Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
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.
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:
There are nine endangered birds in Massachusetts:
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.
There are eight endangered reptiles in Massachusetts, including five sea turtles:
There are four endangered fish 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.
Local News
New Hampshire is leading an effort from 25 states to challenge a Massachusetts gun law, and this month, they’re taking it to the Supreme Court.
The centerpiece of the argument is the Pheasant Lane Mall in Nashua, N.H., which reaches across state lines into Tyngsborough. If shoppers park on the south side of the mall’s parking lot, they might end up crossing state lines during a visit.
The attorneys general of New Hampshire and 24 other Republican-led states say this poses a potential problem for firearm holders. A New Hampshire resident who is legally carrying a firearm on their home state’s side of the parking lot may inadvertently be breaking the law when they cross the lot into Massachusetts, where it is illegal to carry without a permit.
Joining New Hampshire are the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming, who are calling the arrangement unconstitutional. The states have rallied behind Phillip Marquis of Rochester, N.H., to ask the Supreme Court to protect out-of-state residents from Massachusetts’ firearms regulations.
“The geography of the mall is such that a New Hampshire resident might find themselves in Massachusetts if she parks on the south side of the parking lot or visits Buffalo Wild Wings,” reads a brief from the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office to the Supreme Court. “If that person is carrying a firearm without a Massachusetts license — which would be constitutionally protected activity in most of the mall—that person risks being charged as a felon and facing mandatory incarceration in Massachusetts.”
The trouble began for Marquis in 2022 when he was in a car accident in Massachusetts, according to the brief. When police arrived, he informed them that he had a pistol on him and was subsequently charged with carrying a firearm without a license.
Marquis previously sued the Commonwealth for the burdens that Massachusetts’ firearms permit law creates on out-of-state visitors, but the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court denied his claims. They ruled in March that the state’s nonresident firearms licensing laws were constitutional, according to court documents.
Claiming that the Massachusetts court denied him his Second and Fourteenth Amendment rights, Marquis has petitioned the Supreme Court to federally overrule that court’s decision. In his petition, Marquis invoked New York State Rifle & Police Association, Inc. v. Bruen, where the court established that state firearms restrictions must be covered by the Second Amendment or adhere to historical firearms regulations.
Using Bruen, Marquis and the Republican attorneys general supporting him are aiming to prove that there is no justification for applying Massachusetts’ firearms restrictions to out-of-state residents and that to do so would be unconstitutional. However, the state’s Supreme Judicial Court found the law constitutional even under Bruen because it intends to prevent dangerous people from obtaining firearms, just as historical regulations have done.
“To the extent that the Commonwealth restricts the ability of law-abiding citizens to carry firearms within its borders, the justification for so doing is credible, individualized evidence that the person in question would pose a danger if armed,” the Supreme Judicial Court’s decision read. “Both case law and the historical record unequivocally indicate that this justification is consistent with ‘the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.’”
It’s not immediately clear if the Supreme Court will respond to Marquis’ appeal or when it will make any kind of decision, but lower courts are at something of a crossroads with how and when to apply Bruen to gun possession cases. As such, they are looking to the Supreme Court for a more definitive answer.
Since the proof of historical context that Bruen requires has led to some uncertainty, any ruling that these lower courts make is likely to amount to a partisan decision. However, if the Supreme Court provides more substantive clarity in a response to Marquis, these lower courts just might find the answer they are seeking.
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
Massachusetts State Lottery players won two $100,000 prizes Friday from the day’s “Mass Cash” drawings.
The winning tickets were sold at the Roslindale Food Mart on Washington Street and McSheffrey’s of the South End convenience store (with Mobil gas) on Main Street in Woburn.
Mass Cash drawings happen twice daily, at 2 p.m. and at 9 p.m. It costs just $1 to play.
Overall, at least 625 prizes worth $600 or more were won or claimed in Massachusetts on Monday, including 6 in Springfield, 22 in Worcester and 14 in Boston.
The Massachusetts State Lottery releases a full list of winning tickets every day. The list only includes winning tickets worth more than $600.
The two largest lottery prizes won so far in 2025 were each worth $15 million. One of the prizes was from a winning “Diamond Deluxe” scratch ticket sold in Holyoke, and the other was from a “300X” scratch ticket sold on Cape Cod.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Who Makes Vaccine Policy Decisions in RFK Jr.’s Health Department?
Reimagining Finance: Derek Kudsee on Coda’s AI-Powered Future
Bobbi Brown doesn’t listen to men in suits about makeup : Wild Card with Rachel Martin
How Nexstar’s Proposed TV Merger Is Tied to Jimmy Kimmel’s Suspension
Board approves Brent Sanford as new ‘commissioner’ of North Dakota University System
These earbuds include a tiny wired microphone you can hold
Texas brothers charged in cryptocurrency kidnapping, robbery in MN
Russian jets enter Estonia's airspace in latest test for NATO