By Matt Viser and Frank Phillips, Globe Staff

A staid primary campaign for US Senate turned testy tonight, as Attorney General Martha Coakley cited her gender in an unusually pointed personalization of the abortion issue, and US Representative Michael Capuano accused Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca of taking a position on health care that would lead poor women to seek abortions in alleyways.

Coakley, Capuano, Khazei, Pagliuca

The sharp exchange, over how to balance all four Democratic candidates' support for abortion rights with their professed support for a health care overhaul, overshadowed foreign policy on a night when the nation's attention was focused on President Obama's much-anticipated Afghanistan speech. Pagliuca repeatedly said he was the only reliable vote in favor of a health care overhaul, and criticized Capuano's claims as a "personal attack."

Coakley and Capuano said they would support health care legislation only if it does not include new restrictions on insurance coverage of abortion; Pagliuca, as well as City Year co-founder Alan Khazei, said they would support any version of health care legislation that is supported by the Democratic majority in Congress.

The Democratic primary, as well as a Republican primary, is next Tuesday, and the two party nominees will face off in a final election Jan. 19. The candidates are vying to win a seat long held by Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who died in August.

In the most aggressively-fought debate in the short campaign, each of the four candidates said they were reluctant to send more troops to Afghanistan, even though they knew Obama was about to propose doing exactly that, and even though the move is supported by the state's senior senator, John F. Kerry.

Coakley used words like "mired" and "quagmire" while discussing Afghanistan, and said, "I am distressed that we seem to be ignoring history in Vietnam." Capuano added, "Our mission is accomplished. We should learn how to declare victory."

The debate featured the rawest exchange yet between the four candidates, with a feisty Capuano at the center of most of the hard-edged back-and-forths. Showing a debating style honed in the tough politics of Somerville, he directly challenged both Pagliuca and Coakley at several points during the forum.

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By John M. Guilfoil, Globe Correspondent

CHELMSFORD — A worker participating in an oil spill cleanup was killed and a second one was seriously injured today when a car crossed illegally into the breakdown lane on Route 3 northbound and struck them, State Police said.

A Seabrook, N.H., man employed by United Oil Recovery Inc. of Connecticut was killed instantly when the 2001 Acura MDX driven by Juanita McKenzie, 33, of Lowell, pinned him between her vehicle and a tractor trailer truck working on the roadway, according to State Police. The worker, whose name was not released, was dropping off a waste receptacle to an environmental crew from a second, unnamed company that was removing contaminated soil from a fuel spill that occurred last week.

‘‘We’re shocked,’’ said William Morris, the environmental services director for United Oil Recovery, today. Morris confirmed in a phone interview that the deceased was one of his employees.

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State police photo

Police say Manson Brown may actually be wearing glasses.

By Globe Staff

State police and Department of Corrections officers continue to search today for a 51-year-old convict who escaped from a state prison in Bridgewater on Friday, authorities said.

Investigators have followed leads in Massachusetts and other states in the search for Manson Brown, state police said in a statement.

Authorities said today they had developed new information about Brown, who has been described as black, about 5-foot-8, and weighing 145 pounds. While they had previously released a picture of him without glasses, they said today he often wears them. They also noted that he plays chess, works out frequently, and is extremely physically fit. More information is posted on the America's Most Wanted website.

State police asked anyone who sees Brown not to approach him, but to call 911 immediately. Anyone with information about his whereabouts should call the state police at (508) 820-2121, authorities said.

By David Abel, Globe Staff

A Suffolk Superior Court jury found today that Boston Latin School retaliated against a black teacher after he complained that the elite school’s administrators had discriminated against him by stripping him of an advanced class and replacing him with a less-experienced white teacher.

Jurors rejected Jonathan Bonds’ claim that school officials engaged in discrimination. But they awarded him $341,000 for his claim that the school refused to appoint him chairman of its history department in 2006, after he filed a complaint about the class to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.

“I think it’s a very fair outcome,” said Paul Merry , a Boston attorney who represents Bonds. “He thought what happened to him was gross unfairness. We’re very pleased that the jury recognized the unfair treatment that Mr. Bonds received when he was simply asserting his right to protest the loss of his classes.”

School officials said they are considering their options.

“We intend to file further motions for the court's consideration, and therefore have no further comment at this time,” said Matthew F. Wilder, a spokesman for Boston Public Schools.

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By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Republican gubernatorial candidate Charles D. Baker raised more than $500,000 last month, his campaign said today, yet another strong fund-raising haul in his bid to unseat the incumbent Democrat, Governor Deval Patrick.

Baker's campaign said it raised $516,123 during the month, significantly more than any other candidate in the race. Baker, a former health care executive, has raised more than $1.5 million this year from more than 5,000 individual donors.

The announcement comes about a week after Baker announced his running mate, Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei of Wakefield.

"Voters are responding to our campaign for one reason -- Charlie Baker is the only candidate who will stand up for taxpayers and put our fiscal house in order starting on Day One, and he has the record to prove it," campaign manager Lenny Alcivar said in a statement. "Our strong fund-raising this year means the Baker-Tisei team will have the resources we need to win on Election Day and start a turnaround in Massachusetts."

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By Globe Staff

Boston won another partial victory in its ongoing dispute with the US Census Bureau over population estimates, adding more than 11,000 people to the official federal tally for the city.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino

But the city is still fighting to have another almost 10,000 people added to the estimate because it insists that the Census Bureau is improperly calculating Boston’s share of the Suffolk County population. City officials plan to send a letter urging the bureau to correct the alleged error before it begins work on the 2009 population estimates. Each person counted by the census generates about $1,200 in federal funding for Boston, which means the alleged under estimate costs the city roughly $12 million, according to a press release issued this afternoon's by Mayor Thomas M. Menino's office.

"Providing accurate information and analysis is critical to our economic climate. I’m happy to see that the Census Bureau has accepted part of our challenge and revised its population estimate for Boston, but I still believe that our population is even higher," Menino said. "It is critical that we continue to fight for accurate census estimates as we lead up to the 2010 census."

In this most recent revision, the Census Bureau increased its July 2008 population estimate numbers for Boston from 609,023 to 620,535. City officials contend that the true population estimate should be 630,384.

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(Globe file photograph)

By Globe Staff

The Zakim Bridge will be one of more than a dozen urban landmarks illuminated with red lights this evening to honor World AIDS Day.

The Zakim, the widest cable-stayed bridge in the world, will have the bulbs changed in its inner lights from blue to red. The bridge will be bathed in crimson-colored light at dusk for (RED), an organization that raises money to support AIDS programs in Africa. (RED) will reimburse the MassDOT Highway Division for all costs incurred for the lighting.

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By Globe Staff

A Dorchester man who pleaded guilty to drug charges hid his crack cocaine in a Chips Ahoy cookie box, according to a press release issued today by the Suffolk district attorney's office.

(Globe file photograph)

Demetrius Ennis, 27, received a five- to seven-year prison sentence on Monday from Judge Regina Quinlan in Suffolk Superior Court. Ennis pleaded guilty to drug trafficking on Nov. 17 as his trial was set to begin.

Boston police arrested Ennis on Feb. 22, 2005, in a third-floor apartment on Julian Street.

The entire press release from the district attorney's office follows below.

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Governor Deval Patrick

By Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick cleared his scheduled and called in sick today because he is "under the weather," according to aide.

Patrick has not been diagnosed with anything specific, but he felt too ill to come in the office, the aide said.

The governor had been scheduled to attend a groundbreaking for a wind technology testing center in Charlestown, visit the Council on Aging in Quincy, and tour Braintree-Weymouth Landing and other local economic development projects.

By Globe Staff

US Representative Edward J. Markey today will endorse Michael Capuano in his run for Senate, throwing his weight behind his congressional colleague.

US Representative Michael Capuano

Markey is the dean of the Massachusetts delegation and nearly ran himself in the special Senate election to fill the seat vacated by the late Edward M. Kennedy. Markey's formal endorsement of Capuano is scheduled for this afternoon in Malden, where they will be joined by Richard C. Howard, according to a statement issued by Capuano's campaign.

Capuano has received endorsements from six of his nine colleagues in the US House from Massachusetts. Representative Niki Tsongas has endorsed Attorney General Martha Coakley.

Representative William D. Delahunt, a close Kennedy friend, has not endorsed a candidate.

The primary is one week from today. Although the significance of endorsements is a topic of debate, campaigns value them as symbolic seals of approval as well as for their potential to rally supporters on Election Day -- particularly in a special election expected to draw lighter turnout than a typical November contest.

NEW ORLEANS -- Patriots quarterback Tom Brady held his hand to his lips as he walked off the field after New England failed to convert a crucial fourth down in the third quarter on Monday night. The Saints shellacked the Patriots 38-17.

(Jim Davis/Globe Staff)

Ted Gartland, a dayside photo editor at the Globe, has been taking pictures in Greater Boston since 1971. Each weekday, he highlights an outtake that did not appear in the morning paper. To view the work of more Globe photographers, click here. To watch Gartland's weekly segment on NECN, click here.

By David Abel, Globe Staff

PROVIDENCE -- In his first news conference since his war of words with the Catholic bishop of Rhode Island, US Representative Patrick J. Kennedy declined to address the controversy today at a health care forum. 

Kennedy at today's forum. (AP)

“These are personal issues of faith for me,” he said after the forum, held at Brown University. “I’m not going to indulge in this debate anymore. It’s really for me about what my constituents are most interested in now, and that is getting a health care bill passed that helps improve their lives.” 

Earlier this month, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin said he was disappointed that Kennedy had revealed to the Providence Journal that the congressman had been forbidden from receiving communion in Rhode Island because of Kennedy's support of abortion rights. The bishop also said Kennedy, the son of the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy. had prolonged their public feud.  

The bishop told reporters he wrote to Kennedy on Feb. 21, 2007, but intended it to remain confidential because it "sought to provide solely for his spiritual well-being."

After today's forum, Kennedy stuck to the comments he made during the gathering, about the importance of expanding access to health care and reducing the costs of the system. Police removed one person from the audience after he heckled the congressman about his pro-choice position.

“Outside of the one outburst, everyone was most interested in the issues that affect everybody, and the issues that haven’t gotten near the kinds of coverage that this one issue has,” he said. “I think at the end of the day the American people are exhausted by the debate by the extremes. They want to know about what meets their needs and addresses their issues and concerns about quality and coverage, and that at the end of the day affects most people.”

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Three of the four Democratic candidates running for US Senate said this morning that they would firmly oppose a troop increase in Afghanistan that President Obama is expected to outline during a prime-time address Tuesday night.

“It’s about to turn into somehow bringing democracy to Afghanistan, somehow protecting a corrupt regime,” US Representative Michael Capuano said during a forum at Suffolk University Law School. “And I don’t understand why that mission is good. It wasn’t good in Iraq, it won’t be good in Afghanistan, it won’t be good in any place in this world.

“Al Qaeda is no longer in Afghanistan,” Capuano added. “We stay there, we are fighting yesterday’s war. We should go where Al Qaeda is, chase them around the world, not where they were yesterday.”

Attorney General Martha Coakley and City Year co-founder Alan Khazei also said they were against Obama’s proposal to add more troops, and said there was little he could say Tuesday night to convince them.

Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca was the only candidate who left room to support Obama’s strategy, which is expected to include adding 30,000 troops.

“We all need to wait,” Pagliuca said. “The president, I really applaud him. Dick Cheney acted without facts; our president has tried to get the facts. … We’ll comment on the program after he lays it out. I want to get our troops home as quickly as possible but I want to get them home in a safe way.”

The forum was sponsored by the Boston Herald and moderated by the newspaper's editorial page editor, Rachelle Cohen. It was streamed live on the newspaper’s website, with most of the questions coming from a panel that included three Suffolk University students.

Each candidate also spoke of the importance of young voters, saying they should be included in health care coverage, have more funding support to pay for college, and not be forced to deal with a federal deficit in future years.

All four Democrats except Capuano said they support lowering the federal voting age from 18 to 17.

Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

A man who died in State Police custody last week was beaten by as many as 20 police officers during a traffic stop in North Andover, according to the driver who gave a statement to investigators from the Essex County district attorney's office.

The driver was behind the wheel of a truck that stopped at a sobriety checkpoint on Wednesday night. His passenger, Kenneth Howe, was pulled by police out of the truck, beaten, and dragged before he collapsed next to a police cruiser, according to the driver, whose name has not been released. His taped statement was recounted for the Globe by attorney Frances A. King, who represents the Howe family and sat next to the driver when he spoke to investigators on Sunday.

The account from the driver differs sharply with what authorities have said about the death of Howe, 45, of Worcester. In a press release issued by the Essex County district attorney's office, authorities said that Howe was uncooperative when asked to step out of the truck and jumped out the passenger side window, striking a state trooper in the process.

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By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Attorney General Martha Coakley

Attorney General Martha Coakley has been accused of running her US Senate campaign as a front-runner, trying to run out the clock. But now she may be testing out a new strategy: convince voters that the primary is a day later than it actually is.

"I have results," Coakley told reporters this morning following a candidates' forum at Suffolk University. "And that's what I'm asking voters to look at on Dec. 9."

One problem: the primary is actually on Dec. 8.

Coakely had mentioned the real date twice before, and only minutes before she made the slip.

Maybe it's a secret voter-suppression strategy. It could be fatigue from a quick campaign, or she could be speaking to general election voters as if she's already won the primary.

But she's not alone: in a Suffolk University poll taken last month, 93 percent of Democratic voters couldn't remember the exact date of the primary.

Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.

Ted Gartland, a dayside photo editor at the Globe, has been taking pictures in Greater Boston since 1971. Each weekday, he highlights an outtake that did not appear in the morning paper. To view the work of more Globe photographers, click here.

By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent

A Boston police officer was injured today when a driver struck his motorcycle in West Roxbury, police said.

The 30-year-old officer was leading a funeral procession on Corey Street when the crash occurred at 11:22 a.m. at the intersection of Weld Street, according to police and Richard Gormley, director of the Gormley Funeral Home.

Gormley said the officer "laid over the windshield of the car" after the crash. The officer was taken to Brigham and Women's Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. He may have suffered a broken leg, police said.

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By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

US Representative Michael Capuano today criticized one of his chief rivals in the US Senate race for suggesting several years ago that the Patriot Act wouldn’t damage civil liberties, opening a new line of attack against Attorney General Martha Coakley in the final week of the campaign.

Capuano condemned Coakley's public defense of the act as it was being reauthorized in 2005. His campaign circulated comments Coakley made during a June 2005 three-member panel discussion on the legislation at Middlesex Community College.

In a Lowell Sun article headlined "Patriot Act criticized unfairly, law-enforcement officials say," Coakley suggested the threat to civil liberties was being overstated and that those in opposition were ill-informed.

'Your insurance company knows more about you than the federal government does," Coakley was quoted as saying. "When people don't understand how things work, they're willing to say 'Can't do it, won't do it,' and they tie the government's hands."

However in a position paper released earlier this month, Coakley said the Patriot Act "sacrificed some of our most treasured civil liberties." Coakely and her US Senate campaign aides said Capuano was seizing on a single quote taken out of context, and added that she is opposed to the Patriot Act.

"I’ve done that my whole live, protecting people's rights as well as keeping people safe," Coakley told reporters this morning after a candidates' forum at Suffolk University. “I think the criticism is misguided.”

Capuano took out television advertisements earlier in the campaign highlighting his opposition to the legislation, and he continued to do so today.

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