Yoon S. Byun/Globe Staff

Joel Tenenbaum and his mother, Judie, talking to the media outside the courthouse earlier this week.

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

A federal jury today ordered a Boston University graduate student to pay four record labels $675,000 in damages for illegally downloading 30 songs and sharing them online, in only the second such lawsuit to go to trial.

After deliberating about three hours, the jury in US District Court in Boston concluded that Joel Tenenbaum, a 25-year-old doctoral student in physics, ``willfully'' infringed on the copyrights of 30 songs, including Nirvana's ``Comes As You Are'' and Nine Inch Nails' ``The Perfect Drug.'' The jury award the record labels $22,500 for each infringement.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. has sent a bouquet of flowers and a note to the woman whose 911 call led to his arrest earlier this month.

Wendy Murphy, lawyer and spokeswoman for Lucia Whalen, said today that Gates had sent her client a bouquet of flowers as an "expression of gratitude.'' Murphy said she believed it was a bouquet of tulips. The flowers came with a note from Gates, the contents of which Murphy would not disclose.

"[Whalen] said that she really appreciated it,'' Murphy said. "She's been getting a lot of apologies and people have been saying nice things."

National Weather Service

The radar shows the line of storms rumbling eastwards.

By Globe Staff

Strong thunderstorms are rolling across the state, dousing it with rain and lashing it with high winds.

The damage includes trees and wires down in Boston's western suburbs, the National Weather Service reports this afternoon.

The service has issued severe thunderstorm warnings for areas on the North Shore and in southeastern Massachusetts as well as flood advisories, warning that the storms, dumping a quick half-inch to inch of rain, could cause ponding in low-lying and poor drainage areas.

By Brian R. Ballou and Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

Police officers found a naked 5-year-old boy locked in an airless attic where the temperature was over 100 degrees when they arrived at a home in Lowell Thursday, city police said.

Kristen Paquette

Kristin Paquette pleaded not guilty today in Lowell District Court to charges of assault and battery on a child causing bodily injury and reckless endangerment of a child under 18. She was ordered held on $10,000 cash bail.

Police said that they received an anonymous call at about 2:43 p.m. alerting them to a young child in the attic of 15 Lenox St. The officers found the child in the attic covered in feces, amid an overwhelming odor of feces and urine.

When police asked how long her son had been in the attic, Paquette "replied with a very nonchalant manner and tone, 'maybe an hour or so. I'm not too sure,'" according to the police report.

File circa 1971

Parks and Mayor Kevin White conferred in this photo, which was taken circa 1971.

By Bryan Marquard, Globe Staff

Paul Parks, a longtime activist in Boston's black community who served as state secretary of education and chairman of the city's School Committee, died today in his Mattapan home of cancer. He was 86.

"He was one of the first citizens of the city, no question about it," said Michael S. Dukakis, who in his first term as governor appointed Mr. Parks to be education secretary.

Praising him for his dignity and accomplishments, Dukakis said Mr. Parks served the Commonwealth on the state and municipal levels "at a time of great turmoil, great tension, when the city tried to find its way through a whole period of history and come out on the other side with some real values and without the hypocrisy we lived with for decades."

Mr. Parks, who grew up in Indianapolis, moved to Boston in 1951 to work as an engineer and soon became a key player in the city's civil rights struggles.

By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent

A rare dwarf sperm whale, measuring 7 feet and weighing about 400 pounds, washed up on the Nantucket shores Wednesday morning and died a short time later, beach officials said.

Biologists at the New England Aquarium in Boston performed a necropsy on the mammal yesterday, leaning towards an infection as the possible cause of death. The whale also sustained two large shark bites.

By Jazmine Ulloa, Globe Correspondent

A 35-year-old woman was charged yesterday with causing an accident while driving drunk that killed one man and injured two other people in Taunton.

Colleen Ingemanson of Taunton is accused of driving while intoxicated when she rear-ended another car before 1 a.m. yesterday on Route 140. The accident occurred on the northbound side near the Stevens Street exit.

By Bryan Marquard, Globe Staff

I am a professional funeral-goer. Sure, now that I'm middle-aged, I go to my share of memorial services for family and friends. But usually I attend funerals to gather information, as was the case Monday with the Mass for Jennifer Kelly of Milton.

Jennifer Kelly

Picking a pew early, before St. Agatha Church filled nearly to capacity, I found myself shoulder to shoulder with a few dozen mourners in the section to the right of the pulpit that offered a front row view of Mrs. Kelly's family. We watched as Mrs. Kelly's husband, Eric, gathered their three children -- Liam under one arm, Ava and Ronan under the other. Their pew seemed at once too vast for the four of them, and too small to contain their emotions.

Liam, the oldest child, cried often. At 9, he was best able to grasp the loss of a mother who went out for a run, collapsed from a respiratory attack, and never regained consciousness. A miniature version of his father, down to his haircut, glasses, and ears, he gave public expression to his family's private grief amid the prayers and rites of a packed funeral Mass.

Michele McDonald for The Boston Globe

James Southcott throws blighted tomatoes onto a pile to be destroyed at Lindentree Farm in Lincoln.

By Bina Venkataraman, Globe Correspondent

A fungus that rapidly infects tomato and potato plants is hitting hard in New England, wreaking havoc with some produce growers, the Globe reports today.

The crop disease -- the same that caused the Irish potato famine -- is not unusual, but arrived in the region early this year, in the middle of the tomato harvesting season. It has also spread more rapidly than in years past due to the cold, rainy weather.

Late blight is a fungus with tiny spores spread by the wind that rots tomato and potato plants. Organic farms are especially susceptible since they don't use strong, synthetic fungicides.

Experts offered these tips for growers and gardeners who might be confronted with the disease:

-- If you suspect your tomatoes or potatoes have late blight, consult the photos and information on UMass-Amherst's website to see if if your plant's symptoms fit the plant disease description.

By Peter DeMarco, Globe Correspondent

The state's first "limited-use” license plates are out today – a day earlier than expected – as the new law for scooter owners officially kicks into gear.

Jeff Dunn, a Woburn scooter owner, received his limited-use plates at the Registry of Motor Vehicles’ Chinatown office this morning. Dunn paid $20 for the plates and another $70 to title his bike. He said the branch manager, who posed with Dunn for a photo, told him he was the first in the state to receive the plates.

Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff

Patrick and Bump after a Cabinet meeting the morning after he was sworn in in January 2007.

It could perhaps have been written off as a rookie mistake -- if she were a rookie.

But Suzanne Bump, Governor Deval Patrick's labor secretary, a lawyer and former state representative, angered her boss when she visited long-time state auditor Joe DeNucci recently and told him she was interested in his job.

It wasn't clear whether she indicated she would run only if DeNucci, who is 69 and is said to be considering retirement, decided not to seek a sixth term. In any event, she told DeNucci before telling Patrick, who, by several accounts, was displeased.

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Staff

An elderly man and woman from Massachusetts were killed when their minivan was struck by a box truck in Cumberland, R.I., Thursday afternoon, police officials said.

The couple were leaving an ice cream parlor at 4280 Diamond Hill Road and were attempting to turn left to travel northbound on the road, Cumberland Police Chief John R. Desmarais said.

“There was a box truck heading southbound on the road, which struck the minivan and killed the elderly couple inside,” Desmarais said.

The news blindsided me. Based on the way I have lived my life, I was surprised to learn I tested positive.

-- David Ortiz's statement

He was a hero to a lot of us, and now it feels diluted somehow. It just doesn't feel good.

-- Chris Healy of Norwich, Vt.

Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff

Jeff Jablow looks at what used to be his living room.

By Michaela Stanelun and Wendy Maeda, Globe Staff

The fire was reported at about 4 a.m. in a five-story condo building at 21 Bay State Road, said Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald. About 90 firefighters responded
to the fire, which caused an estimated $1.5 million in damage.

One firefighter was checked for chest pains, while another injured his leg. A resident in the building was transported to a local hospital for smoke inhalation.

“We are fortunate that no one was seriously injured,” MacDonald said.

By Globe Staff

A third New York man has been arrested in the shooting death of a Cambridge man at a Harvard University dorm in May, the Middlesex district attorney's office said today..

Jason Aquino, 23, was arrested without incident Thursday afternoon at his home in Manhattan. In a Manhattan courtroom today, Aquino agreed to be brought back to Massachusetts and could be arraigned in Cambridge District Court as early as Monday, officials said today.

Aquino is charged with first-degree murder, accessory after the fact of murder, armed robbery, and possession of a firearm, in the death of Justin Cosby.

“We now have in custody all three men who we believe were involved in the shooting death of Justin Cosby,” Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said.

By Martin Finucane and Maria Cramer, Globe Staff

Hours before a White House meeting between a black Harvard professor and a white Cambridge police officer intended to promote racial harmony, Boston police officials held a news conference to decry an e-mail sent by an officer that contained racist slurs.

Ed Davis

"These racist opinions have no place in our department or our society and will not be tolerated," said Davis, who was flanked by leaders in the black community at the news conference.

"We will not allow the unacceptable actions of one member to define who we are," he said.

AP Photo

Alleged kidnapper Julie A. Corey can be seen conferring with her attorney, while Judge Gerard A. Boyle can be seen on the other side of the split-screen image.

By John R. Ellement and Matt Collette, Globe Staff

A newborn baby girl who officials believe was ripped from the womb of a slain Worcester woman is back in Massachusetts and in good health as authorities continue to investigate the killing, law enforcement authorities said today.

No murder charges have been filed yet, but a woman who allegedly kidnapped the baby is being held in a New Hampshire jail in lieu of $2 million bail.

The baby is receiving excellent care at a hospital, Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. said at a news conference this afternoon. He would not disclose which hospital. A hearing will be held in Juvenile Court Monday to determine who gets custody of the baby.

Authorities believe that the baby belonged to 23-year-old Darlene Haynes, who was found dead Monday in a closet in her Worcester apartment. DNA tests are scheduled over the next few days to verify the connection, Early said, briefing reporters on what he said was a horrific crime and complex investigation.

Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff

The aftermath

By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent

The driver of a tractor-trailer truck more than 13 feet tall attempted to drive under a 12-foot bridge on Freeport Street in Dorchester at about 11:30 a.m. today, crushing the trailer and causing traffic delays on the busy artery.

The truck was carrying chemicals to create adhesives, Boston Fire Department spokesman Stephen MacDonald said. The city’s hazardous materials team responded, but no chemicals or fuel ultimately leaked.

By Globe Staff

MBTA General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas, whose position at the agency seemed increasingly tenuous this week after he was criticized by three MBTA board members, received the support of four other members of the board today.

Grabauskas was described as "responsive, responsible, innovative, and focused on improving customer service and safety" in a letter signed by members Willie J. Davis, Grace Shepard, Frank Chin, and Baron H. Martin.

"The MBTA is facing serious financial problems and challenges to day-to-day operations of the country's oldest subway system. We believe we need to support MBTA staff in every way possible if we are to deliver the best service possible. General Manager Grabauskas has demonstrated to us his leadership and his ability to move the MBTA forward over the past four years," the members wrote to Transportation Secretary James A. Aloisi Jr., who is also chairman of the board.

By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent

Even though they had only exchanged hellos, an off-duty Boston EMT didn't hesitate to save her neighbor’s life in the middle of a Roslindale intersection.

At around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, 30 minutes after her eight-hour EMS shift ended, Katrina Sanchez was driving home from work when she stopped to perform the Heimlich maneuver on a 72-year-old neighbor who was choking on a pork rind.

“It was the big save of the day,” Sanchez said. “But it’s no big deal. … This is what I signed up for.”

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

A Boston University graduate student fighting the recording industry over illegal downloading and online sharing of music today conceded from the witness stand that he infringed on the copyrights of the 30 songs for which he was sued.

"Are you now admitting liability for downloading and distributing all 30 songs" that are at issue in the civil lawsuit? asked Timothy M. Reynolds, a lawyer for four record labels.

"Yes," Joel Tenenbaum, the 25-year-old graduate student, said near the conclusion of about three hours on the witness stand in US District Court in Boston.

The acknowledgment by Tenenbaum raised the possibility that the recording industry will ask US District Judge Nancy Gertner at the end of the trial to rule that Tenenbaum was liable for copyright infringement and that the jury should only consider the issue of damages.

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent

The body of a missing canoeist was found this morning in the Concord River, Lowell police said.

The body of James Rivera, 31, of Chelmsford was found 300 yards down river from where his canoe capsized Tuesday evening. After the boat overturned near Billerica Street and a railroad bridge in Lowell, Rivera's two companions -- Luis Rivera, 27, and Jamie Garcia, 29, both of Lowell -- were both able to swim to shore and flag down a motorist on Route 495 for help. Police did not know if James and Luis Rivera were related.

Jim Davis/Globe Staff

Ortiz took a big swing at today's game. Has he gotten a boost from steroids?

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

Red Sox fans heading to a game this afternoon at Fenway Park said they were disappointed by a report that David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, the sluggers who helped lead the Sox to two World Series titles, had tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003.

Kevin Murray, 35, of Millbury, who was having a sausage sandwich, said the news was a shame. “It’s too bad. The kid in you wants to hope it isn’t true, even if you knew it was all along.”

By Jazmine Ulloa, Globe Staff

Google has built a big reputation on helping people navigate the virtual world of the Internet. Now it says it's going to help people get around the real world of Boston on MBTA trains, buses, and boats.

"This really makes a lot of information more accessible," Google Boston engineering director Steve Vinter said today at a news conference held at South Station to announce the technological advancement. "There are a lot of people like me who take the T work but do not know much about the transit system outside of that."

MBTA and local officials lauded MBTA General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas's leadership on the project. Grabauskas, who in recent days has found his ability as general manager questioned by Governor Deval Patrick, answered questions from a cluster of reporters after the conference. But Grabauskas kept the politic comments short, saying the recent controversy should not distract from the day's announcement.

Here is the statement given by Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis at today's news conference.

Thank you all for being here today. We are also joined by several guests and I would like to thank them for their continued support and participation. Joining us here is Minister Don Muhammad, Karen Payne from the NAACP, Michael Kozu from Project Right, and Detective Larry Ellison from MAMLEO.

On Tuesday July 28th the Boston Police Department placed Officer Justin Barrett on administrative leave pending the outcome of a termination hearing. On that day I was made aware that this officer admitted to being the author of correspondence which included repulsive racial slurs.

At that time and after a meeting with command staff, I moved immediately to take action and the officer was stripped of his gun and badge.

Globe photo/Debee Tlumacki

Janet Leeper. 9, of Weymouth, on the front porch of her grandparents camp, the Kineavys of South Boston.

By Billy Baker, Globe Correspondent

PLYMOUTH -- The post-condo era has created something of an identity crisis for Boston's famed, close-knit Irish neighborhoods like South Boston and Dorchester, where an earlier generation recalls the living was affordable, children were everywhere, and neighbors knew your business, for better or worse.

It's called Ellis Haven, the traditional summer getaway for the city's working-class Irish, a "poor man's Cape Cod," as they say, set inside a 200-acre campground where the speed limit is 5 miles per hour and the biggest danger on the roads is the peacocks that prance about.

The campground has a clear pond for swimming, a petting zoo, and two other ponds frequented by frogs and turtles (no nets allowed; if you want to catch it, you're going to have to bare-hand it). For kids used to city streets, it's safe and even exotic. For adults, many who vacationed at Ellis Haven while growing up, it's a chance to reminisce about the old neighborhood.

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

An apparent road rage incident early today in Milton led to the arrest of a Middleborough man who allegedly brandished a handgun at another driver, State Police said.

Thirty-five-year-old Edward Murphy of Halifax became angry at 6:15 a.m. because the man in the pickup truck in front of him, William F. Wilton Jr., 47, of Middleborough, was driving too slowly on Route 138. When Wilton arrived at the Neponset Valley Parkway, he pulled to the right and waved Murphy, driving in a Mercury Mountaineer SUV, past him. But Murphy, according to police, stopped next to Wilton and the two began arguing.

By Yvonne Abraham, Globe Columnist

I barely remember Boston Police Officer Justin Barrett’s e-mail.

There were so many of them – hundreds, after I wrote a column last week calling the Cambridge police dunderheaded for arresting Henry Louis Gates Jr. They came mostly from people who disagreed – strongly – with me.

Many of them were civil and well-argued. Many were passionate and heartfelt.

But then there were the other e-mails – the ones calling me a moron and an idiot and all kinds of other names. They accused me of playing the race card even as they insulted African-Americans.

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

Tenenbaum, 25, also acknowledged that he lied to lawyers for the record labels in sworn statements in recent years when he denied downloading music onto his computer at his home in Providence and said others might have been to blame, including his sisters, friends, and house guests.

Under questioning by Timothy M. Reynolds, who represents four major record labels, Tenenbaum unapologetically described how he downloaded more than 800 songs using Kazaa, a peer-to-peer network. He cheerfully outlined his music tastes, ranging from Nirvana to Aerosmith to Eminem.

"You like Green Day?" Reynolds asked.

"Oh, yeah," Tenenbaum said.

I'm a no-new-taxes candidate. ... Yeah, read my lips. No new taxes.

-- Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker

That's a message that is stuck in the past, that is stuck in rhetoric.

-- Democratic Governor Deval Patrick

By Globe Staff

A 28-year-old Braintree man is facing a murder charge in the slaying of a man who lived in his apartment building, the Norfolk district attorney's office said this morning.

Lucas E. Walters allegedly killed Jeffrey A. Phillips, 31, whose remains were found in a wooded area in Suffield, Conn., early this morning. Phillips's parents had reported him missing on Monday.

Both men lived in apartments at 391 Middle St. in Braintree and knew each other, prosecutors said in a statement.

FOXBOROUGH -- AC/DC lead singer Brian Johnson, left, struts his stuff while perpetually naughty schoolboy Angus Young crunches unrelenting riffs for a crowd of 46,000 at Gillette Stadium on Tuesday.

Barry Chin/Globe Staff

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

An officer in the Boston Police Department was suspended yesterday for allegedly writing a racially charged e-mail about Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. to colleagues at the National Guard, a law enforcement official said. Mayor Thomas M. Menino compared the officer to a cancer and said he is "gone, g-o-n-e'' from the force.

Justin Barrett

Barrett, a 36-year-old who has been on the job for two years, was stripped of his gun and badge yesterday and faces a termination hearing in the next week, said police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll. He has no previous disciplinary record, she said.

"Yesterday afternoon, Commissioner Davis was made aware that Officer Barrett was the author of correspondence which included racially charged language," she said. "At that time, Commissioner Davis immediately stripped Officer Barrett of his gun and badge, and at this time we will be moving forward with the hearing process."

By Jazmine Ulloa, Globe Correspondent

A sports reporter for the New Hampshire Union Leader newspaper has been charged with running a prostitution ring that advertised its services on Craigslist and other websites.

Kevin Provencher, 50, of Manchester, N.H., faces two counts of deriving support from the earnings of a prostitute. He allegedly ran the ring out of a hotel in Andover, Mass., and other locations in New Hampshire. Prosecutors said they were also investigating whether he ran a similar operation in Canada.

Provencher was arraigned today in Lawrence District Court and ordered held on $10,000 bail.

By Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick said today he was concerned about safety practices and the finances at the MBTA, a day after three members of the T's board wrote Patrick's transportation secretary to say they have "lost confidence" in general manager Daniel A. Grabauskas.

"I have very serious concerns about the safety culture at the T, about the fiscal management at the T, and I think those concerns are shared by others, including members of the board," Patrick said after appearing at an event at UMass Boston.

Patrick wouldn't comment directly when asked whether he was trying to force Grabauskas out or whether he felt the leadership at the T was incompetent.

David L. Ryan/Globe Staff

Lucia Whalen read her statement with her husband, Paul, by her side.

By David Abel, Globe Staff

CAMBRIDGE – She was just trying to get lunch.

The house (Charles Krupa/AP)

Since then, Whalen has been called a racist and has become a target of scorn by those who suggested she would have never made the call had two white men been seen struggling to open what had been a broken front door. The 40-year-old daughter of Portuguese immigrants said she has even been threatened.

In her first public comments, Whalen today contradicted a police report by the arresting officer, saying she had never told Cambridge Police Sergeant James Crowley that the men were black. She said she barely talked to Crowley.

“The only words I exchanged were [that] I was the 911 caller, and he pointed to me and said, ‘Stay right there,’” she said during a press conference at Danehy Park in Cambridge. “Nothing more than that.”

Her comments came as the veteran white police officer and the prominent black professor of African-American studies prepared to meet President Obama, who ratcheted up the controversy during a press conference last week by saying Cambridge police "acted stupidly." The president later expressed regret for his words and invited Gates and Crowley to the White House to meet him at 6 p.m. Thursday for a beer, hoping to turn the case into a "teachable moment."

Chris Christo/Telegram & Gazette

Dolls and Flowers adorned the fence in front the apartment building where Haynes lived.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Law enforcement authorities in Worcester are looking today for the person who killed a 23-year-old pregnant woman in the city and for the woman's fetus, which may still be alive after being cut by the killer out of the victim's body.

Darlene Haynes, a mother of three, was found dead in a closet in the bedroom of her apartment Monday. Her body was taken to the medical examiner’s office in Boston, and an autopsy conducted Tuesday confirmed that she had been killed and that the fetus had been cut from her womb.

In a statement released by Worcester police Tuesday, the medical examiner’s office said that Haynes’s baby could have survived but that it would require immediate medical attention.

Haynes's uncle, Karl Whitney of Palmer, acting as a spokesman for the grieving family, said today that Haynes had already picked out a name, Sheila Marie, for her baby.

The family is hopeful that the child is still alive and that, if someone has her, they'll bring her back. If the worst has happened and the child is dead, they would like the body back so mother and daughter can be buried together, Whitney said.

Whitney said he was devastated when he learned of Haynes's death. "I just can't describe it. I was speechless. I started crying," he said.

A neighbor who lives in Haynes's building said she heard a "crazy banging" coming from Haynes's apartment at about 2 a.m. Saturday, but was simply annoyed and thought nothing of it.

Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff

JoAnne Weeks, whose own son is in Iraq, came to show her support.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

The flag-draped casket carrying the body of a Yarmouth Marine killed in Afghanistan was flown today into Barnstable Municipal Airport, then transported in a solemn procession to a South Yarmouth funeral home.

Nicholas G. Xiarhos

"We had to be here to let the family know that Cape Cod does care," she said.

Xiarhos, 21, was killed July 23 in a roadside bombing in the Garmsir District in Afghanistan, according to his family.

Essdras M. Suarez/Globe Staff

GOP gubernatorial hopeful Charlie Baker will likely steer a fiscally conservative course like former Governor Mitt Romney (above), but eschew Romney's rightward turn on social issues.

By Scott Helman, Globe Staff

When the last Republican governor, Mitt Romney, left the State House to run for president, many Massachusetts Republicans celebrated his ambition and wished him well. Some Republicans, though, had a different message: Good riddance.

Their beef with Romney: They thought he was selfish, that he was furthering his own political career at the expense of the Republican Party in his home state. They felt Romney's growing focus on social issues -- namely his outspoken opposition to gay marriage, abortion rights, and stem-cell research -- damaged the GOP brand in the Bay State, which had historically emphasized fiscal conservatism and moderate social positions.

"One thing that hasn't worked well for Republicans all across New England is the tilt toward social issues that the national party has taken," state Senator Richard Tisei, then the incoming Senate minority leader, said as Romney was preparing to leave the State House in 2006. "I think the governor, in his attempts to position himself in the Republican primary, has highlighted a lot of social issues, and I think, quite frankly, that hurt [Lieutenant Governor] Kerry Healey and it also ... blurred the differences that we've had with the national party."

It is no coincidence that Tisei will serve as campaign chairman of the GOP's newest hope: Charles D. Baker, the former health care executive and Weld administration official who today formally joined next year's gubernatorial race.

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent

The search for a Chelmsford man who fell into the Concord River in Lowell continues today. The 31-year-old man was canoeing with two friends Tuesday night when their craft capsized.

The boat overturned near Billerica Street and a railroad bridge in Lowell around 8:30 p.m. Lowell police said two men were able to swim safely to shore and alerted motorists on Interstate 495 to call for help, but the third man is still missing.

The search was suspended last night at midnight due to difficult diving conditions but was resumed this morning. Lowell Police Captain Randall Humphrey said the canoe was found at the bottom of the river around noon today, in the area where it capsized. The water is 15 to 20 feet deep in the area where the man was last seen, and the current was described as “moderate.”

David L. Ryan/Globe Staff

Baker making his official filing

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Republican Charles D. Baker officially entered the governor’s race this morning, filing his paperwork and then swiftly launching into an attack of Governor Deval Patrick’s handling of the state’s budget and economy.

Baker immediately pledged not to raise taxes as governor, and even said he would try to lower the state’s increased sales tax – which will go from 5 percent to 6.25 percent on Saturday – if he is elected.

“I’m a no new taxes candidate,” he said, adding later for the TV cameras, “Read my lips, no new taxes.”

He said he was prochoice and was in favor of gay marriage – “My brother’s gay, and he’s married, and he lives in Massachusetts, so I’m for it. Is that straight enough?”

He also said he was in favor of the death penalty, which puts him at odds with Patrick.

Kyle Chapin played Hacky Sack with family and friends Tuesday at Carson Beach in South Boston. "It's about time," the group said about the arrival of summer-like temperatures.

Yoon S. Byun/Globe Staff

We have certainly lost confidence in the general manager's ability to take ownership of the failings of an agency he has led for five years.

-- Letter written by three MBTA board members to Transportation Secretary James A. Aloisi Jr.

I think people see this for what it is, which is just more obvious politics from the Patrick administration and his appointees.

-- MBTA General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas

Reuters

Could a glass of this stuff lead to harmony on the White House lawn?

By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent

With two locals heading to the White House tomorrow for a couple of the most-talked-about beers ever, some area brewmasters say a Bay State beer should be on the presidential tap.

When a Cambridge policeman, a Harvard professor, and a former Harvard Law student who went on to greater glory raise their glasses, the local beer community said, it's only appropriate that the contents were brewed in Massachusetts. The cold ones are scheduled to be hoisted at 6 p.m. at a picnic table outside the Oval Office.

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

Three MBTA board members have written a scathing letter to the Patrick administration, questioning the leadership of general manager Daniel A. Grabauskas.

Daniel A. Grabauskas

The letter mentions the recent investigation into the Green Line crash last year that killed operator Ter'rese Edmonds, the May Green Line crash in which dozens of people were injured near Government Center, and major power outages on May 21 and July 18.

"Over the past year our concerns about the General Manager's focus and commitment have grown as the MBTA continues to experience an increase in rail vehicle accidents, fires, signal system failures, and power outages," said the two-page letter addressed to Transportation Secretary James Aloisi, who also chairs the T board.

Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff

Neighbor Hubert Holtzclaw talked about the shooting on Whitman Street as he stood in front of his home, which was also hit by the bullets.

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

A 12-year-old girl lying in bed watching TV was wounded in the leg Monday night by a bullet that tore through the wall as her Dorchester neighborhood was peppered with shots by gang members with assault-type weapons, police said.

"It's outrageous to see the type of damage done in this neighborhood and the tragedy of this girl being shot in her own bed," said Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis. He declared that solving the crime was the department's priority today.

The girl was shot at about 8:30 p.m. while lying in a bed watching TV in a light-brown, boxy, three-decker at the end of Whitman Street. She suffered non-life-threatening injuries and returned to the house today, limping in with her parents by her side. Davis visited the family this afternoon.

The commissioner said three separate assault weapons, including an AK-47, were used, and more than a dozen rounds were fired.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff, and Nandini Jayakrishna, Globe Correspondent

An anonymous tip dumped into the Maine State Police website led to the discovery of an alleged marijuana growing operation in a small Maine town – and the arrest of a Boston firefighter and his father on drug charges, officials said today.

Paul Bradley Jr. and his father, Paul Bradley Sr., were taken into custody this morning by Massachusetts State Police acting on arrest warrants obtained by Maine authorities, according to a spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley.

The arrest of the Bradleys marks the second time this year that a Boston firefighter and a close relative have been implicated in the operation of a marijuana growing operation in their home in Maine, officials said today.

Kennebec and Somerset County District Attorney Evert Fowle said in a telephone interview today that Maine State Police found 2.5 pounds of processed marijuana, 22 marijuana plants “along with evidence we believe links them to the marijuana’’ at the Bradleys' property in Litchfield.

“It’s not a drug kingpin-type operation,’’ Fowle said. “It’s a matter that will be dealt with seriously, but this is not shocking. We probably have at least a dozen cases like this each year.’’

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Charlie Baker, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor, portrays himself as a turnaround artist who could help a state reeling from economic troubles, in a video posted to his new website, which went live today.

"Running for governor for me comes down to one question: Can the state of Massachusetts do better and be better managed? I think the answer is unquestionably yes, and I know how to do it. In fact, I've done it before. Twice," he said, referring to his experience as administration and finance secretary in the Weld administration and his work at Harvard Pilgrim.

"When it comes to bringing change, I am two things: fearless and determined. And as your governor, I will be both," said Baker, who appears standing, wearing a blue shirt with no tie, and gesturing in the video, with a background of trees and grass and passing cars behind him.

Baker bashed the status quo and talked of economic troubles leading to empty storefronts and "For Sale" signs on houses. "Massachusetts is on the wrong track, and Beacon Hill has no idea how to fix it.… They've turned a crisis into calamity," he said.

By Globe Staff

 As a teenager in Brunswick, Maine, Gwyeth Smith decided that he wanted to become a guidance counselor.

Smith

In his new book, "Acceptance: A Legendary Guidance Counselor Helps Seven Kids Find the Right Colleges – and Find Themselves" (Penguin Press), former Globe reporter David L. Marcus chronicles how Smitty helped a group of high school seniors grapple with college admissions.

Boston.com asked Smitty, now a private  educational consultant on Long Island, for his five key tips for students confronting college:

A railing framed a man carrying his shoes while walking along Kings Beach in Swampscott today at low tide, as haze hung over the boats in the distance. Globe photographer John Tlumacki caught the moment.

Temperatures in the region were expected to near 90 degrees today.

By Globe Staff

A 32-year-old Dedham woman has died of injuries caused when she and a 2-year-old child were hit by a car in Somerville Sunday afternoon, police said.

Kimberly McGinley died overnight at Massachusetts General Hospital, Somerville police said in a statement. The child remains in stable condition.

Police were summoned at about 3:30 p.m to a residence on Munroe Street, after the woman and child were struck at a birthday party as they stood at the edge of private property near the sidewalk. The 71-year-old driver, whose name has not been released, was maneuvering a sport utility vehicle into or out of a parking spot and drove over the curb and partially into the private yard.

The woman was a friend of the child's mother, who was from Boston's Roslindale section.

By Todd Wallack, Globe Staff

Hurt by the steep decline in the stock market last summer, the Massachusetts state pension fund reported its worst year in its modern history.

The fund lost 23.6 percent, or $12.8 billion, in the fiscal year that ended June 30, according to Michael Travaglini, executive director of the Massachusetts Public Reserves Investment Management Board, which runs the state pension fund. Assets are now down to $37.8 billion.

Historically one of the top public pension funds in the country, Massachusetts is now likely to rank among the worst performers for the past year among all major funds tracked by Wilshire Associates. It is also the first time since 2002 the fund performed worse than average.

The fund's performance could spell trouble for its chairman, state Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill, as he contemplates a run for governor. Cahill dropped out of the Democratic Party earlier this month and is expected to run as an Independent in next year's election. He has increasingly criticized Governor Deval Patrick's fiscal management of the state.

But as pension board chairman, Cahill has taken an active role in the management of the fund. In 2004 Cahill pushed to invest in so-called absolute return hedge funds, which strive to make money regardless of the overall market's performance. Such investments, he argued, would limit losses during periods when the US stock market posts steep declines.

By Brian MacQuarrie, Globe Staff

Pop the caps. Let the amber-colored liquids flow. Start the dialogue.

Related

Meeting Thursday

Audio recordings from the arrest:

• Tapes don't assign blame
• An outpouring from academia
• 911, radio transcripts

More

The meeting has been set for 6 p.m. Thursday, a White House official said this morning.

Obama called the two men Friday and invited them to meet with him in an attempt to quell a furious debate over police relations with minorities that began when news broke last week that the white police officer, investigating a report of a possible break-in, had arrested the prominent black academic at his own home for disorderly conduct.

Charles Ogletree, who is representing Gates, said Monday evening that both Gates and Crowley will be able to bring relatives. The White House would not confirm those details.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters today that the get-together is "about having a beer and de-escalation."

"The president wants to continue to take down the temperature a bit," said Gibbs, adding that weather permitting, the three men will meet at a picnic table outside the Oval Office, the Globe's Political Intelligence blog reports.

As for the choice of libation, Crowley likes Blue Moon, Gates favors Red Stripe or Becks, and Gibbs suggested that Obama will quaff a Budweiser, as he did at the MLB All-Star game.

Cambridge officials on Monday released recordings of the 911 call that led to the encounter and police radio transmissions during the incident. The recordings offered a glimpse of the confrontation at the heart of the controversy, but shed little light on who was to blame, the Globe reports today.

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

House and Senate lawmakers are in the final stages of crafting a spending package that would provide $40 million for health care coverage for legal immigrants and nearly $2.5 million for Greater Boston’s two zoos, according to two State House sources briefed on the plans.

The proposal, expected to be voted on tomorrow, would restore some of the funding for two programs that took a hit in this year's state budget. But it would not provide as much money as either group had sought.

Zoo officials, who are on Beacon Hill today lobbying for support, had asked lawmakers to override Governor Deval Patrick’s decision to veto $4 million in spending, saying the cut would require them to close their two zoos, Franklin Park in Boston and Stone Zoo in Stoneham. It is unclear whether $2.5 million would be enough to prevent their closure.

The proposal would be part of a supplemental spending package, which would need a majority in the House and Senate to pass. If lawmakers had tried to override the governor's veto, they would have needed two-thirds of both chambers.

"We're looking at all of our options," House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo said in a brief interview as he headed into a caucus with House Democrats.

If lawmakers allocate $40 million to maintain health care for legal immigrants, it would still be far less than the $70 million Patrick had proposed, which would have restored coverage for 30,000 legal immigrants. Those immigrants have "special status" and have been in the country less than five years. Many are seeking asylum from war-ravaged nations such as Iraq, Somalia, and Sudan.

Kay Lazar of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.

Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff

Nesson in his office earlier this year

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

Charles Nesson, the flamboyant Harvard Law School professor defending a college student accused of illegally downloading and sharing music online, used an unusual prop in his opening statement today to illustrate why jurors should side with his client.

He held up a rectangular piece of plastic foam wrapped in cellophane and said it represented the compact discs that record companies sold in the millions before digital music become available online. Then he sliced the wrapper with scissors, and hundreds of tiny jigsaw pieces fell on the carpet in front of the jury.

"You have the ability to share, and this physical object" -- the 71-year-old professor paused as he snipped with the scissors -- "suddenly broke into a million bits. Here it is. Bits. Can you hold a bit in your hand? You can't ... And suddenly, you have songs being shared by millions of kids around the world."

Nesson said his client, Joel Tenenbaum, a 25-year-old Boston University graduate student, was "a good kid" who admits using KaZaA, a peer-to-peer network, to share songs online but downloaded only because he loves music, never to make a profit. If the jury finds his client liable, Nesson said in his sometimes-rambling opening, it should impose only minimal damages.

This is an individual who has admitted to egregious peer-to-peer use, and instead of accepting responsibility for his actions and settling in a reasonable manner, he’s chosen to wage a protracted legal battle.

-- Cara Duckworth, recording industry spokeswoman

Cyberspace is a space for sharing. ... From the first burst of Napster into the lives of the born-digital generation the recording industry’s physical hold on its catalog of copyrighted music was gone. The music was and continues to be out in cyberspace in format sharable for free by anyone with a net connection. That was and is the effect of technological progress, not Joel Tenenbaum’s fault.

-- Harvard professor Charles Nesson's blog

Shovels wait for hands to break ground on the site of the new Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center in Dorchester Monday, during ceremonies to launch the largest social service project in state history.

Joanne Rathe/The Boston Globe

By Andrea Estes, Globe Staff

State Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill today joined the battle over Turnpike tolls, urging the governor and attorney general to take "immediate action" toward resolving a lawsuit filed by Massachusetts Turnpike commuters who contend their tolls have been illegally diverted to pay off the cost of the $15 billion Big Dig.

"This matter is extremely time-sensitive," Cahill, the chief financial officer of Massachusetts, said in a letter, asserting that the state should act before an August 6 hearing, at which a Middlesex Superior Court judge could issue an injunction ordering the state to stop spending Turnpike tolls on Big Dig expenses.

The letter did not recommend any specific action, however. Amy Birmingham, Cahill's deputy chief of staff, said Cahill is asking the sides to delay the hearing and try to settle the case.

Turnpike Authority executive director Jeffrey Mullan said he was "disappointed that the treasurer has chosen to insert himself in an active lawsuit in a way that could compromise the Turnpike Authority's defense. The Turnpike Authority's legal team is vigorously defending against the litigation, which would cause excessive harm to the taxpayers and tollpayers of the Commonwealth."

In the past two months, Mullan said, the administration has set a course that avoided a toll increase and prompted credit-rating increases that will save the state $190 million.

An edited transcript of police radio transmission during the Gates incident on July 16.

Female dispatcher: Respond to 17 Ware Street for a possible B and E in progress. Two SPs (suspicious persons) barged their way into the home, they have suitcases. R-P 5 - SP. Stand by, trying to get further.

Officer 52 (Crowley): 52. Ware Street right now, 17?

Dispatcher: 17 Ware Street ... both SPs are still in the house, unknown on race. One may be a Hispanic male, not sure.

Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff

A Cambridge police officer handed out CDs of the recordings at today's news conference.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Sergeant James Crowley, the Cambridge police officer who ignited a national debate on racial profiling when he arrested Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. at his home, can be heard on a recording of radio transmissions to his dispatcher during the incident describing Gates as "uncooperative" and asking her to keep sending backup .

RELATED COVERAGE:

Audio recordings from the arrest:

• 911 caller in Gates case unsure it was break-in
• Transcript of the 911 call
• Gates caller says she didn’t cite race
• Video Police commissioner wants to move on
• Crowley-Gates beer could be this week
• Video 911 tapes to be released from Gates incident

Eventually, police said, four other officers joined Crowley at the scene.

The release by Cambridge officials of recordings of the police radio transmissions and 911 call in the case was yet another twist in a saga that has sparked a national debate on racial profiling. The story of the white police officer arresting a prominent black academic for disorderly conduct in his own home gained such momentum that President Obama weighed in last week. He first said the Cambridge police "acted stupidly" in the incident, then said he regretted his choice of words and invited the two men to the White House, hoping it would become a "teachable moment." Gates's attorney, Charles Ogletree, said the meeting had been slated for Thursday.

The 911 recording showed the mundane beginnings of a media frenzy. The caller who alerted police to two men entering Gates's house on July 16 told a dispatcher that she had seen two suitcases on the porch and said she wasn't sure if it was a break-in.

"I don't know what's happening. ... I don't know if they live there and they just had a hard time with their key, but I did notice they had to use their shoulders to try to barge in," the caller said.

By Brian Ballou, Globe Staff

Three teenagers were arraigned today on alcohol charges in connection with a fatal car accident that claimed the life of a 67-year-old woman last May.

Daniel Vokey, 19, Christopher Baldwin, 19, and Rosa Palomba, 18, all of Saugus, appeared in Lynn District Court. Prosecutors alleged that Vokey furnished at least 20 cans of beer to Baldwin, who then provided the alcohol to Palomba and Jonathan Caruso, 18, of Saugus.

Caruso was arraigned in May on charges of negligent motor vehicle homicide, operating under the influence of alcohol, and being a minor transporting liquor, but it was not until July 3 that the other three were arrested in connection with the incident.

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

Two Massachusetts State Police troopers suffered minor injuries over the weekend when they were struck by motorists during separate traffic stops in Sharon and Braintree, police said today.

Trooper John McCarthy was approaching a car he had stopped in the breakdown lane on Route 1 northbound in Sharon at 9:49 pm Sunday when he was struck from behind by the side mirror of a passing pickup truck driven by an alleged drunk driver, said David Procopio, a spokesman for the State Police.

By Tracy Jan, Globe Staff

One week after the arrest of Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates caused an international firestorm, the noted African-American scholar is receiving an outpouring of support from academia.

The leaders of Harvard's Association of Black Faculty, Administrators, and Fellows released a strongly worded letter this morning expressing outrage at Gates's arrest by a white Cambridge police sergeant for disorderly conduct, a charge that was dropped last week.

Middlebury College professor Gary Margolis showed his support for Henry Louis Gates Jr. with this poem:

Ajar

Who hasn’t lost the keys to his
own house, searched for a window
to crawl through, kicked a back door

open, to see if it was left open?
Frost did at his Ripton farm house.
I’m telling you I climb through

a window when he isn’t there so I can
look around. No one’s around to call
the police who rarely exist up there.

Frost is a bridge to Cambridge.
He lived there, too. And now
Henry Louis Gates Jr. who the police

find in his own house. Mr. Gates
isn’t broke and entering. He lives
in his own house. Frost didn’t have

to carry an ID. Berryman found
the key to his own Henry and then
water under a bridge, I’m sorry to say.

The police want us to think it’s all
water under the bridge. I have to say
I’m sorry. For them. Someone has to

pay his respects. I expect we haven’t
heard the last of this. A poem needs
its refrain. White-haired Frost doesn’t

leave a key under his mat for me
when I come home late, when I’ve
forgotten which window I’ve left unlocked.

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

Four major record labels are in federal court today battling a Boston University graduate student accused of illegally downloading and sharing music in only the second such case in the nation to go to trial.

Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Bros. Records Inc., Arista Records LLC, and UMG Recordings Inc. have sued Joel Tenenbaum, a 25-year-old graduate student in physics, in US District Court in Boston for using a peer-to-peer network to infringe copyrights on 30 songs they own.

Lawyers for both sides are picking a jury and are scheduled to make opening statements this afternoon.

The Recording Industry Association of America, which is coordinating the case against Tenenbaum, has written more than 18,000 individuals and families in recent years to demand payment for illegal file sharing. Most recipients have settled out of court for $3,000 to $5,000. Tenenbaum is only the second to take the matter to trial in what many legal specialists describe as a quixotic campaign.

An edited transcript of the 911 call that began the Gates affair.

Dispatcher: Tell me exactly what happened

Caller: Umm, I don’t know what’s happening. I just have an elder woman, uh, standing here and she had noticed two gentlemen trying to get in a house at that number, 17 Ware St., and they kind of had to barge in. And they broke the screen door and they finally got in and when I had looked, I went further, closer to the house a little bit, after the gentlemen were already in the house, I noticed two suitcases So I’m not sure if these are two individuals who actually work there, I mean who live there.

Dispatcher: You think they might’ve been breaking...

Caller: I don’t know, ‘cause I have no idea, I just noticed...

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick, in his first detailed comments on yesterday's Boston Globe poll showing him struggling politically, told reporters today that he was "not happy" to see the numbers.

"Who would be?" Patrick said. “But I also appreciate, and I think most people in the public do, that we have nothing but tough choices in front of us right now and those choices affect people, whether they are cuts, or reforms, or what have you. And because we aren’t running from those hard questions and tough choices, people are going to be sometimes upset."

Patrick said he expects people's frustration with the state of the economy to color his poll numbers.

"The campaigns are about explaining what we’ve done, and more importantly where we’re going and we’ll have an opportunity in the campaign to do just that," he said. "The people will have an opportunity to choose whether they want to go forward or go backward.”

Asked if he regretted signing a nearly $1 billion boost in the state's sales tax, which takes effect Saturday, he said: “I think it was the right fiscal decision. I did it reluctantly but not without assuring that members of the public wouldn’t be paying for the same old, same old.”

"The re-election will come," he continued. "We have an opportunity through the campaign to explain why we make the judgments we do, how difficult the decisions are before us all, not only state government.”

Asked if there were any grounds on which to criticize his leadership, he said: “Of course there’s going to be criticism. I think the point is, at every turn, we have made decisions based on a sure commitment to improving the lives of people of the commonwealth, and decisions that are in the best long-term interest of the commonwealth. We’ll have an opportunity in the course of the campaign to debate competing ideas and competing visions for how to assure the best long-term interest of the commonwealth. And I don’t think anybody can or should, or has a basis, to question my good faith or that of this administration.”

Christine Hochkeppel for The Boston Globe

Sunbathers ignored the machine. Somewhere in the sand: the keys to a VW.

By David Filipov, Globe Staff

It was hot. Really hot. My lower back was starting to growl, and my fingers were red-hot little balloons of pain. Easton’s Beach in Newport was the Sahara. From the size of the pile in front of me, I could see that my job was nowhere near done.

And where were my bloomin’ car keys??!?

This was not where I had intended to be, raking a massive heap of sand, seaweed and garbage in the heat of the day on the most popular beach in one of the region’s most prestigious seaside cities.

It had all started so well. I was reporting about Newport’s efforts to clean up the yucky red seaweed that had plagued the beach for decades. The town had acquired a large, Zamboni-like machine – the Beach Harvester -- to do the job. It was so much more efficient than raking the stuff off the sand. It was a great excuse to hit the beach – and get PAID for it. Not only that, the days I visited, July 14 and July 16, were rare decent beach days in what will no doubt go down in history as the Summer of Floods.

Looking for a roommate, it's a bit of a blow to the ego. But it all boils down to: you gotta do what you gotta do.

-- John Murphy, 51, of Milton

I probably should have said no right away, but I thought about it.

-- Gayle White, 43, of Boylston, on a prospective roommate who disclosed that he was a nudist

By Globe Staff

The most scrutinized raising of beer mugs in recent history could happen this week.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters this morning that plans are in the works for Cambridge police Sergeant James Crowley and Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. to join President Obama for that drink this week.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

Hundreds of Boston teens, along with supporters from community groups, are marching from the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Roxbury to the State House today to show their support for legislation that would overhaul the state's criminal records system.

The Criminal Offender Records Information, or CORI, system is flawed, many say, because it makes it hard for offenders to get jobs, making it more likely they will reoffend. A bill changing the system is slated for a legislative hearing this afternoon.

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent

A Cape Cod man died Sunday night after falling out of his canoe after an apparent heart attack, Yarmouth public safety officials said.

Police Sergeant Chris McEachern said Mark Anderson, 49, was pronounced dead at Cape Cod Hospital after being rescued from Elisha Pond in Yarmouth. The man’s mother, Nancy Anderson, called for help shortly after 7:30 p.m. after witnessing Mark fall out of the canoe.

Fire Chief Michael Walker said the Yarmouth dive and special operations team arrived at the pond within a minute and began rescue operations.

By Globe Staff

A man was injured this morning when he stepped in front of an outbound Green Line train as it approached the Chestnut Hill station in Newton, an MBTA spokesman said.

The middle-aged man was treated at the scene for his injuries in the incident, which happened at about 8:50 a.m. T spokesman Joe Pesaturo said he did not know if the man had been transported to a hospital. Police are investigating.

Buses are replacing service between the Reservoir and Newton Highlands station, he said.

By Globe Staff

Keep an eye on the horizon. Weather forecasters say scattered showers and thunderstorms are on the agenda again this afternoon and evening in Massachusetts – and some of them may become severe, with the potential for damaging winds, large hail, and localized flooding.

One danger is microbursts with damaging straight-line winds. The National Weather Service says a microburst may have moved through Andover on Sunday.

Eleanor Vallier-Talbot, a meteorologist with the service, said that microbursts can be just as damaging as tornadoes.

Vallier-Talbot said early indications are that the storms will form mostly in central and western Massachusetts.

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- The 2009 Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony was held Sunday on the Grounds of the Clark Sports Center. Some familiar faces -- fellow Hall of Famers Johnny Bench, left, and Sparky Anderson, center -- welcomed former Red Sox leftfielder Jim Rice, who was elected into the hall on his final year of eligibility.

Jim Davis/Globe Staff

By Jenara Gardner, Globe Correspondent

The New England area could experience severe thunderstorms possibly starting this afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

The timing of the thunderstorms depends mainly on the cloud cover that is currently hovering over the area.

Adam Hunger for The Boston Globe

Kevin Youkilis leaves the stage after delivering his emotional remarks.

By Matt Rocheleau, Globe Correspondent

NEEDHAM — As an up-and-coming baseball player at the University of Cincinnati, Kevin Youkilis sometimes was told he wasn’t good enough for the big leagues. But his roommate, a close friend since high school, stood by him.

On Thanksgiving Day of his sophomore year, Youkilis learned that his friend had committed suicide. To this day, he said, "I sit back at night and wonder what I could've done."

But that was not the only friend Youkilis lost to suicide. There were two others.

Youkilis shared those painful memories before nearly 200 people gathered at the Sheraton Needham hotel for a benefit to raise awareness about teen suicide and how to prevent it. Needham has lost five teens to suicide in the past five years.

By Brian MacQuarrie, Globe Staff, and John Guilfoil, Globe Correspondent

HALIFAX -- A 7-year-old Halifax boy riding his bicycle with his father died today after he was struck in a marked crosswalk by a car driven by a 76-year-old Plympton woman, Halifax police said.

Bystanders rushed to the boy, Herbert Whitaker, after the 11:53 a.m. accident and attempted to revive him as police quickly responded from their station only steps away. Whitaker, who lived nearby, was pronounced dead at Brockton Hospital at 12:44 p.m.

Marcia Chadbourne, who allegedly struck Whitaker at 540 Plymouth St., has been charged with motor vehicle homicide and failure to yield at a crosswalk, said Halifax Police Sergeant Ted Broderick. She will be summonsed to appear in court at a later date.

Jordan Beard for The Boston Globe

Sky Sports Italia broadcaster Andrea Paventi added to the excitement, delivering a standup report outside Niketown on Newbury Street with cameraman Alex Melchionda.

By David Beard, Globe Staff

Hordes of soccer fans descended on Boston today to catch a glimpse of some of the world's top players on the eve of a match at Gillette Stadium between two European archrivals.

Fans from as far as Montreal and New York, many wearing the blue-and-black of Inter Milan and the red-and-black of AC Milan, waited outside two downtown hotels and thronged the Niketown on Newbury Street, where several players and Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho made an appearance.

Essdras M. Suarez/Globe Staff

The new giraffe taking it easy today at the zoo.

By Woody Romelus, Globe Correspondent

A two-day-old giraffe calf rested in the hay at the Franklin Park Zoo today, watched over by a vigilant mother.

The 6-foot-4, 164-pound calf born Thursday is one of three offspring from his parent giraffes, Jana and Beau.

Zoo officials said the calf was born without significant health problems, which was a relief because Beau was diagnosed with Giraffe Wasting Syndrome in October 2003 and it nearly killed him.

Road closures and other transportation advisories for the week of July 26:

Two to three lanes of Interstate 93 South will be closed approaching and through Downtown Crossing Sunday through Friday from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.

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

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

I don't think he should have made any comments at all in the first place. If he hadn't said anything at all, then he wouldn't had to have had this meeting. … Being the president, he should have taken the high road and stayed out of it.

-- Michelle Freeman, 28, Jamaica Plain

I think this will be good effort to defuse the situation. Any effort to reach out to the individuals is a good idea.

-- Shemetra Owens, 42, Roxbury

By Emma Rose Johnson, Globe Correspondent

An American Airlines flight headed for San Juan, Puerto Rico from Boston Logan International Airport turned around and returned to Logan this morning after crew members smelled smoke.

American Airlines spokesman Tim Wagner said Flight 1937 left the gate at 8:35 a.m., but returned to Logan an hour later. Crewmembers on the flight said the smoke emanated from the rear bathroom. The flight landed safely, with none of the 185 passengers or crew injured.

FAA spokesman Jim Peters said there was no sign of fire in a preliminary examination of the aircraft, a Boeing 757, but that the investigation is ongoing. The flight was canceled and all the passengers were rebooked onto other flights.

By Globe Staff

The Archdiocese of Boston said today that it's suspending a priest from performing any public ministry after receiving allegations against him of adult sexual misconduct.

The Reverend Pedro Jose Damazio has been serving as parochial vicar of St. Anthony of Padua in Cambridge and has been serving the Brazilian community throughout the archdiocese.

The archdiocese said it was "cooperating fully" with a law enforcement probe into the matter and had also notified Reverend Damazio’s home diocese in Brazil.

By Hannah McBride, Globe Correspondent

The sun may be shining and the mercury may be climbing into the 80s, but don't expect relief at seven Boston-area beaches.

They've been closed to swimming today because of the recent heavy rains, according to the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. Department officials urge visitors to avoid contact with the water because elevated bacteria levels may cause illness.

The agency posted warnings for the following beaches: Tenean Beach in Dorchester; Carson Beach, City Point Beach, M Street Beach and Pleasure Bay in South Boston; Constitution Beach in East Boston; and all of Wollaston Beach in Quincy.

The sun shone and waves lapped at the shore but no swimmers splashed at the Tenean Beach Day celebration in Dorchester. As music boomed from loudspeakers, Tenean Beach Day organizer Kaitlyn Brohel said all was not lost, though. Plenty of land-based activities were planned.

The National Weather Service predicts today’s high to reach 83 degrees.

By Emma Rose Johnson, Globe Correspondent

State police are investigating after one man was killed and two people were injured in a car accident Friday afternoon on Interstate 195 in Fairhaven.

State police said 52-year-old Charles Jones of Charlestown, R.I. was traveling in a 2001 Chevy Tahoe westbound in the breakdown lane. At approximately 2 p.m., he struck a sign and veered across the median into opposing traffic. The car then struck a 2007 Toyota Corolla operated by 73-year-old Frederick Campbell on Bristol, R.I. head on. Campbell was pronounced dead at the scene.

Our point was not to be a pioneer. The focus was on safety. In high doses, these caffeine drinks are not good for kids, and if we can provide parents with an incentive not to give them, well, we will.

-- Dudley-Charlton School Superintendent Sean Gilrein

Energy drinks are safe. But like any other food or beverage, they need to be consumed sensibly.

-- Tracey Halliday, spokeswoman for the American Beverage Association

By Tracy Jan and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. said this evening that he would accept President Obama's invitation to meet with him and Cambridge Police Sergeant James M. Crowley at the White House.

Gates said in an email to the Globe that he was pleased to talk to the president today and to be asked to meet with Crowley, adding, "I said I would."

"My entire academic career had been based on improving race relations, not exacerbating them. I am hopeful that my experience will lead to greater sensitivity to issues of racial profiling in the criminal justice system. If so, then this will be a blessing for our society. It is time for all of us to move on, and to assess what we can learn from this experience," he said.

Obama extended the invitation today in phone calls to the two men as he sought to calm a national debate over racial profiling that reached a fever pitch after news broke of the white officer's arrest of the black scholar at his home last week.

Sergeant James M. Crowley

Crowley couldn't be reached for comment. But Cambridge and area police unions released a statement on his behalf saying that Crowley and the president had a "friendly and meaningful conversation" and that Crowley was "profoundly grateful that the President took time out of his busy schedule to attempt to resolve this situation." The statement didn't say if Crowley had accepted the president's invitation.

A fellow officer said Crowley had told Obama he would attend the meeting. "Jimmy said, 'I'd be happy to come to the White House and sit down with you and Gates and have a beer,' " the veteran Cambridge officer said, who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to speak publicly about the issue. "The president said he was acceptable to that."

Globe File

The plaintiffs said Debra Davis, Louis Litif, and Deborah Hussey should not have been killed.

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

A federal judge has ruled tentatively that relatives of two women and a man who were allegedly murdered in the 1980s by gangsters are entitled to almost $2 million in a wrongful death suit against the government.

The rulings are tentative, but an indication of what may be the outcome of the lawsuit brought by three families who allege that the FBI did nothing to stop the murders of Louis Litif, a bartender and bookmaker; Deborah Hussey, the daughter of a woman who was in a long-time relationship with convicted gangster Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi; and Debra Davis, Flemmi's one-time girlfriend.

US District Judge William G. Young said today during closing arguments in the non-jury trial that "I'm prepared to find there's a massive and widespread coverup going on here.'' The plaintiffs contended that the FBI created a dangerous condition by failing to control Flemmi and his partner, James "Whitey" Bulger, both of whom were FBI informants.

Pool Photo

Kristopher Griffin sobbed and looked at the floor during the arraignment.

By Eric Moskowitz, Globe Staff

Police charged a 35-year-old Mansfield man with murdering his 6-year-old daughter after being alerted to the crime by a note in which he allegedly asked forgiveness for sending her "to heaven."

Kristopher Griffin, 35, wearing a hospital johnny, sobbed and looked at the floor at his arraignment this afternoon on a charge that he murdered Kaitlynn Griffin. He pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail. A judge ordered him to undergo psychiatric evaluation at Bridgewater State Hospital and slated another hearing for Aug. 12.

Mansfield police said that at 4:05 a.m. today they received a call from 85 Ware St., where Griffin had been staying, reporting that Griffin was somewhere in town and might have the intention of harming himself. Patrol units were put on the lookout and shortly after that, an officer spoke to Griffin about a half mile from the Ware Street address. At 4:17 a.m., police received a second call from the Ware Street address in which the caller reported that Griffin had left a note asking for "forgiveness for sending Katy to heaven."

Police then went to a home on Chilson Street where the daughter lived, and after a short search found her body in the basement, covered by a blanket, Chief Arthur M. O'Neill said in a statement.

Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff

Tobey is cute, but is he also fed up?

First in a regular roundup of political news from the State House, City Hall, and beyond.

For the past week or two, Governor Deval Patrick has taken a small puppy with him most places he goes. Some believe it's a blatant attempt to earn public support. The official word from Patrick aides is that the young pup can't be alone and needs someone -- in this case, the state's top politician -- to watch over him.

But could Tobey be getting a little irritable with all the recent attention?

At a town hall meeting in Roxbury Thursday night, the dog sniped at a woman as a group of children were playing with the dog.

"She either got nipped or got a scratch. Tobey is 9 weeks old, he can't do much," said a Patrick aide, who asked to not be identified talking about the doggy dust-up. "She got a band-aid and sought other medical attention. But we're not aware that there's any other issue."

The woman, left with a "pinhole size red mark on her hand," was treated by Boston EMS and taken to Boston Medical Center for evaluation, according to a Boston Police report.

Looks like the jury is still out on whether Tobey will be a political asset or a liability.

-- MATT VISER

Handout photo

Marine Corporal Nicholas G. Xiarhos

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

A 21-year-old Marine from Yarmouth died Thursday after being wounded in combat in Afghanistan's Garmsir District, Yarmouth police said.

Nicholas G. Xiarhos was the son of veteran Yarmouth Police Lieutenant Steven Xiarhos and his wife, Lisa, the department said in a statement issued this morning.

"We watched him grow up. Many officers on the Yarmouth Police Department watched their whole family grow up. ... All of us feel we've lost a member of our family," said Chief Michael Almonte.

By Brian MacQuarrie and Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

Calls by President Obama to Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and to Sergeant James M. Crowley inviting the men to meet with Obama at the White House were welcomed by both camps today.

Harvard law professor Charles J. Ogletree Jr., one of Gates's lawyers, praised the president, a former student of his, for calling both men.

"I think the president has taken the right approach by trying to make sure we move forward," said Ogletree. "He's always had the ability to negotiate difficult conversations, and his steps today are an important step in the right direction. I think the president has given his assessment, which makes a lot of sense, and, however you feel about it, it has reduced the temperature and allowed everyone to move forward in a constructive way."

Crowley was also pleased by the call, according to a fellow officer who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to speak publicly about the issue.

"Jimmy said, 'I'd be happy to come to the White House and sit down with you and Gates and have a beer,' " the veteran Cambridge officer said. "The president said he was acceptable to that."

2:33 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Hey, it's a cameo appearance. Sit down, sit down. I need to help Gibbs out a little bit here.

Q Are you the new press secretary?

THE PRESIDENT: If you got to do a job, do it yourself. (Laughter.)

I wanted to address you guys directly because over the last day and a half obviously there's been all sorts of controversy around the incident that happened in Cambridge with professor Gates and the police department there.

( David L Ryan/Globe Staff)

By Jonathan Saltzman and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

CAMBRIDGE -- Police unions today called on President Obama and Governor Deval Patrick to apologize to "all law enforcement personnel," saying they "deeply resent the implication" of their comments about racial profiling and the arrest of an African-American scholar last week at his home near Harvard Square.

Speaking at a press conference at the Hotel Marlowe packed with local and national media, the union officials also said that the disorderly conduct charge should not have been dropped against professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. The move earlier this week to drop the charges, "was a decision made without our input," said Alan J. McDonald, a lawyer for one of the unions.

The harshest words came from Steve Killion, who identified himself as a third generation Cambridge police officer and president of the city's police patrol officers association.

"As far as the president's comments, the governor's comments, and comments that I did not hear that our mayor made, I think when the time is right they should make an apology to us," Killion said. "I think the president should make an apology to all law enforcement personnel throughout the entire country, [they] took offense to this."

By Globe Staff

A soggy summer storm finally washed out to sea this morning after dumping up to 4 inches of rain in southern New England and buffeting the region with winds gusting up to 40 miles an hour.

Reports of downed trees and minor street flooding came from an area that stretched from Cape Cod to Westerly, R.I., according to the National Weather Service. No major flooding or damage has been reported.

The highest rain total came in Kingston, R.I., where 4.64 inches had fallen by 9 a.m. In Massachusetts, the most rain fell in Salem, which measured 3.82 inches by 9:35 a.m. At Logan International Airport in Boston, meteorologists recorded 2.19 inches at 8 a.m.

"It's pretty much finished in Boston," said Jeremiah Pyle, a meteorologist with National Weather Service in Taunton, of the rain. "We've got some hanging in northern Essex County, but that is wrapping up."

The rest of the day is expected to remain cloudy but drier, with a chance of scattered thunderstorms later this evening. Forecasters expect that Saturday will be warm and partly cloud with a high near 83 degrees. There is a chance for more showers and thunderstorms on Sunday.

The view from the podium on Thursday before Cambridge Police Commissioner Robert Haas spoke to scores of reporters from the local and national media about the arrest of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. and comments from President Obama.

(Dina Rudick/Globe Staff)

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

By Globe Staff

Cambridge police unions have scheduled a press conference this afternoon to defend the officer who arrested an African-American scholar last week at his home near Harvard Square.

At the press conference at the Hotel Marlowe, the police associations plan "to voice their support for Cambridge Police Sgt. James M. Crowley and to respond to criticism voiced by Governor Deval Patrick and President [Barack] Obama," according to a press released issued this morning.

Crowley is expected to attend the press conference but will not speak, according to the release. The press conference will include Dennis O'Connor, president of the Cambridge Police Superior Officers Association; Steve Killian, president of the Cambridge Police Patrol Officers Association; and Harold MacGilvray, president of the Massachusetts Municipal Police Coalition, which was described as an association of 25 police organizations from Greater Boston.

I don't think it was the president's place to interfere. He's creating a racial divide, and I think it's totally inappropriate.

-- Joan Van Dorn, Cambridge resident

What the president said was right on. When you're dealing with a sensitive racial situation, you have to know how to deal with it professionally. One would hope Cambridge would be better at this than other places, but there's no evidence that it is.

-- Daniel Klubock, Cambridge human rights commission member

By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent

Cambridge is at the center of a national debate on racial conflict following the arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr. by a Cambridge police officer. But the city is also known as a hub for some of the world's experts on conflict resolution. We asked one of them, professor Robert H. Mnookin, chairman of Harvard's Program on Negotiation, for his thoughts.

Q: In the interest of healing the city, what is the best course toward a resolution between Henry Louis Gates and Sergeant James M. Crowley?

Mnookin

By Stewart Bishop, Globe Correspondent

A second man has been arrested and charged with the May 13 shooting death of Dorchester resident Fred Bing, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

On Tuesday, authorities in New Jersey arrested Aboina Justice Sharpe, 20, of Revere, in South Brunswick, eight days after a grand jury indicted him for first-degree murder, Conley said.

Weather Service radar shows the rain moving in.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

No need to water the lawn today. Or any time soon. A storm full of tropical moisture bearing down on the Bay State is expected to dump up to 4 inches of rain, flooding urban areas and pushing streams to their limits, forecasters said.

The rain is expected to persist into Friday morning, said National Weather Service meteorologist Alan Dunham.

"This is going to be another soaker," he said, noting that much of the area will get 2 to 4 inches

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

Cambridge Police Sergeant James M. Crowley has spent the past five years teaching a class at the Lowell Police Academy to Cambridge and Lowell police cadets about how to avoid racial profiling, according to Thomas Fleming, academy director.

The academy teaches prospective officers from both departments under an agreement.

Fleming said Cambridge's former police commissioner, Ronnie Watson, hand-picked Crowley and another officer, who is black, to jointly teach the class to about 60 cadets each year. The course meets four times a year, for three hours a session.

"He's very well respected," said Fleming, a Lowell police sergeant who has run the academy for 14 years. "He gets a very high evaluation from all the students. In my opinion, he's a good role model for young officers. He's a good cop. That's the type of person you want in a police academy.''

Fleming said it was a "very good assumption" that Watson picked Crowley because he was sensitive to the dangers of racial profiling.

Dina Rudick/Globe Staff

Commissioner Haas said he stood behind his department -- and Sergeant Crowley.

By Martin Finucane and Tracy Jan, Globe Staff

The Cambridge police commissioner today defended the actions of the sergeant who arrested prominent black Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. last week at his home, saying he believed the sergeant acted "consistent with his training" and without racial bias.

But Haas also said that he would form a panel of experts to look into the incident and see whether some lessons could be learned from it. He said it was an opportunity to reexamine policies and procedures and he was confident some good would come out of the situation.

Haas also revealed, in response to reporters' questions at the news conference, that Gates's house had been broken into before the incident. He did not specify exactly when the break-in had taken place.

Photo courtesy of Mount Washington Observatory

Nin is the subject of a recent children's book.

By Nandini Jayakrishna, Globe Correspondent

He lived a full life, from the streets of Vermont to the top of New England's highest mountain to the colorful pages of a children's picture book

But old age and a liver tumor began taking their toll, and last week, Nin, the former 19- or 20-year-old mascot of New Hampshire's Mount Washington Observatory, was laid to rest.

"He was a very special cat," said Diane Holmes, a Mount Washington State Park ranger who took him in to her Gorham home after he retired from his mountain life in 2007. "We miss him a lot."

Globe photos/David L. Ryan

Anthony Martignetti recreates his famous run through a North End alley.

By Billy Baker, Globe Correspondent

Forty years ago this summer, 12-year-old Anthony Martignetti was walking with friends near Pizzeria Regina in the North End when three men approached and asked for directions to Commercial Street.

His friends didn’t like the outsiders in their neighborhood – “long-haired, hippie types,” as Martignetti remembers – so they told them where they could go, and it wasn’t to Commercial Street. But Martignetti felt bad, so he stayed behind to give the men directions.

Two weeks later, Martignetti saw the men again. They remembered that he’d been nice to them, and perhaps most important, they liked his name. So the men, who were developing an advertising campaign for Prince Pasta, a company founded in the neighborhood, asked him a question that would change his life: Would you like to be in a TV commercial?

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

Boston cab drivers and medallion owners contesting a rule requiring that they buy new hybrid cars by 2015 won a significant victory yesterday when a federal judge asked the city to stop enforcing the rule.

US District Judge William G. Young's injunction against the rule -- which began affecting older cabs last year -- is temporary, and a lawyer for more than 100 cab owners says he hopes to negotiate a settlement with the city before the judge makes up his mind on a permananet ruling.

“The cab drivers recognize that we have to do everything we can to protect the environment," said Paul Merry, who represents the taxi drivers and owners.

Cab drivers have pleaded for the right to buy used hybrid vehicles, which they say can save them money not only on the price of the vehicle but also the cost of insurance, which they say can run as high as $14,000 to $20,000 a year.

“At this time, we will respect the judge’s ruling on the matter,'' said Elaine Driscoll, spokeswoman for the Boston Police Department, which oversees taxi cab licensing. "Currently our attorneys are working closely with city attorneys to determine what the next steps will be.”

Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff

By Eric Moskowitz, Globe Staff

Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who has faced consistent criticism in this and past mayoral campaigns for his reluctance to face political opponents, has agreed to participate in three televised debates and one forum, according to his campaign.

The mayor will debate his three opponents -- city councilors Michael F. Flaherty Jr. and Sam Yoon, and developer Kevin McCrea -- on Aug. 26 and Sept. 10, ahead of the Sept. 22 preliminary election that will narrow the field to two. Should Menino advance to the general election on Nov. 3, he will debate the other finalist at an Oct. 19 debate co-sponsored by the Globe.

By Matt Viser and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick this afternoon empathized with Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., recalling his own experiences with racial profiling and "feeling powerless" when he was a black teenager at Milton Academy.

Governor Deval Patrick

Patrick spoke in a somber tone as he offered his strongest comments in the week since Gates's arrest for disorderly conduct inside his home near Harvard Square. The governor declined, however, to discuss President Obama's comment Wednesday night during a nationally televised press conference that Cambridge police "acted stupidly." Patrick said the president was "quite capable of speaking for himself.”

The governor told reporters that he had left a phone message for Gates but had not spoken to him. From what he had read in the media and the police report, Patrick said he understood how Gates felt.

Globe photo/Yoon S. Byun

By Peter DeMarco, Globe Correspondent

A top city official provided some relief to scooter owners today, saying there will be no crackdown on their parking privileges next month despite a new law requiring many of them to license their vehicles for the first time.

By Bryan Marquard, Globe Staff

Struck and killed by a van two weeks shy of turning 32, Cary Girod had seemingly lived several lives. Her obituary captured her adventurousness, her college studies, and her jobs teaching math at private schools such as Buckingham Browne & Nichols in Cambridge, where she lived. And yet, because of space constraints some telling anecdotes didn't make it into what the Globe published Wednesday, which would have been her birthday.

Cary Girod

As with many people whose lives span several states and different pursuits, she had overlapping circles of friends in academia, the places she taught, and among those who hiked with her or participated in triathlons and other athletic competitions. As if engaging in her own form of shuttle diplomacy, she bore gifts from one group to another.

"She collected clothes that people didn’t want and put them in the trunk of her car," said her brother, Lewis Girod of Cambridge, "and she would pull something out and give it to someone and say, 'This is perfect for you. It comes from so-and-so.'"

“I think it’s fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home; and, number three, what I think we know separate and apart from this incident is that there’s a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately."

President Obama

"I think he is way off base wading into a local issue before knowing all the facts."

Sergeant James Crowley of the Cambridge Police Department

By Jazmine Ulloa, Globe Staff

BROCKTON -- Animal control officers are hunting down two foxes involved in three attacks on people this week in a neighborhood on the city's north side, Supervisor Thomas DeChellis said today.

Officers believe they may be guarding a den of pups, and the department is investigating the gender of the animals and whether they are rabid, he said.

"I have been working for 15 years in animal control," DeChillis said. "But this type of incident has never happened."

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

"He conceded that he didn't have all the facts, and indeed he didn't," Alan J. McDonald, the lawyer for the Cambridge Police Superior Officers Association, said of the president. "I suspect that when the full picture comes out, he will regret the remarks he made."

Sophia LaFauci no longer needed her neck brace, so she put it on her Elmo doll at her family's home in Waltham. The 22-month-old came home from the hospital on Monday after a sport utility vehicle accidentally rolled onto her. Rachel LaFauci called her daughter's full recovery "some miracle."

(Michele McDonald for The Boston Globe)

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

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Cambridge police Sergeant James Crowley declined today to criticize President Obama for saying Wednesday night that police "acted stupidly" in the arrest last week of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., but he did say it was "regrettable" that anyone would speak without knowing the "whole story" of the confrontation at Gates's home near Harvard Square.

Sergeant James Crowley

"The president has a lot of other daunting tasks ahead of him," Crowley said. "I wish for the good of the whole country that he is successful in efforts to do the many things that he has to."

The radio show hosts persisted: "Well, hopefully on those other tasks he actually gets his facts straight, because clearly he didn't know what he was talking about when he addressed your little issue."

By Scott Helman, Globe Staff

Nearly 40 years ago, a 14-year-old Deval Patrick arrived on the leafy campus of Milton Academy, a black kid from the South Side of Chicago suddenly forced to navigate the insular, largely white world of East Coast prep school culture. Though the move worked out well in the end, it wasn't always easy to fit in. Patrick has recalled being harassed by police, who thought he looked out of place.

Governor Deval Patrick

The president pointedly said last night that he thought Cambridge police acted "stupidly." Patrick was more measured in his comments, saying at an event earlier in the day that he found Gates's arrest "troubling ... to me as a friend of Skip Gates, as a black man, and as a governor," according to WBZ.

At noon today, you will have a chance to ask Patrick about the budget crunch, overhauling healthcare, the Gates controversy, his own experiences with racial profiling, and anything else on your mind. Be sure to tune in. He's eager to take your questions.

Alex Brandon/AP

The president also said that there is a long history of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by police disproportionately.

By Globe Staff

President Obama addressed the arrest of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. at his Cambridge home during his news conference tonight, saying that "anyone would be angry" and "the Cambridge police acted stupidly."

Obama prefaced his reply by saying that "I might be a little biased here" because "Skip Gates" is a friend, and by acknowledging that "I don't know all the facts."

He then recited what has been reported, and joked that if he tried to jimmy the lock at his current residence -- the White House -- "I'd get shot."

But then he went on to say that there's a long history of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by police disproportionately.

"Now, I don't know, not having been there and not seeing all the facts, what role race played in that. But I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home; and, number three, what I think we know separate and apart from this incident is that there's a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately. That's just a fact," Obama said.

"That doesn't lessen the incredible progress that has been made," he added. "I am standing here as testimony to the progress that's been made. And yet the fact of the matter is, is that, you know, this still haunts us. And even when there are honest misunderstandings, the fact that blacks and Hispanics are picked up more frequently and often time for no cause casts suspicion even when there is good cause. And that's why I think the more that we're working with local law enforcement to improve policing techniques so that we're eliminating potential bias, the safer everybody is going to be."

In this climate, it doesn’t make any sense. The transportation system has enough design documents sitting on shelves collecting dust.

-- Senator Steven A. Baddour, co-chair of the Transportation Committee

Obviously, we want to see this project built, but it can’t get there without design and engineering.

-- Noah Chesnin, program assistant with the Conservation Law Foundation

By Jonathan Saltzman and Erica Noonan, Globe Staff

Sergeant James Crowley, the Cambridge police officer who arrested Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. last week and touched off a firestorm of controversy, said today he would not agree to Gates's demand for an apology.

Gates talks about his arrest

(Audio edited for clarity and length)

• Editorial: A professor’s arrest
• Abraham: Conduct unbecoming the police
• Carol Rose: Racial profiling alive and well
• Meléndez and Turner: The unfinished work of equality
• Statement from the police, city
• Editorial  |  Carol Rose: Racial profiling alive and well
• DA to drop Gates charges
• Racial talk swirls with arrest  |  PDF Copy of police report
• Local, national figures weigh in on Gates' case
• Statement from Cambridge police, city
• Statement from Cambridge Mayor Simmons
• Gallery Who is Henry Louis Gates, Jr.?
• 3/17/04 Big man off campus
• 11/12/06 Q&A with Gates

Crowley arrested Gates, a leading authority on African-American history, last Thursday during the investigation of a report of a break-in at Gates's home in Cambridge. The arrest happened just after Gates arrived home from the filming of a PBS documentary in China. His front door was stuck shut, and his taxi driver helped him pry it open.

According to the subsequent police report, a woman called to report two black men trying to force their way into a house. Crowley said in the report that Gates became disruptive and was arrested for disorderly conduct, but Gates has denied that he was disorderly.

Authorities abruptly dropped the charges Tuesday, but Gates today threatened a lawsuit and said Crowley should apologize to him. Gates also told his daughter in an interview posted on the Daily Beast website that he believed the officer had stereotyped, or racially profiled, him.

The incident made headlines around the country and even provoked a comment tonight from President Barack Obama, the nation's first black president. He criticized the Cambridge police in a news conference, saying they had acted "stupidly" in arresting Gates. Cambridge officials couldn't immediately be reached for comment. Crowley said he had no comment on the president's remarks.

Essdras M. Suarez/Globe Staff

Myron Stovell gave an emotional victim impact statement as Daquadry Norman, who shot him, looked on.

By Vivian Nereim, Globe Correspondent

A teenager pleaded guilty to armed assault with intent to murder today for shooting a Pop Warner football coach in the leg two years ago as his young team practiced in Roxbury.

Daquadry Norman, 17, of Roxbury was sentenced after an emotional hearing to 5 years in state prison for shooting Myron Stovell on a field in Washington Park in front of children as young as 8.

During a statement that left some members of Norman’s family in tears, Stovell said he wished Norman well. “In the midst of it all, I am truly concerned for him,” he said. “Believe it or not young man, I love you."

Bill Carter/Demotix Images

The image that flew around the world.

By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent

It started as a passing snapshot. But it became an iconic image of a story that everyone seems to have an opinion about.

William B. Carter was headed out from his home on Ware Street in Cambridge for his daily coffee and crossword puzzle at Au Bon Pain in Harvard Square Thursday, when he saw a commotion four doors down.

Carter, a 58-year-old former manager at Bank of America, said he saw four police officers on the porch, and “at least six or seven police cars” in the street.

“So I grabbed my camera, because when you see police you know something’s going on.”

Something was.

(williamwillis.com)

A composite photo from Officer Willis's graphic arts website shows Fritz, the dog involved in the attack.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent, and Maria Cramer, Globe Staff

An off-duty Boston police dog bolted from its handler today in Mattapan and attacked a 60-year-old woman who was walking by with a small, Chihuahua-like dog on a leash.

Officer Willis

"This is just a case of a dog going after another dog and unfortunately another woman got involved," Evans said at a press conference outside the hospital. He added, "Obviously the dog was loose and that's something we'll have to look into."

Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis visited the woman in the hospital and "was very apologetic and he took full responsibly for what happened," Evans said.

The dog's handler, identified by neighbors and sources in the Boston Police Department as Officer Bill Willis, is a veteran patrolman who grew up on the same Mattapan streets he now patrols. Willis holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and has been an officer with the Boston Police for close to 25 years and a member of the canine unit for more than a decade. His dog is named Fritz.

Dogs live with canine officers in kennels in their homes. Willis lives in Mattapan on Sturbridge Street where the attack occurred, in a home with a fenced-in yard.

By Globe Staff

With Massachusetts drivers the worst in the nation in terms of seat belt use, police around the state will be on the lookout over the next week for drivers who aren't buckling up.

With the help of federal grants, state and local police will add extra traffic patrols. While they can't stop cars just for seat belt violations, they will stop them for other violations – and issue tickets if people aren't wearing their belts, a state police spokesman said.

David Procopio said his agency will launch about 470 additional patrols (each lasting four hours) in areas around the state, beginning Thursday, for the next eight days.

More than 240 local departments will also launch additional patrols, said Ethan Tavan, a spokesman for the Highway Safety Division in the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. Police mount six such campaigns annually, he said, with some focusing on seat belts and others focusing on battling drunk driving.

The Globe reported earlier this month that the state has the lowest percentage of seat belt use in the nation, a fact highlighted grimly by three separate crashes over the July 4th weekend in which seat belts were unused and seven people died.

By Globe Staff

A fugitive wanted in a homicide last year in Florida was arrested this morning by New Bedford and Massachusetts State Police in an apartment on Holly Street in New Bedford.

Dan Enriquez Lopez, 31, was being sought in the slaying of 46-year-old Dwight Clyde Williams, who was found Nov. 26 in the trunk of a burned Lincoln Continental on Old Town Creek Road in Hardee County, Fla., State Police said in a statement.

Lopez was charged with being a fugitive from justice, as well as with a warrant for first-degree murder, kidnapping, and arson.

By Globe Staff

Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. is speaking out about his arrest by a Cambridge police officer to a familiar interviewer, his own daughter, Elizabeth Gates, in a piece posted on The Daily Beast website.

"If I had been white this incident never would have happened. ... So race definitely played a role. Whether he's an individual racist? I don't know -- I don't know him. But I think he stereotyped me. And that's what racial profiling is all about. I was cast by him in a narrative, and he didn't know how to get out of it," Gates said in the interview.

Elizabeth Gates said in the piece, which is presented as an informal conversation between her and her father, that her family is "both saddened and outraged" at the incident.

By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

WOBURN -- A teenager pleaded not guilty today to first-degree murder and other charges stemming from a shooting inside a Harvard University dormitory that prosecutors have described as a drug robbery gone bad.

Jabrai Jordan Copney, 19, tried to remain out of the view of cameras during his brief arraignment in Middlesex Superior Court. Few new details were revealed about the May 18 shooting inside the Kirkland House that killed Justin Cosby, 21. Copney had previously entered a not guilty plea in a lower court and will continue to be held without bail.

Defense attorney J. W. Carney Jr. said after the hearing that his client continued to maintain his innocence and remained in "surprisingly good" spirits, drawing comfort from his Christian faith by reading the Bible in jail.

"He really does believe that God has a purpose in having him charged in this crime," Carney said. "He doesn't know what that purpose is yet, but he is confident it will turn out alright."

By Tracy Jan, Globe Staff

Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. said this morning that he has not ruled out the possibility of filing a lawsuit over his arrest last week.

“Oh yeah, I’m considering a lawsuit, sure,” the noted scholar told a Globe reporter in a phone interview from Martha’s Vineyard, a day after authorities agreed to drop a disorderly conduct charge against him. “Wouldn’t you?”

He would not provide details on any possible lawsuit against the city or the officer who arrested him outside Gates’s Cambridge house Thursday. He referred further questions to his attorney, Harvard law professor Charles Ogletree. Ogletree was not immediately available for comment.

(Warner Bros.)

The brown robe worn by the actor Jim Broadbent (left) when he played Professor Horace Slughorn will be one of the items on display this fall when the museum hosts "Harry Potter: The Exhibition."

By Nandini Jayakrishna, Globe Correspondent

With a dramatic and perhaps magical flourish, the Museum of Science today lowered a massive red velvet curtain today to reveal two artifacts from its next exhibit: A flowing brown robe worn by a character named Professor Slughorn and a 500-pound, 10-foot tall chess piece.

The museum will host "Harry Potter: The Exhibition" this fall, displaying 200 costumes and props from the films based on the wizard fantasy series written by J.K. Rowling. After making its debut at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, the 10,000-square-foot display will open in Boston on Oct. 25.

"The exhibit will give our visitors -- wizards and Muggles alike -- the opportunity to step into the world of Harry Potter," Ioannis Miaoulis, president and director of the Museum of Science said this morning at the announcement.

Wilson Ormaza, the owner of Kajoma Jewelry, stood in his empty store on Broadway in Lawrence, where unemployment has hit 17.3 percent.

(Yoon Byun/Globe Staff)

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

By Globe Staff

Engine trouble forced an Air France flight to return to Logan International Airport early this morning for an emergency landing 31 minutes after the plane had taken off for Paris.

Flight 322 took off from Logan with 125 people on board at 1:16 a.m., according to Phil Orlandella, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates the airport.

Shortly after takeoff, a warning light flashed for engine number 4. The pilots shutdown engine 4 and returned to Logan.

The Airbus 340 landed on runway 4R at 1:47 a.m. No one was injured, Orlandella said. The passengers were put up in hotels and rebooked on a flight that leaves today at 5:30 p.m., he said.

(Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff)

By Michaela Stanelun

A water main break flooded streets in the South End overnight and left several major roads closed for this morning's commute.

Police responded to the break at 3:24 a.m. near East Berkeley and Washington streets.

A 12-inch water main ruptured and created a sinkhole the width of East Berkeley Street, filling nearby roads with mud and water, according to Tom Bagley, deputy director of communications for the Boston Water and Sewer Commission. There were no reports of water damage to basements or homes in the area.

“Once we replace the part that broke in the water main, we will refill the sinkhole and begin roadway restoration,” Bagley said.

East Berkeley Street will likely to be closed for most of the day between Washington Street and Shawmut Avenue. The roadway may reopen tonight.

“By tomorrow, everything should be back to normal,” Bagley said.

(Bill Carter/Demotix Images)

Police led Henry Louis Gates Jr. away in handcuffs after his arrest on Thursday at his home in Cambridge.

By Tracy Jan, Globe Staff

Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. chastised a Cambridge police officer today and demanded an apology after authorities agreed to drop a disorderly conduct charge against the renowned African-American scholar.

Henry Louis Gates Jr.

“I believe the police officer should apologize to me for what he knows he did that was wrong,” Gates said in a phone interview from his other home in Martha’s Vineyard. “If he apologizes sincerely, I am willing to forgive him. And if he admits his error, I am willing to educate him about the history of racism in America and the issue of racial profiling … That’s what I do for a living.”

Gates, 58, was handcuffed and booked last Thursday following a police investigation into a suspected burglary at his Ware Street home near Harvard Square. A passerby spotted Gates and his driver, who had dropped him off from the airport, trying to push the front door open and called the police. The door had been jammed. Police responded and arrested Gates after they said he became belligerent.

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

A 22-year-old inmate at MCI-Framingham, the state's prison for women, was found hanging in her cell Sunday night in an apparent suicide, and two other inmates attempted suicide over the weekend, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Correction said today.

Christina Morando, who was serving a sentence of two to six years for an armed assault conviction, was found with a ligature around her neck at 10:41 p.m., according to Diane Wiffin , the spokeswoman. Morando was taken by ambulance to MetroWest Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead less than an hour later.

Two other female inmates also made suicide attempts that resulted in their hospitalization, Wiffin said. The department declined to identify the inmates or provide details, citing medical confidentiality. She declined to say whether the incidents were related.

By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent

Emerson will pay a total of $780,000, making it the 28th US school to settle under a joint investigation of the student loan industry by the New York and Massachusetts attorneys general offices.

More than 4,000 Emerson students, including 1,200 Massachusetts residents, will receive tuition credit or checks ranging from $25 to $833, depending on their loan. Thirteen former graduate students, who borrowed the maximum of $55,500, will each be receiving the $833 payment.

(Charles Krupa/AP)

The scene of the non-crime.

By Yvonne Abraham, Globe Staff

Imagine you spent most of the day flying home from China. You're exhausted and probably irritable. You're at your Cambridge house, trying to open your front door, but it won't budge. The thing needs a shoulder put to it. So you ask the guy who drove you home from the airport -- a middle-aged guy like you, a guy in a suit and tie -- to help you. He kindly obliges.

A woman is walking by. She sees you on the porch, a 58-year-old African-American man with a gray beard and glasses and cane, your striped polo shirt tucked neatly into your khakis. Even though you are Henry Louis Gates Jr., one of the most prominent academics in the country, and Harvard's most famous face, she does not recognize you -- even though she works for Harvard Magazine, even though her office is right down the street.

What she sees are a couple of guys trying to break into a house. She calls the police.

By this time, you are on the phone in your own entry hall, asking Harvard to come and fix your front door. When you see the police officer on your porch, you assume it's someone to help you. When he sees you, a man at ease, chatting on a cordless phone, does the Cambridge police officer conclude things look okay? Does he take note of the fact that you make no attempt to run, as a robber might? Does he say, We got a call, sir. We're just making sure everything's OK, sir? Have a lovely day, sir?

Most certainly not. Instead, he goes into your Harvard Square home with his radio and his gun in the middle of the day and acts like he's dealing with some perp in a back alley at 3 a.m. He wants your identification. The police officer says you get upset right away, yelling, "Is this because I am a black man in America?"

By Abbie Ruzicka, Globe Correspondent

The fiancée of the Worcester man accused of beating his 7-year-old son to death was indicted today on charges of being an accessory to the assault, the Worcester district attorney's office said.

Tiffany N. Hyman, 29, of Worcester was indicted by a Worcester County grand jury on charges of being an accessory after the fact of assault and battery on a child with substantial injury, reckless endangerment, permitting assault and battery on a child with substantial injury, assault and battery on a child with bodily injury, and assault and battery on a child with substantial injury.

Nathaniel D. Turner died June 23 after her was beaten to death by his father, Leslie G. Schuler, prosecutors have alleged.

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

The looming threat that the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority would have to pay an immediate $252 million lump sum to settle a series of sour deals with banking giant UBS diminished significantly today, according to the Patrick administration.

One of three credit rating agencies, Moody's, upgraded one of the authority's bond ratings, an action that will protect the authority from a potential payout on four of its five investment deals, worth $186.6 million. The authority still faces the threat of being forced to pay $65.6 million to UBS for the fifth deal, a complex transaction initiated in 2001 known as an interest rate swap. The terms of this deal depend on the fate of a separate credit rating.

Jay Gonzalez, undersecretary for administration and finance, has been lobbying the credit agencies to upgrade both of these bond ratings in recent weeks, making the case that the state's recently passed transportation overhaul would improve the turnpike's finances.

The City of Cambridge, the Cambridge Police Department, and Professor Gates acknowledge that the incident of July 16, 2009 was regrettable and unfortunate. This incident should not be viewed as one that demeans the character and reputation of Professor Gates or the character of the Cambridge Police Department. All parties agree that this is a just resolution to an unfortunate set of circumstances.
-- Joint statement released this morning

----------------------

I’m outraged. I shouldn’t have been treated this way, but it makes me so keenly aware of how many people every day experience abuses in the criminal justice system.. . No citizen should tolerate that kind of poor behavior by an officer of the law. . . This is really about justice for the least amongst us.
-- Henry Louis Gates Jr

------------------------

Globe reporter Tracy Jan talked with NECN about the case that sparked a debate over racism and racial profiling.

What does an obituary writer learn about life from covering the dead? We asked the Globe's Bryan Marquard, who has written nearly 800 obituaries since switching to that beat three and a half years ago. Every day, he opens a window into the lives of others, how people live, and how they're remembered. Here's what he told us.

By Globe Staff

A 52-year-old Revere man was sentenced to 18 months to two years of incarceration and ordered to pay restitution of more than $164,000 after pleading guilty to using false identities to fraudulently collect unemployment benefits.

Domingos Gomes, also known as Domingos Correia, was sentenced today by Suffolk Superior Court Judge Peter Lauriat on 286 counts of unemployment fraud, 15 counts of larceny over $250, and four counts of identity fraud. The judge also sentenced him to supervised probation for three years, the Massachusetts attorney general's office said in a statement.

From February 2003 through June 2007, Gomes perpetrated a scheme in which he used his name, his alias, and the names and personal information of acquaintances and relatives to file unemployment claims, the prosecutors said. Once the checks were issued, Gomes signed them over to himself for deposit.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

A 54-year-old woman was struck by a bus and killed this morning at a New Bedford bus terminal, said Gregg Miliote, a spokesman for Bristol County District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter.

Celeste Sullivan of New Bedford was struck at about 9:15 a.m. and pronounced dead at the scene, Miliote said. He said the bus driver, David J. Rebello, 60, of Acushnet, was taken by ambulance to an area hospital with chest pains. New Bedford Police Lieutenant John Chaves said the front of the bus struck Sullivan and she was pinned by the rear wheels.

The crash remains under investigation by state and local police, who plan to interview witnesses, review surveillance footage, and reconstruct the accident, Miliote said. Though the terminal was crowded with morning commuters, no one else was hurt in the crash, said Chaves.

John George, president and owner of Union Street Bus Company, which operates buses for the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority, said he reviewed video footage from inside the bus and said it appeared the driver was afflicted by a medical problem and lost control. After the crash, the bus was inspected and no mechanical problems were discovered, George said.

By Nandini Jayakrishna, Globe Correspondent

A 20-year-old soldier who has survived a possible bullet wound to the head in Afghanistan will return to the United States Friday, according to his family.

Matthew P. Katka of Dublin, N.H. was on routine patrol when he was hit by a bullet or a shrapnel and sustained serious injuries, including a fractured skull, his family said in a phone interview. He was immediately taken to Bagram Air Field, and later transported to a base in Germany, where doctors removed bone fragments from his brain.

Katka's parents, who are in regular contact with the US Army and with doctors in Germany, said today that their son is in stable condition. He is no longer sedated and there is movement in his limbs. They did not know whether he had regained consciousness.

"The doctors are encouraged; we are encouraged," said Katka's mother, Ellen. "There's a lot of hope and a lot of prayers."

Katka, who turned 20 in May, had been in Afghanistan for five months. He will be brought back to Washington, D.C., where his family will be able to visit him.

I am very pleased that the charges of disorderly conduct levied against Harvard University Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. have been dropped. The City of Cambridge, the Cambridge Police Department, and Professor Gates have released a joint statement that acknowledges “….the incident of July 16, 2009 was regrettable and unfortunate.” As the parties involved have placed this matter behind them, it seems appropriate for our community to do the same.

Gates talks about his arrest

(Audio edited for clarity and length)

• Editorial: A professor’s arrest
• Abraham: Conduct unbecoming the police
• Carol Rose: Racial profiling alive and well
• Meléndez and Turner: The unfinished work of equality
• Statement from the police, city
• Editorial  |  Carol Rose: Racial profiling alive and well
• DA to drop Gates charges
• Racial talk swirls with arrest  |  PDF Copy of police report
• Local, national figures weigh in on Gates' case
• Statement from Cambridge police, city
• Statement from Cambridge Mayor Simmons
• Gallery Who is Henry Louis Gates, Jr.?
• 3/17/04 Big man off campus
• 11/12/06 Q&A with Gates

The incident did illustrate that Cambridge must continue finding ways to address matters of race and class in a frank, honest, and productive manner. Two months ago, I hosted a town hall meeting in City Hall in which community members were asked to discuss how race and class issues have impacted Cambridge. It was noted that bigotry, misunderstanding, and fear have continued to play a role shaping how we interact with one another – but it was also noted that continued community-wide discussions represent an important step in changing this pattern. I genuinely believe that by bringing people together, by airing our differences, and by challenging our attitudes, we can foster a more tolerant, more inclusive society. I shall continue my efforts to help bring that about, and while we will never have a perfect society, we should never stop striving.

The City of Cambridge and the Cambridge Police Department have recommended to the Middlesex County District Attorney that the criminal charge against Professor Gates not proceed. Therefore, in the interests of justice, the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office has agreed to enter a nolle prosequi in this matter.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

A federal judge in Boston has granted a request by the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction to suspend a 10-day closure of the auction ordered by federal fisheries regulators.

US District Judge Douglas Woodlock granted the exchange's request for a temporary injunction on Monday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sent the auction, the main clearinghouse for fish brought into Gloucester, a letter in June ordering the closure for falsifying records involving illegally landed cod.

But the seafood auction argued in court papers that a closure would put about 30 employees out of work, leave 30 to 50 fishing boats to make other arrangements to sell hundreds of thousands of pounds of fish, and would deprive more than 35 buyers of the chance to buy fish.

By Globe Staff

Police are investigating the deaths of twin 51-year-old brothers whose bodies were discovered Monday night in an apartment in the Fenway.

Homicide investigators are trying to figure out how the brothers died. There were no obvious signs of trauma and the cause of death will be determined by autopsies, police said.

The bodies were found at 10:10 p.m. at 99 Norway St., which is between Massachusetts Avenue and the Fens. No other details were released.

Billie Joe Armstrong and the punk pop trio Green Day performed a two-plus hour show at the TD Garden Monday night with plenty of jumping, singing, waving, and dancing.

(Yoon Byun/Globe Staff)

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

(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)

Marcelino Daveiga, 15, of Dorchester, tutors middle schoolers through a summer program run by Wheelock College to encourage more boys to consider teaching.

By Tracy Jan, Globe Staff

Men are such a rare sight on the Wheelock College campus that a visitor might believe that the tiny school, tucked among the hospitals and other small colleges in the Fenway, admits only women.

An admissions brochure features cheery testimonials such as: “Living in the dorms is so much fun. It’s like a sleepover every night,’’ from Christine. And, “It’s just one big family, and we are always happy to add friends [smiley face],’’ penned by Tanya. There is not a single missive from a John or a Jim.

Such appearances aside, Wheelock, founded in 1888 to train kindergarten teachers, went coeducational nearly 60 years ago, but male students make up less than 8 percent of its 800 undergraduates. How rare are they? Some don T-shirts proclaiming: “The Few, The Proud, The Brave: The Wheelock Men.’’

Now, Wheelock is trying to boost its enrollment and its bottom line by making itself more attractive to this underrepresented group. One would think that it might have been easy to lure male students to a campus teeming with women, but Wheelock’s pursuit of the opposite sex is proving difficult when fewer men want to go into teaching, still the college’s specialty.

By Tracy Jan, Globe Staff

Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., one of the nation's pre-eminent African-American scholars, was arrested Thursday afternoon at his home by Cambridge police investigating a possible break-in. The incident raised concerns among some Harvard faculty that Gates was a victim of racial profiling.

Gates

He was booked for disorderly conduct after “exhibiting loud and tumultuous behavior,” according to a police report. Gates accused the investigating officer of being a racist and told him he had "no idea who he was messing with,'' the report said.

Gates told the officer that he was being targeted because "I'm a black man in America.''

Friends of Gates said he was already in his home when police arrived. He showed his driver’s license and Harvard identification card, but was handcuffed and taken into police custody for several hours last Thursday, they said.

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent

A woman was attacked while walking home early this morning in Brookline by a man wearing only a long gray T-shirt, police said.

The woman in her late 30s was walking down an alleyway behind 1717 Beacon St. at 12:30 a.m. when a man approached her and asked to walk her home, according to Brookline Police Captain John O’Leary.

“The woman said no and began to walk away faster,” O’Leary said.

The man grabbed her and pushed her up against a fence, and attempted to sexually assault her. The woman fought back, and her screams got the attention of neighbors, who called for help.

“The woman was kicking and hitting him while screaming, and he ran away,” O’Leary said. “However, we were able to locate some physical evidence around the location.”

The suspect was described as a thin man, between 20 to 30 years old, who stood about 5 feet 7. Brookline police detectives are working with Newton and Boston Police to see if there have been similar attacks.

(Video by John R. Ellement, Globe Staff)

Roxbury resident Claudette Joseph seeks closing of Roxbury bar Packy Connors at Boston Licensing Board hearing at City Hall. Patron Latasha Brown says bar is safe. Patron Stephen Fortune debate Police Supt. Daniel Linskey, who says bar is crime magnet.

By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The Boston Licensing Board voted today to allow Packy Connors to reopen with one caveat: The Roxbury pub must shut down each night two hours earlier, closing its doors at midnight.

The three-member board was unanimous in its decision to reinstate the license, which was temporarily revoked Friday after four people were shot outside the Blue Hill Avenue bar at closing time. The only disagreement came over whether Packy Connors should be forced to roll back its hours to midnight, a measure that passed by a 2-1 vote.

The decision followed a 90-minute emergency hearing at City Hall that included testimony from a dozen witnesses. Police claimed for the first time that the alleged 19-year-old shooter had been inside the bar before the gunfire erupted outside, a point vehemently denied by the owner of the tavern, James "Packy" Cairns.

"Absolutely not," Cairns said.

The bar plans to begin serving drinks and food again today, according to attorney John J. Russell.

Police have been aggressively trying to shutter Packy Connors since at least April because they say the bar is a magnet for violence. Commissioner Edward F. Davis renewed his effort after Friday's shooting and called for today's emergency meeting.

By Vivian Nereim, Globe Correspondent

A driver pleaded not guilty to a charge of motor vehicle homicide in Brighton Municipal Court today after a man she allegedly struck with her car died on Thursday.

Cathy Bergin-August, 47, was also arraigned on a charge of leaving the scene of personal injury resulting in death. The Watertown resident was released on $11,000 cash bail, $1,000 of which was transferred from bail she had posted last week, before Fredy E. Zepeda's death.

Zepeda, who had been loading his 1-year-old son into a car on Cambridge Street when he was hit, had been brought to Massachusetts General Hospital on Wednesday morning with serious head injuries.

On Thursday afternoon, his family decided to stop giving him the drugs that were keeping him alive with little or no signs of brain activity, said the family’s lawyer, Michael Keohane. Zepeda was pronounced dead at about 11:40 p.m. that night, according to a police report.

By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent

Gloucester Police are investigating the death of a 47-year-old Gloucester man killed by an MBTA commuter train at about 10:15 p.m. yesterday.

Jeffrey P. Tupper was struck and killed near the Route 128 overpass in Gloucester, said Gloucester Police Lieutenant Thomas G. Williams.

The train dragged Tupper for several yards before stopping.

“The train hit him and pushed him along the track,” Williams said. “At some point the train came to rest and he was pinned under the wheel, but he was still alive. At [that] point it was a rescue.”

Gloucester police and fire officials pulled Tupper from under the train and drove him on a police all-terrain vehicle to Route 128. He was then taken by ambulance to Addison Gilbert Hospital in Gloucester.

Tupper died of his injuries shortly after arriving at the hospital.

Forty years ago today, the nation was transfixed when Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. Many Americans fondly remember gathering around the television set to watch the historic Apollo 11 landing.

We'd like to hear your recollections of that day. Where were you, and who were you with? Did the moon landing change your thinking on what was possible?

Write your thoughts in the comments section below.

Seven-year-old Avery Miller hawked refreshments Sunday morning in the South End. "I like selling lemonade because sometimes it makes people happy," Miller said.

(Yoon Byun/ Globe Staff)

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

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

The Green Line operator who told authorities he was text messaging his girlfriend before a serious crash pleaded not guilty today to gross negligence.

A Myspace photo of Aiden Quinn

"He's doing his best to face the situation," Sultan said.

Quinn, 24, stood silently in Suffolk Superior Court dressed in a black suit, wearing glasses, and sporting a close-cropped haircut. His mother and girlfriend sat behind him throughout the brief proceeding. He was released with bail but must report to probation once a week until a July 27 hearing.

By Emma Stickgold, Globe Correspondent

A 19-year-old South Boston man is being charged with motor vehicular homicide and operating under the influence of alcohol after an early-morning crash resulted in the death of his 21-year-old passenger, according to State Police.

Patrick J. Joyce was driving on Route 24 southbound in Stoughton when he hit the guardrail next to the far left lane, causing the 2004 Jeep Liberty he was driving to roll over just before 1 a.m., according to police.

By Michael Corcoran, Globe Correspondent

ATTLEBORO — A teenager died Saturday as he tried to swim with a group of friends to an island about 75 yards from shore in Manchester Pond Reservoir, police said.

Swimming is prohibited in the reservoir, which is part of the the drinking supply, but neighbors said the island is a popular destination for youths.

Police received a call from one of the swimmers at 5:33 p.m. after they looked back during their swim and saw that the teen had disappeared, said Sergeant Brian Witherell of the Attleboro police.

Emergency crews were dispatched immediately, and at around 7:08 p.m. two members of the Attleboro Fire Department pulled the teenager’s body from the reservoir. Officials said the water where he was found was 12 to 15 feet deep.

‘‘This is not a place for recreational swimming,’’ Witherell said. ‘‘But this can be a problem, especially when the weather gets warm and kids want some kind of relief.’’

Police declined to identify the teenager as they continued to investigate. They said they did not believe alcohol was involved.

By Nandini Jayakrishna, Globe Correspondent

A power outage near the Arlington stop of the MBTA's Green Line halted trains in the area for more than two hours Saturday afternoon.

A problem in the overhead wires that provide electricity to the trolleys resulted in the power loss at about 4 p.m. said Joe Pesaturo, spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

Passengers were able to exit the trolleys and ride buses provided by the T between Kenmore Station and Park Street, he said. The Green Line began running again at 6:15 p.m. after repairs were made.

The exact cause of the outage is under investigation, Pesaturo said.

By Terri Schwartz, Globe Correspondent

BROCKTON — All it took was the Twitter message ‘‘come root for the Road Dogs!’’ and the address of Campanelli Stadium for about 200 Jonas Brothers fans to come flocking to see their favorite band play — and lose — a casual game of baseball Saturday.

The three Jonas brothers, their father, and members of their road team — hence the name Road Dogs — were out hit by employees of Marquis Jet, which flies the band to many of its shows. But the 12-5 loss didn’t detract from their fans’ enthusiasm.

‘‘They’re still winners,’’ said Dedham resident Lizzy Sampson, 15. ‘‘I always root for them,’’ agreed Cailyn Kelly, 14, also from Dedham.

It was just one in a series of many games between the Road Dogs and Marquis, said an airline representative, who added that both teams are about even thus far. The games have been played at each of the band’s tour stops, in appreciation of Marquis employees and their families — and the fans lucky enough to get the heads up on Twitter.

By Jazmine Ulloa and Eric Moskowitz
Globe Correspondent and Globe staff

EDGARTOWN -- Residents and tourists alike today remembered legendary CBS newsman Walter Cronkite, who died Friday night at age 92 after a long illness.

Cronkite became a fixture in American living rooms as a steadying voice throughout much of the 20th century, a time that saw the country steeped in social movements, lunar exploration, and a raging war in Vietnam.

But at his quiet summer home on the waterfront across from Edgartown’s inner harbor, the most trusted man in America could escape fame and sail his boat, his neighbors said.

Reily’s parents first bought the summer vacation home in the 1970s, and he met Cronkite when he was 9, he said.

By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent

A 50-year-old East Boston man died today in an industrial accident that left him pinned under a concrete barrier at the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal in South Boston, state and city officials said.

The Massachusetts Port Authority employee was found trapped in a Massport warehouse at 1 Black Falcon Ave. in South Boston.

State police and Massport police arrived at the scene just after 3 p.m. today and found the victim dead on arrival.

State Police are investigating.

"No signs of violence or foul play have been found at the scene," said Jake Wark, spokesman for the Suffolk County district attorney's office.

(Josh Reynolds for The Boston Globe/file 2007)

By Andrew Ryan, John R. Ellement, and Maria Cramer, Globe Staff

A troubled pub on Blue Hill Avenue had its liquor license temporarily revoked today after four people were shot outside there early this morning and officers exchanged gunfire with a fleeing 19-year-old suspect.

Charkem Hyatt

An emergency hearing has been scheduled before the city Licensing Board at 10 a.m. on Monday to determine whether Packy's will be shuttered, a move sought for several years by Boston police. That call became louder after this morning's violence when Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis demanded that it be closed. The bar opened shortly after Prohibition and is a local institution to its patrons, "the black Cheers," as one waitress described it to the Globe in a story published in April.

The board pulled the license to ensure public safety until Monday's hearing, which will include testimony from police and the owner of the bar, according to Licensing Board Chairman Daniel F. Pokaski.

"The environment around it has been the problem in the past and not Packy's," Pokaski said this afternoon. "Something has changed and we are trying to in fact determine why this has become such a hotbed for illegal activity. Are they attracting the wrong clientele?"

By Globe Staff

A fund has been established in the name of Fredy E. Zepeda, the man who died after being hit Wednesday by a driver as he loaded his 1-year-old son into a car on a Brighton street.

Zepeda's family is raising money to send his body back to Guatemala.

The Fredy Zepeda fund has been established at Bank of America. Donations can be sent to 5 Chestnut Hill Ave., Brighton, Mass. 02135.

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

Legal fears are keeping Lawrence School Committee members from removing embattled Wilfredo Laboy as superintendent. But in a symbolic snub, they are stripping his name from personalized decals he had placed in more than a dozen school vehicles.

Wilfredo Laboy (Globe file photo)

Committee members said they do not know the status of the criminal investigation, but wanted to send a message the district is moving on without him.

"We're trying to win back the respectability and trust of the community," said School Committee member Sammy Reyes, who sparked the investigation by notifying several state agencies about suspected improprieties. "The community has lost a lot of faith in us, and this is a clear sign we're moving forward."

(Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff)

By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent

Eighty swimmers jumped into the 60-degree water of Boston Harbor this morning in a 22-mile relay for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

(Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff)

Participants took turns swimming for 15-minute intervals. Each participant swam four to six legs of the relay.

On Saturday morning, 200 swimmers will descend on Nantasket Beach in Hull. Between the two swims, participants hope to raise $300,000 for cancer research

The event’s organizers, Swim Across America, have been arranging charity events across the country since 1987.

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent

A tractor trailer struck and killed a man this morning who had stepped out of his car in a breakdown lane on Interstate 495 in Westford, State Police said.

The man pulled over at 8:45 a.m. on southbound I-495 near Exit 32, parking his Chevrolet Impala in the breakdown lane. It was not immediately clear what caused the man to pull over.

"The man was outside of his vehicle when he was struck by a passing tractor-trailer unit in the right-hand lane,” said Trooper Eric Benson, a State Police spokesman.

An ambulance rushed the man to Lowell General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His name is being withheld pending family notification.

Police said the truck was a Freightliner driven by George Orchard, 45, of Chichester, N.H.

The crash remains under investigation by a State Police accident reconstruction team. The southbound lanes of I-495 were closed for 30 minutes.

By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent

Several people received minor injuries in a three-car accident today at about 11 a.m. near the Beacon Street and Park Drive intersection. Local civil rights activist Mel King and his wife Joyce were involved, but sustained no injuries, King's son, Mel Jr., said.

Two cars collided near the intersection, and then at least one struck King's car, Boston police said.

The jaws of life were needed to remove at least one passenger, said Boston Police spokesman Eddy Chrispin. Injuries were minor and no one was hospitalized. Emergency Medical Services are on the scene.

King's car was damaged; at least a front headlight was smashed, his son said, adding that the 1983 mayoral candidate and his wife went out to get coffee after the accident.

In a slap to Governor Deval Patrick, a state finance authority board has moved to replace its chairman who helped engineer the governor's politically clumsy attempt to award a political supporter a $175,000-a-year job.

The board of the Massachusetts Health and Educational Facilities Authority, which provides government financing for nonprofits' capital projects, this week denied Allen R. Larson a second term as chairman and instead chose an appointee of former governor Mitt Romney, Christine C. Schuster.

A subcommittee of the board voted, 3 to 1, not to reappoint Larson last week, and the full board concurred, 8-0, in a vote Thursday. The day before the full board's vote -- when it was clear Larson could not count on Patrick appointees on the board for support -- he withdrew his bid for another term as chairman. He remains a member of the board.

Marvin A. Gordon, a Republican appointee who served on the nominating panel, said Larson's involvement in helping Patrick try to place state Senator Marian Walsh in an agency job was partly the reason. He said his colleagues on the board felt Larson kept from them the governor's maneuvering to put Walsh in the job.

Larson had also been Patrick's point person on the board for the governor's contentious proposal to merge the agency with another state entity.

''It was determined by the nominating committee that a change was in order,'' Gordon said. ''There was a lot of unhappiness among the Patrick appointees that the board had been blindsided by the Walsh and merger fiasco.''

Larson insisted that it was his decision to step aside, because he could not give the time commitment necessary to carry out his duties as chairman, and he said he had not been told of the sub-committee's decision not to seek his reappointment.

''It had nothing to do with the Marian Walsh issue," he said. "That's an illogical and irrational story.''

The change in chairmen doesn't necessarily mean big changes in how the agency operates, but it represents a public rebuff of Patrick by members of a board he himself appointed, and it re-raises the controversy over the Walsh appointment earlier this year, which damaged the governor's standing with voters.

Patrick's staff insisted that the board, while electing a new chairman, had also adopted some major reforms that the governor has proposed.

But board members, including Schuster, said the directors had merely agreed to consider the plans and did not adopt them. In a carefully worded statement yesterday, Schuster, while praising Larson for his work as chairman, said that the board voted unanimously to explore some of the changes at the agency sought by Patrick.

Patrick's move to hire Walsh, a veteran West Roxbury lawmaker and an early political supporter, was slammed by critics as a patronage move by the very governor who campaigned as a reformer eager to change the culture on Beacon Hill.

Walsh was forced to withdraw from the job last April after the Globe, using internal administration emails obtained under public records law, showed that Patrick's top staff had been directing Larson on Walsh's hiring, including providing her job description, setting her salary, and handling the media strategy. Many on the board bristled at Patrick's heavy-handed maneuver.

Larson also helped push Patrick's plan for a proposed merger with the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency, which helps foster business development in the state. The HEFA board did not agree to the governor's demands that it join the larger agency by July 1.

Patrick had contended that the authorities had duplicate efforts that cost taxpayers ''millions of dollars,'' and he warned HEFA that he would again intervene if it did not implement the changes he was looking for. ''If they don't, we will be right back at it, inserting a change agent in there,'' Patrick said several days after Walsh withdrew.

But the board, with a majority expressing opposition to the plan, immediately dug in its heels and instead set up an advisory committee to study a proposed merger and report back in September. Meanwhile, the administration has softened its demands that the two agencies join forces.

Larson, who had been appointed to the HEFA board by a Republican governor, had become an ally of Patrick after his wife, Gloria Larson, the president of Bentley College and a one-time cabinet secretary in GOP administrations, endorsed the governor in his 2006 campaign.

By Jazmine Ulloa, Globe Correspondent, and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Dozens of family members, friends, and fellow church members gathered at the bedside of Fredy E. Zepeda yesterday evening, hours before doctors reduced the medication keeping him alive, his family said.

Zepeda died last night at Massachusetts General Hospital. He suffered serious head injuries on Wednesday morning, when a driver hit him as he loaded his 1-year-old son into a car on a Brighton street.

“They did everything they could, but they could not save him,’’ his brother, Jairo Oswaldo Latin Zepeda, said outside the hospital last night.

Worn from hours of waiting by his brother’s side without sleep, Jairo said he only wants justice.
Prosecutors plan to file upgraded charges against the driver, Cathy Bergin-August, 47, of Watertown, according to Jake Wark, a spokesman for the Suffolk district attorney's office.

Bergin-August pleaded not guilty at her arraignment yesterday in Brighton Municipal Court on charges that included negligent operation and leaving the scene of an accident where a person was injured. She was released on $1,000 cash bail. Bergin-August has been found responsible in five crashes in the past five years.

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent

A check written by Neil Armstrong moments before he blasted off for the moon 40 years ago sold today in an online auction for $27,350.

This check has a rare autograph from Neil Armstrong, written on the day of the moon launch. (Ellen Harasimowicz for The Boston Globe)

RR Auction of Amherst, N.H., sold the check after 31 bids to Jack Staub, an engineer and business owner from Newport Beach, Calif.

“The moon mission was one of my earliest memories, and that in itself is significant,” Staub said today in a telephone interview.

On Tuesday, the Globe told the story behind the $10.50 check. Before Armstrong rode an elevator to the top of a 30-story-tall Saturn V rocket, he paused and wrote the check to a colleague.

“Here’s a check for the loan,’’ Armstrong said to Hal Collins, NASA chief of mission support. “But don’t cash it, because I will be coming back."

By James Vaznis, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick stood today with the US secretary of education and unveiled two signature education initiatives taking aim at failing schools and the achievement gap.

Governor Deval Patrick

"We have been talking about achievement gaps for years while children wait," Patrick said at the announcement at the Museum of Science in Boston. "We can wait no more."

US Education Secretary Arne Duncan told the crowd of state and local officials that the initiatives could make Massachusetts a national model for how to turn around failing schools and boost student achievement.

"You have a chance to make history in the next few years," Duncan said.

In today's newspaper, the Globe outlined the proposal to nearly double the number of charter school seats. The move was immediately applauded by charter advocates, who trumpet the independent schools as laboratories of innovation that provide an alternative for disadvantaged children seeking refuge from failing schools. But leaders of many of the state’s education groups said the proposal would be economically devastating for school districts.

Earlier this month, the Globe reported the Patrick administration's plan to take over about 30 of the state's worst schools. The move took superintendents, school committees, and teachers by surprise because the state has long been hesitant to usurp local control, a tradition that dates back to Colonial times.

Ten years ago today, John F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife and her sister were killed in a plane crash off Martha's Vineyard. Below is the story about the crash that ran on the front page of the Boston Sunday Globe on July 18, 1999.

A GRIM SEARCH JFK JR., WIFE, SISTER-IN-LAW PRESUMED DEAD IN CRASH

(Globe file photograph/ July 18, 1999)

Days after the crash, this sign sat on Moshop Beach on Martha's Vineyard.

By Mitchell Zuckoff And Matthew Brelis, Globe Staff

John F. Kennedy Jr., who crawled out from under his father's Oval Office desk into a life of tragedy-tinged celebrity, was presumed dead yesterday along with his wife and her sister when the small plane he was piloting apparently crashed off Martha's Vineyard.

A photograph of John Kennedy Jr. and his wife Carolyn Bessette sat in July 1999 among flowers at a makeshift shrine outside the couple's apartment building in New York City.

As darkness fell, no bodies had been found despite an intensive search involving the Coast Guard, Air Force, Air National Guard, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Civil Air Patrol, and scores of private vessels. Most of the search efforts were suspended around 9 p.m., with plans to resume this morning. Late last night, the National Transportation Safety Board said it will conduct an investigation of the aircraft's disappearance.

Investigators said it was too early to speculate on the cause of the crash, but preliminary efforts are focusing on Kennedy's becoming disoriented because of poor visibility and losing control of the plane, fuel mismanagement, or loss of control after doing a flyby of the family property.

Kennedy, 38, a onetime Manhattan prosecutor who left the law to become publisher of George magazine, was accompanied by his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and her older sister, Lauren Bessette. They were aboard his single-engine Piper Saratoga II HP, a plane the novice pilot had purchased just 10 weeks ago.

By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Saddened relatives of a Brighton man huddled in a Boston hospital this afternoon where the critically injured man underwent brain surgery after being struck by a hit and run driver in Brighton on Wednesday.

Fredy E. Zepeda was loading his 1-year-old son, Randi, into his car on Cambridge Street when he was struck by a woman driving a rental car who allegedly kept going for nearly two blocks until another car forced her to pull over.

"They are devastated,'' Michael Keohane, the attorney for Zepeda said in a telephone interview today. "They are trying to work through even the basic elements of this. It's really tough for them.''

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent

The Coast Guard rescued a fisherman off the coast of Chatham early today after he severed two of his fingers.

The fisherman from Dartmouth was fishing on the Ellen Marie last night, a scallop vessel 5 miles east of Chatham, when he was injured. The ship with seven crew members on board radioed for help at 10:46 p.m. Wednesday and the Coast Guard told the vessel to begin heading for Chatham while they readied a rescue boat.

The Coast Guard met the Ellen Marie at 5:10 a.m. today and brought the injured man to the Coast Guard’s Chatham station. He was then taken to Cape Cod Hospital.

“The fishing boat worked with us very closely all night long to get this man proper medical attention,” Chief Petty Officer Brent Beebe said in a press release. “We are glad he got off the fishing boat safely and that we could get him to a hospital.”

The Ellen Marie continued fishing after the fisherman was rescued.

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

A Suffolk Superior Court judge has rejected a defense motion demanding information about alleged leaks to the media about the grand jury that indicted Philip Markoff, the former medical student accused of killing a woman he met through Craigslist.

Philip Markoff, 23

In a written decision, Judge Frank M. Gaziano rejected the motion because despite the media coverage, the defense "has not … pointed to any facts suggesting that grand jurors were influence by feelings of bias or prejudice."

"Moreover, the defendant has not demonstrated that the indictments were improperly based on feelings of 'hatred or malice,' as opposed to indictments properly returned after the grand jury considered evidence that the defendant committed the charged crimes," Gaziano wrote in the order dated July 13.

Marco Sturm (left) and Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins stood on the infield at Fenway Park on Wednesday as the NHL announced that the Winter Classic hockey game will be played there on New Year's Day 2010.

(Bill Greene/Globe Staff)

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

By Abbie Ruzicka, Globe Correspondent

A prosecutor at the arraignment today of an 88-year-old driver
accused of killing a 4-year-old girl in Stoughton last month alleged that
the woman did not hit the brakes before striking the girl, said David
Traub, spokesman for the Norfolk district attorney.

State Police conducted a collision analysis on the accident and
determined that Isle Horn, of Canton, should have been able to see the
crosswalk from more than 300 feet away, Traub said.

The judge entered a not guilty plea for Horn, who did not appear at
her arraignment in Norfolk District Court because a motion from her
attorney to have her appearance waved was granted, Traub said. Horn has
been charged with a misdemeanor of negligent motor vehicle homicide, he
said.

Horn, who had her license revoked by the Registry of Motor Vehicles
immediately after the crash, was also ordered not to drive by the judge.

Diya Patel, of Stoughton, was crossing the street at a crosswalk
with her grandfather and two siblings when she was struck and killed on
June 13 by a car allegedly driven by Horn. Her lawyer, Michael Galvin,
could not be reached for comment.

State lawmakers are pushing for legislation that would require road
and vision tests for drivers over the age of 85 seeking to renew their
license. Horn's trial will continue on Aug. 6, Traub said.

By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent

The Cambridge bomb squad descended on the Central Square post office this morning, ultimately -- it turns out -- because of a buzzing electric nose hair trimmer.

A birthday package sent to an MIT staff member aroused suspicion at about 7:30 a.m. today when it wouldn’t stop humming. Postal workers contacted the authorities, and the building was evacuated for 90 minutes.

“There was a suspicious package, kicking, making noise, vibrating—they got concerned,” said Cambridge Police spokesman Frank Pasquerello. “We had to take the certain precautions.”

Cambridge police and fire officials responded to the call at 770 Massachusetts Avenue, as did the bomb squad van. The U.S. Postal Inspectional Services team was also on the scene. Green and Pleasant streets were temporarily closed.

By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent

An Abington man was arraigned today on an upgraded charge of manslaughter after the man he allegedly punched for complaining about his barking dog died from severe head injuries.

Michael McGunigle, 49, is accused of throwing a punch on July 6 that knocked Brian Cherry, 48, off his feet. Cherry hit his head on the pavement and was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital with severe brain injuries. The Abington resident died Sunday.

McGunigle, who also lives in Abington, had been previously charged with aggravated assault. He pleaded not guilty to that charge and had been free on $3,000 cash bail.

The Plymouth district attorney's office upgraded the charge today following the results of Cherry's autopsy, said Assistant District Attorney Bridget Norton Middleton.

(The Liberty Foundation)

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent

The plane is one of 14 bombers refurbished by the Liberty Foundation, a non-profit based in Tulsa, Okla. The group is in the midst of a 50-city national tour with a portion of its fleet, with each aircraft flying under the moniker "Liberty Belle."

"We restore and fly these planes to honor veterans, preserve aviation history, and teach the high price of freedom," said spokesperson Scott Maher.

The plane will fly over Boston on July 25 and 26. The flight will originate at Lawrence Municipal Airport. To raise money for its efforts, the Liberty Foundation sells seats on Liberty Belle flights at a cost of $395 to $430. For more information, visit the group's website by clicking here.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

Advocates for military veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq are launching a non-profit organization at an event this afternoon at the State House.

The organization will lobby for new legislation, work to educate the public on veteran's needs, and assist veterans to obtain government benefits, according to managing director Kenneth Isaksen.

"We've gone through the process of transitioning from soldier to civilian, so we understand everything that entails," Isaksen said.

The group calls itself OIF/OEF Veterans of Massachusetts. The letters are abbreviations of the two military actions, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

With the help of a special grand jury, authorities said today they have pierced a "code of silence'' and identified the gunmen who shot to death two men as they sat in a car in Dorchester in 2007.

Jeffrey Jones, 41, and Jarrid Campbell, 27, were shot to death near the Franklin Park housing development on July 12, 2007, after attending a day-long party that drew some 200 people, including some street gang members.

Stanley Earl Jenkins, 26, of Roslindale and Donald Ray Williams, 24, of Dorchester are now both charged with two counts of first degree murder. Jenkins is currently serving a sentence for a federal drug conviction and Williams is on custody on attempted murder charges, authorities said in a statement announcing the charges.

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent

A man suffered severe head injuries this morning after he was struck by a motor vehicle in Brighton while strapping his one-year-old child into a car seat, police said.

Police took Cathy Bergin-August, 47, from Boston into custody, according to Officer Joe Zanoli, a Boston police spokesman. She will be arraigned Thursday morning at Brighton District Court on charges of leaving the scene of an accident with personal injury and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

A man in his 30s was struck at 8:09 a.m. at the intersection of Cambridge and Gordon streets. He was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital with what police described as massive head trauma.

The child was not injured, Zanola said.

Police did not release the name of the victim. An accident reconstruction team responded to the scene in Brighton.

By David Abel, Globe Staff

An 84-year-old woman driving in Medfield this morning allegedly hit two young children after leaving a church Mass, police said.

Medfield police said the children, whose names and ages they could not confirm, were not critically injured. They were taken to Norwood Hospital.

It was at least the eighth serious car accident in Massachusetts involving an elderly driver in the last month.

The driver, whose name was also not released, allegedly hit the children while they were being led by their grandmother near a crosswalk in front of St. Edward's Church on Spring Street, police said. The grandmother was not injured, they said.

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

The body of Iraq war veteran Juan C. Guzman was pulled from the Merrimack River in Lawrence today, almost three days after the boat he was riding in was hit by a smaller boat, sending the father of four overboard.

Lawrence Police Chief John Romero confirmed that Guzman's body was found at 10:35 a.m. after an exhaustive search by divers from the State Police, Lawrence Police Dive Team, and other area authorities. Guzman's wife, Alcione Souza, had sat vigil near the banks of the river throughout the search and was there today when her husband's body was found.

Witnesses told police in the moments following the collision that an approximately 13-foot boat had been buzzing around the 22-foot boat on which Guzman and about 10 family members and friends were riding. Several people on the larger boat had yelled out at the driver of the smaller boat to stop, but to no avail, they told police.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

Police captured a man accused of robbing a bank today in Milton after the suspect attempted a not-so-subtle escape.

The man sped away from the Citizens Bank branch on a bright red Vespa wearing a matching bright red helmet. The culprit's red motif helped police track him as he drove the wrong way on Granite Avenue and took the Southeast Expressway into Dorchester.

Boston police captured the suspect 15 minutes later on Gallivan Boulevard near an auto repair shop. The man was identified as William Donovan, 35, of Milton.

"It's nice it happened as quickly as it did," said Deputy Chief Paul T. Nolan of the Milton Police Department. "Nobody got hurt and everything worked as it was supposed to."

By Globe Staff

An 88-year-old driver accused of striking and killing a 4-year-old girl in Stoughton will not have to appear at her arraignment this afternoon in Norfolk Superior Court.

Ilse Horn had her appearance waived at the request of her attorney over the objection of prosecutors. She faces a charge of motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation. Diya Patel was struck on June 13 as she crossed a street with her grandfather and two siblings. Patel died the next day.

After the crash, state officials deemed Horn an "immediate threat" and revoked her license. Her driving record, available under state public records law, also shows that she has been responsible for five car crashes since 1982. The most recent crash before Saturday was on June 9, 2001, in Newton.

The girl's family has joined statewide calls for stricter driver's license requirements. One of her uncles testified before a Legislature committee last month.

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent

Sunshine and temperatures in the low 80s are expected in the city, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Kevin Cadima. The normal high is 82.

"Temperatures will be in the mid-70s closer to the coast and on the beaches," Cadima said. "A sea breeze may develop later along the South Shore."

Beachgoers should expect water temperatures in the mid-60s.

At Fort Apache studio in 1997, David Bowie recorded a sound check for a group of contest winners from radio station WBCN. CBS announced Tuesday it was pulling the plug on the "Rock of Boston" to accommodate other changes in local radio.

(Jim Davis/Globe Staff/file 1997)

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

By Abbie Ruzicka, Globe Correspondent
A woman was assaulted and robbed early yesterday morning on the Charles River Esplanade near the Massachusetts Avenue footbridge, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

The woman was walking alone when the attack happened shortly after midnight, Conley said. She was able to call 911 from a Good Samaritan’s cellphone and told police that she was not sexually assaulted.

The woman described the attacker as a bald African-American male in his 30s with a muscular build, wearing a black tank top and black sweatpants, according to Conley.

Boston police detectives have not linked Tuesday’s assault to three prior attacks on the Esplanade during the summer of 2007 and in South Boston in the summer of 2006, but they are investigating any possible connections. In all three attacks the aggressor was described as a bald African- American man with a medium to large build, in his mid-20s to mid-30s and 5-foot-8 and 5-foot-10, according to Conley.

Conley and State Police urged caution yesterday and reminded pedestrians to remain alert, especially in isolated areas.

By Nandini Jayakrishna, Globe Correspondent

The family of a Jamaica Plain woman raped and killed by a repeat violent offender stood with lawmakers today and urged the Legislature to pass a "three strikes" law that would toughen penalties for habitual criminals.

Melissa Gosule

Heidi Lyn Gosule, Melissa's sister, who now serves as a prosecutor in Middlesex District Attorney's office, was one of several family members today at a press conference near the State House. They stood in the Garden of Peace, a memorial for homicide victims filled with stones bearing the names of those killed in violent crimes. One rock in the garden has the name Melissa Gosule.

"Melissa never got a chance to fall in love," Heidi Lyn Gosule said. "Melissa never got a chance to get married."

(John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)

During 2001 press conference, Kenneth Waters laughed with his sister, Betty Anne, after his murder conviction was vacated.

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

Lawyers for the town and for Waters's estate told US District Court Judge George A. O'Toole Jr. this morning that a sixth insurance company, Western World Insurance Group, has declined to settle but that negotiations are continuing.

As is customary, none of the defendants who settled admitted liability. Nonetheless, Waters's sister, Betty Anne Waters, 54, of Middletown, R.I., said the agreement that was hammered out Monday night vindicated the years she spent trying to win her brother's freedom and clear his name.

``It's been half of my life, exactly,'' she said after the brief court hearing. ``I'm still very emotional. I can't quite feel that it's over. It's been a long 27 years.''

National Transportation Safety Board

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

Investigators for the National Transportation Safety Board said today that a fatal Green Line crash in May 2008 could have been prevented if the MBTA had an automated train control system.

That finding was the unanimous conclusion of a public hearing today in Washington, D.C., where the board discussed the investigation of the rush-hour crash May 28, 2008, that killed MBTA operator Ter’rese Edmonds. Acting NTSB Chairman Mark V. Rosenker said that installing an automated or positive train control system on the Green Line would be "worth it if we can prevent accidents and loss of life and injuries."

"If technology exists and it exists on the other [MBTA] lines, why would the Green Line not have everything possible that is going to prevent the accidents from happening?" Rosenker asked. "I don’t understand that as an operator. I just don’t if the technology exists.”

MBTA General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas has previously said it would be difficult to install an automated train control system on the antiquated Green Line because of the high volume of trolleys running through underground tunnels. During today's NTSB hearing, however, officials said technology existed to retrofit the Green Line with a failsafe computer system to control the trains and help prevent collisions.

In recent months, the MBTA has begun testing such automated systems, which are far from perfect. For example, the automated train control system on the Metro in Washington, D.C., did not prevent a crash last month that killed nine people.

During today's hearing, board member Robert L. Sumwalt said he was "fairly incredulous" that prior to the crash, the MBTA did not have a formal system to check whether train operators were obeying signals and following other safety rules.

“I think it speaks to the lack of a safety culture of the organization that they did not do those things,” Sumwalt said.

Investigators also determined that Edmonds was at high risk for undiagnosed sleep apnea and may have dozed off or experienced a “micro-sleep," preventing her from pressing the brakes in the seven seconds when she could have seen a trolley stopped ahead of her. Board members said today that the MBTA lacked employee screening for sleep apnea and had an inadequate fatigue awareness program.

The accident also demonstrated the need to implement minimum construction standards of rail cars to ensure crash worthiness, according to board member of Debbie Hersman.

The Globe reported today that dozens of pages of investigative documents were released on Monday by the board. While no officials would detail a cause, documents and prior statements from investigators suggest that a driving error by Edmonds was the primary reason for the crash.

Pat Greenouse/Globe Staff

Riding in the bucket of Tower Ladder 10, an engineer inspected the damage on Monday to a Northeastern University student housing building on Huntington Avenue after the cornice collapsed onto the sidewalk.

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

Globe Staff

An 88-year-old driver accused of striking and killing a 4-year-old girl in Stoughton is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday in Norfolk Superior Court.

Ilse Horn faces a charge of negligent motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation. The young girl, Diya Patel, was struck on June 13 as she crossed a street with her grandfather and two siblings. Patel died the next day.

After the crash, state officials deemed Horn an "immediate threat" and revoked her license. Her driving record, available under state public records law, also shows that she has been responsible for five car crashes since 1982. The most recent crash before Saturday was on June 9, 2001, in Newton.

The girl's family has joined statewide calls for stricter driver's license requirements. One of her uncles testified before a Legislature committee last month.

By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent

Two people received minor injuries in two separate aircraft incidents within minutes of each other at Hanscom Field in Bedford today.

A student pilot overturned a helicopter while practicing hovering maneuvers just before 2 p.m. The student and his instructor were taken to the Lahey Clinic in Burlington with "bumps and bruises," Massachusetts Port Authority spokesman Richard Walsh said.

Eight minutes earlier, a sea plane scraped against the runway when its landing gear collapsed.

"There really was no damage," said owner and pilot, Louis Page, of Dover. "Float planes are very rugged."

The helicopter suffered extensive damage, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Holly Baker. "It experienced a hard landing and it rolled on to its side," she said.

The FAA will investigate the helicopter crash.

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

Linda Jenness was working in the rear of a Green Line trolley last year, slowly emerging from a red light in Newton, when she "heard a horrific crash and felt my train being thrown."

"I just felt like an airplane hit me," Jenness told federal investigators.

Her account is part of dozens of pages of investigative documents that were released today for the first time by the National Transportation Safety Board, which tomorrow will present a final analysis of the May 28, 2008 rush-hour crash that killed MBTA operator Ter'rese Edmonds. While no officials would detail a cause today, documents and prior statements from investigators suggest driver error was the primary reason.

"It threw me out of the seat at first, but then I landed in the seat, and then I jumped up, and I hit my mushroom, which is the emergency brake, three times," Jenness said. "It wasn’t stopping."

Jenness's trolley had been stopped at what investigators believe was a signal that was stuck on red just west of the Waban station. The trolley had just started moving at the time of the crash. The driver of the trolley, seated in the front car, reacted to the red signal properly, stopping for a minute and then moving forward at no more than 10 mph.

Tests later showed connections on the track that conduct electricity were rusted, which probably caused the signal to default to the red position, according to the report.

The trolley behind, driven by Edmonds, encountered a second red signal, requiring it to stop so it would not hit Jenness's trolley. But Edmonds did not stop, according to crash records. She proceeded through the signal at 38 mph, causing the violent rear-end collission.

Spokesmen for the NTSB and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority declined to comment before tomorrow's release of the final safety recommendations.

It remains unclear why Edmonds ignored her red signal. The records released yesterday say there were no illegal drugs or alcohol found in her system when she died. There was, however, the presence of Doxylamine, often included in over-the-counter sleep medication, in Edmonds’s urine.

Investigators did not say in the initial report whether they believed that was a factor. However, the drug, found in medicines such as Unisom and some versions of NyQuil, can leave people “sluggish” even a day after taking them, said Candy Tsourounis, a professor of clinical pharmacy at the University of California, San Francisco.

“With most over-the-counter medicines, you will see some drowsiness eight, 10, 12 hours after the dose,” Tsourounis said.

Drugs containing the product customarily include a warning about operating heavy machinery.

The crash that killed Edmonds also injured seven other passengers, one of them critically. Damage was estimated at $8.6 million to the trolleys involved in the crash.

The NTSB is also investigating a second Green Line rear-end crash near Government Center that occurred May 8 of this year. In that crash, an operator told authorities he was writing a text message to his girlfriend in the moments before impact.

Though both crashes seem to be the result of operator error, the MBTA’s antiquated signal system has been criticized for its lack of an automated crash-prevention system. The NTSB is expected to discuss that issue in its report today.

Other lines and other systems across the country have automated systems designed to prevent trains and trolleys from coming too close to one another.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

A man accused of trying to murder his ex-wife in Swampscott today was ordered held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing later this month.

Felix Manuel Mateo-Perez was arraigned in his bed at NSMC Salem Hospital where he has been since he allegedly stabbed his former wife at least seven times before cutting his own throat, according to Swampscott police and a spokeswoman for Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett.

Mateo-Perez pleaded not guilty to numerous charges and was ordered held pending a dangerousness hearing July 21, which is scheduled to be held in Lynn District Court.

Although the woman, who was identified as Yessenia Gonzalez, had gotten restraining orders in the past, no order was currently in effect, officials said.

Gonzalez was attacked at the Jewish Rehabilitation Center in Swampscott around 6:45 a.m. July 11. Gonzalez was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital with what authorities feared were life-threatening injuries.

However, an MGH spokeswoman said Gonzalez was discharged on Sunday.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Shawn Donovan of Billerica was indicted under a 2006 section of the witness intimidation law that makes it a crime to convince, or coerce, others to destroy evidence, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said today in a statement announcing the charges.

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo said today that House lawmakers plan to restore funding for Zoo New England, which could stave off the closure of two zoos in Greater Boston.

“With the amount of calls that I’ve gotten from the membership, I dare say that this is one of those items that I think will be overridden,” he said at a State House press conference.

This afternoon, Senate President Therese Murray released a statement suggesting the Senate would do the same.

“We have received numerous calls and emails advocating for the restoration of the funding for the zoos," Murray said. "By law, the House of Representatives must pass any overrides first. In this case, if that occurs, it is likely the Senate will take similar action.”

Minutes before DeLeo spoke, Governor Deval Patrick, who has taken heat for reducing a state subsidy for the zoos in this year's budget, lashed out at zoo officials for suggesting last week that the facilities -- the Stone Zoo, in Stoneham, and the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston -- may have to close and that some animals may have to be euthanized.

“I do think that the public needs to know that the claim that animals in the zoo are going to be euthanized was false,” Patrick said. “And I think, frankly, the zoo is going to have to take some responsibility for that.”

He continued, “It doesn’t help to have the situation, which is tough enough, exaggerated in order to stir up the public – and, frankly, me -- around some very, very difficult choices.”

Strikingly, zoo officials have refused to make any public comment after firing off letters to lawmakers and a statement to reporters claiming that animals would be killed if they didn’t get the money they needed.

“These are very difficult choices,” Patrick said. “But I can’t answer every false charge that’s out there and this is clearly a false charge. And I think the zoo needs to take some responsibility for that. We want to work with the zoo to try and ensure the continuation of this wonderful attraction.”

In an unusual move, Patrick held a second press conference this afternoon, where he sharpened his rhetoric on the zoos.

“I have to tell you that I am disappointed by some of what I have heard coming out of Zoo New England, and their exaggeration of the effect of these reductions in their budget, when we are asking them to do no more than what we are asking every other state agency -- and frankly what most families in the commonwealth are having to ask of themselves – and that is to learn to live within more limited means for the time being," he said.

“Everybody is having to sacrifice," he continued. "And nobody has ever been talking about shutting the operations down and euthanizing the animals. And I think it was unhelpful and irresponsible to suggest otherwise.”

Patrick said there were a variety of ways for them to save or generate money -- including eliminating discounts or free passes, or consolidating -- but he did not endorse any one approach.

“I can’t tell them how to make their choices, all I’m saying is that everyone is having to make choices," he said. "And that the zoo, in effect, insisting that they should be held harmless when every family in the commonwealth is having to make these choices is just unreasonable.”

Patrick also said it would be unwise for the Legislature to override his veto of the funding for the zoos.

“I understand the Legislature has a process, and that process has to be respected," he said. "But like I said, this budget is full of choices, most of them difficult, some of them miserable.”

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

No one was injured when the heavy stone cornice fell off a Northeastern University building onto sidewalk around 8:30 a.m. today.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent, and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Heavy stone trim on the roof line of a Northeastern University building peeled off and fell five stories onto the sidewalk this morning, forcing the evacuation of the building and the shutdown of a portion of Huntington Avenue, officials said.

City officials, fearing that the structural integrity of the building has been damaged, have closed Huntington Avenue between Massachusetts Avenue and the Museum of Fine Arts.

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PHOTO GALLERY

Stone crashes from building facade

• VIDEO Report from the incident

Bus Route 39 was also back to its regular schedule, the T said.

The stone trim on the apartment building owned by Northeastern used for student housing slammed into the sidewalk at about 8:30 a.m. today. Crews were resurfacing the roof at the time, the university said.

No one was struck by the heavy stones, a fact that Boston Fire Chief Ronald Keating called “amazing.’’

“It appeared they were doing some work on the roof and the parapet fell onto the sidewalk onto Huntington,” Keating told reporters at the scene. “At that hour in the morning, it’s amazing no one was hurt.”

(Bill Greene/Globe Staff)

Family members and onlookers watch as Lawrence police, firefighters, and State Police search the Merrimack River for missing boater and Iraq war veteran Juan Guzman.

By Brian Ballou and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

LAWRENCE -- As dozens looked on in sadness, authorities today were combing the Merrimack River for the remains of Juan Guzman, an Iraqi war veteran who was knocked into the water Sunday night when two boats collided.

Guzman, who was 29 and a Methuen resident, was on a boat with several others on the river near Riley Park when a smaller boat slammed into it around 7:20 p.m. Sunday.

Guzman was pitched into the river, and despite rescue efforts by friends and Lawrence authorities, he could not be located.

Today, two women sat in an ambulance clutching teddy bears while they watched divers and public safety personnel in small boats searching the river for Guzman’s body.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

A Dorchester mother today expressed regret that she and her friend left their four young children home alone early today while they went to get some cigarettes.

Maggie Rodriguez said two of the four children were hers and the other two belonged to a long-time friend who decided to spend the night at her Richfield Street apartment following a birthday party.

“I wish I hadn’t done it, but it’s too late now, I guess,’’ the 25-year-old mother said today.

Yoon Byun/Globe Staff

Ada Jones, 2, of Lexington, looks out from the Romanian Tall Ship Mircea as blue skies and warm temperatures on Sunday brought multitudes to Sail Boston 2009 to experience the majesty of the great sailing ships.

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

Two people were stabbed in separate attacks in Boston Saturday afternoon.

A male was reported stabbed on East Brookline Street in the South End at 4:17 p.m. and was taken to Tufts Medical Center. His condition was unknown, said police spokesman Eddy Chrispin.

A woman was reported stabbed on Floyd Street in Mattapan at 4:23 p.m. She was transported to Carney Hospital, but her condition also was unknown.

By Woody Romelus, Globe Correspondent

One person was hurt and a gazebo destroyed after a grill exploded during a barbecue Saturday in Wareham, fire officials said.

Eight people were gathered for the cookout at 10 Ninth Ave. when the grill exploded at about 5:30 p.m., destroying the gazebo it was under and causing $50,000 worth of damage to one side of the two-story wood frame house.

One person attending the barbecue sustained first-degree burns to the arm. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation.

By Emma Rose Johnson, Globe Correspondent

A 19-year-old Arlington man was stabbed Friday night during a fight between two groups in Arlington Center, police said.

Police responded to reports of fighting at around 7 and found the victim and a large pool of blood on the sidewalk on Broadway. The victim, whom police did not identify, was transported to Mount Auburn Hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

Police arrested a suspect at the scene and recovered two large knives they believe were used in the attack. Police said the initial investigation indicates that the attack was part of an ongoing feud between a group in Arlington and a group in Boston.

The suspect, 16, who is being held without bail, will be arraigned Monday on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

By Terri Schwartz, Globe Correspondent

Three males were seriously injured in a triple-shooting Saturday morning near the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. State and Lowell police were searching for the gunman.

‘‘Based on our initial investigation, we do not believe this to have been a random incident and we do believe the involved parties were known to one another,’’ Gerry Leone, the Middlesex district attorney, said in a press release.

A Lowell police officer heard shots fired shortly before 2:30 a.m. and found the victims at a house on University Avenue. All three victims suffered from serious injuries. They were transported to Lowell area hospitals. and then to undisclosed hospitals in Boston.

By Michael Corcoran, Globe Correspondent

Fewer tall ships sailed into Boston Harbor this year than for the last festival nearly a decade ago, but that didn’t seem to matter to the visitors who boarded the moored vessels Saturday.

‘‘I love the ships,’’ said Abi Heaton, 5, of Mansfield, who was exploring the seven boats tied up near the Charlestown Navy Yard and the Seaport World Trade Center. ‘‘I love the flags and the pretty colors.’’

Her father, James, agreed. ‘‘I did this in 2000 and always wanted to do it again,’’ he said. ‘‘It has been a great event. We have been here for awhile and been entertained the whole time. It is great to see things from all over the world.’’

This year’s event had 40 ships, compared with 100 in 2000. Sail Boston projected between 300,000 and 500,000 people would visit them in Boston and Winthrop between Thursday and Sunday. The 2000 event drew 7.5 million people.

Boats were also displayed at Battery Wharf, Rowes Wharf, the Boston Harbor Shipyard and Marina in East Boston, Moakley Courthouse Dock at Fan Pier, and at Outer Harbor at Cottage Park in Winthrop.

By Hannah McBride, Globe Correspondent

SWAMPSCOTT -- A black Acura SUV was towed this morning from the parking lot of the Swampscott Jewish Rehabilitation Center, the scene of a double stabbing that police called "domestic-related."

The attack occurred at about 6:45, according to police, and the injuries to a male suspect and female victim were life-threatening. One victim was taken to North Shore Medical Center in Salem and one to Massachusetts General Hospital, said Sergeant Jay Locke, a Swampscott police officer on the scene.

John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

By Nandini Jayakrishna, Globe Correspondent

A massive fire destroyed a seafood warehouse in South Boston early this morning, leaving behind charred walls, bent and blackened metal beams, and the acrid smell of burnt plastic.

Firefighters responded at about 1:15 a.m.to 400 Dorchester Ave., which housed two businesses -- a small seafood restaurant, retail and wholesale store called World Seafood Processing and a warehouse for the seafood wholesale and retail company Atlantic Sea Pride Inc., said Steve MacDonald, a spokesman for the Boston Fire Department.

Road closures and other transportation advisories for the week of July 12:

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

The Storrow Drive on-ramp to I-93 South will be closed Wednesday through Friday from 11:59 p.m. to 5 a.m.

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

By Meghan Irons, Globe Staff

Parents and children who are hoping for an end to violence on city streets will walk for peace at 1:30 p.m. Sunday in Dorchester.

Scores are expected to participate in the walk, held for the 10th year by the Bobby Mendes Peace Legacy. The walk begins on Groom Street in Uphams Corner.

Isaura Mendes has organized the walk since her son, Bobby, was stabbed to death. Another son, Matthew, was killed in a drive-by shooting.

“We have a problem because our children are killing each other,’’ she said recently, taking a break from plastering her neighborhood with posters about the walk. “But I think we have hope that we can spread to the world about peace -- and now I think I spread forgiveness.”

“The children are very important in our lives,’’ she said, “and we have to do the best we can for them.”

(Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff)

Children checked out the mandrills in the Tropical Forest exhibit in 2005.

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

The Franklin Park Zoo, a Boston institution that has drawn generations of city and suburban families, might be forced to close its doors and possibly euthanize some of its animals as a result of the deep budget cuts imposed by Governor Deval Patrick, zoo officials said Friday.

Without more state funding, those zoo officials said, they will run out of money by October and have to close both the Franklin Park Zoo and its smaller counterpart, the Stone Zoo in Stoneham. They would lay off most of their 165 employees and attempt to find new homes for more than 1,000 animals, the officials said.

The zoo officials, in a written statement that echoed a letter sent earlier to legislative leaders, said they would be unlikely to find homes for at least 20 percent of the animals, “requiring either destroying them, or the care of the animals in perpetuity.”

The zoos, which are run by Zoo New England and attracted nearly 570,000 visitors over the past year, are operated through a public-private partnership that is funded by taxpayers and revenues from visitors. If the partnership dissolves, as it would in October if it runs out of money, the custody of the zoos would be turned over to state officials, according to state law.

Zoo officials estimate that it would take three years and cost at least $9 million to completely shut down the zoos, and they said the state would be in charge of that process.

The Legislature had originally provided $6.5 million to the zoos – which accounts for more than half of their budget – but Patrick, using a line-item veto, cut the state funding to $2.5 million.

By Globe Staff

Authorities in the Onset section of Wareham searched the East River near the Dummy Bridge for several hours Friday after a report of a person in the water who didn't surface. But there might be a happy ending to the story.

The report came in at about noon, prompting a search of the area by dive teams from Onset, Wareham, and Carver, until the search was called off at 5 p.m.

But Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Osswald said there is doubt now about whether someone actually went into the water. While one witness said he may have seen something, "two people say they didn't see anything at all," he said.

By Globe Staff

An 85-year-old man's license has been revoked after he allegedly struck a pedestrian with his minivan last night on Revere Beach Boulevard after sideswiping a parked car, State Police said.

The driver, Michele Veneziano of Lynn, hit a man who was getting out of a parked Dodge Journey at 8:37 p.m., police said. The man was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital with what police described as minor injuries.

Police said before Veneziano hit the man, he sideswiped a parked car and kept driving. Police cited Veneziano for leaving the scene of an accident that involved property damage, negligent operation, and a marked lane violation.

The Registry of Motor Vehicles revoked his license, determining that he was an "immediate threat" to public safety.

(Sara and Catherine Wilcox)

Smoke rose from the bog utility building this afternoon.

By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent

At least 25 firefighters were taken to Cape Cod Hospital today because of concerns they may have been exposed to hazardous materials while fighting a blaze in Yarmouth, officials said.

Officials were worried that fertilizer and other chemicals may have burned, generating dangerous fumes, during the fire inside the cranberry bog utility building.

It was not immediately clear how the fire, which required Yarmouth to seek assistance from several surrounding departments, started.

Yarmouth Fire Chief Michael Walker ordered every firefighter on the scene to the hospital as a precautionary measure, said Barnstable Fire Lieutenant Donald O’Neill. A school bus was brought to the scene to transport them.

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent

A 50-year-old woman is dead after her car struck a motorcycle and then collided head-on with another car in Tewksbury this morning. Police said they believe, based on witness accounts, that speed may have been a factor.

Laurie King, 50, of Lowell, first hit a motorcycle with her Chevy Cobalt as she was driving east on Route 133 (Andover Street) and Green Meadow Road around 9:30 a.m.

Witnesses told police King was trying to pass the motorcycle, said Tewksbury Police Lieutenant Ryan Columbus. The male motorcyclist was taken to Lowell General Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

(Joanne Rathe/The Boston Globe/File/2001)

McManus in his city office in 2001.

By Kathy McCabe, Globe Staff

Former Lynn mayor Patrick J. McManus, 54, who last month announced he would run again for mayor of this North Shore city, was found dead in his Baltimore Street home Friday after being stricken while working in his home office, Lynn police said.

A cause of death is not yet known, but the case was turned over to the state medical examiner's office for investigation, police said. "In an unattended death, where there is no serious medical history, the medical examiner's office routinely takes jurisdiction," said Lynn Deputy Police Chief Kenneth Santoro. A call to the medical examiner's office was not immediately returned on Friday.

Lynn police and emergency medical services responded to a 911 call to McManus's home at about 9:28 a.m., Santoro said. "He was pronounced dead at the scene," he said.

McManus served as mayor for 10 years, from 1992 until 2002. He announced last month that he would run for a new term as mayor, challenging incumbent Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr. McManus had recently returned nomination papers with enough signatures to qualify for the Sept. 15 primary election, according to the city's election office.

But once a death certificate is received, McManus's name will be removed from the ballot, officials said. A flag outside Lynn City Hall was lowered to half-staff late yesterday morning. The Lynn Democratic City Committee announced on Friday that it would postpone its annual summer gathering, originally scheduled for Sunday, due to McManus's sudden death.

(Handout)

A Garmin Nuvi. If you've got one of these, better keep it out of sight.

By Globe Staff

Don't leave valuables in plain sight when you step out of your car. That's the word from Boston police, who say there's been a 6 percent rise in motor vehicle break-ins in the city in the first six months of the year.

The hardest-hit area was District D4, which includes parts of the Back Bay, South End, Lower Roxbury and Fenway areas. It experienced a 52 percent surge, with the number of thefts rising to 765 from 503 during the same period last year.

The most common items stolen included GPS devices, laptop computers, cash, stereos and stereo face plates, other electronic devices (such as cellphones, iPods, Blackberrys and chargers), bags, purses, and briefcases, police said.

By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent

Interstate 495 was temporarily closed for an airlift at about 9 a.m. today after a female driver veered off the northbound side of the road, crashing into a tree just south of Exit 18 in Bellingham, State Police Lieutenant Eric Anderson said.

The left lane of I-495 north is still closed for a crash investigation.

All lanes were closed for about 10 minutes after the accident, when a helicopter needed to land on the southbound lanes to airlift the injured driver. Injuries were "very serious," Anderson said.

All southbound lanes are back open.

By Globe Staff

A 20-year-old Dorchester man has been arrested in the shooting death of a 16-year-old in January in Dorchester, police said.

Marques Kersey faces charges of murder and illegal possession of a firearm in the slaying of Torey Evans.

After an "extensive and thorough investigation," investigators obtained an arrest warrant for Kersey, Boston Police said in a statement. Kersey is already being held at the Dedham jail on an unrelated charge.

The shooting happened on Jan. 16, 2009, at approximately 3 p.m. in the area of 2092 Dorchester Ave. Police found Evans suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to Boston Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

The state Department of Conservation and Recreation is recommending that people stay out of the water at several Boston-area beaches, warning that they could get sick if they take a dip.

Red flags are flying, signs are posted, and lifeguards are urging people not to swim at Tenean Beach in Dorchester, Carson Beach in South Boston, and parts of Wollaston Beach in Quincy.

The probable culprit is the recent rains, which have washed animal waste, such as dog and bird droppings, into storm sewers that dump into the water, said DCR spokeswoman Wendy Fox. That can lead to the enterococcus bacteria entering the water, which can cause gastrointestinal illness for those who come in contact with it, she said.

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent

If your plans for this weekend include outdoor activities, you are in luck: The weather is expected to cooperate summer cookouts and trips to the beach.

A National Weather Service meteorologist, Rebecca Gould, said today will continue to be sunny with a high in Boston of 73 degrees, which is lower than the average mid-July temperature of 82 degrees.

Sunny skies are forecast for tomorrow with a high of 79 degrees. After midnight, there is a 60 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms.

“We have a weak front that will move in Saturday night and bring the rain,” Gould said.

Sunday will begin with lingering clouds and a high of 81, then the sun will come out as the day goes on.

By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Shepard Fairey, the street artist who for decades has plastered his stickers and posters on buildings and street signs, issued an apology today and agreed to ban himself in Boston.

Shepard Fairey

In a statement, Fairey apologized to the citizens of Boston for "posting my art in unauthorized spaces without the consent of the owner."

"I believe in the importance of making art accessible through many avenues, and I will continue to advocate the use of legal public spaces for meaningful artistic expression and communication. Freedom expression is the bedrock of our democracy," Fairey said. "However, I also believe it is important that people respect private property and do not use it without the authorization of the owner.

As part of the agreement, Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Adam Foss told the judge in Boston Municipal Court that they will dismiss 11 other outstanding vandalism charges against Fairey, who is best known for his "Hope" poster of President Obama, which was based on a news photograph.

By Shelley Murphy, Globe staff

Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi testified today that it was "a very traumatic moment in my life" when he watched his girlfriend being strangled by his longtime partner in crime, James "Whitey" Bulger.

Yet, 75-year-old Flemmi showed no emotion as he described in chilling detail the Sept. 17, 1981, murder of 26-year-old Debra Davis during a civil trial in US District Court.

Flemmi said he brought Davis to a vacant South Boston home he had purchased for his parents. Then Bulger, who was hiding in a bedroom, snuck up behind Davis and grabbed her by the throat.

"There was a struggle going on there," Flemmi said matter-of-factly.

(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)

Puffy clouds and blue skies Thursday afternoon made for pleasant sailing on the Charles River as a Red Line trained passed over the Longfellow Bridge.

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

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent

A fire damaged an unoccupied home early this morning in Easton.

The fire at 398 Turnpike St. was reported at 5:14 a.m. by a person driving down the street, said Lieutenant Evan Malone of the Easton Fire Department.

“It appears that the fire started in the basement, and there is heavy damage on the first floor and basement,” Malone said. “The home is uninhabitable now.”

It took firefighters 30 minutes to knock down the flames with help from fire departments in Sharon, Stoughton, and West Bridgewater.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

By Globe Staff

More than $43 million in federal stimulus money will flow into the state for commuter rail improvements, including projects to improve service on the Haverhill and Fitchburg commuter lines, the governor's office said today.

“We are committed to improving the quality and reliability of commuter rail service throughout the Commonwealth,” Governor Deval Patrick said in a statement. “These recovery investments will help create jobs, improve our infrastructure and strengthen our long-term economy.”

By Abbie Ruzicka, Globe Correspondent

An 88-year-old Canton woman was indicted today on a charge of motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation in the mid-June death of a 4-year-old girl in Stoughton.

Ilse Horn of Canton was charged by a grand jury in the death of Diya Patel, the Norfolk district attorney's office said this afternoon.

Patel was on a walk with her grandfather and two siblings on June 13 when Horn's car hit her while her group was crossing the street, according to Stoughton police.

Horn could face up to 2 ½ years in jail, the maximum sentence for a misdemeanor, Norfolk district attorney's spokesman David Traub said.

(Barry Chin/Globe Staff)

By Meghan Irons, Globe Staff

Making the trek from Birds' World to Serengeti Crossing recently became a little more arduous at the Franklin Park Zoo.

Kevin James as Paul Blart

There, on a portion of the unused outdoor gorilla exhibit near the zoo's rear entrance, crews have been laying the groundwork to begin filming the MGM comedy “The Zookeeper,” starring Kevin James.

The set is forcing patrons in the back of the zoo to make their way to the other exhibits by walking through the tropical forest, which features Little Joe and the other gorillas, or on another side trail.

“It’s a little inconvenient,’’ said Mary Ward, a Cambridge nanny, with her young charge in tow.

John Linehan, president of Zoo New England, said zoo officials have created alternate routes that lead patrons around the set site. No exhibits have been shut down because of the movie’s presence, he said, and National Night Out celebrations, hosted by the Dorchester zoo each year along with the police, will go on as planned in August. Filming is scheduled to begin July 20 and end in October.

Linehan said the zoo has received no complaints since workers began building the movie set more than two months ago.

“I’ve heard people who are sort of blown away by the fact,’’ he said. “They’ve been quite taken aback by seeing how elaborate the set construction is.”

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

A Massachusetts law that bans protesters from a 35-foot buffer zone around abortion clinic entrances has been upheld by a federal appeals court.

The First US Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston ruled Wednesday that the law did not infringe on the free speech rights of protesters. It said the law, passed in 2007, responded to "repeated incidents involving violence and other unduly aggressive behaviors in the vicinity of reproductive health care facilities."

The law, the court said, "represents a permissible response by the Massachusetts Legislature to what it reasonably perceived as a significant threat to public safety."

(Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff)

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Under bright sunlight, with the aroma of hot dogs and fried dough wafting through the air, thousands of people, from babies in arms to the elderly in wheelchairs, flocked to the Charlestown Navy Yard today to the Sail Boston 2009 Tall Ships festival.

Catherine Casey, 8, of West Bridgewater grabbed the helm today of the Amistad, a 129-foot schooner docked at Charlestown Navy Yard. (Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff)

"It's a beautiful day. One of the few nice days we've had all summer long. That's why we were like, 'Let's go,' " he said.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

A Westborough accountant was arrested Wednesday on charges that she stole more than $750,000 from an environmental engineering company in Boston's Brighton section, splurging the money on a lavish lifestyle, the Suffolk district attorney's office said.

Cynthia Goldberg

Goldberg pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Suffolk Superior Court. Clerk Magistrate Gary D. Wilson set her bail at $25,000 and ordered Goldberg to surrender her passport and wear a GPS monitoring bracelet until the case is resolved. Her attorneys did not immediately respond to a call for comment.

"As galling as the theft itself is the nature of what she purchased," Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley in a statement. "This was not someone of modest means who stole to make rent. This was someone who fraudulently billed extravagant expenses to a local business."

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

Four inmates at the Middlesex County jail in Cambridge may spend even more time in custody because of their role in a disturbance at the jail that caused at least $400,000 in damage, officials said.

Sheriff James DiPaola said the four face charges of malicious destruction of property for destroying several water sprinkler heads, which led to flooding Sunday in the Cambridge facility that sent waves of water cascading through the building.

Damage, he said, was "about $400,000 and the calculator is still running." The inmates apparently removed a wooden plank bench seat, then used the plank to swat the sprinkler heads on the C side of the jail, he said.. The jail occupies the top floors of the East Cambridge building.

The men may also face assault charges for scuffling with corrections officers, DiPaola said at a news conference today.

(Photo courtesy of Animal Rescue League of Boston)
Animal Rescue League agents Hilary Graham (left) and Jill Henessey with puppies picked up in Webster.

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent

A Missouri truck driver is facing a charge of animal cruelty in Webster after his truck was discovered carrying puppies in deplorable conditions.

Webster police say 44-year-old John Clayton of Bolivar, Mo., had 51 puppies in the back of his box truck in small cages and was delivering the puppies to local pet stores.

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi testified today that as he spent more time with his beautiful girlfriend, fellow gangster James "Whitey" Bulger grew jealous.

Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi (file photo)

"He would contact me and I wouldn't respond," Flemmi said, noting that he shut off his pager when he got home because "I didn't want to be bothered … [Bulger] was very upset about it."

That anger turned deadly when Bulger learned that Flemmi had told Davis about their relationship with the FBI.

"He wanted to kill her," Flemmi said. "He wanted me to bring her down and set her up so he could kill her."

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

US marshals working with state and local law enforcement officials arrested more than 550 fugitives in Massachusetts, many who are violent criminals and sex offenders, during a sweep in June.

"Usually, we adopt cases from the state and local agencies, and we work with those agencies to apprehend those suspects," said Jeff Bohn, a senior inspector who oversaw Operation Falcon in Massachusetts. "We did that same thing with Operation Falcon, but on a much larger level."

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

A West Roxbury man today described how he was choked into unconsciousness by a thief who stole cash he had just taken out of an ATM machine in June.

"All of a sudden he grabs my left shoulder and says, 'This is a stick,' '' Donald Dawes said in an interview today. "He started choking me and all of a sudden, I feel like I'm falling through air.''

Dawes alleged attacker appeared in West Roxbury Municipal Court yesteday where he was described as a mentally handicapped person who has been living in a state-financed group home for 15 years.

With his sister and legal guardian looking on, Jerome Tate, 47, was arraigned in West Roxbury Municipal Court this morning on charges of armed robbery and assault and battery on a disabled person. Not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf.

Tate, a barrel chested man, showed no obvious emotion during the brief proceeding. His attorney, Davis C. Bruce, however, pleaded with Judge Ernest L Sarason Jr. to send Tate to a supervised group home, not to jail.

"I don't think he will do too well'' at the Nashua Street Jail, Bruce told the judge. "He appears to be severely mentally retarded.''

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent

A man whose name was added yesterday to the list of the state's Most Wanted Sex Offenders was arrested this morning in Brighton, State Police said.

William Velez Jr., 27, was hiding under a bed in a room at the Days Inn in Brighton and taken into custody by State Police at 1 a.m. Thursday morning. Velez was in the room with a girlfriend.

By Globe Staff

A woman with stab wounds was dropped off this morning at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she remains in critical condition, police said.

Police did not release the name of the woman, who was dropped off at 8:01 a.m. by a woman driving a black Lincoln.

Initial reports indicated that the woman had been assaulted in Charlestown at 81 Walford Way. Police received a call from that address at 8:17 a.m. A weapon and blood were found at the scene, police said.

Police did not report making any arrests.

(Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe/File 1996)

In 1996, Baker, secretary of administration and finance, listented intently during an afternoon briefing.

By Eric Moskowitz, Globe Staff

Not yet 50, Charles D. Baker Jr. had built a considerable resume when he first ran for public office in 2004 — the Harvard basketball player who became a think-tank dynamo, served as trusted adviser to two Republican governors, and orchestrated the turnaround of a struggling health plan.

Although Republican operatives envisioned Baker on Beacon Hill, he set his sights closer to home: the Board of Selectmen in Swampscott, population 14,000.

Some colleagues from the Weld and Cellucci administrations tried to discourage him, worried that a loss would dash a future political career. ‘‘He took it all in and heard me out,’’ said Virginia B. Buckingham, a chief of staff to both governors who tried to dissuade Baker. ‘‘Then he said, ‘I’m doing it because I care about my town, and I think I can help my town.’’’

Baker won in a landslide and proceeded to dig into the budget in his North Shore suburb, where his three kids were enrolled in the schools.

It was, friends say, classic Charlie Baker, at once high-achieving and grounded. They describe the newly announced Republican gubernatorial candidate as an exacting policy wonk with charisma; a towering, energized man who pauses to listen patiently; a high-powered executive who showed up for his first Memorial Day ceremony as selectman in T-shirt and shorts, then had to scurry home for a suit.

‘‘Charlie is bigger than life, but exactly the opposite at the same time,’’ said Mindy d’Arbeloff, a Boston marketing executive who has been friends with Baker since childhood.

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

The MBTA is recommending a package of fare hikes that includes a 50-cent increase in the price of a Charlie ticket and 30-cent increase for those who pay for the subway electronically, the authority announced in a document this afternoon.

The Boston area’s public transit authority promised that if the fare hikes take effect in the next few months, the agency will resist another increase for at least two years.

The Legislature agreed last month to help the T with its financial problems by dedicating $160 million from a sales tax increase to plug most of the agency’s deficit for the current budget year, which began this month. But transportation officials have said that will not be enough, given rising debt payments due mostly to expansion projects.

Meghan Miller surveyed the damage to her home on Edge Hill Road in Hopkinton with her grandfather, Richard Martin, after a possible tornado hit areas in Hopkinton this afternoon. (Barry Chin/Globe Photo)

By Milton Valencia, Globe Staff, and John M. Guilfoil, Globe Correspondent

HOPKINTON -- A supercell, the highest category of thunderstorm, tore apart tree limbs and blew debris along the Interstate 495 corridor this afternoon in communities from Hopkinton to Taunton.

The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for the Hopkinton area and then a severe thunderstorm warning for the Taunton area. Rebecca Gould, a meteorologist for the service, said a team would be sent to Hopkinton to determine if a tornado had hit. Still, the high winds and large hail in the area seemed to do enough.

The hail collected on grass as if it were snow. Trees snapped and blocked streets, and debris was strewn about in what seemed like a line that ran in parallel to Interstate 495.

“The rain was bouncing off the ground,” said Dan DeCristofaro, an 18-year-old from Hopkinton who was out playing basketball and was forced to sprint to seek shelter in a nearby pizza shop from the storm.

(John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)

Baker smiled -- and the cameras rolled -- as he entered a Babson College conference room.

By Matt Viser and Andrea Estes, Globe Staff

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care chief executive Charles D. Baker announced today that he will leave his job and seek the Republican nomination for governor in the 2010 election.

"I'm in," Baker said at a press conference this afternoon at Babson College in Wellesley. "I'm very well suited for this task. And I would regret it -- for quite a while -- if under such difficult circumstances I chose to sit idly by and not participate."

Baker said he would run in the mold of former Governor William Weld, who was a fiscal conservative but held more liberal stances on social issues. He deflected several questions about Democratic Governor Deval Patrick, but said he would focus on jobs and the economy and retaining young workers.

"It's a pretty dark picture," he said of the economy. "And I don't think we're doing the things we need to do to make that picture better."

"My crystal ball isn't telling me what the election in 2010 is fundamentally and ultimately going to be about. But I can tell you right now, it ought to be about jobs and the economy and the business climate because a state that can't grow jobs and can't keep its young people is in deep, deep, serious long-term trouble. That's what I see when I look at Massachusetts right now," he said.

Republicans seemed downright giddy about Baker’s decision to get into the race, comparing him to Weld running in 1990 after 16 years of Democrats in the corner office.

"I think a lot of people just breathed a big sigh of relief," said Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei, a Republican from Wakefield. "This means there is going to be a debate in this election as to whether or not the last 2 1/2 years the state has been on the right path -- or should we change directions. I think Charlie is the perfect person to explain why we need to change directions."

Patrick welcomed Baker's entry into the race, saying, "I think competition is good. I don't think we have enough."

(Boston Police)

This surveillance photo allegedly shows Jerome Tate attacking his victim.

By Abbie Ruzicka, Globe Correspondent

Boston police arrested a West Roxbury man today for allegedly robbing a blind man at an ATM last month.

Jerome Tate, 47, robbed a 59-year-old blind man while he was using the ATM at the Sovereign Bank in West Roxbury on June 20, police said.

Tate allegedly put the man in a headlock and said, “Give me the money or I will stick you.” Tate then took the man’s wallet and ran out of the bank, according to police.

When police arrived on the scene, the man told officers he thought he was alone in the bank. He was not able to give a description of the suspect because he was blind.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Just hours after adding five new names to its Most Wanted Sex Offenders list, State Police announced today that one of the five men had been captured in Georgia and another turned out to be already in custody.

Marcus Nelson,47, was arrested in Powder Springs, GA., based on information from State police. He is currently being held by Cobb County authorities while Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett seeks to bring him back to face charges of failing to register as a sex offender. Nelson was convicted of aggravated rape in 1987 and sentenced to state prison.

John M. King, who was wanted by Worcester Police for a probation violation, failure to register as a sex offender, and breaking and entering in the daytime, was determined to be already in custody on another charge. King, 35, was convicted of rape in 1999 and sentenced to six years in state prison.

The three other additions to the list maintained by State Police and the Sex Offender Registry Board were:

Carlos I. Beltran who is wanted by Haverhill police for indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 and failure to register as a sex offender. The 43-year-old is also being sought by Newton Police for violation of an abuse prevention order.

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

State Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill went to Quincy City Hall this morning to officially drop his affiliation with the Democratic Party and found that he was, in a sense, returning to his roots.

Cahill had thought that he was always a Democrat, since first registering to vote when he turned 18. But he was informed by the city clerk that when he initially registered in 1977, he checked “unenrolled.”

“It’s all kind of foggy,” he said. “I had just assumed I did what everyone did in Massachusetts when they had political aspirations: register as a Democrat.”

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

A K-9 officer for the MBTA Transit Police Department faced an animal cruelty charge today for allegedly starving his pet dog to death at his home in Rochester.

The officer, Antonio Carneiro, was arraigned today in Wareham District Court on the felony charge. Transit police removed Carneiro from the K-9 team and suspended him from the force when officials learned on June 24 of the allegations, the MBTA said in a statement.

The dog, a 3-year-old Belgian Malinois named Nitro, weighed just 25 pounds when Rochester police found it dead in an outdoor cage on Jan. 19. The German Shepherd-like dog should have weighed 60 to 65 pounds. The animal's ribs and hip bones nearly popped out of its skin, its face was drawn, and it had plants in its digestive tract, evidence that the dog "was trying to eat anything to survive," said patrolman Chris Charbonneau of the Animal Rescue League of Boston.

"Based on the autopsy, this was a long-term case of starvation," said Charbonneau, who investigated the criminal complaint. "Probably over a period of months."

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

There's trouble afoot for Mayor Thomas M. Menino. More specifically, it's the right foot that has been giving the 66-year-old mayor trouble.

(Bill Brett for The Boston Globe)

"If I knew, I'd tell you," Menino said today after speaking to a crowd of teens at Boston University. "I just bruised it or something."

Menino hyperextended his right knee in 2007 when he stumbled as he hoisted the Red Sox' World Series trophy at Fenway Park. He underwent physical therapy for months before deciding to have arthroscopic knee surgery last October. The mayor's spokeswoman, Dot Joyce, said the mayor saw his doctor three or four days ago and will wear the cast until his pain subsides.

The mayor has not been following doctor's orders to stay off his feet and has not altered his schedule to accomodate his sore foot.

"He's still doing what he always does, unfortunately," Joyce said.

As the media today persisted, Menino grew tired of questions about his booted foot, answering sarcastically when a television reporter asked again about the cast.

"My foot's great. Get out of here," Menino said, shooing away reporters as he readied to leave the event.

By The New York Times

A former bouncer at a bar in Manhattan's SoHo section has been sentenced to life without parole in the murder of a graduate student from Massachusetts.

The bouncer, Darryl Littlejohn, 44, showed no emotion as the mother and the sister of the victim, Imette St. Guillen, made statements before the sentencing in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn.

The body of St. Guillen, a 24-year-old studying forensic science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, was found on Feb. 25, 2006, on the side of a dirt road by the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn. She was naked, gagged and beaten, and had been wrapped in a blanket.

In January, Mr. Littlejohn was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in the 2005 kidnapping of another young woman.

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Massachusetts, the first state in the nation to legalize gay marriage, has become the first to challenge the constitutionality of a federal law that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman, saying Congress intruded into a matter that should be left to individual states.

Attorney General Coakley

The Boston Globe

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

A Level 3 sex offender today was charged with raping a woman, strangling her and then leaving her body in the back of a Boston school department delivery truck in Dorchester.

The body of 48-year-old Jewell Alsop was discovered by horrified workers in the Columbia Road parking lot Feb. 26. Today, 50-year-old Fitzhugh Newton III was arraigned in Roxbury Municipal Court on two counts of aggravated rape and first degree murder.

He pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail by Judge Kenneth Fiandaca, who also kept Newton out of the courtroom at the request of defense attorney, Matthew A. Kamholtz.

In court, Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Julie Higgins said workers at the school department facility on Columbia road noticed that the door on a delivery truck was open when they came to work Feb. 26. Inside, they found Alsop, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

By Noah Bierman and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

A Suffolk County grand jury today indicted an MBTA Green Line trolley driver for gross negligence when he rear-ended another trolley in a May crash that injured 62 passengers and caused $9 million in damage.

Aiden Quinn, 24, told investigators after the May 8 collision that he had been sending a text message to his girlfriend when he ran through yellow and red lights and hit another trolley in a tunnel near Government Center. Investigators determined that he traveled at 25 miles an hour for almost 600 feet through the tunnel without looking at the track while he typed on his cellphone. By the time he glanced up and pulled the emergency brake, Green Line car #3612 was just 8 feet from the rear of another trolley stopped on the tracks.

"When people board a public conveyance, they place their lives and safety in the operator’s hands,” Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said in a statement. "They depend on the driver's good judgment to protect them, and in the overwhelming majority of cases that judgment delivers them safely. On May 8, though, good judgment was not present in the driver’s seat."

The grand jury voted today to charge Quinn with gross negligence by a person in control of a train, a crime punishable by up to three years in state prison or a fine of up to $5,000. He will be arraigned on July 20 in Suffolk Superior Court.

By Vivian Nereim, Globe Correspondent

The driver in a car crash that killed one woman and injured two others has been charged with motor vehicle homicide while operating under the influence of alcohol.

Jonathan Muir, a 21-year-old Falmouth resident, was driving a 1984 Porsche 944 around 1 a.m. on June 29 when he apparently lost control of the car and crashed into a tree on County Road.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

For his first summer job, the police commissioner did data entry. Boston University's president loaded groceries from a boxcar into a warehouse. And the mayor cleaned sooty furnaces.

"When I got home from work every day, my mother wouldn't even let me in the house," said Mayor Thomas M. Menino of his first high school job in Hyde Park.

Some 600 Boston teens got jobs this summer through the MLK Summer Scholars program and they will be working for some of the city's top institutions instead. This morning in the George Sherman Union at Boston University, civic and business leaders wished Boston students luck as they began working for John Hancock, The Boston Globe, and about 80 other community businesses.

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent

Afternoon thunderstorms are expected to dump more rain today as waterlogged cities and towns are still recovering from Tuesday's flash floods.

The rain is expected to hit west of Boston first, then move eastward.

“There is also a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms this evening, so these storms might linger into the early evening hours,” said Jeremiah Pyle, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Taunton.

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

SALEM -- Reputed New England Mafia underboss Carmen, "The Cheese Man," DiNunzio pleaded guilty today to state charges of extortion, conspiracy, and managing an illegal gambling enterprise.

Carmen DiNunzio

Essex Superior Court Judge David Lowy scheduled sentencing for September 25. As part of the plea agreement, DiNunzio will face six years in prison on the state charges and on federal bribery charges that he pleaded guilty to last week.

By Nandini Jayakrishna, Globe correspondent

Danvers police have cited a 93-year-old man who allegedly drove his car through the front entrance of a Wal-Mart last month, injuring a mother and her 1-year-old daughter.

Louis Vesprini of Peabody was cited for negligent operation of a motor vehicle. A clerk magistrate hearing in Salem District Court will determine whether probable cause exists to arraign him, said Danvers police Captain Patrick Ambrose. No date has been scheduled yet.

Vesprini could face a $200 fine, up to two years in jail or both if convicted, Ambrose said. The Registry of Motor Vehicles has revoked his license indefinitely, deeming him an immediate threat to public safety.

For the past ten years, I have had the privilege of serving as the CEO of this very special organization. And trust me on this one - it's been an honor to serve with each and every one of you. Harvard Pilgrim, more than any organization I've ever worked for, tries to live up to its mission every single day. It really is all about solving problems and getting stuff done. And most of the time, it works - because you make it work. Yes - we went through some pretty tough times "back in the day," but for the past six or seven years, we've made adjustments, re-worked our business model, changed with the times (mostly), and, as a result, have been selected as the #1 Health Plan in America for five years in a row.

(Yoon S. Byun/Globe Staff)

The Russian Tall Ship Kruzenshtern (center) chugged into Boston Inner Harbor Tuesday to dock at the World Trade Center. In the foreground (right) is the Cisne Branco of Brazil. The Libertad of Argentina is in the background.

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

By Andrea Estes, Globe Staff

Former gubernatorial candidate and Democratic party official Steven Grossman said today he will run for state treasurer, a decision he made this morning after learning that the current officeholder, Tim Cahill, will leave the Democratic party this week in a first step toward a likely independent challenge of Democratic Governor Deval Patrick next year.

Steven Grossman

By Globe Staff

A two-year-old boy was killed today in Sturbridge when he was hit by a minivan driven by his mother in the driveway of their home, prosecutors said.

The toddler "apparently ran into the path of the vehicle," the Worcester district attorney's office said in a statement.

EMTs arrived at the scene at about 8:30 a.m. They treated the boy but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sturbridge and state police detectives assigned to the district attorney's office are investigating, prosecutors said.

(Tom Rettig/Telegram & Gazette Staff)

Nice sparkplugs -- A car charged through the water under the Cambridge Street Bridge in Worcester today.

By Michaela Stanelun and Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondents

Powerful thunderstorms rumbled across Massachusetts this afternoon, pelting the earth with rain and large hail, hurling lightning bolts, and downing tree limbs and power lines.

Central Massachusetts was hit hardest, National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Dellicarpini said. Between 2 and 4 p.m., he noted, Westborough saw 4.5 inches of rain.

"That’s a pretty good rainfall rate, which is why they're having a good amount of flooding out there," Dellicarpini said.

"I wouldn't even know where to start," said a Westborough police dispatcher of the town's flooding.

The Telegram & Gazette of Worcester reported flooding on several roads in the region, notably Route 9.

By Globe Staff

A 45-year-old woman was seriously injured this afternoon when she fell out of her car as she drove in a construction zone on Interstate 190 in West Boylston. Her car then hit a State Police cruiser, which struck and injured a state trooper on a detail who was standing near it.

Both the woman and the 52-year-old trooper, whose names have not been released, are in serious condition this afternoon at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, said Lieutenant David Wilson, a State Police spokesman.

Wilson said police were investigating the crash, which happened at about 1:55 p.m. He said police did not know why the woman had fallen out of her car.

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent

It is too early to tell if the gasoline that leaked out of a tractor-trailer truck during Monday’s accident on Interstate 95 in Newburyport will cause long-term environmental damage, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection said today.

DEP spokesman Joe Ferson said that soil near the Merrimack River is heavily saturated with gasoline and will be removed. He also said the department had sent a team to the area to conduct air monitoring. Ferson stressed that the gasoline smell in the area is not a health concern.

Also being monitored are storm drains that empty into the Merrimack River. Ferson said there was still additional material coming out of those drains.

“Containment booms are in place in the river, but it is too early to determine how much gasoline ended up in the river,” Ferson said.

An estimated 9,000 gallons of gasoline were spilled Monday when a tanker truck overturned at about 9:17 a.m. just south of the I-95 bridge over the Merrimack River.

(Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff)

By Globe Staff

A delivery truck driver died after injuring his head this morning while delivering beer kegs to the Barking Crab restaurant in South Boston, police said.

Police responded to a call at 8:47 a.m. to the restaurant on Sleeper Street near US District Court in Boston.

The 43-year-old man was taken to Tufts Medical Center, where has pronounced dead, said Officer James Kenneally, a police spokesman. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating.

The man is believed to have been injured while operating a power jack, Kenneally said.

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

A tall ship from Salem due to sail into Boston Harbor today is instead drydocked in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, as workers repair rotting wood discovered near the bow and ensure the damage has not spread.

"It's a disappointment, but it's something you work on, something you prepare for," said Jeremy Bumagin, rigger for the Friendship. "You've got to put the safety of the ship and the safety of the people before anything else.

The ship, commissioned by the Salem Maritime National Historic Site and built in 1998, was undergoing scheduled maintenance when workers discovered that the beak head, a piece of wood on the ship's bow, had started to rot. The damaged part was above sea level. Rain, snow, and ice probably contributed to the rotting, said Jim Fox, Friendship's skipper.

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick reacted diplomatically today to news that Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill is planning to leave the Democratic Party and become an independent, a move that could eventually lead to Cahill challenging Patrick in the 2010 election.

Patrick said he was working hard to manage the state during the recession and the time for verbal jousting would come later.

“My focus continues to be managing us through this extraordinary challenging economic time, trying to do what we can to get the economy going again, and implement these new reforms," he said. “There will come a time when the campaign is for real, and we’ll engage then. But for the time being, that’s my focus. I wish him well, as I do all the candidates -- real and would-be.”

When asked about Cahill's criticism that Democrats have espoused too much of a "tax-and-spend" philosophy, Patrick told the Globe, “Look, all those old slogans are for yesterday. We’re governing for tomorrow.”

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

Norton police arrested a man at gunpoint last night when he allegedly approached a youth baseball game with a powerful explosive in the trunk of his car.

The man, Jason Driscoll, 37, pleaded not guilty today in Attleboro District Court to a charge of possession of an infernal machine. He was ordered held on $10,000 cash bail. Driscoll has a history with explosives and lost his left eye in a pipe bomb blew up in his face as a 16-year-old.

Defense attorney Brian D. Roman described his client's arrest as a misunderstanding.

"From what I've seen so far, it appears to be a firework," Roman said after the arraignment. "These are fairly innocent charges and clearly he didn't have any intent to hurt anyone."

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

The body of a man has been recovered from the slopes of Mt. Washington, and New Hampshire authorities said today there is the possibility the remains may be that of a Canadian hiker who disappeared June 9.

Hikers on Monday discovered the body lying underneath a rock overhang on the Lion's Head trail, about 3/4 of a mile from the summit of Mt. Washington and about 6 miles from the base of the mountain, said Sergeant Wayne Saunders of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department.

Authorities recovered the body Monday night and an autopsy was underway today at the state medical examiner’s office in Concord, N.H. Saunders said identification is also being made, which may be released later today.

Saunders said the remains may be that of 70-year-old Peter Shintani, a veteran outdoorsman who went hiking during foggy conditions on June 9 and has not been seen since. On June 10, heavy rains blanketed the area. Shintani was hiking by himself. He did not notify authorities what his hiking plan was, and he wasn’t reported missing by his family until June 16.

Authorities searched for the Ontario man on foot and from the air. Saunders said, however, that the body found on Monday was hidden from aerial views by the rock overhang. He said New Hampshire State Police also viewed the scene on Monday.

“There is no evidence that foul play was involved,’’ Saunders said.

(Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff)

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

The first of more than 40 Tall Ships motored through the rainy fog of Boston Harbor this morning for Sail Boston 2009. The Libertad, a 356-foot full-rigged ship from Buenos Aires, led the way.

(Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff)

"That was unfortunately beyond their control, and beyond our control," said Sheila Green, a Sail Boston spokeswoman.

Tours of the Tall Ships will begin at wharfs and piers in Boston Harbor on Thursday morning. For a full schedule and map of where the ships will dock, click here. The Libertad will tie up to the World Trade Center in South Boston.

(Jim Davis/Globe Staff)

Front row fans along the third baseline vied for a foul ball off the bat of the Red Sox shortstop Julio Lugo Monday night at Fenway Park. The Oakland Athletics blanked the Red Sox 6-0.

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

By Andrea Estes
GLOBE STAFF

State Treasurer Tim Cahill this week will change his political party designation from Democrat to unenrolled, the first step in mounting an independent challenge to Democratic governor Deval Patrick in the 2010 general election, two advisers said today.

Cahill, a lifelong Democrat who has served as treasurer since 2003, would not comment on his plans, but campaign advisers said he will make the switch at Quincy City Hall sometime this week.

They said the move doesn't necessarily mean he will run against the sitting governor; he has told them he will either campaign for governor or treasurer as an independent candidate.

Cahill will be the first incumbent officeholder in memory to drop his party affiliation, according to state election officials. They could recall no instance when an independent candidate won statewide office in Massachusetts. H. Ross Perot, who ran as an independent candidate for president in 1992, garnered more than 20 percent of the vote, which election officials believe was the largest percentage won in Massachusetts by an independent in recent years.

By Jack Nicas
Globe Correspondent

Power lines fell across Route 128 near the juncture with Route 1 in Peabody, forcing the temporary closure of the northbound and southbound lanes during rush hour, State Police said.

It is unclear how the wires fell, but they landed on top of a truck, State Police spokesman David Procopio said.

It was the second major road closure north of the city today. Interstate 95 in Newburyport was closed in both directions for hours after a three-car accident involving a tanker truck.

Route 128 was completely reopened as of 6:30 p.m. police said.

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

The National Transportation Safety Board announced today that its board will meet July 14 in Washington to consider a final report on last year’s Green Line trolley crash that left operator Ter’rese Edmonds dead.

Edmonds’ trolley was traveling at 38 miles per hour during the evening rush hour on May 28, 2008, near Waban Station, when it ran a red signal and struck another trolley that had been stopped.

Damage was estimated at $8.6 million. A year after the crash, the MBTA had a second serious Green Line crash near Government Center. That crash – blamed on a text-messaging driver -- is also under investigation.

Both crashes have raised questions about the MBTA’s training standards and the antiquated signaling system along the Green Line. The T is in the process of hiring a consultant to upgrade the signaling system, but has fallen behind schedule.

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

A tanker truck lugging over 10,000 gallons of gasoline flipped in a four-vehicle crash this morning in Newburyport and spilled a substantial amount of fuel, closing Interstate 95 in both directions for hours and causing an epic traffic jam.

(MassHighway)

The back of the tanker ruptured when it tipped onto its side, but it was not immediately clear how much of the gasoline spilled.

Some of the fuel flowed through the drainage system into the Merrimack River, where a 25-foot Coast Guard boat was working with a boom to contain the spill. Heavy duty trucks worked to right the tanker, which splayed across three northbound lanes.

"This could take a very long time -- easily several hours -- to clean up," said Trooper Eric Benson, a State Police spokesman.

By Milton J. Valencia and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

NEWBURY -- The sun-dappled line of traffic on Interstate 95 this afternoon moved an inch at a time, feet dangling out windows, the sliding doors of minivans open to the breeze, and drivers stepping out from behind the wheel to stretch their legs on the pavement.

The bumper-to-bumper-to-bumper mess lasted for more than seven hours after a tanker truck flipped and spilled gasoline in Newburyport this morning, closing the interstate in both directions. Jack Foley, 73, learned that the hard way on his drive from Hampton, N.H., to play a round of golf in Rowley. The traffic trapped Foley in the morning on the way there and got him again this afternoon as he headed home -- after his round of golf.

"You figured it would be gone," Foley said. "It's extremely frustrating. I don't know why it takes six hours to move a truck and clear an accident. This is crazy to be this long."

It took 90 minutes to go a half mile. Kathy Murray had planned a quick 1.5-mile trip to Byfield to pick up her 17-year-old son.

"I can't get there," Murray said while stuck on the roadway, "and it's right there."

(George Rizer/Globe Staff)

By Vivian Nereim, Globe Correspondent

RAYHNAM -- Every day, Dorothy Boreham would walk across her yard to visit her friend Madeline Castelluzzo. In the summer, her feet would wear a line in the grass. In the winter, Castelluzzo would shovel a path through the snow.

Dorothy Boreham

Authorities have not officially identified the remains and may not for at least a week, according to the Bristol District Attorney's office. Several neighbors and the victim's grandson said today the fire killed Dorothy Boreham, 83, and Neil Boreham, who was in his early 60s.

Firefighters responded to the blaze at 2:21 a.m. The three alarm fire took 40 minutes to quell, and by the time firefighters made it inside, they found Dorothy and Neil Boreham, and their dog, a 2-year old Papillon named Butch, in Dorothy Boreham's bedroom. All three were dead. Raynham Chief James T. Januse said he believed the son may have been trying to rouse his mother before they were trapped by the flames.

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent

A tall truck hit an overhead message board this afternoon in the Ted Williams Tunnel, briefly closing the roadway and backing up westbound traffic to the airport.

The truck was taller than height restrictions allow in the tunnel, according to Trooper Eric Benson, a State Police spokesman. The trash truck continued onto southbound Interstate 93, where it was stopped by State Police in Dorchester.

"The message board is seriously damaged and hanging unsecured, and the left lane is closed going westbound in the tunnel," Benson said.

The incident is under investigation. Police had the truck towed.

By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent

A commuter rail train struck and killed a female pedestrian today about one-quarter mile from the Hersey stop in Needham.

The woman was trespassing near the Greendale Ave bridge in Needham when she was hit at about 12:30 p.m., MBTA spokewoman Lydia Rivera said.

The noon outbound train experienced nearly an hour delay until a bus transported the 35 passengers to the final three stations.

The MBTA is replacing the Needham line service with four buses between the Forest Hills and Needham Heights stations. Regular service should resume soon.

MBTA police are investigating the accident.

(Globe photo/Maisie Crow)
Officers move through the flooded floors of the Middlesex County Jail in Cambridge on Sunday.

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

Some 193 detainees who were evacuated Sunday from the overcrowded Middlesex Jail after several prisoners flooded the facility will probably not be returning until tomorrow at the earliest, a spokesman for Sheriff James V. DiPaola said today.

The spokesman, Michael Hartigan, said authorities were still working to restore electricity at the Cambridge jail, which had to be shut off after detainees allegedly began smashing sprinkler heads and tearing down pipes around 11:30 a.m. Sunday. The flooding began on the 18th floor of the high-rise building on Thorndike Street and drenched every floor down to the lobby.

By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

SALEM -- A mother stood in handcuffs today and pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and other charges as prosecutors accused her of withholding life-saving cancer treatment from her 9-year-old son before his death from leukemia.

Kristen LaBrie, 37, said little during her arraignment in Salem Superior Court, listening intently and shaking her head in disapproval when a prosecutor outlined the alleged crimes against her autistic son, Jeremy. The indictment by an Essex County grand jury Friday also includes charges of permitting serious bodily injury to a disabled person, child endangerment, and permitting substantial bodily injury to a child.

Defense attorney Kevin James said in court that his client was really a victim because the boy's father, Eric J. Fraser, abandoned his son and left LaBrie to shoulder the burden of care after the diagnosis of non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2006.

"She is the victim," James said. "She is the mother who took care of her child."

(Matthew Lee/Globe Staff)

Specialist Michael Carey of East Boston watched the fireworks spectacular on Saturday night from the base of an M102 Howitzer on the Esplanade. The cannon plays a part in the performance of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.

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

(Globe file photograph)

President John Kennedy walked with Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara on July 8, 1961, in Hyannis Port.

By Mark Feeney, Globe Staff

Robert S. McNamara, who as secretary of defense during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations was a leading architect of US military involvement in Indochina, died this morning. He was 93.

His family told the Washington Post that Mr. McNamara died in his sleep at his Washington home. The cause of death was not reported.

Besides the Defense Department, Mr. McNamara led two other institutions of global importance. He became the first non-family member to serve as president of the Ford Motor Company, in 1960. He was also president of the World Bank from 1968-81.

Yet Mr. McNamara is best remembered — and in some quarters still reviled — for the seven years he spent at the Pentagon and the part he played in waging the Vietnam War. The controversy that erupted in 1995 when he published his memoir, “In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam,” demonstrated the extent to which the scars he bore remained unhealed.

By Sean Sposito, Globe Correspondent

A 37-year-old Salem woman, who allegedly withheld life-saving cancer treatment from her dying son, was arrested tonight, two days after she was indicted on charges stemming from the death of the autistic child.

Kristen LaBrie, whose 9-year-old son, Jeremy Fraser, died of leukemia in March, was indicted by an Essex County Grand Jury on Friday.

Charged with attempted murder, permitting serious bodily injury to a disabled person, child endangerment, and permitting substantial bodily injury to a child, she is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow in Salem Superior Court.

By Matt Collette and Michael Corcoran, Globe Correspondents

CAMBRIDGE -- Close to 200 prisoners at Middlesex Jail were evacuated on buses to four jails in and around Boston after several prisoners damaged the fire suppression system causing massive flooding, according to the Middlesex County Sheriff.

About 15 prisoners came down with a flu-like illness this morning and as jail officials were transporting them to hospitals and cleaning up, several inmates “got upset” and started to act unruly, said Sheriff James V. DiPaola.

About nine prisoners attacked the building's fire suppression system, smashing sprinklers and tearing down pipes leading to “massive flooding” DiPaola said.

By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff

Four separate car crashes killed eight people this morning, casting a pall over an otherwise sparkling fourth of July holiday.

As residents across the state awoke to a sunny holiday after weeks of rain, they learned of the carnage that had occurred within six hours.

Almost all of the dead were people in their 20s, one of them the mother of a newborn. Alcohol was a factor in one of the crashes, and speed contributed to at least two of the accidents.

Road closures and other transportation advisories for the week of July 5:

Lanes on Interstate 90 (the Mass. Pike) east near the Ted Williams Tunnel will be closed Monday from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Two to three lanes of Interstate 93 south will be closed approaching and through downtown Monday through Wednesday from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.

The ramps from the Tobin Bridge (Route 1 south) and Rutherford Avenue/Charlestown City Square to I-93 south and Storrow Drive will be closed Tuesday from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.

By Jazmine Ulloa, Globe Correspondent

Dan Denette of Easton stood smiling with hundreds of others outside oval at the Hatch Shell today, savoring the day’s Fourth of July celebration. He said he has only seen the fireworks spectacular on YouTube videos and is ready for the real thing.

“It is a gorgeous day today,” he said. “We look forward to checking it out.”