What Topped Massachusetts News In 2017?

BOSTON (AP) — Suicide and allegations of sexual misconduct darkly dominated the news in Massachusetts in 2017.

There was ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez's hanging in prison, and Michelle Carter's manslaughter conviction for sending text messages urging her boyfriend to kill himself.

As the year ended, the husband of Massachusetts Senate President Stan Rosenberg was accused of sexually assaulting several men, including some who had dealings with the Legislature. And a former television news anchor accused actor Kevin Spacey of molesting her teenage son.

Not everything that grabbed attention and headlines was so dire. The New England Patriots won a fifth Super Bowl, and a hospital worker claimed a $758.7 million Powerball jackpot — the largest undivided lottery prize in U.S. history.