Massachusetts

Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks at a rally for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jay Gonzalez (left) and congressional Democratic candidate Ayanna Pressley (second from left).

Politics & Government

Cherokee Official Says Trump-Warren DNA Debate Isn't Helping Tribe

1:51pm October 16, 2018

by Brian Naylor

As the president and Elizabeth Warren trade jabs over her Native American roots, the Cherokee Nation secretary of state tells NPR they should instead be looking into the needs of Indian Country.

Two people look out at the water after a shark attack at Newcomb Hollow Beach in Wellfleet, Mass., on Sept. 15.

National

Swimmer Dead After Shark Attack On Cape Cod

4:55pm September 15, 2018

by Emily Sullivan

A man in his mid-20s was bitten 300 feet off the shoreline of Wellfleet, Massachusetts on Saturday. He was transported to a nearby hospital, where he died from his injuries.

Massachusetts wanted to negotiate prices and stop the use of some of the most expensive drugs in its Medicaid program. The federal government said no.

Health & Safety

A Setback For Massachusetts In States' Drive To Contain Medicaid Drug Spending

5:39pm September 12, 2018

by Martha Bebinger

Massachusetts planned to exclude expensive drugs that weren't proven to work better than existing alternatives from its Medicaid plan. Medicaid drug spending had doubled in five years.

Nearly 90 former inmates are buried here on the grounds of the North Central Correctional Institution at Gardner. Before inmates, the state buried patients housed at what once was the Gardner State Colony for the "mentally disturbed."

National

Tempering The Cost Of Aging, Dying In Prison With The Demands Of Justice

5:00am August 01, 2018

Massachusetts has one of the highest rates of aging prisoners in the nation. A new law would allow parole for prisoners who can prove they are physically or cognitively incapacitated.

Rep. Mike Capuano struggles to understand why some voters think race and gender are relevant in this race. When Capuano campaigns, he doesn't talk much about his opponent, focusing on his own record.

Politics & Government

The Next Big Democratic Primary Showdown

11:23am July 15, 2018

by Asma Khalid

The future of the party is being tested in a Massachusetts congressional primary, in which a challenge to a veteran Democrat has echoes of the upset of a party leader last month in New York.

The steel used to build lobster traps like these, stacked up outside a fish market on Martha's Vineyard, is getting pricier, thanks to new tariffs.

Got Lobster? Trump's Steel Tariffs Threaten Trap Industry

5:05am June 21, 2018

by Craig LeMoult

The factory that makes wire mesh used in the majority of North American lobster traps says steel tariffs will spike the cost of their product, and lobstermen will bear the brunt of the higher prices.

Queue Listen Now

A pharmacist holds a bottle of OxyContin earlier this year at Daniel's Pharmacy in San Francisco.

Massachusetts Sues OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma, Saying It 'Peddled Falsehoods'

2:40pm June 13, 2018

by Colin Dwyer

The civil lawsuit is just one of many the opioid drug manufacturer now faces — but the complaint filed Tuesday adds an unusual wrinkle: It also singles out the Sackler family, which owns Purdue.

Massachusetts State Senate President Stan Rosenberg, left.

What You Should Know About The Decline Of This Powerful Massachusetts Politician

1:48pm May 02, 2018

by Steve Brown

What's next for Massachusetts State Senator Stan Rosenberg, whose husband has been charged with sexual assault, criminal lewdness and distributing nude photos without consent?

Middlesex County Correctional Facility Assistant Deputy Superintendent Scott Chaput with inmates in the prison's P.A.C.T (People Achieving Change Together) unit in Billerica, Mass.

National

A New Approach To Incarceration In The U.S.: Responsibility

4:32pm April 29, 2018

by Cristina Quinn

Authorities in Massachusetts want to cut the recidivism rate for men ages 18 to 24. They're trying a new program based on a German model that teaches responsibility as a means to greater freedoms.

Queue Listen Now

Bystander video captured an incident in which police in Cambridge, Mass., are seen punching a black Harvard student who was naked in the median.

National

Video Shows Police Tackling, Punching Black Harvard Student

12:26pm April 17, 2018

by Laurel Wamsley

Police in Cambridge, Mass., had responded to calls of a naked man in the street. "Cambridge affirms that Black Lives Matter, but it must be true in practice as well," the city's mayor said.