On average, there are about 20 mass murders every year, and the trend has been steady since the 1970s, said James Alan Fox, a professor of criminology at Northeastern University in Boston and author of five books on mass murder. The typical mass murderer is a socially isolated white man in his 30s or 40s. […]

Tobacco companies have introduced almost no new cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products in the U.S. in more than 18 months because the federal government has prevented them from doing so, an Associated Press review has found. It’s an unprecedented pause for an industry that historically has introduced dozens of new products annually, and reflects its […]

After last month’s elections, both parties seem ready to make a serious effort to revise and update the nation’s immigration laws. What should comprehensive immigration reform look like? Should the United States control the rate of immigration, and if so, how? What should be done about the estimated 11 million undocumented workers already here? And […]

There’s a new cliff in town, and it’s much scarier than the fiscal cliff. It doesn’t have anything to do with expiring tax cuts or sequesters. It has to do with people who have been out of work for six months or longer. It’s the worst cliff of them all: the Unemployment Cliff. Our unemployment […]

AUDIO: Massachusetts students are among the best in the world in math and science. We’ll take a look at what’s happening inside classrooms across the state and if what we’re doing in Mass. can be replicated in other states. Guest: Christos Zahopoulos, professor of engineering and education at Northeastern University and founder and executive director […]

Marquis Cabrera, CEO and founder of Foster Skills, has a very personal motivation for working with foster children: He once was one himself. Given his academic and professional success, it may be hard to imagine that the well-spoken Northeastern University graduate spent eight years bouncing between three foster homes, after he was taken at age […]

More than 6,000 hate crimes were reported to U.S. law enforcement agencies in 2011 — a 6% decrease from 2010, the FBI said Monday. But crimes based on the victim’s sexual orientation increased slightly.  

Economic changes exacerbated by post-crash weakness have really whacked high school dropouts here, with only a third of dropouts aged 20 to 24 in the metropolitan area reporting that they have jobs. But perhaps surprisingly, young adults who finished high school but not college have been very badly hit in the Chicago area, too. So […]

Although leading US business schools appear to have weathered the recession, there are real question marks about the sustainability of less prestigious US institutions, particularly those that are state-funded. Most leading business schools saw the value of their endowment funds fall sharply during the stock market decline in 2008. Among US schools that have featured […]

Presidents at several private Massachusetts colleges saw significant pay increases between 2009 and 2010, according to a new survey of compensation by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

When we asked Globe readers and staffers to tell us about people who deserve recognition for promoting diversity in Massachusetts, the nominations came flooding in for passionate, dedicated folks in almost every field. From the scores of worthy candidates, we singled out 12 who in very different ways — from encouraging women and people of […]

As I write this, I’m staring at a half-packed duffle bag that’s ready to ship my roommate’s belongings back from London, England to his hometown in Somerville, Massachusetts. After spending nearly four months studying abroad across the pond, time has whizzed by and I find myself, along with 75 classmates, preparing to re-immerse ourselves in […]