Free Republic

What’s another 25 years when you’re already serving a life sentence? Fotios “Freddy” Geas — the ex-Mafia enforcer already serving a life sentence — was given an additional 25 years by a judge Friday for bludgeoning notorious New England crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger to death inside a federal prison in 2018. He pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and assault resulting in serious bodily injury for the brutal attack on Bulger. Geas had been behind bars since 2011 for multiple crimes, including the 2003 killing of Genovese crime boss Adolfo “Big Al” Bruno. Prosecutors said Geas repeatedly battered the 89-year-old...

he top abortion provider in northern New England claimed in a virtual press conference last week that a projected deficit in revenue will require “significant financial support to continue offering its lifesaving health care services.” Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (PPNNE), which provides abortions and contraceptives in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, painted a grim picture of its financial status, explaining in an accompanying press release that the organization is “facing a projected financial deficit of $8.6 million over the next three years,” a situation that may require it to “change how and where it offers services.” PPNNE’s spokespersons...

New England Patriots defensive lineman Christian Barmore was treated for blood clots over the weekend, the team announced Sunday. Barmore, 25, was treated at Mass General Brigham for the blood clots and there is no timetable for his return, the Patriots announced. “Our principal concern at this time is Christian’s health and wellbeing. Fortunately, Mass General Brigham provides some of the best healthcare in the world. While there is no current timetable for his return, we know Christian is getting tremendous care and we look forward to his full recovery,” the team said in a statement. Barmore was absent from...

After being kidnapped by Native Americans in 1697, Hannah Duston brutally killed her captors with a tomahawk — including six children. In 1861, a small new England town erected a monument to Hannah Duston — possibly the first in the U.S. to honor a woman. But not everyone thinks Duston was a hero. Almost 200 years earlier, Duston had been kidnapped by Native Americans from her home in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and placed with a Native American family. In the dead of night, she picked up a tomahawk and bludgeoned six sleeping children and four sleeping adults to death....

The final coal-fired power plants in New England are slated to shutter in the coming years, making it the second region to phase out the energy source that powered the U.S. economy for decades.

For 24 years, Bill Belichick was the Patriot Way. His legacy of the cold pursuit of winning at all costs made him the most decorated coach of all time, but in the end, it helped unravel the greatest dynasty the NFL had ever seen. ConventionalConventional wisdom said to take a timeout, but Bill Belichick never had much use for conventional wisdom. It was nearly nine years ago, in the final minute of Super Bowl XLIX. The New England Patriots held a narrow lead, but the Seattle Seahawks were 36 inches from a seemingly inevitable touchdown. Seattle had Marshawn Lynch, after...

On May 19, 1780, Historian Thomas Campanella explains, "A preternatural gloom settled upon the New England landscape, and by noon the sun had been all but blotted from the sky." New England's "Dark Day" was read as an omen, even, perhaps, as the biblical end of days. But the question has persisted for nearly two and a half centuries- what could have blotted out the Sun?New England's "Dark Day." May 19, 1780 | 17:11The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered | 1.29M subscribers | 303,085 views | May 19, 2023

Black day of 1780 caused by distant wildfires, MU experts sayCOLUMBIA, Mo. – At noon, it was black as night. It was May 19, 1780 and some people in New England thought judgment day was at hand. Accounts of that day, which became known as 'New England's Dark Day,' include mentions of midday meals by candlelight, night birds coming out to sing, flowers folding their petals,and strange behavior from animals. The mystery of this day has been solved by researchers at the University of Missouri who say evidence from tree rings reveals massive wildfires as the likely cause, one of...

The nineteenth day of May, 1780, began in New England like any other pretty, late-spring morning. Fruit blossoms dangled heavy in the warm, newly risen sun. The scent of nectar brought drowsy honeybees from their straw hives. The dawn chorus of songbirds chirped and echoed across the sleepy countryside as farm laborers yoked their horses to heavy wooden ploughs and carts ready for the day ahead. But by mid-morning the pastoral calm would be turned on its head. Laborers and schoolchildren would be scurrying home for shelter. By noon, birds would be roosting in the trees and bats would be...

Chandler Jones was arrested in Las Vegas on Friday morning, a day after the Raiders star’s bizarre social media allegations and behavior. Jones was booked into Clark County Detention Center on charges of violating a domestic violence protective order. On Thursday, the Super Bowl champion took to social media, crying in a livestream and baselessly implicating Raiders coach Josh McDaniels — the former Patriots offensive coordinator — in the death of Jones’ ex-New England teammate Aaron Hernandez. Hernandez took his own life in prison on Apr. 19, 2017. The accusation came after he tweeted he was forced into a mental...

The New Hampshire father of two who died after an incident at Gillette Stadium during the New England Patriots game Sunday had been punched in the face and knocked unconscious by a Miami Dolphins fan, according to a witness. Dale Mooney, 53, was treated at the scene by EMTs and rushed to a hospital after what had been described as an “apparent medical event,” but was pronounced dead shortly before midnight. A spectator has now claimed that he witnessed a physical altercation between Mooney and a Dolphins fan. “The Dolphins fan walks over and clearly punches him in the face,”...

A New England Patriots season ticket holder has been 'beaten to death' by a Miami Dolphins supporter at the Gillette Stadium, according to witnesses. Father-of-two Dale Mooney, 53, of Newmarket, New Hampshire, died following an incident in the 300-tier segment of the arena just before 11pm on Sunday. The Norfolk County DA's Office said cops responded to calls for medical aid in the section at 10.57pm and 'the matter remains under active investigation'. A photo from the Foxborough, Massachusetts stadium show EMTs scrambling to revive someone who is out of shot on the ground as worried fans watch on. Videos...

Hurricane Lee was barreling towards New England and eastern Canada as a powerful Category 1 storm early Saturday, forcing fishermen to flee from its path and retreat back to their harbors. Lee was packing 80 mph winds and creating 20-feet ocean swells in the northern Atlantic as it churned up the coast, where it’s supposed to weaken slightly to a tropical storm before smashing into Nova Scotia sometime Saturday afternoon.

Maine does have a history of landfalling hurricanes, but they don't happen often. Hurricane Lee could become the newest addition to that history as it eyes the state's coastline later this week. Gerda was the last hurricane to make landfall in Maine. The storm was a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 80 mph when it hit near the town of Eastport in far southeastern Maine on Sept. 10, 1969. "In Maine, hurricanes don't happen often, but they can be devastating when they do," the Maine Emergency Management Agency said on its website. As a tropical depression, Gerda first made...

Hurricane Lee is moving toward New England. Currently Category 2, Hurricane Lee is a large storm. Mash the graphics below to enlarge. All links and images are self-updating. Mash image to enlarge Public Advisories NHC Discussion NHC Local Advisories Buoy Data Tropical Tidbits

New England lobstermen have won a favorable ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which reversed a lower court decision and has granted relief. In a decision Friday afternoon, Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg – the senior justice – wrote that the court was reversing a summary judgment of the District Court for the National Marine Fisheries Service and awarding a summary judgment to the Maine Lobstermen’s Association and the State of Maine Department of Marine Resources. In the decision, the court ruled that the “federal government went too far” in its regulatory process “when...

Eversource: On Jan. 1, a residential customer using an average of 600 kWh will see an increase in their bill of approximately 26% compared to December.....The supply portion of your bill, or the cost of electricity (Basic Service), is significantly higher this winter because of record high natural gas prices, which are having the biggest impact on bills. This is especially true in New England where natural gas is used to generate much of the region’s electricity. [see comment]

New Englanders are contending with some of the highest electricity rates in the country this winter as they weather the transatlantic ripple effects of a global gas crunch. Residents of New England’s six states have thus far enjoyed a relatively mild winter without rolling blackouts. But skyrocketing rates — fueled by natural gas price surges and the war in Ukraine — are taking a toll on a region accustomed to cranking up the heat.

National Republicans targeted more than half a dozen races in New England as pickup opportunities this year, but they picked up none. Six congressional races, one Senate race, and one gubernatorial race all stayed Democrat despite Republicans’ financial investments, as well as polling and hype of a “red wave,” suggesting the GOP had a valid chance of winning them.

You love it, or you hate it. But as with candy corn, there’s no escaping it come October. For six decades, it has been to Halloween what “Deck the Halls” is to Christmas, or "Aung Lang Syne" is to New Year’s. The spooky season hasn’t truly arrived until you hear “Monster Mash.” And its singer and co-writer, Bobby “Boris” Pickett, grew up right here in New England. Pickett lived in the Winter Hill neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts, the same area that Whitey Bulger’s aptly named Winter Hill Gang called home base. The son of a movie theater manager, young Pickett...