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Milford teen leaves State of the Union early after DHS post

The Department of Homeland Security singled him out in a post during President Trump's speech.

Politics

A Milford teen who was briefly detained by federal immigration agents last year went to the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="State of the Union" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/25/2026-state-of-the-union-trump-key-moments" data-vars-content-id="b002d20b-4301-43ac-9a1c-070e816b1f9f" data-vars-headline="Milford teen leaves State of the Union early after DHS post" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/25/2026-state-of-the-union-trump-key-moments" target="_self">State of the Union</a> as a guest Tuesday — only to leave partway through after getting singled out online by the Trump administration.Why it matters: Marcelo Gomes da Silva <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="became a poster child" data-vars-click-url="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/07/ice-volleyball-arrest-eighteen-gomes-da-silva-milford/" data-vars-content-id="b002d20b-4301-43ac-9a1c-070e816b1f9f" data-vars-headline="Milford teen leaves State of the Union early after DHS post" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/07/ice-volleyball-arrest-eighteen-gomes-da-silva-milford/" target="_blank">became a poster child</a> for opponents of Trump&#x27;s immigration agenda, who say federal agents have kidnapped young, undocumented people with no criminal records who contributed to their communities.

Why John Henry probably won't bail like Bezos on the Globe

It comes down to money, power, and who has something to lose locally.

News

Massachusetts&#x27; own benevolent billionaire newspaper owner has every reason to stick around and almost none of the pressures that led <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Jeff Bezos to decimate the Washington Post" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/05/washington-post-layoffs-bezos" data-vars-content-id="56d1870f-9318-4ee0-9c9a-c0f806ce06d5" data-vars-headline="Why John Henry probably won&#x27;t bail like Bezos on the Globe" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/05/washington-post-layoffs-bezos" target="_self">Jeff Bezos to decimate the Washington Post</a>.Why it matters: There are fundamental differences behind why Bezos and Boston Globe owner John Henry bought a newspaper in the first place and what it costs them to keep it.

Larry Summers resigns from Harvard professorship amid Epstein probe

Summers' exit is the latest in a reckoning on college campuses over ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

Education

Larry Summers, the former treasury secretary and Harvard president, is officially out of a job at the university.Why it matters: <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Summers&#x27; exit" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/11/19/epstein-larry-summers-relationship-resignation" data-vars-content-id="563e3826-3363-4758-a31e-63e15953b48c" data-vars-headline="Larry Summers resigns from Harvard professorship amid Epstein probe" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/11/19/epstein-larry-summers-relationship-resignation" target="_self">Summers&#x27; exit</a> from his professorship at Harvard is the latest in a reckoning over U.S. college leaders&#x27; ties to sex offender <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Jeffrey Epstein" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/13/epstein-files-fracture-trump-coalition-bondi" data-vars-content-id="563e3826-3363-4758-a31e-63e15953b48c" data-vars-headline="Larry Summers resigns from Harvard professorship amid Epstein probe" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/13/epstein-files-fracture-trump-coalition-bondi" target="_self">Jeffrey Epstein</a>.

Dunkin' is selling a 48oz "Bucket" for the iced coffee obsessed

The coffee giant is leaning into its New England roots with massive new cups and a single insulated mitten.

Dunkin&#x27; has been leaning hard into its New England roots this winter with two new releases that seem a bit too on the nose for the &quot;iced-coffee-in-a-blizzard&quot; crowd:<ul><li>A single insulated mitten for your iced coffee hand</li><li>And a massive 48oz &quot;Bucket&quot; size the likes of which are usually only found around PS Gourmet locations.</li></ul>

Healey expands COVID vaccine access, mandates coverage

The moves by Gov. Maura Healey directly counter federal restrictions.

Health

Pharmacists in Massachusetts can administer COVID-19 booster shots to residents aged 5 and older, while insurers will be required to cover any shots recommended by the state. Why it matters: The <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="moves" data-vars-click-url="https://www.wbur.org/news/2025/09/04/covid-booster-access-massachusetts-order" data-vars-content-id="9d4c4d0b-3fe8-4ef2-9213-f04f86d69307" data-vars-headline="Healey expands COVID vaccine access, mandates coverage" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.wbur.org/news/2025/09/04/covid-booster-access-massachusetts-order" target="_blank">moves</a> by Gov. Maura Healey directly counter <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="federal restrictions" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/08/27/covid-vaccine-2025-fda-recommendation-rfk" data-vars-content-id="9d4c4d0b-3fe8-4ef2-9213-f04f86d69307" data-vars-headline="Healey expands COVID vaccine access, mandates coverage" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/08/27/covid-vaccine-2025-fda-recommendation-rfk" target="_self">federal restrictions</a> implemented by the Trump administration this week.<ul><li>Massachusetts is the first state to mandate insurance coverage of vaccines, even if the federal government stops requiring it.</li></ul>

Mass. students aren't recovering equally from COVID learning loss

Some school districts, often wealthier ones, see students recovering more than others.

COVID

Students in Massachusetts K–12 schools are on average nearly half a grade behind pre-pandemic achievement levels in math and reading.Why it matters: Massachusetts ranking No. 1 on the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Nation&#x27;s Report Card" data-vars-click-url="https://www.mass.gov/news/massachusetts-ranks-1-in-national-education-assessment" data-vars-content-id="a68412bb-fcf9-4d9b-8994-7d24b9668959" data-vars-headline="Mass. students aren&#x27;t recovering equally from COVID learning loss" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.mass.gov/news/massachusetts-ranks-1-in-national-education-assessment" target="_blank">Nation&#x27;s Report Card</a> last year — a distinction often touted by Gov. Maura Healey — doesn&#x27;t mean students have escaped the effects of COVID learning loss.

Boston's still a remote work hub, for now

The city's share of remote workers fell above last year's national average of 15%, but lower than other cities.

Business

One-fifth of Boston metro area residents worked from home in 2022, down from a peak of nearly 27% a year earlier, new census figures show.What&#x27;s happening: Boston remains a remote work hub, like many other major U.S. cities, but remote tech workers joined the exodus of people leaving Massachusetts in 2022, Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao told state lawmakers earlier this year.

How to get free Paxlovid in Massachusetts

You can get the treatment at no cost with just a couple steps on your part.

👋 Steph here. When I tested positive for COVID-19 last week, I assumed the state&#x27;s hotline and resources had all vanished at this stage of the pandemic.<ul><li>Fortunately, I was wrong.</li></ul>Why it matters: <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="COVID-19 cases" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2023/08/03/covid-summer-cases-wastewater" data-vars-content-id="fc13fa73-4037-44dc-ac78-dba8466fda5e" data-vars-headline="How to get free Paxlovid in Massachusetts" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2023/08/03/covid-summer-cases-wastewater" target="_self">COVID-19 cases</a> are on the rise again, and the state can get you Paxlovid with just a couple steps on your part.

Boston's back-to-school COVID guidance as a new strain spreads

The first day of school comes as a new COVID strain is spreading.

Boston health officials are urging families to stock up on COVID-19 tests as the school year starts Thursday.Why it matters: The first day of school comes as a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="new COVID-19 strain" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/seattle/2023/08/11/latest-covid-strain-seattle" data-vars-content-id="4d6e8dde-59af-4c7e-b5b6-1f3b2fb8b296" data-vars-headline="Boston&#x27;s back-to-school COVID guidance as a new strain spreads" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/seattle/2023/08/11/latest-covid-strain-seattle" target="_self">new COVID-19 strain</a> is spreading, and updated boosters are still weeks away.

Massachusetts kindergarten vaccine exemption rate steady since 2012

The Bay State is bucking a national trend.

Massachusetts kindergarten students are arriving at school exempt from the state&#x27;s vaccine requirements at the same rate as about a decade ago.<ul><li>The Bay State is bucking a national trend that&#x27;s seen a spike in exemptions for young students amid the public debate over vaccine efficacy.</li></ul>

What's happening with COVID hospitalizations in the state

Hospitalizations were more common last summer.

Infections tied to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="COVID-19" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2023/08/03/covid-summer-cases-wastewater" data-vars-content-id="640685a9-73c6-47ee-8920-d0b07f762c10" data-vars-headline="What&#x27;s happening with COVID hospitalizations in the state" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2023/08/03/covid-summer-cases-wastewater" target="_self">COVID-19</a> continue to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="increase" data-vars-click-url="https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-response-reporting#covid-19-interactive-data-dashboard-" data-vars-content-id="640685a9-73c6-47ee-8920-d0b07f762c10" data-vars-headline="What&#x27;s happening with COVID hospitalizations in the state" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-response-reporting#covid-19-interactive-data-dashboard-" target="_blank">increase</a>, but hospitalizations are ticking down in Massachusetts.Driving the news: The Bay State saw an estimated 2.47 hospitalizations per 100,000 people in July, a 2% decline from a month earlier, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

COVID clawing its way back this summer

The sun is finally out and about in Boston. So is our old friend COVID-19.What&#x27;s happening: The Deer Island wastewater testing program has been recording an uptick in the virus flushed into Boston&#x27;s sewer system since late June.

Massachusetts data shows drain of family doctors

3.6% of the state’s primary care physicians left the field in 2020.

Massachusetts officials released new data today confirming what doctors already <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="suspected" data-vars-click-url="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/04/21/opinion/primary-care-is-life-support/" data-vars-content-id="6402a398-e56a-49c1-8454-93e0ab5bd636" data-vars-headline="Massachusetts data shows drain of family doctors" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/04/21/opinion/primary-care-is-life-support/" target="_blank">suspected</a>: Primary care physicians left their specialty at a higher rate than the national average, exacerbating challenges for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.Driving the news: 3.6% of the state’s primary care physicians left the field in 2020, the most recent year the data was available, according to the Center for Health Information and Analysis.

Researchers bring push for clinical trial diversity to Boston area

Women and nonwhite people have historically been left out of clinical research for life-saving medicine.

A company that tested COVID-19 vaccine shots for Moderna and other major manufacturers aims to boost diversity in clinical trials with help from its new Brookline site.Why it matters: Women and nonwhite people have historically been left out of clinical research for life-saving medicine, and DM Clinical Research is trying to change that, CEO Mohammad Millwala tells Axios.

COVID 🦠

Healey expands COVID vaccine access, mandates coverage

Mass. students aren't recovering equally from COVID learning loss

Boston's still a remote work hub, for now

How to get free Paxlovid in Massachusetts

Boston's back-to-school COVID guidance as a new strain spreads