Boston's World Cup fan festival opens Friday. The first weekend is sold out

The Tartan Army is coming

Scotland play two of their three opening round World Cup matches in Boston. That means, for the next week or so, there'll be kilts as far as the eye can...

N.H. Supreme Court reverses murder conviction for Harmony Montgomery's father

The Supreme Court reversed the most serious charge of murder, agreeing with Montgomery that the lesser assault charge should have been prosecuted separately. It sent the second-degree murder charge back...

Mass. inspector general reports public defender system is 'broken'

The report said the system has long been in need of reform and that issues were not properly addressed after last year's work stoppage, when public defenders refused to accept...

Boston City Council passes Wu's budget with $11.8 million in amendments

Amendments the council approved amount to less than 0.2% of Wu’s spending plan, but that hasn’t stopped councilors from publicly fighting each other over the process for weeks. The budget,...

Boston will allow later last calls this summer. Here's what to expect

Boston bars and restaurants can apply for a one-hour extension of their license to serve alcohol, as late as 3 a.m., through the end of July.

Mass. takes up new tracking for tick-borne alpha-gal syndrome, which causes red meat allergy

Due to the emerging public health threat, Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein tasked medical providers with notifying the state about new alpha-gal syndrome diagnoses. Lab results have shown high or...

'Double punishment': Mass. inmates and physicians fight for better diabetes care in prisons, jails

Physicians and former prisoners want inmates to have access to continuous glucose monitors, insulin pumps and better diabetes education while incarcerated.

3 takeaways from our interview with Gov. Maura Healey

The Massachusetts governor touched on her expectations for the World Cup and her administration's approach to artificial inteligence — but is keeping her hands off the state's Senate primary between...

Gov. Healey won't endorse in Senate primary between Markey, Moulton

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey joins WBUR's Morning Edition.

Tiny forests are a growing trend in Mass. and beyond

Around Massachusetts, communities are planting a wilderness-worth of trees into tiny areas according to the Miyawaki method. Devotees say it turbocharges biodiversity and brings environmental benefits, such as enriching soil,...

Poll: Some Mass. families shy away from 4-year degrees, but community college plans rise

This shift follows the 2024 launch of free community college in Massachusetts and comes amid growing skepticism nationwide about the value of higher education.

Bryan Stevenson meets Mass. man freed from prison thanks to 'Just Mercy' attorney's landmark case

Bryan Stevenson has spent years fighting for people on death row and juveniles sentenced to life in prison. Today, he continues that legal work, and on a recent visit to...

Mass. food banks continue to see increased need as SNAP requirements shift

Boston school bus vendor hit with nearly $70K fine for late April buses

Boston Public Schools can fine Transdev $500 for each instance a bus is more than an hour late for pick-up or doesn't appear, according to the most recent contract. In...

Gang investigation results in 26 new indictments in Lawrence, other Mass. cities

“ Success on this scale is only possible when law enforcement and prosecutors at every level come together with one shared mission,” said Geoffrey Noble, colonel of the Massachusetts State...

What's open and closed on Juneteenth 2026 in Mass.

Juneteenth falls on a Friday this year. The holiday commemorates the date back in 1865 — more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation — when Union troops arrived in...

Maps: Find a World Cup watch party near you

The World Cup kicks off this week, bringing the global sensation to 16 host cities in North America, including Boston. We've mapped all of the watch parties happening across the...

Fight over non-competes pits Mass. businesses against each other

Healey wants to crack down on non-compete agreements that limit workers' ability to leave their job and go work for a rival firm.

Massachusetts passes law to allow later last calls and public drinking zones this summer

Gov. Maura Healey signed a bill Monday that temporarily allows public drinking zones and last calls as late as 3 a.m. this summer in Massachusetts. But it's up to individual...

World Cup kicks off lessons, competition for Chelsea classrooms

With Boston serving as a World Cup host city, educators are capitalizing on the global moment to make it a learning opportunity for kids.

A school's perfect veneer cracks in 'Eureka Day'

In the Huntington's "Eureka Day" a school prides itself on inclusivity and consensus-building. But when a mumps outbreak forces the community to take a stance on vaccine policy, good intentions...

Barney Frank is remembered as funny and fierce, a fighter for underdogs

Frank fought for civil rights, affordable housing and women’s rights, Rep. Jim McGovern said at the service. And he fought for gay rights, "not only because he was gay, but...

How beer fueled the American Revolution

Colonists debated freedom and democracy over beers at taverns like Boston's Green Dragon. The tavern hosted secret meetings where Paul Revere and others organized rebellion — including the Boston Tea...

Gordon S. Wood, influential scholar of the American Revolution, dies after being hit by a car in R.I.

Wood died Sunday at age 92 after being struck by a car in a supermarket parking lot in East Providence, Rhode Island, according to police. Wood wrote many prize-winning books...

How the federal government tracks bus safety — and where the system falls short

In the wake of last year’s tragic Boston school bus crash, WBUR and ProPublica began taking a closer look at Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s database and found that its...

Harvard psychiatrist Robert Coles, Pulitzer Prize-winning author who championed needs of children, dies

Harvard University psychiatrist and author Robert Coles has died at 97. He was famed for documenting the needs of children, particularly those caught in the crucible of social upheaval.

A deadly Boston school bus crash is among dozens missing from a company's federal safety record

A national system tracks serious bus crashes so regulators can keep roads safe. But the process fails to identify most of a major company’s fatal collisions, WBUR and ProPublica found.

Opioid deaths fall below 1,000 for first year since 2013

Massachusetts Department of Public Health says the declining trend mirrors data unfolding nationally.

The World Cup is for you, too. Really

Cog editor Cloe Axelson interviewed two bar owners -- Jason Waddleton, of The Haven, and Liz Nicol, of Drawdown Brewery -- about their plans for the world's biggest sporting event,...

A point of Pride: 5 standout dates in Massachusetts’ LGBTQ+ history

Queer History Boston has been documenting LGBTQ+ history in the state since 1980 — from photos to ephemera to digital records. To kick off Pride Month, Joan Ilacqua, executive director...