News

Despite the government's best efforts to illustrate through the testimony of John Martorano that James 'Whitey' Bulger was a ring leader in the killings and crimes committed by the Winter Hill gang, a stunning cross-examination by defense attorney Hank Brennan successfully portrayed Martorano as a lying, self-serving, cold-blooded killer.

Massachusetts State Police have returned to the home of New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez. Two troopers knocked at his door Wednesday morning in North Attleborough, but no one answered.

On Tuesday night, police spent hours there as another group of officers searched an industrial park about a mile away where a body was found Monday. No more details about the body have been released.

The father of a Russian man killed while being questioned about ties to the Boston Marathon bombing suspects says he has brought the body to Russia for burial.

Ibragim Todashev, 27, was fatally shot in late May in Florida while being questioned by an FBI agent and two Massachusetts troopers.

His father, Abdul-Baki Todashev, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he had flown with the body to Moscow and was planning on flying it to their home region of Chechnya on Thursday.

On Tuesday night, WGBH News hosted the final debate of the U.S. Senate special election between Democratic U.S. Rep. Ed Markey and Republican businessman and former U.S. Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez.

Listen to the full audio from the debate here:

• CNN's John King talked about the immigration battle in Washington, D.C.
• Michele Simon joined Jim and Margery to talk about food manufacturers' newest strategy: preparing food "imperfectly" so that it looks homemade and more appealing to consumers. Simon is a public health lawyer and author of Appetite for Profit: How the Food Industry Undermines Our Health and How to Fight Back.
• Tuesday night Gabriel Gomez and Rep. Ed Markey faced off in their third and final debate. Jim and Margery recapped the debate highlights.
• Boston Globe editor Brian McGrory was today's Open Mic guest.
• WGBH's Adam Reilly gave listeners an update on the James "Whitey" Bulger trial.
• Author Larry Tye joined Jim and Margery to talk about the new Superman movie. Tye is the author of Superman: The High-Flying History of America's Most Enduring Superhero.
  

With less than one week to go in the Massachusetts special election for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Secretary of State John Kerry, candidates Republican Gabriel Gomez and Democratic Rep. Ed Markey, squared off in their final debate Tuesday at WGBH in Brighton.

The tone was heated.

After the Bulger trial wrapped today, a few of us who'd been watching the defense's cross-examination of John Martorano were raving about attorney Hank Brennan's performance. Brennan, as you may already know, did a fine job of highlighting the disconnect between Martorano's self-image and reality. Martorano fancies himself a "vigilante" who only killed to protect friends and family. But the truth, as it emerged on the stand today, was far more unpleasant.

As day two of the testimony of James Martorano begins, we can expect to learn more gruesome details about the murders he was part of in the 1970s and 80s. During the hit man's testimony, the prosecution hopes to implicate Bulger as a leader of the Winter Hill gang.

 Admitted hitman John Martorano took the witness stand Monday to testify about James "Whitey" Bulger's criminal history. Martorano served a 12-year sentence after confessing to 20 mob-related killings as a member of the Winter Hill gang. 

The big summer exhibition at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum is a retrospective of Tony Feher, a man its curator calls an artists' artist. 

Juvenile Court Judge Leslie Harris was recently honored by the Robert F. Kennedy Children's Action Corps for his advocacy on behalf of minors who are charged with crimes. His Detention Diversion Advocacy Project lets minors avoid incarceration and stay in school. 

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick joined Boston Public Radio's Jim Braude and Margery Eagan on Tuesday.  He fielded calls from listeners on topics ranging from intelligence gathered about the Boston Marathon bombings, to welfare reform and the EBT scandal, to his new position as grandfather. Listen to the full segment with Gov. Patrick below.

Republican Gabriel Gomez and Democrat Edward Markey are prepping for their final debate in Massachusetts' special U.S. Senate election.

Massachusetts state Senate leaders are proposing a sweeping overhaul of the state’s welfare system that seeks to put more welfare recipients back in the workforce while reducing fraud and waste.

If you’re sitting in your car stuck in rush hour traffic this morning, you might be grumbling that you never signed up for this when you entered the workforce. Well, the auto industry is listening, and is working to make your ride more comfortable, safer and more productive.

A former hit man who admitted to killing 20 people during his organized crime career took the stand Monday in the trial of mobster James Whitey Bulger. 

John Martorano cut a deal with law enforcement officials in 1999.  He served only 12 years and two months in prison after agreeing to testify against Bulger, his former boss, and Stephen “the Rifleman” Flemmi.  Bulger’s defense team alleges that since being released from prison Martorano has resumed criminal activity but is being shielded by his state police handlers.   

Even if its not a triple overtime thriller like Game 1 - or even a single overtime thriller like Game 2 - there promises to be a lot of activity at the TD Garden Monday night when the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks lace up the skates for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

I’m not talking Milan Lucic wrist shots or kick saves by Tuukka Rask.

I’m talking about cash changing hands at the concession stand, smartphones being scanned at the gate, plastic being swiped in the souvenir shop. I’m talking about economic activity.

A former hitman who admits killing 20 people is expected to take the stand at the trial of reputed gangster James "Whitey" Bulger. 

John Martorano served a little over 12 years in prison after striking a cooperation deal with prosecutors. He was released in 2007.

The 83-year-old Bulger is charged in a 32-count racketeering indictment that accuses him of participating in 19 murders in the 1970s and '80s. He is also charged with extorting bookmakers, drug dealers and others running illegal businesses.

Former bookmakers took the stand to better illustrate for the prosecution how complex the organized crime system was in New England. Their testimony conveys a real element of fear as they deal with established New England mobsters and may work to show the jury Bulger's involvement in monopolizing criminal gambling activity.

Andris Nelsons is the Boston Symphony Orchestra's long-awaited, newly-minted music director. His arrival marked a triumphant end to the BSO's two-year search for a new leader.

Nelsons came to Boston with an impressive pedigree. He led the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra since 2008. He did stints with the Latvian National Opera and the Northwest German Philharmonic. Nelsons also conducted the world's highest-caliber ensembles like the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera.

After months of anticipation, the James 'Whitey' Bulger trial is finally underway, and the media is covering it with a vengeance. In some ways that’s a good thing, but in other ways… the jury is still out.

(From the June 14, 2013 show)

More and more media outlets are partnering with all kinds of bedfellows to boost an image, get larger distribution, or to make a few more bucks - WGBH included - but one such partnership between WCVB Channel 5 and NStar struck some viewers as particularly strange.

(From the June 14, 2013 show)

Budget woes, bureau closures, and layoffs are headlines long associated with the commercial network news divisions. Now though, that's happening at PBS NewsHour, and it's prompting some to rethink public television's signature newscast.

(From the June 14, 2013 show)

Our panel's rants and raves of the week for June 14, 2013.

Lasell College's Fashion Collection brims with two centuries of style and showcases pieces by Claude Montana, Coco Chanel and other famous designers. I toured the archive and talked with curator Jill Carey about the the vintage platform shoes, art deco hats and wedding dresses that enchant her every day. 

Former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown is throwing his support behind fellow Republican and Senate hopeful Gabriel Gomez.

The transit police officer who survived a showdown with the Boston Marathon bombing suspects has been discharged from the hospital.

Officer Richard Donohue headed home Friday morning, with other Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority officers escorting him.

Donohue has been recovering at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital for about a month.