A teacher in Salem, Massachusetts, has been arrested on allegations of child exploitation.
Prosecutors say 42-year-old Darren Benedick of Salem was arraigned Wednesday in Newburyport District Court on charges of child enticement and disseminat…
Massachusetts
Falmouth police seek missing man last seen in April
Police in Falmouth, Massachusetts, are asking for the public’s help finding a man who has not been seen since late April.
The Falmouth Police Department said in a Facebook post Wednesday that 53-year-old Michael Bolina, also known as Mic…
Bride shares magic of butterfly release at Cape Cod wedding
Years ago, dying of cancer, Amy Rose Perry’s father wrote her letters for the biggest moments that would come in her life, including her wedding.
“I will be with you in your heart as you walk down that aisle,” he wrote.
In a way, he was right.
When she got married last month on Cape Cod, the bride had monarch butterflies released to honor the memory of her late father, Nathaniel Machain. But instead of flying away, they landed on her, her husband and her sister — a moment of magic that’s gone viral, getting more than 2.1 million likes on Instagram and 10,000 comments.
“I was kind of hoping for a sign,” Perry told NBC10 Boston at her apartment in Boston. “I really never expected something that that life-altering and that profound. I’ve never felt his presence more in my life.”
Perry, of Andover, married Ashland native Matt Perry after their love-at-first-sight meeting three years ago.
“Once she got out of the Uber, I pretty much knew,” Matt said. “She had a nice bubbly smile on her face. And, yeah, from there, the rest is history.”
They soon got engaged and started planning their wedding, and releasing the butterflies was an important part of it.
Machain died at age 36, when Amy was just 7 years old. Exactly one year later, a monarch butterfly landed on her, her mother and sister, and ever since. To Amy, it was her father’s spirit, and she knew she wanted to involve butterflies in her life’s biggest moments.
The magical moment at her wedding was captured by her friend — the butterflies even clung to her dress as she walked back down the aisle — and quickly started to be shared.
Amy called the experience of going viral surreal.
“It’s been really, really incredible receiving messages from people who have lost family members and just really connecting over that shared experience has been incredible and healing and therapeutic even. It’s been amazing,” she said.
The day of the wedding shower, Amy read her father’s letter, not knowing the touching moment they would share walking back down the aisle later on their wedding day.
“Amy Rose, of all the cards I have written you, this is obviously the most difficult,” her father said. “I will be with you in your heart as you walk down that aisle. You have an excellent day and just remember we are always in each other’s hearts.”
“I love you with all my heart. Have a wonderful day. Love daddy,” the letter concluded.
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MBTA celebrates long-term labor stability after striking final union agreement
MBTA officials say the agency will enjoy the “longest period of labor stability since the 1980s” now that collective bargaining agreements are in place with every single affiliated labor union at the T.
The agency’s higher-ups and union bosses took a victory lap Wednesday after striking a deal with MBTA Plumbers, which they said represented the final collective bargaining agreement of 16 to be ratified.
Officials said it’s the first time since 2009 that all 28 MBTA worker unions have agreements in place at once, and that the four-year term for each contract will offer the longest stretch without any gaps in the last four decades.
“The success of the MBTA depends on a well-trained, motivated and empowered workforce,” Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement. “That’s why, from day one, our administration has been committed to partnering with labor to efficiently secure agreements that ensure workers receive competitive wages and benefits and strengthen our efforts to recruit and retain the best talent.”
T leaders said the contracts were modeled on an agreement reached in August 2023 with Boston Carmen’s Union ATU Local 589, the largest workers’ union at the MBTA. That deal included pay raises, retention bonuses and more benefits, and officials have credited it as a linchpin of a hiring campaign that has increased the MBTA’s headcount by more than 1,100.
MBTA officials rolled out the news Wednesday with statements of support from T and Healey administration officials as well as a trio of top union leaders, including Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Chrissy Lynch.
New details on man accused of grooming, raping girls in Boston
Editor’s note: The details in this story may be disturbing.
A man suspected of grooming several underage girls in Boston was caught with his belt buckle undone next to a 16-year-old girl in his car at a Dunkin’ parking lot, prosecu…
Great white sharks spotted off multiple Cape Cod beaches ahead of 4th of July weekend
A pilot with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy spotted great white sharks off multiple Cape Cod beaches on Wednesday ahead of the busy Fourth of July holiday weekend.
The sharks were seen at 11:50 a.m. off Head of the Meadow Beach in Truro and a mile off Cahoon Hollow Beach in Wellfleet just before 10 a.m.
They were among several shark sightings or signs of sharks off the New England coast in the past week, according to the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s Sharktivity app.
A whale watch boat spotted a great white shark in Cape Cod Bay around noon on Tuesday.
On Sunday, a shark was seen killing a seal off Nauset Beach and an 8-foot white shark was reported by a paddleboarder off Provincetown in Cape Cod Harbor. A fisherman also spotted a 12-foot shark in Cape Cod Harbor that same day.
Further to the north, a grey seal was found with a great white shark bite last weekend in Cape Neddick, Maine, and a dead harbor porpoise was found dead on the shore of Mount Desert Island Monday with a massive shark bite taken out of it.
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