Kyle Francis Kennedy, the granddaughter of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, dies at 42

Kyle Francis Kennedy, a granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy, died last month at her home in Westwood, according to an online obituary. She was 42. The notice, posted to the Burke Funeral Home website, said Kyle Kennedy died “peacefully” on Sept. 21. No cause of death was provided. She had suffered a spinal cord injury in 2020 that brought “long term paralysis, disability, and other medical challenges,” the obituary said. She was born in Washington, D. C. in 1984 and spent most of her life in Massachusetts, where she “built a career devoted to early childhood education,” the obituary said. “Blessed with a formidable intellect, dry wit, and beauty, she will be remembered for her devotion to her children Conor, Josephine, and Declan, and her support for educational reform for disadvantaged children and for people living with disabilities,” the obituary said. She attended Milton Academy and later graduated with a degree in history from Georgetown University before earning master’s degrees from both Pace University and Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, the obituary said.

Sen. Ruben Gallego heard from mothers about the high cost of childcare in Arizona at a town hall in Phoenix. PHOENIX (KNXV) — Several mothers told U. S. Sen. Ruben Gallego at a town hall Monday in Phoenix that childcare is out of reach for even many two-income Arizona families. Gretchen Lopez, the mother of two young girls, said she struggled to afford childcare for her 20-year-son when she was a single mom and is surprised to find it’s still a fight today. “And never would I have ever thought that this many years later, now with a husband, two income-family, that we would still be struggling with childcare,” she told Gallego. Lopez and her husband make too much to qualify for Head Start, a free federal early-childhood education program. “Childcare costs almost more than our rent a month, and we are a two-income family,” she told reporters after the town hall. Lopez’s youngest daughter has a scholarship for half the cost of her preschool, but the family still strains to cover the other half. “The cost of childcare on top of the cost of everything else right now, really is almost impossible,” she said.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Fazio sat down with Dennis House on “This Week in Connecticut” ahead of News 8’s live debate and the upcoming Election Day.

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know! As other politicians scramble to craft affordability messages ahead of November’s congressional elections, Pennsylvania U. S. Sen. Dave McCormick came to Philadelphia this week to press his campaign for cutting government “red tape.”

Support WBUR05:59Copy the code below to embed the WBUR audio player on your siteHere & Now NewsroomOctober 15, 2026Ukraine says it's able to access SpaceX’s Starshield on Thursday, after restrictions on Wednesday that could have made it harder to intercept Russian missiles. Here & Now's Scott Tong looks at what we know about the restrictions and President Trump's pressure on Ukraine in the war, with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut. This segment aired on October 15, 2026.

President Trump was a looming presence in Tuesday night’s debate between Democratic Sen. Ed Markey and Republican challenger John Deaton. From the outset, Markey sought to tie Deaton to the unpopular president, while Deaton tried to talk about anything else. "I'm going to Washington to be a check on Donald Trump," Markey said at the start of the debate. "Mr. Deaton is going to Washington to be a blank check for Donald Trump. "If Deaton wins, Markey said the Massachusetts Republican would be a vote to continue the GOP majority in the Senate and the Trump agenda. But Deaton pushed back angrily, accusing Markey of knowingly misrepresenting his record. “Let's get something straight right now,” Deaton said to Markey. “You know I've never voted for President Trump. I’ve never supported President Trump. I've never endorsed President Trump. "The debate, the only one scheduled between the two, represented Deaton’s best chance to gain ground on Markey, who is running well ahead in the polls. Deaton, 59, is making his second bid for the Senate after losing to Sen. Elizabeth Warren two years ago.