Massachusetts

The major MBTA power outage Thursday made for a chaotic morning commute for some T riders as an issue at North Station impacted the Green, Orange and Blue lines.

Commuters had to change plans on the fly; some had their commute times more than double — for Logan Smith, “it took an hour to take a 10-minute ride.”

He was among the riders fed up with the aging transit system, which has been beset by plenty of issues over the years. Students missed class on Thursday, others missed work.

Here’s what he and other riders told us when we asked about what happened:

Kelsey Barringham: “It’s a combination of people frustrated but also is, like, another day on the MBTA.”

Shane Pimentel: “What are you gonna do? You take an Uber or you go for a long walk.”

Logan Smith: “They get mad at you if you wanna hop the train or you say something but I pay a lot of taxes to live in Massachusetts and it doesn’t seem like they’re fixing the problem. … They just keep on raising the prices like the Red Sox — they’re not doing any better.”

Rem Ferreira: “I just wasted one hour, so I could’ve just stayed home and started working.”

Song Lu: “It took an hour to get to Downtown Crossing. Normally it only takes 30 minutes. … It happens a lot, actually. …. I hope they can fix whatever they can and make it more punctual for us.”

More MBTA news

mbta

8 hours ago

Power failure knocks out 3 T lines during commute; ‘We apologize,’ GM says

milton

Feb 14

Milton residents vote not to comply with MBTA zoning law

A man facing child sexual abuse charges has been rearrested and ordered held without bail after he failed to show up for the start of his trial in Fall River Superior Court on Monday, authorities said.

Fall River resident Scott Fontaine, 48, was or…

Let’s Get Loud, Boston — Jennifer Lopez is coming this summer.

J-Lo announced Thursday she’s embarking on a U.S. tour, stopping in over 30 cities across the country, including TD Garden on Aug. 7.

The announcement didn’t say if Lopez would be bringing along her husband, Ben Affleck, and his DunKings.

The “This Is Me…Now” tour kicks off on June 26 in Orlando, Florida.

The tour marks the “Get Right” singer’s first trek in nearly five years. J. Lo last toured in 2019, when she stopped at Mansfield’s Xfinity Center, and not for the first time.

For this tour, tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 23, through LiveNation.com, following three presale windows for Citi cardholders, Verizon customers and members of the J.Lo fan club. The presale begins on Feb. 20 at 9 a.m. for the fan club and 10 a.m. for Citi and Verizon customers.

Want to know what’s up for your weekend? Click here to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter about events, experiences and adventures for you and for your family around Boston. (You might even find a few freebies!)

J.Lo’s tour is named after her forthcoming studio album of the same name and her new Prime Video movie, both set to be released on Friday.

Lopez co-wrote “This is Me…Now: A Love Story,” a movie musical about finding love, which she called “the most personal thing I’ve ever done.”

It is a star-studded endeavor, with appearances from her husband, Ben Affleck, Keke Palmer, Sofia Vergara, Post Malone and more.

She also has a behind-the-scenes documentary, “The Greatest Love Story Never Told,” out on Feb. 27, also on Prime.

More recent Jennifer Lopez news

Jennifer Lopez

18 hours ago

How Ben Affleck helped Jennifer Lopez with her new musical

Dunkin’

Feb 14

Watch: Dunkin’ releases an extended cut of Ben Affleck’s DunKings Super Bowl ad

Super Bowl

Feb 11

Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Tom Brady team up to form a boyband to perform for J. Lo in Dunkin’ commercial

A hearing is scheduled to be held on Thursday afternoon in the Karen Read murder case.

The hearing is set for 2 p.m. in Norfolk Superior Court. It is not know if Read will appear in person for the hearing or via Zoom.

The second-degree murder charges against Read for the death of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, two years ago in Canton, Massachusetts, have drawn national attention. The state alleges Read hit O’Keefe with her vehicle and left him for dead in the snow outside a home, while Read alleges she is being framed in a large-scale coverup.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys recently asked to push back the start of the trial, which is scheduled to get underway on March 12 unless a delay is granted.

The motion stated that both sides took part in a conference call last month with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Massachusetts, which said it would produce information for both parties that has not yet been received

“Assuming this information is received prior to February 15, 2024, the parties will still need time to assess the information, to potentially conduct further investigation and to modify their arguments for the hearing on the defendant’s motions. Given that the hearing date is only one week away, the parties believe there is not enough time to do the proper investigation and/or preparation for the motion hearing on that date,” the joint motion read.

The coverup allegations — which prosecutors deny, as Read denies killing O’Keefe — have turned the case into among the most closely watched criminal proceedings in Massachusetts in years.

More on the Karen Read case

Karen Read

Jan 31

Court doc alleges Karen Read sent confidential info to blogger ‘Turtleboy’

Karen Read

Jan 18

Private communications at heart of latest Karen Read case debates

canton

Nov 21, 2023

Vote to audit Canton police over murder case brings out hundreds of passionate residents

Read and O’Keefe were out drinking Jan. 28, 2022, with a group of people including Boston Police Officer Brian Albert. Members of the group went back to Albert’s Fairview Road home, and Read says she dropped O’Keefe off there went home. He was found the next morning and pronounced dead at a hospital.

Prosecutors allege Read hit O’Keefe with her SUV and left him to die. But Read’s attorneys say evidence points to O’Keefe being attacked inside the home and brought outside, arguing, among other points, that the wounds on his body are not consistent with a crash.

The defense has also argued that Jennifer McCabe, who was in the group that went out and returned to Albert’s home, Googled “ho[w] long to die in cold” hours before 911 was called to report O’Keefe had been found.

Read’s claims have prompted arguments of what records should be available to her attorneys, and the case has divided the town of Canton, which voted for an independent audit of its police department.

Last month, an affidavit from the Massachusetts State Police alleged that Read sent confidential information to Aidan Kearney — the blogger known as Turtleboy, who has long advocated on her behalf — in more than 40 hours of conversations during 189 phone calls and other methods of communication. She allegedly provided personal details about witnesses, autopsy photographs, crime scene photographs, images of her car and the 911 call made when O’Keefe’s body was found.

Kearney’s coverage of the case, which has garnered extensive attention, had previously led prosecutors to charge him with witness intimidation.

“Free Karen Read” merchandise with the Turtleboy logo remains available for sale on his site, and past stories have said proceeds go to a fund for Read’s legal defense. In posts since the revelation, Kearney said he had not admitted publicly to communicating with Read because she “was an anonymous source.”

His attorney, Timothy J. Bradl, said in a statement that the affidavit “is an investigation without a crime,” adding that “The only crime here is the robbery of privacy.”

Kearney’s bail on the witness intimidation charges was revoked after he was charged with assault and battery following allegations from a woman he was dating.

The president of MIT has suspended a student group that has held demonstrations against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as protests over the war continue to rattle universities around the country.

In a video statement Tuesday, Sally Kornbluth sa…

Our wintry weather continues this week with temperatures consistently staying cold and a couple quick snow chances.

Clouds increase through the day as our next system approaches from the Great Lakes. Highs Thursday will be in the mid-30s to low 40s…