Northeast
6 arrested in illegal goose intestine import scheme
Six people were arrested in New York on Tuesday on charges of illegally importing goose and duck intestines from China, in some cases by hiding them under packaged rattlesnakes or mislabeling them as pet grooming products on customs forms, federal officials announced.
The scheme, which also included illegal imports of duck blood and hawthorn fruit, involved transporting the restricted food items from China to California and then on to New York, where they were sold to customers, including restaurants, authorities said in a complaint filed Monday.
NYC MAN SCREAMING ABOUT KNIFE, HOLDING MOTHER IN CHOKEHOLD SHOT DEAD ON NYPD BODYCAM
The six, who were expected to appear in federal court in Brooklyn later Tuesday, are charged with importing, storing and selling hundreds of pounds of illegal food items between August 2022 and May 2023. Messages seeking comment were sent to their attorneys.
Packaged snake meat, part of a shipment containing illegal imports of duck and goose intestines, is shown in November 2022. (US Attorneys Office, EDNY via AP)
Federal law prohibits importing any raw poultry products from China, and hawthorn fruit from China is also restricted, the authorities said.
According to the complaint, 1,966 cartons of goose and duck intestines were shipped in August 2022 from China to the Port of Long Beach, where they were identified as nail clippers and other pet grooming products on customs forms.
The cartons were dropped off at Los Angeles International Airport and flown to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York via a major U.S. air carrier’s cargo service, federal officials said.
Another shipment of illegal poultry products in November 2022 was incorrectly labeled as frozen seafood, and some of the restricted items were concealed under packages of dead rattlesnakes, the authorities said.
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Pennsylvania
Video in land dispute case shows Pa. trooper interact with Gov. Shapiro’s neighbor
A newly released video obtained by NBC10 shows an interaction between troopers with Pennsylvania State Police and Gov. Josh Shapiro’s neighbors amid a dispute over land in Montgomery County.
The video was taken in mid-October, 2025, and shows a trooper tell Shapiro’s neighbors that he is recording their interaction.
A recent lawsuit brought by Shapiro’s neighbors, Jeremy and Simone Mock, states that Shapiro initially sought to purchase or lease a part of the property owned by his neighbors that ran adjacent to his Abington property in order to build a security fence. But after negotiations between Shapiro and the Mocks fell through, the governor claimed ownership of the property he had sought to purchase.
The Mocks claim that Shapiro then began treating their property as his own by planting trees and having State Troopers patrol there.
The Mocks are claiming that Shapiro violated their constitutional rights and are seeking access to their property as well as other damages, according to the lawsuit.
However, Shapiro countersued the Mocks on Monday, Feb. 9 and said the Mocks never had ownership of the land in dispute and that Shapiro owns the land because he has maintained it for two decades.
October’s video raises questions for Republican Sen. Jarrett Coleman who is the chair of the Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee.
In December, his committee voted along party lines to subpoena records from the State Police regarding taxpayer-funded security improvements at the governor’s Abington home.
Sen. Coleman said that the body camera footage from October was not supplied through those subpoenas and now he wants to know why.
NBC10 asked State Police about the existence of the body worn camera footage and if it will be supplied to the Senate committee but they did not respond to the specific questions we asked.
“This dispute over a small piece of the Shapiro’s backyard has been turned into a shameless political stunt by the neighbors and members of the Republican State Senate who are now attacking the Pennsylvania State Police and threatening, harassing and exploiting the Shapiro’s legitimate security issues,” the governor’s office wrote in a statement to NBC10 on Friday.
Rhode Island
People are still freezing to death in RI during ‘Operation No One Dies’
Parking ban enforcement
Providence police enforce a parking ban on streets off Smith Street
A missing Narragansett man died on a downtown Providence street, in freezing temperatures, in late January.
Police had found his body under a blanket near Dunkin’ and The Strand Ballroom & Theatre.
Ryan Boisvert’s death came during the first winter of “Operation No One Dies” – a new effort by the Rhode Island State Council of Churches to provide beds to people who need them when the forecast calls for “real feel” temperatures of 22 degrees or below.
The circumstances underscored a message expressed at the time by the council’s warming center coordinator, Harrison Tuttle: Rhode Island must do a better job protecting vulnerable people from dangerous temperatures.
Then, on Friday, Feb. 13, police announced two more wintertime deaths, both “weather-related with possible health complications,” saying that investigators believe Stanislaw Kozav, 49, and his mother, Irina Kozav, 75, were living in the car where their bodies were found, which was in a lot at Miriam Hospital.
Barriers to finding warm beds for homeless Rhode Islanders
It wasn’t clear, based on the information provided by police, if Boisvert or either one of the two Kozavs had tried and failed to find one of the beds offered by the council or any other bed that might have been available.
But Tuttle, who has some expertise, says he’s often unable to hurdle the barriers he runs into when trying to find beds for people who need them.
Such efforts tend to happen in situations where the 51 beds offered in three Providence churches, through the council’s program, have already been taken, he says.
Tuttle says he believes the right coordination between the right organizations can open up other resources.
He says he doesn’t want to lay blame on any particular entity or person.
He just wants to sound an alarm that finding beds for people, even when the temperatures outside are below freezing, can be extraordinarily difficult. Not everyone meets the criteria for admittance to certain facilities.
He emphasizes that Operation No One Dies has resources, including some transportation, for moving people to places with available beds, including facilities outside Providence.
Some of these volunteer drivers are already patrolling local streets in search of people who need shelter on frigid nights.
A call for collaboration to prevent cold-weather deaths
The availability of the beds provided by the council is a new program, funded through a $200,000 grant from the Executive Office of Housing, and it’s an accomplishment of sorts.
But people are still freezing to death. And more beds are needed.
Tuttle says he just wants more responsiveness from organizations that can help, that can “come together to have a conversation around solutions to prevent freezing deaths in the community.”
“Can we patch up a system here for the remainder of the winter?” he asks.
Tuttle had made an appeal after Boisvert’s death, calling for “immediate, concrete collaboration.”
“No single organization can solve this alone,” he wrote. “It is only through committed partnership and shared accountability that we can build a system strong enough to prevent future deaths.”
On Feb. 10 and Feb. 11, each of the beds provided by Operation No One Dies were taken.
The Kozavs were found at 6:28 p.m. on Feb. 11.
Vermont
Military helicopter sightings in Central Vermont linked to training exercise
MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Several viewers contacted WCAX News asking about a large helicopter that has been spotted in Central Vermont since Thursday night.
Top-level military sources said U.S. Marine Corps aviators are training in Vermont and New Hampshire with CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters.
The helicopters are the largest in the U.S. military fleet and are used to carry heavy machinery. They usually fly at 3,500 feet, but because they are so large, it might appear like they are lower.
The training will likely happen through next week, so residents can expect to see more of them around.
The helicopters will be landing at the Vermont Air Guard Base.
If you have a question you want answered, head to our website or email us at gettinganswers@wcax.com, and we’ll take a look.
Copyright 2026 WCAX. All rights reserved.
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