BOSTON — The 90-year-old widow of Robert F. Kennedy plans to participate in a hunger strike to protest the separation of immigrant families.
The Boston Globe reports Ethel Kennedy plans to join several of her family members and dozens of activists who each plan to fast for 24 hours and make a donation equal to the value of the food they would have eaten.
The organization Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights is holding what it calls a “hunger strike and prayer chain” over 24 days in honor of an estimated 2,400 children separated from parents because of President Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy for immigrants who enter the U.S. illegally at the Mexican border.
Kerry Kennedy heads the organization. She says her mother is “very joyful” about participating in the protest.
METHUEN — A giant, smiley face hot air balloon has made a surprise landing in a homeowner’s yard.
First responders say the hot air balloon carrying six passengers landed in a Methuen yard around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday. No injuries were reported.
Balloon pilot Tony Sica says they took off from New Hampshire, and the landing was normal for his company High Five Ballooning.
Sica says they mostly land in residential areas because New Hampshire is a heavily wooded state.
Sarah Benoit, the owner of the home where the balloon landed, said the pilot gave her a bottle of champagne and a thank you card.
Benoit says the passengers were in good spirits, telling her “we’re just here for some morning coffee.”
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Authorities say three men face federal charges accusing them of shipping large amounts of the powerful opioid fentanyl from Providence to Massachusetts.
Police and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents seized 4 kilograms of fentanyl, with a street value of more than $1 million, at a Providence apartment last week following a three-week undercover investigation.
Police say the drugs were being packaged for shipment to Lawrence and other surrounding cities and towns.
Officials say Providence has emerged as a center for illegal heroin and fentanyl trafficking from Rhode Island to Massachusetts. Two of the men arrested were from Providence and a third was a Dominican national.
CHELMSFORD — Maine officials have identified a Raymond fire captain as the man killed in a motorcycle crash in Chelmsford.
Police say a motorcycle 48-year-old David Mains was riding struck the rear of a Mercedes-Benz sedan in Chelmsford Monday afternoon. Mains was transported by helicopter to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Fire officials say his passenger and wife, Jen Mains, was also hospitalized with serious injuries but is expected to recover.
Raymond Fire & Rescue says in a Facebook post that Mains was named firefighter of the year, and he will leave a “large void” in the organization.
DIGHTON — An 18-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of another teenager inside a Massachusetts home.
Bristol District Attorney Thomas Quinn III says Joseph Medeiros, of Rehoboth, was arrested early Wednesday and charged with involuntary manslaughter, carrying an illegal firearm and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
Quinn identified the victim of the shooting as 17-year-old Michael Pacheco, who was found shot inside a home in Dighton on Tuesday evening and later pronounced dead at a hospital.
From Associated Press