Massachusetts – News Stories About Massachusetts - Page 36

Dec 24, 2009 12:33 PM CST

South the Big Winner in New Census

Northeast, Midwest would lose seats if today's census was used

(Newser) - The South is gaining population and power at the expense of the Northeast and Midwest, according to Census Bureau estimates released yesterday. If House seats were distributed based on the estimates, which are believed to be a strong predictor of the 2010 census results, Texas would be the big winner,...

Florida, Nevada Shed
People; Texas Gains

census figures

Dec 23, 2009 5:15 PM CST

Florida, Nevada Shed People; Texas Gains

Magnet states in West, South lose residents; Texas gains the most

(Newser) - The recession has turned migration patterns on their heads in the last year. So-called magnet states in the West and South aren't so magnetic anymore, with Florida and Nevada starkly illustrating the trend. Earlier this decade, they both topped the growth charts, but now see more people on the way...

Few Voters Go to Polls in Primary for Kennedy's Seat

Dec 8, 2009 11:14 AM CST

Few Voters Go to Polls in Primary for Kennedy's Seat

Martha Coakley favored in less-than-energetic race

(Newser) - A handful of voters have been trickling into polls around Massachusetts today for the special election that will almost certainly determine Ted Kennedy’s successor. As few as 300,000 to 500,000 may vote in the Democratic primary, the winner of which is expected to trounce Republican Scott Brown....

Coakley Leads Fight
to Fill Kennedy's Shoes

THE SENATOR FROM MASS.?

Dec 2, 2009 12:04 PM CST

Coakley Leads Fight to Fill Kennedy's Shoes

Four vie for Democratic nomination, with AG out front

(Newser) - Massachusetts voters probably won’t let whoever takes Ted Kennedy’s seat be too far removed from the late senator’s ideals, but being too close appears to be a hindrance. With less than a week to go until the Democratic primary that will likely decide the January special election,...

Fed-Up
Principal
Bans Word
'Meep'

Nov 11, 2009 2:30 PM CST

Fed-Up Principal Bans Word 'Meep'

He thwarts a planned meep-a-thon

(Newser) - A Massachusetts principal has banned an unlikely word from school grounds: meep. The nonsensical word—it's from the character Beaker on The Muppet Show—has for inexplicable reasons gone viral. Meep was such an epidemic at Danvers High—where students were using Facebook to plan a mass meeping—that principal...

Healthcare
Bill Boosts
Pay for
Prayer

Nov 3, 2009 5:34 AM CST

Healthcare Bill Boosts Pay for Prayer

Insurance firms urged to cover praying healers

(Newser) - A little-noticed provision in a Senate version of the pending health care bill would require insurance companies to consider paying for prayer as a medical expense. The addition was inserted by Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch and backed by Democrats John Kerry and Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, the home state...

Mass. Terror Suspect an
'Incompetent Wannabe'

Oct 22, 2009 12:56 PM CDT

Mass. Terror Suspect an 'Incompetent Wannabe'

Mehanna and accomplice were turned away from training in Yemen, Pakistan

(Newser) - The Massachusetts man arrested yesterday for plotting to shoot up a mall, kill US troops fighting overseas, and assassinate US officials didn’t really have a chance. Tarek Mehanna traveled to Yemen in search of terrorism training but couldn't find a camp. His alleged accomplice was turned away from Pakistani...

Obama Haters
Carve Swastika
on 18th Hole

Oct 14, 2009 5:52 AM CDT

Obama Haters Carve Swastika on 18th Hole

Link to President Obama on country club green stumps police

(Newser) - The Obama-equals-Hitler folks have left us a puzzle. Vandals carved "I swastika Obama"—with the swastika facing the wrong way—on, of all places, the 18th hole of a country club golf course 40 miles north of Boston. It's unclear who did it or even when, but a...

Autopsy Shows 100-Year-Old Was Murdered

Oct 8, 2009 11:31 AM CDT

Autopsy Shows 100-Year-Old Was Murdered

Nursing home resident Elizabeth Barrow found strangled

(Newser) - A Massachusetts medical examiner has ruled the death of a 100-year-old nursing home patient a homicide by strangulation. Elizabeth Barrow was found dead in her room Sept. 24, with a plastic bag over her head and no obvious signs of struggle, a law enforcement source tells the Standard-Times of New...

Gay Divorce
OK, Texas
Judge Rules

Oct 1, 2009 10:30 PM CDT

Gay Divorce OK, Texas Judge Rules

Ban on same-sex marriage violates equal-protection law

(Newser) - Though same-sex marriage isn’t legal in Texas, two men married in Massachusetts can get a divorce there, a judge said today in a ruling that finds the state’s ban in violation of federal equal-protection laws. “This is huge news. We’re ecstatic,” the lawyer representing one...

Health Foes Fight Mandatory Insurance at State Level

Sep 28, 2009 7:56 PM CDT

Health Foes Fight Mandatory Insurance at State Level

Efforts, mainly GOP-led, appear more symbolic, but could result in court battles

(Newser) - Efforts are afoot in more than a dozen states to outlaw mandatory health insurance, a preemptive strike against federal health reform that, though mainly symbolic and constitutionally dubious, could provoke a court battle that would be costly and delay any plan passed by Congress. “I just don’t want...

Independents Threaten Dems in 2010

Sep 28, 2009 8:30 AM CDT

Independents Threaten Dems in 2010

Gubernatorial races will be 3-way tangos in half-dozen states

(Newser) - Independent candidates figure to play a major role in at least six states next year, threatening Democrats in an election where they already must defend 21 of their 28 governorships. In New Jersey, for example, independent Chris Daggett is trailing well behind Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine and Republican Tom Kean,...

Dukakis Is Gracious on Senate Snub

Sep 25, 2009 6:48 AM CDT

Dukakis Is Gracious on Senate Snub

But allies say he was passed over due to Kennedy pressure

(Newser) - For a while it looked as if Michael Dukakis would be headed to the Senate to fill Ted Kennedy's seat, but the former Massachusetts governor says he's fine with being passed over. "Hey, after you've run for the presidency of the United States..." the 1988 candidate told the...

Hey, Kennedys!
'Enough With the Entitlement'

OPINION

Sep 24, 2009 12:46 PM CDT

Hey, Kennedys! 'Enough With the Entitlement'

Dukakis would have been a better choice for Mass. and Patrick

(Newser) - Ted Kennedy’s seat “is not a Kennedy seat anymore.” His wife could have run. Or his nephew Joe. They chose not to. So why did Massachusetts' governor bow to the wishes of a now-defunct dynasty when choosing a replacement for the late senator? “Enough, finally, with...

Ex-DNC Chair Kirk to Replace Kennedy

Sep 24, 2009 9:38 AM CDT

Ex-DNC Chair Kirk to Replace Kennedy

Family friend, former staffer was emcee at Teddy's memorial

(Newser) - Deval Patrick has chosen former Democratic Party national chairman Paul Kirk to replace Ted Kennedy in the Senate, giving Barack Obama the 60th vote he needs to pass health care reform. The 71-year-old Kirk is a former Kennedy staffer, and was such close friends with the senator that he served...

Former DNC Chief Kirk
to Get Kennedy's Seat

Sep 23, 2009 3:01 PM CDT

Former DNC Chief Kirk to Get Kennedy's Seat

(Newser) - Former DNC chairman Paul Kirk will get Ted Kennedy's Senate seat, sources tell Fox News. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick is expected to make the formal pick tomorrow, assuming the state legislature irons out the logistics today. Kennedy's sons called Patrick to push for Kirk, 71, a Boston attorney who served...

Curt Schilling
Nixes Run for
Kennedy Seat

Sep 23, 2009 1:50 PM CDT

Curt Schilling Nixes Run for Kennedy Seat

Former Red Sox star says Mass. effort 'just did not make sense'

(Newser) - Curt Schilling won’t be jumping into the political ring after all. The Red Sox legend ruled out a run for Ted Kennedy’s senate seat last night on Joe Buck Live, saying it “just did not make sense.” Schilling, an outspoken conservative, had publicly considered running, and...

Mass. Senate Clears Way
for Kennedy Successor

Sep 22, 2009 3:06 PM CDT

Mass. Senate Clears Way for Kennedy Successor

(Newser) - Gov. Deval Patrick should be able to name a Democratic replacement for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat before the end of the week, the Boston Globe reports. Legislation giving hm the authority to do so cleared the state Senate today, a week after the House passed it. The measure still needs...

Mass. Mailman Steals 30K DVDs

Sep 22, 2009 1:33 PM CDT

Mass. Mailman Steals 30K DVDs

Yearlong 2007 crime was noticed when, well, DVDs started disappearing en masse

(Newser) - A former Massachusetts postal worker has pleaded guilty to stealing 30,000 Netflix DVDs that passed through the Springfield post office, the Republican reports. Investigators got wise to the crime—which spanned all of 2007—when the company noticed it was losing up to a 100 DVDs a week in...

Kennedy Successor May Come Soon

Sep 16, 2009 4:06 PM CDT

Kennedy Successor May Come Soon

Massachusetts Dems say they've got the votes in both houses

(Newser) - It's possible that Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick will be able to name a senator to fill Ted Kennedy's seat sometime next week, the Boston Globe reports. Proponents of the plan say they've now got enough votes, barely, in both state chambers to pull it off. The situation is diciest in...