ReportWire

Tag: Massachusetts

  • Police/Fire

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    In news taken from the logs of Cape Ann’s police and fire departments:

    Rockport


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  • Afghan man living in Lowell speaks about ICE detention

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    LOWELL — When Ihsanullah Garay was delivering food on Sept. 14, he found himself struggling to find the Starbucks he was being sent to pick up from in Methuen.

    He asked the first people he saw for directions, a man and a woman sitting in a car. The man pointed Garay in the right direction, he told The Sun Monday morning, and Garay thanked him and started walking away. Then, the two people started asking Garay questions about his nationality, and where he was born. Garay is from Afghanistan, arriving in the U.S. in the spring of 2021 on a student visa to get a doctorate in finance.

    “I said, ‘Brother, this is not related to you. You helped me, I said thank you, that’s it,’” Garay said.

    Garay then tried to walk away, but he said the man shouted at him, and continued questioning Garay’s nationality, while Garay maintained that he was in the country legally.

    After more back and forth, Garay said the man finally identified himself as a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, and ask him to produce identification, which Garay had in his car, along with an ID badge from a former job.

    Garay was soon placed in handcuffs, beginning a more than monthlong ordeal in ICE custody that brought him to three different ICE facilities in three states before he was released on bond last month. After he arrived back in Lowell, where he has been living with his cousin, Abdul Ahad Storay, Garay took some time to settle and work to get back on track with his ongoing treatment for brain cancer.

    On Monday, he sat down with The Sun in Storay’s computer store in Downtown Lowell to give his firsthand account of his experience.

    Garay said that when he was placed in handcuffs, he tried to explain his situation to the ICE agents, to no avail.

    “I said, ‘What are you doing? I have brain cancer. I have a work permit, I have Social Security, I have everything. What are you doing?’ He said nothing,” said Garay.

    Garay’s first stop was the ICE field office in Burlington, where many of those detained by the agency in Greater Lowell are being brought. Since the spring, allegations of extremely poor conditions inside the building have been made by detainees and their attorneys, as it is designed primarily as an office building, not a long-term detention facility.

    Garay could not speak much to the conditions inside, as he said he was only at the facility for roughly an hour before he was transferred to another facility in Rhode Island. In that short time, though, Garay said he was asked by ICE officials for proof that he has brain cancer, which he was able to show them through his MyChart app when they brought him his phone, which they had confiscated along with his ID and other belongings. When the ICE officials saw the medical documents, Garay said they seemed shocked he was telling the truth.

    While still in Burlington, Garay said he suffered a couple medical episodes which lasted about two minutes, though he was unsure whether these were seizures or something else stemming from his brain cancer.

    Garay spent about 28 days in the facility in Rhode Island, and at one point he said similar medical episodes would occur on a near nightly basis, bringing him to the point of needing a wheelchair to move around, but the medical care available at the facility was not sufficient, he said. After he was moved to Georgia, where he was given the Oct. 21 court hearing that resulted in his release, Garay said he experienced more of the same.

    “They have no neurosurgeon, they have no oncologist, they have no neurologist, nothing,” said Garay.

    Through all of this, Garay was missing key appointments in the course of his cancer treatment. He was supposed to start a new medication at a Sept. 24 appointment at Boston Medical Center, but he missed it while in custody and was not able to start the medication on time. Even after reaching out to his doctors, Garay said the medicine did not arrive before he was moved to Georgia. In the meantime, he said he was prescribed Keppra, an anti-seizure medication he was supposed to take in the morning and evening, but it was only ever brought to him for the night dose while he was in Rhode Island.

    In Georgia, Garay said he saw a slight improvement to that end, as they gave him both daily doses of the anti-seizure medication, though at that facility he still lacked the medical care he needed.

    After he was released on bond, the police brought Garay to the airport, where he was denied boarding because his identification had been taken by ICE in Massachusetts, despite reassurance from the police and ICE he would be allowed on the plane.

    After Storay called local police to help his cousin, Garay was brought to Jacksonville, Florida, where he got on a bus for the multi-day journey back north to Lowell.

    Now home, Garay is doing much better. He is able to walk around without the need for a wheelchair, and his cancer treatment is moving back on track after he met with his doctors at the end of October. His next appointment is an MRI at Boston Medical Center later this month, and he has multiple other appointments scheduled with his doctors before the end of the year.

    Still, his ICE ordeal continues with a court hearing on Dec. 11 in Georgia, but Garay and his attorneys are working on getting it moved up to Massachusetts. He hopes to remain in the U.S., not only because of his ongoing medical treatment, but also because both he and Storay, himself a U.S. citizen, would not be safe returning to Afghanistan, which fell back to Taliban control in 2021, months after Garay left the country.

    As his home country fell, and the U.S. completed the withdrawal of its military forces, Garay applied for asylum that August on top of his student visa, fearing what would happen to him if he were to return.

    “If the U.S. will give me nationality, I will accept it. If not, I will go somewhere else,” said Garay. “When the Taliban suddenly came, I had no choice but to apply for asylum.”

    Garay’s asylum case has been pending ever since. So when Temporary Protected Status was offered to Afghan citizens living in the U.S. the following spring after the Taliban retook control, Garay did not apply for TPS due to his open asylum case. TPS for Afghanistan was terminated in July this year.

    “They (ICE) told me my visa expired in September 2021. I asked them how this was possible when I came in April,” said Garay.

    Even without the Taliban, Garay said he could not return because Afghanistan lacks the medical infrastructure he needs to treat his cancer.

    Now that he is back in Lowell, Garay is looking for other work that is not food delivery.

    In addition to delivering food, Garay said he had been working at Lahey Hospital as a receptionist, but he left that job just a couple weeks before his arrest after they could not give him enough hours.

    Friends of Garay also left Afghanistan after he did, but some went to Canada, he said, and once there they asked him to join them.

    “I said no … I don’t want to be in some country illegally, so that is why I am here,” said Garay.

    Garay credited Storay for getting him back to Lowell.

    “He knows my situation. Nobody can even imagine my situation … He also knows what he has been spending on me. Only he knows,” said Garay.

    An ICE spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment Friday. When previously asked about Garay’s case in October, ICE Boston spokesperson James Covington said in a statement Garay is “an illegal alien from Afghanistan,” and claimed he lawfully entered the U.S. in April 2021 with permission to remain until Sept. 7, 2021.

    “However, he violated the terms of his lawful admission when he refused to leave the country. Garay will remain in ICE custody pending the outcome of his removal proceedings,” Covington said in the Oct. 11 statement.

    In addition to Garay’s current work permit, Storay was also able to show The Sun Garay’s original student visa, which was issued in April 2021 and expired one year later, seven months after Covington claimed it did.

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    Peter Currier

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  • Cities and states are turning to AI to improve road safety

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    As America’s aging roads fall further behind on much-needed repairs, cities and states are turning to artificial intelligence to spot the worst hazards and decide which fixes should come first.

    Hawaii officials, for example, are giving away 1,000 dashboard cameras as they try to reverse a recent spike in traffic fatalities. The cameras will use AI to automate inspections of guardrails, road signs and pavement markings, instantly discerning between minor problems and emergencies that warrant sending a maintenance crew.

    “This is not something where it’s looked at once a month and then they sit down and figure out where they’re going to put their vans,” said Richard Browning, chief commercial officer at Nextbase, which developed the dashcams and imagery platform for Hawaii.

    After San Jose, California, started mounting cameras on street sweepers, city staff confirmed the system correctly identified potholes 97% of the time. Now they’re expanding the effort to parking enforcement vehicles.

    Texas, where there are more roadway lane miles than the next two states combined, is less than a year into a massive AI plan that uses cameras as well as cellphone data from drivers who enroll to improve safety.

    Other states use the technology to inspect street signs or build annual reports about road congestion.

    Every guardrail, every day

    Hawaii drivers over the next few weeks will be able to sign up for a free dashcam valued at $499 under the “Eyes on the Road” campaign, which was piloted on service vehicles in 2021 before being paused due to wildfires.

    Roger Chen, a University of Hawaii associate professor of engineering who is helping facilitate the program, said the state faces unique challenges in maintaining its outdated roadway infrastructure.

    “Equipment has to be shipped to the island,” Chen said. “There’s a space constraint and a topography constraint they have to deal with, so it’s not an easy problem.”

    Although the program also monitors such things as street debris and faded paint on lane lines, the companies behind the technology particularly tout its ability to detect damaged guardrails.

    “They’re analyzing all guardrails in their state, every single day,” said Mark Pittman, CEO of Blyncsy, which combines the dashboard feeds with mapping software to analyze road conditions.

    Hawaii transportation officials are well aware of the risks that can stem from broken guardrails. Last year, the state reached a $3.9 million settlement with the family of a driver who was killed in 2020 after slamming into a guardrail that had been damaged in a crash 18 months earlier but never repaired.

    In October, Hawaii recorded its 106th traffic fatality of 2025 — more than all of 2024. It’s unclear how many of the deaths were related to road problems, but Chen said the grim trend underscores the timeliness of the dashboard program.

    Building a larger AI database

    San Jose has reported strong early success in identifying potholes and road debris just by mounting cameras on a few street sweepers and parking enforcement vehicles.

    But Mayor Matt Mahan, a Democrat who founded two tech startups before entering politics, said the effort will be much more effective if cities contribute their images to a shared AI database. The system can recognize a road problem that it has seen before — even if it happened somewhere else, Mahan said.

    “It sees, ‘Oh, that actually is a cardboard box wedged between those two parked vehicles, and that counts as debris on a roadway,’” Mahan said. “We could wait five years for that to happen here, or maybe we have it at our fingertips.”

    San Jose officials helped establish the GovAI Coalition, which went public in March 2024 for governments to share best practices and eventually data. Other local governments in California, Minnesota, Oregon, Texas and Washington, as well as the state of Colorado, are members.

    Some solutions are simple

    Not all AI approaches to improving road safety require cameras.

    Massachusetts-based Cambridge Mobile Telematics launched a system called StreetVision that uses cellphone data to identify risky driving behavior. The company works with state transportation departments to pinpoint where specific road conditions are fueling those dangers.

    Ryan McMahon, the company’s senior vice president of strategy & corporate development, was attending a conference in Washington, D.C., when he noticed the StreetVision software was showing a massive number of vehicles braking aggressively on a nearby road.

    The reason: a bush was obstructing a stop sign, which drivers weren’t seeing until the last second.

    “What we’re looking at is the accumulation of events,” McMahon said. “That brought me to an infrastructure problem, and the solution to the infrastructure problem was a pair of garden shears.”

    Texas officials have been using StreetVision and various other AI tools to address safety concerns. The approach was particularly helpful recently when they scanned 250,000 lane miles (402,000 kilometers) to identify old street signs long overdue for replacement.

    “If something was installed 10 or 15 years ago and the work order was on paper, God help you trying to find that in the digits somewhere,” said Jim Markham, who deals with crash data for the Texas Department of Transportation. “Having AI that can go through and screen for that is a force multiplier that basically allows us to look wider and further much faster than we could just driving stuff around.”

    Autonomous vehicles are next

    Experts in AI-based road safety techniques say what’s being done now is largely just a stepping stone for a time when a large proportion of vehicles on the road will be driverless.

    Pittman, the Blyncsy CEO who has worked on the Hawaii dashcam program, predicts that within eight years almost every new vehicle — with or without a driver — will come with a camera.

    “How do we see our roadways today from the perspective of grandma in a Buick but also Elon and his Tesla?” Pittman said. “This is really important nuance for departments of transportation and city agencies. They’re now building infrastructure for humans and automated drivers alike, and they need to start bridging that divide.”

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  • Man arrested for exposing himself to customers, staff at Walmart in Chelmsford

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    Police arrested a man who allegedly exposed himself to customers and staff inside a Walmart store in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, on Friday morning.

    Jason J. Ruggs, 32, of Lawrence, was charged with open and gross lewdness, disturbing the peace and disorderly conduct, police said.

    Chelmsford police said they were called to the Walmart store at 66 Parkhurst Road around 9:49 a.m. Friday for a report of a man who was exposing himself. Officers arrived and were informed that a person later identified as Ruggs had exposed himself multiple times to customers and staff inside the business.

    Ruggs had fled the area before police arrived. Officers began a search of the area and soon found him on foot near the Lowell city line. He was taken into custody without further incident.

    “This was a disturbing incident that understandably caused alarm among employees and customers,” Chelmsford Deputy Police Chief Gary Hannagan said in a statement. “Our officers responded quickly, worked together effectively, and apprehended the suspect without further risk to the public. Their professionalism and decisive actions reflect the high standards of the Chelmsford Police Department. We also want to extend our thanks to the store staff for their cooperation, awareness, and assistance during the incident.”

    Ruggs is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday in Lowell District Court.

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    Marc Fortier

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  • Families brace for continued gaps in Head Start service despite government reopening

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    Vital federal funding is on the way for Head Start centers that were thrown into crisis by the government shutdown, but it could take time before some children who rely on the federal program can return to preschool.

    Some centers that missed out on federal payments had to furlough staff. Others had to shut down entirely, destabilizing thousands of needy families around the country. And operators fear it could take weeks more for overdue payments to be processed.

    Even when agencies receive long-delayed grant money, centers will have to rehire staff members and bring back families — both of which may have grown wary of instability in the program, which relies almost entirely on federal grants.

    “The damage has been done in a lot of ways,” Massachusetts Head Start Association Executive Director Michelle Haimowitz said. “We know that it’s going to take some time to fill back up.”

    About 140 Head Start programs representing 65,000 slots didn’t receive their annual grants during the 43-day shutdown, which concluded when President Donald Trump signed a government funding bill Wednesday night.

    Head Start serves children from low-income families from birth to age 5. The program offers a variety of services to families, such as early learning, support for children with disabilities, free meals and health screenings.

    With the shutdown over, the federal Office of Head Start will expedite funding and contact affected Head Start programs to share when they can expect federal money, said Emily Hilliard, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the program.

    Head Start operators anticipate that could take weeks.

    Federal workers are returning to “a mountain of work” that will take time to process, Haimowitz said. That doesn’t just include sending out missed grant awards — other paperwork for a range of technical issues has been delayed since layoffs at the Office of Head Start earlier this year, she said.

    “Those delays have just been piling up since April, with no fault to the existing civil servants at the Office of Head Start,” Haimowitz said. “They just have half the capacity that they had just a few months ago.”

    Families prepare for the worst-case scenario

    Depending on how quickly federal workers can send out funds, the backlog in grant renewals could spill over and affect Head Start agencies that are supposed to receive funding in December, operators said. Some of the families who attend those centers are already making preparations for that worst-case scenario.

    Gena Storer, who works as a home health aide in Xenia, Ohio, is trying to “make as much money as I possibly can” in case her daughter’s Head Start center closes. The center staff told parents hours before the government reopened that they still expect to shutter temporarily on Dec. 1 if funding is delayed, Storer said.

    If the center closes, Storer’s 4-year-old daughter, Zarina, will stay at home until it reopens. Storer will then need to adjust her work hours to make sure she can be home with Zarina while her fiance works 12-hour shifts at a Target distribution center.

    Uncertainty about SNAP federal food aid payments has also added stress for Storer’s family. Storer had been working extra hours through the shutdown to help provide for her 72-year-old mother, who also uses SNAP benefits.

    “If my mom didn’t have us to help her, what would she do?” the 31-year-old said.

    For Storer, Head Start has been more than a reliable option for child care. Zarina used to receive speech therapy to address her lack of speaking. But since starting Head Start in September, Storer said she’s noticed her daughter becoming more talkative and outgoing because she learns from having conversations with her classmates.

    Programs pay out-of-pocket to keep doors open

    Programs that stayed open without a guarantee of reimbursement by the federal government could also face further financial strains. At Louis Russ’ home day care in Knox County, Indiana, he and his wife are planning a pop-up toy shop out of their garage to offset money they might lose by staying open.

    Russ and his wife started operating a day care out of their home in April and partnered soon after with East Coast Migrant Head Start Project, a nonprofit that serves children of migrant farmworkers across 10 states. Six out of the eight children in Russ’ home day care are Head Start-funded.

    East Coast Migrant Head Start Project was one of the programs affected by a funding lapse, which resulted in more than 1,000 children being shut out of their centers. Russ and his wife also stopped receiving their Head Start payments at the end of October, but the decision to keep their home open was a “no brainer,” Russ said. Offering the children consistency during an otherwise unpredictable time was important to them, he said.

    “Staying open and keep taking the children we have, that was the easy part,” he said. “Figuring out how we’re going to stay open if this goes on too long, that’s the tricky part.”

    It’s been tense operating the program without knowing when funding will be released. Russ and his wife already took a pay cut, and they have another employee on the payroll. About three-quarters of their budget is payroll, Russ said, but other expenses like groceries and maintenance needs can stack up quickly without an income.

    “Our program, being so new, we were running pretty bare bones as is,” Russ said. “And especially in child care, which doesn’t have a huge profit margin, there’s only so much wiggle room when things like this happen.”

    ___

    The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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  • Police/Fire: Spark starts fire that firefighters quickly extinguish

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    Fire crews “knocked down fairly quickly” a fire that started in a ground-floor room of a two-family home downtown on Middle Street on Wednesday afternoon, according to fire Deputy Chief Tom LoGrande.

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  • Prediction Markets, Sportsbooks Don’t Jibe, Massachusetts Says

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    Posted on: November 13, 2025, 04:28h. 

    Last updated on: November 13, 2025, 04:28h.

    • Sportsbooks in Massachusetts cannot offer prediction market sports contracts in the state
    • DraftKings and FanDuel are launching prediction markets next month

    Following a similar ruling in Nevada, gaming regulators in Massachusetts are telling their licensed sportsbooks to refrain from engaging in prediction markets involving sports contracts.

    prediction markets sports betting Massachusetts
    FanDuel Predicts, a prediction market, is set to launch in December 2025. Gaming regulators in Massachusetts say such online wagering products are prohibited by state law. (Image: FanDuel)

    On Thursday, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) warned the state’s seven sportsbook operators that they cannot partner with prediction markets or offer sports-related event contracts within the commonwealth. The MGC letter comes after several licensed sportsbooks in the Bay State revealed their intentions to enter the prediction market space.

    In the event you offer sports-related event contracts in Massachusetts or direct patrons to such event contracts being offered in Massachusetts, the Commission may take steps up to and including revocation of your license. In addition, to the extent any other regulator takes action against your license due to your operation in the prediction market space, such action may inform decisions related to your suitability in Massachusetts,” MGC Executive Director Dean Serpa wrote.

    Massachusetts sports betting license holders include Bally Bet, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, Fanatics, FanDuel, and Penn Sports.

    Prediction Market Crackdown 

    The Massachusetts gaming regulators agree with the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) that prediction markets offering event contracts on sports outcomes constitute sports gambling.

    “Wagering on sporting events in Massachusetts is strictly governed by M.G.L. c. 23N, which defines ‘sports event’ or ‘sporting event’ as ‘a professional sport or athletic event, collegiate sport or athletic event, a collegiate tournament, motor race event, electronic sports event, or other event authorized by the Commission under [Chapter 23N]…’ As such, wagering on sporting events may only be offered on authorized sports wagering platforms licensed by the Commission,” Serpa explained.

    The MGC notice comes only hours after DraftKings and FanDuel exited Nevada’s sports betting industry to focus on their prediction market efforts. FanDuel’s parent, Flutter Entertainment, surrendered its sports wagering license, while DraftKings folded on its pursuit to enter the state.

    Last month, the NGCB concluded that sports event contracts are wagers. The board, often cited as the “gold standard” of gaming regulation, added that most prediction market contracts violate Nevada’s betting laws.

    The Board considers offering sports event contracts, or certain other event contracts, as constituting wagering activity under NRS 463.0193 and 463.01962. Wagering occurs whether the contract is listed on an exchange regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission or elsewhere,” the NGCB wrote.

    “Examples of event contracts that the Board specifically considers to be wagering subject to its jurisdiction include event contracts based on the outcome or partial outcome of any sporting or athletic event, or other selected events such as the World Series of Poker, the Oscars, Esports, and political elections (“Sports and Other Event Contracts”),” the notice continued. 

    Boston-Based DraftKings

    For DraftKings, the company that calls Massachusetts’ capital city its headquarters, the MGC notice is of utmost concern. Though the state gaming agency said its directive regarding prediction markets only applies to such operations within the commonwealth, the MGC said it reserves the right to address its licensees operating PMs outside the state in the future.

    The letters do not speak to sports-related event contracts offered outside of Massachusetts or event contracts in general, though the Commission reserves the right to address those topics in the future,” the MGC wrote on its website.

    DraftKings is set to debut DraftKings Predicts next month. FanDuel is, too.

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    Devin O’Connor

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  • School district cuts dozens of jobs before Thanksgiving due to $1.4M budget deficit

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    Dozens of staff members will soon be out of work as a Massachusetts school district deals with a deficit of over $1 million.

    The Whitman-Hanson Regional School District has a budget shortfall of about $1.39 million. Teachers and other workers — 25 in total — have learned their last day will be Nov. 21 — the Friday before Thanksgiving.

    A newly-formed budget subcommittee met for the first time Wednesday night.

    “We will continue to support any and all impacted staff to make sure they have the appropriate resources to get through this challenging time,” said Kevin Kavka, president of the Whitman-Hanson Education Association and a history teacher at Whitman-Hanson Regional High School.

    He said he and other teachers are concerned for the students.

    “There’s going to be kids who, all of a sudden, have a new teacher, so we want to continue to support both the staff and the administration in that process,” Kavka said.

    Leaders are planning to cut teachers as the school district is short by about $1.4 million.

    The union issued a vote of no confidence in Superintendent Jeffrey Szymaniak last week at a school committee meeting.

    Szymaniak took blame for the financial mess.

    “I should have made sure everyone understood where we stood before it became a crisis,” he said at last week’s meeting. “I didn’t do that, and that’s on me.”

    Kavka said the accountability is a start.

    “We continue to work with administration to get an understanding of what has happened, and also, of course, trying to make sure that things are put in a place that they don’t happen again,” he said.

    Another school committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 19, at the high school. Members of the community are hoping more information and answers will be given.

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    Amelia Fabiano

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  • Police/Fire

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    In news taken from the logs of Cape Ann’s police and fire departments:

    Rockport


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  • Solar storms bring colorful northern lights to unexpected places in the U.S.

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    NEW YORK (AP) — Solar storms brought colorful auroras to unexpected places in the U.S. on Tuesday night, and there could be more to come.

    Space weather forecasters confirmed that storms reached severe levels on Tuesday, triggering vibrant northern lights as far south as Kansas, Colorado and Texas.

    What You Need To Know

    • A rare G4 geomagnetic storm occurred Tuesday night

    • The northern lights were seen as far south as Florida

    • Another powerful storm is likely tonight

    • Using your smartphone’s night mode is the best way to capture the lights



    There were some impacts to GPS communications and the power grid, Shawn Dahl with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a video posted on X.

    Over the past few days, the sun has “burped” out several bursts of energy called coronal mass ejections or CMEs. Two have reached Earth, but at least one more is still on the way and could arrive sometime on Wednesday.

    Forecasters think this solar outburst could be the most energetic of the three and have issued a severe storm alert. How bright the auroras are and how far south they are visible will depend on when the burst gets here and how it interacts with Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere.

    How northern lights happen

    The sun is at the maximum phase of its 11-year activity cycle, making the light displays more common and widespread. Colorful northern lights have decorated night skies in unexpected places and space weather experts say there are more auroras still to come.

    Aurora displays known as the northern and southern lights are commonly visible near the poles, where charged particles from the sun interact with Earth’s atmosphere.

    Skygazers are spotting the lights deeper into the United States and Europe because the sun is going through a major face-lift. Every 11 years, its magnetic poles swap places, causing magnetic twists and tangles along the way.

    Last year, the strongest geomagnetic storm in two decades slammed Earth, producing light displays across the Northern Hemisphere. And soon afterward, a powerful solar storm dazzled skygazers far from the Arctic Circle when dancing lights appeared in unexpected places including Germany, the United Kingdom, New England and New York City.

    The sun’s active spurt is expected to last at least through the end of this year, although when solar activity will peak won’t be known until months after the fact, according to NASA and NOAA.

    How solar storms affect Earth

    Solar storms can bring more than colorful lights to Earth.

    When fast-moving particles and plasma slam into Earth’s magnetic field, they can temporarily disrupt the power grid. Space weather can also interfere with air traffic control radio and satellites in orbit. Severe storms are capable of scrambling other radio and GPS communications.

    In 1859, a severe solar storm triggered auroras as far south as Hawaii and set telegraph lines on fire in a rare event. And a 1972 solar storm may have detonated magnetic U.S. sea mines off the coast of Vietnam.

    Space weather experts aren’t able to predict a solar storm months in advance. Instead, they alert relevant parties to prepare in the days before a solar outburst hits Earth.

    How to see and capture the auroras

    For the latest northern lights forecasts, check NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center website or an aurora forecasting app.

    Make your best effort to get away from city lights and find somewhere dark. Experts recommend skygazing from a local or national park. And check the weather forecast because clouds can cover up the spectacle entirely.

    Visibility tonight could be reduced in places like the West, Plains, and Northeast due to clouds. The Southeast should have great visibility if the northern lights can make it that far south again.

    Many areas in northern latitudes should be able to see the northern lights with the naked eye. If you’re farther south, your smartphone cameras may also reveal hints of the aurora that aren’t visible to the naked eye. Long-exposure is your best bet to reveal all the colors in the night sky.

    When taking the photo, turn on “night mode” and place your phone on a steady surface. The longer the exposure, the better the photo will turn out!

    If you’ve taken any pictures of the northern lights, you can share your photos here.

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    Associated Press, Spectrum News Weather Staff

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  • Solar storms bring colorful northern lights to unexpected places in the U.S.

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    NEW YORK (AP) — Solar storms brought colorful auroras to unexpected places in the U.S. on Tuesday night, and there could be more to come.

    Space weather forecasters confirmed that storms reached severe levels on Tuesday, triggering vibrant northern lights as far south as Kansas, Colorado and Texas.

    What You Need To Know

    • A rare G4 geomagnetic storm occurred Tuesday night

    • The northern lights were seen as far south as Florida

    • Another powerful storm is likely tonight

    • Using your smartphone’s night mode is the best way to capture the lights



    There were some impacts to GPS communications and the power grid, Shawn Dahl with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a video posted on X.

    Over the past few days, the sun has “burped” out several bursts of energy called coronal mass ejections or CMEs. Two have reached Earth, but at least one more is still on the way and could arrive sometime on Wednesday.

    Forecasters think this solar outburst could be the most energetic of the three and have issued a severe storm alert. How bright the auroras are and how far south they are visible will depend on when the burst gets here and how it interacts with Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere.

    How northern lights happen

    The sun is at the maximum phase of its 11-year activity cycle, making the light displays more common and widespread. Colorful northern lights have decorated night skies in unexpected places and space weather experts say there are more auroras still to come.

    Aurora displays known as the northern and southern lights are commonly visible near the poles, where charged particles from the sun interact with Earth’s atmosphere.

    Skygazers are spotting the lights deeper into the United States and Europe because the sun is going through a major face-lift. Every 11 years, its magnetic poles swap places, causing magnetic twists and tangles along the way.

    Last year, the strongest geomagnetic storm in two decades slammed Earth, producing light displays across the Northern Hemisphere. And soon afterward, a powerful solar storm dazzled skygazers far from the Arctic Circle when dancing lights appeared in unexpected places including Germany, the United Kingdom, New England and New York City.

    The sun’s active spurt is expected to last at least through the end of this year, although when solar activity will peak won’t be known until months after the fact, according to NASA and NOAA.

    How solar storms affect Earth

    Solar storms can bring more than colorful lights to Earth.

    When fast-moving particles and plasma slam into Earth’s magnetic field, they can temporarily disrupt the power grid. Space weather can also interfere with air traffic control radio and satellites in orbit. Severe storms are capable of scrambling other radio and GPS communications.

    In 1859, a severe solar storm triggered auroras as far south as Hawaii and set telegraph lines on fire in a rare event. And a 1972 solar storm may have detonated magnetic U.S. sea mines off the coast of Vietnam.

    Space weather experts aren’t able to predict a solar storm months in advance. Instead, they alert relevant parties to prepare in the days before a solar outburst hits Earth.

    How to see and capture the auroras

    For the latest northern lights forecasts, check NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center website or an aurora forecasting app.

    Make your best effort to get away from city lights and find somewhere dark. Experts recommend skygazing from a local or national park. And check the weather forecast because clouds can cover up the spectacle entirely.

    Visibility tonight could be reduced in places like the West, Plains, and Northeast due to clouds. The Southeast should have great visibility if the northern lights can make it that far south again.

    Many areas in northern latitudes should be able to see the northern lights with the naked eye. If you’re farther south, your smartphone cameras may also reveal hints of the aurora that aren’t visible to the naked eye. Long-exposure is your best bet to reveal all the colors in the night sky.

    When taking the photo, turn on “night mode” and place your phone on a steady surface. The longer the exposure, the better the photo will turn out!

    If you’ve taken any pictures of the northern lights, you can share your photos here.

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  • This federal judge retired from his job to speak out against Trump Administration

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    Mark Wolf on Friday retired from his job as U.S. District Court Senior Judge. On Tuesday, he was introduced as senior counsel at the boutique law firm Todd & Weld.

    “I have long admired the high quality of advocacy of the Todd & Weld attorneys who have appeared in my courtroom, and the firm’s commitment to public service,” Wolf said. “When I decided to leave the bench it was the only firm I considered joining. I am pleased to have found such a fine partner for my public and private endeavors.”

    On Sunday, The Atlantic published a piece by Wolf titled “Why I Am Resigning.”

    “My reason is simple: I no longer can bear to be restrained by what judges can say publicly or do outside the courtroom,” Wolf wrote. “President Donald Trump is using the law for partisan purposes, targeting his adversaries while sparing his friends and donors from investigation, prosecution, and possible punishment. This is contrary to everything that I have stood for in my more than 50 years in the Department of Justice and on the bench. The White House’s assault on the rule of law is so deeply disturbing to me that I feel compelled to speak out. Silence, for me, is now intolerable.”

    In addition to four decades as a judge, Wolf worked from 1974 to 1977 as special assistant in the U.S. attorney general’s office and from 1981 to 1985 as Deputy U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts and chief of the Public Corruption unit in that office. He was in private practice in Washington D.C. (1971-1974) and in Boston (1977-1981).

    “He brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and perspective that will enrich our practice and provide added value to our clients,” said David Rich, Co-Managing Partner of Todd & Weld.

    Founding Partner Howard Cooper of Todd & Weld added, “Judge Wolf has dedicated his career to upholding the rule of law in cases both large and small. We are excited to work with him as he begins this next chapter.”

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    Michael P. Norton | State House News Service

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  • Gloucester Police/Fire

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    In news taken from the logs of Gloucester’s police and fire departments:

    Wednesday, Oct. 29


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  • MLB pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz charged with taking bribes to rig pitches for bettors

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    NEW YORK (AP) — Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz have been indicted on charges they took bribes from sports bettors to throw certain types of pitches, including tossing balls in the dirt instead of strikes, to ensure successful bets.

    According to the indictment unsealed Sunday in federal court in Brooklyn, the highly paid hurlers took several thousand dollars in payoffs to help two unnamed gamblers from their native Dominican Republic win at least $460,000 on in-game prop bets on the speed and outcome of certain pitches.

    Clase, the Guardians’ former closer, and Ortiz, a starter, have been on non-disciplinary paid leave since July, when MLB started investigating what it said was unusually high in-game betting activity when they pitched. Some of the games in question were in April, May and June.

    Ortiz, 26, was arrested Sunday by the FBI at Boston Logan International Airport. He is expected to appear in federal court in Boston on Monday. Clase, 27, was not in custody, officials said.

    Ortiz and Clase “betrayed America’s pastime,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said. “Integrity, honesty and fair play are part of the DNA of professional sports. When corruption infiltrates the sport, it brings disgrace not only to the participants but damages the public trust in an institution that is vital and dear to all of us.”

    Ortiz’s lawyer, Chris Georgalis, said in a statement that his client was innocent and “has never, and would never, improperly influence a game — not for anyone and not for anything.”

    Georgalis said Ortiz’s defense team had previously documented for prosecutors that the payments and money transfers between him and individuals in the Dominican Republic were for lawful activities.

    “There is no credible evidence Luis knowingly did anything other than try to win games, with every pitch and in every inning. Luis looks forward to fighting these charges in court,” Georgalis said.

    A lawyer for Clase, Michael J. Ferrara, said his client “has devoted his life to baseball and doing everything in his power to help his team win. Emmanuel is innocent of all charges and looks forward to clearing his name in court.”

    The Major League Baseball Players Association had no comment.

    Unusual betting activity prompted investigation

    MLB said it contacted federal law enforcement when it began investigating unusual betting activity and has fully cooperated with authorities. “We are aware of the indictment and today’s arrest, and our investigation is ongoing,” a league statement said.

    In a statement, the Guardians said: “We are aware of the recent law enforcement action. We will continue to fully cooperate with both law enforcement and Major League Baseball as their investigations continue.”

    Clase and Ortiz are both charged with wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery. The top charges carry a potential punishment of up to 20 years in prison.

    In one example cited in the indictment, Clase allegedly invited a bettor to a game against the Boston Red Sox in April and spoke with him by phone just before taking the mound. Four minutes later, the indictment said, the bettor and his associates won $11,000 on a wager that Clase would toss a certain pitch slower than 97.95 mph (157.63 kph).

    In May, the indictment said, Clase agreed to throw a ball at a certain point in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but the batter swung, resulting in a strike, costing the bettors $4,000 in wagers. After the game, which the Guardians won, one of the bettors sent Clase a text message with an image of a man hanging himself with toilet paper, the indictment said. Clase responded with an image of a sad puppy dog face, according to the indictment.

    Clase, a three-time All-Star and two-time American League Reliever of the Year, had a $4.5 million salary in 2025, the fourth season of a $20 million, five-year contract. The three-time AL save leader began providing the bettors with information about his pitches in 2023 but didn’t ask for payoffs until this year, prosecutors said.

    The indictment cited specific pitches Clase allegedly rigged — all of them first pitches when he entered to start an inning: a 98.5 mph (158.5 kph) cutter low and inside to the New York Mets’ Starling Marte on May 19, 2023; an 89.4 mph (143.8 kph) slider to Minnesota’s Ryan Jeffers that bounced well short of home plate on June 3, 2023; an 89.4 mph (143.8 kph) slider to Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. that bounced on April 12; a 99.1 mph (159.5 kph) cutter in the dirt to Philadelphia’s Max Kepler on May 11; a bounced 89.1 mph (143.4) slider to Milwaukee’s Jake Bauers on May 13; and a bounced 87.5 mph (140.8 kph) slider to Cincinnati’s Santiago Espinal on May 17.

    Prosecutors said Ortiz, who had a $782,600 salary this year, got in on the scheme in June and is accused of rigging pitches in games against the Seattle Mariners and the St. Louis Cardinals.

    Ortiz was cited for bouncing a first-pitch 86.7 mph (139.5 kph) slider to Seattle’s Randy Arozarena starting the second inning on June 15 and bouncing a first-pitch 86.7 mph (139.5 kph) slider to St. Louis’ Pedro Pagés that went to the backstop opening the third inning on June 27.

    Dozens of pro athletes have been charged in gambling sweeps

    The charges are the latest bombshell developments in a federal crackdown on betting in professional sports.

    Last month, more than 30 people, including prominent basketball figures such as Portland Trail Blazers head coach and Basketball Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, were arrested in a gambling sweep that rocked the NBA.

    Sports betting scandals have long been a concern, but a May 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling led to a wave of gambling incidents involving athletes and officials. The ruling struck down a federal ban on sports betting in most states and opened the doors for online sportsbooks to take a prominent space in the sports ecosystem.

    Major League Baseball suspended five players in June 2024, including a lifetime ban for San Diego infielder Tucupita Marcano for allegedly placing 387 baseball bets with a legal sportsbook totaling more than $150,000.

    ___

    This story was first published on Nov. 9. It was updated on Nov. 11 to correct that, according to an indictment, a bettor sent Clase an image of a man hanging himself with toilet paper. Clase didn’t send that image to the bettor.

    ___

    Associated Press reporters Eric Tucker in Washington and Ron Blum in New York contributed to this report.

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  • Trump administration renews Supreme Court appeal to keep full SNAP payments frozen

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    President Donald Trump’s administration returned to the Supreme Court on Monday in a push to keep full payments in the SNAP federal food aid program frozen while the government is shut down, even as some families struggled to put food on the table.

    The request is the latest in a flurry of legal activity over how the program that helps 42 million Americans buy groceries should proceed during the historic U.S. government shutdown. Lower courts have ruled that the government must keep full payments flowing, but the Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to keep them frozen for now.

    The high court is expected to rule Tuesday.

    The seesawing rulings so far have created a situation where beneficiaries in some states, including Hawaii and New Jersey, have received their full monthly allocations and those in others, such as Nebraska and West Virginia, have seen nothing.

    Brandi Johnson, 48, of St. Louis, said she’s struggling to make the $20 she has left in her SNAP account stretch. Johnson said she has been skipping meals the past two weeks to make sure her three teenage children have something to eat. She is also helping care for her infant granddaughter, who has food allergies, and her 80-year-old mother.

    She said food pantries have offered little help in recent days. Many require patrons to live in a certain ZIP code or are dedicated to helping the elderly first.

    “I think about it 24 hours a day, seven days a week, literally,” Johnson said. “Because you’ve got to figure out how you’re going to eat.”

    Millions receive aid while others wait

    The Trump administration argued that lower court orders requiring the full funding of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program wrongly affect ongoing negotiations in Congress about ending the shutdown. Supreme Court Solicitor General D. John Sauer called the funding lapse tragic, but said judges shouldn’t be deciding how to handle it.

    The Senate Monday passed a compromise funding package that would end the government shutdown and refill SNAP funds. It now goes to the House for consideration.

    Trump’s administration initially said SNAP benefits would not be available in November because of the shutdown. After some states and nonprofit groups sued, judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island ruled the administration could not skip November’s benefits entirely.

    The administration then said it would use an emergency reserve fund to provide 65% of the maximum monthly benefit. On Thursday, Rhode Island-based U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell said that wasn’t good enough, and ordered full funding for SNAP benefits by Friday.

    Some states acted quickly to direct their EBT vendors to disburse full monthly benefits to SNAP recipients. Millions of people in at least a dozen states — all with Democratic governors — received the full amount to buy groceries before Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson put McConnell’s order on hold Friday night, pending further deliberation by an appeals court.

    Delays cause complications for some beneficiaries

    Millions more people still have not received SNAP payments for November, because their states were waiting on guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers SNAP. Several states have made partial payments, including Texas, where officials said money was going on cards for some beneficiaries Monday.

    “Continued delays deepen suffering for children, seniors, and working families, and force nonprofits to shoulder an even heavier burden,” Diane Yentel, President and CEO, National Council of Nonprofits, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said in a statement Monday. “If basic decency and humanity don’t compel the administration to assure food security for all Americans, then multiple federal court judges finding its actions unlawful must.”

    Trump’s administration has argued that the judicial order to provide full benefits violates the Constitution by infringing on the spending power of the legislative and executive branches.

    Wisconsin, which was among the first to load full benefits after McConnell’s order, had its federal reimbursement frozen. The state’s SNAP account could be depleted as soon as Monday, leaving no money to reimburse stores that sell food to SNAP recipients, according to a court filing.

    New York Attorney General Letitia James said Monday that some cardholders have been turned away by stores concerned that they won’t be reimbursed — something she called to stop.

    New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said Trump was fighting “for the right to starve Americans.”

    “It’s the most heinous thing I’ve ever seen in public life,” he said.

    The latest rulings keep payments on hold, at least for now

    States administering SNAP payments continue to face uncertainty over whether they can — and should — provide full monthly benefits during the ongoing legal battles.

    The Trump administration over the weekend demanded that states “undo” full benefits that were paid during a one-day window after a federal judge ordered full funding and before a Supreme Court justice paused that order.

    A federal appeals court in Boston left the full benefits order in place late Sunday, though the Supreme Court order ensures the government won’t have to pay out for at least 48 hours.

    “The record here shows that the government sat on its hands for nearly a month, unprepared to make partial payments, while people who rely on SNAP received no benefits a week into November and counting,” Judge Julie Rikleman of the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals wrote.

    U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, presiding over a case filed in Boston by Democratic state officials, on Monday paused the USDA’s request from Saturday that states “immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits.”

    In a hearing later that Monday, Talwani said that communication to states was confusing, especially because the threat came just a day after USDA sent letters to states saying SNAP would be paid in full.

    Federal government lawyer Tyler Becker said the order was only intended for states to receive the full amount of SNAP benefits, and “had nothing to do with beneficiaries.”

    Talwani said she would issue a full order soon.

    ___

    Associated Press writers Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin; Margery Beck in Omaha, Nebraska; John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas; Kimberlee Kruesi in Providence, Rhode Island; Nicholas Riccardi in Denver; and Stephen Groves and Lindsay Whitehurst in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.

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  • It’s time to spin your ceiling fan the other way

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    If you have a ceiling fan, turn it on and look up at it. Which direction are the blades spinning? If they’re going counterclockwise, it’s time to change direction.

    What You Need To Know

    • Clockwise-turning fans circulate warm air around

    • Counterclockwise-turning fans give a cooling breeze

    • Changing the fan’s spin direction can lower your energy bill

    • Get the most out of your fan with the right size and position

    You may have noticed that your ceiling fan blades have slight angles. There’s a reason for that! They’re designed to move the room’s air a certain way, depending on which direction the fan is spinning.

    Which way?

    In the summer, a counterclockwise-spinning ceiling fan will push air down and out, creating a small cooling breeze.

    In the winter, a clockwise-spinning ceiling fan on low-speed will draw up the air and circulate it so that it mixes. Warm air rises, so it’ll make use of the warmer air that’s hanging above your head.

    To change your fan’s spin direction, check the manual to make sure you do it correctly. Most likely, the switch is on the body of the fan fixture or inside the light globe. If your fan has a remote or wall panel, check for a fan direction button there.

    This little trick of running your ceiling fan the right way can also lower your energy bill. Since your fan is returning warm air down, you may find yourself turning your thermostat down.

    Is your fan doing its best work?

    One other note: make sure your ceiling fan is right for the room.

    Ceiling fan blades work best when they’re 10 to 12 inches below the ceiling, 7 to 9 feet above the floor and at least 18 inches away from walls.

    Fans with a diameter of 44 inches or less are good for circulating rooms up to 225 square feet. Larger rooms should use larger fans, often 52 inches or bigger.

    Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.

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    Spectrum News Weather Staff

    Source link

  • It’s time to spin your ceiling fan the other way

    [ad_1]

    If you have a ceiling fan, turn it on and look up at it. Which direction are the blades spinning? If they’re going counterclockwise, it’s time to change direction.

    What You Need To Know

    • Clockwise-turning fans circulate warm air around

    • Counterclockwise-turning fans give a cooling breeze

    • Changing the fan’s spin direction can lower your energy bill

    • Get the most out of your fan with the right size and position

    You may have noticed that your ceiling fan blades have slight angles. There’s a reason for that! They’re designed to move the room’s air a certain way, depending on which direction the fan is spinning.

    Which way?

    In the summer, a counterclockwise-spinning ceiling fan will push air down and out, creating a small cooling breeze.

    In the winter, a clockwise-spinning ceiling fan on low-speed will draw up the air and circulate it so that it mixes. Warm air rises, so it’ll make use of the warmer air that’s hanging above your head.

    To change your fan’s spin direction, check the manual to make sure you do it correctly. Most likely, the switch is on the body of the fan fixture or inside the light globe. If your fan has a remote or wall panel, check for a fan direction button there.

    This little trick of running your ceiling fan the right way can also lower your energy bill. Since your fan is returning warm air down, you may find yourself turning your thermostat down.

    Is your fan doing its best work?

    One other note: make sure your ceiling fan is right for the room.

    Ceiling fan blades work best when they’re 10 to 12 inches below the ceiling, 7 to 9 feet above the floor and at least 18 inches away from walls.

    Fans with a diameter of 44 inches or less are good for circulating rooms up to 225 square feet. Larger rooms should use larger fans, often 52 inches or bigger.

    Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.

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    Spectrum News Weather Staff

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  • Police/Fire

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    In news taken from the logs of Cape Ann’s police and fire departments:

    Rockport

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  • Police/Fire

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    In news taken from the logs of Cape Ann’s police and fire departments:

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  • States Are Pushing for More Scrutiny of Antisemitism in Schools

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    In the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas two years ago, high school teacher Josh Hirsch posted comments on social media in support of Israel. It was unrealistic for Hamas to expect a ceasefire, he wrote, as long as they were holding hostages.

    Soon afterward, a former student called for his firing. A note taped outside the door of his Adams County, Colorado, classroom contained his wife’s name and their home address. And a sticker that appeared on his chair read: “Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.”

    The reaction startled Hirsch, the only Jewish teacher in his school building. For the first time in his 14-year career, he considered quitting. He stayed and joined an educators’ advocacy network created by the Anti-Defamation League, a way he saw to make schools more inclusive of diverse viewpoints.

    “I’ve been a teacher and tried to keep my focus on being the best teacher I could,” he said.

    Tensions over the Israel-Hamas war have spilled into schools around the U.S., with advocates reporting a rise in antisemitic harassment since the 2023 surprise attack on Israel. While some argue school leaders have failed to take the threat seriously, others warn criticism of Israel and the military campaign in Gaza are interpreted too often as hate speech.

    The Trump administration has not punished school systems the way it has hit colleges accused of tolerating antisemitism, but schools are still facing pressure to respond more aggressively. Several states have pressed for new vigilance, including legislation that critics say would stifle free speech.


    Both conservative and liberal states apply more scrutiny

    Lawmakers in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Tennessee have passed measures to increase school accountability for complaints of antisemitism, and a law signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, will provide training to identify and prevent antisemitism in schools. In Arizona, the Democratic governor vetoed a bill on how to deal with reports of antisemitism in schools, calling it an attack on educators.

    Many of the measures, including one signed by Oklahoma’s Republican governor, call for adoption of a definition of antisemitism that casts certain criticism of Israel as hate speech.

    “These bills make it clear that Oklahoma stands with our Jewish communities and will not tolerate hatred disguised as political discourse,” said Kristen Thompson, a Republican state senator in Oklahoma who authored the legislation.

    Dozens of states have adopted the definition promoted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, which is also recognized by the U.S. State Department. It lists 11 examples of antisemitic conduct, such as applying “double standards” to Israel or comparing the country’s policies to Nazism.

    While supporters of this definition of antisemitism say it is necessary to combat evolving forms of Jewish hate, civil liberties groups warn it suppresses pro-Palestinian speech.


    Trump administration approach contrasts with attacks on colleges

    The Trump administration has leveraged antisemitism investigations in its efforts to reshape higher education, suspending billions of dollars in federal funding to Harvard, Columbia and other universities over allegations they tolerated hate speech, especially during protests over the Israel-Hamas war.

    The White House has not gotten as involved at the K-12 level. At congressional hearings, House Republicans have taken some large school systems to task over their handling of antisemitism, but the administration largely has left it to the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights to address complaints.

    In one of the cases under investigation, a complaint described students at the Berkeley Unified School District in California asking Jewish classmates what “their number is,” referring to numbers tattooed on Jews during the Holocaust. It also said teachers made antisemitic comments and led walkouts that praised Hamas.

    The district did not respond to a request for comment.

    In another California case, the family of a 14-year-old girl filed a federal lawsuit last year alleging she had to leave University Preparatory Academy, a charter school in San Jose, in 2023 because of antisemitic bullying. After the Hamas attack, she said students called her names, including “terrorist.” The California Department of Education and the school said they could not comment on pending litigation.

    Nationwide, the ADL recorded 860 antisemitic incidents in non-Jewish schools last year, ranging from name-calling and swastikas etched on lockers to antisemitic materials being taught in classrooms. The number was down from over 1,100 recorded in 2023, but well above numbers in prior years, according to the ADL.

    A Massachusetts state commission formed last year to combat antisemitism found it was a “pervasive and escalating problem” in schools.

    At one meeting, a commission co-chair, Democratic state Rep. Simon Cataldo, said the Massachusetts Teachers Association was sharing antisemitic resources with teachers, including a kindergarten workbook that describes Zionists as “bullies” and an image of a Star of David made of dollar bills. The union said those were singled out among hundreds of images in art and posters about Palestinians, and links to those materials were removed.

    The union said it has engaged in efforts to confront increases in both antisemitism and Islamophobia and accused the commission of “offensive political theater.”

    “Those who manipulate antisemitism to achieve political objectives — such as undermining labor unions and public educators — are following the lead of the Trump administration,” the union said in a statement.

    Margaret Litvin, an associate professor of Arabic and comparative literature at Boston University, said the commission was “deliberately conflating criticism of Israel with prejudice against Jews and bias against Jews.” That approach will be used to justify “heavy-handed” interference by the state in school district affairs, said Litvin, co-founder of the Boston-area Concerned Jewish Faculty and Staff group.


    Controversy reaches the biggest teachers union

    The tension reached the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers union, which this summer weighed a proposal to drop ADL classroom materials that educators use to teach about the Holocaust and bias. Backers said the ADL had an outsize influence on school curricula and policy, with an underlying pro-Israel viewpoint.

    Delegates at the union’s representative assembly narrowly voted to approve the proposal, but they were overruled by the NEA board of directors. Union President Becky Pringle said the proposal “would not further NEA’s commitment to academic freedom, our membership, or our goals.”

    In the aftermath, the ADL invited K-12 educators to join a new network called BEACON: Building Educator Allies for Change, Openness, and Networks, which it said is intended to help educators learn from each other how to address and combat antisemitism and other forms of hate.

    Hirsch, the teacher in Colorado, was among hundreds who expressed interest.

    Some of the blowback he faced stemmed from his online commentary about local activist organizations. After donating money to Black Lives Matter groups and supporting them with a sign in his yard, he expressed feelings of betrayal to see the groups expressing support for Palestinians and not Israel.

    He said he was surprised by the reaction to the posts in his predominantly Hispanic school community. A former debate coach, he aims through his work with the ADL network to help students share their opinions in constructive ways.

    “If we’re giving them the opportunity to hate and we’re giving them the opportunity to make enemies of someone, it really is counterproductive to what we’re trying to do as a society,” he said.

    The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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    Photos You Should See – Oct. 2025

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