Massachusetts Won't Follow CDC Mask Guidance — Yet | Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Friday, May 14. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• The nationwide manhunt for a Malden man accused of murdering a Yale graduate student ended Friday.
• Two city councilors are pushing to have Newton place an outright ban on gun shops in the city.
• All nine of the young adults injured in a shootout Thursday evening in Providence, Rhode Island, are expected to recover.

Scroll down for more on those and other stories Patch has been covering in Massachusetts today.

Today's Top Story

Yes, the president said it's time for many to ditch masks. But the governor of Massachusetts will need some time.

Hours after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced those fully vaccinated can safely stop wearing masks indoors and outdoors, with a few exceptions, Gov. Charlie Baker's office said "the current mask order remains in place."

It might not survive for long though — Baker said Friday an update to the reopening plans are coming early next week.

Read today's rundown of the latest COVID-19 updates in Massachusetts..

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Friday's Other Top Stories

Malden man arrested in Alabama: The nationwide manhunt for a Malden man accused of murdering a Yale graduate student ended Friday. Qinxuan Pan, 29, was caught in Alabama, the U.S. Marshals Service said. Pan is accused of fatally shooting Kevin Jiang, 26, an Army veteran who was attending Yale's School of the Environment, in the East Rock neighborhood of New Haven Feb. 6.

Ban on gun sales in Newton? Two city councilors are pushing to have Newton place an outright ban on gun shops in Newton. City Councilors Lenny Gentile and Emily Norton docketed the proposal, supported by several other councilors, according to Gentile. It's one of three proposed responses set to come before the city council May 17, as a gun shop poised to open in the city garnered pushback from residents.

Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds will film in Braintree: Boston Casting, a local agency, is running casting for the production. The agency said its looking for people between ages 20 and 60 "who are comfortable moving, shaking and shimmying" as extras in the film. Filming is expected to run from July 6 through Oct. 18, the casting notice read.

Learn more about getting a COVID-19 vaccine in Massachusetts at Patch's information hub.

Picture This

Gun fight in Providence: All nine of the young adults injured in a shootout Thursday evening in Providence are expected to recover, authorities said at a news conference Friday morning. Dozens of shots rang out just before 7 p.m. outside a residence at 87 Carolina Ave., according to Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare. Investigators said a group of people in a car who had between three and five guns opened fire on a small group of people on the porch of the Carolina Avenue home. The group on the porch, who had at least two guns, returned fire.

In Case You Missed It

Only six high-risk communities remain in MA: Massachusetts reported continued declines across all coronavirus metrics again Thursday, with the positive test rate falling to 1.15 percent from 1.43 percent last week. The weekly average death rate fell to six deaths per day, the lowest level on record. The average case rate and hospitalization rate also fell. The Department of Public Health labeled just six communities as high risk for the coronavirus, down from 13 in the previous report.

By The Numbers

21: The number of charges a jury found ex-Fall River Mayor Jasiel Corriea guilty of Friday. He was acquitted of three other federal charges. Corriea showed no emotion in a Boston federal court as the verdict was read after four days of deliberations.