Mid Day Report: Tuesday, December 9, 2025

A federal judge grants the DOJ's motion to unseal an investigation into Ghislaine Maxwell, Hanover neighbors vote to be in compliance with the MBTA Communities Act, and Plymouth e-bike regulations may be on the way. Stay in "The Loop" with WBZ NewsRadio.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Sunshine but chili twenty one degrees in Boston at eleven o'clock.
Good Tuesday morning is always thanks for tuning in. I'm
Sherry Small. Here's what's happening all right topping the news
this morning, a federal judge grants the Justice Department's motion
to unseal grand jury records from the investigation into Gallaine Maxwell,

(00:25):
Maxwell serving a twenty year prison sentence for acting as
an accomplice to notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Attorney General
Pam Bondi has also asked for grand jury records relating
to Jeffrey Epstein, but a judge has yet to rule
on that motion. A new law requires a Justice Department
to make public many records regarding Epstein by December nineteenth.

(00:48):
We're keiving a close eye on the Federal Reserve, which
starts its last meeting of the year today.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
FED members are gathering today and Wednesday to debate whether
a third consecutive rate cut is appropriate, and recent public
speeches from members on the voting committee suggest that another
quarter point cut is on the way, with worries over
a weakening labor market outweighing concerns over inflation which according
to the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, rose two point eight

(01:14):
percent year over year in September. Another quarter point cut
would lower the federal funds rate to a range of
three and a half to three and three quarters percent
and could spark homeowner refinancing activity after three years of
elevated interest rates.

Speaker 1 (01:27):
And that CBS is Jason Brooks reporting there will of
course have that decision as soon as it comes down
tomorrow here and streaming on the iHeartRadio app. Eversource will
return forty five million dollars to its customers as part
of a new settlement with Attorney General Andrea Campbell. This
ends a year's long battle over merger costs and disputed charges.

(01:49):
In total, end Star Electric will return twenty million in
credits to customers starting the first of the year. Eversource
Gas customers will see twenty five million in savings once reach.
It's a reset. This coming as customers struggle with rising
energy costs. Rate changes will be seen in statements over
the next few years as more cases are settled. The

(02:11):
federal government is looking to make airports more family friendly,
and they're putting up the cash to do it.

Speaker 3 (02:17):
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says the government is putting up
a billion dollars for airports to add more family friendly areas,
things like children's play areas, nursing pods, family screening lanes,
and sensory rooms for children with special needs. Duffy says
he's also looking for other ideas. There's other options that
I might not have thought about that airports might present

(02:38):
to us that will go for Duffy says, the notice
of funding is gone out and he's looking forward to
hearing from airport officials, essentially competing for a piece of
that one billion dollar pie. Peter King's CBS News.

Speaker 1 (02:52):
Hanover residents vote to bring their town into compliance with
the MBTA Communities Act. That law requires communities long MBTA
routes to create at least one zone that allows for
multi family housing. The South Shore Times reporting Hanover's new
district will be at the same location as the recently
rebuilt Hanover Crossing shopping center. Residents voted to approve the

(03:15):
new district after the town was notified that it would
face consequences for not complying with the law. And now
let's check the weather. Sun will give way to some clouds. Today,
It's going to be a chili day. We'll only reach
a high of thirty one, and then a snowshower or
two around this evening north and west of the city.
Otherwise just mostly cloudy, tamp slowly rising tonight through the
thirties and then Wednesday Tomorrow much warmer. It'll be mostly cloudy.

(03:39):
We will see some rain in the afternoon and evening,
but highs will reach forty five, and then Thursday, mix
of sun and clouds, cooler, a hiveh just thirty six,
sunny and breezy, with high thirty five on Friday, and
we are keeping watch for a potential storm over the weekend.
Saturday will be dry starting out, hies back into the thirties,

(03:59):
but a possible storm Saturday night into Sunday. Right now,
we're just seeing sunny skies and twenty one degrees in Boston.
It's eleven oh five. Back to news noow Plymouth is
on the verge of implementing new restrictions on e bikes.
This after a string of recent accidents, but the e

(04:20):
bike community and town is speaking out.

Speaker 4 (04:22):
You talk to people who e bike around America's hometown
and it's their official new mode of transportation.

Speaker 5 (04:27):
And they help you.

Speaker 3 (04:28):
Say you're going up a hill for e.

Speaker 4 (04:30):
Bike riders like one, regardless of cold or conditions, He's
riding that e.

Speaker 5 (04:34):
Bike assist you in every way.

Speaker 4 (04:36):
He's part of a growing chorus of riders upset with
new wide ranging restrictions the town is considering, which could
regulate everything from age limits, speed and equipment requirements. Some
riders do agree that the young'ins have become a problem
riding around town.

Speaker 3 (04:51):
The kids on the electric bikes, and that's that's really.

Speaker 4 (04:54):
What we think is the problem is kids acting like maniacs.
Riders packed a recent select board meeting to express irustrations,
and the town select Board will be meeting again to
discuss the regulations next week. Employmouth Jim McKay wb Z,
Boston's news radio.

Speaker 1 (05:09):
A judge orders Ice to release a Revere woman who
has family ties to White House Press Secretary Caroline Lovitt.
Here's Rory O'Neill with the tails.

Speaker 5 (05:19):
A judge's ordering Bruno Ferrera be released on bond from
an ICE processing facility in Louisiana following her arrest last month.
Ferrera shares custody of an eleven year old with Michael Levitt,
the brother of White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt. The
judges ruling allows Ferrera to return to Massachusetts for her
case in Boston's immigration court. Homeland Security calls Ferreira a

(05:42):
criminal illegal alien from Brazil who overstayed a tourist visa.
I'm rory O'Neil.

Speaker 1 (05:47):
The federal judge orders the government to restore Remesa oster
school records to a national database that determines if she
can participate in college and work programs now. Osturk is
a tough graduate student who was detained by Ice earlier
this year. Despite returning to campus in May, she still
hasn't been allowed to participate in teaching and research. That's

(06:10):
because her information wasn't in the proper database. This ruling
requires a government to restore her information to the database
and give Osterk a chance to argue if it decides
to purge her records once again. A study in New
Hampshire looks at a link between forever chemicals and infant desks.

Speaker 6 (06:28):
Researchers found mothers in New Hampshire who lived downstream from
sites contaminated with Forever chemicals or pfas experienced triple the
rate of infant deaths and had more premature births or
babies with low birth weights. Many of the mothers were
from higher income households, suggesting they didn't lack medical care
or filtered water. Pfas are found in nonstick cookware, food packaging,

(06:49):
and certain clothing. They've been detected in half the nation's
drinking water and have been linked to cancer's, birth defects
and liver damage.

Speaker 2 (06:56):
Michael Wallace, CBS News.

Speaker 1 (06:58):
You are now in the loop for news updates throughout
the day. Listen to WBZ News Radio on the iHeartRadio app.
I'm Sherry Small, WBZ Boston's news radio