Beyond COVID-19: The 9 Other Massachusetts Stories That Made Headlines In 2020 Justice Kimberly S. Budd raises her hand as she is sworn-in as the chief justice of Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on Dec. 1 at the State House in Boston. Budd, 54, is the first Black woman to serve in that role. Jessica Rinaldi / Pool/The Boston Globe via AP By William J. Kole | Associated Press December 28, 2020 Massachusetts’ biggest story of 2020 involved something so tiny it required an electron microscope to view. The coronavirus pandemic hit the Bay State hard, killing nearly 12,000 — the nation's ninth-highest death toll — and ravaging communities of color and long-term care facilities. Nearly 80 veterans died of COVID-19 at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home, where investigators said “utterly baffling” decisions allowed the virus to spread unchecked.