Batten Down The Hatches!: The HUB

The HUB is a daily newsletter designed for what you want — to be caught up on the most interesting, important news in 5 minutes or less. It's a little bit of this, a little bit of that, but if there's something you want more or less of, email me at mike.carraggi@patch.com.

Today is Friday, July 9. Let's get started.

Elsa is coming.

We wrote about the tropical storm headed for Massachusetts Thursday but figure it's worth an update before things get really messy. Trust me, I don't like leading The HUB with the weather, but this one could be no joke.

Elsa's time here will be brief, but she'll leave a mark. Eversource is serious about warning people to prepare for potential power outages — something you see more in January than July — and the National Weather Service said most of the state's residents are at high risk for flash flooding. The concern, the service says, is for 3-6 inches of rain to build up in a relatively short period of time. There's even a low risk of a tornado.

Meanwhile, the entire coast, Cape and south of Boston is under a tropical storm warning. Just stay in and stay dry — Elsa should be gone by the evening.

If you snap some righteous storm photos, send them to me at mike.carraggi@patch.com. I'll feature the best ones in Monday's HUB.

Somehow, it doesn't seem enough. Charlie Baker and Maura Healey announced the state will get $90 million of a $4.3 billion settlement stemming from the state's lawsuit against Purdue Pharma, the company which makes OxyContin. Healey was behind Massachusetts being the first state to go after the Sackler family itself — and the $4.3 billion must come them. WBUR has the full story on at least some measure of justice being served.

I haven't ridden the T since the pandemic. Looking at the grim riding statistics, odds are you haven't, either. How do we fix the T? Spencer Buell at Boston Magazine has a suggestion — make it more fun.

The 24-year-old charged with stabbing a rabbi outside the Jewish day school he taught at now faces hate crime and civil rights charges. You can read the latest at The Boston Herald thanks to Sean Philip Cotter. "We believe this was rooted in anti-Semitism," Suffolk DA Rachel Rollins said. We hear variations of that sentence far too often lately. What we also hear far too often is that those accused of violently attacking people based race or religion are suffering from serious mental health issues. That was the case here, of course, and it's another reminder of the importance of investing in mental health.

A national look

President Biden said the U.S. military will fully withdraw from Afghanistan by Aug. 31, bringing an end to a nearly two-decade-old war. "We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build," Biden said in a historic speech. (Associated Press)

Pfizer and BioNTech said they are developing vaccines that will defend against the delta variant of COVID-19, an even more infectious strain that accounts for most of the country's cases. (CNBC)

Two American citizens were among those arrested in connection to the assassination of Haiti's president, the country's minister of elections said. (NPR)

What I'm reading today: I'm actually looking around seeing when the best time see Black Widow might be. Hey, you asked.

Weather

The National Weather Service says: During the day — Tropical storm conditions possible. Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 3pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 3pm and 5pm, then a chance of showers after 5pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. High near 76. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible. At night — A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before midnight. Patchy fog after 9pm. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 66. South wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Have a swell weekend.

You can email me at mike.carraggi@patch.com and follow me @PatchCarraggi.