Milton Valencia

The racist practice played a large part in why so much of the state is segregated along racial lines, with economic disparities that still resonate.

The work for equality remains as critical as ever, especially as the level of public attention and motivation that mobilized in 2020 fades and as an “anti-woke” sentiment across the country aims to unravel the progress that has already been made.

More than 8,000 NAACP delegates are expected to arrive by Friday evening for the opening ceremony at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, which will host events, many open to the public, Thursday through Sunday.

The findings of two federal agencies conducting ethics investigations of US Attorney Rachael Rollins were released Wednesday, giving the public some insight into why she decided to resign after 16 months in office.

Rollins had been the focus of a Justice Department ethics probe that scrutinized her involvement in a July 2022 Democratic fund-raiser and a possible violation of the Hatch Act.

If the Supreme Court ends up weakening or outright overturning Roe v. Wade, the decision could result in a patchwork of laws across the country and trigger legal challenges between states.

The announcement comes amid growing anxiety among business owners and residents that crime and vagrancy have persisted.

State health officials say they are expanding an effort to get former residents of the Mass. and Cass area in Boston off the streets and into permanent housing.

Here are some of the factors at play.

The shift of Boston residents to Brockton and a few other nearby towns underscores the challenges the city of Boston faces in keeping Black and brown residents who were born there and want to stay, but have been priced out of the city’s sizzling real estate market.

Boston faces a difficult question: How to preserve and sustain the existing, dated public housing system, which experts say is a crucial part of any solution to the city’s housing dilemma.

Since taking office in November, Michelle Wu has dealt with a coronavirus surge and union opposition to her vaccine mandate. This weekend, she faced her first big winter storm, something that can quickly undermine confidence in a new administration.

Wu said that officials have created enough new housing units to accommodate the roughly 145 people who were sleeping at the encampments overnight during a recent survey of the area.

The pop-up community of cabins is just one piece of what state and city officials hope will be the solution to a sprawling tent encampment at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard.

People living in the homeless encampment will be connected with housing and other services.

Residents arrived by the hundreds, the demand for shots so high that a steady line of eager patients snaked down the stairs from the third-floor mezzanine where the shots were offered.

The City of Boston is poised to give final approval to a law that would divest city funds from the fossil fuel industry, a symbolic but forceful message supporting green energy investment.

The informal start to the campaign is emblematic of the years-long community-building effort that ultimately powered Michelle Wu’s historic 28-point victory last week in the Boston mayor’s race.

Mayor-elect Michelle Wu said the appointment of a Cabinet chief to oversee the opioid epidemic at Mass. and Cass will be one of her first priorities, and that she will roll up her sleeves to fix Boston Public Schools, as she reflected on her new reality as the city’s chief executive.

Detailed election data show Wu dominated in progressive areas, while Essaibi George won more conservative neighborhoods. The results could serve as a blueprint for both candidates to expand their support before the Nov. 2 general election.