Trump loomed large in debate between Sen. Markey and Repulican challenger Deaton

And if Democrats win the Senate? Well, the Republican president will still be in power for at least the next two years, and it could help the state to have an interlocutor with the White House. Get College TownA weekly newsletter packed with insights about higher ed from Globe journalist Hilary Burns. Enter EmailIt’s an idea that Deaton, 59, is pitching in an attempt to turn what might be his biggest liability into an asset in his uphill battle against 80-year-old Markey. Not surprisingly in deep blue Massachusetts, Markey has made Deaton’s party ID the centerpiece of the campaign against him. “Mr. Deaton is the elephant in the room. He’s going to be another vote for Donald Trump down on the floor in the United States Senate,” Markey said during the debate. “He will be the key vote giving the majority to the Republicans to keep their monopoly in the House, Senate, and presidency.”Never mind that Deaton says he has never voted for Trump and proffers a strong antiestablishment sentiment; he carries the scarlet “R” next to his name.

BOSTON (AP) — Kyle Francis Kennedy, the granddaughter of assassinated presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy and his wife Ethel Kennedy, has died. She was 42. An advocate for education reform and disability rights, Kennedy lived most of her life in Massachusetts. She died on Sept. 21, according to the town clerk in Westwood, Massachusetts, where she lived, and an obituary published by a funeral home. A cause of death wasn’t immediately announced.

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.