Read more Massachusetts stories on Newserhttp://www.newser.com/taggrid/3070/massachusetts.html2009 - Newseren-usNewser Feed GeneratorTue, 24 Nov 2009 8:07:42 CSThttp://www.newser.com/story/73826/fed-up-principal-bans-word-meep.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagA Massachusetts principal has banned an unlikely word from school grounds: meep. The nonsensical word—it's from the character Beaker on The Muppet Show —has for inexplicable reasons gone viral. Meep was such an epidemic at Danvers High—where students were using Facebook to plan a mass meeping—that principal...http://www.newser.com/story/73826/fed-up-principal-bans-word-meep.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagWed, 11 Nov 2009 14:30:24 CSThttp://www.newser.com/story/73171/healthcare-bill-boosts-pay-for-prayer.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagA little-noticed provision in a Senate version of the pending health care bill would require insurance companies to consider paying for prayer as a medical expense. The addition was inserted by Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch and backed by Democrats John Kerry and Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, the home state...http://www.newser.com/story/73171/healthcare-bill-boosts-pay-for-prayer.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagTue, 03 Nov 2009 5:34:00 CSThttp://www.newser.com/story/72337/mass-terror-suspect-an-incompetent-wannabe.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagThe Massachusetts man arrested yesterday for plotting to shoot up a mall, kill US troops fighting overseas, and assassinate US officials didn’t really have a chance. Tarek Mehanna traveled to Yemen in search of terrorism training but couldn't find a camp. His alleged accomplice was turned away from Pakistani terror...http://www.newser.com/story/72337/mass-terror-suspect-an-incompetent-wannabe.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagThu, 22 Oct 2009 12:56:55 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/71647/obama-haters-carve-swastika-on-18th-hole.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagThe Obama-equals-Hitler folks have left us a puzzle. Vandals carved "I swastika Obama"—with the swastika facing the wrong way—on, of all places, the 18th hole of a country club golf course 40 miles north of Boston. It's unclear who did it or even when, but a club manager...http://www.newser.com/story/71647/obama-haters-carve-swastika-on-18th-hole.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagWed, 14 Oct 2009 5:52:18 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/71256/autopsy-shows-100-year-old-was-murdered.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagA Massachusetts medical examiner has ruled the death of a 100-year-old nursing home patient a homicide by strangulation. Elizabeth Barrow was found dead in her room Sept. 24, with a plastic bag over her head and no obvious signs of struggle, a law enforcement source tells the Standard-Times of New...http://www.newser.com/story/71256/autopsy-shows-100-year-old-was-murdered.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagThu, 08 Oct 2009 11:31:20 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/70798/gay-divorce-ok-texas-judge-rules.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagThough same-sex marriage isn’t legal in Texas, two men married in Massachusetts can get a divorce there, a judge said today in a ruling that finds the state’s ban in violation of federal equal-protection laws. “This is huge news. We’re ecstatic,” the lawyer representing one of the men tells the...http://www.newser.com/story/70798/gay-divorce-ok-texas-judge-rules.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagThu, 01 Oct 2009 22:30:29 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/70485/health-foes-fight-mandatory-insurance-at-state-level.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagEfforts are afoot in more than a dozen states to outlaw mandatory health insurance, a preemptive strike against federal health reform that, though mainly symbolic and constitutionally dubious, could provoke a court battle that would be costly and delay any plan passed by Congress. “I just don’t want the government...http://www.newser.com/story/70485/health-foes-fight-mandatory-insurance-at-state-level.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagMon, 28 Sep 2009 19:56:10 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/70411/independents-threaten-dems-in-2010.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagIndependent candidates figure to play a major role in at least six states next year, threatening Democrats in an election where they already must defend 21 of their 28 governorships. In New Jersey, for example, independent Chris Daggett is trailing well behind Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine and Republican Tom Kean,...http://www.newser.com/story/70411/independents-threaten-dems-in-2010.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagMon, 28 Sep 2009 8:30:14 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/70262/dukakis-is-gracious-on-senate-snub.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagFor a while it looked as if Michael Dukakis would be headed to the Senate to fill Ted Kennedy's seat, but the former Massachusetts governor says he's fine with being passed over. "Hey, after you've run for the presidency of the United States..." the 1988 candidate told the Boston Globe...http://www.newser.com/story/70262/dukakis-is-gracious-on-senate-snub.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tagFri, 25 Sep 2009 6:48:40 CDT