Massachusetts

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Oil Spill in Boston River Soaks Wildlife

Rescuers are treating dozens of affected birds in the Muddy River

(Newser) - Wildlife rescuers were rushing Monday to tend to dozens of geese and ducks that were soaked in oil after an apparent spill in a Boston river. Police and fire departments were dispatched to the Muddy River on the border of Boston and the town of Brookline a little after noon...

Worker Electrocuted While Hanging Christmas Lights

Massachusetts man 'will be pretty lucky if he survives,' police say

(Newser) - A worker in Wellesley, Massachusetts was almost killed while hanging Christmas lights on a tree Wednesday. Police say the 22-year-old contractor hired by a resident was using a pole to hang the lights on a large tree when he was electrocuted, reports CBS News . "The pole he was using...

Do You Know Where Holiday Cranberries Come From?

A lot of them are grown in Massachusetts in a unique growing process

(Newser) - Weeks before Thanksgiving, some of the cranberries that will be on dinner plates Thursday are floating on the Rocky Meadow bog in southeastern Massachusetts. The cranberries have turned this pond pinkish crimson. As the AP reports, several workers, up to their waist in water, gently corral the berries toward a...

He Lost Everything While in Prison. Now He's a Millionaire

Wrongfully convicted Michael Sullivan is awarded $13M, though state law caps reward at $1M

(Newser) - For the nearly three decades that he was behind bars, Michael Sullivan's mother and four siblings died, his girlfriend moved on with her life, and he was badly beaten in several prison attacks. All for a murder he long insisted he never committed. Earlier this month, the 64-year-old Sullivan...

Court: Man Who Broke Engagement Gets $70K Ring Back

Massachusetts high court rules against woman's bid to keep the piece of jewerly

(Newser) - A Massachusetts woman is out of luck, and a $70,000 ring from her broken engagement, after the state's high court ruled in her ex-fiance's favor. The Washington Post reports that on Friday, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decided Caroline Settino has to give back the piece of...

These States Are Bona Fide Wine-Guzzlers

District of Columbia tops Visual Capitalist's list, followed by New Hampshire and Vermont

(Newser) - If you've needed to take the edge off lately with a glass of wine, you're not alone—especially if you live in DC. The nation's capital ranks as the place in the US that drinks the most fermented grape juice, per the Visual Capitalist data firm, which...

2025's Job Forecast Looks Best in These States

New Hampshire tops WalletHub's list, while West Virginia comes in last

(Newser) - Since the end of the pandemic, employment in the US has been in a state of flux , swinging between strong jobs reports to high rates of continuing unemployment claims. But according to WalletHub , key indicators show which states will have the strongest employment prospects in the coming year. They used...

Parents' Suit: Teen's Use of AI Wasn't Cheating
Parents Sue After Son
Uses AI for School Essay
in case you missed it

Parents Sue After Son Uses AI for School Essay

Complaint says senior punished for using artificial intelligence used it only for research, outlining

(Newser) - A lawsuit filed by the parents of a Massachusetts high school senior could turn out to be an important one on the artificial intelligence landscape. The crux of the complaint from Jennifer and Dale Harris: that their son was unfairly punished for using AI to research and draft an outline...

They Went From Reenactment to Dinner—in Nazi Uniform

Massachusetts restaurant apologizes for not asking the group to change, now faces threats

(Newser) - A Massachusetts restaurant that waited on World War II reenactors dressed in Nazi uniforms over the weekend was forced to close Tuesday after it became the target of "harassment and threats." The Kith and Kin restaurant in Hudson took heat after it welcomed costumed figures who'd participated...

Just One State Has Managed to Cut Food Waste

Study looks into the challenges of actually reducing food waste

(Newser) - Kay Masterson has always wanted to make her Boston-area restaurant more sustainable, partnering with an organic farm to get some vegetables close by and offering reusable containers for customers' takeout. Right away, there were challenges: $3,000 a year for bins and pickup. Busy dishwashers could contaminate an entire bag...

Treasure Hunter Finds $26K in Gold by Looking at Clouds

Meteorologist Dan Leonard comes forward as Project Skydrop winner

(Newser) - The man who found a $26,000 gold treasure hidden in western Massachusetts says he had a leg up on the competition: "meteorology skills." As a meteorologist, Dan Leonard says he paid close attention to readings of temperature and cloud cover visible on a live trail camera showing...

Fate of Massachusetts' Famous Beaver Is Decided

Massachusetts governor steps in

(Newser) - The question of whether a 2-year-old beaver named Nibi can stay with the rescuers she has known since she was a baby or must be released into the wild was resolved Thursday when the Massachusetts governor stepped in to protect Nibi. The state issued a permit to Newhouse Wildlife Rescue...

Massachusetts in Uproar Over Fate of 2-Year-Old Beaver

Fans don't want Nibi released to the wild

(Newser) - Whether a 2-year-old beaver named Nibi gets to stay with the rescuers she has known since she was a baby or must be released into the wild as winter approaches in Massachusetts has ended up in court—and caused such an uproar that even the governor has weighed in. A...

$26K Treasure Hidden in Northeast Has Been Found

Project Skydrop has yet to learn the identity of the person who found it

(Newser) - The treasure has been found. A $26,000 gold trophy at the center of an East Coast treasure hunt was discovered Tuesday evening, according to Project Skydrop's website , which showed a trail-camera image of a person wearing Adidas sneakers reaching down to pick up the trophy amid a wooded...

Pennsylvania, Your Unwanted Guests Have Arrived
Sorry, Boston:
Now You've
Got a Joro
UPDATED

Sorry, Boston: Now You've Got a Joro

Invasive but 'relatively harmless' Joro spider has been spotted in Massachusetts for first time

(Newser) - "For months, experts warned us that the invasive species was creeping north," a WBZ reporter noted on Wednesday in speaking about the Joro spider, the "flying" arachnid that's been infiltrating states along the East Coast. Now, about a week after it was spotted for the first...

US Must Pay Snowmobiler Who Hit Military Chopper

Jeff Smith suffered serious injures in March 2019 crash when he struck camouflaged Black Hawk

(Newser) - The federal government was mostly responsible for a nighttime collision involving a snowmobiler who nearly died after hitting a Black Hawk helicopter that was parked on a Massachusetts trail, a judge ruled in awarding him $3.3 million in damages, per the AP . US District Judge Mark Mastroianni blamed both...

8 Bulls Escape Massachusetts Rodeo
8 Bulls
Escape
Massachusetts
Rodeo

8 Bulls Escape Massachusetts Rodeo

Animals tore through a parking lot

(Newser) - This is no bull: First responders in a Massachusetts city had to exercise some impromptu roundup skills when eight bulls escaped from a rodeo being held in the parking lot of a mall on Sunday, the AP reports. Video posted online captured the moment when the bulls escaped from the...

10 Happiest States in America
These Are
the Happiest
US States

These Are the Happiest US States

In WalletHub's ranking, the Aloha State takes the top spot for joy

(Newser) - Ever wonder where the happiest Americans live? According to WalletHub's ranking of the happiest states, Hawaii lives up to its reputation for rainbows and sunshine. In a new report, they used 30 metrics to assess joy in all 50 states. "The happiest states are those that provide above-average...

Steamship Sunk by 'Small Hole' Found 168 Years Later

Le Lyonnais went down off the Massachusetts coast in 1856, claiming 116 lives

(Newser) - There are echoes of the Titanic in the story of Le Lyonnais' demise. The English-built steamship designed to carry people and mail across the Atlantic was heading from America to Europe on its first return voyage on Nov. 2, 1856, when it collided with a sailing vessel. The ship suffered...

Ancient Necklace Likely Looted From Turkey Returns Home

Boston Museum of Fine Arts is applauded for its move to return piece

(Newser) - A stunning gold and carnelian necklace displayed at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts for four decades is heading back "to its rightful home," per Smithsonian . The museum has returned the 2,500-year-old necklace to Turkey, from which it was likely stolen in 1976. Jewelry taken from Turkey'...

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