The faint sounding of passing train horns was audible as mayors and other officials from Brockton, Fall River, New Bedford and Taunton gathered to take stock of how South Coast Rail has changed the region in its first year — and learn how to capitalize on it.

Bridgewater State University on Tuesday, June 2, hosted a year-in-review event featuring speakers from across the region, including MBTA General Manager Phil Eng, who spoke about where South Coast Rail came from and where it’s going.

“What we’ve seen is transportation is bi-directional — it’s not the old way of just going into Boston and coming out,” Eng told officials.

Eng has touted "regional rail" as the MBTA’s future, a model built on fast, cheap and frequent train service between cities along the line, not just to Boston. Mayors of the SouthCoast’s four Gateway Cities spoke about how working together with that kind of rail service can benefit the region in terms of jobs, housing, development, education and more.

See more at heraldnews.com.

Massachusetts officials are asking the public to help spot signs of human trafficking ahead of World Cup matches. 

Public safety leaders and victim advocates announced awareness campaigns and other safety plans as large crowds prepare to come to the region. 

Officials said workers in hotels, restaurants, transit hubs and other crowded areas are being trained to recognize possible trafficking. 

Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll announced 390-thousand dollars in grants for anti-trafficking work. 

The FBI says there is no are credible threats as of now, but security will be heightened around watch parties, fan festivals and games in Foxborough.

Ex-State Trooper Michael Proctor is seeking a last-minute delay in the wrongful death lawsuit against Karen Read. 

On Friday, Proctor's lawyers requested an emergency order to delay a deposition in the lawsuit.  Proctor is scheduled to be deposed by Read's lawyers today. 

Read is fighting the wrongful death lawsuit, which was filed by the family of her deceased boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe. 

Last year, a jury acquitted Read of a second-degree murder charge she was facing over the death of O'Keefe

An Avon man involved in a fatal crash in Raynham is now facing charges, according to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office.

The crash Friday night claimed the life of a motorcyclist from New Bedford, identified on Sunday as 52-year-old Scott Piche.

Police said Piche was riding down South Street East when he was hit by an SUV at the intersection with Hill Street.

The Feast of the Blessed Sacrament has announced its 2026 performers, with one big name closing out the first night of the event: Sugar Ray.

The band behind ’90s hits like “Fly” and “Every Morning” will perform from 10 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. on Thursday, July 30, the Madeira Club revealed via social media.

The Feast of the Blessed Sacrament is the largest Portuguese feast in the world and brings tens of thousands of people to New Bedford’s Madeira Field each year.

This year’s feast begins July 30 and will end on Sunday, Aug. 2. Admission is free for all ages, though no one under the age of 21 will be allowed to enter the Feast grounds after 8 p.m.

See more at wpri.com.

Board of Health and Health Director Jonathan Abreu say they were justified in serving the Venus de Milo restaurant and banquet facility the suspension orders that threatened to shutter its doors. 

“Myself and the entire Board of Health take our role in protecting the public very seriously and will continue to enforce corrective actions as needed," Abreu wrote to the Herald News in a June 4 email responding to the newspaper's interview Venus de Milo owner Monte Ferris Jr.

The two sides have been in a public debate about the health and food standards at the restaurant after the town issued a cease-and-desist order May 19 ordering the business to stop serving food immediately. That order was put on hold by a temporary restraining order from Bristol County Superior Court. The cease-and-desist was a follow up action by the board to a 30-day suspension of the Venus de Milo's food establishment license issued on May 14, and an earlier March 2026 suspension, neither of which closed the restaurant.

See more at heraldnews.com.

Durfee High School cosmetology student Maiah Torres has arrived in Atlanta, Georgia, to represent Durfee and Massachusetts at the SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference, according to a community announcement.

Torres earned the right to compete on the national stage after winning the Massachusetts SkillsUSA Gold Medal in Cosmetology and being recognized as the top cosmetology student in the state. At the national conference, Torres will face a two-day competition totaling 12 hours of hands-on and written assessments against student stylists from across the country.

Competitors must also complete a 100-question written exam covering professional cosmetology knowledge and industry standards.

Torres was recently honored with Durfee’s CTE Director’s Award during the school’s CTE Cords and Awards Ceremony. The award recognizes a student who demonstrates excellence in career and technical education, leadership and service.

See more at heraldnews.com.

Fans heading to World Cup matches at Gillette Stadium are getting a reminder about what they cannot bring inside. 

The Boston Globe reports refillable water bottles, outside food and drinks, strollers, umbrellas, noisemakers and certain camera equipment are banned.  The stadium will only allow approved clear bags and small wallets. 

Gillette Stadium will be called Boston Stadium during the tournament and will open three hours before kickoff.  The first of seven World Cup matches there is set for June 13th.

A Nantucket resident says she offered laxative-laced brownies to the Nantucket School Committee. 

The Boston Globe reports Meghan Perry made the comment during public testimony over a proposed artificial turf project at Vito Capizzo Stadium. 

Perry appeared to be comparing the brownies to "non-detect" levels of P-FAS chemicals cited in the turf debate. 

Nantucket Current reports the brownies were thrown away and none were eaten. 

School Committee Chair Laura Gallagher Byrne said she does not intend to press criminal charges or escalate the matter further.

Karen Read has filed a lawsuit against the Massachusetts State Police and the town of Canton, alleging misconduct and negligence in the investigation that led to her prosecution in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend.

The lawsuit filed Thursday in Bristol County Superior Court argues that Read’s acquittal last June revealed “an embedded culture of bigotry, misogyny, systemic failures, and institutional rot at the very core of both organizations.”

It alleges that the town and the police department were negligent in the hiring, training and supervision of officers and seeks damages for legal fees, lost income, emotional distress and reputational harm, among other claims.

The complaint reproduces dozens of text messages, recordings and other communications attributed to former state trooper Michael Proctor and former Canton police Sgt. Sean Goode. Among them are messages in which Proctor referred to Read as a “whack job” and wrote that he hoped she would kill herself. The lawsuit also cites messages that it says included use of the n-word and, in one instance, a comment by Proctor that “Hitler was really on to something.”

Read’s lawyers argue that those materials show both men were unfit to participate in the investigation and that their conduct reflected broader failures in oversight by state and local law enforcement.

See more at wpri.com.

An investigation is underway into a fire that destroyed a Bristol apartment building Thursday evening.

Bristol Fire Chief Michael DeMello told 12 News firefighters rushed to the Lincoln Avenue building after receiving reports of smoke showing from a porch.

DeMello said the firefighters arrived to flames shooting from each of the three floors and smoke pouring from the roof.

“It’s a pretty sturbborn fire,” DeMello explained. “It’s an old building and a big building, so once it got into the walls, the chase was on.”

DeMello said the fire spread into the “nooks and crannies” of the home, making it difficult for firefighters to get to the flames.

It took firefighters roughly two hours to knock the bulk of the fire down, according to DeMello.

DeMello said everyone who was home at the time was able to escape. He added that one tenant suffered minor injuries and was brought to the hospital for treatment.

It’s unclear if the building, which DeMello said consists of between eight and 10 apartments, is a total loss.

The cause of the fire also remains unknown at this time.

See more at wpri.com.

A section of Mill Street in New Bedford was shut down Thursday morning as police investigated a deadly incident.

In a Facebook post, police said they responded to a “serious accident” and advised drivers to seek alternate routes if possible. A 12 News crew at the scene saw police tape and a tent set up near the intersection with Pleasant Street, and the medical examiner was also called to the scene.

Rporterdly the accident involved a pedestrian and a tractor-trailer.

At this time, the victim’s identity and what led up to the crash remain unclear.

See more at wpri.com.

“We haven’t been closed for a minute,” Monte Ferris Jr., owner and operator of the Venus de Milo restaurant and banquet hall, said in his office on Tuesday, June 2. 

The iconic facility at 75 GAR Highway has been a staple of proms, weddings, baptisms and other family functions for generations. But Ferris said recent issues with the town Board of Health over now-rescinded orders, and public stigma, have put the business at risk.

"The financial loss is significant," Ferris said. "This has caused an emotional loss. It's a short-term hit to our reputation. Thankfully now it's cured, but a short-term hit to our reputation that we didn't deserve."

See more at heraldnews.com.

An FBI team searched the area around Route 88 in Westport on Wednesday, June 3, as part of “an ongoing, multi-jurisdictional investigation,” a spokesperson for the FBI said.

“We are searching for specific evidence and there is no threat to public safety,” said FBI spokeswoman Kristen Setera. 

She could not comment on the nature of the evidence being searched for.

Westport Police said as of 4:30 p.m. there were no road closures on Route 88, and that investigators were no longer on scene.

The investigation comes nearly two years after an investigation took place on Route 88 in Westport. It is unknown if the operations are connected.

The FBI would not comment on whether the investigation would continue in upcoming days, saying the investigation is “an ongoing matter” and that it could not release further details.

See more at heraldnews.com.

NASA says the Cape Cod meteorite was made of iron and unusually dense. 

The object then broke into multiple pieces high in the atmosphere. 

NASA says that radar data suggests the meteorites landed in the middle of Cape Cod Bay. 

The event caused loud booms and shaking across parts of New England on Saturday. 

Scientists say any fragments are likely underwater in about 100 feet of water.

A Westport man is due for a new trial after serving three decades in prison in connection with the death of a 3-year-old boy.

Brian Peixoto was arrested and charged in connection with the death of his girlfriend’s son, Christopher Affonso Jr., at their Westport home in 1996. The following year, he was found guilty of first-degree murder “based on a theory of extreme or cruelty” and sentenced to natural life in prison, according to court documents obtained by 12 News.

The 80-page, May 18 filing shows Judge Daniel J. O’Shea ordered Peixoto’s sentence to be vacated, therefore overturning his conviction and granting him a new trial. He has been ordered held without bail at the Bristol County House of Correction in the interim and is expected to appear in court for a hearing Thursday.

For the past 30 years he’s spent incarcerated, Peixoto has maintained his innocence and filed motions for a new trial on four separate occasions. Supporters argue he was wrongfully convicted of a horrific crime, without any evidence that he ever hurt Christopher.

They pointed to the high-profile case of Louise Woodward, who was arrested just a month before Peixoto’s trial, claiming he was “collateral damage in the wake of the media frenzy around a highly publicized and prejudicial, emotionally charged case.”

According to a website dedicated to shedding light on the case, Peixoto has been represented by criminal trial lawyer Jennifer Fitzgerald and the CPCS Innocence Program, as well as supported by the New England Innocence Project.

See more at wpri.com.

Rhode Island taxpayers’ tab for the Washington Bridge crisis has crossed a milestone, with more than two years to go before a new bridge is scheduled to open.

The R.I. Department of Transportation’s latest progress report shows the agency has spent $203 million addressing the failure of the westbound bridge since its abrupt closure in December 2023 — with $368 million still to be spent over the next few years.

RIDOT has spent $88 million so far demolishing the old bridge, a task which officials deemed substantially complete last December, according to the report. That number has changed little in recent months.

The state has also shelled out $46 million on expenses tied to the bridge’s emergency closure, including $9 million through January to keep tow trucks on standby 24/7 at either end of the span that is currently open to keep traffic flowing. The state had originally budgeted just $2 million for the tow trucks.

Outlays are now rising fast for construction of the new westbound bridge, which is supposed to open to traffic in November 2028 and reach substantial completion in June 2029. Expenses for the new bridge reached $69 million in May, up from $55 million in March.

The federal government is slated to cover the majority of costs associated with the bridge.

See more at wpri.com.

 A woman who was injured when a staircase collapsed nearly a year ago in Portsmouth is suing the town and the owners of the venue where it happened, 12 News has learned.

Kathleen Magrath, who lives in Indiana, filed the lawsuit against the Portuguese American Citizens Club late last month.

Magrath was on the staircase at the entrance of the Power Street building when it collapsed during a graduation party. The collapse not only injured Magrath and three others, but also killed 15-year-old Kelly Nevitt.

“Concrete and other structural components fell and struck [Magrath], pinning and trapping her,” the lawsuit says.

Magrath suffered “traumatic bodily injuries” as a result of the collapse and has required ongoing medical care, according to the lawsuit.

The driver in a motorcycle crash that killed a North Scituate woman nearly five years ago has been sentenced.

On the night of June 6, 2021, William Botelho was riding a motorcycle with his passenger, 24-year-old Krystal Geraldo, down Acushnet Avenue in New Bedford when police said he lost control and hit a guardrail.

Both were seriously injured and taken to the hospital, where Geraldo died a few days later.

It wasn’t until 2023 that Botelho was charged with vehicular homicide by OUI in her death.

A jury convicted Botelho Tuesday on a lesser charge of vehicular manslaughter by negligence.

The state requested six months in prison and additional time on home confinement, while his defense sought a suspended six-month sentence.

See more at wpri.com.

The Fall River Pride Committee is launching its 2026 Pride Month with a series of events celebrating LGBTQ+ pride, visibility and inclusion.

The festivities begin with a Pride Flag Raising Ceremony at 4 p.m. June 5 at Fall River Government Center, according to a community announcement. The event is open to the public, including community members, local leaders and supporters.

The annual Fall River Pride Festival will take place from noon to 6 p.m. June 7, according to the announcement.

The festival will feature entertainment, community organizations, local vendors, food, music and family-friendly activities such as an obstacle course, a blowup slide and games. This year, the festival will also include a wrestling show for the first time.

See more at heraldnews.com.

Governor Maura Healey is backing a bill to allow Massachusetts bars and restaurants to stay open until 3:00 a.m. this summer. 

The proposal comes as Boston and other communities prepare for an influx of visitors tied to the World Cup and the state's 250th anniversary. 

Supporters say the measure could help businesses capitalize on the busy summer, while critics warn it could add public safety concerns.  A Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies is currently considering the bill. 

A final version will have to be approved by the House and Senate before it lands on Healey's desk for her approval.

When the Fall River Public Library first opened to the public in March 1899, the Fall River Daily Herald and the Evening News both were careful to note that the building was “entirely fire-proof.”

But when it comes to water, poor workmanship on the building’s roof in recent years has led to chronic and alarming leaks — not ideal for a building full of rare paper.

The library is currently undergoing more than $800,000 worth of major repairs both inside and out that Director Fellisha Desmarais said will “stop the leaks, hopefully completely.”

Work on the North Main Street building is expected to last a few months. But beyond the vital maintenance, Desmarais has renovation plans that will beautify the building and expand what it offers to patrons, including adding a theater space.

On the Fall River Public Library’s second floor, the vaunted research room is shrouded in plastic. Where research librarians and patrons used to do their work, you’ll find scaffolding, power tools and exposed brick.

The rear of the historic 19th century building is covered in scaffolding as well, busy with workers from East Coast Masonry & Restoration, hired to repoint the building’s exterior, made of original Fall River dressed granite.

See more at heraldnews.com.

Massachusetts gas prices are dropping amid optimism over a potential U.S.-Iran peace deal. 

AAA says the statewide average is about four-dollars-39-cents a gallon.  That is down about nine cents from a week ago. 

Analysts say crude prices have fallen sharply as talks continue over reopening the Strait of Hormuz. 

Gas prices remain well above last year's average, but drivers are seeing signs of relief at the pump.

A woman is facing charges after police seized various drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, from a home in Rehoboth on Monday.

State and local officers were outside a property on Winthrop Street for several hours to execute a search warrant for reported narcotics, according to police.

As a result, detectives discovered:

• 250.5 grams of cocaine
• 13 grams of oxycodone
• 7.3 grams of MDMA
• 23 grams of fentanyl
• 69 grams of methamphetamine
• 142 grams of psilocybin mushrooms
• 242 grams of marijuana

Police said other drugs that have yet to be identified were also found.

Melinda Archambault, 36, of Bristol, was taken into custody on drug charges. She is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Taunton District Court.

Police added that “charges for others involved will follow.”

See more at wpri.com.

The city moved one step closer to sealing the deal on the former Bishop Connolly High School earlier this week.

A $29,800,000 loan order requested by Mayor Paul Coogan gained the authorization of seven councilors at the May 26 City Council meeting. Councilor Christopher Peckham opposed the motion and Councilor Andrew Raposo abstained from voting. 

The authorization was referred to the City Council Committee on Finance. 

The city is intends to convey the purchase to Fall River Public Schools, where the former Catholic high school’s halls will greet the district’s youngest and “most vulnerable” students. The purchase, once official, is part and parcel of a districtwide move to consolidate classrooms, economize space, disperse staffing, and devote a single location to pre-K education. 

It’s unlikely the city will be able to close on the property before January 2027 — after the purchase and sales agreement gets a rubber stamp from the Vatican. 

See more at heraldnews.com.