Best Read Massachusetts Headlines

Headlines from our Massachusetts Topic Page with the most time spent reading.

#1 State Troopers Arrested for Alleged Commercial Driver’s License Bribery Scam

Jan 31 2024 // Two current and two former Massachusetts State Police troopers are among six charged in connection with an alleged conspiracy to give passing scores to certain Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) applicants, including...

#2 Status of Uber, Lyft Gig Workers Riding On Massachusetts Court Fight

May 6 2024 // Massachusetts has become the latest front in a years-long battle in the United States over whether ride-share drivers for Uber and Lyft should be treated as independent contractors or employees entitled to benefits and...

#3 Teen Who Ate Spicy Tortilla Chip Died of High Chile Consumption; Also Had Heart Defect

May 22 2024 // A Massachusetts teen who participated in a spicy tortilla chip challenge on social media died from eating a large quantity of chile pepper extract and also had a congenital heart defect, according to autopsy results...

#4 Citing Immunity Law, Judge Tosses Body Parts Theft Claims Against Harvard

Feb 13 2024 // A Massachusetts Superior Court judge has dismissed negligence, infliction of emotional distress and other claims against Harvard and the operators of its medical school’s anatomical gift program by relatives of...

#5 200 Patients Sue, Alleging Sexual Abuse, Unnecessary Exams by Boston Doctor

Apr 12 2024 // More than a decade ago, Kristin Fritz was struggling with pain in her spine and saw a rheumatologist recommended by her doctor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.The visit with Dr. Derrick Todd started...

#6 Ban on Switchblades Violates Second Amendment: Massachusetts High Court

Aug 28 2024 // A 1957 Massachusetts law banning the possession of certain switchblades violates the federal Second Amendment right to bear arms, the highest court in Massachusetts has ruled.The state court found that switchblades qualify...

#7 Residents Frustrated as $600K in Shore Protection Washes Away at Beach

Mar 15 2024 // A Massachusetts beach community is scrambling after a weekend storm washed away $600,000 in sand that was trucked in to protect homes, roads and other infrastructure.The project, which brought 14,000 tons (12,701 metric...

#8 Massachusetts Top Court Debates Challenges to Gig Worker Ballot Measures

May 7 2024 // Massachusetts’s highest court on Monday weighed whether ballot proposals that would redefine the relationship between app-based companies like Uber Technologies and Lyft and their drivers should be allowed to go...

#9 Massachusetts Voters Allow Uber, Lyft Drivers to Unionize

Nov 7 2024 // Massachusetts voters on Tuesday approved a ballot measure that would allow ride-share drivers to unionize, becoming the first U.S. state to allow drivers for app-based companies like Uber and Lyft to do so.With 94% of...

#10 Massachusetts Appeals Court Upholds Restaurants’ COVID-19 Insurance Denial

May 21 2024 // In a ruling against an upscale restaurant chain, a Massachusetts Appeals Court has followed the recipe the state’s high court set forth in 2022 in ruling that the COVID-19 virus does not trigger business interruption...

#11 Member of Major Catalytic Converter Theft Crew Sentenced to More Than Three Years

Mar 20 2024 // A Springfield, Massachusetts man was sentenced last week in federal court in Boston for his role in a regional organized theft crew that stole catalytic converters from nearly 500 vehicles, robbed jewelry stores and stole...

#12 RiverStone Acquires Electric Insurance; Plymouth Rock Gets Renewal Rights

Jun 3 2024 // RiverStone International reports it has closed on its acquisition of Electric Insurance Co. and its two subsidiaries, Elm Insurance Co. and Electric Insurance Agency.Electric Insurance is a Beverly, Massachusetts-domiciled...

#13 ‘Surface Waters’ on Roof Are Not ‘Flood’ Waters, Massachusetts High Court Rules

Jul 23 2024 // The highest court in Massachusetts has ruled that rainwater accumulation on roofs of buildings does not constitute “surface waters” within the meaning of “flood” in property insurance policies.The...

#14 Co-Conspirator Sentenced for Damage, Unauthorized Access to Health System

Apr 15 2024 // A Rutland, Massachusetts man was sentenced in federal court in Worcester to conspiring to access a computer system of his former employer – a non-profit substance use and mental health treatment provider that operates...

#15 Health Aide Fired for Not Getting Vaccinated Entitled to Unemployment Benefits

Mar 7 2024 // An employee who was terminated because she would not comply with a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for religious reasons is entitled to unemployment insurance, the Massachusetts Supreme Court has ruled.The state’s high...

#16 Uber and Lyft Agree to Higher Wages, Work-Accident Insurance in Mass. Settlement

Jul 1 2024 // BOSTON (AP) — Drivers for Uber and Lyft will earn a minimum pay standard of $32.50 per hour and will be eligible for occupational accident insurance paid by the companies for up to $1 million for work-related injuries...

#17 City Reaches Settlement in Lawsuit Over Death of Opioid-Addicted Woman

Apr 9 2024 // Relatives of a Vermont woman whose obituary drew national attention for its candid and heart-breaking discussion of her opioid addiction have reached a settlement with some of the parties who were sued for allegedly...

#18 Massachusetts High Court Upholds $20 Million Verdict Over Leg Amputation

Jan 7 2025 // The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has upheld a $20 million jury award in a medical malpractice case that found three medical professionals caused a patient to have an above-the-knee amputation of his leg.In 2023, a...

#19 Massachusetts Faces Off Against Uber, Lyft in Trial Over Status of Gig Workers

May 13 2024 // Uber Technologies and Lyft are set to face trial on Monday in a U.S. lawsuit by Massachusetts’ attorney general alleging the ride-share companies misclassified their drivers as independent contractors rather than...

#20 Bankrupt Steward Health to Close Two Massachusetts Hospitals

Jul 29 2024 // Bankrupt hospital owner Steward Health Care will close two locations in Massachusetts after failing to find a buyer for them, the company said Friday.Steward filed for bankruptcy in May, putting all of its 31 hospitals up...