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Massachusetts Among Top 10 Best States, Brand-New Ranking Says: Here's Why Massachusetts Among Top 10 Best States, Brand-New Ranking Says: Here's Why
Massachusetts Among Top 10 Best States, Brand-New Ranking Says: Here's Why A new ranking lists Massachusetts as one of the top 10 best states in the country and places the commonwealth in the top three in categories like education and healthcare. The results are in. The 2024 Best States list by U.S. News & World Report, released on Tuesday, May 7, names Massachusetts as the 10th-best state in the country, a place higher than it scored in the 2023 report.  Massachusetts closely follows states like Utah (the best state, according to U.S. News & World Report), Nebraska (number three), Washington (number eight), and Florida (number nine). However, whe…

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by Sophie Grieser
Business
Planters Nuts Recalled Due To Listeria Contamination Concerns Planters Nuts Recalled Due To Listeria Contamination Concerns
Planters Nuts Recalled Due To Listeria Contamination Concerns A pair of Planters nuts products are being recalled due to possible contamination with the bacteria that causes listeria. Hormel Foods Sales, LLC is voluntarily recalling the two Planters products that were produced at one of its facilities in April, according to an announcement by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Listeria monocytogenes is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, sti…

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by Joe Lombardi
Police & Fire
Ex-Western Mass Firefighter Who Secretly Filmed Nude Female Coworkers Gets Prison Time Ex-Western Mass Firefighter Who Secretly Filmed Nude Female Coworkers Gets Prison Time
Ex-Western Mass Firefighter Who Secretly Filmed Nude Female Coworkers Gets Prison Time A former Hampshire County firefighter who admitted to hiding cameras in the women's locker room at the fire station where he worked to capture his female colleagues undressing was sentenced to eight months in prison, authorities announced. Nicholas Tillman, 39, of Westfield, pleaded guilty on April 24 to three counts of videotaping intimate parts of a person without consent, three counts of videotaping an unsuspecting nude person, and one count of attempted illegal wiretap, the Northwestern District Attorney's Office said. He must also register as a sex offender and will serve…

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by Josh Lanier
Police & Fire
Driver Crashes Into Fenway Park Entrance After Running From Police, Hitting Other Cars Driver Crashes Into Fenway Park Entrance After Running From Police, Hitting Other Cars
Driver Crashes Into Fenway Park Entrance After Running From Police, Hitting Other Cars A 48-year-old Salem woman who drove into Fenway Park is believed to have been involved in hit-and-run crashes earlier Monday morning, May 6, as well as wrecking into a gate at a US Coast Guard base in Boston, authorities said.  Colleen Marie Gibbs was taken to a hospital just after 8:30 a.m. after she drove through Gate C entrance at the famed baseball stadium and smashed into a forklift, state police said.  Investigators have linked her to multiple incidents that began an hour and a half earlier.  UPDATE: A car drove into Fenway Park on Monday morning and crashed into a …

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by Josh Lanier
Police & Fire
(Update) Man Dragged From Car By Bear After Fatal Western Mass Crash ID'd By Police (Update) Man Dragged From Car By Bear After Fatal Western Mass Crash ID'd By Police
(Update) Man Dragged From Car By Bear After Fatal Western Mass Crash ID'd By Police A driver whose body was dragged away from a Hampshire County crash by a bear on Sunday, May 5, has been identified by police as a 31-year-old Western Massachusetts man, police said. Update: Friends Remember Man Dragged From Wrecked Car By Bear As "Unique Soul" Daniel Ducharme, of South Hadley, was ejected partially or fully from his Honda Civic just after 11 a.m. when he lost control of the vehicle, hit the guardrail multiple times, and crashed down an embankment on I-91 South, state police said.  Police found Ducharme's body next to the tree line near mile marker 30.8 in Hatfield. In…

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by Josh Lanier
News
$5.37M Lottery Ticket Sold In Central Mass $5.37M Lottery Ticket Sold In Central Mass
$5.37M Lottery Ticket Sold In Central Mass A $5.37 million ticket was sold in Worcester County over the weekend in the Megabucks multi-state lottery.  The Quic Pic ticket was sold at Lowe’s Variety and Meat Shop at 255 W. Main St. in Northborough for the Saturday, May 4, drawing. The winning numbers were 4-11-15-26-30-40.  The winner's name has not been released. It's unclear if they have attempted to collect their prize yet. They have a year to pick up their check.  The store will receive a bonus for the sale.  The odds of winning the Megabucks jackpot are 1 in 7,059,052.

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by Josh Lanier
Police & Fire
Teen Accused Of Fleeing US After Fatal 2022 Central Mass Crash Brought Back To Stand Trial Teen Accused Of Fleeing US After Fatal 2022 Central Mass Crash Brought Back To Stand Trial
Teen Accused Of Fleeing US After Fatal 2022 Central Mass Crash Brought Back To Stand Trial A 19-year-old accused of a 2022 fatal crash in Worcester County has been returned to the United States from the United Kingdom to stand trial, authorities said.  Gabriel Dias De Holanda, 19, is facing charges of manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation, motor vehicle homicide by reckless operation, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, the Worcester County District Attorney said.  He was ordered held without bail following his arraignment on Monday, May 6.&nb…

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by Josh Lanier
Weather
Long-Range Summer Outlook For Severe Weather, Temps Released: Here's What To Expect Long-Range Summer Outlook For Severe Weather, Temps Released: Here's What To Expect
Long-Range Summer Outlook For Severe Weather, Temps Released: Here's What To Expect Spring has sprung, but the thermometer must not have gotten the memo, as plenty of raw days have made it feel more like fall. But when it comes to the summer, in the words of Ron Burgundy, expect things to escalate really quickly. According to AccuWeather's brand-new outlook for the summer of 2024, it's going to be a hot season for most areas of the United States, including the Northeast. The anticipated heat will contribute to an uptick in severe weather, AccuWeather says. "Severe weather events can be frequent in June and part of July," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist and Head of …

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by Joe Lombardi
Police & Fire
Double-Fatal Shooting: Teens ID'd As Victims In Region Double-Fatal Shooting: Teens ID'd As Victims In Region
Double-Fatal Shooting: Teens ID'd As Victims In Region Two teenagers were killed in an overnight shooting in Connecticut. Click here for a new, updated story - New Details Emerge After 2 Teens Shot, Killed At CT Apartment Complex It happened around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, May 4, at an apartment complex in Hartford. The two victims in the incident at 94 Hendricxsen Ave. were found in a stairwell and later pronounced dead at Hartford Hospital.  They were identified as Lavante Brown, age 19, of Hartford, and Aydin Davis, age 16, of Bloomfield, according to NBC Connecticut. The incident is under investigation, and police have not yet re…

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by Daily Voice
News
New Update: I-95 Stretch Fully Reopens After Fiery Crash Causes Days-Long Closure New Update: I-95 Stretch Fully Reopens After Fiery Crash Causes Days-Long Closure
New Update: I-95 Stretch Fully Reopens After Fiery Crash Causes Days-Long Closure This story has been updated. A stretch of I-95 in Connecticut has now fully reopened three days after a fire involving a tanker with 8,500 gallons of gas days earlier. Northbound lanes on the stretch in Norwalk reopened Saturday evening, May 4. Lanes opened on the southbound side reopened late Sunday morning, May 5, earlier than had been expected. The first image above was taken around 11 a.m. Sunday. The blaze broke out after a crash on Thursday, May 2 near exits 14 and 15 between the truck and a passenger vehicle at around 6 a.m.  The tanker fire was raging for…

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by Joe Lombardi
Police & Fire
1 Dead, 1 Critical After Central Mass Stabbing; 17-Year-Old In Custody 1 Dead, 1 Critical After Central Mass Stabbing; 17-Year-Old In Custody
1 Dead, 1 Critical After Central Mass Stabbing; 17-Year-Old In Custody A 20-year-old man is dead and a teenager is in critical condition following a stabbing Friday night, May 3, in Worcester County.  Police received a 911 call just before 9:30 p.m. for a report of multiple stabbing victims at the Town Common in Northbridge. When officers arrived they found the two bleeding from stab wounds, the Worcester County District Attorney's Office said.  Paramedics rushed them both to UMass Memorial Medical Center, where the 20-year-old died of his injuries, and the teenager remained in critical condition on Saturday. Police did not release either of their na…

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by Josh Lanier
Police & Fire
Woman From Region Runs Over Kitten On Purpose, Police Say Woman From Region Runs Over Kitten On Purpose, Police Say
Woman From Region Runs Over Kitten On Purpose, Police Say A Connecticut woman is accused of allegedly running over a kitten on purpose after she dumped a cat and the kitten in a busy shopping center parking lot, police say. Hartford County resident Ana Rodriguez, age 65, of New Britain, turned herself in to Southington Police on Friday, May 3, for the Monday, April 15 incident. According to Lt. Keith Egan of the Southington Police, officers responded to the Walmart parking lot that had dropped off a cat and a kitten in the parking lot and then ran over the kitten. Animal Control officers located the cats in the parking lot and discovered a d…

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by Kathy Reakes