The state’s firefighting Medal of Honor was presented to the families of Paul Cahill and Warren Payne, Boston firefighters killed in a restaurant fire in August 2007, at the 19th annual Firefighter of the Year Awards.

"THIS MAY not come as a surprise to the people of Massachusetts: Former governor Mitt Romney is stuck in the past. He apparently believes the auto industry has not changed at all since his father was CEO of American Motors in the 1950s and 1960s."

Proponents say that the only study that really counts is the will of the people, which clearly favors casino gaming in the state and the city of New Bedford. Private investors should make the real determination by putting up investment capital, for ultimately the government role is service and regulation, and business must be left to decide the economics of a project.

"One of the Bush administration's final gifts to American workers is a rule to make it even more difficult to prove the dangers of workplace chemicals."

"WASHINGTON - Two powerful employee organizations are pressing the Bush administration to prove that in its final weeks political aides are not improperly winning career government jobs at the expense of more qualified workers."

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Big Three U.S. automakers should tell Congress they will limit corporate pay, bonuses and severance packages in return for government loans, the president of the United Auto Workers union said on Sunday."

"HARVARD UNIVERSITY almost never grants honorary degrees outside the spring commencement ceremony. Rare exceptions have included George Washington, Winston Churchill, and Nelson Mandela. Today, such figures will be joined by Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, as he receives an honorary degree at a special Harvard convocation. An unadorned litany of Kennedy's achievements shows exactly why this honor is fitting, and why he belongs in such historic company."

Defense awards lead way as pacts reach $11.8b in '07

"In between violin and voice lessons, teachers at the Conservatory Lab Charter School in Brighton have organized into a union, the first-ever at a Massachusetts charter school."

"Teachers at a Brighton charter school have voted to unionize, creating the first teachers union at a charter school in the state."