Massachusetts

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GOP Says No to Rice but Loves ... Kerry?

Perhaps Republicans respect long-time senator ... or just want his seat

(Newser) - The GOP may still be fiercely opposed to Susan Rice as the next secretary of state, but there's another Democrat that many Republicans seem to be solidly behind—John Kerry. The brutal criticisms Kerry faced as the Democratic nominee for president in 2004 have been replaced with talk of...

'Human Error' Caused Strip Club Blast

Utility worker pierced a pipe before the Massachusetts explosion

(Newser) - A utility worker responding to reports of a natural gas leak in Springfield, Mass., punctured a pipe and an unknown spark ignited a massive explosion that injured 18 people, the state fire marshal announced today. Friday night's natural gas blast was caused by "human error," State Fire...

Explosion Levels Strip Club, Injuring 21

Authorities were already responding to a gas leak

(Newser) - Officials are investigating a gas explosion that leveled a strip club in Springfield, Mass., yesterday, injuring 21 people—11 of whom were firefighters responding to the scene, the Republican reports. Authorities had already shut down nearby businesses in response to a gas leak when the blast rocked Scores Gentlemen's...

Highway Safety Honcho Has Abysmal Driving Record

Massachusetts' Sheila Burgess will be reassigned

(Newser) - Well, this is embarrassing: The Massachusetts highway safety director's driving record includes an impressive seven accidents, four speeding tickets, and two failures to stop for a cop—all in all, there are 34 entries on her record. Is it any wonder Governor Deval Patrick's administration has decided to...

Elizabeth Warren Goes to Washington

Will she hold fast to populist stances, or learn art of compromise?

(Newser) - Sen.-elect Elizabeth Warren is heading back to Washington, this time riding in as a member of the very institution that sent her unceremoniously packing over her anti-Wall Street rhetoric and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the New York Times takes a look at what sort of legislator the latest...

Mass. Pharmacy Chief Fired Over Meningitis

He ignored complaint that it was selling drugs illegally

(Newser) - Massachusetts has fired the director of its Board of Pharmacy for failing to follow up on a complaint against the New England Compounding Center—the facility behind the recent meningitis outbreak. Colorado's pharmacy board had complained that the center was illegally selling medicine to Colorado hospitals without prescriptions, and...

Nor'easter Covers NYC, NJ in Snow

Once again, thousands lose power

(Newser) - Mother Nature continues to kick the Northeast around: New Jersey has been hit with significant snowfall from a Nor'easter, with Accuweather reporting 13 inches in one town. The storm dumped six inches on parts of New York City as well, while southern Connecticut saw 10 inches, the New York ...

Wash., Colo. Vote to Legalize Recreational Pot
 Wash., Colo. 
 Vote to Legalize 
 Recreational Pot 
BALLOT MEASURES

Wash., Colo. Vote to Legalize Recreational Pot

But Oregon says no

(Newser) - Marijuana-related measures were on the ballot in six states and the weed's supporters scored major victories in Washington, Colorado, and Massachusetts. A look around the landscape:
  • Washington state has voted to legalize marijuana for recreational use, Bloomberg reports. The measure allows people over 21 to buy up to an
...

Clutch Senate Races to Watch Tomorrow

From Maine to Montana, here are the ones that could come down to the wire

(Newser) - The presidential race isn't the only one that will be decided tomorrow. Nearly as important is the fierce battle for control of the Senate. When the campaign season began, a GOP takeover there seemed assured, but now Democrats appear favored to remain in control, Real Clear Politics reports. Here...

Suicide by Choice Is a Fantasy

 Suicide by Choice Is a Fantasy 
OPINION

Suicide by Choice Is a Fantasy

Patients near end of life are surrounded by 'invisible coercion': Ben Mattlin

(Newser) - A proposed law in Massachusetts to make assisted suicide legal has built-in rules to make sure patients aren't coerced into the decision, but journalist and author Ben Mattlin thinks the concept of coercion is murky, dangerous water, he writes in the New York Times . The subject is close to...

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...

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