This is WBC Boston's news radio, redefining local news.
It's forty degrees in Boston at eleven o'clock. Good Thursday morning. I'm Madison Rogers, and we start this hour with some breaking news from Washington. The Trump administration just has just announced mass layoffs and a major transformation at the Department of Health and Human Services. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Junior says he wants to reorganize the department and create a new division called the Administration for a Healthy America.
We have two goals. The first is obvious, to save the tax parent money by making our department more efficient, and the second is to radically improve our quality of service. I want to promise you now that we're going to do more with less. No American is going to be left behind.
He says.
Ten thousand full time employees will lose their jobs, and the agency's twenty eight divisions it will be consolidated. HHS oversees major agencies like the CDC, the FDA, and NIH. It also regulates drugs, food safety, and medical research. Now to Harvard, where hundreds of professors have signed on to a letter calling for the college to push back against the Trump administration. More on that with wbz's James Rojas.
The letter, that's been signed by over six hundred faculty calls for a mounted opposition to the Trump administration and its crackdown on higher education. It sites Columbia University's concessions to the federal government after it was accused of mishandling protests and campus anti semitism. Four hundred million dollars in
federal funding were also threatened. The letter says the ongoing attacks on American universities threatened Bedrock principles of a democratic society, including rights of free expression, association, and inquiry at Harvard James Rojas, WBZ Boston's News Radio.
A federal judge in Boston has just ordered the government to excit plain why a toughs PhD student is in ICE attention. Yesterday in Somerville, thousands of people rallied in protests, and wbz's I'm a Friedman was there.
The Palestinian Youth Movement held an emergency rally in Powderhouse Square Park demanding ICE. Rally's Tough's doctoral student Romesa as Turk. I want to be very clear about something that we need to call what happened to Romesa. What it is state sanctioned political kidnapping. She was taken into custody by plain clothes, ice agents and masks near where she lives in Somerville.
I have to shout up, this is my community. I live here. I can't see my neighbor abducted and say nothing.
Lawyer say the Turkish national was maintaining a valid F one visa status. DHS said she is being held in Louisiana and that she was engaged in activities supporting Hamas. Tufts University president says her student visa has been terminated. The Palestinian Youth Group is planning another rally at Somerville City Hall to demand that city council not put any tax dollars towards apartheid and genocide and gaza in Somerville. I'm a Friedman w's Z Boston's news radio.
And again the government is now facing a Friday deadline to explain that detention, and looking at the four day forecast, it stays mostly sunny and breezy out there this afternoon, getting into the upper forties this afternoon. Right now, it is around forty in Boston. Tonight turns out partly cloudy and brisk, with a shower in spots late even a snowshower mixing in north and west of one twenty eight in those communities. Well to the north and west, it'll
get down into the low mid thirties. It's around thirty eight for the low in Boston. Sun to start your Friday. Then more clouds building fifty seven for the high. Warmer out there. Saturday. We will have a few showers around and it'll only get up to forty three or so in Boston, warmer toward the Cape. Sunday again comps in the low forties, with a bit of rain possible, mainly
in the morning and also mainly north of town. Right now, again it's forty, mostly sunny and breezy in Boston at eleven oh five, just about five hours the Red Sox will begin their twenty twenty five MLB season, and wbz's Drew mholland tells us Hope Springs Eternal.
Major League Baseball's official opening day, you gotta love it. Red Sox in Texas first pitch with the Rangers four h five today and one of the chances we get back to this again, Red.
Sox fans have wonder here to Boston Red Sox are world champions.
It still gives you goosebumps, doesn't It? So much depends on starting pitching. We all know that pitching and defense, and today we get our first look at the new ace. Garrett Crochet, big guy, six y six, strong arm. He gets the ball and tries to put the socks in the win column. Drew mohulland WBZ, Boston's News Radio.
State lawmakers are considering some big changes when it comes to sports betting. Here's wbz's Jim McKay.
The bet Tour Health Bill, little wordplay from legislators calls for limits on how much and how often gamblers can make online bets, bands on all prop bets, and restrictions on the ads that run during sporting events. At the risk of killing this golden goose that has delivered more than thirteen billion dollars in business since sports betting went live in Massachusetts back in twenty twenty three, Addiction specialists
say it's a much needed move. If approved, this would make betting on sports in Massachusetts the most heavily regulated in the country. Jim McKay wb ZY, Boston's News Radio.
Top defense officials are facing more scrutiny after mistakenly including a journalist in a group chat about strikes in Yemen earlier this month. An update now from CBS's Michael Wallace.
The German news magazine Der Spiegel found the private information of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, national Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsey Gabbard in hacked data that were dumped online. They found password details, mobile phone numbers, and email addresses. Hegseth's email address and some of his passwords were found in more than twenty data leaks.
There are a lot of calls for Hegseth to resign or be fired, including from both Massachusetts senators. President True Trump is calling the situation hoax and a witch hunt, though the White House has said that the screenshots do appear to be real. Source of say Chris Poppus has his eyes on a Senate seat. That is, according to Axios, the New Hampshire Democratic rep has been telling colleagues that he plans to announce a run for Jeene Shaheen's seat.
This comes after the Democratic senator announced she would not be seeking reelection in twenty twenty six. There have also been reports of a potential run on the Democratic side by fellow New Hampshire Rep. Maggie Goodland.
You're now in the loop. For news updates throughout the day, Listen to WBZ News Radio on the iHeartRadio app.
I'm Madison Rodgers, WBZ, Boston's news radio