Two men are being held in jail and a Westport man is out on bail after being arraigned on underage sex charges Wednesday, following a human trafficking sting operation.  

David J. Afriyie, 19, of Pawtucket; Joseph Wood, 38, of Hanson; and Manuel R. Costa, 39, of Westport were arrested Tuesday in an undercover operation in Swansea.

Afriye is charged with enticement of a child under 16 with intent to commit indecent assault or rape, a felony; and paying for sex and attempting to commit a crime, both misdemeanors. 

Wood and Costa are charged with enticement of a child under 16 with intent to commit indecent assault or rape and paying for sex with a child under 18, both felonies; and attempting to commit a crime, a misdemeanor.

Read more at heraldnews.com.

A tentative agreement between Mayor Paul Coogan and First Step Inn’s Kathleen Schedler-Clark, executive director of the homeless shelter at 134 Durfee St., will introduce between 40 and 50 new beds during inclement weather for overnight use to help support the city’s homeless population. 

Coogan said the plans are being finalized, with a list of considerations that must be factored in — such as EMS and police staffing, pets not being allowed — pending an inspection report regarding the maximum occupancy for beds that can be safely set up between 4 p.m. and 8 a.m. in the shelter’s conference room space.

“This is a good, good thing to help support the homeless community in our city,” Coogan said.

Read more at heraldnews.com.

The ongoing issue of homelessness in the city has drawn intense scrutiny from critics and the Fall River City Council since the body of 59-year-old Jaime Cordeiro was discovered Feb. 18 near 89 Globe Mills Ave. On Tuesday night, the matter before the council involved hearing from Steppingstone Inc. in the city’s hunt for answers. 

City Council Vice President Linda Pereira on Friday added a resolution to the council’s Feb. 25 meeting agenda that seeks answers about “adequate funding, barriers to admission and insufficient bed counts” at First Step Inn on Durfee Street, operated by nonprofit organization Steppingstone Inc.

Though rumors circulated on social media that Cordeiro froze to death, the official cause of death is still under investigation. According to the Fall River Police Department and the Bristol County District Attorney's Office, Cordeiro's body displayed no obvious signs of trauma.

Read more at heraldnews.com.

MassDOT has announced that it will be opening a temporary U-turn, as part of the ongoing Route 79-Davol Street corridor improvement project.

The $135 million project, which began in early 2023, was designed to remove the Route 79 elevated expressway system, replacing it with a street-level, pedestrian-friendly boulevard.

The project is intended to be safer and add more access points to the city’s waterfront for cars, bikes and pedestrians; it will also open up about 18 acres of developable land along the waterfront.

It’s due to be complete in 2026, and is running slightly ahead of schedule.

Read the latest update at heraldnews.com.

New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell has proposed naming the city’s new pedestrian bridge in honor of U.S. Army Cpl. Andre A. Lopes.

Cpl. Lopes enlisted in the U.S. Army at 18 years old in 1944. Three years later, he returned to New Bedford and worked in construction.

When the Korean War began, he reenlisted and was deployed to the Korean peninsula with the 7th Infantry Division.

See more at wpri.com.

A Somerset teenager received a standing ovation from the crowd at a recent Boston Celtics game.

Ben Courville, a junior firefighter with the Dighton Fire Department, saved a girl last summer from choking at a Fall River restaurant.

He has gained national recognition for his heroics and was honored by the Celtics as part of their “Heroes Among Us” series.

See more at wpri.com.

Three men are facing charges as the result of a human trafficking sting operation in Swansea. 

A Rhode Island man and two Massachusetts men were arrested Tuesday and charged with sexual conduct for a fee with a child under 18 and attempted rape of a child. 

They all entered not guilty pleas at their arraignments yesterday in Fall River District Court with bail posted at five-thousand-dollars pending another court date next month.  Investigators said the sting started with an online ad.  

Weekend service and parking is going to be free on the new Fall River/New Bedford commuter rail line from March 29th, to April 27th. 

Service to six new stations starts March 24th, pending final approval from the Federal Railroad Administration. 

For the first time in 65 years Taunton, Freetown, Fall River and New Bedford will have passenger train service.

 A hearing is set to resume Tuesday in the Karen Read murder trial.

Read, who is accused of ramming into her then-boyfriend John O’Keefe with her SUV and leaving him to die in a snowstorm in January 2022, faces a second trial in April on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene of a crime.

Last week, the judge immediately called a recess after special prosecutor Hank Brennan looked to prevent two crash reconstruction experts from testifying at her second trial.

See more at wpri.com.

The Fairhaven Animal Shelter has 15 new dogs after a town resident surrendered them to police on Friday — including a dozen pit bull puppies. 

About 9 a.m. Friday, Fairhaven Animal Control Officer Terry Cripps received a call from a resident who said they were being evicted at noon and had “a few dogs” to surrender. When asked how many dogs they had to surrender, the resident revealed they had 15 pit bulls who needed a new home: three adults and twelve 10-week-old puppies. 

According to Fairhaven police, Cripps and members of the department responded and removed the dogs one at a time. 

All 15 dogs are being boarded at the Fairhaven Animal Shelter. Six puppies will be transferred to Forever Paws Animal Shelter in Fall River for fostering. The remaining dogs will remain at the Fairhaven Animal Shelter until they are old enough to have proper vaccinations and be deemed “adoptable.”

Read more at heraldnews.com.

Two Swansea brothers are making waves in their community through their involvement with Project 351, a nonprofit organization focused on youth-led service, according to an announcement.

Benjamin Woodsmall, a student at Joseph Case Junior High School, recently represented Swansea Public Schools at the Project 351 Launch Day in Boston. His older brother, Samuel Woodsmall, served as an alumni ambassador this year, marking a significant moment for the family.

“I am extremely proud of my little brother,” Samuel said. “I felt a sense of pride and I was very excited to be able to work with my brother in the same organization.”

Benjamin was inspired by his brother's previous involvement with the project.

Read more at heraldnews.com.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission reports the combined revenue for January from the state's three casinos was 97-point-95-million-dollars. 

Since the opening of the Encore Boston Harbor, Plainridge Park Casino and MGM Springfield, the state has collected nearly two-billion-dollars in taxes. 

Additionally last month, over 94-million-dollars in taxable sports wagering revenue was generated via seven online licensees and three in-person locations.

 Police are investigating after they say a dumpster truck crashed into a train bridge on Route 105 in Middleboro where the road crosses I-495.

Investigators say the incident happened around 6:30 a.m. when the truck rolled on to its side, hitting the bridge.

Officials closed several lanes of traffic on Route 105 in both directions, notified the MBTA about the event, and requested help from the State Police Truck Team with the investigation.

See more at wpri.com.

Three people were forced from their home and multiple pets died after a fire broke out on Forge Drive in Taunton Sunday morning.

Fire Chief Steven Lavigne said this happened just after 11:00 a.m. and crews were met with heavy smoke from the front and heavy flames from the back.

Three dogs and one cat died in the fire, according to Lavigne. Another dog and one person who was inside were able to make it out of the home safely.

Nobody suffered any injuries and the fire’s cause is under investigation.

See more at wpri.com.

Since closing its doors at the end of 2023, The Zeiterion has been undergoing a transformative renovation that promises to reinvigorate the historic theater and enrich the community. 

Zeiterion President and CEO Rosemary Gill recently shared exciting updates on the comprehensive project by taking community leaders through a tour of the construction site, on Thursday, which aims to revitalize every corner of the building.

"We're here today to showcase the progress of our incredibly ambitious project," Gill said. “I think you'll be impressed." 

The $37 million renovation is extensive, sparing only the back of the house while revamping everything else. The plans stretch from the auditorium and lobby areas to the behind-the-scenes infrastructure, involving all spaces within the theater's public interfaces.

See more at heraldnews.com.

The death of a homeless man discovered near an abandoned mill last week has spurred inquiry into whether one organization that helps the homeless in Fall River is doing enough to bring people in out of the cold. 

City Council Vice President Linda Pereira on Friday added a resolution to the council’s Tuesday meeting agenda that seeks answers about “adequate funding, barriers to admission and insufficient bed counts” at First Step Inn on Durfee Street. 

The shelter, operated by Steppingstone Inc., has 20 beds for the homeless year-round, with an additional 30 beds open during winter months. According to Steppingstone Executive Director Kathleen Schedler-Clark, all 50 beds are full and it pays to house homeless people in local hotels.

Read more at heraldnews.com.

A 28-year-old man has died after a head-on collision on the New Bedford-Fairhaven Bridge late Thursday night.

Massachusetts State Police say a car was driving west on Route 6 around 10:45 p.m. when it crossed the double line and hit another car head-on.

State police say the driver of the car that was hit, identified as Mason Evich, was pronounced dead at the scene.

See more at wpri.com.

In response to Stop & Shop’s parent company Ahold Delhaize threatening to close the grocery chain’s Freetown warehouse and distribution center on Feb. 28 if workers don't agree to cut their health care benefits, Teamsters Local 25 is planning two picketing events, saying hundreds of unionized workers could lose their jobs. 

Already, five United Food & Commercial Workers unions have now pledged support if there's a strike, with Teamsters calling for boycott of Stop & Shop grocery stores until Ahold Delhaize returns “to the bargaining table,” a release shared with The Herald News read. 

Rhode Island Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos shared a statement in solidarity with the Teamsters union on Thursday afternoon, saying, “The workers who do the actual labor of feeding our communities deserve their fair share of the enormous profits reaped by international chains.” It encourages Ahold Delhaize to locate “an amicable solution” that “protects workers' health care.”

Read more at heraldnews.com.

It's been a bittersweet past year for St. Stanislaus families.

Just months after celebrating milestones for the Catholic parish — with a 125th anniversary Mass that also marked 30 years since the church was re-dedicated following a fire — the small South End community parish and adjacent school were dealt a blow. 

St. Stanislaus School, an institution for Catholic education at 37 Rockland St. for more than a century, will be shuttering at the end of the school year, the Diocese of Fall River announced earlier this month.

The news was met with shock and dismay from parishioners, and past and present school staff and families, many of whom called the Polish Catholic school home for generations.

"It's very sad," said Denita Tremblay, a former principal of St. Stanislaus School and an active parishioner.

Read more at heraldnews.com.

Gas companies in Massachusetts are ordered to reduce rates by five-percent to customers for March and April. 

The state Department of Public Utilities has told the companies to submit proposals by Monday explaining how they will implement the reductions. 

Many consumers had voiced concern about very high bills the last couple of months. 

Earlier this week Governor Maura Healey asked the DPU to take immediate action to reduce energy bills for natural gas customers statewide.  

A harbor seal named Blue at Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford died earlier this month of the bird flu.

The zoo announced Wednesday on social media that a diagnostic test revealed Blue died from complications from Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI).

An investigation is underway after a three-alarm fire broke out at a multi-family complex in Newport Thursday morning.

Firefighters responding to the scene on Grafton Street just after 4 a.m. found smoke and flames coming from the two-story building.

Newport Fire Chief Humphrey Donnelly said they received mutual aid from seven communities including the Newport Navy Base.

See more at wpri.com.

Today marks 22 years since 100 people died and more than 200 others were injured in a fire at the Station nightclub in West Warwick.

The fire on Feb. 20, 2003, sparked by pyrotechnics, broke out inside the venue on Cowesett Avenue while the band Great White was playing.

It led to significant changes in fire codes and safety regulations.

See more at wpri.com.

Some of the best museums in the country are in Massachusetts.

USA Today's 10Best Readers' Choice Awards recently released its best of museum rankings, and four museums in Massachusetts ranked among the best in the country.

The annual 10Best awards highlight the best in travel, food and lifestyle, and winners are chosen by a public voting poll after being nominated by industry experts. In the 2025 best of museum awards, highlighting various types of museums across the United States, four Mass. locations placed across three categories: No. 1 and No. 8 in best museum ship, No. 1 in best open-air museum and No. 1 in best small town museum.

Read more at heraldnews.com.

Carole Billington has been named president and chief nursing officer for Saint Anne’s Hospital. 

Billington has been with Saint Anne’s Hospital for many years, most recently serving as interim president and chief nursing officer since September 2024.  

Her career began with Saint Anne’s as a newly licensed registered nurse and she has held various nursing and administrative leadership roles throughout the years, including clinical advisor, clinical resource coordinator, patient care director of peri-anesthesia services, director of surgical services/endoscopy and cardiovascular program, administrative director of clinical operations, and chief operating officer/chief nursing officer. 

“Carole’s broad experience has uniquely positioned her to lead Saint Anne’s into the future. She has played a pivotal role in the hospital’s continued growth as a leading community hospital,” said Sarah Frost, chief of hospital operations for Brown University Health, the owner of Saint Anne’s Hospital. “Under her leadership, Carole led the integration of Saint Anne’s into the Brown University Health system and has expanded services and earned multiple national recognitions for patient care.”

Read more at heraldnews.com.

A potential strike is looming at the Stop & Shop distribution center in Freetown. 

Teamsters Local 25 is accusing the grocery store chain of forcing workers to give up health care benefits to save the warehouse from outsourcing. 

In a statement, Stop & Shop said it's offering wage increases, increased pension contributions and a more competitive health care plan. 

The union says if a settlement isn't reached picket lines will go up outside every Stop & Shop in New England.

New Bedford Police Chief Paul Oliveira has decided to retire.

Oliveira announced he will be stepping down on May 3 after being with the department for more than 30 years and serving as chief since 2021.

“Over the past decades, I have had the privilege of serving alongside many great men and women (sworn and professional staff), whom I have gained unwavering respect for,” Oliveira said. “Through these individuals, I have learned so much and have been so proud to have them as colleagues.”

See more at wpri.com.

Starting this fall, Bristol Community College is set to launch an artificial intelligence program, a first-of-its-kind for community colleges in Massachusetts.

Bristol CC announced that it will be introducing the Associate of Applied Science in Artificial Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence Practitioner Certificate.

"As artificial intelligence continues to transform industries, nearly every job will soon incorporate AI in some form. All industries will see an impact and a benefit," said Steven Frechette, department chair of Computer Information Systems and associate professor of Cybersecurity at Bristol Community College. “From marketing professionals and administrative assistants to manufacturing technicians and engineers, AI will play a key role in their work in the very near future. This degree and certificate program will allow these professionals to layer artificial intelligence on top of their current skillsets, giving them a competitive edge and preparing them for the inevitable changes in the workplace.”

Read more at heraldnews.com.

With the MBTA starting commuter rail service in about a month to Fall River, New Bedford and Taunton, riders may want to start checking to see if they’re eligible for some savings. 

According to the MBTA, all the stations in the South Coast Rail are Zone 8 in terms of fare — meaning a ticket all the way to South Station is $12.25. But that’s if you’re paying full price. There are ways around this.

For people who qualify, the T offers reduced fares that cut the price down to $6.50. Students at some universities can get discounted passes for a semester. And for some others, the ride is free.

Read more from Dan Medeiros at heraldnews.com.

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston is reopening today after being temporarily closed by the dismissal of several employees. 

The library in Dorchester was closed at two p.m. yesterday, and a sign on the door indicated that it was because of an executive order. 

The JFK facility is the only one of the 14 presidential libraries run by the National Archives and Records Administration closed because of job cuts yesterday.

The judge in the Karen Read case in Massachusetts is ordering a hearing after the prosecution leveled serious allegations against the defense. 

Special prosecutor Hank Brennan accused the defense of coordinating testimony with expert crash reconstruction witnesses after telling the court they were retained independently. 

Judge Beverly Cannone immediately ended a motion hearing yesterday, warning that the information could have a profound effect on the defense and defense counsel. 

Read is accused of killing her Boston cop boyfriend by hitting him with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow.  She says she's being framed.

In a $1.34 billion deal, the Herb Chambers automotive chain, which includes dealerships in Auburn, Braintree and Burlington, is in line to be bought by Georgia-based Asbury Automotive Group.

“As I look back on the last 40 years in business, I do so with immense pride, and as I look forward, I will do so with great satisfaction knowing what we built together will be in trusted hands,” said Herb Chambers, a former copy-machine repairman who oversees 33 dealerships in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

The deal, announced in a news release from the companies Tuesday morning, is expected to close by July.

Asbury, based in Duluth, Georgia, enters the Chambers deal with 152 dealerships under its banner. The company also has 37 collision repair centers; it is due to add the three owned by Chambers.

Internet searches for gambling addiction help is a growing problem and experts say sports betting is to blame. 

The Journal of the American Medical Association said in a recent report that if gambling addiction gets out of control it could develop into serious mental health disorders and other problems. 

Searches for gambling addiction help in 2022 increased 22 percent, then jumped 25 percent in 2023 and in the first half of 2024 ticked up 31 percent. 

States showing the highest amount of searches are Ohio, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. 

A Supreme Court ruling in 2018 legalized state-sponsored sports gambling through most of the U.S.

Governor Maura Healey is calling on the Department of Public Utilities to address soaring energy costs, especially for natural gas. 

Healey says families are struggling to deal with an unexpected rate hike that has caused natural gas bills to get much higher. 

Healey has written to DPU Chair Jamie Von Nostrand, urging him to do something to help consumers reduce bills and avoid large rate spikes in the future. 

She also says the department must immediately prioritize efforts to address energy affordability.

Shoppers are heading back into the Emerald Square Mall after leaks forced it to close down over the weekend.

The North Attleboro Fire Department ordered the closure Sunday afternoon. A fire alarm went off after water leaked through a detector, then crews walked through the building and found other areas where the roof was leaking.

Chief Christopher Coleman said it’s believed the leaks were caused by snow and ice piling up on the mall’s roof.

See more at wpri.com.

Police are investigating a report of shots fired in the 1100 block of Rodman Street on Saturday morning.

According to Lieutenant Matthew Mendes of the Fall River Police Department, officers were dispatched to to the area at the corner of Warren Street for a reported shooting at around 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning.

Upon arrival, they located shell casings outside of an address, Mendes told The Herald News.

No victims have been identified, according to Mendes, and the building was found unoccupied.

Members of the Patrol Bureau and Major Case Division are investigating.

The investigation remains active, and Mendes said that additional details will be provided as they become available.

See more at heraldnews.com.

Somerset Police Department is mourning the loss of “loyal and dedicated” Viepo, a retired K-9 unit and partner that served alongside now-retired Officer Jared Linhares.

The German shepherd, which was introduced to the department and tasked with patrol work in 2015, died of natural causes on Feb. 13 at the age of 12. 

“He was going to be 13 in May,” Linhares said. “Overall, he was very healthy.”

Viepo and his handler Linhares were first partnered when Viepo, who came from Slovakia, was 18 months old. The pair spent eight years working together on the department. Linhares said that Viepo was the first K-9 unit to join the police department in over 30 years.

Read more at heraldnews.com.

A Boston nonprofit focused on public health has laid off over a thousand employees after its federal aid was frozen by the Trump administration. 

John Snow Incorporated confirmed that the cuts involve workers in its U.S. and international programs.  The layoffs represent 50 percent of employees at John Snow.  Most of the nonprofit's funding comes from government grants. 

JSI runs programs around the world that seek to strengthen health systems and education.

Law enforcement agencies across Massachusetts are investigating after credit card skimmers were found at Trucchi’s Supermarkets in Abington, New Bedford, Taunton, and West Bridgewater.

Skimmers are devices that thieves attach to ATMs, gas pumps, or checkout machines in order to steal people’s banking or credit card information.

New Bedford police confirmed that the Trucchi’s on Acushnet Avenue was one of the stores where these devices were found.

See more at wpri.com.

A new study indicates Massachusetts is the most educated state in the country. 

The report from the financial website wallethub-dot-com considered several factors including level of educational attainment and school quality. 

Other New England states in the top ten include Vermont at third, Connecticut at fifth and New Hampshire ranked sixth.

A Fall River woman pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to stealing thousands of dollars in Social Security benefits intended for her child.

Nancy Taylor, 45, embezzled approximately $86,995 in benefits from May 2016 through May 2022, according to U.S. Attorney Leah Foley.

Taylor applied for benefits on behalf of her child in 2014 and was instructed to notify the Social Security Administration (SSA) if she no longer had custody.

However, when she lost custody of the child in May 2016, she did not tell them.

Instead, in Oct. 2021, Taylor called the SSA to update the child’s contact information, allowing her to continue receiving payments.

In 2022, she went to an SSA office to reactivate the benefits and submitted two false forms claiming the child still lived with her and that the money was being used for the child’s care. In reality, Taylor used most of the funds to pay her own bills, prosecutors said.

Read more at wpri.com.

Rhode Island officials still don’t know if the federal government will disburse hundreds of millions for the broken Washington Bridge, according to a new complaint filed in the ongoing funding-freeze battle with the Trump administration.

The 65-page amended complaint – with another nearly 80 pages of exhibits — was filed Thursday morning at federal court in Providence. It outlines ongoing issues states are facing accessing Congress-approved federal funds, despite a court order.

The Trump administration last month issued a memo calling for a halt on all federal grants and loans that didn’t align with the president’s priorities. Rhode Island’s congressional delegation quickly wrote the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, asking about the $220 million in grant funding that was allocated for the heavily traveled bridge that’s been closed for more than a year.

See more at wpri.com.

Kacey Curran, not only made history during the fall season, she's doing again in the winter.

The Durfee senior student athlete recently eclipse the 100-point career mark in her high school career for the Bishop Stang girls hockey team. She collected an assist in a 3-2 overtime loss against Archbishop Williams to reach the milestone.

Earlier this month, Curran netted the lone goal against Plymouth in a 1-0 win. The Spartans (11-4-1) are currently ranked 13th in the power ranking.

In the fall, Curran broke a 31-year old school field hockey record for career goals. Terry Pacheco held the old mark at 70. The Hilltopper four-year player also shattered the single-season mark of 36 goals that was set by Kathryn Gauvin in 2021.

Read more at heraldnews.com.

High school and college students who live in or attend school in Fall River can apply for scholarships from the Fall River Scholarship Foundation, which has over $50,000 available to help pay for college education.

Since the Foundation was established in 1995, it has awarded over $900,000 in scholarships to local students.

To apply for funding from the Fall River Scholarship Foundation, students at B.M.C. Durfee and Diman Regional Vocational Technical high schools can find applications from their guidance departments, or download an application directly from the foundation's website, www.fallriverscholarship.com.

Completed applications must be received by April 1.

Read more at heraldnews.com.

All water meters in town will soon be getting replaced due to a new program implemented by the Swansea Water District that seeks to upgrade the water metering system and improve customer service — and it’s completely free to customers. 

All residential and commercial customers will be mailed a notice from Hydro Utilities LLC, the company hired to complete the work, to schedule a meter replacement appointment as soon as the notice is received. A Swansea Water District announcement notes that mailers will be sent in order of voting precinct.

Mandatory upgrades will be carried out over the new few months.

A statement from the water district says the new metering system “will increase reliability, long-term stability, and improve the accuracy” of water meters, while allowing for a “timely collection of data” for the most up-to-date information reflected on customers’ bills.

Read more at heraldnews.com.

Struggling fabric and crafts seller JOANN plans to close about 500 of its stores across the U.S. — or more than half of its current nationwide footprint.

The move, announced Wednesday, arrives amid a tumultuous time for Joann. Last month, the Hudson, Ohio-based retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time within a year, with the company pointing to issues like sluggish consumer demand and inventory shortages.

Joann previously sought Chapter 11 in March 2024 and later emerged as a private company. But after operational challenges continued to pile up, Joann filed for bankruptcy again in January. It’s now looking to sell the business — and maintained in a filing Wednesday that closing “underperforming” locations is necessary to complete that process.

See more at wpri.com.

Though the MBTA has not yet released a timetable for commuters ready to ride South Coast Rail, on Monday the T unveiled a feature they said would make commute times flexible, one “unique” to this branch of the commuter rail: shuttle service. 

The T is planning to run shuttles between East Taunton station and the endpoints of Fall River and New Bedford. They’ll be timed to help commuters from one city meet trains headed from the other city. 

“There'll be trains that may not run full distance, but they could get you to a point where you could connect up with the train coming from the other way,” Eng said.   

Learn how it will work at heraldnews.com.

A 32-year-old Fall River man is dead after falling from a ladder yesterday morning at a construction site in Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard. 

The Cape and Island's District Attorney's Office said Jose Luis Collaguazo Crespo fell from the second story to a cement basement floor.

He died at Martha's Vineyard Hospital.  Authorities determined the man's death was accidental. 

Flu cases are surging in Massachusetts. 

Health officials note only about 38-percent of the state's residents have been vaccinated this year.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that nationally there have been 24-million flu cases resulting in 13-thousand deaths so far. 

Flu season usually ends in the spring. 

Police have arrested a man accused of exposing himself at a Fall River fast-food restaurant Monday.

Officers were called to the McDonald’s on President Avenue to investigate reports of an intoxicated man who exposed himself in the play area, according to police.

The man, identified by police as Robert DeMello, dropped an unspecified number of pills before leaving the restaurant. Officers quickly found DeMello nearby and took him into custody.

See more at wpri.com.

Monday night’s meeting of the Fall River School Committee at B.M.C. Durfee High School heard two new policy proposals from School Committee member Collin Dias, aiming to tidy up the committee’s contractual spending and their handling of complaints. 

Dias said he believes Fall River Public Schools should refrain from doing business with any “board, commission, or any multi-member body” that does not have public input.

He requested a second measure of transparency by championing a “professional standards department,” created by Superintendent Dr. Tracy Curley, that would use an “anonymous tip line” to report “violations … of policy, procedure, waste and fraud” to the School Committee, as outlined on the Feb. 10 meeting agenda.

See more at heraldnews.com.

The federal government has eliminated a 300-thousand-dollar grant to a Massachusetts nonprofit that helps refugees. 

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has cut the grant to the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition.  The organization used the money to offer citizenship application assistance to immigrants. 

The grant was awarded to the group by the Biden administration last year.

Karen Read is considering a federal appeal after the Supreme Judicial Court denied her effort to have two of the three charges against her dismissed.   

Read sought relief from the high court after learning jurors in her trial last year had decided to acquit her on two of the charges, including second degree murder. 

Read is accused of hitting her Boston cop boyfriend John O'Keefe with her SUV in Canton and leaving him to die in the snow, while she says police are framing her. 

The judge declared a mistrial after the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on all counts.

Police have arrested a Wareham man accused of forcing his way into another man’s apartment and stabbing him over the weekend.

Officers were called to Woods at Wareham on Swift Beach Road Friday to investigate reports of a stabbing in one of the apartments.

Police said the victim was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening.

An investigation revealed that a man armed with a knife broke into the victim’s apartment and violently attacked him, according to police.

The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Ian Hill, was arrested the next day and charged with home invasion and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Hill is currently being held on $25,000 cash bail.

See more at wpri.com.

 “Try the train.” 

MBTA Chief Operating Officer Ryan Coholan pitched a sizable crowd assembled at Freetown Elementary School on the benefits of South Coast Rail, adding, “I can tell you it took an hour and 48 minutes for me to drive from Boston to here tonight — so I highly recommend the train.” 

When commuter rail is expected to start running to Fall River and New Bedford on March 24, he said, trains should be running every 70 minutes on weekdays and every 2 hours on weekends. 

One New Bedford visitor to the meeting noted that a full trip from end to end will take an hour and a half — “90 minutes is a long time,” he said.

Read more at heraldnews.com.

Massachusetts has joined over 20 other states in suing to block the Trump administration from defunding medical research. 

Attorney General Andrea Campbell says Massachusetts is the medical research capital of the country, and they will not allow Trump to play politics with public health. 

Campbell says Trump has violated federal law with the cuts, and they are seeking a court order to block his efforts.  She says the actions could result in the suspension of life saving clinical trials, the disruption of research programs and layoffs.

For the fourth time in less than two years, Somerset voters have defeated a controversial citizens petition that would have removed fluoride from the town’s water supply. 

At a Special Town Meeting held Saturday morning at Somerset Berkley Regional High School, voters were asked whether they favored having the town seek an exemption from state law governing the fluoridation of drinking water.

The item failed, 192 votes to 154. 

The article, originally second-to-last on the meeting warrant, was second to be discussed after Selectman Jamison Souza successfully moved to have it heard much earlier in the lineup, with more citizens present — bringing the matter before voters about 20 minutes into what wound up a 4-hour, 30-minute event.

Read more at heraldnews.com.

Since 2018, National Grid has been seeking clearance for what has come to be known as a “reliability project” that involves running 12.1 miles of electrical transmission cables from Acushnet to Fall River, and through the Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve, to deliver safer, reliable electricity to the more than 17 local communities they serve.

They company awaits a final approval and certification from the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board. The Fall River City Council and the Committee on Public Works and Transportation voted to approve National Grid’s use of Copicut Road as a public egress to reach the site, close to the Copicut Reservoir and the “ancient” Quanapoag Road culvert, where construction may commence in March.

While the project itself aims to borrow “air space” above a lane cleared of trees and vegetation that runs tangential to the reservoir, Copicut residents worry about the environmental effect of construction that may not only place further strain on decrepit infrastructure, but may open access for illegal dumping to Fall River’s protected watershed area. 

Read more at heraldnews.com.

The U.S. winter virus season is in full force, and by one measure is the most intense in 15 years.

One indicator of flu activity is the percentage of doctor’s office visits driven by flu-like symptoms. Last week, that number was clearly higher than the peak of any winter flu season since 2009-2010, according to data posted Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Of course, other viral infections can be mistaken for flu. But COVID-19 appears to be on the decline, according to hospital data and to CDC modeling projections. Available data also suggests another respiratory illness, RSV, has been fading nationally.

See more at wpri.com.

It will be an eventful weekend for football fans, but an incoming storm threatens to thwart Super Bowl plans.

A winter storm watch has been issued in Massachusetts starting Saturday night, with up to a foot of snow expected in parts of the state.

The Cape and Islands are forecast to get up to half a foot of accumulation, and the SouthCoast is expected to fall in the 4-6 inch range.

Snow is slated to begin around 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, with the heaviest snowfall occurring overnight, according to the National Weather Service. It will gradually start to taper off around 8 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 9, and will be over by the afternoon.

In anticipation of the storm, cities and towns across the region have begun announcing parking bans and cancellations.

Learn more at heraldnews.com.

Want to have dinner with Boston Rex Sox legend Johnny Damon?

No, we're not kidding.

The two-time World Series champion, a member of the storied team that secured the Red Sox their first World Series win since 1918 in 2004, ending the "Curse of the Bambino," will be coming to the Venus de Milo for a special event.

He'll be the special guest at One SouthCoast Chamber's Celebrity Scholarship Dinner in May.

During the evening, Damon will look back at his career, plus he'll be presenting scholarships to students.

Read more from Kristina Fontes at heraldnews.com.

In October, former Dartmouth Police Officer Shawn Souza was sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison for four child rape convictions. But he was released months later, after the judge who presided over his case called for a new trial.

“It’s baffling,” said Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III. “It’s very unsettling and very disturbing to see the process operate this way.”

Prosecutors said one of the victims was as young as six when Souza started repeatedly raping her in 2011. The other, a 15-year-old, accused the then-officer of molesting her in 2013.

Originally, Quinn said, the two cases were separate, with the youngest accuser’s case ending in a mistrial in 2022. But Quinn said Judge Thomas McGuire then allowed the two victims’ cases to be heard in one trial.

“Then the new judge sat on the trial,” Quinn said. “Nothing was raised by the defense. If she felt it was prejudicial, she could have kept that out before the trial, but that’s not what happened.”

In October, the new jury found Souza guilty on four different child rape charges. Both victims gave impact statements at sentencing.

See more at wpri.com.

Massachusetts high school athletics policies are under investigation for "Title IX violations" by the U.S. Department of Education, the agency announced Thursday, a day after President Donald Trump issued an order aimed at transgender athletes.

The Department of Education said it was launching "directed investigations" of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, San Jose State University and the University of Pennsylvania.

Craig Trainor, the Department of Education's acting assistant secretary for civil rights, said the probes would feature "swift action" and were in line with Trump's "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" executive order.

The agency linked to a year-old Daily Mail story about a girls' basketball game between KIPP Academy and Collegiate Charter School of Lowell.

"A girls' high school basketball team in Massachusetts forfeited a game after a male playing for the opposing female team reportedly injured three female players," the Department of Education said. "The [MIAA]'s handbook states that a 'student shall not be excluded from participation on a gender-specific sports team that is consistent with the student's bona fide gender identity.'"

Read more at heraldnews.com.

After two days of sudden closure with little explanation, Buttonwood Park Zoo announced Thursday that Blue, its male Atlantic harbor seal, died early Wednesday. 

The death comes just over a month after zoo staff bade farewell to one of its two elephants, Ruth, after entering into what it described as “hospice care” at an extremely advanced age. 

Blue the seal’s death was unexpected. 

“Blue had been under veterinary observation and care since January 31st, when staff members noticed his decreased appetite and his frequent resting at the top of the pool in his habitat,” the zoo wrote in a statement.

See more at heraldnews.com.

If you've walked into a grocery store in recent weeks, you've likely done a double take as you approach the eggs neatly stacked in their display case — now more than twice what you paid the week before.

As the cost of eggs and other groceries continue to soar, not only are households nationwide feeling the pinch but many restaurants have reached a breaking point.

Waffle House recently implemented a 50-cent-per-egg surcharge at its 2,100 locations across the country. And now some local eateries feeling the pressure have started to follow suit.

Starting Wednesday, Jan. 29, Gina's Restaurant — a breakfast staple in Fall River's north end — hopped on board adding their own surcharge of 25 cents per egg.

That increase spans a good chunk of their breakfast-heavy menu, which includes breakfast sandwiches, omeletes, egg combination plates and more.

Read more at heraldnews.com.

Officers were called to the Brasil Coffee Shop on Pleasant Street to investigate reports of an armed robbery.

Police said a detective on his way to the coffee shop spotted a man, later identified as 21-year-old Tyrese Ray, walking quickly down Pleasant Street and behaving suspiciously.

Ray took off running shortly after hearing sirens in the distance, according to police. The detective and another officer chased after Ray and eventually took him into custody.

See more at wpri.com.

Police arrested a man who was allegedly caught red-handed breaking into someone’s vehicle in Fall River late Monday night.

Jeremy Dailey, 29, has been charged with breaking and entering into a vehicle during the nighttime.

Officers had been proactively patrolling the city’s Flint neighborhood in response to a string of reported car breaks, according to police.

See more at wpri.com.

The owner of a million-dollar mansion on Highland Avenue has lost his lawsuit against the city of Fall River, and is "permanently” prohibited from renting his castle-like home on Airbnb and Vrbo.

Austin Feng of Wellesley, the owner of 503 Highland Ave., had been renting the home since 2021 on short-term rental websites, charging as much as $1,200 per night. The city’s building inspector ordered him in 2023 to stop, citing code violations, and the Zoning Board of Appeals denied him the right to continue.

Feng defied the ZBA’s order and continued to rent the property anyway; after the city ordered him to pay $3,000 in fines and notified him that the building inspector would evict any future tenants, Feng sued the city, claiming the city’s zoning ordinance did not specifically prohibit him from using the home as a short-term rental property.

Read more at heraldnews.com.

State House leaders have proposed a 425-million-dollar bill that would make drastic changes to the state emergency shelter system. 

The bill would reduce the maximum number of families served by the shelter system from 75 hundred to four thousand. 

The bill would also eliminate the policy of presumed eligibility, meaning families will have to prove U.S. citizenship before being placed in a shelter. 

There were around six thousand families in the emergency shelter system at the end of January.

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission says some batches of marijuana products contained high levels of contaminants.

The alert said products produced by two separate licensees may have been sold containing yeast, mold, and or coliforms.

The CCC said about six different strains of cannabis were affected and some of them were sold at Zahara’s Cannabis, licensed as Ashli’s Inc. in Attleboro.

See more at wpri.com.

Somerset voters will have the opportunity to make their voices heard on a range of issues at its upcoming Special Town Meeting, from granting liquor licenses to removing fluoride from its water supply. 

The Special Town Meeting is set for Saturday, Feb. 8.

There are 13 articles on the meeting’s warrant. Article 1 would ask selectmen to seek special legislation granting an additional off-premises wine and beer license for 2756 County St., site of the Olde Village Corner Store. Among other articles are housekeeping items like paying a few outstanding bills from a previous fiscal year (Article 3), and transferring funds to make repairs to Somerset’s wastewater pumping stations (Article 7) and water treatment plant (Article 9). 

The full warrant is available at townofsomerset.org. Here are a few of the more notable items.

Read more at heraldnews.com.

A third parcel of land at the corner of Davol and Turner Streets, previously owned by the Fall River Redevelopment Authority, has been sold to Vitaly Fedosik of Heath Development, which has already made a sizable impact along Route 79. 

Fedosik, an entrepreneur-turned-developer, bought the additional 11,000 square feet for $415,000, according to a Fall River Registry of Deeds filing dated Dec. 27 of last year. The sale was finalized on Jan. 21.

As part of the ongoing construction that will transform the 19 acres of developable land in the Davol Street Corridor along the Taunton River, Fedosik is planning a 56-unit apartment complex, though the exact number of units may increase.

See more at heraldnews.com.

A hotel in Taunton will stop being used as an emergency shelter by June 30th. 

State Senator Kelly Dooner said ending use of the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center as a shelter is a "significant step" in phasing out hotels. 

Dooner said Massachusetts cannot continue to sustain an overwhelmed emergency shelter system.  The Taunton Republican said the focus has to be on prioritizing long-term housing solutions.

The summer reservation window is now open at the Steamship Authority. 

For those planning to take their car to Martha's Vineyard this summer, reservations became available today. The season runs from May 13th, through October 21st. 

More information is available online at steamshipauthority.com/reservations. 

The average human brain could contain a spoonful of microplastics. 

A new study published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine found that there was about seven grams in the average brain, about as much as you'd find in a plastic disposable spoon. 

The amount of plastic in brains increased dramatically between 2016 and 2024.  Livers and kidneys also showed increases, but the concentrations in brains was 30 times greater. 

People with dementia had the highest levels.  The health implications of microplastics in the brain are as of yet unclear.

The Clarion Hotel and Conference Center in Taunton will no longer serve as an emergency shelter after June.

The hotel is expected to close as an Emergency Assistance (EA) family shelter by June 30, according to Massachusetts Sen. Kelly Dooner.

In a social media post Monday, she said the planned closure represents a “significant step” in phasing out hotels as shelters and focusing on long-term housing solutions.

See more at wpri.com.

Seven students were taken to the hospital after they were sickened by a strong odor at a school in Taunton. 

The possible hazardous materials situation was reported at around 1:45 yesterday afternoon in the science building of Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School. 

More than a dozen students were evaluated for mild symptoms that included dizziness, and seven were taken to the hospital for further treatment. 

The cause of the odor is being investigated.

The New Bedford Fire Department helped welcome a new baby into the world early Saturday morning.

In a post on social media, the department shared that Engine Company 6 responded to a home on Katherine Street around 4:15 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1, for a reported childbirth.

When the firefighters arrived at the home, a woman had delivered a baby girl, according to the post. Engine Company 6 helped position both mother and baby so the child’s father could cut the umbilical cord, after which New Bedford EMS took over care of the new family.

The mother and child were safely transported to St. Luke’s Hospital without any complications, the fire department said.

Read more at wpri.com.

One of the city’s public schools could get a new name, if a request by a member of the School Committee is approved. 

On Thursday, School Committee member Collin Dias submitted a form to rename the Stone K-12 Day School, at 2501 S. Main St., in honor of the late Dr. Irving Fradkin, an optometrist and philanthropist who founded Dollars for Scholars.  

“I ask that this item follow the proper protocol and come before the committee when it is due to for a vote,” Dias wrote in a statement accompanying his filing. 

Who was Fradkin — or Stone, for that matter? And how would the renaming process work? 

Fradkin was born in Chelsea, the second-youngest of seven children of Abraham and Eva Fradkin, Jewish immigrants from Russia and Poland. He came to Fall River in 1943, where he set up an optometry practice. 

Read more at heraldnews.com.

Attorneys for Karen Read will be filing motions to dismiss charges against her this week for extraordinary prosecution misconduct. 

Read is charged with second degree murder and lesser offenses in the death of her Boston cop boyfriend John O'Keefe in January of 2022.  Read claims O'Keefe did not die from being hit by her SUV as alleged by prosecutors, and says corrupt law enforcement officers are framing her. 

The motion to dismiss is expected to be filed in Dedham Superior Court by the end of the week.

Governor Maura Healey has filed a bill that would allow cities and towns to raise taxes on meals, hotel rooms and motor vehicles. 

The proposal is similar to a bill Healey introduced last year that failed to pass in the legislature.  The governor says the bill could generate up to 150-million-dollars in new revenue for cities and towns. 

She says all Massachusetts residents deserve to live in communities with high quality local services, from safe roads to access to good jobs and schools.

Family members are remembering a local man who died in the crash involving a Black hawk helicopter and commercial airplane.

Chris Collins, from Dighton, was on board American Airlines flight 5342 on Wednesday when the crash happened.

In a statement, his family said he was a man that loved the outdoors and walking dogs for a shelter in Connecticut.

“Our family is devastated by the loss of Chris, our beloved husband, son, brother, and uncle. Chris was a true adventurer with a passion for the outdoors and a lifelong love of animals. His talent as a financial professional brought him to New York City, where he fell in love with a city girl, his cherished wife Jen. While Jen and Chris built a joy-filled city life together, Chris’ call to the outdoors never wavered, whether it was hiking Lögberg in Iceland, camping and rafting in the Great Smoky Mountains, skiing and snowboarding, and most of all, enjoying the coastal outdoor landscape of Brewster, MA and the rest of Cape Cod.

See more at wpri.com.

As President Donald Trump pursues an aggressive crackdown on migrants during the first few weeks of his second term, local church and community leaders have voiced concerns.

The new administration's immigration enforcement blitz has included a ramping up of ICE arrests — including sensitive locations like schools and churches — and just this week orders for the construction of a detention facility at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as well as the signing of a new law, the Laken Riley Act, which empowers immigration officers to detain unauthorized immigrants when they are arrested on criminal charges. 

Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha of the Diocese of Fall River weighed in on these recent changes Friday, Jan. 31, issuing the following statement:

"A foundational teaching of our Catholic faith makes clear that every person from conception to natural death is made in the image and likeness of God and, as such, deserves to be treated with dignity. It is through this lens that we are called to reflect not only on our own actions but also on those of our society including our government.

In its first weeks, the new Administration in Washington, D.C. has prioritized immigration enforcement through new orders, and an emphasis on the need for mass deportations.

Read more at heraldnews.com.