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Trailblazing Astronaut From Needham Will Be First Woman Aboard A Maiden Crewed Spacecraft Trailblazing Astronaut From Needham Will Be First Woman Aboard A Maiden Crewed Spacecraft
Sunita Williams First Woman On A Maiden Crewed Spacecraft Sunita Williams has held plenty of titles in her life: Astronaut, US Navy officer, former record holder for most spacewalks by a woman (seven), to name a few. Now, the Needham native can add one more to her impressive resume: trailblazer. The 58-year-old Williams is set to become the first woman aboard the maiden flight of a manned spacecraft when NASA and Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner launches for the first time from Florida’s Cape Canaveral for the 24-hour journey to the International Space Station. Originally scheduled for takeoff Monday night, May 6, the launch was scrapped “out of an abu…

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by Michael Mashburn
News
$5M Lottery Jackpot: Northborough Dad Plans To Buy Home, Pay For Kids' College With Cash $5M Lottery Jackpot: Northborough Dad Plans To Buy Home, Pay For Kids' College With Cash
$5M Lottery Jackpot: Northborough Dad Plans To Buy Home, Pay For Kids' College With Cash The Force was with a Worcester County dad when he bought his $5.37 million winning lottery ticket on Saturday, May 4.  James Jorgensen won the massive jackpot playing the multi-state Megabucks lottery. He collected the prize with his partner, Jennifer Jorgensen.  The "Star Wars" fan said the win was made extra special because it fell on May the Fourth.  “The best thing is I’m a huge 'Star Wars' fan, so I was all decked out in a 'Star Wars' hat and 'Star Wars' shirt, and I won on May 4th which is an unofficial 'Star Wars' holiday," he told the lottery.  J…

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by Josh Lanier
News
COVID-19: New 'FLiRT' Variants Now Most Dominant In US COVID-19: New 'FLiRT' Variants Now Most Dominant In US
Covid-19: New 'FLiRT' Variants Now Most Dominant In US New so-called "FLiRT" COVID-19 variants have quickly become the most dominant in the United States, and authorities are monitoring their rise as summer approaches. According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one of the two members of the  “FLiRT” group, KP.2, is now No. 1 among strains nationally, accounting for about 24.9 of all current infections. The JN.1 strain had been dominant in the US before the emergence of KP.2. Both variants are offshoots of the highly contagious Omicron strain. The No. 4 variant in the US, KP.1.1, which makes up …

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by Joe Lombardi
News
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
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
Cambridge Driver ID'd As Man Killed In Boston Rollover Crash Cambridge Driver ID'd As Man Killed In Boston Rollover Crash
Cambridge Driver ID'd As Man Killed In Boston Rollover Crash A 58-year-old Cambridge man was identified as the driver who was killed when his car rolled over in Boston on Saturday, May 4, authorities said.  Police were called to northbound I-93 near exit 17 to reports of a car that had flipped onto its side just after midnight.  Robert Smith was the only person inside. He was pronounced dead at the scene, State Police said.  Troopers are investigating what caused Smith to lose control of his Jeep Compass and crash into the western edge of the road.

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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
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
Mass School Bus Driver Accused Of Raping Child Younger Than 14 Mass School Bus Driver Accused Of Raping Child Younger Than 14
Mass School Bus Driver Accused Of Raping Child Younger Than 14 A 32-year-old Marlborough man has been arrested and charged with raping a young boy last year when he visited the man's home, authorities announced this week.  Derek Thistle, of Marlborough, was charged on Friday, May 3, with forcible rape of a child, aggravated rape of a child, indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, and open and gross lewdness, the Middlesex District Attorney said.  A woman contacted police in July after she said she saw Thistle expose himself to her nephew while on a FaceTime call with the boy, authorities said. When she asked the child about the inci…

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by Josh Lanier