Investigation: Investors Mine For Profits In Affordable Housing

Also: Autopsies uncover the ways COVID-19 kills; 4 takeaways from Biden's address to Congress ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  [Donate [WBUR]]( [View in Browser](  [WBUR]( April 29, 2021 Good Morning Boston, ☁️ Showers likely, mainly after 2 p.m. Cloudy, with a high near 54. We've got a lot of politics news for you this morning, as well as an exclusive story from our investigations team. Here's the rundown: - The Massachusetts delegation seem pretty pleased with President Biden's first joint address last night, which included proposals for sweeping social reforms. Supporters include Sen. Ed Markey, Assistant House Speaker Katherine Clark, Congressman Bill Keating, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, to name a few. You can read an analysis of his speech and his annotated script below. - Early this morning, House lawmakers [unanimously passed]( a $47.716 billion state budget. They added tens of millions of dollars in spending to the bill over three days, with the hope of supporting investments to help the state move past the pandemic. - Attention Boston residents: The City Council voted to[move the city's preliminary election]( up by a week, from Sept. 21 to Sept. 14. This gives officials more time to facilitate mail-in voting, if it's extended through the fall or made permanent. - The Boston School Committee has a new student representative: Junior Xyra Mercer. This swearing in comes one month after the previous student who held the position resigned, saying the adult members were not taking his concerns seriously. And in COVID news: - Moderna says it's ramping up its production of COVID vaccines. The Cambridge-based company expects to have as many as 1 billion doses available this year – that's 300 million more than originally planned. Even better is that another 3 billion doses could be available next year. - Today on Beacon Hill: Senators will take up a spending bill today that could fund a new Holyoke Soldiers' Home. The $400 million would also be used to aid veteran services in other parts of Massachusetts. P.S.– A teacher who called into [this Radio Boston segment]( about parent relief and anxiety as students return to in-person learning had me a little emotional as I was listening yesterday. She was so moved and thrilled to see her students in person again, and it made me want to give a shout out to all parents, guardians and teachers. It's not said enough, but thank you for all your hard work trying to get kids through what's been such a hard year. — Meagan McGinnes [@meaganmcginnes]( newsletters@wbur.org The Rundown [1.](url)[Investors Mine For Profits In Affordable Housing, Leaving Thousands Of Tenants At Risk]( A Boston nonprofit is battling in court with an investor that wants to sell off low-income housing for profit. It's a story that's playing out across the country. [Read more.](   #%23%23[Twitter](  #%23%23[Facebook](    2. [Big Government Is Back, And 3 Other Takeaways From Biden's Address To Congress]( The former senator felt at home, ad-libbing references to his former colleagues in Congress, and seeming nostalgic about his time walking the halls in the Capitol. But he also spoke to a deeply divided room that almost had polar opposite reactions to the bulk of his presentation. [Read more.]( - Fact Check: [President Biden's Address Before Congress, Annotated]( - Opinion: [Biden's Speech Made Progressives Happy. But There's More Work To Do]( 3. [COVID-19 Autopsies Uncover Ways The Coronavirus Kills]( Why and how the coronavirus causes such complications are questions that scientists are still trying to answer. In one effort to shed new light on these mysteries, Broad Institute genomicist Alexandra-Chloe Villani has been working with a large team of researchers to conduct autopsies on people who died from acute COVID infections. [Read more.]( 4. [A Mini Mississippi In Mass. May Help Save New Orleans From Rising Seas]( Alden Research Laboratory in Holden, Mass., build a scale model of the Mississippi River to test sediment diversion plans. [Read more.]( 5. [3 Men Indicted On Federal Hate Crime Charges In Ahmaud Arbery Killing]( Gregory McMichael, 65; his son, Travis McMichael, 35; and William "Roddie" Bryan, 51, were each charged with one count of interference with rights and with one count of attempted kidnapping, according to a Justice Department statement. Travis and Gregory McMichael also face charges of using guns to inflict violence. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - A new study shows that the Northeastern U.S. has the [widest tree cover disparities]( in the country. - A [new blood test]( could show how long a COVID vaccine will protect you. - From Boston Design Week to the MFA's Art In Bloom, here are [five things to do this weekend.]( [WBUR] Your Daily Must Listen [Listen: Adam Ezra Group Lifts A Glass To Live Music In 'Switching To Whiskey']( [Listen]( CLIMATE CRISIS [Report: Air Quality Improving In Mass., Even Before The Pandemic]( The Psychology Of Climate Change — And How To Engage With It. [Listen.]( Opinion: So You're Serious About Climate Change: Vote In Your Local Elections. [Read more.]( Minimize Food Waste In Your Kitchen With Tips, Recipes From Chef Kathy Gunst.[Read more.]( Be the first to know about WBUR's soon-to-come environmental newsletter. [Sign up here.]( What We're Reading - Hear NPR's First On-Air Original Broadcast From 1971 ([NPR]( - They Call It a ‘Women’s Disease.’ She Wants to Redefine It ([The New York Times]( - Behind The Controversy At Basecamp ([The Verge]( Tell Me Something Good [Prancer, The 'Haunted Victorian Child' Dog From Viral Ad, Has Been Adopted]( Prancer, the 13-pound gremlin Chihuahua who hates men and children, and was described as a "vessel for a traumatized Victorian child," has been adopted by a 36-year-old single lesbian in Connecticut. Before you go: And people say [New Englanders are closed off...]( 😎 Forward to a friend. 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