MassInsider - Massachusetts Politics & Policy News

Must-Reads

Massachusetts

Republicans voters split with party on gun law; Dems want more access to public records from Democrat-dominated offices

Commonwealth Magazine

Healey's fusion push clashes with Pilgrim wastewater fight, critic says
State House News Service
Secrecy and denial: How priest abuse was hidden from public
Boston Globe
Majority of detainees in South Coast ICE raids have no criminal records
The New Bedford Light
Boston Mayor Wu throws her weight behind Gov. Healey’s second-term bid
MassLive
Three years, little progress: New rankings show Mass. stuck near the bottom on jobs and costs
Boston Globe

Andrea Campbell shares she, too, is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse after releasing clergy report
Boston Globe

National

Tennessee Fails to Execute Woman After 2 Doses of Lethal Injection

New York Times

Rahm Emanuel, Eyeing 2028, Makes His 2026 Play
New York Times
Right-Wing Groups Are Making Money Off John Fetterman
The Atlantic
'Utmost and immediate urgency’: Dimon takes lead on countering AI risks
Politico
Across the Globe, People Increasingly Say Social Media Is Harming Democracy
Pew Research Center
Gen Z isn’t choosing a side. They’re choosing issues.
News From the States

Republican AGs sue abortion ‘shield law’ states in US Supreme Court
Stateline.org

Today on Beacon Hill

8:00am

MASSBUYS Expo 2026

Gillette Stadium, One Patriot Place, Foxborough

9:45am

2026 MassBio Women's Health Symposium

MassBioHub, 700 Technology Square, 5th Floor, Cambridge

10:00am

Housing Appeals Committee Meeting

Via webcast

10:00am

Division of Insurance Listening Session on Out-of-Network Costs

Via Microsoft Teams

11:00am

House Informal Session

House Chamber

11:00am

Senate Informal Session

Senate Chamber

3:00pm

Community Behavioral Health Promotion and Prevention Commission Meeting

Via Zoom

4:00pm

Stewardship Council Policy Committee Meeting

Via Zoom

5:00pm

MassBudget Presents: Celebrating Possibility

Substation, 4228 Washington Street, Boston

6:00pm

October Italian Heritage Month Kickoff

Great Hall, State House, Boston

7:00pm

An Autumn Evening with Gubernatorial Candidate Mike Minogue

White's of Westport, 66 State Road, Westport,

New Media

Instagram

MA Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell released a comprehensive report detailing the findings and investigation of sexual abuse in the Catholic Dioceses of Fall River, Springfield and Worcester.

Enough Abuse

Louisiana, Alabama and Arkansas have filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Supreme Court challenging abortion shield laws in Massachusetts, New York and California.

Mass. Citizens For Life

To generate new housing units, the Massachusetts Senate voted to allow two-family homes on all residentially zoned lots...

State Senator Jason Lewis

Heard someone say Massachusetts is the “least productive” state? Ask them if they’ve heard of the single subject rule—and why it changes everything.

Massachusetts State Senate

Podcasts

POLITICS PANEL: Is Woke Dead? Is Healey in Trouble? Could New England Decide the US Senate? (plus Seth Moulton)

Say More

FlyDubai Midair Attack, Trump Midterm Campaigning, Hegseth Reshaping Military

Up First from NPR

The King's Man

Master Plan

The Most Sickening Story the Media Says Doesn't Exist: First-Hand Account of the White Genocide

The Tucker Carlson Show

Substack

Highlights of the Framingham City Council Meeting on September 29, 2026

The Framingham Observer

The 10 Senate Seats Most Likely to Flip-With Just 34 Days to Go

So What

Pete Hegseth's Speech Was a Hyper-Macho Freak Show

TheBulwark

TLP, Revisited: Life in America Feels Unsettling Right Now. Can Democrats Offer a Compelling Answer?

Welcome Stack

TikTok

Elizabeth Dionne joined Boston Public Radio ahead of the November election, where she's aiming to unseat Massachusetts State Treasurer Deb Goldberg, a Democrat.

GBH News

Trump’s EPA is rolling out the red carpet for polluting data centers all to benefit Big Tech. My new report outlines the attacks on environmental protections and calls on Congress to act. We must protect communities, not profit off of harm.

Senator Ed Markey

In a new move, the Supreme Court cleared the Trump administration to continue deporting migrants to third countries without prior notice as the justices prepare to hear arguments over the policy in December.

ABC News Live

'Nearly 1,000' children abused. Findings of a years-long investigation into three Catholic Dioceses in Massachusetts were released today. AG Campbell explained why only three cases were referred to state district attorneys:

WCVB Channel 5 Boston

YouTube

Massachusetts attorney general calls for action on child sexual abuse reform

WCVB Channel 5 Boston

25 Investigates: $10.6M in benefits fraud, little clawed back

Boston 25 News

Mayor Wu endorses Gov. Healey's reelection bid

NBC 10 Boston

Other states sue Mass. over abortion shield laws

WCVB Channel 5 Boston

Quote of the Day

“Ballotpedia, the nonprofit online political encyclopedia, tracks data on state legislative elections — assessing how often seats open up, how often incumbents face primary challenges, and how often voters get to pick between a Republican and a Democrat. In each of the past five cycles, Massachusetts has come in dead last in the “competitiveness index” Ballotpedia calculates based on those findings.”

Chris Lisinski, CommonWealth Beacon

On Massachusetts lack of competitive elections.