MBTA managers say they're committed to moving 20,000 passengers per game to and from Foxborough during Massachusetts' seven World Cup matches next summer.

Why it matters: "Boston" is hosting World Cup games, but the actual stadium is 23 miles away in Foxborough.

• Foxboro is the farthest from a major city center among all 11 American venues hosting World Cup games.
• Getting thousands of international fans to and from Gillette Stadium will be a huge undertaking for the rebuilding MBTA.

Zoom in: A World Cup fan festival is planned for downtown Boston for the duration of the Massachusetts portion of the tournament.

• Thousands of fans will fly into Logan, stay at Boston hotels and patronize the usual tourist spots between games.
• The T has to make the added Foxborough trains run like clockwork to satisfy the international crowds.

What they're saying: "We're already advancing preparations, including expanding platform capacity at the Foxboro Station," transit special projects senior adviser Erika Mazza told Axios.

• Mazza says the T's mission is "safe, efficient, and reliable transportation for fans from around the globe," while still providing for daily riders.

So far, the T has taken a few steps to make sure fans can get to the World Cup games, including:

• Setting up a construction blackout period for the tournament.
• Identifying additional funds for buses, subway and ferry travel.
• Expanding languages for signs, apps and other services.
• Streamlining ticketing for international travelers.

Yes, but: Service planning is ongoing for getting 20,000 passengers to the Foxboro station located within walking distance of Gillette.

By the numbers: Gillette Stadium will host seven matches from June 13-July 9, 2026, including one quarterfinal match.

• Six of the seven games are scheduled for weekdays.
• FIFA is considering 12 pm, 4 pm, 6 pm or 9 pm start times, according to the MBTA's planning documents.
• The stadium has around 65,000 total seats. The capacity record, 71,723, was set by an Ed Sheeran concert in 2023.

The bottom line: The MBTA — the same transit agency that frustrates New England commuters every day — wants to position itself as essential infrastructure for one of the world's largest sporting events.

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With the biggest thing in international sports coming to Massachusetts, we want to know how Bostonians feel about it.

• Are you thrilled to see Mass. in the spotlight? Or will this just be another headache for Bay Staters?

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Cantabrigian actor Casey Affleck wants Beacon Hill to crack down on what he and animal rights activists call cruel experiments on baby primates.

What's happening: Affleck wrote a letter to Massachusetts legislators urging them to prohibit separating infant primates from their mothers during the first year of life for research purposes.

Driving the news: The advocacy letter, sent to Sen. Lydia Edwards and Rep. Michael Day, chairs of the judiciary committee, supports H.1948/S.1167 ahead of a hearing Tuesday.

• Affleck references Harvard experiments that "sewed the baby monkeys' eyelids shut" and subjected them to strobe lighting during experiments.
• Animal welfare experts say practices like that cause lifelong psychological damage to primates.

Affleck said he finds experiments involving mother-infant separation "especially devastating."

• He praised Massachusetts leaders for working to make sure "this horrific practice never happens again in the state."

Zoom in: Affleck is upset about experiments Harvard neuroscientist Margaret Livingstone's lab conducted by separating infant macaques from their mothers at birth.

• Animal rights groups condemned the methods and Livingstone's previous work that involved having the eyelids of some primate test subjects surgically closed for 12 months to study visual development.
• Over 250 scientists condemned the experiments as unethical and scientifically unnecessary.

The other side: Harvard has defended the research as "critically important" for developing treatments for tremor, Alzheimer's and brain cancer.

• Harvard stated that material from PETA, which Affleck cites in his letter, has used "misleading" information and "factual inaccuracies."
• The university says the research followed all federal animal welfare regulations.

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🎬 Gwyneth Paltrow was hired as a "very temporary" spokesperson for tech company Astronomer after its CEO and HR chief resigned following that viral KissCam moment at the Gillette Coldplay concert. (CBS Boston)

• Paltrow was of course married to the band's front man Chris Martin. The Paltrow video is actually pretty funny.

💼 Attorney General Andrea Campbell has spent over $5,000 on Washington D.C. hotels in 2025 while pursuing 29 lawsuits against the Trump administration. (Boston Herald)

• The paper found that Campbell's office used $288,146 in taxpayer-funded procurement cards in fiscal year 2025.

🎉 Thousands attended the Boston While Black Family Reunion in the Seaport, celebrating community despite reduced corporate funding this year. (Boston Globe)

• Up to 25,000 people were expected to participate in the annual gathering.

🚇 MBTA Transit Police are searching for a woman who allegedly spat on and assaulted two people at Downtown Crossing on July 14. (WCVB)

• One victim was a 69-year-old woman.

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The State Department is launching an investigation into Harvard's ability to sponsor exchange visas, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced last week.

The big picture: It's a part of the Trump administration's efforts to bar Harvard from hosting international students.

Driving the news: "Visa sponsorship is a privilege, and sponsors whose conduct tarnishes our nation's interests will lose that privilege," Rubio said.

What they're saying: Harvard spokesperson Jason Newton called the investigation "yet another retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard's First Amendment rights" in an emailed statement.

• "Harvard continues to enroll and sponsor international scholars, researchers, and students, and will protect its international community and support them as they apply for U.S. visas and travel to campus this fall."

Catch up quick: Trump suspended the entry of international students to attend Harvard through an executive order, which the university has been fighting in court.

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