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By DEENA RUBIN

I was pregnant and gave birth to my daughter, Ayala, in Cambridge, England. This was my first introduction to universal health care.I began my pregnancy by going to the gynecologist, getting ultrasounds and having blood and urine tests. As the...

By FRAZIER MOORE

NEW YORK — Roger Ailes, the communication maestro who transformed TV news by creating Fox News Channel only to be ousted from his media empire at the height of his reign for alleged sexual harassment, died Thursday, according to his wife, Elizabeth...

Bad enough that President Donald Trump is inflicting his intemperance, narcissism and lack of compassion on the nation that elected him its leader. But it’s now becoming clear that Trump’s disregard for the rules of American justice and international...

By SARA WEINBERGER

I moved from Northampton to Easthampton nearly three years ago.Although I was reluctant to leave the city that I had called “home” for 30 years, Easthampton, or as I fondly call it, “The New Brooklyn,” is a great place to settle. The bike path, less...

By JOE GANNON

Where does hope come from at this time when the world is lurching ever rightward? What can unite us enough to pull in the opposite direction when the old ideologies are gone?The French may have slowed that lurch toward right-wing populism in last...

By FANNY ROTHSCHILD

When do we stop sitting in our homes or offices, activate our protector natures, and take to the streets?When I lived in Argentina for six months in 1996, I volunteered with the Madres de Plaza de Mayo, a group of mothers who had begun to march 20...

Former president Barack Obama spoke about courage Sunday night in Boston when he accepted the 2017 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.“I hope that current members of Congress recognize that it takes little courage to aid those who are already...

By JOHN SHEIRER

Donald Trump and his supporters are currently the leading purveyors of “alternative facts” and “fake news,” but they didn’t invent these phenomena. They simply took advantage of a political climate that discouraged critical thinking and promoted...

By BILL NEWMAN

People with pre-existing conditions fear that they “are going to die because of a vote we might be taking.”Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Florida) said that earlier this week. He added, “(A) lot of people … call my office … daily who are extremely angry … because...

By JACK SUNTRUP

HATFIELD — What to do about recreational marijuana, Select Board term limits, a debt exclusion question and the town’s $12 million budget blueprint will all be on the agenda for the upcoming annual Town Meeting.Hatfield’s Town Meeting is at 7 p.m. on...

On Jan. 21, President Donald Trump’s first full day in office, an estimated 500,000 people rallied in the streets of Washington, D.C., against the new administration.Thousands more are expected in the capital this Saturday — the 100th day of Trump’s...

By CLARE HIGGINS

Saturday is President Trump’s 100th day in office.Trump promised a long list of achievements – from repealing the Affordable Care Act to withdrawing from NAFTA to proposing an infrastructure plan. Mexico certainly will not be paying for the “big,...

By JACK SUNTRUP

DEERFIELD — At a Massachusetts Department of Transportation depot in Deerfield, there’s a corner behind the heavy machinery and garages dedicated to signs plucked from the side of state roads.The signs advertise open houses, garage sales and political...

By JACK SUNTRUP

NORTHAMPTON — When scientists talk dire impacts of climate change in say 2050, or 2100, the far-away dates can be hard to put into perspective. For Peter Ives, the problem does not seem so distant. He thinks of his 2-year-old granddaughter Ila. “I...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — With various appointments by President Donald Trump still not made and continued reversals and flip flops in the administration’s objectives, a sense of chaos and drama exists in the nation’s capital that Massachusetts congressmen...

President Donald Trump’s decision to retaliate against Syria for a chemical weapons attack on its own citizens and to condemn Russia’s support for the repressive regime of Bashar al-Assad has left heads spinning and people trying to decide among at...

By JACK SUNTRUP

HADLEY — Incumbent Molly Keegan will retain her spot on the Select Board for another three years after fending off a challenge by former board member John Mieczkowski Sr. in Tuesday’s annual town election.According to preliminary tallies, Keegan took...

By JACK SUNTRUP

HADLEY — Voters will decide one contested race Tuesday when they head to the polls for the annual town election.Select Board Chairwoman Molly Keegan faces former Selectman John Mieczkowski Sr. in Tuesday’s contest. Polls will be open from 9 a.m. to 8...

There’s a faint glimmer of hope this spring for people who feel alienated from our national government by the influence of millions of dollars in political donations from corporations and billionaires, and from gerrymandering that has helped polarize...

By STEPHANIE MURRAY

HADLEY — In western Massachusetts, much of the labor that keeps local farms afloat is done by immigrant workers. But many who make up that labor force are living in fear of U.S. immigration policy, farm owners say, especially after the election of...