Man critically injured in double shooting

One man sustained life-threatening injuries in a double shooting on Codman Park in Roxbury last night, Boston police said. One victim was shot in the head, and another man was shot in the leg around 9:20 p.m. at 60 Codman Park, police said. Both victims, men in their early 20s, were taken to Boston Medical Center, said Officer David Estrada, a police spokesman. The victim who was wounded in the head was reported in critical condition last night. Officers had made no arrests last night in the shooting, which happened near the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Washington Street.

The Recording Industry Association of America wants 83 students and staff members at several Massachusetts universities to pay $3,000 each or face lawsuits for allegedly downloading music illegally using school computers. The trade group says MIT and the University of Massachusetts campuses at Amherst and at Boston are among 22 universities in which 403 violations were found. The group has identified the unique online address for each computer allegedly used and has asked university officials to identify those involved and order them to pay or face federal lawsuits. The group also says it has filed lawsuits against 24 students nationwide, including from UMass-Amherst, who ignored offers to settle previous claims out of court. (AP)

A surgeon who was prohibited from practicing in Massachusetts last year after being accused of providing grossly substandard care worked at a southern Illinois veterans hospital until last month, according to a published report. Dr. Jose Veizaga-Mendez surrendered his Massachusetts license in July 2006 after a state regulatory board accused him of providing unacceptable care to seven patients and of failing to report malpractice cases, the Chicago Tribune reported yesterday. Veizaga-Mendez resigned from the VA Medical Center in Marion last month, shortly before the hospital suspended inpatient surgeries because of a spike in postsurgical deaths. The Veterans Administration confirmed that Veizaga-Mendez worked at the facility, but declined to give further details on him, including whether he is part of the investigation. (AP)

The city's annual holiday parade will be held this year despite a Greenland boy's death during last year's parade. The City Council unanimously voted this week to continue the tradition. "Certainly, it was such a difficult tragedy for the community " said Assistant Mayor Tom Ferrini. ". . . think it's best to move forward. Parades are community events. . . . They can be fun for the community, and they can be healing for the community." A new state law inspired by 9-year-old Thomas Fogarty's death establishes safety measures designed to prevent a similar tragedy. The Hampton Area Chamber of Commerce canceled its parade last month, citing concerns over the cost of liability and fear of another such accident. But Mayor Steve Marchand of Portsmouth said that no one opposed Portsmouth holding its parade when he asked the council about it Monday night. (AP)

The chairman of an Oklahoma natural gas producer is seeking an apology from Governor M. Jodi Rell of Connecticut over her statments about natural gas price manipulation. She has sent a letter to members of Congress asking for an investigation. Aubrey McClendon, Chesapeake Energy Corp.'s chairman and chief executive officer, said Rell's letter "contains incorrect and reckless statements" that indicate "a lack of understanding of the natural gas market" and the role played by Chesapeake, the nation's third largest independent producer of natural gas. Chesapeake announced in September that it would reduce its gas production and drilling because of falling natural gas prices. (AP)

State officials say 71 inmates at Southern State Correctional Facility have been stricken with strep throat, nearly twice as many as earlier reported. On Tuesday, prison officials put the 350-inmate facility into a medical lockdown aimed at containing the spread of the sickness, confining inmates to their cells and halting trips outside the facility for court hearings. Heidi Tringe, a spokeswoman for the state Agency of Human Services, says about 20 percent of the 350 inmates at the prison are now confirmed to have strep throat. (AP)