NightSide News Update 9/17/25

Monday night, Jimmy Kimmel made some comments that had his parent company suspend his show indefinitley. Dan shared his thoughts and invited listeners to call in with their opinions on Kimmel's suspension. 

Parents are left with an impossible decision after an 18-year-old Falmouth student was accused and arrested for threatening a school shooting in Falmouth. Ian Fotheringham is charged with threatening to use a deadly weapon in a public building. While police did not find any weapons upon investigation, it raises concerns over how to handle such threats and the difficult decision for parents over whether they send their kids to school where a shooting threat has been made. At a hearing, a district court judge ruled that the teen can go free if he posts $2500 bail and wears a GPS monitoring device. What would you do as a parent or a student?

Last year the data showed that the majority of students in 561 MA elementary schools were not proficient in reading and less than half of MA's elementary and middle school students met or exceeded expectations on the 2024 English language arts MCAS, down more than 20% from pre-pandemic levels. Lawmakers have introduced a bill, the “Right to Read Act,” that would promote high quality comprehensive literacy instruction in all MA public schools. Mary Tamer, a former Boston School Committee member and the Executive Director of MassPotential, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring the success of all K-12 students across the Commonwealth, joined us to discuss.

We kicked off the program with four news stories and different guests on the stories we think you need to know about!The Return of Taste of Fenway on Wednesday September 24th! Guest: Steven Farrell - Executive Director of Fenway Community Development Corporation New Massachusetts license plate honors K9 officers and handlers. Guest: James (Jim) LaMonte – Founder of the K9 PTSD Research Center in Seekonk, the group who came up with the idea of the plates Europe bans chemical used in some gel nail polishes, classifying it as a ‘reproductive toxicant’. Tufts doctor things there should be some type of regulation in the U.S. She thinks it would be a particularly good idea for women of childbearing age to avoid gel nail polish… Guest: Dr. Farah Moustafa - MD, Dermatologist and Director of Laser and Cosmetics at Tufts Medical Center Retired Milford firefighter John Hennessy, who, after a lifetime of service with the Milford Fire Dept., now needs help finding a donor for a lifesaving kidney. Guest: John Hennessy – Retired Milford firefighter who needs a kidney  *For more info on John and how to donate*

With so many stories in the news, Dan invited callers to bring up any topic for discussion.

In recent years, the FBI has seen a huge increase in the number of child and teen sextortion cases. James Woods was a 17-year-old college-bound track star who took his life after being the target of sextortion. James’ parents, Tamia & Tim Woods, started a foundation that educates students and parents alike about the dangers of sextortion. Tamia and Tim joined us on NightSide and discussed what sextortion is, how kids are being targeted, and in some cases, taking their own lives as a result.

Michael Addison is the only individual on death row in New England. Addison was sentenced to death in 2008 for killing a Manchester, NH police officer back in 2006. The NH man has been trying to appeal his case for years with no luck until recently NH Supreme Court justices granted him another opportunity to plea for his life. Since NH abolished the death penalty in 2019, Addison and his attorneys argue it would be fundamentally unjust to put him to death now. Do you think Addison should be taken off death row now that NH abolished capital punishment?

We kicked off the program with four news stories and different guests on the stories we think you need to know about!Patriots Win Over The Miami Dolphins - Rhamondre Stevenson was a shining example of resilience in the Patriots’ win. Guest: Chad Finn – Boston Globe Sports Reporter 75% of older Americans want to "age-in-place" reports AARP.* But as years go by, reality begins to set in - what will we do when mom can no longer care for herself?  Guest: Paula Almgren - author of the new book Eldercare The Rules: Navigating the Legal, Financial, Medical, Housing, and Care Maze, is an attorney specializing in estate planning, elder law and life care Breakdown of current Senate bills being mulled over - car rental insurance, abuse registry & fentanyl test strip bills Guest: Sam Drysdale – State House News Reporter Boston’s Freedom Trail Lantern Tours Have Started Up Again! Guest: Phillis Wheatley – Lantern Tour Guide & Character

In the wake of Charlie Kirk's murder last week, the fallout has the country very publicly and politically divided, arguably even more so than we already were. To pay respects to Charlie, President Trump ordered all flags across the nation, at military posts, and at embassies to remain flown at half-staff until Sept. 14th. In Lexington, MA, police are investigating alleged vandalism after someone raised the flag at the Battle Green back to full staff on Saturday by cutting the flag's rope and adding more rope to hoist it back to the top of the pole. The Battle Green is a national historical landmark and one of the only places in the United States where Congress authorizes the American flag to fly 24 hours a day. Dan addressed the divisive nature our country is in right now and asked the question, whether there is anything we can do to meet in the middle.

Daryl Davis is a civil rights activist and author who has devoted his life to bridging the gap between racial divide by seeking out the roots of racism. In doing so, Daryl has attended countless Ku Klux Klan rallies, come face-to-face with Klansmen and Klanswomen and as a result successfully been the impetus for over 200 Klan members to leave their hatred behind and hang up their robe. Daryl joined us on NightSide to share his fascinating and inspiring life's work of turning hatred, racism and bias into friendship and admiration. He literally has a closet full of robes and hoods of KKK members who he helped reverse course away from racism and a life of hatred! You don’t want to miss this hour of radio!