The number of California students who cannot read is shocking. Results from the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress show that only 32% of fourth-graders are reading proficiently. These results put California below the national average and behind 25 other states. While the ranking is cause for concern, the difference in absolute...
No More Menthol Cigarettes: New Ban on Tobacco, Vape Flavors
BOSTON — Massachusetts’ governor signed into law Wednesday a groundbreaking ban on the sale of flavored tobacco and vaping products, including menthol cigarettes. Republican Gov. Charlie Baker’s signature makes Massachusetts the first to enact a permanent statewide ban, anti-smoking groups said. It immediately bans the sale of flavored vaping products...
Video: Record Implosion Fells Coal Plant Cooling Towers
SOMERSET, Mass. — It took just a matter of seconds for two 500-foot cooling towers from Massachusetts' last coal-fired power plant to be reduced to rubble on Saturday. The controlled demolition went off as scheduled at 8 a.m. at the former Brayton Point Station in Somerset. Video showed the giant...
Judge Charged with Helping Man Evade Immigration Agent
BOSTON — A Massachusetts judge was indicted Thursday on charges that she helped a man who was living in the U.S. illegally sneak out a back door of the courthouse to evade a waiting immigration enforcement agent. Newton District Court Judge Shelley M. Richmond Joseph and former court officer Wesley...
Kevin Spacey's Lawyers Enter Not Guilty Plea in Sex Assault
NANTUCKET, Mass. — Lawyers for Kevin Spacey entered a not guilty plea on his behalf in Massachusetts court Monday on charges he groped an 18-year-old busboy in 2016. The disgraced actor was arraigned on a charge of felony indecent assault and battery during a hearing at Nantucket District Court. The...
Court Urged to End Rule That Erased Hernandez’s Conviction
BOSTON — A legal principle that erased former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez's murder conviction after he killed himself in prison is outdated, unfair and should not stand, a Massachusetts prosecutor told the state's highest court Thursday. It doesn't make sense the former New England Patriots tight end is...
SF Allows Noncitizens to Vote in School Board Election
SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco has become the largest U.S. city to give people in the country illegally and other noncitizens the right to vote in a local election, but the possibility of the Trump administration learning their identities appears to have kept people away: only 35 noncitizens have registered....
Pressley's Upset Another Win for Fresh Democratic Voices
BOSTON — Ayanna Pressley is all but assured of becoming the first black woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts, the latest example of the Democratic Party's embrace of diversity and liberal politics as the recipe for success in the Trump era. The 44-year-old's upset victory against longtime Democratic Rep. Michael...
Photographer Says Bill Murray Harassed Him at Restaurant
OAK BLUFFS, Mass. — A photographer says actor Bill Murray slammed him against a door and poured a glass of water over him while he was taking photos of a band at a Massachusetts restaurant. Peter Simon tells The Boston Globe he was on an assignment for The Martha's Vineyard Times at...