Fraudsters Fleece College Kids Out Of $175K: 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 alex.newman@patch.com.

Today is Friday, September 24. Let's get started.

Several students at Boston University have fallen victim to scammers, with the unluckiest getting conned out of $150,000.

That student got a call from someone claiming to be a Chinese government official, who accused the student of taking part in a crime, the Boston Herald reported. The scheme went beyond a phone call – the student participated in video calls with people in official looking uniforms who used spoofed embassy phone numbers.

Another student wired $25,000 after being contacted by someone claiming to be from the Chinese government, and two other victims sent money to fraudsters claiming to be from Walmart and Amazon Services, campus police said.

The Boston University Police Department sent out a campus alert after the fourth reported fraud.

Read more from the Boston Herald.

Top stories

In a rare move, Republicans postponed a Senate Judiciary Committee vote on the nomination of Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins as the next U.S. attorney for Massachusetts. She was the only nominee of eight that didn't advance with a favorable recommendation. Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton in particular has been against Rollins's nomination, citing her record of declining to prosecute certain low-level, nonviolent crimes. (GBH)

The Massachusetts House approved tighter COVID-19 health protocols that will require all members and staff to be fully vaccinated if they are working at the State House, a first step in reopening the building. But the new rules were criticized as too vague by Republican lawmakers. The vote created a House Working Group that will hash out the details, such as a vaccination deadline. (Boston Globe)

Owen Turner, the Green Line trolley operator involved in a July crash that injured dozens of people, is facing two charges of gross negligence. Turner was placed on leave following the crash, and the MBTA said this week it is "taking the steps necessary" to end his employment. The NTSB found the train was traveling at about three times the speed of another trolley that it struck from behind on Commonwealth Avenue. (WCVB)

Local voices

"The opioid crisis is not limited to the Methadone Mile. Substance abuse and the homelessness that often accompanies it are not confined to Boston’s city limits. It’s a city problem, a regional problem, a statewide scourge." - Boston Herald Editorial Staff

"I seldom felt comfortable voicing these thoughts on campus. I believed I would be called a racist and that neither my professors nor my peers were interested in a thoughtful discussion of the role of law enforcement or the courts." - Lauren Hunt, Boston Globe

"In contrast to what we saw a year ago, those in favor of school mask mandates and those against them are no longer split essentially along political party lines. Now, both sides can point to science – or lack thereof — to support their claims." - Shira Doron, Elissa Perkins and Westyn Branch-Elliman, Commonwealth Magazine

It happens more than you think

This is now the third time in four years the Menhaden have died en masse after getting stuck in the waters between Everett and Somerville.

Experts can't say why the Menhaden keep getting trapped but agree the area of water has a low concentration of oxygen, meaning the fish likely suffocate after consuming all that's available.

Did you know?

There's a Massachusetts-style hot dog. And you probably haven't heard of it because, as is the case with pizza and bagels, New York does it better.

But according to Boston Magazine, the Bay State's dog is typically steamed and topped with mustard, chopped onions and piccalilli (British relish). What defines it is a flat-sided bun with a split at the top, originally designed to better hold clam strips.

A lighter touch

Bear with me, this one has a happy ending.

After getting his bike stolen twice in the past month, 6-year-old Bryan King got a new set of wheels – courtesy of two Taunton police officers.

Officers Michael Flynn and Michael Hughes used their own money to buy Bryan a new bike and two bike locks. They also shared some theft prevention tips with the family.

Taunton Police Chief Edward Walsh called it a "fantastic example of community policing."

Fine, I'll admit it

The Sox are good. The source of their latest hot streak: the bright yellow "City Connect" uniforms.

"It’s almost like these uniforms give these guys superpowers," Bryan Loor-Almonte, the team's director of communications, told the Boston Globe.

The jerseys are an obvious homage to the Boston Marathon, but their design is also intended to buck perceptions. There's one view of Boston – represented by the standard red and gray – and then there's the reality, that the city is a "big melting pot at the end of the day," Loor-Almonte said.

And the players love them. Even Chris Sale, a notorious curmudgeon when it comes to alternate jerseys.

Read more from the Boston Globe.

What I'm reading today: People may have been in the Americas way earlier than we originally thought. Scientists reported Thursday that ancient human footprints found in the White Sands National Park in New Mexico are believed to be 23,000 years old.

"I think this is probably the biggest discovery about the peopling of America in a hundred years," said Ciprian Ardelean, an archaeologist at Autonomous University of Zacatecas in Mexico. (New York Times)

Weather: The National Weather Service says showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Patchy fog before 8am. High near 78. South wind 9 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 10pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 10pm and 1am, then a chance of showers after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 60. South wind 5 to 7 mph becoming calm after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

– Alex Newman

About me: Alex is a Jersey transplant covering Arlington, Malden, Medford, Reading and Somerville for Patch. A graduate of Northeastern University, Alex has lived in the Boston area since college (though he still hasn't been able to bring himself to root for the Sox). He is an avid football and baseball fan, amateur woodworker and film geek. Alex lives in Chelsea with his fiancée, their dog and a revolving door of foster puppies.