At bill-signing, Tsongas urges Trump to focus on opioids, not marijuana

As questions swirl about the future of recreational marijuana in Massachusetts amid the threat of a new federal crackdown, U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas used a public event alongside President Donald Trump to urge the administration to focus instead on opioids. Tsongas and more than a dozen other members of Congress were gathered around the president's desk in the Oval Office for the signing of the INTERDICT Act, which Tsongas and Sen. Ed Markey helped introduce.

Michael Graham: Pot party coming to a theater near you

So, will U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions' anti-pot jackboots soon be kicking in the doors of our local pot-friendly bars, yoga studios and massage parlors? Second answer: Yes, Massachusetts Cannabis Commission rules - now in their final draft stage - really would allow pot use at recreational venues like movie theaters and massage spas. Talk about "working your joints."

Graham: Donald Trump hits Bannon with ‘Fire and Fury’

It's not even the first Friday of the new year - the Trump presidency itself isn't even one year old yet - and already American politics is off the rails. Donald Trump's political BFF, Steve Bannon is quoted calling a meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer "treasonous" and "unpatriotic."

Tran’s GOP win douses Democrats’ firepower

The recent election of Republican Dean Tran of Fitchburg to the Massachusetts state Senate was an embarrassing rebuke to the state's top Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Despite their opposition, Tran defeated Democrat Susan Chalifoux Zephir, a Leominster city councilor who had the support of the state's Democrat Party hierarchy, as well as Charlene DiCalogero of Berlin an unenrolled candidate Claire Freda.

Markey: Tax plan an assault on Bay Staters

U.S. Sen. Edward J. Markey is slamming the Republican tax plan as a measure that would disproportionately hurt Bay State residents and is sounding off on calls to go after entitlement programs next year. "This Republican tax plan is a direct assault on Massachusetts families and their way of life," Markey said.

Baker, rivals likely to spar over progress on priorities

A pie factory served as the setting for Gov. Charlie Baker to make his re-election campaign official on Tuesday, vowing that with another four years he will be able to build on the progress he said his administration has made to grow jobs, close the education achievement gap, fight the opioid epidemic and improve housing options for Massachusetts families. Baker, who was in Worcester touring the new Table Talk Pie processing plant, announced his re-election campaign over the din of pie ovens - also made in Massachusetts by BABBCO - humming in the background.

At a Navajo veterans’ event, Trump makes ‘Pocahontas’ crack

President Donald Trump, during an event at the White House honoring Navajo code talkers Monday, referenced his nickname for Sen. Elizabeth Warren, "Pocahontas," a label he has long used about the Massachusetts Democrat. "I just want to thank you because you are very, very special people.

Tough climb seen for Dems against GOP Massachusetts governor

As he signed into law new protections for insurance coverage for women's birth control in Massachusetts, Republican Gov. Charlie Baker stood shoulder to shoulder with about three dozen supporters of the bill, nearly all of them Democrats, in the Statehouse library. Speaker after speaker, including the head of Planned Parenthood in Massachusetts, thanked and praised Baker for backing the legislation and reproductive rights for women in general.

Deval has clearest path to 2020 nomination

With Democrats claiming victory in the 2017 elections and Donald Trump's approval ratings mired in the mid-30s, political chatter has turned predictably to 2020 and who could, or should, be the Democrats' presidential nominee. The chatter has intensified with Joe Biden's book tour; in Massachusetts, the buzz hovers over U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton.

This isn’t the first time Warren spoke about that office incident

When Senator Elizabeth Warren on Sunday told a national television audience a personal story of sexual harassment from her days as a young law professor, she described a harrowing incident that left her shaken. She said that she wondered if she'd done something to deserve it and that she told no one but a close friend.

Pols press agency to speed review of contraception bill

House and Senate leaders appear keen to speed up their review of a bill that would protect a women's access to free birth control in Massachusetts after President Donald Trump last week moved to expand employers' ability to opt out of the coverage requirement on moral grounds. The chairs of the Financial Services Committee -- Rep. Aaron Michlewitz and Sen. Jamie Eldridge -- wrote a letter Thursday morning to the Center for Health Information Analysis asking Director Ray Campbell to expedite his cost analysis of the bills.

Residents in all corners of state support expanded rail and bus service

Frustrated by the condition of public transportation infrastructure around the state, residents from Boston to the Berkshires expressed interest in expanded rail and bus service and a willingness to pay for it, according to a new report. The MassMoves report, which was put together by a group of senators who spent part of this year traveling around Massachusetts to discuss priorities with voters, is intended, according to Senate leaders, to spark a new dialogue over how to improve transportation.

Violent crime falls in Mass. for sixth straight year

The FBI this week released its annual report on crime in the United States, finding the number of violent crimes in the country on the rise for the second year in a row. The estimated rate of violent crime in the U.S. was 386.3 offenses per 100,000 residents - for a total of more than 1.2 million incidents - in 2016, an increase of 3.4 percent over the 2015 rate.