Police are investigating after an 80-year-old man was hit by a car in Fall River Tuesday evening.
Fall River Police Chief J.T. Hoar confirmed that the man was hit while crossing Robeson Street.
The man was rushed to St. Luke’s Hospital to be treated for a head injury and other injuries that are not life-threatening, according to Hoar.
The circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation at this time.
See more at wpri.com.
A medical technician and an inmate at the Bristol County House of Corrections have been accused of trying to smuggle drugs into the facility.
Malissa Goff, 39, a contracted medical technician assigned to the Dartmouth facility, and inmate Darren Andrade, 38, have both been charged after a weekslong investigation into reports that contraband, specifically synthetic marijuana, was being brought into the prison, according to Bristol County Sheriff Paul Heroux.
Heroux said investigators first received word that medical staff was sneaking the synthetic cannabinoids — commonly referred to as “K-2” or “spice” — into the facility back in September.
The investigation revealed Andrade had enlisted Goff’s assistance to bring the illicit drug into the prison for him.
Heroux said investigators saw Goff on Oct. 7 delivering synthetic marijuana directly to Andrade inside the facility.
Investigators searched Goff’s car, which Heroux said was parked just outside the prison, and found a loaded and unsecured firearm.
Heroux said investigators saw Goff on Oct. 7 delivering synthetic marijuana directly to Andrade inside the facility.
Investigators searched Goff’s car, which Heroux said was parked just outside the prison, and found a loaded and unsecured firearm.
See more at wpri.com.
Former Stoughton police detective Matthew Farwell was found guilty of killing Sandra Birchmore and her unborn child.
Jurors reached their verdict on Tuesday after more than 15 hours of deliberation over three days.
Prosecutors say Farwell strangled the 23-year-old in her Canton apartment in 2021 and staged her death to look like a suicide. They say he killed her to conceal crimes including sexually exploiting her as a teenager.
Farwell remains in federal custody ahead of sentencing.
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Two people have died after a car crashed into the Threemile River in Taunton late Monday night.
The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office said a car was speeding near North Walker and Winthrop streets around 10:15 p.m. when it hit a utility pole and guardrail before going into the water.
While searching the river, investigators found a white Nissan Maxima with one person inside. That person, identified as 24-year-old Alec Ardita, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The search for a second person in the water continued Tuesday morning. A 12 news crew saw divers go back into the area, and a short time later, police moved family members away from the scene as it appeared a second person’s body was recovered.
The DA’s office later confirmed that a second male’s body was pulled from the water and he was pronounced dead. That person has not yet been identified.
See more at wpri.com.
There are a number of parades and ceremonies in the area on Veteran's Day, November 11th.
FALL RIVER
The parade will begin at 1:30pm from Kennedy Park.
DARTMOUTH
There will be a ceremony at 11am at Veterans Memorial Grove, 628 Dartmouth Street.
FAIRHAVEN
The parade starts at 9am on Main Street from Benoit Square to the high school.
NEW BEDFORD
The parade steps off at 11am at Buttonwood Park.
SOMERSET
A ceremony will be held at the Somerset Public Library.
WESTPORT
A ceremony will be held at the Veteran's Monument, 974 Main Rd in Westport.
A judge on Monday denied a motion to dismiss charges against Lindsay Clancy in the deaths of her three young children, potentially clearing the way for a retrial in the case next year.
Clancy’s defense team had asked the court to end the case based on an unusual argument that the judge shouldn’t have declared a mistrial in September when jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict. They argued that the judge should have removed the one juror who favored conviction, then allowed jury deliberations to continue.
But Judge William Sullivan disagreed, saying he saw no other option than declaring a mistrial.
“Because the court concludes that there was manifest necessity for a mistrial based on the jury’s deadlock, a retrial on the murder indictments does not violate Clancy’s right not to be placed in double jeopardy,” Sullivan wrote.
Clancy has never denied that she killed her three young children in 2023, but her lawyer has argued that she had postpartum psychosis and was unable to control her behavior.
Prosecutors have acknowledged that Clancy had mental health problems, but they said she acted deliberately and understood her actions were wrong.
Prosecutors said they intend to retry Clancy, but they haven’t settled on whether they will pursue the same charges or opt for a reduced charge that might be more palatable for the jury.
The next hearing is Nov. 16.
On Monday, Sullivan also denied prosecutors’ request for a gag order while the case remains pending, to avoid influencing a future jury. Clancy’s attorney Kevin Reddington gave interviews during the trial, while prosecutors generally didn’t speak to reporters. Clancy’s lawyers argued that it would amount to an unconstitutional restraint on speech.
The Massachusetts State Police has agreed to pay Karen Read $100,000 to resolve a lawsuit she filed earlier this year.
Read sued the Massachusetts State Police and the town of Canton back in June, accusing both of misconduct and negligence in the investigation that prompted her prosecution in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend.
The lawsuit claimed Read’s acquittal last year revealed “an embedded culture of bigotry, misogyny, systemic failures, and institutional rot at the very core of both organizations.” She accused the town and the police department of negligence negligent in the hiring, training and supervision of officers.
The complaint highlighted dozens of text messages, recordings and other communications attributed to former state trooper Michael Proctor and former Canton police Sgt. Sean Goode. Among those were messages in which Proctor referred to Read as a “whack job” and wrote that he hoped she would kill herself.
The lawsuit also cited 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 have repeatedly argued that that those materials show both men should not have been involved in the investigation and that their conduct reflected broader failures in oversight by state and local law enforcement.
The Massachusetts State Police confirmed the $100,000 settlement in a statement to 12 News Monday evening, noting that Read is receiving the maximum payment set by the state’s Tort Claims Act.
“The department determined that this agreement would avoid prolonged litigation and the significant costs to taxpayers of continuing the case,” the statement explained, adding that the department will “continue to strengthen its investigative practices, enhance comprehensive training for investigators, and ensure that every investigation is thorough, impartial, and guided by the facts.”
Proctor was fired after being forced to read the messages he sent about Read while testifying in her first murder trial, which ended with a hung jury. Goode was placed on leave in November 2025 and resigned just days before Read filed her lawsuit.
Read walked out of court a free woman about a year ago after more than three years and two trials over the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, who was found on the suburban lawn of a fellow officer’s home after a night of heavy drinking during a snowstorm.
United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth made a stop in Rhode Island on Monday to speak to students and faculty at the Naval War College.
In his speech, Hegseth discussed steps being taken to overhaul military education nationwide in order to “restore a culture of accountability and warfighting excellence.” The changes include instituting “standardized end-of-course wargames and comprehensive exams,” better faculty accountability and oversight, and creating chair positions at all senior colleges filled by “high-performing O-5 and O-6 commanders fresh from operational deployments” so there are “warfighters in the classroom.”
He said the country’s military education system has become “dangerously civilianized.”
“The primary task of our senior service colleges like this one cannot be the passive transmission of credentials. It cannot be the curation of an insulated salon for intellectual leisure,” Hegseth remarked. “It must be teaching victory. The deliberate, uncompromising task of forging senior military leaders who are intellectually, ethically and operationally prepared to decisively deter, but if necessary, defeat our enemies in unforgiving combat.”
It was Hegseth’s first publicized event since the midterm elections, during which Democrats took control of both chambers of Congress.
It also came as Hegseth faces potential impeachment. Republican Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky moved Monday to force a vote to impeach Hegseth over the war in Iran, as well as his role in carrying out military actions in Venezuela and Yemen.
A significant number of Republican senators would need to vote against Hegseth in order to remove him from office.
President Donald Trump has stood behind his defense secretary, telling reporters Sunday night that he’s “guilty of two things: basically winning two wars.”
“I believe we saved the Middle East and Israel combined,” Trump said, “and it’s awfully hard to say, “Let’s impeach somebody who did that.'”
See more at wpri.com.
Massachusetts' new abortion law is now in effect after Governor Maura Healey blocked a bid to suspend it. Healey used her emergency powers on Friday to put the law into effect immediately.
The law gives doctors more discretion over whether to perform abortions at 24 weeks or later.
Healey says delaying the law would prolong uncertainty for patients and doctors.
Opponents can still pursue a 2028 ballot question to repeal it.
After a successful year in 2025, scouts throughout Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts collected a significant number of donations for the Scouting for Food Drive.
The statewide drive, put on by Scouting America, collected 120 tons of food in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts last year, according to the Narragansett Council of Scouting America. Throughout its 39 years of existence, they estimate the drive has collected a combined total of over ten million pounds of food for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank.
“It’s really inspiring to watch people step up and donate food and donate their money and time, especially during the holidays,” Community Food Bank Chief Philanthropy Officer Dana DiMarco said.
DiMarco said that the food bank has seen rising demand in recent years due to the rising prices of multiple essential goods. Currently, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank estimates that their member agencies serve over 89,000 Rhode Islanders monthly.
See more at wpri.com.
United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will be in Newport on Monday to visit the Naval War College.
According to a department spokesperson, Hegseth will address students and faculty. It is unknown at this point what the topic of those remarks will be.
The Rhode Island trip marks Hegseth’s first publicized event since the 2026 midterm elections, which saw Democrats take control of both chambers of Congress. It is also his first appearance since Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) announced plans to reintroduce articles of impeachment against Hegseth related to the war against Iran.
This is Hegseth’s second trip to Rhode Island this year. He toured Electric Boat’s Quonset facility in February, which drew a crowd of protesters.
The speech is expected to be livestreamed on the Department of Defense’s website.
See more at wpri.com.
The Rhode Island Department of Transportation announced that it has reopened I-195 in both directions in East Providence.
The highway had been closed since Friday night at 10 p.m. for the safe demolition of the Potter Street Bridge, which is part of the Washington Bridge rebuilding project. That demolition, RIDOT said, was done in order to increase the number of lanes traveling underneath the overpass.
Initially, a partial lane reopening was expected at 10 a.m., with a full reopening expected by noontime. RIDOT announced early Saturday morning that the partial reopening would be pushed back due to adverse weather conditions throughout the night.
The main cause of the slight delay, RIDOT leaders said, was because of the rain mixing with crushed concrete.
“It took a little extra time to get that slick, sticky concrete paste off the roadway,” RIDOT interim director Bob Rocchio said. “That did delay us a little bit, but we did end up opening up the eastbound direction, all lanes, before the noontime anticipated opening.”
Eastbound lanes opened at 11 a.m. and westbound lanes began opening at noontime.
Local business owners said that the impacts from the overnight closure were not as bad as they had feared.
“This was making me nervous, but it’s over, nothing like before,” Marta Morais, the owner of Loja Portugal said. “I have to tell the truth. It didn’t affect us very much. I mean, 10:00, we started getting our customers as usual.”
Rocchio said the overnight closure would be the last full highway closure as part of the project.
“Potter Street is the only bridge that we have to remove over 195,” Rocchio said. “This is probably the most significant traffic disruption that we’re going to see throughout this whole project.”
See more at wpri.com.
An investigation is underway after a fire ignited inside the New Bedford School Department building Thursday evening.
New Bedford Fire Chief Brian Medeiros told 12 News firefighters were called to the County Street building after receiving a fire alarm activation.
Medeiros said firefighters were able to quickly knock down the fire, which broke out in an office on the first floor.
The fire did not spread beyond the office, according to Medeiros, but firefighters spent a couple of hours working to clear the building of smoke.
Medeiros said no one was inside the building when the fire broke out.
Investigators are now working to determine the cause of the fire.
See more at wpri.com.
Come 2027, there will be a new top prosecutor in Bristol County, Mass.
State Rep. Chris Markey, a Dartmouth Democrat, defeated Republican Seth Aitken in the election, garnering more than 54% of the vote.
The son of a former New Bedford mayor and judge, Markey told 12 News he was educated entirely in Bristol County, earning degrees from Stonehill College and what is now UMass Law School.
While in law school, Markey was a victim witness advocate. He then became an assistant district attorney in Fall River District Court, and later went into private practice.
“The big thing about this is the gratitude I feel for all the people who supported me,” Markey said Thursday. “It was amazing, along the way, to meet so many different people who were willing to do that.”
Markey will replace Thomas Quinn III, who’s been the district attorney for more than a decade. Markey said he has talked with Quinn since his victory and spoke very highly of him, while also saying he plans to put his own stamp on the DA’s office.
Markey said he will prioritize using technology to help prosecutors be more effective, which could include putting forensic labs in the district courts.
He also proposed hiring a forensic psychologist to consult when there are cases involving mental health issues, and he wants to give assistant district attorneys the best experience possible.
“That will make the system work a lot better in the long term,” he added. “I want to take pride in making sure we have great trial skills, then also the ability to evaluate cases properly.”
Markey and Aitken held their only televised debate in the 12 News studios last month. He called Aitken a class act, saying he received a gracious concession call from him.
Newly-released body-worn camera footage shows the moment a man shot two Fall River officers earlier this year.
Nigel Vaughn was shot and killed back in February after he opened fire on three officers outside a home on Linden Street.
Officers were initially called to the neighborhood after receiving reports of a man sitting in a parked car with what appeared to be a gun.
In the footage, the officers can be seen approaching a black SUV and speaking with the man sitting in the driver’s seat, later identified by police as Vaughn.
“We got a call about someone in a black SUV with a handgun,” the officer explains to Vaughn, who shakes his head and holds up what appears to be a black vape pen.
He then asks Vaughn to step out of the car.
“I’m just going to pat you down for weapons,” the officer explains.
“Why are you going to pat me?” Vaughn asks.
“It’s for my safety and for your safety, alright?” the officer replies.
The footage shows the officer patting Vaughn down until he reaches what appears to be his waistband.
“What have you got right here brother?” the officer asks. “Put your hands on your head.”
Vaughn can then be seen attempting to make a run for it right as the officer reaches for the bottom of his sweatshirt.
In the footage, the officer can be seen tackling Vaughn to the ground from behind while another officer comes over to assist.
There’s a brief struggle before three gunshots ring out in rapid succession.
The third officer can be seen running around the car to assist the other two officers with restraining Vaughn. She can be heard audibly gasping as soon as she notices the gun.
Vaughn, who was on the ground, was able to grab the gun from his waistband and shoot up at the officers, prompting all three of them to return fire.
“Shots fired! Shots fired!” the third officer shouts into her radio.
She then runs over to check on the officer who initially searched Vaughn.
A 29-year-old man wanted for a stabbing October 10th, in New Bedford is now in custody.
U.S. Marshals said Sanedlly Santana allegedly stabbed a man in the chest and a woman in the neck during a bar fight. He was arrested without incident yesterday in Hartford. Connecticut.
Santana was held as a fugitive from justice pending extradition to Massachusetts to faces charges in New Bedford.
Governor Maura Healey says housing and health care are priorities for her second term.
Speaking in Lynn Wednesday after her reelection victory, she also pledged to pursue social media regulations and protect workers from the effects of artificial intelligence.
Labor leaders and advocates are pressing her to address school funding, data privacy and abortion access. Healey says she is still considering whether to declare a new abortion law an emergency measure so it can take effect immediately. She also hopes Democratic control of Congress will give Massachusetts a stronger partner in Washington.
The remains of a New Bedford man who was killed during World War II have been accounted for, according to U.S. Department of Defense.
The POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced Tuesday that the remains of U.S. Army Pfc. William Gervais Jr., 28, were identified on June 18.
Gervais was assigned in December 1944 to Company F in the 2nd Ranger Battalion, which was tasked with taking and securing Hill 400 near Bergstein, Germany, in the Hürtgen Forest, according to the accounting agency.
Shortly after successfully taking the hill on Dec. 7, the 2nd Ranger Battalion had to defend against a German counterattack.
Gervais and another soldier were instructed to make contact with another platoon on a different part of the hill, but the two men never made it.
The battalion could not search for Gervais due to continuous artillery fire and the treat of additional German attacks, which is why he was listed as missing in action.
The American Graves Registration Command, which was tasked with investigating and recovering the remains of missing Americans in Europe, searched the hill for Gervais between 1946 and 1950, but were unable to recover or identify his remains.
Gervais’ remains were officially declared unrecoverable in December 1951.
While studying unresolved American losses in Germany, a historian for the accounting agency theorized that one set of unidentified remains, which were recovered in April 1946, may belong to Gervais.
The unidentified remains, designated as X-2485 Neuville, were buried at what’s now the Ardennes American Cemetery. Those remains were disinterred in August 2022 and sent to a military laboratory for examination and identification.
Scientists identified the remains as belonging to Gervais using anthropological and mitochondrial DNA analyses, as well as circumstantial evidence, per the accounting agency.
Gervais’ name is listed on the walls of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery along with others still missing from World War II. A rosette will soon be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
He will be laid to rest on Dec. 7 in Bourne, Massachusetts.
See more at wpri.com.
Both directions of I-195 are scheduled to close overnight in East Providence later this week so crews can demolish the Potter Street Bridge.
Starting at 10 p.m. Friday, I-195 will shut down near the Taunton Avenue exit. The closure should last about 12 hours, with some lanes reopened by 10 a.m. and all reopened by noon Saturday.
Drivers should seek alternate routes and avoid traveling along I-195 as heavy delays are likely.
According to the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, this is one component of the Washington Bridge rebuild project, which is expected to be complete by November 2028.
The plan is to rebuild the Potter Street Bridge over the next 12 to 18 months to accommodate a wider highway with additional travel lanes on I-95 West.
Exit 1B for Veterans Memorial Parkway and Exit 1C for Taunton Avenue will stay open.
See more at wpri.com.
State Rep. Carole Fiola, a Democrat who has represented parts of Fall River and Freetown in the State House since 2013, won reelection on Tuesday night with 6,833 votes, according to unofficial numbers.
Robert Anctil, her Republican challenger, finished with 4,588 votes.
Fiola will continue representing the 6th Bristol district in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Her district includes most of Fall River’s North End and the Assonet section of Freetown.
Fiola had strong support in Fall River, where she garnered 6,165 votes to Anctil's 3,896 -- a 61% to 38% margin. In Freetown, however, Fiola lost to Anctil, 668 to 692 votes.
Before her election to the House, Fiola served on the Governor’s Council for a decade and worked several marketing and economic development jobs in Fall River.
Anctil, a former Berkley selectman, was part of a wave of GOP challengers in reliably blue districts in Greater Fall River this year, motivated in part by recent Republican successes in the region.
Contacted on Tuesday night after results were available, Anctil said he had no comment.
See more at heraldnews.com.
Massachusetts voters are returning four statewide Democratic officials to Beacon Hill.
The Boston Globe reports Secretary of State William Galvin, Attorney General Andrea Campbell and Auditor Diana DiZoglio all won their reelection campaigns. Treasurer Deborah Goldberg is also projected to win a fourth term after facing Republican Elizabeth Dionne in one of the more spirited statewide contests.
Campbell partly campaigned on her lawsuits challenging the Trump administration, while DiZoglio emphasized government transparency and auditing the Legislature.
The results keep all four offices in Democratic hands, extending the party's decades-long dominance in statewide races.
Democratic Senator Ed Markey has won his third term in the U.S. Senate.
Multiple sources are calling the race for the 80-year-old incumbent after a campaign emphasizing his progressive priorities, including Medicare for All and a Green New Deal.
Markey defeated three general election challengers, including Republican John Deaton, after beating Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton in the primary.
Deaton argued Markey had spent too long in Washington, while Markey campaigned on providing a check on President Trump.
First elected to the Senate in 2013, Markey will serve another six-year term.
Democratic candidate Maura Healey is reelected as Massachusetts governor.
Multiple sources are calling the race for Healey over Republican Michael Minogue, who put nearly 20 million dollars of his own wealth into his campaign, smashing state campaign finance records.
In her victory speech, she reaffirmed her promise of tackling affordability and the state's housing crisis.
During the campaign, Healey focused on painting Minogue as a proxy for President Trump.
Democratic incumbent Jake Auchincloss has won the race for Massachusetts’ 4th Congressional District seat, the Associated Press projects.
Auchincloss defeated Republican Thomas Stalcup.
Auchincloss, 38, was first elected in 2020 and has emerged as a leader among younger Democrats trying to chart a more moderate path for the party going forward. He has one of the largest campaign war chests in the U.S. House.
The 4th District stretches from Fall River, Taunton and the Attleboros up north to Brookline and Newton, which is Auchincloss’s hometown.
See more at wpri.com.
The polls in Massachusetts will be open today from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. for the 2026 midterm election.
In Massachusetts, voters will cast ballots for governor, state and federal lawmakers and candidates in a number of local races.
State officials say residents should verify their precinct and polling location and review the candidates and the ballot questions. This election has a two-page ballot and voting may take more time than expected.
Lindsay Clancy is scheduled to return to a Massachusetts courtroom today, nearly two months after her prosecution for the murder of her three children ended in a mistrial.
The hearing could determine if Clancy will be tried again. Clancy killed her young children in 2023 before trying to take her own life. The defense argued she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and shouldn't be held criminally responsible. The jury couldn't reach a verdict because of one holdout juror.
Now the defense is trying to have the case dismissed, arguing Clancy can't be tried again for the same crime. The prosecution argues double jeopardy doesn't apply to retrials.
A fire in New Bedford led to the temporary displacement of eleven people, according to the city’s fire chief.
According to the New Bedford Fire Department, firefighters responded to a fire in a three-story home on Adams St. at 7:30 p.m.
The fire reportedly broke out in a second-story bedroom. Fire crews were able to knock down the flames within minutes.
According to New Bedford Fire Chief Brian Medeiros, crews were able to contain the fire to the room it broke out in, minimizing damage to the building. Medeiros said the building will be able to be reoccupied soon.
No one was hurt in the fire. A cat, dog and bird were reportedly rescued.
The fire’s cause is under investigation.
See more at wpri.com.
Police in Westport are currently searching for a missing 16-year-old.
According to the department, Lilyana Gorman was last seen at 4:30 p.m. on Friday wearing a hoodie and leggings in the area of Conserve Ave.
Gorman is approximately five feet tall, according to police.
Anyone with information on her whereabouts is encouraged to contact the Westport Police Department.
See more at wpri.com.
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