Geoff Diehl refuses to 'blindly accept' results of 2022 election

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More than a third of Puerto Rico remains without power and two-thirds are without clean water, following Hurricane Fiona's landfall Sunday. If you're looking for ways to help, here's a list of organizations involved in the recovery effort that are asking for assistance.

To local news: Republican Geoff Diehl has called the 2020 election "rigged," "highly suspicious" and "stolen from Trump." But what about this fall's election in Massachusetts? Will the gubernatorial nominee accept defeat if voters elect Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey?

When asked by the New York Times if he would agree to the outcome of the November election, Diehl’s spokeswoman, Peggy Rose, replied “no comment,” leading the paper to include him in an article Sunday about six Donald Trump-backed GOP candidates who won't promise to accept this year’s results.

It's also elicited a swift blowback from Healey's campaign, accusing Diehl of adopting Trump's "playbook of lies" and "laying the groundwork to cast doubt on the results of our election."

Diehl shot back in a statement Monday calling it "ridiculous and preposterous to ask any candidate ... to blindly accept the results of an election that hasn’t even happened yet." Diehl added that he plans to "seek resolution" to any "problems with the voting process" that could affect the outcome, but only through "legally-accepted means." (You can read his full statement, as GBH News first reported, here.)

Zoom out: Massachusetts is required to conduct post-election audit to check that ballots were accurately counted. In 2020, the audit found "minimal" tabulation errors. At the national level, dozens of courts and government officials — including Trump’s own former attorney general — have rejected the ex-president's claims that the election was in anyway rigged. Still, calling the election stolen has become something of a litmus test among Republican politicians, signaling their allegiance to Trump and GOP base voters. (Diehl himself once dismissed the idea the 2020 election was stolen, right up until the day before Trump endorsed him.)

The monthlong Orange Line closure may be over, but some street changes in Boston made during the shutdown are here to stay. Mayor Michelle Wu announced this morning that certain infrastructure changes that "improved traffic flow or public safety" will be kept permanently.

The changes include a new Silver Line stop in Chinatown and bus lanes in the Copley Square area. You can read the full list here.

While the city will remove the pop-up Boylston Street bike lane next week, they plan to permanently reinstall it in the spring.

An adult in the Boston Public Schools community has tested positive for monkeypox, but officials are stressing that it's not something to get too alarmed about. While anyone can get the disease, it mostly spreads through "close and sustained intimate contact."

That means “skin to skin” or “skin to mouth” contact with monkeypox rash, sores or scabs — like sexual contact, touching, hugging, massaging or kissing. BPS officials say the general risk to the community remains very low.

Out of an abundance of caution, Wu said the city has offered the monkeypox vaccine to anyone who "might have been even a little bit in contact." Officials aren't identifying the school or even saying if the adult is a staff member. But if you haven't already gotten specific communication, your school community is not impacted.

PSA: State officials are launching a call center today for residents with questions about the plan to send out nearly $3 billion in tax refunds this fall. Just call 877-677-9727 any weekday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

It may also be worth checking out the state's online refund estimator and FAQ page for answers on everything from joint filers (you'll get a single, combined refund) to filing extensions (get it in by Oct. 17 if you want a refund).

P.S.— In-person tickets for tonight's WBUR CitySpace event with Nina Totenberg may be sold out — but you can still tune and hear the famed NPR legal affairs correspondent talk about her nearly 50-year friendship with the late Ruth Bader Ginsberg from the comfort of your home. Virtual tickets are just $5 — and free for WBUR members.