DEA Warns Of Spike In Deadly Pills In Massachusetts, US: Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Tuesday, Sept. 28. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• Organizers of the Boston Marathon publicly apologized for running the 125th edition of the planet's most celebrated footrace on Indigenous Peoples Day and will honor Ellison Brown at next month's race.
• A former assistant women's soccer coach at the University of Southern California testified Monday during the first trial in the nationwide college admissions bribery scandal that she regularly created fake athletic profiles with exaggerated accomplishments.
• A South Shore couple is starring in a brand-new HGTV series premiering this week called "Houses With History."

Scroll down for more on those and other stories Patch has been covering in Massachusetts today.

Today's Top Story

The Drug Enforcement Administration is warning of an increase in fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine.

The pills, which are being mass-produced by criminal drug networks and sold as legitimate prescription medications, have been found in every state, including Massachusetts. DEA said the pills are killing unsuspecting Americans at an "alarming and unprecedented" rate.

DEA agents have seized 9.5 million of the pills in 2020, which is more than the amount seized in 2019 and 2020 combined. According to lab analyses, two out of every five fake pills with contain a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl.

Read the full story.

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Tuesday's Other Top Stories

South Shore couple gets HGTV series: A Plympton couple is starring in a brand-new HGTV series premiering this week called "Houses With History." The series will follow Jenny Macdonald and Mike Lemieux as they renovate historic homes - some up to 300 years old - across the South Shore. Houses With History will premiere Wednesday, September 29th at 9 p.m. on HGTV and Discovery Plus.

Ex-coach admits to falsifying credentials during Varsity Blues trial: A former assistant women's soccer coach at the University of Southern California testified Monday during the first trial in the nationwide college admissions bribery scandal that she regularly created fake athletic profiles with exaggerated accomplishments coupled with images she found on Google to help get unqualified students admitted. Laura Janke, 39, of North Hollywood, California, took the stand in U.S. District Court in Boston in the trial of former casino executive Gamal Abdelaziz and former Staples and Gap Inc. executive John Wilson.

The 2021 Boston Marathon is Oct. 11. Read the latest on Patch's 2021 Boston Marathon hub.

Picture This: Introducing Officer Leo

Newton police have officially chosen a name for their new Community Resource Dog, who will now be known as Officer Leo. The department received over 700 name suggestions from community members over the last week and chose the name that seemed to fit the young English Cream Golden Retriever the best.

They Said It

"Running and winning the Boston Marathon was something grandpa loved....Being an Indigenous person meant everything to Grandpa because he was very competitive to begin with. If someone told him he couldn't do something, whether it was winning the marathon or crossing through a path of land to gather shellfish for his family, he'd make sure to prove them wrong and do it."

• Anna Brown-Jackson, a granddaughter of two-time Boston Marathon champion Ellison "Tarzan" Brown. Organizers of the Boston Marathon publicly apologized for running the 125th edition of the planet's most celebrated footrace on Indigenous Peoples Day and will honor Ellison Brown at next month's race.

In Case You Missed It

Climate change protesters arrested outside Baker's home: Members of a group calling itself "Extinction Rebellion Boston" tied themselves to a boat outside of Gov. Charlie Baker's Swampscott home in a climate protest Tuesday morning. Massachusetts State Police arrived in the morning, shut down the street and used saws to cut protesters from the boat before taking them into custody.

By The Numbers

$900,000: The price paid for a guitar owned by Johnny Ramone at an auction conducted by a Boston firm. The 1965 Mosrite Ventures II electric guitar was bought by a collector in the U.S. who wishes to remain anonymous, Boston-based RR Auction said in a statement. Ramone, whose real name was John Cummings, bought the guitar to replace his original blue Ventures II, which was stolen, according to RR Auction. It was played at every Ramones performance from November 1977 until his retirement in August 1996, RR said. He died in 2004.