John M. Guilfoil, Globe Correspondent

The man who died Friday afternoon in a motorcycle accident on the ramp from Haymarket Square to the tunnel to Logan International Airport was identified today by State Police as 19-year-old Christopher Maurer of Charlestown.

Around 2:15 p.m., Maurer lost control of his 2003 Honda CBR-600 motorcycle and crashed into a catwalk on the right shoulder of the roadway. He was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital where he later died.

The crash is under investigation by State Police experts.

By John M. Guilfoil, Globe Correspondent

An early morning fire today damaged the roof of Boston Lamb and Veal at Newmarket Square.

An electrical short circuit on the rooftop air conditioners at the meat distributor’s Southampton Street building sparked a two-alarm blaze at about 2:30 a.m., said Steve MacDonald, a Boston Fire Department spokesman.

MacDonald said firefighters were able to douse the fire quickly and limit damage, which he estimated at $200,000, to the roof only.

No one was injured. This latest fire came a day after a seven-alarm blaze destroyed the James Hook & Co. lobster warehouse and thousands of pounds of lobster.

(Photo Courtesy Derek Carter)

Investigators say this signal on the tracks heading toward Woodlands station indicated that the ill-fated trolley should stop for a minute and proceed at a maximum speed of 10 mph.

By Tania deLuzuriaga, Globe Staff

A Green Line trolley that crashed into another trolley from behind on Wednesday in Newton was going nearly 30 miles per hour faster than it should have been going, a federal transportation safety official said today.

A red signal light should have indicated to the train operator, Terrese Edmonds, that she should stop for a minute and then proceed at 10 miles per hour or less, said Kitty Higgins, a National Transportation Safety Board member, who is the spokesman for the team investigating the crash.

But Edmonds's train was racing down the tracks at 37 to 38 miles per hour when it rear-ended the other trolley, which was going 3 to 4 miles per hour, Higgins said.

"The train left Waban (Station) at a rate of speed higher than what would have been authorized," said Higgins. "What we don't know yet is why that happened."

By Jillian Jorgensen, Globe Correspondent

A man died today after he lost control of his motorcycle on the ramp from Haymarket Square leading to the tunnel to Logan International Airport, Massachusetts State Police said.

The man, whose name was not released pending family notification, lost control of his 2003 Honda CBR-600 motorcycle on the ramp around 2:15 p.m. and crashed into a catwalk on the right shoulder.

He was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital where he was later declared dead, police said.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Investigators probing the fatal trolley crash on the Green Line Wednesday have ruled out problems with the trolleys' brakes and problems with the track, but other factors still need further investigation, including the performance of the train operators and dispatcher, a federal transportation safety official said today.

"We've taken the brakes off the table... the track off the table, but the work is really just beginning in some of these other areas," said National Transportation Safety Board member Kitty Higgins, the spokeswoman for the team investigating the crash.

Higgins said a preliminary look also indicated there were no problems with the signal system, but those findings still needed to be confirmed by field testing.

The crash Wednesday evening on the D branch of the Green Line in Newton threw commuters from their seats and killed the operator of the rear trolley, Terrese Edmonds, 24, of Boston.

At a news conference near the crash site this afternoon to update the public on the progress of the investigation, Higgins also said the evidence suggested that Edmonds had not applied the brakes before the crash. Applying brakes leaves a telltale trail of sand on the tracks and investigators could not find such a trail, she said.

She said a small amount of sand had been found that indicated the brakes might have been applied right before the collision.

Based on recording equipment known as "fault loggers" on the two trolleys, Higgins said the speed of the rear trolley was 37 to 38 miles per hour, while the one in front was traveling only 3-4 miles per hour at the time of the collision. The speed limit for trolleys in the area is 40 mph.

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

A landmark wholesale and retail seafood business on Boston's waterfront was destroyed early this morning by a seven-alarm fire, its wood and corrugated metal buildings going up in flames so fast that firefighters stationed across the street immediately called for reinforcements as they began trying to quell the blaze.

The fire at James Hook & Co. had likely been smoldering inside the three buildings for some time before erupting in flames at 3:20 a.m., said Steve MacDonald, a spokesman for the Boston Fire Department. Fire officials have estimated damage at $5 million.

A pillar of smoke rose above the towering office buildings in the Financial District, filling the morning air with a burnt odor that could be detected for miles. The blaze devoured 60,000 pounds of lobster, which was valued at up to $9 a pound.

Edward Hook II told reporters his family plans to restart their business as soon as possible and that "friends'' in the industry have already reached out and offered help.

Just how the business would continue after the fire was an issue the family did not have any real time to focus on today.

After watching since about 4 a.m. as firefighters deluged the building with water, the family was in the parking lot this afternoon watching as cranes were brought in to demolish what was left.

"If I survived the Big Dig, I can survive anything. That was like hand-to-hand combat,'' Edward Hook told reporters. "We will set up a trailer, we will set up a tent. I don't know what we are going to do, but we will find a way. Once this mess is cleaned up, we will find a way.''

There were no reports of injuries. The cause is being investigated by the fire department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, MacDonald said.

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

Mayor Menino has reached out to the Hook family and the city was working today to try and help them start the rebuilding process, said mayor's spokeswoman Dot Joyce.

She said the city would see if they could provide office space at the Marine Industrial Park in South Boston for the Hook family so they could continue to operate their business while they push ahead with rebuilding plans.

Joyce said the mayor is committed to supporting the Hook family and to keeping their business in the downtown neighborhood where they are surrounded by high rise hotels and office buildings. "Hook Lobster is an institution in the city and he wants to help them rebuild,'' Joyce said of the mayor..

It took more than 135 firefighters and a dozen pieces of equipment several hours to knock down the blaze. The battle included firefighters in scuba gear on the harbor-side of the building spraying the flames with seawater. Other crews with hoses worked to keep the blaze from spreading to the adjacent pedestrian bridge.

The blaze forced the closure of Atlantic Avenue from Congress Street to the five-star Boston Harbor Hotel for several hours. By mid-morning the avenue had been reopened, but the Moakley Bridge was still closed to vehicular traffic.

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

WOBURN -- A lawyer for Neil Entwistle argued today that the saturation media coverage of the killing of his wife and infant daughter has left only one place in Massachusetts where his client can get a fair trial: Martha's Vineyard.

But Middlesex Superior Court Judge Diane Kottmyer rejected the request for a change of venue to the island community and another motion arguing that the charges against Entwistle should be dropped altogether because of the intense media coverage.

Attorney Elliot Weinstein said at a hearing this morning that the double murder trial should be moved to the insular community of Edgartown.

"The preceding interest in the case has consumed all media locally, nationally, and internationally," said Weinstein. "There has not been any reporting that concludes anything but that Neil Entwistle committed these brutal murders."

But a Middlesex prosecutor argued successfully that Entwistle could receive a fair trial in Middlesex County and said pretrial publicity wasn't in itself a reason to dismiss the charges.

By Erin S. Ailworth, Globe Staff

Hundreds of residents of the high-end Peabody apartment complex evacuated last night following a massive fire in one of the buildings may be allowed back into their homes today, city and management company officials said today at a meeting at City Hall.

"Most of you will be able to get back into your units this afternoon," Spencer Welton, an official at Simpson Housing, an arm of the company that manages the Highlands at Dearborn complex, told a large group of residents.

Residents were asked to call a hotline at 978-535-3994 to check the status of their buildings.

The 18-building complex was completely evacuated late last night, while firefighters battled a blaze that burned Building 8 -- which contained 36 units -- to the ground. About 750 people were temporarily displaced.

At the meeting this afternoon, some residents questioned whether it was safe to return home, while others asked repeatedly how to locate missing pets or get their hands on necessary medications.

(Pool Photo)

Papapietro meeting with Perry today.

By David Abel and James Vaznis, Globe Staff

A 19-year-old Sudbury man who is an intern with the Red Sox is being praised today for comforting a woman who was trapped in the twisted wreckage of a trolley during Wednesday's crash on the Green Line in Newton.

Ben Papapietro, a sophomore at the University of Arizona, is credited with helping Min Perry, 37, of Wellesley, who was sitting in the seat behind trolley driver Terrese Edmonds, the lone fatality in the crash.

Papapietro can be heard comforting Perry on a 911 tape released today by the MBTA Transit Police.

"You're fine. You're going to be fine, I promise," Papapietro tells Perry.

Papapietro said he was in the rear car of the two-car trolley that slammed into the back of another trolley. He said he ran out, but heard screaming and ran back in.

"I didn't want her to die. It was the most helpless feeling in my life," he said today in an interview at Transit Police headquarters.

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

US Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Somma, who resigned after his arrest on a drunken driving charge in February and then tried to rescind his resignation, will not be coming back, federal court officials said this afternoon.

"The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and Judge Robert Somma have agreed that he will not resume service on the United States Bankruptcy Court for Massachusetts but is leaving to pursue other endeavors," the Office of the Circuit Executive said in a one-paragraph statement. "The court appreciates the service that Judge Somma has rendered."

Somma's case generated headlines because he was wearing a dress when he was arrested in Manchester, N.H., on Feb. 6. He was supposed to resign as of May 15.

But Somma expressed second thoughts in a letter to Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly posted online April 1, and more than 200 bankruptcy lawyers signed a letter urging the court to let him return.

Over the past two weeks, neither the circuit executive's office nor Somma's lawyer would discuss his status or even say whether he was still a judge.

Asked this afternoon about the terms of the agreement, Susan Goldberg, deputy circuit executive, said in an e-mail message that both sides had "come to an understanding that is agreeable to the court and to Judge Somma." She gave no further details.

Somma’s lawyer, Robert B. Carpenter, said he could not comment on the agreement and that "we may have our own statement to come out next week." He declined to elaborate.

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

A 200-pound black bear was shot and killed by state Environmental Police near Interstate 290 in Worcester during rush hour this morning, officials said.

Worcester Police called the Environmental Police around 7 a.m. to report the bear near a factory complex near I-290.

By the time Environmental Police arrived, the bear had moved to a triangle of woods surrounded by I-290, Route 12, and the ramp connecting the two.

By Globe Staff

A 23-year-old Boston man who was shot in the arm by police on Boston Common Thursday faces an assault with a dangerous weapon charge, police said today.

Shawn Craig pointed what appeared to be a gun in the direction of an officer who had chased him on foot through the urban park at about 6:47 p.m., police said this morning. The officer ordered Craig to drop the gun and he refused. The officer then fired.

It turned out that the weapon was a pellet gun that was a replica of a semi-automatic pistol, police said in a statement.

Craig was taken to Boston Medical Center and arrested on an outstanding warrant on a drug charge. Police said they would also charge him with assault with a dangerous weapon and other charges.

The shooting is being probed by the department's firearm discharge investigative team and the Suffolk district attorney's office. The officer is out injured until medically cleared to return to duty, police said.

By Jillian Jorgensen and Sarah Gantz, Globe Correspondents

Boston Police say an officer shot a man in the arm on Boston Common this evening after he pointed what appeared to be a gun at police.

The man was brandishing a replica of a black semi-automatic handgun, Superintendent Bruce Holloway said at a news conference.

Police and probation officers were in the area conducting "threshold inquiries" -- interviewing people who seemed as if they might be involved in criminal activity, Officer Eddy Chrispin, a police spokesman, said.

During an interview at around 6:45 p.m., the man ran away, Holloway said.

Police ordered him to stop, but he did not. Then he turned around with what appeared to be a gun in his hand. Police told him to drop it and he did not. An officer shot the man, Holloway said.

The man was transported to Boston Medical Center with a non-life-threatening wound to his arm, Chrispin said.

The shooting happened at a time when the urban park was busy with people heading home from work or heading out on the town.

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

She wanted to pursue a career in accounting, and driving a Green Line trolley for the MBTA was a way to get there. The job paid well and gave her flexible hours, so she could attend classes at Roxbury Community College.

Terrese Edmonds

‘‘She’s one of the best drivers I’ve ever known,’’ said Alison Crumb, a 24-year-old cousin whom Edmonds picked up and drove back from Temple University in Philadelphia on Saturday. ‘‘I don’t know what happened there. The girl could drive.’’

As federal investigators tried to determine what caused the crash, Edmonds’ relatives and friends consoled one another with recollections of a funny, outgoing woman who worked hard to make a better life for herself.

Edmonds, 24, lived in the apartment where she grew up with an older brother, an older sister, and her mother in a circular complex in Roxbury. She was also close to her father, Terry Jones, who lives in the neighborhood. As a child, she played hopscotch, four square, and hide-and-seek with her siblings and cousins in the complex’s courtyard. Among friends, she was known for cracking jokes.

‘‘She could find comedy in everything,’’ Crumb said. ‘‘When we were young, we would tell her, ‘Stop laughing! What are you laughing at?’’’

Edmonds went to Agassiz Elementary School in Jamaica Plain, Wilson Middle School in Dorchester and Lewis Middle School in Roxbury. She went on to South Boston High School but dropped out in 10th grade.

(Jonathon Whitmore for The Boston Globe)

Watching the blaze from a safe vantage point.

By Erin S. Ailworth, Globe Staff

A four-alarm fire engulfed a luxury apartment building near the intersection of Route 1 and Route 128 in Peabody this afternoon. No injuries were reported, but all the buildings in the surrounding complex were ordered evacuated for the night, displacing 900 to 1,000 people, fire officials said.

The fire, whipped by the wind, raced through a 26-unit building at the Highlands at Dearborn complex as firefighters struggled with water pressure problems, said Fire Chief Steven Pasdon.

Pasdon said no cause had been officially determined for the blaze, but fire officials were investigating whether it had been caused by a natural gas leak.

Orange flames whipped by the wind could be seen tearing through the building late this afternoon. A blizzard of ashes flew through the air, sometimes igniting small fires in the mulch used to landscape the grounds. Black smoke billowed, while firefighters trained a hose on the blaze.

Ben Bellucci pointed to the burned-out top level of the building and said, "That's my bedroom right there. It's where you can see right through."

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

American Airlines today agreed to drop a controversial $2-per-bag fee for curbside check-in service at airports throughout the country and to lift a ban on tips for skycaps at Logan International Airport in the face of public criticism and lawsuits.

In exchange, American skycaps at Logan agreed to drop a federal claim accusing the airline of imposing the tips ban on May 1 in retaliation for their recent victory in a lawsuit. On April 7, a jury in US District Court in Boston awarded a group of nine skycaps more than $325,000 for tips they lost when the airline implemented the curbside baggage fee in September 2005.

The agreement, which lawyers for both sides hashed out in the corridor of the federal courthouse to avoid a court hearing on the tips ban, buoyed several skycaps who claimed their income has plunged both because of the $2 baggage fee and the prohibition on gratuities.

"I feel vindicated," said Don DiFiore, an American skycap at Logan since 1983. "We've gotten rid of the $2-a-bag charge and we're going to have some language on the sign [at the curb] saying tipping is allowed now."

By Globe Staff

Here's the transcript of the emergency call made by a Newton resident after Wednesday's fatal trolley crash on the D Line:

Dispatcher: 911, this call's recorded

Caller: Yes, I have an emergency behind my house. The train, it hit somebody, another train, and there's a fire started

Dispatcher: A train? What's the address you're calling me ...

Caller: Dorset Road. It's right behind my house. The T is on fire, the Green Line, the D line

Dispatcher: The D line's on fire?

Caller: Yes, yes, and there are people hurt.

Dispatcher: And two trains collided?

Caller: Yes, two trains collided and …Hurry up, people are hurt.

(Scripps National Spelling Bee)

By Globe Staff

Two Massachusetts spellers made it to the quarterfinals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee today.

Mallika Govindan of Lancaster, a 14-year-old eighth-grader at Luther Burbank Middle School, and Akshat Shekhar of West Roxbury, a 12-year-old eighth-grader at Roxbury Latin School, advanced, a spelling bee spokesman said.

In the quarterfinals, Govindan incorrectly spelled "pergola," a type of arbor, while Shekhar correctly spelled "regelate," a scientific term for the refreezing of ice, according to results posted on the spelling bee Web site.

About 100 people will participate in the quarterfinals, which are being aired this afternoon on ESPN360.com. Forty to 50 will advance to the semifinals, which begin Friday morning, and about a dozen will compete in the finals Friday night, said Greg Touney, a staff member on the press desk of the bee.

By Noah Bierman, Ralph Ranalli, and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

NEWTON -- Investigators have begun their probe into Wednesday's fatal trolley crash on the Green Line in Newton by examining the signals along the track, taking measurements, and seeking documentation from various sources, a federal safety official said this afternoon.

A team from the National Transportation Safety Board expects to begin interviewing people involved in the crash tomorrow, said Kitty Higgins, a safety board member who is being joined by 11 other investigators at the site.

"Our job here is to work with MBTA officials and others to determine what caused this accident and to then form recommendations that will help to prevent similar accidents from happening in the future," Higgins said at a news conference today in Newton.

The crash just before 6 p.m. yesterday on the D branch between the Waban and Woodland stations threw commuters from their seats and killed an MBTA operator. Officials say one trolley rear-ended another.

The investigators will look at a variety of factors, including the signals, the track, the trolleys, and "human performance," Higgins said.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will not release any information about the operator killed in the crash, said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo. The father of the operator identified her as Terrese Edmonds, 24, of Boston, who had been on the job since August. Rescuers early this morning extricated her body from the wreckage about seven hours after the crash. A medical examiner had declared her dead at the scene.

Earlier, Terry Jones recalled how he used to bring his daughter lunches during her break, saying: "She loves the T. She said she was having a lot of fun and meeting a lot of interesting people."

Higgins said 180 to 200 passengers were aboard the two trolleys at the time of the crash. She said she didn't know the speed of the trolleys, but the limit in the area is 40 m.p.h. The damaged trolley will be moved from the tracks so it can be examined, she said.

"If there's any need for an immediate corrective action, we willl certainly be making those recommendations to the MBTA," Higgins said, reassuring riders that the system is safe.

"This is an accident that's a very rare occurrence. I think people should have confidence in the system," she said. She also said that the emergency response by local police and fire departments was "very good."

By Globe Staff

A woman who lives in the Newton neighborhood where two Green Line trolleys crashed Wednesday made a frantic call to Newton police, telling them two trains had "smashed together" and "people are very hurt."

"I have an emergency behind my house. A train hit somebody -- another train -- and there's a fire started," she said in a two-minute 911 tape released today by the Newton police.

"Hurry up, people are hurt," she said.

The dispatcher who answered the phone assured her that he was sending help and tried to get more information from her on the number of people injured.

"I'm going to start people over, ma'am. I want you to stay on the phone there," he said.

She then took a cordless phone and tried for a closer look, reporting a few seconds later, "Wow, it's bad."

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

A 40-year-old donkey named Genevieve was struck and killed early this morning by a car on Route 6A after it escaped from a farm in East Sandwich.

Dick Loring kept Genevieve as a pet at Wingscorton Farm, which is on Route 6A a few hundred feet from where Genevieve was struck. Sandwich police called Loring at 1 a.m. and broke the news.

“It was so sad," Loring said in a telephone interview. “She was just a little love.”

By Noah Bierman, Ralph Ranalli, and James Vaznis, Globe Staff

A trolley car on the D branch of the Green Line in Newton smashed into another car from behind this afternoon, injuring multiple people. The operator of one of the trolleys was trapped and died, her father told the Globe this evening.

The operator was Terrese Edmonds of South Boston, said her father, Terry Jones. Edmonds, 24, had been on the job since August, he said.

"My daughter died. I'm sorry I have to go," he said in a brief telephone interview.

MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said one two-car trolley rear-ended the second as both headed westbound, away from Boston. Both cars were derailed by the crash.

The collision occurred at about 6 p.m. on the way into the Woodland station. The trolley that was rear-ended was just emerging from a scheduled stop-light when it was hit from behind, he said. The operator who was trapped was the one in the trolley in the rear, Pesaturo said.

Six people were taken to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, one was Medflighted to Boston Medical Center, and five were treated and released at the scene, said Pesaturo.

Frank Lam, 41, of Natick was commuting home from his computer job in the frontmost trolley.

"Basically, what happened is we were at a stop, and we just got plowed into by second train," he said.

He said a few people were thrown around at the time of the impact, but "for the most part everybody was able to walk off the train."

He said he went to the trolley behind to see if he could help and found one woman trapped but conscious, "wedged into a corner," and then went out to the front of the trolley and saw through an opening a blue shirt that appeared to belong to the train operator.

"All I saw was a T blue shirt. It looked like her back or something," he said.

Aerial pictures of the scene shown by local TV stations showed smashed trolley cars, rescue vehicles clustering at the scene, and injured people being placed on stretchers.

The footage also showed rescue workers gathering around the front of one smashed car.

(Charles Krupa/Globe Staff)

Shanley listened intently during his 2005 trial.

By Globe Staff

Defrocked priest Paul R. Shanley, a notorious figure in the clergy sex abuse scandal who was convicted in 2005 on rape and sexual assault charges, has filed a motion for a new trial, the Middlesex district attorney's office said today.

A hearing on the motion is slated for tomorrow afternoon in Suffolk Superior Court, prosecutors said.

Shanley was convicted in February 2005 in Middlesex Superior Court of raping and fondling a Sunday school student in the 1980s. He was sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

A gas station employee carrying tens of thousands of dollars in cash was pepper-sprayed and robbed this morning as he walked towards a Saugus bank to make a deposit, police said.

As the victim passed a white van in the parking lot of the Sovereign Bank on Route 1, two men allegedly opened the van's doors, sprayed him, and stole his bag, which contained deposits from several area gas stations, said Saugus Detective Lieutenant Domenic DiMella. DiMella said the amount of cash totaled in the "six figures."

One suspect was an older white man with grey hair and an athletic, stocky build; the other was a white man wearing a mask, DiMella said. Police have not released information about the identity of the victim.

By Globe Staff

Cambridge firefighters are battling a three-alarm fire on Amory Street.

The blaze broke out around 3 p.m. and quickly went to three alarms.

No injuries are reported, but the flames can be seen for several miles around the Boston area.

No further information was immediately available.

By Globe Staff

A 20-year-old man was shot to death in Dorchester this afternoon, Boston police said.

The victim was found on Bowdoin Street at about 1.40 p.m., suffering from at least one gunshot wound, Boston Police spokesman James Kenneally said.

No suspects have been arrested. It's the 24th homicide in Boston this year, the same number as the same time last year, officials said.

By Globe Staff

Veterans returning from serving in Afghanistan and Iraq who want to attend the University of Massachusetts would get $8,000 taken off their fees under a proposal approved today by a committee of the university's board of trustees.

The veterans would get $2,000 in fees waived annually for up to four years, the trustees' administration and finance committee voted this morning. Veterans already don't have to pay tuition. The new break would result, for example, in a reduction of about $3,700 in the $10,232 in annual tuition and fees at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

The fee-waiver proposal must now be voted on by the university's full board at its June 12 meeting at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.

Robert J. Manning, chairman of the trustees, said he was pleased with the committee's unanimous vote.

"The least we can do for those who have served our country in combat zones is to honor their service and support their desire to pursue a degree," he said in a statement.

By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff

Representative Edward J. Markey, the chairman of the special House committee on global warming, today unveiled sweeping legislation to cut greenhouse gas emissions and raise billions of dollars to create alternative sources of energy.

The bill - the culmination of more than 40 hearings by Markey's committee - marks the starting point for a new legislative battle against global warming, a centerpiece of congressional Democrats' agenda for the immediate future.

(Taser International Photo)

A shocking picture: a sample of a Taser.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

In the wake of a police shooting of a knife-wielding man, city officials in New Bedford are discussing equipping police with Tasers, the electric shock dart gun intended to offer officers a nonlethal alternative to dealing with threatening suspects.

Councilor Brian Gomes, who is pushing the proposal, said he wasn't criticizing the handling of the recent shooting -- he simply wanted to give police "the tools they need in this 21st century." Gomes said he had raised the idea once before, in 2006.

Gomes said the council would be meeting with city administrators and the police department to talk about providing officers with Tasers and another device, the beanbag shotgun.

Deputy Police Chief David Provencher had no comment on the incident in which the man was fatally shot and said it would be "entirely inappropriate" to discuss the new weapons in that context.

But he also said the department was open to the idea of arming officers with Tasers.

He said one key obstacle was the city's tight finances. He also said people should recognize that the device is not the panacea for "all the world's problems."

"It's another tool. It has its pros and it has its cons," he said.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

Two seniors at West Roxbury High School were taken to the hospital this morning after spilling sulfuric acid in a classroom experiment, a school spokesman said.

The seniors were wearing goggles and protective equipment when they accidentally spilled sulfuric acid onto themselves at 9:15 a.m., said Jonathan Palumbo, a spokesman for Boston Public Schools.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Saying public confidence in law enforcement must be protected, the state’s highest court today ruled that police officers can be forced to take lie detector tests when subjected to internal department investigations.

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled against Plymouth Police Officer Kevin J. Furtado, who was accused in 1999 of sexually abusing two minor children.

The mother of the children publicly declared the allegation to be unfounded. And Plymouth County prosecutors decided against bringing criminal charges. But Furtado then became the target of an internal police investigation. During that probe, he refused to take a lie detector test, citing state law that bans employers from pressuring workers to undergo testing.

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

A car and a truck collided this morning on the westbound Massachusetts Turnpike in Newton, backing up traffic for miles, State Police said.

Only the left lane is open after the crash at 7:30 near Exit 17, said Trooper Thomas Murphy, a State Police spokesman. It was not clear whether anyone was injured.

(Essdras M. Suarez/Globe Staff)

Hirsch at Boston Medical Center in 2006.

By Bryan Marquard, Globe Staff

Nearly 20 years ago, when Elaine Ullian was head of Faulkner Hospital, she got an inkling of the high regard with which Dr. Erwin Hirsch was held across the country.

"I was recruiting a surgeon and he said, 'It will be fun to come to Boston because the best trauma leader in the world is Erwin Hirsch and I'll get to see him,'" Ullian, now president and CEO of Boston Medical Center, said today. "Erwin had rock star quality in the trauma community -- he really was a rock star. And he would be very amused to hear me say he was a rock star. He would giggle."

Drawing lessons from a life that spanned three continents and vast changes in the medical field, Dr. Hirsch spent more than three decades turning Boston City Hospital and its successor, Boston Medical Center, into the city's premier trauma center, all the while training physicians who used the knowledge he shared in careers throughout the country.

Dr. Hirsch, who was 72 when he drowned Friday in a boating accident in Rockport, Maine, "was iconic," Ullian said. "I cannot think of anybody at this medical center who was held in the same esteem that Erwin Hirsch was."

"He had an impact not only at the Boston Medical Center, but also on how trauma is practiced in the city and in the state as well -- and in the country, it would not be unfair to say," said Dr. Peter A. Burke, chief of surgical critical care at Boston Medical Center. "He had a national reputation as a person with an enormous amount of experience. Trauma, unlike other specialties, is something that requires experience because no trauma is alike and you're always dealing with the unknown, really."

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

Two subway stations were evacuated this afternoon and commuters were asked to use shuttle buses after an electrical fire on the Red Line tracks near the Downtown Crossing station, authorities said.

The fire started at about 5:20 when a 600-volt power cable short-circuited in a tunnel just outside the station. Smoke filled that station and the Park Street station, prompting their evacuation.

The stations were reopened about two hours later after firefighters extinguished the blaze and used exhaust fans to vent smoke out of the tunnel.

No one was injured in the fire or its aftermath, MacDonald said.

Globe Correspondent Marc Robins contributed to this report.

By Eric Moskowitz Globe Staff

A Boston firefighter who was allegedly snared in a prostitution sting pleaded not guilty today in Roxbury District Court to a charge of soliciting sex for a fee.

Collin M. Herelle was ordered to stay away from the Blue Hill Avenue area and to participate in a program for individuals engaged in high-risk behavior, a standard condition in sex-for-fee cases, Suffolk County prosecutors said. A pretrial hearing was slated for July 9.

Herelle's attorney, Matthew Machera, didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.

Boston Police have said that an officer disguised as a prostitute was standing at a public parking lot near Blue Hill Avenue and La Grange Place at about 10:50 p.m. Friday when Herelle pulled up in his white Cadillac and offered $29 for a sex act, according to police. The undercover officer signaled to other officers nearby, who moved in and arrested Herelle.

Herelle, who is 44, lives in Dorchester. A veteran of six years with the department, he is assigned to Engine 4 on Cambridge Street in downtown Boston. City records show that Herelle earned nearly $98,000 in gross pay last year.

Fire department spokesman Steve MacDonald said Herelle has worked several shifts since his arrest and has reported his arrest to his superiors. "He will keep the department informed of his court case, including what the final disposition is,'' MacDonald said. "At that time, the department will review it to see if any action is warranted.''

By Globe Staff

Strong thunderstorms are sweeping through Massachusetts this afternoon, knocking down tree branches and power lines, forecasters at the National Weather Service say.

Reports are flowing into the weather service of damage from wind gusts and lightning strikes.

Fire officials in Bedford said lightning ignited a fire at a home on South Street. The blaze was quickly extinguished and no injuries were reported.

Massport reported some weather-related delays at Logan International Airport, particularly on flights traveling betweeen Boston, New York City, and Newark, N.J.

The MBTA reported 15- to 20-minute delays on the Framingham/Worcester commuter rail line after lightning struck a signal tower.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch will be in effect until 8 p.m, forecasters said.

Meteorologist Bill Simpson said a strong cold front was moving into the area that would lower temperatures from the 80s at midday to the 40s tonight in most of the state.

Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.

By Globe Staff

The Gloucester woman who crashed her car into actress Sandra Bullock's SUV last month pleaded guilty today to drunken driving and failing to stay within marked lanes, Essex prosecutors said.

Lucile Gatchell, 64, was placed on probation for a year. Gloucester District Court Judge Joseph Jennings also ordered her to complete an alcohol safety program. Her license will also be suspended for 60 days.

Prosecutors said Gatchell drove her gray station wagon across the center line on East Main Street in Gloucester at about 9:50 p.m. on April 18, smashing into the car containing Bullock, her husband, Jesse James, and their driver. Nobody was injured in the incident, the Essex district attorney's office said in a statement.

Gatchell's attorney, Benjamin Richard, didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.

By Globe Staff

The 24-year-old woman killed in a two-alarm fire in Norwood was identified today as Lauren Ayala, according to a release from the Norfolk District Attorney's office.

Ayala was killed when the blaze tore through her family's Tremont Street home Monday night. She was rushed to Caritas Norwood Hospital after being removed from the first floor of the two-story building. Officials said Ayala was the only one home when the fire erupted at 7 p.m.

The state medical examiner plans to conduct an autopsy, which could be completed as soon as this afternoon. The state fire marshal, state police, and local authorities are trying to determine what caused the fire.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

An Amtrak Acela Express train hit a person on the tracks near the Attleboro commuter rail station, a railroad spokesman said. The extent of the person's injuries wasn't released.

The train was traveling in an area with a speed limit of 150 miles per hour at about 1:30 p.m., said Cliff Cole, an Amtrak spokesman. Someone at the scene loaded the person into their vehicle and took the injured person to an area hospital, authorities said.

Neither Amtrak nor Attleboro Police released any information about the victim's identity or injuries.

No one on the Boston-bound train, which was carrying 132 passengers, was injured, but the train was delayed for about a half hour, Cole said.

(Globe file photo/2002)

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

News flash: Many Massachusetts drivers do not know the most basic rules of the road.

Bigger news flash: Drivers in New York and New Jersey know even less about how to drive.

That's according to a 50-state survey by GMAC Insurance that found that 16.4 percent of drivers on the road -- roughly 33 million people -- would fail a written drivers test. The poll, which questioned 5,524 licensed drivers, is a marketing tool used by GMAC, the St. Louis-based insurance company.

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The special interest group that descended on Beacon Hill today packed the tools of their trade: dental picks, mouth mirrors, tongue cleaners, floss, toothpaste, and old-fashioned brushes. Their hands-on lobbying technique will go straight to the mouths of lawmakers, who will tip their heads back, drop their jaws, and be told to "open wider."

Globe file photo

In addition to the free exams, dental hygienists will hand out toothbrushes and toothpaste and host a raffle for an Oral B Triumph Smart Guide Toothbrush, which retails for $120.

By Globe Staff

A Lynn police officer early this morning shot and killed a knife-wielding man who advanced toward him and ignored warnings to stop and drop his weapon, prosecutors said.

The Essex district attorney's office gave this account, in a statement released today, of the confrontation that led to the shooting of Michael Addesa, 34, of East Boston:

The officer spotted Addesa acting suspiciously at about 2:20 a.m. at the intersection of Commercial and Alley Streets.

The officer, whose name wasn't released, got out of his car and ordered Addesa to stop. The officer pursued Addesa on foot, down Alley Street. Addesa stopped and confronted the officer with a knife. The officer ordered him to drop it, but he refused and advanced toward the officer.

By Jonathan Saltzman and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. -- Congressman Patrick Kennedy made his first public appearance today in his district since his father's diagnosis with brain cancer, striking an upbeat tone as he described how his storied family has consistently overcome dire diseases.

AP file photo

The Democratic congressman's sister, Kara Kennedy, beat inoperable lung cancer. His mother, Joan B. Kennedy, was treated for breast cancer in 2005. His brother, Edward Kennedy Jr., lost a leg to bone cancer in 1973 when he was 12 years old. Even Patrick Kennedy himself had a brush with mortality when he had a noncancerous tumor removed from his spine in 1988.

Now doctors have told the congressman that his father, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, has a malignant brain tumor.

"All I can say is that when my brother was first diagnosed, they gave him very little hope," Patrick Kennedy said. "But my father gave him all the hope in the world. My brother is alive and well today and has beautiful children."

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

The Supreme Judicial Court today refused to referee one part of the continuing struggle between local governments and the state over the controversial 40B affordable housing law.

The state's highest court concluded in two cases involving the towns of Hingham and Wrentham that the communities, developers, and the state must search for agreement in the administrative arena before turning to the courts to resolve the issues.

"This case is not one of the rare cases that warrants an exception to the exhaustion requirement,'' wrote Justice Roderick I. Ireland in the Hingham case.

And for Wrentham, Ireland wrote, "the town has failed to exhaust its administrative remedies.''

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

The Supreme Judicial Court today upheld Michael T. Burnham's first-degree murder conviction for fatally injuring a 22-month-old girl by stomping on her stomach in 1985, a killing that went unsolved for 17 years.

Burnham was convicted in Plymouth Superior Court in Brockton in 2005 and was sentenced to the mandatory life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. In an unanimous decision written by Justice Francis X. Spina, the court rejected defense arguments that it was the failure of Margaret A. Earle to get her daughter, Rachelle Pelletier, to a hospital that caused her death.

By Danielle Capalbo, Globe Correspondent

A 25-year-old man sustained a serious head injury today while working on a container ship about 300 miles off the coast of Nantucket and was rushed to a Boston hospital by a Coast Guard helicopter, a spokeswoman said.

The man's identity is not known, said Petty Officer Etta Smith. He was working on the water evaporator of the MSC Bali when he was injured.

Crewmembers contacted the Coast Guard around 10 a.m., and a helicopter arrived from Cape Cod almost two hours later to hoist the man off the ship and fly him to Massachusetts General Hospital.

His condition was unknown late yesterday afternoon, Smith said. The cargo ship was traveling from Philadelphia to Antwerp, Belgium.

By John Guilfoil, Globe Correspondent

One person was killed in a single-car crash on Route 20 eastbound in Brimfield at about noon today.

The driver of a 1998 Ford Windstar minivan lost control and rolled over off the right side of the road, State Police said.

The driver, whose name has not been released pending family notification, was not wearing a seat belt. The driver was ejected from the van, pinned underneath it, and pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Police are investigating the cause of the crash.

By Danielle Capalbo, Globe Correspondent

Thirteen people were arrested for drunken driving during a five-hour sobriety checkpoint in Yarmouth, police said. Police also arrested one driver for being a wanted Level 3 sex offender and another for illegal drug possession.

The checkpoint manned by Dennis, Yarmouth and State Police on Route 28 stopped 400 cars between 8:30 p.m. Friday and 1:30 a.m. today.

Yarmouth Police said the idea was to reduce accidents and protect Cape residents and tourists during the holiday weekend. State police said earlier this week that checkpoints were also planned in Essex and Worcester counties this weekend.

By Maria Cramer, Shelley Murphy, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

GARDNER -- A 6-month-old boy who had been snatched from his crib in the middle of the night in Gardner was found nine hours later hidden in the trunk of a broken-down car.

Paul Baez Jr.

The child, Paul Baez Jr., spent about two hours inside the trunk wearing only a diaper, officials said. He was rushed to Heywood Hospital and is in good condition.

"This was not a joke," Early said. "We averted a real tragedy."

Authorities described Bisceglia as a friend of the 20-year-old Sterrett, but would not say why he allegedly took the child.

"Through his statement, we know he was the one that had taken the child," Early said. "That's all I can say at this point."

By Jillian Jorgensen, Globe Staff

A Roxbury man was convicted of shooting his neighbor to death in 2006 after a night of drinking and smoking marijuana, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office announced today.

Akiel Civil, 23, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and unlawful possession of a firearm for shooting his neighbor, Kevin Hines, also 23, in the back of the head when the man was visiting Civil's apartment on Nov. 3, 2006.

Prosecutors said Civil had spent the night drinking, dancing and smoking marijuana with a female friend and later another man, Rahsaan Lashley, 22, of Dorchester, in Civil’s Georgia Street apartment. Civil allegedly showed them a revolver he kept in his bureau twice that evening.

Remarks by Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey today at Boston College Law School's commencement.

Thank you, Dean Garvey. 

Distinguished faculty and guests; parents, families and friends of the graduates; and members of the class of 2008:

I am grateful for the invitation to deliver this year’s commencement address at this distinguished school. Boston College Law School has a history of inviting commencement speakers who reflect diverse views on important legal and public policy issues. Of course, this has meant speakers with whom some faculty members and students have strongly disagreed – including, most recently, me. That history is consistent with what elevates American legal education above mere indoctrination and makes it worthy of being called higher education; that history includes a hearty welcome to open discourse on vital questions of the day.  

Many of those questions in today’s world revolve around the terrorist threat to the civilization we all treasure. It should be no surprise that questions about how we should confront that threat have generated vigorous debate at this law school, and at others around the country. Those questions are among the most complex and consequential that a democratic government can face. How we as a nation should seek to protect ourselves; whether the steps we take are proportional to the threat and consistent with our history and principles; where the legal lines are in this new and very different conflict; and, as a matter of policy, how close to those legal lines we should go, and whether the lines themselves should be redrawn – these are questions that, understandably, trigger passionate debate.

Whether or not you pursue national security law as a vocation, and whether or not you go into other kinds of public service, all of you, as lawyers, will have a special role in that debate – as you will in many others. Not only because, as Alexis de Tocqueville famously observed, political questions in the United States often turn into legal questions. But also because, as lawyers, you have developed a set of tools that enable you – and assumed a set of commitments that require you – to conduct dispassionate and reasoned analysis, to distinguish what is legally relevant from what is not and, most important, to separate what are legal questions from what are political questions.

(Courtesy of Goldsmiths 3)

Just relaxing at home with the kids.

By Globe Staff

It's a reality show of a kind, an inside look into into the lives of a mother and her restless, clamoring children. And it all takes place inside a window box in front of a Concord jewelry shop.

The owners of the shop, Goldsmiths 3, noticed in April that the mother duck had built her nest and laid eggs. They set up a webcam and began broadcasting the doings in the nest to the world. The webcam refreshes the images every 15 second.

In recent days, the 24/7 show has taken a twist. A bunch of ducklings have been born and have been bustling around the nest.

By Andrea Estes, Globe Staff

Massachusetts Turnpike Authority officials this week notified six employees that their jobs are being eliminated in a cost-cutting move.

The union workers, who include a paralegal, a motor pool driver and staffers in the finance department, have not been terminated yet, said Turnpike officials, who refused to release their names. Under their union contract, officials said, the employees may have bumping rights, entitling them to a different job at the cash-strapped agency.

But eventually, said Turnpike Authority executive director Alan LeBovidge, six positions will be cut from the payroll.

Those targeted by the cuts on Thursday were given the option of continuing to work while officials negotiate with the Steelworkers Union over the cutbacks, or taking a three-week paid leave of absence.

(Globe File Photo)

Sciortino in his district in 2004.

By Frank Phillips, Globe Staff

State Representative Carl M. Sciortino Jr. says his nomination papers were sitting on his State House desk in late April. But by early May, they were gone -- stolen, Sciortino contends, in an apparent act of political skulduggery.

But today, a state Superior Court judge was not buying his excuse.

Judge Linda E. Giles denied the Medford Democrat's request that he appear on the September primary ballot even without the 150 voter nomination signatures required to qualify.

Sciortino had kept papers with 72 voter signatures in his unlocked, basement office of the State House. Giles noted in her ruling that he presented no evidence they were stolen.

'''The court is not unsympathetic to the plight of Sciortino, the apparent victim of innocent, very human inadvertence,'' Giles said. ''Nevertheless, the duty to keep one's important nomination papers safe and reproduced photostatically is not onerous.''

In other words: if your political opponents ate your homework, too bad.

Sciortino said yesterday he will continue to pursue his case in court, noting that Giles' ruling was merely a rejection of his request for immediate relief, not of his entire case.

''It is a setback, but not a closed door yet,'' Sciortino said of his failure to get an immediate injunction in his favor.

(Yoon S. Byun/Globe Staff)

Cornelia Sullivan and Alice Kast of Boston, and Christina Abbey of Revere protested at Attorney General Michael Mukasey's commencement speech at Boston College Law School. "We don't think someone who is so 'wishy-washy' on law is a good role model for lawyers," said Abbey.

By Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff

NEWTON -- With protesters gathered outside Boston College Law School, US Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey urged graduates yesterday not to shy away from difficult choices, including ones that challenge their ethics or lead to "relentless public criticism."

"A lawyer's principal duty is to advise his client as to what the best reading of the law is," Mukasy said. "If you do your job well, there will be times when you will have to advise clients that the law prohibits them from doing things that they want to do, or that might even be, in your view, the right thing to do. And there will be times when you will have to advise clients that the law permits them to take actions that you may find imprudent or even wrong."

Mukasey also defended former government lawyers who drew up the legal basis of the Bush administration's use of harsh interrogation methods against suspects in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, saying they should not be held liable or face criminal charges. Some of the lawyers are facing civil lawsuits, including former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo, who worked in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel from 2001-2003.

Outside the commencement, about 25 people rallied against Mukasy's silence on the national debate over what constitutes torture.

At his confirmation hearings last fall, Mukasey refused to say whether he thought waterboarding, a simulated drowning technique the CIA uses on detainees, is legal. The protesters yesterday wore orange prison jumpsuits, like the type military detainees wear, to draw attention to what they say is the the use of torture by the United States.

By Globe Staff

Turn off that spam filter. Check that inbox. You've got mail -- and if you're an observant Catholic you'll probably want to open it.

Cardinal Sean O'Malley announced today he would reach out through cyberspace to Catholics throughout the region via a weekly email.

The initial message will go to approximately 10,000 email addresses recently provided to archdiocesan agencies and affiliates. O'Malley hopes to eventually include every Catholic household in the region that has an email account.

(Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff)

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

A two-foot-long ball python that was found nailed to a telephone pole in Lawrence earlier this week is recovering today at the MSPCA's Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston.

One of the nails used to impale the python to a telephone pole.

The MSPCA's law enforcement department is investigating what happened to the snake, which has been named Trent by the group's officials. The MSPCA is offering a $500 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the persons responsible. The organization urged anyone with information to call 617-522-6008.

Adams said officials believe that the snake may have been nailed up as a warning to somebody. "We have to find out who's trying to warn who," he said. He said the incident could also be "someone pulling a sick prank."

MSPCA officials suspect the snake was nailed on the pole Tuesday night. It was sighted the next morning by schoolchildren on the way to school, Adams said, before it was reported to authorities that afternoon.

"If he had been left there any longer, most likely he would have just died," Adams said.

By Globe Staff

After two cases this week in which children fabricated reports of crimes, the Boston Police say they're working with the city schools to develop an educational awareness program highlighting the serious consequences of such actions.

Police also urged parents to have a conversation with their children about the two incidents.

"The department puts a tremendous amount of resources and energy into creating a safe environment for our local youth. Obviously, it is frustrating for us when these resources are squandered," Police Commissioner Ed Davis said in a statement.

On Monday, a 12-year-old boy reported that someone had tried to abduct him. Police said they later learned that he had made up the story.

On Thursday, police searched frantically for a 14-year-old girl who had sent her mother text messages that she was in trouble and being held against her will. Police found the girl and determined that she, too, had fabricated her story.

The FAA's map of the restricted area.

By Globe Staff

The Federal Aviation Administration has imposed a no-fly zone in the airspace near the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, saying it was acting to ensure that news organizations buzzing continuously over the area didn't cause a safety hazard to other planes.

"Unless you have a need to be in that airspace, you won't get in," said FAA spokesman Jim Peters. "The (order) is very clear. No loitering."

The zone was imposed at 7 p.m. Wednesday -- the day Senator Edward M. Kennedy returned home from the hospital where he had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor -- and will last until 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Peters said it was a busy time of the year in the area, and the order was imposed "to maintain safety of the airspace."

The no-fly zone -- a cylinder with a 3-mile radius extending up to a height of 5,000 feet -- does not apply to law enforcement, medical evacuation, or military flights, flights going in or out of the Barnstable Municipal Airport, or flights being guided by air traffic controllers, he said.

By Globe Staff

A bill that would allow wind farms and other renewable energy projects in waters off the Massachusetts coast is poised to become law.

The Massachusetts Ocean Act received final approvals last night from the state's House and Senate and is now on the desk of Governor Deval Patrick, who has said he would sign it.

The bill would create the nation's first comprehensive ocean zoning plan for waters out to 3 miles, allowing fisheries, renewable energy production, and marine conservation.

State Senator Bruce Tarr said the plan was necessary because a growing number of uses have been proposed for the ocean.

"The reason it's important is you have things like LNG (liquefied natural gas terminals), wind turbines, other kinds of uses of the ocean, proposed at a pace that's increasing. We don't have the luxury anymore of being able to react to these one at a time," he said.

The legislation is expected to have no impact on the controversial Cape Wind project, which is in federal waters.

"Just as we have well-established laws for the use of our land, it's about time that we have a framework and process in place to protect one of the Commonwealth's greatest assets," Senate President Therese Murray said in a statement.

(Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff/file)

Some of the beneficiaries of last year's bucket brigade.

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

Fifty volunteers formed a bucket brigade this morning at the Medford Boat Club, but they are not bailing out a boat or dousing a fire. They came to help river herring.

The fish migrate upstream to spawn, but in the past river herring were stymied at a dam near the boat club that separates the Lower and Upper Mystic lakes. Three years ago the boat club and state Division of Marine Fisheries decided to do something about it.

The first year, a bucket brigade got about 500 fish over the dam. The next year they scooped up 4,000 fish from the Lower Mystic Lake and deposited them on the other side.

"Last year we helped over 19,000 over the dam," said Mary Griffin, commissioner of the state Department of Fish & Game. "This year it's been a little slower. The fish aren't running as fast [but] ... they come in waves, so it could be more this morning."

By James Vaznis, Globe Staff

Boston Police say they were the victims of a hoax today when they launched a major search for a 14-year-old Dorchester girl who was simply skipping school.

Alexus Clarke, a resident of Monadnock Street, was nervous that her mother might be angry at her for being a truant. So she text-messaged her mother, saying that she was in trouble and being held against her will, said Police Superintendent Daniel Linskey.

"As a father, I feel happy a 14-year-old girl is safe and unharmed. As a police officer, I'm a little upset we wasted some time," said Linskey.

Clarke was reported missing at about 9:30 a.m. She was found by police at about 5:30 p.m.

Linskey said dozens of officers spent hours looking for Clarke, who is in eighth grade at a Boston middle school.

(Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff)

Kennedy and his wife paused on the pier to answer questions from the media before heading toward the sailboat.

By David Abel and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

HYANNIS PORT -- It became evident today where US Senator Edward M. Kennedy honed his ability to negotiate and compromise: at home during playful disagreements with his wife, Victoria Reggie Kennedy.

The subject this afternoon was whether the ailing senator would participate in the annual Figawi regatta, a three-day race from Hyannis Port to Nantucket that begins Saturday.

"I don't know," Kennedy said when asked about the race by reporters as the couple boarded their 50-foot schooner for an afternoon sail. "One day at a time."

When another reporter asked about the race, Victoria Reggie Kennedy had had enough.

"Stop talking about the Figawi," she said, cutting off the senator before he could answer. Victoria Reggie Kennedy implied that her husband had enlisted the media to help convince her that he should compete in the race. The senator tried to strike a bargain: How about sailing just one leg?

"Is this a conspiracy?" she asked with a knowing smile. "I want to know."

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

A Revere-based chiropractor is being held without bail on charges that he molested two of his female physical therapy clients.

Jeffrey Keller, 53, of Peabody, was charged with four counts of indecent assault and battery after Revere Police found evidence that he had inappropriate physical contact with two women in his office on Shirley Avenue in Revere, according to a press release from Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley.

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

By John R. Ellement and Donovan Slack, Globe Staff

Investigators believe that arson was the cause of a fire at the Ella J. Baker House overnight that charred the rear of the Dorchester community center, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

No one was injured in the blaze, but it caused an estimated $350,000 to $500,000 in damage. Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives are on the scene because the building housed a chapel. It is a federal crime to burn a church.

“I don’t know why anyone would want to burn down a community center and a church that serves some of the most neglected children in this city,’’ said Rev. Eugene F. Rivers 3d, who runs the Baker House. “I can imagine, although I can’t confirm this, that it may have been a disgruntled ex-employee or some individual that has personal hostility against me."

At a news conference this afternoon, Baker House officials, including Rivers, executive director Kevin Peterson, and Leonard Lee, chairman of the board of directors, addressed reporters. They were flanked by teenagers who go regularly to the Baker House, which has after-school programs and mentors young people at risk of joining gangs or becoming violent.

Lee vowed to keep the programs at the House going.

"If we have to pitch a tent in the front of this building so that we can serve this community, then that is what we will do," he said. "Our doors will open again."

By David Abel and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

HYANNIS PORT -- US Senator Edward M. Kennedy will not give the commencement speech Sunday at Wesleyan University, but he has found a replacement who will also make headlines -- Barack Obama.

"Considering what he's done for me and for our country, there's nothing I wouldn't do for him," Obama, an Illinois senator and Democratic presidential candidate, said in a statement. "So I'm looking forward to standing in his place on Sunday even though I know I won't be able to fill his shoes."

Before the official announcement, Kennedy was coy when he spoke to reporters on a dock as he was heading out for an afternoon sail on his 50-foot schooner.

(Dina Rudick/Globe Staff/file)

Three students have been assaulted in May near the campus of
Harvard University.

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

Cambridge police are investigating the third attack this month of a student near Harvard University after a male undergraduate was tackled from behind Wednesday night and physically assaulted, according to an advisory issued to students.

The student was walking near Grant and Banks streets at 9 a.m. when he was attacked. The student fought back and was able to escape without injury, the advisory said.

The student described the perpetrator as a man in his 20s with a medium build, a large scar on his forehead, and a light goatee. Campus police are working with Cambridge police, but no suspects have been identified, said Joe Wrinn, a Harvard spokesperson.

It was not immediately clear if the three attacks are connected. Cambridge police did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.

By Globe Staff

Two state troopers were honored today at a Statehouse ceremony for saving the occupants of a car that had crashed and burst into flames off Interstate 495 late last year.

Troopers Kevin S. Haley and Kyle A. Flanagan received Medals of Valor for their actions in the Nov. 8 incident. The troopers had been pursuing the car after it failed to stop in Chelmsford, State Police said in a statement.

After the car crashed into a wooded area off 495 in Bolton, fire immediately broke out in the engine compartment.

The troopers removed the passenger first. As they removed the driver, the fire flared up, spreading through the car. The car later exploded, sending debris flying. Both occupants were treated for their injuries, but they are expected to make a full recovery.

A total of 26 state and local police officers, as well as nine civilians, were recognized today for bravery, for going beyond the call of duty or contributing to public safety.

By Globe Staff

Two students at Silver Lake Regional High School in Kingston raised suspicions when they wrote lists of their fellow students, and they are being kept out of school while police investigate whether they pose a threat, the school district's superintendent said today.

A teacher became concerned when she saw a male student throw away a piece of paper on Friday. She retrieved it and saw a list of four names. On Monday, a female student was also found to be writing a list containing two names.

"At this point in time, we're taking it very seriously. ... Frankly, we take any threat as a serious threat until it's sort of proved otherwise," said Superintendent John Tuffy, who wouldn't describe what raised school officials' suspicions about the lists.

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

The State Police crime laboratory, criticized in recent years for inefficiency and mishandling of DNA and other evidence, has dramatically slashed its backlog and turnaround time by increasing staff and purchasing robotic work stations, Governor Deval Patrick and other law enforcement officials said today.

"We have made significant process in a short time, and I thank all levels of law enforcement and our prosecutors for their partnership in that effort," Patrick said today, addressing a crowd of about 600 people at the 14th Annual Massachusetts Prosecutors Conference at the Seaport Hotel in South Boston. "We know that the work that takes place at those labs is a force multiplier."

According to statistics provided by the State Police, it took an average of 91 days to process a single DNA case in late 2006. By the beginning of this year, a single case took an average of 60 days. In the first four months of 2006, 112 cases were completed. That figured soared to 330 in the first four months of 2008.

(Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff)

Walkers, including Angela Valez (center) and Gloriana Candelaria (under umbrella), both of Holyoke, head toward the State House.

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

About 120 advocates pushing to reform criminal records law converged on Bunker Hill Community College today for the last leg of a march from Worcester to the State House.

"These 50 miles don't compare to the struggles we face everyday," said Yakov Kronrod, a founding member of Ex-prisoners and Prisoners Organizing for Community Advancement.

Misdemeanor convictions stay on a person's criminal record in Massachusetts for 10 years and felonies remain for 15 years. These convictions can be seen by potential employers, and advocates say the records are routinely used to deny people jobs after they have paid their debt to society.

By Globe Staff

A 68-year-old Norfolk man and his 46-year-old son were found dead in the father's home in Norfolk Wednesday afternoon, and police are investigating whether the son, who had a history of mental illness, killed his father and then killed himself, prosecutors said.

Edmund J. Brabants and Edmund J. Brabants Jr. of North Attleboro were found at about 4:30 p.m. at the home on Stony Road, the Norfolk district attorney's office said in a statement.

State and local police are investigating, and the bodies of the two men are undergoing autopsies today. But prosecutors said "preliminary indications" were that the case was probably a murder-suicide.

By Globe Staff

A 24-year-old Lynn woman crashed her car on Interstate 95 North in Wakefield early today, then got out and walked into the roadway, where she was struck and killed by another car, State Police said.

Lauren Casey lost control of her 2000 Mercury Sable at about 2:45 a.m. The car left the road to the right, crashed into a guardrail, and came to rest at the bottom of an embankment, police said in a statement.

After the crash, Casey got out of her car and walked into the road, where she was struck by a 2002 Lincoln Continental in the middle travel lane, police said. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The crash is being investigated by State Police.

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

Worcester firefighters made a series of daring rescues this morning when they pulled a family of five out of the third-floor window of a burning triple decker.

Before fire companies arrived to fight the 4 a.m. blaze on Goulding Street, some residents had already jumped out of a second-floor window. Once on scene, firefighters moved quickly and used a ladder to save the family on the third floor, who were trapped with some children.

"It was a very difficult rescue," said District Fire Chief Frank Diliddo III. "There was heavy fire when they first arrived."

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

By Globe Staff

A truck carrying about 400 gallons of diesel fuel crashed on Route 24 in Avon early today when it swerved to avoid another vehicle and hit the median, state officials said. The crash, which occurred just before 5 a.m. near Exit 19, triggered a chain reaction that caused two other collisions, said Sergeant Timothy Finn, a State Police spokesman.

The driver of the fuel truck suffered minor injuries when he crashed into the concrete Jersey barrier dividing the north and southbound lanes. The truck came to rest straddling the median and blocking or slowing traffic for miles in both directions, Finn said. Moments later, a northbound Dodge Caravan hit the truck, spun into the breakdown lane, and rammed another vehicle that had stopped to help. The driver of the Caravan also suffered minor injuries, Finn said. The crash remains under investigation.

(Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff)

Senator Kennedy, his wife, Victoria and their dogs, Splash and Sunny back on land after sailing on their sailboat, Mya at the Hyannis Port Yacht Club.

By David Abel, Globe Staff

HYANNIS PORT -- Hours out of the hospital, US Senator Edward M. Kennedy sought refuge this afternoon in the serenity of Nantucket Sound, taking his 50-foot schooner on a two-hour sail.

"It was wonderful to be on the water," Kennedy said, shuffling off a dock after his return. "It's all it takes."

Kennedy went for the sail with his wife, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, and their two cherished Portuguese water dogs, Splash and Sunny. It came after a drive back from Massachusetts General Hospital, where the senior senator was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

Yoko Ono won a key battle today in her feud with a Massachusetts company that says it owns the rights to 10 hours of documentary footage of John Lennon and Ono that was shot in 1970 at the couple's estate in England.

US District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel, ruling from the bench in Boston, dismissed a claim by World Wide Video of Lawrence that accused Ono of copyright infringement, according to Ono's lawyer, Jonathan M. Albano.

However, the federal judge allowed Lennon's widow to proceed with her counterclaim against World Wide Video that says she is the rightful owner of the tapes. Zobel is also letting World Wide Video pursue its suit against a Florida man whom the Lawrence company says wrongfully sold the tapes to Ono.

"Mrs. Lennon is very pleased with the court's swift ruling dismissing the lawsuit against her and, more importantly, that the tapes remain with their rightful owners," said a statement issued by Ono's lawyers.

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

James F. Stokes, who resigned from the Lawrence School Committee after federal agents arrested him on a charge of forging a military document, got a break today from a federal magistrate who declined to sentence him to jail but said he will forever be "mentally incarcerated for his crime."

As two Vietnam War veterans festooned with medals sat near the front of the spectators' gallery, US Magistrate Judge Joyce L. Alexander sentenced Stokes to two years of probation and ordered him to perform 100 hours of community service. She also ordered him to undergo mental health counseling.

"While the court is not inclined to physically incarcerate you," she said as Stokes stood before her, "you will be mentally incarcerated for your actions for the remainder of your days."

The front of the Irish Independent.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

The story of Senator Edward M. Kennedy's diagnosis with a malignant brain tumor made news not just in the United States but around the world.

In Ireland, a country that has long felt a particularly deep bond with the storied Kennedy family, the visage of a weary Kennedy was splashed across the front page of the Irish Independent beneath the headline "Ted Kennedy fights for life with brain tumor."

Along with a news story, the paper offered an analysis by writer Sam Smyth discussing the powerful connection between the Kennedys and the Emerald Isle.

“Being a great and conspicuous friend of Ireland in the United States was as much a part of the Kennedy family tradition as playing ferociously competitive football. And Ted Kennedy took up the banner and was a great friend of this country through more than 30 years of civic strife," Smyth wrote.

"From 1969, every Irish government sought his guidance, help and support. And he was always there to give wise counsel and active support.”

(File Photo)

A 2006 picture of Representative Kaprielian.

By Globe Staff

Watertown State Representative Rachel Kaprielian has been named the state's new Registrar of Motor Vehicles, the governor's office announced today.

Kaprielian is a "skilled and committed public servant who will bring new energy to the RMV," Governor Deval Patrick said in a statement.

Kaprielian is in her seventh term representing Watertown and part of Cambridge. A Watertown resident, she graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 1990, earned a law degree from Suffolk University in 2000, and a master's in public administration from Harvard University in 2003.

By Globe Staff

Boston police are investigating a double stabbing in Roxbury this afternoon that left a man and woman wounded.

Police said the two victims were attacked around 4.30 p.m. on Howard Street.

The female was stabbed in the stomach and the man was wounded in the arm, Boston Police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said.

Both victims were rushed to Boston Medical Center. Authorities said their injuries appeared to be non-life-threatening.

No arrests have been made in the case.

By Globe Staff

The president of Northeastern University said today that Rebecca Payne, a student who was found slain Tuesday in her apartment was "one of our brightest young lights," a spiritual young woman who was dedicated to her studies and passionate about the causes in which she was involved.

Rebecca Payne

Payne, 22, of New Milford, Conn., was found dead in her apartment on Parker Hill Avenue in the Mission Hill neighborhood. She was shot twice in the legs and once in the chest. The crime rattled the quiet neighborhood near the school's campus.

Aoun said that Payne, a senior in the Bouve College of Health Sciences, was excited about her co-op jobs -- which are an integral part of a Northeastern education. She was also president of the Athletic Training Club, served on the Dean's Council, was involved with the Lutheran Episcopal Campus Ministry and other spiritual initiatives on campus, and enjoyed working with children at a summer camp, he said.

By Globe Staff

With gas prices soaring and the Memorial Day weekend approaching, here are some tips from the state Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation and the Federal Trade Commission on how to save money at the pump:

-- Drive at moderate speeds. (Gas mileage decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph.)
-- Stop aggressive driving. Avoid "jackrabbit" starts and stops.
-- Combine errands. Several short trips use more gas than one longer trip.
-- Use overdrive gears and cruise control on the highway.
-- Remove excess weight from the trunk.
-- Avoid packing items on the top of the car, which can create wind resistance.
-- Keep engine tuned to manufacturer's specifications.
-- Keep tires properly inflated and aligned.
-- Change oil regularly.
-- Replace air filters regularly.
-- Use the octane level you need. Most cars use regular.

In the long term, the office said, consider carpooling or alternative fuel or hybrid vehicles.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

Bob Doucette has owned North Wilmington Citgo Services on Middlesex Avenue in Wilmington for decades and times have never been so tough. His business has dropped off 20 percent in the past year, he said, and he’s had to change the ways he’s done business his whole career.

He said he buys gas about every five days. Monday’s order cost him $45,000.

“That’s the highest. First load of gas I bought was $6,000,” he recalled. “That was back in 1958.”

Gas at Doucette’s full-service station broke $4 per gallon today, rising to $4.08 for regular. “It’s gone up 20 cents in the last week,” he lamented.

“I’ve seen the good times and the bad times, and these are very bad times,” Doucette said. He said he’s trying to run his station the way he always has, but economic conditions are making his station feel like a thing of the past.

He’s had to lay off two employees in the past year and is considering changing his closing time from 10 p.m. to 8 p.m. He’s seeing his regulars less frequently because they're just not buying as much gas.

At the same time, he said, he hasn't heard too many complaints. “Not many people are complaining because they’ve come to expect it,” he said.

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

The great Massachusetts casino debate could be back.

House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, in a startling departure from previous stances against resort gambling, today decided for the first time to back a November ballot question asking voters whether they support casinos in Massachusetts.

Separately, the Senate this afternoon derailed a Republican-led effort to resurrect the governor’s failed resort gaming bill as an amendment to the state budget. The proposal failed on a 29-9 vote, with senators deciding instead to establish a study commission to look at gambling.

Political observers, lawmakers, and legislative aides throughout the State House were scratching their heads over DiMasi’s apparent switch in position.

By midafternoon, Governor Deval Patrick had yet to respond to DiMasi’s call.

Senate President Therese Murray said through a spokesman that she does not support a casino ballot question as part of the budget, but would support it if DiMasi initiated separate legislation.

“The president does not support the question of a casino referendum as part of this budget,” said her spokesman, David Falcone. “She agrees with the speaker that the budget is not the proper vehicle for this matter. If, however, a separate piece of legislation were to be filed by the speaker in regard to this matter she would support a full debate by the Senate.”

(Rebecca Hale/National Geographic)

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

William Lee, an eighth-grader at a Woburn middle school, said he’s been studying for months in preparation for the annual National Geographic Bee.

All his hard work paid off today when he ranked third in the finals, earning a college scholarship of $10,000.

“We’re very proud of him; he’s done a great job,” said Joyce Middle School Principal Thomas Qualey.

Woburn has been participating in the bee, geared for grades 4 through 8, for at least 15 years of the 20 it’s been held, said geography teacher Joseph Tuzzolo. He said it’s a great opportunity for students to get immersed in a subject that can sometimes get overlooked.

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

DiNunzio's North End cheese shop. He will not be allowed to work there while his case is pending.

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

A federal magistrate freed reputed New England Mafia underboss Carmen "The Cheese Man" DiNunzio on $20,000 cash bail this afternoon but warned him not to violate the strict conditions of his release.

"If you violate ... the remedy can be not only forfeiture of the bond but incarceration," US Magistrate Judge Judith G. Dein said during a 15-minute hearing at US District Court in Boston.

DiNunzio, 50, who has been jailed since his May 2 arrest on a one-count federal indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit bribery, nodded several times as the magistrate described a litany of restrictions. A massive man who weighs more than 400 pounds and has bags under his eyes, DiNunzio said nothing.

By Brian C. Mooney, John R. Ellement, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

US Senator Edward M. Kennedy left Massachusetts General Hospital today and returned to Hyannis Port, heading home a day after the world learned that the last surviving brother of the famed Kennedy clan had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.

A white square bandage was visible on the back of Kennedy's head as he emerged from the hospital just after 10 a.m. Two hours later, the senator and his wife, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, were back at the family compound on Cape Cod, waving to a cluster of 10 to 15 reporters and photographers behind wooden police barricades. The couple walked arm-in-arm as their Portuguese water dogs, Splash and Sunny, frolicked on the lawn.

"He waived, looked well, and he seemed to be happy to be home," said Joan McAuliffe, 75, who came from her home in neighboring Centerville to welcome Kennedy back to the Cape. She told him, "Good luck, best wishes, and we hope everything turns out well."

At the Hyannis Port Yacht Club, the sail covers were being removed from Kennedy's 50-foot navy blue sloop, Mya. It is 60 degrees and sunny today on the Cape, with a southwest wind blowing 11 miles per hour.

Earlier at Mass. General, Kennedy and his wife passed through rows of cheering patients and staff members who shouted encouragement as they lined the hospital hallway. On the sidewalk, the senator was greeted by the wagging tails of Splash and Sunny. Another crowd of onlookers outside burst into applause when Kennedy stepped into the sunlight, with one woman shouting, "we love you," and another person yelling, "thank you."

The senator smiled broadly, waved, and gave a thumbs up to the more than 50 reporters, photographers, and cameramen recording the moment.

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

"We hope that voice isn't silenced so soon," Butler said. "I thought he looked a little thin, but under the circumstances, I thought he looked great. It's very sad."

In a statement released by the hospital, doctors said: "Senator Kennedy has recovered remarkably quickly from his Monday procedure and therefore will be released from the hospital today ahead of schedule. He will return to his home on Cape Cod while we await further test results and determine treatment plans. He's feeling well and eager to get started."

The prognosis appears uncertain for the political icon. Kennedy's diagnosis was announced three days after the 76-year-old senator was stricken Saturday in Hyannis Port. Doctors at Mass. General conducted a battery of tests, including a biopsy, and identified a cancerous mass on the top left portion of his brain as the cause of his seizure.

The news sent shockwaves across Massachusetts, which he has represented in the Senate for more than 45 years, and across Washington, where he is held in high esteem by Democrats and Republicans alike. Many of his Senate colleagues were visibly shaken, some tearing up, and they quickly expressed their hope for the best possible outcome.

By Globe Staff

Fourteen years after a 21-year-old man was shot dead in Lowell, police have arrested the alleged killer in California, prosecutors said today.

Thirty-five-year-old Shawn Lessieur of Lowell was arrested in Alameda, Calif. on a warrant for murder. He is accused of firing the shots that killed 21-year-old Mark Jones of Lowell on March 18, 1994.

"This office does not and will not forget the victims of unsolved homicides," Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said in a statement.

A second man, Nolyn Surprenant, 30, of Methuen is being held without bail pending his trial on murder charges in the case. Police allege that he participated in the murder by driving Lessieur to and from the slaying with the knowledge that Lessieur planned to kill Jones.

By Globe Staff

The state's highest court ruled today that a public employee, when calculating his pay for pension purposes, can't include the value of his personal use of a city car as part of his pay.

The Supreme Judicial Court ruled in a case brought by Kenneth C. Pelonzi, former fire chief and public safety commissioner in Beverly.

Pelonzi was provided with a city car for official use. He was also allowed to use it for his own personal business because he was always on-call in case of an emergency.

Public employee pension payments in Massachusetts are basically calculated by a combination of three factors: the retiree's age, years of service, and highest average pay for three consecutive years.

Pelonzi argued that the value of his personal use of the car should be included when calculating his pay, which would have increased his monthly benefits by $327. Pelonzi won his case in Superior Court.

“I am deeply concerned that the Senate might add casino gambling as an amendment to the state budget. The budget is the most important bill we debate each year and is far too significant to be bogged down in these kinds of major, controversial public policy debates.

"I remain opposed to casino gambling but, given the magnitude of what the Senate is considering, I would support as a compromise Senator Panagiotakos’ proposal to put an advisory question on casinos before voters this fall.

"The House made its views on casinos clear in May. But rather than have our budget negotiations stall over a potential casino impasse, I suggest we put this before the voters in a non-binding referendum question and reconsider it next year.”

By Brian C. Mooney, Globe Staff

US Senator Edward M. Kennedy has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, his doctors said Tuesday, and the prognosis appears uncertain at best for the last surviving brother of the famed Kennedy clan, who has been an enormous force in American politics for nearly half a century.

The announcement was made three days after Kennedy, 76, was stricken at the family’s Hyannis Port compound. Doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital conducted a battery of tests, including a biopsy, and identified a cancerous mass on the top left portion of his brain as the cause of his seizure.

The news sent shockwaves across Massachusetts, which he has represented in the Senate for more than 45 years, and across Washington, where he is held in high esteem by Democrats and Republicans alike. Many of his Senate colleagues were visibly shaken, some tearing up, and they quickly expressed their hope for the best possible outcome.

‘‘The usual course of treatment includes combinations of various forms of radiation and chemotherapy,’’ said a statement by Dr. Lee Schwamm, a neurologist, and Dr. Larry Ronan, Kennedy’s primary care physician.

But the two Mass. General physicians added that decisions about the best course of treatment would be made after more tests and analysis. They described the senator as ‘‘in good overall condition ... up and walking around the hospital ... in good spirits and full of energy.’’

While his doctors said he will remain at Mass. General ‘‘for the next couple of days,’’ Kennedy associates said they expected him to push for his discharge as early as Wednesday.

The prognosis is highly variable at best, ominous at worst, and it raises the possibility that the workhorse lawmaker will be unable to complete the final years of his eighth full term.

Despite the bad news, a Kennedy associate said that the senator shows no symptoms, remains upbeat, and has warned small groups of aides that he wants them back at work.

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

Reputed New England Mafia underboss Carmen "The Cheese Man'' DiNunzio has been ordered released on $20,000 cash bail by a federal magistrate who rejected the government's claim that he is dangerous and should remain jailed until his trial on a bribery charge.

"I just got word to his family and they are obviously happy,'' said DiNunzio's lawyer, Anthony Cardinale, adding that his client is likely to be set free Wednesday following a 2 p.m. hearing at the federal courthouse.

"I think it was the fair ruling,'' said Cardinale, who had argued that DiNunzio, who weighs over 400 pounds and suffers from diabetes, coronary artery disease, and sleep apnea, is not dangerous.

DiNunzio, 50, owner of a cheese shop in Boston's North End, has been jailed since his May 2 arrest on a one-count federal indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit bribery. He and two associates are accused of paying a $10,000 bribe in September 2006 to an undercover FBI agent posing as a corrupt Massachusetts highway inspector, in a bid to secure a $6 million contract to provide 300,000 cubic yards of loam, a soil mix, to the Big Dig.

By Peter S. Canellos, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- News about the Kennedys has so often come in shocking bursts, such as plane crashes and gunfire, that today's revelation that the senior senator from Massachusetts is suffering from a deadly illness had a quiet poignancy all its own.

Days when Democrats worried that an assassin might try to remove the last Kennedy brother have long since receded, and Ted Kennedy carries a new image as the Senate's indefatigable warrior. So it was a surprise that something as ordinary as cancer would be what slows down Kennedy's relentless drive to promote liberal causes, build coalitions, and pass legislation.

And yet, as many grimly noted, Kennedy is 76 and brain cancer is often deadly. So there was profound sadness throughout the Capitol. Democratic senators gathering for their weekly policy lunch said a prayer. Republicans at their weekly lunch described a deep feeling of sorrow.

By Maria Cramer and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

More than 20 police officers, including Commissioner Edward F. Davis, descended on a red-brick apartment complex in Mission Hill today after a woman in her 20s was found dead, police said.

It appears that the woman was shot to death, police said.

At least one neighbor heard what sounded like shots at around midnight but did not alert authorities, police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said.

A building manager found the woman's body just before 7 a.m. and called 911, said Deputy Superintendent Thomas Lee, who runs the police's criminal investigation division. The crime scene was in the apartment, Lee said.

Police used a gun-sniffing dog to search near parked cars. A line of officers searched the parking lot and a grassy hill near the Parker Hill Apartments, which includes two four-story buildings with a sweeping view of downtown.

The entire apartment complex was cordoned off by police. A blue Mini Cooper with a Northeastern University 2007 parking sticker was towed from the scene. It was not clear whether the car was connected to the victim, but yellow police tape had been strung around the car before it was taken away.

Investigators working to confirm the identity of the victim are trying to determine whether she was a student at Northeastern University, Lee said.

(Michele McDonald/Globe Staff)

Mel Wasserman was moved by news of Senator Kennedy's diagnosis.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

Mel Wasserman couldn't hold back tears when -- upon leaving the John F. Kennedy Library -- he learned that Senator Edward M. Kennedy had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.

"It's the end of an era," said Wasserman of Plainview, N.Y., who explained he has always felt the Kennedy family history intertwined with his own. Just three weeks after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, his father died.

"I've always equated the two -- they were the biggest things that had ever happened to me," he said.

Then, five years later, Wasserman's mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

"I remember in 1968 it took about three weeks to diagnose my mother," he said. "Just hearing this brings it all even closer together."

Most visitors leaving the Kennedy Library knew that Senator Kennedy had been hospitalized, but most weren't yet aware of his diagnosis.

Barbara Archer, a California resident visiting Boston to see her granddaughter graduate from Boston College, said she was "shocked" to hear the latest update on Senator Kennedy's medical condition.

President George Bush

President George Bush

"Laura and I are concerned to learn of our friend Senator Kennedy's diagnosis. Ted Kennedy is a man of tremendous courage, remarkable strength, and powerful spirit. Our thoughts are with Senator Kennedy and his family during this difficult period. We join our fellow Americans in praying for his full recovery."

Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut

Senator Christopher Dodd

"He's a strong guy and has great heart. We're confident he is going to be back. So we wish he and Vicki and the family well."

Representative Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts

“Ted Kennedy is the greatest Senator in American history and a tireless fighter for America’s families. I know that he will take on this latest challenge with the same fighting spirit, strength and courage he has always shown. My thoughts and prayers are with him, his wife, Vicki, and his family. I look forward to seeing him fully recover and working with him for many, many more years to come.”

Statement from Dr. Lee Schwamm, Vice Chairman, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Dr. Larry Ronan, Primary Care Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital:

"Over the course of the last several days, we've done a series of tests on Senator Kennedy to determine the cause of his seizure. He has had no further seizures, remains in good overall condition, and is up and walking around the hospital. Some of the tests we had performed were inconclusive, particularly in light of the fact that the Senator had severe narrowing of the left carotid artery and underwent surgery just 6 months ago. However, preliminary results from a biopsy of the brain identified the cause of the seizure as a malignant glioma in the left parietal lobe. The usual course of treatment includes combinations of various forms of radiation and chemotherapy. Decisions regarding the best course of treatment for Senator Kennedy will be determined after further testing and analysis. Senator Kennedy will remain at Massachusetts General Hospital for the next couple of days according to routine protocol. He remains in good spirits and full of energy."

By Globe Staff

The mother of one of the four young men shot to death in December 2005 in a Dorchester house testified today at the trial of the man accused in the slaying, saying that she heard a gunshot and discovered the carnage when she went down to the basement.

Calvin Carnes Jr., 21, of Dorchester has been charged with the murders of Edwin Duncan, 21; Jason Bachiller, 20; Jihad Chankhour, 22; and Christopher Viera, 19.

Darnella Phillips, Duncan's mother, testified today in the second day of the trial, Suffolk County prosecutors said. The slayings occurred in the basement of her house.

The trial is expected to last six weeks.

(File photo)

A file photo of a Yo-Yo ride.

By Globe Staff

With warmer weather arriving, it's that time of year again: time for the traveling carnival, with its bright lights and kid-thrilling rides, to set up in town. But state public safety officials say one of the attractions may be unsafe.

Inspections have been ordered for all Yo-Yo amusement rides after one of the rides failed this weekend in California, injuring two dozen people.

"My first priority is for the safety of patrons on these rides. The regulations require that owners comply with all safety bulletins issued by the manufacturer, and I have taken this action to ensure that his has been done, and that these devices are safe to operate," Public Safety Commissioner Thomas Gatzunis said in a statement.

The devices won't be allowed to operate until a state inspector has performed a complete inspection on all components of the devices.

The Department of Public Safety said that there are four Yo-Yo rides licensed in the state to traveling carnivals. The rides are made by Chance Rides Manufacturing Inc. of Wichita, Kan.

Department spokesman Terrel Harris said that a carnival scheduled to arrive in Milford this weekend will not be able to open its Yo-Yo ride unless it's inspected.

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

Diplomas in hand, college graduates are heading off into the “real world," where a daunting economy and sluggish job market await. Smith College economics professor Randall K. Bartlett, who teaches in the college's Women and Financial Independence program, said recent graduates need to make a concerted effort to manage their finances well as they enter post-college life.

Randall K. Bartlett

"Money comes in hard and goes out easy," Bartlett said. "How you plan your finances now can have huge ramifications on how your life will play out."

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi and Attorney General Martha Coakley unveiled legislation this morning that is designed to allow prosecutors to more easily pursue sex offenders and online predators.

The legislation, which the House will take up within weeks, provides a series of minimum mandatory sentences for child predators and gives prosecutors new tools for going after them.

“This bill sends a strong message that we are serious about better protecting the children of Massachusetts,” said DiMasi, who was joined by Coakley and a crew of district attorneys.

By Globe Staff

A sport utility vehicle rolled over this morning on Route 128 in Wenham, briefly closing the road in both directions while a medical helicopter landed, State Police said.

The driver of the 2002 Ford Explorer was flown to Boston Medical Center with what State Police described as non-life-threatening injuries.

The crash at 6:30 a.m. just north of Grapevine Road caused significant traffic problems in Wenham, which is north of Boston, near Beverly. Police cleared the scene by 7:30 a.m.

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

In a heartfelt ode to the power and joys of education, acclaimed historian David McCullough exhorted Boston College graduates this morning to "make the love of learning central to your life."

In his keynote address at the college's commencement on its Chestnut Hill campus, the award-winning historian extolled the "transforming miracle of education" and warned more than 3,300 graduates not to confuse plain facts with deeper truths.

"Information has value, sometimes great value," he said. "But information, let us be clear, isn't learning. Information isn't poetry, or art, or Gershwin or the Shaw Memorial. Or faith. It isn't wisdom. Facts alone are never enough. ... One can have all the facts and miss the truth."

By James Vaznis, Globe Staff

Boston police are investigating a reported attempted kidnapping of a 12-year-old boy as he walked to school this morning in Dorchester.

About 8:15 a.m., an unknown man approached the boy from a vacant lot on Gallivan Boulevard, about four blocks from St. Brendan School, where the boy is enrolled. The man said “Hey,” and grabbed the boy’s right arm and started pulling him into the vacant lot, police said.

The boy broke free and ran through numerous yards and streets. The suspect pursued him for a while, following the boy onto Marsh Street before fleeing in an unknown direction.

Once arriving at school, the boy told the principal what had happened; and police were called.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

A ramp onto Interstate 93 in Medford has been closed this afternoon for emergency repairs, according to the State Police.

The ramp from Mystic Avenue onto I-93 was closed at 2:10 p.m. while the state highway department inspected and repaired what was described by State Police as a "protruding bridge joint." Additional information was not available.

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

Electricity has been restored to all of Ipswich after a fire at a substation this morning knocked out power for the entire town and caused the cancellation of school.

Service was restored by 12:30 p.m., almost six hours after the blaze started at the High Street substation, which houses a major power transformer. Ipswich Fire Chief Art Howe said he was a half mile away at his home at 6:45 a.m. and heard a blast when the fire started.

The blaze was contained to one fenced-in area of the substation and took about an hour and a half to extinguish, Howe said. No one was injured.

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

Trustees of the Boston Public Library have elevated deputy director Ruth Kowal to serve as acting president.

Kowal will take the helm of the 28-library system for Bernard Margolis, who was forced out in November when his contract was not renewed by the trustee board. Margolis's term ends on July 1.

Kowal previously led the Eastern Massachusetts and Central Massachusetts Regional Library Systems. She has worked for the Boston Public Library since 1990, previously serving as director of operations.

Margolis and Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who appoints the trustee board, have clashed during Margolis's 11-year tenure. The mayor has said he wants a library director who would put more focus on the system's branch libraries. Trustees said the search for a new president is ongoing.

(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff/file 2006)

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick's top transportation official signaled today that he wants to take a closer look at adding tolls on Interstate 93, but stopped well short of endorsing that method for raising more money for the state.

The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority will count the number of vehicles on the Zakim Bridge and at other major points on I-93 at the request of Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen. The data will help determine whether tolls are a viable option.

Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen

Cohen, who also chairs the turnpike board, made the comments during a discussion about possible changes in the state’s tolling system. There are currently tolls on the east-west Massachusetts Turnpike, Tobin Bridge, and tunnels beneath Boston Harbor, but not on I-93, the main north-south thoroughfare.

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

Victoria Reggie Kennedy walked into Massachusetts General Hospital today to be by the side of her husband, Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

By George Rizer, Michael Levenson, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

More than 50 reporters and photographers kept their eyes and cameras trained today on Massachusetts General Hospital, keeping vigil as the nation waited for any update on the condition of Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

President Bush telephoned the Democrat's hospital room this morning to check on the 76-year-old liberal icon, who suffered a seizure Saturday on Cape Cod.

"Take care of my friend," the Republican leader told Kennedy's wife, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, who answered the call, according to a family spokeswoman.

Kennedy and Bush occupy opposite ends of the ideological spectrum, but the politicians have worked together, most notably on the No Child Left Behind education law.

"The senator and Mrs. Kennedy were very appreciative of the call," said spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter in an e-mail. "The senator had a restful night, and will be undergoing further evaluation today. It is unclear whether anything definitive will be known today or tomorrow, but the doctors will let us know when there's something more to say about the cause of Saturday's seizure."

Outside the hospital, there was a flurry of activity in the media scrum at 9:45 a.m., when Victoria Reggie Kennedy stepped out of a black sport utility vehicle on Charles Street and walked into the hospital’s Warren Entrance. She had left the hospital complex 45 minutes earlier, slipping out a door near the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Victoria Reggie Kennedy did not speak to reporters.

Clusters of video cameras on tripods are staking out three hospital entrances, ready to catch a member of the Kennedy clan coming or going. Reporters have come from across the media spectrum, from local newspapers and television stations, to CNN, and even Extra, the television entertainment magazine.

Nine satellite vans were parked near the main entrance to the hospital with antennas extended high into the sky. Cameramen lingered on a nearby sidewalk, including one who napped in a folding cloth chair.

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The green at Fenway Park will no longer be limited to the cushiony grass, historic rafters, and 37-foot-high wall in left field. Enough solar panels have been installed on the roof to heat a third of the hot water needed at the 96-year-old ballpark.

The solar installation, which is being unveiled today, will provide 37 percent of the hot water needed at the stadium, reducing annual carbon dioxide emissions by roughly 18 tons. The project is being spearheaded by National Grid, which has committed $75,000 to Solar Boston.

City and federal officials announced plans for the environmental upgrade at Fenway last month to highlight a $600,000 initiative to increase the city's solar energy output 50-fold by 2015.

Dubbed Solar Boston, the effort will map neighborhoods to identify south-facing rooftops ideal for photovoltaic panels; market solar power to businesses and homeowners; and work to overcome technical and financial barriers to solar energy.

By Peter Schworm and Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Senator Edward M. Kennedy was hospitalized today after suffering a seizure, triggering shock in the political world and drawing an outpouring of support from across the nation and the ideological spectrum.

The 76-year-old Democrat, a tireless advocate for liberal causes and the surviving patriarch of the storied Kennedy political dynasty, was talkative and joking with family members this afternoon, friends and associates said. His condition was considered serious, they said, but his life did not appear to be in imminent danger.

‘‘Senator Kennedy was admitted to Massachusetts General today after experiencing a seizure at his home,’’ Kennedy’s personal physician, Dr. Larry Ronan, said in a statement released tonight. ‘‘Preliminary tests have determined that he has not suffered a stroke and is not in any immediate danger. He’s resting comfortably and watching the Red Sox game with his family.

‘‘Over the next couple of days, Senator Kennedy will undergo further evaluation to determine the cause of the seizure, and a course of treatment will be determined at that time,’’ Ronan said.

By the evening, the mood of Kennedy family and friends contrasted markedly to that of the morning, when he was stricken at his Hyannis Port compound at about 8:15 a.m., rushed first to Cape Cod Hospital and then transported by helicopter to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

By Tania deLuzuriaga, Globe Staff

A charity bike ride hosted by the Kennedy family went on as planned this afternoon, with riders pedaling from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston to a beach in the Hyannisport section of Barnstable.

Many riders said they hadn’t heard the news that Senator Edward Kennedy had been hospitalized.

But Kennedy nephew Anthony Shriver, founder and chairman of Best Buddies International, which raised $3 million from the event for mentally disabled people, said he was optimistic about his uncle’s prospects.

“Massachusetts General is one of the best hospitals in the world. I’m 100 percent confident he’ll be fine,” he said. "We've got a party going on here -- that's what he'd want."

State Sen. Mark Montigny, a Best Buddies board member who also attended the event, said he had visited the Kennedy compound earlier in the day and “from everything I’ve heard he’s doing great. ... I’m shocked, but I’m equally pleased he seems to be doing very well.”

The ride, in its 9th year, included 875 participants. More than 1,100 are expected tonight on the beach for a clam bake and a concert.

Globe Staff and Wire Reports

Here are some reactions to news of Senator Edward M. Kennedy's hospitalization:

“My thoughts and prayers are with Sen. Ted Kennedy and his family today. We all wish him well and a quick recovery.” -- Senator Hillary Clinton

"Ted Kennedy is a giant in American political history. He's done more for health care than just about anybody in history. We are going to be rooting for him. I insist on being optimistic about how it's going to turn out." -- Senator Barack Obama.

"He is a legendary lawmaker, and I have the highest respect for him. When we have worked together, he has been a skillful, fair and generous partner. I consider it a great privilege to call him my friend. Cindy and I are praying for our friend, his wife, Vicki and the Kennedy family." -- Senator John McCain

"Ted Kennedy is beloved and respected on both sides of the aisle in the Senate in which he's been a giant for close to half a century, a legend in Massachusetts, and a dear friend to me and Teresa. ... Teresa and I are praying for Teddy, Vicki and all of his family and we know that everyone in Massachusetts and people throughout the nation pray for a full and speedy recovery for a man whose life's work has touched millions upon millions of lives." -- Senator John Kerry

By Thomas C. Palmer Jr. and and Bryan Marquard, Globe Staff

Thomas J. Flatley, a frugal, driven Irish immigrant who rose from Army enlistee to real estate magnate and became one of the richest men in the United States, died early this morning, his family confirmed.

Mr. Flatley, who was 76 and lived in Milton, had been suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

With determination and a strong Irish brogue, Mr. Flatley became a real estate king in the Boston area before there was a lot of competition, building a portfolio of suburban commercial properties once unrivaled in the region. He often said with pride that he did so without borrowing more than 40 percent of the value of his holdings.

"He just was the hardest-working guy there was," said Rob Griffin, president of Cushman & Wakefield of Massachusetts Inc., a commercial brokerage. "Morning, noon, and night, that was his passion, that was his everything. He was always thinking about adding to his portfolio. It wasn't for adding to his wealth, he never wanted to be idle. In his mind if he wasn't moving forward he was moving backward."

By Jillian Jorgensen, Globe Staff

A 34-year-old Dorchester man was sentenced to 14 years in state prison after his conviction in a 2006 stabbing death, the office of Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley announced today.

Michael Penn pleaded guilty in Suffolk Superior Court to one count of voluntary manslaughter for the April 2006 death of 39-year-old Eric Johnson of Mattapan.

The two men were arguing on Hosmer Street and the verbal fight led to a physical altercation in which Penn stabbed Johnson once in the abdomen, prosecutors said.

Evidence suggested that they were arguing over drugs and that Penn thought Johnson intended to rob him, prosecutors said. The case was expected to go to trial next week.

Tom Lang (at left), Scott Morris, Andres Apperson, Liz Sherry, John Hosty-Grinnell and Raymond Grinnell all held the sign today.

By Globe Staff

Gay rights activists stood on the steps of the Statehouse today holding a sign commemorating the fourth anniversary of the day that same-sex marriage became legal in Massachusetts.

The anniversary is actually Saturday, said Tom Lang, co-director of knowthyneighbor.org, but the activists wanted to get their message out on a weekday while the Legislature was around.

Lang said it will also be the fourth anniversary of his own marriage to Alex Westerhoff.

“We do this every year to commemorate and thank Massachusetts on our anniversary. We stand all day with the sign. It’s the same sign; we just change the number,” he said.

Lang said he was heartened by the California Supreme Court ruling yesterday that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.

“What happened in California gives us hope that maybe America will be America for gay people,” he said.

(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)

Joshua Craine pays attention to the details on Hooker's trusty steed.

By Globe Staff

It was about time the general got a touchup.

So Joshua Craine of Daedalus Inc., a Watertown conservation firm, ascended in a blue lift today to the top of the statue of Civil War Major General Joseph Hooker at the State House to do some spring maintenance.

Craine said his company has the contract to maintain most of the statues outside the Statehouse, including statues of John F. Kennedy, Mary Dyer, Henry Cabot Lodge, and Horace Mann. The company also does a number of statues in the adjacent Boston Common and nearby Public Garden.

Craine said the statues have been specially treated to prevent corrosion due to acid rain. The coating has a lifespan of 10 years. But in the meantime, it needs to be touched up so that the wind, snow, sleet, and rain can't find any way in.

"I view it as important work. Essentially, it's an attempt to preserve our cultural history," he said

By Globe Staff

Voters in Canton approved a $4.5 million tax override yesterday, the town's second override in the 28 years the state’s Proposition 2 1/2 tax-limiting law has been in place.

“I think it certainly reflects the strength of the Canton community. Even during difficult financial times, the people of Canton absorbed the information and made the decision to invest in their community,” said Bob Burr, the chairman of the board of selectmen.

Under the law, the amount of property taxes raised by a community can only climb by 2 1/2 percent per year, with allowances for new growth. To raises taxes further than that, a community must vote to override the law.

Burr said the extra tax money would be used to restore a variety of cuts the town suffered in the fiscal 2008 budget in the schools and public safety agencies. It will also allow the town to cope with rising energy costs.

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

By Globe Staff

A police foot chase halted commuter rail trains on the Fairmount Line for 20 minutes this morning when a 17-year-old in bare feet and boxer shorts ran onto the tracks in Dorchester.

The chase started when officers with the Boston Youth Violence Strike Force visited an address on Greenwood Street to arrest the teenager, whose name was not released because of his age. He was wanted on charges that included possession of cocaine with intent to distribute near a school.

The teenager ran, leading officers through backyards, across the tracks, and into a backyard on Radcliffe Street, according to a Globe photographer who witnessed the arrest. The teen was also charged with possession of a firearm, police said.

Service on the Fairmount line resumed at about 8:45 a.m., said Lydia Rivera, an MBTA spokeswoman. The line runs through Dorchester, linking South Station and Reedville.

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

Roberto "Kiko'' Pulido, the rogue Boston police officer who enlisted two fellow patrolman in a brazen scheme to escort trucks bringing cocaine into the city, was sentenced today to 26 years in federal prison by a judge who said the defendant had disgraced his badge.

Boston Police Department photo

Pulido, who pleaded guilty in the middle of his trial in November to drug trafficking charges, apologized to both the Boston Police Department and the MBTA Transit Police, of which he had previously been a member.

"It was my lifelong goal to be a Boston police officer,'' said Pulido, wearing a khaki-colored jumpsuit and white sneakers. "No one is more disappointed than myself.''

Two rows of the courtroom were filled with supporters and relatives of Pulido. Most of them wore white T-shirts emblazoned with a photograph of a smiling Pulido beneath the words "Kiko We Love You.''

Michael K. Loucks, the first assistant US attorney in Massachusetts, who watched another federal prosecutor argue for the harsh punishment, said afterward that Pulido "deserves every second of that sentence.''

(Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff)

Engineer Ronald Gomes and conductor Rick Platt examined the watches they were given at the ceremony.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

When Ronald Gomes saw a runaway freight car barreling towards the commuter rail train he was driving in the evening of March 25, he knew he had to act quickly.

“I knew that the impact ... was unavoidable,” Gomes said. “I knew that we were going to need emergency services, so I just tried to inform the dispatchers that we were going to need medical attention."

As he was on the radio, the 112-ton freight car smashed into his train. The terror in Gomes’s voice can be heard on dispatch tapes, which can be found by clicking here.

“It was just ‘Bang!’ It was so quick,” Gomes recalled today after a ceremony in Boston honoring him and his two fellow crew members, Richard Platt and Chris Leaman, for their actions in the crash.

“One month ago these men reacted professionally, swiftly, and calmly in a life-threatening situation they never could have expected when they got up in the morning,” said Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation Bernard Cohen. “All three members of the crew deserve our thanks and recognition.”

Cohen was joined by officials from the MBTA and the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co., which runs the commuter rail service for the MBTA, at the ceremony, which also marked the graduation of eight new locomotive engineers.

(Robert E. Klein for the Boston Globe)

Troopers on the State Police bomb squad remotely controlled a robot this morning as they disarmed explosives allegedly found at a home on East Street.

By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

EAST BRIDGEWATER -- More than 30 explosions have rattled windows in a leafy neighborhood here since the State Police bomb squad descended on a yellow Colonial-style home Thursday evening and allegedly found a cache of pipe bombs, according to police and neighbors.

The largest blast came just after midnight, when authorities blanketed the area with automated phone calls warning residents to brace themselves.

"It rattled the windows," said Jim Widenfeller, who lives a fifth of a mile away. "It really rocked the neighborhood."

The owner of the yellow Colonial, Michael Ambrose, was arraigned today in Brockton District Court on charges of intimidating a witness, possession of one OxyContin pill, and 35 counts of possessing infernal machines.

Defense attorney John Creedon said after the arraignment that there was no evidence to suggest that his client was “psychotic or threatened to kill anyone.” Creedon described the explosives as a hobby for the 41-year-old landscaper who “is interested in chemistry and has been building various types of pipe bombs since his high school years.”

By David Abel, Globe Staff

Red tide has spread from central Maine to Gloucester, making it unsafe to harvest soft shell clams or mussels from those coastal waters, state officials said.

(Paul Cunningham/The Times Record) A clam digger trudged across mudflats in Freeport, Maine, where red tide has limited the shellfish harvest.

“It’s a little earlier than usual, but it’s not abnormal to have red tide now,” said Michael Hickey, chief biologist for the state Division of Marine Fisheries. “We are always watchful of this from the beginning of May.”

The state has sampling stations that test shellfish every two days. He said a no-harvesting order along the North Shore took effect on Thursday for mussels, carnivorous marine snails, and soft-shell clams.

(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)

A hearty biker in Boston last fall. Mayor Thomas Menino wants to make the city more bike-friendly.

By Globe Staff

With gas prices edging towards $4 a gallon, biking activists are hoping that more people will take to the streets on their two-wheelers.

While there’s no hard data showing that people are getting more interested in biking, David Watson, executive director at the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition, said there has been increased demand for the bicycle commuting talks his group gives at workplaces.

In the past two months, the group has given seven or eight, which is more than twice as many as the three it did all last year.

Bikers out on the road are also telling the group they’re seeing more people out riding, he said. And the bike racks on some MBTA buses, which were mostly empty last year when they were introduced, are being used more.

“I think the arguments that it’s good for your health and it’s good for the environment and it’s fun have always been true. I think what has really gotten people off the fence is the increasing gas prices,” he said.

Police used new high-tech methods to generate this image of the suspect.

By Globe Staff

Law enforcement officials today issued a new sketch of the man believed responsible for two sexual assaults on the Esplanade last year, urging witnesses to step forward to help them solve the case.

The officials also warned people that, with warmer weather arriving, they should remain alert, especially in isolated areas late at night.

Officials believe that the man committed the June 16, 2007 sexual assault of a 20-year-old woman on the Esplanade and the July 29, 2007 abduction on Beacon Street of a different 20-year-old woman, who was forced to walk to the Esplanade, where she was sexually assaulted and robbed.

Officials said they had also linked the man to a third crime: the July 29, 2006 sexual assault of a 30-year-old woman in the area of Joe Moakley Park in South Boston.

Suffolk district attorney's spokesman Jake Wark said the computer-generated sketch of the suspect had been developed by police with the help of the victim of the July 2007 attack and experts from Boston University.

Police Commissioner Edward Davis said in a statement that police hoped that the release of the image would provide detectives with new leads.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

New Bedford Police and the Bristol District Attorney’s office are conducting parallel investigations of the fatal shooting by police of a 45-year-old man at his home.

The shooting of Gerard Tierney, based on preliminary investigation, appears to have been justified, said Lieutenant Jeffrey P. Silva, a police spokesman.

Police responded just before 5 p.m. Wednesday to a call at an Ellen Street residence. Silva said a neighbor told officers arriving at the scene that Tierney had chased him into his house with knives in both hands. Police went across the street to Tierney’s home and found him in a finished basement.

Tierney threatened to kill the officers and ignored numerous commands to drop the knives. Officers attempted to pepper spray him twice, Silva said.

“That didn’t work and Mr. Tierney then continued his threats, advanced up the staircase towards the officers, at which time he was shot and he died as a result of his gunshot wounds,” Silva said.

By Globe Staff

A young man literally tried to steal some time -- in the form of a two-headed parking meter -- but he was spotted in the early morning hours by police on duty in the downtown area, Boston police said.

Officers saw the man carrying the meter at about 1:47 a.m. in the Charles Street area. When police approached, the man allegedly attempted to flee. After a short foot chase, the officers caught him.

Alexander King-Geovanis, 20, told the officers he had found the meter in the Chinatown section and decided to keep it.

By Globe Staff

A slick discovered on the Charles River Basin this morning was caused by a spill of about 5 gallons of oil, officials said.

The source of the spill of heavy oil could not be determined, said Joe Ferson, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, which dispatched a specialist to the scene.

"It could have been any number of vessels on the waterway at this time of the year," he said, noting that the spill was dissipating -- and was too small to be cleaned up.

The spill, which was about 300 yards long, was discovered today at about 10 a.m. between the Longfellow Bridge and the old Charles River dam, Coast Guard Petty Officer Lauren Jorgensen said.

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

A worker was injured in a manhole explosion this morning at the North Quincy MBTA station, officials said.

Two subcontractors working for the MBTA were removing asbestos from the manhole when a third worker in a truck heard an explosion, said MBTA Transit Police Sergeant Brian Carey. The two workers in the manhole climbed out, one with sustaining injuries to his face and arm.

MBTA officials received the call around 10:40 this morning. Quincy police and firefighters also responded.

The injured worker was taken to Boston Medical Center. Because of the asbestos, a hazmat situation has been declared until the Quincy Fire Department gives the clearance for MBTA crews to return and remove the material, Carey said.

The MBTA will also determine the cause for the explosion once clearance is given. Carey said one possibility is that one of the workers hit a live wire.

(Erik Jacobs for The Boston Globe)

Rodrick Taylor conferred with his attorney this morning.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Rodrick J. Taylor has an "ironclad alibi" and did not kill Dominique Samuels inside a Dorchester rooming house in 2006 – and he was not the man who set the woman’s body on fire in Franklin Park, hoping to destroy forensic evidence, Taylor’s lawyer said today.

The 37-year-old Taylor is on trial in Suffolk Superior Court on charges of first-degree murder in the slaying of the 19-year-old Samuels, a graduate of Milton High School where she had captained the cheerleading squad.

In his opening statement to the jury today, lawyer John Swomley flatly declared that "big and bold" evidence will show Taylor to be innocent.

"Rodrick Taylor did not kill Dominique Samuels," he said. "He did not burn her body."

By Globe Staff

If you want to buy those luxury seats at Gillette Stadium to enjoy Patriots games, better read the fine print first.

A man who decided he wanted out of his 10-year agreement for two luxury seats after just one year must pay for the seats for the rest of the 10 years, the state Supreme Judicial Court ruled today.

Paul Minihane, a real estate broker with experience as a contractor and developer, signed up for two $3,750 seats in the Club Level III section for 10 seasons, from 2002 to 2011.

The contract he signed said that if he defaulted, he would have to pay the balance for all the remaining years.

Minihane paid a $7,500 deposit and later made another $2,000 payment, using the seats for the 2002 season. But after that, he made no further payments to NPS LLC, the developer of the stadium.

A lower court judge said the contract's provisions were unreasonable and ordered Minihane to pay $6,000.

By Globe Staff

A 29-year-old Palmer man was killed in a one-car rollover crash on the Massachusetts Turnpike early this morning, State Police said.

The crash happened at about 3:15 a.m. at mile marker 61.7, State Police said in a statement. A preliminary investigation indicated that David Mann's 2000 Ford Explorer was traveling eastbound when the vehicle struck the median guardrail, rolling over it and landing upright in the westbound lanes.

Mann was not wearing his seat belt and was ejected from the car. He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

A three-alarm fire in a Lawrence apartment building early this morning caused no injuries, but left 23 people on the streets, fire officials said.

Firefighters were summoned shortly after midnight to the fire at the Bailey Street building, Deputy Fire Chief Jack Bergeron said. The fire in the old building quickly went to three alarms, taking more than three hours to fight.

“It took quite a while. I left the scene myself at around 2:35 and it was still going pretty good,” Bergeron said.

By Globe Staff

Brewster Police are continuing to investigate after several potentially explosive devices were discovered in the basement of a home on Colonial Way Tuesday.

Detective Sergeant Heath Eldredge said police are waiting for results from the State Police crime lab before deciding whether to press charges.

He said a preliminary investigation indicated the devices did not belong to the homeowner and may have belonged to a prior resident.

He declined to describe the devices except to say that several were found, they were homemade, and they were potentially explosive.

By Maria Sacchetti, Globe Staff

Stunned by the devastation of Monday's powerful earthquake in China, immigrants, students and advocates are mounting fundraising campaigns to provide food and shelter for the victims and to help them rebuild their homes.

In Chinatown yesterday, Cathay Bank urged customers to donate by check, cash, or wire transfer as part of a nationwide campaign to raise funds. Across the river at MIT, the Chinese Students and Scholars Association pledged to collect money at a table in the student center all week. On Sunday, the Boston Sichuan Association will drop donation boxes at Chinese-language schools across eastern Massachusetts.

"We are trying to use all our force to help them to survive these devastating earthquakes and the reconstruction afterward. It's terrible," said Huajian Yao,an MIT graduate student and chairman of the Chinese Association of Science and Technology, which planned a meeting last night of 30 student and community organizations to raise money.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

Police seized $56,000 worth of OxyContin, a loaded handgun, and a large amount of cash early Tuesday morning from a Marshfield home. Three adults, including the parents of two young toddlers, were arrested on drug charges.

Police raided the Island Street home of Richard Muldoon, 27, and Jeannean Socha, 24, at about 5:30 a.m. Tuesday.

They found 710 OxyContin tablets – which can be sold on the street for upwards of $70 a pill – and $17,000 in cash in an upstairs bedroom, Marshfield Police Lieutenant Michael McDonough said today.

In addition to the cash and pills, police confiscated a loaded .40-caliber pistol, a car, and a small quantity of marijuana.

(Vincent DeWitt for The Boston Globe)

The tanker truck rested on top of a pickup truck after the crash.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

A 12,000-gallon oil tanker rolled over at the intersection of Great Western Road and Lothrop Avenue in Harwich this afternoon, releasing 2,000 to 3,000 gallons of fuel oil, authorities said.

Another vehicle was involved in the crash and one person was taken to the hospital, according to rescuers at the scene.

The oil spilled onto the road and into a nearby cranberry bog, said Ed Coletta, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. Vacuum trucks have been dispatched to begin cleanup of the road and the bog.

The tanker is owned by Cape Cod Oil, based in Provincetown, Coletta said. A man answering the phone at the company's offices said the company would not comment until Thursday morning.

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

Commercial kitchen grease cleaners who work in Boston restaurants soon will have to undergo training or testing to prove they are qualified, under an ordinance approved unanimously today by the Boston City Council.

The rules require restaurants to have their kitchen hoods and vent systems cleaned between one and four times a year, depending on the type of restaurant. And the cleaning companies must be licensed by the city.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

WOBURN -- A Middlesex Superior Court judge today barred prosecutors -- for now -- from using as evidence taped conversations between murder suspect John Odgren and his family, recordings that prosecutors say would show the teen was sane when he allegedly stabbed a Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School classmate to death last year.

Superior Court Judge Raymond Brassard said prosecutors violated state law by using a subpoena to collect copies of all of Odgren's telephone and visiting-room conversations from the Plymouth County sheriff's department, which held the 17-year-old following his arrest in the Jan. 19, 2007 killing of James Alenson, according to attorneys involved in the case.

Brassard said prosecutors needed to narrow their request for tapes and they should not be able to get all the recordings at once, attorneys said.

"That's good for us,'' said defense attorney Jonathan Shapiro in a telephone interview following Brassard's decision. He said the judge ordered both defense and prosecution to hand over their copies of the tapes to court officials.

(Robert Spencer for The Boston Globe)

A Salem police officer stood guard at the gate of the Salem Harbor Power Station in November after a boiler tube ruptured.

By Globe Staff

The owners of a Salem power plant are facing federal citations for alleged safety violations after a steam explosion last year that killed three workers.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said today that Dominion Energy New England had failed to take effective steps at the Salem Harbor Power Station to protect employees from hazards from ruptured or leaking boiler tubes and piping.

The federal workplace safety agency also said the area where the plant's boiler tubes ruptured had not been entered or inspected in more than nine years.

"The company must initiate and maintain effective safeguards to identify and eliminate such hazards, both to protect its employees, and to prevent future leaks, ruptures, or explosions," Rosemarie Ohar, OSHA's acting area director in Methuen, said in a statement. "Proper inspection and maintenance are critical to detecting potentially dangerous conditions."

The agency said it was issuing a total of 10 citations for serious violations to Dominion Energy New England carrying a total of $46,800 in proposed fines. The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to meet with OSHA or contest the citations and fines.

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

By Globe Staff

Shuttle bus service is expected to continue on the Green Line's B branch through the evening rush hour today as workers undertake repairs to the damage caused when a trolley derailed overnight and caught fire, the MBTA said.

Officials are hoping trolley service can resume tomorrow morning, said MBTA spokeswoman Lydia Rivera.

The trolley had roughly 30 passengers on board at 1:30 a.m. when it derailed at Chestnut Hill station, hit a pole, and damaged overhead wires, Rivera said. None of the riders were hurt, but the crash caused some significant damage to the trolley and the track, Rivera said.

Robert Katz, who lives a block away from the accident, could see the smoke from his window at about 2 a.m. this morning.

“I saw the thing burning before the fire department got there,” he said. “It looked like there was just people milling around, nobody running or screaming."

Riders are being bused on the B branch between Boston College and Washington Street stations.

(John Tlumacki/Globe Staff/file 2005)

Voting information was written in Chinese and a sample ballot in Chinese and English was posted outside a polling place in Chinatown in 2005.

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

The Boston City Council unanimously approved a petition today asking state lawmakers to pass a special law requiring election officials to translate all candidates' names into Chinese on city ballots.

The approval occurred over the objections of Secretary of State William F. Galvin, who says translating names could lead to confusion, and the city's chief elections official who said it would be difficult to translate the names in time for the November election.

The city already translates the names of candidates for local elections into Chinese characters. The measure expands the requirement to candidates for state and federal office. The petition now needs the approval of Mayor Thomas M. Menino before going to the Legislature.

"I along with the support of all of my colleagues, thousands of Chinese who live in this country, and the billion-plus Chinese who live around the world, would respectfully disagree that doing transliteration would be more hurtful than helpful," said Councilor Sam Yoon, who sponsored the measure.

By Globe Staff

US Senator John Kerry says he has been able to stave off the deportation of the wife of an Iraqi translator who has been decorated for his work during four tours in Iraq with the United States military.

The difficulties faced by Raad Al-Hilfy, an Iraqi native, and his wife, Norma, who immigrated to the United States from Guatemala, were described last week in a column by the Globe's Adrian Walker.

Kerry late last month contacted the Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff. The ICE within days postponed Norma's removal for one year so her petitions for legal residency can be considered, Kerry's office said.

"A woman whose husband has been wounded in action and awarded a Medal of Freedom should not have to fear being deported," Kerry said in a statement.

"At a time when shortages for translators have made it harder to win hearts and minds and get Iraqis on our side, Raad Al-Hilfy answered the call of duty and reminded all of us what the words citizenship and patriotism really mean. It is fair and just that his family should be allowed to stay here with him in his adopted country," Kerry said.

(John Tlumacki/Globe Staff/file 1991)

Hurricane Bob was the last major cyclone to hit Cape Cod, sloshing ashore on Buzzards Bay on Aug. 20, 1991.

By Globe Staff

No part of Massachusetts is more susceptible to a hurricane than Cape Cod, a 65-mile elbow of sand where any mass evacuation to the mainland must be squeezed over two narrow bridges. On a peak summer weekend, the shores swell with more than a million vacationers, a scenario that could create a traffic catastrophe if even a weak hurricane took aim.

With a new hurricane season two weeks away, some 300 federal, state, and local authorities today are practicing a revamped plan to move people off the Cape. The annual drill at Otis Air National Guard Base will simulate a Category 3 hurricane barreling toward Massachusetts. The mock command center will track the storm from the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and Massachusetts Maritime Academy cadets will pose as desperate evacuees seeking shelter and medical attention.

By Globe Staff

A man whose body was recovered from a burning van in Revere last night appears to have died accidentally, prosecutors said today.

Firefighters rushed to extinguish the burning blue van in a parking lot behind a Veterans of Foreign Wars hall at about 9:30 p.m..

State Police detectives were summoned out of concern that the case may have been a homicide. But the evidence they have gathered suggests that the fire was unintentional, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office said in a statement.

State and Revere Police will continue their investigations until there is a conclusive determination of the cause and manner of the man’s death, prosecutors said.

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

Professors at Massachusetts state colleges earn about $11,000 less annually on average than their peers in other states, a gap that threatens the public system's competitive standing, according to a study released today.

The average salary of professors at the state's four-year public colleges in 2007 trailed the national average by about 13 percent, the independent survey found. The disparity was sharper in certain fields, such as biology and business administration and management.

By Globe Staff

Coast Guard officials said today that they were encouraged when a surprise spot check last week of more than 100 shipping containers found no safety or security violations.

The Coast Guard and nearly two dozen other federal, state, and local agencies worked together Thursday to make the inspections at four sites in the Boston area: weigh stations north and south of the city on Interstate 95, the Brighton Rail Yard, and the Conley Marine Terminal.

Inspectors opened 105 containers to ensure the contents, ranging from washing machines to treated cow hides, were packaged, loaded, and documented properly, the Coast Guard said in a statement.

The operation also was an opportunity for the Coast Guard to practice working with some of its partner agencies, said Petty Officer Lauren Jorgensen, a Coast Guard spokeswoman

By Matt Collette and Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondents

Eight people were taken to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries this afternoon after a truck driver failed to stop for traffic in Topsfield and rear-ended the car in front of him, causing a chain reaction that damaged the truck and five other vehicles, police said.

The driver, 21-year-old Paul Lovasco of Beverly, was driving a Moynihan Lumber box truck southbound on Route 1 and did not stop for traffic at the road’s intersection with Route 97, said Sergeant Richard LeBel of the Topsfield Police.

Both lanes of Route 1 were closed for about an hour following the 1:36 p.m. accident as authorities cleaned up the accident scene, police said.

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

Reputed New England Mafia underboss Carmen "The Cheese Man'' DiNunzio may have allegedly been caught on an FBI tape delivering a bribe to secure a Big Dig contract and threatening to throw an associate off a roof, but he never actually hurt anyone, his lawyer argued in federal court today.

Carmen DiNunzio

"Don't take him by his words, take him by his actions,'' said Boston attorney Anthony Cardinale, arguing that DiNunzio, who owns a cheese shop in Boston's North End, isn't dangerous and should be released on bail while awaiting trial on a federal charge of conspiracy to commit bribery. DiNunzio and two associates are accused of a scheme that paid a $10,000 bribe in September 2006 to an undercover FBI agent posing as a corrupt state official in a bid to secure a $6 million contract to provide 300,000 cubic yards of loam to the Big Dig.

Cardinale portrayed DiNunzio, 50, of East Boston, as a harmless person, who refused to retaliate against the undercover agent after the deal fell apart and he kept DiNunzio's money.

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick today announced a 27 percent increase in money for summer jobs, boosting funding for the youth program to $5.6 million, which includes an additional $151,000 for Boston.

"With warm weather approaching and schools letting out, it's absolutely imperative that we offer constructive alternatives to guns, gangs, and violence," Patrick said at a news conference. "Communities cannot be secured through policing alone."

The governor appeared with three Boston teenagers who said jobs they worked through the YouthWorks summer job programs helped them stay out of trouble.

By Globe Staff

Middlesex County prosecutors said today that state Senator James Marzilli will not face charges for an incident last month in which a woman claimed that he had touched her inappropriately.

State Senator James Marzilli

Prosecutors said the investigation had included "multiple interviews" with the woman and additional witnesses who had seen her and Marzilli at a fund-raising event earlier that evening.

"Based on this investigation, it has been determined that there is insufficient evidence to prove criminal charges beyond a reasonable doubt against Mr. Marzilli in this case," the Middlesex district attorney's office said in statement.

(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff/file)

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick today announced a $3 billion bond proposal to repair 250 to 300 deteriorating bridges throughout the state over the next eight years, a project that will pump money into the Massachusetts economy but one that is also 25 percent less ambitious than his original proposal.

"This program will make our bridges safer and create thousands of jobs and long-term economic benefits along the way," Patrick said in a statement. "By investing today, we will complete more bridge projects in less time and at a lower cost.”

The announcement is the culmination of weeks of negotiations between Patrick and State Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill, who opposed the governor’s original plan, saying it was too costly. Last month, the governor floated a $3.8 billion bond proposal to repair 411 bridges.

(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff/file/2006)

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

DANVERS -- The 2006 Danversport factory explosion that destroyed a neighborhood here could have been prevented if one company involved had better safeguards inside its facility, according to a US Chemical Safety Board report released today.

Federal investigators noted in a draft of their final report that the explosion highlighted gaps in state and federal safety regulations that must be fixed to prevent future catastrophes. The Nov. 22 detonation at ink maker CAI Inc. has been called a Thanksgiving miracle because no one was killed or seriously injured.

(Bill Greene/ Globe Staff)/file/2006

"We found an underlying cause was CAI's failure to conduct a hazard analysis or other systematic review to ensure flammable liquids were safely handled during the manufacturing process,'' Wright said in a written statement. "Without safeguards, it is likely that a small but foreseeable human error led to disaster.''

The safety board also released an 11-minute video today that includes actual footage of the fire; audio recordings of 911 calls; computer simulations of the explosion; interviews with local residents; and a step-by-step reenactment of what caused the blast. To watch the video, click here.

By Globe Staff

A 40-year-old school van driver from Roslindale is facing charges that include kidnapping and aggravated rape after allegedly assaulting an elementary school girl he was driving home from school, police said.

Israel Santiago allegedly assaulted the victim at 3 p.m. Friday in a parking lot at Larz Anderson Park. Santiago was driving the victim home in his YCN transportation van, Brookline police said in a statement.

Santiago, who also faces charges of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, was to be arraigned today in Brookline Municipal Court. Police said they were looking into whether Santiago had assaulted the victim in the past.

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

Donna Ricci peered out from her back porch in Hyde Park this morning at a large maple tree that fell in high wind.

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

Winds gusting up to 45 miles per hour forced the cancellation of ferries to Nantucket this morning and downed a towering 40-foot Norway Maple in Hyde Park.

At 8:30 a.m., Donna Ricci said, she heard a crash, felt the ground shake, and looked outside to see that a massive tree had fallen, knocking down three telephone poles, several wires, and part of her fence.

“If it had fallen the other way, it would have destroyed half my house,” said Ricci, who lives on Mount Ash Street. “Oh, I’m just so thankful.”

The tree, which was at least one story higher than Ricci’s two-floor colonial, fell onto Cleveland Street and landed between two other homes, slightly damaging a car across the street. Workers from the Boston Parks and Recreation Department chopped up the tree and hauled it away. Police closed the road for 20 minutes while the live power lines were on the ground, a spokesman said.

Winds were a “little gusty this morning,” blowing 30 to 40 miles per hour in Boston and up to 45 miles per hour on Nantucket, said Alan Dunham, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Taunton. The breezes are the byproduct of a large storm that passed south of New England Monday night.

By Globe Staff

The enormous fireball erupted high into the night sky, sending flames above the trees and homes in Danversport. Shards of flying glass shot into the bedroom of David Marcou on Bates Street, striking him in the back of the neck as he slept. The blast blew the frame from his sliding glass door out of the wall and impaled it in the ceiling above his bed.

“I just remember being on my feet and looking around and thinking, ‘Wow, it’s really windy in this room,’” said Marcou, sitting on a front stoop in a video interview with federal investigators. “All I could see was fire in front of me. It was so hot and intense that I could feel it right on my face.”

Marcou escaped that night with only cuts and bruises, protected in part from the flying glass by the heavy comforter he pulled over himself that cold evening. An 11-minute video released today by the US Chemical Safety Board underscores how fortunate it was that Marcou and other Danversport residents were not killed in the factory explosion on Nov. 22, 2006.

The video posted above includes actual footage of the fire; audio recordings of 911 calls; computer simulations of the blast that upended the bedroom of Marcou and others; interviews with local residents; and a step-by-step reenactment of what caused the blast. Be patient, the video may take a few moments to load.

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

University of Massachusetts President Jack M. Wilson announced his support for rescinding an honorary degree to Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, who is facing international scorn for his regime's bloody campaign against political opponents.

Responding to calls from a key state lawmaker, Wilson recommended that the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees strip the law degree Mugabe received from UMass Amherst in 1986.

“In the two decades that have passed since the honorary degree was awarded, Robert Mugabe has pursued policies and taken actions that are antithetical to the values and beliefs of the University of Massachusetts,” Wilson said in a statement. “I must recommend that we sever the connection that was formed when Robert Mugabe appeared to be a force for positive change in Africa. Today, that promise no longer exists.”

By Matt Collette

The Coast Guard is searching for Christopher Tobey, the 46-year-old owner of a lobster boat that capsized off the coast of New Hampshire yesterday.

The 44-foot lobster boat, Sav-a-buck, based in Kittery, Maine, was reported missing at 10 a.m. by Tobey's daughter.

The boat was found partially submerged near Isle of Shoals off the coast of Portsmouth, N.H., said Petty Officer Third Class Connie Terrell, a Coast Guard spokeswoman.

Tobey’s 16-year-old son and a third crewmember were located earlier today on nearby Duck Island. The two spent the night there and had built a fire to keep warm, said Terrell. Their condition is unknown.

The water is 48 degrees today, Terrell said. It is unknown whether Tobey was wearing a life jacket or if he had other protective equipment.

The Coast Guard is using a ship and helicopter to search for Tobey. The capsized boat remains partially submerged off Isle of Shoals

Tobey’s daughter reported her father, brother, and the third crewmember missing at 10 this morning. The boat was scheduled to return at 5 last night and had been out since 10 that morning.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

A Boston man faces murder charges after allegedly stabbing his roommate in their Jamaica Plain home last night, authorities said.

Fifty-two-year-old Kim John Gaines was at the scene when police arrived at 6:53 p.m. and was arrested on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon after allegedly stabbing his roommate numerous times, said Jake Wark, a spokesman for the Suffolk County District Attorney.

The victim is an Asian male between the ages of 25 and 40 who authorities have not identified further because they have not been able to contact his next of kin.

The charges against Gaines were upgraded to murder after the victim died of his injuries at Brigham and Women’s Hospital at 8:05 p.m.

Circumstances surrounding the stabbing were not immediately clear.

Gaines pled not guilty in his arraignment today at West Roxbury District Court.

Judge Kathleen Coffey ordered Gaines held without bail. He will return to court on June 24.

By Andrea Estes, Globe Staff

House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi has sent an impassioned letter to legislators, defending himself against recent news articles and complaints from the Republican Party that he allegedly violated the state's conflict-of-interest law by advancing legislation that helped his friends.

House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi

DiMasi suggested his problems are the result of the "conduct or actions of others.”

“As elected officials, we in the Legislature are all subject to the unfortunate inclination of others to use our name without our knowledge or authorization," he wrote.

By Globe Staff

Mayor Thomas M. Menino purchased a silver Trek road bike last year and began taking rides each weekday at 5 a.m., pedaling through his Hyde Park neighborhood in the predawn quiet.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino

Bike Week includes a 50,000-mile commuter challenge; free breakfast for cyclists on their way to work; and a "goodie zone" where riders can get free water bottles and more. For a complete list of events and details, click here.

By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Nicole Chuminski adamantly denies setting a fire in a South Boston rowhouse last month that killed two young sisters and witnesses will exonerate her of murder and arson charges, her lawyer said today in court.

Nicole Chuminski

"She has never wavered in the love she felt for those children," White said during his client's arraignment in South Boston Municipal Court.

Chuminski, her eyes red with tears, pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one count of arson. She was ordered held on $1 million cash bail.

Sophia, 3, and Acia Johnson, 14

By John M. Guilfoil, Globe Correspondent

RANDOLPH -- Four people were injured early this morning in a chain reaction accident on Interstate 93 south involving five vehicles, police said.

The southbound lanes of I-93 between Routes 28 and 24 were closed for more than an hour after the 2:20 a.m. crash, said Trooper Eric Benson, a State Police spokesman.

Four people were taken to area hospitals, including one who had been thrown out a car, but the injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, Benson said.

The accident happened after a vehicle merging from Route 28 onto the highway struck another vehicle in the middle lane, Benson said. Both spun into the left lane and were hit by a third vehicle. As the occupants of the third vehicle were getting out of their car, it was struck by a fourth, throwing a passenger from the third car into the road.

The fourth vehicle then spun into the middle lane and hit a fifth vehicle, Benson said.

The southbound lanes of the highway were reopened at around 3:30 a.m.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Boston police and a phone company said today they had corrected 911 problems that sent officers to the wrong neighborhood to investigate a homicide.

Appearing before a Boston City Council committee, Superindent in Chief Robert Dunford and David Green, an official from Comcast, both said the software glitch had been fixed.

On March 9, a woman called 911 to report a slaying and gave police the address of 698 Washington St. Police went to that address in Downtown Crossing first before arriving at the proper address in Dorchester 14 minutes after being called.

Green said the incident highlighted a software glitch that has since been corrected. Some Comcast phone customers were listed only as living in "Boston" when the database should have listed the names of specific neighborhoods.

"We have taken steps'' to update the software, he said.

City Councilor Charles Yancey, while saying public safety officials generally perform their tasks well, called the handling of the call "abysmal.''

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

A report of shots being fired forced a lockdown of Lynn Classical High School, Lynn Police said today.

At 2:45 p.m., police responded to O’Callahan Way and Holyoke Street, about a block away from the school, to investigate the incident.

There was no report of anyone being shot, police said in a statement. The suspect fled the area in a red SUV. Police did not release further information on the suspect or the vehicle.

The lockdown at the school ended at 4:30 p.m. and students were dismissed from school.

By Globe Staff

New England Patriots player Willie Andrews, who was allegedly found with a half pound of marijuana and more than $6,800 in cash during a traffic stop in Lowell in February, has been ordered by a judge to perform community service and complete a substance abuse treatment program.

Lowell District Court Judge Neil Walker ordered Andrews's case continued without a finding for a year, which means that if he complies with conditions set by the judge for that period the charges will be dropped, the Middlesex district attorney's office said today.

Andrews, 24, who was charged with possession of a Class D substance, will have to perform 100 hours of community service by speaking to Lowell student-athletes about the dangers of narcotics, pay a $1,000 fine, and complete an NFL substance abuse treatment program. If Andrews leaves the league, he must report to probation and submit to drug testing, prosecutors said in a statement.

The hard-hitting special teams player was arrested Feb. 5 on Duren Avenue in Lowell after officers pulled over a vehicle and smelled what they believed was a strong odor of marijuana.

By Globe Staff

Police today charged a man with driving to endanger and other violations after he allegedly smashed his delivery truck into eight parked motor vehicles Thursday in Allston before it burst into flames.

Timothy Newton, 38, of Revere, had twice had his driver's license suspended for excessive traffic citations, according to state Registry of Motor Vehicles records and police. But his license was reinstated in July 2007 after he completed a mandatory safe driver course.

Newton and two other people were treated for minor injuries after the trail of crashes on Commonwealth Avenue, which snarled morning rush-hour traffic and forced the MBTA to use shuttle buses while one branch of the Green Line was halted for about four hours.

By Donovan Slack and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

The girlfriend of the mother of two young sisters killed in a South Boston fire was arrested today on murder and arson charges.

Sophia, 3, and Acia Johnson, 14

The sisters died of smoke inhalation and burns when a fire swept through their West Sixth Street home on April 6. Investigators have determined that the fire was started near the front door and quickly spread through the single-family rowhouse. The sisters huddled in a third-floor closet and were trapped under debris.

After a bitter lover’s quarrel, Chuminski “deliberately and maliciously” set her girlfriend’s house on fire, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said at a news conference this afternoon. “That fire spread rapidly, soon engulfing the entire building,” he said.

Conley declined to provide details about the argument or any other events that led up to the fire. He said investigators were able to match an accelerant found at the fire scene with residue on Chuminski’s clothes after the fire.

By Globe Staff

Police at Harvard University are warning students to be careful when they walk through campus and surrounding areas, both day and night, after a female student was attacked early Tuesday in Harvard Yard by a man who put a wire around her neck.

Police said in an e-mail crime alert to students this week that the victim had reported an "assault and battery" at about 1:40 a.m. in the Yard -- the college quad just off Harvard Square -- near Houghton Library by the stairs going down toward Pusey Library.

In a log entry posted on the university police website, police wrote that the unidentified student was "approached from behind by an unknown individual who then placed a wire around their neck. The reporting party stated that they pulled the wire away and kicked the individual.''

In the e-mail to students, police recommended that students take appropriate precautions, such as walking in groups and using the university shuttle bus, van service, and walking escort program.

Police also warned students not to become oblivious of their surroundings by talking on cellphones or listening to music.

"If you suspect you are being followed, stay away from dimly lit areas and head for a store or building that you know to be open. Trust your instincts. If you feel uncomfortable about someone near you, head for a populated area and call the Harvard University Police Department," police said.

By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff

Two teenagers were ordered held without bail today after being arraigned in Roxbury District Court on murder charges in the January 2007 slaying of 13-year-old Luis Gerena.

A Suffolk County prosecutor said that Nurudeen Alabi, 19, and Darrell Rodrigues, 17, both of Roxbury, were gang members who encountered Gerena as he left the Jackson Square MBTA station on Jan. 12, 2007.

Alabi and Rodrigues asked Gerena, who lived in Jamaica Plain, if he belonged to a rival gang and then demanded his cellphone, telling him to “Hurry up, dog,” said prosecutor Mark Hallal.

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

The new commissioner of the state's prison system says he strongly opposes allowing a convicted killer to have a state-funded sex-change operation, saying it would create "insurmountable" safety and security problems.

A month after telling reporters that he would reexamine the federal lawsuit by Michelle Kosilek seeking the operation, Harold Clarke, director of the Department of Correction, has adopted a position similar to that of his predecessor, Kathleen Dennehy.

In papers filed in federal court Wednesday, Clarke said Kosilek would pose an escape risk if the inmate underwent surgery out of state. He also said the inmate could not be placed, after surgery, at MCI-Framingham, the state's prison for women, because Kosilek would likely threaten female inmates and be assaulted by them.

"I do not question the sincerity of Michelle Kosilek's belief that sex reassignment surgery may reduce any anxiety caused by a gender identity disorder," Clarke wrote in a three-page memorandum. "However, based on my review of the designated trial testimony and my many years of experience as a corrections professional, I believe that the safety and security concerns presented by the prospect of undertaking sex reassignment surgery for Michelle Kosilek are insurmountable."

By Andrea Estes, Globe Staff

A close friend of House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi who helped the state's ticket brokers push favorable legislation through the House last year has registered as a lobbyist with the secretary of state's office.

Richard D. Vitale

Vitale did not register for 2007, when the ticket brokers won House approval of a bill that deregulated the ticket resale business by allowing ticket brokers to sell tickets for whatever price the market would bear.

"This is a significant development," said Galvin, whose office has also requested that the Massachusetts Association of Ticket Brokers, led by ACE Ticket Worldwide, also register as an employer of Vitale. So far that group has not filed, the secretary of state's office said.

By Globe Staff

It's prom night, and the teenagers sway and shake to a driving beat. They drink beer, smoke a joint, and get into a car. The screen goes black -- and you hear the sound of a crash. Then come images of the aftermath and the faces of shocked and grieving friends.

That's the outline of the winning video submitted by Jamie Cloutier, a student at Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School, in the state's "Dance. Don't Chance" contest, which was intended to highlight for teens the perils of dangerous driving. The video beat out 22 other submissions from schools statewide.

The award was announced yesterday at Bay Path in Charlton, where three students have died this year, including two in car crashes.

Sheila Burgess, director of highway safety for the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, said she believed that Bay Path students were moved to work on the project partly because of the deaths.

By Globe Staff

The Department of Environmental Protection said today there is no lasting environmental damage from Thursday evening's derailment of a freight car that spilled sodium chlorate along the tracks in a Lawrence train yard owned by Pan Am Railways.

The DEP was among the state and city agencies responding to the spill that led to the evacuation of several homes near the Andover Street yard for about five hours Thursday night.

"There is no environmental impact of significance,'' from the spill, the DEP said today.

A spokeswoman for Pan Am Railways, Cynthia Scarano, said the accident was caused by a faulty switch plate on the track that is now under repair. The hopper car derailed and was struck by another car on another track, opening up an 8-by-10-foot hole. A trail of the chemical, some 2,300 feet long, was left in its wake.

An environmental cleanup crew hired by Pan Am Railways is expected to complete its work by noon, Scarano said. Sodium chlorate is used to make paper and fertilizer.

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

By George Rizer, John R. Ellement, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff, and Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

The driver of a delivery truck that careened down an Allston thoroughfare and smashed into eight vehicles before bursting into flames this morning has twice had his driver's license suspended for an excessive number of traffic citations, according to Registry of Motor Vehicles records.

The driver was identified by a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation as 38-year-old Timothy Newton of Revere. Registry records show that Newton, who got his license in the late 1980s, lost his license for 60 days in 1997 after a total of seven violations or accidents. He lost his license again in 2005 after five other incidents. He got his license back in July 2007 after completing a mandatory safe driver course for the second time.

The crashes on Commonwealth Avenue injured three people, snarled rush hour traffic through the busy Allston area, and forced the temporary shutdown of the B branch of the MBTA's Green Line for about four hours. A portion of nearby Brighton Avenue was still down to one lane late this afternoon so crews could clean up the fire scene.

Walter Moura was pressing pants at Kwik Time Cleaners on Commonwealth Avenue when he heard a loud bang and looked outside. He said he saw the delivery truck smash into a parked car and keep going, ramming into a Range Rover that was forced off the street and into a building. The truck kept going and burst into flames.

"There was smoke all over the place,” Moura said. “In just five seconds, it was all in flames. We wondered how the driver got out of it. It was so freaky. It was an ugly scene."

The flames were followed by four explosions that Moura said he assumed were from the tires and gas tank.

By Katheleen Conti, Globe Staff

REVERE -- A police sergeant who fled the scene after the fatal shooting of an officer last year, and then allegedly diverted an officer responding to the scene so he could get a ride home, was fired today by Mayor Thomas G. Ambrosino.

Siding with a recommendation for dismissal from Police Chief Terence K. Reardon, Ambrosino terminated Sergeant Evan Franklin, 37, stating that his actions the night Officer Daniel Talbot was slain were a "breach of the most fundamental of police responsibilities."

"I have little doubt, as confirmed by Chief Reardon's testimony, that some police officers in our department would have difficulty working with, and under the leadership of, a superior officer who fled the scene, as Sergeant Franklin chose to do," Ambrosino wrote in his decision.

Ambrosino said it was Franklin's "conduct upon confronting the first responding unit, which justifies dismissal."

Franklin, who has been suspended with pay since the Sept. 29 shooting, will appeal the decision, said his Boston attorney Neil Rossman.

By James Vaznis, Globe Staff

A freight train derailed in a Lawrence rail yard today, causing hazardous material to leak and an evacuation of the area.

At about 4:45 p.m., a train with 49 freight cars was departing from a rail yard off Andover Street, near a residential neighborhood, when a broken switch point caused the derailment of the last two cars -- an empty box car and a hopper car filled with sodium chlorate, said Cynthia Scarano, a spokeswoman for Pan Am Railways, which owns the yard.

The runaway hopper car, which carries bulk materials, struck a freight car on another track, creating an 8-by-10-foot hole in the hopper car. The hopper car continued moving, leaving behind an approximately 2,300-foot trail of sodium chlorate, a white grainy substance used to make paper and fertilizer.

No one was injured, although several homes were evacuated.

Hazardous waste specialists cleaned up the material throughout the night. The material can become flammable after it is mixed with water and then dries, Scarano said, but clean up crews were not anticipating any problems. The state Department of Environmental Protection sent an emergency response person to the scene.

The accident caused a disruption in commuter rail service on the Haverhill line, forcing passengers to take a bus for a portion of the trip. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority officials are trying to determine whether the accident will effect the morning train schedule.

(MSPCA Photo)

This ailing Himalayan was one of those turned over to the shelter yesterday.

By Globe Staff

It was raining cats and dogs yesterday at the MSPCA animal adoption facility in Methuen. Actually, mostly cats.

MSPCA officials say a Merrimack Valley woman brought in 51 exotic cats and kittens, including breeds like the Rag Doll, Sphynx, Devon Rex, Himalayan, and Munchkin.

MSPCA spokesman Brian Adams said the woman had been breeding cats and “got in over her head.” She turned them over yesterday.

A number of the animals have an upper respiratory infection and they are all being evaluated for any other illnesses, Adams said.

“We’re going to do everything we can to help these cats along,” he said.

By Globe Staff

Two Boston teenagers are facing charges in the January 2007 slaying of a 13-year-old boy in the city's Jamaica Plain section, Boston Police said today.

Nurudeen Alabi, 19, and Darrell Rodrigues, 17, both of the city's Roxbury section, face murder and weapons charges in the slaying of Luis Gerena, one of the city's youngest homicide victims in recent years.

The two defendants, already in custody on other charges, will be arraigned Friday in Roxbury District Court.

Boston detectives, working closely with Suffolk County prosecutors, solved the case after an exhaustive investigation with extensive cooperation from the community, police said.

"While our work is not yet done, we look forward to speaking in court for a child lost senselessly to violence," Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said in a statement.

Police Commissioner Ed Davis said his thoughts were with Gerena's family and loved ones. "I hope this news brings some small sense of peace as they continue to cope with their sad loss," he said.

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

A state labor panel ruled today that the contentious contract dispute between the city of Boston and its firefighters has gone on long enough, and must be resolved or sent to binding arbitration.

The Joint Labor Management Committee's vote to authorize arbitration had been opposed by firefighters.

But Judge Sam Zoll, chairman of the committee, said, "This has to be resolved."

The next step, while the sides continue in mediation, will be for the committee to meet again and decide whether the thorny issue of random drug and alcohol testing, a late addition to the city's list of demands, would be included in the arbitration. There was no timeline set for when arbitration could begin.

City officials hailed the decision as a positive sign for taxpayers, while union representatives said the committee was caving in to pressure from City Hall and had compromised its neutrality.

(Robert D. Childs/University of Massachusetts)

Scientists hope Cyzenis albicans will attack the winter moths -- and save the trees.

By Globe Staff

A team of scientists will release 1,000 parasitic flies tomorrow in Wellesley, in the latest counterattack against the invasion of winter moths, the voracious insects that are stripping trees of foliage in parts of eastern Massachusetts.

It's the fourth and largest release of the flies. The flies were previously released in Hingham, Falmouth, and Wenham, said Joseph Elkinton, the professor of entomology at UMass-Amherst who is leading the effort.

Clouds of the moths have been seen in recent years fluttering around people's porch lights from Thanksgiving into early January. But they're more than just a nuisance: In their caterpillar stage in the spring they can defoliate trees, said Elkinton.

"These are a serious problem because it's been going on in a number of places for almost a decade. ... This can really kill trees," he said, noting that the moths have also damaged blueberry crops.

By Globe Staff

A man was shot several times this morning on a street near Uphams Corner in Roxbury, police said.

Officers responded to Humphreys Street just after 8 a.m. and found a man with several gunshot wounds. He was rushed to Boston Medical Center, where his condition was not available.

Police are on scene looking for witnesses. No arrests have been reported.

By Kytja Weir, Globe Correspondent

The mayor of Methuen fired the city's police chief this afternoon, more than seven months after the chief was placed on administrative leave amid an investigation into how the city used federal grants.

Joseph Solomon's termination followed seven days of hearings into nine allegations, including charges that he ordered police officers to travel to his sister's house approximately 280 times for non-law enforcement reasons, and authorized an assistant to "triple-dip" by receiving two sets of federal overtime funds on top of her salary.

By Alice Elwell, Globe Correspondent

A Middleborough woman and her boyfriend, both facing charges in the horrific abuse of the woman’s 7-year-old son, were ordered held without bail today after their arraignment in Brockton Superior Court.

Michelle Henry, 30, allegedly allowed David Privette, 22, to torture the boy. Privette has been charged with burning the boy's genital area with cigarettes, beating him with a belt, and urinating on his head.

The couple, who were originally arraigned in District Court after their March arrests, were indicted in Superior Court on April 17.

By Sally Jacobs, Globe Staff

SALEM -- A popular Boy Scout leader who also served as the director of the Haverhill Public Library pleaded guilty today to two counts of raping a boy in his troop more than two decades ago.

Howard W. Curtis, a Haverhill native, was sentenced in Salem Superior Court to two consecutive four- to six-year terms to be served in state prison. Now 58 and graying, Curtis's plea was almost inaudible and he did not make a statement.

Assistant District Attorney Andrew Camelio said that Curtis had an ongoing sexual relationship with Forrest Pettengill starting when the boy was 13. The abuse began on a camping trip and included various forms of sexual engagement. At one point, Curtis made a videotape of their sexual activity, "that was seen by the defendant's wife," said Camelio.

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

Senator John F. Kerry apparently hasn't visited enough coffee shops in Massachusetts.

At least he hasn't been to the ones his Republican challenger Jim Ogonowski visited in a listening tour of the state, as highlighted in the first television ad of Ogonowski's long-shot campaign to unseat the four-term Democratic incumbent.

The folksy ad, released today, features Ogonowski driving himself around Massachusetts going "from coffee shop to coffee shop" to hear voters' concerns.

He then features patrons' puzzled expressions when he asks them if Kerry has ever been in the coffee shop.

One woman's response: "John who?"

The Ogonowski campaign, which reported raising more than $300,000 in the first quarter of the year, would not say how much it was spending on the ad buy. Ogonowski is a Dracut hay farmer who is the brother of an airline pilot lost in the Sept. 11 attacks. He narrowly lost a congressional race to Democrat Niki Tsongas last fall.

A spokesman for Kerry, who was the Democratic nominee for president in 2004, called the ad "fiction" and provided a list of four dozen appearances by the junior senator at Massachusetts events so far in 2008. There did not appear to be any coffee shops on the list.

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

Reputed New England Mafia underboss Carmen "The Cheese Man'' DiNunzio realized he'd been caught in a sting when he was being booked on a bribery charge at the FBI last Friday and the man he thought was a corrupt state official stopped by to say hello.

Carmen DiNunzio

DiNunzio, 50, of East Boston, owner of a North End cheese shop, was indicted along with two other men last week on a charge of conspiracy to commit bribery.

He's accused of trying to bribe the undercover agent in a bid to secure a $6 million contract to provide 300,000 cubic yards of loam for the Big Dig.

By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff

Boston Police said today they will immediately make changes to the 911 call center after acknowledging that in a recent incident officers took 35 minutes to come to the aid of an elderly man who had been beaten and robbed.

Superintendent-in-Chief Robert Dunford said the department would move up a previously scheduled training course for all of its 911 call takers and dispatchers.

The course will address a variety of issues, including how to categorize calls so police know exactly how urgent they are, making sure to verify addresses, and techniques for handling stress, he said.

Police supervisors will also monitor more 911 calls and superintendents and deputy superintendents will also listen in. Right now, calls are usually monitored by the lieutenants and sergeants in charge of the shifts.

“We are a living organization and a learning organization. As information comes in, we try to learn from what took place and how to make the system better,” Dunford said.

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

A plumber suffered first- and second-degree chemical burns this morning when he was splashed with the drain cleaner he was using to unclog a drain in a customer’s sink in Westwood, fire officials said.

Firefighters responded to a home on Gloucester Street at around 9:30 a.m., finding the man with burns on his face and arms, said Westwood Deputy Fire Chief Roderick Morrison. A hazardous materials team was called as well.

Morrison said the man, whose name he did not know, was using Green Blaster drain opener, a commercial product used by plumbers. The powder is mixed with hot water and then poured down a drain to unclog it.

“Somehow it came back up,” Morrison said. “We haven’t been able to figure out why yet.”

The man suffered second degree burns around his eyes and forehead and first degree burns around his arms, Morrison said.

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

A man was killed this afternoon in an accident on Route 128 southbound on the Newton/Wellesley border, State Police said today.

A Toyota Yaris and a tractor-trailer were involved in the accident at Route 16 shortly after 1 p.m. The operator of the car died, said David Procopio, a State Police spokesman. The man's name wasn't immediately released.

The accident caused a traffic snarl, with cars backing up to Route 20 in Waltham, Trooper Eric Benson, a State Police spokesman, said.

By John R. Ellement, Globe staff

Bristol County prosecutors have joined the list of law enforcement agencies investigating a Berlin man, who has been declared a "person of interest'' in six murders of women in Worcester and Middlesex counties that may have been the cruel handiwork of a serial killer.

Alex F. Scesny, 38, is currently being held without bail in the Worcester County Jail for allegedly raping a girlfriend in a West Boylston motel. He has pleaded not guilty.

A relative today spoke in support of Scesny, saying he has been effectively accused of horrific crimes in the media, but has never been charged in a court of law. "He's been tried and convicted before he's ever been charged,'' said Teresa Scesny, a sister-in-law who lives in Tennessee."I think the media is blowing this way out of proportion.''

Today, a spokesman for Bristol County District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter, Jr. said State Police detectives are checking any possible links between Scesny and the murder of 11 women in the New Bedford area in 1988, a series of murders that came to be called the "highway killings.''

(Tom Herde/Globe Staff)

Could it get worse? Waves pounded the seawall at high tide along Stony Beach Road in the Gun Rock section of Hull during an April 2007 storm.

Globe Staff

State officials say they’re launching a groundbreaking program in which they will assist communities perched on the Massachusetts coast in coping with global warming hazards like rising sea level and stronger and more frequent storms.

The program, StormSmart Coasts, was announced today by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, which billed it as a "nation-leading initiative."

The program will begin with four workshops this month, in Norwell, New Bedford, Barnstable, and Danvers, that will offer information on how communities can protect property and people from coastal storms.

By Globe Staff

A 46-year-old Marlborough woman has been convicted of fraudulently obtaining prescriptions for stimulants and painkillers, prosecutors said.

Ellen Frangules pleaded guilty yesterday to charges that between 2004 and 2007, using bogus prescriptions, she obtained the medicines in Massachusetts and Connecticut under her name, the name of her ex-husband, and the names of her children.

She also used the name of a stranger and the name of her former attorney, stealing their identities, the attorney general's office said in a statement.

Suffolk Superior Court Judge Charles Hely yesterday sentenced her to serve two and a half years in jail, with 30 days to serve and the rest of the sentence suspended for five years. He also sentenced her to five years of probation during which she must undergo intensive supervision, including random drug testing and drug treatment.

Frangules was given credit for 30 days she has already spent in jail, so she is now beginning her probationary period, said attorney general's spokesman Harry Pierre.

(Executive Office of Transportation)

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

State transportation officials unveiled the potential locations of up to seven new MBTA trolley stops in Somerville and Medford this week as a more definitive picture emerged of the long awaited extension of the Green Line.

Globe file photograph

The locations of potential stations include Brickbottom at Washington Street, Gilman Square at Medford Street, and Lowell Street, all of which are in Somerville. The trolley would then roll into Medford and stop twice on Boston Avenue at Ball Square and Hillside, which is near Tufts University. The Green Line would then cross back into Somerville, where the final station is under consideration at Route 16 and Mystic Valley Parkway.

The plan also proposes an offshoot from the main trolley line after Lechmere that would service a station at Union Square in Somerville and a 10- to 12-acre rail maintenance yard near Brickbottom.

(Carver Police Photo)

George Cowen's motives weren't immediately known.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

A Carver teen is facing a slew of criminal charges for allegedly driving onto the town's athletic fields, forcing hundred to "run for their lives'' to avoid being struck, according to Carver police.

In a statement released today, police identified the driver as 17-year-old George Cowen and said he lives on Craig Street in Carver. Police said once they stopped Cowen, they recovered a 16-inch knife.

Cowen's motives were not immediately known. Police said upwards of 600 people were on the fields for various sports at Carver High School around 6:40 p.m. yesterday when Cowen allegedly drove a gray Mercury onto the fields.

By Jillian Jorgensen, Globe Correspondent

Police say that the executive director of the Randolph Community Food Pantry and his wife were shoplifting from a local supermarket. But the couple says there was simply a mishap in the self-checkout line.

Ronald DiGuilio, 60, the executive director, and his wife, Rita, 52, both of Randolph, pleaded not guilty at their arraignment today in Quincy District Court to charges they stole between $50 and $60 worth of goods from a Shaw’s Supermarket on Memorial Parkway, according to David Traub, spokesman for the Norfolk district attorney’s office.

Mrs. DiGuilio said the incident Monday was a misunderstanding and that she and her husband were having trouble with the store’s self-checkout machine. She said her husband called over a store employee for help three or four times after being prompted to do so by the machine.

The employee "punched in her code and she told him he was all set, so he just assumed that everything was OK.," she said.

Lynea Nagle of Dorchester, in a fuchsia blouse, painted a flowering tree at Joe Moakley Park in South Boston today that had its own blazing colors. Globe staff photographer Wendy Maeda captured the moment.

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

The Boston City Council will take up a proposal to regulate commercial kitchen hood and vent cleaners next week, instead of tomorrow as council members had hoped, Councilor Mike Ross said today.

The rules would establish a $200 fine for restaurants that fail to have their ventilation systems regularly cleaned by a company certified and licensed by the city.

The rules are a response to the death in August of two Boston firefighters battling a blaze at a West Roxbury restaurant that started in a kitchen ventilation system.

Councilors had hoped to vote on the proposal at their meeting tomorrow, but Ross said the law still was being tweaked.

By Globe Staff

Boston apparel maker Life is good Inc. has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle claims that it distributed children's sweatshirts with drawstrings that could be hazardous and failed to notify government regulators about it.

The agreement with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, under which the company does not admit any fault in the case, was reached last month. The federal agency is accepting comments on the settlement until May 14.

Life is good is known for its upbeat name and the smiling face named "Jake" on its original line of T-shirts.

But the agency said the distribution of the children's sweatshirts in 2006 and 2007 had created a "strangulation hazard to children."

CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson said the agency considers the drawstrings a hazard. And, because of that, Life is good was required to report the problem immediately.

The company, whose official response was included in the settlement, denied that it knew the products posed a risk and denied that it had knowingly violated the federal Consumer Product Safety Act.

(Reuters/ Vorasit Satienlerk )

Burmese soldiers unload boxes of instant noodles Tuesday for cyclone victims.

By Roy Greene, Globe Staff

Patrick Webb, a Tufts University professor and a specialist on humanitarian emergencies, answers questions about challenges the world community faces in responding to the devastating cyclone that struck Burma early Saturday, killing untold thousands.

Patrick Webb

Q. The reclusive clique of generals that runs Burma has said it will accept outside disaster aid. What are the greatest obstacles to providing aid to Burma?

A. Burma, like North Korea, has kept the international community at arm’s length for some time. This is unfortunate for many reasons. The most effective forms of humanitarian response build on pre-existing grass-roots relations with communities that are vulnerable to shocks of many kinds (be they cyclones, tidal waves, earthquakes, or locusts).

Good early warning builds on a deep understanding not only of risks, but also of the capacities that exist among institutions and communities to cope with shocks. That most UN organizations and nongovernmental agencies have not been allowed a long-standing interaction with vulnerable communities in Burma means that there is limited local knowledge of conditions on the ground, and few established partnerships with indigenous organizations that would facilitate timely and tailored actions.

The Burmese have also been reluctant to accept emergency assistance from the US, which means that they are cutting themselves off from potentially large resources that could make a big difference. There was similar reticence among some countries impacted by the Asian tsunami to allow the US ground access because of political and military sensitivities—but when that was overcome the US played a key role in the relief operations.

(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)

By Globe Staff

The sun shimmered this morning on the lagoon at the Public Garden, where storytellers, face painters, politicians, and a four-piece jazz band heralded the return today of the city’s storied swans, Romeo and Juliet.

The ceremony began at the Make Way for Ducklings statue near Beacon and Charles streets, where park rangers read from the 1941 classic children’s book written and illustrated by Robert McCloskey that inspired the sculpture.

A lilting tune from a saxophone and trumpet led a winding parade through the Public Garden, past the George Washington statue, over the pedestrian bridge, and to the lagoon. The swans rode in white carriages festooned with flowers.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino and others spoke, and then the swans were released into the lagoon after spending a long winter at the Franklin Park Zoo.

"It's really a sweet, sweet thing," said Mary Hines, a spokeswoman for the Department of Parks and Recreation.

By Globe Staff

Senator John F. Kerry introduced legislation today that would remove Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela from US terrorism watch lists.

(Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Images)

"Nelson Mandela is one of the world’s strongest voices for human dignity and courage in the face of oppression," Kerry said in the release. "The idea that he’d be on our government’s terror watch list is deplorable. No bureaucratic snafu can excuse this international embarrassment, and we need to fix this policy now."

By State House News

The state Senate today is expected to tackle a nearly $500 million tax package loaded with 43 amendments that include proposals to allow cities and towns to tax hotel stays, meals, and telephone poles.

Republican senators expressed outrage that lawmakers were considering a tax increase a day after the state announced record-breaking April revenues. The GOP filed several amendments of their own, including a tongue-in-cheek proposal to change the title of the bill to “An act to promote economic stimulus in New Hampshire, Rhode Island and other States in the Union.”

Asked about the pithy renaming, Senate President Therese Murray jabbed at the tiny, 12.5 percent minority party in the Senate. "Well, they have to be relevant, there's only five of them,” Murray said.

Other GOP proposals would establish a permanent sales tax holiday in August, repeal tax credits for the film industry that passed into law earlier this session, and require disclosure of monthly revenue estimates no more than three days after they have been provided to the governor.

Democratic Senators Steven Baddour and Susan Tucker moved to strike the portion of the bill that would increase the state’s cigarette tax by $1 per pack, a move that has already been passed by the House.

By Milton Valencia, Globe Staff

An elderly woman whose car crashed into Brockton Hospital in October, killing two people, was sentenced today in Brockton District Court to 18 months of probation.

Jane Berghold, 77, who will also lose her license for 15 years, was charged with motor vehicle homicide in the deaths of Dr. Mark Vasa of Norwell and Susan Plante of East Bridgewater.

She pleaded guilty today and was sentenced by Brockton District Court Judge David Nagle.

A trial “just would have been traumatizing for everybody involved,” said Berghold’s lawyer, Kevin Reddington.

A breast cancer patient from Rockland, Berghold was arriving at the hospital to consult with doctors about radiation treatment when her car plowed through the entrance of the radiation treatment unit on Oct. 15.

By Globe Staff

A Beverly police officer will get a new trial on charges that he slammed his cruiser into a parked car last year, killing a 61-year-old woman.

Stuart Merry, 41, who was convicted in March of motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation in the crash that killed Bonney Burns, asked for a new trial after prosecutors uncovered additional evidence in the case. A Peabody District Court judge today granted Merry’s request.

“The judge ruled that a jury had the right to see that evidence ... and we’re fully prepared to retry the case,” said Jake Wark, a spokesman for the Suffolk district attorney’s office.

Wark said prosecutors had become aware of an opinion held by a member of the State Police crash analysis team on the origin of a crack in Merry's windshield. They hadn't known of the officer's opinion before. Wark didn't immediately disclose any further details.

By Globe Staff

Police reopened Route 1 in Saugus this morning after the road was closed for 90 minutes when a construction crew triggered a natural gas leak.

The road was closed in both directions at about 9:35 a.m. near Jo-Anne’s Fabric & Crafts, said Lieutenant Mike Annese of the Saugus Police Department.

A construction crew accidentally trigged the leak, Annese said. Gas service to the area has been temporarily shutoff, he said.

By Maria Sacchetti, Globe staff

Harvard students and Oxfam America joined international humanitarian groups today to mobilize aid for Burma, hopeful that the country's military junta will allow them to rush relief to cyclone victims.

US government officials and international leaders urged the isolationist regime running the Southeast Asian nation to accept the aid. A UN official said today the junta agreed to receive assistance but was still working out how it would be delivered.

The Washington-based US Campaign for Burma called on government officials around the world to make sure that aid reaches storm victims before illnesses increase the death toll even more. Among the urgent needs are food, water, roofing materials, medicine, blankets, and plastic sheeting.

"We would like to see governments around the world to pressure the regime to allow international humanitarian organizations to do their job," said Jeremy Woodrum, director of the US Campaign for Burma, a political organization pushing to restore democracy to the nation of 48 million bordered by China, Thailand, and India. "They should be allowed to reach out and help people."

Eight high school students were taken to area hospitals with minor injuries today after two school buses collided on the VFW Parkway in Boston, police said.

Both buses were carrying high school students, traveling northbound on the parkway about 2 p.m. when one bus struck the rear of the other, just past Manthorne Road, said Sergeant Robert Bousquet, a state police spokesman. The road remained open, police said.

The accident was under investigation, Bousquet said, and the State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Section was inspecting the buses. -- Jillian Jorgensen

By Michael Paulson, Globe Staff

Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley and Mayor Thomas M. Menino today led a group of dignitaries and dozens of schoolchildren in a groundbreaking ceremony for a reconfigured Catholic school system in Dorchester and Mattapan.

The archdiocese is planning this fall to replace seven existing parish schools in those two neighborhoods with one regionalized school system, called the Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy, that will operate in five locations.

The elementary schools now operating at St. Peter parish in Meetinghouse Hill, as well as those at the former parishes of St. Kevin, in Uphams Corner, and St. William, in Savin Hill, will close. The five remaining school campuses will be located at the parishes of Blessed Mother Teresa on Columbia Road, St. Ann in Neponset, St. Gregory in Lower Mills, St. Mark south of Fields Corner, and St. Angela in Mattapan Square.

By David Abel, Globe Staff

Ticked off by an earlier scuffle and taunted by anti-Yankees chants, a 43-year-old mother pulled out of a New Hampshire parking lot last week and rammed into one of the Red Sox fans taunting her, prosecutors said today.

The woman, Ivonne Hernandez of Nashua, had allegedly been drinking and was charged with reckless conduct, aggravated drunken driving, and second-degree murder. She was arraigned in Nashua District Court this morning on charges she used her car to kill Matthew Beaudoin, 29, of Nashua, who died Saturday of head trauma at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington.

Prosecutors would only say that an argument led to the attack. But a relative of Beaudoin’s said the scuffle escalated after a group of people that included Beaudoin saw a Yankees sticker on the back window of Hernandez’s car. They began chanting “Yankees suck!”

“I want her to rot in a cold jail cell for the rest of her life and remember every day the face that hit her windshield,” Faith Beaudoin, the victim’s sister, said in a telephone interview. “I want her to remember that she took a wonderful, kind-hearted gentleman. She has children of her own. How could she want to harm another’s child?”

Hernandez allegedly sped toward the group, striking Beaudoin and his friend Maria Hughes, 21, with whom she apparently had a fist fight shortly before in the parking lot. Hughes suffered minor injuries.

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

She blazed a trail for all women in the legal profession, but retired Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor sat in the background today as a visiting judge in the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston.

(Globe file photo)

"In the First District court, it is crucial to be precise no matter who the judges are,” said attorney Marc DeSisto, arguing a zoning matter before the panel. “I'm here about three or four times a year, and every judge that I've appeared in front of has been excellent.''

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

The University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees today approved the appointment of Robert C. Holub as chancellor of the state's flagship campus in Amherst.

(University of Massachusetts)

Holub, who said he will probably begin at Amherst around Aug. 1, told the Board of Trustees today that he has an abiding belief in public education as a springboard to a better life.

"I'm convinced public higher education provides a pathway of opportunity to prosperity and eminence," especially to students who would not otherwise continue their studies, he said. "It's a very important part of the American dream."

(Essdras M Suarez/Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff)

Saturday was a typical weekend day this spring as a couple walked with an umbrella through a cold drizzle on Church Street in Cambridge. Weather has been nicer during the workweek as illustrated by Heidi DiLisio, who relaxed on a bench at Fisherman's Beach in Swampscott on Thursday, April 10, when the temperature hit 76 degrees.

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Dawn broke this morning without a cloud sullying the sparkling blue sky as the sun warmed commuters trudging back to their jobs at the start of another workweek.

The glorious spring weather for the morning drive was like a cruel taunt after a gloomy, overcast weekend that saw rain both Saturday and Sunday. That has been the dominant meteorological pattern so far this season: 85 degrees and sunny on a Wednesday, 50-degree drizzle on the weekend.

Since the calendar start of spring, there has been at least a trace of rain or snow on nine of the 14 weekend days. Twelve of the 14 Saturdays and Sundays have been partly cloudy or completely overcast. (One of the clear days -- Sunday, March 30 -- recorded temperatures 9 degrees below average, with a high of 41 degrees and blustery winds gusting up to 22 miles per hour.)

Overall 10 of the 14 weekend days have had below average temperatures. The trend is expected to continue: warm and clear Monday and Tuesday with an increasing chance of rain as the weekend approaches.

"There's a chance of rain on Saturday," said Alan Dunham, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton. "Not on Sunday. Sunday looks nice, but I can't promise anything because it’s a long way off."

By Michael Levenson and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Ridership on the MBTA surged 6.2 percent in the first three months of 2008 compared with the start of 2007, a spike the general manager today attributed to “scary” gas prices that could help set an annual record for trips on subways, trains, and buses.

The steep increase in customers put the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority ahead of other transit systems, which have seen ridership spikes of 2 to 4 percent so far this year, according to Daniel Grabauskas, the MBTA general manager.

“Absolutely no question we are seeing gas prices drive up the ridership numbers here in Boston and in transit agencies across the nation,” Grabauskas said at a press conference this morning at Ruggles T station in Roxbury.

By Sarah Gantz, Globe Correspondent

A 5-year-old boy who was reported missing in Brockton Friday night was found unharmed early this morning, but police are still searching for the his mother's boyfriend, with whom he was last seen.

Derek Pratt, who was found at 4:30 a.m., had last been seen with his mother’s boyfriend, James Howe.

Howe, 39, is 6-foot-3 and weighs 190 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes and police believe he is traveling in a 2001 Kia Optima.

By John M. Guilfoil, Globe Correspondent

HUDSON -- Several hundred people gathered in the cold rain outside the Elks lodge here early this morning, waiting for their loved ones, members of a National Guard unit returning from a deployment to Iraq.

The 186 men and women assigned to Delta Company, 1st Battalion of the 181st Infantry Regiment of the Massachusetts Army National Guard were returning after a one-year tour.

The largest unit of Massachusetts troops deployed during the Iraq War had been surrounded by danger in Baghdad, but no one was killed or wounded.

"We were successful," said the unit's commander, Captain Steve Rooney of Nashua, N.H. “We did not take any casualties even though we made a lot of contact with the enemy.”

By Sarah Gantz, Globe Correspondent

A 25-year-old Waltham man was killed Friday in a two-vehicle crash on Route 3 South near Exit 26 in Bedford.

John Kendis, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected from his Volkswagen Jetta when he crossed over the median from the southbound lanes into the northbound lanes and crashed into a Lincoln sedan at about 10 p.m., the State Police said in a statement.

The Lincoln’s two passengers, Ryan Gochins, 23, and Nicole Sunderland, 20, and the driver, Lauren Vigneau, 20, all of Burlington, were uninjured.

By Richard Thompson, Globe Correspondent

A proposal to allow beer and wine sales in the Martha's Vineyard town of Tisbury fell short by two votes Friday, 692-690, after a recount of an April 15 referendum that had been tied.

Two new "no" votes were found after a closer look at 21 ballots that had registered as blank during the initial count, said Town Clerk Marion Mudge.

The town has been dry since at least before Prohibition began in 1920. Four of the 12 towns that ban the sale of alcohol in Massachusetts are on Martha's Vineyard.

By Globe Staff

Here are some excerpts from the tape recordings that are part of the federal case against Carmen "Cheese Man" DiNunzio and two other men.

In an Oct. 9, 2006 meeting, DiNunzio allegedly discussed the bribe with an undercover FBI agent and a cooperating witness and reassured the agent that another conspirator, Andrew Marino, would not back out.

Agent: What I, what I need though, just so you understand on my end what I need is a guarantee that somebody's got their foot on Marino's neck.

DiNunzio: Listen to me. Right here you got the guarantee from here.

(Editor's note: The gas outage in downtown Boston didn't just affect businesses and restaurants. Here's a resident's take on a life put on hold.)

By Paula Nelson, Globe Staff

I was just told that National Grid is announcing that 100 percent of service is restored! Hooray!

My door was open, and I found Michael the landlord and Donnie the plumber in my kitchen with all four burners aflame on my Thermador stove top. That beautiful blue flame burning high and bright. It was a wonderful sight. They had JUST gotten it working after finding some pockets of water in the gas lines and draining and venting or whatever it is you do to get the gas going where the gas is supposed to go.

I asked if they had tested the oven, which they hadn't gotten around to, so I fired it up and as soon as it was proven to be working ... I whipped up a shiitake mushroom, spinach, and gruyere quiche for dinner. Love that Thermador!

By Globe Staff

National Grid has restored natural gas service to all of the 410 customers who were cut off after a weekend water main break that snapped a gas line and sent torrents of water streaming into the company's distribution network.

The remaining customers were connected by 7:30 a.m. after almost a weeklong outage in sections of the Financial District and North End. Pockets of water remain in National Grid’s distribution system and could continue to cause “brief, isolated disruptions in the future,” the company said in a statement.

“We want to thank our customers for the patience they have shown as we worked around the clock to restore the system,” William Akley, a National Grid senior vice president, said in the statement. “This could not have been accomplished without the support of Mayor Menino, his staff and the city’s public safety officials.”

Crews will remain in the Financial District and North End through the weekend to monitor the system and repair any outages.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

A man facing trial for rape charges is under investigation in the 1996 murder of a Fitchburg woman, and authorities are probing whether he's linked to the murders of several women who had ties to Worcester's Main South neighborhood, a spokesman for Worcester County District Attorney Joseph E. Early Jr. said today.

Alex F. Scesny is currently being held without bail on charges that he raped a woman last year in a West Boylston motel, said Timothy Connolly. Scesny has been linked by DNA forensics to the 1996 murder of a Fitchburg woman, Theresa K. Stone, who had periodically worked as a prostitute, according to a state police affidavit filed in Worcester Superior Court.

A DNA profile of Scesny based on forensic evidence from the 2007 rape matched the DNA profile of Stone's likely killer, the affidavit said.

Asked about a possible link between Scesny and the still-unsolved murders of at least four women who had ties to the Main South neighborhood, Connolly said, “Mr Scesny is a person of interest in the deaths of several women who sometimes worked as prostitutes in the Main South area of Worcester."

(Robert Spencer for The Boston Globe/file)

Carmen "Cheese Man" DiNunzio, shown above during a 2007 court appearance, was arrested today in a Big Dig corruption sting.

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

Reputed New England Mafia underboss Carmen "Cheese Man" DiNunzio was arrested this morning on charges stemming from a 2006 sting operation in which he allegedly gave an undercover FBI agent a $10,000 bribe to secure a $6 million contract for the Big Dig, according to a federal indictment unsealed today.

DiNunzio was trying to obtain a contract to provide 300,000 cubic yards of loam or fill for the Big Dig. The $10,000 was a down payment on a bribe for the FBI agent posing as an inspector for the Massachusetts Highway Department, according to the five-page indictment.

US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan said at a press conference this afternoon that the alleged bribery was "an affront to hardworking Americans whose tax dollars fund projects like the Big Dig."

The FBI used the $15 billion highway project as a lure, Sullivan said, even though there is no evidence that La Cosa Nostra or other organized crime outfits have infiltrated the Big Dig.

Warren T. Bamford, the special agent in charge of the Boston FBI, described DiNunzio’s arrest as a major blow to what remains a very real criminal threat.

"We've caused a significant disruption in this organization,” said Bamford, adding that the FBI will be watching to see who fills the void if DiNunzio is convicted.

DiNunzio, 50, and two other men -- Anthony J. D'Amore, 55, of Revere, and Andrew Marino, 42, of Chelmsford -- appeared this afternoon in US District Court in Boston to face one count of conspiracy to commit bribery in a program that is receiving federal funds.

DiNunzio pleaded not guilty. D'Amore and Marino have yet to hire lawyers, and their arraignment was postponed until May 21. US Magistrate Judge Joyce London Alexander ordered DiNunzio and D'Amore held without bail at the government's request, pending a hearing May 7 on whether they should remained jailed until the case is resolved. Marino was released on personal recognizance.

The magistrate ordered DiNunzio to be held at the federal prison hospital at Devens after his lawyer, Anthony Cardinale, said his client suffers from a heart condition, Type 2 Diabetes, sleep apnea, and other health problems.

Cardinale declined to comment on the charges because he said he has not reviewed all of the evidence against his client. "He takes it seriously,” Cardinale said. “He understands these are serious charges.''

DiNunzio, the rotund owner of the Fresh Cheese Shop on Endicott Street in the North End, is already facing extortion and illegal gambling charges from a 2006 indictment by an Essex County grand jury. DiNunzio has pleaded not guilty to allegations that he was shaking down bookmakers, forcing them to pay his syndicate to stay in business, and running a gambling operation that focused on sports betting. He is facing up to 15 years in prison.

By Kate Augusto, Globe Correspondent

Brookline police are looking for a man who sexually assaulted a woman last night as she walked home from the Red Sox game.

Police said the woman, who was drunk, was walking down Winchester Street at around 11:30 when she began talking about the game with a man.

It started as a friendly conversation. But then the man pinned her down on the front steps of house and sexually assaulted her. He dragged her into a nearby grey mid-sized SUV containing three other men. They drove her to Boston where they eventually freed her, police said.

(Lisa Poole/AP)

Ahern, left, posed under a portrait of John F. Kennedy with Caroline Kennedy, Sen. Edward Kennedy, and Victoria Reggie Kennedy at the presidential library.

By Kevin Cullen, Globe Staff

In his last official act in the United States as Ireland's prime minister, Bertie Ahern today journeyed to the library named after one of his boyhood heroes, John F. Kennedy, and gave the presidential library a $2 million gift on behalf of the Irish people, saying it was a down payment on the debt owed to the most storied Irish-American family.

John Shattuck, the chief executive of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, said the donation will be used to establish the Irish Heritage Collection of the Kennedy Library Digital Archive, underwrite part of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, and develop new public programs on diversity in the slain president's tradition.

Ahern paid a warm tribute to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, whom he described as Ireland's staunchest congressional supporter for 40 years, and Kennedy's sister, Jean Kennedy Smith, who served as US ambassador to Ireland during the years leading up to the historic Good Friday Agreement of 1998, which formally ended the conflict in Northern Ireland. The slain president's daughter, Caroline, joined her uncle in presenting Ahern with a glass bowl made by the Vermont artisan Simon Pearce.

Ahern noted that it was exactly 10 years ago on a Friday that he and his British counterpart, Tony Blair, emerged from the drab Government Buildings complex on the grounds of Stormont in East Belfast to announce they had reached a settlement in the marathon talks chaired by former US Senator George Mitchell of Maine. Not long after that, the Profile in Courage Award was given to Mitchell and the leaders of the eight political parties who forged the compromise, the first time the award named for President Kennedy's Pulitzer Prize-winning book was given to non-Americans.

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

A graduating Northeastern University student paid tribute to her slain mother today in an emotional speech at the school's commencement, saying her mother's work as a therapist had inspired her to finish school after the tragedy.

Arminé Nalbandian

In the chaos of those first couple of weeks after her mother's murder, she said in the speech today, she wondered how she would proceed with her life.

"And then something happened; I realized that there was nothing to do but to go on,'' she said in the annual student speech before a crowd of more than 16,000 at Northeastern's commencement at the TD Banknorth Garden.

Arminé Nalbandian delivered these remarks today at Northeastern University's commencement at the TD Banknorth Garden:

American author Dale Carnegie once uttered the famous words "When fate hands you a lemon, make lemonade." I’ve always been a strong proponent of making the best of the worst situations, but when life handed me the biggest lemon of all just three months ago, I was pretty sure Dale Carnegie was full of it.

I received a call late one night and when the voice on the other end told me that my mom, a psychotherapist, had been killed on the job by one of her patients, the world around me literally fell apart. In the chaos of those first couple of weeks, I remember thinking back to Dale Carnegie’s words and wondering just how I was supposed to make lemonade out of this one.

And then something happened; I realized that there was nothing to do but to go on. There was nothing to do but to face this challenge just as I had faced every other challenge before. So I picked up the pieces, relied on the support around me and made my way back to the real world. By now perhaps you’re wondering how all of this relates to the reason we are all sitting here today. Why bring up such a depressing story at a time when we should be celebrating our achievement?

I’ll give you one reason; because if it weren’t for the lessons I had learned during the past five years at Northeastern University, there is a good chance that I wouldn’t have known the first thing about how to take a lemon and make it into lemonade.

By Globe Staff

A man was shot to death early this morning on a Mattapan street, police said.

The victim, whose age and identity have not been released, was found face down in front of a fence on Oakcrest Road, said police spokesman James Kenneally. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

About 100,000 low-income households in Massachusetts have received gas and electric shutoff notices because of unpaid bills, an anti-poverty agency said today, as it urged those affected to apply for federal and state fuel assistance before a mid-May deadline.

The situtation is a "human disaster," Robert Coard, president and chief executive of Action for Boston Community Development Inc., said in a statement.

Gas and electric companies are barred from sending out the shutoff notices during the winter months. The moratorium expires May 1.

The ABCD, which operates a variety of programs for more than 100,000 low-income residents in the greater Boston area, said the deadline for applying for fuel assistance through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program is May 16.

By Globe Staff

An NStar contractor working in a manhole on Freeport Street in Dorchester received a non-life-threatening injury in a flash fire this morning, the Boston fire department said.

Firefighters raced to the scene after a 911 call at 9:52 a.m. The injured man was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital for treatment of burns, said fire department spokesman Steve MacDonald.

MacDonald said a flash fire is a large electrical arc or spark.

Michael McNally, president of Maverick Construction Corp., the NStar contracting company, said the worker's injuries were non-life-threatening, mainly burns to his hands. The worker was removing some old cable when the accident happened.

“We pull hundreds of thousands of feet of cable for this company ... without incident,” he said. “Until the final investigation, I really can’t speculate on what happened.”

By John Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

CAMBRIDGE -- A subterranean fire has been extinguished in Harvard Square this morning that was sparked by a series of explosions that sent flames shooting out manholes, police and fire officials said.

No injuries have been reported from the four to five explosions, which were triggered by an electrical cable that malfunctioned, said NStar spokeswoman Caroline Allen.

The fire was extinguished at around 8:30 a.m., five hours after Cambridge firefighters arrived on the scene, said Deputy Fire Chief James F. Burns. An explosion in an underground utility tunnel ignited some oil, sending flames shooting out of a manhole 10 feet into the air, Burns said.

Firefighters allowed the blaze to burn itself out and then sprayed water to cool down the electrical conduit tunnel so utility workers to could begin repairs, Burns said.

Traffic is moving again in both directions on Massachusetts Avenue and most other roads have reopened. Bus service on Routes 1, 68, and 69 was temporarily diverted during the fire but has returned to normal, said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo. Subway service on the Red Line through Harvard Square was not affected.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

For someone else, it might have just been a moment to indulge in some nostalgia. But something clicked when John Archer, at the age of 92, came across some poems he had written in 1930. And he began to write.

"I started writing just to amuse myself. Then the verses got serious and started to run away from me," he said.

After a few years, the poems became a book and this fall, as Archer approaches his 100th birthday, "Walking Backwards Towards Old Age" will be printed by a small New Hampshire publishing house.

"I figured if the verses were to go anywhere they had to go on their own and not by my pushing them," said Archer of Concord, N.H. "They are going somewhere now and going on their own."

After working on the book for about five years, Archer self-published it. Phil Englehardt, vice president of sales and marketing at PublishingWorks in Exeter, N.H., found out about it this winter when he was talking with one of the owners of MainStreet BookEnds, a book store in Warner, N.H.

Here are three poems by John Archer, the Concord, N.H., man who will have his first book of poems published in the fall as he nears his 100th birthday.

The Birthday

Dorothy Osborne today will be
The prize-winning age of a hundred and three,
Which makes her the QUEEN in full royalty.
Nonagenarians form her court
Where growing old is the favorite sport.
Born in the nineteenth, only she
Has lived to see a third century.

My Protest

My body is planning my demise,
Thinking to make it a surprise.
It’s all part of a terminal game
With nobody there to take the blame.
If I’m expected to sit and wait,
Meekly to accept my fate,
I hereby protest against evolution
For not finding a better solution
Than to wipe out my generation
In order to renew the population.
The opposite to die is to live forever,
But don’t start counting on that endeavor.

My Statement

Does God exist or does He not?
The answer for me is that God is a thought.
I believe in what I see and feel,
I believe in thoughts because thoughts are real.
But I don’t believe that any thought
Can reach to be what it is not.
Infinite, eternal and divine
Are general notions in my mind.
I can think those things, but not relate
To what is clearly beyond my state.
As a finite being of limited duration,
I’m a human and not divine creation.

By Globe Staff

Two students in the Fitchburg school system have been diagnosed with infections from the MRSA bacteria, the superintendent said.

Superintendent Andre Ravenelle said he confirmed today that two students had the antibiotic-resistant staph infection. He said he had sent a letter home to parents, informing them of the situation, along with information on MRSA and precautionary measures to take.

He said the local Board of Health and the state Department of Public Health would be monitoring the situation, and the schools would be working closely with the health authorities.

He said he could not reveal the names of the children with the virulent infection or reveal their conditions due to confidentiality issues.