WBUR News

The incoming Trump administration is stirring uncertainty about the future of health care funding for Massachusetts’ most vulnerable residents.

WBUR's Andrea Shea reports on how filmmaker John Waters challenges norms and his connections to the Massachusetts arts scene. Waters will be honored with the Coolidge Award on Thursday.

A ban on public camping went into effect in Lowell on Wednesday in an effort to tamp down on homeless encampments on city property. The city leaders are hoping it will improve public safety, but opponents of the move say the move can endanger the unhoused community.

Latino voters cite many of the same concerns as other conservatives — the economy, crime, unchecked immigration and identity politics. Some are willing to overlook Trump's "strong-man" rhetoric as hyperbole.

The number of people staying outdoors in Lowell doubled between early 2020 and early this year. Tension over the crisis led to the camping ban, which takes effect Wednesday. But opponents say it will harm people who are already suffering and won't do anything to resolve issues that contribute to homelessness.

As state, county and city law enforcement leaders evaluate their legal options to refuse assistance — or offer it — to federal agents, competing tactics could emerge. And immigration advocates warn different policies among government agencies will breed confusion.

Massachusetts' political leaders are bracing for a second Trump administration. For Gov. Maura Healey, Trump represents a challenge both familiar and new.

The artist's mid-career survey at Tufts University Art Galleries includes includes video, photographs and large paintings. Jackson's archival and in-person research provides an armature that she builds around materials like halftone line images, paper bags, voting ephemera and site specific soil and dust.

Watch for the Taurid and Leonid meteor showers this weekend. Sky & Telescope reporter Kelly Beatty says we should also keep an eye out for Venus and Mercury in the night sky. 

The exhibit features more than 20 set recreations, from Harry’s tiny bedroom under the stairs to the sinister Chamber of Secrets.