In the News

Here’s what the IRA did for Massachusetts in the past year By MIA MCCARTHY and KELLY GARRITY HAPPY BIRTHDAY IRA — The Inflation Reduction Act turned 1 yesterday, marking a year since the major climate legislation was signed into law. Now, Democrats are in full-on sales mode — promoting one of the Biden administration’s signature accomplishments ahead of his reelection bid next… Read more »

Lawmakers introduce bill addressing international athletes, NIL Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass., have introduced a bill that would allow international college athletes to market their Name, Image and Likeness without losing their F-1 student visa status. Key Points: Most international student athletes are in the United States on F-1 student visas, which… Read more »

House bill would direct Consumer Product Safety Commission to explore AI By Dave Kovaleski A bipartisan group of legislators introduced legislation last week that would direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to explore the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in their work through a pilot program. Specifically, the Consumer Safety Technology Act (H.R. 4814) directs the Consumer… Read more »

A river – and $21.4 million – runs through it By Melanie Gilbert  LOWELL — There’s the Merrimack River, and then there’s the river of money that is about to flow through Lowell in the coming years thanks to federal and local partnerships that secured millions of dollars for the city’s bridges. On Monday, the federal delegation of Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren and U.S.… Read more »

Lowell receives $21M in federal funding to upgrade city bridges By John Moroney  A multi-million dollar upgrade is in the works for a series of old bridges in downtown Lowell, Massachusetts - helping to reinvigorate the city’s historic canal district.  ”This is really reinvesting in communities like Lowell. Mill city towns. We’ve allowed some of these bridges to go on a… Read more »

Trahan: ‘He spearheaded the effort to overturn the will of the people’ By Christian M. Wade BOSTON — Members of the state’s all-Democratic congressional delegation are reacting to the third indictment of former President Donald Trump over his actions leading up to and during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump, the Republican presidential frontrunner for the 2024… Read more »

Democrats press Musk on X’s ‘hostile stance’ toward independent research of its platform By Laura Feiner Three Democratic lawmakers are pressing Elon Musk on his social media platform’s “hostile stance” toward independent research efforts after X, formerly known as Twitter, sued a nonprofit research group that found an increase in hate speech after the… Read more »

Lori Trahan: 1 year of promises kept with the PACT Act “Keeping our promise.” That’s a phrase that gets used a lot in Washington — probably too much. But last August, Congress finally passed a law to keep a long-overdue and important promise to a group of individuals who represent the very best of our nation — our veterans. When the difficult decision is made to send servicemembers into… Read more »

Lawmakers target chemical promoted online as ‘suicide kit’ By Colin Hogan  EW BEDFORD — A chemical compound that has been promoted as a “suicide kit” on internet blogs and chat rooms was used in three Massachusetts suicides this year. Since 2016, the deadly chemical has been the method for 18 suicides in Massachusetts and more than 173 documented exposures nationwide. Niche… Read more »

Cambodian Americans continue to push for democratic Cambodia By Melanie Gilbert LOWELL — Cambodia’s general election on July 23 resulted in a landslide victory for the Cambodian People’s Party, whose candidate, Prime Minister Hun Sen, has ruled the country for nearly four decades. “I don’t call it an election,” City Councilor Vesna Nuon said by phone on Friday. “I call it a… Read more »