MBTA Orange Line floods during nor'easter; shuts down service
A long stretch of the MBTA's Orange Line was shut down for roughly four hours Thursday, after a nor'easter that brought heavy rain to Massachusetts caused flooding along the subway line.
The MBTA first reported the flood conditions at the Ruggles station in Roxbury at 6:50 p.m., telling commuters that shuttle buses would replace service from Ruggles to Forest Hills, the end of the line. But by around 8:30 p.m., the T had shut down Orange Line service between North Station and Forest Hills.
Shuttle buses replaced service between Back Bay and Forest Hills in Jamaica Plain, and riders were encouraged to use the Green Line to replace service downtown. The T also ran shuttles between Back Bay and Copley.
Regular service between North Station and Back Bay resumed around 10:20 p.m., and the transit agency reported the delay had cleared by 11 p.m.
The delays prompted some to voice their frustration on X.
"Why are you so bad at everything?" wrote one user.
'Do better,' added another.
Foxboro MBTA commuter rail station work rushing to be ready by FIFA games
Mass. man struck and killed by Commuter Rail train remembered as 'dear and humble'
Berated, spat on, and even stabbed: Can a new bill stop assaults on bus and train drivers?
Your MBTA Commuter Rail train may now run on vegetable oil
Ethics Commission accuses retired MBTA manager of violating conflict of interest law
Read the original article on MassLive.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
7 hours ago
- New York Times
Trump travel ban sparks World Cup questions – and more soccer issues
On Wednesday night, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a travel ban against twelve countries in a move he described as 'protecting the national security and national interest of the United States and its people'. The ban goes into effect on Monday, June 9, and it entails a ban against travel into the United States by citizens of Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. This ban relates to the entry of both immigrants and non-immigrants. Advertisement President Trump also imposed partial restrictions and limits on the entry of nationals from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. From a soccer perspective, the news is particularly significant because FIFA are hosting two tournaments in the United States over the next thirteen months – first the FIFA Club World Cup, which will begin on June 14 and then the World Cup in 2026, which will be shared with Canada and Mexico. Iran has already qualified for the tournament, while several countries facing travel bans are in contention to qualify. Additionally, Concacaf is hosting the Gold Cup this summer in the United States, with Haiti one of the competing teams. There are also players from Sudan, Venezuela and Iran due to compete in the Club World Cup. The Athletic breaks down the instant questions that are raised by President Trump's travel ban. What will the impact be for national teams visiting the United States for the World Cup in 2026? The good news for FIFA is that the executive order contains an exemption for 'any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the Secretary of State.' This would appear to suggest, therefore, that Iran, whose qualification has already been assured for the World Cup in 2026, will be able to send a team and support staff to compete at the tournament. However, players will not be able to bring friends and family who are Iranian nationals beyond 'immediate relatives.' Trump's executive order describes Iran as a' state sponsor of terrorism', adding that the state 'regularly fails to cooperate with the United States Government in identifying security risks'. Among the nations with full travel bans, Haiti is currently the best-placed team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, having won its first two games in the second round of Concacaf's qualification process to sit second in its five-team group. The top two from each of the six groups of five progress into the third round – where 12 teams remain – and three nations are guaranteed access to the World Cup with an additional two Concacaf teams to enter into the inter-continental playoffs. Advertisement In Africa, Libya has an outside chance of making the World Cup, currently placed third in a group of six after six matches. The four-best runners-up from the ten African groups will enter into a play-off tournament to stand a chance of qualifying for the World Cup. Both Haiti and Libya would be in the same position as Iran, should they qualify, whereby they are permitted to attend as teams – but there does not appear to be an exception for nationals of those teams who might wish to travel to the tournament to support their country during the competition. Among the nations with partial travel bans, Venezuela is currently placed 7th in the South America qualification table, which would enter them into an inter-continental play-off. Cuba lies third in its five-team Concacaf group, with a game in hand on second-placed Bermuda after two games played. Sierra Leone is also third in group play in the CAF qualification phase to remain in with a chance of qualification. Will any teams be impacted at the Concacaf Gold Cup in the summer of 2025? The Gold Cup begins on June 14 and ends on July 6 this summer, with all matches except one due to be played in the United States. The only competing nation impacted by the travel ban is Haiti, an opponent of the USMNT in the group stage of the competition. Saudi Arabia and Trinidad and Tobago make up the four-team group. The exemption listed by President Trump's executive order refers to athletes and teams being allowed to 'travel for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the Secretary of State.' The Gold Cup is not specified and therefore it must be determined by the Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The Athletic has contacted both Concacaf and the Department of State to seek clarity on the matter and to ask whether Haiti will be granted entry. President Trump's executive order cited overstay percentages on visas by Haitian citizens within the U.S. and claimed 'hundreds of thousands of illegal Haitian aliens flooded into the United States during the Biden Administration.' The order claimed that this 'harms American communities by creating acute risks of increased overstay rates, establishment of criminal networks, and other national security threats.' Advertisement What will the impact be for supporters who wish to watch these teams compete in the United States during the next year? While exemptions appear to have been made for athletes, teams and immediate relatives, further-reaching exemptions for supporters do not appear to be present in the executive order. Exemptions are made for nationals of designated countries who are traveling on government business, or NATO business, or those who are lawful permanent residents of the United States, as well as those who are dual citizens and traveling with a passport from the non-designated country. There will also be entry granted to Iranians on immigrant visas owing to ethnic or religious persecution in their home country. These exemptions aside, however, it appears that entry will be limited for nationals from those countries who face partial and full travel bans. Both Venezuela and Cuba for example have had temporary tourist visa access forbidden. It also appears that Haitians will be forbidden from entering the U.S. to support their team at the Gold Cup this summer or if they qualify for the World Cup next summer. What does this mean for the FIFA Club World Cup this summer? The 32 teams who will be competing in FIFA's revamped club competition this summer are not from any of the countries impacted by the travel ban. There are, however, some players who are potentially at risk of being affected. The exemption in the executive order, as explained above, states that allowances will be made for athletes and immediate relatives coming for the World Cup or 'other major sporting events', as determined by the Secretary of State. The Club World Cup is not specified in the document. The Athletic has reached out to both the Department of State and FIFA to ask whether anything has been formally communicated to designate the Club World Cup as a 'major event.' A quick browse of the squads offers up potential challenges. At the Abu Dhabi club Al-Ain, for example, is the Sudanese player Mohamed Awadalla and his country has seen all visas blocked – meaning he may require an exemption – while the Inter Milan Iranian forward Mehdi Taremi may also be in the same position. The Venezuelan trio of Matias Lacava, Salomon Rondon and Jefferson Savarino – at Ulsan, Pachuca and Botafogo respectively – may not require exemptions because the partial travel ban inflicted upon Venezuelan nationals does not extend to those seeking to come to the U.S. on the P-1 visa. This is used when an athlete seeks to come to the U.S. are part of a team at an internationally recognized level of performance. On Wednesday, as part of our report tracking FIFA's difficulties in filling stadiums for the Club World Cup, FIFA told The Athletic that supporters from more than 130 different countries had acquired tickets for this summer's tournament. We have now approached FIFA to ask whether any nationals from countries impacted by the travel ban have acquired tickets for the tournament, as well as if any exemptions will be made to enable them to enter the country, or if these supporters can otherwise expect refunds. Advertisement What have FIFA and the White House said previously about teams and fans being able to attend the World Cup? Back in 2017, before the U.S. secured the World Cup a year later, the FIFA President Gianni Infantino told reporters: 'It's obvious when it comes to FIFA competitions, any team, including the supporters and officials of that team, who qualify for a World Cup need to have access to the country, otherwise there is no World Cup.' Additionally, as part of the U.S.'s joint bid with Canada and Mexico to host the World Cup – dated May 2, 2018 – President Trump wrote to Infantino and said he was confident that 'all eligible athletes, officials and fans from all countries around the world would be able to enter the United States without discrimination.' The Athletic has approached the White House for comment. Earlier this year, Infantino said: 'America will welcome the world. Everyone who wants to come here to enjoy, to have fun and to celebrate the game, will be able to do that.' Infantino also claimed that the two FIFA tournaments over the next year would generate almost $50 billion in economic output for the U.S. The question, however, is whether repeated news cycles about a more stringent approach to entering the U.S. may dissuade global travelers from attending both the tournament this summer and next year's World Cup, leaving FIFA more reliant on a domestic audience and host cities at risk of falling short of their economic impact, as tourists are likelier to spend more money. Speaking about the World Cup, Vice President J.D. Vance last month said during a meeting of the White House's World Cup task force: 'Of course everyone is welcome to come and see this wonderful event. We want them to come, we want them to celebrate, we want them to watch the games. 'But when the time is up we want them to go home, otherwise they will have to talk to Secretary Noem,' he said, referring to Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
How Trump's travel ban will (and won't) affect World Cup, sports
President Donald Trump's Wednesday proclamation restricting travel to the United States by people from a dozen countries will not apply to athletes competing at soccer's 2026 World Cup or the 2028 Olympics, but could impact fans, friends and extended family of those athletes hoping to come to the U.S. for the hugely popular sporting events. Trump's travel ban, which will take effect Monday, applies to citizens of Iran, whose men's national soccer team has already qualified for the upcoming World Cup, which will be held in the U.S., Canada and Mexico next summer. Advertisement But Section 4, subsection (b), paragraph (iv) of Wednesday's proclamation grants 'exceptions' to 'any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the Secretary of State.' The big unknown, sports immigration experts told Yahoo Sports, is how broad the State Department's definitions of 'major sporting event,' 'necessary support role' and 'immediate relatives' will be. Experts expect that soccer's 2025 Club World Cup — which does not feature a team from one of the 12 countries, but will feature a few players from those countries — will also qualify as a 'major sporting event,' especially given the Trump administration's strong relations with FIFA, soccer's global governing body and the tournament's organizer. It is less clear whether the 2025 Gold Cup, a regional tournament that also begins in the U.S. the same day (June 14), will qualify for the exemption. If it doesn't, the national team of Haiti — another of the 12 countries on Trump's list — would be impacted. It is scheduled to face the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Trinidad and Tobago in Group D. Advertisement Spokespeople for the State Department, FIFA and CONCACAF — the North, Central American and Caribbean soccer confederation in charge of the Gold Cup — either did not immediately respond to questions or could not confirm whether their events were exempted. The wording of the proclamation, experts pointed out, gives the State Department broad discretion to exempt certain events but apply the ban to others, based on any number of criteria or factors. Some athletes looking to travel stateside for minor events — especially pre-professional tournaments or competitions — will likely be affected. And fans will almost certainly be affected, the experts said. FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino, have repeatedly claimed that 'America will welcome the world — everyone who wants to come here to enjoy [the World Cup], to have fun, to celebrate the game, will be able to do that.' But there are no indications or expectations that fans will get special treatment from the consular officers responsible for issuing visitor visas. With the ban in place, thousands of Iranian fans could be denied entry and prevented from following their team at the tournament. Advertisement The other 11 countries on the banned list — Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen — have either been eliminated from World Cup qualification or are unlikely to qualify, though Sudan is in contention. But people from those countries could still be interested in visiting for the tournament. Among the seven countries subject to partial travel restrictions — Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela — only Venezuela is in contention to qualify. Many, if not all, of the 19 countries named will send athletes to the 2028 Olympics, which will be held in and around Los Angeles. It's unclear to what extent their support staff and extended family members might be impacted by the ban — which could, of course, be challenged or changed between now and 2026 or 2028.
CBS News
9 hours ago
- CBS News
MBTA shuts down parts of Green Line for 4 days due to maintenance work
In Boston, parts of the Green Line are now closed through Sunday for routine maintenance work. This includes the B, C, D and E branches. Good news: the Green Line is getting its tracks together. Bad news: it's during an inconvenient time for commuters who rely on it every day in the center of Boston. "It's difficult," said commuter Sam Petri. "I know they have to do it, I'm happy they're upgrading it. It's nice to see that but wish they could plan it a little bit better you know. Just typical Boston always having traffic at the worst time." All 4 Green Line branches affected From Wednesday night through Sunday, parts of the Green Line will be closed for maintenance work. The MBTA said it will "ensure that all infrastructure is in peak operating condition, and includes inspections, adjustments, and repairs to keep the system safe and running smoothly." The suspended area starts at North Station and extends to Babcock Street on the B line. Kenmore on the C and D lines and Heath Street on the E line. Free shuttle buses will replace trains on all four branches. "I feel like this happens every other day something goes wrong, what can you do just try to roll with the punches," said Green Line rider Christian Aspelly. "I just think it's inconvenient because we wanted to come here so we wouldn't be stuck in traffic and now we're going to be stuck here longer than we would be in traffic anyways," said Green Line rider Abby Moynihan. Instead, riders can use the Orange Line between Back Bay and North Station and take shuttle buses for service elsewhere. More service disruptions are coming this month. Next up will be parts of the Blue Line between Bowdoin and Orient Heights on Friday June 7th.
