A Massachusetts man who as a teenager was convicted of raping and murdering a pregnant woman and drowning her two young children in a bathtub asked the state’s highest court through a lawyer on Tuesday for a shot at earlier parole. Daniel LaPlante is serving three consecutive life sentences for the 1987 killings in Townsend. Since each of the sentences...

OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma is asking a court to throw out a lawsuit filed by Massachusetts’ attorney general that accuses the company, its owners and top executives of deceiving patients and doctors about the risks of opioids. In its motion seeking dismissal, Purdue argues the lawsuit distorts facts, mischaracterizes internal company documents and makes oversimplified claims while attempting to cast...

Attorney General Maura Healey renewed her call on Tuesday for passage of legislation that would tighten state laws around the licensing and regulation of massage therapy and bodyworks in Massachusetts, in the aftermath of allegations that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft paid for sex at a massage parlor in Florida. Healey, a Democrat, said she found the charges against...

State health officials say the number of people who died from opioid-related overdoses in Massachusetts has fallen for a second consecutive year. The report issued Wednesday by the Department of Public Health also shows that fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, was present in nearly nine of 10 deaths in 2018. The presence of fentanyl in toxicology reports has been rising...

The Massachusetts Senate has voted to ban non-disclosure clauses from ever being enforced against senators or staff members. Critics of non-disclosure or “non-disparagement” agreements say they can be used as a tool to silence victims of sexual harassment and protect abusers.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker rolled out a $42.7 billion state budget Wednesday, accompanied by a plan to overhaul the state’s 25-year-old education funding formula that critics contend shortchanges many students with special needs and those from low-income, minority or immigrant families. The Republican’s proposed budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 calls for a 1.5 percent increase over...

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has filed a wide-ranging traffic safety proposal that includes a ban on the use of handheld cellphones by drivers and stepped-up enforcement of seatbelt requirements. The bill sent to lawmakers Tuesday also would toughen some penalties for drunken driving and proposes new safeguards for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Gov. Charlie Baker unveiled a proposal on Thursday that would legalize and tax betting on professional sports online and at casinos in Massachusetts. Baker, a Republican, announced that he would file legislation allowing the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to license the state’s three casino operators to offer both on-site and online betting.

Gov. Charlie Baker named one of his administration’s top lawyers to head the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Tuesday as the panel weighs a key decision on whether Wynn Resorts should keep its license to operate a $2.5 billion casino under construction near Boston. Cathy Judd-Stein, deputy chief legal counsel to the Republican governor, will succeed Stephen Crosby, who resigned as...

The question of how to best distribute state education dollars is emerging as a top issue in Massachusetts’ new legislative session, as mayors, lawmakers and educational advocates pressed Wednesday for increased funding for public schools, especially in poorer communities. The renewed effort comes months after the breakdown of negotiations between the House and Senate on the subject and as legislators...