Today's Top Headlines

Thursday, October 15

Good morning Wypierdalaj,

We're following developing news out of Chelsea after a 2-year-old was fatally struck by a vehicle last night. We're also following the latest updates in the case of a Reading woman who was killed, allegedly by her son; he's due in court on a first-degree murder charge today. Plus, we're expecting rain tomorrow, and gusty winds and cold temps this weekend. Stay with us for the latest forecast. I'm Kaitlin McKinley Becker, and these are your headlines.

Dozens of cats were recovered from a home in Reading, Massachusetts, where a woman was found dead last week, allegedly at the hands of her son, officials said.

The 84 cats are being cared for at shelters run by MSPCA-Angell, the animal rescue said Wednesday, but the influx of animals, some of which have medical needs, is straining the system. MSPCA-Angell Director of Law Enforcement Chris Schindler asked for help from the community.

“We recognize the tremendous challenges often facing foster-based rescue work, when there’s an overwhelming number of cats in need with limited resources to care for them,” he said in a statement.

A young child has died after being hit by a vehicle Wednesday night in Chelsea, Massachusetts.

Chelsea police responded to a 911 call around 9:50 p.m. reporting that a 2-year-old girl had been hit on Bellingham Street.

Officers attempted life-saving measures at the scene before the girl was taken to CHA Everett Hospital, where she died from her injuries, according to the police department, which said it is mourning her death along with the community.

We’re cooling off today. While not as warm, it’s much brighter – with no rainy interruptions.

Breezes will be steady in the morning, then drop off in the afternoon. Highs will slowly rise from the low 50s to only near 60.

Showers will be on top of us early tomorrow. This isn’t a sopping wet day, but it will start damp and raw with temps in the upper 40s to near 50. Give it some time to warm into the upper 60s in the afternoon, with a small bump in the humidity.

A man has been arrested on a rape charge in connection with an August incident reported at the Massachusetts State Police barracks on Martha’s Vineyard, police said Wednesday.

Edward J. Brown, 27, was arrested Friday, Oak Bluffs Police Chief Jonathan Searle said, and prosecutors shared new details on the rape allegations Wednesday — the accuser was found naked along a road near the barracks in Oak Bluffs on Aug. 15.

Officials had previously said, before the arrest, that a person alleged in August they’d been sexually assaulted by someone visiting Martha’s Vineyard to see a trooper who was assigned there.

With the temperature dropping and election rhetoric heating up, Gov. Maura Healey wants utility companies to fast-track refunds that are not legally due to Massachusetts ratepayers until late spring.

In a Tuesday letter to Eversource, National Grid and Unitil executives, Healey demanded that the utilities “immediately” issue refunds to Bay State customers who paid “transmission rates with an excessive return on equity (ROE) for more than a decade.” Roughly $1.5 billion in refunds are owed to New England ratepayers overall. Healey also sent the letter to the head of grid operator ISO-New England.

The governor’s call stems from a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission decision in March, which reduced the profits that New England transmission utilities can earn on their investments and initially said refunds were due within 30 days. That deadline was later extended to May 20, 2027, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied the utilities’ effort to delay, according to the letter that Healey’s office circulated.

Two people and a cat were found dead a home in Attleborough, Massachusetts, on Wednesday, police said.

Few details were immediately available, but state and local police and fire officials were investigating what happened at the home on Andover Avenue, Attleborough police said.

Police were called to the scene about 11:30 a.m., when a home health aide called 911, Deputy Chief Timothy Cook said. He described the investigation as being about an unattended death.