Massachusetts
Healey blames Trump for Massachusetts’ economic challenges in FY27 budget hearing
Gov. Maura Healey testified Wednesday before the Joint Ways and Means Committee on her $63.4 billion FY27 budget proposal, kicking off testimony by blaming President Donald Trump for the state’s economic challenges before taking questions from lawmakers.
Healey immediately went after Trump when addressing the committee, blaming his cuts to federal COVID relief funding and other programs, as well as his tariffs on Canadian goods for the Bay State’s economic woes. The governor used a line she repeated during her testimony: “Donald Trump has made cuts and caused chaos.”
“Over the past three years, we’ve worked together collaboratively and constructively through a period marked by significant physical challenges. Federal pandemic funding went away altogether. The cost of everything nationwide has gone up. Donald Trump cut funding and caused chaos. And in spite of these challenges, we were able to protect the taxpayer,” Healey said. She highlighted the different priorities set forth in her proposed budget before going back to the “challenges” presented by Trump.
“In the past year, Donald Trump has essentially taken a hatchet to state budgets across the country. In Massachusetts alone, $3.7 billion has been stripped away. That includes over $1.1 billion in cuts to healthcare, cuts to food programs that feed kids in school and seniors at home, cuts to public safety and emergency response, public health and disease prevention, broadband access, energy supply, you name it. And at the same time, the President’s tariffs continue to drive costs and prices up,” she said.
Healey went on to claim that Trump’s federal cuts and numerous tariffs brought the potential for a double-digit increase in state spending, saying “but, I wasn’t going to let that happen.”
Healey’s budget plan would hike spending by 3.8% over the FY26 budget she signed over the summer with tax revenues projected to rise by just 2.9%. But Healey continues to call it a $62.8 billion budget proposal with a 1% increase in spending over FY26.
The bottom line includes $60.114 billion in line item spending, $2.7 billion in spending from the state’s income surtax, and a nearly $550 million transfer to the Medical Assistance Trust Fund, equating to a $2.32 billion or 3.8% increase over last year. The proposal comes as general purpose tax revenues have shown disappointing growth.
Committee members also hit the governor on other topics.
State Sen. Ryan Fattman (R-Worcester & Hampden) asked Healey about the vast outmigration issue facing Massachusetts, along with the growing number of businesses that are shutting down or moving to more economically friendly states.
“This is something on my mind every day. Look, I think Massachusetts is an incredible state. I think we’ve got assets that other states would kill for,” said Healey. “Outmigration actually is down since our administration. Now, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t something that we’re keeping an eye on and are very, very focused on. Particularly, you should look at a five-year or six-year trend.”
The latest U.S. Census Bureau data shows Massachusetts continues to see significant outmigration numbers, with the state losing roughly 182,000 residents while gaining 152,000 in the 12-month period ending on July 1, 2025, according to its “Vintage” population estimates. That works out to a net domestic outmigration of over 30,000 residents. The data also shows Massachusetts primarily relies on international immigration for bringing residents into the state.
Massachusetts peaked in net domestic outmigration in 2021 and 2022 with 57,292. Net outmigration remains high, but continued to drop since that timeframe, with the state seeing a net outmigration of 39,149 residents in 2022 and 2023, and then 27,480 in 2023 and 2024 – Healey’s first year in office. That number is back up in 2024 and 2025 for the first time since the peak seen in 2021 and 2022.
“We also are very mindful of, and I am, of what’s happening with companies,” Healey said in response Fattman’s question about businesses fleeing Massachusetts.
“What is happening with businesses? Are they able to come here? Are they able to expand here, or do they have trouble recruiting talent because they can’t find people who can afford housing here? Are electricity costs are too high? Is it easier for them to go somewhere else and manufacture. I get all that,” she said, advocating for increasing the amount of affordable housing in the state, investing in the state’s education system, and continuing to work to lower costs, among other things.
Asked by Fattman about possibly considering a rollback of the states NetZero by 2050 mandate to a goal, like it was under former Gov. Deval Patrick, Healey doubled down on what she says is the need for renewable energy sources while also saying that she is for an “all of the above” approach when it comes to utilizing traditional sources like natural gas and nuclear power.
“It should be about both how to bring as much energy from as many sources as possible online as quickly as possible. I do think the move towards renewables is something that we absolutely need to continue on,” Healey said. “Now’s the time where we should be looking to do as much as we can with respect to all parts of energy, and I continue to be a strong proponent of clean energy while recognizing the balance that we need.”
Fattman then pressed Healey on soaring energy costs in Massachusetts, referencing the findings of an independent study that found state policies and climate mandates are the driver behind increasing utility bills.
“But you have to acknowledge, I think we all have to, that a lot of the costs on utility bills are not happenstance. They come from the legislative mandates since 2021. And those are directly impacted on the Netzero [by 2050 mandate], pressing Healey again on considering a rollback of the mandate. Healey against expressed her support for increasing renewable energy usage in Massachusetts.
The House and Senate will redraft Healey’s spending blueprint and debate their own versions, typically in April and May.
Fiscal year 2027 begins July 1.
The meteor responsible for a loud boom heard in Rhode Island and Massachusetts Saturday afternoon was approximately 5 feet in diameter and weighed more than 12,000 pounds, according to NASA.
The object entered Earth’s atmosphere at roughly 42,000 mph, a NASA spokesperson said. It then traveled through the atmosphere from northwest to southeast for 26 miles before breaking up and producing a meteorite fall into Cape Cod Bay.
The energy released when the object broke up at an altitude of 31 miles is estimated to be equivalent to about 230 tons of TNT, according to NASA.
Professor Ralph Milliken of the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences at Brown University spoke with NBC 10’s Mike Cerullo. (WJAR)
While it’s not very common to experience a 5-foot-wide meteorite, there is a significant amount of debris from space that reaches Earth.
“The estimates are that we probably have about 5,000 tons of cosmic dust and material and meteorites landing on Earth. The vast majority of that is super tiny stuff, we’re talking things that are smaller than a grain of sand, or the thickness of a human hair,” said Professor Ralph Milliken of the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences at Brown University. “For something of this size a few feet across, it’s not that common, but a few a year. Most of these would occur over uninhabited areas, over the ocean, and we wouldn’t be able to see them, but they are detected.”
Because of its size, a meteorite with a 5-foot diameter is difficult to track before it enter Earth’s atmosphere.
“It’s virtually impossible to kind of know in advance of this size object coming,” Milliken said.
The area where a meteorite crashed in Cape Cod Bay. (WJAR)
Scientists are, however, able to track much larger space objects. NASA has been developing technology to try to deflect larger objects if needed.
Events like what occurred in New England over the weekend are recorded. Although other fireballs enter Earth’s atmosphere throughout the year, many of them materialize over water and uninhabited areas.
Massachusetts
Winners’ circle: Tracking every 2026 spring high school championship – The Boston Globe
Championship season is upon us, and we’re tracking every title winner in Massachusetts this spring.
From the golf sectionals in late May to championship weekend June 11-14, a four-day stretch in which 31 titlists will be crowned across boys’ and girls’ lacrosse, boys and girls’ tennis, boys’ and girls’ rugby, boys’ volleyball, softball, and baseball, we’ll have you covered.
Find all the dates, brackets, seedings, matchups, and links to our postseason previews here.
Follow us on X @GlobeSchools, Instagram @BGlobeSchools, and Facebook to stay up to date.
Over at Globe.com/Schools you’ll find our daily scoreboard, nightly Takeaways, game coverage, videos, live streams, and our weekly Varsity News newsletter (sign up for free) to keep you in the know.
Division 1: Lexington girls, St. John’s Prep boys
Lexington girls graduate to two-time Division 1 track champions, St. John’s Prep sprints to boys’ title
Division 2: Billerica girls, North Andover boys
Billerica girls unphazed by move up to Division 2, going back-to-back as North Andover boys dominate
Division 3: Canton girls, Walpole boys
Canton girls cap greatest season with first Division 3 track title, Walpole boys win by thinnest margin
Division 4: Duxbury girls, Newburyport boys
Historic win for Duxbury girls, Mohoric paces Newburyport boys to Division 4 outdoor track championship
Division 5: North Reading girls, Weston boys
It’s four in a row for North Reading girls, two straight for Weston boys at Division 5 track championships
Division 6: Ayer Shirley girls, Abington boys
Ayer Shirley girls pick up where they left off, Abington boys twinning at Division 6 track championships
Day 1, Divisions 1, 2, and 5: Lexington boys and girls setting the pace at Division 1 track & field championships
Day 1, Divisions 3, 4, and 6: Canton girls make a strong run to first at Division 3 track championships
South: Walpole | With Tori Adams as its driving force, Walpole scores third straight MIAA South girls’ golf championship
North/Central/West: Hopkinton | Concord-Carlisle’s Sophie Redmond, Hopkinton rule MIAA girls’ golf championship for North/Central/West
With titles for Natick and Peabody and smiles for all, MIAA unified track championship ‘beyond inspiring’
Brendan Kurie can be reached at brendan.kurie@globe.com. Follow him on X @BrendanKurie.
Massachusetts
Meteor Lands In Cape Cod + Bus Crash Kills 5 From MA + Wind Storm Knocks Out Power To Thousands: MA Weekend
MASSACHUSETTS — Residents throughout New England were simultaneously startled as a meteor that landed in Cape Cod caused a sonic boom this past weekend.
Meanwhile, a bus driver is facing charges after five Massachusetts residents died in a crash on a highway in Virginia.
Plus, another State Trooper was caught handling a wrong-way driver situation on Route 1.
Mysterious Boom Heard Across MA Was An Exploding Meteor, Experts Say
The noises were heard around 2:11 p.m. Saturday, with people describing a sudden bang that rattled windows and even shook some homes. The American Meteor Society said that the booms heard were actually caused by a meteor about three feet wide entering the atmosphere near the border of Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Residents as far as Ipswich and Johnston, Rhode Island, reported hearing and feeling the sensations. Meteorologist Nick Stewart shared satellite images from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, showing where the meteor entered the atmosphere and combusted while traveling at 75,000 miles per hour above the ocean.
Bus Driver Charged After MA Family Of 4, Worcester Woman Killed In VA Crash
Jing S. Dong, of Staten Island, New York, now faces two counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the collision, which occurred around 2:35 a.m. Friday on southbound I-95 near Quantico. Among those killed were a 45-year-old man, a 44-year-old woman, a 13-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy, all from Greenfield, Massachusetts. All were in the Acura, which police said caught fire after the collisions. Police on Saturday evening identified the fifth person killed as Priscilla R. Mafalda, 25, of Worcester, Massachusetts, who was riding in the Suburban struck by the bus.
In total, about 44 people were transported to area hospitals, including three with critical injuries.
State Trooper Hospitalized After Route 1 Wrong-Way Crash In Peabody
State Police said the trooper was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries after police acted in coordination to protect traffic and stop the driver, who was traveling southbound on Route 1 North in Peabody. The incident occurred not far from the location on Route 1 where State Trooper Kevin Trainor was killed when his cruiser was hit head-on in a wrong-way crash in Lynnfield last month. The driver in Sunday’s crash was also hospitalized and charged with operating under the influence of liquor, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, and driving the wrong way on a state highway.
Rapidly Expanding Grocery Chain Has Big Plans For MA
Sprouts Farmers Market is slated to launch up to 40 locations throughout the region in the coming years. Construction has begun for the first Massachusetts spot in Weymouth, which has an opening date of 2028. The Phoenix-based organic grocery chain has more than 480 stores in 25 states.
Saturday’s Meteorite Was ‘Fishy Squisher’ And NASA Knows Where To Find It In Cape Cod Bay
Data from NASA suggest fragments of the meteorite lie in waters from the middle of the bay to about 10 miles northeast of the town of Sandwich. The agency said late Saturday it picked up radar signatures of the fragments from four radar sites, and termed the strike a “fishy squisher.” The meteorite entered Earth’s atmosphere about 40 miles above the Bay State and southern New Hampshire, creating the sonic boom. Water in the bombarded portion of Cape Cod Bay is about 100 feet deep.
35K Without Power As Winter-Like Storm Pummels MA With 55+ MPH Winds
Massachusetts residents throughout the North Shore were without power on Saturday morning as a winter-like storm tore a path of tree damage, downpours, and fierce winds throughout New England. Widespread tree damage was reported across the state, with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency reporting 34,228 customers without power as of 11:20 a.m. Wind speeds reached a high of 55 miles per hour. Temperatures dropped into the 40s with wind chills in the 30s as the storm arrived across the Bay State. The unsettled weather will continue through Monday and Tuesday before a warming trend takes hold later in the week.
See Also:
Cape Shoreline Named Among The Nation’s 10 Best, According To ‘Dr. Beach’
-
World1 minute ago
Movie Review: ‘Masters of the Universe’ does not have the power
-
News4 minutes agoMap: 3.7-Magnitude Earthquake Shakes the San Francisco Bay Area
-
Health31 minutes agoWhy Weight Loss Efforts Can Sometimes Lead to Constipation and Digestive Changes
-
Lifestyle46 minutes agoVideo: The Fashion References in ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’
-
Education49 minutes agoVideo: Are These Portable Fans Worth It?
-
Technology54 minutes agoThe best Switch 2 screen protector you should buy
-
World1 hour agoFireworks reportedly trigger mass horse stampede through Rome streets, injuring several soldiers
-
Politics1 hour agoSEE IT: LA voters split on Pratt’s mayoral bid as one issue dominates Election Day
