Tobacco

A statewide ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, is set to take effect on Monday. Massachusetts became the first state to approve such a ban when Republican Gov. Charlie Baker signed the bill in November. The law applies to the sale of all flavored tobacco products in Massachusetts retail stores and online. The new law…

Anyone under 21 can no longer legally buy cigarettes, cigars or any other tobacco products in the United States. The new law enacted last week by Congress also applies to electronic cigarettes and vaping products that heat a liquid containing nicotine. Usually, new legislation doesn’t take effect right away. The change simply increased the age limit in existing law, so…

Retired coal miners and longtime opponents of Obama-era taxes on high-cost health plans are eyeing big wins as top congressional leaders and the Trump White House close in on a deal on a government-wide spending bill. The bill would also increase the age nationwide for purchasing tobacco products from 18 to 21.

A Massachusetts town is considering a ban on the sale of tobacco products outside smoke shops. The Concord Board of Health is discussing whether to ban all 14 of the town’s convenience stores from selling cigarettes, cigars and other products. Under the proposal, such products could only be sold at smoke shops to people 21 or older. Dozens of people…

A group of thieves rammed a stolen pickup truck through the front door of a Florida gun shop and stole firearms and ammunition.

Authorities in Rhode Island are looking for whoever detonated explosives inside two portable toilets over the weekend. The separate incidents happened Saturday — one in Westerly and the other in Charlestown, according to the Office of the State Fire Marshal. No injuries were reported.

An Army veteran wearing a mask and carrying more than 150 rounds of ammunition for his high-powered rifle was shot dead Monday after he opened fire outside a busy federal courthouse in downtown Dallas, authorities said. Brian Isaack Clyde, 22, was pronounced dead at a hospital following the shooting outside the downtown Earle Cabell Federal Building, FBI Special Agent in...

On Tuesday night, the Beverly Hills City Council is expected to consider recommendations from the health and safety committee to ban the sale of all tobacco products.

A fire that ultimately killed a Maine fire captain was likely caused by careless disposal of smoking materials, according to authorities. Berwick Fire Capt. Joel Barnes died while March 1 as he was battling a massive fire that tore through a multi-family house on Bell Street. The fire also injured four other firefighters. State and federal investigators say the fire...

Republican Gov. Chris Sununu has signed three executive orders to implement parts of the state’s new 10-year mental health plan. The orders signed Tuesday are aimed at improving services for people with mental illness who are accused of crimes, boosting recruitment and retention of mental health workers and better measuring the state’s performance in delivering care.

One adult and a teenager were arrested Thursday following an investigation that prompted a SWAT team response at a home in Maynard, Massachusetts. Local and state police as well as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives responded to a home on Acton Court at 7:15 a.m. to serve a high-risk warrant. A SWAT team was called in when...

Two people are in custody following an intense standoff and SWAT team response Thurday at a home in Maynard, Massachusetts.

Massachusetts residents under the age of 21 will no longer be able to purchase cigarettes and other tobacco or vaping products beginning on Monday.

A Rhode Island inmate has been running a crack cocaine distribution ring from inside prison.

Fire officials in Rhode Island are offering up to $5,000 for information on a fire that significantly damaged a church.

An early-morning fire at a Smithfield church is under investigation.

A man suspected of fatally shooting two men and a woman inside a suburban Denver Walmart was arrested 14 hours later following a brief car chase Thursday that ended at a congested intersection, police said. Scott Ostrem, 47, was arrested after police pulled over his car about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the Walmart store in the city of Thornton,...

Two explosions in New Hampshire have brought new attention to a powder that is popular among gun users.

A man is in custody after allegedly shooting and killing his mother at New Hampshire’s largest hospital on Tuesday afternoon.

The FBI says agents investigating a pipe bomb explosion outside an Air Force recruiting station in Oklahoma now have a person of interest in custody. FBI agent Jessi Rice said Tuesday the person is being questioned, but that she could not give that person’s name. Rice said investigators found the person at a Tulsa-area apartment complex. Earlier Tuesday, federal authorities...