Massachusetts Political News
Fighter jet cost doubles since 2001: $113m each
WASHINGTON — The cost to build America’s next-generation fighter jet has doubled to as much as $113 million per plane since 2001, the Pentagon said yesterday.
Friday March 12, 2010 4:04AM | boston.com
Bay State seeks fair shake in health bill
WASHINGTON — President Obama’s demand to delete “special deals’’ in the health care package would eliminate $500 million in extra Medicaid cash for Massachusetts, but Bay State lawmakers say they are confident the state would recoup that and probably more once negotiations are complete.
Friday March 12, 2010 4:03AM | boston.com
House Republicans devise own rule against earmarks
WASHINGTON — In an election-year appeal to frustrated voters, House Republicans promised yesterday not to stuff any of this year’s spending bills with pet projects for their districts.
Friday March 12, 2010 3:39AM | boston.com
Obama to give Nobel money to veterans, Haiti, students
WASHINGTON — President Obama plans to donate the $1.4 million from his Nobel Peace Prize to helping students, veterans’ families, and survivors of Haiti’s earthquake, among others.
Friday March 12, 2010 3:39AM | boston.com
Traffic death tolls the lowest since ’54
WASHINGTON — US highway deaths have fallen to their lowest levels since the 1950s because more motorists are buckling up and embraced safety innovations. A sour economy that dampened traveling also was a contributor.
Friday March 12, 2010 3:38AM | boston.com
House votes to impeach US district judge
WASHINGTON — The House voted unanimously yesterday to impeach a US district judge from Louisiana, who lawmakers said avoided probable criminal charges related to alleged payoffs in part because the statute of limitations expired.
Friday March 12, 2010 3:36AM | boston.com
Obama backing of immigration overhaul 'unwavering'
President Barack Obama on Thursday assured immigration advocates frustrated by the wait for a promised overhaul of U.S. immigration laws that he remains committed to fixing a system he has said is broken.
Thursday March 11, 2010 9:30PM | boston.com
Pair to head DOJ unit probing public corruption
The troubled Justice Department unit that investigates corruption of public officials is getting new leadership amid a criminal probe into how it handled evidence in the prosecution of Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska.
Thursday March 11, 2010 6:40PM | boston.com
GOP loses bid for ethics probe of Dem leaders
House Democrats have stopped a Republican bid to force an investigation into whether Democratic leaders covered up allegations that former Rep. Eric Massa sexually harassed male employees.
Thursday March 11, 2010 5:20PM | boston.com
US report: Afghan, Iraq human rights abuses up
As the U.S. military prepares to leave Iraq, the State Department is blaming the Iraqi government for arbitrary killings of civilians and other human rights abuses.
Thursday March 11, 2010 4:20PM | boston.com
Author assumes guise of 10-year-old to punk famous
Over the years, "Little Billy" learned much from the country's top minds. Secretaries of state, touched by the 10-year-old's handwritten letters on grade-school notepaper, wrote back advising him how to settle a treehouse dispute with his sister. Supreme Court justices weighed in on their favorite junk food. A publisher of racy magazines, asked whether there was a version for kids, ...
Thursday March 11, 2010 3:00PM | boston.com
'Little Billy's Letters' at a glance
Excerpts from the responses by prominent figures to letters from "Little Billy," the grade-schooler alter ego of prankster Bill Geerhart, appearing in the book "Little Billy's Letters":
Thursday March 11, 2010 3:00PM | boston.com
Highway deaths drop to lowest levels since 1950s
U.S. highway deaths have fallen to their lowest levels since the 1950s. The Transportation Department said Thursday that its projections show traffic deaths declined nearly 9 percent in 2009 to fewer than 34,000. That's the lowest level since 1954.
Thursday March 11, 2010 1:30PM | boston.com
US-Israel dispute highlights quandary over settlements
An open diplomatic row during the visit of Vice President Joe Biden has shined a spotlight on the US failure to rein in Israeli settlement ambitions and deepened Palestinian suspicions that the United States is too weak to broker a deal.
Thursday March 11, 2010 4:35AM | boston.com
Governors, educators propose standards
Governors and state school chiefs yesterday proposed a detailed plan for what students should learn in English and math from kindergarten through high school, a crucial step in President Obama’s campaign to raise standards.
Thursday March 11, 2010 4:33AM | boston.com
White House and Roberts get snippy again
President Obama and the Supreme Court have waded again into unfamiliar and strikingly personal territory.
Thursday March 11, 2010 4:33AM | boston.com
Senate votes to extend jobless benefits
WASHINGTON — The Senate voted yesterday to extend key pieces of last year’s economic stimulus measure, including help for the jobless and money to help financially strapped states pay for health care for the poor.
Thursday March 11, 2010 4:14AM | boston.com
At long last, Capitol Hill delivers accolade to women pilots of World War II
WASHINGTON — They flew planes during World War II but were not considered real military pilots. No flags were draped over their coffins when they died on duty. And when their service ended, they had to pay their own bus fare home.
Thursday March 11, 2010 4:11AM | boston.com
On health, Obama has roadblocks in own party
WASHINGTON — President Obama slammed the health insurance industry and Republicans yesterday as the enemies of health care overhaul. But the president’s immediate roadblocks to achieving his top domestic priority are within his own Democratic Party, as congressional lawmakers remain unable to find a procedural and political path to final passage.
Thursday March 11, 2010 4:10AM | boston.com
House ends its corporate earmarks
WASHINGTON — Small defense companies, energy firms, and other technology start-ups throughout New England could lose tens of millions of dollars a year because of a decision by House Democrats yesterday to abruptly halt budget earmarks for companies.
Thursday March 11, 2010 4:08AM | boston.com
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