The latest Boston, local and national news | Boston.com

Calvina Strothers the mother of Mikayla Miller speaking during a vigil for Mikayla Miller, the Hopkinton teen whose death has become a lightning rod in the community after 16-year-old's body was found hanging from a tree in a wooded area near her home on April 18. Police told family members Miller died by suicide, but her family says they want clear answers on what happened and that they feel ignored by police and the district attorney. On the right is Mikayla's aunt Angela Clark.

'A bond that was indescribable'

West Roxbury, MA: 03-11-21: Latin Academy's Evan Durrant (right) successfully avoided heading the ball as he and Framingham's Patrick McIrney (left) battle for the ball. The Framingham High School boy's soccer team visited Boston Latin for a Fall II match. (Jim Davis/Globe Staff).

'Massachusetts cannot continue to be a laggard on such matters'

13 Mass. communities have the highest risk of COVID-19 this week

A member of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service survey crew lies beside a 240-pound lake sturgeon pulled from the Detroit River. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

Biologists reel in a 240-pound fish from the Detroit River that likely hatched a century ago May 7, 2021 | 9:30 AM

California condors rest on Cinda Mickols’ porch as a flock of the rare, endangered birds took over her deck over last weekend in Tehachapi, Calif. About 15 to 20 of the giant endangered birds have recently taken a liking to the house in Tehachapi and have made quite a mess. (Cinda Mickols via AP)

Only a few hundred California condors live in the wild, but about 20 teamed up to trash one woman’s deck May 7, 2021 | 9:23 AM

Anti-racism, tattoos, and no more 'wench auctions': Disney's 'woke' moves spark a conservative backlash May 7, 2021 | 9:09 AM

FILE - In this Friday, Jan. 8, 2021 file photo, A man walks out of a Marc's Store in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. With viral cases declining, consumers spending again and more businesses easing restrictions, America's employers likely delivered another month of robust hiring in April, reinforcing the economy's steady rebound from the pandemic recession. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)

U.S. employers added just 266,000 jobs in April as hiring slows May 7, 2021 | 8:50 AM

A Long March 5B rocket, carrying China’s Tianhe space station core module, lifting off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern China on April 29.

Heads up! A used Chinese rocket is tumbling back to Earth this weekend. May 6, 2021 | 11:53 PM

New Bedford, MA--11/23/2020-- Long lines stretch around Whale's Tooth Parking Lot as people wait for a coronavirus test at a COVID-19 testing site in New Bedford. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)

Mass. reports 1,004 new COVID-19 cases, 5 new deaths May 6, 2021 | 5:04 PM

An eagle was killed by rodenticide poisoning in March.

'These are poisons': Animal rights groups push for rodenticide regulations after bald eagle death May 6, 2021 | 3:48 PM

Signs of hope are appearing across America. Los Angeles County made headlines with the news that it had reported zero new deaths on two consecutive days this week.Credit...Philip Cheung for The New York Times

‘Turning the Corner’: U.S. COVID outlook reaches most hopeful point yet May 6, 2021 | 3:21 PM

Stop & Shop Roxbury

Stop & Shop offering walk-in COVID-19 vaccinations across the Northeast May 6, 2021 | 3:00 PM

The stabbing of two women at a bus stop in San Francisco on Tuesday has added to the anxiety of the city’s large Asian-American population.Credit...Mike Kai Chen for The New York Times

Daylight attack on 2 Asian women in San Francisco increases fears May 6, 2021 | 2:16 PM

Securitas agrees to changes after guard allegedly assaulted 11-year-old Boston shoplifter, prosecutors say May 6, 2021 | 2:00 PM

Mikayla Miller.

A rally and vigil for Mikayla Miller is scheduled in Hopkinton today. Here's what to know. May 6, 2021 | 11:43 AM

Socially distanced visitors enjoy the beach in Ocean City, Maryland.

TOPLESS CHALLENGE

Court hears challenge to topless ban at Maryland beach May 6, 2021 | 11:39 AM

Jessica Rinaldi

Warren, Markey urge Senate leadership to include long-term investments for schools in next funding package May 6, 2021 | 11:31 AM

George Jung

George Jung, Mass. native and infamous drug smuggler, dead at 78 May 6, 2021 | 11:04 AM

FILE - In this Aug. 12, 2020, file photo water flows from a showerhead in Portland, Ore. The Trump administration on Wednesday, Dec. 16, relaxed a regulation restricting water flow from showerheads, a pet peeve of President Donald Trump who complained that he needed more water to make his hair “perfect.” (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

See fewer people. Take fewer showers. May 6, 2021 | 10:17 AM

High court mulls whether women-only areas at gyms discriminate against men May 6, 2021 | 10:17 AM

Newton wall collapse

CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENT

Construction worker killed in Newton by collapsed concrete wall May 6, 2021 | 9:39 AM

Truck driver becomes trapped between dumpster, wall at Boston Children’s Hospital May 6, 2021 | 9:14 AM

An adult cicada sheds its nymphal skin on the bark on an oak tree, Tuesday, May 4, 2021, on the University of Maryland campus in College Park, Md. Trillions of cicadas are about to emerge from 15 states in the U.S. East. Scientists say Brood X is one of the biggest for these bugs which come out only once every 17 years. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Trillions of cicadas are about to emerge May 6, 2021 | 8:50 AM

Head removed from statue at Waltham church May 5, 2021 | 11:13 PM

Dirt bikes seized by the Boston Police Department in 2015.

There's no simple solution to dirt bikes, ATVs in Franklin Park May 5, 2021 | 11:02 PM

In this image from video made available by SpaceX, a Starship test vehicle sits on the ground after returning from a flight test in Boca Chica, Texas on Wednesday, May 5, 2021.

Watch: SpaceX launches, lands Starship in 1st successful flight May 5, 2021 | 9:39 PM

South Carolina's electric chair. The South Carolina House voted Wednesday to add a firing squad to the state’s execution methods amid a lack of lethal-injection drugs.

South Carolina House adds firing squad to execution methods May 5, 2021 | 9:15 PM

This picture taken on April 22, 2021, in Poce-sur-Cisse, Central France, shows bottles of diluent on the production line inside the pharmaceutical plant Fareva. - Fareva was chosen as the main supplier of the candidate RNA messenger vaccine from the German company CureVac. The site will therefore produce the diluent used in this vaccine. (Photo by GUILLAUME SOUVANT / AFP) (Photo by GUILLAUME SOUVANT/AFP via Getty Images)

This new COVID vaccine could bring hope to the unvaccinated world May 5, 2021 | 8:49 PM

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - FEBRUARY 01: Dave Portnoy attends Tiesto Performs At Bootsy Bellows x E11EVEN Miami 2019 BIG GAME WEEKEND EXPERIENCE at RavineATL on February 01, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for E11EVEN)

Nantucket Magazine publisher issues additional statement on Dave Portnoy May 5, 2021 | 7:43 PM

East Boston-10/28/20 A new COVID-19 testing facility was previed to the media at Terminal E arrivals(international) at Logan Airport Wednesday morning. A nose swab test by Aneka Gopaulsingh(cq) a medical assistant with XpresCheck is prepared. The site will open to passenger in Mid-November. Photo by John Tlumacki/Globe Staff (metro)

Mass. reports 888 new COVID-19 cases, 13 new deaths May 5, 2021 | 7:27 PM

A photo provided by Adam Schultz/The White House shows former President Jimmy Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter, both seated, posing for a photo with President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden at the Carter's home in Plains, Ga.

Confusing photo

Wide-angle oddity: Giant Bidens meet tiny Carters May 5, 2021 | 6:48 PM

Massachusetts collects about $3.86 billion in taxes in April May 5, 2021 | 6:36 PM

President Joe Biden takes questions from reporters as he speaks about the American Rescue Plan, in the State Dining Room of the White House, Wednesday, May 5, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. backs waiving intellectual property rules on vaccines May 5, 2021 | 6:04 PM