By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

The US Justice Department will stop monitoring Boston's elections, three years after it sued the city for failing to accommodate voters with limited English skills, removing a layer of scrutiny of a department beset by criticism.

But Secretary of State William F. Galvin said today he has not decided whether he will end state oversight of the city's election commission, saying he wants assurances that improvements will be maintained in how votes are counted and ballots are delivered to polling places.

Voting-rights groups largely praised the city's handling of the November election, issuing a joint statement saying problems at the polls were resolved promptly by city officials. Observers from local advocacy groups, Galvin's office, and the Justice Department watched that election closely, because it followed a pair of election cycles in which Boston officials were accused of hampering some citizens' ability to vote.

In a Dec. 23 letter to William Sinnott, the city's corporation counsel, Justice Department officials said the agency was satisfied with the city's changes.

"The dramatic increases in the number of bilingual poll workers, combined with the city's poll worker language training and translation of election materials, has led to an equally dramatic decline in the mistreatment of minority voters that marred elections prior to the agreement," said the letter, signed by Jared M. Slade, an attorney with the voting section of the Justice Department's civil rights division.

(Essdras Suarez/Globe Staff)

The Greater Boston Chinese Cultural Association dragons took part in the parade along Boylston Street.

By Milton Valencia and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff, and Jenna Nierstedt, Globe Correspondent

First Night revelers braved driving snow and vicious winds to head to downtown Boston tonight, choosing to ring out 2008 with a bang.

Bundled up to cope with the elements, people checked out ice sculptures, art events and the Grand Procession.

"The cultured community is out here, through rain, sleet, snow and cold," Mayor Thomas M. Menino said, arriving just in time for the parade down Boylston Street to the Boston Common.

"This is New England, not Miami, Fla. You expect this."

By Globe Staff

Snow tumbling out of the sky, wind chills plummeting below zero -- how many layers do you think you should put on?

For the participants in the "L Street Brownies New Year's Day Swim," the answer is zero. Or maybe one-half, if you count the bathing suit.

Members of the oldest "polar bear" swimming club in America will take a dunk Thursday at the Curley Community Center on Columbia Road in South Boston. It has been a New Year's Day ritual for more than 100 years.

Freddy Ahern, the community center director, said he expected 300 to 400 people to show up, despite the cold temperatures. The temperature is expected to drop to 8 tonight, with a wind chill of 11 below, and only rise to 21 tomorrow.

Ahern said the water temperature in Dorchester Bay has been about 38 degrees in recent days. "Tomorrow's going to be ideal conditions for a real L Street Brownie," he said. "Its going to be warmer in the water than out of the water."

"Celtic Pride" is the theme this year, celebrating the fortitude of the Brownies and South Boston residents. Organizers are encouraging people to come in creative costumes.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Legislation that would put teeth into municipalities' health, building, and sanitary ordinances is advancing through the state Legislature.

The legislation would allow cities and towns to add to property tax bills the "tickets" that are issued by communities for violations of the ordinances. If the property owner doesn't pay up, then a lien could be placed on the property.

Representative Marty Walz, a Democrat from Boston's Back Bay who has been pushing for the bill, said millions of dollars in unpaid "green tickets" have been ignored by property owners in Boston.

"The idea is that if the tickets are taken seriously because you're going to end up having to pay them, you're more likely to comply with the law," she said. She said she hoped the bill, which received a preliminary approval this week in the House, would receive final approval in both the House and Senate Monday and be placed on the governor's desk.

By Globe Staff

Mothers who want to breastfeed their children in public would get legal protection under a bill that received final approval from the Legislature today.

The bill, "An Act to Promote Breastfeeding," is headed to the governors desk after being enacted by the Senate, said Senator Susan Fargo, the Lincoln Democrat who championed the bill.

Currently, women who breastfeed their children in public could be prosecuted for indecent exposure or lewd conduct. If convicted, they could even be forced to register as sex offenders, Fargo said. The legislation authorizes breastfeeding in public places and makes it clear it is not illegal.

Massachusetts has been one of three states in the nation without such a law on the books.

"For something that's so healthy and so natural and supported by so many health groups, it just makes so much sense" to pass the protections for breastfeeding, Fargo said.

(WBZ-TV)

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

It was already a packed flight from Amsterdam to Boston, but passengers and crew were more than happy to make room for one extra person this morning when a Ugandan woman gave birth to a baby girl.

Two doctors aboard Northwest Airlines flight 59 sprang into action when the call came across the Boeing 757's public address system for a medical emergency. The physicians found a woman 8-1/2 months pregnant and moaning with severe abdominal pain. She was obviously in labor and the child's head had already crowned, according to the doctors.

As the plane cruised somewhere over Canada, the doctors laid the woman across a row of seats in coach class while a husband and wife from Danvers held up a blanket to create a makeshift delivery room. Flight attendants grabbed a medical bag and handed the doctors surgical gloves, a clamp, and scissors. At about 9 a.m., the woman gave birth to a 6-1/2 pound baby girl she named Sasha.

By Globe Staff

Public officials encouraged people to drive carefully or stay off the roadways and use public transportation, if possible, during the New Year's Eve snowstorm that is blanketing the state.

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino encouraged people to take the MBTA when they head to First Night festivities in the city. City transportation officials said detours will be in place, streets will be congested, and parking will be limited downtown. They also warned that cars violating basic safety regulations, such as parking too close to hydrants or intersections, would be towed.

While State Police expect fewer commuters during the day, officials are worried about evening drivers going to or returning from New Year's celebrations, said David Procopio, a State Police spokesman. He encouraged drivers to slow down.

The MBTA will offer free service to holiday revelers tonight from 8 p.m. to 2:30 a.m.

By James Vaznis, Globe Staff

The governor's ambitious overhaul of public education -- from universal preschool to free community college -- appears likely to be placed on hold, as the state grapples with a massive budget deficit that could lead to funding cuts for local school districts.

An education finance committee that was appointed by the governor last summer said today that the economic downturn is preventing it from recommending any immediate measures to raise revenue to pay for the governor's plan. Instead, the committee recommended modest cost-saving measures that could yield $550 million.

"The commission recognized that the state is facing completely different fiscal realities than were contemplated this past summer," according to a report released today by the commission. "The most recent estimates for the fiscal year 2010 budget predict a deficit of between $2 and $3 billion dollars. ... The commission's deliberations, therefore, concentrated on the urgent need to find opportunities for cost savings and to maintain support for our education system in a time of inadequate resources."

The cost-saving measures focus heavily on encouraging local school districts to pool together resources to increase their ability to negotiate better purchase prices for things such as health insurance, energy contracts, and classroom supplies as well as share some administrative jobs.

By Globe Staff

A judge has reduced bail to $7,500 for the Walpole High School football coach who is accused of raping a 15-year-old girl.

Dedham Superior Court Judge Barbara Dortch-Okara set the new bail for Daniel Villa at a hearing today, said Norfolk district attorney's spokesman Kevin Bowe. Bowe had no comment on the judge's decision, which was a sharp reduction from the bail of $100,000 set by a district court judge Tuesday.

Villa's attorney, Heather V. Baer, had no comment on the ruling after the hearing. She had argued in district court that bail should be set at $15,000.

Villa, a 44-year-old married father of four from Walpole, is a former Patriots lineman who led the Walpole team earlier this month to a victory in the Division II Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium. He first met the girl when she was in elementary school and he was her basketball coach. He allegedly gained her trust and is accused of repeatedly assaulting her.

(Pool Photo)

McCauley at his arraignment today.

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

WOBURN -- The half-brother of Dane Cook allegedly embezzled more than $10 million from the comedian in a series of thefts that included cashing a forged $3 million check at a bank in downtown Boston, a prosecutor said today in court.

Darryl McCauley, 43, allegedly signed Cook's name on the check and cashed it at the Bank of America branch at 100 Federal Street in the Financial District. The cash funded McCauley on a cross-country trip by plane, train, and rental car, according to Assistant Attorney General Richard D. Grundy. McCauley, who has been Cook's business manager since the early 1990s, also allegedly wired large amounts of money to himself.

"None of these moves were authorized by Mr. Cook," Grundy said in Woburn District Court.

After McCauley's arrest on Tuesday, authorities searched his home in Wilmington and another residence in Maine, where Grundy said they discovered $800,000 in cash in $100 bills.

McCauley, a burly man dressed in a polo-style shirt, said little during his brief arraignment. He pleaded not guilty to charges of larceny, forgery, and larceny by continuous scheme.

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

Quick-thinking neighbors William Vaillancourt (left) and John Beleheen grabbed a ladder.

By Maria Cramer and Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff

Neighbors used a ladder to save a couple this morning from a balcony on the top floor of a burning triple decker in Savin Hill.

John Beleheen, a Boston Globe truck driver, said he was walking down Tuttle Street when he saw the flames and heard screams. He ran to his neighbor William Vaillancourt's house and the two men rushed to the fire with a tall, red ladder. The flames and smoke grew more intense and the couple, in their 30's, looked as if they were ready to jump.

"We told them 'Don't jump! We're going to get you down!' " Beleheen said.

Vaillancourt added: "They were very panicked, very panicked."

Beleheen said he helped bring the woman down first, then the man, as smoke billowed around them. Firefighters arrived moments later.

No one was seriously hurt in the three-alarm fire, which started before 10 a.m. in the building at 56 Tuttle St., near the Southeast Expressway. Firefighters extinguished the blaze, which appeared to have destroyed all three floors of the building.

By Globe Staff

The Coast Guard is investigating an accident this morning involving a tanker that slammed into a pier at the Conley Terminal in South Boston.

The 598-foot Norient Baltic Commander I struck Berth 14 at the terminal about 11.30 a.m. No injuries were reported, and the Coast Guard said there was no leak of gasoline into the water.

Petty Officer Connie Terrell said the vessel lost propulsion and struck the pier, causing some damage as it was moving from the Conley Terminal to the Black Falcon terminal.

Terrell said the vessel, whose home port is Cyprus, was escorted by tugs back to the Black Falcon Terminal where it was inspected for damage.

Coast Guard investigators are on the scene and a boom has been put around the ship as a precaution.

(Matthew Lee/ Globe Staff)

More than 3,000 revelers gathered a day early on Tuesday to celebrate Seniors First Night. The crowd at the Seaport World Trade Center included longtime friends Constance Claiborne, Fannie Banks, and Cathy Arrington.

Ted Gartland, a dayside photo editor at the Globe, has been taking pictures in metropolitan Boston since 1971. To view the work of more Globe photographers, click here.

Here is the news Globe deputy city editor Mike Bello is following this morning:

Breaking Now

First Night plans on track as storm bears down

Man seriously injured in Danvers crash

3-alarm fire rages in Savin Hill

Buzz

Mass. faces another $1b in cuts

Fiscal woes already mean wait, worry for ailing elders

Cahill ally ends lobby work for lottery vendor

By Michele Richinick, Globe Correspondent

A man was rushed to a hospital with serious injuries this morning after a collision between a car and a pickup truck on Route 1 in Danvers, according to a State Police spokesman.

The man was driving a 1985 Toyota Corolla at 7 a.m. when he pulled out of a gas station on the northbound side of Route 1. He tried to cross the travel lane to go south when he was struck by a 1995 Dodge Ram pickup, said State Police Trooper Thomas Murphy.

The man driving the Corolla was rushed to Beverly Hospital. The operator of the Dodge Ram was not hurt, Murphy said.

The crash remains under investigation.

By Milton Valencia, Globe Staff

A 43-year-old Wilmington man allegedly stole millions of dollars while working as the business manager for the comedian and actor Dane Cook.

Darryl McCauley, who is Cook's half-brother, is facing charges of larceny over $250, larceny by continuous scheme, and forgery.

The attorney general's office announced the charges against McCauley this afternoon without identifying the "national entertainer with local ties" he allegedly bilked.

But a friend of Cook's said McCauley was Cook's manager and state records identified McCauley as an official in Cook's company, Great Dane Enterprises Inc. Cook's attorney, Joseph Zwicker, had no comment, but said he planned to attend McCauley's arraignment Wednesday in Woburn District Court.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Remember that 60-degree Sunday? Forget about it. Winter's coming back with a vengeance. A storm arriving Wednesday morning will drop 4 to 8 inches of snow on Massachusetts, forecasters said today.

Then, when the flakes begin to taper off during the evening, First Night revelers will have to contend with temperatures in the teens and the bite of a cold wind that will make it feel like it's below zero, forecasters said.

"Snow is one thing, but that wind chill is going to be like a one-two punch," said National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Simpson.

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency suggested that people take precautions if they have to travel Wednesday, saying the storm will impact both the morning and evening commute.

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick said this afternoon that he was preparing for up to $1 billion in additional mid-year budget cuts, raising the specter of possible reductions in local aid to municipalities and additional layoffs of state employees.

"There's a lot of pain, and it's going to have to be spread around," Patrick told reporters during a 30-minute briefing in his State House office. "Nobody's enjoying this. This is incredibly difficult."

The cuts will come on top of his plan just two months ago -- when he announced a solution for a $1.4 billion shortfall through budget cuts, reserve money, and layoffs – and are the result of dramatic reductions in capital gains and retail sales tax collections.

State revenue officials forecast at mid-month that tax revenues had plunged even farther. And Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray signaled that the Patrick administration would not rule out local aid cuts.

Patrick's earlier plan did not include cuts to local aid, but the governor is now saying he may have to cut what is a large funding source in many municipal budgets.

"Everything's on the table," Patrick said, "including local aid."

By Globe Staff

Boston police released a surveillance video today from a Starbucks of a robbery suspect wanted in connection with five holdups in the last two weeks in Back Bay and the Fenway.

Investigators hope that someone might recognize the man in the video. He hit his most recent target at 8:20 p.m. on Monday when he passed a note to a barista at the Starbucks on Brookline Avenue. The coffee chain has offered a $1,000 reward to anyone with information that leads to his arrest.

(Essdras Suarez/Globe Staff)

The city is trying to save the venerable Out of Town News newsstand.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

A young man buys a magazine at the Out of Town News newsstand in Cambridge's Harvard Square. He shows it to a friend. It could have happened at any time over the past five decades at the newsstand in the busy crossroads.

(Stan Veit/Digibarn Computer Museum

"I can still remember grabbing the Popular Electronics as if it was yesterday," Allen, who made the fateful purchase, said last week in a statement.

It's the stuff of which legends are made. It's also another episode in the rich history of the newsstand, which is facing an uncertain future. Hudson News of East Rutherford, N.J., has told the city that it does not plan to renew its lease Jan. 31, citing a diminished demand for printed news, the Globe reported last month. The city is seeking new vendors who can make a newsstand work on the site.

(Registry of Motor Vehicles)

A green license plate remains valid unless the reflective paint has faded and, like the tag above, it is no longer visible from 60 feet away.

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

It's not that easy being green, especially these days for old-fashioned Massachusetts license plates with emerald-colored letters and numbers.

A bogus campaign has taken aim at the 25-year-old green motor vehicle tags, sparking a run at Registry of Motor Vehicles offices by hundreds of drivers who wrongly believe they need new plates.

The sham has circulated widely at inspection stations, dealerships, and insurance agencies across the state. It was fueled by a crude fake flier topped with the header "!!ATTENTION!!" that incorrectly told drivers that the green plates were being phased out.

The flier, which the RMV said had gained so much credence that it was handed out last month at a Salem Police Department roll call, warned that motorists who waited until after Dec. 31 to swap the old tags for new plates with red letters and numbers would have to pay $65.

"It's not true. It is just not true," said Registrar Rachel Kaprielian, whose office has been trying to debunk the inexplicable myth for more than a month. "We would have staff meeting and be scratching our heads. Why is this still out there?"

(Aram Boghosian for The Boston Globe)

By Michael Levenson and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

WRENTHAM -- The former Walpole football coach accused of child rape began the alleged seduction in his office at the high school, where he told the female student he was there if she needed to talk, according to a police report filed today in court.

Then came text messages -- as many as 500 in a single month -- between Daniel Villa, 44, and the 15-year-old girl, who he had coached in basketball before she entered high school. In early October, the former offensive lineman for the New England Patriots persuaded the girl to sneak out of her parent's home and meet him at 10:30 p.m. They parked in his car in a secluded spot and talked about school and sports, according to the report.

The late meetings continued, usually on Friday nights, over the next two months, and talking progressed to kissing, fondling, and finally rape, according to the report. The girl's father discovered the text messages and on Dec. 11 she told the coach she was not allowed to see him anymore. Villa told her he loved her, according to the report, and he said he had made a mistake that was going to cost him his wife and kids.

The girl told police that Villa “did something he shouldn’t have done and that he should have known what he did was wrong,” according to the report.

By Globe Staff

A former Walpole High School football coach posted $50,000 bail in Arizona and flew on a commercial flight last night back to Massachusetts to face child rape charges.

Daniel Villa, 44, will be arraigned today in Wrentham District Court after flying unaccompanied on an airliner that landed shortly after midnight. He was taken into custody at Logan International Airport by Walpole and State Police, who were aware of his impending arrival.

Villa was booked at the Walpole Police Station and is expected to be arraigned on three counts of rape of a child over 14 and three counts of enticing a minor. Police believe the only victim was a female Walpole High student-athlete.

Prompted by falling ticket purchases, the North Shore Music Theatre announced Monday it would close its doors in January unless it gets immediate philanthropic support.

The not-for-profit theater in Beverly, operating since 1955, will close on Jan. 11 with its latest production, "High School Musical 2'', the theater announced in a release. Layoffs will begin on that date.

''Effects of the crumpling economy, lower than expected donations and ticket sales all season long have left the theatre unable to cover its operating costs – a national decade-long trend that is impacting theaters across the country,'' the theater said. "Further compounding the problem is debt that resulted from a devastating fire in 2005 that forced the theatre to make a major investment in its facilities.''

Board chairman David Fellows said the only way the theater would stay open would be with an infusion of $500,000 by the end of January and $4 million by late spring.

The theater, encouraging public support, said it could raise $400,000 more if each remaining performance of "High School Musical 2'' is a sellout, enough to keep the theater going for a short while.

The theater calls itself the largest non-profit producing theater in
New England, with about 350,000 patrons annually. It also has become a leading regional provider of theater arts and education.

By Globe Staff

A former Walpole High School football coach will not be returned to Massachusetts to face child rape charges until at least next week, when an extradition hearing has been scheduled in Tucson.

Daniel Villa, 44, of Walpole made his initial appearance today in Arizona Superior Court, where he was seen by a magistrate via video from the Pima County jail. He is being held on $50,000 bail pending an extradition hearing, which has been scheduled for Jan. 6.

Villa, who played six years for the New England Patriots during his professional football career, faces three counts of rape of a child over 14, and three counts of enticing a minor. Police believe the only victim was a female Walpole High student-athlete.

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

First, a season for the ages ended in agony, a quest for perfection dashed by a rival quarterback's mad scramble and a little-known receiver's miracle catch. Then, minutes into a promising new season, superstar quarterback Tom Brady crumbled to the ground in anguish, and legions of Patriots fans did the same.

Somehow, the squad soldiered on, and loyalists embraced their new role as gritty underdogs. As the wins mounted, hope returned. Surely, fans told each other, fortune would smile on a team so determined.

But 2008 was not the Patriots' year: Despite winning an impressive 11 games, the Patriots were narrowly denied a playoff berth Sunday for the first time since 2002.

The disappointing end to a rollercoaster season left many fans struggling to find their equilibrium today, torn between anger and acceptance as they shopped, returned gifts, or went back to work downtown after a holiday break.

"When you put your fate in the hands in the football gods, it can go either way," said Bernie Wiley, a 62-year-old from Sharon proudly wearing a Patriots hat celebrating past championships. "You can get helped along, but you can also get smacked."

By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

SOMERVILLE -- A woman who was allegedly a longtime victim of domestic abuse told police that she killed her boyfriend over the weekend with a kitchen knife in the midst of another argument, according to a defense attorney and a police report filed today in court.

Kimberly C. Savini, 30, grabbed a knife off of the stove on Saturday afternoon and plunged it into the chest of her boyfriend, Arnaldo Amado, 42.

"Yes, I stabbed him, but he attacked me first," Savini told police, according to the report.

In Somerville District Court, Savini pleaded not guilty to a murder charge and was held without bail. Defense attorney Maria Curtatone pointed to what she described as bruises on her client's neck, chin, and forehead as evidence of chronic abuse. Amado returned home at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday highly intoxicated, Savini told police.

Assistant Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan acknowledged that the couple had a history of domestic violence at their Greenville Street apartment. Neighbors said, however, that Savini was often the aggressor, Ryan said in court.

By John Drake, Globe Staff

Ice sculptures should hold up all day during the city's First Night festivities, with temperatures expected to dip into the low teens as an estimated million people crowd Boston to ring in the New Year.

City and First Night officials said today the $1.3 million party will include 200 performances and exhibits in 40 venues.

The only question, they said, is whether the winds on what is expected to be a blustery day will force cancellation of the two fireworks displays planned for the evening.

In addition to the chilly temperatures, 2 to 4 inches of snow are expected overnight Tuesday and Wednesday morning, which Transportation Commission Tom Timlin said adds to the array of reasons to take public transportation into the city.

Parking will be limited and traffic will be diverted around events, but MBTA service will be free after 8 p.m. and offering expanded routes.

First Night organizers are again urging people to buy First Night buttons for $18 to underwrite the cost of the event. Officials say since the buttons are sold at various convenience stores and other outlets across the city, it is difficult to assess sales totals until after the new year.

On-line button sales, which last year accounted for 5 percent of the total, were up 44 percent from last year, said Geri Guardino, executive director of First Night.

Joyce Linehan of First Night will answer questions about preparations for the celebration during a boston.com chat at 2 p.m. today.

(Barry Chin/Globe Staff)

The wind in Buffalo on Sunday was strong enough to tilt the goal posts prior to the Patriots game against the Bills. The Patriots won 13-0 but failed to qualify for postseason play.

Ted Gartland, a dayside photo editor at the Globe, has been taking pictures in metropolitan Boston since 1971. To view the work of more Globe photographers, click here.

Here is the news Globe deputy city editor Mike Bello is following this morning:

Buzz

Homicides among black males spike

Pricey meals, costly galas add up for mayor

Thanks to video, Marine in Iraq is at wife's side for delivery

By Benjamin Paulin, Globe Correspondent

The former coach of the Walpole High football team that won a state football championship earlier this month turned himself in to police in Tucson, Ariz. tonight after he was charged with raping a student at the school.

Daniel Villa

A former professional who played six years for the Patriots, Villa faces three counts of rape of a child over 14, and three counts of enticing a minor, police said. The warrant for his arrest was issued Friday in Wrentham District Court.

Police believe the only victim was a Walpole High student-athlete. The crimes occurred in the past several months, said Walpole Police Chief Richard Stillman. He would not elaborate on the details of the case.

The Walpole High School principal sent a note Saturday to parents, saying the school administration "will do everything that we can to support our students, protect any and all alleged victims, and keep the orderly operation of the high school as our highest priorities," according to a copy of the message provided to the Globe by a former student.

He added that guidance and counseling staff will be available at the high school on Monday for students. The school is currently closed for the holidays until Jan. 5.

Police thought Villa, 44, a Walpole resident, was going to turn himself in late Friday, said Stillman, but he did not show up. A source close to the investigation said that Walpole had issued a nationwide "lookout" for Villa, and that by today police believed he was not in Massachusetts.

Then, just before 9 p.m. this evening, Tucson police sent Walpole investigators a teletype saying they had the former pro football player in custody.

"It's what we needed to have happen," Stillman said. "To be that far away from here was not a good place to be and it definitely gave us reason to believe he might not come back. We're gratified he's now in custody."

Villa's lawyer, Heather V. Baer, issued a statement by e-mail saying that Villa had originally planned to surrender Monday.

"On learning this afternoon that Arizona police were nevertheless seeking to arrest him on the Massachusetts charges, Mr. Villa turned himself in to local authorities," the statement said. "Mr. Villa intends to plead not guilty at his arraignment in Massachusetts."

Road closures and other transportation advisories for the week of Dec. 28:

The I-90 East high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) tunnel to Logan International Airport will be closed Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Two to three lanes of I-93 South will be closed approaching and through downtown Sunday through Tuesday from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.

The Haymarket onramp to I-93 South and the Callahan Tunnel will be closed Monday from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

The manager of a Randolph fast food restaurant was shot multiple times Friday night during an attempted armed robbery, police said.

A man wearing a black ski mask and a black hooded sweatshirt demanded money at 11:10 p.m. from the manager of Burger King located at 18 North St., Police Chief Paul Porter said.

The suspect shot the manager, whose name was not released by police, three times, once in the chest and in each leg.

The manager was taken by ambulance to Brockton Hospital, where he was listed in fair condition today. The suspect fled on foot without the loot.

By Milton Valencia, Globe Staff

A 19-year-old man is in stable condition after being shot this afternoon in the city's Downtown Crossing area, Boston Police said.

The incident happened at 4:20 p.m. at the corner of Temple Place and Washington Street, said Superintendent Rafael Ruiz. The victim, who was shot in the hip, was taken to a local hospital.

The shooting took place near a sausage stand in front of Macy's, Ruiz said.

Police are looking for a Hispanic male wearing jeans and a red sweatshirt.

(Victoria Arocho for The Boston Globe)

The boilers sit away from the house. But some say the smoke they produce is potentially harmful

By Globe Staff

Outdoor wood-fired boilers, which have sparked controversy in some parts of New England because of the smoke they spew, will be regulated more tightly, under new regulations that go into effect today in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts is one of only a few states that restrict pollution from such boilers, which are also known as outdoor hydronic heaters, state environmental regulators said.

Outdoor boilers are located in small, insulated sheds with smokestacks usually six to 10 feet tall. They burn wood to heat water that can then be piped to buildings, greenhouses, and swimming pools, the Department of Environmental Protection said.

By Anne Baker, Globe Correspondent

A 22-year-old Brockton man was found fatally injured on the living room floor in an apartment in Brockton shortly after midnight this morning, Plymouth County prosecutors said.

Hercules Dossantos was suffering from an apparent gunshot wound, said Bridget Norton Middleton, a spokeswoman for the Plymouth district attorney's office. She said investigators believe Dossantos had been attending a Christmas party at the apartment.

Dossantos was transported to Brockton Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. No arrests have been made.

Meagan McCormic's booking photo.

By Maria Sacchetti, Globe Staff

A 22-year-old former Boston woman was arrested in Miami today for falsely claiming that a French nanny kidnapped her 6-month-old baby boy in Florida, police said.

Miami Police said the boy she called "Riley" – and the nanny named "Camile" – never existed. Instead, 22-year-old Meagan McCormic allegedly used a photograph of a brown-haired infant to lure her boyfriend, John Buchness, from Boston to Miami to visit the boy. She allegedly told Buchness that Riley was his son.

"It’s an unfortunate waste of resources," said police spokeswoman, Officer Kenia Alfonso. "What this woman did to try to lure her boyfriend to think that he had actually a child. ..She was quite creative. She cried. She did everything."

McCormic is charged with providing false information to authorities and is being held pending a bond hearing. Her urgent and tearful pleas for Riley's return triggered a massive two-day search and missing children's alerts starting Christmas Eve until today, when she allegedly confessed at the police department after being confronted with inconsistencies in her story.

She had told police that Riley, a 6-month-old with green eyes, had been allegedly taken by the nanny in a red Acura with a Massachusetts license plate. In her confession, police said, she said she had a miscarriage in March 2008 and never had a baby.

(Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff)

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

LAWRENCE -- A Christmas morning fire that gutted a small storefront church was probably caused by an electric space heater, fire officials said this morning.

The three-alarm fire broke out at about 3:30 a.m. Thursday at the one-story brick building on Newbury Street, a thickly settled stretch of homes and shops.

"It's a strong possibility that the heater started an electrical fire," said Lawrence Fire Chief Peter Takvorian. "Everything is pointing to that electrical outlet." Officials are continuing to investigate the cause, he said.

Takvorian said the pastor of the Iglesia Nueva Jerusalem church told investigators that the portable heater was turned off but remained plugged in. The fire caused an estimated $200,000 in damage. The building owner did not have insurance, Takvorian said.

By Globe Staff

Two women received non-life-threatening gunshot wounds when they were leaving a bar early today in the Uphams Corner section of Dorchester, police said.

Police were called at about 1:26 a.m. to Boston Medical Center, where the women had sought treatment.

The women told police they heard three to four gunshots coming from an unknown direction when they were leaving the Dublin House bar, police said in a statement.

Here is the news Globe deputy city editor Mike Bello is following this morning:

Breaking Now

Lynn man allegedly posed as veterans' foundation official

Fire in Lawrence destroys storefront church

Buzz

As energy prices ease, anxiety doesn't

Going with climate's flow

Health revamp a joint mission

By Eric Moskowitz, Globe Staff

A 44-year-old Lynn man was arraigned this morning at Woburn District Court on charges that he posed as a representative of a veterans’ group to collect a container of money for himself at a Woburn supermarket.

Paul K. Guilmain Jr. was soliciting money on Christmas Eve at the Elm Street store, police said. An officer who responded to a complaint about Guilmain found him seated by the front entrance of the store, holding a sign, a round plastic container stuffed with cash, and a clipboard bearing the logo of the National Veterans Foundation, according to a police report.

Guilmain had collected more than $150. He had a history of falsely claiming to represent the foundation, police learned after checking with foundation officials, the report said.

By Globe Staff

Two people were burned today in a small explosion that happened when they were trying to light a stove at a Watertown church, a fire official said.

The incident at St. John’s United Methodist Church on Mount Auburn Street was reported around 2 p.m., said Fire Captain Daniel Tardif.

Firefighters are still on the scene. So is the gas company, which is investigating the cause, Tardif said.

The injured people were taken to Mt. Auburn Hospital, Tardif said. He didn't have any information on the victims' condition.

(Video by Peter Schworm)

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley visited with residents of the Pine Street Inn and helped serve a special holiday meal at the homeless shelter's annual Christmas Eve luncheon today.

O'Malley met with dozens of residents at the shelter's emergency facility in the South End, where several hundred men and women dined on beef stew, butter noodles, and apple pie. More than 150 volunteers are expected to help prepare and serve holiday meals today and on Christmas Day.

O'Malley, the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, toured the shelter with Pine Street President Lyndia Downie, stopping to speak with many of the guests in both English and Spanish. A number of residents went out of their way to greet him and wish him a Merry Christmas.

O'Malley praised the work of the shelter in helping the needy and urged people to "open their hearts and pocketbooks" to support charitable groups.

"In Bethlehem, there was no room at the inn," he said. "But at the Pine Street Inn, there is, and that's thanks to the charity and love of so many good people."

By Anne Baker, Globe Correspondent

Even a Grinch could not ruin Theresa Santos’s Christmas.

After $500 worth of presents Santos had placed in the trunk of her car were stolen, workers at the Barnstable town hall and police department came together to help Santos replace them.

“We’ve always done something for somebody around Christmas time,” said Barnstable Police Sergeant Sean Sweeney. “This kind of came up at the last minute, so we started collecting.”

Santos, an employee at the town hall, had worked overtime to make extra money to buy her teenage children CDs, clothes, and perfume, Sweeney said. The items were stolen from her car when it was parked in the town hall lot. It appeared that Santos had unsuccessfully tried to open the trunk when it was frozen shut and didn't realize that she had unlatched it and it would swing open when it thawed, Sweeney said.

Sweeney said Santos’s coworkers took up a collection to help her, and the police department followed. By the time Santos was surprised with the money this morning, her colleagues had collected more than $700.

Santos was so touched by the gift, Sweeney said, she began to cry.

“To see her just break down and start crying, it made you feel what you’re supposed to feel on Christmas: Giving something without expecting anything in return except a good feeling,” he said.

By Globe Staff

A 31-year-old woman and her two children, 11 and 3, were rescued this morning after plunging through the ice at a lake in Athol, fire officials said.

Firefighters in cold water rescue suits crawled over the frozen lake, falling through several times themselves, to reach the trio. The mother and the older daughter were 200 feet from shore, clinging to the edge of the ice in water about, said Deputy Chief Tom Lozier. The 11-year-old had pushed her sister up onto the ice.

The three, who had been ice fishing, were placed on a rescue sled and hauled to shore. They were treated and released from a hospital by this afternoon, said Lozier.

By Globe Staff

Cars spun out, rolled over, and ran off the road this morning throughout the state as drivers lost control on icy roads, State Police said.

Most of the accidents were reported between 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., said Trooper Eric Benson, a State Police spokesman. He said the mishaps were "numerous."

One man died on Interstate 290 West in Shrewsbury when his vehicle went out of control and rolled over at about 7:50 a.m. The man, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected. Benson said the cause of the crash was under investigation and it wasn’t clear if road conditions had played a role. The man’s identity was withheld pending notification of his family.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick has asked President Bush for federal disaster assistance funds in the wake of the Dec. 12 ice storm that wreaked havoc in central, western, and northern Massachusetts.

“The storm caused significant damage and hardship across the Commonwealth, with many families and businesses still displaced ... and a big mess still to clean up,” Patrick said in a statement. “I have therefore asked President Bush to expedite federal aid to help us address these issues.”

The storm left 326,000 people without power, including a few who are still waiting to get their power restored today.

The state has asked for aid for cities and towns in Worcester, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, and Berkshire counties. If the aid is approved, the federal government could reimburse communities, state agencies, and some nonprofits 75 percent of the cost of fixing damage to public facilities, removing debris, and paying overtime to emergency personnel.

“We’ll keep our fingers crossed,” said Peter Judge, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.

Here is the news Globe deputy city editor Mike Bello is following this morning:

Breaking Now

Icy roads cause spinouts

Buzz

Hospitals shorten the waits in ERs

Biotech chief fined $10,000 over ethics

Gilt-free shopping

By Globe Staff

A leak was discovered this morning in the compressed natural gas tank on top of an MBTA bus traveling in Boston's Fenway neighborhood, an MBTA spokesman said.

The leak on top of the 55 bus was discovered near the end of the bus's route at Queensberry and Jersey Streets, said T spokesman Joe Pesaturo.

A driver and two passengers were aboard. There were no injuries. Investigators are working to determine how the tank was damaged, Pesaturo said.

A Boston Fire Department spokesman, Steve MacDonald, said firefighters were called at 7:17 a.m. to the scene. Firefighters let the gas dissipate for about 1 1/2 hours. “You just let it bleed into the atmosphere,” he said.

After the amount of gas escaping had lessened, a T mechanic was able to approach the bus and shut the valve off, he said. The bus was then towed away.

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

A two-alarm fire ripped through a Chelsea rowhouse Tuesday night, badly damaging the three-story brick building, but the blaze was doused before it extended to adjacent homes.

The sole occupant was not home at the time of the fire, which broke out around 10 p.m., officials said.

The fire, which generated heavy smoke, appeared to have started on the second floor before spreading to the top level of the Medford Street home. Firefighters subdued the fire in about an hour, despite struggling to access fire hydrants covered in ice and snow.

"There was a lot of snow and congestion" on the thickly settled road, said Deputy Chief Robert Houghton. "That's standard in this type of weather. It was a good job to keep the fire from extending."

The home sustained heavy damage and is uninhabitable, officials said. Officials have not yet determined the cause of the fire. One firefighter sustained a minor eye injury from airborne debris.

(David Kamerman/Globe Staff)

Jupiter, a 40-pound loggerhead, is prepared for movement from the New England Aquarium to the Riverhead Foundation on Long Island.

By Casey Ramsdell, Globe Correspondent

People aren’t the only ones traveling for the holidays. Two loggerhead sea turtles traveled to Long Island today after being rescued from Cape Cod beaches and nursed back to health by specialists at the New England Aquarium.

The aquarium shipped the sea turtles, Junior and Jupiter, to the Riverhead Foundation for further recovery. The two turtles had been found and brought to the aquarium by a team of volunteers early last week.

The aquarium has received eight loggerheads since Thanksgiving, which is very unusual, said Tony LaCasse, spokesman for the New England Aquarium.

“We still have turtles coming,” said LaCasse. “We are a little in disbelief that we are getting turtles before Christmas.”

By David Abel, Globe Staff

NEW BEDFORD -- After his 80-year-old mother nearly fell on the ice-covered steps of his home’s back porch, Vasco Silva decided to take care of the problem as quickly as possible.

Instead of using a shovel or sand or salt as he did on the front porch, he chose a more blunt instrument: a blowtorch.

“He didn’t want the bricks to break,” said Maria Silva, his wife, noting the corrosive effects of salt.

Vasco succeeded last year in melting the ice at the four-family home with the blowtorch that they use to heat their grill. This time, things didn’t turn out so well.

When Silva applied the flame to the back steps, the fire quickly jumped to the vinyl siding on the back of the house and shot up four stories, charring much of the back of the house. Several windows were broken and, on other parts of the facade, the wood frame of the house was exposed.

By Anne Baker, Globe Correspondent

Police cars, fire engines, and town officials will wind through the streets of two communities north of Boston in two parades on Wednesday. But all the kids’ eyes may be on the big man dressed in red.

Saugus and Lynn are preparing for their 25th and 22d annual Christmas Eve parades. Organizers said the events will brighten holiday spirits, even in tough times.

“We try to bring happiness and high hopes to people in the city,” said Lynn parade organizer and founder Rich Viger. “We try to give the city a good lift on Christmas Eve.”

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

Niklason inched forward on the ice rescue sled, then raised his arms to scare off the bird.

By Globe Staff

Calls from concerned workers at an office park brought West Bridgewater firefighters to a nearly frozen pond today, where an injured goose was frozen in the ice.

When approached by Firefighter David Niklason wearing a cold water rescue suit, the bird scrambled away, eventually heading for the nearby woods.

Fire Chief Leonard Hunt said the department attempted the rescue to keep well-meaning good Samaritans off the ice.

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

Red Line trains experienced significant rush hour delays on Monday, the worst weather-related incident in what has been a tough 72 hours for the storm-bedeviled MBTA

"We understand that some people would be frustrated when these situations occur, but we can promise them that MBTA crews are working very hard in situations like this," said Joe Pesaturo, an MBTA spokesman. "We had one storm after another."

The problem began at 4:45 p.m., when a northbound train at Charles Street was shut down under “emergency mode” after a tripping device at the front of the train detected an unknown problem on the track, Pesaturo said.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

A 39-year-old Plymouth man has died after being shot by police during a confrontation Monday night, the Plymouth County district attorney’s office said this morning.

The death of Jeffrey Curran is being investigated by State Police assigned to the district attorney’s office and Plymouth Police, said Bridget Norton Middleton, a spokeswoman for District Attorney Timothy Cruz.

Middleton said police were called to a home on Ship Pond Road at 11:44 p.m. Monday to deal with a domestic dispute. Curran was in a basement room, armed with a shotgun.

At least two officers approached Curran. When he pointed the gun at the officers, shots were fired. Middleton said it wasn’t immediately clear how many officers fired or how many shots were fired.

Curran was MedFlighted to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 7:30 a.m. today, Middleton said.

(David Kamerman/Globe Staff)

US Attorney Michael Sullivan shared a stage with pictures of the spill at today's news conference.

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

A wholly-owned subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corp. has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal charge and pay $6.1 million for a 15,000-gallon diesel fuel spill at an oil terminal in Everett, a disaster that federal prosecutors say could easily have been prevented.

Prosecutors announced today that they had filed a criminal information against ExxonMobil Pipeline Co. charging it with a criminal violation of the federal Clean Water Act in connection with the January 2006 spill that covered the Mystic River with a blue-green sheen.

Under a plea agreement filed with the criminal charge, the company has agreed to pay $6.1 million in fines and cleanup costs and pay for a court-appointed monitor to oversee the Everett terminal for three years. The plea agreement must be approved by a federal court, according to federal prosecutors and other officials.

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

Framingham State College has received an anonymous gift of $1 million from a graduate's family, an usually large donation for a state college that will support math and science education.

“We are tremendously grateful and delighted to receive this gift,” said Timothy Flanagan, president of Framingham State College. “The donors’ generosity will make it possible for us to make even greater contributions to science and math education in the Commonwealth.”

The donations may finance scholarships for students majoring in math and science fields and professional development of K-12 math and science teachers.

“At a time when world-class math and science education is a national priority, Framingham State is honored to receive a gift of this magnitude," Flanagan said. "Its impact will be felt by scores of students for generations to come.”

(Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff)

Billy Fuller, Sean Doyle, and Enrique Pabon of William Connell LLC, a roofing and gutter company, worked on a house on Webster Street in Needham today.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

With a thick mantle of snow on the roofs of many Massachusetts houses and rain in the forecast, state emergency officials today warned residents of the danger of roof collapses.

"If not cleared off roofs, the snow acts as a sponge, absorbing any additional sleet and rain, adding stress to structures. Flat, commercial roofs are most susceptible if they are not draining properly," Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency Director Don Boyce said in a statement.

The agency suggested residents be on alert for large buildups of snow on their roofs and consider using a snow rake to clear them off. At the same time, it cautioned people to take safety precautions when raking roofs, including avoiding working from ladders and staying away from power lines.

By Globe Staff

Boston Police are probing the city's 60th homicide of the year.

Police say a 20-year-old man was shot to death on Brent Street near Cronin Playground in Dorchester about 10.30 p.m..

Police spokesman James Kenneally said the man was shot multiple times. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

No arrests have been made in the case. There were 64 homicides in Boston as of this time last year.

By Globe Staff

Nearly 1,200 homes remain without power today in a cluster of four central Massachusetts towns, 11 days after an ice storm wreaked havoc with the electrical distribution system in the area. But the power company says it hopes it have almost all of them connected by the end of the day.

“We’re hoping to get it all done,” except for a few isolated outages, said George Gantz, senior vice president at Unitil.

The number of homes without power in Fitchburg, Lunenburg, Townsend, and Ashby was down from about 2,500 on Monday.

Gantz said 320 crews deployed Monday will continue working today. The toughest spot, he said, is “an entire circuit rebuild” that was necessary in the town of Ashby.

“You can feel the excitement over here in terms of getting the additional resources and being able to do the job right,” Gantz said. “We’re going to be all very, very happy to get this job done.”

The prolonged outages created a current of anger among residents and town officials, the Globe reports this morning.

Here is the news Globe deputy city editor Mike Bello is following this morning:

Breaking Now

Brockton Enterprise: Police shoot man in Plymouth

Buzz

Applications soar at public colleges

A "Nativity" revelation

When dealing with snow, all storms are political

By Martin Finucane and Donovan Slack, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick said today he had talked several times in recent days to officials at the power company that has left thousands of residents without power in the Fitchburg area for 10 days.

Asked if he was happy with the company’s response, he said: “No – and they know that.”

“I appreciate and frankly share the frustration of a lot of homeowners and businesses,” he said. But he also said it was not likely the company would be fined. “I’m governor, not king,” he told reporters gathered outside his State House office.

A power company official said today that most of the people in the cluster of north central Massachusetts towns who are still without electricity after the Dec. 12 ice storm will have their service restored by Tuesday.

George Gantz, senior vice president of Unitil, said about 2,500 people still have no power in Fitchburg, Ashby, Lunenburg, and Townsend, 10 days after the storm. But Gantz said 320 crews are deployed today in the four towns. “They are hitting the remaining pockets of damage and destruction aggressively, and we’re expecting to see good progress today,” he said.

(Bill Greene/Globe Staff)

John Farley shoveled ice and snow in front of his home on Hancock Street on Beacon Hill.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

With the sun shining brightly and a bitterly cold wind blowing, the scrape of shovels and the roar of snowblowers reverberated around the state today as Bay State residents dug out from Sunday's storm.

Areas north of Boston appeared to be hardest hit, with Lowell getting 13 inches, and Methuen, Winchester, and Billerica getting 12 or more, according to reports collected by the National Weather Service. In Boston, 3.2 inches were reported at Logan International Airport by 7 p.m. Sunday.

Classes were canceled or delayed in numerous school districts. In Boston, school has been canceled until the end of the holiday vacation.

Despite the bright sun, the weather service warned that, in most of the state, except for Southeastern Massachusetts and the Cape and islands, strong winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 50 mph could create local whiteout conditions in the afternoon, making travel and snow removal more difficult. It said wind chills could plummet to between zero and minus 10 degrees this morning.

Because of the winds, ferries to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard were canceled this morning. Service to Martha's Vineyard has since resumed.

The weather service also warned of slippery, untreated roads and said that some areas where the snow changed to rain before the temperature dropped again will be susceptible to scattered power outages as tree limbs bring down power lines.

Numerous delays were reported on public transit this morning, particularly on commuter rail, according to the MBTA website.

By Globe Staff

While the snowflakes tumbled out of the heavens Sunday in the Merrimack Valley area, something else was going on in the earth beneath residents' feet: a small earthquake.

The 1.8-magnitude temblor struck at about 5:35 p.m. just east of the center of Haverhill, said professor John Ebel, director of Boston College's Weston Observatory.

Ebel said residents reported the temblor to police who reported it to the Massachusetts Emergency Agency, which reported it to him.

The quake was so small it didn't trigger any alarms in his equipment, but when he checked the data, he said, "Lo and behold, there was the earthquake."

By Globe Staff

A Brockton tunnel worker was hoisted to safety after the 105-foot-deep shaft where he was working began to flood with 85,000 gallons of sewer water in October 2007 in Fall River.

So he asked for a flashlight, got back in the transport cage, and rode it down again into the darkness, where his co-workers saw his flashlight and made their way to the cage. All three were lifted out the second time, all of them uninjured, according to the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission.

Swaby was one of two New Englanders recognized today with Carnegie Medals, which are given to residents of the United States and Canada who risk their lives while saving, or attempting to save, the lives of others. A total of 19 people got the medals; three were awarded posthumously.

Swaby was honored for saving fellow workers John P. Kanash, 49, and Kenneth H. Schofield, 45, from drowning, in the Oct. 19, 2007 incident.

Also honored was Fred Hunt Jr. of Berwick, Maine, who died helping to save Maureen Jennings, 68, from drowning in Cocoa Beach, Fla., on Oct. 22, 2007.

By Globe Staff

The superintendent of public works in Maynard pleaded not guilty today to a charge that he accepted cash payments from a developer in exchange for smoothing the approval process for a construction project.

Paul Camilli, 38, of Newton was arraigned in Concord District Court on one count of a public employee accepting or receiving a bribe. Judge Steven Ostrach set bail at $1,000 cash and ordered Camilli to stay away from the victim and witnesses in the case, the Middlesex district attorney’s office said.

Prosecutors said the developer began a project earlier this year. Camilli had frequent contacts with the developer and, at one point, Camilli allegedly made known to the developer that he was looking for cash.

After the two agreed on a number in the thousands, the developer paid the money in multiple installments in multiple locations. During this time, prosecutors said, Camilli began relaxing standards for the project.

Camilli was arrested Saturday. The investigation being conducted by Maynard and State Police included undercover and video surveillance. Camilli’s attorney, Kenneth Reisman, didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.

(MBTA Video)

A surveillance camera caught the accident today at Abington station.

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

Video of a car getting swiped this morning by a commuter train in Abington dramatized a new MBTA crackdown on drivers who ignore rail crossings.

Jean Dera, 45, narrowly escaped disaster, police said. The front of his car was torn off by the train at the North Avenue crossing yesterday, at 8:14 a.m.

"He backed up a few feet, but didn't back up far enough," said Sergeant Preston Horton of the MBTA Transit Police.

Dera received a $200 ticket. He was not harmed, but his car bumper and front panels were ripped off.

"He was extremely lucky," Horton said.

A similar incident a few weeks ago spurred the T to start a pilot program this month to monitor rail crossings on the South Shore several times per week, with the help of local police. Since Dec. 9, 40 drivers have been cited, including several bus and fuel truck drivers who are required by law to stop at crossings even if the gates are not down.

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

A 62-year-old Sandwich man was found dead in his home Sunday, killed by carbon monoxide poisoning after a raccoon crawled into his chimney and caused a dangerous buildup of exhaust from his gas furnace.

Police said the man, whose name has not been released, did not have carbon monoxide detectors in his home. “It’s unfortunate because had he had some detectors in there, he might have had a better chance,” Patrolman Thomas Glaser said.

Glaser said police went to the home after a member of the man’s church called them because the man had not been seen or heard from in several days. Officials found the man lying on the floor, with extremely high levels of carbon monoxide in the air.

By Globe Staff

Massachusetts gained more than 30,000 residents from 2007 to 2008, according to the latest estimates released by the Census Bureau.

The state's population was estimated at 6,497,967 as of July 1, an increase of about 0.4 percent over the previous year. It was the third year in a row the state had registered a population increase.

The Census Bureau said in a statement that the Northeastern states have gained population at an increasing rate since 2005, a turnaround from declining growth rates from 2000 to 2005.

Utah was the nation's fastest-growing state in terms of percentages, with its population climbing 2.5 percent to 2,736,424; Texas led in terms of numbers of new residents, with its population rising 483,542 residents to 24,326,974.

Here is the news Globe deputy city editor Mike Bello is following this morning:

Breaking Now

Car slides onto train tracks in Abington

Police chief to be arraigned in boy's death

Buzz

Mining vacation gold at Massport

Food stamps offer lifeline

Maynard official faces bribery charges

Snow brings more misery for some

By David Abel, Globe Staff

Citing potential problems due to recent inclement weather, Boston officials have announced that city public schools will close until next year.

Boston was among at least 29 area school districts -- including Worcester, Lawrence, and Medford -- to announce cancellations by late Sunday, and dozens more said they would delay openings.

Representatives of Boston's Mayor Thomas M. Menino and schools Superintendent Dr. Carol R. Johnson said safety concerns drove the decision to keep schools closed.

“The mayor and the superintendent are concerned about the icy conditions of the roads,” said Chris Horan, a spokesman for Boston Public Schools.

City schools are scheduled to reopen on Jan. 5, Horan said.

“Safety is our first concern, so we thought it was best to close over the next two days so everyone has a safe start to the holidays.”

By Terri Schwartz, Globe Correspondent

Two Boston Police officers were injured during a struggle this morning as they tried to arrest four people at a Roxbury home.

The two officers, responding to an anonymous tip at about 9:45 a.m., found a man and woman arguing, said Officer Eddy Chrispin, a police spokesman. The man tried to leave the Whitman Street building and shoved one of the officers when the officer tried to calm him down and ask him questions.

A struggle ensued between the two officers and the man and woman. Two boys, 15 and 16, joined in. During the struggle, one of the officers fell down a flight of stairs.

One officer injured his knee; the other injured his back. Police said all four people involved in the fracas would face charges of assault and battery of a police officer, assault and battery of a police officer causing injury, and resisting arrest.

By Carolyn Y. Johnson, Globe Staff

A second local scientist -- Eric S. Lander of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard -- was tapped by President-elect Barack Obama today to join his slate of high-profile advisors.

Obama officially named Lander as co-chair of a presidential council of advisors on science and technology. Lander, a biologist who focuses on human genome research, joins physicist John P. Holdren of the Harvard Kennedy School, whose selection was confirmed last week, and made official yesterday.

Lander is founding director of the Broad Institute, and a leader in trying to leverage the knowledge of the human genome to better understand fundamental issues in medicine and find cures for disease.

Lander "was one of the driving forces behind mapping the human genome -- one of the greatest scientific achievements in history," Obama said in his Saturday morning radio address, which focused on the importance of science in such issues as bioterror, global warming, and medical research.

"Today, more than ever before, science holds the key to our survival as a planet and our security and prosperity as a nation," Obama said. "It is time we once again put science at the top of our agenda and worked to restore America's place as the world leader in science and technology."

(Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff)

In a scene being played out around the state, Mike Mosey shoveled the sidewalk in front of his apartment on Ashmont Street in Dorchester. Housemates Marissa Petrarca, left, and Sarah Quinn, took a break from their own exertions.

By Eric Moskowitz, Globe Staff

Following close on the heels of a storm that dumped nearly a foot of snow in some sections of Massachusetts Friday night and this morning, another storm Sunday could cause power outages and treacherously slippery roads in central and western Massachusetts, places that were hard hit by an ice storm a week ago, forecasters warned today.

It's a "one-two punch," said Bill Simpson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton. The storm Sunday could dump as much as a foot of snow, with areas at higher elevations getting the bigger doses. The snow will be heavier and wetter than Friday's fluffy powder. Three to five inches are expected in Boston, with the snow mixing with rain and tapering to flurries in the evening..

"It's still evolving. Either way, it ain't going to be pretty," Simpson said.

The forecasters also warned of slick roads Sunday night, saying temperatures would drop and the slushy mix would harden.

By Erica Noonan, Globe Staff

Two teenagers were hospitalized today after falling through the ice at a Natick pond, fire department officials said.

The youths were very hypothermic and had been in danger of losing their lives, said Natick Fire Chief James Sheridan.

“They were very fortunate that our [rescuers] were well-trained and well-equipped,” said Sheridan.

The incident on Pickerell Pond was reported at about 1:20 p.m. by a nearby resident who heard people screaming for help, said Sheridan. Fire department rescuers wearing cold water suits responded.

By Globe Staff

Thanks to Karmel Williams and her fellow motorcycle enthusiasts, a number of Boston children will have a brighter holiday.

Members of more than a dozen motorcycle clubs parked their cars today at Washington Park on Martin Luther King Boulevar in Roxbury. Why cars? Because cars have trunks and it was from those trunks that members produced at least 800 toys for needy people.

She said there were some anxious moments at the beginning of the event, but “all of a sudden we just got a bunch of people.”

Williams, who is president of the Boston Divaz club, said it’s the second year the group has done the event.

“It went well,” she said. “It definitely was a success.”

Road closures and other transportation advisories for the week of Dec. 21:

Two to three lanes of I-93 South will be closed approaching and through downtown Sunday through Tuesday from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.

The Haymarket onramp to I-93 South and the Callahan Tunnel will be closed Monday from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.

I-93 South Exits 20A South Station and 20B to I-90 (MassPike) West and Albany Street will be closed Monday from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.

(John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)

One hardy soul insisted on riding his bike in Copley Square as the flakes fell.

By Andrew Ryan and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

A snowstorm expected to drop as much as a foot of snow swirled into Massachusetts today, arriving in the Boston area in the early afternoon as officials mobilized plows, and salt- and sand-spreading equipment to keep the roads safe. Spinouts and fender benders were reported, but no major accidents.

Traffic was light statewide during the evening rush hour, with people seeming to heed advice from weather forecasters and public officials to stay off the roads, and no major backups were reported, said Peter Judge, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.

"All in all, it was a very successful commute," he said.

Judge said officials were monitoring reports of 4,600 homes losing power in southeastern Massachusetts, where the snow was heavier and wetter -- and more likely to bring down tree limbs and power lines.

The brunt of the storm, which included some blizzard conditions, is expected to be over between 9 p.m. and midnight, though snow showers could continue into the early morning hours, said National Weather Service meteorologist Kim Buttrick.

Meanwhile, another storm is waiting in the wings. Forecasters warned of a storm that could drop 4 to 8 inches of snow on central and western Massachusetts Sunday before changing to sleet and freezing rain. In the eastern portion of the state, 1 to 3 inches is expected.

The Massachusetts Highway Department mobilized more than 4,000 state-owned and contractor trucks to deal with today's snow, said department spokesman Adam Hurtubise. Workers treated roads with liquid calcium chloride even before the storm hit, he said.

Numerous cancellations and delays of one to five hours were reported at Logan International Airport, though the airport remained open. Airport spokesman Phil Orlandella suggested that people check with their airlines if they are taking a flight or meeting someone coming off a flight.

(Video by Milton Valencia)

A young attorney, a father and son, and a little boy with a sled -- none of them were fazed by the snowstorm.

By Milton Valencia and Jeannie M. Nuss, Globe Staff

Some vignettes of people coping with -- and even enjoying -- today's storm:

Daniel Niekerk of South Africa was the last vendor still selling in Downtown Crossing at about 4 p.m. today.

The T-shirts, sweatshirts, and other items he was selling were getting dusted with snow, but he was wiping them off with another shirt.

“It doesn’t get too wet,” he said.

He said business had been good. “As soon as the snow started, people got desperate and suddenly bought,” he said.

------

On Boston Common, people strolled, enjoying the picturesque scene. One enterprising boy had brought a sled. A group of exchange students took pictures to remember their first snowfall.

At the Brewer Fountain, Asif Jilani, 42, of Boston and his wife, Jennifer, brought their 20-month-old son, Aleisander, for a stroll for his first snowstorm.

“I’m glad we can walk around and enjoy it,” he said. “It’s beautiful.”

(AP Photo/The Cape Cod Times, Steve Heaslip)

The pit where the burned body of Jordan Mendes was discovered on Tuesday.

By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

HYANNIS -- An eighth-grader has been accused of taking part in killing his 16-year-old half brother and burning his body during an armed robbery of $10,000 in alleged drug money, according to a defense attorney for the boy.

A Barnstable police booking photo of Robert Vacher, 20.

Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe would not confirm whether the half brother had been arrested when he announced earlier today that two 13-year-olds and an adult had been charged in the crime.

However, Jubinville confirmed that he appeared today in a closed-door session of juvenile court with the half brother.

"He denied having a hand in the harm that came to his brother," Jubinville said.

By Globe Staff

Tufts University has lost $20 million through an investment in a fund tied to financier Bernard Madoff, the Wall Street trader accused of running the biggest Ponzi scheme in history, the college's president said today.

The losses occurred through Tufts' stake in Ascot Partners, which in turn invested the sum with Madoff Securities, President Lawrence S. Bacow wrote in a letter e-mailed to the university community. The $20 million amounts to less than 2 percent of the school's endowment, he said.

Bacow said Tufts had written off the value of the bad investment and will "cooperate with any investigations of this fraud and will work to recoup as much of our investment as possible.''

Earlier this week, Yeshiva University in New York said it had lost about $110 million in investments tied to the Madoff scandal.

The losses attributed to Madoff coincide with tough economic times for colleges and universities, which have announced budget cuts and other steps to weather the financial downturn. Tufts is seeking $36 million in budget cuts for next year.

In his letter, Bacow said the write-off from the Madoff investment will not significantly affect the college's operations.

"We also have an obligation to our students and faculty to manage these resources wisely for their benefit,'' he said. "You have my word that we will look closely at our experience in this case so that we can strengthen our investment process for the future.''

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick appointed James Aloisi Jr. as his transportation secretary this afternoon, choosing a well-connected lobbyist and a key player in the tumultuous history of the Big Dig.

"Jim brings a deep understanding of the challenges we face in reforming our transportation network," Patrick said in a press release. "He will be a skilled and energetic advocate for our reform agenda.”

The state’s faltering transportation system has risen to the top of Patrick’s agenda as the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and the MBTA struggle under increasing levels of debt -- billions of it connected with the $15 billion Big Dig. Proposals to as much as double tolls have provoked furious statewide debate.

Aloisi is intimately familiar with the problems. He served on an influential panel that recommended solutions, including higher gas taxes, last year. He also knows the ins and outs of the Legislature. But he has been a controversial choice, in part because he wrote the law that saddled the turnpike authority with the Big Dig’s debt and later made money representing the authority as outside counsel.

Patrick made the appointment on a Friday afternoon, typically a low-profile news time. Today was particularly low-profile as many workers stayed home to avoid the snowstorm.

(Brookline Police Photo)

By Michele Richinick, Globe Correspondent

A Citizens Bank on Harvard Street in Brookline was robbed this morning, and police are searching for the suspect, Brookline Police said.

Captain John O’Leary, a police spokesman, said the robbery happened around 9 a.m. The man came into the back entrance of the bank soon after it opened and jumped the counter, he said. He had two bags with him and demanded that bank workers fill them with money. They did.

The culprit was a white or light-skinned Hispanic male, with a distinctive accent, police said. He was approximately 35 years old and 5-feet-7-inches tall. He was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, O’Leary said.

A dark blue minivan occupied by another person was parked on the corner of Babcock and John Streets, O’Leary said. The robber got inside the van and it fled down John Street, he said.

Police are asking for residents’ help in looking for any discarded bags the culprit might have left behind, O’Leary said.

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

Officers preparing to enter the house.

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

A Boston Police SWAT team stormed an apartment in Dorchester's Parker Square area this morning, looking for a man who escaped from prison earlier this week. But the man wasn't there.

Deputy Superintendent William Gross said police received a call from a despondent suicidal man at a Talbot Street address at about 9 a.m. Checking the address, he said, police found it was connected to Joseph Kacevich, a man who escaped Sunday from the state prison in Shirley, where he was serving five to seven years for armed robbery.

Police found the despondent man, who was not identified, and took him into custody without incident. He was sent for treatment at a hospital.

SWAT officers returned to the gray triple-decker and used a loudspeaker on their van in the street to exhort whomever was inside to give themselves up. Officers then tossed in a flash grenade and broke down the door. A State Police K-9 unit was brought in to search the house.

No one was found and officers left the area by about noon.

Here is the news Globe deputy city editor Mike Bello is following this morning:

Breaking Now:

State workers told to stay home as snowstorm looms

Buzz

DiMasi ally indicted in lobbying case

Shelter's safety can't still a powerful tug of home

School official defends use of 'driver'

By Jeannie M. Nuss, Globe Correspondent

Law enforcement officials announced the arrests of 12 alleged Brockton gang members on a slew of gun and drug-related charges today, saying they had learned of a plan to retaliate against police for a police shooting last month.

Members of two gangs had pledged to retaliate for the fatal shooting of John Earl Parks of Green Street by Brockton police on Nov. 5, US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan said in a statement.

After officers stopped Parks in an alleged drug deal near Warren Avenue and Green Street, Parks fled on foot, pulled a gun, and fired at officers, Police Chief William K. Conlon said. Police returned fire, killing the 25-year-old.

Eight men are charged with a variety of offenses in federal court, while four others face charges in state court.

By Globe Staff

Sallie Mae, the nation's biggest provider of student loans, said today it would forgive the debts of a US Marine from Weston who was killed in an accident last summer shortly before he was scheduled to be deployed to Iraq.

Second Lieutenant Ian McVey

(AP Photo)

Evidence presented at the trial included video of Haleigh Poutre, now 14, taken at the Franciscan Hospital for Children in Boston. She still struggles to perform basic, daily functions.

By Patricia Wen, Globe Staff

SPRINGFIELD -- A judge today sentenced the stepfather of Haleigh Poutre to 12 to 15 years in state prison for participating in a horrific pattern of child abuse, saying he had deprived Poutre of the "most precious gift" of a normal childhood.

"It is as serious an offense as one can commit," said Hampden Superior Court Judge Judd Carhart in a packed courtroom. "She'll never be a normal teenager or adult."

The sentencing of Jason Strickland comes three years after the case drew national attention when the state prematurely sought to remove Poutre’s life support after she fell into a coma from a near-fatal head injury in September of 2005. A few months later, just when the state won court approval to end her life, saying her condition was "hopeless," the 11-year-old girl became alert, breathing on her own and responding to commands.

Strickland, a 34-year-old auto mechanic who has been held in jail since he was convicted three weeks ago, showed no reaction when the judge announced the sentence, a demeanor he maintained throughout his three-week trial. His attorney, Alan Black, had pleaded with the court to allow Strickland to serve one year in a county jail. Black, who is appealing the verdict, said Strickland had no prior criminal record and "this quiet man from North Carolina will have great difficulty coping with" state prison.

But the judge rejected that plea. Describing the case as one of the most painful in his legal career, Carhart imposed prison time closely in line with prosecutor Laurel Brandt's request for 14.5 to 17.5 years at MCI-Cedar Junction, a state prison in Walpole.

By Andrew Ryan and David Abel, Globe Staff

With a major storm threatening to dump a foot of snow on Friday, officials statewide readied plows and salt trucks, asked people to stay off the roads, and announced that schools would be closed or dismissed early.

The National Weather Service recommended that people avoid driving Friday afternoon and evening, when heavy, blizzard-like snowfall could cause treacherous conditions.

Forecasters predict that 1 to 2 inches of snow an hour may fall from the midafternoon into the early evening. Winds gusting up to 45 mph will develop in the evening and night, reducing visibility to near zero at times and creating bitterly cold wind chills.

The timing and expected intensity of the storm was reminiscent of a Dec. 13, 2007 storm that caught unsuspecting commuters in traffic on their way home. To avoid a repeat of the gridlock and resulting outrage, Governor Deval Patrick said he may order state workers to stay home on Friday. Patrick plans to make the final decision at 5 a.m. Friday and has warned businesses that he may also ask them to keep their employees home from work.

”We will do everything we can, mindful that Mother Nature has a mind of her own, to assure the safety and ease of movement of the people of Massachusetts,” Patrick said at a news conference.

Meanwhile, key MBTA operations officials, meeting at their headquarters in downtown Boston, planned to increase staff and equipment to cope with the storm. The authority will be able to run trains at a rush hour pace earlier in the day, if necessary to move homeward-bound commuters, officials said.

“We’ve had bad storms before, but it will be stressful,” said general manager Dan Grabauskas.

“Snow trains,” which clear tracks overnight will be ready to run, he said, noting that Boston officials had asked the T to do everything possible to keep trains going so people could do their Christmas shopping.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Crews cleaned up debris today and residents were still in shock at the scene of an explosion in Scituate that leveled a house, killing one person, and damaged seven other homes.

At least three houses near the one that exploded Wednesday afternoon were posted with condemnation notices this morning as a private cleanup crew raked insulation off neighboring lawns and town workers began using a backhoe to collect large pieces of debris.

A Bay State gas crew was on the scene, searching for the source of the explosion. Investigators from the state fire marshal’s office were also there, trying to determine what happened.

Authorities have not yet identified the man whose body was found in the ruins of the house on Turner Road.

By Andrea Estes and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The accountant and campaign treasurer for House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi has been indicted on charges of violating lobbying and campaign finance laws stemming from work on behalf of a ticket brokers’ organization.

Richard Vitale

"Investigators found that on at least one occasion, Vitale delivered an e-mail which requested specific changes to the bill, which the House of Representatives made before passing the bill," the press release says.

Vitale's lawyer, Martin Weinberg, described the charges as regulatory offenses and maintained that his client had done nothing wrong.

"This demonstrates that despite a pretty intensive state grand jury there is no evidence of felonies," Weinberg said.

By Donovan Slack, Globe Staff

An independent investigation of the fire deaths of two South Boston girls has found that state social workers failed to "connect the dots" and recognize the dangers posed to the children by the drug use, violence, and mental health of their parents.

Sophia and Acia Reisopoulos-Johnson

"I think that this was really a systemic failure in this case," Garinger said this afternoon.

In a three-page summary of the investigation results released today, Garinger recommended better training of social workers, drug testing of parents with histories of substance abuse, and "improve(d) methods for assessing and measuring safety and risk." She also said that guardianship arrangements should be backed up in a court of law.

By Globe Staff

Superior Court Judge Ernest B. Murphy was publicly reprimanded by the state's highest court for writing threatening letters to the publisher of the Boston Herald after winning a $2 million libel verdict against the newspaper.

In a 12-page decision released today, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that Murphy "plainly crossed the line" by writing two letters to publisher Patrick Purcell on court stationery demanding that the newspaper drop its appeal of the verdict and hand him a check for $3.26 million.

"For a sitting judge to state with repeated emphasis that he knows with complete certainty what will happen in a case is a misuse of the power and prestige of judicial office," the SJC wrote in its decision. "The judge's use of an official court stationery envelope to mail the message exacerbated the misuse."

Murphy has agreed to leave the bench because of an unspecified disability. He has been on a paid leave of absence since July 30, 2007, because, he said, he suffers from post-traumatic stress as a result of his long legal battle with the Herald.

Here is the news Globe deputy city editor Mike Bello is following this morning:

Buzz

Priscilla Candies is a bastion of the all-but-forgotten skill of handcrafting candy canes

New regulation puts lid on city pool use

Crime is down, but for robbery

By Jeannie M. Nuss, Globe Correspondent

Crews are racing to restore power to residents in central and western Massachusetts and New Hampshire, ahead of a heavy snowstorm expected to blanket New England Friday.

In Massachusetts, workers have restored electricity to 92 percent of the 294,000 homes that lost power after last Friday's ice storm, a National Grid spokesman said. Crews in New Hampshire restored electricity to nearly 99 percent of the 24,000 homes that lost power.

About 23,600 Massachusetts homes and businesses were still without power tonight -- 20,732 of them in Worcester County -- after today’s snowstorm hampered working conditions, according to National Grid. The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency reported 36,000 without power in Massachusetts tonight.

"Crews are still out, still working," said National Grid spokesman David Graves.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Authorities are investigating the death of a 16-year-old Barnstable High School student whose burned body was found Tuesday night in a large hole in the woods in Hyannis.

Barnstable Police said the case appeared to be a homicide. Tyianne Mendes said in a brief conversation today at her Hyannis home that the body belonged to Jordan Mendes, her grandson.

The body was discovered in woods close to Jennifer Lane, a dead end street in Hyannis, at 7:40 p.m. The investigation includes State Police detectives assigned to the office of Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe and state forensic experts.

(Jim Davis/Globe Staff)

A piece of furniture came to rest in the trees after the blast.

By Michael Levenson, Emily Sweeney, Martin Finucane, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

SCITUATE -- A body has been found in the ruins of a Turner Road house that was destroyed today by a tremendous explosion that damaged seven other houses and rattled windows for miles.

Daigo Fujiwara

"There was a fatality. One confirmed," he said at a news conference this afternoon.

Judge said the blast damaged four houses so severely "they will not be able to be occupied for quite a while." At least 15 to 20 people have been displaced, he said. He also said there was one injury but did not provide details.

The blast splintered the home, leaving only a charred pit billowing with white smoke. Clothing and furniture hung from tree branches above the property in this dense residential neighborhood.

Investigators from the state fire marshal's office are at the scene. “What caused the explosion --we don’t have any clue of that yet,” Judge said.

The discovery of the body added an unexpected twist to the story. A town official had said earlier that no one was in the house when it blew up.

Edward W. Himelrick was putting stamps on Christmas cards in his house across the street when the explosion happened.

"It was like a bomb exploded around here. It really went off pretty good," he said.

The blast knocked pictures off his wall and shattered his windows, according to Himelrick, who walked outside and saw a towering fireball.

"And I said, 'Holy cow, where's the house?'" Himelrick said. "It literally blew the house apart."

The owner of the home, Kim Chubbuck, rushed to the scene from her job at South Shore Hospital and stood near her property wearing blue hospital scrubs.

"I don’t know. We're just waiting," Chubbuck said. "They won't let me go to the house yet."

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Boston Police are warning women to be vigilant and take safety precautions when they catch a lift from a taxicab -- or what looks like one -- after five attacks on women looking for a ride between early October and early December.

Investigators said they do not believe any of the incidents are connected. A suspect has been arrested in one of the incidents; investigations by the sexual assault and hackney carriage units continue in the others.

Police said the alleged attacks included:

-- An Oct. 4 indecent assault inside a taxicab in the area of Atlantic Avenue;
-- An Oct. 11 indecent assault by a limo driver near 20 Park Plaza;
-- An Oct. 24 indecent assault by a taxi driver in the Uphams Corner area;
-- A Nov. 1 incident in which a woman hailed a limo in the Park Plaza area and woke up later in the back seat of a town car with her clothes in disarray; and
-- A Dec. 7 rape by an off-duty taxi driver who picked up a woman in the Hemenway Street area and drove her to Saugus and attacked her. A suspect has been arrested in this case.

By Matt Viser and Andrea Estes, Globe Staff

House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi this afternoon denied having any role in awarding a controversial computer software contract that is now the subject of a federal investigation.

"I had absolutely nothing to do with the awarding of that contract," he said, following a news conference held to discuss plans for a federal stimulus package.

When asked if he had received a subpoena, he said, "No comment other than that," and then left the room.

The Globe reported today that federal authorities have convened a grand jury to investigate the state's awarding of a pair of multimillion-dollar contracts to a Burlington software company that, in turn, provided large and often secretive paydays to close associates of DiMasi as it was winning state work.

(David Kamerman/Globe Staff)

Marilyn Dingian walked to the train station this morning in downtown Reading.

By Globe Staff

Getting to work wasn't fun. Going home from work may be no picnic, either. The National Weather Service is warning that there may be icy spots on the roads this afternoon as temperatures drop.

The coating of ice may be especially treacherous on untreated surfaces such as secondary roadways, overpasses, bridges and sidewalks, the forecasters said.

A sloppy winter storm dumped a mix of snow, sleet, and rain, slowing the morning commute as it caused scores of spinouts across the state. Forecasters originally thought the problems would be over by this afternoon, but temperatures are dropping.

Interstate 93 in Stoneham.

Meanwhile, forecasters are also warning of heavy snow Friday in southern New England followed by a bitterly cold wind early Saturday. And a third winter storm is expected Sunday.

Meteorologist Rebecca Gould said more than six inches of snow could fall Friday in some parts of the state, starting between 8 a.m. and noon and slowing down after 8 p.m. that night.

Dunham said the third storm is expected to start Sunday morning and the snow may change over to rain in the afternoon.

“The Sunday storm will give us a pretty good slug of snow at the front end and, in at least portions of the region, it should change to rain,” he said. “Anybody visiting the Northeast from a warmer climate will be in for kind of a rude shock.”

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick met this morning with members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation to strategize over how to secure – and then spend – hundreds of millions of federal dollars that could flow into the state early next year.

US Representative Edward Markey

The meeting brought eight of the state’s 10 congressional members to the corner office of the State House, with Congressmen Barney Frank, a Newton Democrat, and John Olver, an Amherst Democrat, attending via a conference call.

(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer/file)

The collapse of a section of ceiling in the Interstate 90 eastbound connector tunnel killed Milena Del Valle on July 10, 2006.

By Sean P. Murphy, Globe Staff

State prosecutors have agreed to drop a manslaughter charge against Powers Fasteners Inc., the only company to face criminal charges in connection with the fatal collapse of a section of a Big Dig tunnel, after the New York epoxy maker agreed to pay $16 million to the state and city, Attorney General Martha Coakley said today.

"We are pleased with this result because we believe it is fair and just for everyone," Coakley said at an afternoon press conference, which can be heard here. A transcript is available here.

She said the Del Valle family had approved of the settlement, which Coakley said "helps to protect taxpayers from the effects of shoddy work."

Much of the money will go into a trust fund to help cover state transportation costs, she said.

Jeffrey Denner, a lawyer for the Del Valles, said: "Legally, it ends now. But emotionally it goes on forever" for the family.

By Noah Bierman and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

A planned toll hike by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority would clog the streets of Boston with an estimated 200,000 more vehicles, delaying the response of police and firefighters, hurting city businesses, and causing a raft of environmental and other problems.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino

"Doubling the tolls in and around Boston is the wrong answer," Menino said, according to copy of his prepared remarks provided by his staff. "It’s not fair and it's bad policy. Boston residents, businesses, and commuters should not be forced to shoulder the burden for the entire state."

Menino also took aim at the governor's plan to dismantle the Turnpike Authority, urging state officials to come up with a "comprehensive reform plan" that must be fully vetted before any toll hike. As an alternative, Menino reiterated his support for increasing in the state's gas tax, saying it was the "fairest solution" because the roads, bridges, and tunnels benefit all residents of Massachusetts.

By Globe Staff

A man turned himself in to Boston Police late last night after being indicted on a murder charge for allegedly stabbing a 20-year-old to death in his Savin Hill apartment last January.

Steven Odegard, 41, is expected to be arraigned this afternoon in Suffolk Superior Court. He is accused of the Jan. 17 stabbing death of Daniel Yakovleff. Prosecutors say Yakovleff, 20, was found dead of multiple stab wounds in Odegard's bed in an apartment on Tuttle Street, which is between Dorchester Avenue and the Southeast Expressway.

Odegard was indicted Monday by a Suffolk County grand jury after an 11 month inquiry that included testimony from 16 witnesses. He surrendered at a police station in Dorchester late last night.

Here is the news Globe deputy city editor Mike Bello is following this morning:

Breaking Now:

Police: Burned body in Hyannis likely a teenager

Light snow and sleet slow commute

Fire damages condo complex on Jamaica Way

Buzz

Cognos deals face federal scrutiny

Lottery's burst of spending eats into aid for localities

Get outta here: Foes take a pass on Pike gift idea

By Anne Baker, Globe Correspondent

A kitchen fire spread into a two-alarm blaze this morning at a condominium complex on Jamaicaway, displacing 16 residents.

It took firefighters 15 minutes to knock down the flames, which were contained to one unit on the top floor of the three-story building, said Steve MacDonald, a spokesman for the Boston Fire Department. Other units in the building sustained smoke and water damage.

Firefighters responded to 50 Jamaicaway at 5:00 a.m., MacDonald said. No one was injured.

Investigators have not yet determined what in the kitchen caused the fire. Damage was estimated at $500,000, MacDonald said.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Sixty-five cents of every dollar raised by a professional solicitor for charity in Massachusetts in 2007 went to the solicitor, while only 35 cents went to the charity, according to a report released today by the attorney general's office.

Martha Coakley

Attorney General Martha Coakley urged people to give wisely as the office released its annual report on charitable fundraisers.

"Donors should do their homework before writing a check or donating online to their favorite cause, and also feel comfortable asking some basic questions about where their money is going when they are contacted by a professional solicitor," Coakley said in a statement.

The report, which looked at 621 campaigns, found that in 109 of them, or about 18 percent, the charity received less than 10 percent of the money raised.

By James Vaznis, Globe Staff

The state commissioner for elementary and secondary education today recommended closing Boston's Uphams Corner Charter School, saying its lack of academic progress was "deeply disappointing."

"There is little evidence that this school is on a trajectory toward academic improvement. This decision has to be about what is best for students, and I do not see enough evidence here to convince me they are being properly served at this school," Commissioner Mitchell Chester said in a prepared statement, which he released after a meeting of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in Malden.

Chester said officials had given the middle school, which currently serves about 175 students, "ample time to turn around."

Chester recommended the school's charter be revoked at the end of this school year. Should the board approve the recommendation at its meeting next month, Uphams Corner would become one of only a handful of charter schools to close since such schools first began operating in the state in 1995.

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Southern New England residents should be prepared for a messy commute Wednesday after a mild storm overnight dusts the area with 1 to 4 inches of snow and, in some places, a light glaze of freezing rain, forecasters said. A larger storm looms on the horizon and could dump a significant amount of snow Friday just when holiday travel begins kicking into high gear.

Flakes are expected to begin falling tonight in some areas at about 9 p.m. Snow accumulations may hit 1 to 3 inches in Boston and 2 to 4 inches in the central and northern areas of the state that are still recovering from a major ice storm.

"It's not going to be a big hindrance to cleanup efforts, but it's certainly not going to make things easier," said Alan Dunham, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton.

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

Boston firefighter Steve Turley assisted a mother who said her baby seemed sluggish after carbon monoxide was detected in an apartment building on Strathcona Road.

By John R. Ellement and George Rizer, Globe Staff

Three young children and three adults were hospitalized this morning with symptoms of minor carbon monoxide poisoning when the heating system malfunctioned in a large Dorchester apartment building.

A partially blocked chimney caused exhaust from the heating system to backup into the building, according to Clifford Long, who has owned the building on Strathcona Road since 1996. As required by state law, each of the brick building's 14 apartments were equipped with carbon monoxide detectors, which alerted residents of the danger.

"It gave us the early warning," Long said.

By Globe Staff

Some Chelsea city workers took the day off Friday and Monday because of a provision in their union contract that says they don’t have to work when the governor declares a state of emergency, City Manager Jay Ash said today.

Governor Deval Patrick made his declaration Friday because of a major ice storm in central, western, and northern Massachusetts that left thousands of people without power. Outages persist in those areas even today.

Chelsea and other communities in the eastern part of the state saw heavy rain. But no snow and no ice.

“I’m disappointed. I don’t think this stands a test of reasonableness,” said Ash, who said the language was in the contract for a 46-member bargaining unit that represents administrative and clerical workers in the town hall and police and fire departments, as well as building inspectors.

SEIU Local 888 President Susana Segat didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

A 22-year-old Boston man has been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison for the August 2005 death of a minister-in-training who was fatally stabbed in his taxi during a holdup.

Heureur Previlon

Jashawn Robinson, 24, who was also charged in the case, will face a separate trial on Jan. 26.

“Heureur Previlon was a truly innocent victim, a man with only kindness in his heart, who paid the ultimate price for trusting the wrong men,” said District Attorney Daniel F. Conley. “His case touched the hearts of police and prosecutors alike. We are very pleased with the verdict and we hope it brings some comfort to the family Mr. Previlon left behind.”

Prosecutors said that Previlon picked up the two young men at Cleveland Circle in Brighton about 1 a.m. and began driving them to the Fidelis Way housing development.

But along the way, as the cab neared St. Elizabeth Medical Center, the men tried to rob Previlon, and Martin plunged a kitchen knife into his side, prosecutors said. Previlon's body was found early that morning in the hospital parking lot.

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray said this afternoon that local aid could be cut in the next few weeks as part of the plan to close a deeper budget problem than initially forecasted.

Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray

“No final decisions have been made, but clearly, if you have to cut another $750 million, you have to look at everything,” Murray told reporters at a State House news conference. He said the administration would try to preserve the funding -- which cities and towns use to pay for everything from teachers to trash collection -- but following a round of budget cuts just two months ago, “there’s not a lot of other places to go.”

Patrick is expected to develop a new plan to balance the budget as soon as next month, when the Legislature returns from a holiday break, the Globe reported this morning.

(Video by David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)

By Globe Staff

Anti-toll activist Michael Kelleher delivered 350 messages today to the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, paying the $3.50 charge at Sumner Tunnel penny by penny.

(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)

"I want to make sure you are right," said Kelleher, who paid the full $3.50 fare despite his East Boston resident discount that lowers his toll to 40 cents. "I don't want to short change the state."

(Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff)

Terry Lane untangled downed power lines today on New Westminster Road in Hubbardston.

By David Abel and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Electricity is trickling back to homes and business today as work crews restored service to more than 87,000 utility customers in the last 24 hours in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. However more than 230,000 remain without power five days after a massive winter storm encased much of New England in an inch of ice.

In Massachusetts 77,000 remain without electricity, with the highest concentration of outages in Worcester County, where 35,893 lacked power as 1 p.m., down from 100,000 shortly after the storm, according to National Grid. Statewide outages peaked at 326,000 on Friday and affected nearly 1 million homes and businesses across New England.

"We still have a lot of debris removal to do to get everyone's lights on," said Peter Judge, spokesman Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. "There are a lot of things to evaluate. We’re not even halfway through this.”

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Boston Police forced their way into the Dorchester apartment of a 41-year-old murder suspect today, but he was gone -- and investigators are now seeking the public's help in finding him.

Daniel Yakovleff

"The tragedy of Daniel's death was felt throughout the community and it is vitally important that the person responsible be held accountable," Police Commissioner Edward Davis said in a statement.

Suffolk County prosecutors led a grand jury investigation for 11 months that included testimony from 16 separate witnesses.

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

Williams College president Morton O. Schapiro announced today that he will become president of Northwestern University next September.

Williams, an elite liberal arts college in Williamstown, is wrapping up a fund-raising campaign that generated more than $400 million.

Northwestern’s board of trustees approved Schapiro's selection Saturday.

Schapiro, 55, is a specialist in higher education finance and affordability, and was an economics professor and assistant provost at Williams from 1980-1991. Before becoming president, he was dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences at the University of Southern California, where he previously had been professor and chair of the economics department.

During Schapiro's presidency, which began in 2000, Williams has reduced its average class size, completed several major building projects, and sharply expanded financial aid, including eliminating student loans from financial aid packages.

For students qualifying for financial aid, the median cost of attending Williams has decreased by more than a third during his tenure, the university said.

"By any measure, Williams is better positioned today because of initiatives he has expertly led," Greg Avis, chairman of the executive committee of the Williams' trustees wrote in an accompanying letter.

(Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff)

Jim Esselstyn, 72, took a break yesterday from cleaning downed trees from his property in Harvard, a town hit particularly hard by last week's ice storm.

Ted Gartland, a dayside photo editor at the Globe, has been taking pictures in metropolitan Boston since 1971. To view the work of more Globe photographers, click here.

Here is the news Globe deputy city editor Mike Bello is following this morning:

Breaking Now:

Gritting teeth, residents await restored power

N.H. jury considers Addison's sentence

Buzz

A slow struggle out of darkness

Governor's transportation chief resigns amid turmoil

Lawyer wants Connolly's conviction voided

In survey, Caritas hospitals gave illegal answer

(Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff)

Jim Esselstyn, 72, cleared debris from his yard in Harvard.

By David Abel, Globe Staff

Four days after one of the region's most punishing ice storms in memory ended, hundreds of thousands of increasingly anxious New Englanders remained without electricity yesterday.

And power companies in some areas urged those whose electricity had not yet been restored to brace for a long haul, with some outages expected to last through the week. In Massachusetts, about 77,000 homes and businesses remained in the dark this morning, down from the peak last week of 326,000.

As residents began to survey the damage, more than 900 utility crews; hundreds of National Guard soldiers; and numerous local police, firefighters, and other officials in the state waded through a vast path of destruction yesterday. They struggled to right downed utility poles and snapped power lines, clear severed tree limbs from closed roads, and provide shelter and food to the needy - a task officials compared to coping with the aftermath of a major hurricane.

Governor Deval Patrick toured the damage yesterday in Holden and Gardner, conferring with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency as well as the governors of New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont. President Bush issued an emergency declaration in Maine, joining New Hampshire and nine Massachusetts counties, and directed FEMA to provide relief assistance.

"It's just a mess," Patrick said about parts of Holden during a news conference. "There are trees down, wires down. I saw telephone and electric poles that were just snapped in half, some of them just hanging by what's left of the wire. Most of the debris has now been cleared . . . . The issue now is getting it removed and chipped, and there is some concern now about getting that done before the weather gets bad."

As residents grew increasingly frustrated, he defended the state's response.

By Frank Phillips and Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick’s top transportation advisor submitted his resignation today, adding more uncertainty to the administration’s increasingly high-profile effort to repair the state’s crumbling road and public transit system.

Bernard Cohen, the state transportation secretary, insisted in an interview with the Globe that he was not being pushed out, despite his diminishing clout and discussions in government and transportation circles that Patrick and his inner circle had grown disenchanted with Cohen’s political and communication skills.

The administration’s first choice to replace Cohen is James A. Aloisi, Jr., a lobbyist and veteran of state government who has been at the center of the Big Dig and other major transportation projects and controversies for the past three decades, according to a State House official. Aloisi is politically savvy and well connected but was passed over two years ago for the job in part because of his close association with the troubled Big Dig project, which he helped plan. As the Turnpike Authority counsel in the 1990s, he also helped draft the law that put the agency in charge of the Big Dig and its debt — a financial burden driving the current debate over tolls.

Aloisi declined to comment early today.

The new leader will take over at a crucial time for the millions of people who rely on the state’s roads and transit systems each day. The financial crises at the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and the MBTA, which are both facing crushing debt and yearly deficits, have pushed the transportation debate to the top of Beacon Hill’s agenda as commuters worry about large toll hike proposals this year and the potential for heftier transit fares that could follow.

Cohen said he submitted his resignation today to Patrick, effective Jan. 2. He said he would spend the next several weeks finishing the details of the governor’s controversial transportation reorganization plans, which includes dismantling the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.

By Noah Bierman and Frank Phillips, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick's top transportation advisor told the Globe today that he is resigning, adding a new level of uncertainty to the administration's increasingly high-profile effort to repair the state's crumbling road and public transit system.

Bernard Cohen, the state transportation secretary, insisted he was not being pushed out, despite diminishing clout and discussions in government and transportation circles that Patrick and his inner circle had grown disenchanted with Cohen's political and communication skills.

The administration's first choice to replace Cohen is James A. Aloisi, Jr., a lobbyist and veteran of state government who has been at the center of the state’s major transportation projects and controversies for the past three decades, according to a well-connected State House source. Aloisi is politically savvy and well connected -- he's written books on Massachusetts politics -- but was passed over two years ago for the job in part because of his close association with the troubled Big Dig project.

Cohen said he submitted his resignation today to Patrick, effective Jan. 2. He said he would spend the next several weeks finishing the details for of the governor's controversial transportation reorganization plan, which includes dismantling the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.

''I am leaving of my own accord,'' Cohen said. He said he has no specific plans, but that the governor agreed to his staying on as a consultant to the administration to work on ''several initiatives.'' He would not say which initiatives because he said the details have not been worked out.

By Noah Bierman and Frank Phillips, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick's top transportation advisor told the Globe today that he is resigning, adding a new level of uncertainty to the administration's increasingly high-profile effort to repair the state's crumbling road and public transit system.

Bernard Cohen, the state transportation secretary, insisted he was not being pushed out, despite diminishing clout and discussions in government and transportation circles that Patrick and his inner circle had grown disenchanted with Cohen's political and communication skills.

The administration's first choice to replace Cohen is James A. Aloisi, Jr., a lobbyist and veteran of state government who has been at the center of the state’s major transportation projects and controversies for the past three decades, according to a well-connected State House source. Aloisi is politically savvy and well connected but was passed over two years ago for the job in part because of his close association with the troubled Big Dig project.

Aloisi declined to comment early today, and could not be reached after Cohen's resignation became official tonight.

Cohen said he submitted his resignation today to Patrick, effective Jan. 2. He said he would spend the next several weeks finishing the details for of the governor's controversial transportation reorganization plan, which includes dismantling the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.

''I am leaving of my own accord,'' Cohen said. He said he has no specific plans, but that the governor agreed to his staying on as a consultant to the administration to work on ''several initiatives.'' He would not say which initiatives because he said the details have not been worked out.

By Peter Schworm, GLOBE STAFF

Dartmouth College announced today it has accepted more than a third of next year's freshman class through early decision, admitting about 25 percent of a record 1,550 applicants.

The New Hampshire school reported a 9 percent increase in early applications over last year, mirroring a surge at elite private schools across the country. The trend has surprised college officials, who expected families to apply to multiple schools this year so they could compare financial aid offers rather than locking in to one college.

Through binding early decision programs like Dartmouth, students commit to attend if admitted. About half of the 401 accepted students applied for financial aid, up from 41 percent last year.

"I'm pleased by the growing strength and diversity of our early decision applicant pool," said Maria Laskaris, dean of admissions and financial aid. "We have worked hard to broaden awareness of Dartmouth’s resources and opportunities, particularly our long-standing commitment to expanding access and ensuring affordability."

Of the accepted students, 55 percent come from public high schools, 38 percent from private schools, and 7 percent from parochial schools. Eighty-seven percent rank in the top 10 percent of their high school class, and 27 percent are students of color.

By David Abel, Noah Bierman, Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The number of New England homes and businesses still without power increased slightly today to roughly 300,000 as spring-like temperatures melted lingering ice from Friday's storm, causing thawed branches to spring back and break some new utility lines.

Power companies are urging those whose electricity has not yet been restored to brace for a long haul, with some outages expected to last through the end of the week.

More than 122,000 remained without power at noon in Massachusetts, up from 118,000 this morning. The highest concentration remains in Worcester County, where 54,800 customers have no electricity, according to National Grid.

“The numbers tend to fluctuate, and it could be because of the melting of trees that snap back up and take out more power lines," said Peter Judge, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.

By Globe Staff

The left lane of northbound Interstate 93 in Somerville will remain closed tonight through rush hour because of a jackknifed tractor-trailer loaded with thousands of pounds of recycled paper.

The truck, which crashed at 2:10 p.m. between exits 28 and 29, is too heavy to be moved, according to State Police. After rush hour, additional lanes will be closed so the truck's payload can be removed.

The 2004 Mack tractor-trailer is owned by Empire Recycling in North Billerica. The truck buckled but did not rupture. No one was injured, State Police said.

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

State revenues are projected to decline this year an additional $749 million, likely triggering another round of funding cuts just months after Governor Deval Patrick slashed expenditures to close a $1.4 billion budget gap.

During a four-hour hearing today, the Department of Revenue estimated that the state would take in $648 million to $749 million less than lawmakers had anticipated just two months ago.

“We’ve got some big, big challenges ahead of us,” Patrick told reporters outside his office. “We have a plan for several different contingencies, and we’re looking at which of those plans to pursue come January.”

Among the options discussed at the revenue hearing were raising the state’s gasoline tax, tapping the $1.7 billion in the reserve account, and making deep cuts in spending. State officials are also hoping a federal stimulus package from the incoming Obama administration could help alleviate some of the problems.

By Maria Cramer and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

A man with a long history of crime and drug abuse has been charged in a series of robberies that targeted female pedestrians at night in Somerville and Cambridge, including an attack last week in which a 22-year-old woman was stabbed in the back while walking home from the Sullivan Square MBTA station.

Vincent Anthony Primo, a 40-year-old Medford resident with a criminal history that includes drug dealing, was arrested Saturday evening after police caught him coming out of a Medford house with a woman who had used a credit card stolen from one of the victims. Police said he is responsible for three robberies in Somerville and that his description and alleged method -- approaching women from behind and brandishing a sharp weapon -- is similar to the suspect in four Cambridge robberies since Nov. 19.

Primo was described by a probation officer in a 2006 report filed in Somerville District Court as a man with a "20-year history of cocaine abuse … [who has] made major personal changes, but has continued the same old behavior." At that point, Primo had a criminal record that included 35 convictions, 15 stints on probation, and six commitments to county jail, according to the report.

Primo pleaded not guilty today at his arraignment in Somerville District Court on several charges, including armed assault with intent to rob, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and assault with intent to murder. He was ordered held without bail. His lawyer, A.J. Blank, declined to comment.

By Sean P. Murphy and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Former Mashpee Wampanoag tribal chairman Glenn A. Marshall, who successfully led the fight for federal recognition of the tribe only to resign amid controversy in 2007, has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges of making illegal campaign contributions and embezzling $380,000 in tribal funds, authorities said today.

Marshall, 59, is accused of steering more than $60,000 in campaign contributions to state and federal legislators between 2003 and 2007, as the tribe pressed its case for federal recognition, according to documents filed today in US District Court in Boston. He also spent approximately $380,000 from a tribal fund for “groceries, vacation trips, tuition for his daughter, restaurant tabs, home repairs, home mortgage payments, and jewelry,” officials alleged.

According to the documents filed in federal court, Marshall has agreed to plead guilty to the charges in exchange for his cooperation in an ongoing investigation. No date has been set for Marshall to enter his plea. Christina DiIorio-Sterling, a spokeswoman for US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan, declined comment, saying only that the investigation is "ongoing."

Marshall, of Mashpee, could not be reached for comment. His attorney, Robert Craven of Providence, was not available for comment.

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen failed to show up at a press conference he was scheduled to attend this morning amid Beacon Hill speculation that he is about to be replaced.

Cohen’s office is central to the top statewide debate of the moment, with the public transit system, the Massachusetts Turnpike, and the Big Dig facing large deficits and controversies over raising tolls and, potentially, bus, subway, and train fares.

Cohen’s press secretary, Klark Jessen, said this morning that Cohen was at his office, but would not say why he was absent despite a release announcing he would attend. Deputy Secretary Thomas Cahir replaced him on the podium at the press conference, which was held with top dignitaries to officially announce the expansion of Internet service on commuter rail cars.

Jessen directed further questions about Cohen to Governor Deval Patrick’s office. Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray, who was also at the event, did not say whether Cohen would be fired by Governor Deval Patrick.

“I think it’s premature for speculation,” he said, when asked about it. “If and when, I’m sure it’ll be announced.”

(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)

Seven-month-old Brendan Clougher of Dorchester smiled for a close-up at a recent open call for baby models in Boston.

Ted Gartland, a dayside photo editor at the Globe, has been taking pictures in metropolitan Boston since 1971. To view the work of more Globe photographers, click here.

By Globe Staff

Firefighters extinguished a blaze this morning on Charles Street at an upscale pizzeria run by celebrity chef Todd English.

The fire at Figs was quickly knocked down after being reported at 8:21 a.m., said Stephen MacDonald, a spokesman for the Boston Fire Department.

When firefighters responded, smoke was pouring out of the building. Flames were discovered in what MacDonald described as duct work. The extent of the damage was not immediately clear.

Here is the news Globe deputy city editor Mike Bello is following this morning:

Breaking Now:

Fire burns Figs restaurant on Charles Street

Man charged with attacking women in Somerville

Buzz

A parking deal for the chosen ones

Old document's recovery yields clues to man's storied start

Officials: Outages may last for days

Road closings for the week of Dec. 14

Two to three lanes oRf I-93 south will be closed at night approaching and through downtown Sunday through Friday from 11:30 p.m. to 5 the following morning.

The Haymarket on-ramp to I-93 south and the Callahan Tunnel will be closed at night Monday through Friday from 11:30 p.m. to 5 the following morning.

I-93 south Exits #20 A South Station and #20B to I-90 (Masspike) west and Albany Street will be closed and detoured at night Monday and Tuesday from 11:30 p.m. to 5 the following morning.

By Kathy McCabe, Globe Staff

A prominent North Shore foundation that has sent hundreds of local Jewish children to Israel discontinued its operations Friday when its assets were frozen in connection with the recent indictment of a New York investment manager.

The Robert L. Lappin Charitable Foundation announced Friday that it was discontinuing its programs, including its Youth to Israel and Teachers to Israel programs. The foundation also terminated its staff.

"We have no money," said Deborah Coltin, executive director of the Lappin Foundation. "We just can't continue."

According to a release from the foundation, "The money used to fund the programs of both foundations was invested with Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, and all the assets have been frozen by the federal courts.''

Madoff, a quiet force on Wall Street for decades, was arrested and charged Thursday with allegedly running a $50 billion "Ponzi scheme" in what may rank among the biggest fraud cases ever, according to the Associated Press.

By Andrew Ryan, Brian R. Ballou, David Abel, John R. Ellement, Globe Staff, and Anne Baker, Globe Correspondent

Nearly 1 million homes and businesses remain without power in New England this evening following a massive winter storm that encrusted the region in an inch-thick sheet of ice.

Hardest hit was northern Worcester County, where 109,000 people are still without electricity. Downed trees and sagging power lines have made some roads impassable in Fitchburg, Leominster, and the city of Worcester. In Holden, so much ice and debris rained from trees this afternoon that parents sent their children outside to play wearing bicycle helmets.

“There are 350,000 households without power right now in Massachusetts in the areas hardest hit by the storm,'' the Route 2 and Interstate 495 corridors, Governor Deval Patrick said at a news conference this afternoon at a fire station in Fitchburg. "We’re not out of the woods, as they say, because temperatures are expected to drop and freezing will follow.”

Patrick declared a state of emergency, which allowed him to mobilize 500 members of the National Guard to help clear roads and provide support. The governor said he will request a presidential disaster declaration, which would make federal money available for recovery efforts. Earlier in the day, Patrick urged people to be patient.

"The earliest estimate that we have for power being restored is Monday," Patrick said at a news conference at the state's emergency management agency in Framingham. "And I think many of us view that as an ambitious estimate at this point."

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

Harvard Law School today named renowned legal scholar Lawrence Lessig to its faculty, the latest in a series of big-name hires by the Cambridge graduate program.

Lessig, a law professor at Stanford University since 2000, will also serve as the faculty director of Harvard University's Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics, law school officials said. He begins next summer.

Lessig is a widely acclaimed expert in constitutional law, cyberlaw, and intellectual property and the author of "Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity." He has also represented clients in several high-profile cases involving the Internet.

"Larry Lessig is one of the most brilliant and important legal scholars of our time," Elena Kagan, Harvard Law School dean, said in a statement released today. "His work has recast the very terms of discussion and debate in multiple areas of law, ranging from intellectual property to constitutional theory."

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick’s administration announced this afternoon that it would shutter four of six state-run mental institutions, including the Fernald Development Center in Waltham, and transfer residents to group homes.

It appears to mark the final chapter in a legal battle over whether to keep Fernald open, and also signals an end to the era of using state-run institutions to house the mentally retarded.

“It’s a victory,” said Leo Sarkasian, executive director of The ARC of Massachusetts, which advocates community-based settings for the developmentally disabled. “We recognize that disability should not be a reason to be segregated from the community.”

In addition to closing Fernald, which is based on a 196-acre campus in Waltham, the administration plans to close the Glavin Regional Center in Shrewsbury; the Monson Development Center in Palmer, and the Templeton Developmental Center in Baldwinville.

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

Coast Guard rescue teams are searching the waters off the Texas coast after a helicopter piloted by a Quincy man crashed yesterday morning, killing at least three passengers.

Joe Laugelle, a helicopter pilot for WCVB-TV, was at the helm of a helicopter carrying four passengers to an oil platform 18 miles off the coast of Sabine Pass, Texas, when it crashed into the Gulf of Mexico, according to a co-worker at the local news station.

Coast Guard officials have recovered three bodies, along with debris from the crash site, but continue to hold out hope that the other two passengers will be found alive. Officials would not disclose the identities of the bodies that had been found.

"We are treating this as an active search and rescue case," said Coast Guard Petty Officer Renee C. Aiello.

(John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)

By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

HOLDEN -- After 12 cold hours without power, Jason Silven had grown restless watching ice-laden limbs and tree trunks crash to the ground. Silven, 33, and a friend were hungry, tired, and desperate for sustenance in a town completely without electricity where all businesses were closed because of the ice storm.

"And then we saw somebody walking out of here with a hot cup of coffee," Silven said standing outside a senior center that was serving as a temporary shelter. "Heat is good."

Scores of residents streamed this afternoon to the senior center, which was serving hot soup and steaming coffee with the help of backup generators.

By Brian Ballou, Globe Staff

LEOMINSTER -- A row of homes on North Main Street was battered by the storm, as massive tree branches heavy with ice fell on patios, backyard sheds, and above-ground pools.

A power line and a large tree branch fell on top of two sedans parked in the front driveway of 172 N. Main Street. At noontime, the line hung across most of the front of the white, two-story house.

"We're prisoners in our own home because the fire department told us not to go out,’’ said Ed Souza, 65, standing in a screen-enclosed side patio room. “I’ve lived here for 40 years and it has never been this bad."

(Mark Wilson/Globe Staff)

A flood of rainwater trigged a powerful burst of steam this morning that that erupted from a manhole in downtown Boston. No one was injured in the blast at 8:30 a.m. at intersection of Harrison Avenue and Kneeland Street.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Freezing rain from a major winter storm could coat areas of Central and Western Massachusetts in up to an inch of ice tonight, turning roads and walkways into skating rinks and bringing down tree limbs and power lines, weather forecasters said.

The National Weather Service has issued an ice storm warning, effective until 7 a.m. Friday, advising that some power outages could last a long time. The icing is expected to ease at dawn as temperatures rise.

Forecasters also warned of freezing rain in interior areas north and west of Boston, saying that icing had already developed in sections of the North Shore and would worsen this evening before temperatures rise above freezing near midnight.

Flooding from heavy rain was also possible around the state.

"A low pressure system that dropped snow in Louisiana this morning is going to move up the coast along the eastern US and across Southern New England tomorrow morning," said Alan Dunham, a Weather Service meteorologist. "It’s going to be a messy night, and probably the morning’s commute not going to be a lot of fun."

By Globe Staff

Boston police are seeking a woman who allegedly committed armed robbery at one location and attempted to rob two others in less than an hour Wednesday in West Roxbury.

Police say they were called to the Walgreen's pharmacy at 1991 Centre St. about 10:13 p.m. A store employee said a woman with blond hair showed a gun and demanded money and drugs. The woman didn't get any money because he was unable to open the safe, he said.

About 17 minutes later, officers were called to the Dunkin' Donuts at 1435 West Roxbury Parkway, where employees said a woman with blond hair pulled up to the drive-thru window, showed a gun, and demanded the money in the register. The employee said he stepped away from the window, and the suspect drove off.

Then, about 21 minutes later, officers were called to the US Petroleum station at 1465 VFW Parkway, where an employee said a gun-wielding woman with blond hair got into his booth and robbed him of an undisclosed amount of money.

By Globe Staff

Riders on the MBTA’s Kingston commuter rail line will fast forward from their current retro system of paying for parking -- by stuffing cash into an “honor box” -- to the future when the transit authority begins offering a new “pay by phone” system Friday.

The new payment method, which will also be available at commuter boat lots in Quincy and Hingham during the pilot program, will allow people who have set up accounts to call a number when they arrive at a lot and notify the system what space they will be using. The system will record their choice and charge their credit or debit card.

"Customers spoke and we listened. Pay by phone parking allows for an easier, more efficient payment system using a credit or debit card, and provides customers with the ability to access receipts directly online,” Daniel Grabauskas, general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, said in a statement.

The pay by phone system has been a success with transit customers in Chicago, where it is offered at more than 30 METRA commuter rail parking lots, the MBTA said.

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Two teenagers were killed in a car wreck early this morning in Middleborough when the 18-year-old behind the wheel was apparently driving too fast, police said.

Brian McMahon (Family Photo)

"Speed, inclement weather and driving inexperience appear to be factors in the crash," police said in the press release.

Both teens died at the scene. Police identified the driver as Joseph W. DeYoung and the passenger as Brian McMahon.

School Superintendent Robert M. Sullivan said in a statement that both teenagers were seniors at Middleborough High School. "Our sympathy and prayers go out to their families and classmates," he said. "Please keep the families of our deceased students in your thoughts and prayers."

The school will offer counseling and support services for students and staff when it opens on Friday, he said.

The crash remains under investigation.

By Globe Staff

A federal grand jury has subpoenaed the wife of City Councilor Chuck Turner as part of an ongoing government corruption investigation, according to a press release issued by Turner's campaign.

Terri Small-Turner has been subpoenaed in her capacity as treasurer of her husband's reelection campaign, according to the release. She has been asked to produce all campaign documents from the past four years.

The US attorney's office declined to comment because of the ongoing investigation. As a matter of routine, the office does not discuss grand jury matters, according to Christina DiIorio-Sterling, a spokeswoman for US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan.

The release issued by Turner's campaign notified the media of a press conference on Friday morning outside US District Court in Boston to discuss the subpoena.

Turner and former state senator Dianne Wilkerson pleaded not guilty yesterday to conspiracy and extortion charges stemming from the FBI bribery investigation.

In quieter weather, Rich Wilson shot video of his boat sailing during a clear, moonlit night and a sunny day.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

A North Shore man who is sailing around the world by himself has rounded the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa and is heading east into the teeth of a storm.

“We’re pretty much on edge here right now,” said Rich Wilson, 58, of Marblehead, who has been sailing the 60-foot Great American III in the Vendee Globe solo yacht race for a month.

“I’m tired. The boat’s going very fast. We’ve got a storm coming tomorrow night, so there’s a very high tension level not knowing how strong it’s going to be,” he said in a satellite telephone interview this afternoon from his boat.

“This is the scary part of it all because you’re so far away from anything,” said Wilson.

A police sketch of the suspect.

By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff

Somerville Police investigating the third robbery on city streets in three days say they suspect that a man may be targeting women who are walking the streets after dark.

Police yesterday released the sketch of the man who they believe stabbed and robbed a 22-year-old woman walking home from the Sullivan Square MBTA stop late Monday night. The woman, who was not identified, was in serious condition after the man stabbed her in the chest, just inches from her heart. The stabbing occurred after she struggled with him as he tried to take her purse, police said.

Four hours earlier, at 6 p.m., a woman had been robbed as she walked on Bow Street near Union Square. Her age was not immediately available.

The most recent attack was Wednesday night, when a third woman, this time a 38-year-old, was walking near Beacon Street, a main thoroughfare in Somerville.

“I think he’s just targeting women who are walking alone,” Deputy Chief Paul Upton said of the suspect. “That’s the only pattern that we really have. That and the darkness. The ones that occurred in Somerville have occurred after dark.”

Hoping to generate leads, Somerville authorities also released video of a woman at a Target store using a credit card stolen from the victim of a similar crime in a nearby city.

"We're anxious to speak to her," he said.

The victims' description of the man has been fairly consistent, police said.

He is described as a stocky white male about 30 to 50 years old with a round face, thin lips, puffy, dark bags under his eyes and a short neck. He is between 5 feet 8 inches and 5 feet 11 inches in height, police said.

The crimes have unsettled police, who normally deal with traffic complaints around the Bow and Beacon streets area of Somerville. Police said they hope the composite sketch of the suspect will help them catch him.

Ernesto Gonzalez, Jr., and his son, Giovanni, in an undated photograph distributed by State Police.

By John R. Ellement and Maria Cramer, Globe Staff

SALEM -- Ernesto L. Gonzalez Jr. pleaded not guilty and did not make eye contact with the mother of his 5-year-old son this morning as he faced charges of parental kidnapping and misleading police in Essex Superior Court.

Shackled at the wrists and ankles, Gonzalez said little during the brief proceeding. No new details emerged about the whereabouts of his son, Giovanni, who has been missing since August.

The case captured nationwide attention when Gonzalez confessed last month to a Globe reporter that he had killed his son in his Lynn apartment. Authorities have expressed skepticism about the jailhouse confession.

The Essex District Attorney's office issued an eight-paragraph statement on Wednesday saying that Gonzalez, 36, had been indicted in the ongoing probe into his son's disappearance. It did not say why Gonzalez was not being charged with murder or why Gonzalez is accused of kidnapping the boy and misleading investigators. Gonzalez will continue to be held without bond at the Essex County Jail.

This morning, the boy's mother, Daisy Colón, declined to speak to reporters at the hearing.

(Globe file photo)

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

Layoff notices have been sent to 20 toll collectors at the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority in the first wave of staff reductions as the beleaguered agency tries to reduce its ranks by 100.

"This is the first step," Executive Director Alan LeBovidge said this morning after an authority board meeting in Boston. "We are in negotiations with the unions to [cut 100 positions], but this is the first step."

Plans for the layoffs were first announced in September. The goal is to cut about a quarter of the toll taker workforce over the next 12 to 18 months for a savings of $10 million. Ultimately, the authority plans to reduce the total number of toll takers from 440 to 150, as it tries to mitigate its large financial debt, which it estimates to be between $70 million and $100 million this fiscal year.

Here is the news Globe Deputy City Editor Mike Bello is following this morning:

Breaking Now:

Clerk shoots, kills masked man during Worcester holdup

Driver killed in fiery Marlborough crash

Buzz

Silver Line faces loss of funding for last link

Menino's time to shine

Amid fiscal gloom, Harvard spotlights arts

By Anne Baker, Globe Correspondent

A driver was killed on Interstate 290 early this morning in Marlborough when a sport utility vehicle ran off the road, hit a tree, and burst into flames, State Police said.

The driver was heading east in a 1995 Ford Explorer at 4 a.m. when the vehicle swerved off the road. The driver was ejected and the car caught fire

State Police did not release the name, age, or gender of the driver, who was pronounced dead at the scene. The accident remains under investigation.

(Betty Jenewin/Telegram & Gazette staff)

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

A liquor store clerk shot and killed an alleged armed robber in Worcester last night, firing at a masked man several times when he pulled a handgun during a holdup, police said.

The alleged robber -- Evan Louis Rivera, 40 -- was pronounced dead at a hospital 45 minutes after the shooting. When the clerk opened fire, Rivera's accomplice ran and remains at large, police said. The clerk who shot the robber was interviewed by police and has not been charged.

The two masked men entered Big Bob's Liquors on Richmond Avenue at 9:59 p.m., police said in a statement describing the shooting. One of the men pulled a handgun and pointed it "directly at one of the two store clerks then on duty," the statement says.

By Caitlin Castello, Globe Correspondent

A Boston man is facing several drug charges after Boston and State Police allegedly intercepted 10 pounds of marijuana meant for him and a search of his home turned up a large amount of marijuana, cocaine, and other drugs, Suffolk County prosecutors said.

Law enforcement officials identified the package of marijuana that was en route to Taghi Tajgardoun, 28, a resident of the Back Bay. When Tajgardoun arrived at a UPS store in downtown Boston yesterday to pick up the package, officers posed as postal workers and he was he was arrested, the Suffolk district attorney's office said in a statement.

Police searching Tajgardoun’s Boylston Street home recovered 800 grams (or about 1.8 pounds) of cocaine; another 15 pounds of marijuana; more than 200 prescription pills; $25,235 in cash; and various drug paraphernalia, including scales, cutting agents, and bags, prosecutors said.

Tajgardoun was arraigned today on a charges that included cocaine trafficking and drug possession. He is expected to appear in court again on Jan. 7.

By Globe Staff

A group calling itself Stop The Pike Hike, which opposes proposed toll increases on the Massachusetts Turnpike, is calling for a boycott of the toll road on Tuesday, the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.

The group is asking its 6,000 members to detour through neighborhoods instead of using the Turnpike to show public officials the consequences of not only losing the revenue from their tolls, but also having increased traffic on local roadways.

The idea drew quick opposition from Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and State Senator Anthony Petruccelli, a Democrat from East Boston, who said the increased traffic could threaten public safety and quality of life in neighborhoods.

By Casey Ramsdell, Globe Correspondent

A missing New Bedford elementary school teacher was found safe today in San Antonio, Texas, two days after she disappeared, police said.

Sheryl Grace Duncan, 38, did not show up for work Monday and prompted a police search. Before she disappeared, the mother of two withdrew money from an ATM.

She drove to San Antonio to see a close family friend, said New Bedford police Lieutenant Jeffrey P. Silva. Police had contacted the friend during their search, and when Duncan arrived, the friend contacted the police, Silva said. He did not explain why she drove to Texas.

(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)

A woman found a dry space inside her transparent umbrella today as she strolled down Newbury Street making a cellphone call.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff and Anne Baker, Globe Correspondent

Central and western Massachusetts face a potentially dangerous ice storm Thursday and Friday that could down tree limbs and power lines and make travel difficult. In eastern Massachusetts, the rain won't freeze, but it could cause flooding, the National Weather Service warned today.

The weather service issued the ice storm warning for 4 a.m. Thursday to 7 a.m. Friday, saying that rain may stop tonight, but will return early Thursday as sleet, freezing rain, or freezing drizzle. The freezing precipitation will intensify and possibly become heavy Thursday night.

Areas above 500 feet could see power outages later Thursday and Thursday night as a coating of ice one-half to one-inch thick -- and possibly even thicker -- covers tree limbs and power lines, the forecasters warned.

In the eastern part of the state, two to four inches of rain could fall Thursday night through Friday morning, raising the possibility of flooding in rivers, small streams, and urban and poor drainage areas, forecasters also predicted.

By Jonathan Saltzman and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

In a federal courtroom overflowing with supporters, City Councilor Chuck Turner and former state Senator Dianne Wilkerson pleaded not guilty today to conspiracy and extortion charges stemming from an FBI bribery sting.

The majority of the 200 people who came to US District Court for the five-minute hearing were there on behalf of Turner, who seemed at ease as he laughed with his attorney, Barry Wilson. When Turner strode down the hallway after entering his not guilty plea, the crowd parted and began chanting, "Chuck! Chuck! Chuck!"

Wilkerson struck a more somber pose in court, but she smiled at some of the spectators she recognized in the gallery. Standing outside the court house in a mist, Cornelius Reddick, 66, told the former Roxbury lawmaker, "We love you, we love you." Wilkerson smiled and responded, "I love you, too."

After the proceeding, Turner refused to discuss comments he made earlier today to the Associated Press that prosecutors may have faked a surveillance photograph that allegedly shows him accepting a $1,000 cash bribe from a businessman who was working with the FBI. When asked about the allegation, Turner kept his lips firmly closed and pointed to his attorney, who held an impromptu press conference.

"My position is I have no idea about what [the photograph is] showing," Wilson said. "All I can say is that I trust Chuck Turner. I don't trust the FBI."

By John R. Ellement, Globe staff

A federal judge today sentenced a Saugus man to 42 months in federal prison for selling prescription painkillers to New England Patriots lineman Nicholas Kaczur, whom a prosecutor said was "addicted to drugs.''

US District Court Judge William G. Young said from the bench that he would have given Daniel Ekasala more prison time, except for the fact that he concluded Ekasala earnestly tried to convince Kaczur to stop buying and using Oxycontin even as he sold the lineman the pills.

"I am satisfied that you did counsel (Kaczur) to stop his drug use,'' Young told Ekasala.

By Globe Staff

The father of a missing 5-year-old Lynn boy was indicted this afternoon on charges of parental kidnapping and misleading authorities in an ongoing investigation of his son's disappearance.

Ernesto Gonzalez, 36, could face up to 11 years in jail if convicted of both charges.

Ernesto and Giovanni Gonzalez

A spokesman for Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said pending child endangerment charges will be dismissed against Ernesto Gonzalez. He will be arraigned on the new charges tomorrow morning in Salem Superior Court.

The grand jury has charged Gonzalez with willfully misleading a person in the furtherance of a continuing investigation and parental kidnapping.

Gonzalez has denied ever having custody of Giovanni on the weekend the boy vanished. But the district attorney's office has determined that Giovanni was seen with his father by witnesses during that weekend in August.

During a jailhouse interview with a Globe reporter on Nov. 26, Gonzalez confessed to stabbing his son to death in his Lynn apartment, dismembering the body, and then discarding the remains in three trash bins around the city.

The extraordinary confession was met with skepticism by authorities, who have yet to find evidence in the apartment that would corroborate Gonzalez's account.

A police sketch of the suspect.

By Globe Staff

Somerville Police are looking for a man who robbed and stabbed a 22-year-old woman Monday night as she walked home from the Sullivan Square MBTA station on Washington Street near the Charlestown line.

The Somerville woman struggled with the suspect when he tried to snatch her handbag. He stabbed her in the chest, possibly with a long screwdriver. She sustained a serious injury. The suspect took the purse and fled on foot towards Charlestown, police said in a statement.

The suspect is described as white, 30 to 50 years old, 5-feet-8-inches to 5-feet-11-inches tall, with a stocky build. He has a round face, short neck, thin lips, and puffy, dark-colored bags under his eyes.

Police are probing whether the suspect is the same man who has committed several other recent street robberies in the Somerville area.

Anyone with information is asked to call Somerville Police detectives at 617-625-1212.

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

The United States should take broad and immediate action to boost college attendance, which has plunged in the past two decades and is weakening the country's global competitiveness, a major study released today concludes.

The new report by the College Board, titled "Coming to Our Senses: Education and the American Future," provided a sobering assessment of the country's educational attainment.

After leading the world in high school completion rates throughout the 20th century, the United States now ranks 21st out of 27 advanced economies.

College completion rates have followed a similar pattern: Once second in the world for younger workers (ages 25 to 34), the United States now ranks 11th. Dropout rates for high school students have tripled in the last 30 years.

"In the last 20 years, we have lost critical ground in this country," said Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board, which convened a panel of 28 education specialists to conduct the study. "We once put our faith in creating an educated citizenry, and we have enjoyed the benefits. A nation’s success lies largely on the quality of its human resources. Without well-educated citizens, we will struggle economically and socially."

High school graduation rates have dropped from 77 percent in the early 1970s to 67 percent today, the report found. About 40 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds have attained a postsecondary degree, and just 58 percent of full-time undergraduates at four-year colleges receive their degree within six years.

College graduation rates were significantly lower among minority groups; just 26 percent of African-Americans and 18 percent of Latinos and Hispanics have at least an associate degree.

By Globe Staff

The state's high court today ordered the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority to pay retired engineer Robert H. LeMaitre an estimated $76,000 for sick days he accrued during a 28-year career that ended in 2002.

The Supreme Judicial Court said the Turnpike made a binding contract with LeMaitre in the employee handbook that detailed benefits for nonunion workers like LeMaitre, who worked in western Massachusetts for the Pike.

While the authority changed how much it would pay workers for not using sick days over the years, the court said it must stick with the repayment schedule LeMaitre expected to receive.

"The authority bound itself to paying the benefits it promised for the performance it sought and secured,'' Justice Robert Cordy wrote for the unanimous SJC.

By Anne Baker, Globe Correspondent

Part of the ceiling collapsed in the parking garage of the Atrium Mall in Chestnut Hill this morning, a Newton fire official said.

No injuries have been reported, but debris from the ceiling landed on several cars, said Lieutenant Alan Leone of the Newton Fire Department.

The collapse, which occurred at 11:20 a.m., is under investigation.

Mall manager Bob Wodogaza said that "a small area of drywall over a few parking spaces has fallen onto a couple of cars on the first level of the parking deck."

The cause has not been determined and a structural engineer will be on the site shortly to evaluate the situation, Wodogaza said in a statement. No cars are allowed to enter the garage, but people are being allowed to leave by the Florence Street.

A crowd of mall employees and shoppers, including mothers with baby strollers, gathered outside the mall after the incident. They were allowed to return to the mall by about 12:15 p.m.

Peter Fenn and Tara Zadeh, two attorneys from Westwood, came to have lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. In the middle of lunch, they saw TV reports about the collapse. Then they learned that the car they had driven there was one of the ones covered with rubble.

“It’s an inconvenience, but it’s not a big deal. No one got hurt,” said Fenn.

(John Bohn / Globe Staff)

By David Abel and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Congress Street reopened this afternoon after being closed for 16 hours when a 12-inch pipe ruptured near City Hall and spilled tens of thousands of gallons of water.

There were no reports of flooding in nearby basements or buildings, but the road buckled between North and State streets, said Thomas Bagley, deputy director of communications for the Boston Water and Sewer Commission. That block of Congress was closed while crews excavated the street and repaired the main.

"It's more of a traffic headache than anything," Bagley said.

The main broke at 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday and flooded the street with water. The cause remains under investigation, Bagley said.

(Suzanne Kreiter /Globe Staff)

A flock of seagulls rolled off the sea on Tuesday and onto Castle Island in South Boston. Anne Sayre was there, ready with some treats.

Ted Gartland, a dayside photo editor at the Globe, has been taking pictures in metropolitan Boston since 1971. To view the work of more Globe photographers, click here.

Here is the news Globe Deputy City Editor Mike Bello is following this morning:

Breaking Now:

Water main break closes Congress Street

Woman, 29, killed in Auburn crash

Buzz

Patrick seeks federal aid for state

Teens' nude photos get unexpected results

Death of singer, 24, tied to stage stunt

By Globe Staff

A 29-year-old woman was killed last night when she apparently lost control of her car and crashed into the woods along Interstate 290 in Auburn.

Jennifer A. Songer of Worcester was driving a 2002 Ford Focus east at 9:40 p.m. when she veered off the road near Exit 9, State Police said in a statement. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Her husband, Travis Songer, 29, was trapped inside the car. Rescue crews freed Travis Songer from the vehicle, and he was rushed by ambulance to UMass Medical Center with what police described as serious injuries.

It was not immediately clear whether the Songers were wearing seat belts. This crash remains under investigation by State Police. The Auburn Fire Department, Auburn EMS, and personnel from Mass Highways assisted troopers at the scene. The right travel lane of eastbound I-290 East was closed for approximately three hours after the crash.

By Jonathan Saltzman, Donovan Slack, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

City Councilor Chuck Turner and former state Senator Dianne Wilkerson were charged for the first time today with conspiracy, adding another allegation to an ongoing federal bribery sting that has upended City Hall and Beacon Hill.

A federal grand jury issued an indictment alleging that Turner and Wilkerson worked together to extort money from a businessman seeking a liquor license for a nightclub in their district. The 17-page indictment does not describe any new evidence against either politician. It is, however, the first time that the grand jury has jointly charged Turner and Wilkerson in the corruption investigation.

The indictment also charged Turner with three separate counts of making false statements, detailing three specific instances in which he allegedly lied to FBI agents about accepting a $1,000 bribe. He is now charged with five felonies and is expected to be arraigned in US District Court on Wednesday afternoon.

Turner said in a telephone interview late this afternoon that he hadn't been informed of the indictment. After a reporter told him about the additional charge of conspiracy, he laughed.

"As I said before, I'm innocent of all charges, as will be proven in court," Turner said.

By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

CAMBRIDGE -- An intense four-alarm blaze erupted in a three-family home on Lexington Avenue this morning and spread to two buildings next door, drawing scores of firefighters from nearby cities and towns to drown the flames.

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

"The upper story was just fully, fully engulfed in flames," said neighbor Rick Lovett, who lives across the street. "There was a scary amount of fire."

At one point, firefighters were ordered out of the structure where the fire originated when the building became unstable. The chimney collapsed and part of the home gave way. Three firefighters suffered minor injuries and were taken to a local hospital, said Cambridge Fire Chief Gerald R. Reardon.

By Tracy Jan, Globe Staff

Harvard University will impose a broad salary freeze in the coming year and postpone nearly all current searches for tenure-track and tenured faculty, according to a letter deans sent to their department chairs in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

The salary freeze will include all nonunion staff members and professors in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, according to the letter, which was posted today on The Harvard Crimson’s website. The letter, which was sent by the deans on Monday, outlined three cost-cutting measures on top of a staff hiring freeze announced last month.

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the largest academic body at Harvard, is expected to slash $105 to $125 million from its current budget. The cuts are in response to the school's plunging endowment, which has lost 22 percent since July. The $36.9 billion endowment is projected to fall by 30 percent by the end of the fiscal year.

(Yoon S. Byun/Globe Staff)

By Megan Woolhouse Globe Staff

QUINCY -- Mayor Thomas P. Koch announced today that he would donate a 47-inch flat-screen television to a senior center and use campaign funds to cover the entire cost of wall-to-wall carpeting in his office after being sharply criticized for billing taxpayers for nearly $60,000 in renovations at City Hall.

Speaking at a press conference about budget cuts, Koch addressed the renovations when asked about it by a reporter.

"We recognize it has become a distraction," Koch said of the flat screen television. "We're removing it from the office and donating it to the senior center."

(Bill Greene/Globe Staff)

Kathy Mahoney and her daughter, Grace, cheered in the House Chamber yesterday afternoon for their husband and father, Brian Mahoney. The Boston police officer received a Medal of Merit at the 25th annual Trooper George Hanna Awards for Bravery.

Ted Gartland, a dayside photo editor at the Globe, has been taking pictures in metropolitan Boston since 1971. To view the work of more Globe photographers, click here.

By James Vaznis, Globe Staff

Massachusetts students significantly outperformed their peers on a prestigious international math and science exam, according to results released this morning.

Massachusetts performed strongest on the fourth-grade science exam, coming in second worldwide just behind Singapore and ahead of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Japan. By contrast, the United States as a whole placed eleventh with a score that researchers characterized as significantly lower than Massachusetts.

"This is a tribute to the work of the Commonwealth's students, teachers, and administrators," said state Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester in a telephone interview. "This is a validation of the educational reforms undertaken in the last decade-plus and the financial investment that was made."

The test, more commonly known as TIMSS, is considered the largest assessment of international student achievement. Some 425,000 fourth- and eighth-graders in more than four dozen countries last year took the exam, which has been given every four years since 1995.

In Massachusetts, about 95 randomly selected schools administered exams to 3,600 fourth- and eighth-graders. Massachusetts had not participated as its own "nation" since 1999 when only the state's eighth-graders took the exam. Participation cost the state $600,000.

The state showed remarkable gains in its scores, greatly outpacing the country's incremental improvements.

In eighth-grade math, the state's score rose 34 points to 547 from eight years ago, compared to a 7-point increase for the United States, which averaged 508 last year. In eighth-grade science, the state's score rose 23 points to 556, compared to a 5-point gain for the United States, which scored 520 last year. The top possible score on each exam was 800.

The only other state that participated as an independent entity was Minnesota, which consistently trailed Massachusetts but did do better than the US average.

"I knew when we jumped into this that we would find some good news," said Christopher Anderson, president of the Massachusetts High Technology Council and a former state education board member who advocated for rejoining the TIMSS study.

State education leaders and education advocates nevertheless stressed the need for more academic improvement. They pointed out that in several instances that some nations still greatly exceed the state's performance on the TIMSS and that those nations continue to ramp up academic rigor.

Results were released this morning at a news conference at Manassah E. Bradley School in East Boston. A complete report can be found here.

Here is the news Globe Deputy City Editor Mike Bello is following this morning:

Breaking Now:

Cambridge fire burns 3 buildings, hits 4 alarms

Mass. students outperform peers on international math and science exam

Buzz:

Tax hunt targets exempt groups

Roxbury judge offers hometown justice

As of today, right whales gain a right of way at sea

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Jimi Grasso and Stephen P. Romano smiled at one another today following a State House ceremony where they were honored for an incident that left Romano wounded as the two law enforcement officers fought a gunman on a Dorchester street last year.

Grasso, a Massachusetts state trooper, and Romano, a Boston police officer, were among the 28 officers across the state awarded the George L. Hanna, Jr. Medal of Honor by Governor Deval Patrick, the highest award for a police officer in the state.

During the struggle with the suspect on Bowdoin Street in May 23, 2007, a bullet from Grasso's weapon struck Romano in the chest.

"It was a traumatic experience,'' Grasso said of the confrontation when he was working with the city's Youth Violence Strike Force. "I'm grateful that it all worked out.''

Romano, who politely avoided talking in detail about the shooting today, said he was grateful to Grasso for his intervention.

"My partner saved my life that night,'' Romano said while holding one of his three young children. "I want to say thank you to him again.''

(Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff)

Dianne Wilkerson did not speak to the press today as she entered US District Court for her arraignment on extortion charges.

By Jonathan Saltzman and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Former state Senator Dianne Wilkerson declared her innocence this afternoon in US District Court, telling a judge in a firm voice that she was "not guilty" of eight counts of attempted extortion.

Wilkerson made the plea during a four-minute arraignment on charges stemming from her arrest Oct. 28 and subsequent indictment last month. US Magistrate Judge Timothy Hillman this afternoon also discussed an agreement that prevents the Roxbury Democrat from destroying documents related to the case.

"There was a concern there might be document destruction in this case," Assistant US Attorney John T. McNeil said after the hearing, adding that investigators "really haven't encountered any significant problems."

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

The Cathedral Church of St. Paul, the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts and a landmark on Boston Common, is recovering today after two small fires were intentionally set there on Sunday, fire and church officials said.

(Dina Rudick/Globe Staff)

The blazes broke out about 2:45 p.m. on Sunday, when the church was packed with about 200 people, including members of a Chinese-language congregation who were eating lunch and participants in a Bible study class for the homeless, said the Very Reverend Jep Streit, dean of the cathedral.

Church members noticed the first fire in an anteroom just off the sanctuary, then another in a hallway, where it appeared a box of papers had been set ablaze, Streit said.

Church staff ushered everyone outside and firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze in the anteroom. The hallway fire went out on its own. The blazes destroyed some hymnals, prayer books, and sheet music used by both the English-speaking and Chinese-language congregations. Some water and soot also spilled across the sanctuary floor and poured into a downstairs kitchen and dining area. But church officials said they were relieved that the blazes were not worse.

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi said today that state aid to cities and towns will be cut by up to 10 percent next year, a major drop-off that will likely cause layoffs and major cutbacks in municipalities across Massachusetts.

House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi

To lighten the blow, DiMasi is planning to propose legislation to eliminate a major union-backed provision that prevents municipalities from joining the state health insurance program without union approval.

Under current law, cities and town officials must earn the backing of 70 percent of local union members before they can join the state’s Group Insurance Commission. DiMasi argues that the provision has prevented municipalities from joining the state system, whose larger size provides more cost savings through bargaining power with insurance companies.

The budget crunch can be seen in a place like Chicopee, where about half of the city’s $140 million budget comes from state aid.

“It’s more money that we take in for property taxes,” said Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette, who last week directed city department heads to prepare budgets next year that are 8 percent to 15 percent less than this year.

“When you know you’re about to get rained on, you better get your rain gear out,” he said. “So that’s what we’re doing.”

Most municipalities still have not recovered from the last round of cuts to local aid, which began in 2002. When adjusting for inflation, all cities and towns are getting less money from the state than they did in 2002, for a combined loss of $566 million, according to Geoff Beckwith, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association.

“Local aid reductions of those magnitudes would have extraordinary effects on local cities and towns,” Beckwith said. “Our recession in Massachusetts will last longer if our public safety and public education services sag.”

Ted Gartland, a dayside photo editor at the Globe, has been taking pictures in metropolitan Boston since 1971. To view the work of more Globe photographers, click here.

(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff/file Nov. 2008)

Private Steven Paschal (left) and Corporal Emmet-Bell-Sykes attended the redesignation of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment in a ceremony at the State House on Nov. 21, 2008.

By Foon Rhee, Globe Staff

The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment and the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment reenactors have been invited to march in President-elect Barack Obama's inaugural parade, his inaugural committee announced today.

It makes perfect sense since the nation's first all-black regiment was commissioned during the Civil War by President Abraham Lincoln, whom is revered by Obama, the nation's first black president.

The parade will include bands and other groups marching down Pennsylvania Avenue following Obama's swearing-in ceremony on the steps of the Capitol. The committee received applications from 1,382 organizations, a new record.

"I am honored to invite these talented groups and individuals to participate in the Inaugural Parade," Obama said in a statement. "These organizations embody the best of our nation's history, diversity and commitment to service. Vice President-elect Biden and I are proud to have them join us in the parade."

(John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)

Ryan Izzo exalted Walpole's 41-21 victory on Saturday over Mansfield in the Division 2 High School Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.

Ted Gartland, a dayside photo editor at the Globe, has been taking pictures in metropolitan Boston since 1971. To view the work of more Globe photographers, click here.

By Globe Staff

A 58-year-old man not wearing a seat belt was killed Sunday night when he lost control of his sport utility vehicle in Attleboro, State Police said.

Daniel Pare was driving a 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe at 10:14 p.m. when he lost control on a ramp off Interstate 95, police said in a statement. The SUV began rolling on the ramp at Exit 3 to Route 123.

Pare was ejected from the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene. The SUV came to a rest in the grassy divider on the ramp.

This crash remains under investigation by State Police, the Attleboro police and fire departments, the state Highway Department, and the medical examiner’s office.

Here is the news Globe Deputy City Editor Mike Bello is following this morning:

Breaking Now:

Man, 58, killed in Attleboro crash

Buzz:

Romney paves way for possible '12 run

Funding crunch has colleges scrambling

Panhandler an accepted, colorful fixture at crossroads in Mattapan

By Globe Staff

They protect and they serve -- sometimes in extraordinary ways, without regard for their own safety.

Governor Deval Patrick and other officials will celebrate the bravery of 28 police officers at noon today at the State House in the 25th annual George L. Hanna Jr. Memorial Awards Ceremony.

The officers will be cited for their actions in 13 incidents, including apprehending suspects, preventing a suicidal man from harming himself, and subduing a gunman who had opened fire on officers, the state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security said.

The officers are from the State Police, Transit Police, and departments in Boston, Dalton, Malden, Milton, Springfield, and Somerville.

The awards are named for Trooper George L. Hanna, who was fatally shot in 1983 during a motor vehicle stop in Auburn.

By Andrew Keegan and Jillian Jorgensen, Globe correspondents

A three-alarm fire that left seven people injured and caused about 150 people to be evacuated broke out this morning at a housing development for the elderly on Father Jacobee Road in East Boston.

According to Stephen MacDonald, spokesman for the Boston Fire Department, the call was received at 6:51 a.m. for a fire on the third floor of a five-story building in the Heritage Elderly Housing project, run by the Boston Housing Authority, and approximately 90 firefighters were sent to the scene.

By Maria Sacchetti, Globe staff and Matt Negrin, Globe correspondent

The first snowfall of 2008 will be remembered not for its flakes – but for the frigid air and howling winds that descended on the Boston area this afternoon and will settle in through tomorrow.

“Certainly we’ll see some of the coldest temperatures that we’ve seen recently,” said Charlie Foley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton. “It’ll feel like winter has arrived in earnest.”

The “run-of-the-mill snowstorm” coated most of the Boston area now with an inch of dry powder, and up to 3 inches in Plymouth County. But after the snow tapered off this afternoon, residents faced biting temperatures in the 20s and in the teens further inland and winds with gusts to 50 miles per hour.

(Essdras Suarez/Globe Staff)

By Globe Staff

It was a great day for a swim. Not! But that didn't deter Monica Brookman (foreground) and Gretchen Wagner (right), members of the Boston City Swimmers from the Central YMCA.

They were among about 60 people who took to the water at Walden Pond as part of a Polar Bear Plunge event in order to bring awareness to the global warming issue.

The message of the event was: "Keep Winter Cold! Fight Global Warming Now."

By Caitlin Castello, Globe Correspondent

A man was shot while waiting in line at a Blue Hill Avenue restaurant Friday night when another man's gun fell to the floor and fired, Boston Police said.

The victim and the suspect were waiting for food at about 11 p.m. at Stash's Resaurant in Dorchester. The suspect, who was standing next to the victim, fled.

The victim was shot in the head, but his injuries were non-life-threatening. He was taken for treatment to Boston Medical Center, police said.

Police are looking for a black male in his early 20s with braided hair, wearing blue jeans and a black jacket.

By Terri Schwartz, Globe Correspondent

A Boston anti-poverty agency is opening its doors today so more people can apply for heating assistance.

Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) expects to help about 25,000 households pay their heating bills this winter, up from 18,000 last winter, because of an increase in state and federal funding and changes in eligibility requirements, spokeswoman Susan Kooperstein said.

The agency is opening its downtown office on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., beginning today. Kooperstein said that workers reported after closing today that they had been very busy.

Kooperstein said the agency this year will be able to help "families that always used to fall through the cracks.”

By Caitlin Castello, Globe Correspondent

An 84-year-old woman who was rescued from a five-alarm blaze Cambridge last month has died, a Massachusetts General Hospital spokeswoman said today.

Charlotte Hill and her husband, McKinley, were rescued by Cambridge firefighters from the third floor of a condo building on Prince Street on Nov. 25.

The fire started at 3 a.m. and ripped through three buildings, leaving 30 people homeless. The cause is still under investigation, but the Cambridge Fire Department has ruled out arson. The damage was estimated at $1 million.

Hill died Thursday. Hospital spokeswoman Michelle Marcella would not say whether her death was caused by injuries from the fire.

Road closures and other transportation advisories for the week of Dec. 7:

Two to three lanes of I-93 South will be closed approaching and through downtown Sunday through Friday from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.

The Storrow Drive on-ramp to I-93 South will be closed Thursday from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.

The Haymarket on-ramp to I-93 South and the Callahan Tunnel will be closed Monday through Wednesday from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.

By Caitlin Castello, Globe Correspondent

Marshfield Police are looking for two men who may have tried to lure a young girl into their truck Friday morning.

The girl was waiting for a bus at 7:45 a.m. when the men approached her in an older red pickup truck. The driver asked the girl if she wanted to see a puppy that they had in their truck.

According to a wanted bulletin distributed by Marshfield police, the driver is white, heavy-set, 35 to 45 years old, medium height, with brown eyes, wearing a black and blue sweatshirt. The passenger was wearing a backwards red baseball hat and a black sweatshirt with a white skull on it.

A witness told police that there may have been some commercial writing on the truck. Anyone with information can contact the Marshfield Police Department at (781) 834-6655.

(Patricia McDonnell for The Boston Globe)

Patrick and Obama are personal friends as well as political allies.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

Governor Deval Patrick is praising president-elect Barack Obama today for his plan to try to boost the sagging economy through investment in infrastructure projects.

Obama pledged this morning in a radio address to create millions of jobs through “the single largest new investment in our national infrastructure since the creation of the federal highway system in the 1950s.”

Obama also said he would launch a campaign to make public buildings more energy-efficient, to modernize and upgrade school buildings, and to "renew our information superhighway," connecting libraries, schools, and hospitals to the Internet.

“President-elect Obama is committing to partner with us to help people get back to work building roads, bridges, broadband, schools and other needed projects, and to do so in a way that creates jobs right now, when we need them badly,” Patrick said in a statement.

“We welcome the help from the new Administration getting our economy back on track today, and building a stronger foundation for tomorrow," he said.

By Milton J. Valencia, Globe Staff

Robert P. Dunford, the second-in-command of the Boston Police Department who took a leave of absence last month while he was the subject of an internal affairs investigation, has been cleared of the most serious allegation and has been asked to return to work, Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said tonight.

Davis said the investigation into concerns that Dunford acted on behalf of a friend who was being disciplined for actions at the Police Academy is nearly complete, but that the information gathered so far clears Dunford of any wrongdoing.

“Given the information developed as a result of a thorough and fair investigation, I believe it is appropriate for Chief Dunford to return to duty,” Davis said in a statement.

The statement said that the investigation is still looking at whether Dunford sent inappropriate emails, but that the commissioner thought it was appropriate for Dunford to return to work now. Dunford, the police superintendent-in-chief, had taken a voluntary leave of absence on Nov. 13.

By Globe Staff

Talk about fickle. An inch or two of snow is expected to fall Sunday. A couple of days later, the forecast calls for rain.

"An active week is ahead Sunday through at least Wednesday, with snow showers and a burst of very cold air Sunday and Sunday night and a southerly gale and brief warmup Wednesday," Walter Drag, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said this afternoon.

Sunday's snowfall is likely to be heaviest between 6 a.m. and noon and visibility at that time might drop briefly to one mile, the service said. Some roads may need to be treated. Some areas may also see strong winds that night and by Monday morning the wind chill could drop to as low as 5 below zero.

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

The state Board of Higher Education today unanimously tapped former Northeastern University president Richard Freeland to become the next commissioner of the state's higher education department.

Richard Freeland

"We are confident that Richard’s unique blend of higher education leadership within both public and private higher education, his success in engaging interest at all educational levels and within each segment, and his keen understanding of the challenges of an urban environment in advancing the interests of students in obtaining college access and success, make him a superb candidate for commissioner of higher education," he added.

The education board sets policy for the state's 29 community colleges, state colleges, and universities, in conjunction with the institutions' boards of trustees.

Before leading Northeastern, Freeland served as dean at the University of Massachusetts at Boston from 1982-1992. He is a professor at Northeastern University and Clark University.

Freeland is best known for helping to transform Northeastern into a more selective, research-oriented institution. During his tenure, from 1995 to 2006, freshman applications more than doubled, average SAT scores of incoming freshman rose from 1,008 to 1,227, and the school steadily climbed in the US News & World Report rankings.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Feel like you've got more elbow room on the Turnpike these days? You probably do. The number of people driving on the toll road declined sharply in November, dropping by 7.5 percent, or 1.2 million toll transactions, compared with a year ago.

The Turnpike has registered toll transaction declines in 10 out of the first 11 months of the year. November’s decline was the biggest -- and it happened despite a drop in gasoline prices from record highs in July.

The toll transaction declines have been squeezing Turnpike revenue, despite toll hikes that were implemented at the beginning of the year. The Turnpike started the year with monthly increases of up to 16.5 percent in revenue. For November, the revenue was up only 1.9 percent over the same month a year earlier.

Turnpike spokesman Mac Daniel declined to speculate on the causes for declining use of the toll road. But there has been a national trend towards fewer drivers. Travel on all roads and streets dropped by 4.4 percent, or 10.7 billion vehicle miles, in September, compared with the same month a year earlier, according to federal statistics.

By Casey Ramsdell, Globe Correspondent

Boston Latin School is one of the top 100 public high schools in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report's December issue. The school was ranked 27th out of more than 21,000 high schools nationwide.

"This honor is a tribute to the students, parents, teachers and administrators who work so hard every day to ensure excellence across the board," said Superintendent Carol R. Johnson.

Belmont High School was the only other Massachusetts high school to break the top 100, coming in 100th. Seven other Boston public high schools were also among the 1,800 top schools in the country identified by the magazine.

(Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff)

Henderson leaving the courthouse with her lawyer, Oscar Cruz.

By Jonathan Saltzman and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The regional director of Homeland Security, Customs, and Border Protection was charged today with repeatedly hiring illegal immigrants to clean her Salem home after one cleaner wore a wire during an undercover investigation.

Lorraine Henderson is the director of the Port of Boston, overseeing 190 armed federal officers who patrol major airports and shipping terminals in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.

"She’s supposed to be deporting aliens, not hiring them," said Assistant US Attorney Brian T. Kelly, chief of the public corruption unit.

Agents arrested Henderson at her Salem home at 8 a.m. Standing this afternoon in US District Court in Boston, she wore jeans and a gray sweatshirt and did not enter a plea to a charge of encouraging an illegal immigrant to remain in the country. If convicted, she faces as much as 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The initial appearance lasted 15 minutes and Henderson said little, responding to questions from Magistrate Judge Robert B. Collings about whether she understood her legal rights with one-word answers. Collings released her on a $25,000 unsecured bond and ordered her to surrender her passport. Henderson has been placed on paid administrative leave, a US Attorney's spokeswoman said.

According to an eight-page affidavit unsealed today, Henderson had employed a Brazilian woman to clean her home for $75 to $80 every few weeks for several years. Henderson's fellow officers at US Customs and Border Protection told her in 2005 and 2006 that it was against the law to hire illegal immigrants and urged her to find another housekeeper. Not only did she ignore the advice, according to the affidavit, but when the housekeeper took time off to have a baby, Henderson also allegedly hired two of the housekeeper's Brazilian friends who were also in the country illegally.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

With the economy struggling and people pinching pennies, the Massachusetts State Lottery has increased its estimate of an expected decline in ticket sales.

While the agency had said in October that it expected a 1.5 percent drop, or about $75 million, in sales, compared with the previous year, it now says it expects the drop to be 4 percent, or about $200 million.

Mark Cavanagh, the lottery’s executive director, emphasized that fiscal 2008, which ended in July, was a record year for the Lottery, with the agency racking up $4.7 billion in sales.

He also said the agency is hoping that the outlook for fiscal 2009 will improve in the next few weeks. “The holidays are a big time for us, so we’re hoping to make some of that back. ... We’ve got high hopes,” he said.

A big boost could come today. Sales are running about $2,000 per minute this afternoon, as customers buy chances on a $146 Mega Millions jackpot, which will be drawn tonight, he said.

By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff

WOBURN -- A smiling but weary Peter Limone appeared in court today to face illegal gambling charges after spending his first night behind bars in seven years.

“I’m going home, I’m tired," Limone, 74, told reporters after pleading not guilty and posting $5,000 cash bail.

Limone spent 33 years in prison before his conviction was thrown out in 2001 in a notorious 1965 gangland murder. Police arrested him Thursday on charges that he ran a tightly controlled illegal gambling operation that brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Middlesex prosecutor John Verner told the court today that investigators had thousands of hours of taped conversations and had surveillance that showed that Limone was the “head of a criminal organization.”

The Medford man was among 20 people indicted by a Middlesex County grand jury investigating illegal gambling and organized crime. Underlings referred to him as "Chief Crazy Horse" and "The Camera Guy" in conversations secretly recorded by the State Police. Three other men -- Thomas Palladino, 75; Anthony Squillante, 73; and Joseph DiPrizio, 50 -- were also arraigned today on dozens of charges including attempted extortion and gambling.

Here is the news Globe Deputy City Editor Mike Bello is following this morning:

Buzz:

Governor picks fewer minorities for bench

Dear Santa: Times are tough

Revision puts population estimate for Hub over 600,000

By Globe Staff

The old and the new will be in sharp contrast today when the Navy’s newest commissioned warship cruises into Boston Harbor and docks at Pier 1 of the Charlestown Navy Yard. It will be in front of the Navy’s oldest commissioned warship, the USS Constitution.

The USS Freedom was commissioned Nov. 8 in Milwaukee. It is a littoral combat ship designed for coastal missions. The Navy says the boat is capable of speeds in excess of 40 knots and can operate in water less than 20 feet deep.

The ship will be open to the public for free tours Saturday and Sunday from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Visitors must obtain a ticket from the ship before boarding, the Navy said in a statement.

The ship is expected to pass Castle Island at 8:15 and arrive at the dock at 9:30.

(Joanne Rathe/Globe Staff)

Jennifer and John Davis with their baby, Charlotte.

By Stephanie Ebbert, Globe Staff

A man cited for trying to use a breakdown lane to get to the hospital when his wife was in labor appealed his $100 traffic ticket today, but the couple doesn't intend to file a complaint against the trooper who issued it.

"I think that we've complained and they heard it," Jennifer Davis said.

The Davises were flooded with calls and interview requests today after a story appeared in The Boston Globe detailing their encounter with the officer on their way from their Dracut home to Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge on Nov. 18.

Jennifer Davis said her contractions were about 3 minutes apart, and rush hour traffic was stuck on Route 2 near Alewife Station. According to the Davises, John Davis drove in the breakdown lane and stopped to ask a trooper if they could take the lane to the next exit. He not only refused, they said, but he made them wait on the roadside while he finished writing someone else's ticket, then returned to their car and told them they would be getting a citation in the mail. Jennifer Davis said he also wanted to see her pregnant belly.

A State Police spokesman said the trooper was not expected to be disciplined because he was making a judgment call in enforcing the law that prohibits driving in the breakdown lanes. The lanes are only open to traffic on some highways during rush hour.

"Police officers are asked to make judgment calls every day and we understand that many of them are going to be subject to second-guessing but that goes with the job," said spokesman David Procopio. "Most importantly, we are happy and grateful that the Davises had a healthy baby girl."

(Jim Davis/Globe Staff)

Limone waited this afternoon in the booking room at the State Police barracks in Danvers.

By Shelley Murphy, Jonathan Saltzman, and Kathy McCabe, Globe Staff

Peter Limone, one of the men who won millions last year in a lawsuit over their wrongful murder convictions decades ago, has been arrested on gambling and loan-sharking charges, law enforcement officials said.

Limone, who was arrested today at his Medford home, is accused of leading an organization that profited from gambling, loan-sharking, and extortion in the Greater Boston area, the Middlesex District Attorney's office said in a statement.

Prosecutors said another man was arrested and 18 others were indicted. More details were expected to be released at a 6:30 p.m. news conference.

A federal judge ruled last year that the government should pay $101.7 million in damages for the wrongful imprisonment of Limone and three other men. Limone had spent 33 years in prison before he was released. The federal government has filed an appeal; the award has not yet been made.

The four men were framed in 1968 for the 1965 mob-related slaying of Edward Deegan in a Chelsea alley.

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick appointed Board of Higher Education member Charles Desmond today to be the board's next chairman.

Desmond replaces Frederick W. Clark Jr., who announced his resignation last month. Desmond is the executive vice president of the Trefler Foundation, a nonprofit focused on improving urban public education, and had previously worked for 30 years at the University of Massachusetts at Boston.

"His background in public higher education, his many years of service at the University of Massachusetts and his passion for ensuring the success of all students will guide his important work," Patrick said in a statement.

In a related matter, the higher education board will meet Friday to vote on Richard Freeland's candidacy for commissioner of the higher education department. Freeland is the former president of Northeastern University.

Patrick also appointed Nancy Hoffman, vice president at Jobs for the Future, to the higher education board.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

As the victim’s mother wept, a prosecutor today outlined more of the details of the savage killing of a Boston woman in 1984.

Hernandez

In Roxbury Municipal Court, the victim's mother and namesake, Elsie Hernandez, wept and covered her face with her coat in shock as Flashner described how her daughter had been beaten with a piece of concrete, strangled with an athletic sock, and raped on a December night.

The victim was found in a garbage-strewn lot in Roxbury. She was wearing the pink uniform of the department store where she worked.

Scott, a burly man with a shaved head and a goatee, said nothing during the 10-minute proceeding before Judge Edward Redd, who ordered Scott held without bail. Defense lawyer Denise Regan declined to comment after the arraignment.

After today's arraignment, the victim’s sister read a brief statement to reporters. She thanked the three Boston police detectives who investigated her older sister’s homicide and Flashner for continuing to hunt for her killer.

"At this moment my family will be reliving the brutal tragedy that we faced back in 1984," said the sister, Jessica Ruiz Hernandez. "However, we are grateful that they have a suspect and hopefully thi justice will be served for Yolanda Ruiz Hernandez.''

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

MIAMI -- In an impassioned appeal to a judge today before he is sentenced for a 1982 gangland murder, former FBI agent John J. Connolly Jr. accused a federal prosecutor of sitting on evidence that he was innocent in an earlier case, and shouted, "You let me rot in prison for five years!''

But the prosecutor, Fred Wyshak, fired back that Connolly's allegations weren't true and that the former agent spent decades covering up his corrupt relationship with longtime FBI informants James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "The Rifleman'' Flemmi, while the notorious gangsters got away with murders, and extorted drug dealers, bookmakers, and legitimate businessmen.

The heated exchange between Connolly -- who never took the stand at his Florida murder trial -- and the prosecutor came during an emotional hearing that ended with Connolly's sentencing being delayed until Jan. 15. The judge said he needed more time to weigh a belated motion by the defense to set aside the jury's verdict on statute of limitations grounds.

Connolly, 68, was convicted last month of second-degree murder with a gun, for leaking information to Bulger and Flemmi that prompted the pair to get a hitman to kill Boston business consultant John B. Callahan. The defense now argues that the jury, which found Connolly not guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, should not have been instructed that they could consider the lesser charge of second-degree murder because it was too late.

(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff/file)

The 46-foot white spruce from Nova Scotia arrived on Boston Common on Nov. 21.

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

When the switch is thrown tonight to illuminate a 46-foot white spruce on Boston Common, there will be a subtle, green wrinkle in a Christmas tradition that dates to 1940.

The towering tree will be illuminated by the twinkle of 8,000 light-emitting diodes, casting Santa Claus and Mayor Thomas M. Menino in an energy-efficient glow. The LEDs are part of a pilot program that will cover roughly 20 percent of the decorations on the Common and Public Garden, with the Parkman Bandstand and Frog Pond also decked in ecologically friendly dots of light.

"It probably will look a little bit different, but I don't think most people will be able to tell," said Mary Hines, a spokeswoman for the Parks Department. "I don't think its going to be anything like, 'Wow did you see that.'"

Last December, the Globe wrote about a similar switch to LEDs in Concord that left some disappointed and longing for the warm, yellow glow of incandescent lights of Christmas past. The diodes cast Concord's tree in what was described as an icy, bluish hue.

By Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick, who some had speculated might be up for a post in the Obama administration, reiterated today that he isn’t going to Washington and expects to run for reelection. He also said he expected that he might face a primary challenge.

Gov. Deval Patrick. (Globe File Photo)

“Look, I fully expect that I’m going to be challenged, probably in the primary, let alone the general. That’s good. None of us is entitled to these jobs, none of us. I certainly am not, and I welcome the challenge, and I think incumbents ought to,” he said in an appearance on WTTK-FM’s “Ask the Governor” segment.

Patrick shrugged off a question about whether he had ever discussed a post in Washington with the team of president-elect Barack Obama.

“I am not under oath and I don’t have to answer that,” Patrick said, bantering with talk show host Jim Braude.

Patrick, a political ally and personal friend of Obama, will be up for reelection in 2010.

By Michael Levenson and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The longtime police chief of a small Western Massachusetts town was one of three people indicted today on involuntary manslaughter charges for the death of an 8-year-old boy who fatally shot himself with a machine gun at a weapons exposition in Westfield.

Pelham Police Chief Edward B. Fleury (AP Photo/Daily Hampshire Gazette)

The grand jury also indicted the club and two men who supplied the Uzi that killed the boy. The men were identified as Carl Guiffre of Hartford and Domenico Spano of New Milford, Conn.

Prosecutors did not seek an indictment against the boy's father, Dr. Charles Bizilj, who brought his son to the gun show and was standing with a camera 10 feet behind his son as he fired the weapon that afternoon. Bizilj, an emergency room physician from Ashford, Conn., "will be punished every day of the rest of his life," Hampden District Attorney William M. Bennett said this afternoon at a press conference, according to a story on the website of the Springfield Republican.

(MBTA Photo)

What to expect on one of the Red Line's "Big Red" cars.

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

With more riders flocking to the MBTA, the public transit agency has decided to experiment with making two Red Line cars roomier by removing most of their seats.

The modified cars, which will be dubbed “Big Red” cars, will be used on one of 28 six-car rush hour trains during the pilot program, which begins Monday.

The cars will have only two seats and added handrails. Surveys will be available in the car to see whether people feel not having a place to sit is worth getting onto the train; surveys will also be posted online. The program is modeled on similar efforts in San Francisco, Chicago, and New York City.

“What we’re looking for is feedback from our customers,” said Daniel Grabauskas, the MBTA general manager. “I don’t think we’d ever eliminate all seats on an entire train.”

(Photo by Scot Grassette)

"Elves" wrote people's names and Christmas wishes on the giant sheet of paper.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

What may be the world’s largest letter ever is on its way from Rumford, Maine, to Santa Claus’s home in North Pole, Alaska, said Scot Grassette, who organized the letter-writing project.

Grassette’s goal was to send the largest single-page letter ever written and get recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records. The letter-writing event Saturday at the Mountain Valley High School gym was also a benefit that raised about $4,000 for his daughter’s majorette squad.

The piece of paper was 131 feet long and more than 23 feet wide. A total of about 495 names and corresponding Christmas wishes were painted in large letters on the paper -- so many that the “elves” doing the painting had to flip the paper over and continue for 26 feet on the other side. The letter, folded up, weighed over 62 pounds and was mailed Monday with the help of 288 first-class stamps, Grassette said.

“The day was really, really nice. The kids that were there were just in awe, just seeing a piece of paper that big all in one piece,” said Grassette, an electrician in the local NewPage Corp. paper mill who got his company to donate the paper.

Here is the news Globe Deputy City Editor Mike Bello is following this morning:

Buzz:

$26m try to tame city's crime hot spots

The comeback of Lawrence Summers

In rush-hour labor, ticket delivered

Turner acts in self-defense

By Caitlin Castello, Globe Correspondent

Was it hungry, bored, or feeling adventurous? No one knows. But an Atlantic right whale felt compelled to swim into the Cape Cod Canal this afternoon, causing the waterway to close for two hours.

It is relatively rare for a right whale to find its way into the canal. It only happens about once or twice a year, said Scott Landry, director of whale rescues at the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies.

“It just happens by chance. Most whale species tend to wander quite a bit,” said Landry. “Just because it was by the canal we don’t think there was something wrong. Wandering is a natural part of the whale.”

The 35-foot whale entered on the Cape Cod Bay side and it was escorted by a US Army Corps of Engineers boat through to the Buzzards Bay side of the canal.

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

It's hard to get dozens of people to jam into an airless basement room in the State House to hear policy wonks discuss how "infrastructure has really become a fashionable asset class."

But the standing-room only crowd at today's Transportation Committee hearing was a testament to how worried people are about the prospect of large toll increases recommended by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority last month, or hikes in the state gas tax proposed by House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi as an alternative.

"There are no easy solutions to the problems that we face," Senator Steven A. Baddour, a Methuen Democrat who is co-chairman of the committee, said as he opened proceedings.

It was the first of several hearings scheduled to debate a complex web of problems caused by billions of dollars in Big Dig debt that is crippling both the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

(Boston Police Photo)

By Milton Valencia and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

A 9-year-old boy who was kidnapped this afternoon by two armed men in Mattapan has been found inside Terminal B at Logan airport, officials said this evening. David Encarnacion is safe and unhurt, Officer Eddy Chrispin, a police spokesman, said.

He was found at the airport shortly after 5 p.m., about three hours after he was apparently forced into a 2003 grey Honda Accord, according to Elaine Driscoll, a police spokeswoman.

Driscoll said the entire case – from the boy’s alleged kidnapping on River Street in Mattapan by two men to his recovery at Logan early this evening – is under active investigation and police are not yet sure what sparked the dramatic events.

She said it was not yet clear who the boy was with when he was found by a Boston police officer inside Logan Airport. No one has been charged, but the investigation is ongoing, she said.

“This is a curious situation,’’ Driscoll said of the alleged kidnapping. “Thankfully, the boy is safe. That’s the most important thing. Now, we are trying to fill in the details.’’

John Connolly (AP Photo/Alan Diaz, file October 2008)

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

MIAMI -- Disgraced former FBI agent John J. Connolly Jr., speaking in a jailhouse interview today on the eve of his sentencing on a murder charge, revealed that fugitive gangster James "Whitey" Bulger called him twice after fleeing Boston and discussed the possibility of surrendering.

"He was thinking of giving himself up,'' Connolly said, recounting two pre-arranged calls that he received from the fugitive at a pay phone near the Prudential Center in Boston. "He seemed to be serious about it.''

He said he couldn't recall the date of the calls, but believed it was sometime in 1995 or 1996 when Bulger and his sidekick Stephen "The Rifleman'' Flemmi were facing racketeering, extortion, gambling, and drug trafficking charges, but had yet to be publicly revealed as longtime FBI informants and charged with 19 murders between them.

At the time, Flemmi was jailed without bail while awaiting trial. And Bulger -- now one of the FBI's 10 Most Wanted -- had evaded capture.

Bulger didn't want to surrender unless he was assured that he and Flemmi would both be released on bail, Connolly said.

"He felt because they were both FBI informants and had produced for the FBI, they could be given that concession and get bail while fighting the case,'' Connolly said.

(Photo by Todd Ganci)

Arroyo flexed his muscles during the May bodybuilding championship in Marlborough.

By Donovan Slack, Globe Staff

Former Boston firefighter and bodybuilder Albert Arroyo is back in jail today after Suffolk County prosecutors charged him with violating a restraining order for the second time in two months.

A West Roxbury District Court judge revoked his bail on the first charge after prosecutors said Arroyo repeatedly called his former girlfriend and her family between Nov. 14 and 16, officials said.

The former girlfriend had taken out a restraining order Oct. 28 barring Arroyo from contacting her or her family, and he was arrested and charged with violating that order on Nov. 4 after the former girlfriend reported seeing him lurking outside her house.

By Globe Staff

Two Boston firefighters who were killed in a fire at a restaurant in the city’s West Roxbury section last year have been honored with the state’s highest award for valor.

Governor Deval Patrick gave the Medal of Honor awards to family members of Paul J. Cahill and Warren J. Payne at the annual Firefighter of the Year awards ceremony today.

Twenty-one other awards were given, including Medals of Valor that went to firefighters from Brookline, Fall River, Milton, and Saugus, and Individual Awards for Meritorious Conduct to firefighters from Boston, Falmouth, Gloucester, Hull, Swampscott, and Saugus.

“I am honored to be able to express my gratitude to these brave individuals and to their families,” Patrick said. “Your exceptional service is in keeping with the proud traditions of your profession.”

By Globe Staff

A 22-year-old Lowell man has been charged with fatally stabbing a man who had walked outside the convenience store where he worked to take a smoke break at dawn on Saturday morning.

Luis Rodriguez was arrested shortly after midnight this morning in the slaying of 37-year-old Mazen Alwarad of Lowell, Middlesex prosecutors said. Rodriguez was arraigned this morning in Lowell District Court on one count of first-degree murder and ordered held without bail.

The murder was a "tragic, random, and disturbing act," District Attorney Gerry Leone said in a statement.

By Donovan Slack, Globe Staff

A familiar face reported to Suffolk Superior Court this morning for jury duty. But Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino wasn't picked to serve and was dismissed before noon, city officials said.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino

The mayor reported to the courthouse at 8 a.m. He did not attempt to get out of serving, Joyce said.

"The mayor's just like everyone else," she said. "He shows up for his civic duty like anyone else."

Menino was last summoned for jury duty in July 2005, when he also was excused. He had been called as a potential juror in a sex crime trial but not chosen for the jury. "I'm not sure I could have been objective since I knew all the police officers who were being called to testify," Menino said at the time.

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

City Councilor Chuck Turner complained to his colleagues today that, because of a federal court order, he won't be able to defend himself if they consider disciplining him over his arrest on corruption charges.

Turner was the first member to take his seat this morning at the first meeting of the council since his arrest little more than two weeks ago at City Hall

Turner said he disagreed with Council President Maureen Feeney's decision to strip him of his committee assignments after his arrest, but acknowledged she had the right to do that.

But he spoke at length about Feeney's intention to call a Rules Committee meeting if he is indicted to consider whether the body should push for his removal.

By Globe Staff

Sultan Omar Chezulu, the Georgia man who allegedly committed a 1984 murder in Boston, has waived rendition proceedings in Georgia and is expected to be returned to Boston this afternoon, the Suffolk District Attorney's office said today.

Chezulu, 60, who changed his name from Robert L. Scott for what police said were religious reasons, is facing charges in the December 1984 slaying of 18-year-old Elsie "Yolanda" Hernandez. Chezulu is expected to be arraigned tomorrow in Roxbury District Court.

For nearly 24 years, it appeared that the man who raped, brutally beat, and strangled Hernandez had gotten away with murder. But police and prosecutors said yesterday that they had found her killer through DNA left at the scene, the Globe reports today.

(John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)

By David Abel and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

WEYMOUTH -- An apparent explosion in a 1929 Buick Roadmaster ignited a two-alarm garage fire today that destroyed three irreplaceable classic cars and left an 89-year-old man unharmed but heartbroken.

Ray Bean, a retired machinist who has trouble walking, rode a scooter to his garage just before 10 a.m. so he could start the Roadmaster to keep oil circulating in the engine of the car, which has been used as a movie prop, according to his son, Ray Bean Jr.

"Something went bang," Ray Bean Jr. said. "He got out as fast as he could move, but he doesn't run. I don't know how he got out."

The flames engulfed the garage on Middle Street and devoured a 1964-1/2 Ford Mustang convertible and a 1915 Dodge Phaeton, which was one of only three remaining in the United States, Ray Bean Jr. said. Now there are two.

(Jim Davis/Globe Staff)

Boston College High School running back Tyler Horan flew high over the Everett High School defense last night in a Division 1 playoff game at Manning Field in Lynn. BC High won 9-0.

Ted Gartland, a dayside photo editor at the Globe, has been taking pictures in metropolitan Boston since 1971. To view the work of more Globe photographers, click here.

By Tracy Jan and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Harvard University's endowment lost more than $8 billion in four months, a 22 percent plunge that is the steepest decline at the school in modern history.

The loss brings the endowment from $36.9 billion on June 30 to roughly $28.7 billion by the end of October. As first reported by Harvard Magazine and the Harvard Crimson, President Drew Faust and Executive Vice President Edward C. Forst outlined the impact of the loss in a letter late Tuesday to the university's deans.

"To put a loss of that size in historical context, over the last at least forty years, Harvard’s worst single-year endowment return was a negative 12.2 percent in 1974," the letters reads, "and at that time our endowment stood at less than $1 billion and funded a much less significant proportion of University operations."

To: Council of Deans
From: Drew Faust and Ed Forst

As we navigate our way through these turbulent economic times, we are writing with some further information on the University’s endowment performance and an update on our broader financial strategy for the time ahead. We look forward to our continued work with the Council of Deans as we address these challenges together.

Endowment Update

As has been reported, the value of the University’s endowment was $36.9 billion on June 30, 2008, the end of the last fiscal year. Since then, the severe turmoil in the world’s financial markets has affected all major asset classes in which the endowment is invested.

By Globe Staff

Opponents of toll hikes by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority have planned a rally this afternoon in East Boston.

Organizers hope that the 4 p.m. rally in the parking lot of Ecco Restaurant on Porter Street will draw "more than 4,000 people." Scheduled speakers include Christy Mihos, former Turnpike Authority vice chairman; radio personality Michele McPhee; Republican state Senator Scott Brown; and others.

The effort was spearheaded by Spencer H. Kimball, a Republican political consultant, and his childhood friend, Mike Kelleher, a wine salesman.

"It's an issue that hits home," Kimball told Globe reporter Noah Bierman last month.

After an initial vote by the Turnpike Authority board to raise tolls, Kelleher was outraged.

"I actually just left a physical and my blood pressure was up," Kelleher said.

The pair is promoting their protests on the website www.stopthepikehike.org.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

A 50-year-old man was shot to death early this morning when he answered the door to his Hyde Park home, police said.

The man opened his door in the 700 block of Hyde Park Avenue shortly before 1 a.m. and was shot in the head. The victim was with his two daughters when the attack occurred, police said.

He was rushed to Brigham and Women’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead. His name was not released.

Homicide detectives were canvassing the neighborhood today and police released a description of the gunman. He was described as a light skinned black male who appeared to be between 15 and 18 years old. Police also said the suspect could possibly be black Hispanic or Cape Verdean. He was last seen wearing a blue jacket with white on the sleeves.

Here is the news Globe Deputy City Editor Mike Bello is following this morning:

Breaking Now:

Man, 50, fatally shot at front door in Hyde Park

Buzz:

Liquor licenses a specialty for firm

Today's migrant worker: life in shadows of opulence

After a life of crime, state's oldest inmate succumbs at 92

Report on fixing bridges expected today

By Globe Staff

More than a dozen lawmakers urged the head of the Massachusetts Port Authority to not raise tolls on the Tobin Bridge until a comprehensive overhaul of the financing of the state’s transportation system can be adopted.

Noting the recent proposal by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority to raise tolls and the counterproposals that have circulated since, including raising the state’s gas tax, the seven state senators and nine representatives said that they were concerned that higher tolls would soon follow on the Tobin.

The letter to Thomas Kinton, chief executive of the authority, said that both the Legislature and Governor Deval Patrick were “firmly committed” to an overhaul early in next year’s legislative session. The letter requested that Kinton and his board of directors “refrain from enacting any tolls increases until such legislation is debated and adopted.”

By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff

More than two decades after the crime, a suspect has been apprehended in the slaying of 18-year-old Elsie "Yolanda" Hernandez of Roxbury, law enforcement officials said today.

Yolanda Hernandez

Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley said the arrest is “proof that no span of years and no physical distance will deter us from bringing a killer to justice."

Police Commissioner Ed Davis said that the arrest showed the "Boston Police Department will never give up in its efforts to bring criminals to justice" and that crime victims and their families are never forgotten.

By Brian Ballou and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

WORCESTER -- The boyfriend of a 16-year-old mother accused of suffocating her baby boy disputed the police version of the child's death in an interview today.

Nga Truong and her son, Khyle Family photo via Telegram & Gazette

"I didn't hear anything, and I was sleeping right next to him," Vasquez said in an interview outside Worcester District Court where Truong pleaded not guilty at her arraignment on a murder charge.

During questioning by detectives on Monday, Vasquez said, police told him that Truong admitting killing her son. Vasquez disputed that confession this morning as he spoke calmly in a soft, matter-of-fact voice.

"That's impossible," Vasquez said with his hands stuffed in pockets. "Crazy. I know they pressured her to say that."

Truong's attorney, Edward P. Ryan Jr., said today that her client was subjected to a lengthy interrogation without her lawyer or legal guardian. Ryan entered a not-guilty plea on behalf of Truong, who was ordered held without bail. Prosecutors did not describe the allegations in detail during today's arraignment.

(Massachusetts College of Art and Design)

Jessica Swegel decorated the ornament with a farm landscape that depicts a tree and picket fence dusted with fresh snow.

By Mike Bello, Globe Staff

A Mission Hill art teacher is helping to bring Massachusetts' special brand of Christmas cheer to the White House.

Jessica Swegel

Swegel is in Washington today to attend a ceremony in the Blue Room, where First Lady Laura Bush will unveil the 20-foot Fraser Fir, replete with 400-plus handcrafted ornaments. For inspiration for her ornament, Swegel drew on her childhood in Western Massachusetts and decorated the ball with a farm landscape that depicts a tree and picket fence dusted with fresh snow.

"I guess [it is] everything that is the opposite of living in the city," Swegel said in a press release issued by Massachusetts College of Art and Design, where she earned a bachelor and master's degree. "I know it sounds kind of cheesy, but that's what I think of when I think of Christmas and winter in the Berkshires. I’ve always loved the way the snow looks when it is undisturbed. It's hard to see that in the city.”

(Jonathan Wiggs/ Globe Staff/file)

Brittany and Danielle Cann in January 2008 as they recovered from their injuries.

By Irene Sege, Globe Staff

Two teenage girls who were shot in the head and left for dead last year faced possible eviction from the house their family is renting, but the threat lifted this afternoon when an auction of the house was postponed.

Danielle and Brittany Cann have been living with their blended family in an old farmhouse they rent in Easton since being released from the hospital late last year, after their mother's boyfriend shot them in the head in their Norton home. Their mother died in the attack.

Now the house -- where the sisters live with their father, stepmother, sister, stepsister, and two half-brothers -- is in foreclosure and was scheduled to be auctioned today. The auction has been delayed until Jan. 13.

By Globe Staff

With more people getting laid off during tough economic times, the state of Massachusetts announced today that it would offer Saturday hours for people who want to apply for unemployment over the phone.

"We recognize that individuals are facing long wait times on our phone lines, and we are working hard, through increased staffing and extended hours to decrease the wait times," Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Suzanne M. Bump said in a statement.

The TeleClaim Center will be open Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. through the end of the year. The state had already said it would increase weekday hours from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

The Globe reported last week that a surge in layoffs was straining the state's ability to process unemployment claims, leading to long waits for those filing by phone, as well as long lines at local walk-in centers.

(Photo by Kevin Wiles Jr.)

By Anne Baker, Globe Correspondent

A juvenile harp seal has spent much of the day sunbathing on a beach in Weymouth, a sight wildlife experts say should become increasingly common as temperatures continue to drop.

The seal is reportedly “bright, alert, and responsive," although rescuers from the New England Aquarium are en route to Weymouth to make sure the animal is not in danger, according to Connie Merigo, director of the aquarium's stranding program. The main concern is that humans leave the seal alone.

“We’ve had others on the beach, but he’s the last one right now,” Merigo said. “That doesn’t mean we won’t have another one in ten minutes.”

Seals are semi-aquatic animals that spend time resting on shore, Merigo said. As the temperature continues to drop, more seals will waddle onto beaches. The marine mammals will spend three to five days wallowing in the sand, she said.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

The right of a business to control its public image doesn’t trump workers’ right to dress or groom themselves differently if they are required to do so by their religious beliefs, the state’s highest court ruled today.

The Supreme Judicial Court ruled in the case of Bobby T. Brown, a Rastafarian who worked as technician at a Hadley Jiffy Lube owned by F.L. Roberts & Co. Inc.

Brown’s religion doesn’t permit him to shave or cut his hair. When the company instituted a new policy that required employees who worked with customers to be clean-shaven, Brown was only allowed to work out of sight from customers in the lower bay of the oil change shop, the court said in an opinion written by Justice Roderick Ireland.

Brown sued in 2006, saying he had been a victim of religious discrimination. A lower court judge ruled in favor of the company, saying that the company had a right to control its public image and it would be an “undue hardship” for the business to exempt Brown from the grooming policy.

But the SJC, in an opinion written by Ireland, disagreed. “We ... conclude that an exemption from a grooming policy cannot constitute an undue hardship as a matter of law,” the opinion said.

By Globe Staff

House and Senate leaders yesterday announced a series of public hearings on tolls, taxes, and other methods of raising money for the state's troubled transportation system, as they launched what will probably be the most intense debate of the upcoming legislative session.

Here is the schedule for the hearings:

By Globe Staff

Classes have been canceled for the day at Quincy High School following the discovery of a natural gas leak this morning, a school official said.

The leak occurred after a crew doing landscaping work outside the school ruptured a gas main. The school was evacuated after the break was discovered just before 10 a.m.

No injuries were reported in the school or outside.

(Matthew Lee/Globe Staff)

Caroline Kennedy and Vice President-elect Joe Biden listened intently yesterday at Harvard University as Senator Edward M. Kennedy was awarded an honorary degree.

Ted Gartland, a dayside photo editor at the Globe, has been taking pictures in metropolitan Boston since 1971. To view the work of more Globe photographers, click here.

Here is the news Globe Deputy City Editor Mike Bello is following this morning:

Buzz:

Cape Wind plan may get boost from US

Mother, 16, arrested in boy's death

Insiders seek to recast black politics in Boston

Jury awards woman hit by T bus $3.9m

(Globe staff photo/Matthew J. Lee)
Senator Edward Kennedy is congratulated by his wife, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, as Harvard President Drew G. Faust looks on at today's ceremony on the Harvard campus.

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

Senator Edward M. Kennedy received an honorary degree from Harvard University this afternoon at a rousing ceremony that highlighted his longtime commitment to public service.

Kennedy, a 1956 graduate, was originally to have received the degree at Harvard's commencement last spring but could not attend because he was recuperating from brain surgery for a malignant tumor.

He received a standing ovation and sustained applause throughout his speech. Click here for the text of his remarks.

His days at Harvard, he said, were “fresh as youth and yesterday.”

“It was exactly 100 years ago this September that my father entered Harvard College as a freshman -- to be followed in the next generation by Jack, Joe, Bobby and then by me,'' he said. "At home and here at Harvard, which became a second home, I learned to prize history, to play football and to believe in public service.

"And along the way, I have also learned lessons in the school of life, that we should take issues seriously, but never take ourselves too seriously, that political differences may make us opponents, but should never make us enemies, that battles rage and then quiet,'' Kennedy said.

"Above all, I have seen throughout my life how we as a people can rise to a challenge, embrace change and renew our destiny,'' he said.

Harvard President Drew G. Faust, who presented Kennedy with the honorary degree, said the senator had “worked tirelessly on behalf of society’s most vulnerable members.”

“He has made himself part of their struggles and hope for a better life,” Faust said. “He has made their dreams his own.”

She added: "He is a national leader, but a local servant. He belongs to all of us.''

The convocation, at Harvard's Sanders Theatre, also featured remarks by Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and a performance by cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Vice President-elect Joe Biden attended the ceremony.

By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff

The call for a fare came as the cab driver was about to finish his shift just after 1 a.m. on a warm August night in 2005. Heureur Previlon, 31, picked up two young men in Brighton's Cleveland Circle, but they never reached their destination at the Fidelis Way housing development.

The young men allegedly tried to rob Previlon. When he fought back, 19-year-old Cleveland Martin plunged a kitchen knife into his side, said Assistant District Attorney Patrick Haggan.

"Within minutes, Heureur Previlon bled to death," Haggan said in his opening statement today to a Suffolk Superior Court jury. "He died a cruel and atrocious death."

Martin, now 22, watched quietly as Haggan called him a murderer in a forceful voice. Martin and his friend, Jashawn Robinson, 21, have been charged with the slaying of Previlon, a musician who could speak four languages and was studying to become a minister.

By Casey Ramsdell, Globe Correspondent

It took more than a 3-ton Lincoln Navigator to stop Officer Michael Nasuti of the Weymouth Police Department. After being knocked off his feet by the hulking sport utility vehicle on Sunday night, Nasuti was able to get up and wrestle a burglary suspect to the ground, police said.

Nasuti had responded to a burglar alarm at Atlantic Collision auto body shop at 11 p.m. The suspect, identified as Shawn Holland, allegedly drove the SUV through the garage door of the shop and tried to escape, according to Lieutenant Joseph Comperchio of the Weymouth Police Department.

Holland allegedly tried to use the SUV to push a car out of his way and in the process struck Nasuti, police said. Holland got out of the vehicle and tried to escape on foot but Nasuti wrestled him to the ground.

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

With a national research panel determining that the country has officially entered a recession, Governor Deval Patrick today did not rule out further budget cuts, saying he would be closely watching revenue figures the next two fiscal quarters.

Governor Deval Patrick (Bill Greene/Globe Staff)

But, he added, “We’re prepared to do more.”

Patrick announced a plan in October to fill a $1.4 billion midyear budget gap through a variety of measures, including eliminating 1,000 state jobs through layoffs, retirements, and not filling vacant positions.

His plan did not involve reducing local aid payments, but he and other state leaders have not ruled out cutting those payments if the economy gets worse. Patrick is also pushing for a toll hike on the Massachusetts Turnpike as other state leaders, including House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, have started talking about increasing the state’s gas tax.

(Bill Greene/Globe staff)

By Andrea Estes, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick today nominated Superior Court Judge Ralph Gants to be an associate justice of the Supreme Judicial Court.

"Judge Gants brings a powerful combination of strong intellect and real world understanding. He has been a thoughtful and fair member of the Superior Court,” Patrick said in a statement. “And he is deeply committed to securing the rights and liberties of the citizens of the Commonwealth. He will be an important addition to the SJC.”

Gants, 54, of Lexington, would fill the seat left vacant by John Greaney, who is retiring today after nearly 20 years on the state's highest court. Patrick submitted the nomination to the Governor's Council, which votes on all judicial appointments.

The council could act on the nomination before the end of the year. Gants's nomination is the second Patrick has made to the seven-member court since taking office in January 2007. He named Superior Court Judge Margot Botsford to the court in July of that year, filling the vacancy created by the death of Martha Sosman several months earlier.

(Pool photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/Boston Herald)

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter will get back half the gold coins and cash the FBI confiscated during his arrest earlier this year on charges he kidnapped his daughter after a bitter divorce and custody dispute.

The 160, 1-ounce coins worth $140,000 will be returned to Gerhartsreiter along with $6,480 in cash and keys to his Baltimore home, according to an agreement approved yesterday between his lawyer and the Suffolk district attorney's office. The remaining coins and cash will remain in evidence, but the agreement stipulates that the valuables belong to Gerhartsreiter, who sparked an international manhunt last summer under the alias Clark Rockefeller.

Defense attorney Jeffrey Denner described the agreement as a "good outcome" for his client, whom he referred to as Clark Rockefeller. The district attorney's office acknowledged that the gold and cash rightfully belonged to Gerhartsreiter and were, "not the result of ill gotten gain or fraud," Denner said.

(Bill Greene/Globe Staff)

By Brian Ballou, Globe Staff

A man in his 20's was in critical condition this morning after a shooting near Codman Square that police described as "a brazen attack."

The shooting occurred at 9:13 a.m. near the intersection of Washington and Lyndhurst streets in a business district that includes a bank, cellphone store, and a post office. Police did not release the name of the victim. Deputy Boston Police Superintendent Thomas Lee said the area is usually peaceful.

“It's very unusual. This is a nice area. It's surprising," Lee said. "We have a number of people cooperating. It’s really unusual to have something like this happen in such a busy commercial district. A brazen attack. There were officers in the area when this happened."

(Mark Wilson/Globe Staff)

Liam Gamble, 12, (left) and Julian Vanasse, 11, were two of the musicians who flocked to Faneuil Hall on Saturday for the 35th Annual Tuba Christmas Concert.

Ted Gartland, a dayside photo editor at the Globe, has been taking pictures in metropolitan Boston since 1971. To view the work of more Globe photographers, click here.

By Anne Baker, Globe Correspondent

Winthrop Elementary School in Ipswich was evacuated this morning because officials detected natural gas, according to a dispatcher for the Ipswich Police Department.

The students were bused to Ipswich High School at 7:30 a.m.

No further information was available, the dispatcher said. There were no reports of injuries.

By Globe Staff

Harvard University will bestow an honorary degree on Senator Edward M. Kennedy this afternoon at a special convocation.

The ceremony will feature Harvard President Drew Faust and Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer as speakers, and musical performances by cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Harvard students. Kennedy will join an elite group who has received honorary degrees at special Harvard convocations, including George Washington, Andrew Jackson, James Monroe, Winston Churchill, and Nelson Mandela. In today's Globe, columnist James Carroll described, "why this honor is fitting, and why he belongs in such historic company."

Kennedy had been scheduled to receive the degree at Harvard's commencement last spring but could not attend because he was recuperating from brain surgery. Kennedy, who graduated from Harvard in 1956, was "enormously grateful" for the honor.

Here is the news Globe Deputy City Editor Mike Bello is following this morning:

Breaking Now:

Ipswich elementary school evacuated

Buzz:

Asthma rate higher in US-born blacks, Dorchester study finds

Call to witness inaugural history resounds in Hub

Pier 4 tops list of tax scofflaws

Now, Red Sox fans can prove their undying loyalty