less serious injuries. “We don’t know yet how this fire started,” said Croke. The chief took the opportunity to remind residents about the importance of having working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms installed on all levels of a home or business. The fire’s origin is being investigated by the Wales Fire Department and state police attached to the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

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crime

Freed From Never-Ending Detention, They Ended Up in Another Limbo

When Gus Kuster finished a one-year prison sentence in Australia, he anticipated rebuilding his life there, in the only country he has ever known. Instead, as a noncitizen and stateless person, he spent the following five years being shuttled between grim immigration detention centers, with seemingly no release date in sight. Dozens of other people, none of them Australian citizens, have been subjected to the same experience. Some, like Mr. Kuster, had served time for minor crimes, others had been found guilty of serious crimes like murder, and a handful had no criminal background at all. Australia has been criticized for years internationally for its harsh treatment toward asylum seekers, many of whom were housed in the country’s infamous offshore detention centers, where a few dozen people still remain. But hundreds more are still held indefinitely in similar institutions onshore. Until very recently, that included people who were once given a shot at life in Australia, then had that opportunity snatched away after they committed crimes. Last month, many of these indefinite detentions came to an abrupt end. A detainee successfully challenged the two-decade precedent in Australia’s highest court, and in the ensuing weeks, more than 150 people have been freed. Just as many cases are under review.

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crime

Townsend woman accused of trying to poison husband after scammer impersonating soap star texted her

TOWNSEND, Mass. — A 64-year-old Townsend woman has been charged with attempted murder, accused of trying to poison her husband after a scammer impersonating soap opera star Thorsten Kaye of “The Bold and the Beautiful” texted her to “get rid of your husband honey,” police said. Roxanne Doucette, 64, of Townsend is charged with attempted murder, intimidation of a witness, juror, police or court official; resisting arrest, and assault and battery on a police officer, court documents show. Doucette was released on personal recognizance following her arraignment in Ayer District Court on Dec. 4, 2023, court documents show. Conditions for her release include that she have no contact with her husband and daughter, stay 100 yards away from her husband, undergo a mental health evaluation, be confined to her home except for medical appointments and wear a GPS monitoring device. At about 4:34 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023, Townsend Police Officer Michael Marchand was contacted by Ayer Police, who had spoken to Doucette’s daughter at Nashoba Valley Medical Center. The daughter had told Ayer police officers that she suspected Doucette had poisoned her father, Marchand wrote in his report. Marchand responded to the hospital room to speak to Doucette’s daughter and Ayer police. An Ayer police officer told Marchand that the daughter was at the hospital with Doucette. “Roxanne had been messaging someone she believed to be a daytime drama actor, Thorsten Kaye,” Marchand wrote in his report. “This person scammed her into giving them money.” Roxanne Doucette of Townsend (Townsend Police Department) The daughter “was going through all the messages in Roxanne’s phone with the scammer, to send screenshots to” police, Marchand wrote. “When she did, she came upon messages that she felt indicated that Roxanne might have poisoned her husband,” police said in their report. The daughter showed police screenshots from text messages that were sent on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023, court documents show. “One of the messages from “Thorsten” stated ‘You have to get rid of your husband honey. I need you so much,’” police wrote in their report. “Roxanne stated that she needed to do some thinking.” Thorsten Kaye JUNE 19: Thorsten Kaye attends the closing ceremony and Golden Nymph awards of the 58th Monte Carlo TV Festival on June 19, 2018 in Monte-Carlo, Monaco. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) “At 2:34pm she responds that she is ‘”Making an amazing soup. Special potion. He will be hungry when he gets back. Just enough for him,’” police wrote in their report. “At 4:26pm, Roxanne goes on to say ‘Hubby got back not feeling well. Maybe I can collect life insurance.” Thorsten responds “Honey when will that be?” Roxanne says “Don’t know.” At approximately 5:11 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1, 2023, Roxanne called 911 for her husband, police said. The report was for a 73-year-old unresponsive man who was still breathing, with a cardiac history. Doucette advised emergency responders that her husband “was very dizzy earlier and is currently sitting in a chair, mumbling, not making sense.” An ambulance took her husband to a local hospital. When her father later regained consciousness, the daughter told police that she had asked him about what happened on Friday. Her father “stated that Roxanne made him soup, but that it wasn’t very good. He stated that it tasted bitter,” police wrote in their report. When police spoke with Doucette, she “stated that she had told (her husband) that she was going on a retreat. She then came clean about the fact that she was not going on a retreat and told (her husband) about the person she was messaging,” Marchand wrote in his report. “She stated that she thought she was talking to a star, and that she had always wanted to meet a star.” Roxanne Doucette, 64, of Townsend Police wrote that Doucette “stated that she was afraid to be alone. She stated that she would never harm him in any way, and that she loves him very, very much. She stated that she loves her children, and that she hopes her daughter doesn’t think she put him in the hospital.” Doucette also told investigators that her husband “was under a lot of stress because of the scam. She stated that he had recently been the victim of a scam and lost approximately $8,000.00.” Doucette refused to turn in her cell phone and tablet to police as part of their investigation, and then she resisted arrest, kicking at Marchand with her boot on her foot, Marchand wrote. Police later seized Doucette’s cell phone and tablet. Days later, on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023, Townsend Police arrested Doucette again for violating an Abuse Prevention Order. Police were called because Doucette’s husband had received a handwritten letter from Doucette, which violated the no contact order. According to police, Doucette’s letter, which was included in the couple’s bills that Doucette had a neighbor mail to her family, allegedly stated, “Please consider dropping the restraining order.” “That’s a long time to have you out of my life,” Doucette is alleged to have written in a letter to her husband, court documents show. “I want my husband back. I miss you so much.” Townsend woman accused of trying to poison husband after scammer impersonating soap star texted her Attempts to reach Doucette for comment at her home on Monday were unsuccessful. News of the allegations spread through the neighborhood where Doucette and her husband have lived for four decades. “You can’t ever expect that. That’s something that books are made out of I think,” said neighbor Sadie Crawford. Crawford and her mother, who reside across the street, have been waiting for answers for the last month. “I just asked her where he was. I didn’t want to pry too much,” said Gail St. Hilaire. “She just said that he had a heart attack.” Townsend is a small town north of Fitchburg and near the New Hampshire border. The town’s population was 9,127 at the 2020 census. “Making an amazing soup. Special potion.” 64-year-old Townsend grandmother accused of poisoning 73-year-old husband after texting with scammer she believed was soap actor. Court documents say she mentioned possibility of collecting life insurance #Boston25 AT 10 & 11 pic.twitter.com/3930Qv5Zn7 — Drew Karedes (@DrewKaredes) January 9, 2024 This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW ©2024 Cox Media Group

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crime

Police: 76-year-old man extremely confused after driving the wrong way on I-93 during snowstorm

BOSTON — A close call Sunday night after police say an “extremely confused” 76-year-old man drove the wrong way on Interstate 93 in Boston, nearly striking several vehicles during the heavy snowstorm. The incident began at 9:15 p.m. on Sunday when State Police received about ten calls alerting them of a driver traveling south on the northbound side of the highway. The callers said the driver had nearly struck multiple oncoming vehicles. Massachusetts State Police working with the state highway department shut down the northbound side of the highway to stop the 76-year-old driver, officials said. “Mass Highway positioned several plow trucks across the highway north of Exit 11 in Milton to block the wrong-way vehicle from going any further,” said officials. “The wrong-way vehicle, a 2015 Toyota Corolla, rolled to a stop.” State Police said the driver, a 76-year-old Lynn man, was “extremely confused and stated that he did not know where he was.” Troopers determined that the man’s condition was a result of underlying health conditions and not impairment. The man’s name was not released. The car was towed to the State Police barracks in South Boston where the man made arrangements to be picked up by a friend, police said. “Troopers spoke to the man’s friend about his erratic operation as a result of his medical conditions,” said police. “A Trooper cited the man for a wrong way violation and issued an immediate threat notice with the RMV to have his license suspended.” Video posted on Instagram shows the man driving into oncoming traffic Sunday night. Police: 76-year-old man ‘extremely confused’ after driving the wrong way on I-93 during snowstorm This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW ©2024 Cox Media Group

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crime

Flight attendant filmed girls in American Airlines bathrooms, U.S. Attorney says

An American Airlines flight attendant was arrested and changed with secretly attempting to record a girl using an airplane bathroom during a Boston-bound flight, according to U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy’s office. Estes Carter Thompson III, 37, of Charlotte, N.C., was charged with attempted sexual exploitation of children and possession of child pornography depicting a prepubescent minor. Levy’s office added that Thompson is alleged to have had recordings of four other girls using bathrooms on a plane he had previously worked on. Read more: Third man convicted in 2021 fatal stabbing of Boston man protecting girlfriend “What Mr. Thompson is accused of doing is disgraceful, and we believe, calculated, given that this alleged conduct occurred on at least five flights,” said Jodi Cohen, special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “This case should make it crystal clear that the FBI takes crimes aboard aircraft and the sexual exploitation of children seriously. If you’ve been the victim of a crime aboard an aircraft or have witnessed one take place, we ask you to report it to both your flight crew and the FBI.” The incident took place on a flight from Charlotte to Boston on Sept. 2, 2023, according to Levy’s office. Thompson approached a 14-year-old girl as she waited for the bathroom, telling her that the first-class bathroom was unoccupied and taking her there, according to Levy’s office. Thompson then told her he needed to wash his hands before she used the bathroom, and that the bathroom’s toilet seat was broken. When the teen entered the bathroom, she saw red stickers on the bottom of the toilet seat lid in the open position that were securing an iPhone to the seat lid that was recording video, Levy’s office said. The girl used her own phone to take a picture of the phone. Thompson re-entered the bathroom immediately after the girl left, Levy’s office said. In this photo provided by the law firm Lewis & Llewellyn LLP, an iPhone is taped to the back of a toilet seat on an American Airlines flight from Charlotte, N.C., to Boston, Sept. 2, 2023. (Lewis & Llewellyn LLP via AP, File)AP The girl told her parents what she had seen, who told other airline crew, who in turn notified police. Police at Boston Logan Airport found that Thompson’s phone was restored to factory settings , but in a search of his suitcase, 11 similar stickers to the ones securing the iPhone to the seat were discovered, Levy’s office said. A search of Thompson’s iCloud account revealed four additional instances between January and August 2023 in which he recorded a minor using an airplane bathroom, Levy’s office said. Their ages were 7, 9, 11 and 14, according to Levy’s office. There were also 50 images of a 9-year-old unaccompanied minor including close-up photos of her face while she was sleeping, Levy’s office said. The charge of attempted sexual exploitation of children carries a sentence of between 15 and 30 years in prison, while the charge of possession of child pornography carries a sentence of between 5 and 20 years. Both charges also can have up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Thompson is being held in Lynchburg, Virginia, where he was arrested. He will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.

bb3be0835a3f3d29938ff0210cca990e

crime

3-year-old boy opens entire familys Christmas presents at 3 a.m.

CARY, N.C. — A North Carolina toddler simply could not wait to see what Santa Claus brought his family. >> Read more trending news The 3-year-old boy woke up his parents early on Christmas morning, loudly asking them for scissors. When Scott and Katie Reintgen came downstairs to investigate the baffling, 3 a.m. request, they discovered that their son had unwrapped all of the family’s gifts, hours before his siblings would be awake, The Washington Post reported. And, the boy was thorough, shredding the wrapping paper of every gift. The boy needed the scissors to pry open a favorite gift he discovered. He ripped several packages before discovering it, though. “He wanted to open up his Spider-Man web shooters, so, naturally, he needed scissors to cut them free,” Scott Reintgen, 35, of Cary, told the newspaper. “That’s when we realized something had gone terribly wrong.” Just adding his explanation for why he opened everything! 😂 Also have to add: we’re not mad. He’s a good kid, and it’s a story we’ll tell for the rest of our lives. pic.twitter.com/GKiJjPjQXR — Scott Reintgen (@Scott_Thought) December 26, 2023 The couple has three children, ages 6, 3, and 1, NBC News reported. Katie Reintgen said her 3-year-old son had unwrapped “literally everything, from the tiniest eraser to the biggest box.” The Reintgens had taken hours to wrap all of the gifts the night before, according to the news organization. Within minutes, there was wrapping paper all over the floor. “Yall,” Reintgen wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “My three year old came down at 3am and unwrapped EVERYONE’S presents.” The boy, whose parents lovingly call “the midnight perpetrator,” told them that he unwrapped the gifts because he did not want other family members to be confused, NBC News reported. “He wanted us to be able to see our presents so we knew what they were,” Scott Reintgen told the news organization. “I think he legitimately just felt that he was doing a service to everyone. He will not do it again next year, we hope.” The toddler had done a thorough job, ripping the paper off all of the carefully wrapped gifts in a few minutes, the Post reported. Now, the Reintgens had to rewrap them before the boy’s 6-year-old brother woke up. “There was the cold realization that all the effort you put in the night before had suddenly been undone, but mostly, it was just such an unbelievable thing to see,” Reintgen, a science-fiction and fantasy author who wrote this year’s “A Door in the Dark,” a New York Times bestseller, told the Post. “There was not one thing that he left unscathed -- it was all of it.” “Showing no remorse,” Katie Reintgen added. Katie Reintgen then attempted to save Christmas for her oldest child, rewrapping his gifts, NBC News reported. She had no more fresh wrapping paper, so she taped the ripped paper together. It took 30 minutes, but Katie Reintgen was able to salvage the gifts, according to the Post. “The 6-year-old is very much the rule-follower so the idea that someone would just go down and open all the presents would just be unthinkable to him,” Scott Reintgen told NBC News. “But our middle child is very much the adventurous, ridiculous, no-rules, have-fun kind of kid.” After Scott Reintgen posted photos of the wrapping paper strewn on the floor around the family’s Christmas tree, the family received messages of support from other parents who said their children had tried the same stunt. It was an inconvenience, but Scott Reintgen stressed in a follow-up tweet that they were not angry, adding their son is “a good kid.” “Sure, we could have gotten angry at our kid unwrapping all the presents -- or we could have fun with it,” Scott Reintgen told the Post. “We will 100% be sharing this at his wedding. It’s one of those unbelievable stories.”

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crime

MFA among museums hit by cyberattack on widely used software

Arts MFA among museums hit by cyberattack on widely used software The Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Rubin Museum of Art in New York and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas were among the institutions confirming that their systems have experienced outages in recent days. The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Pat Greenhouse/Globe staff Several prominent museums have been unable to display their collections online since a cyberattack hit a prominent technological service provider that helps hundreds of cultural organizations show their works digitally and manage internal documents. The Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Rubin Museum of Art in New York and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas were among the institutions confirming that their systems have experienced outages in recent days. The service provider, Gallery Systems, said in a recent message to clients, which was obtained by The New York Times, that it had noticed a problem Dec. 28, when computers running its software became encrypted and could no longer operate. “We immediately took steps to isolate those systems and implemented measures to prevent additional systems from being affected, including taking systems offline as a precaution,” the company said in the message. “We also launched an investigation and third-party cybersecurity experts were engaged to assist. In addition, we notified law enforcement.” Advertisement: Gallery Systems did not immediately respond to email and phone requests for comment. Signs of disruption were evident on several museum websites because eMuseum, a tool that usually lets visitors search online collections, was down. There was also disruption behind the scenes: Some curators said that they had returned from their winter vacations to find themselves unable to access sensitive information from another Gallery Systems program called TMS. That system can include the names of donors, loan agreements, provenance records, shipping information and storage locations of priceless artworks. “We noticed the outage starting Dec. 28,” Sandrine Milet, a spokesperson for the Rubin Museum, said. “TMS was back and running yesterday while eMuseum is still down.” T. Barton Thurber, director of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College in New York, said, “I can confirm that unfortunately our museum — along with many others — has been impacted by the attack.” Paige Francis, chief information officer at Crystal Bridges, said, “We are mostly concerned about the public’s inability to benefit from viewing our collection remotely during this disruption.” Cyberattacks against cultural groups are becoming more common, according to some security experts. In November, personal data was stolen from the British Library by a ransomware group, which posted images of internal human resources files. The Metropolitan Opera and the Philadelphia Orchestra also faced cyberattacks last winter, hampering their ability to sell online tickets. Advertisement: In many cases these attacks have come from ransomware groups, which hold the online service hostage until victims pay a sum. The nature of the attack on Gallery Systems was not clear. Some museums that rely on Gallery Systems — including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art — said they were not affected because they host their own databases. It was not immediately clear how widespread the cyberattack was or what the full effect of it would be. “The objects in museums are valuable, but the information about them is truly priceless,” said Erin Thompson, a professor of art crime at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. “Often, generations of curators will have worked to research and document an artifact. If this information is lost, the blow to our knowledge of the world would be immense.” This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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crime

WATCH: Mother and child expected to recover after being struck by truck driver in Malden - Boston News, Weather, Sports

A mother and her young child are recovering after both were struck by a city of Malden employee on Wednesday night. Police said the incident happened near the intersection of Summer and Maple streets around 7 p.m., when a woman and her 4-year-old son were hit by a driver operating a pickup truck owned by the city. Video shared with 7NEWS captured the moment the crash happened, showing the two pedestrians approach the truck as it appeared to wait in the exit of a parking garage as traffic passed by. Both mother and child had been walking on the sidewalk and were making their way toward the vehicle when the driver began to pull forward, striking the two. The footage also captured good Samaritans rush to help out before emergency responders arrived. Both the woman and the 4-year-old were taken to Mass General Hospital for what police said were non-life-threatening injuries. Police said the city employee who was driving the vehicle remained at the scene, and had been cooperating with investigators. As of Thursday night, police said no charges had been filed in connection with the incident. City officials had no comment on the status of the employee behind the wheel of the truck

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crime

Quincy man, 85, hit and killed by car in front of senior apartment complex

An 85-year-old man died Wednesday after he was hit by a car in front of a senior living apartment complex in Quincy, according to police. Quincy police officers and firefighters responded to the 1000 Southern Artery Senior Center around 9:25 a.m. for a report that a pedestrian had been hit by a car, police said in a press release. The victim, a Quincy resident, was taken to South Shore Hospital with life-threatening injuries and declared dead about three hours later. The driver, a 63-year-old Quincy man, was the 911 caller who reported the crash, police said. He stayed at the scene. Quincy and state police are investigating the crash, but no charges have been announced. The victim’s name has not been released, and it is unclear if he lived at the 1000 Southern Artery complex.

d3fb8ca3cedd9d31148866f2213452f3

crime

Silas Logan IDd as 70-year-old who died near Wellesley College Wednesday

A 70-year-old man who was found unconscious near Wellesley College in Wellesley on Wednesday and was later pronounced dead was identified as Silas Logan of Boston, a spokesperson with the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office told MassLive Thursday. Silas was found in a slightly wooded area on a walking path close to Central Street at around 9:15 a.m. on Dec. 27, Wellesley police said in a statement. First responders performed CPR on Logan, but were unable to revive him. He were pronounced dead onsite, according to police. The Medical Examiner took custody of the body, police added. At this time, authorities do not believe Logan’s death was suspicious. Wellesley Police Officers and Detectives, the Massachusetts State Police, and Wellesley College Police are investigating the incident.

4ac8c86862c948ec0369da61389e2051

crime

10-Year-Old Arrested for Public Urination Was Treated Like an Adult Criminal, Lawyer Says

The mother of a 10-year-old Mississippi boy who was arrested after urinating behind her car is refusing to sign a probation agreement because the terms that were set are of a severity typically reserved for adults, the family’s lawyer said Thursday. The 90-day probation agreement stipulated that the boy, Quantavious Eason, who is Black, would have to submit to random drug tests, observe an 8 p.m. curfew and meet with a probation officer once a month, among other requirements, according to Carlos Moore, the lawyer. The boy would also be required to write a two-page report on Kobe Bryant, Mr. Moore said. Latonya Eason, the boy’s mother, had initially agreed to the probation during a hearing in Tate County Chancery Court on Dec. 12, but upon reading the full terms and consulting with Mr. Moore this week, she decided not to sign and instead to fight for the charge to be dismissed, he said. NBC News reported on the case this week. “This boy is not a criminal,” Mr. Moore said. “He should not have to go through all of this.” The legal battle stems from an encounter that Quantavious and his mother had with the police on Aug. 10 in Senatobia, Miss., a small city 40 miles south of Memphis, Tenn. The family, which lives in a neighboring county, believes the manner in which the police treated the boy stemmed from racism.

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crime

Biden Commutes Drug Sentences for 11 and Expands Marijuana Pardons

President Biden said he would commute the sentences of 11 people who had been jailed for nonviolent drug offenses and pardon convictions for marijuana use and possession on federal lands as part of a broader effort by his administration to address racial disparities in drug sentencing. Each of the clemency recipients would have been eligible for shorter sentencing under current laws, Mr. Biden said in a statement on Friday. Their original sentences — characterized by the president as “disproportionately long” — ranged from decades to life in prison for attempting to distribute drugs, including cocaine and methamphetamine, according to a list published by the White House. Mr. Biden also said that he had pardoned more offenses involving possession of marijuana under federal law and D.C. law, which builds on his decision last year to pardon thousands of people who had been convicted of marijuana possession under federal law. The new pardons would apply to people found guilty of using or attempting to possess marijuana on federal lands, in addition to simple possession, according to a presidential proclamation issued on Friday. Such offenses are outnumbered by those at the state level, which Mr. Biden does not have the authority to pardon.

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crime

Bentley in Border Bridge Crash Was a Luxury Car Packed With Power

The car that exploded this week at a border bridge in Niagara Falls, N.Y., was a 2022 Bentley Flying Spur, the authorities said on Friday, an ultraluxury model capable of reaching a speed of 60 miles per hour in four seconds. The police identified Kurt P. Villani as the driver and Monica Villani as the passenger. The married couple, who were both 53 and from Grand Island, were the owners of several businesses in western New York. They were headed to a concert in Toronto before the fatal crash, which remained unexplained. The base model Flying Spur in 2022 came powered by an eight-cylinder engine generating 542 horsepower and weighed 5,137 pounds, according to specifications from Edmunds, which provides data about automobiles for consumers. Used models cost more than $200,000, and Car and Driver magazine said that “the Flying Spur’s unbeatable blend of luxury and performance comes with an eye-watering six-figure price tag.” Speculation had percolated online about the car’s make and model since the crash just before noon on Wednesday, and investigators were exploring whether a mechanical problem had caused the car to accelerate out of control.

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crime

Officials ID victim in fatal Cambridge fire

Local News Officials ID victim in fatal Cambridge fire Brian Brandt, 52, of Cambridge, was found deceased by firefighters in a second-floor apartment, according to a statement. Local officials have identified the victim of Tuesday’s fatal fire in Cambridge. Brian Brandt, 52, of Cambridge, was found deceased by firefighters, according to the statement from Cambridge Police Commissioner Christine A. Elow, Cambridge Fire Chief Thomas F. Cahill, State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine, and Middlesex County District Attorney Marian T. Ryan on Friday. The Cambridge Fire Department responded to 15 Chester St. early Tuesday morning, finding heavy fire showing, according to officials. Firefighters used an aerial ladder to rescue an occupant from a third-floor window, according to the statement. Officials said other residents escaped safely after working smoke alarms alerted them to the danger. Advertisement: Pro EMS transported one firefighter to a local hospital for injuries that were not life-threatening, according to the statement. Officials said about 15 occupants of the Chester Street apartment building were displaced by the fire. The fire went to three alarms before it was brought under control at about 5:15 a.m., according to the statement. Officials said firefighters were able to contain the fire to a second-floor apartment at the front left of the building. Firefighters entered the apartment to “conduct an aggressive interior attack” and located Brandt, the sole occupant, deceased inside, according to the statement. The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Cambridge Fire Department, Cambridge Police Department, and Massachusetts State Police assigned to the offices of the State Fire Marshal and Middlesex District Attorney.

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crime

Its always senior scamming season. Heres what to know about it ...

SPRINGFIELD — When Lisa Pandolfi logs onto her computer each morning at Freedom Credit Union, she’s on alert for scams targeting the credit union’s senior citizen members. She’s watching all day, every day for strange or suspicious transactions. “We have systems that alert me if all of a sudden, money starts going out of an account. I get an alert that detects increased elderly spending, and I’ll look into it and see where the money is going,” said Pandolfi, the credit union’s fraud analyst. “I had a woman who was doing a small wire transaction, and it came across my desk. I’m nosy, and I noticed she had done a few within the last month, so I called and explained to her, ‘I think this is fraud,’” said Pandolfi. Once the money is gone, it’s nearly impossible for any financial institution to recover the looted cash. What’s left is to report the fraud to authorities, who gather data, identify trends and the tactics fraudsters are using, and try to come up with an action plan that prevents further theft. Inside the main vault at Freedom Credit Union, where people have their safe deposit boxes. (Sebastian Restrepo / Special to The Republican)Sebastian Restrepo / Special to The Republican Bay State rip-offs According to the FBI, financial fraud against people over 60 is skyrocketing — up nationally by 84% since 2021, with victims filing 17,800 complaints. The problem is more severe in Massachusetts, compared with many other parts of the nation. In its Elder Fraud Report, the FBI states 1,653 Bay State seniors over 60 lost a total of $70,100,868 to scammers in 2022, worse than 46 other states, territories and Washington, D.C. “Seniors are a particularly vulnerable victim group and are often specifically targeted for financial fraud crimes, because they are often polite and trusting, have difficulty saying no, may be lonely or spend a great deal of time alone,” FBI spokesperson Kristen Setera told The Republican. “Seniors are often financially stable and own their homes, which make them enticing targets for fraudsters,” she continued. There are actually more victims than the FBI knows about, because seniors are too embarrassed to tell anyone they’ve been ripped off, said Setera. Fraudsters have a large and growing arsenal of plots they use to rip-off seniors. Criminals might pose as technical or customer service agents, offering to help with made up computer or billing issues. Some con artists try to convince seniors that they’ve hit the lottery and need to send in money to claim their prize. Cheaters might also pose as government agents or call with dubious opportunities to invest in real estate or secure a reverse mortgage. Nathaniel Mish, an assistant branch officer, seen here guarding his pin at the ATM just outside the main Freedom Credit Union branch in Springfield. (Sebastian Restrepo / Special to The Republican)Sebastian Restrepo / Special to The Republican Tainted love Victimizers also tug at the heartstrings of seniors, reaching them through social media platforms, such as Facebook or Instagram. “During the holidays, many elders are alone. They don’t have family, their spouses may have died, and they’re being targeted by individuals via online romance scams,” said Lisa Rivera, protective services program director for Greater Springfield Senior Services. Half of the 12 scams against seniors reported to the service agency in October involved cash and love lost online. “Seniors are befriended either on a dating app or through social media. There’s a conversation that takes place. The scammer will build an emotional connection with the elder, and at that point, they’ll ask for money,” said Rivera. Banks, credit unions and social service agencies, along with federal and state governments, are mobilizing, trying to protect seniors by telling them how to flag and avoid financial threats and perils. The FBI made a presentation recently at the South Hadley Public Library. Freedom Credit Union and Senior Services also make public appearances, helping seniors at group meetings or in person. “I tell seniors over and over again, do not isolate yourself. Please reach out to someone. You did not do anything wrong. It’s not your fault,” said Pandolfi. Scammers are coming at seniors from every direction — online, on the phone, knocks on the door — one even got a letter looking like it came from the United Nations, with an official asking for money to help someone get home. Some traps might seem more absurd than others, but most are frighteningly enticing, because scammers are getting better at what they do, learning from their mistakes and refining their approach. They’re also counting on seniors being easy targets. “Their credit is good. They might have a larger nest egg, and they come from an age group that was very trusting. They never had to lock their doors when they were young, and they would do anything for anybody,” Pandolfi. Verify, don’t trust Trust can be an elder’s greatest enemy when it comes to being tricked. Seniors are told to be wary and skeptical of any unsolicited contacts, warnings or offers. Experts advise to get off the phone, ignore the message, and if there is no way to verify the contact is legitimate, ignore it. If a senior has a love interest on the line, experts recommend to validate that, too, by seeing if the person has a significant online presence with photos of family, friends and themselves. Don’t meet in person, and see if they have a legitimate local address. Some bad actors are based overseas. “The romance scams are bit more difficult, because you’re building this emotional connection. But, look for discrepancies in stories, ask them follow-up questions about where they live, see if there is a way to do a video chat instead of a phone conversation. Try to take precautions, and confirm identities,” said Rivera. While some seniors are quick to trust scammers, many resist help from their own financial institutions, dubious of calls asking about specific transactions or if everything is OK. “Fraudsters are very good at what they do: They know exactly how to brainwash seniors. ... But seniors want to be independent. They don’t want to ask for help. And fraudsters coach them on what to say,” said Pandolfi. In some cases, Senior Services can do competency checks to identify seniors at a greater risk of being scammed. And while some elders are home alone, others have family in the area — but financial institutions can’t let relatives help out or tell them anything about the finances of their loved ones, unless they have legal permission to do so. “It’s a privacy issue,” said Pandolfi. “If the family member is on the account, I can absolutely speak to them if they’re joint owners, but if they’re not on the account, I can’t give them any information.” According to the FBI, anyone who believes they are a victim of fraud, or know a senior who might have been — regardless of financial loss — should immediately report the incident to their local FBI office or other law enforcement agency, or to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. Seniors also should contact their financial institution immediately. Freedom Credit Union has held recent free educational sessions for seniors in Agawam, East Longmeadow, Chicopee, Springfield, West Springfield and Greenfield. Its next one is Wednesday, Dec. 20, in East Longmeadow. Staasi Heropoulos is a longtime Western Massachusetts television and print journalist. Send human interest and feature story ideas to staasi.heropoulos@gmail.com.

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crime

Seven people hospitalized in serious rollover crash in Berlin Wednesday night

Seven people were brought to the hospital, including two with serious injuries, following a rollover crash in Berlin on Wednesday night, according to local authorities. Berlin firefighters and Berlin Police went to the crash on Interstate 495 North just after 9 p.m. on Dec. 27, according to a press release posted by Berlin Fire & EMS on Facebook. When crews arrived, they found seven people who were injured, including one who was trapped inside the vehicle. Firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life to pull the victim to safety, officials said. Two people were brought to local hospitals while the other five were brought to local trauma centers. Two of those individuals were said to have serious injuries, officials said. The scene was cleared at about 10:30 p.m. The cause of the crash remains under investigation by Massachusetts State Police.

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crime

Friend who warned officials of Maine shooter says I literally spelled it out

“I believe he’s going to snap and do a mass shooting,” he wrote on Sept. 15. LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Sean Hodgson watched and worried as his best friend of nearly two decades unraveled. His former roommate and fellow U.S. Army reservist’s anger and paranoia were mounting, he had access to guns, and he refused to get help. So Hodgson did the hardest thing of his life: He sent a text about Robert Card to their Army supervisor. Six weeks later, Card fatally shot 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston before killing himself. His body was found in a trailer after a two-day search and regionwide lockdown. Advertisement “I wasn’t in his head. I don’t know exactly what went on,” Hodgson told The Associated Press last week in an exclusive interview, his first since the Oct. 25 shootings. “But I do know I was right.” The series of warning signs about Card have been well documented. In May, relatives warned police that Card had grown paranoid, and they expressed concern about his access to guns. In July, Card was hospitalized in a psychiatric unit for two weeks after shoving a fellow reservist and locking himself in a motel room. In August, the Army barred him from handling weapons while on duty and declared him nondeployable. And in September, Hodgson raised the most glaring red flag, telling authorities to change the passcode to the gate at their Army Reserve training facility and arm themselves if Card showed up. “Please,” he wrote. “I believe he’s messed up in the head.” But authorities declined to confront Card — the clearest example of the missed opportunities to intervene and prevent the deadliest shooting in state history. That’s hard to swallow for Hodgson, who’s pushing back against an independent report for law enforcement that described him as “over the top” and “alarmist.” Advertisement “I did my job, and I went over and beyond it, and I literally spelled it out for them,” said Hodgson, 43, referred to by only his last name in documents related to the case. “I don’t know how clear I could have gotten.” Hodgson’s account, taken together with law enforcement documents, videos and other interviews, provides the most comprehensive picture to date of potential missteps leading up to the attack. In replying to AP's questions about the investigation and Hodgson's warning, the Army Reserve said in a statement this week that no one should jump to conclusions until its own investigation and an independent probe by the Army inspector general are finalized. “Any speculation at this point without having all the details could affect the outcome of the investigation. More details may become available once the investigation is complete,” Lt. Col. Addie Leonhardt, Army Reserve spokesperson, said in the statement. Officials wouldn't comment further. Sheriff Joel Merry — of Sagadahoc County, where Card lived — didn’t respond to AP’s questions about whether Hodgson’s warning was taken seriously enough but suggested a need for public policy changes. He previously said his office has been “fully transparent” and is cooperating with an independent commission appointed by the governor. Hodgson said he doesn't know where the failings occurred but believes more could have been done to help his friend and prevent tragedy. Advertisement “I understand he did a horrific thing. I don’t agree with it. But I loved him,” he said. “ I didn’t want any of this for anybody.” Law enforcement personnel are staged in a school parking lot during a manhunt for Robert Card in the aftermath of a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, Oct. 27, 2023. Matt Rourke/Associated Press For much of their friendship, Card was “the sensible one,” Hodgson said. They met in 2006 in the Army Reserve and became especially close when they both divorced around the same time. When Hodgson was evicted from his New Hampshire apartment in 2022, Card told him to move to Maine, and they lived together for about a month, he said. When Card was hospitalized in New York in July, Hodgson was the one who drove him back to Maine. By then, Hodgson said, Card had begun venting to him about his belief that those around him were accusing him of being a pedophile. Hodgson believed some of Card’s complaints were true — a case of mistaken identity stemming from the fact that another Robert Card is on the state’s sex offender registry — and described an incident at the bowling alley when a father snatched his daughter away from Card after he offered the toddler a hello. “I always believed him. I always stuck by him,” Hodgson said. “I am the closest one to Robert Card. Besides his mother, he pushed everybody away. “I was the last one he pushed away.” In September, after a night out at the Oxford Casino, Card began “flipping out,” Hodgson said — pounding the steering wheel and almost crashing multiple times. After Hodgson begged him to pull over, he said, Card punched him in the face. Advertisement “We were having a good night, and he just snapped,” he said. Hodgson told Card to drop him off at a gas station near his house. “I love you, and I’ll always be here for you no matter what,” he said he told his friend as he got out of the car. Hodgson sent his text two days later, telling his training supervisor he feared what Card might do. He didn’t speak to Card after that, he said, though they passed each other at work. “It took me a lot to report somebody I love,” he said. “But when the hair starts standing up on the back of your neck, you have to listen.” Watching the videos was gut-wrenching for Tammy Asselin, who became separated from her 10-year-old daughter during the chaos of the bowling alley shooting. Charles Krupa/Associated Press After his text, Hodgson said, military officials followed up, asking whether Card threatened specific people. He told them he hadn’t. But they didn’t ask for help in approaching Card, he said, even though they drove trucks for the same company and he knew his friend’s schedule and route. “I could’ve told them when he was at work, when he was at home, what hours he worked,” he said. Authorities briefly staked out the Army Reserve Center and visited Card’s home. They declined to confront him, fearing that would “throw a stick of dynamite on a pool of gas,” according to video released last month by the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office. In the videos, officials downplayed Hodgson’s warning, suggesting he might have been drunk when he texted at 2:04 a.m. Speaking to police at the training center, Army Reserve Capt. Jeremy Reamer describes Hodgson as “not the most credible of our soldiers” and later tells Sagadahoc Sheriff Sgt. Aaron Skolfield his message should be taken “with a grain of salt.” Advertisement Hodgson, who was unaware of those comments until contacted by AP, acknowledged in a series of interviews that he struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol addiction but said he wasn't drinking that night and was awake because he works nights and was waiting for his boss to call. Hodgson also acknowledges that he faces two criminal charges, one alleging he assaulted a woman he was dating in 2022 and another alleging that he violated his bail conditions by possessing alcohol last month. He's also in hot water for wrecking a military vehicle last summer, he said. But he said authorities should have taken him more seriously given his relationship with Card, his past training on threat detection and mitigation, and his previous work as a security officer at a nuclear plant. “That was the most difficult thing I ever had to do, was report him to command, and I did that. And for them to discredit me?” he said. “It pisses me off because all they had to do is listen.” In a text message this week, Reamer declined to comment on questions from AP and referred them to Army Reserve public affairs officers. According to the independent review for the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office, officers didn’t have sufficient grounds the day they staked out Card’s house to force the issue and take him into protective custody after he refused to answer the door. That step is necessary to trigger Maine’s “yellow flag” law. It allows a judge to temporarily remove someone’s guns during a psychiatric health crisis. But Stephanie Sherman, an attorney who’s represented several families of survivors of the 2022 mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, said police had more than enough information to take to a local judge. The videos show officers with a disturbingly casual approach to the threat Card posed, Sherman said. She also noted that Skolfield referred to the Cards as a “big family in this area” and said he didn’t want to publicize over police radio that officers were visiting the home. “It was sort of balancing the safety of the public versus this family’s reputation,” she said. “And that should not be a factor.” Watching the videos was gut-wrenching for Tammy Asselin, who became separated from her 10-year-old daughter during the chaos of the bowling alley shooting. She said it was the first time she knew for sure that steps could have been taken to prevent the massacre. “Listening to that interaction between the military and the sheriff, it hurt me to hear the giggle and the laughter in their voice,” Asselin said, a tear running down her cheek. “Because I don’t think they would be giggling and laughing had they been the ones in my shoes that day, not knowing where their daughter was.” Police tape cordons off the road to Schemengees Bar and Grille as law enforcement officers maintain their presence in the aftermath of the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. Matt Rourke/Associated Press For weeks after sending the text about Card to their supervisor, Hodgson said he prayed that it wouldn't come true. But as soon as he heard about the shooting, he called his sergeant. “I don’t believe in coincidences,” he said he told him. “I know it’s Robert Card.” Hodgson was driving to Massachusetts for work that day. He fielded phone calls to and from multiple law enforcement agencies that didn't seem to be communicating with one another, he said. He said he told authorities right away that Card likely was headed to the Maine Recycling Corp. Card had worked there, and it wasn’t far from the boat launch where his car was found after the shootings. His body would eventually be found there, after initial unsuccessful searches that critics said were too cautious. More than two months later, Hodgson said, he hates that Card “took the easy way out" and isn’t around to answer questions or face the consequences of what he did. It’s not the Robert Card he knew and loved for 17 years, he said, and he struggles with that every day. Hodgson said he wants people to know he did everything he could to save lives. “I don’t know how to express to people how much I loved him, how much I cared about him,” he said. “And how much I hate what he did.”

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crime

3 people dead in small plane crash in western Massachusetts

Three people were killed in a small plane crash Sunday afternoon in northwestern Massachusetts, state police announced. Massachusetts State Police said they were notified around 11:45 a.m. that a small plane crash had occurred in the area of Country Club Road in Greenfield. A short time later, responders reached the crash site, which was in the Leyden Wildlife Area. Police later elaborated saying the crash location is in a clearing on the side of a wooded mountain on the Greenfield/Leyden town line. The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration confirmed they were investigating after the twin-engine airplane, a Beechcraft Baron 55, crashed under unknown circumstances around 12:24 p.m. near the Leyden Wildlife Management Area, close to the Greenfield town line. Get New England news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NECN newsletters. NTSB is investigating the crash of a Beechcraft Baron airplane near Greenfield, Massachusetts. — NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) January 14, 2024 Both the FAA and NTSB said there were three people on board. There were no survivors, according to Greenfield police. State police confirmed their initial investigation reveals all three adults aboard the aircraft suffered fatal injuries. The victims were removed from the crash scene by the chief medical examiner's office. No names have been released at this time. State police said they are aware of social media posts purporting to contain the victims' names but said they will not be releasing or confirming any names Sunday night. Greenfield police asked people to avoid the area off of Oak Hill Acres Road, saying anyone who comes to look at the scene will be turned away. Detectives and crime scene services personnel were processing and documenting the scene, state police said. State troopers are providing security at the scene overnight, with the investigation by federal, state and local authorities resuming Monday morning. The NTSB will lead the investigation to determine what happened, with assistance from the FAA. An NTSB investigator is expected to arrive at the scene on Monday and will document the scene and examine the aircraft. The NTSB investigation will look at the pilot, the aircraft and the operating environment. The investigator will also gather information and records on flight track data; air traffic control communications; aircraft maintenance; weather forecasts; weather and lighting conditions at the time of the crash; pilot's license, ratings and recent flight experience; 72-hour background of the pilot; witness statements; electronic devices; and any available surveillance video, including from doorbell cameras. Anyone who witnessed the crash or has surveillance video or other information that could be relevant to the investigation is asked to contact the NTSB at witness@ntsb.gov. The NTSB said it would not speculate about the cause of the crash, adding that a probable cause along with any contributing factors will be detailed in the agency's final report, which is expected in 12-24 months.

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crime

Boston Police Crime Lab missed deadline to test half of rape kits

MINUTES. HERE. LIVE IN MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE MARIA. WE WILL SEE YOU THEN. ED. THANK YOU. FIVE INVESTIGATES REVEALING A CRIME LAB IN MASSACHUSETTS IS FAILING TO MEET A STATE LAW THAT SET A DEADLINE TO TEST RAPE KITS. ONE OF THE AUTHORS OF THAT LAW IS TELLING OUR KAREN ANDERSON THE LAB’S EXCLAMATION EXPLANATION, RATHER, IS UNACCEPTABLE. KAREN AND MARIA MASSACHUSETTS LAW SAYS EVERY RAPE KIT MUST BE TESTED WITHIN 30 DAYS. IT WAS PASSED AS PART OF A REFORM TO MAKE SURE EVERY SEXUAL ASSAULT IS TREATED SERIOUSLY, TO SOLVE CASES AND CATCH RAPISTS. S THAT’S A HUGE PROBLEM. STATE REPRESENTATIVE NATALIE HIGGINS HAS A LOT OF QUESTIONS FOR BOSTON POLICE. AFTER LEARNING THEIR CRIME LAB FAILED TO MEET THE DEADLINE FOR TESTING HALF OF ALL RAPE KITS IT RECEIVED IN THE MOSTRILLIONECENT FISCAL YEAR. IS THIS AN ISSUE THAT’S IMPACTING KIND OF EVIDENCE TESTING OF ALL VIOLENT CRIMES? IS THIS ONLY SOMETHING THAT RAPE KITS ARE OR ARE GOING THROUGH THE REPORT SAYS 93 OF THE 186 KITS SUBMITTED MISSED THE DEADLINE. THE REASON A STAFFING SHORTAGE ACCORDING TO THE REPORT. I THINK STAFFING ISSUES IS AN UNACCEPTABLE ANSWER. I THINK IS A SOLVABLE PROBLEM. HIGGINS, WHO IS HERSELF A SURVIVOR OF SEXUAL ASSAULT, SAYS THE LEGISLATURE COULD HAVE HELPED WITH RESOURCES IF THEY WERE TOLD. IN CONTRAST WITH BOSTON, THE STATE POLICE CRIME LAB TESTED ALMOST ALL OF ITS KITS WITHIN 30 DAYS. JUST 4% MISSED THE DEADLINE. WHAT IS YOUR MESSAGE TO THE BOSTON POLICE CRIME LAB? I HOPE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THE SEVERITY OF THESE DELAYS AND THE HARM THAT IT LEADS TO TO NOT ONLY THE SURVIVORS WHOSE KITS ARE BEING DELAYED, BUT TO TO ANY CURRENT SURVIVOR AND FUTURE SURVIVOR, AND HOW THAT IMPACTS OUR WILLINGNESS TO COME FORWARD AND BELIEVE THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT ARE GOING TO TAKE US SERIOUSLY. NOW, BOSTON POLICE JUST SENT US A STATEMENT. THEY SAY ALL RAPE KITS SUBMITTED TO THEIR LAB ARE BEING TESTED AND THEY’RE EXPLORING WAYS TO IMPROVE THE WORKFLOW. SO AS WE CONTINUE TO ENHANCE OUR PROCESS, OUR COMMITMENT TO THE SURVIVORS OF THESE CRIMES REMAINS OUR TOP PRIORITY. REPORT Advertisement Boston Police Crime Lab missed 30-day deadline to test half of rape kits, state report finds In contrast, only 4% missed deadline at State Police Crime Lab Share Copy Link Copy The Boston Police Crime Lab failed to test half of rape kits submitted within the time limit set by state law, according to a new report by the state."I'm really frustrated and really concerned," said state Rep. Natalie Higgins, an author of the 2018 law that set the requirement.That law requires the two crime labs in the state – Boston police and the State Police Crime Lab – to test all rape kits submitted within 30 days.The state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security said that of the 186 kits submitted to the Boston lab, 93 – or 50% – were not tested within 30 days.A "staffing shortage" is cited by the report as the reason for the Boston lab's delay.The Leominster Democrat said that was an "unacceptable answer.""I think it's a solvable problem," she said.In contrast, at the State Police Crime Lab, 28 of the 714 kits submitted remained untested for more than 30 days. That's just 4% that missed the deadline."I have a lot of questions," she added. "I wonder, is this an issue that's impacting evidence testing of all violent crimes? Is this only something that rape kits are going through? And why are we finding out in a report, and we weren't finding out that they might need some more resources?"Boston police said in a statement that, "The Department remains committed to the efficient completion of these investigations. We understand the intent behind the 30-day time frame; however, occasionally circumstances extend testing beyond that window. All Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kits are being tested and we continue to explore ways to improve the workflow to complete this aspect of the casework. As we continue to enhance the process, our commitment to the survivors of these crimes remains our top priority."Higgins, herself a survivor of sexual assault, said the time limits were put into the law to try and rebuild trust between survivors and law enforcement. Missing the deadline hurts that effort, she said."What's your message to the Boston crime lab?" 5 Investigates' Karen Anderson asked."I hope that they understand the severity of these delays and the impacts and the harm that it leads to, not only the survivors whose kits are being delayed, but to any current survivor and future survivor, and how that impacts our willingness to come forward and share our stories and believe that law enforcement are going to take us seriously," Higgins replied.

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crime

Calif. man embezzled over $1M from Mass. employer, going to prison

A California man is going to prison over a year after he pled guilty to embezzling over $1.2 million from his Massachusetts employer for almost two decades, Acting United States Attorney Joshua Levy’s office announced Thursday. Darrell Pike, 57, of Hesperia, Calif., was sentenced to three months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, with the first nine months consisting of home confinement, Levy’s office said in a statement. In addition, U.S. District Court Judge Myong Joun ordered Pike to pay restitution and forfeiture of $1,232,001. Read more: Taunton woman bribed RMV test examiner for a license going to prison Pike worked as the general manager of a subsidiary, based in Ontario, Calif., of a supply and service company located in Wilmington. Between 2005 and 2021, Pike turned in fraudulent invoices to the company on behalf of a fake temporary staffing company called Consumer Information Systems, Levy’s office said. He added approving initials of company personnel to the invoices without his employer’s knowledge or consent, Levy’s office added. Through these invoices, Pike caused the company to pay approximately $1,271,206 to Consumer Information Systems, which were then deposited into a bank account he controlled. In October 2022, Pike pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud.

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crime

N.Y.C. Officials Reassure Revelers Ahead of New Years Eve Festivities

The Police Department has monitored more than 400 protests since Oct. 7, when Hamas attacked Israel, Mr. Adams said. Overall, the department has been successful in keeping pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protests peaceful, he said. However, there have been “a handful of protesters” who have tried to “embed themselves in some of the protests and bring about disruption,” Mr. Adams said. “It’s not going to be tolerated,” he warned on Friday. “It’s not going to be accepted.” Officials said that law enforcement agents were prepared for demonstrators on Sunday and that an expanded security zone this year would allow the police to respond to emergencies quickly while keeping protesters out of the Times Square area. Pro-Palestinian activists have called for a march and rally on Sunday afternoon at Columbus Circle, located at the northern end of the police’s security zone, which runs along Central Park South. The protest, called “Shut It Down! For Palestine,” is being organized by several groups, including the People’s Forum, an educational and cultural organization in the city. Last month, a pro-Palestinian demonstration blocks away from the lighting ceremony for the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree resulted in several arrests after demonstrators broke through police barricades and got into altercations with officers. On Christmas Day, six protesters were arrested during a pro-Palestinian march through Midtown Manhattan. On Wednesday, amid the busy holiday travel season, more than two dozen pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested after they blocked traffic heading to Kennedy International Airport in Queens.

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crime

Unruly passenger claiming to be devil forces Boston-bound JetBlue flight to be diverted to Orlando

PASSENGER ACCUSED OF PUNCHING A WOMAN. THAT GUY IS YOUR CAPTAIN SPEAKING. UNFORTUNATELY, WE HAD TO DEFER DOVER TO ORLANDO AIRPORT, AND THAT’S WHERE WE ARE NOW. IN LATE, DISRUPTIVE FIRE ON PASSENGER IN THE BACK. ORLANDO POLICE SAY AN INTOXICATED MAN ACCUSED OF ATTACKING HIS TRAVEL COMPANION CAUSED JETBLUE FLIGHT 170, FORT LAUDERDALE TO BOSTON TO BE DIVERTED TO ORLANDO, SO IT WAS ATTACKING ANOTHER PASSENGER. SO HE’S BEEN REMOVED. PASSENGERS ON BOARD TELL US THE MAN WAS CALLING HIMSELF. THE DEVIL MADE THREATS AND PROMPTED A FIVE HOUR DELAY FOR PASSENGERS. SHE WAS PRETTY UPSET TRAVELING TO ORLANDO THIS AFTERNOON. AGATHA MOSCOW SAYS HER FRIEND WAS ON THAT FLIGHT THERE WAS A COUPLE FIGHTING AND I THINK THE WOMAN GOT HIT BY THE THE MAN. AND I THINK HE GOT LOCKED UP IN THE BATHROOM UNTIL THEY GOT BACK TO ORLANDO. THAT’S PRETTY MUCH WHAT SHE TOLD ME. BUT SHE WAS PRETTY. SHE WAS PRETTY FRUSTRATED. YESTERDAY’S DIVERTED FLIGHT LANDED IN ORLANDO AT 11:35 P.M., AND PASSENGERS DIDN’T LAND IN BOSTON UNTIL AFTER 4:30 A.M. TO RECOUNT THE INCIDENT. HE GOT UP AND HE WENT TO THE GALLEY AND HE WOULDN’T GO BACK TO HIS SEAT. THEY PUT HER INSIDE A OFF THE BATHROOM AND HE HE TRIED TO PUNCH THE DOOR AND TAKE HER OUT OF THE BATHROOM. SO THAT WAS PRETTY, PRETTY SCARY. JETBLUE CALLS THIS DISRUPTION IN THE SERVICE OUT OF THEIR CONTROL. SOMETHING LIKE A WEATHER EVENT. THEREFORE, THERE WILL BE NO COMPENSATION AND NO REIMBURSEMENT. HOWEVER, JETBLUE SAYS IF ANYONE HAS ANY OUTSID Advertisement Unruly passenger claiming to be devil forces Boston-bound JetBlue flight to be diverted to Orlando Share Copy Link Copy A JetBlue flight that was bound for Boston's Logan International Airport was diverted to Orlando late Thursday after a disturbance onboard, officials said. JetBlue said there was a disturbance between two customers on board Flight 170 that took off from Fort Lauderdale just before 9:30 p.m. The plane was diverted to Orlando before it landed in Boston at 4:30 a.m.Passengers said a man, who was making threats and telling people he was the devil, punched a woman who was with him.Leo Ruiz, a passenger on the plane, said the pilot told them one passenger was acting violently toward another passenger. "I was in front of the plane so I heard no disturbance in the back, but we had one of the flight attendants tell the first few rows that there would be pit stop in Orlando but they didn't want to make announcement in case it angered the man," passenger Max Seelig said.One passenger who was sitting close to the man said flight attendants put the woman who was with the man in the plane's bathroom, and the man was punching the door to try to get her out."They put her inside the bathroom, and he tried to punch the door and take her out of the bathroom. It was pretty scary," the passenger said.Ruiz captured video of security officials escorting one person off the plane. Passengers said they had to get off the plane, wait for a new crew and then re-board the plane.JetBlue said the customers were deplaned with the assistance of law enforcement, and the flight continued to Boston with a delay. One passenger shared a message from JetBlue, saying they would not be compensated for the delay."This disruption is considered an uncontrollable disruption; meaning it's due to events outside of JetBlue's control (things like Air Traffic Control or weather disruptions) and, unfortunately, does not qualify for customer compensation or reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses," the e-mail read.The man's name was not released.

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crime

Weymouth man dies in crash on I-495 in Franklin

A Weymouth man thrown out of his vehicle after a crash on Interstate 495 in Franklin that snarled traffic for hours died at the hospital Friday afternoon, according to authorities. Massachusetts State Police say a collision happened at about 3:30 p.m. Jan. 5 on the northbound side of I-495 near exit 41 in Franklin. Troopers from the Foxborough barracks found a man thrown from a vehicle that had rolled multiple times and started “life-saving efforts,” according to a press release. Emergency responders from Franklin took the unidentified 39-year-old Weymouth man to Milford Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said. An unidentified person driving another vehicle involved in the collision was not hurt, police said. Two lanes on I-495 were closed for two-and-a-half hours Friday afternoon, police said, and the crash scene was cleared soon after 6 p.m. The State Police-Foxborough Barracks, State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, State Police Crime Scene Services Section and State Police detectives from Troop H are investigating the circumstances of the crash, including what may have led to it, police said. Another person died this week after a crash on I-495. Allison Kane, 19, of Franklin, died in a one-car crash in Hopkinton Tuesday, Jan. 2. State Police troopers found a Nissan Altima in the center median, state police said in a press release. The car had caught fire, and Kane was declared dead at the scene. State police, MassDOT and the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office are still investigating what caused that crash, police said.

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crime

New Bedford teen killed in Dartmouth car crash attended technical high school

Jacob Pothier, the 18-year-old New Bedford resident who was killed in a car crash in Dartmouth on Friday, was a student at Greater New Bedford Vocational Technical High School (GNBVT), according to the school’s superintendent. “The death of a person so young, no matter the circumstances, is a tragedy. It is the stark reminder of a life not realized,” GNBVT Superintendent said in a statement on Saturday. The school cancelled its varsity non-league hockey game against East Boston High School Saturday evening out of respect of Pothier’s family, according to the statement. Additionally, the school will have crisis councilors available this week, and those in need of support can call 508-998-4698. Read more: New Bedford teen dies after thrown from car in Dartmouth Friday On Jan. 5, the car Pothier was in crashed near the intersection of Gulf and Smith Neck Road in Dartmouth around 10:30 p.m., Dartmouth police said previously. Pothier and 44-year-old Dartmouth resident Kathleen Martins were thrown from the car. Both were taken to St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford, and Pothier was soon declared dead, police said previously. Martins suffered life-threatening injuries, and was still in critical condition on Sunday, Dartmouth police said. Dartmouth police are still investigating the crash, and put out a call for information on Facebook Sunday afternoon. They are looking for people who may have seen the car that crashed — a white 2022 Honda Accord — traveling in or near the town landing on the west side of the Padanaram Bridge before 10:30 p.m. Friday. Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call police at 508-910-1790.

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crime

Air Force: 15 members of accused Mass. Airman Jack Teixeiras unit found at fault for leaks

The Air Force Inspector General said on Monday that members of Jack Teixeira’s unit didn’t take proper action after finding out about the Massachusetts airman’s alleged leak of classified government information and has disciplined 15 people as a result. In an announcement on Dec. 11, the Inspector General said that while its investigation found Teixeira to be solely responsible for the social media leak of information on Russia’s war in Ukraine, leadership members in the 102nd Intelligence Wing also were indirectly at fault for his actions. Read more: Jack Teixeira pleads not guilty to sharing classified documents Teixeira, 23, is accused of leaking top-secret military documents regarding the war in Ukraine to his internet friends over Discord, a communication platform popular amongst video gamers. Officials said he accessed Discord while employed at the Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod. He was arrested and charged with six counts willful retention and transmission of classified information relating to the national defense in April under the Espionage Act. Each count carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison. The Massachusetts man pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Worcester in June, and was denied release in September as he waits in jail for his next trial date. Because of these indirect factors, many people were removed from their positions, and other administrative actions were brought against unit members, the Air Force said. Some of these factors included Texeira’s commanders’ failure to review their areas of command, inconsistent guidance on reporting security incidents and a misunderstanding of the government’s “Need to Know” classified info concept, the investigation revealed. Additionally, a lack of supervision of night shift operations, poor administration of disciplinary actions, and not providing security clearance field investigation results all factored into Teixeira’s suspected crimes, the Air Force said. Leadership also did not properly inspect the conduct of the people they were in charge of — specifically, security was not prioritized because those in charge did not take “the required actions to accomplish security program responsibilities fully and effectively,” investigators found. Two of the 15 people who received disciplined by the Air National Guard, which began Sept. 7, were identified as Col. Sean Riley, a 102d commander, and Enrique Dovalo, a Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group commander for the 102d. Riley was relieved of his position, the Air Force said. Dovalo received administrative action for its concerns with the commander’s unit culture and compliance with policies and standards. Also permanently removed were commanders who were previously suspended from the 102d Intelligence Support Squadron, and the detachment overseeing administrative support for Airmen at the unit mobilized for duty under Title 10 of the U.S. criminal code, the Air Force said. The 102nd Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group had been taken off mission when allegations against Teixeira surfaced, and the group’s mission remains reassigned to other organizations within the Air Force. In addition to the disciplinary and administrative actions, the Air Force implemented department-wide security improvements, such as the members’ review of security procedure compliance, their attendance of security training, and a survey of security practices across the Air Force. The Air Force also implemented several reforms, including but not limited to, increased emphasis on cyber-hygiene, improving its procedures on “Need to Know” and classified access, improving security training content, and delivery and improving security training content and delivery. “Every Airman and Guardian is entrusted with the solemn duty to safeguard our nation’s classified defense information,” U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said in the statement. “When there is a breach of that sacred trust, for any reason, we will act in accordance with our laws and policies to hold responsible individuals accountable. Our national security demands leaders at every level protect critical assets, ensuring they do not fall into the hands of those who would do the United States or our allies and partners harm,” Kendall said.

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crime

Teen girl who says she discovered camera in bathroom during Boston-bound flight suing airline

BOSTON (AP) — The family of a North Carolina teenager is suing American Airlines, saying that a flight attendant taped an iPhone to an airplane toilet to record her using the restroom during a September flight. Lawyers for the 14-year-old and her parents say that American “knew or should have known the flight attendant was a danger.” They say the failure of other crew members to confiscate the employee’s phone allowed him to destroy evidence. The lawsuit against American and the unidentified flight attendant was filed Friday in U.S. district court in North Carolina. American said the flight attendant was “withheld from service” immediately after the alleged incident and has not worked since. “We take this matter very seriously and have been fully cooperating with law enforcement in their investigation, as safety and security are our highest priorities,” American said in a prepared statement. According to the lawsuit, the incident happened on a Sept. 2 flight from Charlotte to Boston. The girl said that while she was waiting to use a bathroom in the economy section, where her family was sitting, the flight attendant told her to use one in the first-class cabin. He entered the bathroom first, saying he needed to wash his hands, then emerged a minute later to tell the girl that the seat was broken but not to worry about it. The girl said that after she used the toilet, she noticed an iPhone that was mostly hidden by red airline tape reading “Remove from service” — but the camera flash was glowing. The girl “was shocked and scared,” according to the lawsuit. “It immediately occurred to her that someone had put the phone there to film her using the toilet.” She took her own picture of the device. Lawyers for the family suggested that the flight attendant removed the phone and erased images of the girl before letting her father see his iPhone photos. The family said an FBI agent later told the girl’s mother they did not arrest the man because they did not find any incriminating images on his phone. The family’s lawyers said they do not know the flight attendant’s name, where he lives or whether he still works for American. The 14-year-old is undergoing therapy for trauma, they said. Neither the girl nor her family are identified in the lawsuit. The Associated Press does not name victims of sexual assault or abuse unless they come forward publicly. American is based in Fort Worth, Texas, and has a major operation at the airport in Charlotte. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW ©2023 Cox Media Group

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crime

The Guns Were Said to Be Destroyed. Instead, They Were Reborn.

When Flint, Mich., announced in September that 68 assault weapons collected in a gun buyback would be incinerated, the city cited its policy of never reselling firearms. “Gun violence continues to cause enormous grief and trauma,” said Mayor Sheldon Neeley. “I will not allow our city government to profit from our community’s pain by reselling weapons that can be turned against Flint residents.” But Flint’s guns were not going to be melted down. Instead, they made their way to a private company that has collected millions of dollars taking firearms from police agencies, destroying a single piece of each weapon stamped with the serial number and selling the rest as nearly complete gun kits. Buyers online can easily replace what’s missing and reconstitute the weapon. Hundreds of towns and cities have turned to a growing industry that offers to destroy guns used in crimes, surrendered in buybacks or replaced by police force upgrades. But these communities are in fact fueling a secondary arms market, where weapons slated for destruction are recycled into civilian hands, often with no background check required, according to interviews and a review of gun disposal contracts, patent records and online listings for firearms parts.

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crime

A Day Later, the Iowa School Shooting Strikes an Intimate, Painful Chord

In downtown Perry, Iowa, on Friday, residents wore blue to support each other, reflecting the school district’s mascot, the blue jay. A Catholic priest offered grief counseling to shaken residents. The public library set up a “sympathy card” station to make cards for Dan Marburger, the principal of Perry High School and one of the victims of the school shooting on Thursday that claimed the life of a sixth grader. Local residents spent much of Friday absorbing the violent act that had occurred just as school had resumed from winter break. The authorities said that a student, Dylan Butler, 17, had shot Mr. Marburger and five students, killing one student, identified on Friday as Ahmir Jolliff. The gunman died from a self-inflicted gunshot, the police said. To the people of Perry, a town of 8,000 about 40 miles northwest of Des Moines, the shooting struck an unusually intimate, painful chord. Neither the victims of the shooting nor the gunman were strangers: Mr. Marburger was a well-known figure in town, a friendly, outgoing educator — his daughter referred to him as a “gentle giant” — who cared deeply for his students.

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crime

Fate of Billions for Opioid Victims From Sacklers Rests With Supreme Court

The speed with which the court scheduled the case may reflect its awareness of the opioid problem. But legal experts said its ruling would be unlikely to dwell on the public health crisis. The court, they said, will focus narrowly on the liability shield, an increasingly popular, though contentious, bankruptcy tactic. “I’m sure, though, that even if the opioid crisis doesn’t show up anywhere in the opinion, the court has to be bearing in mind that cities, states and individuals have been desperately waiting for these funds. They need to know the answer to this question so they can figure out what to do next,” said Adam Zimmerman, who teaches mass tort law at the University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law. Though numerous pharmaceutical companies have been sued for their roles in the opioid epidemic, the Sacklers and Purdue loom large in the story of the complex, decades-old crisis. Their signature drug, OxyContin, approved by the Food and Drug Administration in late 1995, became a game changer in a new market hungry for prescription painkillers. To the medical establishment that was then beginning to recognize pain as a “fifth vital sign,” long-acting OxyContin looked like a wondrous medication. Purdue became known for lavish sales conferences, at which pain medicine physicians, trained and hired by the company, would falsely claim that the risk of addiction to OxyContin was extremely low. By 2007, Purdue and three of its top executives had paid fines of $634.5 million and pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges for misleading regulators, doctors and patients about the drug’s potential for abuse. The steep fines did little to deter Purdue from continuing to aggressively market OxyContin. Eventually, attention became focused on the Sacklers themselves, some of whom served as Purdue board members and made large charitable donations to medical schools and museums. In exchange, the institutions renamed buildings after the Sacklers. But as the family saga became featured in books, television series and documentaries and their notoriety grew, most institutions stripped the Sackler name from their properties and dissociated themselves from Purdue’s owners.

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crime

Utterly unacceptable': Mayor to increase police presence after 2 teens are shot to death in Lynn

Two teenagers were shot and killed near a gas station in Lynn, Massachusetts, Wednesday night, according to authorities. The incident happened just before 10:30 p.m. on Camden Street, near AL Prime Energy gas station on Western Avenue — not far from this week's triple shooting. The victims, only identified as a 16-year-old and a 19-year-old man, were taken to the hospital, where they died, the Essex County District Attorney's Office said Thursday. No further information was made available. Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters. Police in Lynn, Massachusetts, are investigating a shooting at a gas station that happened Wednesday night — not too far from this week's triple shooting. The 16-year-old was a student in the Lynn Public Schools, according to a statement released by the superintendent. "It is with profound sadness and a heavy heart that I address you today. We have experienced a tragic loss within our school community. Our deepest condolences and sympathies go out to the families, friends, staff, and everyone affected by the devastating loss of student life," Superintendent Evonne S. Alvarez said. "This heartbreaking event has deeply impacted us all. During this difficult time, it is important for us to come together as a community to offer support and strength to one another." She said support services will be available for students when they return to school from winter break next week. The deadly shooting comes just days after three people were seriously hurt in a shooting at a Pizza Hut on State Street. A shooting at a Pizza Hut in Lynn left three people injured Tuesday. While police said Tuesday night's shooting was targeted, no arrests have been made. The three victims remain in stable condition in the hospital, the district attorney's office said. "This violence is devastating, infuriating, and utterly unacceptable," Mayor Jared Nicholson said in a statement Thursday. "We will respond with increased police presence as needed and renewed urgency and clarity in our efforts for peace, justice, and a safer community." It wasn't immediately known if the two shootings were related.

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crime

Quincy man arrested after attempting to light raccoon on fire - Boston News, Weather, Sports

QUINCY, MASS. (WHDH) - A Quincy man was arrested and charged with animal cruelty after police say he attempted to light a raccoon on fire. Quincy Police received a call on Saturday, Dec. 30 reporting that a person was attempting to light a raccoon on fire in the backyard of a house on Royal Street. Upon arrival, officers saw two neighbors arguing and a live raccoon, with apparent burn injuries, in a trap cage. In a video obtained by police, authorities said, Andrew Chieu, 63, of Quincy, could be seen “building a fire in a tin can” before placing the caged raccoon “on top of the tin can as the fire intensified”. Chieu was placed under arrest and charged with violating animal cruelty laws. He was arraigned in Quincy District Court on Tuesday. The raccoon was transported to a local animal hospital for treatment. In an update provided by the New England Wildlife Center, officials said the raccoon remained in critical condition as of Wednesday after suffering severe burns to its stomach, back, and paws. “Almost all of its fur is either completely missing or burnt from the fire,” the organization stated on Facebook. “Burns this severe are extremely painful and pose a severe health risk for the animal. Besides the obvious skin damage, burns this widespread can lead to severe infection, dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, and blood pressure issues.” “Unfortunately, in this business, we see a lot of heartbreaking things and, for sure, this case is one of the most heartbreaking,” said Zak Mertz, the CEO of New England Wildlife Centers. “He does have 3rd degree burns to his flank, to the stomach, and to the paws, which is really the most heartbreaking thing because of any animal in the animal kingdom, [raccoons] have more nerves running to their hands, so we know this is incredibly painful.” The center added that while the raccoon has a long road to recovery ahead of it, they described the animal as “a fighter and we will do everything we can to get him through.” “We’re cautiously optimistic that the raccoon is going to make a full recovery,” Mertz told 7NEWS. “Obviously with burns this severe, it’s a really rough case.” (Copyright (c) 2023 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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Monica Cannon-Grant's lawyer doesn't show up for court hearing: 'Failed to appear despite notice and attempts to call and email'

Monica Cannon-Grant’s lawyer was a no-show at a federal court hearing for her high-profile fraud case on Friday, as court officials struck out when calling and emailing the absent attorney. U.S. Attorney prosecutors were all set for Cannon-Grant’s initial pretrial conference in Courtroom 8 of Boston’s U.S. District Court Friday morning. The only problem: Cannon-Grant’s defense attorney was nowhere to be seen. The court delayed the start of the hearing for 15 minutes to give extra time for Christopher Malcolm to appear in front of District Judge Angel Kelley. But the MIA member of the bar never made it to the federal courtroom. “Mr. Malcolm failed to appear despite notice and attempts to call and email during court,” the federal court wrote in its electronic filing. “The Court proceeded with the status conference,” the court added. “Further order will issue regarding next steps.” The Herald reached out to Malcolm, asking why he failed to appear at the hearing, but he did not immediately respond. Malcolm is the third attorney to represent Cannon-Grant in the federal case related to her charity Violence in Boston. Cannon-Grant and her husband Clark Grant, who has since died in a motorcycle crash, were initially indicted in March 2022 on 18 fraud-related counts. They have been accused of using “a substantial amount” of the money donated or granted to their charity to enrich themselves, with funds going toward paying back rent to nail salon appointments and restaurant meals. Those 18 fraud counts were upped to 27 counts when prosecutors issued a new indictment earlier this year. The charges are: Three counts wire fraud conspiracy; one count conspiracy; one count mail fraud, aiding and abetting; 16 counts wire fraud, aiding and abetting; one count making false statements to a mortgage lending business, aiding and abetting; two counts filing false tax returns; two counts failure to file tax returns; and allegations of both wire and mail fraud forfeiture and mortgage fraud forfeiture. Malcolm became Cannon-Grant’s attorney in February. Robert Goldstein, her first retained attorney, withdrew from the case last September. His departure followed the news that Violence in Boston had ceased all operations and shut down. Meanwhile, Cannon-Grant was granted the right to apply for state unemployment benefits. After Goldstein withdrew as her attorney, the court appointed attorney Keith Halpern to the case. However, the case material was overwhelming, the taxpayer-funded court-appointed attorney said. Malcolm is a retained attorney, and he said in the past that his services were paid for by a nonprofit set up for Cannon-Grant’s defense.

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crime

Why More Chinese Are Risking Danger in Southern Border Crossings to U.S.

Gao Zhibin and his daughter left Beijing on Feb. 24 for a better life, a safer one. Over the next 35 days, by airplane, train, boat, bus and foot, they traveled through nine countries. By the time they touched American soil in late March, Mr. Gao had lost 30 pounds. The most harrowing part of their journey was trekking through the brutal jungle in Panama known as the Darién Gap. On the first day, said Mr. Gao, 39, he had sunstroke. The second day, his feet swelled. Dehydrated and weakened, he threw away his tent, a moisture-resistant sleeping pad and his change of clothes. Then his 13-year-old daughter got sick. She lay on the ground, vomiting, with her face pale, her forehead feverish, her hands on her stomach. Mr. Gao said he thought she might have drunk dirty water. Dragging themselves through the muddy, treacherous rainforests of the Darién Gap, they took a break every 10 minutes. They didn’t get to their destination, a camp site in Panama, until 9 p.m. Mr. Gao said he felt he had no choice but to leave China. “I think we will only be safe by coming to the U.S.,” he said, adding that he believed that Xi Jinping, China’s leader, could lead the country to famine and possibly war. “It’s a rare opportunity to protect me and my family,” he said.

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Somers, Connecticut fire: Nearly $125k raised for family of 4 children who died

Nearly $125,000 has been raised for a family of four young children who died in a house fire in Somers, Connecticut earlier this week. A GoFundMe page set up for the family of the children after the fatal fire Tuesday raised nearly $89,000 of its $70,000 goal as of Saturday evening. The donations will be used to cover funeral costs for the children and aid for the surviving family members to replace essential belongings and secure a temporary place to live, according to Jessica Marie, the organizer of the fundraising site, who said she is a cousin of the family. Another GoFundMe page set up for the family raised more than $36,000 of its $30,000 goal. Brittany Whiteley, the organizer of the fundraising site and aunt of the children, urged people to consider donating to help the “family as they grieve through this painful time.” Read more: Neighbors tried to save 4 children killed in Somers fire on Tuesday night The children were identified on Whiteley’s GoFundMe page as Archer, Benjamin, Genevieve and Lucas Koropatkin. Their ages ranged from 5 to 12 years old, according to Marie’s fundraising site. The parents have suffered “an unbearable loss,” Marie noted on the fundraising site. They have also been displaced by the fire and have lost all their possessions, according to the GoFundMe page. “Every contribution, no matter how small, will make a meaningful impact,” the fundraising site said. Connecticut State Police were called to the scene of the blaze at the two-family home at 44 Quality Ave. in Somers around 10:20 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 2. Neighbors were already outside with fire extinguishers, trying to help the children escape, Somers Fire Chief John Roache said at a press conference Wednesday. When the fire broke out, there were 11 people inside the home. The four people who lived on the right side of the house were able to escape without injury. However, the fire cut off the escape route of the eight who lived on the left side, including the four children who died, two other children and their adult sibling who was watching them, according to Roache. Two of the children were brought out of the home quickly, but one was pronounced dead at the scene, and the other died later at Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford, Connecticut. Two more children were found dead inside the home, the fire chief said. Read more: Woman accused of hitting boy with car in Haverhill charged with drunken driving The adult sibling and two other children survived the fire. One of the three survivors had serious burns, and the other two suffered minor injuries, Roache detailed. A litter of puppies also died in the blaze. Three dogs were able to be rescued, according to the fire chief. It is not clear what caused the fire; however, at this time, there is no reason to believe criminal activity or foul play were involved, Roache said at Wednesday’s press conference. A burned Christmas tree was found in the home, but the ongoing investigation will reveal what happened, the fire chief noted. The family of the children who died have asked those seeking to help them to send any donations to the town of Somers’ Angel Fund. Donations can be mailed to 619 Main St. in Somers, according to Roache.

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crime

Boston mom says 9-year-old daughter sexually assaulted on bus, suing school

A Boston woman has filed a lawsuit in Suffolk Superior Court against the Boston Public Schools, a private bus company and a local charter school claiming her 9-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted several times. The suit, which was filed Friday by attorneys from Morgan and Morgan, a personal injury law firm, claims the 9-year-old was sexually assaulted by an 11-year-old numerous times during a seven-month period in the 2022-2023 school year. The lawsuit names the city of Boston, the Match Foundation, Inc. and Transdev Services Inc., a transportation company, as the defendants, according to a copy of the lawsuit obtained and reported by the Boston Globe. “The sexual assaults took place just a few feet from the bus monitor and the bus driver on the ride home after school from the Match Charter Public School,” the lawsuit said. Read More: Suspect arrested after 2 Boston University students sexually assaulted The girl, who was named Child Doe in the suit, attended Hyde Park school and took a bus from the Boston Public Schools owned by Transdev, Inc., according to the lawsuit. The girl was unable to finish the fourth grade because she was scared she’d be sexually assaulted again, according to the Boston Globe. The 11-year-old boy had threatened the girl with physical violence if she ever reported her abuse. In May, the girl’s family alerted the school about their child’s sexual assault, the lawsuit said. Although Transdev required the bus to be equipped with video cameras, no footage could be found from October 2022 to May 2023. “Our lawsuit alleges that it was the failure of Boston Public Schools and Transdev to follow their own policies that directly led to this young child’s assault,’’ attorneys from Morgan and Morgan said in a statement to the Globe. “Our client will experience a childhood haunted by trauma and flashbacks, and we will do everything in our power to hold the defendants accountable and prevent anything like this from happening to another child in our city.”

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crime

License suspended at Lawrence nightclub, site of fatal Christmas Eve shooting

Following the fatal shooting of a 29-year-old man at a Lawrence nightclub on Christmas Eve, Lawrence police suspended the business’ license, police said. Acting Chief William Castro suspended Energy Lounge’s license on Wednesday in the interest of public safety as the perpetrator hasn’t been caught, according to a Thursday Facebook post from the Lawrence Police. “This immediate action is being taken on an expedited basis due to the overriding public safety concern,” Lawrence police said. The decision to suspend the business’ license is also because the shooting is still under investigation by Lawrence police and the Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the Essex County District Attorney’s Office, police said. Lawrence police responded to a report of shots fired at Energy Lounge on Broadway just after midnight on Sunday morning, police said in a press release. There, officers and paramedics found the victim with a gunshot wound. They treated him before taking him to Lawrence General Hospital where he was declared dead. The identity of the victim hasn’t been released. The nightclub said it is cooperating with investigators. “Energy Lounge deeply regrets the human loss, and we send our most sincere condolences to the victim’s relatives. We accompany them in their pain,” the nightclub wrote on social media. Energy Lounge will be closed pending the results of the investigation, police said. Once the investigation is complete and the findings are given to the Lawrence licensing board, the board can hold a hearing about the suspension, authorities said.

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crime

New Bedford teen dies after thrown from car in Dartmouth Friday

A New Bedford teen was killed after being thrown from a car in Dartmouth Friday night, according to police. Jacob Pothier, 18, of New Bedford, was pronounced dead at St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford, according to a post on the Dartmouth Police Department’s Facebook page. It appears Pothier and another person in the car, Kathleen Martins, 44, of Dartmouth, were thrown from a 2022 Honda Accord in the area of Gulf Road at Smith Neck Road in Dartmouth some time before police arrived at 10:35 p.m. Jan. 5, police said. That stretch of two-lane roads is a T-intersection surrounded by Apponagansett Bay near a causeway leading to the village of Padanaram, according to Google Maps. Emergency responders found Pothier and Martins unresponsive in the roadway near the heavily damaged Honda, police said. They treated them at the one-car crash scene and brought them to St. Luke’s, where Pothier was pronounced dead, police said. Martins was seriously hurt, with life-threatening injuries, police said, and her condition is “guarded.” The Dartmouth Police Department Crash Reconstruction Unit, Massachusetts State Police and Dartmouth Police Department detectives are investigating the crash.

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crime

What is trisomy 18, the condition causing a Texas woman to flee the state for abortion?

Sign up for Reckon’s latest newsletter dedicated to the fight for reproductive justice, a weekly repro rundown covering the good, the fair-to-middlin' and the ugly in repro news. Enter your email to subscribe to Reproductive Justice with Reckon. A Texas mother-of-two is making headlines and becoming the face of the battle for exceptions in abortion bans. On Nov. 27, at 20 weeks pregnant, Kate Cox learned that her wanted pregnancy would likely be unviable, as her baby was diagnosed with trisomy 18 – a medical condition linked to miscarriage, stillbirth and death in infancy. Texas has a near-total abortion ban, with exceptions for cases that threaten the life of the pregnant person, though Cox’s story illustrates that those defining lines are not so black and white. The mother-of-two looked to the courts to approve her abortion. A Dec. 5 court filing details her travels to three emergency rooms, where doctors told her she would have to allow the baby to die inside of her or carry the pregnancy, risking complications of a third c-section and the likeliness that the baby would die soon after birth. Cox was granted a temporary restraining order to terminate the pregnancy on Dec. 7 by Travis County District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble, to which Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton responded by letter to three hospitals, according to the Texas Tribune. In the letters, which were shared on Twitter, he threatened the potential of civil and legal liability for anyone involved in the abortion process. “We remind you that the TRO [temporary restraining order] will expire long before the statute of limitations for violating Texas’ abortion laws expires,” wrote Paxton, who also asked the higher court to step in. On Monday afternoon, the Center for Reproductive Rights, who is representing Cox, announced she had left the state to receive her abortion. Soon after, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that her case did not qualify for a medical exception, and overturned the restraining order. Though her whereabouts have not been disclosed, Cox presumably has or will soon have terminated her pregnancy. “This past week of legal limbo has been hellish for Kate,” said Nancy Northup, president and CEO at the Center for Reproductive Rights. “Her health is on the line. She’s been in and out of the emergency room and she couldn’t wait any longer. This is why judges and politicians should not be making healthcare decisions for pregnant people—they are not doctors. What you need to know about trisomy 18 Trisomy 18, also known as Edward’s syndrome, is a genetic condition that occurs when a baby is born with three copies of chromosome 18 instead of the usual two. This extra chromosome disrupts normal development and leads to a range of physical and intellectual disabilities. In 2012, Republican candidate Rick Santorum cut his campaign for president short to tend to then-3-year-old daughter Isabella, who had a medical emergency linked to her trisomy 18. “When the cells are dividing when a woman is still pregnant, an accident happens… and the child ends up with too much genetic material, sort of extra genetic material, and it can affect every single part of the child’s body…” said Elizabeth Cohen, CNN senior medical correspondent said during an on-air interview with Soledad O’Brien. Trisomy 18 is a serious condition and there is no cure. Unfortunately, the majority of infants with Trisomy 18 do not survive their first year. However, some children born with Trisomy 18 can live for several years with appropriate medical care and support. Only 13 in 100 born with trisomy 18 live past their first birthday. Medical News Today reports that those who do survive face issues such as low birth weight, intellectual disabilities, cleft lip, abnormally shaped heads, overlapping fingers, structural brain issues and more. Over 90% of infants with this condition have congenital heart defects, and 50% experience hearing loss. Trisomy 18 is not a hereditary condition, but rather, an abnormality of the chromosomes that causes issues in the development of organs. While most people are born with two chromosome 18s out of our 23 pairs of chromosomes, those with trisomy 18 have an extra one in all or some of their cells. According to WebMed, there are three types of trisomy 18: The most common type, full trisomy 18, occurs when an extra chromosome is present in every cell of the baby’s body. Partial trisomy 18 is when part of an extra chromosome 18 attaches to another chromosome in the egg or sperm cell. Mosaic trisomy 18 affects only some cells. Only about 5% of those with trisomy 18 have mosaic trisomy. Numerous outlets report that trisomy 18 impacts 1 in 5,000 live births, including the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). NICHD also points out that this is much more common, though most pregnancies diagnosed with the condition don’t survive past the second or third trimesters. The Trisomy 18 Foundation estimates that 1 in 2,000 pregnancies are affected. For more information about trisomy 18, visit www.trisonomy18.org.

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crime

Nativity scene in downtown Boston vandalized with graffiti

Police went to the Common shortly before 8 a.m. and saw that the base of the nativity scene had been vandalized. The incident is under investigation, police said. News stations shared photos on social media that showed the words “‘Jesus was Palestinian” painted on the nativity. A nativity scene on Boston Common was found defaced with graffiti Thursday morning, police said. The nativity is a familiar landmark to many. Boston Parks and Recreation Department officials said the city has installed a nativity scene on Boston Common for close to a hundred years. It was put up around Nov. 27 this year, officials said. Advertisement By 11 a.m., the graffiti had been removed and tourists were back to taking pictures in front of the mural as if nothing had happened. David Blanchard, 32, of Boston, said defacing property is “disrespectful” and the person responsible should consider joining demonstrations to express their opinions. “There are legal ways to protest that I see every day that don’t destroy property,” he said. Iva Lani, 22, a registered nurse from Allston, said it’s clear the Israel-Hamas war is divisive but that there are “other ways to get people’s attention that are not illegal.” Lani, who was showing a friend around Boston Common, said if the graffiti had still been there she would have shrugged it off. “Oh, it’s just how Boston is,” she said. “Vandalism is everywhere.” A Boston Park Ranger inspected the manger on the Boston Common after it was covered with a fresh coat of paint after it was vandalized. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff Emily Sweeney can be reached at emily.sweeney@globe.com. Follow her @emilysweeney and on Instagram @emilysweeney22. Talia Lissauer can be reached at talia.lissauer@globe.com. Follow her on Instgram @_ttphotos.

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crime

Coroner releases cause of death for Friends' actor Matthew Perry

The cause of death for "Friends" actor Matthew Perry was determined to be acute effects of ketamine, according to the County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner. Contributing factors in the report released Friday include drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine. The manner of death was determined to be an accident. Perry was found unresponsive Oct. 28 in the pool at his Los Angeles residence. Paramedics responded and pronounced Perry dead at the scene. Ketamine is an dissociative anesthetic that has some hallucinogenic effects, according to the DEA. Its medical uses include the induction and maintenance of anesthesia and as a treatment for depression. Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters. Refresh this page for updates.

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crime

3 firefighters injured battling Falmouth house fire; 1 flown to Boston hospital

Flames tore through a home on Cape Cod on Sunday, injuring three firefighters, including one who had to be flown to a Boston hospital after a heroic rescue. Neighbors called 911 just after 1 p.m. Sunday to report the fire at the Rivers Edge home, and fire investigators from the state fire marshal's office responded to support the Falmouth Fire Department on scene. "Watching the Patriots game, we could smell smoke, looked out the window and saw flames shooting from the roof," neighbor Rick Hamilton said. #BREAKING: Two firefighters injured, including one airlifted to MGH, battling house fire in #Falmouth. Chief says firefighters had to rush into basement after firefighter fell thru the floor. @NBC10Boston pic.twitter.com/UeYpphDifI — Eli Rosenberg NBC10 Boston (@EliNBCBoston) December 17, 2023 Get New England news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NECN newsletters. Falmouth's fire chief says the first firefighters on scene busted down the front door, when one of them fell through the floor, into the basement. The fire chief detailed the brave rescue, saying firefighters rushed into the home's smoky basement and got the firefighter out to safety. "Very smoky area with still some fire in the basement, and his PASS alarm went off, and they were able to locate him and successfully remove him from the building," Falmouth Fire chief Timothy Smith explained. "Fire crews did one heck of a job not only getting him out of the building, and one of their comrades being injured, but then having to turn and to work on extinguishing the fire." The firefighter was taken by Falmouth ambulance to a nearby field where Boston MedFlight was waiting to fly him to Massachusetts General Hospital. According to the state fire marshal's office, he suffered significant and traumatic injuries but is expected to survive. He was in stable condition at MGH on Sunday night. Two other firefighters were also injured and are expected to be OK. One hurt their shoulder, and another hurt their knee and was being treated at Falmouth Hospital. "Terrible, terrible, nobody wants to see anybody hurt, they work too hard too hard in Falmouth," one woman said. No one was home at the time of the fire. Neighbors tell NBC10 Boston that the homeowners spend winters in Florida. The fire chief said early indications are that the blaze started in the basement. The cause remains under investigation.

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crime

MBTA blames train operator after Green Line doors trap mothers leg

The MBTA is placing the blame on a train operator for a “terrifying” incident on Monday during which a woman says her leg got trapped between the doors of a stationary Green Line car. The woman posted about the incident on social media, saying that the incident happened while she was helping her 4-year-old son off a car at Medford/Tufts station. “The door suddenly closed on my leg. I let go of my son’s hand and started yelling for help, my son was screaming also. The people behind us grabbed the door but weren’t able to pull it open,” she wrote. An MBTA employee and bystanders helped the woman, and someone pulled the emergency release for the door, allowing her to free her leg, she wrote. She might have a big bruise, she said, but otherwise, no one was hurt. The MBTA worker soon apologized for the incident, but the woman said the experience was still terrifying. It’s also reminiscent of what happened to Robinson Lalin, the Dorchester man who was dragged to death in April 2022 when his arm got caught in a car door. “I don’t understand how something like this can happen,” the woman wrote. Read more: Bad record keeping may have led to bias in MBTA Transit Police dispatch contract According to the MBTA, which is investigating the incident, preliminary findings indicate that the train operator shut down power to the cars before making sure every passenger had gotten off the train. Without power, the doors do not automatically reopen when sensing an obstruction. The train operator is not operating cars while the MBTA continues investigating, the transit authority said. Additionally, MBTA General Manager Phil Eng has spoken with the woman about the incident. “We are thankful no injuries resulted here. Still, this experience for any passenger is unacceptable, and we want to assure the public that a swift yet exhaustive review is being conducted. We apologize to the impacted customer for the troubling experience,” the MBTA said in a statement.

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crime

Authorities investigating deadly shooting at Lawrence bar - Boston News, Weather, Sports

LAWRENCE, MASS. (WHDH) - Authorities are investigating a deadly shooting at a bar in Lawrence early Sunday morning. Officers responding to a reported shooting at Energy Lounge on Broadway around 12:20 a.m. found a 29-year-old man who was suffering from a gunshot wound, according to the Essex District Attorney’s Office. He was taken to Lawrence General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His name has not been released. The shooting remains under investigation. This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details. (Copyright (c) 2023 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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crime

Sixth Grader Killed and 5 Others Injured in Iowa School Shooting

A gunman killed a sixth-grade student and injured five other people at a high school in Perry, Iowa, early Thursday morning just as students were arriving back to school after their winter break. Four of the injured were students, and one was an administrator, Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said at a news conference on Thursday. One of the injured victims was in critical condition. The administrator was identified by Easton Valley Community School District as Dan Marburger, the principal at Perry High School, where the shooting took place. Officials did not release the names of any other victims. The gunman, identified as Dylan Butler, a 17-year-old student at the high school, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Mr. Mortvedt said. Law enforcement officials believe he acted alone and said the motive for the attack was not yet known.

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crime

Julia Chapdelaine of Dudley IDd among 3 killed in Maine Turnpike wrong-way crash

A Dudley woman who was killed in a wrong-way crash on the Maine Turnpike near Portland on Wednesday, Nov. 29, has been identified, the Maine Department of Public Safety announced Tuesday. Julia Chapdelaine, 22, was one of three people who died that day. Identified with her were Brandon Crawford-Adams, 23, of Old Orchard Beach, Maine, and Alpha Anastacio, 33, of Portland, the department said in a statement. At around 9:40 p.m., the Augusta Regional Communications Center received multiple reports of a wrong-way vehicle driving fast and heading south on the Turnpike’s northbound lane in the area of Mile 48 in Portland, the department said. The vehicle was a gray 2018 Honda Civic, driven by Crawford-Adams and Chapdelaine in the passenger seat, the department said. Early findings in the investigation suggest the Honda hit a silver 2020 Ford F150 pickup driving northbound. The driver, who was not identified, was also not injured and reported only minor damage to his truck. After hitting the truck, the Honda crashed head-on into a black 2013 Toyota Rav4 in the left northbound lane, the department said. Anastacio was the driver of the Toyota. Upon impact, the cars ignited on fire and were engulfed in flames. Anastacio was dead when first responders came to pull her from the crash, the department said. Crawford-Adams and Chapdelaine were also dead when emergency responders found them. The Turnpike was closed north of Exit 45 for about two hours, the department said. South Portland and Scarborough firefighters, along with the Maine Turnpike Authority, all arrived at the crash site. The crash continues to be investigated by Maine State Police.

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crime

Multi-vehicle crash with injuries on I-93 in Boston causes delays

A multiple-vehicle crash with injuries on Interstate 93 north in Boston caused delays on Wednesday morning. The crash was reported around 11:30 a.m. by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. They said the crash occurred in the area of Exit 13B, the Morrissey Boulevard/Savin Hill exit. The two center lanes were closed for almost an hour, causing significant delays. Multi-vehicle crash with injuries in #Boston on I-93-NB at Exit 13B. Two center lanes are CLOSED. Expect delays. — Mass. Transportation (@MassDOT) December 6, 2023 Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters. All lanes had reopened as of 12:18 p.m., MassDOT said.

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crime

Braintree man killed in two-alarm house fire identified

The Norfolk District Attorney’s Office has identified the man who died Saturday in a two-alarm house fire in Braintree as 85-year-old John Sullivan. Sullivan owned and lived in the home which caught fire, the district attorney’s office said. Though the office did not say what caused the fire at 29 Hobart Ave., it said the fire is not considered suspicious. Authorities said previously that investigators found no working fire alarms in the home. Firefighters responded to the home shortly after 4 a.m. on Dec. 30 after a 911 caller informed them that they could see flames coming from inside the house as they drove by. Firefighters tried to enter the home and attack the flames from the inside, but were pushed back, authorities said previously. Once the fire was under control, they searched the home and found Sullivan covered in clothing in a closet. Photos and video of the fire shared to social media show heavy flames coming from the home. It is unclear whether the house is salvageable.

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crime

Parent struck by school bus in Boston multi-vehicle crash

A school bus involved in a multi-vehicle crash hit a parent outside of a Boston elementary school Thursday. An SUV came to a stop on top of another car. The driver of the bus said there was an acceleration malfunction. MORE NEWS: An additional five cars were involved in the crash. Officials said one woman was hospitalized. It's unclear what caused the crash. The incident is under investigation.

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crime

David Ziembko IDd as driver killed in I-495 solo crash in Haverhill

A Connecticut man who died in a crash on Interstate 495 in Haverhill on Friday, Dec. 1, was identified by Massachusetts State Police on Monday. David Ziembko, 62, of New Britain, was driving a 2017 Honda CRV in the southbound lefthand lane at around 2:54 p.m., state police said. Before reaching the Route 97 overpass, the Honda exited the roadway and entered the grass median and struck a guardrail, state police said. This caused the car to roll over onto its roof. Ziembko was taken out of the car by first responders and then taken to Lawrence General Hospital, where he died, state police said. The crash remains under investigation, with state police looking into what caused the car to go off the road, “including whether Mr. Ziembko may have suffered a medical event prior to driving off the road,” state police added.

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crime

Driver killed in Wellesley crash on Route 9 near Cedar Street struck pole, tree

Wellesley police are investigating a fatal crash that happened Wednesday on Route 9 near Cedar Street, with one driver dead after their SUV struck a pole and a tree, police announced in a statement. A 911 call was made to the Wellesley Police Department’s Emergency Communications Center at around 7:16 a.m., the statement said. The call said there was a traffic crash on the westbound side of Route 9. Officers arrived to find the vehicle, an SUV that struck a utility pole and a tree, the department said. Officers reached the driver, who was unconscious and unresponsive, but was the only person inside the vehicle. Wellesley Firefighters and Cataldo ambulance performed CPR before he was taken to Newton Wellesley Hospital, police said. The driver, whose name has not been released by police, died at 8:10 a.m. One lane was closed “for most of the morning” to allow investigators to the crash site and utility workers to replace the pole, Wellesley police said. “Wellesley Municipal Light Plant had several crews on scene securing the live power lines and replacing the utility pole,” police said in the statement. Early findings in the investigation suggest the SUV was heading westbound, left the road and sheared off the base of the utility police after striking it, police said. The SUV kept driving before it stopped after it struck the tree. The investigation remains ongoing, police concluded.

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crime

Yarmouth husband, wife found guilty of child abuse charges

A Yarmouth couple was found guilty on Thursday of several child abuse charges after a seven-day trial in Barnstable Superior Court, Cape and Islands District Attorney Robert Galibois’ office announced. Brian Barnicle, 42, was found guilty of three counts of aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, three counts of assault and battery, two counts of reckless endangerment of a child, one count of strangulation and four counts of intimidation of a witness, Galibois’ office said in a statement. Crystale Barnicle, 43, was found guilty of two counts of reckless endangerment of a child and three counts of wanton/recklessly permitting bodily injury to a child under 14. Read more: Longmeadow woman sues Costco over spinal fracture after she tried to lift bulk water On several dates between 2016 and 2021, two victims were repeatedly physically abused by Brian Barnicle, Galibois’ office said. This included physical strikes using a belt, a cane and fists, and strangling. These assaults on the victims caused gashes, a black eye, physical discomfort, permanent marking and moments of unconsciousness. Crystale Barnicle did not strike either of the victims, Galibois’ office said. However, she was aware of the abuse, watched it happen and never attempted to intervene, call for help or remove the victims from “the substantial and unjustifiable risk of injury,” Galibois’ office noted. An investigation of the abuse ensued by Yarmouth police, but the Barnicles intimidated the victims and any witnesses involved, the district attorney’s office said. The statement added that Galibois wished to recognize the “courage of the victims and witnesses that testified before the court and jury on this case.” The Barnicles are due to return to Barnstable Superior Court for sentencing on Tuesday, Jan. 23.

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crime

Hoax shooting reported near Boston Mayor Wus home

BOSTON (WWLP ) – Boston Police say they received a hoax call on Christmas Day reporting a shooting in Roslindale. According to the Boston Police Department, they got a tip at around 5:30 Monday evening for a shooting on Augustus Ave. The call was quickly determined to be a hoax. The address that was given to the police happens to be near the home of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. Police said the incident is still under investigation.

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crime

Feds warn public holiday events could become targets for violence

Federal agents in the United States are expressing concern about threats at public gatherings during the holiday season, according to a joint intelligence bulletin obtained by ABC News.The safety concerns come amid heightened tension surrounding the Israel-Hamas war, which started Oct. 7."Threat actors probably view holiday gatherings and symbolic religious events as attractive targets due to publicized meeting times and locations, the open nature of participation, and varying levels of security," the bulletin reads.The intelligence bulletin also stated that potential attackers would likely use simple weapons like guns, knives and vehicles."They're taking it very seriously and very carefully," said Grand Rabbi Y.A. Korff, chaplain for the city of Boston. "Not overreacting, but remaining vigilant."A menorah lighting was held inside Boston City Hall on Tuesday, the sixth night of Hanukkah. There were no incidents during the menorah lighting nor any reports of threats to the public ceremony."We need to be alert. We need to be careful. We need to be vigilant," Korff said. "We need to work with one another and keep the lines of communication open, but I don't feel as worried as I would feel in other places in the world."There has been a noticeable increased police presence at Menorah lightings in Boston this year, and it appears that increased police presence will continue.Related stories: Federal agents in the United States are expressing concern about threats at public gatherings during the holiday season, according to a joint intelligence bulletin obtained by ABC News. The safety concerns come amid heightened tension surrounding the Israel-Hamas war, which started Oct. 7. Advertisement "Threat actors probably view holiday gatherings and symbolic religious events as attractive targets due to publicized meeting times and locations, the open nature of participation, and varying levels of security," the bulletin reads. The intelligence bulletin also stated that potential attackers would likely use simple weapons like guns, knives and vehicles. "They're taking it very seriously and very carefully," said Grand Rabbi Y.A. Korff, chaplain for the city of Boston. "Not overreacting, but remaining vigilant." A menorah lighting was held inside Boston City Hall on Tuesday, the sixth night of Hanukkah. There were no incidents during the menorah lighting nor any reports of threats to the public ceremony. "We need to be alert. We need to be careful. We need to be vigilant," Korff said. "We need to work with one another and keep the lines of communication open, but I don't feel as worried as I would feel in other places in the world." There has been a noticeable increased police presence at Menorah lightings in Boston this year, and it appears that increased police presence will continue. Related stories:

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crime

Baby boy found in New Bedford park may have been dead for weeks, DA says

The unidentified baby boy whose body was found along a New Bedford walking path earlier in the month may have been dead for up to a month before a woman and her niece made the gruesome discovery, the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office announced on Tuesday. It was around 12:40 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 9, when a 911 call reporting a dead infant was discovered at Fort Taber, an oceanfront park in New Bedford, came into the city’s police department.

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crime

Live-in boyfriend charged with murder after trailer park stabbing in Lunenburg

A deadly stabbing of a woman Tuesday night at a trailer park in Lunenburg led authorities to arrest and charge her live-in boyfriend with murder, according to several reports. Orlando Garcia Rosado, 57, of Lunenburg, was arraigned in Fitchburg District Court on Wednesday where he pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and assault and battery on a household or family member, according to the Telegram & Gazette. Rosado is being held without bail. Police were called at 8:45 p.m. Tuesday to the trailer park complex on Massachusetts Avenue where a woman was found injured and taken to the hospital before being pronounced dead, the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. Maria Murray, 53, was reported as the stabbing victim by the Telegram & Gazette and Boston 25 News. Rosado and Murray were living together at the trailer park and in a dating relationship, 25 News reported. According to an arrest report obtained by 25 News, Rosado was seen on surveillance footage leaving the trailer park in Murray’s red Subaru Impreza after the stabbing. Police found and stopped Rosado on Interstate 290 in Worcester and took him into custody at the state police barracks in Holden. Investigators reportedly were told by Rosado that he stabbed Murray with a knife after an argument in the kitchen, 25 News reported. Rosado is expected back in Fitchburg court for a probable cause hearing on Feb. 6.

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crime

1 dead in 3-car rollover crash on I-93 in Stoneham

A person has died as a result of a three-car rollover crash on I-93 in Stoneham Wednesday morning, according to Massachusetts State Police. State police tweeted that the crash happened on the northbound side of the highway near exit 26, and that a person had been ejected from a vehicle. According to the Stoneham Fire Department, three cars were involved in the crash. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation first tweeted about the crash shortly after 9 a.m. Two of the roadway’s righthand lanes were closed, it said, and drivers should expect delays. No further information about the crash, including the identity of the victim, has been released. State police said they would release more information about the crash “when appropriate.”

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crime

Boston police arrest second man in fatal stabbing of soon-to-be father

Boston police have arrested a second man in connection with the death of 34-year-old Medford resident Wilfredo Landaverde Arevalo, who was stabbed to death in East Boston last month. Boston police’s Fugitive Unit arrested 26-year-old Fall River resident Julio Ardon in Fall River Thursday morning on a charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, police said in a press release. The charge stems from an incident on Dec. 15 which resulted in Arevalo’s death. Police said previously that they were called to 186 Gove St. in East Boston just before 6:40 a.m. and found Arevalo with life-threatening stab wounds. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead. Within a week of the stabbing, police arrested 20-year-old Everett resident Edwin Mendez Hernandez and charged him with first-degree murder in connection with Arevalo’s death. He was arraigned in East Boston District Court where he pleaded not guilty and was held without bail. Read more: Victim identified in fatal Boston stabbing was about to become father According to his obituary, Arevalo was an El Salvador native who loved soccer and was trying to become an American citizen. He was described as “a loving young man” who acted as his family’s protector and was excited to soon be a father to a baby girl. Ardon is expected to be arraigned in East Boston District Court. Police said they are still investigating the stabbing, and that anyone with information about it “is strongly urged” to contact the Boston Police Homicide Unit at 617-343-4470.

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crime

Police charge Quincy man with lighting a raccoon on fire, report says

A Quincy man was arrested after police say he tried to light a raccoon on fire, according to a report. Police arrived at the backyard of a home on Royal Street in Quincy on Dec. 30, according to NBC Boston. Police told the outlet that, upon arrival, they saw two people arguing and a raccoon in a cage that appeared to have burn injuries. Police got video of a 63-year-old Quincy man making a fire in a tin can, then placing the cage with the raccoon inside on top of the burning trash can, according to NBC Boston. The man was charged with animal cruelty and was arraigned on Tuesday, while the raccoon was taken to an animal hospital, where it survived, but the severity of the injuries was unknown, NBC Boston said.

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crime

Springfield will survey residents, MGM visitors in effort to curb DUIs

SPRINGFIELD — The city plans to survey 600 people — half MGM Springfield patrons and half residents — over the next few months to learn about alcohol and driving behaviors. The surveys — in which participants will be rewarded with $15 grocery, Amazon or Dunkin’ gift cards — will inform the city’s Springfield Safe Ride Home drunk-driving mitigation efforts and will be funded by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s Community Mitigation Fund. “We may ask questions about how many alcoholic beverages do you consume on a visit to the casino,” said city Health and Human Services Commission Helen Caulton-Harris in an interview Thursday. “How do you transport yourself to the casino? Do you drive? Do you take public transportation? We may ask about risk levels associated with gambling.”

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crime

Classmate sexually assaulted girl on Boston school bus, family says in lawsuit

A family is suing Boston's public school district and a bus company, alleging that their 9-year-old girl was repeatedly sexually assaulted by another child on a bus. The lawsuit, filed against Boston Public Schools and transportation company Transdev Services, alleges that a student of the Match Charter Public School was repeatedly assaulted on the bus over the course of seven months during the last school year. Morgan & Morgan, the law firm representing the family, announced the lawsuit Friday. "This 9-year-old girl was raped repeatedly on her school bus on the way home from school by an 11-year-old boy who was her classmate," attorney Nina Bonelli said at a news conference. According to the lawsuit, the assaults occurred "just a few feet from the bus monitor and bus driver." Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters. Bonelli and fellow attorney Alexander Zodikoff said in a statement shared by Morgan & Morgan that the lawsuit "alleges that it was the failure of Boston Public Schools and Transdev to follow their own policies that directly led to this young child's assault." Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673, and Massachusetts provides this list of statewide and resources for sexual assault survivors. The complaint says that, despite a Transdev requirement that video record the buses at all times, no footage existed. Asked about the lawsuit, a representative for Boston Public Schools said the district "took all the available and appropriate steps possible" after learning of the allegations. "Boston Public Schools' top priority is the safety of our young people," district spokesperson Max Baker said in a statement Friday. "Our jurisdiction to take action is limited when it comes to students who do not attend a Boston Public School but still utilize BPS buses, and we were devastated to learn of this disturbing alleged incident five months after it occurred." He also noted that the district's Department of Transportation gave all available information to the charter school the girl attended, "which is legally responsible for investigating all incidents of impropriety regarding their students." Footage from Boston Public Schools' school bus security cameras is stored, but not permanently, according to the district, and when the allegations were brought to the district, recordings from the dates in question were no longer available. Match Charter Public School, which has three campuses, functions as its own school district. It has 1,250 across its elementary, middle and high school campuses, according to its website.

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crime

Daughters of Christian Oliver killed alongside actor in Caribbean plane crash

U.S. actor Christian Oliver and his two daughters died in a plane crash near a tiny private island in the eastern Caribbean, according to police in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The crash occurred just west of Petit Nevis island near Bequia as the plane headed for nearby St. Lucia on Thursday, Jan. 4, police said in a statement. They identified the daughters as Madita Klepser, 10, and Annik Klepser, 12, adding that the pilot, Robert Sachs, also died. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the crash, according to police. Authorities said fishermen and divers in the area went to the crash site to help as the St. Vincent and Grenadines Coast Guard headed to the area. Read More: Country music star shocks fans with farewell tour announcement “The selfless and brave acts of the fishermen and divers is very much appreciated,” police said. The 51-year-old actor born in Germany had dozens of crediting film and television roles, including in the 2008 film “Speed Racer” film and “The Good German,” a 2006 World War II film by Steven Soderbergh that starred George Clooney and Cate Blanchett. He appeared throughout season two of the 1990s series “Saved by the Bell: The New Class,” playing a Swiss transfer student named Brian Keller.

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crime

Baby girl critically injured in I-495 crash in Andover

A one-year-old girl suffered life-threatening injures when the car she was in crashed on Interstate 495 early Friday morning in Andover, Massachusetts. State police say they responded to the single-vehicle crash around 3:40 a.m. and found a Toyota Camry with a baby and 33-year-old woman inside. The child was taken to Lawrence General Hospital and then flown by medical helicopter to a Boston hospital with critical injuries, police said. The driver suffered minor injuries in the crash and was also taken to Lawrence General. Police did not identify the relationship between the two but said both are from Nashua, NH. Get New England news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NECN newsletters. A preliminary investigation shows the woman lost control of her vehicle, causing the Camry to go into the grass median and down an embankment at which point it struck a tree. According to police, troopers are investigating distraction on the part of the woman as a potential cause of the crash. Further information has not been released. An investigation is ongoing.

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crime

Baby girl critically injured in I-495 crash in Andover

A one-year-old girl suffered life-threatening injures when the car she was in crashed on Interstate 495 early Friday morning in Andover, Massachusetts. State police say they responded to the single-vehicle crash around 3:40 a.m. and found a Toyota Camry with a baby and 33-year-old woman inside. The child was taken to Lawrence General Hospital and then flown by medical helicopter to a Boston hospital with critical injuries, police said. The driver suffered minor injuries in the crash and was also taken to Lawrence General. Police did not identify the relationship between the two but said both are from Nashua, NH. Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters. A preliminary investigation shows the woman lost control of her vehicle, causing the Camry to go into the grass median and down an embankment at which point it struck a tree. According to police, troopers are investigating distraction on the part of the woman as a potential cause of the crash. Further information has not been released. An investigation is ongoing.

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crime

This N.Y.U. Student Owns a $6 Million Crypto Mine. His Secret Is Out.

Jerry Yu has the trappings of what the Chinese call second-generation rich. He boasts a Connecticut prep-school education. He lives in a Manhattan condominium bought for $8 million from Jeffrey R. Immelt, the former General Electric chief executive. And he is the majority owner of a Bitcoin mine in Texas, acquired last year for more than $6 million. Mr. Yu, a 23-year-old student at New York University, has also become — quite unintentionally — a case study in how Chinese nationals can move money from China to the United States without drawing the attention of authorities in either country. The Texas facility, a large computing center, was not purchased with dollars. Instead, it was bought with cryptocurrency, which offers anonymity, with the transaction routed through an offshore exchange, preventing anyone from knowing the origin of the financing. Such secrecy allows Chinese investors to avoid the U.S. banking system, and the accompanying oversight of federal regulators, as well as sidestep Chinese restrictions on money leaving China. In a more traditional transaction, a bank receiving the funds would know where they were coming from and would be required by law to report any suspicious activity to the U.S. Treasury.

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crime

Tacoma Officers Cleared in Black Mans Death Will Get $500,000 Each to Resign

Three Tacoma police officers who were acquitted in the death of Manuel Ellis, a Black man who died in police custody in 2020 after pleading that he could not breathe, will each receive $500,000 for resigning from the Tacoma Police Department, according to documents released by the city on Tuesday. Two of the officers, Christopher Burbank, 38 and Matthew Collins, 40, both white, were acquitted last month on charges of second-degree murder. The third officer, Timothy Rankine, 35, who is Asian, was acquitted of first-degree manslaughter. Prosecutors had accused the men of punching, squeezing and placing a hood over Mr. Ellis, 33, known as Manny, who was unarmed on the night of his arrest and, according to audio recordings, told the police that he could not breathe. On Tuesday, Chief Avery L. Moore of the Tacoma Police Department said in a statement that the three officers had “voluntarily agreed” to resign from their positions. Though Mr. Collins violated the department’s 2020 policy on courtesy, all three men had otherwise been cleared of departmental violations based on policies at the time, Chief Moore said. A spokeswoman for the city said Tuesday that the men had already resigned. The “Use of Force” policy in place at the time of Mr. Ellis’s arrest “failed to serve the best interests of the police department or the community,” Chief Moore added, and has since been revised as part of an overhaul of more than two dozen police policies. “I acknowledge the detrimental impact of policing on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, extending both a personal and collective apology,” he said.

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crime

The U.S. Issued Its First Approval of Mass Drug Imports

The F.D.A. announced today that it would allow Florida to import millions of dollars’ worth of prescription medications from Canada, where they are available at far lower prices than in the U.S. The state estimated that it could save up to $150 million in the first year of the program, importing medicines to treat H.I.V., AIDS, diabetes, hepatitis C and other conditions. Until now, Americans could buy drugs from Canadian pharmacies, but states could not purchase them in bulk for Medicaid programs, government clinics or prisons. Florida is the first to earn approval. Supporters hope that the policy shift, backed by both President Biden and Donald Trump, will lead to similar authorization for other states and help rein in drug prices. But significant hurdles remain. The pharmaceutical industry fiercely objects to the plan and is expected to file a lawsuit to prevent it from going into effect in Florida. The Canadian government has taken steps to block the export of prescription drugs that are in short supply. “Canada’s drug supply is too small to meet the demands of both American and Canadian consumers,” a spokeswoman for Canada’s health agency said.

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crime

Arrest Violated County Officials Free Speech Rights, Judge Rules

Heated disagreements were not unusual at Board of Commissioners meetings in Trumbull County, Ohio, after Niki Frenchko took office in January 2021, becoming the only Republican on the three-member board. But the tensions erupted in July 2022, ending in Ms. Frenchko’s arrest after she continued to speak her mind during a public meeting. A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that the arrest violated the constitutional rights of Ms. Frenchko, who had been criticizing the sheriff and ignored another commissioner’s order to apologize before she was arrested. “Here in America, we do not arrest our political opponents,” Judge J. Philip Calabrese of the Northern District of Ohio wrote in the ruling on Tuesday. Trumbull County, about 60 miles southeast of Cleveland, has a population of about 200,000 people. The commissioners are the administrative body for the county government.

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crime

Fla.-to-Boston plane diverts after disturbance between passengers, JetBlue says

A Boston-bound JetBlue flight was diverted after takeoff in Florida on Thursday because of a disturbance between two passengers, the airline said. Video from on board the plane, Flight 170, showed a person being escorted from the back by police — a JetBlue representative told NBC10 Boston that the two passengers involved were taken off the flight. The plane took off from Fort Lauderdale but had to divert to Orlando. It reached Boston without delay, the JetBlue representative said. JetBlue didn't share any information on the nature of the disturbance that caused the flight to divert.

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crime

Menendez, in Defiant Speech, Says Bribery Case Against Him Is Baseless

Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, took to the Senate floor on Tuesday to deny charges that he accepted bribes to benefit the governments of Egypt and Qatar and defiantly warned colleagues that they could be next. Mr. Menendez, in an extraordinary speech, accused the Justice Department of targeting him in a public smear campaign, saying prosecutors brought indictments based on “baseless conjecture, not facts” and dribbled out new accusations to erode his public standing. He explained his conduct, laid out in the federal charges, as acts of routine statesmanship, not corruption. And he claimed, without further explanation, that it would become clear at trial that there was “no evidence” that gold bars and cash authorities found in his home were bribes. “The United States attorney’s office is engaged not in a prosecution, but a persecution,” Mr. Menendez said, growing emotional at times. “They seek a victory, not justice.”