FDA Approves Updated COVID-19 Vaccines: Here's When They Will Be Available FDA Approves Updated COVID-19 Vaccines: Here's When They Will Be Available
FDA Approves Updated Covid-19 Vaccines: Here's When They Will Be Available The US Food and Drug Administration has just approved new COVID-19 vaccines.It marks the third time the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna have been updated to match circulating strains since the original shot. The shots should be available within days, the FDA said in making the announcement Thursday afternoon, Aug. 22. The new vaccines have been updated with a formula to more closely target currently circulating variants and provide better protection against serious consequences of COVID, including hospitalization and death. “Vaccination continues to be the cornerstone of COVID-19 preventi…
Worker Killed After Rocks Crush Excavator At Central Mass Quarry Worker Killed After Rocks Crush Excavator At Central Mass Quarry
Worker Killed After Rocks Crush Excavator At Central Mass Quarry A worker at a Worcester County rock quarry was killed on Thursday, Aug. 22, when a rock ledge collapsed on his excavator, authorities said.  The incident happened just before 8 a.m. at a Stone Crest Way quarry in Sterling, the Worcester County District Attorney's Office said. The man's name was not released.  The man's body remained trapped beneath the rubble Thursday afternoon. State, local, and federal responders were working to retrieve it.  Firefighters determined there were no signs of life using video equipment.  Sterling authorities ordered that workers stop all…
And Another One! Mass Diner Sells Its 3rd $1M Lottery Ticket This Year And Another One! Mass Diner Sells Its 3rd $1M Lottery Ticket This Year
And Another One! Mass Diner Sells Its 3rd $1M Lottery Ticket This Year A man looking for a lost car seat on Nantucket wound up with a lot more after he stopped at a popular diner for a snack and walked out a millionaire. It's becoming commonplace at the restaurant as it has sold three lottery tickets worth $1 million or more in the past six months.  Sean Durnin, a Nantucket restaurateur, is the latest winner.  Durnin bought a $20 scratch-off ticket from the Old South Diner at 57 Old South Road while making food deliveries on the island. A car seat stowed away in the back of his truck had fallen out during his route, and he was backtracking.  Af…
Powerful Attorney With New England Roots, Wife Missing After Yacht Capsizes In Italy: Reports Powerful Attorney With New England Roots, Wife Missing After Yacht Capsizes In Italy: Reports
Powerful Attorney With New England Roots, Wife Missing After Yacht Capsizes In Italy: Reports A New York attorney with Connecticut roots and his wife are among seven people missing after the yacht they were on capsized early this week in Italy, according to multiple reports. Christopher Morvillo, age 59, who attended the Canterbury School in Litchfield County, Connecticut, and later Fordham University, along with his wife, Neda Morvillo, age 57, are among six people who are unaccounted after the 184-foot luxury yacht overturned off the coast of Sicily on Monday morning, Aug. 19, according to ABC 7. Twenty-two people were on board the ship at the time of the incident near Palermo, ac…
$15M Lottery Jackpot Sold In Lynn; Winner Wants To Help Family $15M Lottery Jackpot Sold In Lynn; Winner Wants To Help Family
$15M Lottery Jackpot Sold In Lynn; Winner Wants To Help Family A $30 scratch-off lottery ticket landed one lucky Bay Stater with one of the biggest lottery jackpots of the year.  The K&K Trust of Waltham claimed the $15 million payday from the “15,000,000 Money Maker” game last week.  Related: Mass Man Wants To Use $4 Million Lottery Jackpot To Help Others The winner chose to take the lump sum payment of $9.75 million (before taxes) rather than the annuity. They plan to use that money to care for their children and family.  The winner bought the ticket at One Stop Mart at 337 Boston St. in Lynn. The store will get a $50…
$1M Lottery Jackpot: Salem Man Has Big Plans For Big Payday $1M Lottery Jackpot: Salem Man Has Big Plans For Big Payday
$1M Lottery Jackpot: Salem Man Has Big Plans For Big Payday A Salem man who said he was struggling after his car broke down won't have to scrounge to afford a new one after winning a $1 million Massachusetts State Lottery jackpot.  Michael Pereira won the seven-figure payday playing the “$4,000,000 Mayhem" game. He bought the $10 scratch-off ticket on Friday, Aug. 16, and picked up the check on Monday.  Related: Stop For Doritos Helps Mass. Woman Land $1 Million Lottery Jackpot Pereira chose to take the lump sum payment of $650,000 (before taxes) rather than the annuity.  He plans to buy a new car with the cash.  Pereir…
Blue Supermoon: What You Need To Know About Rare Lunar Event Blue Supermoon: What You Need To Know About Rare Lunar Event
Blue Supermoon: What You Need To Know About Rare Lunar Event There's an out-of-this-world lunar event set to begin this week.  From Monday, Aug. 19, through Wednesday, Aug. 21, the moon will appear bigger and brighter in the night sky than normal. It's called the supermoon. It's the first one of the year, but that's not why this one is special.  A supermoon occurs when the moon is full and closest to Earth in its orbit, according to NASA. That closeness makes the rocky satellite appear 15 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter.  What makes August's supermoon so unique is that it's a blue moon. No, the light of the moon won't change co…
Incoming Harvard Freshman's YouTube Video That Won Film Fest Becoming Hollywood Movie Incoming Harvard Freshman's YouTube Video That Won Film Fest Becoming Hollywood Movie
Incoming Harvard Freshman's YouTube Video That Won Film Fest Becoming Hollywood Movie A young director's short film on YouTube with more than 7.3 million views that was filmed across New Jersey will soon be made into a major motion picture. According to Deadline, TriStar Pictures — a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment — purchased the rights to Wesley Wang's "nothing, except everything" following a bidding war. It will be produced by Darren Aronofsky and his company, Protozoa Pictures. The 12-minute 50-second movie is about a graduating high schooler navigating a "world of seemingly inevitable chaos by finding order in the number 7," according to the IMDB desc…
World War II Era Letter In Bottle Discovered By Woman During Tropical Storm Debby World War II Era Letter In Bottle Discovered By Woman During Tropical Storm Debby
World War II Era Letter In Bottle Discovered By Woman During Tropical Storm Debby Shortly after Debby made landfall along Florida's west coast as a Category 1 hurricane earlier this month, it produced something no forecaster — or anyone else — could have predicted. Suzanne Flament Smith, age 46, of Tampa, discovered it on Wednesday, Aug. 7, in the form of a World War II-era artifact. She said she found it while collecting debris in the city of Safety Harbor. It was a bottle sealed by a cork. Inside was a handwritten letter from a location in Virginia over 800 miles away near Virginia Beach. Above is a closer view of the letterhead, which reads, "United States Navy Amphi…
Man Kills Parents Before Jumping To Death From NY Bridge, Police Say Man Kills Parents Before Jumping To Death From NY Bridge, Police Say
Man Kills Parents Before Jumping To Death From NY Bridge, Police Say A man from the region murdered both of his parents before jumping to his death from a highway bridge in upstate New York, police said. Troopers in Albany were called about a man threatening to jump from the Patroon Island Bridge (I-90) at around 4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 15. Before they could get there, the man jumped and was found dead below the bridge. New York State Police identified the man as 35-year-old Jordan Miklowitz, of Schenectady. The incident shut down the northbound lanes of I-787 for nearly three-and-a-half hours. Southbound traffic was also briefly halted. An investigation fou…
Newly Minted Millionaire: Mass. Woman Knows How She'll Spend Her Cash Newly Minted Millionaire: Mass. Woman Knows How She'll Spend Her Cash
Newly Minted Millionaire: Mass. Woman Knows How She'll Spend Her Cash A Bristol County woman said she has big plans for the $1 million lottery jackpot she won earlier this week.  Donna Balut, of New Bedford, won the cash playing the “$2,000,000 50X Cashword” All five of the $2 million jackpots remain in the $10 scratch-off game as well as nine of 10 $1 million prizes.  Related: Phew! Woman Claims $1 Million Prize Just Weeks Before It Expired Balut chose to take the lump-sum payment of $650,000 (before taxes) rather than the annuity. She said she would use the money on her home.  Balut bought the ticket at Belleville Discount Gas at 535 B…
COVID-19: Surge In Summer Cases Sparks Concern COVID-19: Surge In Summer Cases Sparks Concern
Covid-19: Surge In Summer Cases Sparks Concern A surge in COVID-19 cases in the United States and around the globe is sparking concern among health officials who are warning that more severe variants of the virus may be coming. “COVID-19 is still very much with us and circulating in all countries," Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove of the World Health Organization said in a news conference last week. “Data from our sentinel-based surveillance system across 84 countries reports that the percent of positive tests for SARS-CoV-2 has been rising over several weeks." Wastewater surveillance suggests that the circulation of COVID is two to 20 times…