Category Archives: Massachusetts

‘Cardinal Keith O’Brien was like God to me. Then he tried to seduce me’: the whistleblower’s tale

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As disgraced cardinal Theodore McCarrick faces trial in the US, an ex-priest tells of how he testified against the Scottish cardinal

As disgraced 91-year-old cardinal Theodore McCarrick stood in an American court last week, charged with three counts of indecent assault and battery on a minor, the spectre of the late Scottish cardinal, Keith O’Brien, hovered silently over proceedings. Two elderly men, who once donned scarlet robes and mitres, who reached the pinnacle of Catholic church power, stripped to civvies. McCarrick pleaded not guilty to the charges.

O’Brien, the UK’s then most senior Catholic cleric, and a vocal opponent of gay rights, resigned in 2013 after the Observer revealed details of his sexually inappropriate behaviour with priests in his diocese.

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Cape Cod: eight great white sharks seen feeding on humpback whale carcass

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  • Expert marvels at ‘biggest smorgasbord a shark could dream of’
  • Researchers monitor unusual humpback mortality event

For those aboard a recent whale watching cruise off Cape Cod, the decomposing carcass of a year-old humpback calf floating in the waters of the Stellwagen Bank national marine sanctuary made for a heartbreaking sight.

Related: Experience: I was attacked by two sharks at once

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Henri drenches US north-east as 140,000 lose power in slow-moving storm

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National Hurricane Center says storm to slow down further and likely stall near Connecticut-New York line

The slow-rolling storm Henri was taking its time drenching the US north-east on Monday.

Henri, which made landfall as a tropical storm on Sunday afternoon in Rhode Island, had moved north-west through Connecticut. It hurled rain westward far before its arrival, flooding areas as far south-west as New Jersey before pelting north-east Pennsylvania, even as it dropped to tropical depression status.

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Henri makes landfall in Rhode Island, packing high winds and heavy rain

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  • Biden says storm has ‘potential for widespread consequences’
  • Inland rainfall seen as major threat in north-east states

Tropical Storm Henri made landfall in Rhode Island on Sunday, packing high winds and heavy rains that were projected to leave devastation from New Jersey and New York up to Massachusetts.

Related: The show did not go on: storm thwarts Central Park concert celebrating city’s Covid comeback

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Henri becomes hurricane as it heads for Long Island and New England

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  • Forecasters predict landfall in New York or Connecticut
  • New England has not been hit by hurricane since 1991

Preparations for a monster storm forecast to hit parts of the US north-east were stepped up on Saturday after Henri was promoted to a hurricane as it moved closer to land.

In New York, Andrew Cuomo used his last hours as governor to direct the state response, declaring a state of emergency in some areas and telling residents: “If you have to get to higher ground, it has to be today.”

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‘My God, I’m in a whale’s mouth’: lobster diver on brush with hungry humpback

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Michael Packard, 56, was spat out after half a minute but expert says experience would have been ‘totally freaky’ for the whale

A New England lobsterman has described the moment he realised he was trapped in the mouth of a humpback whale off the coast of Cape Cod.

“Oh my God, I’m in a whale’s mouth and he’s trying to swallow me. I thought to myself, ‘hey, this is it. I’m finally going to die. There’s no getting out of here,’’’ Michael Packard told a local news station in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

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‘Everything went dark’: humpback whale swallows and spits out diver

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The Cape Cod fisherman estimates he was in the beast’s mouth for 30 seconds; experts say the encounter was a fluke

A commercial lobster diver who got caught in the mouth of a humpback whale off the coast of Cape Cod on Friday morning said he thought he was going to die.

Michael Packard, 56, of Wellfleet, told WBZ-TV after he was released from Cape Cod hospital that he was about 45ft (14 meters) deep in the waters off Provincetown when “all of a sudden I felt this huge bump, and everything went dark”.

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Yo-Yo Ma plays cello in vaccine waiting room in Massachusetts – video

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The renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma gives an impromptu performance in a vaccine waiting room in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, after having received his second dose of the coronavirus vaccine. He performs Ave Maria and the prelude to Bach’s Cello Suite No 1 to the small number of patients waiting to receive the dose. Ma, who played for about 15 minutes, is a part-time resident of the area and wanted to ‘give something back’ to his community, according to a local paper, the Berkshire Eagle

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Marvin Hagler obituary

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One of the greatest world middleweight boxing champions of all time

Marvin Hagler, who has died aged 66, is recognised as one of boxing’s greatest champions, holding the world middleweight title from 1980 to 1987, but his fabled status is assured because of one never-to-be-forgotten night in the old open-air arena at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, in 1985, when he fought and defeated his great rival Thomas Hearns in one of the most thrilling contests the sport has ever produced.

Related: Marvin Hagler, middleweight boxing's towering champion, dies aged 66

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US Covid cases, hospitalisations and deaths rise amid Thanksgiving rush

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US reported 181,490 new cases on Wednesday as millions defied official advice to travel and gather for Thanksgiving

The US reported 181,490 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, a third daily rise in a row, as hospitalisations hit a record for a 16th day in succession, at 89,959.

Related: Supreme court bars Covid attendance limits at New York houses of worship

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Cape Cod issues great white shark warning ahead of 4 July holiday

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Sharks found in nearly every part of the cape, and are gathering there in summer in increasing numbers

Cape Cod’s beaches and towns may be quieter because of the coronavirus pandemic, but officials are reminding visitors ahead of the 4 July holiday that the famous Massachusetts destination remains a popular getaway for other summertime travellers: great white sharks.

Great whites have been coming to the Cape in greater numbers each summer to prey on the region’s large seal colonies. Most tend to favour the Atlantic ocean-facing beaches where seals tend to congregate, but researchers have found them off nearly every part of the Cape.

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Coronavirus US live: Trump abruptly leaves press conference after clash with reporters

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Trump ends the briefing on a very abrupt and sour note.

Asked by CBS White House Correspondent Weijia Jiang why he is so fixated on comparing the US’ testing capability to other countries as opposed to focusing on the lag that still exists here, Trump snapped: “Maybe that’s a question you should ask China. Don’t ask me, ask China that question, okay?”

Trump throws a fit when @kaitlancollins of CNN tries to ask him a question and abruptly ends the press conference pic.twitter.com/58AVZ9CABl

Trump walked out of his own news conference after accusing @weijia of asking a "nasty question" and refusing to take @kaitlancollins's questions after calling on her.

Trump spent Mother’s Day sending conspiratorial tweets about his predecessor. In one tweet he accused Obama of committing the “biggest political crime in American history, by far!” Trump.

Asked to name the crime he is accusing Obama of committing, Trump replied: “Obamagate. it’s been going on for a long time it’s been going on before I even got elected.”

Related: Trump charges Obama with 'biggest political crime in American history'

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Polar vortex brings May snow and freeze warnings to New York and New England

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  • Unseasonable blast felt from Maine to Manhattan
  • Chill coincides with Vermont reopening outdoor pursuits

Mother’s Day weekend got off to an unseasonably snowy start in the US north-east on Saturday, thanks to the polar vortex bringing cold air down from the north.

Some higher elevation areas in northern New York state and New England reported snowfall accumulations of up to 10in, while traces of snow were seen along the coast from Maine to Boston and as far south as Manhattan.

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California to reopen some businesses this week as lockdowns ease across US – as it happened

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That’s all for today, thanks for following along. A recap of the day:

Senator Elizabeth Warren said today she believed Joe Biden’s comments on the sexual assault allegation were “credible and convincing”.

“I saw the reports of what Ms [Tara] Reade said, I saw an interview with vice-president Biden. I appreciate that the vice-president took a lot of questions, tough questions. And he answered them directly and respectfully. The vice-president’s answers were credible and convincing,” the senator and former presidential candidate said, according to a CNN reporter.

Related: Senate rejects Joe Biden's request to search for records on Tara Reade

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Coronavirus: US reaches one million confirmed cases – live updates

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Mike Pence’s office has dubiously argued the vice president does not need to wear a mask because he is regularly tested for coronavirus.

The vice president faced questions about his lack of mask usage earlier this month after a photo circulated of a mask-less Pence greeting Colorado governor Jared Polis, who was wearing a mask in the picture.

Vice President Mike Pence was criticized for ignoring mask guidelines when visiting the Mayo Clinic facilities in Minnesota today.

Footage of Pence’s visit showed the vice president not covering his face as he met with the clinic’s employees and at least one patient.

PENCE flouts Mayo Clinic policy that everyone on campus wear a mask, even as he meets with staff and a patient. pic.twitter.com/kfo64KQDhU

Mayo Clinic had informed @VP of the masking policy prior to his arrival today.

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Coronavirus US live: Andrew Cuomo details ‘horrific level of pain’ as deaths pass 10,000 in New York

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It’s been one month since Trump declared a national emergency over the coronavirus pandemic, and many of his key promises remain unfulfilled.

An in-depth NPR investigation found many of the pledges that Trump made in his March 13 Rose Garden speech have only been parially realized, while others have gone completely ignored.

NPR’s Investigations Team dug into each of the claims made from the podium that day. And rather than a sweeping national campaign of screening, drive-through sample collection and lab testing, it found a smattering of small pilot projects and aborted efforts.

In some cases, no action was taken at all.

Independent congressman Justin Amash pushed back against Trump’s claim that he has the authority to reopen the economy at the federal level, an assertion that is also challenged by constitutional experts.

President Trump is flat-out wrong. The president has no authority to “close down” or “open up” the states. He’s the one creating conflict and confusion. Put down the authoritarianism and read the Constitution. https://t.co/3AFqRx7YTX

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US bans shock ‘treatment’ on children with special needs at Boston-area school

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FDA ban brings an end to decades-long battle against use of ‘aversive therapy’ at the Judge Rotenberg Center in Massachusetts

The US government has banned an electric shock machine that is used to zap children and young adults with special needs in a school outside Boston – the only institution in the world known to practice the controversial punishment “treatment”.

Related: Elizabeth Warren drops out of Democratic presidential race – live

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Felicity Huffman sentenced to 14 days in prison for college bribery scandal

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Actor pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy and fraud after admitting to paying $15,000 to boost daughter’s SAT scores

The actor Felicity Huffman was sentenced on Friday to 14 days in prison for paying $15,000 to rig her daughter’s SAT scores in the college admissions scandal that ensnared dozens of wealthy and well-connected parents.

Related: The US college admissions scam toolkit: bribes, fake profiles and playing 'stupid’

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MIT to investigate research lab’s ties to Epstein as director resigns

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Joi Ito exits after reports claim lab worked to hide extent of financier’s donations

The president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has ordered an independent investigation of the ties between a prestigious research lab at the school and Jeffrey Epstein, the influential financier and convicted sex offender.

Joi Ito, the director of the influential MIT Media Lab, submitted his resignation on Saturday, in the wake of continued scrutiny over the center’s financial relationship with Epstein, the university announced in a statement.

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