Kerry urges gas price probe

Senator John F. Kerry wants the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether there has been price gouging at gas stations in Western Massachusetts. Kerry made the request after hearing from Mayor John Barrett of North Adams and others that there were several cases of manipulation in the region. Kerry says it's time for the federal government to also investigate why prices have increased dramatically while oil companies enjoy windfall profits. (AP)

Waltham-based defense contractor Raytheon Co. spent more than $2.4 million to lobby the federal government in the first half of 2007, according to a discloser form posted online by the US Senate's public records office. The company lobbied on defense and homeland security, foreign arms sales, trade agreements, and research tax credits. Raytheon also lobbied the Federal Aviation Administration, NASA, the departments of Commerce, Defense, Energy, Labor, Treasury and State, the National Security Council, and other federal offices. (AP)

Police arrested a 16-year-old last night and charged him with armed robbery while masked, and aggravated rape, in an assault two months ago. On Sept. 16, police said the youth robbed a store on Broadway in East Somerville at gunpoint and then sexually assaulted the clerk before fleeing toward Sullivan Square. Detectives, following a lead from another officer, obtained a court order forcing the suspect to submit a DNA sample, after which he was arrested, police said. The teen, whose name was not released, will be charged in Cambridge Juvenile Court.

The victim of a fatal weekend house fire has been identified as Joan Nelson, 54, a lawyer and a cousin of Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley. Hyannis fire officials said the blaze broke out after 11 p.m. Friday and quickly engulfed the one-family home. The victim's husband, Robert, managed to get out of the house and was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital. Investigators were trying to determine the cause of the fire. Coakley, through a spokeswoman, declined to comment. (AP)

The Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe, which plans to compete for one of three state casino licenses, decided yesterday to replace its council chairman. In a 99-to-48 vote, challenger Cheryl Andrews-Maltais defeated Donald A. Widdiss in the tribal election, said Eleanor Hebert, secretary of the tribal council. Andrews-Maltais, historic preservation officer for the tribe of more than 1,000 members, will take over leadership on Jan. 5. Widdiss announced last month that the tribe was partnering with the Seneca Nation of Indians in New York to make a joint push for one of three casino licenses proposed in Massachusetts.

The death of an 18 year old has led to the arrest of a man accused of providing the youth with alcohol. Adam Beggs was found unresponsive early Saturday, police said. He was pronounced dead at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston. Larando Sweetling, 23, was arrested on a charge of furnishing alcohol to a minor, unsworn falsification, and violation of conditions of release. Sweetling was held yesterday in lieu of $5,000 bail. (AP)