Massachusetts representatives took their latest step Wednesday to protect access to abortions, other reproductive health services and gender-affirming care with unanimous approval of a location data shield bill.
One day after top Democrats unv…
Massachusetts
Iconic ‘Pink House’ in Newbury at risk of demolition
Supporters of the Pink House, an iconic landmark in Newbury, Massachusetts, are calling on federal officials to step in after the 99-year-old building hit the auction block Wednesday morning.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife paid $375,000 for the Pi…
Biden can beat Trump if he stays in the race, Healey says
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said Wednesday she believes President Joe Biden can win reelection in November if he continues to resist calls to suspend his campaign, but she also reiterated her suggestion for the 81-year-old to “evaluate whether he remains the best candidate.”
Facing a string of questions about the sitting president’s fitness for the nomination in the wake of his shaky June 27 debate against former President Donald Trump, Healey — who according to the New York Times called Biden’s political position “irretrievable” during a call with fellow governors — declined to elaborate on her conversations with the White House and other Democrats.
“Joe Biden has done an incredible job the last four years and has delivered. We continue to see the ways that his administration has had a positive impact here in Massachusetts, and I also appreciate that he stepped up in 2020 to save democracy,” Healey told State House reporters Wednesday when asked if Biden should step aside. “I also have said that I think the president should continue and will continue to evaluate whether he remains the best candidate to defeat Donald Trump, because this election is about one thing, and that is defeating Donald Trump. But whatever the president decides, I will be all in and supportive and focused on working to defeat Donald Trump.”
Asked if Biden could successfully beat Trump in November, Healey replied, “Yes, yes he can. But again, that’s a decision that the president has to make as to whether or not he wants to continue to be the one, to be the nominee to go forward.”
Concerns about Biden’s age and fitness have dominated political circles, and elected Democrats have been split over whether to stick with the president or call for someone else to take up the mantle. Biden has so far vocally resisted calls from an increasing number of elected Democrats to step aside and allow a new nominee to take his place.
Healey declined to describe Biden’s cognitive and physical abilities at a meeting the president convened with governors after the debate, nor to elaborate on her “irretrievable” comment reported by the New York Times.
“I’m not going to comment on my private conversations with the White House or anyone else,” she said.
3 dead dogs found in abandoned U-Haul van in Mattapan, Boston police say
Three dead dogs were found in an abandoned U-Haul van in Boston’s Mattapan neighborhood Tuesday night, Boston police said Wednesday, asking for help determining what happened.
A person called 911 to report the dogs inside the van, parked…
Family of Worcester teen who died from eating spicy chip to file lawsuit
The family of a Worcester, Massachusetts, teenager who died last year after participating in a spicy food trend known as the One Chip Challenge is filing a lawsuit over his death, their lawyers said Wednesday.
Harris Wolobah died Sept. 1, 2023, after eating the chip, made by Paqui, and an autopsy later found the 14-year-old sophomore at Worcester’s Doherty Memorial High School died from ingesting a substance containing a high amount of the chili pepper extract capsaicin.
A lawsuit “concerning the wrongful and tragic death of Harris Wolobah” was set to be filed in Suffolk Superior Court, according to a statement from lawyers with the firm Sheff & Cook, who planned a news conference for 11 a.m. Thursday in Boston. They said representatives of the Wolobah family were set to attend.
“The Wolobahs hope that this case, which could have national and even international implications, will send a message to all who would market dangerous products, especially utilizing social media, to children,” the statement said.
It wasn’t immediately clear who would be named in the lawsuit.
Paqui pulled the product from store shelves shortly after Harris’ death. After the findings of the autopsy were released in May, the company, a subsidiary of Hershey Co., released this statement, noting the product was labeled as being for adults only:
We were and remain deeply saddened by the death of Harris Wolobah and extend our condolences to his family and friends. Paqui’s One Chip Challenge was intended for adults only, with clear and prominent labeling highlighting that the product was not for children or anyone sensitive to spicy foods or with underlying health conditions. We saw increased reports of teens and other individuals not heeding these warnings. As a result, while the product adhered to food safety standards, out of an abundance of caution, we worked with retailers to voluntarily remove the product from shelves in September 2023, and the One Chip Challenge has been discontinued.
NBC10 Boston reached out to Paqui after the lawyers’ announcement Wednesday.
In their statement Wednesday, Sheff & Cook lawyers said the chip was easy to purchase at a Walgreens in the Worcester area, and Harris died within hours of consuming it.
Before the autopsy’s results were filed, Harris’ mother had confirmed to NBC10 Boston that the family believed he died of complications from the One Chip Challenge.
The autopsy also said that Wolobah had cardiomegaly, meaning an enlarged heart, and a congenital defect described as “myocardial bridging of the left anterior descending coronary artery.”
A myocardial bridge occurs when a segment of a major artery of the heart runs within the heart muscle instead of on its surface, according to Dr. James Udelson, chief of cardiology at Tufts Medical Center.
“It is possible that with significant stimulation of the heart, the muscle beyond the bridge suddenly had abnormal blood flow (‘ischemia’) and could have been a cause of a severe arrhythmia,” Udelson told The Associated Press in an email at the time. “There have been reports of acute toxicity with capsaicin causing ischemia of the heart muscle.”
Large doses of capsaicin can increase how the heart squeezes, putting extra pressure on the artery, noted Dr. Syed Haider, a cardiologist at MedStar Washington Hospital Center.
But while the autopsy results suggest that a heart defect probably made Harris more vulnerable to the negative effects of the chile pepper extract, people without underlying risk factors can also experience serious heart problems from ingesting large amounts of capsaicin, Haider said.
Udelson and Haider both spoke in general terms; neither was involved in Harris’ case.
The cause of Harris’ death was determined on Feb. 27, and a death certificate was released to the Worcester city clerk’s office on March 5, according to Elaine Driscoll, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. The state only released the cause and manner of death. Officials will not release a full report, which is not considered part of the public record, she said.
The Paqui chip, sold individually for about $10, came wrapped in foil in a coffin-shaped box containing the warning that it was intended for the “vengeful pleasure of intense heat and pain.” The warning noted that the chip was for adult consumption only, and should be kept out of the reach of children.
Despite the warning, children had no problem buying the chips, and there had been reports from around the country of teens who got sick after taking part in the chip-eating challenge. Among them were three California high school students who were taken to a hospital and seven students in Minnesota who were treated by paramedics after taking part in the challenge in 2022.
Harris’ death spurred warnings from Massachusetts authorities and physicians, who cautioned that eating such spicy foods can have unintended consequences. Since the chip fad emerged, poison control centers have warned that the concentrated amount could cause allergic reactions, trouble breathing, irregular heartbeats and even heart attacks or strokes.
The challenge called for participants to eat the Paqui chip and then see how long they could go without consuming other food and water. Sales of the chip seemed largely driven by people posting videos on social media of them or their friends taking the challenge. They showed people, including children, unwrapping the packaging, eating the chips and then reacting to the heat. Some videos showed people gagging, coughing and begging for water.
Defense: New juror says Karen Read would have been acquitted on 2 charges
Another juror in the Karen Read trial has come forward to her lawyers, they said Wednesday, to say that the jury reached a not guilty verdict on two of the three charges against Read, including murder.
The defense’s filing in Norfolk Superior Court is being used as further evidence in support of their motion for Judge Beverly Cannone to dismiss the two charges brought against Read in the death of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, during a snowstorm outside a Canton home in January 2022.
Read was charged with murder in the second degree, manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence of liquor and leaving a scene of personal injury and death. She pleaded not guilty, and a mistrial was declared last week after a long trial that attracted international attention. Her team claims she was framed for the killing.
On Monday, Read’s lawyers said they heard directly from one jury and indirectly about the thinking of two other jurors that they would have found her not guilty on the murder and leaving a scene charges. In Wednesday’s filing, they said the fourth juror, identified in the court documents as Juror D, reached out on Monday because they were “uncomfortable” over the ending of the trial.
“Juror D said it was very troubling that the entire case ended without the jury being asked about each count,” defense attorney Alan Jackson said in a filing, going on to say that the only remaining disagreement on the jury was over the manslaughter charge and lesser offenses, and that they weren’t sure if they could tell the judge they were unanimous on finding Read not guilty on the other two counts.
Read the Karen Read team’s initial post-mistrial motion to dismiss filings here.
This is a breaking news story that will be updated.
