Today's Top Headlines

Friday, September 25

Good morning Wypierdalaj,

Coastal communities have been preparing as a rare September nor'easter heads for New England. The powerful storm is expected to have big travel impacts in the region, and we have team coverage. Our meteorologists will keep you updated with the very latest. Another big story we're following is the Ed Sheeran concerts at Gillette Stadium tonight and tomorrow. I'm Kaitlin McKinley Becker, and these are your headlines.

Brace yourself! We’re tracking a long-duration event as a fall nor’easter heads our way through the weekend with rain, wind, and coastal flooding.

Today: The coastal low is forecast to churn and gradually head north toward New England as we move through this day. Much of this morning and afternoon will feature filtered sunshine. But by evening, our clouds will thicken as the storm’s outer most rain bands begin pushing over the Cape and the Islands. A few sprinkles are possible toward Greater Boston this evening. But rain chances will gradually increase overnight through the Saturday for a lot of us on and off. Our winds will begin picking up, too, through this Friday, from the northeast with gusts up to 40-50 mph at times, even tonight. Coastal flooding will be a concern around high tide tonight. High tide at Boston Harbor is around 11:13 p.m. Some nuisance flooding is possible.

Saturday: The storm’s rain bands will continue to produce periods of on and off rain over parts of Central and eastern Mass. through the day Saturday. But it won’t be a continuous rain. We’ll likely get some breaks here and there, but don’t let your guard down. Heavy downpours will pivot right back around after a little lull in the precipitation on Saturday. But since this nor’easter is a long duration event over a four-day period, flash flooding will likely not be a big problem for our area. Still, use some caution while driving.

The MBTA is canceling all ferry service on Saturday and Sunday due to the impending nor’easter.

Rough seas were already causing issues on Thursday. Lynn and Quincy ferry service was canceled Thursday, and passengers on the Winthrop and Harbor Loop routes were warned about “uncomfortable conditions” and potential cancellations.

Several Charlestown ferry trips have been canceled Friday morning, and more are possible depending on the conditions.

Ticketmaster will allow refunds to customers who bought tickets for Ed Sheeran‘s Loop Tour this weekend at Gillette Stadium after “significant changes to the lineup,” the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office announced on Thursday.

More than 170 people have filed consumer complaints through the office, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said in a media release. In response, the AGO sent Ticketmaster a letter demanding a change to its typical policy surrounding the changing or cancellation of opening acts.

“…in this case, changing nearly all of the acts and performers at the same time constitutes such a dramatic change in the service that Ticketmaster’s reliance on the purchase policy appears unfair,” the letter stated.

The mayor of Lawrence, Massachusetts, already facing federal fraud charges, has been indicted on 15 charges related to wiretapping at City Hall.

The office of Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said Thursday that a grand jury had returned indictments against Mayor Brian DePeña.

State prosecutors said the mayor had a security system installed for his office in 2023, separate City Hall’s surveillance cameras, which do not record sound. They added that the public was not notified that this system was recording audio.

A man has died after falling from scaffolding in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood on Thursday, fire officials said.

Firefighters were called to Weld Hill Street at Hyde Park Avenue around 2:45 p.m. and found the victim on the ground, according to Boston Fire District Chief Eric Vinitski. The victim, described by Vinitski as a man in his 40s, was doing exterior work somewhere between the second and third floor of a building when he fell.

Heartbroken family members identified the victim as Manuel Chuqui.

If you’ve recently visited busy Needham Street in Newton, Massachusetts, you’ve likely noticed new elevated bike lanes.

They’re marked with a painted bicycle symbol and are raised off the road so not to interfere with cars.

The paths are carved into the sidewalk, splitting the space with a pedestrian walkway.