Northeast
Who was Nuno Loureiro? MIT professor gunned down in apartment near university
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BROOKLINE, Mass. — A world-renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor and fusion-energy physicist was shot and killed inside his home earlier this week, an attack that has rattled one of the country’s most elite scientific communities.
Nuno F. Gomes Loureiro, 47, was a professor of nuclear science and engineering and the director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center. Loureiro was a renowned figure in fusion-energy research, a field that seeks to recreate the power of the sun inside fusion reactors on Earth. His theories and models helped guide major fusion experiments in the United States and Europe.
Loureiro was rushed to a hospital with “apparent gunshot wounds” Monday evening and pronounced dead Tuesday morning, according to the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts. A homicide investigation is underway.
NEIGHBORS OF SLAIN MIT PROFESSOR STUNNED BY KILLING
Undated file photo of Nuno Loureiro, a professor of nuclear science and engineering and of physics at MIT. (Jake Belcher for MIT)
No suspect has been identified and the motive for the killing is still unknown.
The shooting in Brookline occurred two days after an attack at Brown University left two dead and nine injured on Saturday.
While investigators in both cases, at prestigious universities less than 50 miles apart, are sharing intelligence, the special agent in charge of Boston’s FBI office, Ted Docks, said at a news briefing Tuesday that authorities don’t think they’re connected.
Originally from Portugal, Loureiro studied in his home country, in the United Kingdom and in the United States, where he researched topics including the phenomenon behind solar flares. He also focused on plasma — a super-hot form of matter found in stars and in experimental fusion reactors.
Fusion is the process that makes the sun burn and Loureiro’s work explored how that power could be bottled on Earth and controlled inside those reactors. If fusion ever becomes a real source of cheap, clean electricity, it will rely on the kind of physics he helped explain.
MIT Professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro speaks in an undated photo. (rafaelmgrossi via X)
“Nuno was not only a brilliant scientist, he was a brilliant person,” Dennis Whyte, a fellow MIT professor, said in an obituary posted by the university. “He shone a bright light as a mentor, friend, teacher, colleague and leader and was universally admired for his articulate, compassionate manner. His loss is immeasurable to our community at the PSFC, NSE and MIT, and around the entire fusion and plasma research world.”
Allen Taylor, a Tufts University professor of biomechanical and molecular nutrition who lives in the area, told Fox News Digital outside Loureiro’s home on Wednesday that the shooting rocked the tight-knit community, which is also home to several Brown University students, where another shooting claimed two lives over the weekend.
“I’m concerned because he was a human being, first, and secondly, because he’s a scientist, and I know how much we invest in training people so they can make major contributions to our society, and then when they’re murdered, it’s a tremendous compromise to our community and to the world at large,” Taylor said.
MIT PROFESSOR SHOT, KILLED IN BROOKLINE HOME: WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT BOSTON-AREA ATTACK
The Brookline apartment building where MIT professor Nuno F. G. Loureiro was shot earlier this week is seen Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, as investigators continue to search for leads in the homicide case. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)
Loureiro obtained an undergraduate degree from the Instituto Superior Tecnico in Lisbon before getting a Ph.D. in physics at Imperial College London.
He went on to do post-doctoral work at Princeton University in New Jersey and UKAEA Culham Centre for Fusion Energy in the U.K. and returned to research in Lisbon before joining MIT’s faculty in 2016. He became a full professor in 2021 and was later named the director of the school’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center.
His research has earned him a half-dozen awards since 2015, most recently honored with the U.S. government’s Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, which he received earlier this year.
MIT PROFESSOR SHOT DEAD IN BROOKLINE HOME, MASSACHUSETTS STATE POLICE LAUNCH HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION
A crowd of people holding candles gather outside the home of Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro in Brookline, Mass., Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)
In a 2019 interview, Loureiro likened complicated science to an art form.
“When we stimulate theoretically inclined minds by framing plasma physics and fusion challenges as beautiful theoretical physics problems, we bring into the game incredibly brilliant students — people who we want to attract to fusion development,” he said.
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In an earlier lecture on accepting and overcoming failure, he urged students to set their goals high and not be afraid of falling short.
“If you’re not failing all the time, you’re aiming too low,” he said.
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Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania-born indie rockers Tigers Jaw return with new album release
The chorus for the song “Primary Colors” was something Walsh wrote years ago, with the song’s outro originally being used as a verse.
“And something just wasn’t quite clicking, and everything that I tried felt kind of forced,” Walsh said. “We were all just like, ‘Yeah, there’s something here, but it’s not quite doing what I think it has the potential to do.’”
The band then started toying with the dynamics between the verses and the chorus.
“It just unlocked something for me in the idea where I was like, ‘Wow, this kind of quiet, loud, quiet, loud format really works well with this song,’” Walsh said. “So yeah, it just transformed it instantly into an idea that felt a lot stronger.”
The album was recorded with Grammy-winning producer Will Yip, a relationship still budding from their 2014 album, “Charmer.” Collins said the new album’s sound is “as true as we could be to playing the record live.”
“I wasn’t as tied to the tones that have classically been Tigers Jaw because I think at this point, I’ve just come to this realization that no matter what, if we’re making it, it is Tigers Jaw,” Collins said.
The new album has a “palpable energy” that shares the same spirit as their earlier records, Walsh said. And while “tastes evolve,” the band followed “what feels good.”
“This is the best representation of the band at the time, and it’s almost like a snapshot of us as artists, as people, as a creative entity over this time in our career,” he said.
“Lost On You” is out now through Hopeless Records and is available on vinyl, CD and various streaming platforms.
On April 16, Tigers Jaw will perform at Union Transfer at 8 p.m. They will be supported by Hot Flash Heat Wave and Creeks, the solo project of Balance and Composure vocalist and guitarist Jon Simmons, who is from Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
Rhode Island
A new safety role at Rhode Island College comes into sharper focus after Brown shooting – The Boston Globe
Lawrence was recently named RIC’s first emergency management director, a role college leaders had been planning before the December mass shooting across town at Brown University, but which took on new urgency after the tragedy.
Few resumes are better suited to the job.
A 20-year career in the New York Police Department. Commanding officer of the NYPD’s Employee Assistance Unit. A master’s degree from Harvard.
Lawrence got to Rhode Island the way a lot of people do: through someone who grew up here and never really left, at least not in spirit. Her husband, Brooke Lawrence, grew up in West Greenwich, and is director of the town’s emergency management agency.
“I couldn’t imagine retiring in my 40s,” Lawrence told me. “And I couldn’t imagine not giving back to my community.”
Public service has been part of Lawrence’s life for as long as she can remember. A New Jersey native, she dreamed of following in the footsteps of her mentor, a longtime FBI agent. She graduated from Monmouth University and earned a master’s degree in forensic psychology from John Jay College in 2001, shortly before the Sept. 11 attacks.
There was high demand for police in New York at the time, so Lawrence raised her hand to serve. She worked her way up the ranks from patrol to lieutenant, eventually taking charge of the department’s Employee Assistance Unit, a peer support program that helps rank-and-file officers navigate the most traumatic parts of the job. She later earned a second master’s degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School.
“It’s making sure our officers are getting through their career in the same mental capacity as they came on the job,” Lawrence said.
There’s a version of Lawrence’s new job that feels routine, especially at a quiet commuter campus like Rhode Island College. And when Lawrence was initially hired part-time last fall, it probably was.
Then the shooting at Brown University changed the stakes almost overnight.
On Dec. 13, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a Portuguese national and one-time student at Brown, opened fire inside the Barus and Holley building, killing two students and injuring nine others. Neves Valente also killed an MIT professor before he was found dead in a New Hampshire storage unit of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
In eerie videos recorded in the storage unit, Neves Valente admitted that he stalked the Brown campus for weeks prior to his attack. He largely went unnoticed by campus security, which led the university’s police chief to be placed on leave and essentially replaced by former Providence Police Chief Colonel Hugh Clements.
Lawrence assisted with the response at Brown. She leads the trauma response team for the Rhode Island Behavioral Health Medical Reserve Corps, which staffed the family reunification center in the hours after the shooting.
RIC’s campus is more enclosed than Brown’s — there are only two major entryways to the college — but there are unique challenges.
For one, it’s technically located in both Providence and North Providence, which requires coordination between multiple public safety departments in both communities.
More specifically, Lawrence noted that every building on campus has the same address, which can present a challenge in an emergency. Lawrence has worked with RIC leadership and local public safety to assign an address to each building.
Lawrence stressed that she doesn’t want RIC to overreact to the tragedy at Brown, and she said campus leaders are committed to keeping the tight-knit community intact.
But she admits that the shooting remains top of mind.
“Every campus community sees what happened at Brown and says ‘please don’t let that happen to us,’” Lawrence said.
Lawrence said everyone at RIC feels a deep sense of responsibility to keep students safe during their time on campus.
And she already feels right at home.
“I want to come home from work every day and feel like I made a difference,” she said.
Dan McGowan can be reached at dan.mcgowan@globe.com. Follow him @danmcgowan.
Vermont
46 anti-Trump No Kings protests planned in Vermont. How to go
Vermonters protest against deportations, stand in solidarity with LA
Vermonters marched up Church Street in solidarity of Los Angeles protestors and against the federal government’s immigration policies June 10.
Large scale anti-Trump protests are coming to Vermont for a third time, with at least 46 No Kings protests planned across the state for March 28.
This round of No Kings protests might be the biggest so far: organizers anticipate it’ll be “one of the largest single-day nonviolent nationwide protests in U.S. history,” with more than 3,000 events already planned across the country on March 28.
“As President Trump escalates his attempts to control us, it is on us, the people, to show that we will fight to protect one another and our country,” the “No Kings” website says. “If he believes we will roll over and allow him to take our freedoms, he is mistaken. We are coming together again on March 28 because we know we can overcome this repression when we unite.”
In Vermont, protests are being held in all corners of the state, from Bennington to Newport. There are about six protests listed in Burlington, including a march to City Hall, a New North End Honk and Wave and a rally at the intersection of Shelburne Rd and Hannaford Drive.
Here’s what to know ahead of the protests.
What are ‘No Kings’ protests and what does it mean?
In June 2025, large crowds of Vermont residents took part in the first round of “No Kings Day” protests, planned the same day as the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary celebration and the president’s birthday.
Another wave of nationwide “No Kings” protests came several months later in October, in which over seven million Americans joined events in all 50 states, according to the organization. In Burlington, thousands of protesters brought homemade signs protesting Trump, dressed in colorful inflatable costumes, played music and chanted.
Organizers behind the No Kings protests say that it is a “peaceful movement” to push back on President Donald Trump’s policies, including on immigration, foreign policy and the economy.
“With every ICE raid, every escalation abroad, and every abuse of power at home, Americans are rising up in opposition to Trump’s attempt to rule through fear and force. Each day Trump crosses a new red line, and more people are deciding they’ve had enough,” said Ezra Levin, co-executive director of Indivisible, one of the many organizations backing the mass protests.
Others include American Civil Liberties Union, the Human Rights Campaign, MoveOn and 50501.
No Kings protests near me: See events, rallies in Vermont
As of 2 p.m. on March 26, there were 46 No Kings events planned in Rhode Island for March 28. Some towns and cities are holding multiple events.
Here’s a list of events in Burlington:
- Burlington New North End Honk and Wave: 11a.m. – 12:30 p.m., 1127 North Ave, Burlington
- “Invite your friends and neighbors and meet up at 11 a.m. at 1127 North Avenue along the sidewalks at the entrances of the Ethan Allen Shopping Plaza (home to Hannaford Supermarket and many other shops). Bring your signs, banners, noise makers, and American flags,” the listing reads. “This joyous, non-violent honk and wave action will wrap up at 12:30 p.m. Following the Honk and Wave, participants are welcome to proceed to City Hall Park to join the conclusion of the North End and South End marches.”
- Patchen Road Overpass: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., Patchen Road & Landfill Road, South Burlington
- “We’ll be unfurling our huge NO KINGS banners on the overpass as 4,000 – 5,000 vehicles per hours pass below on Interstate 89. Bring a sign, bring an American flag, and bring a friend,” reads the listing. It says to register and to follow the guidance of safety marshals, and encourages attendees to carpool as “parking is tight.”
- Burlington South End March: 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Calahan Park, 45 Locust St, Burlington
- “We’ll be marching from Calahan Park to City Hall Park,” says the event description. “If you don’t want to march or are unable please join us at City Hall park at 12:30 p.m. for singing, chanting and more.”
- South Burlington: 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Intersection of Shelburne Rd and Hannaford Dr in South Burlington, 1001 Shelburne Rd, South Burlington, VT
- “Join Champlain Valley Indivisible at the intersection of Shelburne Rd and Hannaford Drive in South Burlington to stand up and speak out against this administration’s unjust and cruel acts of violence,” the event listing says, adding that those interested should register.
- Burlington March to City Hall: 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., 1 S Prospect St., Burlington
- Burlington Old North End March: 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Roosevelt Park, 57 Oak St., Burlington
- “We’ll be marching from Roosevelt park to City Hall Park,” the listing says. “If you don’t want to march or are unable please join us at City Hall park at 12:30 p.m. for singing, chanting and more.”
Here’s a list of all the towns in Vermont holding protests so far, plus when, where and other helpful information listed on the event pages or provided in press releases:
- Bellow Falls
- Bennington
- Bradford
- Brandon
- Brattleboro
- Burlington
- Charlotte
- Chester
- Essex Junction
- Fair Haven
- Fairfax
- Hardwick
- Hartford
- Huntington
- Jericho
- Manchester
- Middlebury
- Milton
- Milton
- Montpelier
- Morrisville
- Newbury
- Newport
- Northfield
- Randolph
- Randolph
- Richmond
- Rutland
- Saint Johnsbury
- Shelburne
- South Burlington
- South Burlington
- St. Albans
- Wallingford
- Waterbury
- Westfield
- Williston
- Wilmington
- Windsor
- Winooski
- Wolcott
- Woodstock
More events may be planned. You can check the map on the No Kings website to see if your town is holding a protest.
What time are No Kings events?
“No Kings” protests in Vermont start at various times on March 28, with some events planned at 10 a.m. and others planned throughout the afternoon, according to the online map of events.
Contributing: Paris Barraza
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