There are mixed signs in the state’s housing market. Foreclosure petitions — the first step in the process — have dipped to their lowest level this year. But according to the Warren Group, more petitions were filed last month than in June 2011. Housing expert Barry Bluestone monitors the housing market as the director for […]

In the weeks since the Supreme Court issued a decision on the Affordable Care Act, some local health law experts have taken a longer look at the implications. And they’re concerned about just how far-reaching the decision could be. The Medicaid decision may have big ramifications, Wendy Parmet, associate dean for academic affairs at Northeastern […]

An expert on the criminal mind says in some ways Holmes fits the profile of a mass killer. For one, he recently had a big loss in his life; he was rejected by the University of Colorado’s PhD program, and he has isolated himself. But in other ways, he’s not at all typical, and may […]

I saw the brother of one of the Aurora, Colorado mass-murder victims being interviewed on TV, and something he said struck me. He asked the media to do its best to avoid mention of the suspected killer’s name, so as to help deny him the notoriety that sociopaths of his ilk often crave. That struck […]

AUDIO: In the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal, today the NCAA ordered Penn State to pay $60 million and stripped the late Penn State coach Joe Paterno of many of his college victories. The college will also be prohibited from participating in post-season play for four years. NCAA president Mark Emmert […]

Through collaborating with my Northeastern University colleague Jack Levin over three decades in examining countless case studies of mayhem, several common characteristics and motivational themes have emerged. Mass killers tend to be profoundly frustrated and despondent over life’s disappointments, isolated from family and friends who might be in a position to provide comfort and support, […]

Is a mass murderer like James Holmes, the suspect in the shooting at an Aurora, Colorado movie theater that killed 12 people and wounded 59 others, mentally ill or simply seeking revenge for perceived wrongs? Experts who study the motivation of mass murderers disagree on the answer. According to James Alan Fox, a criminal justice […]

With the movie theater massacre days in the past and the booby-traps discovered at the suspect’s apartment having been disarmed, the media has turned its focus on assembling a clear picture of the 24-year-old man who the police say caused so much pain to so many. The race is on to locate sources — neighbors, […]

In the aftermath of last Friday morning’s massacre at an Aurora Colorado cinema, everybody wants to know how we might prevent the occurrence of future mass killings in public places. The fact that the murderer chose to get revenge in a crowded theater makes members of the public feel very insecure. After all, individuals go […]

When James Eagan Holmes, the suspect in the Colorado movie theater shootings, enters court for the first time Monday, he will be taking the first step in a long legal journey likely to center on two issues: Is he competent to stand trial? And will prosecutors seek the death penalty? James Alan Fox, a criminal […]

So far, we know very little about James Holmes, the 24-year old former PhD student who is suspected of opening fire in a Colorado movie theater early Friday morning. But according to current criminal justice expert James Alan Fox, much of what has already come out about his alleged attack coincides with details about previous […]

Hot tempers and hot weather — playwrights sensed the connection and made poetry of it. And it’s playing out again this week on our bloody streets. For more than 100 years social scientists have researched and recorded it so that it is now almost a commonplace: aggression and violence increase as the temperature rises. James […]