Barnstable County

The Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office in Massachusetts is ending an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that gave deputies the authority to enforce federal immigration laws, civil rights attorneys said Wednesday. The Barnstable department was the last sheriff’s office in New England with such an agreement, called a 287(g), according to Lawyers for Civil Rights and the American...

With summertime in full swing on Cape Cod, there’s growing concern about the spread of monkeypox. “Biggest concern right now is making people aware that anybody can catch this disease,” said Maurice Melchiono, a public health nurse for the Barnstable County Health Department. Barnstable County is closely watching the spread of monkeypox — or MPV as it’s known. The...

It’s the busiest time of the year in one of the busiest spots on Cape Cod, and amid all the fun in Provincetown, there’s growing worry about the spread of monkeypox and what it could mean for seasonal workers.

Barnstable County officials are warning residents to take precautions and secure their boats as a hurricane watch takes effect on Cape Cod and the Islands.

Barnstable County officials are warning residents to take precautions and secure their boats as a hurricane watch takes effect on Cape Cod and the Islands. The National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center issued hurricane watches for the Cape and Islands as well as most of the South Coast of New England Friday morning. The watches will remain in…

With capacity limits, required closures of some businesses and other Massachusetts COVID-19 rules set to end on Saturday, Cape Cod is now preparing for its first major holiday weekend since 2019 without pandemic restrictions in place. “While certainly we’re not in 2019 right now, this Memorial Day weekend sure feels a lot more like a traditional kickoff to the season,”…

Two new COVID-19 testing sites on Cape Cod will be open by next week with the ability to test over 500 people a day and put a “dent” in what Sen. Julian Cyr and others have described as a testing desert in Barnstable County.

The search continues for a suspect wanted in connection to the shooting of a Massachusetts State Police trooper.  State Police say the incident happened just after 11:30 p.m. on Friday on Camp Street during a traffic stop in Barnstable. The 28-year-old trooper was shot in his right hand, according to State Police. After hitting the trooper’s hand, the bullet...

Catherine Greig, the longtime companion of James “Whitey” Bulger, is finishing her sentence at a home in Hingham, Massachusetts. She was spotted by the Boston Globe this week. Her twin sister Margaret McCusker confirms the home belongs to a Bulger family member.

Between great white sharks, freak tornadoes and new taxes on vacation rentals, Cape Cod businesses have had a challenging summer. Lodging and beach visit numbers are down on the famous vacation destination, one year after the region dealt with two shark attacks, including the state’s first fatal attack in more than 80 years. Beaches have been closed to swimming for...

White shark sightings and shark-related beach closings have surged on Cape Cod this summer, but that doesn’t necessarily mean more sharks have flocked to the waters. More people on the lookout for sharks and increased vigilance have contributed to burgeoning numbers of shark sightings, says Megan Winton, a research scientist for the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy.

South African Shark Expert Chris Fallows joins us this week to talk about his work studying an area where sharks are always jumping out of the water. (Collaboration with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy)

August has officially been declared ‘Seal and Shark Awareness Month’ on Cape Cod after the Barnstable County Board of Commissioners voted in favor of the measure. The proposal was brought to the county by two Cape Cod residents. They said the measure would bring much needed awareness to the threat that sharks pose and incentivize elected officials and special interest...

This week’s episode of Shark Tales shares an exciting research milestone, and tests your shark knowledge.

In recent years, great white shark sightings have become all the more common on Cape Cod. Already this year, more than 150 of the sharks have been spotted off of Massachusetts. Most of the sightings are on the outer Cape, from Chatham to Provincetown. But there have also been many sightings in Cape Cod Bay, where research scientists have been...

Over the past week, there were 17 shark sightings off Cape Cod, including seven over the weekend alone. According to the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s Sharktivity app, great white sharks were spotted in Cape Cod Bay and off Truro, Eastham, Orleans, Chatham and Monomoy Island.

As cleanup continues on Cape Cod Tuesday from a powerful storm, the National Weather Service determined that two separate tornadoes had touched down, one of which began as a waterspout. Both “high end EF-1 tornadoes” had a maximum wind speed of 110 mph, according to the NWS’ damage summary.

The National Weather Service confirmed an EF-1 tornado on Cape Cod hit wind speeds of 100 mph.

Severe weather overnight Monday toppled trees, knocked out power for thousands and caused floods in southern New England. Thunder rumbled in several communities during the storm and lightning set fire to two Cape Cod homes. High winds toppled trees and triggered a tornado warning for Barnstable County, which was later lifted.

An EF-1 tornado touched down on Cape Cod Tuesday, with three towns hit, according to preliminary information from the National Weather Service. The tornado caused damage to buildings and trees and left some areas too treacherous for people to go, even while the region was packed with tourists. But there were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths, just power...