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'Special Kind Of Evil': Child Sex Trafficker Who Recruited NY Victims Gets 40 Years In Prison 'Special Kind Of Evil': Child Sex Trafficker Who Recruited NY Victims Gets 40 Years In Prison
'Special Kind Of Evil': Child Sex Trafficker Who Recruited NY Victims Gets 40 Years In Prison A convicted sex trafficker will spend decades in prison for forcing underage girls into prostitution. New York resident Christopher Thomas, age 40, of Colonie in Albany County, was sentenced to 40 years behind bars Monday, Oct. 30, in Albany federal court. According to prosecutors, Thomas coerced numerous vulnerable children and young women, some as young as 16, to engage in sex work for his financial benefit between 2018 and 2020. His crimes spanned New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. In March 2023, following a 5-day trial, jurors convicted Thomas of 16 counts, including s…

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by Michael Mashburn
Business
Rite Aid Will Close Stores In Mass, Connecticut After Filing For Bankruptcy Rite Aid Will Close Stores In Mass, Connecticut After Filing For Bankruptcy
Rite Aid Will Close Stores In Mass, Connecticut After Filing For Bankruptcy Rite Aid, the pharmacy giant that filed for bankruptcy on Sunday, Oct. 15, plans to close 154 underperforming stores nationwide, according to a new filing. Some of those closures will be in Massachusetts and Connecticut.  Related: Why Is Rite Aid Filing For Bankruptcy? Rite Aid announced earlier this week that declining sales and rising debt forced the company's hand in filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The chain has more than 2,100 stores nationwide, and reducing rent costs will play a large part in bringing its balance sheet back into the black.  The only store in Massachusetts…

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by Josh Lanier
News
Moose Spotted Near CT Highway: Drivers Should Watch Out, Officials Say Moose Spotted Near CT Highway: Drivers Should Watch Out, Officials Say
Moose Spotted Near CT Highway: Drivers Should Watch Out, Officials Say State environmental officials are warning drivers to be cautious after a moose was spotted near a busy Connecticut highway exit. The warning came as the result of a sighting on Tuesday, Oct. 17, when a moose was seen in Hartford County near Exit 40 on Interstate 91 southbound in Windsor Locks, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection announced.  According to DEEP officials, the large animals can "pose hazard potential" to drivers, especially during the early morning and evening hours when they are most active. There are currently estimated to be just over 100 moose in the…

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by Ben Crnic
News
Hotel Rooms Canceled To Make Room For Migrants Ahead Of Army-Navy Game: Report Hotel Rooms Canceled To Make Room For Migrants Ahead Of Army-Navy Game: Report
Hotel Rooms Canceled To Make Room For Migrants Ahead Of Army-Navy Game: Report At least 70 people, including many veterans, suddenly found themselves without places to stay ahead of the upcoming Army-Navy college football game in Massachusetts after their hotels canceled their rooms to make room for migrants, according to a report by CBS News. The cancellations were made at three hotels owned by Giri Hotel Management, where veterans attending the iconic game's debut at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts on Saturday, Dec. 9 had been hoping to stay afterward, according to a report by CBS News from Thursday, Oct. 5.  When travel agent Mar…

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by Ben Crnic
Business
BJ's To Pay $9M For Not Reporting Air Conditioner Defect Linked To Death Of NY Mom, Feds Say BJ's To Pay $9M For Not Reporting Air Conditioner Defect Linked To Death Of NY Mom, Feds Say
BJ's To Pay $9M For Not Reporting Air Conditioner Defect Linked To Death Of NY Mom, Feds Say BJ's Wholesale Club has agreed to pay $9 million in penalties for failing to immediately report a known defect with an air conditioner it sold linked to the death of a mother after a house fire. The move by the Massachusetts-based company, located in Marlborough in Middlesex County, resolves its charges by the US. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The CPSC said BJ’s knowingly failed to immediately report to it, as required by law, that portable air conditioners manufactured by Royal Sovereign International, Inc. and sold by BJ’s, contained a defect that could create a substantial p…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
Tractor-Trailer Driver Gets Jail Time For Fatal Mass Pike Crash Tractor-Trailer Driver Gets Jail Time For Fatal Mass Pike Crash
Tractor-Trailer Driver Gets Jail Time For Fatal Mass Pike Crash A 70-year-old tractor-trailer driver from Connecticut will spend time in prison for his role in a crash on the Massachusetts Turnpike that left a man dead.  Hartford County resident Stanley Kardys, age 70, of West Granby, was sentenced to 90 days in jail for his role in an April 2021 crash in Berkshire County that killed 69-year-old Gary Litwin of Ludlow, the Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office announced on Wednesday, Oct. 4.  Earlier Report - CT Man Facing Charges After Fatal Mass Turnpike Crash According to the DA's Office, on April 23, 2021, just be…

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by Ben Crnic
Lifestyle
'So Grateful I Could Puke': Jeopardy! Champ From Massachusetts Returning To Iconic Quiz Show 'So Grateful I Could Puke': Jeopardy! Champ From Massachusetts Returning To Iconic Quiz Show
'So Grateful I Could Puke': Jeopardy! Champ From Massachusetts Returning To Iconic Quiz Show Of the thousands of contestants to appear on Jeopardy! over the years, not many get asked back a second time; Brendan Sargent is among the lucky few. The 34-year-old Massachusetts native, originally from Worcester and now living in Los Angeles, will return to the iconic quiz show, appearing on a “Champions Wild Card Tournament” episode airing Thursday, Oct. 5. “It happened again. I’m back on Jeopardy! Babyyyyy!!!” Sargent said on Facebook. The St. John’s High School and Boston University alum first competed on the show in March 2021, appearing in two episodes and going home with $9,600. …

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by Michael Mashburn
Weather
Smoke From Canadian Wildfires Causing Hazy Skies In Much Of Northeast Smoke From Canadian Wildfires Causing Hazy Skies In Much Of Northeast
Smoke From Canadian Wildfires Causing Hazy Skies In Much Of Northeast The forecast calls for mostly sunny skies on Monday, Oct. 2, but smoke from Canadian wildfires has spread across much of the Northeast, resulting in hazy conditions from New York through Connecticut into Massachusetts. Temperatures will be in the 70s, with a light north wind, according to the National Weather Service. "The northerly winds will bring some smoke from the Canadian wildfires back into the region today," the weather service noted. "The smoke is expected to remain above the surface, resulting in some hazy conditions, especially later this morning or afternoon." Visit airnow.gov…

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by Joe Lombardi
Business
New Ice Cream Recall Issued Due To Listeria Fears New Ice Cream Recall Issued Due To Listeria Fears
New Ice Cream Recall Issued Due To Listeria Fears A new ice cream recall has been issued because of Listeria concerns. The Life Raft Treats products were shipped by GoldBelly.com to 40 states, including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. The recall covered these products: "Not Fried Chicken" - 64-ounce bucket (No UPC) and 2.5 oz. bar (UPC 8 60006 18210 6) "Life is Peachy"- 6-count box (No UPC) To view product packaging photos from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), click here and scroll down. The company was notified last week by the South Carolina Department of Health and …

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by Joe Lombardi
Business
Stop & Shop Hosting Career Fair To Fill Hundreds Of Jobs At 34 CT Locations Stop & Shop Hosting Career Fair To Fill Hundreds Of Jobs At 34 CT Locations
Stop & Shop Hosting Career Fair To Fill Hundreds Of Jobs At 34 CT Locations Supermarket chain Stop & Shop will host a one-day career fair to fill hundreds of open positions at its Connecticut stores on Saturday, Sept. 23. On-the-spot interviews will be held at 34 locations across Fairfield, New Haven, and Litchfield counties for permanent, part-time store and e-commerce positions, the company announced. Pay starts at $15 an hour, including union positions in the bakery, deli, grocery, seafood, produce, and pharmacy departments.  There are also unionized openings on the overnight crew, as well as for cashiers, porters, baggers, home shoppers, and drivers.…

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by Michael Mashburn
Weather
New Tropical System Expected To Become Hurricane Forms In Atlantic New Tropical System Expected To Become Hurricane Forms In Atlantic
New Tropical System Expected To Become Hurricane Forms In Atlantic As Hurricane Lee makes its way northward up the coast, a new tropical system has formed. Click here for a new, updated story: Newly Named Tropical Storm Nigel Forms In Busy Atlantic As of late Friday morning, Sept. 15, Tropical Depression 15 is moving northwest at 15 miles per hour over the open Atlantic toward the Caribbean Sea.  It's expected to become a hurricane northeast of the Lesser Antilles, according to the National Hurricane Center. Its highest sustained winds are estimated to be 35 miles per hour, the National Hurricane Center said. If it becomes a tropical s…

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by Joe Lombardi
Weather
Hurricane Lee Set To Batter Northeast Coast With Damaging Winds, Heavy Rain: Here's Timing Hurricane Lee Set To Batter Northeast Coast With Damaging Winds, Heavy Rain: Here's Timing
Hurricane Lee Set To Batter Northeast Coast With Damaging Winds, Heavy Rain: Here's Timing Hurricane Lee is now just hours away from unleashing damaging winds likely to cause scores of power outages along with drenching downpours in New England while coastal flooding and dangerous rip currents are expected in coastal New York and Connecticut. Updated story - New Tropical System Expected To Become Hurricane  The timing for Lee's effects is from Friday night, Sept. 15 into Saturday evening, Sept. 16. Tropical storm warnings and other advisories extend up the East Coast from Long Island to easternmost Maine. The newest computer models show Lee's expected landfall to be from…

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by Joe Lombardi