Suffolk County, Boston | featured news

HYANNIS, Mass. — The number of homeless people on Cape Cod and the Islands has jumped in the past year.The Cape Cod Times reports an annual count on Jan. 30 shows 358 people were living in shelters, motels and other accommodations, an increase of about 10 percent from last year's tally. The largest increase was in the number of people in shelters like St. Joseph's House in Hyannis — from 64 men and women last year, to 95 this year.

BOSTON — Cancer survivor Mary Shertenlieb wasn't about to let rain, wind or cold stop her.Shertenlieb crossed the Boston Marathon finish line at 12:18 a.m. Tuesday, about 13 hours after she started the race.The leukemia survivor was at mile 15 on Monday when she went to a medical tent, shivering, with purple lips, thinking she had hypothermia.She called her husband, Rich, and he suggested she come home, take a hot shower, put on dry clothes, then restart the run.The couple later went back to the spot she stopped and finished together, holding hands.

A Boston cop will likely forfeit his career but avoids any jail time for assaulting an Uber driver three years ago that one judge called a racially charged attack on a defenseless, terrified victim.Michael Colin Doherty, 43, of South Boston was sentenced to three years' probation today...

BOSTON — The state's highest court has struck down a Massachusetts law that bans the civilian possession of stun guns.The Supreme Judicial Court said in Tuesday's ruling that prohibiting ownership of the weapons violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.The decision marks a reversal for the court, which reached an opposite conclusion in a separate 2015 case. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, set aside that ruling, saying the Massachusetts court failed to properly explain its ruling.

American Desiree Linden took the lead from Kenyan Gladys Chesir at the 35K mark and cruised to victory in the women’s race during yesterday’s 122nd running of the BAA Boston Marathon.The temperature was 38 degrees, the wind was gusting and the rain was steady when the elite field departed Hopkinton at 9:32 a.m.

BOSTON — Two top Boston hospitals say they plan to hire more minority doctors and make their facilities more welcoming for minority patients.The Boston Globe reports Tuesday that the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute plans to hire a leader for diversity programs and to require all faculty and administrative leaders to complete a bias awareness workshop. It has also has set diversity goals in its 2018 strategic plan.

A 61-year-old man was killed last night when he was struck by a motor vehicle in Lowell, police said.The fatal collision occurred at about 5 p.m. in the area of Church and Warren streets.His identity has not been released, pending notification of his family.Police said the driver, a man in his 30s, remained on scene. He was not facing charges as of last night. 

A cab driver was stabbed in the neck in Worcester yesterday during a violent struggle with a fare that witnesses told investigators tried to pull the driver out of the taxi.The 54-year-old cabbie was bleeding from his neck; however, his injuries are not considered life-threatening, police said.The assault occurred on Edward Street in Worcester shortly after 3 p.m.Police said in a statement their suspect "had been a passenger in the cab before he abruptly exited the cab and tried to remove the driver from the front seat."

It would be hard to dream up a nastier day to compete in the Boston Marathon than yesterday, when cold, rainy weather had spectators on Boylston Street wrestling with umbrellas in the wind and clutching rain ponchos to their shoulders as runners pounded puddles to the finish line.

I thought it would hit me at some point as I turned right onto Hereford and left onto Boylston, as I did so many times during training. Or maybe when I finally crossed the finish line.But the gravity of the moment overwhelmed me as I sat on the Green Line heading to Somerville, moments after completing my first career Boston Marathon. With my finisher’s medal around my neck and huddled under a heat sheet, I couldn’t hold in the tears any longer.That’s what participating in this incredible event does to you.