Massachusetts
Save the whales, spot the snakes: Celebrate Endangered Species Day in Mass. See the list.
Right whale spotted off Southwest Florida coast. See the video
An endangered right whale was spotted just off the coast of Fort Myers and caught on video by SeaTrek Charters of SWFL.
Provided by SeaTrek Charters of SWFL
Massachusetts officials are urging people to recognize endangered animals in the state on May 16, Endangered Species Day.
There are 453 plants and animals listed under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act. Several either live on Cape Cod or use the peninsula as an important migration stop, including the North Atlantic right whale, the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, and the upland sandpiper. The North Atlantic right whale and another endangered bird, the roseate tern, are featured on specialty Cape & Islands license plates, and a short tree named the split-leaved hawthorn can be found only on Martha’s Vineyard.
Some of these endangered animals, like the peregrine falcon and the bald eagle, have seen their numbers increase after restoration and conservation efforts. But Mass Wildlife says that there is “still much work to be done.”
On Endangered Species Day and every day, Mass Wildlife encourages residents to report rare species when they see them at the Heritage Hub, to donate, and to learn more about the species.
What are the endangered animals in Massachusetts?
There are 453 plants and animals considered endangered, threatened or “special concern” in Massachusetts. They include animals of all types, from mammals to crustaceans to dragonflies.
There are 224 species listed as endangered in Massachusetts. Eleven of them are mammals.
Here are the eleven endangered mammals in Massachusetts, six of which are whales:
- Sei whale
- Blue whale
- Fin whale
- North Atlantic right whale
- Humpback whale
- Eastern small-footed bat
- Little brown bat
- Northern long-eared bat
- Indiana bat
- Tricolored bat
- Sperm whale
What are the endangered birds in Massachusetts?
There are nine endangered birds in Massachusetts:
- Short-eared owl
- Upland sandpiper
- American bittern
- Sedge wren
- Least bittern
- Leach’s storm-petral
- Pied-billed grebe
- Roseate tern
- Golden-winged warbler
Piping plovers, with nesting habits that result in Cape Cod beach restrictions each year, are threatened, but not endangered, according to Mass Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
What are the endangered reptiles in Massachusetts?
There are eight endangered reptiles in Massachusetts, including five sea turtles:
- Copperhead snake
- Timber rattlesnake
- Leatherback sea turtle
- Atlantic hawksbill sea turtle
- Bog turtle
- Kemp’s ridley sea turtle
- Eastern ratsnake
- Northern red-bellied cooter
What are the endangered fish in Massachusetts?
There are four endangered fish in Massachusetts:
- Shortnose sturgeon
- Atlantic sturgeon
- Northern redbelly dace
- Lake chub
What are the endangered plants in Massachusetts?
There are 159 endangered plants listed in Massachusetts.
They include the purple cress, named for its pale purple flowers, and the split-leaved hawthorn, a tall shrub or a short tree found only on Martha’s Vineyard.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts orders DraftKings to pay $934K after it botched MLB parlay bets
A costly sportsbook screwup left DraftKings on the hook for nearly $1 million after Massachusetts regulators ordered the payouts tied to a botched MLB parlay scheme.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission voted 5-0 on Thursday to reject DraftKings’ bid to void $934,137 in payouts stemming from a series of correlated parlays placed during MLB’s 2025 American League Championship Series, according to Bookies.com.
A Massachusetts customer wagered $12,950 total across 27 multi-leg parlays on Toronto Blue Jays player Nathan Lukes, exploiting an internal DraftKings configuration error that allowed the bettor to stack multiple versions of the same bet into one wager.
DraftKings told regulators the bets should never have been accepted and argued the patron acted unethically by taking advantage of an obvious error.
Commissioners flatly rejected that argument.
The wagers were tied to DraftKings’ “Player to Record X+ Hits in Series” market during the seven-game ALCS between Toronto and Seattle.
Because of a misclassification inside DraftKings’ trading tools, Lukes was incorrectly labeled a “non-participant” rather than an active player.
That designation disabled safeguards designed to block bettors from parlaying correlated outcomes from the same market.
As a result, the bettor was able to combine multiple Lukes hit thresholds — including 5+, 6+, 7+ and 8+ hits — into single parlays, functionally creating an inflated wager on Lukes recording eight or more hits at dramatically enhanced odds.
The bettor also added unrelated, high-probability legs, including NFL moneyline bets, to further juice payouts.
Lukes ultimately appeared in all seven games and finished the series with nine hits, clearing every threshold.
Of the 27 parlays placed, 24 hit cleanly. Only three lost due to unrelated college football legs involving Clemson, Florida State and Miami.
During a heated exchange at Thursday’s commission meeting, DraftKings executive Paul Harrington accused the patron of fraud and unethical conduct.
Commissioners bristled. One of them, Eileen O’Brien, blasted DraftKings for casting aspersions on the bettor without evidence and said the situation did not meet the standard of an “obvious error.”
“An obvious error is a legal and factual impossibility,” O’Brien said. “This is an advantage that the patron took.”
She added that DraftKings’ internal failures — not the bettor’s conduct — created the situation.
“We need to seriously consider giving voice to the consumer and getting their half the story,” O’Brien said. “The compulsion to pay will in fact encourage compliance.”
Other commissioners echoed that view, emphasizing that it is the operator’s responsibility to ensure the integrity of its markets.
The commission noted that DraftKings acknowledged the root cause was internal — a configuration failure within its own trading tools — and not the result of a third-party odds provider or external data feed.
Upon discovering the error, DraftKings pulled the affected markets, left the wagers unsettled pending regulatory guidance and implemented corrective fixes.
The company said no other Massachusetts customers were impacted, though the same issue appeared in two other jurisdictions.
The Post has sought comment from DraftKings.
Massachusetts
Deadline nears for Massachusetts Health Connector enrollment
SPRINGFIELD — With just days left before the Dec. 23 deadline, state and local leaders are urging uninsured residents to enroll in health coverage through the Massachusetts Health Connector to ensure they’re protected in the new year. The cutoff applies to anyone who wants coverage starting Jan. 1.
The Health Connector — the state’s official health insurance marketplace — is the only place residents can access financial assistance and avoid misleading “junk” policies that often appear in online searches, according to a statement from the agency.
Officials say the enrollment period is especially critical for people without job-based insurance, gig workers, newcomers to the state and anyone seeking affordable, comprehensive health plans.
At a press conference Wednesday at Caring Health Center’s Tania M. Barber Learning Institute in Springfield, health leaders emphasized that most people who sign up through the Connector qualify for help paying premiums through its ConnectorCare program.
Audrey Morse Gasteier, executive director of the Massachusetts Health Connector, said the state has spent nearly two decades committed to ensuring access to health care and offering the most affordable coverage possible for everyone.
”And despite the federal challenges, we continue to do everything we can to offer coverage to everyone who needs it. Now is the time for people who don’t have coverage to come in, apply, and find out what kind of plan for which they qualify,” she said.
Open enrollment also gives current members a chance to review their coverage, compare options and make changes.
Recent changes in federal policy have caused shifts in coverage and higher premiums for many Massachusetts residents, creating uncertainty and concern, said Cristina Huebner Torres, chief executive vice president and strategy and research officer at Caring Health Center.
“During times like these, trusted, local support becomes even more essential, and our Navigators have been on the very front lines, helping residents understand their options, maintain coverage, and navigate a complex and evolving system,” Huebner Torres said.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts woman charged with DUI after Simsbury crash
SIMSBURY, Conn. (WTNH) — A Massachusetts woman was arrested Wednesday and charged with DUI after a crash in Simsbury, according to police.
The crash happened at around 2:15 p.m. on Hartford Avenue and Elm Street. Police responded to reports that one of the operators of the vehicles was unconscious, later becoming conscious.
Upon arrival, police found that operator, who was identified as 39-year-old Allison Beu of Southwick, Massachusetts, outside of her vehicle and interacting with the other involved parties.
The two occupants in the other vehicle were not transported to the hospital.
Beu was charged with DUI and failure to drive in proper lane.
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