Our heat and humidity is here to stay for a while, with some less humid periods from time to time. Any shower or storm that rolls through has the chance to produce localized flooding.
The intense rain across northern New England has led to ro…
Massachusetts
‘Turtleboy’ blogger in court for multiple hearings Thursday
The online blogger who wrote extensively about the Karen Read murder case and became a staunch advocate for the framing allegations had a series of court hearings on Thursday for the charges he faces, some of which are in connection with the Read saga.
Aidan Kearney — better known as “Turtleboy” — had a brief pretrial hearing Thursday morning in Dedham District Court, which is related to an incident invovling his ex-girlfriend and a restraining order.
“She was one of the five people who showed up and forced me to leave my own protest because she can’t stop coming around me,” Kearney said outside of court. “I just want to do my job and be left alone and not have this order weaponized against me.”
Kearney also had a discovery hearing Thursday afternoon in Norfolk Superior Court, which is a witness intimidation case connected to the Read trial.
Thursday is the first time Kearney has had a court appearance of his own since a mistrial was declared in Read’s case last week.
The Holden-based blogger was charged with assault and battery and witness intimidation last December; Kearney’s ex-girlfriend claimed at the time that he threatened to release personal information and explicit photos of her and ultimately pushed her into a couch.
Kearney served 60 days after having his bail revoked. In February, a Norfolk County grand jury indicted Kearney on two new charges — harassing a witness and intercepting wire or oral communication. The original assault charge was dropped, the Boston Herald reported.
In March, he was charged with a restraining order violation involving the same woman, according to the Herald.
Thursday morning’s hearing provided a brief discovery update on the evidence-gathering process in that case, and the case was continued to Aug. 22 for another pretrial hearing.
Two months before the December 2023 incident, Kearney was charged with intimidation and conspiracy. Prosecutors accused him of harassing witnesses in the Read case.
The special prosecutors who brought the case read from transcripts of YouTube videos and articles that Kearney posted amid his “Canton Coverup” investigation, which as of Tuesday had 179 articles on his website. The prosecutors said that, on more than one occasion, Kearney said he was hoping his reporting would influence the jury pool for Read’s eventual trial and that he broadcast himself calling the lead investigator, as well as the investigator’s wife, sharing their phone numbers and leading to their harassment.
A Norfolk County grand jury brought down a number of charges in that case in December, including eight counts of witness intimidation, three counts of conspiracy to intimidate witnesses and five counts of picketing a witness.
The conspiracy charges allege that Kearney on Sept. 25 worked with a police dispatcher to intimidate three people, including a Massachusetts State Police investigator working on the case. The dispatcher is also facing a conspiracy charge.
The grand jury charges name several alleged victims along with the police investigator, all of whom have been subjects of Kearney’s vitriol.
Kearney has maintained his innocence in both cases.
Lawsuit over Mass. teen’s One Chip Challenge death set to be unveiled
Lawyers are set to reveal Thursday details of a lawsuit being filed over the death of a Worcester, Massachusetts, teenager involving a spicy food trend known as the One Chip Challenge.
Harris Wolobah’s family is expected to take part in the news conference in Boston at 11 a.m. It will be livestreamed on this page.
Harris 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 Wednesday from lawyers with the firm Sheff & Cook. 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.
The company shared the statement in response to a request for comment from NBC10 Boston 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.
Police searching for person in shooting that injured 5 in Dorchester
Boston police are searching for a person in connection with a shooting that injured five people, including a juvenile, in the city’s Dorchester neighborhood Wednesday night.
The shooting occurred just before 10 p.m. on Greenwood Street….
Another hot and humid day in New England, but is there any relief in sight?
We’re still in the thick of it. Heat indices (what it feels like when combining the heat and humidity) will soar to the mid and upper 90s again this afternoon. Sun will dart between the clouds (hey, at least there’s some shade) after the morning sprinkles move out, but the storm threat remains minimal this afternoon.
Interestingly, a lot of folks are begging for a storm or downpour to “cool things down.” But careful what you wish for. Any of these clouds could drop tremendous amounts of water and create flash flooding. In addition, storms will increase the humidity, so it’s more of a trade off with the heat.
Our greatest threat for thunder and downpours will be on Saturday (unfortunately). A weak weather system will zip by from the early morning to the late afternoon, triggering storms as it goes along. In addition to gusty winds and lightning, our biggest threat will be for localized flooding.
As we saw in northern New England last evening, these cells are very efficient at wringing out water from the atmosphere. Some spots picked up nearly 6 inches in a matter of hours.
Sunday sees the sun return along with the warm temperatures. It may be noticeably less humid in most areas outside of the Cape and Islands, too. However, whatever reprieve we get from the sticky air is lost by Monday.
Humidity and heat surge back through midweek as highs soar to the low/mid 90s.
True relief may be coming, however. Late in the week and into next weekend, there seems to be some hope for cooler air and lower humidity.
Firefighters battle blaze at Somerville house
A house fire sent smoke into the air above Somerville, Massachusetts, on Wednesday morning.
The Cambridge Fire Department was helping Somerville firefighters battle the blaze at the corner of Medford and Tennyson streets.
Images from the scene showed smoke coming from the windows of multiple floors of a residence.
Officials say hoarding conditions and intense heat made it difficult to extinguish the flames.
No one was hurt in the fire. Authorities are investigating the cause.
More Somerville news
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