Massachusetts

Stories 601 - 620 | << Prev   Next >>

Case Against 'Under God' Heads to Top Mass. Court

They will be 'making new law' in Pledge case, plaintiffs say

(Newser) - The Massachusetts Supreme Court has agreed to hear what could be a landmark case against the Pledge of Allegiance. A family of secular humanists are arguing that the phrase "under God" in the pledge violates the state's constitutional ban on religious discrimination, the Religion News Service explains. A...

How Romney May Be Linked to Meningitis Outbreak

Salon looks at his lax regulation

(Newser) - Less than a week before Election Day, a potential hit to Mitt Romney’s campaign: Salon reports that the recent meningitis outbreak in the US can be linked to Romney’s failure to regulate when he served as governor of Massachusetts. Numerous problems had been reported at the New England...

Sandy Wreaks Havoc All Along Coast

Cars underwater in Atlantic City

(Newser) - Superstorm Sandy is battering coastal communities tonight with storm surges, downpours, and high winds, causing power outages and evacuation orders from Vermont to Virginia. No longer officially a hurricane, Sandy is starting to merge with two cold fronts, becoming bigger and messier but slightly weaker, sustaining winds of 85mph, according...

Mass. Closes New Pharmacy Amid Meningitis Scare

Massachusetts health officials raise sterility concerns

(Newser) - Massachusetts health officials have closed another compounding pharmacy amid the meningitis outbreak traced to the state. An official cited sterility concerns after a surprise inspection at Infusion Resource, a Rhode Island-based pharmacy with a branch in Waltham, Mass. The inspections come after a fungal meningitis outbreak tied to drugs from...

Romney Forced Gay Parents to Alter Birth Certificates by Hand

He took a stand against gay parents in Massachusetts

(Newser) - As Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney refused to let the state alter its birth certificates for gay parents—forcing couples to cross out "father" and write "second parent" in ink, the Boston Globe reports. A Department of Public Health lawyer warned that such hand-written alterations hurt "the integrity...

Scott Brown Pays Homeless to Be His 'Supporters'

Warren backer shouts racial slur at them

(Newser) - The Scott Brown campaign has admitted that it has been paying homeless people to demonstrate in Boston's working-class Roxbury neighborhood with signs declaring themselves "Obama Supporters for Brown." Benjamin Thomas, the former city elections commissioner running the operation, tells the Boston Herald that these "supporters" are...

State to Town: Sorry, People Are Allowed to Swear

Massachusetts AG asks Middleborough to scrap rule

(Newser) - Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is recommending that the town of Middleborough change or repeal a bylaw that prohibits public profanity . The town approved a proposal this summer that would allow police to enforce the 1968 ban by imposing a $20 fine on people who engage in loud swearing in...

4 Dead as Meningitis Outbreak Spreads

30 sick in 5 states; disease traced to Massachusetts pharmacy

(Newser) - A meningitis outbreak linked to epidural steroid injections has now spread to five states; four victims have died, while 30 others are sick, and experts expect the numbers to continue climbing. Scientists have tied the illness to a steroid tainted with the Aspergillus fungus. All victims so far had received...

Police Chemist Arrested for Faking Drug Tests

Thousands of convictions could go out the window in Boston

(Newser) - Former Massachusetts State Police chemist Annie Dookhan was led out of her home in handcuffs today after sparking a scandal that could wind up freeing thousands jailed on drug charges. Dookhan allegedly lied both when applying for her job and under oath about having a master's in chemistry, and...

Teen Girl's Rapist Fights for Visitation With Their Kid

Victim asks Massachusetts court to keep him away

(Newser) - A man who raped a 14-year-old girl in 2009 is now demanding visitation rights to see the child he fathered, reports MyFox Boston . His victim, however, wants the courts to keep him away. Part of the legal problem is that a judge sentenced the man, who was 20 at the...

Native American Mag Rips 'Ugly' Brown 'War Whoops' Rally

'Mocking' dig against Warren heritage sparks uproar

(Newser) - A native American news magazine has slammed the "ugly side" and "racist imagery" of the Scott Brown Senate campaign after staffers were caught on video yelling out " war whoops " and making "tomahawk chops" with their hands. Their target was the Cherokee heritage of Senate candidate...

Brown Staffers Mock Warren With Tomahawk Chop

They also make 'war whoops' at rally

(Newser) - The Scott Brown-Elizabeth Warren race had already turned nasty , and now it has its very own racial scandal, WCVB reports. Brown's staffers were caught on tape apparently mocking Warren's tiny iota of Native American heritage by chanting what WCVB calls "war whoops" and making the "tomahawk...

Massachusetts Senate Race Turns Nasty

Brown hits Warren on heritage in new ad

(Newser) - The Massachusetts Senate battle between Elizabeth Warren and Scott Brown had been a fairly cordial one—but lately, both candidates are changing the tone. Democrat Warren has been focusing on aligning Brown with fellow Republicans. A recent email to supporters notes that Brown doesn't stand "with the people...

Cat Goes to Vet for Flea Bath, Gets Euthanized Instead

Owner is unamused over the screwup

(Newser) - Today in awful: A Massachusetts woman has filed a complaint after she sent her cat to the vet for a flea bath, and the animal was mistakenly euthanized, reports the Telegram & Gazette News . Colleen Conlon had her son drop off 8-year-old Lady at the Broadway Animal Hospital, where he...

Reid Cancels Senate Votes for Brown-Warren Debate

He accused Republicans of stalling so Brown could miss it

(Newser) - Sen. Scott Brown is scheduled to debate Elizabeth Warren this evening in their tight Massachusetts race, but a little Senate drama nearly got in the way. Earlier in the day, Brown told a reporter that he might have to miss the debate if Senate voting ran late. Democrats say Republicans...

Massachusetts Must Pay for Murderer&#39;s Sex Change
Massachusetts Must Pay for Murderer's Sex Change
judge rules
Sep 4, 2012 12:58 PM CDT

Massachusetts Must Pay for Murderer's Sex Change

Michelle Kosilek, born Robert Kosilek, was convicted of killing wife in 1990

(Newser) - Massachusetts taxpayers are officially on the hook for a transgender murderer's sex-reassignment surgery. US District Judge Mark Wolf today ruled in the case of Michelle Kosilek , who was born as a man but has received hormone treatments and lives as a woman in an all-male prison. Robert Kosilek was...

Shark Threat Closes Cape Cod Beaches

Two sharks spotted; great white found dead near state border

(Newser) - A Labor Day disappointment on Cape Cod: Beaches have shut down along much of the coast thanks to shark trouble. Officials have banned swimming at several top sites after a pair of sightings, CBS News reports. The animals seem to be appearing more frequently lately; earlier this summer, a man...

No, Elizabeth Warren Isn&#39;t Floundering
 No, Elizabeth Warren 
 Isn't Floundering 
OPINION
Aug 10, 2012 1:04 PM CDT

No, Elizabeth Warren Isn't Floundering

Don't believe the negative press: Steve Kornacki

(Newser) - Fans of Elizabeth Warren might be worried after reading a New Republic piece that asserts she's floundering in her challenge against Scott Brown in Massachusetts. But it's way too soon to panic, counters Steve Kornacki at Salon . Ignore the "anecdotal" grumblings about her Senate campaign for a...

Cape Cod Deals With Return of Great Whites

It would help if people stopped swimming near seals, say experts

(Newser) - After a kayaker's close call was followed by Massachusetts' first great white shark attack since 1936 , authorities have some advice for Cape Cod swimmers: Stay away from seals. More than 300,000 grey seals now live in the area—30 times more than in the '60s—and their...

Boy, 9, Clings to Life After He's Shot in Head by Dad

Daryl Benway kills 7-year-old daughter, self

(Newser) - A Massachusetts boy is fighting for his life after he and his 7-year-old sister were shot in the head by their suicidal father, said law enforcement authorities. Police found Daryl Benway, 41, and daughter Abigail dead in the master bedroom of their Oxford home. Owen Benway, 9, was found still...

Stories 601 - 620 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser