Category: Massachusetts

Delta Flight Diverted to Boston Due to Unruly Passenger

BOSTON—A Delta Air Lines flight between Detroit and Amsterdam was diverted to Boston due to an unruly passenger on board, the airline says. Delta Flight 134 diverted to Boston Logan International Airport just before 9 p.m. Friday where the plane was met by law enforcement and the passenger taken off the flight. “We have zero…


Boston Dean Who Shot Student Gets 18 Years for Racketeering

BOSTON—A former Boston high school dean serving a 26-year sentence in state prison for shooting a student he had recruited to deal drugs has received an additional 18 years or more on a federal gang-related charge. Prosecutors said that Shaun Harrison, 63, lived a double life, portraying himself as an anti-violence activist and mentor for…


Massachusetts Blast Site Where 1 Died Moves to Cleanup Phase

NEWBURYPORT, Mass.—Authorities in Massachusetts on Friday identified the worker who died after a powerful explosion tore through a pharmaceutical chemical plant with a history of safety violations. Fire crews in Newburyport were still cleaning up the site, a day after what they described as seven-alarm hazardous materials event that tore the roof off the building…


Worker Killed in Massachusetts Pharmaceutical Plant Blast

NEWBURYPORT, Mass.—A worker was killed Thursday after a powerful explosion tore through a pharmaceutical chemical plant in Massachusetts, ripping the roof off the building and prompting a U.S. senator to demand accountability from the plant’s owners. Acting Newburyport Fire Chief Stephen Bradbury did not publicly identify the person who died, but said crews recovered the…


Ex-Massachusetts Deputy Chief Indicted on Child Rape Charge

A former Massachusetts deputy police chief is being charged with the rape of a child that occurred when he was a school resource officer nearly 20 years ago, the Middlesex County District Attorney’s office announced Monday. Former Hopkinton Deputy Chief of Police, John “Jay” Porter, 54, has been indicted by a grand jury on three…


Judge Not Ready to Rule on Pre-Trial Release of Alleged Pentagon Leaker

The Massachusetts Air National Guard airman accused of leaking classified national security information, a breach that Pentagon brass, federal prosecutors, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say is highly damaging to the United States, will remain in federal custody while a judge determines if he will grant bail.  Jack Teixeira, 21, who shared…


Ex-Harvard Professor Sentenced, Fined for Lying About China Ties

BOSTON—A prominent former Harvard University scientist convicted of concealing his ties to China’s state-run talent recruitment program was sentenced to two years of supervised release and ordered to pay over $83,000 in restitution and fines. Charles Lieber, who formerly chaired Harvard’s department of chemistry and chemical biology, was found guilty in December 2021 of six…


Driver Involved in Fatal Apple Store Crash Pleads Not Guilty

BROCKTON, Mass.—The driver of an SUV that crashed into a Massachusetts Apple store, killing one man and injuring nearly two dozen other people, was traveling as fast as 60 miles per hour (96 kilometers per hour) in the seconds before the crash and did not apply his brakes as he had told investigators, a prosecutor…


Parents Protest as Massachusetts School Holds Drag Queen Assembly

As some states work to ban drag queen events for minors, a Massachusetts high school recently hosted a drag queen whose description of himself and the show’s “secret weapon” is too lewd to print. With full support of the faculty, police, and town officials, “Missy Steak” performed at a student body assembly at North High…


Thefts Prompt 17 States to Urge Recall of Kia, Hyundai Cars

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Attorneys general in 17 states on Thursday urged the federal government to recall millions of Kia and Hyundai cars because they are too easy to steal, a response to a sharp increase in thefts fueled by a viral social media challenge. Some Kia and Hyundai cars sold in the United States over the last…