In last night’s debate, Healey blamed Trump for the economy. Minogue blamed Healey.

San Francisco health officials are warning the public about misrepresented supplements sold in gas stations and smoke shops after a man overdosed on a supplement portrayed as “cat’s claw” that contained a potent, laboratory-created opioid-like chemical. Health officials warned about the dangers of dihydro-7-hydroxymirtragynine, also known as MGM-15, a chemically modified form of 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), an opioid-like chemical found in trace amounts in the kratom plant, according to the Coleman Institute for Addiction Medicine. The modified MGM-15 was detected in a 37-year-old man who overdosed and died in late September, according to the office of the chief medical examiner in San Francisco. The chief medical examiner ruled the cause of death to be an accident caused by the “toxic effects of kratom alkaloids,” according to a coroner’s reported obtained by The Times.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Blistering record heat in Europe this summer helped kill more than 50,000 people, with nearly two-thirds of that death toll blamed on human-caused climate change, a new study found.

In a state with a healthy Republican Party, this might have spelled disaster for the Democratic governor, Maura Healey. But this is Massachusetts, and so Healey is ahead of her Republican rival, Mike Minogue, by formidable margins in most polls. Massachusetts voters’ exceptionally dim view of the Republican president is surely one reason: A recent Suffolk University poll found that 7 in 10 voters rate Trump unfavorably. Get College TownA weekly newsletter packed with insights about higher ed from Globe journalist Hilary Burns. Enter EmailBut Healey deserves credit as well for guiding the state through these turbulent times. She has proposed aid to soften federal cuts to universities, worked to buffer immigrant communities from Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, and maintained food assistance to families cut off from federal support during a federal government shutdown. The first-term governor’s defiance of the Trump administration can seem performative at times. But on balance, her determination to stand up to White House bullying has been the right thing for Massachusetts. For that reason and others, the Globe editorial board endorses her for another four years in office.

As representatives prepare to pass a spending bill Wednesday that's been stripped of a plan to give drivers some relief from high costs, fresh polling shows just how popular the idea of a temporary suspension of the state gas tax is. The UMass Poll found that 69% of Bay Staters at least somewhat support a temporary reprieve from the 24-cents-per-gallon levy, with 42% saying they strongly support the idea and 27% saying they somewhat support it. Opposition totaled 12% -- 5% strongly opposed and 7% somewhat opposed, while 19% of respondents said they were neutral.

Support WBURSam Drysdale, State House News ServiceOctober 21, 2026Communities on the Cape and Islands and in Berkshire County will receive a $1.9 million boost to expand year-round housing stock, as those regions struggle against the effects of tourism on their limited housing stock. Gov. Maura Healey's administration announced the funding injection into the Seasonal Communities Grant Program on Tuesday, which will go to all 24 legally-designated seasonal communities in Massachusetts to advance efforts with the potential to add 594 year-round housing units. "Our seasonal communities are home to families, small businesses and workers who keep them running all year long," Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said. "We know that every community has different needs, and there's no one-size-fits-all solution to the housing challenges they're facing. These grants give local leaders the resources and flexibility to move important projects forward, create more year-round housing opportunities and support the long-term success of their communities. "Two early-stage projects on Cape Cod account for most of the housing units cited.

One question they’ve both looked to answer: Just who is the GOP challenger? Minogue has put out content that’s seemingly more palatable to blue-state voters, siding on TikTok with nurses at Brigham and Women’s Hospital or posing for a photo with Democrat Representative Richard Neal. Some of Minogue’s more conservative positions, including that he describes himself as pro-life and donated nearly $1 million to Trump and other Republicans, are harder to find on his socials. “A lot of people in the state were unaware, or lacked exposure to Mike Minogue, and so they have taken that information to heart,” said Tatishe Nteta, a University of Massachusetts Amherst political science professor. “Much of his campaign is about educating the public about who he is.”Healey, by contrast, “has sought to nationalize this election” and make it “about his connections to President Trump and to the MAGA movement,” Nteta added. Like many candidates taking on an incumbent, Minogue has had to introduce himself to Massachusetts voters. Nearly one-fifth of likely voters in the general election didn’t know enough to have an opinion of him, a University of New Hampshire poll found in September.