Western Mass Man Admits To Selling Russian Plutonium Out Of His Home To Buyers Across US: Feds Western Mass Man Admits To Selling Russian Plutonium Out Of His Home To Buyers Across US: Feds Western Mass Man Admits To Selling Russian Plutonium Out Of His Home To Buyers Across US: Feds
Western Mass Man Admits To Selling Russian Plutonium Out Of His Home To Buyers Across US: Feds A convicted Massachusetts felon has admitted to importing plutonium from Russia and mailing the highly radioactive material to dozens of buyers through a business he ran from a South Hadley home, authorities said. Police also found child sexual abuse material at his home. Jacob D. Miller, 44, of Hadley, pleaded guilty to possession of ammunition and explosives, importing nuclear material without authorization, mailing hazardous materials, and possessing child sexual abuse material, the US Attorney for the District of Massachusetts said on Monday, Oct. 5. Miller has remained in fed…
Family Sues Connecticut Resort After Springfield Teen’s Drowning, Alleges Pool Overcrowding Family Sues Connecticut Resort After Springfield Teen’s Drowning, Alleges Pool Overcrowding Family Sues Connecticut Resort After Springfield Teen’s Drowning, Alleges Pool Overcrowding
Family Sues Connecticut Resort After Springfield Teen’s Drowning, Alleges Pool Overcrowding The family of a 14-year-old Massachusetts student who drowned during an end-of-year school field trip in Connecticut has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the resort’s management company and property owner. The lawsuit alleges negligence and recklessness in connection with the June 10 death of E’Mari Marshall-Woodard, of Springfield, and seeks damages, including punitive damages. According to the complaint filed last week, more than 800 students from several school districts visited the High Meadow Resort in Granby as part of a day camp.  The lawsuit alleges that more than 150 st…
PA Measles Outbreak Tops 1,000, Highest In US, 4 Vaccinated Residents Among Infected PA Measles Outbreak Tops 1,000, Highest In US, 4 Vaccinated Residents Among Infected PA Measles Outbreak Tops 1,000, Highest In US, 4 Vaccinated Residents Among Infected
PA Measles Outbreak Tops 1,000, Highest In US, 4 Vaccinated Residents Among Infected Pennsylvania’s measles outbreak has surpassed 1,000 confirmed cases and now includes five deaths, state health officials announced Monday, Oct. 5. The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 1,004 cases across 39 counties so far in 2026 — up 27 cases since Friday, Oct. 2. There have been 198 hospitalizations tied to the outbreak, according to the department. Nearly 20 percent of people identified by the state with measles have been hospitalized. The new numbers come less than a month after the statewide total stood at 676 cases in 37 counties, with 124 hospitalizations and two measles-a…
21-Year-Old Woman Killed In Western Mass Crash Had 'Stunning, Contagious Smile' 21-Year-Old Woman Killed In Western Mass Crash Had 'Stunning, Contagious Smile' 21-Year-Old Woman Killed In Western Mass Crash Had 'Stunning, Contagious Smile'
21-Year-Old Woman Killed In Western Mass Crash Had 'Stunning, Contagious Smile' Authorities have identified a 21-year-old Western Massachusetts woman who was killed when the car she was riding in struck a guardrail and came to rest in a backyard last week. Lexani Velazquez, of Westfield, was killed in the crash Friday, Oct. 2, around 1:15 a.m. near the rotary at Park Street and South Street in Easthampton, according to the Northwestern District Attorney's Office.  Velazquez was a passenger in the vehicle, which was traveling on Park Street when it struck the guardrail before coming to rest in a home's backyard, according to the preliminary investigation. The driv…
Dead Passengers, Fake Drivers: NJ Woman, Colombian Lover's $13M Scheme Unravels Dead Passengers, Fake Drivers: NJ Woman, Colombian Lover's $13M Scheme Unravels Dead Passengers, Fake Drivers: NJ Woman, Colombian Lover's $13M Scheme Unravels
Dead Passengers, Fake Drivers: NJ Woman, Colombian Lover's $13M Scheme Unravels Some of the passengers were dead. Some of the drivers had never driven a car. But a New Jersey woman and her Colombian lover apparently had no trouble taking taxpayers for a ride. For years, prosecutors say, Jael Watts, 45, of Alloway, operated Pearl Transit Corporation, a New Jersey-based company that purported to have drivers scattered across the country giving rides to elderly and disabled people while also conducting outreach for homeless Americans. Watts and Luis Pino-Copete, 42, of Bogota, Colombia, were convicted following a multi-week federal trial in Utica of orchestrating a spraw…
Fashion CEO, Wife Found Shot Dead Outside California Residence Fashion CEO, Wife Found Shot Dead Outside California Residence Fashion CEO, Wife Found Shot Dead Outside California Residence
Fashion CEO, Wife Found Shot Dead Outside California Residence A fashion company CEO and his wife were found shot dead outside their California home, according to multiple reports. Neighbors identified the couple as Bryan and Michelle Walker, who built the women’s clothing brand, Bryn Walker.  They were found outside their home on Panoramic Way in Oakland, California, on Friday, Oct. 2, The Berkeley Scanner reported. Police had not publicly released their names when the Scanner published its report. Michelle was 63. Reports differed on Bryan’s age. A neighbor who heard gunfire discovered the couple around 10:45 a.m., according to the Scanner, ci…
Fake Federal Agents Steal $6.5M In National Fraud; Victims Didn't Know They Were Scammed Fake Federal Agents Steal $6.5M In National Fraud; Victims Didn't Know They Were Scammed Fake Federal Agents Steal $6.5M In National Fraud; Victims Didn't Know They Were Scammed
Fake Federal Agents Steal $6.5M In National Fraud; Victims Didn't Know They Were Scammed Two more victims of a nationwide gold scam involving fake federal agents had no idea they had been swindled until troopers contacted them, Pennsylvania State Police announced on Friday, Oct. 2. The scheme has been linked to approximately $6.5 million in losses across the country, with victims identified in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Washington State, according to police. The releases do not say whether the newly detailed losses are already included in that figure. “There are victims that are completely unaware that they are even victims,” Trooper Lauren Lesher wrote in an email to Daily Vo…
Former Yale Football Coach Tony Reno Dies At 52 After Lengthy Illness Former Yale Football Coach Tony Reno Dies At 52 After Lengthy Illness Former Yale Football Coach Tony Reno Dies At 52 After Lengthy Illness
Former Yale Football Coach Tony Reno Dies At 52 After Lengthy Illness Tony Reno, the coach who guided Yale football to five Ivy League championships, has died at 52, the university’s athletic director announced on Friday, Oct. 2.  Reno stepped down for health reasons in February. He had been living with a neurodegenerative disease since August 2025.  Even as his health declined, Reno coached the Bulldogs through every game of the 2025 season. Yale won another Ivy League title and reached the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. His loss reaches beyond the sidelines in New Haven. His son, Dante, serves as Yale’s starting quarterback. Re…
Mass Men Avoid Prison After Setting Off Blast Inside Harvard Medical School Mass Men Avoid Prison After Setting Off Blast Inside Harvard Medical School Mass Men Avoid Prison After Setting Off Blast Inside Harvard Medical School
Mass Men Avoid Prison After Setting Off Blast Inside Harvard Medical School Two Massachusetts men received probation after admitting to setting off an explosion inside a Harvard Medical School research lab.  Logan David Patterson, 19, of Plymouth, and Dominick Frank Cardoza, 21, of Bourne, set off a large commercial firework that triggered a fire alarm at the school’s Goldenson Building in Boston around 2:45 a.m. on Nov. 1, 2025, federal prosecutors said. US District Judge Angel Kelley sentenced each man to three years of probation. She also ordered them to pay $28,517 in restitution to the medical school. Both men pleaded guilty in April 2026 to conspir…
21-Year-Old Woman Dies In Western Mass Crash After Vehicle Smashes Into Guardrail 21-Year-Old Woman Dies In Western Mass Crash After Vehicle Smashes Into Guardrail 21-Year-Old Woman Dies In Western Mass Crash After Vehicle Smashes Into Guardrail
21-Year-Old Woman Dies In Western Mass Crash After Vehicle Smashes Into Guardrail Authorities are investigating a single-vehicle crash that killed a 21-year-old woman in Easthampton early Friday morning, Oct. 2. Police were called to the rotary at Park Street and South Street around 1:15 a.m., according to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office. A preliminary investigation indicates that the vehicle was traveling on Park Street when it struck a guardrail before coming to a stop in someone's backyard. The driver and one passenger were taken to Baystate Medical Center for treatment. The other passenger, a 21-year-old woman, died at the scene.  Authorities did no…
Mass Woman Admits Stealing $60K From Federal Union To Cover Meals, Clothes, Dance Lessons Mass Woman Admits Stealing $60K From Federal Union To Cover Meals, Clothes, Dance Lessons Mass Woman Admits Stealing $60K From Federal Union To Cover Meals, Clothes, Dance Lessons
Mass Woman Admits Stealing $60K From Federal Union To Cover Meals, Clothes, Dance Lessons A Massachusetts woman who managed a federal workers’ union’s finances stole more than $60,000 from its accounts to cover personal spending, including meals, clothes and dance lessons. Carol A. Aguja, 55, of Reading, pleaded guilty Thursday, Oct. 1, to wire fraud in federal court in Boston, the US Attorney for the District of Massachusetts said. Federal prosecutors charged Aguja in August 2026. The theft targeted American Federation of Government Employees Local 38. The union represented US Citizenship and Immigration Services employees living in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Ham…
Special Prosecutor Named In Cornell Fraternity Gang Rape Investigation Special Prosecutor Named In Cornell Fraternity Gang Rape Investigation Special Prosecutor Named In Cornell Fraternity Gang Rape Investigation
Special Prosecutor Named In Cornell Fraternity Gang Rape Investigation New York Attorney General Letitia James is taking over the criminal investigation after members of a Cornell University fraternity were accused of a gang rape. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the move in an executive order on Thursday, Oct. 1. The woman, identified as Jane Doe in a civil lawsuit, accused seven current and former members of the Chi Phi fraternity of drugging, sexually assaulting, and gang raping her in October 2024. Hochul said newly released information raised "serious questions" about the Cornell University Police Department's investigation and Tompkins Cou…