WBUR News

Chaplains, like many caregivers focused on the mind, heart or soul, are realizing that the inner lives of many of their patients are turned inside out and made visible through their tattoos. Some chaplains say tattoos are an invaluable to get to patients and understand their spiritual needs.

Massachusetts Auditor Diana DiZoglio joins WBUR's Morning Edition to discuss her office's recent audit of the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission.

New hurdles by the Trump administration are unnerving some international students hoping to make it back to campus.

State officials joined with union leaders to condemn the abrupt decision by the Trump Administration to stop work on a project that's roughly 80% completed.

Airport service workers have been quietly let go as the Trump administration remakes immigration policy to narrow pathways into the workforce. Scores of workers have been impacted at Logan — and hundreds nationwide.

Dan Shaughnessy, a 45-year veteran of the Boston Globe sports page, is one of the National Sports Media Hall of Fame's newest members. He's known as a cold-blooded analyst who doesn't care if the local team wins or loses — so long as it's a great story.

For state officials looking at ways to reduce traffic congestion, water transportation is high on the list. The MBTA is expanding its water transportation operation and Boston mayoral candidates are touting the transit mode as they make their pitches to voters.

After what might feel like a fleeting summer break, most Massachusetts schools start the new year this week. In Holyoke, Mass., students started Monday and after a decade of state receivership, decisions about the district are once again back in the hands of school committee members.

Harvard research scientist Scott Delaney started website called Grant Witness that tracks all of this year's federal cuts. He joins WBUR's Morning Edition to talk about the back-and-forth over funding playing out in the courts. 

A local biotech conference felt like a "a cross between a summer camp for geniuses and an episode of the reality show 'Survivor,' " says columnist Scott Kirsner.

After of a winter of exceptionally high natural gas and electricity prices, many New Englanders are asking whether a new natural gas pipeline is the solution.

On Tuesday, the mayor said the city will not comply with the federal government's recent demands to expand the city's policies to work with immigration enforcement.

A barn in Newbury serves as the rehearsal space for the production, “Voices from Ukraine.” The show opens with the actors reciting letters written by Ukrainian children about their villages and parents.

Galen Mook of the advocacy group MassBike joins WBUR's Morning Edition to share his thoughts on the issue.

Massachusetts is close to passing a statewide ban on phones in public schools. Superintendent Stephen Zrike shares what worked in Salem.

Meet Boston expects a 10% decline in foreign visitors to Greater Boston this year, after originally predicting an increase. Some travel officials cite anger in Canada at President Trump's push to make it the 51st state and growing fears that travelers could be detained at the border.

Vermont Public's Nina Keck reports on how a special summer language course at Middlebury College in Vermont helps budding opera stars master the language. 

Marshfield-based Road to Responsibility runs 52 group homes. Twelve percent of its workers are Haitians who are in the U.S. on Temporary Protected Status, a legal protection the Trump administration is ending.

Some Boston realtors who work in neighborhoods near large universities attribute the slowdown to new student visa processing protocols under the Trump administration.

Researchers and nonprofit leaders warn the pullback of federal data collection and reporting could harm efforts to help areas exposed to the greatest risks from pollution and climate change, and address historical inequities in environmental conditions.

Samath “Sam” Thoeun is the type of immigrant ICE says it's going after: people with criminal records, even old ones. Now he's facing deportation to the home country of his parents, a place he's never been.

After stinging losses in 2024, the Democratic Party is eager for reinvention. The Welcome PAC, which backs centrist and moderate candidates for office, wants to help.

The Perseids meteor shower peaks this week. Weather conditions won't be perfect, but local amateur astronomer and Sky and Telescope's senior editor Kelly Beatty said that shouldn't stop anyone from going out and enjoying the night sky.

The new young adult book “Devils Like Us” is an LGBTQ coming-of-age story. Three characters named Cas, Remy and Finn go on an adventure that takes them to sea.

Bar Harbor is billed as "the gateway" to Acadia National Park, and its summer season draws tourists from around the country and the globe. But the region is facing new pressures this year, including cuts within the National Park Service, a drop in cruise ship visits, and a decline in visitors from Canada.

Prosecutors allege Tompkins, who's served as Suffolk County sheriff since 2013, used his official position to threaten a cannabis executive into returning $50,000 he'd invested in shares of the company. Public records filed with the state's cannabis commission appear to indicate the company is Ascend Wellness Holdings.

At School of Honk's weekly practices, you'll get handed an instrument and invited to join a parade — even if you've never played a note.

Scott Kirsner, a columnist from our editorial partner MassLive, joins WBUR's Morning Edition to discuss the feud. 

Smoke from Canadian wildfires is triggering health warnings across Massachusetts. Learn what doctors say about air quality risks, who's most vulnerable, and when to avoid outdoor activity.

If enacted, Medford's divestment vote would cut off city funds from weapons manufacturers, fossil fuel companies and private prisons to champion human rights-focused investments, says City Council President Zac Bears.

“There are not individuals that are lining up to replace the Haitian community or other immigrants that actually are filling these jobs,” said BU finance professor Mark Williams. “And we already have a labor shortage in Massachusetts.”

For the past three days, Massachusetts has played host to a handful of Texas Democratic lawmakers who left their state to prevent a vote on a bill to redraw their congressional maps.

Worcester cut its overdose deaths in half in 2024. And with just 13 recorded overdose deaths through April, New England's second largest city is on track for even fewer deaths this year. But experts worry that federal funding cuts could threaten that progress.

Jeff Speck, partner at the Brookline urban design firm Speck Dempsey, joins WBUR's Morning Edition to discuss what the potential arrival of automated taxi service Waymo.

The city and the company run by Robert Kraft, billionaire owner of the New England Patriots and the Revolution, held dueling press conferences Monday. The Everett stadium project began looking more like a proxy fight in the mayoral battle between incumbent Michelle Wu and Kraft's son Josh, her chief rival.

Massachusetts officials estimate that up to 300,000 people could lose their health coverage because of changes to Medicaid included in the new domestic policy law President Trump signed in July. But Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University's School of Public Health, says states could try to keep people from falling through the cracks.

"Mel brought a poetry to his stories," said Ian Aldrich, Yankee Magazine's executive editor. "When people talk about Yankee's narrative legacy, they are really talking about Mel's work."

The Boston Globe's Gary Washburn, who first reported Pagliuca's record-breaking offer for the Sun, joins WBUR's Morning Edition to preview what could be a prolonged battle over the future of the franchise.

Betsy Mayotte, president and founder of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, shares advice on how to navigate student loans right now.

They're far behind Mayor Michelle Wu and Josh Kraft in recent polls, but Hyde Park's Domingos DaRosa and Robert Cappucci of East Boston are making their pitch to voters.

30 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea, a condition that makes it hard for patients to breathe when they sleep. 

The life sciences industry is projected to need thousands more workers over the next decade. Microcredentials are the newest way some educators and business leaders are looking to fill in-demand jobs that require specialized skills.