Massachusetts

Business owners are scrambling to hire help as they prepare to open at max capacity by Memorial Day weekend following the latest update to Massachusetts’ reopening plan. All businesses can reopen at 100% capacity without restrictions on May 29 as part of Gov. Charlie Baker’s plan to fully reopen Massachusetts two months ahead of schedule. The state’s mask mandate and…

Business owners are scrambling to hire help as they prepare to open at 100% capacity by Memorial Day weekend, per the latest update to Massachusetts’ reopening plan.

Masks are no longer required while children are outside playing sports or during recess, per the new reopening timeline in Massachusetts.

Hazmat crews decontaminated a family and two firefighters Monday night in Boston’s Roslindale neighborhood after potential exposure to an unknown chemical.

Hazmat crews decontaminated a family and two firefighters Monday night in Boston’s Roslindale neighborhood after potential exposure to an unknown chemical. A Brook Street resident opened a package that was delivered to his home Monday and found an unknown chemical inside. He brought it to a nearby fire station at 945 Canterbury Street, prompting a Level 3 hazmat situation. The…

A young worker at a Dunkin’ store in Woburn, Massachusetts, is speaking out after a customer threw a drink at her.

A vigil was held Monday evening in memory of two young boys who drowned in Brockton, Massachusetts. Two cousins — 12-year-old Tiago Depina and 13-year-old Rafael Andrande — were pulled from Waldo Lake at D.W. Field Park Saturday after initially being reported missing around 7:30 p.m., according to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office. The vigil was held by Waldo…

Massachusetts’ mask mandate is being lifted on May 29, a year and a month after Gov. Charlie Baker first issued the order. The mandate will be replaced with a new advisory that still urges people who haven’t gotten vaccinated yet to wear masks or face coverings in many cases. And there will still be situations where vaccinated people will still…

Gov. Charlie Baker announced Monday that Massachusetts would soon be lifting all its coronavirus restrictions, including the mask mandate for fully vaccinated people.

Crews responded to a hazmat situation Monday night in Boston’s Roslindale neighborhood.

Dr. Paul Sax, an infectious disease expert, explains why it’s safe for Massachusetts to ease all COVID restrictions, including the mask mandate, on May 29.

Experts say the discrimination Asian Americans experience today is part of a longer history of racism that has been going on for more than a century. In fact, a major piece of legislation that made it legal to discriminate against Asians for decades has its roots in Massachusetts. Nearly 151 years ago, 75 young men from China disembarked from a…

The Chinese Exclusion Act, which banned immigration from China to the U.S. for 60 years after it was signed into law in 1882, has roots in Massachusetts.

Over 100 firefighters are battling an 800-acre brush fire in northwest Massachusetts that is impacting the Appalachian Trail and has fire officials warning hikers to stay away. State fire officials said Monday that the massive brush fire on East Mountain in the Clarksburg State Forest Williamstown is about 75% contained. It’s the biggest wildland fire in the state since 1999….

Massachusetts will lift mask requirements for youth sports and outdoor activities at schools, health officials announced Monday as the state rolled out its timeline for ending all COVID-19 restrictions. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said in a news conference that, starting Tuesday, the state will drop its face mask requirement for youth athletes under the age of 18, in a move…

Massachusetts will reopen in time for Memorial Day Weekend — that’s when Gov. Charlie Baker announced that COVID restrictions will be lifted May 29, including the mask mandate, though with some exceptions.

Five years from its 400th birthday, Salem is managing its growth while preserving the character that made it famous.

Kids are able to ditch face masks for outdoor youth sports, and many parents and coaches (though not all) are thrilled.

As Massachusetts reopens, will bars and restaurants be able to rebound quickly?

Massachusetts health officials reported another 281 confirmed COVID cases and 19 more deaths Monday. It’s the 11th straight day Massachusetts health officials announced fewer than 1,000 new coronavirus cases, and the first time since Sept. 22 that a day’s report showed under 300 new COVID cases (though figures in Monday reports, coming after the weekend, are sometimes smaller than average)….