Poll: Sununu narrows gap with Shaheen

US Senator John Sununu, Republican of New Hampshire, is trailing Democratic challenger Jeanne Shaheen by 8 percentage points, making him six points closer than in a previous survey, according to a recent poll by WMUR-TV Manchester and the University of New Hampshire. In the poll of 661 New Hampshire voters, 48 percent said they plan to vote for Shaheen, 40 percent for Sununu, 1 percent for another candidate, and 11 percent are undecided. Sununu did well among upper-income voters, people who regularly attend religious services, and voters in the North Country and Manchester, according to the poll. Shaheen had support with women, lower- and middle-income voters, and those with a higher education, the poll said.

Governor Deval Patrick signed legislation yesterday to allow registered voters who have moved within the state in the past 18 months, but failed to reregister, to vote in the communities they originally registered in, according to Secretary of State William F. Galvin. Voters who have had to move because of foreclosures or other reasons will now be able to cast ballots in their former voting place without having to reregister. State election law, suspended for this election only, usually requires a voter who has moved within the Commonwealth to register at a new residence within six months. Galvin said the ballot in this special circumstance will extend to president, vice president, state elections, and the three ballot initiatives.

The Massachusetts House of Representatives will meet today to discuss a bill that would return $373.6 million to the state's general fund, the office of Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi said in a statement. The bill was negotiated by Democratic and Republican leaders and will include Governor Deval Patrick's solutions. The initiatives proposed by Patrick involve $200 million transferred from the state's rainy-day fund, $73.6 million in spending cuts, and changes to the pension schedule that would save $100 million. Cutting spending for environmental issues and life sciences funding and extending pensions and health insurance will also be discussed.

A body was found yesterday outside the Braintree T station, MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said. The middle-age male, whose identity has not yet been confirmed, was discovered near bushes outside the station at about 2:30 p.m., Pesaturo said. Foul play is not suspected, but MBTA police are investigating, he said.

An 85-year-old man was rescued from the roof of his burning home in Saugus yesterday after a neighbor grabbed a ladder for a police officer who had rushed to the scene. Officer Paul Van Steensburg helped bring Salvatore Cagnina safely down from the roof, said Lieutenant Michael Annese, a spokesman for the Saugus Police Department. Cagnina had climbed out a window onto a porch roof about 1 a.m. after flames engulfed his home. "If he hadn't gotten him down, it probably would have been a tragic ending," Annese said. Officer Van Steensburg had followed smoke to the home on Mount Vernon Street. Neighbor Joseph Brangiforte brought over the ladder, Annese said. Cagnina was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was being treated for smoke inhalation.

An Everett High School freshman was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital after he collapsed yesterday at football practice from what doctors initially called a blood clot in his brain, Everett's school superintendent, Frederick Foresteire, said. Hantzley Audate, 14, fell to the ground after "a routine practice," Foresteire said. The teenager underwent a two-hour emergency operation at 7:30 p.m., Foresteire said, adding that the doctor said the surgery went well. Assistant coach Leonard Martino said Audate had no prior health issues, and the team was not doing anything physical when he collapsed.