Extreme Heat and Heat Dome Forecast for Boston Area During July 4th Week A powerful heat dome is expected to bring record-breaking temperatures to much of New England, including Boston, during the July 4th holiday week. The National Weather Service has issued an Extreme Heat Watch for Wednesday morning through Saturday, the Fourth of July, covering most of Massachusetts and the broader New England region, with exceptions for Cape Cod and the Berkshires. The heat wave is part of a large high-pressure system stretching from the central U.S. to the East Coast, which traps warm air and intensifies temperatures daily. The week begins with relatively mild conditions in Boston, where temperatures reached the 70s on Monday afternoon with a sea breeze and sunny skies. However, the weather rapidly deteriorates, with the most comfortable day expected to be Tuesday. Morning temperatures will be in the 60s, and highs will range from 80 to 89 degrees, with some coastal areas near the shore benefiting from localized sea breezes that may keep temperatures in the 70s. The National Weather Service warns that the heat will become unbearable by Wednesday, with dew points surging into the lower 70s and temperatures climbing into the low to mid-90s. The heat index, which accounts for humidity, will reach a scorching 109 degrees in parts of New England by Wednesday. This marks the start of a dangerous heatwave, with temperatures expected to peak above 100 degrees on Thursday and Friday. The 7-day forecast for Boston shows temperatures soaring into the triple digits by the weekend, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) noting that heat impacts will reach "extreme" levels across the Greater Boston area on Thursday.#national_weather_service #boston #national_oceanic_and_atmospheric_administration #new_england #boston_globe
Boston Paid $12 Million to Settle Shaun Jenkins’ Lawsuit The city of Boston agreed to a $12 million settlement with Shaun Jenkins, a man who spent nearly 19 years in prison for a murder he claimed he did not commit. The agreement, reached in October 2024, was quietly finalized after a judge overturned Jenkins’ 2005 conviction due to systemic police and prosecutorial misconduct. The settlement, obtained by the Boston Globe through a public records request, was not publicly announced at the time and marks one of the largest payouts the city has made in recent years. Jenkins, who was released in 2021, filed a federal lawsuit against the city and several Boston police detectives in 2023. The case revealed that detectives had paid a key witness at least $100 per day before the witness was scheduled to testify in a grand jury proceeding. Prosecutors also buried evidence that could have implicated another suspect, including cellphone records showing the victim had frequent contact with a drug supplier on the day of the killing. The victim, Stephen Jenkins, had owed his supplier $3,000 and had lost a stash of crack cocaine, yet investigators never pursued the supplier, who later died of an overdose. The settlement came after years of legal battles. Jenkins’ conviction was initially upheld through multiple appeals, but his attorneys eventually submitted the case to the Suffolk District Attorney’s Integrity Review Bureau. There, they discovered previously withheld documents that exposed the misconduct. The revelations led to the case’s dismissal, and prosecutors later dropped the murder charge against Jenkins. This settlement is part of a broader pattern of police misconduct cases in Boston.#boston #shaun_jenkins #boston_globe #suffolk_district_attorney #massachusetts_bar_board
